More Mom Pictures

Here are some more pictures I found when I was home last.

This is the most recent. 1961 when she took Dad home to meet her parents.

Mom in her Nursing School gradutation portrait. I love how the name tag says "Miss Temple"

I'm guessing this is her high school portrait. That locket is still around, but I'm not sure who has it.

I love this one - she's probably 15. So sassy!

Another project

So here's another thing I'd like to get done to my house in the next 4-6 months. This is a picture of a pair of windows in my living room,which runs almost the length of the yard. My plan is to replace these windows with a sliding glass patio door. This side of the house faces north, so I don't want to sacrifice any light by putting in a single door. A patio door is almost this size, and I'm hoping that fact makes the job a little simpler.

The other part of this is that I want to have a 10 x 10 deck built on the other side of the doors, so I can spend time outside comfortably. It will also be great not to have to leash the dog and walk her out to the yard. I'm looking forward to creating sort of an extra room, and I want the deck covered with a pergola of some kind to block the sun in the summer.

Right now, though, the Christmas tree is in front of these windows, and there is about 8" of snow on the ground. Forecast is for another 3-5", and it's going down to -1.

It's only December 6th?!

I'm so ready to start planning yard and garden projects, I can't believe it's not even Christmas yet!

I have decided to boost my efforts to grow food next year. To that end, I'm going to plant raspberries, and devote Mr W's old sandbox to veggies. This is a picture of the entirety of my yard, from the corner farthest from the house. It's a small lot, and I have no front or back yard. As far as potential garden space goes, there is this side yard, and then a strip along the alley on the other side of the house, where I have flowers, shrubs, and ornamental grasses.

I think I'll put the raspberries in some kind of container along the fenceline, to keep them from overtaking the yard and keep their soil isolated from the veggies that will be close by. Then I'll put veggies in the old sandbox that's in the other corner. I have a trellis for peas/cucumbers that I'll put over there, and then just sort of see what fits and what I feel like planting at the time. I tend to get overoptimistic with regard to the amount of vegetables I think I'll eat, so I want to plan realistically.

I also have the two old T posts that someone used to hang laundry on. I have visions of stringing something between them and having some kind of wind-powered, painted, fanlike arty something. Obviously still in the planning stages.

Other projects are afoot as well. I'm considering having work done on the house to make the yard more accessible from the house and will post about that in the future. For now, I'm content to research berries and dream of warmer days while I procrastinate about having to go out and shovel the 6 inches of snow that fell last night!

Thanksgiving - Take 3

For whatever reason, probably because I handed off a manuscript to my boss yesterday, today was a good day. I also got to work in the lab most of the day, and after being deskbound at work lately, it was nice to get back there.

Anyway, as I was doing a few go-rounds with Sally at the dogpark (if I stand there, so will she, so I walk and we both get some exercise), and it was cold and dark, I thought to myself that I was thankful to be walking at the dog park just then. Nothing hurt, I was warm she was happy to be loping along, and it seemed I should acknowledge that somehow.

This got me thinking about Thanksgiving, and how it really wasn't the same without my sister there, and in the future we'll gather elsewhere, and that's all OK. It's just how it is. On the way to arriving at this conclusion of it being OK, I realized I forgot to kind of acknowledge what I am thankful for, which is a good thing to be acknowledging this time of year.

I'm thankful for having a healthy kid. I am so proud of Mr W, I could just about burst into tears sometimes. I'm also thankful that my health has been good, and furthermore that I have decent health care. Related to that last point, I am thankful I have a job that I really like, with coworkers who are good to work with and a boss who lets me do my projects without hovering over my shoulder. I should buy him a bottle of scotch or something.

I am very thankful for my family. My dad continues to be healthy and active, and my brothers and their families mean more to me than I can convey. I'm thankful I have a circle of friends near and far that are there to celebrate and commiserate. I'm thankful for this house. I was fortunate to come out of my divorce with the financial means to buy it, and it has served as a source of security in a number of ways. I'm thankful I got the opportunity to teach this semester.

OK, that's a good list for now. It's supposed to go down below zero tonight - I'm also thankful for my sweater and slippers!

Of Course!

I'm a big fan of clever solutions. There's just a special kind of satisfaction associated with figuring something out with an answer that is resourceful and creative. I've gotten these sorts of forehead-smacking solutions for a couple of things lately that I wanted to share.

