I had so many customers I almost didn't have time to crochet at work yesterday. Horrors! It was actually kind of fun to have live humans in the store wanting to buy things and then handing over cash money or a credit card and buying things I had to ring up and bag up, and then they took the things away with them. Most of them were teetering on the brink of a Spring Break get-away, the most last minute of them was leaving at 4:30 that very afternoon. Two of them are leaving this coming weekend and the longest-planning one is leaving next weekend. None of them surpasses the guy a few years back who came in on his way to the airport; he wins the prize for "waiting til the last minute."
I did finish March Men's Chemo Hat #2. I love the colors, that lime-y green is starting to grow on me, all greens are (hat's off to you, Mom [green was her favorite color]) but the only blue I like is a sunny blue sky and the turquoise blue of the ocean, especially when my feet are in the sand and I've got my scuba gear on. Well, I like ocean blue even if I'm not going diving at that moment. In all honesty I have to say I like denim blue too because, well, who doesn't like jeans? But that's it for blue. Really.
I also started March Men's Chemo Hat #3. I crochet much faster than I knit so I'm always on the lookout for a good beanie pattern to crochet because I am absolutely certain that no man will wear a hat that isn't basic. This one starts with the toast brown, it'll shift to the chocolate brown, and then end with black. My eagerness to see how it turns out is making me work faster, plus I've got a couple weeks, don't I? I have to go down and survey my stock of Red Heart Soft yarn to see what other colors I have to play with.
March 12--Myceneaean, Reproduction of the Gold "Mask of Agamemnon" It had to be a death mask. No one, not even a king, would endure having his face covered with gold. The thing was flattened out which made it look like a child's drawing.
I was tired, what can I say? Plus I'm pretty excited that DD is home so I don't have many brain cells leftover for writing. Today we're going to assault, uh, visit all the fabric, yarn, and Goodwill stores in town. We have coupons. Be afraid, be very afraid. Besides it's back to being under 20 degrees for a daytime high temp. Bah.
--Barbara
Because I replaced a wall socket all by myself and didn't even get a shock. You know how they get loose, how you have to jiggle the plug to make it work, well, I got tired of that so I talked to my electrician friend, TD. He drew me a diagram and even ran out to his truck and gave me a new socket. When I offered to pay him he said, "buy me a burger next time." So I will. I asked if I should turn off the electricity to the plug first and he said, "I wouldn't but you should." So I did. Durwood said it was very hard for him not to come into the bedroom to watch over my shoulder but he restrained himself and I'm so glad he did. I did it all by myself.
DD arrived around noon, just as I was finishing up cleaning the bathroom. Whew. We had some soup for lunch and then she and I went right down to the sewing machines to sew up our jelly roll race quilt tops. See you need 40 strips of fabric around 20" long that you sew together into one looooooong, 1600 inch strip. Then, and this is the fun part, you grab each end and sew them together. Yes, you sew an 800 inch long seam, cut the fold, and then join the ends again (400 inches), cut the fold, and seam again (200 inches), cut the fold, and seam again (100 inches), cut the fold, and seam again (50 inches). Those last two go really fast, and then you have a quilt top which is a solid piece of fabric that you can border (put flat strips around like picture matting), sandwich together with batting (the fluffy middle stuff) and backing fabric, then quilt or tie them together so that the batting doesn't shift, bind the edges, and you have a quilt. We were both careful how we joined our strips and got completely different designs than we thought we would, we like 'em but they aren't as random as we thought they'd be. Too much fun.
Today I get to work (oh, yippee skippy) although it's my own fault as Mr. Boss offered to work for me but I can't face having a one-day paycheck next week and DD's going to spend the day with a certain someone she's anxious to meet for the very first time. Tomorrow, however, the fabric, craft, and Goodwill stores in town need to be on guard because we are planning a shop hop. Mwa-ha-ha-ha.
You have to see the cool quilt blocks DD is embroidering. It's called redwork because you embroider only with red on white or black fabric. She's chosen white-on-white and her designs are Sunbonnet Sue but a Sunbonnet Sue like you've never seen before. This one's Pirate Sunbonnet Sue. I love them. She's dynamite at doing outline stitch. I wish my Grandma Angermeier and Great-grandma Stephan could see her work.
March 12--Seymour Joseph Guy, The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in their New York Dining Room. Will stood on the chair next to the terrarium trying to reach the bouquet. Bert still had his schoolbooks in his right hand; in his left one he held the small bouquet he had picked out of Mrs. Hastings' flower beds. Hattie had dropped her straw hat and was reaching for the flowers too. Even baby Ella squirmed to get down from her mother's lap to join the fun. Alice tried to remember how Robert had talked her into having four children and why she had fired the latest nurse governess. Even with Bert and Hattie in school most of the day it took a lot of mothering to get through until Robert came home for the evening and bedtime brought peace.
