Winding Down

Ah, the sigh of relief upon reaching the pleasant, lazy week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

We have had our days of traditional food and our days of way too many sweets, some of which coincided with days with family.  Everything was fun, but it tires me out.  Once we get used to quiet days without being sociable, it is an effort to be visiting with people all day long. (No matter how much you love them.)

So now I have confessed my hermit-like tendencies and can fold my tent in peace and go back to my sewing machine.

This is a week to evaluate what was great about 2014 and make plans for the next year. I can do that thinking while I do some sewing.

Remember to comment.  I'm still sending a prize to someone.  This means you, Sandy!

Oh, and by the way, we returned on Saturday morning in Significant Snow.  I think we were driving into the storm.  There was plenty of snow in Houghton when we left, but little plowing had been done, and when we got home, neighbors said that most of the 8 inches fell in just a couple hours in the morning.  It was a relief to arrive home safely.

Happy New Year, my friends!

A Promise is a ......

You will see on the header that I have (at least) put the parts of my winter wall hanging together.

There is more quilting to be done as I put in some TV time, but for now it is stored on the wall.  When it is done I'll add some bells or tinsel or some other frou-frou to the dowel that's holding it up there, but for now it's okay.

In other sewing news, I have been doing a few of the first steps of Quiltville's Mystery Quilt for this year.  I am not making the full size (by a long shot) and only have a bit done.  Here's how the squares look all butted up against one another.  

I know they won't be next to one another in the finished product, but I was curious to see what I had so far.  In Bonnie's full sized quilt, she would have 280 of these puppies.  (That isn't going to happen here.  I am using all scraps----that is my one caveat----and I'm thankful that I have some softer yellow scraps because that lively yellow really grabs a lot of attention!)  Yikes!

I had a follow up eye test yesterday which couldn't be performed when my pupils were dilated so I had to go back.  It consisted primarily of shining a very, very bright light in my eyes and making me read the chart using the distance vision portion of my corrective lenses.  I failed miserably---which qualifies me for cataract surgery.

I'm in no big hurry.  I don't drive at night anyway, being fully aware that I can't see well at night.  I do have an "evaluation" appointment with the eye specialist in February.  I will keep that appointment if we are here and not enjoying some lovely warm place in February.

I have been told by numerous people how delighted I will be with my vision once I have this surgery done and I hope that is so.  I am paranoid about my vision, having always been myopic and having watched my mother go through the miseries of macular degeneration. 

For the time being I'll deal with the devil I know.  

Happy Wednesday!  Leave a comment for a chance to win an awesome prize! 

Make the End the Best Part

For the past few years, I have used some questions from Jamie Ridler's studio that help you think back on what was best and worst of the past year.  While I was reading some of her posts, a statement that she made really resonated with me.

She said, and I paraphrase freely, make the end of the year the best part yet.  December is Family Birthday month again along with all the extra activity that goes along with preparations for Christmas fun.  It could just be busy and busy and more busy---but I am going to enjoy it all deliberately.

I have cards, stamps, a quilt to finish by February, lots of cookie baking ingredients, a wall hanging pieced and hung (though I haven't quilted it yet).  I'm not expecting any company who will care about that.  I might take the safety pins out, though.  That might be good.

I love to receive Christmas cards, so therefore I must send them.  Sadly, a great many of the people I used to hear from (mostly friends of my parents) are no longer able to send cards and I miss them at Christmas time.  I may not think of them very often otherwise, but that is one of the things about growing older.  I just try to concentrate on happy memories instead.  It's good to make more happy memories too, both for ourselves and for the younger members of the family.

I'll take a picture of my wall hanging for you when the light is better.  By 5 PM it is full dark here now.

When I went out to start my trusty car yesterday, there was no response.  I think the door unlatched when I tried to open it and it seemed to be frozen shut.  Because it was unlatched, the light must have been on, depleting the battery.  Which is quite new, by the way.  AAA came and it started in a flash when they gave it a jump.

A family of two shouldn't have to have two cars.  But it is "necessary" if you are used to being able to pick up and go without consulting anyone about their plans.  We'd adjust if we had to, but there would be some grumbling, I think.

I will advise you to do as Jamie advised me.  Make the End of the Year the Best Part!

Thankful Thursday

For the whole year!  Our designated day to be grateful for the welcome the natives here gave to our undocumented aliens who landed, starved, and had a rough first year in this unfamiliar place.

Not that I think about the first Thanksgiving very much.  I try to always remember to be grateful, because I know how much I am blessed and always have been.  I wouldn't trade lives with anyone, anywhere, which I think is a wonderful blessing.

As for you, dear reader, I am thankful for your visit and your kind, brief attention.

I have been busy here, making the end of the year the best part yet.  I'm knitting some socks for a grateful family member, and piecing a wall hanging for winter decoration.  I would say a Christmas decoration, but 1.) it's of evergreen trees, and 2.) I don't change things around very often.  I will probably have evergreen trees hanging next August, if the past is any indication.

So that is my excuse for failing miserably at blogging faithfully during November.  I don't think anyone really minds too much.

I hope that you are having a happy relaxed day, enjoying good food, family and friends, and football (if you so choose).

Excuse me, because I may have to do some Quality Assurance work for the pumpkin pie.  I don't want to feed my kids untested food.

NomNomNom.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Swatching

This month in one of my Ravelry groups we are knitting swatches to send to our swap partners.

I tend to knit the same sort of thing in the same weight of yarn, or knit things that will be used by someone it fits if it is given to a charitable organization.  Which is by way of explaining---that I don't do too much swatching.

I am enjoying this exercise however.  I have chosen to try the same unfamiliar stitch with a couple of different weights of yarns and sizes of needles.  This yields quite a different look and sometimes you need a few more inches to really get a sense of it.

After the swap is done I'll show them to you.  I know, you're dying with anticipation.  Silly me.

In other late-breaking news, with the help of my car's defroster and twenty minutes of smacking and scraping and sweeping, I finally got the accumulated snow removed from my dear old car.  I had taken the newer car out to do errands a couple of times, but I much prefer driving the car I usually drive.  (I am not being paid to share this information with you.  It's a 1996 green Toyota Camry with 188,000 miles on it.  It is a wonderful car.)

We have had two others since we purchased that one.  Reliable, handsome, and I'm a loyal fan.  It sounds like I'm describing a husband.  (He's reliable and handsome too.)

Well friends, we are embarking on a new week.  Make it a good one!

Dr. Seuss and I

Sometimes after I have spent an inordinate amount of time on the internet, I think of the Seuss book with the words, "Oh the places you'll go!"

In just an hour or so this morning I read messages from women all over the world who were reporting on letters, post cards, and gifts they had received from other members of the group.

I was directed to read about a teacher who gave his students the assignment of writing a letter to their future selves; the person they hoped to be in twenty years.  He saved the letters and sent them  when the time was up.  That was very moving and meaningful to both teacher and former students.

I visit a few other bloggers, some of whom are nearby and who I have met now, in person.  Some are celebrity knitters (the blogs I read, not the people I've met.)  One is a bundle of energy who travels to teach all over the country, and quilts like the most prolific quilter you've ever seen!

I also found some folks who went on the road, traveling year round in their travel trailers.  Some of them are also gifted writers and it is great fun to read about the world as seen through their eyes.

Then there are book recommendations.  (I have grown more and more finicky about what I will read as I grow older.)  I may read one trashy book, but I won't subscribe to the whole series, thanks anyway.

