Million Dollar Baby

When Big City Girl was very small, I made her a pair of pink rompers and embroidered these cute little bears on the front. I do believe it was the last time BCG wore anything this colorful.....until now. Yesterday I received an email from her in which she informed me that she had just purchased some pink boxing gloves. It seems she's taking boxing lessons down there in the big city, and she says she's pretty good. And it seemed reasonable for her to get some gloves of her own, since the ones at the gym get pretty grungy what with all the girls having to share.

Strange as it seems, I'm not too upset by this boxing development. Well, I am assuming it's taking place at a respectable gym where they require head protection and mouth guards and all, since these days we live amid lots of litigating lawyers. She's getting some good exercise, has a great outlet for her stress, and she might be able to bop an unruly subway rider if one should cross her path. I just hope Mr. Gadget and I don't receive an invitation to an actual match. But I sure would like to see those pink gloves. Maybe I can ask her to bring them home for Thanksgiving.

Here's another pair of rompers, sewn in a more neutral color to better show off the giraffe. I haven't been able to part with these. I'm not sure what I'm saving them for, except that maybe Big City Girl will have a little romping toddler herself one of these days and would like to have these for old times' sake.

So today I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. Somehow the basement treadmill didn't seem too exciting. The fall colors are still beautiful and they will be gone soon. It's a little blustery today. Not a good day for raking leaves, but definitely a good one for gathering a little firewood for later and making sure there's hot chocolate mix in the cupboard.

It might even be a good evening for tackling second sock syndrome, or doing a little swatch for the elderberry pullover. Darn......now that nagging Noro guilt is creeping in.....

A few things about Rhinebeck

On the way into Rhinebeck for the fiber festival on Saturday, we passed this montrosity, I mean house. You will notice that the paint job is not quite complete. Maybe they are reconsidering....do you think? It makes me wonder why I bought a can of red Rustoleum for my mailbox. I could have just bought some of this color and painted the whole house, and never would have ever again had to worry about pizza going to the wrong address.

Blogger Bingo was a big success. There was lots of meeting and greeting, and much picture-taking. Shrieking was minimal. Hand-knit sweaters were plentiful, as were scarves and shawls.

Here is my friend Marcia in the center of the picture. She is probably involved in a very interesting conversation with the other bloggers about spinning. When going to a fiber festival, it is helpful to have at least a small knowledge of "spinish," or at least to have taken a night school class in "conversational spinish," so you won't miss anything interesting. I didn't think to do this, so I was rather embarrassed after going into a vendor's booth to purchase "washed locks" for Santa beards, and mistakenly referring to them as "roving."

These two fellas were walking through the crowd, probably for the entertainment of the children. I'm sure the spinners were having visions of the wonderful yarn they could spin from these guys. It's all just doll hair to me. Well maybe one or two santa beards. And see those leaves? There was still lots of color around. Just the right kind of a day for a fiber festival. Cool enough to keep us running from one barn to the next, and not so warm as to have us searching for a bench and iced tea.

So I should probably share about my loot. I did pretty well in sticking to my shopping list. I bought some Mountain Mohair from Green Mountain Spinnery in elderberry to make their basic pullover sweater (pattern purchased on an earlier yarn crawl). I also bought some roving, I mean curly locks.....some in green for witch hair and some in red for the two angel dolls I'm planning to make for a special order. I also bought some purple sock yarn. I passed up the Socks that Rock booth when I noticed the 1/4 mile long line. I'll be happy with my STR Toucan socks from last year. Maybe someone can tell me what makes sock yarn worthy of such a long wait. Then again, maybe if you knit socks while waiting in line for sock yarn it isn't so bad.....

Bingo Blogging

I suppose I've always been a little square, but tomorrow my being square will have a whole new meaning. I've signed up to be a square in the big game of Blogger Bingo that will be taking place among the fiber enthusiasts attending the New York Sheep and Wool Festival at Rhinebeck, New York. Being a Bingo square means that all day I will wear this cute little pin that I made and allow myself to be discovered by those who have taken on the role of "player." These will be the fiber-loving folks who have decided they want to hunt among the throngs of attendees to find the bloggers (all wearing squares) whose blog names appear on their game cards. I figure that since I've never been able to walk and chew gum (or talk while driving through freeway interchanges....just ask my cousin) being a square will allow me to shop for fiber while I play. It should be fun and there will probably be lots of shrieking....

I did have fun making my square badge. This is the second version. The first had the mini penne pasta pieces hanging down in a fringe effect. It was just too much. This version is much simpler and should not get tangled up in any of my fiber purchases or those of others in the event that there is a crush of shoppers converging on any one particular popular fiber vendor.

