Once in a Blue Moon

Do you know what a blue moon is?
A blue moon is a second full moon in a single month.
We will have a blue moon tonight. The last time we had a blue moon for New Year's Eve was 19 years ago.
If you can, go out and take a look at it tonight. We will probably have a cloudy sky but I did see the moon this morning.

The day has begun. Actually, for us, it began almost four hours ago. We have been to the health club to exercise and are back home after stopping at the grocery store.

Yesterday I made some progress on the Roman shade. The top and bottom hems are pressed into place. I found the original lining which I will have to recut to fit. Today I should have the lining and interlining ready to stitch in place. It is not difficult, just very tedious - - - a lot of measuring, cutting, and stitching.

The current project is to finish a Roman shade.

We apparently must cut back power consumption. The power company has been asked to meet conservation requirements. The way that the company can do that is to go back to its customers and ask them to cut consumption. At this point, the power company is sending customers a letter comparing the customer's usage with that of homes "in the neighborhood."

We were told that we rank 88 out of 100 neighborhood homes. I really would like to know more specifically what homes are considered "in the neighborhood." I can walk up and down the street where we live and easily see evidence the owners are doing little differently from us. So many people are complaining about this letter campaign that I wonder if perhaps the power company just wrote in numbers.

We, make that I, have been keeping the thermostat at about 60° F. The family has complained bitterly about it ever since I lowered the thermostat several years ago. Roger says that our home is significantly larger than many of the homes near us since we built the addition. I wonder if we are being compared to the condominiums south of us.

The fact is that we do need window covers. I started making the Roman shade for one window during the summer and bogged down with it. On the weekend, I looked it over and decided it needs to be a little wider. I cut a new section matching the pattern in the fabric and stitched it together. I pressed the side hems back. Sunday we went up into the attic and brought down the Thinsulate and lining fabrics. Thinsulate is a thermal interlining for garments as well as household things like window covers. I had intended to cut the lining and interlining yesterday but was side tracked. It may have been a blessing in disguise because I found the lining I had cut and prepared for the shade. It may not be wide enough since I made the shade wider but I will check it today.

Yesterday we decided to go through a filing cabinet and discard things we no longer need. We made a lot of space in the files. We have a lot of paper for recycling. There is still a lot more we need to go through.

Without intending it that way, it looks like we are trying to make a fresh start for the new year.

Forty years ago 27 December was on a Saturday. The night between Saturday and Sunday we had a heavy snowfall. It was the day that our sons were born. I think we plan to mark the day by going to a fabulous Oriental buffet brunch after church. I also probably ought to make a birthday cake even though we still have apple pie.

Please glance back to the post from yesterday and take another look at my bee slippers. I cannot get enough of them. To me they are a metaphor for a description of friendship. My friend knew that I would smile when I saw them; I know that when she saw them in the store she smiled thinking about them and giving them to me. We both gave each other smiles over a single pair of slippers.

The Bee's Knees, It's the Bee Feet

I want to show you this marvelous gift I received yesterday. A very dear friend sent them to me because she knows that I especially like bees. This was a very bright moment in an especially nice day. I have them on right now but will have to take them off, especially if I am handling food. I tend to drop food and I tend to get things dirty. Yes, I am a little klutzy.

During the night we had a little more snow. The temperature has not yet dropped but is supposed to during the day.

Oh my, I had forgotten that most of my followers are not US citizens. A Turtle is a candy; in this case "Turtle" is a registered trademark. No one else may use it. Turtles are nuts, primarily pecans, covered with a large drop of caramel and then covered with chocolate. We are talking here about a major food group, chocolate, caramel, and pecans. Other candy manufactures who make a similar candy cannot call it a Turtle. I have seen Pecan Dixies, Alligators, and Bumble Bees to name a few. Some of the mock turtles that I have eaten actually are better than the original Turtles. And some of the mock turtles are very artistically arranged with five pecans in a star pattern. The caramel is dropped over the center where the pecans come together. Then chocolate covers all of it except for the ends of the pecans. They show and look like the feet and head of a turtle. But the candy still cannot be called a Turtle.

So, my turtle pie had chocolate, caramel, and pecans.

We were up at 5:00 a.m. this morning to make pies for the extended family dinner today. I am the only member of the family who makes pie and everyone wants pie. How did this happen?
The pies for 2009 are apple (with the pie bird in it), turtle chiffon (front and center), lemon meringue, and pumpkin. Picture #2 shows the remains of the evening. I guess no one wanted apple.

