The planets align

Sometimes I think of my family members as planets in a solar system, each orbiting the sun at a different speed, with some of us circling pretty far out, and others slightly off-kilter. And once in a blue moon, our paths coincide. That happened yesterday for about 30 minutes. It was just enough time for me to snap a quick picture and to deliver, automatic-rifle style, advice I'd been saving up for BCG. Next weekend she and BCBF will be flying to Maui for a weeks' vacation, and I thought she needed a brief tutorial on the current rules of flying. Had she only stayed longer, I could have given her the unabridged version. I think she's on to me.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at a craft show in a nearby town. I think I mentioned I sometimes sell a few dolls at a senior shop there. Twice a year they have a show. Norma, the lady who runs the shop, is a great promoter of my dolls, and she had requested the two witches. Here is Trudy's sidekick. It's hard to see the green tint to her skin. I figured I'd go easy on the green to see how it came out. Next time I'll do it slightly darker. I diluted some green craft paint with water and used a sponge brush on the fabric before I cut out the pieces. Instead of the usual boots, I gave her a pair of shoes painted on to feet made of fishnet print fabric. I added a fabric yo-yo (one of those gathered-up circle thingies) with a pearl button sewn on in the center. The witches didn't sell yesterday, but I'm not worried. Norma is always on the job.

You probably can't tell from this photo that I'm well on my way to winning an ugly war on clutter. A few weeks ago we had some company, and in preparation for their arrival I bulldozed, I mean picked up a few things in the family room. The tidy appearance delighted me so much that I made a commitment to keep it that way. Well, you can see I've slipped a little. This is the end table next to where I sit in the evenings with Mr. Gadget to watch Jeopardy and maybe a baseball game or Antiques Roadshow. Sometimes I've been known to sit down in the afternoon with a cup of coffee and some knitting. You can also see my very own remote, given to me a few years back by Mr. G. I only use it when I'm watching TV alone though. He's Master of the Remote in our house. I always fail miserably in my wifely commercial-muting duties.

And the Plymouth sweater is coming along nicely, although I did have to do a little frogging. It wasn't because of my knitting abilities though. It was my shoddy math skills. And it wasn't even algebra. I think it was more like third grade math. At one time in my life I entertained thoughts of becoming an elementary school teacher, but I decided against it when I realized I'd have to teach long division and those word problems where one train is going 30 mph and another one 45 and when will they meet. I'm clueless. But I bet I could have made a really neat crocheted solar system though.....