Storm's a-comin' - January 12, 2024

There's a storm coming across the river.  It's raining, and dark, and the wind is blowing hard.  On the back porch, with its metal roof, the sound is deafening.  My laptop says it's currently 54 degrees, but the temperature is predicted to drop like a stone once this storm passes, and we may get snow and ice in the coming days.

True to my word (from yesterday morning's post), yesterday about noon I went outside to cover up my "good" rosebush, the one Son #2 gave me for Mother's Day last year.  One of this year's Christmas gifts to me from his family was a package of plant covers.  I thought there were only 2 covers in the bag, but there were 8, so I was able to also cover the two new hydrangeas I planted last summer.  I noticed that the old blue mophead hydrangea is showing tender buds.  I don't have anything big enough to cover that big monster.  I deliberately left the fallen leaves on it, which might protect the roots, but the buds will be toast if the temperature goes as low as predicted.

Around Christmas, five packets of milkweed seeds from the state conservation department arrived in the mail.  I planted them yesterday, around the outside edges of the phlox bed - just scattered them and raked them in and sprinkled some leaves over them.  Hopefully, this rain we're having will hammer them into the ground instead of floating them down the hill to the pond.  I hope I recognize the seedlings when they come up so that I don't yank them out this spring.  

After I finished in the yard, I went to the grocery store to lay in some supplies in case snow and ice happens this weekend.  Two days ago, I got a group text from my painting class ladies showing a strawberry-flavored pie (WeightWatchers recipe) one of them had just made, so my grocery store list included what I *thought* were the ingredients for that pie.  As soon as I got home from the store, I pulled up the recipe and discovered that I should have bought Cool Whip, not cream cheese.  There was no way I was going back to the store, so I made the pie with the cream cheese.  It is tasty.  And before you say, "Wait a minute, what about that diet you're supposed to be on?", I will tell you that it is also LEGAL for low-carb diets.  :)  Even if it wasn't legal, it would not be much of a danger to my diet.  Just a bite of something sweet will usually satisfy my sweet tooth.  

My nemesis is Harvest Chedder Sun Chips.  OMG.  They are like crack to me.  At my last yearly physical, just after Thanksgiving, my smartass doctor (who is far younger than I, and cute as a button) remarked that I had gained 5 pounds or so since my last physical, but he gave me a "temporary pass" since we'd just had Thanksgiving.  I told him it was not Thanksgiving dinner but Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips that had expanded my waistline.  He said, "Those are not so bad - they're whole grain, aren't they? - unless you eat the whole bag."  I said, "Well, therrrrrrre you go."

While I generally do not eat a whole bag at one sitting (only because I'd be ashamed to do it), I could easily mow through a whole bag in the span of a day.  You know . . . a few with breakfast, a few with lunch, a midafternoon snack  . . . .  I should not even bring them in the house, but they seem to leap off the shelf into my basket when I'm grocery shopping.  

* * * * * * * * 

The storm front has passed.  It's still drizzling, but quieter out here now.  And either I've got tinnitus, or some insects and/or frogs are singing.  It feels a little cooler, too.  

I have been trying to draw the yard critters playing musical instruments.  They are eventually going to form a bluegrass band, but I have drawn them on separate sheets of paper and have scanned them so that I can manipulate them, individually.  Yesterday, I worked on the squirrel (the fiddler).  His hands are giving me fits.  I've got the bow hand right, but the fretting hand is evading me.  There are lots of pictures of fiddlers out there, but very few images of fiddling squirrels, and none from the angle I need.  So, a few minutes ago, I decided to look at myself in the mirror, holding my mandolin under my chin like it's a violin (we've got an actual violin somewhere in this house, but I don't want to look for it), so I can see what my fretting hand looks like.  

When I came back to the laptop to try to draw it, the pencil to my drawing pad was not here.  I must have had it in my hand when I picked up the mandolin.  