I wish that I could show you delightful ice luminaria but the weather has been against us. In the previous 60-72 hours we received the typical amount of snow that falls in the entire month of December. We have all been shoveling and shoveling and shoveling more. We are extremely tired. Wednesday night the temperature did not drop low enough to freeze the luminaria. I wondered if the ones that we had already made would even be suitable to use last night; they are not the best ones ever but did look nice at night with their candles. Today the temperature was above freezing and we had a light, drizzling rain on and off all day. Either tonight or tomorrow, the temperature is supposed to drop significantly. All of the slush will freeze into hard mounds. Driving will be very bumpy and rough for a while.

I hope that your day has been a beautiful one and that you have a collection of memories that will warm your heart when you recall them in the future.

Raider in the Feeder

Yes, the squirrel got into the bird feeder yesterday. It was so enter- taining that we had a hard time making it go away. Unfortun- ately, the quality of the picture is extremely low. We think this is probably the same squirrel that ate the pumpkin in October. I did chase it out of the feeder but we know it will be back. Squirrels are not supposed to like red pepper (cayenne); birds are not supposed be able to taste it. We are following the suggestion of dusting the bird food with red pepper. If the birds still come to the feeder, I will sprinkle red pepper in with the food.

Yesterday, I gave the Merry Christmas ornament to its recipient. Today I will give the remaining three to their respective recipients. From my perspective, that is good.

Although I have not checked the ice this morning, I know that I will not unmold it. During the night, the temperature was not as cold as I had hoped. I think we will call ourselves fortunate to have six.

Ah yes, the last two orna- ments are finished. Actually I finished them yes- terday but waited until today to take a picture.

I am now preparing two baptismal banners for this coming weekend.

We are making ice luminaria. In the past, we have made two at a time but the temperature is just a little below freezing so it is taking longer for the ice to form. The first picture shows the five-gallon pails we use to make the luminaria. They are filled with water and are chilling out on the front doorstep. This morning, I took the first two out; the ice is not as thick as we would prefer. I also need to level the luminaria closer to the camera. We pulled out two more pails to make four at a time. If the temperature drops enough tonight, we can unmold them in the morning; then make four more. Chances are that we cannot take them out until tomorrow afternoon at the soonest and most likely Thursday morning. In that case, we will have six. That is enough.

On Christmas Eve, we will put candles in each and light them. In the morning on Christmas, we will also light the candles. I have not yet checked to see how many candles we have.

I feel so very virtuous. Another ornament completed - - two more to go.

This ornament is adapted from a freebie by Thea Dueck. It is Baby's First Christmas which I have already stitched as a child's first Christmas ornament.

I also finished a baby hat. Mooch said he did not care to model. Quincy did co-operate.

This morning as I was walking, I saw six deer in an open field. One was the big buck. He saw me and indicated to the other deer that they should go back into the trees.

Yes, I am following through on my intent to finish these ornaments as quickly as possible. Yesterday I finished the hot air balloon.

It is for a friend who has a specific theme for her Christmas decorations each year. This year it is New Mexico, the Southwest, and hot air balloons. She went to the Albuquerque Festival and thought it would make the ideal theme for Christmas 2009. Each year I make an ornament to fit in with her theme. Some years, it can be quite a challenge. As you can see, there is a little braid hanging down from the balloon. I decided to wait to cut it until the braid suspending the gondola had a chance to uncurl - - - just in case I needed a little more. This morning, it looks good so I think I can cut it.

I also began finishing ornament #2. Things are looking up. I think I can finish all of them.

Tonight is the night we will begin to freeze ice luminaria.

Here you have it, my "must- finish-it-for- Christmas" list, four orna- ments. I am going to try to see how many I can finish this weekend.

Yesterday the birds and squirrels entertained us, most especially the squirrels. Today, I must get very busy. It will be difficult to not check on the birds and squirrels.

I am very excited. The hawk did not scare the birds away. They were staying somewhere protected from the very cold temperatures. Yesterday was a little warmer and the birds came back. It was very enjoyable to watch them. Some new ones came too.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Nuthatch

The junkos are about the same size as the purple finches.

At least for now, the squirrels are not getting into the bird feeders. The birds are being very co-operative. They drop seeds out of the feeder. The squirrels come in to eat them. The junkos seem to prefer to eat on the ground and probably are very happy that the other birds are such messy eaters. The cardinals eat on the ground and from the feeder.

