As Ready As I'll Ever Be

I did the last Christmas prep thing on my list today. I stirred (and stirred and stirred) up a batch of English Toffee. I splurged on a bag of dark chocolate chips to melt over the top because it's my favorite and I'm all about pleasing myself these days. Once it cooled, I got out the cleaver which is the easiest way to chunk it up without getting my hands all chocolatey, then I bagged it. And I only ate a little bit--just to make sure it was edible, you understand.

 

Just because English Toffee tends to smoke when it's almost ready, I opened the patio door before I started and scared the bejeebers out of the squirrel in the feeder. The lid clanked shut and there was a furry gray streak across the back yard. Sorry to interrupt your meal, squirrel.

 

The Red-bellied Woodpecker visited the suet nuggets again today. For all I know it comes every day but I don't always see it because I don't just sit at the kitchen table staring out the window. I do a lot of other stuff, you know.

 

Today's drawings are a Sunscreen Bottle & Sunglasses. The perfect things to draw on a sunny but cold first day of winter. You know what that means, don't you? It means that every day it'll stay light for another minute or so longer. More light! Hooray!

 

After supper I sat down to watch a movie but couldn't get into it, so I switched over to the crackling fireplace and crocheted on the Fiesta & White Crocheted Hat Redo. I'm finished with the crown increases and now I just go around and around and around until it gets long enough. Then I cut the colorful yarn and crochet the last few rounds in the white. I also looked and looked for a crocheted Christmas stocking pattern I used when DS was a baby, one for OJ, and one for IM. I'm not sure why it was so important tonight. It isn't in Ravelry or in my Dropbox so I went downstairs and searched through patterns and binders and didn't find it. Then I noticed a few page protectors tucked behind some pattern books in a file and there it was. So I brought it upstairs, scanned it, and put it in Dropbox and two other places in the computer so I won't ever have to hunt for it again. 

 

I had an  idea when I sat down to write this afternoon and wrote 1,117 words in a little scene about guests paying with a stolen credit card but not getting off the island before they got caught and arrested. Fun times! 

--Barbara 

It Came

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from Verlo, the mattress factory/store, to tell me what time the delivery guys would bring the new bed. He said between 8:15am and 10:15am. So I set a 7am alarm, got dressed immediately, and moved my car onto the street at around 7:45... which is exactly when the Verlo truck backed into my driveway. They were half an hour early, or two and a half hours early! The delivery guy said he double checked that they brought the correct bed and were quick to bring it in and set it up. They helped put on the bed skirt and electric blanket controls between the mattress and box springs. They were so efficient that they were gone before they were supposed to arrive. I'm looking forward to sleeping in it tonight. I hope I remember where I am when nature calls in the middle of the night. Or maybe the angels will bless me and I'll sleep all night. Nah, probably not. (Next to the bed you can see my desk and writing corner. That's where the magic happens!)

 

I watched a squirrel leap from the ground to the birdseed cans, to the Adirondack chair, to the (frozen) birdbath, to the top of the crook. It perched there, balancing on the narrow pole, and looked like it was thinking about nibbling on the suet nuggets. I need to go out and check if the heater is still plugged in. I know the socket is live because it's on the same breaker as the bathroom plug so if the night light is on, the heater should be on.

 

Instead, it jumped across, caught the perch on the square green feeder, and clambered up inside. But first it hung out so I could take a picture of it. Naturally the feeder was in the shade so the picture looks like a silhouette but you can tell it's a squirrel, can't you?

 

While I wasn't paying attention this afternoon, Santa dropped a bag of gifts in the guest room. I peeked and there's presents for everyone in there and the stockings too.

 

Today's figures to draw were Sandcastle & Palm Tree. Odd things to draw on a day when it was in the 30s and so windy it kept the wind chimes dancing all day.

 

And after supper I drew a gratitude journal page for today, not yesterday. I'm most grateful for my new bed, at least I hope I'm still grateful for it after tonight. We'll see how comfy it is.

 

 

Writing went okay today. I made 1,125 words stick to the page over a couple hours. Not the most interesting words but I'm ever hopeful.

--Barbara 

It Looked Stuffed

The squirrel that was clinging onto the suet nuggets feeder this morning looked like a stuffed animal. It was chubby and squishy looking but I'm guessing no one would want to snuggle it and it surely wouldn't want to snuggle me.