Let's see, where else did I go besides stopping to check in with my sister, and try to use my reluctant Words With Friends game.  It's very slow to use these days, now that it is improved.

I think that was about it, because I went shopping and got the gifts for one of the main people on my Christmas list.  (All week I was going to make a couple project bags, but just wasn't in the mood.  Once I find a fabric I really like for this, I will be a model of industry.  Trust me on that.  Chuckle.)

I'm going to award a neat prize to a commenter between Nov 1 and Christmas.  I promise to use the impartial random number generator, but the more you comment, the better your chance.

I will even appreciate knowing what your idea of a neat prize would be.  Would someone like a ginormous box of quilting scraps?  You would be doing me such a service!  You have no idea!

Hope you are having a fine weekend!

The Big Dig

This isn't going to be about the snow storm, fun as it is to discuss.

Rather this has to do with an encounter I heard about from a quilting friend.  It has bugged me ever since, and since blog subjects are scarce I will share it with you.

If you're a regular here, you know that I spend a lot of time on my quilting passion.  Or at least reading about my quilting passion.  It's hard to accomplish much if you hate to cut anything up----but I digress.

Anyway, this friend was shopping for fabric in a popular country-wide fabric and craft chain store, and was standing in line to have her purchase measured and cut, chatting with another customer.

"What will you be using your fabric for?"

"Well, I'm just filling in some color gaps.  I've used my greens and need some more."

Puzzled look.  "Hmmm?"

Explains, "I make quilts and need a lot of colors."

"Do you have a quilting machine?"

"No."

"Well, you aren't a real quilter, then, are you...."

A quilting machine makes you a real quilter?  It's good that she wasn't talking to me, or she'd have been in the hospital.  Apparently she doesn't realize that not that long ago, a machine quilted quilt wouldn't even have been allowed in a quilt show.

I am a big fan of machine quilting and the people who do own machines and quilt for others!  God bless them all.  But I surely do love coming across a lovely hand-quilted quilt!  

And I hope that someone enlightens that ignorant person who dared to say such a thing to my friend, a Real Quilter to her very core.

Whew!  I feel better now.

I Am Not Ready

I made the move to change my header picture to something "more seasonal".  So I found a great many pictures taken in winter.  Snow covered trees, car accidents, holiday shots, birds, squirrels. The whole ephemera of our winters here.

As you can see, I just can't climb aboard the Winter Wagon yet.  I am, however, quite involved in quilting this week.  I have wiggled and jiggled with my sewing machine which is said to be able to do machine quilting.  I stitched in the ditch to hold some segments together and then did some hand quilting in some noticeable areas.

So I moved a quilt to the header.  There will be snow-----at a more seasonable time.  (In the meantime, I can scarcely get my doors open for the amount of snow that's accumulated.)

Sigh.  I'd rather not talk about the weather.  If you have access to television, I expect you know about the snow and cold.  No need to bring it up here.

I did notice though, that it was so blustery this morning that there were no birds at the feeders at all.  Not even my marauder rodents were stealing seeds.  Everyone with good sense stayed out of the weather.

I hope you were able to as well.

Hippy Skippy

I have not been successful at blogging daily, now that I forgot to blog on Sunday.  Does that mean that I should throw in the towel and quit?

I am waiting to hear something from someone.  Anyone will do.

While I'm waiting I will tell you about slip  ping and sliding around on the roads in town this morning. I texted my friend over the weekend and she said she was fine, but wishing she'd had her snow tires put on last week.  I thought of her while I did errands this morning.  Snow tires would have been a great help.

Most people were just creeping to places where they would have to turn or stop.  No salt or sand has been spread yet, so it's me against nature.   I'm not too worried about my own driving---I'm excessively careful, but I don't trust other drivers, especially youngsters who may not have much experience----or who think nothing bad can happen to them.  Not so, children.

It was my intention to insert a car accident picture here, from my own archives, but of course, it can't be found.  We had a car flip onto its roof, right in front of the house one year not too long ago.  (Driving too fast for conditions----which were icy in some spots and clear in others.  Oops!)

If nobody comments today, I'm done with this experiment.  On to quilting.

She's Really Cooking Now!

I hate to report that Good Guy is under the weather.

I especially hate to report that because that means the the Head Cook is also under the weather.

Unfortunately, we both still like to eat.  Therefore one of us will have to (shudder) do the grocery shopping and turn the groceries into edible meals.  I have heard that there is a generation of young folks who hardly ever cook, but buy food already prepared.  Alas, I am not part of that generation, and spent many years shopping and cooking for a lively family of seven.  I have the knowledge even if it's a bit out of use.

The upside of this is that the house now smells like fresh baked bread, and a baked dessert.  That doesn't happen to much with the Head Cook.  He makes great stuff, but doesn't do much baking.

My sister's husband cooks too, but once the meat is prepared he thinks that is plenty.  Kind of a manly point of view.

So I am expecting a speedy recovery for Good Guy and in the meantime I'll enjoy having the kitchen to myself.  As much as I can.

A Period of Adjustment

Things are a bit disjointed here, as we discover what TV fare is to be had, now that baseball season is over.  What a revelation, to discover that there are new programs we have never been able to watch!

Some aren't worth watching for the full hour they're on, of course---but that's always the way with TV.  There are some wonderful shows that come and go before I ever get around to watching them.  I have also had shows that I loved bite the dust, in which case I have felt like the kiss of death.

Sort of the way I feel when I go to the racetrack and put $2 on a horse.  I feel like I'm cursing the poor critter to run the slowest it's ever run before.

In spite of the lack of baseball, last weekend was quite a sportsman's delight anyway.  In addition to the usual college and pro football feast, the Breeders' Cup races were run.  I don't care much who wins, but I love to see the beautiful horses.  One morning we went to watch the early morning workouts at Keeneland in Lexington and the horses are real pros, and seem to pose when they see you with a camera.

Last weekend the New York Marathon was run.  Think how many hours and miles of training that race represents!  The zillions of dollars spent on running shoes!  Isn't it mind-boggling?

I feel for wives who feel widowed when a new sports season begins.  If you can't lick em, join em.

Note to Self

When you make garlic butter to put on your cheddar biscuits (as in Red Lobster cheddar biscuits) don't put it on your breakfast English muffin---------- if you plan to add jelly.

It will get your taster all mixed up.

Trust me.  Do not try this at home.  

The Infestation

The very first post I ever made had a picture of a chipmunk trapped inside a bird feeder which was hanging on my deck.

The state of my back porch brought that to mind this morning, as I discovered that the chipmunks---of which we have about a dozen----had chewed several sizable holes in the bag of seeds which Good Guy bought yesterday and brought to the deck.

Busy, busy, busy!

During the summer I entertained myself occasionally by turning the hose on them as they raided the bird feeders.  I am not terribly upset about their lunching on bird seed.  But tulip and daffodil bulbs?  That make me annoyed.  I'm not up for killing them, but I've put up little hints that they could relocate to the bottom of the hill.  Not much is changing, though.

That's all for today.  I need to add some more seasonings to my lentil dish that is simmering in the crock pot.  It's supposed to serve six, and it's more like eighteen!  I'll have plenty for the freezer, or I'll have the kids stop after work and bring some home for supper.

Back to hand quilting.  More about that tomorrow.

Our Right, Privilege and Responsibility

That's right, folks.  Election Day is finally upon us.

It is hard to stay focused on what a wonderful thing it is to have a say in our government after the barrage we have suffered for the last few months.  Plus the way our government has been refusing to perform of late----many would prefer not to bear the responsibility of putting the bozos in office.

