On A Treadmill

Not really, but that's the way I'm feeling lately, with too much going on and no down time. It's my own fault, of course, I could say no to things or not do things but do I? No. The WW Points Plus cookbook that I ordered from Amazon came yesterday and I have to say I could start cooking at the beginning and eat my way to the end. I only went through the Starters and Light Meals section and already I want to make nearly all of the recipes. There's even a recipe for Lobster Summer Rolls, Aunt B! Durwood doesn't think those kind of things make meals but I sure do. A lot of them have grilled or roasted veggies in them and in all sorts of combos with cheese and meats and fish. Too yummy to not gobble up. I especially want to make the Spinach stuffed Portobellos, they sound To-Die-For. Tomorrow I have walking and knitting; in them between I have to, HAVE TO, write up those interviews even if it means I have to chain myself to my desk, because Saturday I'm going to a Sew-In with friends and Sunday is the dive shop's Corn Roast. Can't miss a chance to dive and eat grilled corn dipped in melted butter now can I? Besides it'd be rude and ungrateful to my employer. Man, it sure is a sore left knee day. I woke up with it aching, 10 minutes of Wii Step Aerobics didn't help, and neither is filling and moving tanks or sitting at the computer typing. I just took an Aleve, let's see how that does. Sorry my thoughts are so scattered today.

August 10--Felix Aubert, Iris D'Eau.

In early summer
they rise,
riding a green spear
out of the fan of leaves,
tightly furled,
just a hint of color,
until they fling out petals--
purple, yellow, salmon, bronze,
white--
like flags
proud in the summer day.
~~~~~

I thought about my Grandma Angermeier when I saw last night's picture and how she loved her purple flags which is what she called iris. Some days I miss her peaceful company, but I don't miss the "hulling butterbeans" blisters.
--Barbara

Gray-ish Goldfish Match Gray Fountain Rocks

Manny & Max really blend in. I had the devil of a time finding them this morning when I fed them before plugging in the fountain pump, but then I saw the twitch of a little gray tail. Those scamps were hiding behind the pump. Whew. I wish I could just quit my job and stay home. The weather has finally turned into what's more normal for summer in WI and I could be sitting out on the patio working on the three interviews I have to have written and emailed to Erik by Monday. Monday!!! Eesh. Instead I'm sitting here in the dive shop. Oh, I've got my tiny tape recorder with the interviews on it that I'll be listening to once I get this posted but it'd be so much nicer sitting out in the shady breeze of the patio. I can't help thinking that if Durwood didn't have pneumonia we'd be making plans to drive away on Sunday to visit Yellowstone. Bubbling mud! Buffalo! Fossils! But not this summer. Maybe next spring.

August 9--Yves Saint Laurent, Dress. A woman to has to be shaped like a hanger to wear this, Jeanne thought. She squirmed and shifted the wool shift to try and get the black stripe to hang straight. Damned boobs keep messing with the line. I should have had reduction surgery. She repositioned her breasts, frowning at her reflection in the full-length mirror in her closet. Maybe a different bra would be better, one that minimized rather than enhanced. She contorted around and unzipped the dress, then stalked to her lingerie drawer in her heels. She traded out her bra for one that reined "the girls" in, considering as she did. Not only were they too big to be fashionable but they seemed to be trying to look at the ground. Maybe gravity was getting stronger.

Durwood would never believe it but boobs do get in the way at times. Spend some time outside today.
--Barbara

Manny & Max

You should have been on my walk this morning. It was cool and windy and sunny and cloudy, and did I mention cool? GLORIOUS. Skully even had her kite in her car so we sent it up into the sky for the first time even though it was a bit too windy for it and it kept trying to nose dive into the parking lot. After walking I went to the nail salon for a fill, then I wended my way around and through beaucoup road construction to the pet store where I bought Manny & Max, two small gray-ish goldfish for fifteen cents each. Their food cost nearly two bucks but if they eat all the mosquito nymphs in the fountain they're totally worth it. I do not like the idea of having a skeeter factory on my patio.

