My Mistake

My mistake was posting about boring things.

To correct that, some chiclette rearended me today. DS and I were wearing our seatbelts and are not hurt in the least. And fortunately said chiclette wasn't going fast because one little Mazda Protege does not stack up well with a Ford pick up truck. Not a mark on her truck. And a damaged bumper for me. And time spent talking to insurance companies. And time spent getting an appraisal. And a rental car. Ad nauseum.

I was at a complete stop at a yield sign waiting for a break in traffic. I don't know what she was thinking. Young. Husband is enlisted. Could have been worse.

As we drove away, my 17 year old said - I didn't know what was going on. I thought it was an earthquake. LOL

Just Trying to Be Consistent with Posting

Nothing really interesting to say. What a surprise.

Had another lazy Sunday. Read the paper, fiddled on the 'puter, watched Sunday Morning, watered the plants, made brunch, did the dishes, ordered pizza for supper. See did nothing. Cleaned up the desk in my bedroom 'cause maybe I'll start scrapbooking again.

No controversy. No vents. How boring.

Meeting Day

Still officially in love with EGA meetings. So nice to be surrounded by other people who have that same attraction to fibers and needles and fabrics.

We had an "estate" sale yesterday and I picked up 27 back issues of the ANG magazine! That's it. I am officially going over to the dark side - needlepoint. Also volunteered to work with youth outreach when that gets started.

I brought my Inro piece with me to work on as I had decided not to splurge the bucks on the class being offered. I may be the farthest along on stitching this piece of those of us in the pilot class.

I feel badly about not going to seminar in October. But hey. It's expensive. And at the moment I'm learning enough new stuff to keep me occupied. I may sign up for a Judy Jeroy crewel class for next year to alleviate my bad feelings. LOL

Better

This morning I'm feeling better. Haven't needed to take Ibuprofen yet even. But I can still feel inflamation in my throat.

Going to be another hot one. I'm tentatively planning on making the kids make supper. But I'm also waiting for DH to call to tell me if he's bringing a friend home for supper. In which case, I guess I'm cooking and the kids can cook tomorrow - which might be a better plan as I've got an all day EGA meeting tomorrow. Nothing like a day spent stitching and talking. I am so looking forward to it.

Did not stitch a stitch with a needle yesterday. Instead pulled out my lap rug and crochet hook. If I ever finish this, the cat will be in heaven. He loves things made with yarn.

I wonder how many of us spend time typing things and then delete it? I just edited a major story here. No one would think it's as funny as my family did. And it might actually create a mistaken impression or two. That internal editor is awake and kicking this morning.

Yuck

A summer cold?!?!? This, quite frankly, sucks. (and I hope I didn't send any germs back to Tennessee)

But I did manage a few hours yesterday on the background on my Inro project. Took about 2 hours to get into the rhythm of the stitch - called diagonal Hungarian something or other. Now I can see it to count it. In the beginning, it was a little difficult. And there is a spot where I miscounted between clouds, but it's not noticable. Never did get to watch Brokeback, though. Maybe today?

Spaghetti Fritatta

Let's all sing along - spaghetti fritatta, spaghetti fritatta - like Hakuna matatta.

I really should learn Italian.

Fritatta and shrimp scampi. Mmmmm! That was a good meal.

Tonight it is just me and the teenagers as DH is going to a baseball game afer work. I'm thinking some kind of curry thanks to Good Eats last night. And speaking of Alton Brown, how the heck did I miss the fact that he was at the National History Museum on Monday night? We were in that museum on Sunday. I didn't see anything. I read the paper every day. I didn't see anything. Sigh.

Not planning much for today. I am apparently fighting off a sore throat. IB keeps knocking the inflamation down to a manageable level. But the throat and head start to hurt every 2-3 hours. I guess it's a good day to finally watch Brokeback Mountain. But I'm not sure I can stitch through this movie and I want to keep working on my Inro piece before our Saturday EGA meeting.

After Being Good

I admit I let the fact that we had a houseguest interrrupt my regularly scheduled posting. Such is life.

(Was marvelous to have you here!

Come back soon!)

Did some of the usual touristy things. Stayed up way too late.

I sat down to stitch on my Japanese Inro project - made it for about 2 hours. Then I fell asleep. What a surprise.

And a big huzzah for Pinky and the Brain being released on DVD. What are we going to do tonight, Brain?

Huzzah for the Symphony

There is nothing quite like listening to the symphnony outside at night under the stars with the cicadas providing counterpoint. We had a wonderful time at Wolf Trap.

The NSO did the theme from Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore and three Wagner pieces from the Ring Cycle. This was paired with a marvelous performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

Yes we had our picnic on the lawn. Three years of living at West Point made me an expert at packing food for outdoor concerts. (aside - Wolf Trap is beautiful, but I miss my view of the Hudson and Storm King Mountain.)

I even crocheted thru the ring part of the concert - just making a dishcloth.

