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Not My Mother

June 5, 2008

I don’t want to be like my mother and I strive not to be. I grew up feeling like I was an inconvenience to her. I don’t know if she even loved me. When I needed a hug, I would walk to the bus stop and wait for Daddy. He always smiled when he saw me and he gave me a hug. I wish he hadn’t died so young. I miss him. He wasn’t the best Father, but, you know, I knew he loved me.

We are having some weather here. Maude was too far away when the rain started, but she came home when it let up. We were without power for 4 1/2 hours. I was going to make roasted red potatoes and asparagus, but I have an electric range here, which I am still getting used. We wound up having hot dogs on the grill. They were really good. About once or twice a year, I crave hot dogs so we were lucky. Neither of us felt like going out.

My socks are coming along nicely. I didn’t have time to work on them today. We had to go shopping and drop stuff off at Good Will. Just as I was getting the potatoes out, the power went down. Afterward, there wasn’t enough light. Doug has a great flashlight with rechargeable batteries, but I am used to working under an Ott light. I tried winding some yarn, but I couldn’t even do that right.

Tags:rain, socks
Posted in Family and Friends, Knitting, my pets | 1 Comment »

Elvis

June 3, 2008

Elvis had another seizure this afternoon and it was pretty bad. He was sleeping on one of the chairs on the deck. He fell off and twitched on the floor for several minutes, then laid perfectly still for a long time. Doug got a beer and a shovel and went around front to our little pet cemetery. When he got back, Elvis walked over to him and meowed at him. He just about fell over. He was so certain that he was dead. Elvis is still laughing about it.

My girlfriend called me from Arizona this afternoon. She couldn’t find my address. We had a nice chat. She’s sending me a present. She had asked what my favorite colors were so I am assuming it has red in it.

A chunk broke off one of my geraniums last week so I stuck it in some water. I didn’t notice that it had a bud on it. It was so small. Now I have this lovely flower on my little supper table.

Tags:Elvis, geranium, girlfriend
Posted in Family and Friends, my pets | 1 Comment »

Happy June

June 2, 2008

I had on sandals when I went walking this morning so I was only out for about half an hour. The problem being that it rained cows and pigs last night and the ground was soaked and very squishy.

I wore my new socks to knitting group this afternoon. I didn’t mention them, but somebody did notice them. I must say, they did look nice with my red sandals. I have gotten down to the heel on my socks. It has the standard heel, but i prefer what some call the “After Thought Heel”. I think they last longer. I can always change it later. There was an error in the pattern, but I caught it almost right away. Two rows of the pattern were reversed.

I got a haircut while I was down there. No sense in wasting the gas. It’s a forty mile round trip. I am so glad the color that it was dyed is so close to my natural color. It’s about half grown out and doesn’t look too strange.

I finished my album blocks and I am working on the half and quarter blocks. I am making extra full and half blocks as I finish each step.

Before and after. With and without the flash. Is that center square too much? Why do I ask? It’s staying.

Good Night.

P.S. Hope I haven’t bored you too much.

Tags:album blocks, haircut, knitting group, socks
Posted in Family and Friends, Knitting, Sewing | 1 Comment »

House in the Woods

May 31, 2008

We walked along the edge of the horse farm this morning. A large area in the woods has been cleared for some houses. It seems strange because there are so many houses for sale around here. The thought of a house in the woods creeps me out. I can see the headlines now: “Decomposed Bodies of Elderly Couple Found in the Woods”.

I’m kind of weird today. I can’t find my camera. I was taking pictures earlier and I absolutely no idea where it is.

Tags:camera, woods
Posted in Family and Friends | 1 Comment »

My Son

May 30, 2008

He called the other night around 10:45, his usual time. He was really happy. You could hear it in his voice. And, in turn, I was happy. He did well in all his exams and will definitely graduate at the end of Summer. He has an English and a Phys Ed class to take. He could have walked at Spring graduation, but it wouldn’t really mean anything to him. I can understand that. Maybe they’ll have something for the Summer grads. Getting that certificate is the most important thing. I’ll probably start crying and I’d rather do that in private anyway. I am truly amazed and happy that he is graduating from college. I was so afraid that he would quit. It has taken him five full years, but he is doing it and I am so proud of him.

He has been working at Office Depot for two months and he says he really enjoys it. He started working eight hours a week and now he is up to twenty-four hours. My daughter called the other night. Winston’s supervisor is one of her customers and she says he is doing great. He can answer all the customers’ technical questions and he needed no instruction with the register. He is funny and good with the customers.

Can you tell I am smiling with tears rolling down my cheeks? You have no idea how much I have worried about this boy young man. When he was a baby, I used to look at him and run my hands down his chest and think how beautiful he is. He was a lovely pink and there were no scars from surgery. He was healthy and I gave birth to him with no problems and no drugs. How did this happen? What did I do to deserve this? Oh dear. Time to stop.

He also told me his cat caught a mouse. She even ate it. He was so proud of her. It sounded like he was just as happy that Biscuit caught a mouse as graduating.