<sigh>

The Former Boss and I had lunch at noon on Tuesday.  We sat and talked and ate for nearly two hours, catching up since it had been a couple of months since we saw one another.  We talked about books and grandchildren and town gossip.  Across the aisle and ahead of me, two women were having lunch.  I noticed that the one whose back was turned to me kept glancing at us over her shoulder, smiling.  I did not recognize her, but The Boss knows EVERYBODY, and I figured the woman might know her and was waiting for a lull in the conversation (which never happened) to come over and speak to The Boss, but she never did.  At about 2:00, the Boss and I stood up to leave and gave each other a hug.  The Boss started for the bathroom, and I started for the door, but the woman stopped us.  She said that she was part of a group of friends who had been there for one another through thick and thin - she talked about lost spouses and grandchildren (clearly she had been listening for some time!) - and said that we reminded her of her group and thought it was just wonderful that we were keeping in touch.  And that was it.  I said, "Aw, that's sweet.  We've worked together for 28 years."  The Boss piped in and said that we worked almost EXCLUSIVELY together, with no other people around, for 28 years.  Finally, we all made nice goodbye noises, and I left to go to the hardware store.  

(Got some vegetable and flower seeds to start in the house or the cold frame, but no dirt.  Give me a break, a blizzard was blowing, and I did not relish the idea of going to the outdoor part where they keep the big bags of dirt.)  

On the way home, I thought about how odd it was that the woman in the restaurant stopped us, not knowing either of us.  Not that there was anything creepy about it; she was a nice lady.  The Boss and I had finished up our conversation talking about book we'd recently read.  When the woman started telling us about her group of friends, I half expected her to invite us to join a book club, or something, but she didn't.  She just wanted to tell us that it was nice to see old friends catching up.  I guess she is just a nice person.  We don't run into too many of those these days, do we?

* * * * * * * * 

It is supposed to get unbearably cold, starting tomorrow evening.  Single-digit temperatures at night.  I can't stand it.  It's supposed to get a little warmer today - 47 at the moment - and when it does I need to get my lazy butt outside and cover up my good rose bush.  I also need to scatter some seeds that need to go through the winter.  There's a name for that, but I can't remember it.

Stratification, maybe.

Anyway, it's too cold to do it at the moment.  

I probably should go to the grocery store, too, if there's any food left there.  Maybe I'll do both things right after lunch.

Until then, maybe I'll paint.  ;)

Dreading the cold - January 9, 2024

Last night after dinner, from the kitchen I heard The Husband say, "Oh, my god!"

"What?"

"It's supposed to go down to TWO DEGREES next week."

"Nuh-uhhhhh!"

"Yep.  Day-time high of FIFTEEN."

Oh, no.  Temperatures that low will keep me in the house for days.

This morning's weather report seemed somewhat better.  There's a chance we could escape the bitter cold.  I reckon all I can do about it is cover up my good rose bush and hunker down.

I need a plan.

And probably some supplies.

At noon today, I''m having lunch with my old boss.  At 3:00, I'm scheduled for a mammogram.  Lots of time to kill between appointments, There's a get-it-all store and a mega-hardware store in the same parking lot as the restaurant.  

I think I'll go the hardware store to look for seeds and dirt.  I still haven't done anything permanent with the cold frame in the back yard.  While I'm not sure it's supposed to be used this way, I might fill it halfway up with dirt and use it as an incubator for some early garden plants, like cabbage and broccoli.  Might wait to do that until the cold spell passes, huh?  But at least I can have the seeds and dirt on hand for when the mood strikes.  

Fertilizer, I need fertilizer, too.  Last fall's soil test urged treating the garden with high-nitrogen fertilizer before or at planting.  Might have to tack on a trip to the farm store after the boob-smash.

 

Sometimes, a body just needs to sit down and give itself a good talking-to.

Like today.

I've been working like a mad woman on a series of drawings of the critters that inhabit my world with the idea of turning them into a commercial venture, such as greeting cards, t-shirts, or books.  The problem has been a lack of skills in some areas.  

Okay, MOST areas . . . . 

Last week, I called a friend who has been "down in her back" (as they say in these parts).  During the course of the conversation, she diagnosed me with ADHD, or some such, for jumping to one thing before I finish another.  She refused to accept my defense: sometimes, you have to put a thing aside and learn a new skill (or refine an old one) to finish it.  At the end of the conversation, I wrapped it up by saying I needed to go work on a project but couldn't decide which one.  She said, "There's a name for that." 

