wow....

This morning I started to catch up blog reading I have ignored because of allergy attacks this week. All I can say is, "wow". Apparently there are some really nasty people using the blogs to vent at posters without any consideration of anything. I'm not a totally "if you can't say something nice...." person I'll admit, but why can't comments be written constructively? I actually feel sorry for people who vent at posters knowing their comments will hurt-what are they missing in their lives that they feel the need to wound?

Sometimes I am not a nice person. I miss deadlines, I say something without thinking, disappoint a friend. I don't set out to be "un-nice", it happens. And, I think it happens to all of us whether we admit it or not, whether we want it to happen or not.

We have a had a pretty horrendous couple years in this household: my cancer diagnosis, subsequent surgery and recovery. Lou's vascular problems, his stroke, his surgeries, rehab, near death last December. The continuing elder-care issues in Ohio. One of the things I have learned through all this is that "..in sickness and in health" can be really stressful. It can be numbing, it can be immobilizing. It can spill into all other areas of your life before you realize it. It forces the questions: "Why me? Haven't I had enough, G-d? What else can go wrong?"

And then I look at the good things in my life: our daughters have grown into interesting young women, Lill pushing the envelope into space as a planetary geologist doctoral student and Sarah in a masters' program exploring the past through asian paintings and porcelain. Lou and I both have jobs. Lou has the kind of friends at work who donated enough leave that through all the traumas we never had to worry about a paycheck. I have sisters-in-law that forget about the "in-law" part. I read blogs by young women trying to raise their families putting their children first, knowing that childhood is fleeting. I listen to Car Talk and Wait, Wait, don't Tell Me on Saturday mornings.

So, I guess I don't understand the need to wound. My friend Robin says I have always looked at the world through rose colored glasses. I'm aware of the nasty stuff- I suffered enough as a teenager to still carry the scars. I just try not to let the nastiness define my outlook. My heart goes out to those who have been wounded when it wasn't necessary. I guess it does come back to "if you can't say something nice..."--maybe some people need some lessons in civility.

Lou's fan pattern

We have always had a family joke about the fact that my husband has a PhD and went to an ivy league undergraduate school and I went to a state university. Well, once again he's proven why he went to graduate school; he took my fan idea and perfected it. This is his pattern:
So, this morning Miss Violet got me up at 7AM, and after a leisurely breakfast I got to work and created a new afikomen bag to send to my cousin for use at Seder with his grandson. Here we have "Fan Plagues":


I also gave one to my friend Amy for her two kids. She's not into sewing, she does beadwork. So, now I'll get started on some that can be sold for use next year.


It's a beautiful day with sun and a breeze and there's a ballgame on tonight. Life can't get much better for me!

Playing

The scrap bee block this month is a request for red created fabric with a white slash. I think I have the slash down, but I'm not sure about the created fabric-it's definitely a challenge for me.

Then I wanted to play a little bit with the scraps before cutting into the main plague fabric. I did three styles, trying to maximize use of my scraps. One is a fan design which Lou improved on for me, the others are stylized flying geese-actually I call them flying plagues....

The day was nice but not as sunny or warm as predicted, tomorrow will be nicer. After dinner I'll probably try a few more ideas, then it's scissors to the big stuff!

Squirrels and plagues

Last fall we decided to leave the cushions out on the deck because, honestly, we were too lazy to bring them in. Most of them had rips from wear, so I knew we would be replacing them this spring. The squirrels who frequent the railing feeder noticed the rips, too. They began to take the stuffing out, leaving the chairs looking like this:Then, last week when he was putting out seed, Lou noticed the squirrel nest up in the oak:So, the squirrels were obviously nice and comfy this past winter.

Yes-I have a new camera. Not a fancy one, just one I picked up at Costco yesterday because I didn't realize how much of my sewing I wanted to take pictures of. I hope CVS still develops film because I have been taking photos with a disposable camera and hope it can be developed.

Last week or so I was wandering around one of my favorite Jewish fabric websites, 1-800-Dreidel, and noticed a section labeled Passover fabric. Of course I had to go look, and there were various selections for the ten plagues. Of course I had to buy them, and fortunately they give a discount to Pomegranate Guild members which makes it easy to justify buying more fabric.