 

The last bud on the Christmas cactus has opened. My plant is no over-achiever like CS's SIL's plant but its measly trio of blossoms gave me quiet happiness. I appreciate its efforts. Maybe if it was in a bigger pot with better soil it'd do better. I'll think about it. 

 

I wrote for a couple hours today, a little in the morning and more after my eye doctor's appointment when I had trouble seeing because they dilated my pupils. Makes it hard to see, especially in bright sunlight which we had today. Today I logged 1,150 words. Still no big action or conflict but, like I said yesterday, I figure if I keep writing, something's bound to happen.

 

At Friday Night Knitting I worked on the Licorice Hat leaving the ribbing and starting on the body of the hat. I plan to make the hat taller than the pattern calls for because 5.5" just isn't enough to reliably cover the ears. And when it's as cold and windy as it is around here, that's important.

 

I realized this morning that I hadn't bought enough of our favorite bacon for Christmas morning so I went back to Woodman's to get more. It seemed like everyone on the west side of Green Bay and from the village of Howard was trying to get into the parking lot. I couldn't even turn onto the street that leads to the entrance at first. I did find a good parking place and went right to the bacon, got a package, and got outta there. 

I got a call from Verlo, the mattress factory/store, this afternoon that my new bed, the right size bed, will be delivered between 8:15 and 10:15 tomorrow morning. I called the store to make sure the correct size will arrive. I'm looking forward to sleeping on the new mattress tomorrow night. Not that I haven't been comfy in the guest room, it's very comfy. I was very sorry when we got the king bed to not be sleeping in the bed I'm sleeping in now. If I like it better than the new one, DS said he'd help me swap mattresses. He's a nice man. 

--Barbara 

Squirrely

It was a day for the squirrels to be at the feeders. When I opened the drapes over the patio door this squirrel was on the suet nuggets holding real still and looking at me out of the corner of its eye. When nothing happened it went back to nibbling nuggets.

 

This afternoon I came home from errands to find a squirrel hanging half out of the square green feeder grunting at another squirrel on the ground. In the time it took me to put down my keys and grab the camera the squirrel on the ground took off so the feeder squirrel went back under the lid. So that's the picture I got. I waited for a few minutes to see if it would come back out but it didn't. Oh well.

 

I visited DS at Zambaldi Beer this morning. He was making Clan Malcolm which is the beer he made for their wedding about 15 years ago. And in this picture he's testing the carbonation level of a batch of Arnie light lager. It was too high so he had to bleed off some CO2 and test again. He was hurrying to get it kegged and on tap because they're out and it's a very popular beer.

 

Another of my favorite Christmas decorations is this picture of Santa snorkeling down to visit a mermaid and her baby. It's actually a Christmas card I had framed because I liked it so much. I had a couple boxes of different cards like it and I sent them out but can't find more. Dang it.

 

Today's drawing is Balloon and Sand Toys. They're okay. Not fabulous but okay.

 

I went to Woodman's grocery for Nueske's bacon (because we think it's the best) and bought the boxes of cereal to make Chex Party Mix using Mom's original recipe. It's a little different from the one printed on the boxes today but sooooo good. I confess I had a bowl fresh from the oven instead of something healthy for supper.

 

And here's today's gratitude journal page. It got up to 43 degrees today and rained. It's supposed to get into the teens tonight so the roads ought to be icy in the morning. Hopefully the sanders will be out so I can get to my eye doc appointment just after noon.

 

Much of the snow melted away today. The birdbath is completely thawed and there are patches of grass showing all over and there were even puddles. OJ said there was nothing more disgusting than puddles and grass in the middle of December. The kid's a philosopher.

 

I woke up at 5:18 this morning to go to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep. Grr. I wanted to get up at 7, not 5, but noooo, I had to lay there staring at the inside of my eyelids until 7.

Writing was slow again today. I wrote 898 words but they didn't really move the story along. I need to think about what has to happen. I guess I'll just keep doodling along until some idea strikes. I can always take some of this stuff out if it's too boring.

--Barbara 

Well, That Didn't Work Out

There was a snafu in the bed delivery. Seems the salesman typed in "Full" when he should have typed "Queen" and I didn't notice it. So they brought a full size bed. Not what I wanted. I called Verlo and they'll deliver the correct one on Saturday. That's a relief.

