December 31, 2008

Some things look better in the snow

Like this, for instance. It used to be right outside Mr. Gadget's new basement office window, but he convinced the construction guys to move it in honor of our arrival. With the wind we've been having......the wind that blew our dirty, mildewed patio chair cushions down the road for all our new neighbors to see....the door to the job johnny has been mostly in the open position. It's nice to see the boys have a good supply of toilet paper. I can only wonder if the construction company supplies it, or if those poor workers have to dip into their parents' stashes.....
I'm thinking of calling my new craft room the Lighthouse. I considered several options: Treehouse: the Next Generation, Treehouse II, and Treehouse: the Sequel, but none of them seemed quite right. The room is full of light, especially now as I await my new up-from-the-bottom or down-from-the top blinds. No one is exactly sure why they didn't come with the rest of the window treatment order, and we've been told no one at the decorating company is working this week. Meanwhile, I have a great view of the snow, the visitors to the job johnny, and the traffic on Route 7 (a major north-south thoroughfare in this part of the country.....well, at least until next fall when a bypass is completed....a bypass that has been delayed for lack of proper designing to insure that salamanders and turtles have unimpeded access to their egg-laying areas). I also have a good view of the condo development's Mary Kay wing .

So Mr. Gadget and I had plans to go to the home of friends this evening for some Chinese take-out and a little bit of holiday cheer, until the weather turned frightful. So we'll stay put in our new digs, have a toast, and see if we can stay awake late enough to watch the ball drop. And I'll be remembering many childhood New Years Eve celebrations spent with my relatives..... my aunt in the kitchen making homemade doughnuts in the deep fryer and my uncle walking over to the big vacant lot across the street at midnight to shoot his gun. Those were exciting times I tell you.....
Happy New Year everyone!

December 28, 2008

Santa found us!

Lucky for us, Santa found the note I taped to the old chimney with our new address. He arrived here in a sailing ship. There must have been a little bit of Santa magic involved, since we aren't anywhere near the ocean.
So, we're in the new digs and very pleased. I now have a garbage disposal, kitchen drawers that close by themselves, and comfort toilets. Oh, and I've found something else besides wallpapering that can put a marriage in jeopardy. Moving. When one partner has procrastination issues and the other might have just a tad bit of OCD, there can be fireworks. Thankfully, we chose the floor plan with the buffer zone.

Here's my new gourmet kitchen. Too bad I'm not a gourmet cook. Do you think it's too late? I've still got a few years before Meals-on-Wheels.See my lovely dining room? Heh, heh.... Tech Guy decided I needed a new photo-editing program and he told me it would be super easy to use. Big City Girl agreed. It's just that everyone left without considering my needs for in-house tech support.Here's our guard dog. He's an easy pet who loves wearing a nice, bright handknit scarf.BCG and TG were happy with their Christmas gifts: a mom-crocheted scarf and store-bought socks.

BCG taught me the joy of making pancakes from an aerosol can.

I'll be back soon with more pictures if I can reach Tech Guy, although right now I feel the need for a little break....preferably in a testosterone-free zone. Maybe I would do well with some fabric therapy. Did I mention there's a fabric store just 3.2 miles down the road?

December 21, 2008

"I didn't get the memo," said the weatherman.

So I guess the weatherman thought he'd test our resolve about this moving idea of ours.

For years we've wished for a white Christmas and have been sorely disappointed. This year we wished for nice sunny, maybe even balmy weather so we could move through the move without being soggy, cold and cranky. Disappointed again.

I think I had the right idea all along. No muss, no fuss, plenty of procrastination.
Sorry about the lack of picture editing. That program is on the other computer....the one that's already packed..... and you know about my limited techno skills. But I am developing some moving expertise. And a few bruises too. Oh, and I think I'm going to need a manicure.....

December 17, 2008

Baking break

I decided to take a baking break this afternoon. I was tired of scent of cardboard and yearned for a more holiday-like aroma. My mom's ginger snap recipe came to mind. She used to make these cookies every Christmas. We had a family tradition of spending Christmas Eve with special friends in town, and the mister was very fond of these. He and his wife lived in a small house and every year they put up half a Christmas tree. I always got a kick out of that. They would shop for a tree and then ask the tree lot guy to slice it down the middle. I was always happy they didn't carry this quirkiness over to their gift-giving.