My camera batteries are fully charged and there's good weather in the forecast for Rhinebeck tomorrow. I should have a few pictures, not to mention a few stories to tell, when next I post. And did I mention, I'm riding with Marcia who is threatening to drive her husband's truck? There could be quite a fiber haul.....

Niagara Falls

I've been away from the blog for a few days, and enjoying a road trip to Niagara Falls with my cousin who was visiting from San Diego. She'd always wanted to see it, and offered to treat us to a suite on the 33rd floor of the Embassy Suites with this amazing view. Before we checked out yesterday morning, she suggested we drive around to the long narrow parking lot and stop for a few minutes for one last close-up look. Fortunately we checked with the hotel people first and found out that it was $18 to park there, so she wisely decided that the view from the hotel was sufficient.

We had a wonderful visit and did some touristy things. A must-do is the Maid of the Mist boat ride that goes right up close to the falls and requires the wearing of a plastic slicker. Not terribly fashionable, but very helpful in staying somewhat dry....well, I guess I should say less wet.

My cousin is now winging her way back to San Diego as I type. I delivered her to the shuttle pick-up point this morning at 3:30, and returned home for a few more hours of sleep. I can only hope she is able to catch a few winks along the way. She did confess to me that one time she fell asleep in the boarding area and a nice airline employee woke her up before her flight departed without her. It's always nice to get a little extra service.....

So now I'm going to gear up for the big trek to Rhinebeck on Saturday. The Noro shawl-collared sweater is still sitting in the time-out area, and I will finish it up before starting something else....I promise! But I will be looking for some yarn for the next project which will probably be a pullover sweater. I picked up a pattern at the Green Mountain Spinnery on an earlier fiber crawl. I'll also be looking for some roving for doll hair. I just got an order for a couple of angels with red hair and blue eyes. They'll be gifts for young girls and I've been asked to embroider their names on them. One will have bees on the wings and the other will have butterflies. And after that, another red hat lady. I may only have time to fondle my fiber purchases for a while.....

Friday the 13th

"Did you do a blog post today?" asked Mr. Gadget.

"No. I don't do them everyday," I replied.

"But today is Friday the 13th. I thought for sure you'd put some scary-looking witches up there."

"I've put a lot of witch pictures on the blog lately," I told him. "I'm sure my scores of readers are getting tired of looking at them."

"Hmmmmm," he said, obviously giving this some serious thought. "Maybe I could go get my chainsaw. You really shouldn't let this day get by with nothing to show for it."

So off went Mr. Gadget to get his really big scariest of gadgets from the garage. With the hooded sweatshirt and Big City Girl's collaged paper mache mask from her high school art class the look was complete. Good thing he didn't start that sucker up is all I can say. Now, if I'm just able to convince him to stand in the front window on Halloween night, I probably won't have to bother buying any candy.....

Back roads

So today I had my yearly appointment with the lady doc--you know, the one who's concerned with my southern hemisphere. And as I headed down my driveway, I decided to take the back roads.....since the fall colors are so pretty and all. Mr. Gadget thinks I'm silly not to take the highway (a/k/a freeway) since it would, after all, get me there 3 minutes faster. But I like the back roads and the slower pace and the lack of traffic......and the chance to take in nature. Not to mention, I figured my blood pressure would be somewhere in the normal range by the time I got there.

Now I probably shouldn't fess up to taking these pictures while driving, since I've already made my feelings known about those irresponsible driving cell phone users. And you probably wouldn't believe me if I said it was my imaginary friend taking these photos. I will say I put the camera down the minute I noticed other cars on the road. And I promise not to do it again.....well, at least not until winter. I did notice some awesomely-decorated houses for Halloween along the way. Fodder for a future post.

Here's a drawing of one of my witch dolls. It was done by my friend Sandi, for whom I made a doll. She was so pleased with it, she sketched it and sent me the drawing. At one time she mentioned sketching up several of my dolls with the idea of creating a calendar, or some note cards, or what-have-you. Then her grandson got married (the big Block Island wingding) and her house flooded, and she took a little tumble. You might say she got sidetracked. But things are much better now and maybe she's back in a sketching mood.

So Mr. Gadget just intercommed me up here in the treehouse (I think that's a word) and he wants to give me a lesson on operating the GPS system (a/k/a Carol). Did I mention that my cousin is coming for a visit and we'll be driving up to Niagara Falls next week? I'll be taking careful notes during this important tutorial. I'm sure there will be a few references to "thingies" and "whatjamajigs." I can already see Mr. G. scratching his head......