Okay, now I've chatted with DD and fooled around enough so that I need to make tracks if I'm going to work in more than my sweats, a stained hoodie, and yesterday's underpants. Toodles.
--Barbara
DD called an hour ago to say that she was just about ready to drive away from the Gurnee La Quinta and make her way homeward. I am SO glad that we convinced her to break her trip last night. She probably got there somewhere between 10 and 11 pm and that was enough driving for the day, I am sure. She asked me to call Dell's so she can get her drivers' door window convinced to go back up and stay there. Seems after the first tollbooth yesterday it wanted to stay down. She managed to tug it back up enough so that she was comfortable leaving the car parked in the motel lot for the night but it needs to be fixed. Durwood's having one last nap before I get out my cattle prod and bull whip and make him clean "his" room. With two bedrooms it's so much easier to have his clothes and stuff in one and mine in this one, plus he can nap and I can write or web surf and no one's bothered by the other, but that also means that when we have sleep-over company things have to be dusted and rearranged. I'll change the sheets and then we can do a little dusting and sucking, it'll be quick and (relatively) painless.
After yesterday's sun and 58 degree day, we're back to the dreary gray skies and 39 degrees with a chance of flurries in the afternoon. Tomorrow's supposed to be the nadir of the week (coldest, at 20 degrees) and then they say it'll bounce back toward normal by the weekend. To be frank, I don't care what it does in the middle of the week as long as it's safe for DD to drive here and home again next Sunday.
This morning Durwood looked out the kitchen window and called, "there's a mouse on the fence." I looked out and thought, that's one big mouse, but then I looked closer and it's a chipmunk, the first chipmunk I've seen in 2014. It didn't look thrilled to be out of its nice warm winter den, did it?
Yesterday at work in between customers and counting drysuit underwear I had time to work on March Men's Chemo Hat #2. I love the colors and hope some vet likes them too.
Didn't write to the prompt last night. It was a long sleeved, unitard kind of thing made of silk and nylon and spandex with a jacket that was supposed to be Versace beachwear. I didn't get it, it didn't spark one idea, so I turned out the light and gave up. Tonight will be better, I'm sure of it.
Waiting for my best baby girl...
--Barbara
Did you remember to "spring forward"? Didn't you think it was too dark when your alarm clock jangled this morning? I did. I got up, sprinted around the foot of the bed, slapped it off, and scurried right back under the covers for a half hour so that I could see my hand in front of my face when I got out of bed. Okay, so maybe I exaggerate a little, but it was demoralizing for it to be dark that late when we've battled back into the light from the mid-winter dark.
An amazing thing happened on Saturday afternoon. The phone rang and it was a woman asking if we'd allow campaign signs in our yard for a father and son running for city council and county board, respectively. I said no, and then she asked if I'd vote for them so I asked the candidates' opinions on the Walmart issue (Wally World is the only company willing to step up and redevelop a property on the fringe of a burgeoning local specialty-business district but also smack dab in the middle of one of the poorest and underserved (no grocery store in reach if you haven't a car) parts of the city, plus Walmart's willing to foot the bill to remediate the asbestos and tainted ground of the site. Seems like a win-win to us but the mayor's totally against it.) She said they're against it so I told her that they both lost our votes. Within 15 minutes the phone rang and it was the Jr. of the pair setting the record straight that both he and his dad are for the Walmart project. Durwood picked up another phone and the three of us had a lively discussion about that issue and a few others. It felt good to be listened to so actively.
Yesterday on my way out of the university after the concert (which was good and short, at least "our" part) I spied a small flock of wild turkeys. They immediately started to move away and the snowdrift was pretty darned high but I kind of got a picture. See?
March 10--Winslow Homer, Boys in a Dory. Caleb and Amy bought an odd lot for fifty dollars at the estate auction. Caleb was a big fan of odd lot boxes but Amy had lost her enthusiasm for them when her two dollar "box of buttons and oddments" turned out to include a full set of false teeth. Caleb's lot contained a pair of mismatched wooden chairs, a pine box of canning jars, and three original paintings in frames. She was glad to get the jars because she'd given most of hers away full of applesauce over the last year and the chairs could get sanded and painted for patio use. The picture frames were a little ornate for her taste but she liked the painting in shades of gray of boys in a boat. That one might make the living room wall.