GINGER SNAPS

3/4 cup shortening
1 egg
4 Tablespoons molasses
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
Some extra sugar in a bowl for rolling cookies.

Cream the first 4 ingredients.
Sift the dry ingredients (I use the food processor)
Add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix well.
Roll into balls and coat with sugar.
Place on baking sheet and press down with a fork.
Bake at 375' for 9-10 min.

I try not to overbake these, as they get too crisp.
Take them out just before you think they're done.
9 minutes works for me.

ENJOY!

December 16, 2008

Oh, the merriment!

Our halls are decked with packing boxes and there's no tree in sight. Well....yes there is, if you look closely. See that box with the wooden circle and the small skinny box sticking up? Our tree is in that box, and I will screw some legs on that circle to make a table for it. I plan to assign that job to BCG and instruct her to make it festive.

The contents of Mr. Gadget's file cabinets have been transferred to boxes. See that box just to the side of the file boxes? The one with the red -1 on it? There are two of them. They hold really big stereo speakers that Mr. G purchased way back in his single days. The speakers have much in common with his sports car. None of the three have ever been revved up to full throttle. I have always wondered why men make these purchases, since living in a civilized society doesn't allow for much revving. But those speaker boxes are so big that if we don't survive the move, our kids can just throw us in there and save on the funeral expenses.

Here's a portion of the treehouse contents sitting patiently in the dining room staging area. I have several more boxes to add. I'm thinking of using a bucket brigade to move them out to the truck. A small bucket brigade. I'll carry a box to the top of the garage stairs and hand it off to Mr. G. who will then do the up-and-down-the-stairs part. That's how one of those works, isn't it?

Here's the garage. My car has been banished to the driveway. Mr. G doesn't want his to get snow on it. You might notice a few more of my craft supplies. Such colorful boxes, aren't they? A nice change from cardboard brown. Have you ever opened a 10-lb. box of doll stuffing? It's fun to take the twist tie off the bag and watch the stuffing pop up like smoke coming out of a chimney.

So we're due to close on our new condo on Thursday, and then the fun begins. It should be quite an adventure, especially with freezing rain and snow in the forecast. I'm pretty sure it would be much more fun....not to mention more festive..... to book a cruise, pack a suitcase, and come back when it's over....

December 11, 2008

The Madness

Sorry I haven't been here for a few days. Chalk it up to moving madness. I'm thinking very seriously about climbing into one of these big cardboard boxes and asking Mr. G to tape it shut...nice and securely. That way, I can just pop out when it's over.
In spite of the madness, I did finish the gift angel and delivered it yesterday to the giver.... who was pleased.
I'm happy with the shoe decorations. The hardest part of making them is choosing the right fabric to coordinate with the outfit. Other than that, it's just a simple yoyo with a few beads sewn on.

On Monday I took the train to THE CITY to meet Big City Girl for some nail-polish shopping. No, not really. It's just that I couldn't resist this photo op with the hot pink gloves and the colorful bottles of nail polish. We had tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

This is my favorite part....where the soldiers fall down backwards after the make-believe cannon goes BOOM!

I received my calendar order a few days ago and was happy with the result, even though one or two characters ended up with painful head issues. I chose the cat for the cover for no particular reason other than I had to choose someone. Don't those whiskers look perky? For years I've agonized over cat and bunny whiskers. I finally found just the thing at the dollar store. Sisal twine. I've got enough to last me a century.

Looks like my birthday will be on a Tuesday next year. Maybe I can look forward to a nice dinner out, since Mr. Gadget won't be watching Monday Night Football.....

December 06, 2008

The wild blue great beyond

Yesterday I was at the mall looking for a couple of Christmas gifts and as I was about to leave I decided to make a quick stop at the card shop. For many years, I've given BCG and TG a special Hallmark ornament every Christmas Eve. Now that they're grown, I've decided not to continue the tradition, but I thought it would be fun to see what was being offered this year.

Well. Wasn't I surprised to see this!

