..lives again!
I have been using one of our old phones. And it worked perfectly fine.
And I knew how to use it. Which was a way big plus.
But it was hard to text on this ‘old fashioned’ phone. Isn’t that funny? Old-fashioned cell phone! (…why, back in the day, I remember when there were party lines, and different homes had different rings…and there were rotary dials…and manual typewriters were for ‘texting’…)
Wonderful Guy and I went phone shopping. Seems there is a ‘lost and stolen plan’ where one gets a discount, albeit a lesser one than the ‘new every two’ plan. So we went to see what there was to be had in a comparable style to what I really liked and enjoyed and had fun with, but unfortunately, appeared to have killed.
None of them were as nifty neat-o as the one I water-boarded.
Except the Blackberry Storm…oooh….now that is like chocolate chocolate chip ice cream….yummy and sweet!
Also. Very expensive. And I have been jonesing for a dSLR camera since the first of the year. I don’t want to have to spend some of THAT money on a new phone that I shouldn’t have to need.
So I went home and tried up my dead phone once more. And I thought to plug it into the charger, and lo! The display lights up.
Says ‘Battery charging’! Well. Saints alive!
15 seconds later? ‘Battery charged’ That can’t be right.
I unplug it and the display goes blank. And I am downcast again.
But then, I think…I should try to turn it on while it is plugged in! And , behold! it fires up, just like a normal, dry phone ought to! I can’t call, because service has been switched, but I take a photo, and it works…as long as it is plugged in.
Not plugged in, dead as a door nail.
Wonderful Guy tests the battery with a zapper charger battery checker thing he has in a magic bag of tricks he keeps in the garage, and it appears…appears….the battery is fried.
A new one was ordered for far less than…say, a Blackberry Storm….and winged its way to me even as I anxiously awaited all week.
It arrived today, and I could tell immediately there was life to be had! After a brief charging, a nice chat with the Verizon guy (I looked looked over my shoulder and didn't see the crowd that is in all the commercials...I was reduced to phoning!), I called/txted all the kids that were witnessing to the flushing fiasco.
Momma's a happy camper, and the wallet no less flatter for it!
July 31, 2009
O is for…
Oenothera macrocarpa, otherwise known variously as Missouri Sundrops/Moondrops, or Evening Primrose.
(I thought for a while my O post was going be about the arrival of Grandbebe Opal but she has delayed her arrival for unknown reasons…much to Bebe Momma’s chargrin. Maybe later this week…or maybe next!)
I brought several plants with me when I moved from Missouri to northern Colorado. Folly perhaps, but one I deemed worthy of effort. After all, the growing zones, not so much the same! But some took. (My stand of willow leaved sunflowers are probably looked upon as weeds by the current owners of my old house!) Some did not. (Alas for my poor blood root.)
Evening primrose took to the Colorado climate pretty well, and was one that I transplanted when I took over…I mean….when I started sharing Wonderful Guy’s yard.
Oenothera has several manifestions that grows all over the county. Tall ones, low to the ground…yellow that fade to coral, white that fade to pink…broad ones, 5 inches across, little ones, not quite a couple inches wide.
I am constantly fascinated, however, that what bloomed for me in Missouri in May/June…is blooming for me here…end of July.
Over ten years here, and my head is still in a zone 5b-6a, instead of zone 4b, where I really live.
(I thought for a while my O post was going be about the arrival of Grandbebe Opal but she has delayed her arrival for unknown reasons…much to Bebe Momma’s chargrin. Maybe later this week…or maybe next!)I brought several plants with me when I moved from Missouri to northern Colorado. Folly perhaps, but one I deemed worthy of effort. After all, the growing zones, not so much the same! But some took. (My stand of willow leaved sunflowers are probably looked upon as weeds by the current owners of my old house!) Some did not. (Alas for my poor blood root.)
Evening primrose took to the Colorado climate pretty well, and was one that I transplanted when I took over…I mean….when I started sharing Wonderful Guy’s yard.
Oenothera has several manifestions that grows all over the county. Tall ones, low to the ground…yellow that fade to coral, white that fade to pink…broad ones, 5 inches across, little ones, not quite a couple inches wide.I am constantly fascinated, however, that what bloomed for me in Missouri in May/June…is blooming for me here…end of July.
Over ten years here, and my head is still in a zone 5b-6a, instead of zone 4b, where I really live.July 30, 2009
Custom Gowns
...and a mom that has game.
(That can be taken several ways. There are several 'moms' involved')
Middle Daughter came to visit in May for my birthday and went to the computer to print off a pattern.
"Mmmmmooooommmm! Make this for me!!!!!"
"OK, honey....whatever you want....what is it?'
It was a pattern (from here) for a make-it-yourself (or myself, as the case may be) gown to wear in the hospital while she was birthin' the grandbebe three.
Her Lil' Sis wasn't so impressed then, but later got on board (as I remember it). I had a couple of lengths of fabric in the required quantity (thank you thank you, Wisest Sister), and on the occasion of the recent visit of Eldest Daughter, went to JoAnns and bought the necessary notions with all the good coupons, because...
Have you checked out the price of notions lately! Well. Don't. Unless you have couponage! Gak!
When Youngest Daughter went to the hospital this past weekend a couple weeks early, I had not made her gown. Seriously, it was on the schedule for that Saturday. Grandbebe Two, however, was not to show up, and I had my second chance.
Youngest Daughter's custom-made, bebe-birthin', hospital gown got done. I took it to her forthwith. Who knows when the for real and for keeps trip to the hospital is going to come? I packed up the gown, and the camera, and off I set.
