Road kill and other pleasantries

I have great admiration for the person who planted this sunflower. Notice how proudly it stands--as if to defy the curmudgeons in their ongoing efforts to force the rest of us to toe their line. It won't be long before there'll be a new sign prohibiting sunflowers. There's plenty of space for it on the post beneath the other two.

And don't you think one simple sign would be much more effective against illegal parkers and trespassers? Beware of Snakes.

Moving right along to another squeamish subject. Road kill. I only bring this up for educational purposes. There are differences between east and west coast varieties.

It's highly unusual to drive anywhere in Connecticut without observing something dead in the road.....squirrels, raccoons and possums mostly....and the occasional deer. Oh, and sometimes a Canadian goose--the sight of which makes golfers all over the state rejoice.

Here in SoCal, there's a different kind of creature, and it's very unique. Just today I noticed this one on the sidewalk. It probably met its untimely end when the maintenance man's golf cart ran over it.

Sometimes people just kick these poor things over to the gutter, or toss them off into the shrubs with no thought of giving them a proper burial. Mr. Gadget did observe a charitable lady who, out of the goodness of her heart, was in the process of recovering many of these sadly departed souls and tossing them up on the lawn out of more harm's way.

So by now maybe you've figured out the identity of these critters--the ones that cause me to recoil in horror on my daily walks. It's the vicious palm tree barkrat. It drops out of the sky unannounced and wreaks havoc on all who stroll the sidewalks. There oughta be a law. Or at least a few signs. Beware of snakes and barkrats. I'll speak to the curmudgeons.

Fireworks of the floral variety

Button band boredom

I brought the red pest sweater project along with me on this trip, with plans to finish it and return home with something nice and warm to wear in the chilly fall New England weather. I'd forgotten how boring it is to knit a button band. Then again, maybe I've never knitted one before. I don't remember. It seems much more sensible to make a round-neck cardigan rather than a v-neck one and knit those suckers right along with the fronts.

I did plan ahead though, which for me is not typical. I've made sure to put the button band on the proper side for a lady. Soon I'll be able to start knitting the buttonhole band and that will be more interesting--what with those little holes I'll have to put in every so often. Good thing I have an in-house math expert. Knowing right where to place six evenly-spaced buttonholes could be a real challenge without a calculator. Maybe Mr. G. can figure a way to work a spread sheet into the project.....

The art sock is coming along, although I've decided to change its name again. I'm going to call it the January sock. It's so heavy, I might be able to wear it in the snow....without boots. While I was knitting on it yesterday, I realized I'd dropped a stitch a few rows back--something I haven't done in a long time. After tinking (unknitting stitch-by-stitch) back a ways, I realized I could pick up the dropped stitch with my trusty crochet hook. It worked like a charm, and saved me several rows of tinking.

So the 4th of July decorations have started popping up all around the condo complex. Mr. Gadget and I have no big plans for the holiday, other than to carry on a tradition begun years ago by dear ol' dad and our upstairs neighbor, Ernestine. We'll carry our lawn chairs and some sweet treats up to the second floor balcony and view the city fireworks display over the roof tops with our neighbors. After a few ooohs and aaahs, we'll carry our chairs back downstairs, throw the leftover treats in the freezer, and call it a night. Do we know how to party or what!

Shrubbery love

Mr. Gadget and I have a routine in the mornings here at the condo. He makes himself a cup of tea and I make a cup of instant coffee (why perk a whole pot that just begs me to drink it?) Then one of us walks the short ways up the sidewalk to the newspaper dispenser, where we deposit a quarter. And if we wait long enough to hear the coin fall, it cooperates and coughs up a paper. We learned the hard way about that waiting part, and on a Sunday no less....when the newspaper costs five quarters.

While I'm reading my horoscope, the comics, and the daily TV offerings, Mr. G. reads....and comments out loud.....about the nasty state of the world, the country, the financial markets, and the local crime. It's usually enough to send me out for a walk.

So this morning I decided to take my camera along, in case I saw something interesting. And what do you know! There's all kinds of love and goodwill right here in the neighborhood.

Just look at this flowering plant hugging the cactus, although I'm sure things get a bit thorny between the two of them from time-to-time.Doesn't this pair look lovey-dovey? Of course, you've got to wonder if there are co-dependency issues and maybe a little enabling.

Here's an interesting couple. One looks like it thought about running off a year ago or so.....maybe with a younger, prettier little sapling.....but decided to hang in there with a little help from a supportive friend.

You know a couple is really in love when one can ignore the other's whiskers.....

