Saturday, March 17, 2007

REALITY SHOW





Just thought I'd let you see what's really happening in my world......Bleah....That's BIL Bob taking a break from chipping through the ice. It took him 20 minutes to get out his door and to this spot. Now the temps are rising and hope springs eternal. It's pulled pork and coleslaw for dinner and for desert-Advil all around.

Get the picture?No you don't.




If only it were so. I found these pics of spring in the yard to take my mind off of the awful reality outside. Mother Nature is, how you say, pissed. There is about 3 inches of very icy, slushy, snow outside and it came down in tiny ice pellets-sideways all day yesterday and through the night. It snowed, and poured and sleeted. Today my guys will attempt to remove some of the crust and hopefully by Monday we will return to something resembling normal. James and BIL Bob couldn't even get their cars up the icy driveway. They have to dig the mess out up here to get to the mess down there. This weather pattern we are in is such a nuisance. We have the mighty snow blower in the basement and when big snow does come down, it is easily gotten rid of-not so with this stuff. First of all, it weighs a ton and has to be chipped away blah blah blah....Remind me of why we live on this blasted island again??????Oh! that's right-the beaches, the ambiance, the pretty little village by the bay, offshore breezes in summer, and tah dah..the the muck and mold the other three quarters of the year.
Above this rant you can see pansies and a shot of my favorite little bush in the yard. I don't know what it's called but I would plant it everywhere if I could. It flowers with these little pink darlings in spring and then sets green berries which turn bright red in the fall and go all the way till December. The other pic is of the lovely pansies my husband fills the porch planters with in spring. Please look past the molding wood of the porch that is due for replacement.
Yesterday there was no going anywhere and my library connection and best friend gave me the complete set of the BBC version of "Elizabeth I" with the great Glenda Jackson. All 6 VHS tapes at 90 minutes each. I really appreciated having them. On a more amusing note, my friend said that she would be attending a meeting today regarding violence in the workplace-I often wonder who will strangle who first in our Library. Will it be The Patrons vs Librarians or a grudge match of the Librarians vs The Clerks? Final scores to follow.
I am sorry I was unable to get the donation quilt in the mail to Fran in Colorado due to the ice, etc. It will go out Monday. The kids quilts will also go Mon. or Tues and while I'm at it the Heart quilt and backing should be going to Deb G. as well. It will be nice to clear up this batch and get to some work of my own. Even though I've been busy with this stuff, I haven't accomplished a thing myself. I hope to work on the 12x12x12 challenge soon. This months entries are really wonderful. It's such fun to see what everyone comes up with.
Well, I must go feed Nanuck of the North.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

lizards and Dinos and bears, Oh MY!














I'm all about the borders today. We are also having problems with the Internet server or something geeky like that so I don't know how long I'll be able to chat with y'all(Hi JaneAnn)

I've also decided to donate the appliqued hearts top that has been languishing in the aforementioned CLOSET which is swiftly becoming shameless. It's a rainy day here so I won't miss the spring-like outings I've been taking.

This top, along with a number of others, was made as a learning experience and, like the other one, made during the height of menopausal mania. I needed something to do while I took care of my friend's children. She spent most days at the hospital with her husband who needed a kidney transplant and was very ill. He died not long after and every time I look at this I think of those sad days. She re-married a couple of years later to a shockingly horrid man who would have made her late husband angry just thinking about him. I'm not good at hiding my feelings about this type of thing and our friendship sort of came to a sad end. It's better that this top goes toward something good-thus removing the icky vibes every time I see it. It's going to the lovely Deb G. who performed miracles last time and I know it will be re-incarnated into something cheerful.
My husband went to physical therapy for his arm and we are hoping it will help. I was so wiped out last night I took a Benadryl and lapsed into a coma until this morning. Yay to sleeping through the night-Woohoo
I would like to thank the Academy...Oh, wrong speech-paper shuffling.......Thanks to you great ladies who left comments yesterday. Mel made me think about Hugh Grant as the lead in A Good Year. That could have worked-he kind of played that type in Bridget Jones Diary. I find it difficult to think of British actors without imagining Colin Firth in everything just so I can sigh....sigh. It made me laugh that Jeri uses the Feh. Feh is a term that gets thrown off the tongue like a spit but nicer. It's one of those Yiddish phrases that I learned at the feet of my Jewish co-workers in retailing. It has many purposes. Feh can mean whatever, with attitude and annoyance. I used it because when they sweep the beach they take away all the beachy stuff-shells, wood bits and my personal fav-beach glass.
A couple of years ago my friend and I were on the way to the Mall for a dress she needed for a wedding. As I was discussing a particularly unflattering style, I referred to it as a schmata, or Yiddish for rag. I thought she was going to loose control of the vehicle. She, a life-long New Yorker, never heard the word schmata before and thought it was the funniest word and best sounding description- now my waspy friend throws schmata into the conversation like she's been using it all her life. Great influence I am huh?Perfectly pleasant librarian type liberally sprinkling the Yiddish. I did have to explain that putz was a word she was using incorrectly. I don't remember what she thought it meant but it means men's manly bits(say that 3 times fast) and that's not the message she was looking to send. One must be careful of the correct usage when swearing in dialects(hee)
Hope you come back tomorrow for more fun with Dee. I need some caffeine...

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Peekaboo& Wip-less Wed.



Sorry I've been away so long. Life gets in the way. Here you can see the donation quilt all bound and ready. All except for a label and a note to include to the lovely young woman soldier who will be receiving it. She is in a rehab facility in Colorado where she is recuperating from a gunshot wound to the eye. I hope this will bring her some comfort.
The handsome man holding the other side is James. Since he was off school and work and Roger was home we all trooped off the Sweet Mama's for lunch. Delish! I got absolutely nothing accomplished but it was a beautiful spring-like day. Sunshine and 56-yay!
Over the weekend I made Rian's braised short rib recipe which won rave reviews. Boy is that good eats! I watched "Marie Antoinette" which was all quirky and fun(until the end, of course) and drooled over the costumes. I had read the book by Antonia Frasier and I thought that Sophia Coppola's use of modern music was interesting. The costumes...well.....the shoes.....OMG. I'd watch again just for the rich fabrics and shoes. Of course the real Marie was a chunky little German like me so that was all wrong. Kirsten Dunst didn't have much to say and there wasn't really that much dialog. In fact it was a videolog of pre-revolutionary France and the disconnect between the royals and the common folk.
Then on Sunday, while the beef was braising, I watched "A Good Year" with Russell Crowe. I expected to dislike this movie based on reviews-all bad.That doesn't usually matter that much to me because I've liked some movies that get bad press and vice versa. I don't know if it was because I just wanted some light and frivolous comedy or what but I really enjoyed it. What's not to like about inheriting a vineyard in Provence? Russell did look a bit overblown like he had indulged in a bit too much of the grape-blowzy-but then I think that's just him. I do wish the trend to look hungover with a two day growth of beard would end though. He looked a bit like he needed a bath. I rated it on my Gladometer-"glad I didn't pay $10 bucks in the theater but happy I saw it."
I was not able to get in Little Miss Sunshine-maybe this week some time.
I am putting the binding on two kid quilts for Bethesda so I really don't have any Wips for today. Later, James and I are headed for Trader Joe's-he wants some soy stuff and I am after edamame and whatever. I have a lot of work to do for the Pantry but the weather is luring me out of my cave-like existence. Perhaps a little walk on the beach later? This is the time of year when you can find interesting shells and beach junk. Soon they will sweep everything clean-feh!