A WordPress Site

Category: Quotidien

  • How Time Flies

    So here it is, another week already, and I have written nothing.  It is true, nothing, not here, not even in my journal.  First typepad was down, through no fault of their own, and I have no issues with that, and then I was down, mostly just wallowing in my own frustrations at my lack of progress, not the kind of thing I tend to want to write about, even on the pages of a personal diary.

     

    2014-04-26 14.36.03-2But today the sun is shining, and a friend brought by a small bouquet of pansies.  How can one be anything but upbeat when looking at pansies, after all?

     

    Not only that, I discovered that a bird has made a nest in one of the planters outside my front door, and it is filled with four small speckled eggs.  To think I had been fretting about those silk poinsettieas and the fact that I had not been able to replace them with fresh spring flowers.   Even if I could walk tomorrow, I couldn't replace those plantings now, not before the new residents are ready to move on.

     

    Otherwise, I've been doing boring things like upgrading programs and rethinking and reconfiguring my cloud storage system, yada yada yada…. it takes forever when you are lying on your side, constantly holding your glasses at funny angles so you can see the screen, but then again, there are few other demands on my time.

     

    I am ready to start reading again, so yes there will be more long tedious book reviews.  And I am knitting a little bit each day.  However my big project is that I've decided to expand my opera horizons. I'm pretty good with modern operas, and have a fairly good knowledge of some of the more esoteric operas, but I know very little about the classics.  I love "The Magic Flute" but am otherwise completely unfamiliar with Mozart's operas, and I know nothing of Puccini.  Oh I am familiar with certain bits that are often performed apart from the opera, but of the operas themselves my mind is blank.  I arbitrarily picked two: La Boheme and Le Nozze de Figaro, and have begged, borrowed, and bought an assortment of recordings on both CD and DVD so that I can watch and listen, and listen some more.  Hopefully this will prove to be a good way to while away the hours and days before my appointment with a surgeon…..

  • Spring Cleaning

     

    Saturday we took all the furniture off the screened porch to be cleaned.  I had someone coming to powerwash and seal the driveway and back concrete deck, so we did the concrete floor on the screen porch as well.  Besides it was time (well past actually) that I gave everything a good cleaning.

     

    My first plan was to move everything onto the lawn and spray it down with the hose.  But the side yards are small, and the neighbors were having a sixth birthday party for their grandson.  Although the children probably wouldn't have minded getting wet, they needed room to play.  The furniture went into the garage and sat…and sat…and I fretted…and fretted…and fretted some more about when I would get it done.

    The floor dried.  Moisés was allowed back outside and decided he did not like the smell and feel of the new floor.  Poor thing, so spoiled; he missed his carpet.

    IMG_7926

    But I hadn't washed the furniture yet.

     

    IMG_7923And so last night I did.  I washed it in the garage the old fashioned way by hand.  And it really didn't take that much longer than it would have out in the yard with the hose. More importantly the entire process was much more satisfying.  As I washed and rinsed and dried each piece I had to be still, let my mind stop fretting and just relax, let it pay attention to the details.  It is not that my outdoor furniture is precious in any monetary sense; it isn't.  But as I washed each piece I realized how precious it is to me.  I like the way it looks.  It is comfortable.  I have many happy memories of sitting on the porch reading, knitting, talking to family.

     

    And it occurred to me that there is more to this ongoing process of simplification than I had previously realized.   I understand that we have allowed the business of life to clutter our brains, and that there is far more that we think is "necessary" than is actually needed.  But somehow I had let it slip from my mind that the process of caring for those things we have and need and love is also a part of the simplification of the mind and of life in general.  If caring for what we have weighs us down, we have too much.  And the process of caring for something is also a part and parcel of the way we make it our own.  If we don't care, if we don't take care, we aren't really living our lives to the fullest.  If we don't care, the outer trappings of our life have become a yoke and a burden.

     

    My outdoor furniture is not handmade.  It came out of a factory in China.  But does that mean that now that I own it and use it I should care for it any less than the hand-carved table I inherited from my grandmother?  I suspect not.  Every thing is precious just as every moment is precious.  Sometimes we are so busy playing "master of the universe" that we forget just to be, we forget to be thankful for who we are and what we have.  

  • HAPPY EASTER!!

    Wishing you all a lovely day filled with hope and joy whether you are celebrating a religious holiday, hunting easter eggs, surrounded by family or alone, reading a book, taking a nap, taking a walk or just revelling in spring.

