Woohoo!

Six o'clock today was the time to go pick up Fair entries so LB picked up HH and me around 5 o'clock and we went over to the fairgrounds.  I hurried over to the Cultural Arts area where the play kitchen was displayed--and it not only won a blue ribbon, it won Best of Show in its class.  WooHoo!  That means I can enter it into the State Fain next year if I choose.  It's tempting.  My Sudoku Afghan, mohair & wool shrug sweater, and felted purse each got a second place red ribbon. The nest of four owls, the pair of dishcloths, and the play kitchen got first place blue ribbons.  LB got 14 blue ribbons and one red one--and her baby hat, sweater, booties, and blanket won Best of Show too.  HH earned three blue ribbons and one red one.  We did good.  Now to plan for next year...

I finally took the time to go out to see what the garden has been doing all week.  Lots of tomatoes were ready for picking.  DIL1 said that she picks ripe tomatoes, bags them and freezes them until she's ready to roast them with onions, bell peppers, and garlic to make roasted tomato sauce to use in recipes all winter.  Brilliant!  So I got me out a gallon Ziploc and dumped all of the cherry tomatoes that were sitting around in the fridge and on the counter so they didn't just rot, then picked all the ripe ones.  I'll cut some up to put in my chickpea salads and slice others for lunch sandwiches.  I have half a cucumber that needs eating too.  I've got to get back to making decent food for myself.  Eating right makes me feel better.  I should do it.  This diet of cookies and ice cream isn't doing me or my waistline any favors.






The carrots are looking good.  I won't pick them for a while although I probably could thin them out so that the remaining ones got bigger... maybe I'll do that tomorrow or Tuesday.  The two butternut squash are growing nicely too.  Mm, squash soup is in my future.

Yesterday afternoon after we bagged and donated all of Durwood's clothing, carefully separating the business and casual clothes we discovered to our disappointment that the Salvation Army Men's Closet for men needing interview clothes is closed.  DD and I then took ourselves and our wallets to Joann Fabrics and made serious inroads.  A little retail therapy made the day a bit brighter.  I found some stretchy fabric to make leggings (all black and black & white print), the bolt end of the purple and orange floral linen I already have a small bit of, a bright floral for my first 100 Acts of Sewing Dress #3 which is basically a caftan, all there was of some creamy white cut fabric that I'll make a tank-like top from to wear over colored camisoles, some cream cotton printed with tiny black spiders, a pattern for culottes, and some needle threaders.  In the mail last week I got 2 yards of Bee Splat cotton from Spoonflower to make a shirt out of.  I thought I might cut out those three pairs of cotton leggings I got the fabric for a couple weeks ago but I just didn't have the oomph today.  I got a couple things accomplished--dropped Durwood's remaining Rxs down at the disposal box in the police station lobby, donated a few belts that we missed to Goodwill, and cancelled one cable box.  I figured if I can sit on the couch and see both TVs, that's one TV too many, and turning one box in will save me about ten bucks a month.  Every little bit helps.


Smoke from the California fires has finally made its way here.  The sun shone pink/red through the clouds when we were coming home Friday after the funeral.  The moon is red when it rises too but as pretty as it is I hope the fires are extinguished soon.  Scary stuff.



 


DD read yesterday's blog post and sent me the photo she took of Durwood's sea turtle urn nestled in the flowers.  I love the way it looks, don't you?  It's just right.

Time for bed.  I awoke before 5 AM again today.  I have hopes for sleeping later tomorrow.  Wish me luck.
--Barbara

Been Up For 5 Hours...

Evidently 5:00 AM is my bladder's wake-up time and this morning my brain clicked on at the same time so I've been up putzing around, making phone calls, trying to make the old remote talk nicely to the new TV (without any luck), and taking pictures of flowers.

But first... look at this butterfly that visited the zinnias yesterday morning.  It's a blue swallowtail.

 

Then in the afternoon a pair of male goldfinches visited the zinnias for an afternoon snack.  I am totally planting more zinnias in those planters next year.  They draw birds and butterflies, what's not to love.
 




Speaking of flowers, there weren't many yesterday but I love each and every one.  When the funeral guy asked what kind of flowers we wanted both DS and I said tropical and not in vases, in an arrangement that supported the (empty) sea turtle urn.  I don't have a picture of the turtle urn but it's exactly right.  Everyone loved it, I'm sure Durwood loves it too.  He'd better, since it's the vehicle that will take him back to the coral reefs he loved.