Mitzi and the hags

Here are the 3 witches I just finished, plus Mitzi. She didn't sell on eBay, so she's joined the coven. I did a Google search to see if I could find the names of the 3 witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth, since that would have been an easy way to name them. It seems that Hecate was the head witch, but I'm not sure if she was one of the three. At any rate, Mr. S. did refer to them as the "black and midnight hags" and some of the other characters called them the "weird sisters." Apparently they were known for their "eye of newt and toe of frog" recipes. I'm so sorry I can't share one with you.....

So yesterday I answered the phone and it was Melva looking for the Sweethart bus. Melva was an elderly person and the Sweethart bus is part of our municipal bus system that has been set up to provide rides to the elderly. Our phone number is very similar to their number and it's easy to transpose two numbers. We've been living with this for over 20 years. Melva understood that she had the wrong number and told me she didn't have a pencil when I offered to give her the right one, so I suggested she try again. She did, and she got me again. I took down her info, which was fairly simple. She didn't want the bus to pick her up today. Then I called the bus company on her behalf and canceled the bus. Good thing I didn't get a busy signal. Mr. Gadget thinks it's funny when I do this for people, but I just tell him that we'll be old and confused one day and I hope I'm fortunate to get someone on the phone who's friendly and helpful.

So as if the phone number wasn't enough of an issue, we also have an address issue. There are two #4's on our street. It's a long, boring story about how this came to be, so I won't go into it. This is our mailbox....which I suggested painting red so as to make giving directions much easier. We've even added a 4th line to our address for shipping purposes by putting "red mailbox" right under the street address. Sometimes this works and sometimes not. What we hate to miss are those pizza deliveries....

You might notice that the mailbox post is a little beat-up looking. That's because Mr. Gadget has had to resurrect it many times because of mailbox vandals who like nothing better to do than to drive through neighborhoods in the middle of the night with baseball bats. Some folks have encased their mailboxes in concrete or bricks in their efforts to outfox these rascals. We haven't gone that far, but I must say that things have calmed down since the teenagers grew up and moved out.

So now I'm going to start a big pot of veggie soup. It's gotten a little cooler here in the northeast and can now officially be called "soup weather." I'll throw in some carrots, celery, onion, tomato, cabbage, and pasta. And maybe I'll check the cupboards to see if I have any eye of newt.....

Weekend sky

At first glance, this might look like a picture of the sky, but it's really Mr. Gadget's latest project. He was doing some work with his spackling gadgets in Big City Girl's room over the weekend. When I went in to check on his progress, we both remarked that BCG must have thought every square inch of every wall was her personal bulletin board. I should mention that two of the holes he spackled were actually ones left from her actual bulletin board. Maybe this was her revenge for the times we said she couldn't go to those co-ed sleepovers, even though every one of her friends' parents said yes. We can only hope she has teenagers herself one day....and plenty of walls to spackle.

In my last post I promised the cookie recipe, and here it is. They're chocolate chip by the way.

• 1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 c. Crisco
• 2-1/2 c. flour
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1- 12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips

Cream the butter and Crisco in mixing bowl. Add 1-1/4 cup flour, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, baking soda and vanilla and mix well. Add the remaining 1-1/4 cup flour and mix. Add the chocolate chips and mix til blended in. Drop on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 10 min. My family likes soft cookies rather than crunchy, so I take them out of the oven when they are just barely browned on top. I also use milk chocolate chips rather than semi-sweet.

So the three new witches are coming along nicely. They've been assembled and are now being accessorized. I decided to give them shorter hair so as not to get all tangled up in the boa. I'll leave the naming up to their new owners. I'm hoping they'll be ready to fly outta here by Thursday or so. After that, I'll be getting ready for a visit from my west coast cousin. I'm sure she'll want to see the treehouse. I can only hope the characters will be on their best behavior......

Happenings in the 'hood

It's a very beautiful and quiet day here on our newly-paved street. As you can see, the leaves are "gettin' on with it," although there are still lots of green trees. Now matter how hard we try to predict the peak of the color, it seems to always happen about the 15th of October.

Now that the totally disappointing and grossly overpaid Yankees have finished their season, Mr. Gadget has been watching football and I've been doing some witch construction and cookie baking. We thought it might be a good time to go say hello to a couple of new families that moved into the neighborhood months ago.

I was able to use my new Hefty plates with the neat and clever locking mechanisms. They are just the right size for a friendly, neighborly gesture. Unfortunately, no one was home at either house, so now I must put them in the freezer for a day or two. Too bad for them. They were still warm.

These cookies are very easy to make, and they've been shared at all kinds of occasions. They're from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook--the one with the red and white checks. There's no sifting involved; you just throw everything in the bowl at once and mix away...well, just about. I always keep the ingredients on hand because I just never know when my cookies might be needed. I will share the recipe in my next post.