Yet, miraculously, many of the people who served in the past will return to their jobs.  The people have spoken.

It amuses me that politicians pick and choose which wise words to quote from our "statesmen" of the past.  They are real fond of Thomas Jefferson, for instance, who thought the country would probably need a good revolution every once in a while.  Wise words, Tom, wise words.

I am no anarchist, God knows.  I hardly ever even jaywalk, but I share the widespread unhappiness with Congress and gridlock and non-cooperation.  According to the pollsters, you agree.

Hmm.

That's all the contribution I have to the blogging world for today.  And I very nearly forgot all about it today.  Whew!

Monday, November 3rd

Last year, when November was over I was dumbfounded!  Where had the month gone to?  On the first, it's my sister's birthday and whammy all of a sudden it's the other sister's birthday followed closely by Thanksgiving.

And nothing was done in preparation for Christmas.  Well, not NOTHING, but not nearly enough.

I've about decided that the reason the Christmas promotions begin before Halloween is because so many of us are old and slow.  It doesn't have much to do with merchandising, does it?

But with blogging every day, the month will pass as it should, with every day being experienced and not flying by in a blur.

The other thing I'm doing this month is disposing of ten items each day.  I will make trips to Goodwill, and I will put books in public places with Book crossing bookmarks in them.  Today I found a box of picture frames that I brought home from a job I had about ten years ago.  If I haven't needed them until now, chances are I'll never need them.  Kitchen gadgets could go too, if I didn't have to check with Good Guy about every one.  He's just like my dad was.  What if I need it someday?  Good luck finding it, that's all I can say.

Another thing I should cull is the cookbook collection.  I'm just as bad as he is about cookbooks.  I think, between our recipe boxes and the internet, we have enough information.  Yet even though I cook so seldom, I have a powerful attachment to those cookbooks.

I love coming across the notes I made about never to cook something again----everyone thought it was disgusting, or something tasted great but we had to soak the pan for 24 hours because it made a mess.  Proof that I have lived and actually accomplished something one day, long ago.

I believe the time has come for me to set forth and accomplish something today.  My electrical slaves are already hard at work doing laundry and such.

See you tomorrow.  Leave me a comment so I don't feel as alone as the 2 a.m. DJ.

Road Tripping by Telephone

Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from my pal, Lucy, who invited me to head north with her to the Land of Lake Effect Snow.  She was going to visit her sister for an overnighter, and thought I'd like to visit my sister too.

I would love to do that, but my sisters are both finishing their visit to Virginia and North Carolina to spend time with their respective children.  They will be traveling home beginning tomorrow morning and can keep me posted about their progress, thanks to mobile phone technology.

About the only thing I use my mobile phone for is texting, and I have been giving serious thought to upgrading.  I am paying for a number of services which my phone doesn't care to perform.

I have never, ever, ever been so trendy that I wanted the latest thing.  I'm sort of a Luddite just on principle----and I've been trying to figure out why.  Back in the early days of "new stuff" appearing, I couldn't afford to even think about having it, so I guess I decided not to want it.  But I know they are a big help when traveling if they can (1) connect and (2) have mapping help, or directions, and access to other information.

If you have any recommendations to share, I would be happy to hear them.  At the very least, they will give me something to ponder before I hit the electronics market.  I could just call my son but that seems like cheating.  I don't want to hurt his feelings if I should ignore his advice, either.  That could happen.  That I'd ignore his advice.

My new son-in-law would be a good source of info too.  He has my daughter using a droid, which does everything I'd need---and probably lots more.

Back to watching the New York Marathon.  Huff, puff.

By the way, what are you reading????

NaBloPoMo

In the interest of having a stab at self-discipline, I am going to post every day this month. That cryptic title stands for National Blog Posting Month.  I think.

She said, bravely, with good intentions.

As befits Halloween,(at least the way I remember the way my children used to have to wear winter gear over their costumes, no matter how clever they happened to be,) we got snow to celebrate.

After last winter, I only know one person who is happy about snow arriving.  That would be my son, known here as The Photographer.  He likes the cold and the snow.  Truly a one in a million man.

But as for Good Guy and myself, we are starting to give serious thought to snow-birding this year.  Especially if we could get The Photographer to house and pet sit for us.  We are negotiating.

What else will we talk about here this month?  The weather, Thanksgiving, what makes Christmas for me---and possibly for you, sisters, kids, cats and dogs.  Sock monkeys.  Throwing away clutter.  Quilts and yarn made items.

Basically, I only talk about the ephemera of my life, as circumscribed as that may be.  I may have a rant or two about auto-correct.  Do I hear an "Amen"???

I assume it won't be necessary to affix a photograph of snow.  Actually the sun melted it away pretty quickly so you can just picture green grass.

See you tomorrow.

Congratulations and Best Wishes

See this little chapel in the woods?  This was the site of the wedding of the Webers last Saturday.

They didn't want to elope, She wanted to be married by a minister, but they did not want a big wedding.

So this was the perfect answer for them.  It held about a dozen people.  The bride, the groom, the minister, two witnesses, and their spouses, two children (belonging to the minister), and two parent types.  (Good Guy and myself).

They seem pretty tickled to have tied the knot.

Not much about the weekend was traditional at all.  They and their friends all went mountain biking together in the morning.  (We weren't fussing around with the flowers or caterers---we went to the laundromat, because we had been on the road for a week and needed to prepare for yet another week before we got home.)

We managed to find one item to fill in for "Something old, borrowed, and blue," when she wore my birthstone ring on her pinkie finger.

We were all prepared for tear-shedding, but nobody cried.  At least not that I noticed.  The groom warned us that he was prepared and hoped we wouldn't think less of him if that should happen.  Are you kidding me?  There could be something wrong with a gentle, soft-hearted guy?

Also attending----though not at the chapel-----were the three dogs owned by the bride and groom.  They aren't well mannered enough to sit quietly at a wedding, though nobody was tempted to invite them to the ceremony.  They were along for the weekend though.

Here two of them are, decked out in their ties.

We have here Rusty and Molly.  Off to the right is the bride's chocolate lab, Maddie.

Following the ceremony we had a gourmet pizza supper and rich, dense, delicious wedding cake.

They did some traditional things.  Meaningful, moving vows.  Wedding cake, Rings, And they were good friends before deciding to marry.

We wish them all happiness and health.

Daylight Equality

According to the calendar, we will have as much daylight as darkness today.

 As Anais Nin said, There is always more wonder.   It is kind of amazing to me that in a world full of chaos, they can predict the course of our little ball of Earth for eons in advance.

That we can rely on the fact that the days will truly begin to get longer again by the end of December.  I'm not a pagan, but it is no wonder to me that it was cause for celebration at the time of the passing of the winter solstice, either.  My forebears in Sweden traditionally had a mighty celebration at the time of Midsummer in June.  Personally, I feel sad that the days will be growing shorter once again.  I like lots of daylight!

Maybe we should plan on spending summer in Alaska, and our winter in the Southern Hemisphere.  Now there's a plan.

But who will take care of my cats?

This gal has adjusted to her twice daily medicine and the fact that treats or food are dispensed after I have administered medicine.  She comes to find me when it is time.  I don't know how long it will take her to gain some weight though.  It seems that I can feel every bone in her body through her fur.

Can cats learn to make sounds that seem to upset us?  Until a month ago, I had never heard a cough, and now I think she does it for attention.  What do you think?

