Some Yarn Projects for the Charity Pile

Posted on Monday, 16 August 2010 by Mrs. DoF

Here is the much delayed picture of the gold bag
Crocheted of an acrylic/polyester blend of Rug/Craft Yarn from a donation bag

and here are a trio of hats knitted on peg looms
all are acrylic yarns, a single skein each
any pattern is just how it happened
I did not plan nor stripe

They will be going to a charity Craft table somewhere

This is the last week of Summer.
School begins Monday, a week from today, not that I am in great anticipation. Even when I was a kid, I thought that the best weather of the year, and the time when the garden and Grandma doing canning would need me, I had to go sit in a room with a bunch of other kids and try to make nice.

So what job do I have now?
Teaching Assistant Substitute. In the public school system!
the last couple years, I get called soon as the doors open and a principal realizes there are students who need somebody with them and nobody who was interviewed and hired has cleared the background check yet.

So we’ll see.
I would like to work early on a few days, to earn enough for going to Women’s Retreat. Husband says he is glad for me to go be with my friends, but I like thinking that I did pay my own way for it.

I want to get back to my hook and thread. A couple kids got baptized last Sunday, and I have a new crochet cross pattern I’m trying out. It uses size 10 thread (rather than smaller size 30 which my hands cannot hold and work with anymore) so I think I might be able to carry on until the fasten off time.

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Crochet | 2 Comments

Definitely Busy—-Just not Here

Posted on Wednesday, 28 July 2010 by Mrs. DoF

Another Funeral will be happening at the church on Thursday 05 August. This one is for a pillar in the congregation, a much beloved man who reached the nice old age of 97 years. He often played his saxophone for special music during Worship Services, and at other gatherings.

He was quite proud that my youngest son was born on his 72 birthday, and then went on to be the star of the Christmas pageant as Baby Jesus. One time when we were at Farm & Fleet, we bumped into Earl, and he asked if the tall teenager standing beside me was my son who had been the Baby Jesus. At my Yes response, the kid got a hug and was told that his birthday was blessed indeed.

Earl was the guy who was amazed that I had made it to the age of 27 without ever riding in an airplane. He made arrangements for me and a couple other folks to meet at the airport to go up in the air in a little 4-seat plane. I should dig out the photos from that evening. A wonderful experience.
The other airplane rides I had to do was going and coming back for my Dad’s funeral. Commercial planes with seats so close together that I did not have room for my elbows and had to give up crocheting for the duration of the flight.

Well, anyway, Earl had a request to have a real nice dinner, not just finger foods and paper plates.

The person who is Chairman for Funeral Meals is out of town for her daughter’s wedding, and so again I am doing a whole bunch of the efforts leading up to a nice memory for the family. We might serve 100 guests this time.

I did come up with the idea to hit up my e-mail Contacts before I start doing phone calls. E-mails are so much easier to send and reply, rather than ringing someone in from watering the garden and who does not have a Planner book close at hand.

It seems to be working—already marked the list for 4 desserts, 2 salads, a relish tray, and a potato casserole.

But I really should get away from the desk and phone and writing and screen.

There’s laundry and dishes to put away.
I’m not going outside. Temperature is over 90.
Maybe me, my crochet hook, and a dvd will have a quiet afternoon.

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Food | 5 Comments

My Writing Excuses

Posted on Wednesday, 21 July 2010 by Mrs. DoF

A long time ago, in this very place I have a blog.

It’s not a very busy blog, because the person who is supposed to write here keeps finding different things to do, and other places to be.

My original plan for today was to Update here. There’s been a request for a photo of the crocheted gold bag, and Husband sent a picture of purple flowers, and my cats are really cute since they are days past the side effects of vaccinations.

However, there is a dinner at church tonight, and I was asked to provide a pot of soup. Whoever decided soup in the middle of Summer is young and enthusiastic.
And with such lovely dark eyes and charming grin being right in front of me, I could not say NO, I won’t do it.

And then, there is the proof of my signature on a Sign-Up List to help with Funeral Dinners. Others on the committee have much more important things to do than ‘my’ plan to write for my blog, so I will be doing the grocery shopping for a meal on Thursday. for an estimate of 75 people.

I’m way out of practice for this kitchen duty,
and so I’m procrastinating at topspeed.

So check back here later. How much later, I cannot say.
My crystal ball is in the care of others.

I may just collapse after all the melons are sliced,
and the dishes dried,
then rest my hands for days and days.

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Personal | 3 Comments

A Pretty Good Movie: City Island

Posted on Saturday, 17 July 2010 by Mrs. DoF

For the third weekend in a row, I have been to see a movie at the historic Normal Theatre.

Tonight’s flick (and it’s still on for Sunday, too)
is City Island starring Julianna Marguiles, formerly of ER, and lately of the Good Wife on television.

I’m not familiar with any of the other actors, but *1* in a cast of dozens makes her worthwhile.

I would not have known about the movie at all, but a trailer was run before a show awhile back, so I decided to walk on down.

Husband said he was not so much interested, so I got to go it alone. Even sat in a row by myself, and nobody in front nor behind me. Sweet, cuz I tend to giggle a bit louder than a companion is comfortable with.