So while we were out trying to deliver the sweets, I noticed something strange going on across the street. Our neighbor--the one who mows his lawn several times a week--has been blowing his leaves into a pile around this tree. And since I enjoy trying to solve the neighborhood mysteries, I'm guessing he's saving this for his grandchildren. They are young, and I'm sure they would like nothing more than to jump in this pile o' leaves. Grandpa will no doubt have his video camera ready to record the event, and will happily clean up the leaves...again....after they've gone home. Twenty years ago the same thing was happening on our side of the street...heh....heh.....Rest assured that I will let you know what happens to this pile, as I'm sure you're just as curious as I am.....

So Mr. Gadget is wearing a couple of bandaids on his left cheek--evidence of a little mishap that occurred a couple of nights ago. We were at the home of some friends who have two Jack Russell terriers. They always greet us warmly. Mr. G. decided to pick up the smaller of the two to see if he would give him a friendly lick on the cheek, but the dog had something else in mind. I'm happy to report that he's recuperating nicely though, and no doctor visits were necessary. Now that I know bandaids aren't just for home repair jobs, I guess I'll have to start carrying bandaids in my purse. Poor Mr. Gadget. I just can't take him anywhere......

It's about the garbage

I'll get to the garbage, but first....here's a cute little ceramic pin I bought when I was in California last. It was one of those impulse purchases. It reminded me of the bat stories I've shared. Thankfully there haven't been any more, although Mr. Gadget did report there were plenty of bats flying around when he went to take out the garbage last night. Well, I guess I am feeling a little batty now that I've delivered two special-order witches which somehow acted as advertisements for my witch factory here in the treehouse, and now I have special orders for three more. I'd better get to crackin'.....

So before I get to the garbage story, here's what finally happened on our street yesterday. I didn't see any cops, maybe because we're a cul-de-sac and not a regular street, but there were plenty of worker guys and plenty of coffee drinking. Mostly they were drinking their coffee right on their equipment as they worked. Apparently, like the youth of today, they've mastered the art of multi-tasking whereby they can drive, talk on the cell, drink Starbucks coffee, smoke, change the CD and chat with their friends all at the same time. That's all ok I guess.....as long as they aren't driving behind me.

So Mr. Gadget and I have a long-established garbage tradition. On Wednesday nights, after watching Jeopardy, we kick into gear. He gathers the trash from the wastebaskets around the house and I clean up the dinner dishes and eliminate anything old from the fridge. Then I stack up the old newspapers and tie them up. This I only do every other week. I'm always happy when I realize it's on off-week. It leaves more time for knitting. Then Mr. G. takes everything down to the street, refusing my offers of assistance. Retrieval of the garbage cans the next day, however, is not a task that has been permanently assigned. This morning I took it on when I noticed one of the cans had blown into the street....the nice, newly paved street. Neighborly neighbors will sometimes rescue an errant one, but you never know. And God forbid that we be one can short when next weeks' garbage event rolls around.

Some couples have real issues with garbage. Not us. We're secure in our roles when it comes to garbage. Now, if I could only get Mr. Gadget to stop squeezing the toothpaste tube in the middle.......

Bad hair day

Here's glitzy Mitzi with her jewels and her bad hair. Notice that spider on her cheek? I don't think she knows it's there! I noticed a little spot on the fabric after I got the head stuffed--maybe something from the tea-dying process. I debated about whether to just leave it, make it into a mole, or stitch it into a spider. I think the spider makes her a little scary-looking, just in case the eyes and the hair aren't scary enough. I'm working on her hat and will probably sew it on tonight while I'm watching a baseball game. I'm a big Yankees fan.

My eBay auction closed this afternoon and the primitive cat and pumpkin are going to a very nice lady in the Boston area. She already owns one of my other cats--Henry who was pictured in an earlier post sitting on the piano. She has lots of real cats and I can only hope they've been kind to Henry.

So here are the results of the water drinking. The blood test started out well, but then turned nasty. The nurse blamed it on her equipment. She said I did fine with all the drinking, and she apologized. At least she got it on one try, which is a big improvement over many previous tests when the entire nursing staff took a stab at me.

And as for Weight Watchers, I lost 2.5 lbs over the last 2 weeks. I was really hoping for more, but I'm happy the numbers are going down and not up. It's kind of depressing though, when I realize how hard it is to lose it, and how easy it would be to wipe out that loss with one good day of cruise eating.

So Fall is here in the northeast. The trees are turning color. There are a few pumpkins appearing on porches. The hummingbirds have left. We've cranked up the kerosene heater in the mornings to take the chill off. Mr. Gadget changed the oil in his leaf blower. And the highway people still haven't re-paved the street, although they tease us by sending out the street sweeper every few days to clear the leaves. They'd better hurry if they want to beat the snow. If it's like the usual road work around town, there'll be two or three cops to direct traffic, a couple dozen worker guys, and lots of coffee breaks......