Had her try it on, because, after all...internet pattern (see boppee story here)! And I needed a photo for the blog. Which I completely forgot while trying to elicit hugs from Grandbebe Girl with a poptart. It's all about priorities I say.
So. I called up Youngest Daughter and was all...
"Hhhhhhoooonnnnneeeeeeey! Do this for me!!!!!"
"OK, Mom....whatever you want....what is it?'
Because that's how we roll!
I have told Youngest that if the hospital 'has rules' and says ix-nay to the bringing of one's own attire, I will be holding off sewing on the other for Middle Daughter, and that we will be sending this one to her!
July 28, 2009
Ongoing challenges
While I have spoken in the past about reaching peace with where I am age-wise, in regard to all things mental and physical, it is an ongoing challenge for me.
Not so much in some, mind you, but maybe those areas are just easier to overlook.
Like the head of grey hair. A quick glance in the mirror from the front, and I can convince myself that white is blonde. Almost. And I am really glad to be done with the coloring. And the ginourmous calcium tablets to beat back the osteo-whatever-it-is? Why, those might be prenatal vitamins (only not.) (at all!). The nails are benefitting nicely, as a nice aside.
Lovely Step-Daughter shared a room with Wonderful Guy and I while in Breckenridge a couple weekends ago. She asked me one evening after I showered if I hadn’t washed my hair. I replied that was one of the benefits of aging…no longer needing to wash the mop every. single. day. She asked about other advantages of, you know, aging. Well…hmmm.
Let’s see. Dearest Sister might say less of a need to shave. I might add…well, I didn’t know what else. It was late and I was tired. I couldn’t then, or now, come up with what might be considered other ‘advantages’.
It takes longer to get my energy back, and my sleep is occasionally interrupted with night-sweats. I creak where I didn’t use to, and when I get up or stoop over, I don’t believe that I am lithe or graceful any longer. I am crinkly, I sag, and I no longer defy gravity.
I bear scars. And, of late, I am rather self conscious of some of them. They have lost the lustre of being 'badges of courage'...
I can no longer eat when, what, or how ever much I want, without a care of calorie.
There was a pride in knowing exactly the right word for the job at hand. Somtimes, I just cannot come up with what I mean. It seems to be in my mind what I want to express…but it is so much trouble to form the verbal aspect of my thoughts. I am just all whatever...you know what I mean...blah blah blah...
But not really. I am really thinking getting old sucks big time. I used to be able to express myself!
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I don’t always have to express my opinion on every little thing now. It gives me more time to spend listening, which takes way more effort. I have come to believe that a lot of us could put more effort into listening to others and hearing what they really are saying.
But the actual hearing part? Well. I am not going there.
And yet.
Sunday we attended a cook-out which was a pseudo-birthday get-together for a neighbor. Pseudo, because last year was his big fiftieth bash, so this year was just a ‘get-together’. Wonderful Guy asked Birthday Boy how he was enjoying the 50’s club. That always seems to get the attention of the forty-somethings. Birthday Boy remarked that is wasn’t so bad, and one of the near-by 40-somethings was intrigued enough to ask us 'silver backs' what wasn’t so bad about being in our fifties.
I had to say me…not being 40…or 30…or even 20. See. I just like me better at 50, even with the creaks and groans and scars and marks and ringing in the ears. I like to believe that most of the time, I am at peace with me, that the crazy-maker of my younger days has grown up into someone who can more times than not, accept life, others, and herself.
More times than not. It’s all about progress.
Not so much in some, mind you, but maybe those areas are just easier to overlook.
Like the head of grey hair. A quick glance in the mirror from the front, and I can convince myself that white is blonde. Almost. And I am really glad to be done with the coloring. And the ginourmous calcium tablets to beat back the osteo-whatever-it-is? Why, those might be prenatal vitamins (only not.) (at all!). The nails are benefitting nicely, as a nice aside.
Lovely Step-Daughter shared a room with Wonderful Guy and I while in Breckenridge a couple weekends ago. She asked me one evening after I showered if I hadn’t washed my hair. I replied that was one of the benefits of aging…no longer needing to wash the mop every. single. day. She asked about other advantages of, you know, aging. Well…hmmm.
Let’s see. Dearest Sister might say less of a need to shave. I might add…well, I didn’t know what else. It was late and I was tired. I couldn’t then, or now, come up with what might be considered other ‘advantages’.
It takes longer to get my energy back, and my sleep is occasionally interrupted with night-sweats. I creak where I didn’t use to, and when I get up or stoop over, I don’t believe that I am lithe or graceful any longer. I am crinkly, I sag, and I no longer defy gravity.
I bear scars. And, of late, I am rather self conscious of some of them. They have lost the lustre of being 'badges of courage'...
I can no longer eat when, what, or how ever much I want, without a care of calorie.
There was a pride in knowing exactly the right word for the job at hand. Somtimes, I just cannot come up with what I mean. It seems to be in my mind what I want to express…but it is so much trouble to form the verbal aspect of my thoughts. I am just all whatever...you know what I mean...blah blah blah...
But not really. I am really thinking getting old sucks big time. I used to be able to express myself!
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. I don’t always have to express my opinion on every little thing now. It gives me more time to spend listening, which takes way more effort. I have come to believe that a lot of us could put more effort into listening to others and hearing what they really are saying.
But the actual hearing part? Well. I am not going there.
And yet.
Sunday we attended a cook-out which was a pseudo-birthday get-together for a neighbor. Pseudo, because last year was his big fiftieth bash, so this year was just a ‘get-together’. Wonderful Guy asked Birthday Boy how he was enjoying the 50’s club. That always seems to get the attention of the forty-somethings. Birthday Boy remarked that is wasn’t so bad, and one of the near-by 40-somethings was intrigued enough to ask us 'silver backs' what wasn’t so bad about being in our fifties.