In other news, it seems to be quilt show season in our neck of the woods.  Kay and I went to a nearby show on Saturday, and tonight there's another in a town just a short distance away.  We will take in as many as possible, and take pictures as well.  (Just what I need!  More ideas for projects!)

I wish you a happy autumn season.  It is a beautiful time of the year here.

Turn, Turn, Turn

I wonder how many times I've posted a change of seasons post with that title.  I won't go back to check, but it's the song that goes through my mind as the leaves change colors, or the snow begins falling, or the days get longer once again.

Things have been busy here.  Sister #2 and her Wonder Dog, Daisy, have been visiting often for sessions with a professional "trainer" type person.  She is pleased with the results.

Over the weekend she and I spent a weekend down the road to meet and visit with an old friend of my mom's and of ours.  She had a ride from Minnesota with a group of friends, so she called and asked if we would make time for a visit with her.  It was a precious time together.  She is getting up in age and has had multiple health problems in the past, but we were delighted to see her ambulatory with all her wits about her.

She had driven down with a group that was going to visit and provide music at the church we grew up in.  A men's quartet!  What better music than that for the morning service?  I love men's voices singing harmony!  They also were visiting because the pulpit is being filled (temporarily) by the man who had been the pastor of the Minnesota church, a very much loved fellow.  He was one of the tenors in the quartet as well.

So the visit was fun, the church service was great, and I felt very well loved, visiting this congregation.  We wondered if we would know anybody, but a number of my school mates were there and other old faithfuls knew us.

In stitching news, I am knitting a pair of socks for a Christmas present.  I went for about a week without any knitting and I was lost.  In the gaps between projects I sometimes make a few dishcloths because my friends always like a nice bright new one.  Just something to whip out and put by the sink when special company is coming.  Like Queen Elizabeth or Lady GaGa.

My quilting projects is on the cusp between designing and parts of blocks.  Yesterday at my quilting group I spent the whole time trimming finished blocks and resizing triangles that were too large.  People with no spatial sense do a lot of backtracking.  This morning I took the seams out of the other bits that were the wrong size.

My sisters will laugh at me, because I'm always telling them to just lop things off----nobody will ever know.  Sister 2 "unstitches" huge projects.  Once she even undid all the machine quilting of a whole quilt for a cousin of ours.  Sister 3 and I just shook our heads in disbelief, but she did it, successfully.

I thought I had nothing much to share with you, but I was gently, helpfully reminded that I hadn't posted anything for a long time.  So, Judy, my dear, this is for you.  I hope you are now up to date.

If you are someone else who stopped by, thanks!  Come again.  You never know when something fun will happen.

What It Turned Out to Be

I sewed and sewed Rail Fence blocks and ended up with this.  I added a dark rust checked border after I took this picture.

Thanks for all the strips, Ruth!

A Good Read

At our last book club meeting when we discussed Orphan Train, which we all enjoyed, Nat gave me a sort of a recommendation.  She looked askance, and was curious about what I would think of it.

We are reading this book for next book club and the name of the book is Afterwards by Rosamund Fulton.  I enjoyed this book so much I also read her first book, Sister.  Both books are a bit quirky in concept but, since I love characters, and these books are definitely filled with characters, I was a happy reader.

In other news, I was gifted last Sunday with a laundry basket's worth of cut flannel strips.  So I have 68 pieced 6 inch blocks for a nice warm toddler sized quilt.  I think.  Perhaps.  We shall see.

Stay tuned.

What are You Reading Now???

I made a comment in a post on Ravelry yesterday that I save my rants for my blog.  I don't rant nearly as much as I THINK about ranting, because that just alienates people.

But we were discussing books that we enjoy that are labeled as Young Adult reading.  Even though I don't seek out stories that feature fairies, vampires, ghosts or zombies (who are also showing up in adult fare), I think that a well-written tale is suitable for all ages.

Looking at the above list, I am particularly resistant to zombies.

Gretchen Rubin, a favorite of mine, is a great lover of kid lit, and has started groups of other adults who admit to the same addiction.  Some of our favorites at Book Club have been books we never got to as children.  Anne of Green Gables, for instance.  (Sometimes you get tired of crime, gore, forensics, abuse, and evil---and escape to reading.)  Sometimes you'd just be happy to hang out in a sunny place with kind people and bumptious children.

Online we have been reading The Book Thief and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.  I enjoyed both of these books immensely---though I had to listen to the Major as an audio book.  Slow going compared to the pace at which I can read.  Supposedly I can knit while I listen, though.

After that I read a couple of quickly read library books on my Nook, and I have at least three good reads stacked up from books I was given in swap packages.  One by Kathy Reichs and one by Phillipa Gregory.
I don't catch people using the Little Free Library, but the contents of it change from time to time and it must be visited.

One day two young girls stopped and knocked at my door to ask if they could really "just take a book??"
I told them by all means, if they could find anything suitable for them to read.  I should go check out a used book store and put some kid lit in there on purpose.  They were really cute though, because they were so excited about getting something for nothing.  Sort of like finding a dime on the sidewalk.

We read Orphan Train for our August book club meeting.  That's another book I'd recommend, both for its historical perspective and to highlight the plight of present day foster children.  There's that "higher purpose", but I just liked the characters.

(If you want to leave a comment, Jane, just leave one as "anonymous" and put your name at the end.  That's what Sandy does when she comments.)

Pardon the personal message inserted above, but my family say that they read my blog, but that commenting is made difficult by Google.  That may be true, but I only avoid commenting in places with "verification" which drives my astigmatism crazy.  I suppose some famous people get a lot of nasty spam and they have to do that, whereas I am basically anonymous.  It suits me fine.

Read on.  It's still summer after all.  Thanks for reading to the end.

You Look Marvelous!

What do you do when the time comes for reunions??

 I know that some of the people who live in our local area never, ever attend.  There are a great many that I would love to see again, but I'll have to take a little ride and set up a lunch date or something.  Some folks travel across the country and wouldn't miss a reunion for the world.

Anyway, we don't have far to travel anymore and we enjoy seeing our old friends and classmates again.

Last week on Thursday at noon, I had fun with a group from my nurses' training days.  We do this every summer and each bring food and spend the afternoon together.  We had a couple extra neat things this year, since one of us came with her daughter and granddaughter as well.  What charmers!  Plus one of our classmates phoned and talked to many of us while we were all together.  That was a nice treat too.

I came away feeling blessed and healthy which is always good, too.  Not everyone's health is great as they age.

From Thursday night through Saturday night our high school class had get-togethers all over town and outlying areas.

On Thursday night a big bunch met at the pizza parlor.  On Friday, some guys golfed together, and the whole class was invited to lunch at the golf course facility with an excellent feed that was provided out of the class treasury.  This was far and away the best chance to mingle and talk to others.  There was lots of time to visit before the food appeared and we weren't rushed to eat and make way for others.

And Saturday night we had a sit down dinner at the very best local eatery.  Some folks only make it to this event, so it was nice to have some time to walk about and find out what's happening with the "newcomers".

Through the years, some of the folks I enjoy the most are the spouses of classmates who didn't graduate with us at all, but we've spent lots of time visiting over the course of many events.

All in all, a jolly time was had by all, I hope.  Huge appreciation was heaped upon the organizers who work hard to make sure things are planned well ahead.  The same folks usually do the job and they are the experts.  I'll thank them here as well, even though they may never know.  I'll write a note.

I hope you are having fun events this summer, too.  People hereabouts are eating strawberries out of their garden patches.  I have tons of flowers on my raspberry bushes, and I have bees buzzing around in there, too.  I hope that results in some actual berries this year!

