Farewell Pretty Palm

Our lightening-struck palm needed to come down.  It became dead-dead-dead. 

Our tree-guy, Cesar, did a great job dropping it exactly between our two baby crape myrtles.  He is an interesting guy -- "when you happy, you pay," wears a huge gold crucifix around his neck, hates Donald Trump, and has just opened a restaurant downtown, which we'll probably check out in the near future.  He's a go-getter.
 

I've missed blogging.  Kid pictures tomorrow.  --cds

I'm Hoping For Superpowers

During an early season thunderstorm yesterday, I came as close to lightening as I have ever been when our palm tree out front, twenty feet from where I was sitting, was struck.

 

Aside from the horrendous boom and orange-yellow flash, five picture frames on that side of the room flew off the wall and others were set askew. A lot of bark was blown off the tree and the undersides of the palm branches look burned. Spotlights and other outdoor electric are fried as well as the garage overhead door. We were lucky, I know, because nothing electrical indoors was harmed.  The electrician will be here tomorrow - ugh $$$.

Anyway, since James is convinced his heart stopped from fright and our neighbor claims his hearing aids tingled all around his head and neck, I thought perhaps the strike might have bestowed on me a superpower or two. Already I've ruled out xray vision and mind-reading; likewise levitation and invisibility. I am holding out for time travel, though. I have questions for the ancestors.

So, yeah, I'm back to blogs. No excuses.  I just feel like writing again.   The Vermonters were just here for a visit so I have loads of new photos to sift through and post.  Back soon.  --cds

Friday Flowers

Just keeping communication open and ongoing here until I have something more interesting to post.  Since I had to completely toddler-proof my sewing room before the Vermont littles arrived - they slept on mattresses on the floor - it's taking me a long time to get it back in order.  Something I love doing anyway - I constantly reorganize my rooms and stuff. 

So in the meantime, yesterday my friend Patti in Vermont sent me this photo of Spring-time in Vermont --

So I sent her a snap of my pot of caladium and gerber daisies --

Not to be mean, just to remind Northerners that spring snow means pretty flowers to come.  Time to get busy, coffee's ready.  --cds

Blog Day

No joke! I am taking advantage of a brand new month to get in here and dust off the cobwebs from my poor neglected blog.  Just a quick little post to report that we are alive and doing well, still basking in the happy glow of a recent visit from our Vermonters -- a couple unedited photos here because I haven't had time to sort through them all --

 

I have done nothing in the sewing department since November, but I am itching to get back in there and begin working on some ideas that have been floating around my brain.  And speaking of floating, I must go now and pull on my swimsuit, hop on my bike and head down to the clubhouse.  Snowbirds are leaving daily to return to Michigan or Ontario, and I get to have my pool back to myself.  Too bad for them -- they're missing some of the best weather of the year.  --cds

Knitting and Sewing Therapy

Nothing like portable knitting and sewing projects to keep idle hands and brains busy during stressful times.  I feel a little sorry for people in waiting rooms who just sit and stare at TVs or continually swipe the teensy screens on phones.  I completed an entire knitted sock while waiting for my Mom on her knee replacement surgery day.  She is doing fabulous, by the way -- five weeks since surgery day and she's walking around great, a little slower and rests more often, but still plowing through her physical therapy sessions with high marks.  82 years old, people.  82 is the new 40, apparently. She's come a long way - we took a photo of her post-surgery knee when it looked like a ham (I won't share that one, don't worry), but now she doesn't even have all that much of a scar -- high stitchery marks to her doctor.

So, the knitting/sewing projects:

Marcus needed a little stuffed toy (not that they don't own a million already), but a handmade one,

 

because I was sew up this little kitty family for his sister Ruthanne.

 



Ruthie just loves playing "baby dolls" and changing their clothes, so when I found this really easy pattern for cat/kittens with clothes, I decided to make her a family with easy on/easy off clothing.

I had to improvise the DadCat's outfits because the pattern only included dresses.  Not too bad, huh?

I measured her poor naked baby doll when we were in Vermont in October and hopefully found a pattern of clothing that will fit the baby.  I tend to get a little fussy even making doll clothes and have to force myself to remember that Roo is only 4 and doesn't really care if the jacket is properly lined. 

So these were fun, and now my Utah girlies have put in orders for knitted tigers and mermaids and ballerinas.  All good -- thank God for grandkids. --cds

Garment Knitting

It's been a while since I've attempted any knitting other than socks or mittens.  I had a knitting meltdown a few years ago while trying to seam together sleeves and sides on a sweater for me.  It was awful -- lumpy, uneven seams; too much bulk in the armpits.  Just awful.  I hated it and finally threw it in the Goodwill bag.  Hopefully someone was able to reuse the yarn -- it was nice, brown wool. 

With some misgivings, I decided to knit Ruthanne a sweater for school.  She attends Christ the King Pre-School, wears a uniform, and needed a plain black cardigan.  I was determined to face my fear of seams.  Don't you just love pre-school pictures?

Whoops!  Here is cutie-pie Marcus leaning over the car seat.  I am putty when he turns those big brown eyes my way.

So, the sweater.  I studied and studied various knitting tutorials on the internet and, ta-da!  This is a pretty smooth, almost invisible woven side seam. 

 



 Even the underarm is fairly neat.

I am happy.  Now, buttonholes are a whole other issue.  I'm taking the finished-except-for-buttonholes to the hospital with me tomorrow while my Mom gets her new knee. 

 

I'll keep y'all posted on the new knee.  We're optimistic!  And only a little nervous.  --cds



Oh, It's Christmas!

Well, yes, it is the kick-off of the Christmas Season, I suppose.  But my delight today stems from the occurrence of two of my favorite things.  The first was not unexpected, of course, but nothing beats waking up and watching the early morning news and footage of a good Black Friday store fight.  A Fort Worth area Walmart had the best, in my opinion, with a free-for-all over Blue-Ray players.  I always hear about Black Friday store fights and think, "only in America," but apparently, according to the BBC, Black Friday brawls occurred in England today as well.  Copycats.

Second (and best), tonight's evening news included a report on yet another Tampa Bay area mystery monkey sighting - if you are keeping count (and I am!), that is the third mystery monkey sighting in the five years I've been living in Central Florida.  Like I said, Christmas.

Also, I've been knitting.  Pictures tomorrow of a new sweater for little Miss Ruthanne.  --cds