The Monday blues

Some people have to erect special birdhouses to attract bluebirds. Not me. They just show up at my house as if by magic.

I'm more pleased with the blue bird than the green one, which is currently undergoing a renovation. I took a trip to the library today--you know, our local library that I love so much because it has the musty aroma of a real library--to look for a book on beading and embroidery. I need to add more stitch variety now that I'm planning to crank up my bird production. Feather stitches and lazy daisies only go so far.

So we had a busy weekend here at the Concondo. Both kiddies were here--to celebrate the birthdays of Mr. Gadget and Big City Girl. Tech Guy, who is occasionally full of hot air, did a special balloon drop soon after his sister arrived.

She was duly impressed. We decided maybe we'd save the balloons till Easter since they look very much like Easter eggs. But Mr. Gadget, who has a low threshold for clutter, nixed those plans. So TG and I let out the hot air, save for a few, and threw them away. Then TG got busy with a black marking pen.And drew this tough guy.

And this one that he thinks looks a little like me. I got back at him though. First, I let the air out. Then I ate up all of the leftover birthday cake...

Bird news

Here's the bird ornament so far.

And here's my assessment of Bird Number One:

The size and shape are workable.

I might make larger birds but only to add variety to the flock.

I will do some embroidery on the next one.

I will use smaller beads.

Bird Number One, like most of my previous crafty experiments,

will make a nice addition to our family Christmas tree.

And just in case this blog post hasn't been entertaining enough,

Here's a little more fun from the bird world.

Never mind

Forget what I said about Spring springing. The weather gods like to toy with us this time of year. They don't play fair.

This snowy spring weather is not unusual though. I remember well the first few days of spring 27 years ago. I was in the hospital giving birth to Big City Girl. It was a day just like today. That was back when a new mom who had just had a C-section could spend a few extra days in the hospital. TG and Mr. Gadget were at home anxiously awaiting my return, so I decided to enjoy my little spring vacation because I knew it would likely be the last one I'd have for a very long time.

So, as I reported earlier, yesterday was BCG's birthday and she spent her weekend in the big city competing in the Crossword Tournament. Over 600 people signed up. She sent me a text message during the lunch break on Saturday.

"I'm having lots of fun, but I'm bombing," she said. "It's really hard."

"Well, enough about the puzzles," I texted back. "Are there people wearing funny outfits?"

"All over the place," she said. "Even though the puzzles are hard, I think I'd like to do this again next year."

"Wonderful!" I shot back. "I'm already busy sketching up a silly outfit for you to wear."

We'll celebrate next weekend here at the Concondo. It just so happens that Mr. Gadget's birthday is next weekend also, so I'll be spending time this week doing some event planning. There may be balloons and some party games. Possibly even a treasure hunt. And cake, for sure.

But this time I get to lick the beaters.

Spring is springing

I'm doing some Spring decorating.

It's so much more fun than Spring cleaning.
If I ruled the house,

I'd decorate with a witch for every season.

It's probably just as well I'm not all-powerful.

The neighbors, and all of the various service people

who call on us with regularity,

would think we're weird.

I don't pay attention to the changing of the seasons.

Mr. Gadget keeps me updated.

He's in charge of the thermostat.

If I feel heat coming out of the vents

I put a santa or a snowmen on the table in the entryway.

If I feel cool air,

I get out the bugs and other garden-loving critters.

Today I put the finished felted flowers on the fireplace mantel.

For safe-keeping.

I'm a little weary now of felted flowers.

I'm moving on to bird ornaments.

I'll embellish them with embroidery and beads.
I like small birds,

but they make for a challenging embellishing process.

I might make slightly bigger birds

that would be easier to manipulate.

I haven't forgotten The Bawdy One.
I'll work on her soon,

when I'm ready to start a new gaggle of clay-faced witches.

I'm ready to open a new package of clay.

Fresh clay is the best clay.
Old clay is like old crayons.

Blahh!

I sold all of my clay-faced witches last year.

This has inspired me to make more.

And if they don't sell this time around,

I'll revert to my witches for every season plan.

Because having a reputation for weirdness is far better than

having no reputation at all.

Making amends

I got to thinking.

Maybe I've been poking too much fun at Mr. Gadget.

But if I stop,

will I have sufficient fodder for the blog?

I might have to spend more time sewing and knitting.

It's possible I'd have to crank my craftiness into high gear.

He is awfully good to me.
I suppose I could make the sacrifice.

I might consider changing my ways.

Well, at least for today anyway.

Maybe I'll do something nice for him.

Yeah, I know. He'll probably never take me to a yarn store again....

Gotta love a leprechaun!

Happy St. Patty's Day to ya!

If only I had something green to wear...

Oh, right. I forgot about the frondescence.

