The question of the day from The Happiness Project on Facebook asked followers which part of vacation they liked the best, leaving home or returning.
In spite of the fact that we go away so much, I really love returning home. I love to sleep in my own bed, make coffee the strength I really like, run my own washer and dryer. I know it sounds like I'm a control freak---and I never think of myself that way until I discover how much I like my own stuff. I prefer to think of myself as a Homebody. It sounds much more benign than Control Freak..
If you ever want to stay in San Antonio, near everything downtown, I can't recommend the Riverwalk Plaza Suites hotel enough. Not only was our room beautiful, and the pool was great, also there were food, coffee, and cookies at hand.
Not only all that but when I couldn't find my new mobile phone this morning, they responded immediately to my e-mail and told me to phone with shipping directions so they could send it right away! (Thankfully, I still have a land line.)
I've decided I really can't own anything smaller than a breadbox, the way I misplace and lose stuff. That also might be a good reason to stay at home, come to think of it.
Also noteworthy is our snow today. I was encouraged to please bring warm weather back home---even though we have had some spring/summer weather already-----and we had a little snow this morning. It never got into the 40's today, I'm sure. In like a lamb, out like a lion!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Another Friday
Share your week's fragments with Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissin' Time, and the rest of us with bit and bobs to get together at the end of the week.
Some days it's a painful thing to be a fan. This can happen as a fan of any sport, but tonight it's discouraging to be a fan of Big Ten Basketball, though Ohio State may make us cheer up. The game is just in the first half, so anything can happen.
We had a little jaunt and an overnight in the Door Peninsula this week. It is so pleasant there before the real tourist influx begins. Of course all the trendy shops are still closed, but there is still good food, and wine, and cherry products.
Now that my lame shoulder is feeling better, I'm allowing myself little snatches of knitting time again. In the meantime I have entertained myself with reading, drawing, and occasional sewing.
I've been making a quilt of my own design, which sounds very grand, but it really amounts to getting to a spot where all the regular sized squares go together easily---and then you are left with a bunch of other stuff you have to puzzle together somehow.
Note to self: Don't be a dope. Pick a pattern and follow it. Preferably a good Judy Martin pattern--so accurate and easily done. Not that the patterns are simple, but the directions are so clear, and the sizes so precise. I love them!
The Postcrossing experiment has been fun now that some cards are coming to me almost daily. I have gotten cards from the Netherlands, Manitoba, Australia, Belarus, Nashville, Long Island, Washington State, Malaysia, and Austria. Fun stuff.
Reading----The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, and Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (I think).
Have a great Friday, and a jolly weekend, if I don't see you here before that.
Some days it's a painful thing to be a fan. This can happen as a fan of any sport, but tonight it's discouraging to be a fan of Big Ten Basketball, though Ohio State may make us cheer up. The game is just in the first half, so anything can happen.
We had a little jaunt and an overnight in the Door Peninsula this week. It is so pleasant there before the real tourist influx begins. Of course all the trendy shops are still closed, but there is still good food, and wine, and cherry products.
Now that my lame shoulder is feeling better, I'm allowing myself little snatches of knitting time again. In the meantime I have entertained myself with reading, drawing, and occasional sewing.
I've been making a quilt of my own design, which sounds very grand, but it really amounts to getting to a spot where all the regular sized squares go together easily---and then you are left with a bunch of other stuff you have to puzzle together somehow.
Note to self: Don't be a dope. Pick a pattern and follow it. Preferably a good Judy Martin pattern--so accurate and easily done. Not that the patterns are simple, but the directions are so clear, and the sizes so precise. I love them!
The Postcrossing experiment has been fun now that some cards are coming to me almost daily. I have gotten cards from the Netherlands, Manitoba, Australia, Belarus, Nashville, Long Island, Washington State, Malaysia, and Austria. Fun stuff.
Reading----The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, and Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (I think).
Have a great Friday, and a jolly weekend, if I don't see you here before that.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A Little Diversion
This is only one of the homes which is beautifully furnished and we had a suite in Hadley House on the avenue behind this building. It was very comfortable with a bedroom with a king-size four poster, a sound system with speakers in the bathroom, a jacuzzi, and little balcony where the sun would shine on the reader, fireplaces, and living room area with a big comfy couch. A television set from which to watch UWGB girls lose their NCAA basketball game. It was a valiant effort, but a loss nonetheless.
Believe it or not, I left overnight with no yarn or knitting, and no laptop. My phone was turned off too. Good Guy told me I'd better take my temperature. I told him I'd try to pay attention to my husband for 24 hours, and this was his big chance to lay information on me.
