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We were awakened by a raging thunderstorm at about 1 AM. Durwood got up, I didn't. Well I got up to potty but then I was back in bed and leaving the storm to rage alone. He got up to attend the performance. Everything's wet this morning and, according to the newsies, Appleton and Wrightstown (30 and 20 miles south, respectively) got hammered by strong winds. Roofs are off, trees are down, and sheds are flattened. Glad we missed that part of the festivities, but happy to have the rain.
Late yesterday afternoon I went down into the basement studio to... well, I wasn't sure what I was going to do but I ended up sorting through WIPs (works in progress), taking the needles out of some to reclaim the yarn, putting needles away in their proper places (with their sizes marked for ease of use) and putting a few of them and some sock yarn into a box to either share or donate. I was all ready to donate or share a bag of sock yarn ends when I flipped through Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders and found a baby sweater I have to make for the coming babe. Have. To.
Durwood was watching Good Day Wisconsin the other day and Amy, the lifestyle show woman, was making something with stuff she'd gotten at the farmer's market and asked for recipes. I made one up a few years back by layering potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, sauteed onion, celery, and bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, baking it for a while covered, then uncovering it, putting shredded cheese (I used Gouda but you can use any cheese on hand) on top and baking it until it's done. So I sent it in yesterday. Maybe she'll make it on TV. That'd be cool, wouldn't it? (If you'd like the recipe, comment or email and I'll share.)
August 7--Johann Erhard Heiglen, Rosewater Ewer. The liquid in the ewer looked like red wine but it was too thick to be wine. Grace leaned over to smell it and the coppery aroma of it turned her spine to ice. It was blood. A lot of blood. She knew it. No one else was in the room. Where had it come from? She walked around the table the ornate pitcher rested on to see if there was a hint as to how it got there. It wasn't hunting season, she knew that. Larson appeared in the doorway and she nearly screamed. "Did you need something, Miss?" His voice made her feel like she was intruding. "No, I... I'm going for a walk," she said and she snatched a coat off a hook in the closet by the door and left the house. The gold autumn sun felt good on her face as she walked away from the cold stone house.
Okay, kiddos, that's it for me today. Time to shower and zoom off to keep the world safe from SCUBA diving. Have a great day.
--Barbara
Well, I tried but Porter was way more interested in the geese and intimidated by the loud dredging barge in the river nearby. She was disappointed when the geese waddled back into the river instead of playing with her. By the time she'd jerked me to a halt 5 times in less than 100 yards I got the message that this wasn't going to be a good walking day, so I turned us around and went back to the car. That's okay, I'm kind of in a crap mood today anyway. It's been overcast since yesterday morning, hasn't rained, of course, but it's gray and dreary and still. Uck uck uck.
I got a letter yesterday. That's right, a real, hand-written letter from an actual correspondent. It's the coolest thing to pull a stack of envelopes from insurance companies and magazines out of the mailbox and mixed in is a real letter from a real person who took the time to sit with pen and paper to write to me. She and I share a lot of interests and live far apart but we can still connect the old fashioned way. Tres cool.
Durwood's finally feeling better today. Thank. God. He's been feeling terrible for more than a week and I was about to package him up to go to the doctor just to see if the doc had any magic. He's barely eaten, slept at odd(er) times, and has been kind of out of it. I've been worried but today he looks a lot more like himself. *whew*
August 6--Claude Monet, Garden at Sainte-Adresse. "Did you make hollyhock dollies when you were a child?" Claudine asked. When her companion shook his head Claudine plucked an open flower and one that was barely open, making sure it had a bit of stem. She slid the stem between petals of the upended open flower near the center cup. "See," she said, "the flower is the skirt and the bud is the head and hat." She looked at her lace gloves. They were sticky and stained with pollen. Maman and Mam'selle Gigot would not be happy with her. They both kept on and on about appearances and making a good match. She wished some knight would ride in on a white charger, sweep her up, and gallop away with her.
I don't know what I'm going to do with myself the rest of the day but whatever it is the day will pass and I'll wonder where the time went when night comes. Oh, can't forget to go to Aldi for blueberries and pretzels. I hear it's Beach Week at Aunt B's, here's wishing everyone a great time!