Now I Know

Not to bother going to the farmer's market at the place where they send the presidentially pardoned turkey. One guy with veggies, one guy with fruit, one lady with bread, and one lady with herbs. But I did buy a Thai sweet basil plant and she told me to come back in 2 weeks and she expects to have some lime basil.

And my Malfunction Indicator Light is one in the Honda and it doesn't have anything to do with the gas cap being loose, I fear. Crap. Just what I need. Time to call the dealership.

And juvenile squirrels may be funner to watch than kittens. I've got one outside right now that is jumping around all alone and looks slightly possessed. This is the cat's idea of great viewing pleasure. He does love this window that goes all the way to the floor.

Let's hear it for the Red Sox for doing something they haven't done since 1916: they won back-to-back 1-0 games at Fenway. The last time this happened, Babe Ruth was one of the pitchers. Amazing.

waah

Can't access RCTN this morning. It just sits and waits and waits. Guess I'll have to come back later for my fix.

This morning I got up early. I'm on the second load in the dryer, soon to be third. I cleaned the furnace filter (we have an unusual size - would prefer the throw away kind, but they don't make them my size.) And I took a walk before the temperature got too hot.

Now I have to decide - shower before the farmer's market or should I just go and shower later?

Or Here

Or maybe here on the beach at twilight? Less than 20 miles of coastline, but they are well-loved and appreciated.

Where I Wish I Was

I wish my camera had a way for me to change the rotation of the picture in the camera. Mostly because I was going to post some needlework pics, but they would be sideways 'cause that's how I took them.

So instead. Here's a blueberry on a bush on a lake somewhere in New Hampshire. 'Cause with this heat, that's where I wish I was. Floating on the water. With an ice cold beer waiting for me to get out...

blah

Did not do a useful thing yesterday. Felt crummy almost until bedtime. Never left the house except to water the plants.

Much much better today.

We've got tickets for the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap on Thursday night. Temperature still supposed to be hot, but not quite as hot as today. Plus we need the thunderstorms to hold off that night. And I need to plan what food and drink to bring. I've got a nice bottle of wine in the fridge already. LOL

I've got a craving for tzatziki. Now what to have with it? Off to search recipes.

unfortunately

I seem to have food poisoning. Yesterday I managed to eat about 15 saltines. All day.
Never actually vomitted, but did spend some extended time in the bathroom. And felt horrible all day.

But before the worst of it struck - and maybe I made things worse by doing this - I was outside in the a.m. weeding and planting another rosemary plant, a small lavender bush, and three more marigolds. Just trying to fill the wholes in the garden. One of my pincushion plants died. I had been fighting off aphids on this plant and apparently it was too stressed to survive the heat. I don't know why this is the only plant that had aphids. There was another pincushion 14" away and it is bug free. Anyway. It got hot outside pretty darn fast. I was sweating into my eyes. That's lovely. DS said he didn't feel normal either. It may have been the guacamole that he and I ate at lunch the day before at a restaurant that shall remain nameless. Also finally moved my plants back up onto my bedroom balcony - two large red wave petunias, a hanging basket, and a now very large cherry tomato plant. I should have known this would exceed the height predictions on the tag. Was fun carrying that up the stairs.

I do feel a little better this morning. I've had some tea and more saltines. Just going to take it easy today. I'm reading "Undead and Unwed" and now I know what all the undead Betsy fans were gushing about.

National Portrait Gallery

Was a bit tropical in D.C. yesterday, but it was worth the trip to visit the newly renovated National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum. They just reopened on July 1st after a long, long renovation period.

The building is a marvel. And they have chosen some marvelous colors for the interiors. And it's nice to see all the peoples looking at and reading about the presidents.

We took our umbrellas so it didn't rain. Great trick. I should try that one more often around here.

my bargain of the week

I found two walls hangers that hold 4" pots at Joann's on Thursday. Metal, distressed, painted off-white. Cost - $1.99 each! Hung them outside on opposite sides of the balcony. This, along with diffenbachia bought earier in the week, has added some major pizzaz to the balcony that you can see from the living/dining room.

DD and I had made the longish trek to the commissary, then stopped at our favorite Chinese restaurant back in our old neighborhood, when I decided I needed to purchse something for those 4" pots. So off I go to try the other nursery (same company, different location as earlier in the week.) Would you believe it? Rained again! This time I said the heck with it and shopped anyway. Through the worst of the downpour, we checked out the inside greenhouse, which led to some African violet purchases. Then I braved the raindrops looking for something might work in those pots. Too late in the season here for 6 packs of annuals. I had to settle on some creeping thyme and a ground cover that I am unfamiliar with. But they look great. And it was a warm rain. I was totally soaked by the time we got back in the car.

Small Rant

Went to purchase a large piece of plywood to make a padded headboard. Wanted it cut there at the store. Some idiot person had actually cut the cord on their woodcutter! Duh. Why don't you nicely tell people this service in unavailable somewhere? Instead of making me wrestle with a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood?

Okay. So I spent money on plants instead. Had to buy 2 hibiscus. They are so beautiful.

Just couldn't resist.

No willpower.