ETO, the woman who originally hired me to work at the dive shop, and her family sent this gorgeous arrangement of birds of paradise.  Perfect and absolutely beautiful.


 



Our friends from the Aqua Center dive shop sent this enormous peace lily.  It's amazing and it couldn't have come at a better time since the one they sent for Mom's funeral seven years ago isn't doing real well.  It's nice to have an all-green one to put in its place.




Aunt B, Mom's sister and the person that those of you who read this blog daily are familiar with from the comments, and her beloved sent this beautiful white orchid.  After posting this I'll be looking up how not to kill it on the internets and probably printing off a 10 page care manual.



 

A few members from the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild came and presented me with this extra-orange version of a prayer shawl from the Guild.  These women know my love of bright colors well.  I'll be sure to think of them when I'm wrapped in it--if the high temperatures and humidity every decide to leave.


It was lovely and heartening to have so many people come to share a hug and a Durwood story, to have a laugh at some of the crazy things he did.  It made us all feel like we weren't the only people that loved him.  Thank you all who came to the funeral and thank you to all who have sent FB messages.  You've made a difference during a very tough and stressful week.  Don't sell a quick FB message short, knowing someone's thinking about you and yours does indeed hold a person up.

DD and I met out-of-town friends for supper last night and we ate at Plae Bistro where I hadn't eaten before.  I had the mussels.  Oh. My. God.  They were so good.  The "small" plate is about a pound of mussels (which looks like a bushel basket full because of the shells) with succulent mussels in a rich, creamy liquid full of minced onions, garlic, and bell pepper with flatbread to sop it up.  I was proud that I managed to eat it all without having mussel juice dripping from my elbows.  I tasted DD's mac and cheese, it was good, better than good, but it'll be a long time before I look at anything but the mussels on that menu.

I haven't written a prompt for the last two nights.  I've been too tired by the time I rolled into bed.  I haven't neglected my little ankle stretches and my bedtime meditation, I just haven't written.  I'll get back to it, maybe tonight, tomorrow night for sure.  Today we're packing up all of Durwood's work clothes to take to the men's closet at the Salvation Army store.  Good thing we're strong both in muscle and stamina--or is that just our innate stubbornness?  Yeah, probably that last one.
--Barbara

Can't Go Back To Sleep...

... so I might as well blog since I didn't last night.  

Yesterday was a busy day, thank goodness.  I had lots of phone calls to make, bills to pay (because it was the 15th, a bill-paying day, gotta get back into the mindset of remembering now that it's my job again), an obituary to write, a funeral home to visit, and a daughter to welcome back.  I was (and am) eternally grateful that we spent the time last winter getting all of our estate planning ducks in a row.  All DS and I had to decide at the funeral home was when (Friday, 5:00 visitation, 6:00 short memorial service) and what kind of flowers (tropical).  Since Durwood wasn't a music guy, since his favorite music was Big Band music, we decided that In the Mood and One O'clock Jump weren't funereal music and since organ music just reminds us to look behind curtains for Dracula (or Lon Chaney) we'd skip the music.

On Tuesday LC and I made our famous and delicious Cornbread, Carrot, Cheddar Waffles.  Pretty soon she won't need my help to make them.  Once she's able to cut the carrot and the cheese with a knife and use the hot waffle iron I'm out of a job.  Oh, these are soooooo good.  A little butter, a little syrup, yum.

While we were playing outside this teeny-tiny butterfly visited the zinnias.  Can you see it?  It's on the white flower and it's about as big as my pinkie nail.





Today DD and I are headed back to the assisted living to return the chairs, lamps, and dishes back to Goodwill, take down and bring home the pictures, and gather up all the blankets and the clothes that are worth washing before donating.  Tomorrow morning DS and DD will haul the dresser, desk chair, and the cherry gate leg table I've got now back to storage and bring our original table back.  As much as I love the cherry table, it's not really a viable kitchen-type table.  I think it's time for someone else to love it.  I have lots of things that Grandpa made so I'm opting for function over sentiment.  Just this once.