--Barbara
... prospective renter showed yesterday. *sigh* But I want him. He's a responsible adult, a divorced man with a daughter on weekends, who has a good job and is in the Army National Guard with the unit up Military Ave. from us. (huh, it just struck me that they maybe named the street because of the Army guys up there, I'm slow but stubborn, I eventually get it) How do people make appointments and then not keep them, and not call to cancel? Have we raised a generation of morons? And impolite ones at that? A couple did a rolling assessment but didn't stop and I got another email later last night, so maybe that guy will come to see it tomorrow. *still got those fingers crossed*
I love the weather we're having lately. It's warm and sunny in the day and cool for sleeping at night. Once again I wanted to sleep with the windows open (that cool night air feels SO good) so Durwood slept in "his" bed because it was 76 in here and he was chilled. I Do Not Understand how that works. Why isn't he the same temperature as me? *shrugs*
I was very accomplished in the kitchen yesterday. I used my Farmer's Market veggies to make WW Health Salad which I defy anyone to tell that it's "diet" it's so good. (there's a little sugar in there, just a little) A half-cup is only one Point and it tastes great, vinegary and sweet and crunchy with cabbage, cukes, and green pepper with a bit of shredded carrots for color. Yummo. I also fried, baked, and coated a pound of almonds to make Spiced Honey Almonds, another WW recipe. This one isn't as "cheap" as the slaw--10 almonds=3 Points--but they've got red pepper flakes mixed in the honey and cinnamon in the sugar coating so they're a worthwhile expense in my opinion. For supper I cut 2 chicken breasts into chunks and marinated them for a few hours, then strung them on skewers, skewered zucchini chunks and red onion wedges, and grilled it all. And there's enough meat left for another meal. Yay! I love grilling out, don't you? I'd grill almost every day if I could. I even toasted sandwich thins and weighed out cheese and sliced turkey for work lunches AND measured out fruit salad and coleslaw to take for lunches too. No emergency Subway stop for me this week, no siree bob. (I just remembered that when DS was very small he thought I said "I'm sorry Bob"--so cute when he repeated it! not as cute when he repeated other words...)
August 5--Egypt, The Singer of Amun Nany's Funerary Papyrus. It took a lot of pounding to make sheets of papyrus paper for the scribe to write upon The papyrus paper was much easier to carry from the warehouse to counting office and out into the farms than stone slabs. Ali was careful to have at least one clean sheet to begin his day and his servant knew to make sure that he had a handful of brushes on his desk beside a saucer of ink made from soot and oil. He ground the colors himself, not trusting an illiterate barbarian from far upriver to handle such precious minerals.
I suspect Ali is a royal turd and the barbaric servant is cultured and urbane or at least heroic. That's the way those things usually go but I was too sleepy to find out. Today Durwood is 74 years old. He'll probably nap his birthday away but that isn't a bad way to spend a birthday, is it? He's going to see if his muscle spasms will let him make a pot of cabbage stew for supper. Stupid muscle spasms. Happy birthday, Sweetheart! I'm glad I ran slow enough for you to catch me.
-Barbara
Yesterday afternoon dive friend Spanky installed the new stainless steel sink and white range hood in the rental side of the duplex with, as I predicted, 3 trips to Home Depot, but there wasn't time to install the sink and range hood in our side of the duplex. That has to wait for him to be free another Saturday, probably in 2 weeks, but it will take less time since there was a pretty steep learning curve to the sink replacement yesterday. Seems that the original installer GLUED the sink into the counter top. G.L.U.E.D. Now there are clips that hold them in place. Clips are easier to remove. A small section of Formica stuck to the sink so Spanky had to glue it back in place and caulk around it to finish the job in a day. Even though it galls me, I have to grant the 4 dive guys at breakfast yesterday with being right that he couldn't do all the installation in one day, and the third trip to Home Depot was only necessary because they didn't have the correct PVC pipe thingy so the one the clerk told me was the right one wasn't. Spanky and I went back and he picked out the parts to make what he needed, which cost the same as the ones I returned. I would have liked to have wheedled him into coming back today to do ours but he had another "friend" job to do last night and had an invitation to go diving today. Since I had to give up the idea of going diving with KC today because of showing the duplex to prospective renters I couldn't try to talk him out of going diving. I'm just that nice.
I have two, maybe three (stupid irresponsible woman who never responded to my answer to her email; watch her show up anyway, I'll be ready just in case), showings scheduled this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed that one of them sees beyond the moving out, 2 preteen girls in the house, mess and can't wait to shell out hard-earned money for the chance to live next door to me.