I had to say me…not being 40…or 30…or even 20. See. I just like me better at 50, even with the creaks and groans and scars and marks and ringing in the ears. I like to believe that most of the time, I am at peace with me, that the crazy-maker of my younger days has grown up into someone who can more times than not, accept life, others, and herself.
More times than not. It’s all about progress.
July 27, 2009
Catching My Breath
Volunteer sunflower
…just a little.The Bebe Mommas have put in orders for custom-made hospital gowns for their ‘confinement’. My plan was to sew on Youngest Daughter’s this weekend. Friday it appeared that Grandbebe Two might arrive on the scene a bit earlier than expected.
Well. That was going to save me the trouble of making at least one!
Wonderful Guy's Raspberries
Not so. False alarm.
And with a ‘buy’, there was nothing for it but to think of it as a second chance that had to be taken! One custom made gown is now fait accompli. And delivered...so to speak. But I completely forgot to take the intended photo. Oh well.
Monarda's doing fine this year!
Before the sewing time, there was yard time. Time spent trimming, deadheading, weeding, in general maintenance and re-acquainting…seeing what was blooming, doing well, what was spent, what needed thinning. I picked up the iris rhizomes I ordered in June, and will plant them after the Grand-pup leaves, who we are watching for just a few days for Only Step Son.
Feverfew from ~Wunx
I quilted. The hoop has been removed. I am finishing up quilting on the edge of the quilt with a bit more to do. Next task will be the binding. Good progress there, and I will post photos, but am going to wait until it is finished.
Comfrey
So yeah. Lots done and feeling good about it. Still some things on my ‘To Do’ list, but there always will be.
Just catching my breath.
July 23, 2009
July 21, 2009
Getting Back On Board
Yes, I have been a bit off, and not completely sure why.
I can round up the usual suspects.
My new old job is real work, and that’s different than what it was before. I am not minding it in the least, but that takes more…of everything. I might have had the opportunity to pay a bill online, or check out a pattern on Ravelry, or catch up on a blog or two (or three) before. Not. So. Now. I am not complaining. I am loving the challenge, but it takes adjustment.
Next in the line-up is the 300+ miles of commuting on the bike. All good there, too, but still. Pasted when I get home. Not a lot of vim, vigor, and vitality to jump right into deadheading the yard, or watering plants, or really much else except for getting out of sweaty clothes and into a glass of ice tea…and checking email, because I certainly haven’t done that at work.
Following those two would be Grandbebe Two’s quilt. Opal is due to arrive on the scene in about 3 weeks. I believe I moved the hoop for the last time last week. I have been quilting the edge sashing as I go, so when the quilting is done, there will only be the edge to fold over and stitch down. But there has been nothing else going on, but quilting quilting quilting. While I am pleased with the results, and very gratified with the pending accomplishment of perhaps it being done before Opal’s entrance, still, is that all there is, my friend….
No, it is not. There is another quilt lurking upstairs, ready to be sewn! And Dearest Sister?…she is all about starting another, just to be prepared.
There is also the idea that it is almost the end of July. I had such a good weekend when all the Offspring gathered here in our fair state to whoop it up a bit, the bebe shower for Grandbebe Trois (with a little surprise shower for Grandbebe Two!), and enjoyed some mountain time. And yet. Yet! Going…going….and summer will gone, and I don’t know where for sure. I have a list, and again, all good, full-up, pleasing to the heart…but almost GONE!
What I have come up with, but have not yet fully adjusted to, is the required adapting to ever-changing life. If I do not, I am going to see all the good stuff, watch it pass me by…and not be quite there for it, as I want really truly to be.
I can round up the usual suspects.
My new old job is real work, and that’s different than what it was before. I am not minding it in the least, but that takes more…of everything. I might have had the opportunity to pay a bill online, or check out a pattern on Ravelry, or catch up on a blog or two (or three) before. Not. So. Now. I am not complaining. I am loving the challenge, but it takes adjustment.
Next in the line-up is the 300+ miles of commuting on the bike. All good there, too, but still. Pasted when I get home. Not a lot of vim, vigor, and vitality to jump right into deadheading the yard, or watering plants, or really much else except for getting out of sweaty clothes and into a glass of ice tea…and checking email, because I certainly haven’t done that at work.
Following those two would be Grandbebe Two’s quilt. Opal is due to arrive on the scene in about 3 weeks. I believe I moved the hoop for the last time last week. I have been quilting the edge sashing as I go, so when the quilting is done, there will only be the edge to fold over and stitch down. But there has been nothing else going on, but quilting quilting quilting. While I am pleased with the results, and very gratified with the pending accomplishment of perhaps it being done before Opal’s entrance, still, is that all there is, my friend….
No, it is not. There is another quilt lurking upstairs, ready to be sewn! And Dearest Sister?…she is all about starting another, just to be prepared.
There is also the idea that it is almost the end of July. I had such a good weekend when all the Offspring gathered here in our fair state to whoop it up a bit, the bebe shower for Grandbebe Trois (with a little surprise shower for Grandbebe Two!), and enjoyed some mountain time. And yet. Yet! Going…going….and summer will gone, and I don’t know where for sure. I have a list, and again, all good, full-up, pleasing to the heart…but almost GONE!
What I have come up with, but have not yet fully adjusted to, is the required adapting to ever-changing life. If I do not, I am going to see all the good stuff, watch it pass me by…and not be quite there for it, as I want really truly to be.
July 20, 2009
Stressful Sewing
I haven’t been completely monogamous to the quilt. I sewed last weekend. A not completely satisfactory experience in itself. I was going to make a boppee (for the uninitiated, a boppee is a horseshoe shape pillow a new mother uses for a multitude of purposes with a newborn) cover for the Grandbebe Trois Mama.