Maybe I could use them to decorate a hat or something.

Or I could stick them to my clothes

like socks with static cling.

Maybe I'll just check my closet

to see if I have a green shirt.

Mr. G and I will be celebrating on Saturday.

There'll be a St. Patty's dinner party here at the condos.

"I don't think I'll like corned beef and cabbage," said Mr. G.

"Have you ever tried it?" I asked.

"No," he not-even-sheepishly admitted.

"But it just doesn't sound like something I'd like."

I thought about his mother and how she wouldn't eat pumpkin pie

for the same reason.

Until she was in her later years.

She tried it; she liked it.

How sad she missed out on such a tasty dessert all those years.

Sometimes the pumpkin doesn't fall far from the vine.

"Let's go anyway," I said.

"We always have a nice time socializing with our neighbors."

"Besides," I added. "There'll be desserts.

You've never met a dessert you didn't like."

Well....except for pumpkin pie...

Frondescence

Here's a new word for you. I believe the blog should be educational as well as crafty.

Besides, I like to make use of my book of synonyms with it's over 1 million entries. I paid big bucks for it when I went back to college a few years ago and I've certainly gotten my money's worth. There's no excuse for ever being at a loss for words, and that's a good thing when one has a blog.

Frondescence means "the process or period of putting forth leaves, as a tree, plant, or the like." As you can see, I've been doing my part. Spring can't come soon enough. These leaves are the crocheted variety and they'll be attached to the felted-flower pins. In the picture, you can see the result of the felting process.

I looked for a leaf pattern without much success so I ended up winging it. It's easy to create shape with crochet by using a variety of stitches. For the leaves, I started with a chain and then used single crochet stitches, as well as half-doubles, doubles, and triples. I was able to make about 4 or 5 leaves during a single episode of Jeopardy. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make enough flowers to fill my farm stand while watching the NCAA women's basketball tournament starting next week.

This coming weekend Big City Girl will be competing in the crossword tournament. If she gets through the first rounds on Saturday, she'll go on to the final rounds on Sunday--her 27th birthday. She's not counting on that because the competition will likely be fierce. In fact, she's almost hoping she's free that day to party with her friends. I'm only sorry I didn't sew her a little something festive to wear--especially after I saw pictures of last year's tournament.

Maybe I'll ask her if she's ever come across frondescence in any of her previous crossword puzzles. It can't hurt to have a few 12-letter words in her arsenal. From the looks of things, there will be some serious players on the front lines. It's likely to be quite a scuffle.

Joyride

Mr. Gadget and I ventured out on a little road trip yesterday. It was all because of these:

Dozens of pin backs I have in my stash. They needed something to cling to, and a sense of belonging to something much bigger.

Mr. Gadget rarely has a destination in mind when he suggests taking a road trip. He usually asks me where I want to go. He's good like that. He never learns. So we headed east and then north, and after a pesky little delay because of road construction we arrived at our destination.

Mr. G planned ahead and very smartly brought a book along for his one-hour wait. That's my allotted shopping time--an amount of time arrived at after much scientific experimentation. It's just enough time for me to make my selections and not so long that he starts having heart palpitations. He always tells me not to hurry, to take all the time I need.....but I know better.

I purchased some wool in a nice array of colors for my ongoing flower-felting project. Felted flowers and gold pin backs complement each other nicely. I wound a couple of yarn skeins into balls on the trip home--a trek that took longer than usual because of the circuitous route we followed so as to avoid the pesky road construction. It was a lovely drive through some areas of our state we hadn't seen before. Even though I've lived here for well over 25 years, I continue to be intrigued and entertained by New-England quaintness--the old barns that lean, the centuries-old houses with peeling paint, the rock walls, the long-dead and obviously forgotten Christmas wreaths on doors. I never seem to get my fill of quaint. I would have taken photos, but Mr. G isn't one to stop once he's on a roll.

I'm thinking that after I get my flowers all felted, and have neatly affixed gold pins to the backs, I'll take a picture of them in front of this quaint old barn. It's within walking distance of the Concondo.

Then maybe this spring I'll set up a little farm stand and post a sign by the side of the road: Colorful felted-flowers for sale. Handmade in New England. Great for accessorizing. Quaintness guaranteed.

Can you spell cheesy?

I've been doing some sculpting on The Bawdy One.

Tech Guy tells me the head looks more like a he than a she. But I assured him the right hair and outfit will remove any confusion. I envision a witch wearing a revealing leotard and a tu-tu. Or something like that. Who knows? Usually these little clay folks like to call the shots.
One of the things I enjoy most about working with clay is how engrossing the process is--to the point that thoughts of everything else going on in my life fade into the distance. This is unlike knitting when I ruminate over problems or start to feel guilty that I'm not cleaning out a closet or questing for dust bunnies.