"Come sit up here, little guy," said the tree. "It's safe from piddling dogs."
You've gotta have real admiration for a couple like this, standing tall and proud in spite of each having a really bad hair day.

Now for some breaking news, Big City Girl just called to inform us that her court case was dismissed. Seems the evil shopkeeper, aka the tormenting gadfly, didn't bother to show up.

So now you'll have to excuse me while I go hug a hydrangea....

Feathered friends

I've been missing my east coast treehouse visitors, so I stitched up a couple to keep me company here in Calcondo craft central.You can find the pattern here if you want to make a few of your own. These little birdies will nicely perch on a book shelf, or on the edge of a table. You could make a dozen or so to sit along the mantel, or on a wide windowsill where they could keep an eye on their friends. They're very quiet and they don't eat much.

Actually, I lied. One flew the coop today. I gave the bluebird to a friend who took me out for an early birthday lunch. She picked me up, treated me to lunch, gifted me with flowers and a large bag of plums from her garden, and a very pretty red picture frame. In return, she got this silly little bird. But I'll get her back. I have her birthdate written down in a book, which I hardly ever forget to look at....

So we got to chatting about the upcoming reunion....she and I graduated the same year.....and I broke the news that I had heard from her old boyfriend and he was planning to attend. Now that I think about it, I probably should have waited to spill the beans till we were parked at the restaurant. Then, after I got home, I checked my email and there was a message from my old boyfriend with word that he'll be there too. So I guess we'll have to send the two hubbies out for a beer. They'll be bored with all that reunion schmoozing anyway.......

Mr. Gadget goes to the gardens

This afternoon, while I was working on a crafty project (stay tuned), Mr. Gadget took a drive up to the botanical gardens and gave his camera some exercise. Enjoy!

Once upon a gadfly

But first, some sock progress. I've decided to call it an art sock. I've just turned the heel....you can see it there in the pink. It's not much fun to knit with this yarn using #1 needles, but maybe the finished pair will be pleasing enough to make up for my sore and bloodied fingers.

Yesterday Mr. Gadget happened to remark that all of the buzzing and flitting around I've been doing over the last few days, in an effort to ferret out long lost high school classmates and alert them to the upcoming reunion, might qualify me as a gadfly. So off I went to look for a dictionary.

I found one--a 1933 edition with my grandfather's name embossed on the front--under a pile of stuff in the back closet. Sure enough, gadfly was in there.....so I guess they've been around for at least that long.

I think Mr. G and I have been spending too much time together.

Interesting definition for gadget there too....Maybe we could be known as Gadget and the Gadfly....heh..heh.

Then I checked the online dictionary and it wasn't much better: A person who persistently annoys or provokes others with criticism, schemes, ideas, demands, requests, etc. Maybe we should consider separate vacations....

I did scroll down the page a ways and found an older, but slightly more pleasing definition: Someone who likes to go about, often stopping here and there. Thank goodness. Our marriage will survive.

Moving on to gardening, you'll notice my little potted flower is really starting to bloom.

My weight-loss project is moving along nicely and I've even been exercising. Mr. Gadget is very impressed. I'd been all talk and no action for months. Sometimes we talk about our different approaches to life and he tells me that in the corporate world he would be an employee with a bias toward action and I would be one who sends up trial balloons. In the world of semi-retirement, this translates to Mr. G paying bills the day they arrive, and me spending months, or even years, contemplating choices for window treatments.

I think my style is similar to that of our friendly chipmunk visitor. He circles the outer perimeter of our deck several times before he zeros in on the cup o' nuts.So now Mr. G, ever the wordsmith, refers to my style as chipmunking.

By the way, I know some will be curious about the outcome of BCG's day in court during which she and ex-BCBF will be defending themselves against the evil shopkeeper (aka the tormenting gadfly). I'll keep you posted.

A little more frogging

I've mentioned before that I'm not much of a gardener, although I do spread a mean mulch. Here at the Calcondo it's a different story. There's a wonderful team of groundkeepers who plant and prune and rake up all the clippings and lawn trimmings, and then they leave the garden accessorizing to me. Today, on a trip to the local Joann's Garden Center, I picked up this cute little frog and put him in the front yard between some newly-planted flowering bushes. He may need a friend, so I'll keep my eyes open for a buddy. I don't want to go overboard though. On a walk the other day, I noticed a ceramic bunny sitting near a tree. He was holding a shovel, a broom, and a sign that read, "Don't forget to scoop your poop."

