We're on "baby watch." Have I told you that? Yeah, I probably have. Yesterday the UPS man brought something more important than mere Christmas gifts, he delivered the Pack 'n Play I got for half-price on Overstock.com. This is how it looks with the bassinet installed which I'm sure will be the way the newest Malcolm will use it for a month or two before he/she needs the "big kid" level. This is a very clever item the way it collapses like an umbrella and locks into shape; it even has a little mobile with leaves and a giraffe dangling over the bambino. I think the little danglies are more for me (since I'm a real fan of giraffes) but hopefully Cletus (the fetus; working title) will like it too. Errol the owl seems to like it, don't you think? He's the only baby human-ish analog we've got. Oh, and I laid in a 50 pack of little (but not newborn) diapers too. Just in case our baby needs clean pants while it's here visiting Grandma and Grandpa.
No sewing got accomplished yesterday. I had errands to run and a doctor's appointment (all good) so today's the day. I got one bed's sheets changed and will do the other just as soon as Durwood's not in it, then I can wash sheets and towels while I'm cutting and sewing. I had a brainstorm in bed last night--since I've got barely enough fabric to cover the windows I'm going to dig in the boxes (and boxes and boxes) of hem tape and bias tape from Mom and use some to turn the side hems to preserve as much of it as I can. Brilliant, no?
It's 6 degrees outside. Yes, that's what I said, SIX. (see the ice in the birdbath even with the heater on "blast"?) It was 9 degrees when I came home from knitting last night and I told Durwood that he wasn't going to be going to meet his Census 2000 friends today even if I drove him and dropped him at the door, it's just too damned cold. Thirty degrees takes his breath away, six degrees would have him on life support. Not worth the risk--plus his pals just called to say that they're not foolish enough to go outside today either. That settles it. *nods wisely in vindication*
I finished the candy cane hat at knitting last night but I'm thinking it needs a pompom. Yeah, it needs a pompom. I'll whip one up later and sew it on, then I can cast on another hat using that upside-down flower pattern and the cream yarn from the candy cane one. I'll use some of the sage green from the Barley hat for the stem. It'll be awesome. Speaking of knitting, last night Sylvia, one of the regulars, handed out her Christmas cards, which were slices of a cheesecake & pudding pie she'd made in a graham cracker crust with canned cherry pie filling on top. I thought about not sharing with Durwood (because I'm a greedy and selfish person) but it was a lot and I love him so we shared. I told Sylvia when she gave it to me that it wouldn't make it until 10 o'clock and I was right. It didn't make it much past 9:30--and I got home at 9:10. There were two very fast spoons dipping into that container. Yum. There's no picture, once the first bites was taken all bets were off, no time for taking pictures. (maybe if I give the container back she'll fill it up again... actually I need to think of something to put into it before I give it back, maybe some nuts since she's got all kinds of health issues but she was eating a bag of nuts when I arrived last night, yeah, good idea and there's a school fundraiser display of deluxe nuts at the U Bake down the street; I'm on it--since I have to go to the bird store later to see about a different birdbath heater that's flatter so it doesn't get uncovered after a few sparrow baths like our current one [damn the squirrel that chewed through the cord of the flat one anyway])
December 7--Pottier and Stymus Mfg. Co., Side Chair. Nettie never wanted to sit in the chair she called "the throne." Granny Beale sat in it all the time and she was an old sourpuss. Nettie figured it was because the carvings on the chair poked her in the back. Either that or Granny's shoes were too tight. Just last week Mama had dressed Nettie up in a frilly pink dress with a scratchy underskirt and give her the most awful white lace socks and tight, really tight, black patent leather shoes. "They're squishing my toes, Mama, they hurt me," she said but Mama snapped at her, "Get used to it, pretty shoes hurt." Mama meant to take her to some tea party at Mrs. Leopold's house but while Nettie was waiting on the porch their dog, Sam, rollicked up and shook stinky ditch water all over her itchy pink dress. Mama cried a little, not enough to ruin her mascara, but she left Nettie home to get cleaned up. Nettie made sure to wedge those pinchy shoes in the springs of her bed and promptly forgot where they were.
