Sunday, February 28, 2021

How Does Your Garden Grow?

 Blogger wants a backwards story this week. Okay.


Inside, Concordia, the daughter Peace Lily plant has bloomed along with


a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes and lettuce


Above freezing temperatures and some sun this week has nearly melted the snow off the main solar array.


The snow is completely clear from the Western array


The camera didn't capture the fog rising off the snow pack


More frozen tear


Sunny, but cold didn't stop Elvis from dancing by the highway




Looks like a flying saucer has landed in the middle of the polar ice caps


36 oF. outside with a feels like temperature of 72 oF (to the left of the 36). Harvey, the weather station is wishful thinking warm weather just like me.


Leagues of lamentations


More light snow


On the sunny days we've had, Brindle spent their time soaking up the warm sun and the heat from the air circulator.

How does your garden grow?

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Saturday Morning at the Library

 When I was 5 years old, I was forced to take dancing lessons while the Brother was forced to take accordion lessons. I hated dancing class. The Knights of Columbus Hall where the classes were given had no heat or it wasn't turned on. I hated wearing the pink beginner tights. I liked clacking around in the tap shoes, but Ma wouldn't let me practice inside the house on the wood floors. I spent most of my time in class being miserable and crying. Eventually, I was taken out of class.

While the Brother still had to endure accordion lessons, Dad took me to the library. He would leave me upstairs in the children's library where I could look at the books and choose to take some books home with my own library card. As I got older, I would go downstairs to the adult library and wander among the stacks enjoying the scent of the books before going to find Dad in the reference area consulting the law books and catching up on his work.

So for the next several weeks, a list of my favorite books, some I have read as a child, others as an adult and some  I have read more than once.


A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, published 1843

"Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise? Scrooge and he were partners for I don’t know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain.

The mention of Marley’s funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlet’s Father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot—say Saint Paul’s Churchyard for instance—literally to astonish his son’s weak mind.

Scrooge never painted out Old Marley’s name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names. It was all the same to him.

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas."

You can find this book and others at your public library or at your favorite bookseller.

This book is in the public domain. You can read it free online at Project Gutenberg

Friday, February 26, 2021

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. The Young One and I played hairdresser. Having my mop cut felt like I lost 10 lbs.

2. Brindle, the bunny, spends a large portion of the day sunning themselves and keeping warm under the circulation vent.

3. Snow turned to rain and didn't freeze in sheets of ice overnight.

4. The sun was out, and I went to get the mail wearing a sweater instead of my heavy jacket and gloves

5. The Brother called me, and we had a nice long chat.

How was your week?

Thursday, February 25, 2021

New Word of the Day

 


Bright light is one of my migraine triggers especially sunlight off snow or the pavement. Himself told me reflective light off a surface is called albedo. If you need to know how to calculate the albedo:



Tuesday, February 23, 2021

T Stands For Only 20

 
Tea and Chocolate.

What if you had to choose only 20 ingredients to feed yourself/family for the rest of your days? Here’s mine. It was tough. You?

1.   Apples

2.   Carrots

3.   Chicken

4.   Chocolate

5.   Eggs

6.   Flour

7.   Ground Beef

8.   Milk

9.   Mozzarella

10. Butter

11. Peppers (as in Bell)

12. Potatoes

13. Rice

14. Salt

15. Sugar

16. Tea

17. Tomatoes

18. Vanilla

19. Water

20. Yeast

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Monday, February 22, 2021

Japanese Ledger Book

 

I have these reusable papers from Swipies. They are like a whiteboard, but portable. Done with the list, hold the Swipie under running water and the ink washes away. Only need to change a line? Spritz a cloth with water (cloth and spritz bottle included) and wipe the line away. 

I love these as they have helped me to tame the paper clutter trail I had with all sorts of lists I made. But how to keep the Swipies from being all over the place?


Somewhere in my Internet wanderings I saw a Japanese Ledger or accounting book. The format would be perfect for keeping the Swipies together. The stab bound stitching allowed the book to be hung up.

The book I made measures 4.25 in. x 9 in. The book can be made with a soft or hard cover. For durability, I chose to make a hard cover book so covered two pieces of chipboard with cardstock and added a decorative piece of cardstock for the inside cover. In order for the cover to easily be lifted up, the chipboard was cut and hinged together with tape before the cover paper was glued on.


I have 4 Swipies so used cardstock for the inside pages which were sewn to the covers. Because I wanted to pull the Swipies out when I needed them, I cut a couple of #10 business size envelopes, 3 inches high for pockets. I slipped the envelope pockets over the cardstock pages and decorated the edges with Washi tape


The Swipies easily slip inside the envelope pockets




This is how the stitching looks on the back cover. I used cotton crochet thread. I stitched the book with one piece of thread, and tied the two ends together. For extra pretty, you could use two different thread colors.

Sunday, February 21, 2021

How Does Your Garden Grow?