The first one happened when I was visiting family in Ohio. I was telling my sister in law about my desire to get the hardwood floors refinished in my house. There is hardwood in the living room and my bedroom, which comprise over 50% of the square footage in the house. I'm sure you can see the problem here. There simply isn't room to move everything out of those two rooms. My SIL looked at me and simply said, "rend a POD". Brilliant. I can get one of those big plastic boxes put in my driveway and keep the stuff in there for the few days it takes to do the floors. Ta-da!

The other thing was that, living by myself, it's hard to make arrangements to take my car into the shop. I borrowed Mr W's dad's truck last time, and took the bus to the repair shop. And felt pretty smug about it to, I might add. But as a taxi was behind me in traffic today, I thought to myself, "hey, I can just arrange a taxi, or our Dial-a-Ride program next time". Yea! I much prefer not having to rely on someone I know for a ride.

Old Photo

I got some family photos when I was home, and intend to scan them sometime soon. Here's one from about 1967-68. I was the baby of the family at the time.

Thanksgiving recap - Take 1

Mr W and I got back late yesterday evening from visiting family in Ohio. It was a mixed bag, and I have enough thoughts to make a couple of posts out of it. The kid traveled like an absolute champ, being helpful hauling luggage and looking for information on signs, and bravely facing his fear of flying, which I think he has conquered.

It was really, really nice to see my family. I hope to host a summer gathering for my brothers and their families here in CO.

I succeeded in getting some pictures of my mom digitized, and borrowed a few in case I need to rescan them. I visited the cemetery, where both my mom and my sister are buried, and paid my respects. I took pictures of their grave markers too, which feels a little strange but I'm glad I did it.

Thanksgiving itself was the usual debauchery, and I ended up a bit hungover the next day. To show how out of practice I am at this sort of thing anymore, I was into my third or fourth glass of wine when the thought occurred to me, "if I keep going, I'm going to be hungover tomorrow". Too late. It's such good motivation to not do that again any time soon.

I had some great pictures of the family, and one in particular of my sisters in law and myself I was looking forward to printing out. Mr W was trying to take some pictures and erased everything off the card - darn!

So, more later on family and gathering.

Chopping carrots

I've just been enlisted to chop carrots for the scalloped carrots, so this will be brief. Mr W and I arrived in Ohio without incident yesterday, and it's been great to see folks so far. We're expecting my brother and his family any time now, and my sister in law will be here this evening.

I went to the grocery store with my other brother this morning, and we bought a cart and a half of stuff. About 25 people are expected tomorrow, my sister's husband's family and then my brothers and dad. Life is good.

I think so

I think I'm ready to go to Ohio tomorrow. It was more of a challenge to fit our stuff into two small suitcases than I thought, but we'll do laundry after a couple of days there. Mr W is both excited and scared to get on a plane. Thankfully, he's come to terms with it, and is more of the mindset of "well, I don't have to like it, but I'm looking forward to being at the destination".

And I feel a bit of retrospection coming on with the holiday and all, so there will likely be a post or two about that. I've also got some plans for my garden next year that are starting to form (such a bummer that it's only November....). Looking back and looking forward. Does that make me firmly rooted in the present? It never seems that easy.

The day before

I'm sitting in my usual comfy spot, on the couch with my feet up. I've got my list of last things to do before Mr W and I fly to Ohio tomorrow, and it's not too long. Looks like we will be able to fit everything into the two carry on suitcases, and we'll each carry a backpack.

I downloaded a few episodes of TV shows Mr W likes to watch onto my iPod. You'd think watching anything on the little Nano screen would be uncomfortable. Not so. The clarity is so good that the picture is quite good.

Hmm...Slippers, or no slippers? I think we can squeeze them in, so I'll try. I need to take Sally to the kennel this morning. We could do it after work, but the cost is the same, so I might as well make our evening a little smoother by taking her in first thing. I think I'm going to get her evaluated for work as a therapy dog after the new year (or after the semester is over, anyway). I think she's got potential.

I'm of course looking forward to seeing everyone. I was in church yesterday, and the minister was talking about Thanksgiving family dynamics - we love to see our families in small doses - and I think mine is at the upper end of family tolerability. It will still be hard to stay in my sister's house without her there, but I need to do it at some point. I'll go out to the cemetery as well, bring some flowers. Note to self: put Kleenex on that list.

And one last thing happened yesterday that I wanted to note. I was talking to an old friend who lives in Denver, and after getting caught up, she asked me what I was doing for Christmas. She invited me to come to their house for the afternoon, and I was so touched. You know how when you're not expecting anything, and then someone offers you something nice? It was like that. So I will go and eat pirogis and homemade kielbasa, and try to keep my expectations at a level where I can be pleasantly surprised as often as possible. Life is good.