You stay warm. I'm going to go make me some oatmeal, I think, something warm and rib sticking. At least the sun's shining, there is that.
--Barbara
Are we there yet? It's damned cold out. There, I said it. It's supposed to rocket up to eleven degrees today. Eleven. One more than ten. Twenty-one lower than freezing. And we live here. It's too late to move too. Most of the people we love are nearby (except for DD & DIL2 and a few random aunts, uncles, and in-laws), my job is here, and I know where all the stuff is, stores and such, but, oh Nellie, it's cold outside. Actually it's kinda cold inside, my feet in my slippers aiming at the corner of the room are feeling the cold radiating in through the walls. Perhaps our 36 year old insulation needs beefing up? This is only the beginning too. Oh well, at least I'll have something to blog about for the next... five months and, lucky you, you get to listen/read.
I had four customers at work yesterday. Some actually bought stuff, well, two did, the third one will pay later (I sent an invoice with the item) and the fourth one made a list so her sons will know what to buy for Santa to bring. That left me lots of grandbaby hat-knitting time. I finished the Barley hat and cast on the Candy Cane hat and made good progress. They're both supposed to be newborn size but they look big to me so I carried up my copy of Knitting Rules! since I knew she had a chart of hat circumferences in there--both are bang on for newborns. Whew. Next I'm going down a needle size and see if I can't squeeze out a hat using the leftovers from the little sweater I knit for the shower (which is of course larger than newborn) so it'll have matching things (sometimes I'm such a dope). But first I'm going downstairs and work on sewing those curtains. I stripped the bed and put out fresh towels so I can fling laundry around while sewing too. I like to multitask.
And I can keep listening to The Aquitaine Progression on the Kindle Fire. I was wrong yesterday when I said that I thought it was written by someone using Ludlum's name but the technology references are all old school (no cellphones and few computers) so I looked up the original pub date and it's 1984 so it's a real Ludlum. No wonder it's so engrossing even if it is old school.
December 6--India, Princesses Gather at a Fountain. It was baking hot at midday. Shala wished she could lie in a stream of water flowing from the mountain on the horizon. In winter snow fell up on the slopes covering the gray rocks in blankets of cold whiteness. She craved the cold of winter. Even the birds were silent in the midday heat and even the poorest of the poor found scraps of shade to lie in until the fiery sun began to sink to the west. One of the dogs began to growl. The fur rose in a ridge down its back and Shala slid her feed to the ground. A piece of meet landed on the ground distracting the dog, then Benji's smiling face rose from behind the reeds.
Remember on Wednesday when it was 40 degrees and raining? We won't be seeing that for a while. Bundle up. Stay warm. Drink hot chocolate or, better yet, have a hot buttered rum.
--Barbara
Yesterday it got up to 41 degrees and rained, and it was very foggy in the night. Driving home from work I was very glad that it wasn't slick as greased glass on the roads like it was on Tuesday since Tuesday's snow had melted all over the streets. When I settled down into bed I noticed that the wind had picked up, and this morning it's still blowing a gale out there. It's 21 degrees and falling, and the wind chill's something like 7. I'll definitely be wearing my longies today in addition to some wool socks and toe warmers in my boots. Probably two shirts and a knitted shawl/scarf too. (hey, I sit still a lot at work and I get chilled.)
My excitement over having 4 customers on Monday drooped yesterday when I had one customer--at 4:30, just half an hour before quitting time. Two other people came in, one to pick something up that will be billed later and the other one just fact-gathering about a mask with her vision Rx in it. I don't know if I sold her or not, only time will tell. There weren't even packages from the UPS or FedEx guys for me to play with. I got a lot of knitting and listening done.