The Noro sock has been quite a surprise. Since my last post, I've read a review of this sock yarn and learned that the color changes are much more subtle than other striping sock yarns. For anyone who has knitted with Noro yarns, I'll just say that knitting with Noro sock yarn is very Noro-like. I'm sure that will make perfect sense to Noro knitters, and very little sense to anyone else. To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed that the most colorful part of this sock will likely be inside my shoe. I will not allow that to happen to sock #2. I have no problem wearing fraternal-twin socks. I mean, how often will I be taking my shoes off in public? I'll just send Mr. Gadget through that other airport security line if he's embarrassed to be seen with me....

So Big City Girl called this afternoon to let us know she's alive and well, and busy preparing a legal defense. Seems the shopkeeper on the first floor, below her's and ex-BCBF's second floor apartment....you know, the one she recently moved out of via the NYC moving van.....

....has decided to take the two of them to small claims court for throwing cigarette butts out their window and damaging her awning. Last time we talked, I gave her my free expert legal advice which I'd gathered from Judy, Marilyn, Joe and the other TV judges. "Take along some pictures and any pertinent paperwork, dress nicely, and be polite," I said. "And if you're lucky," I added, "maybe a big wind will kick up and blow that thing all the way to Brooklyn."

Anticipation

I've started the socks out of the new Noro sock yarn and the suspense is killing me. Enough of the blue already! The big fun of knitting with self-striping yarn is the surprise of seeing new colors appear, and this is happening so slowly it's like waiting for a red light around here. It's no wonder so many drivers run them. A person could miss a meal. I'm not that kind of a driver though. I abide by the rules. And I'll abide by the knitting rules too......but I may not buy this yarn again. It's like that last stretch of road before Wichita.....

So I may postpone the pig project for now. I hope the muse won't mind. Besides, Mr. Gadget wants to hold on to the packaging materials for his new computer in case it has behavior issues and needs to be returned. Meanwhile, I'll be making a few more tissue paper wedding flowers per the request of the bride-to-be who has decided to sell a few of them on a local street corner, I mean have the reception hall decked out in magnificent floral splendor. Good thing I like making flowers, and that I remembered to bring along my needle-nosed pliers.

And in my spare time, I've been conversing by email with several of my high school friends about our upcoming reunion.

Every summer there is an all-class reunion held in a local park, but it's not the same as one of those typical class reunions where a banquet hall is rented and everyone spends months trying to diet and do the botox thing. No one in my class took the reins or formed a committee or kept a mailing list. But this year word is getting around--many thanks to the Internet--so we're hoping to have more than the usual handful of alums. I've offered to help spread the word. And I can't help but wonder now if I should have ordered some of that #1 prestige skin cream for the neck thing.....

The barnyard

What a pleasant surprise, I mean a harsh kick in the butt, to open the Sunday newspaper and be reminded of this. It's one of the nasty little secrets of aging for which there is no warning. Nora Ephron apparently came to terms with hers and wrote a book about it.

And if a woman is up in years and decides to lose a little weight....you know, to get healthier and more fit.....this TN affliction gets more pronounced. It isn't fair. I don't think older men have to deal with this, do they? Maybe the ear hair makes up for it.....

I know the plastic surgeon has a sure-fire remedy for it. I doubt very much if the above-pictured product would have much effect.....even if it is the #1 prestige skin cream in the entire world--including France of all places! I think it's just another one of those things that are TGTBT (too good to be true). So I will continue to remain steadfast in my resolve to age gracefully, and will buy more turtlenecks, fancy scarves and big gaudy choker necklaces.

Moving along to other barnyard animals.......Mr. Gadget...heh...heh....decided to buy himself a new computer for the condo. Hard as it is to believe, with all of our flitting around, he does do actual work while we're here. A well-functioning computer is important to him......so he can condocompute. Seems the old one had some ugly issues with his spread sheets. (I'm sure you're wondering how this all relates to the barnyard, but hang in there with me.)

I've tried to convince Mr. G that spread sheets are boring and maybe he should think about adding a little more color to his workday. But as I remain steadfast about my neck, so he remains steadfast about his spread sheets.

Yesterday he carried the computer inside (in a big box that will be properly crushed for recycling to please the curmudgeons), and today he unpacked it and is setting it up--with a minimum of expletives, per my request. (I'm almost to the barnyard.) And inside the boxes, carefully holding the computer parts, were several pieces of styrofoam--just the thing for crafting four legs for a paper mache pig.

I really wasn't planning to make the pig right away, but anytime the muse throws something right in my path like that I think it means I've gotta put everything else aside and pay attention.

