KnitKnacks
Curios from the cluttered mind...
Language is a subject that is discussed in our family frequently. More often than not, it is because SOMEONE has used a word or phrase incorrectly causing confusion in the listener. I suspect we all have our pet confusion notables such as anxious/eager, as/like or most recently the less/fewer discussion. However, I have noticed a proliferation in the use of a certain verb that has been sending chalkboard scaping noises up and down my spine whenever I hear it used ... to go missing. Is this proper English? Does one go missing? One IS missing...has BEEN missing....they ARE missing but if they actually WENT somewhere, are they really missing? *I* personally think it's just a case of that agressive verb to go tring to insinuate itself yet again where it doesn't belong AS it did when it tried to speak ( he goes instead of he says) Where's an English teacher when I need one? I need to know if my irritation with the useage of "went missing" is justified or not. Anyone?? BTW.....I'm the sloppy speaker in this house. thank goodness I was born in this country, I'd hate to have to learn English...or whatever it is we speak.
My father was born on December 27, 1917...wow 85! He always wanted to know that you bought his birthday presents after christmas...not holding back a Christmas one for his birthday, doncha know.
Nine years ago our friend's daughter, Olivia, was born on my father's birthday.
...and now it looks like my friend's grandson will be born on my father's birthday. Update: NoName R was born at 4:05pm...8 pounds...21 inches...all are doing well.
Happy Birthday, Dad! In honor of him, and Yankees everywhere, I'm having apple pie for breakfast.
As usual, I thought I had plenty of time to prepare for Christmas; as usual, it snuck up and ran right on over me.
~~~I was totally successful this year with my last minute shopping marathon on the 23rd...I even got $5 off each container of lobster meat for Christmas Eve stew.
~~~I met some very interesting people in the check out lines...one guy was still shaking his head over the $400 he had spent on food so far. Must have been shocked if he felt the need to tell me about it.
~~~I was shocked to receive all the items I ordered online on Christmas eve... even the things they confirmed would not ship until after Christmas. I guess the Elves worked overtime...thank you.
~~~My stocking stuffer competition sister-in-law and I were outdone by my husband this year...we bow to his superior find ( can't mention it just yet since Demian and Lori haven't received theirs yet) I can say though, that Lisa and I chucked at our identical finds for each other...must be a separation at birth thing.
~~~I still get all excited with anticipation when one of the "boys" comes home. Toooo bad the weather had him making a little detour through our nation's capital before arriving home 13 hours "late".
~~~Goodness, really appreciated my new computer chair, I just didn't know it sunk a thousand dot coms singlehandedly. Well, maybe it only signifies the excesses that destoyed the dot coms. At any rate...it's quite comfy and I like it. Thank you, Honey. Ahem...it comes in sizes and it only "fits" me.
~~~Today's mail brought a card for the former owners of this house....hhhmm, they can't be too close if they don't know they moved 19 years ago, right?
~~~We missed the big storm in our neck of the woods...some places in VT got 27 inches of snow....we got .9 inches. Ahem notice the decimal point. That's not even worth measuring!
~~~I'm starting to tingle with anticipation .... guess I better get those sheets changed....the toilet innards fixed ( I swear no one else has to change toilet innards as frequently as we do) and make sure the cats haven't been sleeping in the crib!
...more memories...the angel on top was crocheted by my Aunt Marion (my father's sister) along with some snowflakes scattered throught the tree. You really can't see "Ollie" unless you know where to look...to the left of the white and red ornament in the middle. He got a nice new green chiffon bag this year. I also spent a good long time arranging light bulbs on the strings of lights this year...green, red, blue, orange, white, bubble light.....green, red, blue, orange, white, bubble light. We used to have bubble lights on the tree when I was a kid....sigh.
The Christmas Tree...I plan on getting ours put up this morning. I think I have some left over childhood traditions of just "when" the tree goes up; at any rate I seem to have a long history of putting up the tree the weekend before Christmas...whew...those Monday Christmases are squeakers! Christmas Trees remind me of my father. It seemed like it was a father/daughter thing to go out to get the tree each year but I suspect my brothers were there too ..before me. (They were over 10 and 15 by the time I was 5 and capable of remembering well) My father used himself as the "measure" since he was 6 feet tall...hrumph...the trees always looked too little to me out there...they still do. He was also appalled at the prices of the trees which probably prompted him to start his own Christmas Tree Farm on the land behind his house along the Connecticut River. Long before he planted his acres for future sales, he planted an area with a variety of trees to see how they grew down there so it wasn't long before we went shopping for our own trees from his experiments. I usually had my eye on a tree sometime in the summer months and would tag it so I could find it again. One year I found the perfect tree...it happened to be a blue spruce but as the "therapy story" goes my father wouldn't cut that tree for Christmas..."Baby, you know how much I could sell that tree for if it was balled and transplanted...noooo it's not a Christmas tree." Year after year...after year...... it's now 40 years later and that tree is still there.