(Leave me a comment, if you can spare a minute.)

The Nearest Sea

This morning I changed my header because I found a picture from last summer that I fell in love with all over again.  If you've visited here in the past, you know I'm not a photographer.

I'd like to be a photographer, but even when I remember to take a camera along, I seldom remember to photograph anything.  But last fall, when we took a road trip around Lake Superior, I made a point of taking pictures each day.

This particular picture was taken of the beach at Grand Marais, Michigan. By the autumn, the tourists are gone, and things are pretty quiet once again.  In fact things were quiet on the shoreline almost everywhere we stopped, all the way around the Lake.

I should explain that I'm a big fan of Lake Superior.  After I left Great Lakes country to live in Virginia in the mountains (briefly), I was so lonesome for lakes that I could taste it.  One Sunday we skipped church to take a ride to "a lake".  It turned out to be a dammed up river reservoir and it was a grey nasty day, but I was touched that my husband made the effort.

When we left Virginia we were within a ten minute walk of Lake Michigan, which is a very satisfactory substitute for Lake Superior.  If we could have deleted the city of Chicago, it would have been darn near perfect.

Water, sand, and me.  Just right.

Last Week's This and That

I had my usual happy boring week, with several days spent sewing and gabbing with my sisters.  But I had more sad news than usual when talking with others.

One of my nursing classmates is the superintendent of gatherings---and she makes sure we all make the effort to get together every summer.  So when I talked to her, she assigned me some folks to call and make sure they were going to show up (and contribute to the meal).  One is gearing up for a hip replacement and having significant pain, and one was out at her first physical therapy session after back surgery.

I finally made contact with her later in the day and she has been through a very hard and painful year.  This woman was the most high energy, busy, productive person I have ever known, and it pains her to be inactive.  I felt so sad for her.

Then, after I had been mulling this over for a day or two, I got a text message from my sister that her good friend's house was on fire.  She's out in the country with no fire hydrants and her beautiful wooden house, full of quilts and valuable antiques was a total loss.  Total.  Loss. I was pretty upset.

But, just like the jaunty sayings that say, "It isn't what happens to you, it's how you react to it."  I wasn't nearly so upset when I heard that she was happy that she and the dogs were all okay, she'd made arrangements for shelter, and she'd take it one day at a time.

My own personal victory for the week was a "lace-learning" project.  Since it was nice and small, and fairly complicated, I could take it row by row and figure out what me error was, and go back to correct it.  It's a minor accomplishment, but I'm proud anyway.

It is washcloth sized, not afghan sized, so don't be too impressed.

I'm reading, too.  The Book Thief.  I'm enjoying it.

And I'm piecing a quilt top that's a present.  Not that the recipient ever comes here, but it isn't together enough to share yet.  Maybe soon, though.  Come back and see.

We are supposed to have a nice cool week and I'm painting outdoor woodwork.  Once in a while.  I don't have much stamina since my shoulder needs a rest every half hour.

Have a great week!

The Big Bang Theory

I'll bet you could see this coming!

Around the Fourth of July there seem to be two kinds of people.  People who love fireworks (and their attendant noise) and people with animal companions.

Neither one of my female cats seem to pay the slightest attention to the banging and popping------and no, it isn't because there's so much of a din in our house all the time, either.  They just don't seem bothered by it.  On the other hand, our male cat who is quite brave under other circumstances, is very nervous when the fireworks noise begins.

We actually seemed to have less of it this year than other years.  Or maybe it just wasn't as close to our house.  But we actually saw some pretty displays quite near us.  I think they might have originated just across the river in Wisconsin.  Very pretty, and I didn't worry about them setting my roof on fire.

Anyway, it's mostly over now, and we can settle into our comfortable quiet neighborhood.
Our neighbors next door have been re-siding and replacing all their windows this summer and had a mishap when they went to remove the largest front picture window when it fell and broke in a spectacular way.  His daughter told me that all Roger said was, "Well, I guess that one won't go to ReStore."  Such a cool dude.

That was our other Big Bang of the week.

I'm off to spend a couple of days sewing and knitting with my sisters.  I can't wait to see what amazing stuff we accomplish this time.  (Muffled laughter.)  Beside chocolate consumption, I mean.

Oh, and one other thing.  I have a phone that isn't a Smart Phone, but seems to have some sort of artificial intelligence anyway.  While I was sitting in the dentist chair this morning, with my phone in my purse, my daughter got a phone call from me.  She texted me later asking if everything was okay with us, because she heard a bunch of laughter and what sounded like a party.  (Oh yeah, that's us at the dentist, all right!)  Isn't that the strangest thing?

Have a great week.  Leave me a comment.  (I'm a shameless beggar.)

Independence Eve

Wowie!  We long for summer and it goes by in a flash.  Up here in Michigan, anyway.

The lovely thing this year is that the plants just scrambled like crazy to catch up on the time they were delayed by our endless wintry weather.  And we have had lots of rain, so the lawns and gardens are growing nicely.  Almost all our nights have been cool, so the AC is not running very often.

Our family has been matriculating all over the place.  Grandson Samuel completed high school at the beginning of the month and he graduated with honors.  He is enjoying a trip with the high school band this week as they traveled to Washington, DC to perform in the Fourth of July parade tomorrow.  They are one of 15 high school bands who will be in the parade.  He was very excited about that!

And just yesterday, my daughter, Kris, defended her dissertation and became a PhD.  We are very proud that she had the persistence and grit to grind through the process.  She maintains attaining this has less to. do with intelligence and more to do with perseverance.  This was a lesson her father shared with his children, early and often.

I followed through on my resolution to not plant a garden and the plot has daisies and clover galore growing in great profusion.  Whenever I go out there, I scare a few little bunnies out of the clover.  The baby birds are learning to fly in the back yard too.

Once again this year the hummingbirds have disappeared again.  They were here for about three weeks and then became very scarce.  Are they nesting or just getting nectar from flowers?  It puzzles me.

I finished the vest project and it looks okay.  I am happy that I have had enough experience and access to quick help to finish it without too much trouble.

 I wish you all a very pleasant and joyous holiday weekend.  Whatever brings to mind a festive time for you ----------I hope that's what you have for your weekend.

Did you read to the end?  Please comment.

Not Up to Fasting

When I was mentally making my plan for the week, it occurred to me that this would be a fine week to refrain from the internet.

Well......you can see how that worked out.  I no sooner go to do something else, than I think of someone I need to get in touch with, or something I need to find out.  It is said that we get our brains "rewired" when we can switch from one subject to another at the click of a mouse and I have to believe it.  As though I needed more distraction!

So I feel as though I have given myself a case of attention deficit disorder.  Not the one in capital letters, just the case that I have.

In a related malady, is that not also true of the person obsessively holding the remote, clicking away without any regard whatever for other folks in the room who may be interested in something (s)he clicked away from a few minutes ago?

My mourning for my past attention span may be faulty memory.  I was reprimanded fairly often for chattering in class.  Hard to believe, I know.

I have sewn a quilt top together.  It isn't anything special, and the squares were already completed and I just had to join the rows.  But it is flannel and pastel and will be backed with green polka dot flannel.  It will be warm and cozy though not especially pretty.  I was "gifted" with a great many flannel squares at the quilt retreat and they don't all go together flawlessly.

I have another project to work on this week.  I volunteered to finish an unfinished vest with a V-neck.  I sewed the shoulder and the sides but need to figure out how to do the neckline.  I have no pattern (with the project), but I have a great many others I can refer to, so all is not lost.  The yarn is a beautiful, soft baby alpaca---a sheer joy to work with.

