Sunshine!

I woke up to full-on sunshine this morning and it lasted until early afternoon.  Sunshine!  I took this picture of the fence so that you could see the shadows on it and the blue sky above it.  Sunshine!  Changed my whole outlook on life.

There were a bunch of finches at the feeders this morning, on the feeder, on the crook, and on the empty peanut wreath.  It's in the teens tonight so if it gets a little warmer tomorrow I'll go out to fill all the feeders.  The suet pellet feeder is empty and the suet cake feeder is almost empty.  I'll put out some peanuts and maybe cob corn in the back, depends on how cold the wind is how long I stay out there.

My knitting friend CS challenged me to get out of the house today, to take a drive, so I did.  I drove up past the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (my alma mater) to Wequiok Falls.  The falls is mostly frozen but there's some open water.  It was nice to be there in the sunshine, especially in my warm alpaca hat that I knitted last fall.  (It's a very soft and snuggly hat.)

In the afternoon I knitted January Preemie Hat #3.  This is some of the first yarn I bought and I love the colors.  I don't know why I still have it but I'm glad that I do so I can knit baby hats to give away.

 

 

19 January--Barbara Malcolm, The Seaview. 

Evidently Elizabeth had given him a bit of a talking to while I was out saying good-bye to Iggy because as soon as I walked back into the kitchen Will apologized.  “Mom,” he said, taking my hands in his, “I’m so sorry to have come barging in here like I did.  We should have at least emailed.  I’m sorry.”

“Will, one of these days…”  I leaned over and kissed his cheek.  “Oh, I forgive you, I suppose.  You should have called.  Do you have a room?  A place to stay?” 

He looked shamefaced.  “Well, no.  I was sure that you would have a room for us here.  That you were further along than you had been saying you were, so we could stay here.” 

I couldn’t believe that he had been that foolish.  Luckily it was low-season and I knew that Anne had a couple of empty studios at Sydans.  “Let me give you a tour of the place before it gets dark and then we can get you two a room where I stay.” 

Leaving their luggage in the middle of the kitchen, we walked through the Seaview.  I took them upstairs and showed them the view from the rooms.  The two garden-view rooms in back had access to the central hall that bisected the upstairs from back to front.  That central hall opened onto the gallery balcony that stretched across the front of the hotel. 

“Oh, Rose,” said Elizabeth, looking out to sea, “now I understand why you were so insistent about buying this place.  It is going to be wonderful.” 

I explained to them how I planned to use the lobby and sitting room which took up most of the first floor as both office and breakfast room with the original built-in cupboard across the end wall.  I saw that the plumbers had run the branch of the water line already and installed the small prep sink in the old counter. 

Iggy had put outlets every foot across the back so that I had plenty of places to plug in a big coffee pot, a hot water pot for tea drinkers, and a toaster so that guests could make their own.  I hate cold toast and when it is carried from a kitchen, no matter how much you hurry, by the time it is served the toast is cold.  That is just unacceptable. 

As we moved through the hotel I closed and latched the windows and doors behind us.  I shepherded my guests down the hall and through the kitchen into what would be my little apartment.  I had a small sitting room, a good-sized bedroom with an attached bathroom, and a door out onto the wide back porch.  I could see as he got his first good look at my new home that Will felt better about it.  Being Will, it would take him a while to admit that I might not have been wrong about buying it, but his shoulders lost their tautness and his hands swung at his sides.

Once they had seen every room, they gathered up their luggage and we all walked the bare block back to Sydans where Anne was happy to rent them a room down along the salt pond, as far away from my room as possible.

Today's toss was a face planter and a carved wooden fish.  I used some too-big clothes to wrap around the planter.  Kills two birds with one stone.

The writing prompt today was just silly.  Write a superhero to-do list.  Pfft.  1. Save the world.  2. Rescue damsel in distress.  3. Perfect regular-guy disguise.  Just silly.

--Barbara