Soooo, the Christmas Farm was born...my job for many summers was to keep the grass mowed around the young trees as they were growing and forming. I mowed down more than my share of trees in my day as a result of snakes, or not having enough room ( in my opinion) to maneuvre the mower( that last row, just had to go!) When it came time for him to start harvesting his trees, I think he actually shed a tear when the first one left the lot...I rather think he had names for all of them too. He had quite a little business...he worked out of the truck of his car...kept the cash in coffee cans which he later would keep in the freezer in the cellar. He also had his stash of coffee cans around the house; we even found one long after he died. We managed to get a few of my father's trees for our own home but we decided it was getting out of hand when he wrapped one up and sent it to us on a Vermont Transit Bus.
So we started buying our trees locally. One year I bought a tree so big that the lot owner lent me his truck to haul it home in. It was this same tree that we cut 4 feet off the bottom and it still hit the top of our cathedral ceiling. Actually we had to lay it down sideways in the room and then haul it up behind the beam...securing it with guidewires to the sliding glass doors. I do believe this is also the tree that Morgan and I decorated using the wooden 12 foot "step" ladder. I got tired of tying to move this thing..went up the wrong side of the ladder..had a rung break which left me hanging quite a few feet off the floor. I had to ask Morgan to quit laughing and help me down! Another year we decided to go for quantity...we had 8 trees that year ranging from one footers in the bathrooms..a 3 footer on the den loft... a 5 footer on the upstairs landing and probably a puny 8 footer in the living room. Since the decorating is generally my task, we haven't repeated that scheme.
Decorating the Christmas tree each year is it's own event...we've only had one fall down. Most of our decorations have history, as well. We have ornaments from both our childhoods...some from our parent's childhoods. I have sorted and boxed our son's ornaments now that they have homes of their own...maybe one of these years, they will actually have them transported to their homes in time to use! Greg has Ollie Octopus from his childhood; Ollie usually gets the choice spot on the tree. For many years we would all guess just which branch Ollie would occupy. Ollie now resides in a gold mesh bag tied with ribbon...a mere fraction of his former self. He was not in great form when I met him 32 years ago but after an encounter with a puppy Newfoundland, he has even less form now. Seems he has gained more though the telling.
Sooo I guess it's time to get going....get dressed...haul out the boxes of decorations..rearrange the living room...haul out Neil and Kenny ( Diamond and G). It can get pretty crowded in that room with all the memories but there is always room to make some more.
I had my blood drawn this morning to recheck my cholesterol levels...I fasted overnight...I only had tea when I got up..I waited 3 hours before the lab opened.....I took my lipitor faithfully for the last 3 months....do you think the grilled egg sandwiches I had this week will be held against me?? ...and how come they get upset when they can't get the amount of blood out of you they want then look at your order and say oh well it's enough. If it's enough...why the heck were they going to take more in the first place!
Ack! That red stuff I just licked off my fingers was not tomato sauce! I'm making Chili!
I decided just because I made Joe Frogger dough and filled cookies dough, there was really no need to use up ALLLLL the dough at once...who is going to eat these cookies the next few days! oo oo :::::::raising hand::::::: *I* know!
I got the Christmas tree today. My plan was to get a smaller one this year.... well geesh it looked small out there on the lot and I was able to see to drive home with it on top of the car. That means it's small right?
Should I be suspicious when I order 3 of something and they insist on sending them separately, that only 2 show up?
It will all work out just fine.........;-D
...but didn't want to believe:
~~~ Flour can go "bad"
~~~No matter how hard you want to believe; cookies made with bad flour taste bad....blech!
~~~sigh~~~
~~~It's very cold outside this morning......and dark. Winter solstice is Saturday...ah the days will start getting longer again. I felt pretty good yesterday...I even had a little more energy and spirit...then I realized the sun was shining...that makes a big difference to me no matter how cold it is out there! More sunshine today...but WE know that means it's COLD out there.