This is the picture I posted to Ravelry when I asked for advice from experts, so I think I have enough information to proceed.  Perhaps after I finish my book.

I must be making up for my weeks of not enough reading.  Since Thursday I have read Orphan Train and The Scent of Rain and Lightning.  I'm also half through The Strangling on the Stage.   You can imagine how much exercise I got, reading that much.  

It seems like you should get some credit for exercise if you watch the soccer matches from the World Cup.  I admire their fitness.  That field is huge and they run, run, run for hours!  In the heat!  Even being a fan there is a a lot of exercise!

Okay, that's all the trivia I can come up with.  Thanks for reading and please visit again.  

Friends and Framily

I hope you have seen the commercial that Sprint is running for it's "expanded" coverage.  I guess all the carriers must be offering something like this now, but their commercial make me laugh every time I see it.

Meet the Frobinsons.   Click here.

I'm always griping about advertising that makes men look like idiots--which happens a lot I think----but I quite like the father in this framily.

Speaking of which, I had a delightful surprise on Monday when my oldest son and his wife and daughter were at my front door.  We had a pleasant visit in almost perfect weather, sitting outdoors in the shade of the maple tree.  I'm all in favor of surprises like that.

The following day was spent at the shore of Lake Superior (formerly of ice covered fame) with my sisters and our quilting projects, and some ham sandwiches and brownies.  It was sunny but cool.  That is also known as perfect weather, for me.

The family joke is that it always begins to rain when I arrive at the lake, but I must have sneaked up on it this time.  It didn't rain at all.  We spent some time on mosquito control, but they seemed to be indoors more than outdoors.  Youngest sister and I had a good visit traveling back and forth too, since it's a two hour trip each way.  Grab your visiting time whenever you can, I always say.

We did NOT see any moose, though we always hope to, but we saw a deer or two, and a crane in a field.  Otherwise the wildlife sightings were kind of sparse.

Summer is a good time for lots of family fun.  I hope you are having some as well.

Happy Birthday, Flag!

Good Guy has a birthday coming up and the whole country celebrates this dear man by flying the flag.  Of course, they might also be flying the flag for my very much younger sister and her husband who celebrate their wedding anniversary on June 14th.

Or it might be that it's Flag Day.

My friend, Kay, is an advocate for proper flag protocol and has raised my awareness.  She makes a point of reminding folks that it's disrespectful to fly a flag that is torn and tattered, and she has me noticing that as well.

If you have a flag, fly it proudly.  And replace it if it is worn and torn.  (And wish GG a happy birthday.  No card or gift is required.)

Meet Betty's Blues

Allow me to introduce you to another scrappy creation.  This one has an unlikely beginning.

A couple years ago my sister got a phone call from a young lady who knew she was a quilter.  The lady's mom had been a quilter too, and had left behind a boatload of fabric, patterns, and tools.

Would my sister be interested in taking the stuff and sharing it with people who could put it to good use?

I ended up with some of it.

Of course, I also have drawers, boxes, bins, and bags of scraps and cut strips already.  But among the gift fabric, I found a little plastic recipe box that had units pre-cut and pinned together. Obviously Betty had had a plan for these 4 inch squares pinned with 8 smaller matching squares.  I wonder what it was that she wanted to do?

I didn't have much to go on, but I cobbled this together with my already cut scraps and had enough for 25 squares.  This is as far as it's gotten, and I'll probably add a dark blue border to what is there so far.

I hope Betty would like it, even if it wasn't what she had in mind.   What do you think?  Leave a comment.

...Singing in the Dead of Night....

I seem to recall odd song lyrics at odd times...

And alas, I don't recall what bird was singing in the dead of night, either.  But one of my favorite things about spring is bird watching in my yard.  I don't see many exotic species here.  We have resident mourning doves,  nuthatches, chickadees, blue jays, and cardinals year round.  I am always happy to see them.

I rejoice when the hummingbirds return in the spring.  This year I saw them earlier than I ever have.  Since I try to keep track I know this.  This year it was May 12th, and last year, May 20th.

But this year I have a favorite, nesting in the maple tree on the lot line.  It isn't a beautiful bird to look at, but I love to hear it.  It is a catbird.

I can't quite figure out how to get the picture to show up here.  But you may check here to see one.

My catbird is an excellent mimic and sits up there singing everyone's song for long periods at a time. To me, it is delightful because I don't have to be peering out the window, I can just open it and listen.

A lesser delight is a blackbird family nesting this year in the sagging soffits of the neighbor's garage.  They had nested there before and one owner who lived there made good repairs and the blackbirds had to find new spots that year.  But, sad to say, they have returned and they are noisy neighbors.

That's all the news from my yard for today.  I do have some activity though.  I bought bagged soil to fill my planters and shortly I will go and buy flowers, plant them, and say a little "Chipmunk Discouragement" rhyme.  Wish me success.

See you soon.  Leave a comment!

The Most Beautiful Days

I am pretty sure that this week is always my favorite week of the year.  Suddenly all the fruit trees are ready to bloom, the lilacs are blooming, and I can smell lily of the valley as I sit outside.

This morning I saw something I've never seen before.  I had four hummingbirds at a time at my feeder.  Usually they are fighting and chasing others away.  Could it be that this year's babies are out of the nest already?

That seems unlikely to me, but I have much to learn about birds.  I have found a wonderful site on Facebook recommended to me by one of my faithful followers.  You need to be approved to join, but it is called Backyard Birdwatchers.  People with amazing cameras and skills post their bird sightings and I am learning a lot of interesting things, and seeing pictures of birds that I never knew existed!

My friend, Lucy, told me yesterday that at their home on the lake shore near Crystal Falls, they have orioles, indigo buntings, and woodpeckers of every size imaginable.  What a treat!

I will share with you a couple of my yard's delights.  (That doesn't include my vegetable patch which isn't ready yet.)

These are my lilacs just teetering toward full bloom.  My sister will visit tomorrow and we will have to stay indoors because lilacs give her a tearing head-ache.  Rats!

And my other joy is these sweet little violets which are spreading all over the yard.  Other people try to get rid of pesky plants that spread but we say, "Bring 'em on!"  

At one point Good Guy was rooting for the invasive plants to crowd out the grass.  Now we have another person take care of the lawn, so the invasive plants don't have to work quite so hard.  

It is hard to appreciate what a delight it is to see all the places they have spread, since you can't be out in the yard with me, happening upon them here and there.  But trust me.  It is giving me great pleasure.

I hope you are enjoying spring at last.  I know some of you are having summer already, but I can wait.  I'll try to love it enough when it comes.

Have a great weekend!

But It's Summer!

I was afraid this would happen.  (Do not think that I'm complaining about the lack of snow--now that Memorial Day has passed.)  But for a few days it seemed as though we had bounced from winter to summer.

It is cooler now and more like spring with lilacs blooming today and the woods here are full of trilliums.

So why am I knitting these?

Because, my dears, the memory of this past winter is still fresh in my mind.  The beaches opened at towns on Lake Superior and there is ice floating in the bay.  I don't mean slush, I mean Icebergs!

Plus the fact that I have huge stores of beautiful warm woolen yarn and I am pledged to make a dozen pairs of mittens during the summer.  These beauties (she said modestly) are only pair #2, so I have considerable knitting to do.  I'm making these for the reservation foster kids.  It is easy to do small things for the little kids, but the teenagers might need mittens as well.  I will see how much of my wool stash I can use in this way.  I might even branch out and use a new pattern, wild woman that I am!  However, one advantage of doing these is that they are portable and if I know the pattern, they don't require too much concentration.  This will leave lots of time to contemplate the ice floe at the beach.  