And during this movie, actually, I heard a few guffaws from down in front. Or a raisinet got stuck?

There’s a dad who has a job as a correctional officer, a missus, a teen boy, a daughter with something to hide, an ex-con, poker night, acting class, a stolen car, handcuffs, muscles. Some cussing, some implied sex, no car crashes.

It doesn’t begin as a comedy. But how many secrets and screaming matches can there be before it all just collapses into a heap of incredulous?

Best of all, there’s a happy ending.

I won’t be buying for the shelf and repeats, but it was a nice way to have Saturday evening.

Then I got to walk home
on some very quiet streets under a half moon.

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Reviews | 3 Comments

Some Yarn Projects for the Charity Pile

Posted on Monday, 12 July 2010 by Mrs. DoF

My fingers have been quite busy with yarns and hooks.
These will probably go to the Meadows Home in the Fall.

I’ve been trying to use up some yarn donations by making tote bags, with mixed results.

A hat is a small project to work on, using my peg looms, making it fine to do while sitting on the porch in the summer. Then the item gets worn during the cold weather of winter.

Then there’s my old stand-by: potholders. Since they are so easy, I should say that many of these were crocheted while I was in different meetings.

There have also been several items given as gifts, so no pictures. Most recently completed and waiting on the table are 2 straight bookmarks to be tucked into sympathy cards.

You need not ever wonder what I’m doing if a blog post is not recent 🙂

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Crochet | 3 Comments

A couple days of routine

Posted on Sunday, 11 July 2010 by Mrs. DoF

So the weekend is over. I loved every minute of it,
although the cleaning of the litter box would be at the bottom of the list.

Read a book GOSSAMER by Lois Lowry. Cannot recall when and where I bought it. It collected dust and cat hairs while waiting on the shelf at the end of the hall.
I don’t usually get much into fantasy and fairy dust, but this one opened well and kept me with it.

When I finished, I considered which little girl from church might like to read it.  Then last evening when I was leaving the theater, I spied a family from the neighborhood. I know from being a TA Sub at the elementary school that the girl loves to read.

I gave her the book today, telling her mom that Lois Lowry is a great author. She said there is a family car trip coming soon, so it will be nice to have a new book to travel with. The book is now out of my clutter, and I told them to do with as they wish.

I suppose I should put up a few pictures of the yarn goodies in my Done Box.  I’m building a pile for the craft sale happening in the Fall at the nursing home. The gold-color bag finished today during Fellowship Hour got all kinds of praises. On the hook list this week are 2 bookmarks for sympathy cards, and a pair of potholders for a wedding gift.

Gotta go now. Cat between me and screen. I surmise that the food bowl is empty, and a bedtime snack would be appreciated.

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Personal | 2 Comments

Babies are in a movie

Posted on Saturday, 10 July 2010 by Mrs. DoF

This evening I walked down to the Normal Theater to see the movie BABIES.
Husband had asked if his presence was needed, but I said he could come with, or not, his choice.

He stayed home with the cats. Nice change of pace for them, I’m sure. Except they both went to their food bowls and looked over at ME as soon as I got inside the door.

Anyway, that link and comments has some nice writing.

Of course I’m gonna say I LOVED IT! but then again, I think babies are the most wonderful little creatures on the planet, and I really miss having a job working with them every day. I don’t miss the pinkeye, Strep germs, constant runny noses.

Back to the movie, cuz I keep getting myself tangled up.
There are 4 babies from 4 different places on the earth.

We get to see the young mothers all great with child, and their little bonding scenes a little while after birth.

Through different phases and stages, we watch a year in child growth and development. I’ve seen a few educational videos with about the same lesson to be learned. In fact, I’m sure this movie would fit in nicely on PBS-tv. Sometimes I wonder how someone gets the idea and permissions and film crews to put together a movie like this.

What I appreciated was no narrator telling us what we are looking at. All the information is done by camera angles, and patience to see what expression comes next. When one baby girl gets frustrated with a toy, she has the bestest little tantrum I’ve seen in ages. A different girl looks right at the camera as if to say “Ain’t you gonna step in and make this alright?” After a few seconds, she just gives up and crawls away.

There is a bit of music now and then, cooing and babbles.

A couple of the bigger brothers display outright bullying behavior.

The most ‘famous’ scene from the trailer is a little guy in a tub having his bath, then a goat comes over and takes a drink of bathwater. A little girl in the city goes to the zoo and leans in real close to the glass where the great ape lives.

And there are cats. Very patient cats.
Our house did not get a cat until youngest son was almost in Kindergarten, so I don’t know about interaction with toddlers, but those cats are the most forgiving pets I’ve ever seen.

Just about all the seats in the theater were filled, which I’m glad to know.

And the walk home in twilight was just lovely. Over the years, I’ve walked thousands of times on Normal Avenue, and I’m always in awe of its beauty. It really does earn its place on the list of the National Historical Society.

the movie is on again Sunday evening at the theater
and if it comes to your town, you should go watch BABIES

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Reviews | 2 Comments

You only thought you were going to read that book

Posted on Wednesday, 7 July 2010 by George
From album Cats.  Click pic to embiggen.