Clair (de lune)

Here is my latest witch. I've named her Clair for clair de lune....the French term for "moonlight." She has moons all over her outfit. I wasn't sure what to name her, but I was pretty sure I wanted to steer clear of "Looney." A few days ago when I was on the treadmill in the basement, I noticed a couple of my old college books on a shelf and realized they might be helpful when writing the blog. One is Webster's New World Dictionary and the other is The Synonym Finder. So as I was perusing the synonym book, after a quick look in the dictionary for the proper spelling and meaning of peruse, I saw the reference to clair de lune. But I have to be truthful, they didn't actually call it "moonlight"...heh...heh.....they called it "moonshine."

It's too bad I have such a fondness for seeing my dolls in purple. It's just a you-know-what (might just rhyme with witch) to photograph. And the tweaking gets frustrating. Once the purple is good, the rest of it looks like pond scum. Maybe I should just take myself across the street to see the owners of Clarence and Henry who are professional photographers. Maybe they would give me some neighborly advice. I'd pay handsomely for this kind of advice too.......chocolate chip cookies.


So a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to start trying to drink more water. I bought myself a 1.5 liter bottle of Poland Spring and I've been carrying it around with me. I'm happy to report that most days I've been able to down the whole thing. So far, I've noticed two benefits. One is I haven't been very hungry in the afternoons....which is when most of my grazing usually occurs, and the other is that I've been very happy with just one cup of coffee in the morning. I haven't even thought about the usual afternoon cup, or three or four. I'm counting on a couple more benefits too. One will be an easy blood test tomorrow at the doctor's office. The nurse always nags me to drink more water before the test to make it easier on both of us. And on Tuesday, I'll check in at Weight Watchers with hopes that two weeks of eating well, and all that exercise I've added from running back and forth to the bathroom, will be nicely reflected on the scale. After all, I need to get in condition for my next cruise.....

So you don't want to know about the Noro shawl-collared sweater. I started taking it apart a couple of nights ago when I was tired and in a bad mood. Not a good idea. A major repair must now be done to one of the sleeves. I'm hoping to just frog it back a few rows and re-knit it. So while it sits in a time-out for a few days, I'll revisit my sock knitting, and drink some more water......

Fiddling

The other night I watched an interesting show on PBS. It was part of their American Masters series and featured architect Frank Gehry. I was interested in watching it partly because my dad was an architect and I grew up around things architectural, and partly because I was curious about this man and how his creative mind works. Many have called him "extremely innovative" while others have said he's "downright crazy." Some of his designs can be seen here, including his most famous work which is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

As I sat and watched the show, which I enjoyed very much, I found myself relating to his creative process. It's not so much different than mine, even though he's working with titanium and making $millions, and I'm working with muslin and sometimes only making my opening eBay bid. He starts out with cardboard and plastic and puts together a model that looks a little like a house of cards with some fan-folded corrugated cardboard for special effects. Then he cuts and snips and sometimes adds a little here and there. He called this "fiddling."

Fiddling is a word I've often used when trying to figure out just the right fabric for a hat decoration or witch boots. Many times he knows something is not right, but he can't say exactly what's wrong with it, so he has to let it sit awhile. This is what I had to do with my ladybug wings. Sometimes he hates his work, sometimes he procrastinates about starting it, and many times he is embarrassed by it once it's done. I can't tell you how many times I've finished up a bunch of dolls for a craft fair, and wished I had someone who could go sell them for me because I didn't want to be associated with them.

So here is one of things I'm fiddling with now. These are the painted boots I did for a witch--the one with the fishnet stockings. She has a rhinestone choker necklace, so I thought I'd put something kind of glitzy around her boots. I just don't know what. I may be fiddling through the weekend. Her name is Mitzi by the way....glitzy Mitzi. She has a red boa, and I may have to fiddle with the hat decoration after I'm done with the boot fiddling.

So just for a change of pace I ripped out the side and underarm seam of the Noro shawl-collared sweater and I'm ready to do it over with the instructions handy this time. I can only hope there will be no need for fiddling.....

Festivities and frustrations

We have a very nice gazebo in our backyard that we purchased when TG and BCG were young teenagers. Mr. Gadget and I often used it as a retreat from all the nonsense that goes on in a house where teenagers reside. Now that those teenagers have grown up into twenty-somethings and moved out, we don't use it as much.