I finished listening to The Book Thief and moved on to The Aquitaine Progression by whoever's writing under Robert Ludlum's name these days. So far, so good. (I like me a good thriller.) I finished the keyhole sand dollar dishcloth for next week's exchange; it was interesting and fun to knit it from the outside in. It turned out twice the size I thought it'd be, further proof that I'm a loose knitter. If, no when, I make this again I'll be using smaller needles, but I'm thinking a washing and a spin in the dryer will tighten it up and make it look firmer and more... solid. Today I'm hoping to finish the baby hat I've got OTN and cast on the next one. Naturally they call for the same size needles or you'd better bet I'd have them both on at the same time and nothing would get done. (Yes, as a matter of fact I do have multiple needles in the size needed but I know myself well enough to know that neither hat would get done with any speed if I had them both on at the same time.)
We stayed in for our anniversary supper; it was crappy out and we had stuff to make anyway. We grilled a steak to
share (well, broiled it, it was raining out after all), baked a potato to share, and sauteed some mushrooms. We turned
off the TV and enjoyed talking about our lives and adventures. It was a
good time.
December 5--Mesopotamia, Openwork Plaque with a Rampant Goat eating a Plant. Early each morning Reynaldo came down the road into Sandy Ground with his goats. The fishermen were just rowing out to their boats as the sun rose and the old man followed behind them staking each goat out in its own patch of weeds. In the course of a week he worked his way up one side of the mile-long road and back to his house, that way he fed his goats and kept the shoulders of the road trimmed, kind of like a 6-goat public works department. Rose didn't mind when he tied the goats behind the Sea View. The tethers were short enough so that the goats didn't eat all of her bougainvillea but once a pair of them got loose and ate all the mangoes on her tree. That night she dreamed of feeding curried goat stew to the whole neighborhood.
Mmm, curried goat. Maybe I can talk Durwood into making us some curried goat over the weekend. He's got a new crockpot that needs breaking in. (what? you mean you don't have some goat meat in your freezer?? we do.) I'm off to read the funnies, eat some breakfast, and bundle up to brave the wind in order to comfortably to keep the world safe from SCUBA diving. I'm selfless that way. Stay warm.
--Barbara
of wedded bliss. Oh, not every day, I'm not a Pollyanna but overall it's been a pretty good ride so far. Durwood was a good choice in 1976 and he's a good choice now. We've done a lot of fun things together--raised two amazing kids, learned to SCUBA dive and gone all over the globe to dive, driven all over kingdom come, and he's still the guy I want to spend my vacations with... most of the time. Hey, it'd be wrong to be locked together like a couple of Popsicles. A couple needs time apart to appreciate the times together. You can quote me on that. It's also St. Barbara's Day. Coincidence? Perhaps not.
I rang the Salvation Army bell yesterday. I made some money and had a good time too, dancing and singing to the Musak and talking to the cart boy, that is until the next couple came 10 minutes early and kicked me off... but she had a better hat so I had to give in. It lit up, played music, and stood up then folded over. The battery's dead in mine. *sigh*
And it snowed. Twice. It waited to snow the second time until I'd shoveled the first one off the driveway AND the snowblower that we spent $155 to fix in September doesn't work. You'd better bet Durwood will be making an irate phone call later. Good thing we've got that scoop thing, otherwise I'd still be out there getting that wet, heavy stuff off the driveway. The chickens didn't seem to mind it when I took the bag of peels to them yesterday. (that's General Tso, low girl on the pecking order)
I finished a Tunisian short row dishcloth yesterday and tried to work on my Knitting Guild dishcloth for the exchange next Thursday but I think I might have added on one round. I know I backtracked Row 10 at least twice and, let me tell you, yarn overs are a bear to recover. I'll take another run at it today at work.