Oh. Mah. Gah. It was crazy.
First. I totally wasted the first one I cut out of the cutest lady bug fabric. A tad too small. Then I totally overcompensated on making the 2nd one way too big. So then I went to Target. Decided after 2 pieces of fabric (on hand from Wisest Sister...not really bought) and about 3 hours of time, that maybe the 10$ out of pocket wasn't so much. Bought one with the idea that I could take it back, because looking at the boppees Target sold, they didn't look like the one I picked up…re-sourced…as it were. Got to thinking maybe I had a bootleg boppee. When I got home, I saw I indeed had a 'labeled' boppee, but still carefully opened the cover, to try it, just in case...you know…if it had to go back. It fit. Compared that one to my homemade one, and made adjustments.
Sewed. Tried on. Trimmed.
Sewed. Tried on. Trimmed.
Sewed. Tried on. Repeated until it worked.
Which I eventually achieved.
Then had to decide on the closure. Used velcro circles I had on hand that are selfsticky, with the idea to sew to reinforce their permanent adherence. Well the self sticky gums up the needle and when my thread broke (which it does, because it’s Velcro), the needle eye was gummed up with the adhesive! and I couldn't get the needle re-threaded. Even after cleaning with nail polish remover (believe me, I tried) I left the Velcro circles just stuck. If it all comes apart...she can through it away! I am giving her the store bought one, too, anyway. This homemade one is just a 'didn't know what to do with a horseshoe shaped pillow case anyway' gift.
How can things like this be so hard?
It’s like the fabric knew I’ve been a bit off…of course, it wasn’t the singing Singer’s fault.
So the bebe shower was yesterday, and of course, bebe mama just loved it.
And there I sat, thinking, here I am...with absolutely nothing hand knit.
Oh. Mah. Gah. It was crazy.
First. I totally wasted the first one I cut out of the cutest lady bug fabric. A tad too small. Then I totally overcompensated on making the 2nd one way too big. So then I went to Target. Decided after 2 pieces of fabric (on hand from Wisest Sister...not really bought) and about 3 hours of time, that maybe the 10$ out of pocket wasn't so much. Bought one with the idea that I could take it back, because looking at the boppees Target sold, they didn't look like the one I picked up…re-sourced…as it were. Got to thinking maybe I had a bootleg boppee. When I got home, I saw I indeed had a 'labeled' boppee, but still carefully opened the cover, to try it, just in case...you know…if it had to go back. It fit. Compared that one to my homemade one, and made adjustments.
Sewed. Tried on. Trimmed.
Sewed. Tried on. Trimmed.
Sewed. Tried on. Repeated until it worked.
Which I eventually achieved.
Then had to decide on the closure. Used velcro circles I had on hand that are selfsticky, with the idea to sew to reinforce their permanent adherence. Well the self sticky gums up the needle and when my thread broke (which it does, because it’s Velcro), the needle eye was gummed up with the adhesive! and I couldn't get the needle re-threaded. Even after cleaning with nail polish remover (believe me, I tried) I left the Velcro circles just stuck. If it all comes apart...she can through it away! I am giving her the store bought one, too, anyway. This homemade one is just a 'didn't know what to do with a horseshoe shaped pillow case anyway' gift.
How can things like this be so hard?
It’s like the fabric knew I’ve been a bit off…of course, it wasn’t the singing Singer’s fault.
So the bebe shower was yesterday, and of course, bebe mama just loved it.
And there I sat, thinking, here I am...with absolutely nothing hand knit.
July 19, 2009
Breckenridge
On leaving town, I called to let Youngest Daughter know we were on our way. Saw some pelicans in a very full pond. Thought it would make a fun photo, and remembered I had left the camera. D-oh!
Other items forgotten:
camelbacks
water bottles
extra pillows
Oh well. Let's just go with the flow, shall we?
We had very adequate accommodations. Found the present offspring, and the others showed up shortly.
In the desire to make some plans for the following day, we thought we would check the information on the internet. Our place didn't not offer that service free. To get the service at all was a bit iffy and we opted out. As a matter of fact, before we left on Thursday, our router needed to be cycled, so Wonderful Guy and I didn't even check our email before we left town.
I was off line completely for a few days. Certainly I survived, and well, but it was not entirely planned. I might have made plans to have other resources at hand if I had known.
Then it happened. I didn't carry my purse one day when we went walking. My phone was tucked in my pants pocket...and when visiting the ladies room, out it flipped (after flushing, during adjustment of clothing). I grabbed it immediately, and dried it.
It is in a bag of rice, which I have read (on the internet, and I believe everything I read on the internet...when I have access...) may dry it out...
I have had a cell phone since 1999, or there abouts. This is the first one I have killed.
It was not a good weekend for me and technology, but it gave me a post, and the Offspring have new fodder for teasing the Mother Unit.
Other items forgotten:
camelbacks
water bottles
extra pillows
Oh well. Let's just go with the flow, shall we?
We had very adequate accommodations. Found the present offspring, and the others showed up shortly.
In the desire to make some plans for the following day, we thought we would check the information on the internet. Our place didn't not offer that service free. To get the service at all was a bit iffy and we opted out. As a matter of fact, before we left on Thursday, our router needed to be cycled, so Wonderful Guy and I didn't even check our email before we left town.
I was off line completely for a few days. Certainly I survived, and well, but it was not entirely planned. I might have made plans to have other resources at hand if I had known.
Then it happened. I didn't carry my purse one day when we went walking. My phone was tucked in my pants pocket...and when visiting the ladies room, out it flipped (after flushing, during adjustment of clothing). I grabbed it immediately, and dried it.
