Road Trip

Heading North this weekend.

My mother and sister want to see

my daughter's new house.

Tonight will find me at their place

- a ninety minute drive -

and in the morning we'll point the car

in the direction of the Twin Cities and see what

the day brings.

 

They had snow in the cities earlier this week

and, even though Naphtali

assures me it will be gone before we

arrive, the weather provides a good excuse to

debut a recent thrift store find.

 

 

I rediscovered a forgotten fact about

vintage wool coats:

They are wool.

With a satin lining.

No thermo-tek engineering here. 

It should be well-suited for

the predicted mid-40s this weekend

but probably won't stand up

to the frigid extremes we'll experience

later this winter. 

 

For some women it's all about the

shoes, jewelry or purses.

Me?  It's coats. 

This one was just too fun, and

- even with the dry cleaning -

 too cheap, to leave hanging. 

It will require a certain attitude as

its main accessory

and, as I've pretty much been in a

damn-the-torpedoes mood lately,

it should be perfect.

 

 



Quick Catch-up

So many things running through my brain tonight but

I still need to write a poem so this will be quick.

 

Who am I kidding? 

 I'll natter on here for much longer than I ever intended...

It makes me wonder why I bother to attempt

these quick just-check-in-and-get-right-back-out posts...

Never works that way...

 

I returned, earlier this evening, from a couple days in FD.

My mom and sister had been planning a yard sale

and ( for a variety of reasons) I agreed to help.

So I made myself available, driving up on Thursday, 

and returning home today.

That covered set-up to clean-up

and divvying the loot.

We managed to play a couple games of scrabble.

Crossed paths with old acquaintances.

Managed to stay warm in the mornings and then

 - later in the day -

peeled off sweatshirts in the sun.

 

So on the drive the array of color was breathtaking.

I was entranced by the barest blush of color the trees were sporting.

It seems that everything is in bud right now

and it creates an almost fuzzy effect on the bare branches against the sky.

Not leaf green but, on many, a pinkish glow.

(For instance - the maples in our back yard have a deep burgundy bud case.) 

And the weeping willows were a fluorescent yellow.

And the red-twig dogwoods along the fence lines were a treat to see.

Quite lovely.

 

 So I'm driving and listening to
Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio
 a-more-than-fascinating-book.

The numbers are mind-blowing!!
10s of thousands every year for soooo many years!
They reported 40+000 cases in 1950.
40+000!!!
That's (almost) in my lifetime.
What happened to the young victims who survived?
How long did they live?  Are they still alive?
I asked my mother if there she knew area families
from her childhood that had dealt with polio.
She could think of two incidents.
Living on a farm she said "you just didn't hear much..."

The process of the medical research is riveting.
The prevailing methodology of the time was to use
 live -but greatly weakened -
virus for most vaccines.

Salk had been successful in creating a "killed"
influenza  vaccine for the Army
and wanted to bring that same approach to polio.

I can remember going
 to the high school one night, as a kid,
to get a sugar cube with vaccine.

I learned today that means we ingested live virus.
(unless the next few chapters explain that they found a way around that...)
I see much more reading about this in my near future.

 

Tim and Charlie were glad to see me.

I am glad to be home.

 

 

 

 

 

Inquiring minds want to know

Naphtali asks if there are bows all over my house - now that I have learned to make them

The answer to that can be summed up in one word - no.  

But it is time to get busy on certain projects around the house.  This week - no bows -  I did make an afghan.  

 It's hard to think I've been living here less than 2 months.  And with the push to get Kennybrook up and running, a family wedding, several rounds of company, and an extra dog for a couple weeks, 

we've put off getting a start on any big projects.

That time has ended.

So here is a glimpse of how the house does look:

We are in the middle of a remodel.  New floor and paint for this room.  Plus a closet has been removed.  I had things torn apart - though not quite this torn apart -on Friday when my SIL called and asked if we would host a sibling get-together on Saturday - if she could get the others to sign on.  

Bien sur, I replied.  Well, I probably said "sure" or something like that, but for a post "bien sur" always sounds so much better. 

Sign on they did, so about noon on Saturday everything went back to its place.

No point in rearranging until I knew for sure they were coming, n'est-ce pas?

Tim cooked.  They arrived.  And we had a great time.

Sunday meant everything was moved again.  And somewhere in all this Naphtali called to say that she and Aidan might be down this weekend.  Might be.  

As of yesterday afternoon - will be.  

And we'll have a great time.

We - Tim - built our first fire Sunday night.

True Story

I have a sad, but true story to pass along today.  

Actually, more like several vignettes.  I went to a wedding over the weekend
- without my camera.  I know, but it gets worse. 

So you'll find no pictures, here, of the happy couple.  Or Leslie looking wonderful in her dress.  

No record of the table settings or bouquets. 

 Family.  

Incomparable weather. 

 Nothing. 

 I thought of throwing in a picture of my shoes - which are both adorable and comfortable - but I wasn't in the mood for a sop.

Anyway.  The saga continues.  

Not only did I leave home without my camera for this stellar event
 - I left my spanx on the dresser.  I know.  

I had clothes for the dinner Friday night.  For hanging around Saturday morning. 

 Several Weather related  options for the wedding on Saturday afternoon,
 changes if we went out later,
something to drive home Sunday morning - 

but my spanx got left behind.  I know. 

 Of course I didn't discover this until I was out of the shower on Saturday, starting to get dressed. 

 I emptied my suitcase.
I put everything back and emptied it again,
lifting each item and shaking it to dislodge what was not there.  

How could this happen?!?  Aaargh!!

It is both unfortunate and 

I know everlastingly to my advantage 

that Naphtali suspected Aidan was developing strep throat.  

While my private drama was developing they Tim, Naphtali and Aidan were out in search of a drop-in clinic, 

which they found, and

  which confirmed Naphtali's excellent motherly intuition and 

got the lad started on an antibiotic. 

 In the mean time, Naphtali called me asking if I had heard from Leslie concerning the pew bows - 

bear with me that will be in the next paragraph - and 

I spilled my tale of woe.  "Well, I could pick you up a pair."  They were at Target. 

 Just that easily: another crisis averted.

So, back to the pew bows. 

 Over the years I have been acknowledged as competent, even skilled, I know at a variety of crafts. 

 But one crafting basic has consistently eluded me
 - making bows.  I know.  

So imagine my dismay, on Friday night, when a somewhat harried mother-of-the-groom 

asked if Naphtali and I would be willing to make 60 pew bows. 

I looked her in the eye and said the only thing I could:
"Of course.  No problem.  Glad to help."  I know.
Trusting all the while that my multi-talented daughter 

would be able to pick up the slack created by my two left thumbs. 

We got started Saturday morning at what I considered a leisurely hour and pace for 60 bows when Naphtali confessed 

that bows had never been her strong suit.  I Know! 

 But that revelation was counter balanced by the news that we only had to make 16 bows.  

With all the background noise I had misheard Leslie.  She needed 16 - not 60 - bows!
The bows were finished and made it to the church in time.
It was a lovely ceremony on a perfect, classic fall, October afternoon.
Aidan received the appropriate medical attention.
I was sufficiently cocooned in the new spanx.

You've been very patient  and I hope somewhat amused with this epic tale and here's the payoff:

I learned a new skill:  Bows are no longer my bete noir.
I know!  

Today I made this bow.

Who knows what I may make tomorrow!  
I Know!