Sunday, October 31, 2021

Happy Halloween and Other Time Wasting Stuff

I picked up my unsold fabric (most of it) today after buzzing in from Emily's house. I had already picked up the quilt which had been hidden in a box for a long time. When I went to get it out, I found a lot of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) too.

Well, here's another UFO that I found when using the scanner/printer. It's in my old computer. It really is old ... as in 2013. For your enjoyment:


Polly

Collecting her second cup of coffee, enjoying the enticing aroma of newly made meatballs and crisp bacon, Polly looked out at the falling snow. While eating her eggs, she had listened to the snow. A falling snow sound is really the absence of sound. It’s unnaturally quiet and Polly imagined the critters and birds in the back yard were all hunkered down trying to keep warm. They probably were too cold to make any sounds. The storm had deposited about six inches and it was still falling.

This was going to be a big storm. A blizzard! they said, a New England record breaker! Well, Polly didn’t know about that. The high winds hadn’t materialized so far, and she figured that they would get a bucket load of snow that would take another bite out of her snowplow budget for the year, but it would have to snow for a couple of days to make it a record breaker.  “Spring, ha!” she thought as she pulled the bacon out of the oven and checked on the quiche that needed more time.

Normally, Polly wouldn’t be cooking at breakfast time but she knew it was a 50 percent chance that she would lose electricity and she didn’t want to waste uncooked food. A simple solution would be to put the food in the back yard but she knew of at least one fox who lived out in the scrub. She didn’t want to attract bears although Polly couldn’t remember if they ate meat. No matter, she’d cook what she could and hope for the best.

The squeak of her screen door startled her. Tying up her bathrobe, she went to the back door of the attached garage as the doorbell rang. It was Jon, her neighbor.

“Yo, Polly,” he smiled, “I just wanted to get here while I still could. You’re invited to our house if the power goes out.” She had wondered about their installation of a propane tank last year but after seeing how their faux fireplace kept them all toasty and warm, she had become slightly envious.  “I’ll come by with the snow blower if the power goes out.”

“Coffee?” she asked.

“Sure. Just let me get out of these boots.”  Polly kept a mat for boots and made sure the kitchen floor was clean enough for stocking feet. Although Polly knew Jon wasn’t all that particular about his socks. As a farmer who worked from dawn to dusk, he was used to dirt. Times like now, he constructed garden trellises to sell at the spring craft fair. The people with money to burn bought up his mini fences, trellises and flower boxes often before 3 p.m. the afternoon of the craft fair.  He got most of his wood from the fallen branches at the back of her property behind the scrub. She had admired his ingenuity in getting to the branches: the scrub was mainly wild rose. Some fool in the 1920s had decide that would be a good hedge and now the large canes were totally out of control with huge thorns.  Any attempt to remove the thorn bushes made it act as if it had been thinned to encourage growth. Polly didn’t mind because it made a natural barrier for anyone who wanted to get into her back yard unseen from the other street.

Polly winced as he put four sugars into his large mug of steaming coffee. She didn’t use sugar but she kept some around for guests. “Did you hear the news?” he asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “Margie called and she said Old Man Winston was found dead and it doesn’t look like a natural death. Anybody know where Joey is?” she asked.

“Nobody knows. Apparently, he hasn’t been around for a couple of weeks.” Both knew that Joey was Old Man Winston’s adult grandson who had been living with the Old Man for about six months. And they also knew that Joey had a temper, especially after a couple of drinks.

They sipped coffee in silence for a couple of minutes.

“How do they know it wasn’t just Old Man Winston’s time to go? He must be at least 96,” Polly asked.

Jon gave her a sly look, “I was listening to my scanner and they called for a “cleanup crew” and that usually means blood. They also called Sam in – to do photographs. I’m betting someone killed him.”

Yup, that's all there is. Obviously, I forgot about it. Probably due to a total lack of plot ...


I'm not really wasting time when I'm talking to you but I'm not doing what I should be doing. And what I should be doing is packing for my drive to California. I have put clothing that I know I will not be wearing (such as shorts, bathing suit, fancy stuff) in the guest room. Horrifically, my big suitcase seems to be full already -- and there's no real clothing in it! By real clothing I mean underwear, blouses, slacks, etc. Am I the only one who uses "slacks" instead of pants? To me pants means men's pants. Next I'll be talking about pedal pushers.