A few little junkos and chickadees came to the feeders yesterday. There was no sign of the hawk. The squirrels were sunning themselves in their tree and then ran back and forth, up and down, and all around in all of the trees and power wire. When they were not sunning or running, they were eating the seeds that fell from the bird feeders. So far, the squirrels have not gotten into the feeders.

Okay, here are the pictures. But first I want to show you the most fun and funky gift I have ever gotten. I love it, absolutely love it. It is such a cute kntted bee in a wild rose. Clare sent it to me because she knows I really like bees. Clare is a follower of my blog and tells about it on her blog.

Yes, I took some pictures of our most recent snow. I took them in the late afternoon yesterday so the sun is low in the sky and an hour or so from setting. The shadows are growing long. In the backyard, you can see one of the new bird feeders but it might be a little difficult to distinguish it from the clothesline which I do use all winter to air the pillows and comforter.

It looks like the weather will be very good to make ice luminaria. The question is when to begin the process. I do not want to begin too early because they will deteriorate and not look their best on Christmas Eve. It is quite the guessing game.

Yesterday it snowed. I should have taken a picture for you. Perhaps I can make up for that lapse. The birds were out at the feeders. A new visiting bird had an entirely different take on the term "bird feeder".

For most of the morning and early afternoon, a red tail hawk perched in the cottonwood tree in the park. From its vantage point, it could easily see into my backyard and see the little birds enjoying my seeds. The hawk kept most of the birds away. I saw the hawk swoop out of the tree; I could not see where it went. I hope it found a mouse or shrew and not one of my little birds. The birds were scarce for the remainder of the day. I have not been home enough today to know if they have returned or not.

During the weekend, Roger prepared our Christmas letter. We were going to pop the letters into Christmas cards and send them out but we could not find the Christmas cards. We got some last year and put them away in a box but for some reason we cannot see the box anywhere. It is not like this is a small, easily overlooked box. It is a large Rubbermaid under-the-bed box with Christmas cards, some wrapping paper, and other incidentals. And it is not like this was a first time; we have done this our entire married life and that is more than 41 years long.

We have launched Plan B. We are just sending the Christmas letter. Roger put lots of pictures in it. I think that you have seen all of the pictures in my blog entries; he did not have any of his own to use. We decided to post the letters in Christmas envelopes. I went out today to find some but there were none to be had. I came home and dug out my Christmas and winter rubber stamps and the stamp pads. I have stamped the fronts of 17 envelopes with promises to stamp more when we need them.

In less than twenty-four hours. The birds found our feeders. They came in droves yesterday. I thought that they were supposed to be less territorial at this time of year. One little chickadee kept trying to chase all the other birds away from its feeder.

The chickadees fly up to the feeder and quickly take a bite or two and then fly away. The purple finches glide up to the feeder and settle in for a slow, leisurely feeding session. The woodpecker flies up to the suet cake and pecks away at it. Yesterday, it tried to peck away at the flag pole. That could have been quite a shock. The junkos do not fly up to the feeders but eat what everyone drops from the feeders.

After the little birds have eaten, the cardinals swoop in to eat their fill.

While the little birds were eating, I could hear a blue jay calling. All of the little birds scattered. I saw the blue jay fly by the feeder and then leave. Maybe the feeder is not big enough to allow the blue jay to feel comfortable about eating here.

Yesterday afternoon we counted eight cardinals in the backyard and we know there were more. I decided to hang the two bird feeders on the hooks that we used for the hummingbird feeder and oriole feeder. Because the snow will be getting deeper, I really want a hook that it higher so the feeders are not so close to the snow. For now, this will work.

Next, we need to at least clean the inside of the windows and make the telephoto lens readily accessible.

Here are the completed banners.

Already this morn- ing a wood- pecker visited the suet. I think that the one that came yesterday was a downy woodpecker and the one this morning was a hairy woodpecker. Downies and hairies look very much alike; they are black and white with a spot of red on the head. The major difference is that hairies are larger than downies. I am not certain if or how I can take a picture of them but I will try so that I can show them to you.

Do you remember this picture? It is a downy woodpecker in our wood pile. You can just barely see the red spot on its head.

Bone-shattering cold dropped in after the snow. It is still extremely cold. Yesterday afternoon I went out to tutor some elementary school children. The drive home was after dark. As soon as the sun went down, conditions on the roads deteriorated significantly making driving very difficult. I can only say that I am extremely grateful for anti-lock brakes.