Oh, there was something else Mr. G carried in from the car along with the computer.

I guess he knew there'd probably be an expletive or two that would slip from his lips, kinda accidently, and maybe the fragrance of these lovely carnations would dull my senses.....

Only in California....

Mr. Gadget and I took a short drive down to the beach this morning to visit a craft fair....the perfect venue for the locals to strut their pooches. There were doggies in bandanas and doggies in vests.....but this was our favorite. He kinda matched his owner--a rather large man in a bright-colored Hawaiian shirt. Mr. G was hesitant to ask for a family photo....

So if you'll please excuse me, I have to take a rest. It's really hot here in SoCal and it's getting the better of me. And I'm feeling even hotter now that Mr. Gadget has told me he actually saw a person wearing a corn suit at the local farm stand. Maybe, if this poor corn guy is lucky, someone will pelt him with pats of icy cold butter. Then again, maybe there's not a kernel of truth to this story.....

We've jetted

Mr. Gadget and I have arrived at the Calcondo. Yeah, I just invented that word....which is a bit unusual because coming up with new words isn't one of my specialties; that's more in Mr. G's area of expertise. In fact, one time I suggested to TG and BCG that we start making note of these new words and produce a dad dictionary. But that's a story for another day.

So our trip yesterday on Jet Blue....where the new advertising slogan seems to be Happy Jetting.....was a good one. We had an on-time departure, on-time arrival and an empty seat between us that allowed for spreading out our inflight necessities. I had a book and some knitting, and Mr. G had his car magazine, a book of crossword puzzles, and his chocolate. I did happen to notice, although I had my headset on at the time, Mr. G handing a piece of his Toblerone to the guy across the aisle. Seems he wanted to know if it was something he could purchase from the flight attendant. I guess Mr. G was feeling especially benevolent....what with our heading off for a few weeks in the Calsun.

So I've been busy getting reacquainted with the local terrain......including the grocery store that employs the pink-haired lady who follows me around to make sure I'm finding everything.....and there are a few things I'd forgotten.

Like my goddess coffee mug. I still have plans to make a doll in her likeness. I'm just kinda stumped on all that buxomness.

....and this plastic apple juice container that Mr. G insisted I keep because he visualized a paper mache pig.

.....and my very own bathroom. No manly stuff shall ever pass through this door. Well, unless I find the need to get away from Mr. G for a while. You know, in case I get weary from his wordiness. I might hole up in here with some of his chocolate.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot Homer. I won him, along with some neat sock yarn, in a contest on Kathy's blog. Homer's supposed to ride on my car dashboard to give other drivers a piece of my mind....if they cut me off or drive too slowly. Of course, they can't actually hear Homer when he shouts, but it lightens up the mood in the car, thereby lessening the potential for road rage. When I push that little yellow button it's anyone's guess what Homer will spew forth. "Your child might be an honor student, but you're a moron!"

Gotta love a little Calhumor.

Airplane food

I mentioned that Mr. G and I would be heading out west later this week, so Tech Guy's Father's Day gift was a perfect choice.

It will be fun sitting next to Mr. Gadget.....in our usual seats, 17A and 17B, while I eat my small turkey sandwich. Maybe he would be more comfortable eating his chocolate in 2B. Or maybe he could sit in the bathroom. It's Jet Blue, after all......

And Big City Girl gave her father a very funny card.

Good thing he has a sense of humor. And good thing too that his self-esteem is in fine shape, what with his hair issues and all. Never once in our marriage have I ever seen a comb-over.

We had a nice family dinner yesterday at an old Italian restaurant, which prompted Mr. G to recall many holiday dinners at his aunt's house in Brooklyn. After ordering a cannoli for dessert, he told a story of how another aunt used to arrive at these festivities with white bakery boxes stacked and tied with string--one tower of boxes dangling from each arm.

After dinner, we walked out to the car to get a few things for TG and BCG, since we won't be seeing them for a couple of months. I gave TG some burrito filling and tortillas, and some homemade ginger cookies. For BCG it was cookies and a nice travel bag for some upcoming business trips. No toilet paper was requested; none was delivered. Mr. G and I satisfied ourselves that they're looking good and seem to be thriving without the benefit of parental nagging and advice-giving....and trips home to visit the washing machine.

So we'll be leaving on Wednesday morning and that may not be soon enough. On the front page of our morning paper, although thankfully sticker-free, there was this rather alarming headline:

I think I'll be happy hangin' with curmudgeons.....