I wore myself to a frazzle fetching tools and things for Spanky yesterday. I probably didn't need to but I don't feel right leaving people to do work for me and not help if I can. I meant to mow the lawn while he worked but ended up running to Home Depot and helping, probably also hindering but I mean well. I made yummy, sauteed mushroom-onion-BBQ-sauced burgers on the grill for supper with slabs of grilled zucchini and steamed Yukon gold fingerling potatoes on the side. Durwood suggested slicing a tomato to top the burgers which was perfect. Then after supper I went out and zoomed around the yard mowing, making it with about 5 minutes to spare before absolute darkness fell. Whew. Then I had a nice shower, put my feet up for a bit, and hit the hay. I had tired myself out enough that I slept like a log, not lightly like I have the last few nights. I feel much better today. Sleep is a miracle, isn't it?
August 4--Egypt, The Singer of Amun Nany's Funerary Papyrus. The jackal-headed god weighed Pharaoh's deeds and the baboon-headed god kept the tally. Amun sat on the throne with the crook in one hand, the flail in the other. His head was weighed down by the dual crown he wore. The weight of the gold and inlay bent his neck and pressed grooves into his forehead. He squirmed on the throne, uncomfortable with how his life would be judged. "I did my best," he said and the jackal-headed man looked hard at him, yellow eyes assessing. The sharp animal scent of the baboon stung his nose and made him uneasy as to how accurate his accounting would be. Naomi fought her way out of the tangle of Egyptian cotton sheets and reached for the light. The sensation of the heavy crown faded slowly in the light as the dream dissipated.
Nice. I like it. I'm going to turn some of my Farmer's Market haul into coleslaw for lunches next week and get the chicken breasts for supper marinating in teriyaki, homemade of course, I can't stand the bottled stuff. I'm spoiled, I know. Then wait for the prospective tenants. 23-skidoo!
--Barbara
Today I was up as early as ever to go have breakfast with the dive guys, help them get the students geared up and off to dive, then I stopped at the Farmer's Market on my way back across town. While Durwood's neck and back are a bit better he's not better enough for a walk around the market so I was on my own. (danger! danger!) Naturally I couldn't only buy the $5 grab bag of tomatoes for him soooo I bought a $1 cabbage, 3 zucchinis for $1, a pound of wax beans for $2, a tray of fingerling potatoes for $1, a 50-cent cucumber, a 50-cent green pepper, a pound of Georgia peaches, and for my stay-at-home beloved, 2 fresh pork egg rolls which didn't last long. Oh, and a 1 oz. baggie of radish sprouts to put on my lunch sandwiches (which I will remember to make and take) next week. I ran into my brother TW and his wife AR-A. They were buying flowering plants. I haven't seen them in forever so we stepped out of the flow and caught up with each others' lives but it was really crowded so we kept moving.
In a few hours our handyman friend will be here to take out the old avocado sinks and range hood and put in new ones. The dive guys laughed at me thinking that both sides could be done in one day but I don't see why not. They also asked me to guess how many trips to the hardware store would be needed and I said three. They agreed that at least I was realistic about something. I hope it all gets done but I'll be grateful if the rental side is done and we have to put off doing our side. I just want to find a new renter who'll take good care of the place and will stay a long time.
Did you hear that one of the big geysers in Yellowstone woke up the other night after 5 years of being dormant? Steamboat geyser (scroll down for video) is in Norris Geyser Basin, a frying pan of a place with lots of geysers and steamy holes in the ground. I could go back. Today.
August 3--Piero di Cosimo, The Young Saint John the Baptist. John hated his curly hair; he had his whole life. When he was about twelve he started wearing knitted caps to smash them down but when he took the hats off they sprang back up. His mother loved his curls. She shook her head sadly when he came home from camping with Josh with a shaved head.
Okay, that's it for me for today. I didn't sleep all that well so I might be considering a nap later. Or now. See you
--Barbara
First thing, I was about halfway to work when I realized that I'd forgotten to make a sandwich so I quick pulled into Subway on the way and got a sub. ($4 I didn't need to spend) Then when I got to the store and went to put my sub into the fridge, this is what I found. Seems a Pepsi and a Ginger Ale conspired to freeze, pop their tops and spew frosty, sticky soda all over. It was cold enough in the fridge and it gets opened so seldom that the soda stuck frozen to the walls and cans like a Slushee. What a royal pain. I got a bucket of water and rags and wiped out the great majority of it but I didn't take everything out and I didn't have a box of baking soda so I did a slapdash job but at least it isn't dripping with brown goo.