Chuckle....

Comes in Handy

I have been retired from nursing for a long time.  I have not missed working as a nurse, though I have sometimes missed having co-workers.  I have worked with some really terrific people in the past, in all areas of service in the hospital.

But this past week has called old skills into service---a little bit, at least.

I was expecting to serve as a driver and friend to a friend who underwent surgery.  That's pretty easy and only took time, of which I have the usual allotted supply.  No sweat.

But when she went home after one day, she was needing to have dressings and drains tended to.  I got to check almost every day, though she did well without any complications.

Then tonight a neighbor called and asked me to teach someone how to give injections to her elderly father.  Off we went to meet another person and do our best to put him at ease and help his daughter. This dear man has had lots of experience with the medical community in his long life.  I wasn't causing him any distress.

More challenging are experiences that loved ones are having with people close to them.  There are people in various end stage scenarios, people too young to go, or too unexpected for us to comprehend easily.  Sometimes all you can do is listen and let people talk it through for themselves.

At this stage of my life-----as a granny-----I value the skills I learned working with hospice care.  I know lots of people who are bereaved or expecting to be bereaved.

Life can change really quickly.  Savor each day together.
Just sayin'.

Give it to the Busiest

I haven't been reading many blogs since many of my regular stops "are no more", but I do check on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville which is a treasure trove of information for this quilter.

Bonnie is a whirling dervish of activity.  She writes books, she travels to give classes, she posts to her blog daily and sometimes multiple times, with pictures of what is happening in her classes.  She is tech savvy and has harnessed social media to keep quilters interested and informed.

You know the old saying, "If you need something done, give it to the busiest person you know."

After having a busy week, I realize how much of a slug I usually am.  It is an eye-opener, to say the least.

I'm not making any promises, but I'm here today. Plus I realize that the more often I post, the more I have to share.  It's like reconnecting with an old friend.  If you talk often, you have a lot to say, but if you only chat now and then, it's more difficult.

In the "thread-bending" department, I'm knitting mittens to use up some wool and just to have something portable to take with me, and piecing flannel for baby quilts for the reservation.  More about that later.

Thanks to all our veterans, past and present, and another big thanks to those who are serving now.  We truly do appreciate all that you and your loved ones have sacrificed.

Bumble Bear

Meet a part of one of this month's quilts.  I fell in love with the print fabric with the little trees, birds, deer, and bears printed on it.

I got it all pieced and looked at the print again.

About the only no-no in sending things for the children at Pine Ridge Reservation is that we avoid owls, a harbinger of death in their belief system.

Hmmmm.

As I examined the print more closely what did I spy but a little owl sitting up in one of those trees.

Awk!  That will never do.  So I needed to do a remedy in about three different places where another bird----rather too large for the space-----covered the place where the owl used to be.

Lesson learned.  Be sure to examine cute fabrics closely at the store, or,  for sure, before you decide to use them for the reservation projects.

In knitting news the Eternal Orange socks for Good Guy are progressing at a rather slow pace.  I will finish the second sock this weekend and proceed to the third.  (The first sock is too tight.  He thinks it's okay, but I think it isn't.  If I need the yarn to finish sock three, I will rip it out.)

So much of it is done that I will wait and see if I've bought enough yarn for two full pairs of socks.  But GG's socks come first.

I hope this isn't my only April post.  

What's Been Going On?

I am in awe of people who write blog entries daily with pictures and funny observations about their interesting lives.  I thank those who do, because it's very inspiring.

Hereabouts our days are quite the same as one another, and though he looks very handsome sitting and reading, I'm sure you don't want a picture of Good Guy every day.

But------a few things have happened.  I don't have pictures of our trip to Red Wing last week, but we had a nice couple of days staying at a B&B, eating delicious food, and getting in a little visit with my cousin, Evelyn.
We even witnessed some snow melt---a rare and wonderful occurrence

I'm working on a quilt which is using blue pre-cut pieces which I found in some fabric I "inherited".  I am filling in the light colored bits with leftover fabric I had cut into strips.  I have enough blue bits cut for a total of 25 squares, so I'll be doing this for "a while" yet.

This one was pieced out of flannel edges passed along to me by my friend who does long arm quilting as a business. The edges of batting and backing get trimmed and she shared those with me, and there was enough to come up with this:

It isn't beautiful, but it is cozy with flannel on both sides.

And there's a pair of men's socks in the works at the moment as well.  They haven't been photographed yet, but they will be amazing when they're done.  She said, modestly.

Today is quilting day with friends, so I must waddle off.  Have a great Wednesday.

Fine! Be That Way!

I am not the only blogger who is finding that blogging seldom leads to a steadily diminishing number of readers and comments.  It is hard to maintain a connection when you only touch base once a month.

Of course, the same lack of feedback is the very thing that sends bloggers to other places where there is more interaction.  I am not a Facebook lover, but I do have access to more people I know there; who will leave comments when I make a contribution.

This diminishing number of readers reminds me of the sinkhole that businesses fall into once they cut their hours.  Fewer hours, fewer customers because there is less chance you will remember when the business is open.

Good Guy and I went through the town of Crivitz this weekend and remembered to stop at the bakery----which is open only on the weekend.  That fact can't make them a regular resource for the people in town.  It must be difficult to be a business owner in a small town, especially during the winters here.

It makes me thankful for the people who persevere in spite of the difficulties.

In a completely different vein, I'm in the midst of a project for Good Guy, who requested a pair of warm, but fine gauge socks.  Never the conservative dresser, he picked a self-striping yarn with the color name, Red Hots.  With a little backtracking, which was necessary due to not reading the pattern well, I've progressed past the heel and onto the foot portion.  They seem very nice so far, and since I have his feet nearby to take measurements, I should be able to get a perfect fit for him.

I was inspired by my friend, Kay, who knits for her husband's painful feet.  He loves his wife-made socks and brags on her skill.  She is a wonderful knitter, I must admit.

Here is what they look like, so far.

 

I think they will always LOOK warm.  Don't you think?

Fragmented

I had every intention of writing lots of posts in February.  Unfortunately for me, our days were so much the same this winter there was nothing much to share with you.

How much do people want to hear about sock knitting, or making quilt tops.  My kids remind me that it's about as interesting as watching paint dry.  But, of course, what do they know?  They think watching golf and baseball is boring too.

For me, I'll watch them now just for the sight of green grass and people in shirt sleeves.  My friend, Gary, posted pictures of their house and neighborhood on his Facebook page, asking, "Will this winter ever end?"
I reminded him that the groundhog predicted on six more months of winter.  Buck up, you whiners!

I count myself among the whiners.  I dash outdoors long enough to fill bird feeders, and put the trash in the bin, and sweep the snow off the porch----on a good day when sweeping is enough, and then I come back indoors and am thankful that we have a warm place and can afford to heat it.

On Wednesday, when I had the car in the sun, the ice cap on the roof of the car finally dislodged and slid off. Can I consider that a sign of spring?  I promised to send snow pictures to a friend in Germany but I keep forgetting the camera.  When I'm out in the car, I want to show her the way we have to creep into an intersection.  The banks are too high to see around in lots of places.

Oh well!  (Insert sigh.) It is bound to warm up and then we'll be whining about the unbearable heat.  I think the Lord made weather so strangers would have something to talk about to one another.