Tags:son
Posted in Family and Friends | 2 Comments »

Science Fiction

May 25, 2008

I think I was thirteen when I started reading science fiction. It was summer. I was bored and the stuff my friends were reading was awful enough to gag a maggot. I found a book of short stories. I am a terribly slow reader and it took me several weeks to finish. There were many words that I didn’t understand, but we had a three volume dictionary. Daddy kept telling me to look it up so I probably actually learned something that summer. I read most of Asimov. I don’t remember if I read anyone in particular after that. I tried reading Dune twice. I couldn’t get into it. It was boring. And I don’t care for fantasy. Hobbits and fairies don’t do a think for me. Lois Bujold’s Miles books were great, but her new series isn’t. I like Anne MacCaffney’s Pern books and some of the others. They are a pleasant read, but predictable. Oh! I forgot Terry Pratchett. I think my son and husband have read all of his and I have read a few. But, like I said, I read slowly. I do, however, get a lot out of each book I read.

Murder mysteries are fun to read. I often figure things out. That’s probably comes from reading Nannie’s True Detective magazines. I am very observant. I notice things that most people don’t. I also find things. My husband can’t see the forest for the trees. I’m always telling him where to find his glasses, his wallet or the doohickey that fits into the what-zit. I tell you. It’s all those True Detective magazines.

Tags:sci-fi, True Detective
Posted in Family and Friends, Stuff | 3 Comments »

Blue

May 23, 2008

I’m not a blue person. I have tried to like blue, but I don’t. Well, I like denim. I have several pairs of blue jeans and a couple of blue denim jackets, but shirts and blouses don’t work for me. This morning, I put on a light blue cotton shirt to go walking. I’ve had it for several years and it still looks new. I had bought a few long sleeved cotton shirts to take to Florida when I was sent down for a week as a Subject Matter Expert. It was February and I was suffering from “winter skin” that I needed to keep covered. I had a very hard time finding anything and not much time to do it. So I settled for the blue. I tried to perk it up with one of my flamboyant pins. I wound up going down there about four times helping to computerize training sessions. I became known as “The Pin Lady” which is much better than “Boring Light Blue Shirt Lady”. Every time I went I took my gaudiest pins and no one seemed to notice anything else I was wearing.

Anyway—-my neighbor was out walking her dog at the same time we were. She remarked at how much she liked my shirt. I said something about giving to Goodwill or would she like it. She said, “Yes. I’ll take it.” So I think that I will do some cutting and sewing on it so that it will fit her better.

Tags:blue shirt
Posted in Family and Friends, Sewing | 1 Comment »

Not Knitting?

May 19, 2008

Not very many came to knitting group today. There were not a whole lot there last month either. What causes this? I knit year round. Not knitting is unheard of to me. I will probably abandon my heavy wool sweater once it gets hot. But, I still have two more pairs of socks and gloves planned and a half done vest on tiny needles that I need to get back to. I will still be there twice a month unless something that I can’t reschedule comes along. I can’t get together like this for sewing. My machine alone weighs 35 lbs. Then there is all the other crap in order to sew. And there is the fact that I would have to drive so far. The poor thing should have had it’s annual physical two months ago, but that’s a 40 mile drive and I haven’t found another reason to go. Why am I such a sourpuss? I’ll have to think about that. I have got a ton of pictures to download and I haven’t even felt like doing that. I’m going to take my murder mystery and go to bed. I can’t even find any good science fiction lately. What’s this world coming to? Here’s my son with his little girl.

Tags:not knitting
Posted in Family and Friends, Knitting, Sewing | 1 Comment »

In and Out

May 18, 2008

It was one of those days when there were things that needed to be done inside, but the outside kept gently calling my name. The gentle breezes made the morning walk perfect. We decided to walk down to the pond. We could here the frogs before we see the pond. We walked along the edge and they would jump into the pond as we approached and Gus went crazy. There was one white goose in with the Canada geese that we had never seen before. On the way back, we stopped and talked to some of the neighbors. One was especially talkative. He wife recently moved out and he seemed more relaxed and happier then we have ever seen him. When we got back, I poured myself a cup of coffee, grabbed my sock knitting and went out back. After about an hour, I came back in, did some boring work, then I went back out again. That’s the way the day went. In and out and in and out and in and out.

Tags:geese, neighbors, walk
Posted in Family and Friends, Knitting | Comments Off on In and Out

Yeah, The Sun is Out

May 14, 2008

I finished one sock. It was fun to make. The yarn is a bit wonky, but it should soften after washing.The yarn is 30% nylon so I am assuming they will last. The yarn over have me worried. Maybe I will give them to someone and let them worry about it.

I spent a long time going through the new software and moving things around to where I liked them. I have a better understanding of what it can do and I am beginning to like it.

$Mother\'s Day$

I got this from my children. It’s really great because it is actually five potted flowers that I can plant outside and enjoy for months to come. Do they know me or what?

I have never been big on Mother’s Day and they know it, but sometimes I get something neat like this and that what makes it really special. When they were little, I didn’t really have any money for extras. We celebrated birthdays and Christmas and I made them up for Halloween. I told them that I knew they loved me as much as I loved them and gifts were not necessary. When they started school, they brought me homemade cards that I still have ‘somewhere’.

Are those walls too pink? They make me feel happy. It beats the crap out of the nothing color that was up there before.

inside

Isn’t this a great card? Socks are very important to me. I have two drawers of them. I can’t stand getting my feet dirty.

Tags:cards, flowers, socks
Posted in Family and Friends, Knitting | 2 Comments »

Up a Creek in Lower Slower Delaware