Second thing, I got the ad for the duplex all tidied up, double checked with the tenant when she'll be out, and posted the ad on Craigslist last night about 9 PM. By 9:15 I had an email inquiry. Yay! So I've emailed back to set up a viewing for Sunday afternoon. I've got Spanky coming tomorrow to install the sink and range hood and I wanted to give the tenant time to tidy up a bit. I did give her a reminder note this morning about the handyman and that I hoped the place will be tidy but she was running late and fighting with her daughter so it wasn't a good time to chat. (no sh*t, Sherlock) Maybe we'll find a good tenant fast this time. Fingers crossed. I had a customer in yesterday who told me that he and his wife sold their big house and moved into a condo house, freestanding, and they don't have to do any lawn care or snow removal or gutter cleaning or ANYTHING. (Yes, please.)
After supper last night I called Fantastick Sam's haircutting and got a quick appointment so I zoomed over there for a trim. I'm not sure how I'll like it but it looks less growing-out and more on purpose, so I guess that's good. Of course, I haven't washed it and combed it today, so that might change my perception of it. (ya think???)
A couple weeks ago when it was so hot Durwood took a picture of a squirrel sprawled on the arm of my patio chair. Too funny! He also let me have the bird pictures he's been taking. He's lucky, he gets to look out at them all day if he wants. Lots of hummingbirds stoking up for migration these days.
August 2--Paul Cezanne, Bathers. The four of them didn't talk about it, they just started disrobing in the warm sunshine and, one by one, they slid into the water. At first it was cold on their heated skin. Irene squeaked as the cool lake water rose to cover her breasts. Kay lifted her arms over her head when she was in just over knee deep and dived in head first. Dina and Julie held onto each other and edged in deeper very slowly. Eventually they were all in. Kay swam with sure, strong strokes looking like a pale otter as she glided through the water. Irene floated on her back, her face, nipples, and toes turned to the clear blue sky. Dina and Julie bobbed in the calm water talking and laughing, not paying attention to Kay. After a half hour a cloud slid over the sun and they began to feel the water's chill. The three of them, Irene, Dina and Julie, waded out onto the bank laughing about only having their clothes to dry themselves. Irene looked out across the lake. "Where's Kay?" she asked. Julie climbed a nearby boulder and used a hand to shade her eyes. "I don't see her." She turned to her friends. "Did she say she was swiming to the island?"
That doesn't sound good, does it? Nope, not one bit. I have to work today. *sigh* From 10 AM to 7 PM straight, and today I won't forget my sandwich AND the leftover pizza to scarf down for supper. (You know you're old when pizza lasts in the fridge for nearly a week.) Time for breakfast and to see if I can comb this new haircut so I look human. Toodles.
--Barbara
I plunged out into the chill-ish morning to snap pictures of tomatoes in the wild for you. Of course, I had to pick them too but not before I took a few glamor shots. I love being out there in the early morning cool with the pure sunrise light streaming down through that big maple tree behind Lee & Suzie's. The daisies and echinacea are still going gangbusters and the black-eyed Susans have grown up to screen the meter along the side of the house. The white lilies are as beautiful as ever. I found a Japanese beetle burrowing into one of them but I snatched it out of there and squashed it underfoot. Damned rapacious bugs.
I finally got firm confirmation from the renter that she'll be out by September 1 so I can put the ad on Craigslist today. For once we'll have a vacancy during the time that most people actually move, maybe we'll get a better crowd of applicants. I got the sinks and range hoods and faucets at Home Depot yesterday for not too scary an amount of money, and a guy loaded them for me. They'll live in Durwood's van until they get installed. I see no reason to wrestle them out to put them someplace in the way until Saturday.
I think Durwood's feeling better because he slept in bed instead of in the chair last night. He's had a muscle spasm, or something, in his neck for the last few days and it's been a bitch. He can barely move and I feel like I want to do something to make him better but there isn't anything, besides fetching him another pain pill every once in a while; that I can do. Aging isn't for sissies, I'm telling you.
August 1--Thomas Toft, Charger. I hate that Thomas Toft plate. The animals have crazy eyes and chains and sharp claws, and there's a skull in the tree. The paint's so thick that food gets caught on it and your fork can't slide on it. Jacob knows I hate that plate so he makes sure I get it when it's his turn to set the table. When it's my turn I make sure he gets the bent fork, the one that pokes your tongue if you're not careful. He hates that.
Siblings, can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em, and you really can't do without 'em. We used to squabble over the "long" spoon, a teaspoon with a narrow bowl. I don't know why it was more desirable than the others but I suspect that it was silver and felt cooler in the mouth. Or maybe it was just to spite the others. I also remember that it was a triumph to get the last of the milk. "I brank aww," TW would say. But there was more where that came from, Dad's parents had a farm with a few cows (not in Wisconsin, in Indiana). Kids. I'm outta here.
--Barbara
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