We still have not put up the feeders for small birds and larger birds. I think we are waiting for the temperature to warm a little. A woodpecker and a chickadee discovered the suet yesterday. We enjoyed watching them. The cardinals were flying from tree to tree and branch to branch within the trees. Sometimes they flew down to the ground and then darted back into the trees. It was like watching red popcorn bouncing up and down. We really need to get the feeder out for them.

The two banners are almost ready to go to church today. I will take a picture to post as soon as they are ready.

Winter Really Is Here

Yes, we have gotten snow. It was snowing lightly yesterday morning and is still snowing. I just took this picture this morning. The light circles are the flash reflecting off the snow flakes.

Our temperature is dropping and the wind is picking up. We have blizzard conditions. It is much worse to the south of us. We are at the northern edge of this storm.

Driving conditions are difficult even where the plows have been.

A little stitching progress to show you. The stitching is almost done on the Glory to God orna- ments. I hope to make two more of the orna- ments but I am not certain I will find the time. I am pre- paring the two ban- ners for this coming Sunday. I have help with the stitching but do all of the finishing and prep work.

Yesterday we went out to get bird feeders and bird seed. We got a container for suet blocks and some suet for the woodpeckers. I hung it from the flag pole and may have to move it. We also got a feeder for small birds and a feeder for large birds. Someone else will have to put them up for me.

As we were getting into the car, a large flock of large birds flew overhead. They were too big for ducks and about the same size as geese and had long necks. But they were not making goose noises. I wonder if it was a flock of swans. Friday cardinals and chickadees were very active in the garden and trees. That is what made me decide to pick up the bird feeders. As we drove out to get the feeders, I saw a deer along the road. We generally do not see them like that in the daylight. I think it was an yearling.

Saturday was an especially nice day. I got a card in the mail from a very good friend. I will be sending her an e-mail today. Although she looks in on the blog, I cannot count on this to acknowledge her note.

The snow yesterday was, in fact, gone by even- ing. There is another dusting this morn- ing. It too will probably be gone by evening. This is how the beginning of winter works in Minnesota. Until we have something to look at, I will not take pictures.

Another gift, another picture. The gift consists of three project bags, a fabric envelope, a fabric covered box and counting pins in wool felt. I do hope that the recipient feels satisfied.

This noon we are going to a lutefisk buffet. No, I do not eat lutefisk; I am just a pseudo-Swede. I eat the other selections, leaving the lutefisk alone. Most especially I like the lefse with lingonberry sauce.

Yesterday I thought I was going to have a rebellion in the kitchen. Neither I nor our son who cooks were going to be home to prepare dinner if it was going to be served at the desired time. Complicating the situation was the fact that our son and I had decided to have at least one vegetarian dinner a week. Last night was the first night under the new policy. Roger had an absolute fit when I told him what to make for dinner. He liked neither the fact that I was telling him what to make nor what it was to be. I brought the ingredients upstairs and explained how they go together and then left. At the appropriate time, he began to assemble everything and had it all ready by the time I got home. During dinner Roger said that it tasted good and that it was, in fact, easy to prepare. He will eat it again and will even prepare it again.

Is It Winter Yet?

Not that I have not appreciated the fine weather we had in November but it seems like it is winter today. The temperature is significantly lower. The wind is blowing from the northwest. There is a little snow in the air and on the ground. It is an Alberta clipper visiting from Canada just to give us a frosty hello and a reminder of what winter is about. As if we could forget!! It is hard to say whether or not the snow will last. It will all depend upon how much falls; how windy it is; and how cold it gets.

It hardly seems like Christmas in Minnesota without snow and cold. During the first part of December, we usually have a spell of very cold weather. It will warm up to moderately cold and then turn cold, sometimes bone-shattering cold, in January.

We are back online with our new ISP. It was not a seamless changeover and we were offline for about 24 hours. I do not even want to go into the details. Suffice it to say that we are all relieved and happy now.

Two new pictures. The first is my latest ornament, a gift to a friend. The pattern is a freebie from Victoria Sampler. I modified it a little because I do not like the phrase "Baby's first Christmas."

The second is of the latest baby hat modeled by Mooch. He was on the bed and probably does not show up well because of the dark wood. I tried draping something lighter on the headboard behind Mooch but the white bleached out.

This morning as I was walking before dawn, I saw a meteor. I had not thought about it but it must be the tail end of the Leonids (pun intended). Somehow, it seems like a good omen for the day.