I'm a big fan of Winslow Homer's work, not that portrait of his mom so much, but his other works. He's one traditional artist whose work I regularly recognize. It's a work day and it's finally getting light enough to see across the street. Oh, and I had to take the big green baffle off of the feeder and put the little red one back. When I got home from the concert yesterday the wind had whipped the green one around so that the whole feeder assembly flew off the hook and landed on the ground. Plus Durwood opined that the bluejays would never come to feed on the peanuts (our target bird for that feeder) with all the flapping and clanging. So I clomped out, brought it in, cut off the big green baffle, and put the small red baffle back on with his help. Now I hear him in the kitchen pumping up his BB gun so I assume the squirrels (at least one of them) has rediscovered how to launch themselves at the thing and come back to earth with a prize. Maybe we'll concede this battle and just buy more peanuts. It's work day. It's PAY day. It's also the day that DD starts her trek homeward. So not a bad day considering it's Monday. See you later, alligator.
--Barbara
The giant squirrel baffle seems to be doing its job although it sure does flap around in the gusty wind we're having today. The squirrels are foiled (so far) and the bluejays haven't gotten brave enough to land, but I have faith that they will, maybe on a less windy day. I have faith. See this messed up snow? That's where I fell down when my snowshoes crossed coming down from trimming the last of the raspberry canes. I'm so graceful.
I've got a cauldron of chicken and veggie soup simmering on the stove for work lunches and feeding DD this next week, so the house smells delicious. I might have to make some cookies or brownies when I get home from a little orchestra concert this afternoon. Don' t they sound good on this dreary, late winter day? Yeah, I think so too. A lady I know at the grocery makes brownies and puts half the brownie batter in the pan, lays on candy bars, and then puts the rest of the batter on, and THEN bakes them. This might be a variation I need to try. Now.
March 9--China Sutra Box with Dragon. Vivian paid Ralph for the red lacquered box and hurried home with it. As she thought, it was exactly right for the sofa table. Ralph had given her a tiny brass key on a golden ribbon, saying that it was the original key and, "I should charge extra for it but I've got a soft heart." Vivian didn't think he had a soft heart but was a shrewd businessman who had figured out how to part people from their money. She held the little key up to the light and saw a tiny dragon etched into the metal that matched the one etched on the box's lock. She slid the key into the lock and turned it ever so carefully. She gently lifted the lid, releasing the scent of incense and old paper.
That's it for me. Time to stir the soup, turn down the burner, and go to the concert.
--Barbara
That's what Durwood and I said to each other yesterday morning while watching the ballsiest of the &^%$# tree rats vault itself over the red baffle, hook a paw onto the peanut wreath, and leap to the ground with a peanut in its mouth. There had been a MUCH bigger one at Stein's when I got the pretty little red one on Tuesday so I got ready to meet AT a little early and zoomed over there it see if it was still there. It was (whew) and I made it mine. After I got back home I went out, got the peanut wreath, and changed the baffle. That thing is HUGE. I'm not lying, it looks like the top of a 55 gallon drum--but it works. See how it's kind of flapping? That's because Mr. Ballsy Squirrel had just made three attempts to nab a nut and been denied three times. I'm not doing the victory dance yet, I don't underestimate the craftiness of the tree rat population, but I'm hopeful.
AT and I had an adequate lunch at Fazoli's (seems more of an emergency "we don't want to cook" sort of place, except for the yummy breadsticks of which I could eat an embarrassing number at a sitting if unrestrained) and then went to the Botanical Garden to see all the pretties. Photos weren't allowed of the embroidery or quilts or flower arrangements but I got permission to snap the wall of "challenge" art quilts. That was very interesting; each quilter in the group got an envelope with a paint strip and a leaf in it and were challenged to make a 16" X 16" quilt using that leaf motif and only those colors. I loved each and every one for the creativity and skill of the quilter. I might be up for a challenge like that. We found out from our knitting guild friend, LB, that the reason there were no photos allowed was so no one would use a photo to copy someone else's design. I guess that makes sense, although it never occurred to me to steal someone's design, maybe use it as a springboard for my own ideas but not to copy it stitch for stitch. I'm not sure why the ikebana people didn't allow photos, maybe they just didn't want to be left out. I didn't even consider a photo of the "antiques study group" exhibit which seemed to be nothing more than a sales booth. Not that I minded, I managed to drop a few bucks on 4 paper fans (I collect fans) and 2 pairs of embroidery scissors. It was a fun afternoon.
This morning I got busy early and strung all the parts of my Beware the Idiots of March art challenge piece. It's done and I love it. It turned out just the way I imagined it would--and that rarely happens with me, so yay! I still need to trim the ends of the strings tying all the parts onto the wire coil once the glue dries but it's essentially finished. I'm calling it Icarus--with apologies to Matisse and Calder, and thanks to Emery Blagdon. I think MH and DG are planning monthly art challenges; I might not play every month but I'll keep an open mind.