August 8--Japan, Gong Held by Oni. The little guys did not look friendly, not one bit. Charlotte bent closer to examine the carved imps carrying the gong. She liked their wild thick hair and crazy curly eyebrows but their three-fingers hands and three-toed feet gave her the willies. They looked like they derived mean pleasure from the gong disturbing people's peace.

That's when I gave up and went to sleep. I was so tired that this morning my notebook and glasses were on the floor in front of my nightstand. I must have just heaved them over the side and konked out.
--Barbara

No Goldfish For Me

Walmart doesn't sell goldfish anymore, dang it, so there are still those whatever-they-are in the fountain. Now I'm determined to find a little goldfish someplace. I wonder if there are any aquarium stores in town anymore. Oh goodie, more chasing around. Ah, I just remembered that our friends Deb & Kevin have a big aquarium, I'll bet they'll know where I can buy a little goldfish, a-a-and there's a Petco next to Hancock Fabrics. Now my brain's kicked in. Whew, I was afraid it would stall out all day. Our supper last night was deeeelicious. DS & DIL1 came over and we feasted. See my plate? Those aren't cucumbers, they're raw zucchini with basil, lemon zest, and a tiny bit of olive oil. Yum yum. For dessert we had blueberry granita which is berries whirred in the food processor, strained to get the skins out, with a bit of sugar, water and lemon juice (I think). You pour it into a flat baking dish and scrape it as it freezes making it fluffy. It was so good we ate it all. It was great to get to spend a couple hours with them enjoying good conversation and a good meal that they didn't make.

August 7--Johan Adolph Grecke, Pair of Flintlock Pistols of Empress Catherine the Great. Edith and John stood back to back in the early morning mist. The sun had just peeked over the horizon turning the mist a rosy pink tinged with yellow. The Spanish moss hanging from the trees looked like ghosts caught in the branches. The horses tied at the edge of the clearing stamped their hooves and jangled their bridles with impatience. The man in the black suit and ragged top hat laid out the rules. "Each will take ten paces apart as I count aloud, then turn and shoot. I will consider a breach of the agreement as a forfeit. Are we ready?" John nodded. Edith nodded too--and then she giggled. "Dammit, Edie," John said, "we are never going to get this done if you keep giggling like you're in junior high." Edith put the tips of her fingers over her lips and pinched to try to stifle her laughter. "I'm sorry, dear, but I just don't feel like Aaron Burr, and you look silly in that hat."

Here we are beginning a new week, make the most of it!

--Barbara

Day Off

I'm happy to be not-working today, not working for pay anyway. DS & DIL1 are coming for supper so I'll be cleaning and tidying as well as helping Durwood prepare supper. We're making our first recipe out of the Points Plus cookbook--grilled Rum-glazed Pork, Onion & Clementine Kabobs served over couscous with Zucchini Ribbons on the side. DS is making fresh blueberry granita for dessert. I've never had it but it sounds good, doesn't it? I'll report. When I added water to the fountain before turning it on this morning I noticed some little nymphs poinking around in the water. I suspect they're mosquito nymphs so on my trip to Walmart this morning I'm going to see if they have a little goldfish I can buy to eat them. That'll mean I won't be able to put bleach into the water to kill the algae but I'd rather have algae than skeeters so it's a no-brainer. I want you to see the skirt I made the other night. I love the colors and, as you can see in the photo, I have tees that go with it perfectly. Usually I'm all about the red shirts but I think I'm most eager to wear the green one with the skirt. Only one more skirt cut out ready to sew. Skully had it right about sewing, "With sewing you get instant gratification, not like knitting when it might take weeks to finish something."

August 6--Johan Adolph Grecke, Pair of Flintlock Pistols of Empress Catherine the Great. She stroked the long barrel of the pistol before she raised it to aim and shoot. Even in these modern times there were still wolves that lurked close to the city. She had seen their red-gold eyes in the light of the carriage lamps driving home from parties late at night. Of course she had guards but only a fool relied on loyalty one paid for. Besides she had been unable to resist the brace of pistols when Grecke had brought them to her. She liked the glint of the steel barrels but it was the ivory grips and gold-chased mounts that made her fall in love with them. The ivory warmed in her hand until she felt like she held her lover's hand in hers. The acrid smell of gunpowder floated on the cold, clear air as Catherine reloaded to shoot again.