It is in a bag of rice, which I have read (on the internet, and I believe everything I read on the internet...when I have access...) may dry it out...
I have had a cell phone since 1999, or there abouts. This is the first one I have killed.
It was not a good weekend for me and technology, but it gave me a post, and the Offspring have new fodder for teasing the Mother Unit.
July 15, 2009
Heading to Breck
The Offspring are gathering.
Eldest Daughter and Science Guy are flying from the east to attend a smarty-pants conference where she is presenting a poster (not the colored-with-markers-for-my-refrigerator kind) (also not the Grateful Dead kind).
Middle Daughter thought she would seize the opportunity of big sis being closer, and she is coming from further west for to visit. Bebe Daddy and The Kiddoes will be coming along for the ride. First time his kids have met her sisters. (Brace yourselves and hang on!)
Youngest Daughter thought, hey! Why not have a bebe shower for the sister in the middle while the two of them are here?
Lovely Step Daughter is not one to miss out on this sort of fun, and is driving from Crazy Desert Town to meet up in Breckinridge.
After a couple of days in the high country, we will come back to town, throw the shower, visit with Only Step Son. He will be waiting with bated breath.
I am so not ready…I don’t even have a list telling me what I don’t have done.
However. There will be mountains, and cool breezes, and maybe some hiking and biking, and for sure….for sure….there will be wild flowers!
But mostly there will be the Offspring!
Eldest Daughter and Science Guy are flying from the east to attend a smarty-pants conference where she is presenting a poster (not the colored-with-markers-for-my-refrigerator kind) (also not the Grateful Dead kind).
Middle Daughter thought she would seize the opportunity of big sis being closer, and she is coming from further west for to visit. Bebe Daddy and The Kiddoes will be coming along for the ride. First time his kids have met her sisters. (Brace yourselves and hang on!)
Youngest Daughter thought, hey! Why not have a bebe shower for the sister in the middle while the two of them are here?
Lovely Step Daughter is not one to miss out on this sort of fun, and is driving from Crazy Desert Town to meet up in Breckinridge.
After a couple of days in the high country, we will come back to town, throw the shower, visit with Only Step Son. He will be waiting with bated breath.
I am so not ready…I don’t even have a list telling me what I don’t have done.
However. There will be mountains, and cool breezes, and maybe some hiking and biking, and for sure….for sure….there will be wild flowers!
But mostly there will be the Offspring!
July 14, 2009
Miffed
Here I haven't posted in a few, and here I am less than cheery.
Well, this is me.
For my birthday Wonderful Guy presented me with a nice gift certificate to a local hair/nail/massage type day spa. A very generous gift to a place we have had good experiences with before.
If one recalls, and let me remind one lest one is forgetful (always helpful, I am), right after my celebratories, we traveled to my hometown, then there was the 'procedure', a memorial service to travel to, a vacation, the July the 4th weekend, and now, in preparation for a time when all (yes ALL) the offspring are going to be gathering in our fair state...
..it was suggested to use this generous gift to treat us all to pedicures! Well...the wimmin folk anyway.
So I call to make arrangements for this fun and wonderful idea.
And the phone is no longer in service.
So I drive by, because, I mean, there must be an explanation.
And there is.
Closed up. Out of business. Doors locked.
According to my 'sources', probably within 4-5 weeks of selling the gift certificate.
Just lovely.
I am chapped.
Well, this is me.
For my birthday Wonderful Guy presented me with a nice gift certificate to a local hair/nail/massage type day spa. A very generous gift to a place we have had good experiences with before.
If one recalls, and let me remind one lest one is forgetful (always helpful, I am), right after my celebratories, we traveled to my hometown, then there was the 'procedure', a memorial service to travel to, a vacation, the July the 4th weekend, and now, in preparation for a time when all (yes ALL) the offspring are going to be gathering in our fair state...
..it was suggested to use this generous gift to treat us all to pedicures! Well...the wimmin folk anyway.
So I call to make arrangements for this fun and wonderful idea.
And the phone is no longer in service.
So I drive by, because, I mean, there must be an explanation.
And there is.
Closed up. Out of business. Doors locked.
According to my 'sources', probably within 4-5 weeks of selling the gift certificate.
Just lovely.
I am chapped.
July 10, 2009
Dyeing
So I found this on vacation. Looks like very much fun. Very down to earth. Very basic how-tos. I thought it looked like a practical resource that I could use. A very useful souvenir.
And I have all this, which is wool top (seconds) picked up from Brown Sheep…oh…a while back. Nothing fancy. Nothing to worry about ‘messing’ up, in other words.
Then I found this undiscovered tidbit in my now famous ‘way and means’ to harvest and dry herbs book.
And I have all this, which is wool top (seconds) picked up from Brown Sheep…oh…a while back. Nothing fancy. Nothing to worry about ‘messing’ up, in other words.Then I found this undiscovered tidbit in my now famous ‘way and means’ to harvest and dry herbs book.
Now I have had this book for nigh on 15 years, I am thinking. I do believe I bought in when we lived in Missouri. But see. It just never occurred to me before now that these pages had anything to say to me. While checking my resources to make sure my catnip was going to be done up right, and my lavender taken care of properly…well, there it was all along. The ways and means of dyeing right along with the harvest and drying, all overlooked.
So anyway. The stars are lining up. I am downright fearful to read much about what I might have growing in my yard that I could use.
So anyway. The stars are lining up. I am downright fearful to read much about what I might have growing in my yard that I could use.
Seriously. Those grandbebe girls are on their way, and they wants their quilts.
July 8, 2009
N is for....