~~~I mailed two packages at the post office yesterday. The people in the line ahead of me were lamenting the fact they had waited too long and were late getting things sent this year. Hmmm...there I was congratulating myself on getting there early for a change! It's all relative fans!
~~~Busy morning.....Neil ( Diamond) and I sang Christmas carols and made the dough for Joe Froggers and filled cookies. Fortunately for all concerned, I'm a better cook than singer...at least the cats didn't cry.
~~~ I saw the Fed Ex truck drive in...and the mail carrier; she called earlier in the morning to make sure someone would be home to receive a box of fruit I think that is great rather than leaving it out to freeze or not delivering it for a week or so! (thanks to Granny for the fruit too!) I also caught my neighbor as he was about to leave after failing to get my attention to answer the door...either that or he did hear me singing. Sometimes it's nice to not embarass people by letting them know you caught them (singing, talking to themselves, passing gas, the usual things ) Thank you, Duane.
~~~We got 3 of "those" Christmas letters today...ya know, they didn't make me want to gag or write my own retaliatory letter...in fact I rather enjoyed them. But I really really really can't help but think...
~~~Dear Family and Friends: As the last days of 2002 approach we have much to reflect on. We are still traveling as frequently as ever but alas, neither Greg nor I are going to make Gold status on our USAir Dividend Miles this year. Looks like we may be riding in the back of the bus more frequently in 2003. I guess it was a good thing then that we already had been used to the elimination of hot towels and linens in first class due to the bankruptcy of the the Airline. There is always that silver lining. The neighbors seems to be doing a lot of construction in their back yard...they were even pouring cement in early Oct. I haven't seen the husband in quite a while although their flower beds continue to flourish even in this cold...... ( feel free to continue in comments)
Today is one of those pinball days...I'm just boinging around from one thing to the next...
~~~I went to Curves for my exercising.......bright and early this morning, mind you.
~~~I ran errands..like cleaners and banks and grocery store....
~~~I did some Christmas shopping...
~~~I did some crafting...still trying to pretend I can paint....but I made a very pretty bow ( I think I've got that down pat.)
~~~I did some real work...amazing that there are 2 charges for lodging on the credit card that need disputing...one I canceled in advance and the other we weren't even that far West of the Mississippi! The NOIVE!
~~~Speaking of NOIVE...some rotten people ran amok in the neighborhood and destroyed some decorations...including my snowflakes and stars on the neighbor's tree. don't people know what their kids are up to?
~~Oh yeah...something I've been meaning to ask...anyone else have trouble moving around in bed wearing flannel pjs and using flannel sheets...I feel like a piece of velcro.
~~~ So I've been puttering around the last few days/week putting a little decoration here and there around the house...it doesn't take long..looks festive. Then I realized that I will have to take it all down and pack it up again after Christmas or New Year's...or Epiphany....Valentines Day..certainly by Easter!
~~~Some people will think I've gotten carried away...here and there...;-D
~~~Update on the snowflakes and stars I put on my neighbor's tree: I knew the recepient wouldn't have a clue it was me that did it but I figured my other neighbors would recognize my handi-work...nope... it wasn't tacky enough! That will teach me....next year it will be flamingos holding the snowflakes and stars!
~~~It rained and took away all our snow......
~~~You know you are getting older when your monthly medication bill is higher than your monthly entertainment bill..at least I finally have them refillable at the same time now.
~~~Near disaster...my new cell phone was amok this morning...no lighted screen, no charging, nothing except some annoying beep that my battery was low....while waiting to whisk it off to the cell doctor, I opened the battery door, took out, then replaced the battery back in and closed it up..ta-da! it worked! I would have hated showing up back at the cell store with a stupid operator issue.
~~~I'm temporarily giving up on box flattening...I needed 2 boxes for some Christmas presents and I may need more..sigh..Thank goodness I didn't have to reassemble! Besides..I still think there is some animal living down there...I keep hearing noises.
~~~They're baaaaack...the skating flamingos of my modified Dept 56; they'd be so pleased....
