Coming in From the Cold

I've been missing in action, burying my face in CSPAN programming watching everything and anything associated with the new White House trying to convince myself that while the economic sky is falling it is way better than listening to those clowns from the former administration f%$#up the country. Now, with that said, and to keep from indulging in a full on pity party, this is some of what I've been up to.

went to visit son #1 in North Carolina to hear him sing with the North Carolina Symphony


This is a partial sound recording of the Carmina Burana. Not my favorite choral piece, sort of reminds me of a scary movie but it was my chile singing so...




Got caught in the historic nor' easter snow storm. Tried to get out of town before it hit and the lady at the airline checkin said, "honey, if anybody in North Carolina thinks it's gonna snow, we close down the city! Better find you a hotel and sleep in." Well, after I checked out of my very nice hotel with a great wine list and midnight cheese and fruit platter room service -


I found myself thankful for any room at the airport hotel. Even the crows were confused.

Made this gorgeous Radiating Star Blanket as a baby gift (pattern found on Ravelry).

Tried to follow the Harlot's advice with the stash...

FAILED

Why did I keep these??

There were months that brought me little or no joy - except for this occasional backyard visitor.

My pal Phyllis tried hard to lift the gloom, we explored yarn stores and old fashioned soda fountains. I had my first vanilla ice cream soda in many years!




She even baked me a cake and brought me some noro sock yarn and those cool square needles!

I pulled myself together long enough to host one of those local Obama house meetings.

There were a few of them around my town. My friend Arlene, a professional chef, did one with desserts and champagne!

Went to hear a Cornel West lecture with my boys. That was a really good day.

Attended my town's library's author luncheon. Guess who?

I auctioned off several baskets with baby hats. And, the poster below from the Democratic Convention's Women's Caucus that Michelle Obama presided over.

So, hope still remains and is perhaps all that is left when we succumb to our darkest worries and can't seem to see the light. Thanks to all of you who have written to encourage me to write again and to report on my whereabouts. I'm sorry I've been gone so long.

P.S. if you would like one of these historic posters, I have another that I would like to share so, just comment here with your name and I'll do one of those random selection thingies and send one to you, sorry, it is not signed and I won't be able to frame it.

No woman no cry

Yup, it's been an adventure this summer so far and it's only early July. I've wanted to post many times but first I had to clean out the hard drive in order to load more pictures.

So what happened?

It started with a ginormous oak falling in my front yard. No detailed pictures, too depressing. It was 9pm at night when I heard this loud crack and bam! I guess I should be glad that it didn't fall on the house but at the time, I sincerely thought that it fell on something - a moving car, a couple walking a dog... Fortunately none of that happened but it did cost nearly 3 grand to get the dang thing hauled away and get the cables to the telephone and internets fixed.

all that's left

I think I told y'all that I have a mouse. Well, obviously there is no such thing as a "1 mouse" infestation but I can't even go there right now imagining the possibilities. One night, I think, a mouse got into my bird's cage trying to rob some seed and, I think, the male bird fought it back because the next morning the PETA college son (who is responsible for me not calling in the exterminator in the first place) woke me up yelling that something weird happened to the birds. The male was really beaten up. His wing was hurt and all of his feathers on the injured wing was gone. Who the hell knows what really happened but that adventure cost me $175 for the vet.

happier times

I finally got to open the pool. The pool guys informed me that the chipmunks turned my heater into a chipmunk hotel. It is totally destroyed. The little buggers chewed up and redecorated everything inside. A new heater will cost me $3 grand but guess what? WHO CAME UP WITH HEATED POOLS ANYWAY? Pools are for cooling off. It ain't a bath tub! My boys will have to get used to swimming in a chilled pool.

With all of that going on, my hubby had nothing better to do but to paint my house. On a Monday morning these guys show up and commenced to totally destroy all of my flower beds around my house. Hydrangeas, specially selected hostas, perennials, roses - all trampled over or splattered with paint.

Even with a gorgeous face like that, he can make me so mad!

And, if that wasn't bad enough, it was the sulky 13 year old's graduation day and last day of school. So all of my last day of school/graduation preparations plans got shot to shit because I'm fuming over painters.

Graduation or the NBA draft? You don't want to know what I went through to get him to tuck his shirt in and take off that do-rag!

In order to prevent myself from totally wigging out, I decided that I required some pharmacological intervention. I reached for the Ativan. But, as I was so blind with rage, dumb me swallowed a couple of Ambiens instead! I don't need to tell you what happened at the graduation not that I could anyway because I have absolutely no recollection!

It was all a blur...

Several days later, the painters return. This time with power washers. They are now going to power wash the deck. Now the perennials in my flower beds are destroyed - coreopsis, lavender, dahlias... too many to list. I am now in the market for zoloft...

Then my new friend, Beate, tells me that she is moving back to Denmark. There was so much going on but I had to find the time to get together one last day to knit with her. Here we are with her friend Erin.

Erin then organized a group dinner where we could all say good bye.

Beate

So, have I been knitting. Yes, absolutely. How else would one survive?

Dream in Color's Smooshy

These are Kirsten's Achillea.

Interweave Knits Cable Rib Socks in ONline Supersocke Cotton color Beach

What else? I'm also almost finished with my pinwheel sweater that I frogged, I made a nice lace cotton scarf and I finished my mother-in-law's shawl. I'll show you when I take more pictures.

Oh, did I mention that the painters destroyed the cables to the internet, the tv and the telephone. At first I refused to intervene and have it fixed. Let the hubby painter/contractor deal with it. But then the children waged an insurrection and I had no choice (and no zoloft) so I called in the repairs.

When I was talking to my pal Phyllis about not knowing what to blog about because so much crap has happened, she suggested I keep it simple and show you my socks. But, alas, I need pity. So, here I am, trying to survive summer with 3 teenage boys and two teenage nieces (a whole 'nother chapter I'll talk about later) and a hubby who feels he can now (after 20+ years) "get involved" with fixing up the house.

But, when I tally it all up something so simple made all the dilemmas worthwhile.

A lovely yellow finch. I'm so easy to please!

Garden Club event

My Garden Club hosted its Secret Garden Tour earlier this month.

This is the one time of the year that I feel like a little girl free to wander into strangers' yards and secretly smell all of their flowers.

This year we invited local artists to paint the gardens...








And while I got to enjoy the seasonal beauty of my neighbors' gardens, I couldn't help but wonder when I would find the time to finish my own...

Pool not opened, beds not prepared...

Sometimes the demands of life compete with all that I want to do in a day - reading, writing, gardening, knitting, laundry...

Only on the 7th day of June, it was no contest, I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing...

Dove Love

I have this basket hanging on a hook on the wall on my back porch. I like baskets and I, er, well, sort of collect them. I can't pass them by at house sales or flea markets. For whatever reason, several years ago, I decided to hang one on the side wall adjacent to my back door.

One day I see this dove perched on it and I thought it was strange.

I really didn't think anything of it because I've had this pair of doves hanging out near my bird feeder for several years. I thought she was looking for food.

As it turned out, she was actually nesting... In the basket!
Wait, I have some better pictures...

That's the baby!

So now no one is permitted to use the back door. Then one day I see this...

THERE'S TWO!!