 

I spent quite a bit of the rest of the morning finishing wrapping gifts. I have two piles. One under the tree... (see the cute Sunday Peanuts comic strip paper?)

 

and the other in a basket in the guest room. They're separated by family and time of gifting. We'll exchange gifts with DD's family Christmas morning and with DS's family in the late afternoon/evening.

 

I remembered two other people I wanted to send Christmas cards to which meant I had only one left so I painted a few more after supper tonight. Just in case. And I just remembered someone else to send one to. Good thing I painted tonight.

 

I sat down and caught up on three days' of gratitude journal pages--Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Good thing I keep a Bullet Journal so I remember what I had to be grateful for on those days.

 

The Red-bellied Woodpecker showed up on the suet nuggets today. Naturally it landed on the back side of the feeder so only its head and tail were visible. But it's been days since I've seen any wildlife so I was glad to get a glimpse. In the afternoon I caught sight of the squirrel just getting out of the feeder. And a gang of Starlings came through mobbing the suet cakes and nuggets but I didn't take their pictures.

 

Words came extra hard today. I worked for two hours and only got 693 words. I felt like I was floundering in the story and couldn't see a way out so I doodled a small scene with Iggy and one with Rose overhearing an argument between Geneva and Silas and called it a day.

I just made an enormous shopping list for the weekend. I need to make Party Mix and English Toffee and have food to feed DD and her family when they're here next week. NEXT WEEK! Christmas is a week from tomorrow. They're arriving a week from today. Just when I think I'm on top of things time speeds up. Actually I'm not doing too badly. Gifts are all bought and wrapped. The tree is up. I bought all the nuts at Fleet Farm yesterday (they're cheaper and better there). And the bed's coming Saturday but DD's family isn't staying here because I don't have room. They've got an Airbnb about a mile from here which will be just right.

It got above freezing yesterday and today. 35 degrees! It was sunny too so a lot of the snow melted off the roof and driveway and street. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and then get colder. Crazy. Just as long as the weather holds so DD and family have an easy drive next week.

--Barbara 

In The Grocery

I went to the grocery this afternoon because I was out of bananas, grapes, and Vitamin C. Also tooth fizzies (Efferdent). And a last Christmas gift. (I swear, I'm stopping.) Look at what I saw walking from the back of the store to the checkouts. It's Zambaldi Beer! It was on sale and it looked like someone had bought some. I was tempted to face the Good Dog Porter so it was at the front of the shelf but I resisted.

 

Today's drawing is of the Sun & a Grill. Both easy and fun to draw and color. I was tempted to get out my paints and make more Christmas postcards because I've saved a few more examples off Instagram but instead I carried a basket of gifts to wrap downstairs so it's out of the way tomorrow when the bed delivery guys are here and then watched a little TV before coming back here to blog.

 

Here's another flaming ornament. This one is glass and wearing a Santa hat. I realized that this is just the tip of the flamingo iceberg on my Christmas tree. More photos need to be taken and I might have to shift some so that they aren't covered by another ornament. See, my wire tree isn't like a real tree. The branches are wire sticks so the ornaments line up on them and tend to cover the ones behind them.

 

This picture was taken of the three Book Women at last Sunday's sale by another vendor. My first thought when I saw it was, "gosh, I'm short." Like that's a surprise.

 

Today was OJ's holiday concert. He wore the suit from his godmother's wedding a couple months back and looked very sharp. He'd hoped to wear a candy cane shirt with a big hat but was dissuaded because the hat is very tall and would have overshadowed the kids behind him. I can't share any pictures because of the creeps that troll the internet. Rats. But, trust me, he was awesome.

I wrote 761 words today. I decided to make J the plumber a guy from Green Bay who moved to Anguilla like Rose did and I made him live as close to where she used to live as the real J the plumber lives to me. It was fun and made me smile. 

--Barbara 

I Got a Package

Christmas gifts that I've ordered have been coming. Two of them came today, but there was a third package I couldn't figure out what it was. When I opened it I was so happy. It was the super bulky yarn I ordered a while back. They hadn't sent a shipping notice so I wasn't expecting it but there it was and it made me so happy. See?