I said, "No, there's not.  Fuck you."  

We both laughed and hung up.

This morning, I caught myself jumping back and forth between computers and paintbrushes.  Frustration set in when I realized that nothing was getting done in either place.  

My friend might just be right. 

Oh, well.

I think I'll go paint.

Friday - January 5, 2024

So how is your diet resolution going?  Mine is going OK so far, but tonight is margarita night, so the situation might be different tomorrow morning.  As soon as the waiter plunks that bowl of chips down on the table, I lose all restraint.  The last time I was seriously dieting, I would take my own chips made from baked low-carb flour tortillas.  I would order a glass of water and a shot of tequila, into which I would pour a packet of margarita-flavored powder.  Same effect as a "real" margarita - no sugar, but not quite as tasty.  Oh, the sacrifices we make to look beautiful.  ;)

I spent most of the day yesterday trying to refine some drawings I did over the weekend.  I did the drawings in ink, and they were less than perfect, so I scanned them with the intention of editing the scans with graphics software.  The main problem is that I don't know beans about graphics software and terminology, even though I have fooled with various graphics programs for 30 years or more.  It takes FOREVER to figure out how to do the simplest tasks.  And it takes three separate programs to get a scanned design on the screen, where I can work on it with an electronic pencil before passing it off to the final program.  One of the programs is an open-source program (I can't currently justify the cost of a high-dollar program that would probably do everything I need done), and it will just freakin' LOCK UP, generally when I am almost done with the job.  

But I am having fun.  And learning things.  Maybe it will keep the cobwebs out of my brain.  :)

Resolution Day - January 2, 2024

My computer says that it's 26 degrees this morning.  It must not be that cold on the back porch, for the little bit of water in my brush-washing cups on the table isn't frozen.  Nevertheless, it's quite cold out here.

I woke up this morning thinking about cabbage and other cool-weather vegetables.  They can probably be planted in the ground in late February.  I should soon put the new cold frame to work, but I'm not sure how to do it.  At present, it is pegged to the ground, facing south, on a big piece of cardboard in the middle of the back yard.  Not an ideal situation for a number of reasons.  I need a plan.

But I probably won't make one today.  

* * * * * * * * 

We had a nice New Year's Day lunch at my sister's house.  My brother and his wife joined us.  My sister tricked us and served white (Great Northern) beans instead of black-eyed peas.  I actually prefer white beans, but for the rest of the year, I''m going to blame any and all of my bad luck on her.  ;)

After lunch, we sat around and pontificated for a while.  It was fun.  

On our way home, we made a detour to a craft store, where I picked up a few painting supplies.  I got a six-pack of stretched canvases for oil painting, some black 100% cotton paper (because someone gave me some metallic gel pins for Christmas), and a new bottle of masking fluid (what's in my 20-year-old bottle is a bit gummy).  Before leaving the store, I zoomed past the fabric section for some zippers for cosmetic bags, and even browsed the fabrics, but didn't buy any.  I showed great restraint, don't you think?

* * * * * * * * 

Aaaannnnd . . . . 

It's diet day.  

We (The Husband and I) resolved to get back on our low carb diets today.  Over the past few days, we've been ridding the house of all the sweets and junk food - by eating them, of course - left over from the holidays.  I sent the last of the candy to work with The Husband this morning.  I can come up with a healthy meal for tonight with what we have in the house, but there's a grocery store run in my very near future (gag).

But not today.

Today, I have these new pens and paper . . . . 

New Year's Day - January 1, 2024

Last night, for the first time in many years, I actually stayed up until midnight to ring in the new year.

The folks on the hill came to eat supper at 6 p.m. yesterday.  We had chicken & dumplings and cornbread, and a bunch of teenie weenies wrapped in crescent roll dough (which I made for children, but none were here).  Most everyone went home by 9 or so, but The Sister- and Brother-in-Law hung in there with us until midnight.  

Today we are going to lunch at my sister's house for black-eyed peas and more cornbread.  I don't really like black-eyed peas, but I will have some for "good luck."  

Happy new year to you!