...new things. (I know. I am totally welching on this one. But it was first posted within the appropriate timeframe...and it does work. I was just late realizing it was my N post!)
A prize...
3 oz of "Cedar Waxwing" Merino/Bamboo/Firestar
See the firestar up close!
From A Bag of Olives, who celebrated a number of hits. My fingers itch to spin this pretty stuff! But not just yet...not even using the Tour de Fleece as an excuse. Grandbebe Girl Two's quilt is almost done...
A gift...
It's a yarn bowl!
Look how pretty!
...from ~Wunx, who sent me some feverfew, to thank me for some iris, and enclosed this as a complete surprise! Hand-thrown, too.
Forwards from Wisest Sister. How I love her job! She works the accounting somehow someway at JoAnns, which gives her some access to coupons and sales and stores discounts, which she wisely uses on books books books! And sometimes I get her hand me downs. These are what she recently handed off to me.
And then this is what I recently 'borrowed'. I really had to promise to return though. There are limits, and apparently EZ is one of them. (Wisest was quick to remind me, and rightly so, that she gave...gave!...me all her other EZ books.)
A prize...
3 oz of "Cedar Waxwing" Merino/Bamboo/Firestar
See the firestar up close!
From A Bag of Olives, who celebrated a number of hits. My fingers itch to spin this pretty stuff! But not just yet...not even using the Tour de Fleece as an excuse. Grandbebe Girl Two's quilt is almost done...
A gift...
It's a yarn bowl!
Look how pretty!...from ~Wunx, who sent me some feverfew, to thank me for some iris, and enclosed this as a complete surprise! Hand-thrown, too.
A purchase for me, from me. I am planning on knitting Emma Peel, Yank Coat, and Metropole. And maybe the Kiki Meriko. I just love those Mason Dixon ladies. So down to earth, they are, but so able to tickle my funny bone. And many of their patterns strike me as my style...and doable. What a match!
Alas. After a quick look, it must go on the shelf, too. Quilt I must be finished, and II must be started. Sewing must done. Mommas-to-be are a demanding sort…
Alas. After a quick look, it must go on the shelf, too. Quilt I must be finished, and II must be started. Sewing must done. Mommas-to-be are a demanding sort…
Forwards from Wisest Sister. How I love her job! She works the accounting somehow someway at JoAnns, which gives her some access to coupons and sales and stores discounts, which she wisely uses on books books books! And sometimes I get her hand me downs. These are what she recently handed off to me.
And then this is what I recently 'borrowed'. I really had to promise to return though. There are limits, and apparently EZ is one of them. (Wisest was quick to remind me, and rightly so, that she gave...gave!...me all her other EZ books.)
July 7, 2009
FB
Meaning Facebook.
Wonderful Guy signed up first and was having a good time being in touch with family and friends, current and old.
I ignored it for a while. I had a lot going on, a lot of ways I keep up with people, and wasn’t sure I needed ‘one more thing.’ Then I thought I would try it out surreptitiously. Well, nothing is done on the QT on FB once someone’s name is used. I was just filling in info, said who I was married to, and suddenly, Wonderful Guy, ever diligently working at his computer (I thought), says…’are you signing up on FB?’
So much for being sneaky.
I have read other’s (blogger types) take on the experience, and it hasn’t been all positive. I (on the other hand) have found it to be mostly fun, pretty entertaining, and very interesting.
I have about 40 friends. Really not very many, seeing as how most of those I am related to! I have never had the ‘popular’ claim to fame. It’s an easy way for the fam to keep up with each other without having to go the excruciating effort of writing a whole, long email. (gasp. Lazy much?) Not really. We have some fun, interactive exchanges back and forth…electronic snappy repartee, as it were. My 13 year old nephews are my friends (I think maybe their parents made them), and Wisest Sister is my…wisest…friend.
I don’t do a lot of the apps. I do have some flair, specifically I have an ‘I love Chemistry’, some iris, something about knitting, and a Starship Enterprise, to name a few.
Yes, I am a dork.
I have found a few friends from the tiny little college I went to in central OK. And that has been priceless. A few of the fellows that grew up on the same street in our little town of Greensburg have also ’friended’ me, which has been real fun. A former co-worker and an old neighbor from back in the day…all good stuff.
And exactly no one from my high school. Well, except Dearest Sister, and another that went to the same college. I don’t count them as there are other and different connections. I am thinking that is sort of a relief. About as much of a relief as the X not having found FB. Yet.
What I find interesting is seeing how others work the book. Some of my college friends (a pastor and a professor) have lots of friends…600+! I am sure it has to do with their work, but geez o peez! I don’t believe that I know that many people! Some of my friends are on every time I log on. Some send me ‘gifts’ from their favorite apps, no matter how often I don’t accept them. I have discovered that some will use any and every opportunity to express their opinions, which is nice when I agree with them, and obnoxious when I don’t. (but that is my stuff.) I think it is funny that so many of us ‘geezer-types’ are logging on, and I am wondering where the really cool kids are going now, because surely FB can’t be that cool anymore with all of us there. And some join, friend me, and then disappear into the ether, never to be heard from again. I am sure they are off collecting more friends.
I have had fun with it, and look at it as another avenue of communicating and building relationships.
For me, it’s not what the popular kids are doing. Can’t be.
Heck. I’m doing it!
Wonderful Guy signed up first and was having a good time being in touch with family and friends, current and old.
I ignored it for a while. I had a lot going on, a lot of ways I keep up with people, and wasn’t sure I needed ‘one more thing.’ Then I thought I would try it out surreptitiously. Well, nothing is done on the QT on FB once someone’s name is used. I was just filling in info, said who I was married to, and suddenly, Wonderful Guy, ever diligently working at his computer (I thought), says…’are you signing up on FB?’