Morgan asked me for the Joe Frogger recipe today. Funny thing about family recipes...along with something good to eat (usually a favorite), you get a whole lot of history... and stories ....and memories. Joe Froggers is one of those Old New England recipes for good old round anytime molasses cookies, but my Mother-in-Law used it for her gingerbread men at Christmas time. I called and asked her today where she got the recipe...she picked it up on a visit to Old Sturbridge Village in MA. I remember making Joe Froggers only once before I got my "mighty mixer"...with 8 cups of flour and thick dough, I couldn't make a full batch with some wimpy mixer! Anway, I'm sure all the Grandsons ( my MIL, Morna's Grandsons) would have their own stories to tell about Joe Froggers, but mine is a mix of flashbacks. There were misshappen Joe Froggers from little hands "helping"...there were dancing and other posed Joe Froggers from more experienced and creative hands...there were many Joe Froggers with many many many extra red things on them....and there were anatomically correct Joe Froggers from bold college boys. A few years ago, I came home from Christmas shopping to find some Joe Froggers who were missing arms or legs...the oldest of the Grandsons had stopped by and couldn't resist the pile sitting there; he also couldn't resist leaving a little mischievous evidence of his deed as well. So Morgan..here's Granny's recipe...thanks for giving me some chuckles today and oh yeah...you also gave your Grandmother a whole lot of pleasure today..it made her feel pretty special and appreciated knowing a little bit of her is making it to another branch of the family tree. I think you gave quite a bit along with your request today..how cool is that?
Joe Froggers
Cream 2 cups sugar and 1 cup shortening
Sift together and add alternately with liquid ingrediants:
8cups of flour
1tablespoon salt
1tablespoon ginger
1teaspoon cloves
1teaspoon nutmeg
1/2teaspoon allspice
Liquid ingrediants:
3/4cups of water combined with 1tablespoon rum flavoring
2teaspoon baking soda combined with 2 cups dark molasses
Chill dough for several hours or overnight
Roll out dough to 1/4inch thick on well floured surface
Bake cut-outs on greased cookie sheet @ 375 for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to stand a few minutes, then remove.
Things I did today.....
~~~Followed younger son to higher gadgetry....
~~~I bought a Motorola T720 cell phone..I needed to upgrade my service anyway and I got a good deal on it. ..and I had just learned how to retrieve my voicemail on my Startac without panicking!
~~~I bought food...hhhmm...I use that term loosely...
~~~I flattened boxes...is there really any difference between 40 boxes with packing material in them and 40 flattened boxes and 40 garage bags of packing material? At least I discovered the new-comers to the basement have inflated plastic bags or bubble wrap as opposed to those nasty peanuts.
~~~I made stars and snowflakes out of the flattened boxes and hung them on my neighbor's tree (painted them white and gold too!)...I have been remiss in welcoming her to the neighborhood properly..she moved in in August I think.
~~~I installed one of those guaranteed for 8 years light bulbs in the overhang of the garage door...I hope I won't need to get out the big ladder to change a bulb there for a good long time nor grope around in the dark because I don't want to get out the big ladder to change the bulb. HHmmm is it right that the wall switch to this light makes a buzzing noise?
~~~I got my car back from getting a new/used wiper motor...I hope I don't regret buying used.
~~~I closed then stuffed insulation in a vent in the laundry room that allows cold air in from the crawl space...only took 19 years to plug THAT little problem area.
~~~Oh yeah, caused a run in email among my aol friends....hehehe I rather liked hearing from them for a change.
Things yet to do:
~~~Block entry through the dog door in the basement....we haven't had a dog since 1992 (?) and I think some creature has been using it. I think I will wait until daylight tomorrow.....
~~~Play with new phone...
~~~Eat food ... sugar cookies are food, right?
There have been several snow showers the last few days, but not a lot of accumulation at our house, so far. The grass is covered so that is reasonable. It's darn cold this morning...the thermometer indicates it's below zero (F). I fare better when I really dont' know what the temp outside is..guess I won't be looking for a while..March maybe. hhhmm, I've just been informed the roads are a bit icy in the neighborhood...Liz nearly popped in to visit on her way out this morning...literally. Another reason to stay in today. BTW...Snowflake Bentley would find these snowflakes beautiful..it's so cold they really are individualized.
o/'o/'o/' It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas o/'o/'o/' Naturally, I've been wearing my Christmas socks since the beginning of December but now I've finally started getting the decorations out. I just get so excited rediscovering each item...that is AFTER the excitement of discovering where I stashed it all last year wears off. Each thing has a memory, a chuckle or something associated with it. Morgan will be pleased to know that 3 of Nora's snowmen reside here.....that's at least 3 sets of beady eyes that won't be looking at him. ( I've decided the beady eye thing must be trauma he suffered as a child over "Leaf Peepers")
One of my favorite Christmas decorations is my fiber optic tree. Trend setter that I am...*I* got *my* tree before every dime store and corner dollar store carried imposters! Needless to say, there is a price to pay for setting trends...$$$$$$$...I get the luxury of paying extra for the ones I buy. However, just like the little rc cars (oct28th) though, the originals are better. *I* have to think they are better! hehehe.