We always had fun decorating it for Christmas. In fact, Mr. G. would go a little crazy at Costco when he'd find Christmas lights on sale. One year he put them everywhere they could be wired on. And he always put them on a timer, because. ....after all.....he is Mr. Gadget. The last time he took the lights off after the holidays, he left a couple of strings on the grapevine wreath on the screen, and they've been lit every night since. It does make the yard look festive, and I suppose it helps the neighborhood groundhog, who has burrowed beneath it, find his way home.

Just after taking the picture of the gazebo, I turned around and noticed this beautiful sight above the house. Just too great not to share.

Yesterday was one of those fraught-with-frustration days. I decided in the early afternoon, before beginning my witch production project, to put one of my crafty items up on eBay ("primitive black cat with pumpkin"...the one with the big toothy grin). It seems they've changed their selling form, and I don't do well with change. After a couple of emails to Tech Guy, who wasn't sure what I was talking about because I don't do "techno-speak," I finally figured it out for myself. There I was, feeling all proud of myself for using my very limited HTML knowledge in the description, but forgetting to click on the little button thingie that tells eBay that's what I'm choosing to use.

So after finally mastering that task, I took my renewed confidence downstairs and began the "assemblage of sweater" project. Well, that didn't work out so well either. Seems this sweater isnt going together as easily or as neatly as the dust mop did. Probably time to go read the instructions about joining pieces done in garter stitch. I think I see some ripping in my future. On a positive note however, I was able to try it on and I'm happy to say it fits! And I like it. A picture will be forthcoming once the seam issue is resolved.

And, as I said to Tech Guy in my final email yesterday, "There is value in every experience...especially those that make you want to tear your hair out." Now I'm looking at the owners manual for my new electric coffee cup warmer that Mr. Gadget got me the other day......while he was waiting for another gadget to be repaired. There are 14 safeguards listed. #2 says, "Don't touch hot surfaces." That's pretty sound advice. I'd better keep these handy. Oh, those darn curmudgeons. They're everywhere......

Gladys

Here's my latest Red Hat Lady. Her name is Gladys. She told me her name right away. Some of my dolls seem to have more self-esteem than others. She is a special order. Soon after I delivered my last Red Hat doll, someone saw her and said, "I want one too!" Gladys has a gold bead necklace that doesn't show up very well in the picture. Be advised that she is be-jeweled. And, of course, the earrings. I had quite a "Eureka!" moment when I found out that these dolls could wear real pierced earrings, and they were especially fond of the ones I purchased at the dollar store.

I was thinking yesterday, as I did my post on the crazy quilt, about how difficult it was to sew when TG and BCG were very small. I worried that they'd get too close to my sewing machine and maybe get a little hand under the needle. One day I had another one of those "Eureka!" moments. Since my machine is a portable, I was able to put it up on the kitchen counter. The foot pedal was on the floor, but I was able to turn the machine off easily when I had to be away from it for a few minutes. And most of the things I was sewing were small, so I was able to manage very well with the kitchen counter space. When the kids got bigger, I moved my machine into the dining room where I was in earshot of the goings-on in the family room. Eventually the dining room became my craft room.....until Thanksgiving when I had to evict myself.....

So today I took a little walk around the yard and ventured down the street. There are a few signs of Fall. It seems like just as soon as the calendar says it's the first day of Fall, the leaves really start getting with it.

Here's the house across the street. You can't really see very much of the roof, but it's new. Last week they had a crew out to replace the old one. Lots of tap...tap...tapping. And each Christmas they decorate the little tree with white lights and put a couple of those lighted Costco reindeer out. A nice couple lives in the house, and the man is a lawn-mowing fanatic. Sometimes he has been known to mow his lawn two or three times a week. I suggested to Mr. Gadget that maybe he is looking for an excuse to get away from the little woman. She seems nice, but you never know.

Well, I had a couple more neighborhood pictures to share, but Blogger has decided I've posted enough. It would be good to know this before starting a post, but it seems to be part of their job to keep me guessing.....I guess.....

I'm just about finished with the knitting for the shawl-collared sweater, and I'm anxious to get it put together. It will be a nice sweater to have for Fall...or those brutal...heh..heh..California winters. Not only that, I'm looking forward to our annual trek to Rhinebeck, N.Y. for the New York Sheep and Wool festival with my friend "the other Marcia." That always puts me in the mood to start a new project. We have a nice arrangement. She drives and I buy lunch and provide charming conversation along the way. Then I do my best to stink up her trunk with right-off-the-sheep, smells-like-the-farm raw wool for doll hair. Maybe she really enjoys the charming conversation......

Crazy Quilt(er)

I retrieved TG's crazy quilt from the basement closet yesterday and found it to be spider-free. Seems I used some unusual good sense and packed it in a plastic zippered bag. It was fun to look at some of the embroidered tidbits I did way back then. The quilt label, also embroidered, says 1987.

