Guess What I Got Today?

A new water heater!  Just what I wanted!  Not.  I went downstairs after my late morning shower to start the laundry and get sewing on that last Dress no. 1.  I was looking for something of Mom's on a shelf when I noticed water on the floor coming from the base of the water heater.  Oh goodie.  I started shifting boxes and things to make sure that it was the water heater and not the walls or a window.  Nope, it was the 1994 vintage water heater.  So I called Jerry and he arrived around 2:30 with a new one in his truck.  He worked for a couple hours and now I have endless hot water, well, not endless exactly but reliable hot water.  Durwood and I discussed putting in a tankless system when this heater failed but that would have cost at least double and would have been a huge pain in the keester.  I'm just not up for that.

I got the laundry almost done before the plumber arrived (I always use cold water to wash, not hot) and shifted boxes and totes so he'd have working room.  I found a couple things I want to take along to KY when I go next month too.  I'm making a pile.  (Don't panic, DD, not a huge pile, plus I need room for the hall tree in the car.)  I also got the seams sewn on the last cut-out Dress no. 1 and the neck and armholes bound.  Tomorrow I'll hem it and put on the pockets.  Then you'll get to see it.  This morning I figured out a way to wear my "muslin" of Dress no. 3 which is a kind of caftan that I made out of some gauzy fabric from deep in the stash.  My only complaint is that the dress clung to my brown knit leggings but I dealt with it.  I plan to cut out another Dress no. 3 in flannel although I might make it shorter, just not feeling the maxi thing.






The heel of the Woodland Plain-Old-Sock is turned, the gusset stitches picked up, and once the dress is sewn I'll be back to work decreasing gusset stitches and knitting the foot until toe time.



 

I was a bit distracted today (no, really???) so we've only got one bird--a little male Downy Woodpecker having a sip at the birdbath.  It's rare to see a woodpecker at the birdbath so I always snap a photo.


October 26--John Singer Sargent, Miss Beatrice Townsend.  Trixie carried Mop everywhere.  Grandma Babe said, "That child would take the dog to church if you'd let her," and not in a nice tone of voice.  Our mother, Babe's daughter, always defended Trixie.  "Now, Mama," she said, "you know that Mop never makes a sound no matter where she is.  Let the child alone."  Mama wouldn't tell Grandma Babe why Trixie carried Mop around, anymore than she'd tell Miss Arlene that her husband, Elmer, had a still down behind the pump house in a grove of trees next to the stream.

No, nobody told me why Trixie carries Mop either so don't ask.  This afternoon I took my car over to Joe's so he can paint over the bare metal parts of the rear fenders.  These fenders pooch out so that the spray from the front tires sandblasts the paint off in a triangular area.  Road salt season is approaching so it needs doing even if that means I'm car-less until Monday morning.  Maybe I need mud flaps... but not those nudie one the truck drivers have.  My mind is racing like a gerbil in a wheel with places I want to go, just because I can't.  I'll be the one crawling around on the floor cutting out dresses and maybe pants if I get on a roll.
--Barbara