Here is another view of the all the things I made for this gift. I have some chocolate to include but I took this picture before I got it. Today I plan to wrap it and pack everything in my mailing box. It will out out in the post tomorrow

I thought the button was made of Bakelite but it is not. I just Googled to find a test for Bakelite. The button failed the test. It also failed the test for celluloid; its does look a little like some of the celluloid buttons that I saw. I guess it is made of common garden variety plastic. That means the button is not as old as I thought. It probably dates from the late 40's and more likely the 50's. The design just does not look like something that would have come out of the 60's with the exception of the first year or two.

It is lightly snowing right now. Unless the temperature drops significantly and the snow falls more heavily, it will not last through the day. The weather this November has been extremely mild. I guess it is averaging out with the horrible, cold, snowy weather in October.

I have pictures to show you. I have completed the things I want to make for this gift and am ready to show you the last items. The little winders are finished. I decided that they would look better with paper on both sides. For the second side, I used paper with a letters and envelopes theme. Since the paper is from Italy, the letters are in Italian and the addresses and cancellation marks are also Italian.

Take a look at the close up of the button. It is a little hard to see the detail. I just love this button. I got it and several others at an estate sale. I have no idea how old it is but I would guess that it dates from the 30's or maybe the 20's. They were quite dirty but with a little soap and water look spectacular.

And Here It Is . . . .

My major respon- sibility today is the pie. You have been able to follow the process from the time we picked the pumpkins. This is the final result. Well, maybe not the final result because we have yet to cut and eat it.

Besides the pie, I also have the responsibility of preparing the cranberries. Our son is preparing the rest of the meal.

As I prepare this posting, I am sipping a mockmosa, orange juice with ginger ale. It seems very festive.

I am reminding myself of everything for which I am grateful; at the top of the list are my family and friends.

Do you remember the picture of the snow- capped pumpkins that I posted five weeks ago? Yesterday I baked two of them and here they are just out of the oven. I am using them to make our Thanks- giving pie.

Have you noticed that canned pumpkin and Eggo waffles are flying off the grocery store shelves and leaving empty places? There is a reason for both. Two Eggo waffle plants have been shut down. I am not absolutely certain about one; at least one is in Georgia where the flooding occurred. I believe that the plant was flooded out. The freezer shelves may not be restored until sometime in 2010.

Likewise with the pumpkin. Nestle holds Libby's label and says their primary pumpkin growing area near Peoria, Illinois is experiencing crop failure. In addition, Libby's does not have a backup stock this year. The price of Libby's pumpkin is significantly higher than other brands which has increased sales of the other brands. Libby's produces significantly more pumpkin than the other brands. When the Libby's pumpkin is off the shelves, that is it for us. We have to hope for a good crop next year and that the reserve can be built up.

So if you want to insure that you can bake pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin cake for Christmas in the US, get some extra pumpkin right now. I really do not know how this affects supplies outside of the US or even if there is as great a market for pumpkin.

That being said, I hope that the US residents have a good Thanksgiving holiday. We are gathering together and have made our grocery purchases. We will be having a fresh, not frozen turkey. It is cold enough today for it to safely rest on the porch. There is so much for which we are grateful including you, our friends. For those readers who are not US residents, it is always a good idea to take a couple moments for gratitude.

It is Monday morning and we still have an internet connec- tion.

This is a set of project bags with co-ordinating fabric covered box and winders. They go with the metal box I lined. I need to do a little remedial work on the winders and make at least one more item and everything will be done for this exchange.

The paper lining the box and lid is the blue and white floral print that I picked up Friday.

Here are Alma's directions to make the winders.
Although I have already given you a link to Alma's directions to cover and line the boxes, I will give it to you again just in case you decided not to look when I first posted but want to look now. Click on this link and scroll down to the entry for 26 October for the beginning of the directions.

Just a little note. As mentioned in the past, we have connectivity problems which are only going to become worse with time. We have decided to transfer to a different ISP. The new ISP will not connect us until our present ISP disconnects us. As far as we can tell, according to the people we talked with, in order to have our present ISP disconnect us, the only way we will know we are disconnected is when we cannot access the internet. We have not been informed of a scheduled time to be disconnected and we will not be informed when we are about to be disconnected or have been disconnected.

According to our new-to-be ISP, we must call them as soon as we know we are disconnected and they will come out to connect us to their service.