It's an Ercoupe. Dear ol' dad had an Ercoupe for several years when I was in high school, and I used to go flying with him almost every weekend. It was just a two-seater, and only one person could get in at a time. We had to walk up on the wing (see that little dark walking strip?) and slide the window up and over to the other side. After one person was in, the window had to be moved back up and over so the second one could enter. It was noisy and it bounced up and down a lot--especially going through the Banning Pass. Sometimes I could look out and see birds flying along beside us. It was great fun, but not something I'd do today. I'm much more sensible now....

How strange that Hallmark would make an ornament out of this old plane. I had to have one, of course. There's a little more to the story, and if you didn't like my previous orb discussions, it might be best if you just scoot along now to the next blog on your reading list.

During the last week or two of my dad's life, when I knew he was nearing the end, I spent many hours sitting next to his bed at the nursing home. I wanted very much to ask him to send me a sign, after he passed, to let me know he was ok. But I was hesitant to talk to him about it because, #1: he was steadfast in his belief that he wasn't going on anywhere else, and #2: he was almost deaf and I would have had to scream, and how embarrassing would that have been with all those other folks around. So I thought it. I thought it many times. I wanted to ask him to send me an Ercoupe......

December 04, 2008

Holiday sightings

Have you seen these on the roads around your town? Rudolph cars. Big red nose on front and antlers stuck to the side windows with suction cups. How much more festive can you get? I'm trying to talk Mr. G into getting one of these get-ups for his sports car.

And now that we've scheduled the movers, Mr. G says we'll need to address the issue of dusty ceiling fan blades as soon as the rooms are empty of furniture.
I'm from the school of housework that subscribes to the notion that if you can't see the dirt, it's of no consequence. But Mr. G knows it's there and it bugs him. He even suggested long ago that we buy a dust mop with a long handle--especially designed for cleaning these. But it's conveniently hidden out of sight and so it's also of no consequence. There are so many other, more interesting things to do in life.

For instance, making one more doll for a special friend who wants to give it to a special friend as a Christmas gift.
I never like my doll projects at this stage. I'm always sure they're destined for the scrap heap. But they usually clean up nicely, with hair and accessories and little doodads of one sort or another. My friend was hesitant to ask me about making a doll, what with our moving project well underway. But I assured her I had body parts readily available for the particular character she wanted. Well, except for the feet. I'd packed the pattern in a box somewhere, so I had to sketch one up.

Another thing, besides ceiling fan dust, that makes Mr. G squeamish is to see a big clump of sheep wool, I mean doll hair, drying near the kitchen sink. Maybe I'll take pity on him. Maybe I'll move it away from his teapot. Right after I finish decorating my car.....

December 01, 2008

Calendar girl

For a while I've been thinking about having a calendar made with pictures of my dolls.

But as per my usual, I didn't plan ahead, so very few of my pictures are the right size. Nonetheless, I've decided to see what I can scrape together from my files.

By stepping outside the box and allowing a few crafty items, I think I can gather an interesting assortment.
Some will just be head shots, since I do seem to have a supply of those in appropriate sizes.


The sun embroidery should add plenty of color and will be a good choice for July.

Remember Mitzi? She'll be Miss October. Gotta love a gal with a diamond necklace and a spider on her cheek....

And Pierre insisted I include him. He'll be just right for November--the pigging-out month. He remains steadfast in his determination to keep those chocolate chips away from me.
December was an easy choice. Who else but Mr. Claus!



So there's a little preview. I'm feeling badly for Sister Mary Bodacious. She didn't make the cut. She's moved on in life and wasn't available for another photo shoot. But next year I'll be making her cousin, Sister Catherine Cantankerous. And I'll be better prepared to take proper-sized photos. Maybe I'll take her "on location" to our neighborhood church for a more realistic setting. I wonder if they'll let me in.....

I'm looking forward to having a new calendar. I hope I'll be brave enough to poke a hole in the new walls.....

November 29, 2008

Saturday stuff

Mr. Gadget and I decided to take a ride up to the new condo for another look-see. Were we ever surprised to discover that Mary Kay has staked her claim to one whole building.