Before we headed home yesterday, we drove north to Fish Creek, and enjoyed the lack of traffic. Many places are still closed because the tourist season doesn't really begin here until May, but the whole peninsula looks spiffy, and freshly painted, and ready for the summer onslaught.
We made a few stops and purchased beautiful fruit preserves, and lingonberry wine---the most beautiful color you can imagine, and fresh cheese curds, made yesterday morning. (Love that squeaky cheese!)
My shoulder is feeling better, but I am drooling over the projects being completed by my dear knitting friends. I would love to be knitting along. sniff!
Good Guy has gone already for his first golf outing of the season with BrotherBob. I have quilting this morning, but need to reclaim my desktop before I do. It is officially a disaster zone. Bring on the shredder!
I wish you all a happy Wednesday! And a wonderful spring season. May we not have to run an air conditioner every day.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Lame Excuse
Ordinarily I would be crowing about the weather, and the unseasonable warmness and wonderfulness of having spring in March. And it is wonderful, indeed, no doubt about it.
BUT, having lived a very long time, and having spent many a Memorial Day bundled to the eyeballs to watch the parade, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. There has to be another blizzard or two in our future. It'll probably come when all the apple blossoms are out and mess up the fruit crop.
I am not being a sourpuss. I'm being a realist.
The reason, though, for today's title is that I am resting my right shoulder,(as well as right-handed people can rest their dominant side), trying not to aggravate the pain in it. A person just has no idea how much they use a part of their body until it hurts to use it.
For a year now I have tried to limit knitting time because that seemed to make it worse, but this week when I took a day off, I spent an afternoon untangling a mess of cotton/elastic yarn which rendered me very lame indeed.
As you can see, I am not one of those high-minded people who offer their pain up in a noble way. I am just a cranky, grumpy person who would like to wash the windows, or accomplish things she can't do with her left hand!
There is an up-side however. I have an excuse to watch all the action of the basketball games and moan at every missed free throw or missed call. Plus we are working on the garage and I have made a number of recycling trips with cardboard and newspapers. (Whatever happened to The Paperless Society?)
Good Guy is returning pop cans and sorting plastics, too and I can commence sweeping, if I can figure out how to do it "backwards", and spare my shoulder. It is feeling better this morning so I know I'm in danger of overdoing in a fit of optimism.
I'm feeling much cheerier now that I've dumped my load of Grumpy onto you. Thanks! You can feel like Lucy Van Pelt in her little psychiatry booth, with "5 cents" on the sign. You have done your good deed for the day!
BUT, having lived a very long time, and having spent many a Memorial Day bundled to the eyeballs to watch the parade, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. There has to be another blizzard or two in our future. It'll probably come when all the apple blossoms are out and mess up the fruit crop.
I am not being a sourpuss. I'm being a realist.
The reason, though, for today's title is that I am resting my right shoulder,(as well as right-handed people can rest their dominant side), trying not to aggravate the pain in it. A person just has no idea how much they use a part of their body until it hurts to use it.
For a year now I have tried to limit knitting time because that seemed to make it worse, but this week when I took a day off, I spent an afternoon untangling a mess of cotton/elastic yarn which rendered me very lame indeed.
As you can see, I am not one of those high-minded people who offer their pain up in a noble way. I am just a cranky, grumpy person who would like to wash the windows, or accomplish things she can't do with her left hand!
There is an up-side however. I have an excuse to watch all the action of the basketball games and moan at every missed free throw or missed call. Plus we are working on the garage and I have made a number of recycling trips with cardboard and newspapers. (Whatever happened to The Paperless Society?)
Good Guy is returning pop cans and sorting plastics, too and I can commence sweeping, if I can figure out how to do it "backwards", and spare my shoulder. It is feeling better this morning so I know I'm in danger of overdoing in a fit of optimism.
I'm feeling much cheerier now that I've dumped my load of Grumpy onto you. Thanks! You can feel like Lucy Van Pelt in her little psychiatry booth, with "5 cents" on the sign. You have done your good deed for the day!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Elevenses
My good friend and mentor, Keetha of The Eclectic Company has a meme today that caught my attention and I'm participating. One reason is that it's grey and rainy and I have no original material to share, and I am perfectly willing to ride on someone's coattails today!
1. When was the last time you felt like a bull in a china closet?
Any time I'm in a crowded store with tiny aisles and fragile merchandise I feel that way. Since I hate to shop, it doesn't happen that often.
2. What is your current pet peeve?
From now until November, misleading and hateful political advertising will be at the top of the list.
3. Which do you hate more----mice, spiders, or snakes?
Spiders don't bother me at all, but of the other two it's even. I don't want to see either one of them.
