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.