Friday Fluff

I was looking through some older photos and came across a picture of our Clivia plant. It belonged to my late MIL Dot and resides for the winter in Bob's basement. The plant is so root bound that it can barely stand up. I called on a Master gardener friend of mine to explain the best way to take it apart and make at least two new plants out of it. I will screw up my courage and tend to that soon. I'm a little shy about doing that kind of thing since last fall I decided to take my 45-year-old Jade plant apart and just keep the central large, original stem and some of the cuttings. Over the years, I have simply plucked off pieces of the Jade, stuck them in the soil and they grow like mad. Can't count the number of little plants I've started from that old one. Anyway, as fate would have it, the nice fat original stem is not doing well. I'll leave it alone under the grow light but I'm increasingly worried that I murdered my favorite plant. Should have just re-potted the old thing instead of cutting it apart so drastically. Rats.

I just started to read this book. I borrowed this picture from Amazon and it's not really clickable. So far I recommend it highly. I like a good murder mystery and lately I find that I'm getting bored with some of the writers that I have been reading for years. They aren't writing bad books, just some of them are a little formulaic and in one case I had no trouble putting it down and reading a little here and there. That's a sure sign for me that the book is a little blah. I like the un-putdownable book. That seems to be less and less a factor.
However, this particular book is a good read so far and I had a lot of trouble putting it down yesterday. Hoping that it's as good as it appears. The writing is just beautiful. Vivid descriptions and a detailed, evocative, writing. It begs you to continue just to read more about the two main characters and the writer has made the town and it's people a sort of character as well. He's a descriptive writer and you find yourself feeling cold with his talk of the harsh, killing, winter taking place. It's bleak but fascinating. Sort of puts me in mind of early Stephen King. I'll let you know how it holds up. I suppose you can't expect a writer to make every book fabulous and I think the books that are written in series formula like Kellerman, Grafton, Connelly, etc. are bound to run hot and cold. Too bad. Especially the way books are priced today. For that and a number of other reasons, I think the Kindle may be the answer for someone like me. At least I don't think you have to pay as much for the Kindle versions...not sure about that. Space is at a premium around here and we are trying to jettison as much of the stuff as possible. If not we will wind up like the Collier Brothers.....buried by the stacks.

We are having snow showers today. Enough!
Off to the sewing room.

Curtains and such

Hope you got a chance to go see the Interpret This artists. If not, scroll down for the link and see it. Also the Twelve by Twelve Group is showing their work for this month. It's all about Colorplay this month. It's Blue & White with a Touch of Black month. Lovely work.

I'm making curtains for my BIL Bob's kitchen. Frankly, I think he couldn't really care less about the curtains but we've reached the stage in life where buying anything for birthdays and other celebrations is kind of moot. Bob is well set and his main mission in life is travel. The house is a place that holds his clothes and bed. He's very close to retirement and I suspect that when that happens he'll be out of here more than not. He's taken to buying himself books by the shopping bag full and his taste in those is science fiction. I haven't a clue what he's read or not read at this point so book giving is another thing that is random. Suffice to say that when it comes to birthdays and such, Bob's a tough nut to crack. He's super generous to us so I feel like a gift giving failure. He just doesn't NEED anything. Friends gave him a coffee maker last Christmas..it's still in the box. He uses ours the few times he drinks coffee. Anyway, this birthday, I decided, instead of giving another gift that is left by the wayside, I'll make new curtains for the kitchen in his part of the house. I'm almost done and glad of it. I need to move on to something interesting. Sewing curtains can make you feel sleepy. It's gray outside, That's not helping the mood.
I know everyone is so ready for spring. Today I came home from the grocery store and I heard a bird trilling out in the garden. This morning I saw chipmunks running on the wall outside. So happy! The light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train soon. Ran into a friend of mine at the store, she said she was itching to take a walk outside. It's just to icy and too many snow banks on our hills. Makes for dangerous walking on these narrow roads. Patience. That's what I told her...stop that laughing.
Hope it's sunny where you are. Back soon.

It's that time again...Interpret This!!

Get on over to the Interpret This Blog, scroll down and see the fantastic work being done by these talented women. If you didn't see last months entries for Heaven's sake don't miss that while you're there. I can't wait to see what's next. Each one of these women brings something different and wonderful to the challenge. They are all so very talented that the results are refreshing and fun to see.

If you have a cup of something soothing and a few more minutes go on over to the Twelve by twelve group blog and let your eyes feast on their results in the Blue & White and a touch of Black theme for this month. Don't forget to check out the other months gone by. They've been doing this for quite a while now and they have a book coming out through Lark Books. Very cool ladies and a fabulous group of artists from all over the world.

Anyway, after that fabulousness I wish I had something great to offer. I'm in the throws of making curtains for my BIL Bob's windows and it has to be the most snore inducing event lately. Assembly line sewing and such.
We had so much damn snow that it seems like we will never see the ground again. I'm still trying to make the new room comfortable to work in and not having much success. It's difficult to get things worked out for various reasons, one of which is that I live on a big hill and getting the heck out of here in bad weather or getting things delivered is an impossible dream in winter with this white stuff falling every other day. Delivery trucks don't like us much for good reason and unless I want to take a sleigh ride downhill I'm not going far. The week ahead may change that. Springy temps...yay!

I have much to do in the Pantry backlog of paperwork. Our Treasurer has given notice and I'm devastated. She and three other women are the only permanent staff. Up to now she would record the checks and monetary donations and send me a list of donors names, addresses, and desires regarding letter of acknowledgment and thanks. It may not sound like that would be difficult but it's complicated. Some donors are making bequests and that requires two letters. One to thank the donor and one to acknowledge the gift to the family members. Donations come in all forms. Lately we get a lot of grocery store gift cards. Kids around her get food donations from the local grocers. They do this so that I will write them a letter for there civic programs etc. The Treasurer and I have had a perfect system worked out for several years. Glossing over the fact that no one has raised a hand to help(don't get me started) I will have to deal with whatever person we can find to replace her.
The people who come to the meetings are professional meeting goers. They are all long-time retirees who come for the coffee and bagels and the ability to say they belong to an important civic group. In my 12 years of doing this, I have rarely seen a hand raised when a helper is called for. It all falls to the 3 or 4 of us who do the work. I get really annoyed with these folks. They are all representatives of their various churches and synagogues and I believe that they feel that just attending the meetings is their "job". It's very hard to get people to actually help out. Most younger women are out working now so I get it completely in that respect. It's a shame though since it really calls for patience on the part of the 3 or 4 of us. Mostly, I don't blame people since, once you volunteer for anything in the Ecumenical Council the job is yours f-o-r-e-v-e-r! By the way, our biggest muscle comes from the people who use the Pantry. They come in and help unpack bags and boxes regularly. Helpful folks who tell us they feel it's the least they can do. Good for them and good for us.
Anyway, sorry for the long rant. Spring can't come soon enough-crabby witch here!

I'm off to sew some curtains and write some letters. James brought me fresh bagels yesterday so I will enjoy a great breakfast and try to get a better attitude about things in general. The sun is trying to shine and I am happy that I don't live where my brother Pete does. He got more than 3 feet....UGH!