Toot toot

OK, I'm going to toot my kid's horn a bit, but this post isn't really about that. Each month, Mr W's school has an assembly and each teacher honors kids who demonstrate IB principles. IB stands for International Baccalaureate, and the program "focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside." I like their emphasis on the fact that we are part of a larger world in lots of different ways.

Mr W received an award for demonstrating Knowledge and Curiosity, and I was able to come over for the assembly, so I did. As I gushed with pride that my kid was up there, I realized in horror (well, in small way) that his clothes are too small - both tops and bottoms. Time to get to the consignment store...

But what really struck me was when they walked in. Each class was filing in, and I'm looking to catch his eye. His class starts in, I see him, and instead of his face lighting up when he saw me, it was filled with, filled with...um, nothing, really, that I could see. I was a little taken aback until I realized that this is actually a good thing.

It's OK that he expects one or both of his parents to attend these events for him. The fact that he doesn't know the disappointment of not seeing his parent in the crowd is OK with me, and one of those things that will pay off when he's older and is comparing childhood experiences with someone else and says, "yeah, my mom or dad came to all my stuff".

Way back when

I went to our local Barnes and Noble yesterday to pick up some things for Mr W to read and do while we travel to Ohio next week. I paid way too much for a couple of graphic novels I think he'll like, and got a couple of activity books. Remember Mad Libs? I think he's at the right age where he'll think they're hilarious.

As I wandered through the children's section, I walked past their toy train table, and was transported back to a time when Mr W was about 2-3 years old, and LOVED Thomas the Tank Engine. I was fairly certain at the time that I knew the location of every store in town that had a train table, and we'd often go and spend an hour at one of these places.

There were a couple of little kids around the train table last night, and their adoring families were sitting close by, being encouraging. It really was the very same thing I remember doing. Since there are several trains on the table, parents see this as a great opportunity for kids to get used to the concept of sharing. It is, certainly, but I laughed at the memory that they sure as hell don't want to share at that age!

It seemed like long time ago, juggling school and raising a young child with the x. This is evident in the stuff we are packing for the Ohio trip. As recently as our trip a couple of years ago, I devoted half a suitcase to carrying toys. Now, he's got his Nintendo DS, and we'll have a few books and travel games. The plan is to pack light and carry it all in carry-ons. We have to change planes coming and going, and I want to have all our stuff with us in case the schedule goes awry. Moving forward.

A 16' ladder as a symbol of independence

If you were to look at the north side of my house right now, you'd see that I started to paint the trim. I started this project back in the spring. I picked a nice combination of a reddish brown and a warm tan out of a paint sample brochure and the two shades do look nice together.

However, you'd notice right away that the paint job stops about 7' off the ground. Yup, that's as high as I could get with my 4' step ladder. My neighbor (the same one who trimmed my trees the other day) offered the use of their 16' ladder, but I've never taken them up on it. I'm not sure why, but it probably has something to do with doing things for myself.

It probably also has something to do with how busy I've been teaching this class, but it's also true that for the last couple of years I didn't want to put too much money into this house because I didn't know how long I'd live here. Well, the answer to that question has changed to "for the foreseeable future" so now I'm starting to think about things I'd like to do and have for the place.

Somehow, the purchase of a 16 foot ladder is becoming symbolic both of me realizing I don't want to move any time soon, and also of trying to do things for myself. I have an old friend who is establishing a homestead in upstate NY (hers is the Blueberry Hills Homestead blog in my blog list and she posts often), and she turned me on to a few other blogs written by women who are doing that sort of thing by choice. I can't say my situation is just like that, but it looks like I could learn a thing or two here.

So, I'll be pricing ladders over the new few weeks.

Sunday goodies

It is so soup weather out there. Last night it went down to 20. Here's a picture of my default soup, chicken noodle. Nothing fancy, it's got onions, carrots and celery, noodles and chicken. I've taken to seasoning things with Penzey's dried Buttermilk Ranch salad dressing mix. A tablespoon of that stuff and it's quite yummy.

I also was overtaken by a desire for lemon squares. Dunno, I've never made lemon squares, but for some reason it sounded good. And they are also yummy, although next time I'll put more lemon juice in there. They are surprisingly easy, and I got my recipe from here. I do like both the lemon stuff and the crust together, but I could also just eat the crust, which is made from flour, powdered sugar and butter (wow).