Here is the patch for his first day of school. Too bad there is no spellcheck for quiltmakers. I must make a correction when I do the repair work, since I've always been a stickler for good spelling! Then again, maybe I'll just leave it. TG will have a good laugh over it, especially when he tells people, "Why yes, my mother is a college graduate." I remember taking TG to see his classroom just before school started. There was another mother and son doing the same thing. We got acquainted and became the class room mothers. We still correspond. Her son, little Ben, is now in medical school.

The worm hunt patch probably refers to our walks around the yard, after the rain, looking for turtle food. We used to have a box turtle, a gift from Uncle Alan who teaches college zoology. He did his doctorate work on birds, so we've been known to call him Uncle Birdie. The turtle loved worms....and mandarin orange segments. He would saunter over for the worms, but almost gallop for the oranges. He was quite a healthy turtle, what with all the Vitamin C.

I think the lemons had to do with his grandfather's lemon tree. I don't remember exactly. It would be fun to spread the quilt out on the floor for the next family get-together and hark back. I'm sure with a little brainstorming, we'll be able to remember them all.

I've thought about updating the quilt with more recent information. I'll put the graduation dates on it and the family vacations, and maybe the memorable Halloween costumes. I'll forget about the car accidents and the piercings and the green and purple hair experiments. After all, their children....should they have any....will most likely view the quilt at some point. On second thought, maybe I can sneak in a really good one just for revenge. Then one day, when I'm a grandma sitting at the family Thanksgiving table, I'll have a good laugh when I hear something like this: "But Dad, it says here that you had green hair, 5 ear piercings and baggy pants hanging down past your butt." Just the thought of this makes me want to go find my needle and thread.........

Sweater fixins'

Here is a mountain o' shawl-collared sweater pieces, posed next to a 1.5 liter bottle of Poland Spring water, looking out over some of the view from the treehouse. I'm looking forward to starting the assembly of the sweater, but not so much to the drinking of the water. I've never been a water drinker, or a milk drinker for that matter. I was the child who had to sit at the dinner table, long after everyone else was gone, to finish my glass of milk. It's possible my disinterest in milk sent me to see Mr. Dentist more often than I wanted, but I've never broken a bone, and my doc says my bones are in excellent shape. BCG and TG were the same way; one liked milk, one did not. I never pushed it. I tend to think the body has a wisdom all its own and I don't like to interfere.
Here is the alphabet quilt I made for Big City Girl, as promised. You can click on the picture to get a better view. I've had this put away, out of harm's way, for the last few years. I'm thinking now that BCG has moved away, and Mr. Gadget and I are planning to repaint and spruce up her room, maybe I'll put it back on the bed. Now that her Play Dough and finger-painting days are over, she might enjoy sleeping under it when she visits occasionally.

I also made a quilt for Tech Guy. For a non-quilting kind of a gal, I surprise even myself. His is a crazy quilt. I made it out of many of the fabric scraps from clothes I made him when he was a baby and a toddler. I even embroidered things on it.....like expressions he used and pets and special dates. It's sitting in a basement closet, providing a haven for spiders I fear. It's in a bit of a state of disrepair. Some of the seams have come undone and the backing has torn. He was always quite fond of it and never sat on it when painting or gluing. I'm sure a few lizards walked across it though, and maybe even a snake slithered across. And now probably spiders. I'll try to put all of that out of my mind when I retrieve it for the repair work. On second thought, maybe I'll see if Mr. Gadget would mind......

Monkey's dilemma

Sometimes I think it would be nice, just for a day or two, to have nothing to fret over except which banana to eat first. This little guy was an impulse purchase I made a few years ago when I went for a weekend to the Poconos with my friend Linda. She picked me up in her PT Cruiser and off we went for a carefree couple of days. Monkey usually sits on my windowsill here in the treehouse, above the computer, reminding me that it's ok to daydream.

The other night I watched an interesting show on CNN that was about genius and creativity and the workings of the mind. I was especially interested in the creativity part; Lord knows I can't relate to genius. I've always wondered why I get some of my best ideas and solutions to dilemmas when I'm in the shower. Well...heh...heh....I was pretty sure that particular subject wouldn't be covered. Wasn't I surprised when an expert doctor of something-or-other said that the creative process involves lots of input from various sources, followed by a period of rest. He went on to say that creative ideas spring up when we are resting in bed or taking a walk or maybe even.....in the bathtub. I remember back in the old days when I used to have to balance my checkbook--before I had Mr. Gadget to do it for me. What a hair-pulling-out dilemma that could be! Somehow the numbers always got friendlier once I was well-scrubbed.