 

Tonight I had to cast on a hat with the Licorice yarn. When I looked on the Knit Picks site for the yarn a particular pattern calls for, it was a big disappointment that the yarn is discontinued. Rats. So I had to search for other yarn of the same thickness and I found this Alla Prima super bulky roving yarn was on sale. Yay! But there were only two colors. Boo. So I ordered a couple skeins of each color. Sun Haze is peachy golden and cream. Licorice is cream, black and fuschia. If I'd had other color choices I wouldn't have picked either one of them but now that I see them in person, I like them. It took me three tries to cast on the 42 required stitches. The first time I didn't have enough yarn. The second time I had too much. The third time it was just right. I knitted the first two rounds of ribbing.

 

Today's drawing figures are Easter Basket & Cactus. They don't really relate to each other but they were both fun and a little challenging to draw. The fun part was the coloring.

 

Another of my favorite ornaments is this flamingo with a feathery skirt. This is the back side of the ornament. The front is covered by another ornament and I'm too lazy to shift them around. I have lots of flamingos on the tree. I like 'em.

 

The word count today was 844. I struggled with it a bit and managed to get inspired just at the end of my writing time so I'll have a good jumping off place tomorrow. I added a new plumber today. His name is Jerry. He's not going to be a predator like the last plumber. He'll be a good guy. I also got a suggestion from CV about ways I can add conflict. Thanks! I'm thinking about what you said. 

I got to do the afternoon school run today but only picked up OJ because LC stayed home because she has influenza A which her cousin gifted her over the weekend. Wasn't that considerate? She looked like she was feeling a little better when I stopped to check on her. 

It's supposed to get above freezing tomorrow. I'm so excited!

--Barbara

Eighth One Done

Whew! Today's vendor show at Townline Pub & Grill was the 8th book or vendor fair that GBB and I did since October 5. We're tired. I did pretty well today. I sold 12 books, 7 of them Christmas at Seaview, so I was glad I had extras in the car because I needed them. My knitting friend, NS, stopped in to buy some books to give as gifts. It was great to see and hug her and chat for a little while to catch up. (That's EMB photo-bombing)

 

The only bird I saw this morning was a Mourning Dove huddled on top of one of the crooks. It was sitting there in the wind and I wondered why it didn't perch someplace out of the wind. But then Mourning Doves aren't the smartest birds in the nest.

 

I didn't draw today. Once I got home from Townline, I unloaded the car and then unpacked the books from the rolling backpack and carried all my show gear downstairs. Shows are tiring and then loading and unloading in the bitter cold really takes it out of me. Thankfully GBB's partner, JM, was there to carry my table and load it into the car for me. That was a big help. So instead of a drawing I'm showing you another of my favorite ornaments. It's a Lego reindeer that OJ made for me. Isn't it cute? He loves Lego and he's terrific at building things with them.

 

All along I've been loading the table and chair first and then the books, etc. second so I had to take the books, etc. into the venue before I had the table up. When I loaded the car the other day I slid the book backpack and the orange tote that carries my tablecloth and other things in through the back passenger door, shoved the box of extra books forward, and put the table and chair in closest to the hatchback so that I could take them out first and then have a place to put my things. Worked slick. Too bad it only took me eight tries to get it right. 

 

Here's the redone start of the Fiesta & White Crocheted Hat. I didn't have to smash it down to take its picture like I did with the first try. I have to say I love the colors of the yarn. So bright and cheery!

 

I almost didn't write today. I felt so bushed that I just sat around after supper listening to an audiobook, but then I realized that I've written every day since October 26th and didn't want to break my streak. So I came back here and squeezed out 400 words just so I wouldn't miss a day. They're not terrific words but they can be a bridge to something else more interesting. Did I tell you that yesterday I had two couples sharing a bed in Seaview and the bed broke so they were discovered? Racy stuff! I didn't write what was happening before the bed broke, just that they were all naked and in the hall after it happened. Iggy laid down the law that only two adults were allowed in each bed. I don't know how I think of such things. They just come to me and squirt out my fingers. 

It's still cold but not below zero cold. Right now it's 5 degrees and supposed to stay above zero tonight. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 19 degrees. Heat wave! 