4. Coulrophobia---yes or no? Not any more.
5. Which do you prefer----the book or the movie? The book every time, so far.
6. What was the last foreign country you visited?
Technically, Canada, though for a Michigander, that isn't very "foreign". Before that, Ireland.
7. In high school, were you popular, unpopular, or lost in the masses.
I guess I was lost in the masses, though it's hard to really get very lost in a small town. I was working while other kids went to youth center dances and such. Nobody seemed to dislike me, but nobody saw too much of me either.
8. Is your vocabulary stellar, mediocre, or "huh'?
After a lifetime of voracious reading, I'm edging from mediocre to stellar. I love words!
9. What is your favorite season?
Autumn---it just needs to last a lot longer.
10. When you're busy, do you want music playing?
I always want music playing, though it may slow me down during listening....
11. When you go out in the wilds, do you take your iPod?
In spite of my last answer, I do not take music out in the wilds. Maybe my camera, though, if I remember.
1. When was the last time you felt like a bull in a china closet?
Any time I'm in a crowded store with tiny aisles and fragile merchandise I feel that way. Since I hate to shop, it doesn't happen that often.
2. What is your current pet peeve?
From now until November, misleading and hateful political advertising will be at the top of the list.
3. Which do you hate more----mice, spiders, or snakes?
Spiders don't bother me at all, but of the other two it's even. I don't want to see either one of them.
4. Coulrophobia---yes or no? Not any more.
5. Which do you prefer----the book or the movie? The book every time, so far.
6. What was the last foreign country you visited?
Technically, Canada, though for a Michigander, that isn't very "foreign". Before that, Ireland.
7. In high school, were you popular, unpopular, or lost in the masses.
I guess I was lost in the masses, though it's hard to really get very lost in a small town. I was working while other kids went to youth center dances and such. Nobody seemed to dislike me, but nobody saw too much of me either.
8. Is your vocabulary stellar, mediocre, or "huh'?
After a lifetime of voracious reading, I'm edging from mediocre to stellar. I love words!
9. What is your favorite season?
Autumn---it just needs to last a lot longer.
10. When you're busy, do you want music playing?
I always want music playing, though it may slow me down during listening....
11. When you go out in the wilds, do you take your iPod?
In spite of my last answer, I do not take music out in the wilds. Maybe my camera, though, if I remember.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Spring Forward!
Isn't it a satisfying feeling to have a productive week, and to have the items on "your list" all crossed off?
I am still a paper and pen sort of list-maker, and in the quiet time of early morning, I can be found deciding what is my top priority items for the day. I keep the list close at hand so when things pop into my head, I can add them in a hurry (before they vanish again).
My friend, Phyllis, likens this vanishing phenomenon to having a bird flying low over your head----and you have to reach up and grab his feet quickly.....or he's gone for good. I don't know if this is a product of old age or if it happens to everyone in this age of multitasking and distractions.
I am trying to work on a quilt piecing project because I promised my Wednesday quilters that I would have something to show them by next week. So once I set a daily goal, it is easy and fun to get into my workroom and actually cut and sew. That had been channeled into knitting projects for a time, but my shoulder needs a little rest.
In my knitting time, I'm working on a pair of socks in a yarn that is now discontinued. I checked the yarn out on Ravelry and got some ideas, and since the yarn has cotton and elastic I thought I'd make some summer socks on fewer stitches than I usually use. They will be too small for me, but my grandson in Florida will be able to use them, I think. The prospect of ripping them out and doing them over is just painful!
My trip to the library this week netted me some children's books. I've realized that there are some classics I've never read, so I took out The Little Prince and a couple dog books I'd never read, and they were great fun.
Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project is a great fan of "kid lit", and good writing is good writing, whether it is directed at adults or children. (Not to mention that there's a great deal of poorly written adult stuff. We won't go there!)
Still to accomplish this week is some sorting and pitching. I don't know how clutter accumulates so quickly. Perhaps it occurs when the housekeeper sews, knits, reads, and bums around instead of cleaning.
Nawww, that can't be so.
Have a pleasant weekend, and enjoy some spring weather. (You, too, winter-lover!)
I am still a paper and pen sort of list-maker, and in the quiet time of early morning, I can be found deciding what is my top priority items for the day. I keep the list close at hand so when things pop into my head, I can add them in a hurry (before they vanish again).
My friend, Phyllis, likens this vanishing phenomenon to having a bird flying low over your head----and you have to reach up and grab his feet quickly.....or he's gone for good. I don't know if this is a product of old age or if it happens to everyone in this age of multitasking and distractions.
I am trying to work on a quilt piecing project because I promised my Wednesday quilters that I would have something to show them by next week. So once I set a daily goal, it is easy and fun to get into my workroom and actually cut and sew. That had been channeled into knitting projects for a time, but my shoulder needs a little rest.