This is the view from our upstairs guest bedroom. I wonder who will move in to that nicely-poured foundation. They will be our next door neighbors, so I hope they're friendly. Maybe I'll bake some chocolate chip cookies as a welcoming gesture. Looks like I'll have plenty of time to shop for the ingredients.

Here is Mr. G's office. There are still a few lingering orbs. See that metal tube hanging down? There was lots of warm air coming out of it, and maybe a fresh supply of orbs. We like to check on the construction progress every couple of weeks or so. It's really just an excuse for Mr. G to grab a few chocolate candies from the sales office. They're really good....or so he tells me....

So Thanksgiving was fun, not to mention tasty. Tech Guy and Big City Girl dressed for the occasion.

They insisted their father play along.

Yes, they did make one for me too, but too bad it's on BCG's camera.

We carried on the usual family holiday traditions. We passed around the telephone when the relatives called.

Some of us took a nap in the chair.

And Mr. Gadget made his annual proclamation by declaring it officially Fruitcake Season.......

November 27, 2008

A Macaroni Thanksgiving

Big City Girl arrived a day early to make some festive wall decorations.

Mr. Gadget will soon begin his once-a-year cooking effort.....the giblet gravy.

Tech Guy will arrive shortly to keep us entertained during dinner with his traditional hang-spoon-on-nose trick, and his talent for creating artwork in his mashed potatoes.

I am thankful it will just be the four of us.....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

November 23, 2008

More decorating

It seems Mother Nature doesn't just do winter window decorating.
She's also quite talented at carving Halloween jack-o-lanterns. When I got up this morning, Mr. Gadget, who had already fetched the newspaper and made me a nice cup of coffee, broke the news. We're pretty sure it was racoons because just a couple of nights ago we heard what sounded like someone rattling our front door.

We rarely have racoon visits, but several summers ago we happened to turn on our back deck light to find one lounging around on our chaise. In fact, he was stretched out in much the same pose as Mr. Gadget on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Of course, he wasn't holding a glass of wine, nor was he perusing a gadget magazine. We offered him an apple so he'd stay around long enough for me to take pictures. Which he did. But that was before I had my digital camera. I took a whole gaggle of cute racoon pictures, only to discover later than my camera was without film.

Here is a picture of the treehouse in its present condition. I've done some organizing and de-cluttering, but I know it doesn't look like it.
Exposed table surfaces are an indication that I've done some cleaning, and that has always been pretty much the case all over our house. I like to have my stuff handy at all times. Right now there is one knitted sock on the table next to my chair in the family room just waiting for me to do that picky little kitchener stitch to finish it off. Those of you who don't knit are probably wondering why a stitch used to close up a sock's toe would be named something that related more to the cooking world. I have no idea.

Maybe it's because the first woman sock knitter had to do just what I do. Tell the hubby to shut up for a few minutes so we can concentrate. And that's a perfect time for him to go into the kitchen to grab himself a snack and a beer....if he knows what's good for him.....

November 22, 2008

Gardening season

I remember my growing-up years in southern California and how exciting it was each Christmas season to sponge a certain window-cleaning product on our windows in an effort to duplicate this icy look. Here on the east coast, Mother Nature does the decorating. Mighty convenient.
So my trip down to the big city to visit BCG was fun, and the highlight was our 67-story non-stop elevator ride up to the Top of the Rock.
While there's no end of noise on the sidewalks of New York,
from this vantage point, the city whispers. This is a view of Central Park.St Patrick's Cathedral is in the lower center of the picture. If only I were taller.
Here's the Empire State Building. It was a mostly overcast day, but you can see a few rays of sun shining down on it.

We had a lovely lunch, after which we shared a piece of pumpkin cheesecake.

So I was indeed fortunate to have a loss at Weight Watchers this morning. I'm back tending my little container garden again.
What I've learned over the many years of dieting stops and starts is that it's really just a matter of staying on the main road with a destination in mind. There will always be bumps, detours, and the occasional road construction. But if you have a road map and you don't veer off the interstate too far, you'll get there eventually. Meanwhile, find some fun and interesting things to do so you won't fret over how the trip you expected to make in 3 months is ending up taking a year. Just a little flower-pot wisdom for ya......