Time to clear off the table, clean the bathroom, hide all my yarn etc., and run the vacuum. I'm not going overboard, just want to move the big chunks so there's room for our company tonight. Too clean would be an insult but too mess would be embarrassing.
--Barbara

Work Day #6--Whew!

This is it, the last day I work in a row. Happily it's been a busy week so I haven't sat here twiddling my thumbs or knitting while plugged into a story on my iPod. (I love my iPod! Love it! Thanks, Skully.) I didn't have any time to cut out more skirts either. I need to shop for a different pattern. I like the one I've got but I think I want to branch out into a different style, maybe fuller (I have a pattern for that) or straighter (that's the one I need the pattern for). Maybe I can find one of those "wardrobe" patterns that has pants, skirt, jacket, dress, and top all in one. Gotta have pockets though. Gotta. I sewed up a skirt last night after Durwood's birthday ribs supper but I'm saving it to wear on Monday. It's brown gauze with bunches of red and cream flowers so I can wear red, cream or green (leaves, you know) tees with it. I have all of those! Isn't that lucky? I'm (We're) also getting serious about getting back on Weight Watchers. I bought the new Point Plus books, etc. at a rummage sale last week and my friend Cookie and I are buddying up to keep each other strong. I also plan to get back to daily workouts. Really. I've slacked off a bunch this year and porked back on more than a few pounds so I need to get serious again so I look even more cuterer in my new homemade skirts than I do now.

August 5--Fairfield Porter, The Cove. Donnie went to the cove every day looking, looking for Pap and Ed. The cove wasn't that big or even that deep, except for Pap's bass hole out off Rover's Point. Pap and Ed had been out fishing in the skiff when a blow sprang up. Next morning they found the skiff overturned on the lee shore with a tangle of tackle, nets, and oars nearby but no Pap and no Ed. Donnie spent days combing the woods around the cove and further out calling for Ed. "Ed, here, Ed," his ma would hear him call as she hung out the wash. "I got a bone for you, boy. Ed!" That last word would be choked off and Martha's throat would tighten at the loss of her father-in-law and his dog. "Pa, how come Ed didn't swim to shore and get help for Pap?" Donnie asked his father innumerable times. Art rubbed his hand over his jaw like he always did when he was tired. He'd been searching too. "I don't know, son." He reached to give his boy a rough hug. "Maybe those old stories about the bass hole being a whirlpool and sucking people down in a particular kind of storm are true."

Oh, I like that. It's like a real story. More, please.
--Barbara

Two Steps Forward & One Step Back

I'm trying to concentrate on finishing something, anything. I realized that I didn't finish one thing, one item, not even one afghan block in all of July. Somthing must be done. So just this week I finished Clara's First Socks--and cast on another sock, because really who can resist knitting tiny, self-striping socks? You only cast on 24 stitches. You only knit 2" of leg, then 10 rows of heel flap, pick up 6 gusset stitches (6!!), and then knit 3" of foot. I knit the leg of the next one during the City Band concert the other night. That's one hour, folks, with time out for enjoying the music and clapping. Anyway, seeing how darned cute the first pair turned out, I decided to knit one, just one, of a couple more colorways of that same yarn so that Clara will have a pair for formal occasions, but have some mismatched onesies for casual days--and Knitting Nights where she'll see her Auntie Barbara who also never wears "pairs" of socks.


Sticking with feet, I put this ankle sock away knowing that I royally screwed up the short row heel and didn't want to deal with it up at The Clearing. Yesterday I took the baby socks out of my bag and put the Easter Egg Ankle Sock in so that when Skully came to the shop to knit for a couple hours I'd have moral support when I frogged the heel and picked up all those stitches to start the heel again. I have a lot less trouble ripping and picking up if I've got someone to talk to me while I do it. If I pay too much attention to what my needles are doing I get frustrated and screw it up, so thanks for your chatter yesterday, Skully.



I've been beavering away at the Summer Fever Shawl now that I have the corrected pattern. I'm liking this 80% cotton/20% wool yarn and the cool gray green and cream color. It goes fast on size US10 needles too.