She’s doing better, Holly is. We really thought we’d lose her earlier this year.  She was SO sick, couldn’t even raise up her head.

Amazing thing about cats, apparently they can recover from diabetes.  But it did some damage; the vet says her eyes are not in good shape.  In fact overall he said she seems more 17 or 18 than 15, which is her real age.

This is not her first close call either.  She had an awful infection in her leg some years back, from another cat that chased her and snagged her in the hind quarters..  I gave her injections every day for – what was it? – 2 or 3 weeks, directly into the site.  She was an awfully good kitty; she’d holler but never once tried to scratch or bite me.

Trouble is, the antibiotic was Baytril, which has many side-effects including damage to joints, tendons, and retina.  We took that risk, without being able to explain it to her, to save her life. 

So I really don’t know how well she can see.  Seems to get around all right, but she studies visual problems for a long time before attempting a solution.  One thing has not changed: if you are eating something that smells good to her (like buttered toast), she wants to examine it more closely.

– George (This entry cross-posted to Decrepit Old Fool)

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

My kittycats went to the Doctor

Posted on Wednesday, 7 July 2010 by Mrs. DoF

The cats are having a birthday this month, so they got to go to the veterinarian to have their annual physical and update shots.

Mahalia has her diabetes in check, and there is no longer a need for insulin shots. I have only a teensie amount in the bottle, so I keep an eye on her to see if she needs a minimum dose. She still takes a half tablet of thyroid medicine every morning, but her weight is back to normal.

Oscar seems to have a bladder infection. He was given a big dose of antibiotic alongside the vaccinations. I’m supposed to push fluids, especially in the heat of summer. He goes back in a couple weeks for check-up.

Their appts with handsome doctors has been the main undertaking of my week.

Otherwise, I work with yarn while watching videos or JEOPARDY!

It’s been a fine and quiet summer, but it’s about half over already.

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Family | 1 Comment

My ‘Learning Curve’ is Immense

Posted on Tuesday, 22 June 2010 by Mrs. DoF

in May, I drove to the Ohio River Valley for my nephew’s wedding. Actually, today is their ONE month anniversary already 🙂 and Allison is finally back at her job after getting sick in Mexico on the honeymoon. I told her the old folks call it Montezuma’s Revenge, named after the chief of the conquered natives.

I’ve been dinking around with memory card pictures, and computer drives whose titles use letters of the alphabet, and web albums in a program called PICASA, and a very irritated In-House Tech who explains 6 things before he actually gets to the task I am trying to do, but says I don’t need to use a piece of paper for notes because everything I would need is somewhere on the screen.

pretty much since I returned from the 10 hour drive across the mid-West
taking time out to crochet and do the ironing
both being things I can hold in my hands and have a something DONE when I set it down and walk away

I learned how to put pictures on the blog several years ago. Apparently the way I “know” is very old-fashioned, not as secure if this exact computer crashes, plus a number of other troubles I don’t really care about until they happen.
I just want to be able to put pictures where I tell ‘em to be.

Plus, I have a whole box of print-outs from Walgreen’s, which is the way my aunts will get some, since they have no idea about the wonders of computers.

So anyway, as I was driving across the flatlands, some of the folks I met at the wedding reception were already sending requests to Friend me on Facebook. I picked up a few just as Summer vacation was beginning, so Facebook is quite abuzz with little tidbits of fun.
A couple of my blog readers are also over there, so they don’t miss anything.
However, according to the date, I have not been writing as MrsDOF often enough.

Ah well, I’m here now, for jistaminitt.
and I’ll show you my favorite picture from the time in my hometown

the wedding was on Saturday evening, then Sunday morning several relatives met for Worship Service. Mom wore again the pretty yellow dress (it’s hers and my own favorite color) she wore as Mother-of-the-Bride when Danna had her wedding, and then this time as Grandmother-of-the-Groom. By the way, the groom Danny was the ringbearer for Danna and Joe’s wedding in 1987. So the family and clothing connection is still quite strong.

But what we noticed while we were sitting there all lined up in the pew, was us 3 sisters wearing tan pants and blue shirts. No, we did not discuss beforehand, it’s just how we showed up. I mean, I carried mine 500 miles from Illinois, this was purely coincidence.

After the service, Danna insisted we get a picture. So we cajoled Denise’s husband Don to take my camera (the only one there at the time) and get proof that relatives are a family no matter the distance.

I am able to put it on the blog by doing a copy to folder, which I am told will reduce quality. I don’t want to do the whole album this way, so eventually, I will provide a link to a place to view wedding stuff in full glory. It will most likely take me the whole summer to learn all this, and Summer School is not my idea of fun. I did it for high school and college classes, and don’t like to repeat the experience.
If I really have to be thinking, I’d rather be figuring out a crochet pattern.

So here is my mom Kerma, youngest sister Danna, first middle sister Denise, and me, Diane

It was not taken at the wedding, but it tells a story, and I’m glad I have it 😛

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Posted in Family | 8 Comments