It's lovely here in the east today, and the leaves are just starting to change color and fall. This is the best time of the year to be in the treehouse. Well, winter isn't too bad either....with the snow falling and the heat on and a steaming cup of hot chocolate.....sugar-free of course... Today I'm sewing hair on two witches and a Red Hat lady. It smelled pretty sheepy in here when I opened the directly-from-the-farm bag o' wool, but it's better now. The ladies have been well-shampooed, and I've got my sheep-be-gone scented candle burning.....

Give me a (potty) break!

This weekend was the big Red Hat adventure aboard the Newport Dinner Train (aka the lunch train). You will notice the blue Rhode Island Saturday sky above the nicely-lettered and very welcoming banner that should have also included the following message: "Please use the potty at the Dunkin Donuts up the road before you board."

After a 3-1/2 hour bus ride.....with potty on board that proved too difficult to navigate for some of our more full-bodied members....and potty breaks at a rest stop and the first of what would be two Dunkin Donuts visits, we weren't too pleased to be greeted at the train as follows:

"Welcome," said the train guy. "Your group is a little early and we're still setting up the tables. I must tell you that our onboard restroom facilities are somewhat limited. There's only one per car and it doesn't take long before it's over-stressed, shall we say." As if that wasn't uncomfortable enough news to our group of over-50 kidneys. "Sometimes it even starts to smell," he added. Oh yum. Bring on the gourmet delights......

So here I am with my tablemate Joanne. We were indeed fortunate to be seated at the opposite end of the train car from the restroom. Our meals were tasty; I had forgotten what I had ordered months ago when I made my deposit, so the filet of sole was a pleasant surprise. And the Amaretto cheesecake was very good. I had iced tea, which I sipped sparingly, and I ordered a half a cup of coffee with dessert. Did I mention the restroom facilities were questionable? Since the train ride was 2-1/2 hours, I figured maybe with good planning I could make it to Dunkin Donuts.

On the ride home, after our last visit to the donut place, we made a shopping stop at Old Mystic Village in Connecticut. There were plenty of potties there......just in case you're thinking of visiting. From what I could see, the only shoppers among our group were the grandmothers. They were stocking up on Christmas gifts for their grandkids. And from what I could tell, this means buying things the kids don't need and spending unreasonable amounts of money for them. I don't plan to ever do that.....

So when I finally got home and walked in the door, right away Mr. Gadget asked me how my day was. "It was quite an adventure," I told him. "I'll tell you all about it just as soon as I'm out of the bathroom."

Miss America

A few years ago, I decided to try making a primitive doll. Primitives are not known for their beauty, but they do have a certain appeal to some folks. It was fun to do all the coffee staining and the rather crudely embroidered facial features, but this is not a doll I'd make again. I did, however, use this pattern to make a witch. Her name was Wanda and she was scooped up rather quickly on eBay. There was actually one of those bidding frenzies. I think it was the spiders that sold her. She had a big one on her neck, and another one crawling up her leg. People who don't like spiders crawling around their houses seem to be fine living with fabric and thread spiders. I'll put Wanda's picture up on the blog soon (she's on the other computer) along with the alphabet quilt I did for BCG. I really haven't forgotten..heh..heh....

So I'm back on the east coast now, with nothing but rain since I returned. Big City Girl and her BF came up last night on the train from the big city. Today they are headed up to a cute little inn in Vermont to attend a wedding in which BF will be the best man. BCG will be doing the driving, and it's been a while since she's driven now that she's a seasoned subway commuter. This required some parental intervention. Mr. Gadget checked the car over this morning and ended up taking it to have a new muffler installed. He made sure there was a full tank of gas as well as a map and a working flashlight in the glove compartment. Her mother packed a bag with water bottles, pretzel snacks and a couple of rather large Snicker's brownies. This was followed by the usual hug and kiss and "drive carefully" and "please call when you get there." I'm pleased to report that the infamous dust mop sweater will be making it's official debut this weekend.

And on the dollmaking front, I'm working on a red hat lady and another witch, both special orders. And I'm sitting here looking at my primitive black cat as a possible eBay offering. He can sit on a bookcase or a mantel if he has something to lean against. But if I put a little hanger on his back, he could also be a wall decoration.

This guy was so easy to make. I just drew the outline of a cat and traced around it on a double layer of muslin. Then I sewed around on the traced line, cut it out, stuffed, drew the face (and the crazier the better) and painted. I'm thinking it might be fun to have a whole herd of cats on the mantel. You could even put little red santa hats on them and leave 'em up through Christmas. Which reminds me.....I'd better go find my red hat and dust it off so I'm ready for the big train adventure tomorrow. I imagine there'll be a few photos coming 'round the bend.....