In my knitting time, I'm working on a pair of socks in a yarn that is now discontinued. I checked the yarn out on Ravelry and got some ideas, and since the yarn has cotton and elastic I thought I'd make some summer socks on fewer stitches than I usually use. They will be too small for me, but my grandson in Florida will be able to use them, I think. The prospect of ripping them out and doing them over is just painful!
My trip to the library this week netted me some children's books. I've realized that there are some classics I've never read, so I took out The Little Prince and a couple dog books I'd never read, and they were great fun.
Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project is a great fan of "kid lit", and good writing is good writing, whether it is directed at adults or children. (Not to mention that there's a great deal of poorly written adult stuff. We won't go there!)
Still to accomplish this week is some sorting and pitching. I don't know how clutter accumulates so quickly. Perhaps it occurs when the housekeeper sews, knits, reads, and bums around instead of cleaning.
Nawww, that can't be so.
Have a pleasant weekend, and enjoy some spring weather. (You, too, winter-lover!)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Thank you, dear Readers!
Thank you for not deserting me completely. During my month of letter writing, I must have used up my blogging time to do that.
A couple neat things happened as a result of the letter writing stint. I found out that my son actually sits down, pen in hand, and writes back. I love his letters, too.
And while browsing around, taking advice from other letter-lovers, I found a website called Postcrossings which provides addresses--beginning with five at a time----to send post cards to others in the program. I found out, to my astonishment, that first class postage to foreign lands is now $1.05.
I have sent cards to Russia, Belarus, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Malaysia. (It makes it interesting to pick up the mail, too. Though I have only received one card so far.)
The card I received is from Germany and features a lovely cathedral. ( I have to confess that I was both Impressed and Depressed by the money spent on churches and cathedrals in Europe when we were there. I can just picture all those poor peasants coughing up the bucks to build these monuments.)
I have divested myself from some of my Google connections, reacting to their new lack of privacy policy. I am one of their most boring clients, and can't believe it benefits them to monitor my browsing. But it must be working because I've had the same ad for doing a New Zealand tour in my e-mail for several days. I think that's pretty funny. (Of course, I always thought it was pretty funny to observe what they thought I was interested in as a result of my e-mails.)
Well, I'd love to stay longer, but I have a dental appointment this morning. Heck, I'd rather do anything than go to the dentist! No offense.
A couple neat things happened as a result of the letter writing stint. I found out that my son actually sits down, pen in hand, and writes back. I love his letters, too.
And while browsing around, taking advice from other letter-lovers, I found a website called Postcrossings which provides addresses--beginning with five at a time----to send post cards to others in the program. I found out, to my astonishment, that first class postage to foreign lands is now $1.05.
I have sent cards to Russia, Belarus, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Malaysia. (It makes it interesting to pick up the mail, too. Though I have only received one card so far.)
The card I received is from Germany and features a lovely cathedral. ( I have to confess that I was both Impressed and Depressed by the money spent on churches and cathedrals in Europe when we were there. I can just picture all those poor peasants coughing up the bucks to build these monuments.)
I have divested myself from some of my Google connections, reacting to their new lack of privacy policy. I am one of their most boring clients, and can't believe it benefits them to monitor my browsing. But it must be working because I've had the same ad for doing a New Zealand tour in my e-mail for several days. I think that's pretty funny. (Of course, I always thought it was pretty funny to observe what they thought I was interested in as a result of my e-mails.)
Well, I'd love to stay longer, but I have a dental appointment this morning. Heck, I'd rather do anything than go to the dentist! No offense.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Winter at Last
After many weeks of unseasonably mild weather with scanty snow, last week found my city under a deluge of 17 inches within 24 hours. What excitement.
The upside for us is that we were in Chicago where we were comfortable outdoors in our sweatshirts! We went to the zoo and had a jolly time. We didn't see too many animals, but I was amazed at the number of young children and strollers. We managed to come home the day following the blizzard on roads that were snow free and dry all the way into our own town. I thought that was amazing!
I have been scarce here due to the changes in Blogger. I dislike having to relearn things every six months. I have better things to do with my time. I'd also like to change my header. Hope I can figure it out by Christmas. Wordpress, here I come.
The upside for us is that we were in Chicago where we were comfortable outdoors in our sweatshirts! We went to the zoo and had a jolly time. We didn't see too many animals, but I was amazed at the number of young children and strollers. We managed to come home the day following the blizzard on roads that were snow free and dry all the way into our own town. I thought that was amazing!
I have been scarce here due to the changes in Blogger. I dislike having to relearn things every six months. I have better things to do with my time. I'd also like to change my header. Hope I can figure it out by Christmas. Wordpress, here I come.
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