Up to this point, everything sounds rather simple. We understand that although we have told our current ISP the day we want to be connected, tomorrow, it may take several days to complete the disconnect and new connection. Depending upon when the disconnect is effective, it may take a day or two for the new ISP to actually come out to connect us to their service; we have to take into consideration the fact that this is a short holiday week with Thanksgiving. Everyone on both sides says they are working to achieve our satisfaction but it sounds tenuous at best. We are getting a little tired of hearing, "We are concerned about you and are doing everything to make your experience a satisfying one." sigh

Although our current ISP knows we want it to disconnect tomorrow and our new ISP knows we want it to connect tomorrow, in reality that may not happen. It probably will not happen in a smooth, seamless process. Please, oh please keep your fingers crossed that it will be as efficient and seamless as possible.

Our present ISP is giving us a credit for the inconvenience it has caused us in the past and in the transition to our new ISP. The credit will enable us to keep our current e-mail addresses without charge for six months. During that time, we can decide how we want to handle our e-mail. Once this ISP changeover is complete, we should look no different to you. To us, it should be a vast improvement in that we should have a much faster internet connection.

I honestly do not know where the time goes. Last Monday, Roger and I together made ham loaf to put into the freezer to have for easy to prepare meals. Friday we discovered that our sons do not like ham loaf. Sigh
It would have been nice if they had told us when we brought home the ham and pork to make it.

Friday Roger and I made banana bread together. We already knew that our sons are not particularly fond of it but we made it anyway because we like it. I made the first loaf with Roger watching closely and giving a little help when asked. Actually I was showing him how to bake from a recipe. The second loaf, he made with just a little help from me. The banana breads both turned out well.

We both thought that it would be a good idea for Roger to learn how to make banana bread because he likes to buy "day old" bananas at the grocery store. Actually, they pack the bananas that are for one reason or another unattractive to customers in large plastic bags. They load the bags of bananas into a grocery cart and offer them to customers at a very low price. When we bring a bag home, Roger sorts out the ones he will eat and then suggests that I make banana bread. More recently he has suggested that we could make banana bread together. We did and it worked well. I think that he will be making more banana bread by himself.

We also like cinnamon bread, a yeast bread. Roger has occasionally asked me to make cinnamon bread but recently suggested that we could make it together. I think this togetherness project might work.

Yesterday I finished making all of the project bags that I intended to make. They are primarily for gifts. As I finish making the rest of the components of each gift, I will take pictures to show you. I have a few more items to go. Friday I picked up the lovely blue and white floral paper that was out of stock; I wanted it to line the inside of a fabric covered box. In the afternoon, I finished the box. I still need to practice my techniques but the box does look reasonably well.

I hope that you are enjoying these roses. I especially like their antique mauve color. They lasted very well in the house; I think it is because we have been keeping the temperature low. I wonder if they traveled to us via the Amsterdam flower market.

Yesterday afternoon we began our tutoring program. Jose is my tutoree; he is in the third grade. He seems to be having some difficulty knowing what sounds the letters make. Perhaps our curriculum advisor will have some helpful ideas for us.

November is making up for the cold weather we had in October. If the month ended today, this would be the second warmest November on record. I wonder if this is an example of global warming. The day looks gray and foggy but it is warm for November.

Yes, I finished the cat yesterday and I feel so very good to have done it. It is a special kind of satisfaction that I feel when I finish something that has been unfinished for so very long. I am not certain that it is a very good representation of a Siamese cat so I just hope my friend likes it.

There was so much else that I did yesterday. I participate in a tutoring program in St. Paul. It is sponsored by a church in a low to low moderate income area. We work with third grade children and tutor them in reading, math, and writing. I have enjoyed the children very much. Three times during the school year we have a family dinner for the children, their families, and the tutors and tutor's families. Last night was one of the dinners. Generally I make and bring in the dessert and the church members prepare the rest of the dinner.

For things like this, my philosophy is to calculate how much I need and then double it. I came home with the equivalent of one and a half cakes. I could have done well bringing two cakes but it would have been so embarrassing if we did not have enough.

Here is a series of six pictures of the yearlings that came into our yard on Sunday. The deer are shy. If we had opened the door or a window, they would have run from the yard in less time that it takes to blink your eye. It would have been the same with the buck that was in our yard two years ago. The pictures of the deer in the yard now show the same clothesline pole and the same fences that were in the picture of the buck. Unfortunately, we were able to get pictures of only one of the two deer in the yard. The other pictures are of both deer in the park behind our home.

The deer come into the yards on a fairly regular basis. Generally it is not in daylight hours. According to our neighbor, they are frequently in the yards between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. There is no way that we are going to be up to see that so I have to take the neighbor's word for it. They like to eat what is in the yards and gardens. In our case, in the fall, they are eating apples that have dropped from the trees. Both apple trees are in the garden behind the fence along which the deer is standing. You may be able to see the trunk of one.