August 16--Henri Rousseau, The Walk in the Forest of St-Germain.  As Jan walked along, the path narrowed and the trees closed in.  The day was hot.  It was the middle of August but just a few steps into the woods and she felt a chill.  She shifted her day pack on her shoulders, glad that she'd put in a long-sleeved shirt, and kept walking.  Matt had drawn her a map of how to get from the pond parking lot to his grandparents' place.  "It's an easy half-hour walk through the woods," he said.  "You'll be there before you know it."  He had come up last week Thursday to help his grandfather and uncles with a building project and invited her to come on Sunday to stay a few days.

Dun-dun-DUN.  Cue the ominous music.  Maybe I'll put a star by this one and see where I can take it one of these days.

I'm so glad that DD is here for a few days, that she doesn't have to zoom into town for the funeral and then zoom back home.  I'm especially glad because I know that she feels helpless to help with things because she lives so far away, so getting pressed into hauling mode is a very good thing.  I think I'll  (magnanimously) allow her to help DS tomorrow with the heavy things, give them a little brother and sister alone time.  I'm nice like that.  Well, the sun's starting to come up so I guess I'll end this and go see if the paper's been delivered.  I could do the crossword and my yoga (which I skipped yesterday--bad girl).  Thanks for all of your condolences on FB.  I'll read every one over and over.  You make me feel loved.
--Barbara

I Am A Widow

This evening around 6:30 my beloved Durwood breathed his last and took off for that big coral reef in the sky.  He's been my friend, my lover, my dive buddy, and my biggest cheerleader for the last 41-1/2 years.  I know I wouldn't have done half the things I've done or been brave enough to do any of them at all without his encouragement and confidence in me.  He fooled me into learning to SCUBA dive and then took me around the world to dive in spectacular places.  We had a great marriage that showed our two wonderful children how marriage should be.  We're so proud of DS and DD for the people they grew into and so happy that they are building their own great marriages--and making us some darling grandbabies too. He took care of me all that time and I returned the favor, especially in the last few years when COPD got the best of him.  As recently as last Sunday he found the breath to tell me how much he appreciated my hard work making his studio at the assisted living facility homey and a place that LC and OJ liked to visit.  Man, I'm going to miss that guy.

 

 --Barbara

Flowers & 'Flies

This morning as I was turning to go back inside after taking this photo to show you how high the sun is when I finally make it into the kitchen in the morning (after 7 o'clock, can you imagine?)...

I spied this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on the zinnias.  That early in the morning they're just hanging out letting the sunshine warm them up so they're fairly easy to take a picture of.  Naturally this one decided to flutter up, do a couple pirouettes, and then settle back down while I was getting him in my sights.  *sigh*  Life is so tough for an artist.  *presses back of hand to forehead*


 

See these little orange flowers?  These are butterfly weed.  They were some of the garden center's $1.49 coupon plants this spring so I plonked a few of them in by the blueberries and now I have more butterflies.




 

The purple coneflowers around the metal dragonfly sculpture are abloom too.  They also attract butterflies, as do the daisies and bee balm (which didn't show off as much as it did in previous years) so I'm happy to have them lure butterflies to my domain.









I'm not sure if these red begonias or red and yellow snapdragons attract butterflies or hummingbirds but I am compelled to take their pictures every time I walk past.  They must exude essence of Kodak or some other pheromone I am helpless to resist.








August 13--Joseph Karl Stieler, Katharina Botzaris.  Her hair fell in lustrous waves of dark brown touched with auburn as she bent over her work.  Ivory pale hands fluttered as she manipulated knitting needles and yarn.  Downstairs the house buzzed with preparations for the dinner party and an hour earlier she had been dressing with her maid's help.  The barest hint of makeup was applied, her hair was curled, and jewelry was chosen but now she waited.  To keep calm she knitted.  Everyone knitted for the soldiers.  There were knitting clubs and knitting drives, even children sat by their nursery fires making socks, hats, and scarves for the brave fighting men.

Tonight was the time to take entries to the County Fair so LB picked up HH and me so I could guide them through the mysteries of picking up the tags for our items and getting them ready for judging.  HH entered four things, I entered six, and LB entered a whopping fifteen.  Now we have to wait until Wednesday or maybe Thursday to find out if we've earned any ribbons.  Fingers crossed.  Once I got home I got busy with a pliers, level, and hammer and rehung some of the pictures in the living room to adjust for the furniture rearrangement.  It looks better.  It's hot and humid and I keep doing strenuous things outside, plus Durwood had a bad day (this weather does his breathing no favors even when he stays in air conditioning) so they called saying that he wanted me to come sit with him a while.  Poor man, I can't imagine not being able to catch my breath.  Send hugs.
--Barbara

Hauled the Desk, Etc.