Thunder and Rain

I rearranged the furniture yesterday in the living room. It's a disease that I got from my grandmother. My mother rarely ever moved things, but my sister and I are compelled to rearrange. As I was sitting on the sofa checking out the vibes, I realized that the balcony needs a tall, tropical plant. I was heading to the grocery store anyway and swung by the nursery. But somewhere between my house and the nursery the clouds rolled in and thunder rumbled off in the distance.

As I wandered the indoor tropical plants, I could tell that storm was going to hit us. I didn't want to pay $$$ for a plant so I headed outside to see if I could find an outdoor plant that could stay in a container that met my height requirements. This is when I had to bow to the inevitable and head back to the car. (You don't think this is going anywhere do you? No car crash. No storm stories. No worries. Just rambling.) Wegman's nicely has a parking garage which was nearly empty when I arrived and nearly full when I left. The skies opened up with a buckets of rain and the people who were just leaving the store stood there in dismay.

I consoled myself with another rosemary plant and a lavender plant. I may put both of these in the ground and if we have a mild winter, they might make it. I found the coffee I was looking for and some whole wheat ravioli from the Monterey Pasta Co. (you can't fool me - I know you're based in Salinas.) Came home and cooked some chicken sausage and made a marinara sauce with some oregano, basil, and parsley that I managed to snip between the downpours. (which reminds me - I should go get dressed a head to the farmer's market.)

No sewing at all yesterday. Instead when the thunderstorm was threatening our power supply, I broke out a new puzzle - Gustav Klimmt's The Kiss.

It's Hot, Hot, Hot

Strange, bizarre dreams involving Carrie Bradshaw and shape-shifting alien...Where did that come from?

I finished edging my front walkway yesterday. One minute outside was enough for me realize that the Asian Tiger mosquitos are back in full force. Much as I hate using bug spray, it's the only way I can stay outside even during daylight hours. I hate these evil little creatures. Someone let 3 of them into the house when they left to take a walk on Monday night. Within minutes I had been bit 5 times and killed all 3 of them. Viscious buggers. I need to plant some bricks in the bag yard, but between the 'squitos and the heat, I don't think today will be the day.

Maybe I should go look at the complete instructions for my Japanese Inro piece and take a stab at finishing this. I figure I've got about 10 hours or so of work to do on it, if this diagonal Hungarian stitch isn't too difficult. Well, thinking about it, I bet the joining stitch that was chosen will stymie me for a while. Maybe 20 hours???

There Be Pirates

Nearly forgot that we went to see the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

Was a good, solid movie. Tremendous action. Great special effects. But somehow a little spark was missing that was in the first movie. Johnny was wonderful, but this time I was not laughing out loud. I, apparently, do not the problem with the ending that some people seem to have.

A big yeah! for Pirates.

really really back

to posting!

I was trying to post some pics here yesterday but things were moving so slowly that I gave up. This morning I will write first, and try to post pics second.

Took me a while, but I think I've caught up on reading my blogging friends. It is both comforting and fascinating to have these insights into others lives. Some of us kvetch a lot. Some of us are funny - all the time. Some of us share the most incredible links. Makes me wish I could have a big party and invite everyone over with their needlework so we could have an extended stitch and bitch session.

Yesterday I finally replaced the rubber hoses on the washing machine. Right before we moved last year, my neighbors' house had a flood with water pouring out of the front door. Their washer hose had broken. I purchased the flexi metal high pressure hoses before we even moved in to this house. Just never got around to putting them on the washer. Then proceeded to start catching up on laundry. As much as I love being in NH, it did feel good to be home. And yes, it actually did feel like home when we returned to VA.

I should have taken a pic of last night's dinner. Grilled salmon(organic salmon from Ireland) and homemade succotash. Yummy. Unfortunately, my DH thinks beans were developed to torture him. Regardless of his opinion, the other 3 in the family love beans. Just trying to keep you healthy, honey! Now, eat your beans!

Home Again

Will recover routine soon. Will post pics soon.

Did another Mill Hill Le Petit Purse pin - this time in blue and silver and this one is for me! Can't believe the other 3 I did were all given away to charity... Now to make some beaded shoe earrings to go with my purse!

Nice to sleep in my own bed. Without my children in the room. But who was that idiot who forgot to turn his alarm off? Duh. Would have been nice to sleep past 6 a.m. for a change.

Today it's time to catch up on laundry. Lots of weeding to do in the garden. And I've got a red tomato! The basil needs trimming and it looks like the thyme died. That's what I get for going on vacation.

not dead, just on vacation

My niece is now married and everything went according to plans and everyone is very happy. Made it through my sister's 4th of July bash intact and hangover free (there is always a question on this point.) Spent a lot of time talking to an old friend.
Haven't been sleeping well. Brain feels fried. Red Sox are losing to the Devil Rays for the 3rd night in a row.

We will be home by Sunday and I'll be back into a routine. I do wish I could spend more time floating in the water at the lake. That is like an old-fashioned tonic for my soul. Sun, a little sand, and lots of water. Yes. My sign is Aquarius.