In 2001 and 2002, a new bridge was built across the interstate highway that is to the northeast of where we live. The deer on both sides of the freeway walked around the incomplete bridge during construction. I assume that the deer on both sides of the freeway have now interbred.

Last night, I finished stitching the cat. It has been so long since I started it that I washed it before I took a picture of it. I also wanted to show you a picture of the deer, two yearlings, that visited our yard yesterday. But I cannot find them. I did find a picture of the buck that visited our yard two years ago. Unfortunately part of the clothesline shows on the right side.

As promised here is the picture of the whimsical Siamese cat. I am hoping to complete it by Thursday morning as I will see my friend then. As you can see there was quite a bit done when I set it down all those years ago. Right now, it seems to be on track. :-)

The seasons and year march right along. In the mornings it is quite silent except for traffic noise. There are no birds calling out; although we are on Standard Time, it is still dark. The insects have been quiet since our first heavy frost last month. Last week had beautiful weather. Yesterday and Friday were not quite as nice but the clouds were supposed to have cleared during the night. Sunrise still has not come so I cannot say how accurate the prediction is.

Yesterday when I took the picture of the ornament, I went out to an evergreen tree in the park. A squirrel was running through the trees overhead. A blue jay flew into the tree and scolded me for trespassing in its territory. During the day a cardinal flew in and out of the trees in our yard and even spent some time in the garden.

Earlier in the morning, when I went to the post office to have the postage metered on the packet, a woman was standing beside her car which had some serious front end damage. Not too far away was a dead deer. She appeared to be waiting, probably for the local police for help. On my return home, the police had arrived but it was difficult to determine who was doing what. Later in the afternoon we went to the grocery store to pick up something we decided we just had to have. All traces of the accident had been removed. At this time of year, we must be very careful because the deer are very active. It fortunately is not a problem for those who live further into the city. For us, it is always an issue and we must be very vigilant as we cannot predict what a deer might do.

This morning I posted some stitching that I just finished for someone else. It is a gigantic relief to know that it is returning to its owner. I am sorry that I cannot show it to you now; it might be possible to show it to you during the first part of 2010.

Meanwhile, I want to show you this little pear shaped ornament. It was a gift to me in an ornament exchange. If you scroll down through the previous postings, you will find a little sampler type ornament, Glad Tidings. I made it for this exchange.

Earlier this month, I found a not so little ornament like design that I had started more than ten years ago and then set aside. It is an amusing cat design. The cat is designed to be an orange and white tabby but I changed it to more closely resemble a friend's Siamese. After starting, I got stuck and then set it aside. When I found it earlier this month, my first thought was, "I know what I can do to finish this." Now I have the time to work on it. Tomorrow, I will show you a picture of it and you can follow me as I work on it.

Greetings, I am still here. Our son passed a large kidney stone this morning after struggling with it for a week. For this we are very grateful and relieved. He joyously canceled several medical appointments. We still have no idea how much of his expenses his medical plan will cover. For the past week, his bank account account has been hemorrhaging; now he is able to return to work and reverse that.

Right now our internet access is set on a path that will only deteriorate. Earthlink is our ISP; its signal travels on Qwest lines. Because we are so far away from the station source of the Qwest line, our service is deteriorating and will continue to do so as more customers are added between us and the station source. There is a new station source which is less than half the distance of our current source and has upgraded lines. Qwest is willing to switch us to the new station source but Earthlink has to approve and will not do so. Unless we can personally negotiate something with Earthlink to use the new station source, our only option is to find a new ISP which will probably be through Qwest. If so, the transition will be extremely rocky. Qwest insists that we must disconnect from Earthlink before they will connect with us and there is no guarantee that it will be very quickly. We are not certain that Earthlink will forward our e-mails for any period of time after we disconnect from it. I want to scream.

Right now a higher level customer service person within Earthlink is checking possible options for us. She knows what we ideally want and what we have been told. I really hope she can find a way through this morass for us.

I continue to deal with health and health care issues. It seems that there are fewer and fewer primary care doctors, not just in the clinic we prefer to use but throughout our area and probably into the US as a whole. I am being sent out to specialists to deal with issues that my primary care provider used to deal with. My primary care provider maintains office hours two days a week; the scheduling office insists that she is double booked and cannot see me before the beginning of December. Meanwhile, I have scheduled appointments with two specialists according to her request but I have no statement from her about what she wants the specialists to examine and cannot schedule an appointment with her to do so prior to both apppointments. Do not get me wrong, I know what the general issue is in both cases but there is more information that she should have but I do not know what it is. I have copies of all the lab work plus a CT scan on a disk. I guess that I will take everything to each appointment and lay it out with an explanation of what led up to each appointment allowing them to each decide where to go from there. That seems to be all that I can do. I feel like I am being fragmented between specialists with no one to look over me as a whole person.