So much for being sneaky.
I have read other’s (blogger types) take on the experience, and it hasn’t been all positive. I (on the other hand) have found it to be mostly fun, pretty entertaining, and very interesting.
I have about 40 friends. Really not very many, seeing as how most of those I am related to! I have never had the ‘popular’ claim to fame. It’s an easy way for the fam to keep up with each other without having to go the excruciating effort of writing a whole, long email. (gasp. Lazy much?) Not really. We have some fun, interactive exchanges back and forth…electronic snappy repartee, as it were. My 13 year old nephews are my friends (I think maybe their parents made them), and Wisest Sister is my…wisest…friend.
I don’t do a lot of the apps. I do have some flair, specifically I have an ‘I love Chemistry’, some iris, something about knitting, and a Starship Enterprise, to name a few.
Yes, I am a dork.
I have found a few friends from the tiny little college I went to in central OK. And that has been priceless. A few of the fellows that grew up on the same street in our little town of Greensburg have also ’friended’ me, which has been real fun. A former co-worker and an old neighbor from back in the day…all good stuff.
And exactly no one from my high school. Well, except Dearest Sister, and another that went to the same college. I don’t count them as there are other and different connections. I am thinking that is sort of a relief. About as much of a relief as the X not having found FB. Yet.
What I find interesting is seeing how others work the book. Some of my college friends (a pastor and a professor) have lots of friends…600+! I am sure it has to do with their work, but geez o peez! I don’t believe that I know that many people! Some of my friends are on every time I log on. Some send me ‘gifts’ from their favorite apps, no matter how often I don’t accept them. I have discovered that some will use any and every opportunity to express their opinions, which is nice when I agree with them, and obnoxious when I don’t. (but that is my stuff.) I think it is funny that so many of us ‘geezer-types’ are logging on, and I am wondering where the really cool kids are going now, because surely FB can’t be that cool anymore with all of us there. And some join, friend me, and then disappear into the ether, never to be heard from again. I am sure they are off collecting more friends.
I have had fun with it, and look at it as another avenue of communicating and building relationships.
For me, it’s not what the popular kids are doing. Can’t be.
Heck. I’m doing it!
July 6, 2009
Raniers
I am still eating these.
Bought them at the farmers market on Saturday. Dearest Sister turned me on to them some years back. How she discovered Raniers is here.
I cannot list the terrible, horrible, disastrous effect she has had on my life with her awful and addictive influences…Raniers, vintage fabric, Europe…wait, that was me on her….
Never mind.
Then I married Wonderful Guy. And off we go to do one of my favorite things, he finds out…the farmers market. And I spy the Raniers, and I get all excited to see they are in season.
And he says, ‘how much?’
To which I answer, ‘it doesn’t matter.’
Which he is thinking surely it does with those red ones on the table next to them for half the price…at which I am not even looking.
We got the Raniers. We get Raniers every time I see them, if they are halfway decent. Bought them once in Jackson Hole from a roadside stand, with even less time from the tree, when we were on our way to Yellowstone. Closer to Washington, you know.
He says nothing now. And he eats them, too.
Bought them at the farmers market on Saturday. Dearest Sister turned me on to them some years back. How she discovered Raniers is here.
I cannot list the terrible, horrible, disastrous effect she has had on my life with her awful and addictive influences…Raniers, vintage fabric, Europe…wait, that was me on her….
Never mind.
Then I married Wonderful Guy. And off we go to do one of my favorite things, he finds out…the farmers market. And I spy the Raniers, and I get all excited to see they are in season.
And he says, ‘how much?’
To which I answer, ‘it doesn’t matter.’
Which he is thinking surely it does with those red ones on the table next to them for half the price…at which I am not even looking.
We got the Raniers. We get Raniers every time I see them, if they are halfway decent. Bought them once in Jackson Hole from a roadside stand, with even less time from the tree, when we were on our way to Yellowstone. Closer to Washington, you know.
He says nothing now. And he eats them, too.
Welcome to the dark side....
July 5, 2009
Weekend Wrap-Up
And what a great weekend it was!
Laid back, time with family and friends, mountain scenery, good food...
And some time in my yard. Of which I will share these little snippets.
This little area has become more fun than any of my initial vision.
The johnny jumpups seeded out in an interesting variety. Oh, the hail damage!
Comfrey, which I end up cutting wa-aa-ay back about twice or three times a season. I should figure out something to do with it. I hear it is a miracle cure for most of what ails me...
Perennial sweet peas...that my neighbor...my previous neighbor, actually, planted. They have come to live at my house voluntarily.
Old fashioned honeysuckle. Plain, no frills, the crazy, spreading-like-wildfire, drive me wild fragrance kind. Exactly what I wanted.
Autumn bells and lupine, which was grown from seed that an old friend brought to me as an souvenir from an anniversary trip to Alaska.
Jupiter's Beard gone crazy! With old fashion tansy behind. I figure I will just let them go at it, like giants...and see who wins.
More Jupiter's Beard, and Coneflowers just starting to bloom. I planted one (1) coneflower here, and now pretty much what isn't Jupiter is coneflower!
Spiderwort
This is my seventh summer here. I don't know that I have ever had this many growing seasons in one yard. While it is still evolving (it is growing, after all!), many little corners and crannies are 'developed', settled, and full.
Not a week, and hardly a day, goes by without me remarking how much I enjoy our yard, and how much I am lovin' how it is growing.
This girl? She is one happy camper.
July 4, 2009
A Day With My BFF
I love it when I am somewhere cool (and we were somewhere really cool) and there are singles, or groups, trying to get register themselves there for posterity (twice yesterday). And by the nature of photographic devices, one of the group get left out (or in the case of singles, risk an off kilter photo).