March 8--China, Sutra Box with Dragon. Vivian found the red lacquer box under a table in the junk shop on Meadville's Main Street. She had been poking around in the shadows for something interesting to put on the sofa table. She'd looked in the antique shops downtown first and was now working her way through the thrift and junk shops in the area. She thought the owners of this one had to have a sense of humor because it was called "The Junque Shop" painted in big gold letters on the windows. The bell over the door had barely stopped jangling before a man's voice boomed from somewhere in the back. "How do, girlie, I'm Ralph, look around and holler if you get lost or trapped." Yes, she thought, definitely a sense of humor. She had been poking around for about fifteen minutes when she spotted the corner of the box lit by an errant sunbeam. It was about fourteen inches long, eight inches deep, and about the same high, just the size she was looking for. She pulled it out into the light and was delighted to see a dragon painted in gold on the front. The price tag read "$45"-- sold.
Okay. It's 10:30. I think I need to make some toast or something; I'm kinda starving. Later, dudes and dudettes.
--Barbara
Woohoo! I love me a countdown, don't you? Especially counting down to something so eagerly anticipated. Now we just need the capricious March weather to cooperate so her drive home is long but uneventful. I'll be whipping up a cauldron of chicken soup this weekend and encouraging Durwood to figure out some menus for the week (I'm putting in my order for Chicken Bengali), and I found out yesterday that DS doesn't have a beer event on the 15th after all so maybe we can get everyone together for a meal the night before DD leaves. Wouldn't that be great?
I finished up the Ugly Bunny for Telaine's Girly last night and at work yesterday I cast on a swatch of a cable I'm thinking of using for the Knitting Guild design challenge... that I have to have designed, written up, and knitted by the second Thursday of April. Eek. I like the cable, I even like the color of the yarn, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make it do what I want it to do. What I really need to do this morning is enlist Durwood's help to get the wire coil for my Beware the Idiots of March art challenge strung up so it hangs, which is the only way I can get the rest of it assembled. I don't "art" very much but I'm enjoying this. I guess sewing and knitting are art-like but since they produce functional items (at least that's my intent) I think of them less as "art" and more as "making stuff."
It's supposed to get into the 30s and 40s this weekend. D'you think I should get out my shorts? Should I put my longies and boots away? No to both, this is Wisconsin and moderate temps in March are just a teaser, and the nail tech told me the other day that she heard that it's not supposed to really warm up until June. Part of me recoiled in horror and part of me thought "yeah? so? sounds normal to me." This is sure a fun and exciting place to live.
There were a bunch of squirrels trying to get around the baffle we put on the peanut wreath yesterday morning and Durwood just called out that he thought the tree rats are massing for another assault. They can assault all they want as long as they don't succeed and I have to think of another idea.
March 7--Lucas van Leyden, The Archangel Gabriel Announcing the Birth of Christ. All of his clothes were stained with brown ink. He used iron gall ink that rusted as it aged so what started black turned brown in a very short time. Gabe spent so much time at his drawing that he had a hard time straightening up. His pieces were very detailed and he spent hours drawing the thin shading lines. The iron gall ink was much easier to get than the blood he had used before. People complained at the deep red color of it and he tended to bleed himself too much and too often. He fainted a lot before he found the formula for the iron gall ink.
I get to meet my guild friend, AT, for lunch at Fazoli's (breadsticks!) and then we're going to that flower/embroidery/art quilt/antique show at the botanical garden. And it's Friday Night Knitting night. But the weather guy said we could enjoy a "wintry mix" later today. It's always something.
LC says, celebrate your Friday.
--Barbara
I did finish March Men's Chemo Hat #2. I love the colors, that lime-y green is starting to grow on me, all greens are (hat's off to you, Mom [green was her favorite color]) but the only blue I like is a sunny blue sky and the turquoise blue of the ocean, especially when my feet are in the sand and I've got my scuba gear on. Well, I like ocean blue even if I'm not going diving at that moment. In all honesty I have to say I like denim blue too because, well, who doesn't like jeans? But that's it for blue. Really.
I also started March Men's Chemo Hat #3. I crochet much faster than I knit so I'm always on the lookout for a good beanie pattern to crochet because I am absolutely certain that no man will wear a hat that isn't basic. This one starts with the toast brown, it'll shift to the chocolate brown, and then end with black. My eagerness to see how it turns out is making me work faster, plus I've got a couple weeks, don't I? I have to go down and survey my stock of Red Heart Soft yarn to see what other colors I have to play with.