This past week seemed to be extremely hectic. It certainly did not go according to my plans. I spent a lot of time in doctor and hospital waiting rooms for both myself and one of our sons. I am happy to say that neither of us is as bad off as it might seem; however we will both have a few follow-up appointments. We are both hoping to make quick recoveries. During my waiting times, I worked on a knitted baby hat and a crocheted baby hat. It seemed prudent to work on or to read my own things rather than touching anything in the waiting areas. We are all trying to prevent the spread of H1N1 as well as seasonal flu.

Yesterday we decided we needed a little relief from reality. We dropped several Mentos into a 2-liter bottle of diet Coke. The pictures tell the story. Here are a couple YouTube Coke and Mentos performances. I think these fellows have way too much time on their hands.
Mentos and Diet Coke #1
Mentos and Diet Coke #2

The Postal Service has been doing well. I posted the gift pictured below on Thursday and it arrived half the country away yesterday. I could ask for nothing better.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, unseasonably warm for November with clear, sunlit sky. Today is supposed to be more of the same and I can hardly wait to see it. The sky is currently becoming lighter and showing color.

This has been an unusual week for our son the firefighter. His department was called to assist a neighboring community Thursday night. The house was a total loss. He feels that effective firefighting was hampered by some unusual construction techniques. Yesterday just before dinner he was called to a fire in our community. It was a large, expensive house. It did not fall into the basement but does have extensive damage.

Today shows promise of being a lovely autumn day. I hope the entire weekend is as nice as the promise of today.

Here are the project bags that go with the ornament. The gift is now on its way to its recipient. I feel reasonably confident that the recipient will not see this. But then, I have no idea how many people are lurking here and why.

I know that there are some who may be lurking because I invited them and suggested that they may feel more comfortable lurking without registering with Blogger or BlogSpot.

A couple weeks ago, I was quite surprised to discover from a mutual acquaintance that there is someone who is lurking here. I was surprised because I would have never thought that person would be interested in my random thoughts. Now the ironic thing is that that person who is lurking is a mutual acquaintance of the recipient of this gift.

Do you suppose that the gift is no longer a surprise? If you are lurking here and I did not invite you to lurk, will you please show yourself so that all of us may know who you are?

Tuesday brings morning volunteer time at the local Hospital. At the time I left to come home, we had already had four babies. We love those new little babies.

Yesterday afternoon, I finished the ornament by Blue Ribbon Designs. It appeared in the 2008 Just Cross Stitch ornaments issue. I had already decided on this design when I discovered that the recipient likes samplers. I think this qualifies.

The day started with a bang; well, it really was a crash. One of our sons knocked a large, think large wine bottle size, glass bottle of carbonated apple beverage from Germany on the floor. The floor is ceramic tile so of course the bottle shattered into minute shards. I think we were saving the apple beverage for Thanksgiving. There is plenty of time to pick up something to replace it. We have picked up most, but not all, of the glass and mopped up a lot of the beverage. Right now we are waiting for it to dry so we can vacuum the remainder of the glass from the floor. Then I can wash the floor. Normally I do not wash the kitchen floor on Monday morning but this will give us a nice, clean floor at the beginning of the week.

November Already?

As promised, here is a picture of my fabric covered papier- mâché box. Alma Allen, Blackbird Designs, presented a wonderful tutorial in her blog, One Stitch at a Time. Because her directions are so clear, anyone can do it. The link will take you to the first segment of the tutorial which begins on 27 October 2009. There is a second part so do not miss it.

Yes, Alma has posted this same picture. I sent it to her so she could see my fabulous fabric. I got to skip all of the fabric antiquing steps. This is the fabric right off the bolt. I knew when I saw it last year that I would have a very good use for it; I just did not know then what it would be. More boxes will follow, I just do not know when I will do them. ;-)

The first day of a new month always makes me wonder what I can do better in it. It hardly seems like we have almost finished another year. During the night, we went off Daylight Saving Time. I wonder why we did that. In five more months, we will turn the clock forward again. We are now spending more than half of the year on DST. I really miss the early morning daylight when we are on DST.