--Barbara 

Now You Don't

I didn't know when JS's friend D would come to get the king size bed but I got a text from him a little after 5 o'clock asking if now was a good time. Sure, I said, come on over. He and another guy showed up and made short work of dismantling the bed and frame and carting it away. The amount of dust under it was astonishing but I got out the vacuum and took care of that. Now I just have to wait until Wednesday for the new one to be delivered. In the meantime I'm happily snoozing in the guest room bed.

 

You could tell how cold it was this morning when the Red-bellied Woodpecker showed up. Usually it's all sleek but not today. Today it was fluffed up as much as possible because it was a few degrees below zero but there was a wind which made it feel like -25 degrees. I had to move my car out of the garage so they could load the mattress, etc. and I can attest that it was bitter cold. Not unbearable in the short term but I wouldn't want to be out in it for long. 

 

The figures today were Hatch & Birdbath. My hatching chick needs work. I made it too tall out of the shell but decided it was just a bigger chick and left it. I like the three little birds on the birdbath. They were fun to draw.

 

 I drew a gratitude journal today. I'm most grateful for having the bed gone and for spending part of the afternoon downstairs wrapping gifts. I bought a roll of wrapping paper with Peanuts Christmas comic strips printed on it. I'm using it for everybody's gifts this year. Because it's Linus and Snoopy and Charlie Brown. I love them.

 

I frogged (ripped it, ribbit) the Fiesta & White Crocheted Hat down to the first round after supper and was much more careful to have the correct number of stitches in each round. It makes a world of difference. The hat no longer is cone-shaped, it's flatter and will fit someone better. I didn't take its picture.

Writing went well today. Seems like it goes well every other day, doesn't it? I sat down this morning and wrote 1,675 words in a few hours. Yay!

I loaded my vendor fair things yesterday so I didn't have to spend time hauling the stuff in the bitter cold today. It'll all be frozen when I unpack it but it'll warm up fairly quickly. I loaded it the opposite way--books and tote and book rack in first, table and chair second--which makes more sense for unloading. I can set up the table first and then haul in the things to put on the table instead of the other way around. Now that it's the final show, I've figured that out.

--Barbara 

Hat Done

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting I finished the Fiesta Crocheted Hat. I only had a few rounds left to go so it only took me about an hour to be done. There was a lot of talking and laughing involved tonight so things took longer. This is a medium size hat.

 

Then I started the Fiesta & White Crocheted Hat using the same pattern, but I may pull it out and start over. I wasn't very precise in my counting so I think that I have too few stitches for as far as I'm supposed to be in the pattern. I'll count the stitches to see how far off I am one of these days. 

 

The Red-bellied Woodpecker was back. First it landed on the suet nuggets, then it flew over to the square green feeder and cleared the Sparrows off the perch it landed on. It wasn't shy about poking its beak at any Sparrow daring enough to try to share that perch. Not shy at all. You can just see its tail at the bottom of the picture. Naturally it wasn't on my side of the feeder.

 

Today's drawing is Daisy & Tulip. Two flowers that were semi-easy to draw. The daisy was easy but I had to do quite a bit of erasing on the tulip to get it as right as it is. I should try drawing the tulip again since I'm not thrilled with the way it turned out. Maybe tomorrow.

 

I managed to take a decent shot of the Charlie Brown Tree that lives in the bathroom. Not too many bathroom-y items in the picture, just the vanity counter and shower curtain. I love this little tree. Every year it gets a little shabbier so every year it looks even more Charlie Brown.

 

Durwood was especially enamored of Hummingbirds and I was lucky enough to find this little Ruby-throated Hummingbird ornament. It's wood. I was hoping to find a flashy glass one but this is what there was at Taylor Creek, our best local ornament store. He loved it.

 

Words came slowly today. 1,192 of them. I was working through a scene where a guest is attracted to Geneva the housekeeper because she is nice to him. I didn't get to the moment of crisis but that's coming. I also laid the groundwork for a problem caused by four other guests, two couples with flexible, um, let's just say that the same people don't always make up the couples. They're interchangeable. Even the unflappable Rose will be shocked. 

I'm hoping that the guys come to get the king size bed tomorrow. I've got all the bedding bagged up and all ready to go. Last night I slept pretty well in the guest room. The new bed comes on Wednesday so the old one has to be gone by then or the delivery guys will take it away and I'll be stuck getting rid of the steel frame and the hairdresser will be out of luck.

--Barbara