I guess it's a curmudgeon day. Unfortunately, there's nobody to yell at to say Get Off My Lawn! That reminds me: I have to spread some grass seed in the front.

Finally, I got to see the whole Rocky Horror Picture Show in one sitting at Emily's. (She slept through it.) It's funny in parts and so odd to see how young (and sexy) Tim Curry was. Of course, the other actors have aged -- except Susan Sarandon. She still looks amazing. I wasn't particularly impressed. I imagine when it came out in 1975, the movie was tres risque, but I still can't figure out why it's a cult classic. 

It's another grey day in the 50s. It rained all last night, yesterday, and the day before. No problem with drought here. I saw the sun today for about 10 minutes. That's not enough!

I guess I have procrastinated enough. I am going to pick my traveling outfit and pack my overnight bag. I plan to put the next day's outfit in a small bag that I bring into the hotel each night. 

Oh yes, and I have to do some cooking and baking. I've got to empty the freezer, although the green beans will be good enough for soup when I return! 

Cheers!




Saturday, October 23, 2021

October's Really Fall

Thursday. It has gotten chillier, in the 50s today. 


The bare tree on the right is the red maple that wasn't red very long.

Before I left Worcester, I had breakfast at the little cafe around the corner from Emily's house. Not much had changed, except the decor had been spruced up a bit. They had wound thick rope around the steel posts holding up the shelves behind the counter and there was a new coat of black paint behind the shelves. It was a nice contrast the rest of the walls which are painted in gray.

As I stared at the neat cluster of hot sauce bottles, nestled between straws and napkins, the waitress asked if I wanted hot sauce or ketchup. Oh no thank you! Not for my eggs benedict! It was good enough that I have resolved to learn how to make a decent hollandaise sauce -- not like my previous disasters. A bad hollandaise is worse than a bad omelet. It's very disappointing and disenhartening.

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As I prepare to drive to California, I am reminded every day that my buddy, LeeAnne, won't be there. So many of my photos from last winter are fond memories with her. The trips for chai, the art installations, the dinners are all good times that we had sandwiched in between nothing special trips. But it was good for both of us to get out and cope with the pandemic conditions. LeeAnne, this is how I'll always rememember you: smiling at Ascena for my birthday.


Deep in my heart, I know that your soul is happy to be reunited with Sally and Dan. 


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This coming weekend, my quilt called Art Squares Floating in Chocolate will be up for sale at the Belchertown UCC Quilt and Sewing Fair. I also have put fabric there that I hope to sell. I made this quilt in 2004 (machine quited by Timna Tarr), but nobody wanted to pay so much for a quilt then so I put it in a box. 


Quilt Top (on the couch and coffee table)










The Back (folded in half)


Saturday update: I was very disappointed to see that the woman had not hung the quilt, but rather she had folded it over a pew in the church. She said it was because it was for sale, but I saw other quilts that were for sale and they had been hung. Oh well. Some day someone will love this quilt enough to buy it.  It seemed that mine was the only non-traditional one at the quilt show. I was surprised.

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A Netflix must see: Going in Style, starring Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, and Michael Caine. It's a movie about 3 guys who all lost their pensions and they have to take drastic measures to get some money. There's quite a bit of humor which would be lost on the young'uns, but I think most of you will get it.

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Yes, it's done. The name of this is Stripes.




Detail Shows the Hand Quilting

Did I show you the back? Here it is.

Yes, it's off-center. That's my style.

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So there I am standing in line at Starbucks trying to look cool -- because everyone at Starbucks looks cool, don'tcha know -- and I look down. It is then I see what looks like a pigeon splat dead center on my royal purple tee shirt. That little blob of toothpaste that I had wiped with a wet cloth reappeared when it dried, only a lot bigger. Sigh.