December 4--Vincent van Gogh, La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustine-Alix Pellicot) Jane was sure that her fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Martin's breasts were only held in place by her belt. Mrs. Martin wore a belted dress every day, the belt made out of the same fabric as the dress, and her breasts rested right on top of it, like if the belt broke they'd get away from their precarious perch on her chest. At age ten and a half Jane's own breasts were making their first tentative appearance so she was preoccupied with them. All of the rest of the teachers at Sacred Heart School were nuns and everyone knew that nuns didn't have breasts. It was kind of like Mrs. Martin carried the breasts for the entire faculty.
Okay, kiddies, it's just about time to go out and knit on the east side for most of the day. I've got new audiobooks on my iPod so once I finish The Book Thief I'll be set to move on. Won't have to amuse myself by myself for even a minute. Whew. BTW, this is a good book, not what I imagined it'd be but engrossing nevertheless. Bundle up, I plan to. I carried up an armload of thick woolen socks so I'll be wearing my boots with heavy socks and maybe even toe warmers if need be. I'm prepared.
--Barbara
What a crap looking day, but I'm going to go get Porter and see about a walk. We might not go far and we might park behind the big office and only play in the "lawn" for a bit but we'll go. For a while anyway. I have too much to do today to stay indoors (like I'm inclined to) and molder. I could keep myself occupied all day, I know I could, but I signed up to ring the bell for an hour for the Salvation Army and I have a chiro appointment and it's yoga night. And I need a manicure and to find a minute or ten to work on the curtains for the nursery. I promised to have them done by the weekend so I figure I'll dedicate Friday and Saturday to sewing them up and be on top of things. I need to wash the fabric first anyway so the curtains don't shrink when they're laundered; it's the smart thing to do. That I can accomplish today.
I had four whole customers yesterday, paying ones even. It was kind of amazing, exciting even to put that much moolah into the till. Of course I still had lots of knitting and listening time. I'm knitting a hat for the coming grandbaby as requested and I'm listening to The Book Thief on my iPod. It's different than I thought it'd be; it's about a young girl, a foster kid, growing up in Nazi Germany and her drive to read books and obsession with stealing certain ones, and Death is the narrator so he goes off every chapter or so talking about all the souls he's collecting. I'm liking it, it's got a broad scope and interesting characters. It's a YA book but I figure I'm old enough to read it.
I forgot to show you the gorgeous shawl that Lala gave me on Saturday. A friend brought it from Pakistan and she gave it to me. Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've seen? It's so soft and yet so warm and I think it's silk. I love it! Such a beautiful red-orange color too. Thanks thanks thanks.
December 3--China, Po (cymbals). The crash of the cymbals almost sent Bernie off her seat. She had been riding along on the music and was far from her seat in the darkened auditorium when the percussionist came in with a bang. She wasn't much of a music lover. Oh, she liked music all right she just didn't know much about it. She didn't know a symphony from an aria and she wouldn't recognize a cantata if one came up and bit her on the ankle. But her friend Alf had concert tickets and had invited her along, so she had put on her nicest black pants, a new white blouse, and her second-best bra and here she sat on a maroon velvet set under a painted starry sky with a bunch of swells around her, listening to a cymbals player with a yearning for attention.
I'd better get moving because I fear if I sit here looking out the window any longer I might just stay put until I have to go out. You have a good day and stay upright. No falling down allowed.
--Barbara
Man, I feel like someone's sitting on my eyelids. They just don't want to open more than half-mast. Ugh ugh ugh. And the weather guy's talking about it snowing through Wednesday. I'm not a fan. Not one iota.