 

Inside the hydroponic garden, a ripe tomato ready for picking!


Icy tree fingers


The male cardinal sat in the honeysuckle vine for a couple of hours. Sheltering from the cold or staking a claim on territory? I think the Cardinals have decided to build their first nest of the season in the vine. If they do, this will be the third year they have nested here.


A lull in the storm to push a couple of inches of snow from the walk, in front of the mailbox, and half the driveway, and to salt/sand the walk. The stairs are electrified so I flipped a switch to melt ice and snow off of them.


The Depths of Desolation


A command from the Rolodex art of the day. Make a Wish. I wish it would stop snowing!


A large shadow like an airplane passed by the window. Outside an attempted murder. (A gathering of crows is called a murder)


Day two of clearing the remainder of the snow from the driveway. I pulled the windshield cover off Moose and cleaned the back window and moved Moose into the sun. We're not going anywhere this week and mid-week sun with temps. in the 40s will melt the snow off Moose's roof.


The Alps


The Sea of Sadness


Some bunny this way comes


And here it is warming themselves in the sun. A new bunny I haven't seen before. I've named it Brindle because of its coloring.

How does your garden grow?

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Saturday Afternoon at the Movies

 This idea came from a Facebook meme:

Over 10 days, post your 10 all time favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain.

Only I had a hard time picking out just 10 movies so my favorites over the next few hundred Saturdays 😸 in semi-alphabetical order my favorite films. What movie has really made an impact on you or what films can you watch over and over and never tire of? Post either the movie poster, DVD cover or even a screenshot on your timeline. No need to explain. 


The Wizard of Oz (1939) Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr

My first thought if you haven't seen this movie is you grew up in a cave. Unless you were like my mother and miffed that your beau took another girl to see the movie and wouldn't take you. 

If you haven't seen my favorite, horror movie of all time, you can find it to buy or rent on YouTube.

This is the last movie on my list. Next week, my favorite books.

Friday, February 19, 2021

The Friday Five Good Things


 Five good things that happened this week

1. Spent a sweet and quiet Valentine's Day watching movies and nibbling chocolates.

2. Worked on samples for an online workshop to be given in March for the Newburgh Free Library in Newburgh, New York

3. My online calligraphy class seems to be going well. People showed up for the 2nd class and no one has dropped out.

4. Skyped with Nan

5. So far, not much snow from the latest storm. I hope I don't jinx things.

How was your week?

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Is It July, Yet?

 

The Fairies (aka Delivery Men who leave packages at the front door) brought a surprise. It's either a belated Christmas or Valentine's gift or an early Mother's Day. Either way, I love it and can't wait to put the garden stake outside in Ink's garden. Is it July, yet?

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

T Stands For Inspired By

 

Last week, Elizabeth had a pretty tea service for her post and another Tea Lady in an earlier post had mentioned making a decoction with sliced ginger and hot water. I'm so sorry I can't remember the name of the Ginger Tea Lady and I can't find a past post. When Bastelmania goes to her favorite cafes for her cappuccino, there's always a little goodie served alongside. 

These ladies inspired me to treat my self like company, to try a decoction of ginger tea, and to pretend I was visiting a cafe for a cuppa

Setting the tea table was easy, but making ginger tea when there was no ginger root available was a little harder. I had some ginger taffy-like candy so I tossed a piece into hot water and let it melt. The candy is more spicy than sweet so it made a really nice tea. A lemon cookie along side added to the illusion of sitting in a nice cafe. Okay, it was really more like a little girl playing with her tea set, but I can pretend with the best of them.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Monday, February 15, 2021

Valentine's Day Happy Mail

 

From my tablemate in the year long Reggie class, a delightful Valentine with one of L's adorable lambies.


From the Eldest. What's in the fancy box?



Chocolate dipped strawberries!


For the Eldest, I sent a pyramid box with some jelly beans and a hair scrunchie. I found a cute vase and because I don't know her work schedule and didn't want real flowers to freeze, I included a bunch of paper roses. Pyramid box and paper rose patterns courtesy of Scan n Cut Canvas Workshop. The paper rose didn't have a calyx so the Young One showed me how she folded and cut the paper to make the calyx. 


The Valentine I made the girlies. The Eldest's in pink and The Young One's in red, their favorite colors.


Inside a pop-out Who Loves You? When the girlies were little and learning how to talk, I used to hold their hands and in a sing-song voice ask Who Loves You? and then I'd say Mama. To this day they will answer Mama to the question Who loves you?

Sunday, February 14, 2021

How Does Your Garden Grow?


Happy Valentine's Day



Widening the driveway after the storms this week


Yay! The mailbox survived both the town plow and the plow guy


Some carrots for the bunnies


Busy road to the front feeder


Somebunny using the path to the oil fill


Sadness as far as the eye can see


Looks like somebunny sniffed the carrots, but no takers.


My garden grows like a tundra. More frozen tears expected to fall all this week.

How does your garden grow?