Then someone come along and asks ' would you like me to take a picture of you?'. And usually the favor is returned.
But what I always think of is the situation in National Lampoon 'European Vacation', where Beverly D'Angelo's character ends up as a European porn star because Chevy Chase didn't erase the video tape of their pre-vacation 'romantic interlude', because the kind person taking their photograph makes off with their camcorder instead.
Not that I keep photos on my camera...not that there are any of those kind of photos on my camera ever...oh whatever.....
I have to go to coffee now.
PS We had a great day with Tish and Mr. Tish in The Park.
PPS Happy 4th!
July 2, 2009
Learning
I dreamed last night I was back in school somehow, some way. I don’t know if it was in high school or college, and I don’t know where it was. There were kids from my hometown there (stupid facebook dredging up memories), but I hadn’t forgotten my locker combination, or left my class schedule at home, or ended up in homeroom half-naked (those are nightmares, not dreams).
But my point (and I do have one) is that I was back in school….and I was learning.
I don’t always remember my dreams right when I wake up. And I didn’t this morning. It came back to me as I rode to work (230 miles so far, thank you very much), through the puddles from last nights storms (more hail!). And there it was. An opportunity to reflect…and to avoid the back splash of puddle water…
I love learning, which may be the cause of taking on so many crafts, and within those crafts, so many projects. For me, I (typically) will progress through my projects, refining what I know already, but learning new techniques as well. Sometimes those new techniques really click. And I am grateful I have learned I can put aside those things that don’t.
And also the buying of books. Yes. Definitely the buying of books. Books offer a lot of learning. Which one gains through the reading of said books.
I learn everyday at work. I am fortunate to work with those who mentor very well. Or perhaps I just learn easily. Or both.
I subscribe to the on-line word-for-the-day. Because. It is learning! A word a day! I love Antiques Roadshow, and the real (not reality) programming that teaches, whether on PBS, Discovery, National Geo, History, or whatever. (Trust me, that is not all I watch...)
I am a student of life, listening to those at my meeting, hearing their stories, their experience, strength, and hope, and seeing what I can learn.
Poor Wonderful Guy is drug all over history museums and ranger-led hikes and national monuments…always listening…always reading…
I am the penultimate student, and in my mind, still in a turtle neck, bell-bottoms, and with long blonde hair…back in college, in other words…young-ish…(even though back then I might have really believed you couldn’t have told me anything).
And I am so grateful to those who have taken the time to teach me, from my mother, who taught me to cook (the basics), sew (serious basic skills), and knit (when I was young enough, so it became like riding a bike), the gifted teachers I had from grade school through college, my supervisors who were mentors, the list goes on.
But I am not sure I have anything to offer back. What can I teach anyone? I don’t think that much. A lot of what I have learned I have picked up, gleaned, and modified. It might not be ‘right’. It might just ‘work’ for me.
Like how I cast on when knitting. I have never seen anyone else do it the way I do it.
Like how my tomatoes and roses grow so well. Don’t ask me how. I just lucked out where I planted them. Maybe it was intuition…
There is a part of me that feels it is an injustice if I am not giving back some of what I receive. For a free thinking, old hippie-type liberal democrat, there is some serious guilt in the above thinking.
And that’s what I am reflecting on today.
But my point (and I do have one) is that I was back in school….and I was learning.
I don’t always remember my dreams right when I wake up. And I didn’t this morning. It came back to me as I rode to work (230 miles so far, thank you very much), through the puddles from last nights storms (more hail!). And there it was. An opportunity to reflect…and to avoid the back splash of puddle water…
I love learning, which may be the cause of taking on so many crafts, and within those crafts, so many projects. For me, I (typically) will progress through my projects, refining what I know already, but learning new techniques as well. Sometimes those new techniques really click. And I am grateful I have learned I can put aside those things that don’t.
And also the buying of books. Yes. Definitely the buying of books. Books offer a lot of learning. Which one gains through the reading of said books.
I learn everyday at work. I am fortunate to work with those who mentor very well. Or perhaps I just learn easily. Or both.
I subscribe to the on-line word-for-the-day. Because. It is learning! A word a day! I love Antiques Roadshow, and the real (not reality) programming that teaches, whether on PBS, Discovery, National Geo, History, or whatever. (Trust me, that is not all I watch...)
I am a student of life, listening to those at my meeting, hearing their stories, their experience, strength, and hope, and seeing what I can learn.
Poor Wonderful Guy is drug all over history museums and ranger-led hikes and national monuments…always listening…always reading…
I am the penultimate student, and in my mind, still in a turtle neck, bell-bottoms, and with long blonde hair…back in college, in other words…young-ish…(even though back then I might have really believed you couldn’t have told me anything).
And I am so grateful to those who have taken the time to teach me, from my mother, who taught me to cook (the basics), sew (serious basic skills), and knit (when I was young enough, so it became like riding a bike), the gifted teachers I had from grade school through college, my supervisors who were mentors, the list goes on.
But I am not sure I have anything to offer back. What can I teach anyone? I don’t think that much. A lot of what I have learned I have picked up, gleaned, and modified. It might not be ‘right’. It might just ‘work’ for me.
Like how I cast on when knitting. I have never seen anyone else do it the way I do it.
Like how my tomatoes and roses grow so well. Don’t ask me how. I just lucked out where I planted them. Maybe it was intuition…
There is a part of me that feels it is an injustice if I am not giving back some of what I receive. For a free thinking, old hippie-type liberal democrat, there is some serious guilt in the above thinking.
And that’s what I am reflecting on today.
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