I awoke just before 7 o'clock with the thought that I'd move the old computer desk, printer

desk, and desk chair out to the curb, change the Next Door ad to say "come and get it," and get the walnut desk moved into the living room where I've wanted it for years.  So I did.  The cool thing was that late in the morning when I was taking out a car seat to make room for a knitter the neighbor said hi and I said, "want a desk?" and he said, "I was going to ask about that.  We need a computer desk and chair."  Hallelujah.  I rolled the chair, he hauled the desk and hutch shelves, and all that's left at the curb is the printer desk which another neighbor volunteered to put in his pickup at 10 AM tomorrow so we can take it to the household dump site.  Double hallelujah.

So then I shoved things around, vacuumed up more dust of the ages, analyzed the phone and cable connectors (because I had to disconnect the modem and move it to a different resting place), unscrew the 6-outlet plugs that all of the computers and printers were plugged into over the years and go downstairs to dig out standard outlet covers, then drag the walnut desk and chair into its new spot.  Oh, and I moved the little cabinet that was in the doorway into the corner where the printer desk had been.  I need to figure out a place for my two knitting storage bins to go so they're not cluttering up that newly emptied corner and I need to rehang the pictures on that wall and the one over the couch but the room looks so much bigger and more open.  Ahhh.  When OJ saw the rearranged living room the other day he turned to me and said, "move this!"  Evidently I wasn't supposed to change things but he got used to it and managed to pave the carpet with toys just the same as he always does.




A pair of bluejays came to bathe.  We never have bluejays getting drinks or having baths.  I was thrilled (but then I'm easily thrilled by that sort of thing).

I picked up a bottle of Orange Glo at Walmart today then spritzed the cherry table and spread it around.  Not only does my dinette smell like oranges, the table, well, the table glows.  Later in the week I'll spend the time to treat the rest of the table to the orange oil treatment.  The wood just soaked it up, it was so dry from having spent all those years in storage.


This afternoon I visited Durwood and knitted on the Pink & Gray Anklet while we chatted.  I joked that I was knitting so slowly on it I'd probably have it finished in time to put it away for the winter but I think if I keep at it soon it'll be time to toe.  I should probably measure it next time I pull it out of its bag.

August 12--Claude Monet, Cap d'Antibes.  Years of prevailing winds had bent the trees to point to the east.  Used to the round tops of the maples and the tall cone shapes of the conifers at home in the States Georgia had a bit of trouble getting used to seeing most of the trees along the roads pointing off to one side.  She stacked her folding chair and her bag at the foot of one of them, slipped off her cover-up, and walked down the pebble and sand beach into the cool blue-green water.

Tomorrow evening is the time we get to take our County Fair entries to the fairgrounds so I'll spend tomorrow getting everything looking its best.  Fingers crossed that there are blue ribbons in my future.  Wish me luck.
--Barbara

Not a Productive Day

You know, I can't really tell you what happened to today.  I talked to a couple people on the phone in the morning, I remember that.  Then I got dressed to go to a wedding reception at 2:30 but ran a couple errands first.



At the reception, which had a circus theme, I got a henna tattoo on my hand.  I took a picture of the wedding cake which looked like three circus tents stacked atop one another but it was blurry so I deleted it.  The groom is a divemaster at the Aqua Center so I got to visit with a couple of the dive guys.  I miss those guys and their smartass remarks.  Sitting there in the breeze off the bay talking and laughing I almost teared up.  I guess I didn't realize how much I miss them.

Once I got home I sat with my feet up watching TV and knitting on the Montparnasse Eco Cardi back.  I hit the halfway row last night at Friday Night Knitting so I did some math to figure out how many stitches I still need to decrease and switched to decreasing every Right Side row.  I'll hit my target number before I get to 25" but I can knit even until I get there.  It'll all be sewn together so a straight part won't be that noticeable.


I was tired last night, it was late, I didn't write.  I'll write tonight, cross my heart.
--Barbara