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I made keto pumpkin bread yesterday. I'm about ending my pumpkin spice baked goods yearning. I made pumpkin cream cheese filled muffins last week. It's all because the only can of unsweetened pumpkin left at the store was a large can. I wonder if there's a pumpkin casserole ...



I learned the hard way while making the pumpkin bread that it's almost impossible to pick up egg white off the counter using a spatula. I accidentally knocked over the cup of separated egg whites.

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Tomorrow, Emily and I are going to see The Electrical Life of Louis Wain starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Wain painted pictures of cats. I had never heard of Wain, but I really like Comberbatch's acting, so I thought we'd try it out. It's at the Amherst Cinema which often has art films. 

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I found a gift certificate in my car for Amherst Coffee. Woo hoo! They have turned the sidewalk into a flower lined patio. And the latte was delicious. 








One of the planters was almost all white.

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I hope you are all enjoying fall. 







Thursday, October 14, 2021

September Song of Gratitude

 I have to admit that I always get a bit depressed when September rolls around because it is ushering in winter. However, I have decided to add up my gratitudes to get out of the seasonal funk.  

Sitting here in the living room in the early morning when it's still cool, I have the front door open and am listening to the crickets. Apparently, we either have a lot of crickets or a few very loud ones who make a constant cricket white noise. I hear the dog tags of Brownie jingling as he goes back into his house after a walk.

Greatful: cooler temps, knowing my neighbors are home, happy that I can hear all of the aforementioned sounds.

Jon comes by and we determine that he does not have a key to my house so I will make a new one for the now empty back key box. (The one in the front lock box is there.)

Grateful: that Jon and Farah watch my house when I'm away. Also happy that the front lock box key is there because I locked myself out of the house yesterday.

I am so greatful that two of my closest family members have recovered fully after having experienced covid 19. Also thankful that their cases were 'mild' (equivalent to a heavy cold) and not life threatening due to their having been fully vaccinated.

There's lots of other good stuff ... I'm off to another task. Back later.

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Sept 20, 2021

Life has been a whirlwhind, which is good I think. Don't want to get stagnant. In the time since I started this there have been many hugs and kisses with J and my daughters. Lots of laughs, some tears. But all in all life is good. I had a particularly trying time this past weekend so I'm tallying up the good things from this a.m.: 

Yes, the polishing cream from the automotive store did completely 'erase' the loooong passenger side scrape that I had inflicted on my car on Friday. It looks great after an all over car wash (after I got groceries).

The front lawn looks a bit better since I raked the hay off it this a.m.

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October 11

It's done. J. has gone to his new family who seem to be really nice people. We will always cherish him in our hearts and we wish him bon voyage. He gave us a lot of love and that will never go away. We have smiling pictures of him as he picked apples and makes music with his new family. 

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As someone once said, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Unfortunately, a few of my friends are suffering with health challenges. I can only offer my prayers and help picking up prescriptions or running little errands for them. 

I have decided that I will be driving to California this year at the beginning of November. Since I am one who can get lost in my own backyard even with the assistance of a GPS, it should be an interesting trip. The good part is I will have room to bring more stuff, however, I don't know if it's wise to bring more stuff, lol. 

Wish me luck!

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Okay, I have been dragging me feet on this. Ooops, I've been watching too much Red Rock (Amazon Prime) and I have slipped into Irish slang.

Tomorrow I have to try to salvage some of my yard. I had some trees removed and the guys promised a lot of other stuff (such as restacking the timbers in the back) which they never delivered. They completly destroyed the back garden (Can anyone move landscaping timbers?) and made a mess of the front. I'm going out with my trusty hedge clippers to see if I can do some cleaning up. I really want to see something coming up in the spring!

Today (October 14) Tomi and I went to Costco. I ordered 3 new tires for the car. The tire guy said I didn't need a fourth one. I found some great Keto crackers and snacks for my trip to California. I had to try them, of course. The snacks are yummy with seeds and coconut and fake sugar. The crackers are o.k. and will be a good conveyance for peanut butter.

It has been wonderful fall days with sunny temps in the 70s after misty cool 50 degree mornings. Some of the trees have changed color, but nothing like last year. Some of the leaves are already falling which is surprising because so many trees are still green. 

Have a great fall!