I Have a Question...

How come when you decide to clean out the bottom of the linen closet in the bathroom at about 10:30 AM while the Champion Sleeper in the house is having his usual 8:00 AM-noon nap and have items strewn all over the bathroom floor, he wakes up more than an hour early with an urgent need to use that room RIGHT NOW?  I know the answer.  The answer is I should have gone in there immediately after he laid down to get the job done before I did the other things that led up to the closet cleaning.

Apropos of nothing, June 29th can't come soon enough for me.  (that's my last day of work but who's keeping track)


These pink tulips have been blooming for at least 10 days.  I'm not a fan of pink, we all know that, but they sure are pretty when I see them early in the morning with the green grass behind them and the early morning sun lightening up the day.


It's time to put in the heel of the second Helical Sock SOCK.  I've been dancing around the idea of learning the Fish Lips Kiss heel.  I bought the pattern, I even took some cardboard and a Sharpie to Friday Night Knitting and stood on the table so LB could draw an outline of my foot and mark the exact center of my ankle.  Last night I cruised the sock pattern books I have and found a less-complex, shorter directions, no need for a foot template, short-row heel pattern in Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation, that I think will do nicely.

May 15--Paul Delaroche, Napoleon at Fontainbleu.  The little man sat slumped in his red velvet chair.  His pants and vest were snow white which did nothing to hide his paunch.  His overcoat gaped open serving only to emphasize his sagging shoulders and his rounded belly.  His black leather boots were impeccably shined and his thin black hair was combed forward to cover his balding pate.  He had flung his sword and scabbard on the table at his elbow.  The lowered brows and down-turned mouth meant his patience with posing was at an end.  "Just a few more moments, mon General." the artist said, trying to capture the subject in an unflattering sketch.  He knew if the General who would declare himself Emperor of France within the month saw this cartoon his head would be separated from his neck before you could say Jacques Robinson.  The artist tucked the scrap of paper into his smock pocket and waved a brush at the canvas upon which was the official approved portrait to Napoleon Bonaparte looking regal and commanding astride his favorite horse.

You'd better bet that Paul Delaroche didn't make that painting until after Napoleon had died. The dates given for the artist and the subject confirmed that.  It wasn't a flattering portrait but I'm guessing it was truer than others I've seen.  It's a gorgeous day.  I think I'll go water the bales and maybe take a walk.
--Barbara