Yesterday got away from me. I hate when that happens. It started well; I watched CBS Sunday Morning, DS called to arrange my visit to measure for the nursery curtains, DD called for a chat. I got dressed, ate breakfast (at 11 AM, what's up with that?!), and left to do what began as a couple errands and turned into a 4-store extravaganza. I got home around 2:30, had a cheese sandwich for lunch, got my measuring tape and notes and zoomed over to DS's to measure the windows. I stayed to visit for an hour or so, then came home to make soup. That took until almost 7 PM when we finished the turkey day leftovers for supper, then I portioned out the soup for 2 weeks' worth of lunches, portioned out thawed fruit, and got it all put away. DIL1 asked for some hats for the bambino so I searched for some patterns online and then dug out yarn and needles and cast on the first one while the soup pot soaked for an hour. I washed the dishes and it was past time to go to bed. So I did.
I think I"m getting a cold. My throat feels a bit scratchy and my eyes feel heavy. The only good thing I can see about today is that it's payday. My paycheck from the week before last is ready and waiting for me in the cash bag at the dive shop. I can cash it in the morning when I walk Porter, then at 1 o'clock I'm going to ring the bell at Copps for an hour (better dig out my antlers), then go to the chiro at 3 o'clock and yoga at 5:30. Already tomorrow seems like it's coming on at ramming speed. If it wasn't for that paycheck thing I think I'd go lie down.
Naturally when I wanted to get into bed and fall asleep immediately an interesting character popped out onto the page so I had to follow her a bit. *sigh*
December 2--Rembrandt, Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins. "This place is a pit," Joley said as she stepped off the bus. MaeEllen shook her head. "It's ruins." "It sure as hell is," Joley said, "I just wonder why we stopped. I'll bet there's no mall or flush toilets." She tugged at the hem of her red shorts to make sure she wasn't showing too much of what she called her "best feature" and tapped the toe of one gold leather sandal on the cracked pavers. MaeEllen pointed at the day's schedule. "See? Ten o'clock--tour of historic ruins of Roman occupation. It's not a town town, it's history. Didn't you read the itinerary?" Joley wasn't paying attention, she was rooting around in her purse for her lipstick. "Man, I would kill for a drink and a smoke." She looked around. "Do you think there's a taverna anywhere a girl could get a drink and sit in the shade?" She snagged the sleeve of their bus driver who was walking by. "Hey, Paco, you know where there's a bar?" The man drew his sleeve out of her grasp. His name was Constantine but he did not want this woman to know it. "I am sorry, Madam, but no, there is not one here," he said in perfect English. Joley brayed out a laugh and slapped his hand. "I'm no madam, Paco honey, but I do like to have fun. What do you have in mind?" Constantine turned away and MaeEllen shook her head. It might have been a mistake to invite Joley along on her Wheel of Fortune trip to Italy.
See? I was sorry to leave them standing there in the hot sun but I needed to go to sleep. Well, it's finally gotten semi-light out there. Probably time for me to get a move on before I nod off and bang my forehead on the keyboard. See you later, kiddos.
--Barbara
It's time to step back onto the work track and get ready to go off to the dive shop tomorrow. Time to set the alarm clocks so I can get up to greet the sun. (yeah, that's it! that's a good thing, right? right?) I need to remember that I like getting up to greet the dawn, I do. Really. I need fruit cut up too. Wonder if Aldi has pineapples? I'll as Durwood, he's the one who checks the ads.
I need to give Mardi a big "thank you" for recommending that we have lunch at Paradigm in Sheboygan; it was awesome. It's in an old corner store with salvaged doors as dividers, old two-wheelers on the columns and lined up along the bathroom hallway wall, and mismatched tables and chairs. The menu has hummus and other appealing sandwiches on fresh breads with interesting sauces and names, a homemade soup of the day too. I'll go back.
The movie was good too, but I think the best part of the day was the walk we took along the river. Lala wanted to just walk around the block where we were parked by the cafe but I thought along the river would be better, and it was. See? We need to do that again, lunch and a walk and a movie, it was an excellent way to spend a Saturday, I left home at noon and got back around 7:30. It's the perfect distance for a down and back in a day--an hour drive. But I didn't knit a stitch all day. *gasp* Didn't sew any either. Oh well.