Scratch these off the list

Do you ever have a flurry of activity when you get a bunch of stuff done? Here's my Sunday morning so far:

1. Feed and visit with the neighbors' cat
2. Shovel my walk and the neighbors' (who are out of town)
3. Fold laundry
4. Sweep basement floor
5. Block two wool sweaters (not knit by me) to get them to fit better
6. Threw away an old pheasant tail given as a gift to Mr W (ick)
7. Put away the Halloween lights
8. Started cuttings of some house plants
9. Changed my windshield wiper blades (huzzah!)

Now it's off to work for a few hours and then home to work on school stuff for a few hours. I'm very much looking forward to getting this semester in the bag and then being able to take advantage of the fact that I've done everything once.

From Today's PostSecret

You never know where you will find inspiration, I guess.

Best.Shoes.Ever

Sometimes the shoe universe smiles upon us and we can't help but just be grateful. Mr W and I were shopping at the thrift store to get a shirt for him to wear in his school play (he did fab - nailed his line and got a laugh - yea!) and I wandered over to the shoe area and saw these:

Now, you may think these are too close to being like circus shoes, or they may otherwise not be your thing. But I loves me these shoes. They're Danksos and practically brand new. Many pairs of shoes at the thrift stores have seen many better days.

I have to wear thick socks with these because they are a tad big, but it's winter, so it's OK. I think one of the reasons I like them so much is because I wouldn't splurge and spend the $85 that these shoes likely cost, and these became mine for a mere $7.

I Kitchnered like a Rock Star

I like knitting socks. They are the ultimate compact knitting project. You can justify splurging on expensive-ish yarn because you don't need all that much. There are tons of patterns to choose from, and once you have your method down, they aren't technically difficult to make.

Two main schools of sock making have them made from either the toe up or the cuff down. I learned cuff-down, and have been trying to teach myself toe up. I admit I've gotten kind of bogged down with the toe-up world, and will likely rip out the second sock (shown here on the left in green) of a pair that has been languishing for months and do a cuff down.

Socks are usually knit on really small (like 2-3 mm) needles, and with a fine guage of yarn. That gives a nice look and small stitches. For these big reds, I used a 6 mm needle (comparatively huge) and the next step up in yarn width, sport weight. Wow, combine those two and this thing practically knit itself.

But, I'd like to draw your attention to my Kitchnering. At the end of the sock, at the toe, the two sides need to be grafted together to close up the tube of knitting. The Kitchner stitch is a way to sew a knit stitch with a tapestry needle that closes the tube and looks like knitting. I almost always screw this part up, which is sort of a heartbreak when it's the last thing to do on a sock and it's hard to rip it out and go again.

So here are photos of the best Kitchnering I've ever done. I looked at the instructions, tried something a little different and it worked nicely.

Now, we'll see if the second sock gets made - maybe over Thanksgiving...

Low spot

I recently ended my relationship with CB, and I've been melancholy ever since. I know it was the right decision, but owing to how his personality isn't to blame, and what I potentially gave up, well, it's just going to take some time to feel better.

We met online, on a site for science-y types, and from the beginning we were 900 miles apart. We talked on the phone, sometimes for hours, and exchanged emails. About five or six weeks into it, he asked if I would fly out to meet him, and then we'd drive the eight hours to Los Angeles for a concert he had tickets to. Even though I've told this story several times, it still looks like I took this huge chance with this person I met online. I never felt any red flags come up and we had a great time. Nothing like spending eight hours in a car to begin to spend time together!

Since he travels for a living and is on the road for two or three weeks at a time every three or four weeks or so, we settled into a routine of me flying out there for a few days every 5 weeks or so. Sometimes we'd have to wait longer, and I remember the first summer we were dating I waited an excruciating 7 weeks while he went to Alaska, and then to Nova Scotia, and then I had to travel for my work. A big concern for me for the first year or so was that he'd determine that it wasn't worth the trouble, and would decide to end it. But he didn't.

We went to California twice to go whale watching, and I looked forward to the opportunity to travel with him while he was working. He leads bird watching tours and that would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the money was never there, and I spent all of my vacation time on our monthly visits.

I will miss my time with him. We started dating a couple of years after I was divorced, but I was still, in retrospect, feeling the effects of having been married for 15 years and having the rug pulled out from under me. To be with someone who accepts and appreciates you for who you are is a rare and wonderful thing indeed.

I'm looking forward to doing more in my community, maybe getting some work done on the house and have decided I'll teach again next semester. I've missed talks with my sister acutely during this time, and it's been odd and sad not to have her counsel.

Thanks, CB. Our time together changed me for the better.

Things have changed

More on this later.