Speaking of strangers, my sister reported that she had an interesting conversation with a tourist.  She is in a town in New Mexico, where they spend time each winter, (escaping the UP weather).  She was peacefully sitting outdoors reading and a lady berated her for wasting her time sitting around.  She should be out seeing the sights.  The nerve....

Well, I'm going out to celebrate my friend's birthday.  Perhaps I'll even include her in the celebration, you never know.

Have a nice weekend!

Water Torture

It seems to me that the weather leads the news stories every night for months now.  There is always someplace in the US that is experiencing something that hasn't been seen for decades.

Apparently we aren't the only country suffering from odd weather either, since this week I've been reading about the troubles in the UK, as well.

On an extremely local level our long period of cold weather and build up of snow on our roof finally resulted in some worrisome developments.  (I have been worrying about this for weeks and tossing Roof Melt onto the roof which made about as much difference as spitting in the ocean.)

We lose enough heat through the attic roof to melt snow which then freezes on the eaves and eventually it backs up and leaks into the house.  Drip, drip, drip.  

Good Guy called the roofing experts who came fairly soon---I think we aren't the only folks having problems------to remove some of the snow and to sprinkle salt on the overhangs so they could melt.  They said even with our timely two days of thawing it would take a couple of days to thaw enough to help.  

Anyway, we enjoyed our two days of above freezing temperatures and braced for the next round of winter weather.  I hope you are safe and warm wherever you may be.  

Now they are reminding us that when all this stuff melts and the ground is still frozen the water will run off to torture people along the riverbanks.  The other "water" torture here is that the frost is gone so deep that water pipes are freezing at various spots around the area.  More fun!

I have a friend in California in the drought area who offered to send us some warmth if we'd send some moisture.  We're working on the logistics of that exchange now.  (It's not a bad idea---but who would we trust to negotiate for us?)

Hang in there and carry on.  Our dripping has stopped for now, at least.  I'll enjoy it while I can.

Slogging Through

 February 12th was a noteworthy date!

Two enormous projects, which were picked precisely because of their extreme projected long duration, were completed yesterday.   Just a sec.  I'll get the pictures.

I resolved to read some more Dickens, for no other reason than that he's pretty entertaining----once I get used to reading the longest sentences ever written by English speaking writers.  I have all of Dickens' works on my Nook and I read on and on and on,  reading The Pickwick Papers.  At last I took the actual book out of the library because I couldn't tell if I was making any progress at all.  That worked better for me and I finished yesterday.  

The sock picture?  After all my Christmas sock knitting, I decided to make myself a challenging pair of socks from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks book.  I chose Country Socks which are knit of DK weight yarn (of washable wool) on size 2 needles.  For those of you who never knit, this means that for me, I need to knit about a dozen rows before I have an inch of knitted fabric.  I started right after Christmas and I finished them yesterday.  That's a long time for me.  

I did take a little time out and finish a baby sweater and make a little toddler cap for some diversion and to see something actually get completed. I'm not a fan of having multiple projects in the works at the same time since I don't like UFO's much.  But having something quick and something pokey going at the same time is okay with me.  

Also, for variety I have been piecing some quilt tops.  I resolved to send a box of quilts for the Bundles of Joy project once every three months.  Thanks to Saint Marcia, I sent a box in January and another box this week.  The only other box I have on hand is quite large, so I'll need to do some more sewing before that one gets sent.    I'd even show you the pictures if I could find the files.   (grumble, mumble.)

So today I have a fine sense of accomplishment.  By the end of the day I'll be occupied with new projects that will take an age and a day to finish.  sigh!  The need to strive!

Have a great holiday weekend.  President's Day, coming right up!

January Thaw Report

Now that we are home it seems safe to tell you about our week of basking in warmth.

The header picture is taken from our balcony as the sun caught the building.  It was such a treat to be able to sit out there in shirt sleeves early in the morning.  How little it takes to please people from cold climates, especially in January!

I'm not a party girl----big surprise, but it is a nice feature to be able to get an ice cream cone or a cold soda anywhere on the property at any time without carrying cash with you all day.

One morning was spent on a big "sailboat" (equipped with sails, but it used the motor), out on the bay watching whales.  We were in the area where the young are born during the winter so there's lots of whale spotting going on.  We saw breeching and spouting and it was a thrill every time.

One whale picture looks pretty much like any other one, but we had a photographer aboard who (they said) photographs the whales tails and that scientists can identify the animals by the differences in the patterns on the tails.  

Interesting, I'm sure.  I'm always a skeptic and don't believe in the "every snowflake is different" claim either, but who am I to say?  

We met some interesting people as well, and spent quite a lot of time with a couple from Chicago who originated in other countries.  He was originally from Sicily, and she was from Argentina.  They were funny and lively folks and enriched our stay with many interesting tales.

I was surprised at the number of young couples vacationing with small children.  I'm happy that such affluence exists, I guess.  Our children went everywhere with us because we couldn't afford a babysitter, much less the expense of a journey.  Thinking back on it, I don't think we minded, either.

Being the exciting, fun-loving person that I am, I brought a Nook full of books, and two knitting projects to occupy my time when I wasn't basking in the sun (yuk), pounding down drinks, or dancing on the tables.

Oh, stop that silly laughing!  

Our week came to a close, and we tried to pick clothes that would be suitable for landing in Chicago in a -30 degree windchill.  When you know it's coming up, you can prepare---even if you look like a dork in the southern airport waiting area.  Dork, who, me?

I love being back home again anyway, no matter what the temperature.  Now to fight the ice build up on my eaves.  Back to the battle.

Super Sunday

The main reason this Sunday, the most hyped football game Sunday of the year, is noteworthy to me is that it marks the last game of the season.  I really do like football------American and Canadian football------as opposed to futbol as understood in the rest of the world.

In fact, I sort of missed out on the whole soccer mom scene, since the little kids soccer teams began in time for my grandchildren rather than my own children.  But I digress.

I've really liked football for a long time.  But now that I bear the aches and pains that result from a lifetime of using my body, falling, etc. I find myself cringing when people get hit and hurt.  This coincides with the League's awareness of concussions and the resulting disabilities-----not to mention the lawsuits.

The last football game of the season.  So now we are consigned to basketball games and golf until baseball begins in April.  Sigh.

I do have a fallback plan for screen time though.  I have a TV and DVDs and even videotapes upstairs.  I laugh at my brother-in-law who has watched Sinbad so many times that he must know the dialogue by heart, yet I can watch the six hours of Pride and Prejudice again and again.

I don't need to though.  We have bushels of English mystery series on DVDs that I haven't seen yet.  I love Miss Marple, sharp old thing!

January's projects were chosen to be long, time-consuming things.  I read a couple fast-moving things, and I highly recommend Life After Life by Kate Atkinson.  I tried the audio book without success, but finished it quickly once I had the printed word in front of me.

The long project is The Pickwick Papers.  I have that on my Nook, but I took a copy out of the library so I would have some idea if I was making progress or not.  I'm enjoying it, but it's 800 pages of fairly small print.

The other long project is called Country Socks from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks book.  It's on size two needles with DK weight yarn and it takes something like 11 rounds to make an inch of fabric.  They are wool and they will be warm as toast and they are mine!

After months of knitting socks for loved ones all Fall, I am happy to have a pair for myself.

I hope you are eager to cheer for the hard-working athletes as the Olympics begin this week.  If you're prone to pray, remember their safety.  Mayhem is everywhere.