TBO is a work in progress so she still has lots of warts and skin issues. The magic word is sandpaper. It does wonders for smoothing out the trouble spots. If only I could take a tad off my thighs that easily.

So, have you seen the new Cheez-it's? Maybe they aren't new. I probably haven't been paying attention. I've always found the chocolate aisle much more alluring than the snack aisle. In fact, I think I'll send a letter off to those M & M people....

Flower basket and other things

So yesterday I felted some crocheted flowers, being careful to put the colored ones in with a load of colored clothes, and the whites with whites. I'm pretty sure they felt better in the eastern washer than the western one because the water is hotter. I know a hot wash with a cold rinse is important for good felting results. From now on I will crochet in the west and felt in the east. Unlike macadamia nuts, crocheted flowers do not add to luggage weight.

And here are my Thursday socks. I've decided to make good on that slightly-belated new year's resolution. I think I have enough knitted socks in the drawer to get me through a week and then some. I have yarn left over and I don't remember if I made a mini-sweater out of it. If not, then most certainly I will make one when the mini-sweater mood comes back around.

Mr. BST (Big-Shot Tortoise) is in his tortoise house eating gourmet dandelion greens (special take-out from the spa) and cucumbers. He's bumping up against the walls making quite a racket and demanding a hot-stone massage. I think it's time for tough love.

Mr. Gadget spent some time yesterday on the phone with a IRS representative arguing over a piddly little issue that, in the great scheme of things, is hardly worth a moment of frustration. Did you know that if you yell at an agent of the IRS, he will yell right back?

We feel indeed lucky that our Concondo was in great shape when we returned after the winter from Hell. All around us our neighbors had roof leaks, water damage, and things blown loose from the winds.

Tech Guy is still in Jackson, but we should get an update whenever he decides to get up. He's probably not unlike one of those airline pilots who tells you, when you're late pulling away from the gate, not to worry because he'll make up the time once we're airborne.

I'm thinking about doing some volunteering at a local elementary school. They have a program where volunteers go in once a week and help second graders with reading and writing. I did similar work at TG's and BCG's school when they were young. I enjoyed it and it gave me a sense of making a difference. The first thing I'll do is insist that they read my blog....

Gotta go. The bawdy one beckons.

Trying to get it all back together

I keep thinking one of these days I'll outsmart jet lag.

The suitcase-unpacking competition--that ever-popular bi-annual event here at Macaroni Stadium-- ended in a tie this time around. Please don't tell Mr. Gadget about those t-shirts and unmentionables I kicked under the bed.

Here's a snow picture taken as we departed L.A on Sunday. As planned, I had my warm coat, scarf and gloves under the seat in front of me thereby allowing sufficient space in my checked luggage for the chocolate-covered macadamia nuts--although one pair of jeans had to be sacrificed. No problem though. They were a little snug from the Kona-coffee flavored mac nuts I ate during and after the cruise....oh, and maybe a few onion and garlic ones too.

So now we are back at the Concondo and I've been checking items off of my re-entry list. One of those was to pick up Tech Guy's tortoise from the spa. Yes, that's right, the spa. Some very good friends offered to keep him while we were gone and they spoiled him big-time. He ate nothing but organic greens and special treats. They also allowed him to roam around the house. Yes, he had free roaming. I don't think there are many pet tortoises--or cell phones for that matter--that have free roaming. Now that Mr. Big-Shot tortoise is back here where things are more like a Super 8 motel than a 5-star resort, there'll be no living with him.

By the way, Tech Guy is driving our Calcar (recently replaced by a new version) back across the country. He's made it as far as Jackson, Miss. We've been tracking his progress by way of cell phone. I had planned to implant a chip, but....

I always like to have some airplane knitting, so I started some new socks. I probably should start wearing some of the socks I've made. I mostly just like to make socks; wearing them is not something I do often. I'd pass them on to Big City Girl, but I'd have to assume they'd join her dustmop collection. Maybe I'll make a new year's resolution to start wearing my handmade socks. It's only March 2nd. It's not too late, is it?

So now I'm trying to decide what kind of new project to start. I'm bored with cloth dolls for the moment. Maybe I'll do a little something with clay. The Bawdy One has been sitting in the Treehouse for months while I've pondered how to finish her.

Here she is with some of her bawdiness hidden from view. Maybe when I get my hands back in the clay the muse will show up.

And speaking of Big City Girl, she has some exciting plans later this month. She's entered this.
I asked her if there would be a spectator section for moms so I could come and cheer her on. I also wondered if I'd be able to find the place by myself, since I have no city smarts.

"Don't worry," she reassured me. "Just take the G train to Brooklyn and get off near my apartment. Then walk 6 blocks down and 4 streets across...."