My main focus will be making afikomen bags. However, when I showed the fabric to KS on the webcam, she laughed and said wouldn't it be fun to have a skirt for Seder. So, being the kind of mom I am, and willing to do anything that helps remind my children of their heritage, I present, "The Plagues, the Plagues" (apologies to What Ever Happened on the Way to the Forum?)
Plagues One through Five:


Six through Ten:(well, number Five's peeking out a bit at the left...)

And please notice the tasteful waistband of matzoh printed fabric. I hope she has as much fun wearing it as I did making it today.

Springtime!

I am hoping the beautiful weather we have had since Sunday means that spring is really here in MD and I will not look out front and see all the magnolia tree blossoms brown and withered because of a frost. The crocuses are happily sprouting, the daffs are gaily waving, and the grackles are chasing everyone else off the rail of the deck when we put the bird seed out. I must say that the cardinals are giving them a run for their money, as are the squirrels. Though I am not fond of feeding the squirrels, the past two winters have been so hard, and the squirrels have been sharing. I must admit that finding the holes in the chair cushions so they could pull out the stuffing made it really easy to decide we need new cushions for this year.

Well, I was going to try and verbalize the out of sorts feelings I'm experiencing, but Lou is ready to go to the store, so Safeway and CVS it is!

Times change, or do they?

When Sarah was in middle school one of the projects she had to do involved asking an "older" person about their life and what they had lived through. Since her grandparents had already been hit up for this type of assignment, she asked to talk to her great aunt. We arranged to go to Cleveland and visit, and I would tape the interview so Sarah could concentrate on her questions and later refer back to the tape for detail. My Aunt Dorothy spoke of being raised in a small town in Pennsylvania, remembering the first time street lights went on. She spoke of being sent to a "big city" to find a Jewish husband, of living through World War II and many other things. She spoke of the wonders of technology. Sadly for us, she passed away four years ago, just before she turned 18 for the 64th time (she was always 18, every birthday). I thought about that afternoon the other night when Lou and I were talking to Sarah on google chat. Lillian taught me how to hook up the camera to the laptop (this laptop does not have one built in) and we were chatting with Sarah before she went to bed. She is in London, studying at Sotheby's and had just returned from a class trip to China. How Aunt Dorth would have loved that! Not just the trip, but that we were visually and verbally communicating across thousands of miles. This is such a different world we live in-not just for those of Aunt Dorth's generation, but for me, too. When I went to college, we were allowed to call home once a week, and used the "person to person" collect call signal-usually asking for the dog, good thing they had people names. Now, with cell phones and no extra charge for long distance calling, I talk to Lillian a few times a day while she is in Arizona. The kids stay connected electronically so easily with phones and computers.

And yet, this week I saw a picture of a young boy trying to hit a baseball. I believe this is his first time in organized ball. His family will be going to games, watching the winning and the losing for months and enjoying being outdoors. It made me think of Lillian's years of Y ball in California. Some things don't change, and that's a good thing.

Mechanically inclined

Not generally two words that describe me, but they fit today. After about 7 years of talking it to death, Lou and I went out to Sears last night and bought a new garbage disposer. I did not grow up with one, we did not have one in CA, and we tend to compost as much as we can so it did not seem like it was at the top of the list of things to do. However, water drainage was extremely slow, and when it was used, it was really loud. So, we did a little comparison shopping online, then went to Sears. Today was installation and big surprise: nobody cried, nobody yelled and more importantly-nobody swore. That may be a first. In fairness, I must admit we had to go to the hardware store twice. Once before we started to get plumber's putty and tape, just in case. Then, the pipe from the disposer to the drain was too short and it wasn't a match-we needed something longer and flexible. However, the lady who reviewed the model we bought and said installation took about 20 minutes should be ashamed that she lied. it took us a couple hours, with a few breaks and the hardware store trip. the only thing that hasn't been replaced in the kitchen in the last year is the stove-and since I don't cook, and the oven works fine, I really don't care It is nice not to hear the dishwasher, or the disposer and the ice dropping into the bin of the automatic ice maker.

Today started witha soft rain falling and as predicted it is now a much heavier fall and the winds are picking up. The temperatures are still high so it's actually kind of pleasant outside, just wet. I do hope the power stays on tonight.

The first of the crocuses bloomed yesterday, and the narcissus and daffs are pushing up in the flower beds. It will be so nice to have spring arrive. We bought some sweet pea and sunflower seeds when we picked up the pipe (I had a gift certificate and they don't give cash back so we had to spend over ten dollars). the pussy willow is budding in the back as is the lilac in the front. Soon, the scents of spring will be all around the house.