Update on the boxes in the basement: As per policy, I did take the weekend off but I am making progress. I can see some floor AND I found the 5 foot long (boxed) roll of screening I was looking for last week. I am also happy to report that 3 new boxes came into the house over the past week AND they were immediately flattened and the packing material was dealt with appropriately. You think there really is a market for packing material wreaths...even if I spray them gold?
pppssst....did you know you can't spray paint styrofoam? It melts.
~~Those aforementioned empty boxes in the basement aren't empty.
~~The reason they accumlate has become obvious...what to do with the packing material!
~~Whoever invented those incidious packing peanuts ought to be tarred and feathered...no peanuted...and ridden out of town on molded styrofoam!
~~I'm making a deal with myself...I will flatten 10 boxes a day ( 10 times 365 is....ok, ok...I can have weekends and holidays off)
In the meantime, I have flattened my 10 boxes for today and now it's time to get dressed and take my car off to get the windshield wipers fixed...and look at that; it's not even raining or snowing! That's called "thinking ahead"
~~It's cold again...December in Vermont..who would have thought?
~~I thought I'd be smart this time and use the other car before the battery died from non-use...too late.
~~My craft projects come out better in my head than in reality but I'm entertained for several hours...thinking...buying supplies ... crafting ... recrafting...throwing out evidence of crafting.
~~Shopping online doesn't satisfy instant gratification but getting packages delivered and opening them is a pretty darn good perk.
~~Going to the dentist at the "end of the day" works well ....I think they scheduled me for then because we always have so much to talk about and it's one sided there for a while...I HAVE to get my chance to talk too!
Ok Fans...I'm going in. The computer space in here is out of control. I have a very high tolerance level for stuff and clutter, so when it's bothering ME then it's reaching dangerous proportions. I actually took a picture of it this morning .. figuring I would do the "Before" and "After" shots....I can't find either of the two compact flash card readers we have. I can see USB cables for them both.. but nothing to stick the card into...I suspect they are with the man in PHL who has no use for them..other than to give the airport security people something else to look at when they need to examine the contents of his computer bag.Ed.Note
Silly me...the "new" compact flash reader was right where it should have been ..I just didn't see it!
At any rate...I first have to clean the dark room to make room to store things coming out of the computer room. Of course that should entail cleaning the basement in order to receive things from the dark room. (We are only one of two houses in the neighborhood with a full basement .. unfortunately, it is.) I know I won't be cleaning the basement though..I will probably add to the exisiting problem but at least I won't have to look at it constantly. From this vantage point ( my desk which isn't really all that tidy either), I can see...5 monitors, 2 printers ( one perched on a stack of paper about 8 inches high), 7 keyboards ( 3 actually attached to something), paper, 4 routers and or network things ( some with lights and cables)...one HP tower cpu ( not on) 2 laptops ( one is on) 2 palm pilots ( V & Vx both mine apparently), Cds..paper..speakers, black pouches holding Lord knows what...paper...oh yeah one of those NIC thinknics or something like that ( webtv type thing)...label maker and reader..mice enough to cause palpitations in the exterminator ( ooppsss wrong one although he is due here around 11:30..different story) and paper...I guess THAT about sums it up....did I mention the piles of paper?
I think this is increasingly approaching the "bag it, make popcorn and curl up and read a good book instead" stage. I better get started...I'm going in now...if you don't hear from me call 911...or the trash service people...I will be the one stuck under the pile of debris....
Update: 12:47pm
I have made room in the dark room and survived....I even rearranged some things in the basement..heck there's a LOT more room down there still! I've "found" things I would be looking for soon....Christmas light timers. I didn't remember putting them there. I might even still be able to preserve room in the dark room for Christmas Crafting!
I hate to admit I actually kept the old kitchen sink. Why oh why?
Update: 2:30pm
I'm still alive however, I am seriously beginning to suspect my insanity is vulnerable. I can NOT begin to tell you how many cables go no where..are attached to nothing ...except other cables and dust. ..and I've only removed one trash bag.
Update: 5:12pm
I'm done with the first pass....don't misunderstand...this does not mean that the second pass is coming anytime soon; it's just that I can live with this for a while.
Ahhhh....my shoulders hurt and I'm hungry.