The renter just delivered the check. Yay for rent! And there are 3 bluejays taking turns at the feeders. Too much fun.
December 1--Rembrandt, Christ and the Woman of Samaria among Ruins. He hunched over his work table deep into the night scribing lines to catch the ink. Not satisfied with a reference to a shape or face, he was precise. Faces looked like people, leaves and flowers were recognizable, the angle of a line gave dimension to the piece. He crossed the lines and suddenly and arm was rounded. He saw the light and shadow, the depth and dimension of forms, how people were planes and cylinders and spheres. She watched him from the doorway, watched his concentration wrinkle his brow. Surely someone other than her recognized how talented he was and did it soon. They wouldn't have food or a roof over their heads if his work didn't start selling.
Here it is the first of December already. Were you ready for that? I sure wasn't, but then I look outside and it doesn't look like December 1 did when I was a kid, there's no snow. Well, there're a few remnants in perpetually shady places but nothing a person could call real snow. It's not beginning to look a lot like Christmas, the grass is still green. Makes it hard to get into the spirit. Today I get to measure to make valances for the baby's room, gotta get those sewed tout suite, that baby could come at any time now. Woohoo!
--Barbara
We're on "baby watch." Have I told you that? Yeah, I probably have. Yesterday the UPS man brought something more important than mere Christmas gifts, he delivered the Pack 'n Play I got for half-price on Overstock.com. This is how it looks with the bassinet installed which I'm sure will be the way the newest Malcolm will use it for a month or two before he/she needs the "big kid" level. This is a very clever item the way it collapses like an umbrella and locks into shape; it even has a little mobile with leaves and a giraffe dangling over the bambino. I think the little danglies are more for me (since I'm a real fan of giraffes) but hopefully Cletus (the fetus; working title) will like it too. Errol the owl seems to like it, don't you think? He's the only baby human-ish analog we've got. Oh, and I laid in a 50 pack of little (but not newborn) diapers too. Just in case our baby needs clean pants while it's here visiting Grandma and Grandpa.
It's 6 degrees outside. Yes, that's what I said, SIX. (see the ice in the birdbath even with the heater on "blast"?) It was 9 degrees when I came home from knitting last night and I told Durwood that he wasn't going to be going to meet his Census 2000 friends today even if I drove him and dropped him at the door, it's just too damned cold. Thirty degrees takes his breath away, six degrees would have him on life support. Not worth the risk--plus his pals just called to say that they're not foolish enough to go outside today either. That settles it. *nods wisely in vindication*
I finished the candy cane hat at knitting last night but I'm thinking it needs a pompom. Yeah, it needs a pompom. I'll whip one up later and sew it on, then I can cast on another hat using that upside-down flower pattern and the cream yarn from the candy cane one. I'll use some of the sage green from the Barley hat for the stem. It'll be awesome. Speaking of knitting, last night Sylvia, one of the regulars, handed out her Christmas cards, which were slices of a cheesecake & pudding pie she'd made in a graham cracker crust with canned cherry pie filling on top. I thought about not sharing with Durwood (because I'm a greedy and selfish person) but it was a lot and I love him so we shared. I told Sylvia when she gave it to me that it wouldn't make it until 10 o'clock and I was right. It didn't make it much past 9:30--and I got home at 9:10. There were two very fast spoons dipping into that container. Yum. There's no picture, once the first bites was taken all bets were off, no time for taking pictures. (maybe if I give the container back she'll fill it up again... actually I need to think of something to put into it before I give it back, maybe some nuts since she's got all kinds of health issues but she was eating a bag of nuts when I arrived last night, yeah, good idea and there's a school fundraiser display of deluxe nuts at the U Bake down the street; I'm on it--since I have to go to the bird store later to see about a different birdbath heater that's flatter so it doesn't get uncovered after a few sparrow baths like our current one [damn the squirrel that chewed through the cord of the flat one anyway])