     

    I haven't dyed eggs in years, but looking at the natural colors of these eggs in the carton made me smile this morning.  Mother Nature's dyes are just as lovely as anything I could create.

     

    IMG_7911

  • Mundanities

    Here I am.  Better late than never I suppose.

    IMG_7800

    (we were supposed to do an initial, but I had to get all fancy and try somethng special with my initals)

    I meant to write yesterday, I woke up all focused and raring to go and then got worn down by all the simple and totally mundane stuff that needed to be done:  

        1. Gym

        2.  Have breakfast with my sweetie.

        3. Recycleville (you know the place one takes the cardboard, plastic etc.(It seems by the time I move to Knoxville, the curbside recycling slots had all been taken).  Actually it is a fun trip.  G likes putting the aluminum cans and the cardboard in their respective bins, while I run around with the other stuff.

        4. Audiologists to get a malfunctioning hearing aide repaired.

        5. Lunch with my sweetie: vegetable soup and bacon-wrapped chicken.

        6. Combined Costo and Sam's Club runs. 

        7.  Early dinner with my sweetie (Shepherd's Pie and Mustard Greens)

        8.  Needlepoint class.

    IMG_7801

    Actually I am behind in the needlepoint class.  Not behind on lessons per se, but I am the only one in my section at least who hasn't completed the borders, and that did put me a little behind last week, in that they all learned a stitch that I didn't.  Well I listened and did it anyway.  Now I am back in step.  But I'm going to finish those borders.

     
    IMG_7799

    Once I catch up, we will have Christmas break and I can either start on another project while I wait for the next lesson.  Or I can turn my attentions back to knitting, which I have had to give up in order to keep up with the needlepoint.  Obviously my classmates don't knit while they watch TV, or they have more time on their hands than I manage, or they just watch more TV. Or they just manage their time better than I manage mine.  The latter is the most likely.  

     

    In the short term, I am looking forward to stretching my legs out on the sofa and working on this some more tonight.  I overdid something at the gym today and my knees are complaining rather vociferously.  I knew it, and I did it anyway so I have no one to blame but myself.  I just wanted to master a particular move.  Perhaps finding the right balance of mental focus is an issue, as in fitting in time to do the things I want to do, but at the same time not focusing on one thing so intently that I ignore everything else, including warnings that I am over-doing.

  • flitting, flitting……resting

    I've been flitting about like a mad hummingbird all week, all flighty and flitty, and flibbity gibbity.  Unable to sit still, to follow a thought, just bouncing along.

     

    Blame it on modern medicine and last week's congested buggy-thing.  Of course then I was sick, with a 5 day sinus headache and congestion in my bronchial passages that would not go away and I still managed to work, blog, and go to the gym.  I even managed to participate in my gym's barbells for boobs fundraiser, and finished my workout in the requisite time.  The the previously intermittent coughing decided it was time to dig in permanently.

     

    I gave up and went to the a walk in clinic where I walked out with two cough syrups and a prednisone dose-pack but luckily, or so I thought, no antibiotics.  Well, it has been a few years since I was on more than 20 mg of prednisone at a time and I forgot that larger doses turn me into a virtual human-hummingbird, flitting here and there never stopping, all butterfly-brained, never resting.  Combine that with codeine and it was a lost cause.  I'm also one of the minority of people for whom codeine makes me wired as all get-out.  

     

    Years ago I was on Tylenol #3 for back pain.  I'd be up for 3 days then crash for 24 hours and repeat.  When I was up it was like I was main-lining caffeine.  I felt productive as long as there was lots of stuff to do, lots of things to push around, and very little on my agenda that required deliberate thought.

     

    This week I've had the hyper-hypers in spades, although I have slept lightly at night.   Until today.  I am about to crash.  But at least my head is clear and I can breathe. I am still coughing a little but probably not so much that I it will wake me.  I'm hoping tomorrow will be just another normal day.

     

    The candy bowl is by the door, awaiting the arrival of pumpkins, goblins, and other small unearthly creatures.  Dinner is on the stove.  I'll probably be in bed about the same time as the wee ones tonight.  

  • Things I love this week

    My threads arrived for the beginning needlepoint class I am taking.  I was a bit apprehensive.  I had an idea of what I wanted but ordering colors from an online color chart  involves a certain amount of faith and guesswork, and I can be surprisingly picky about colors.

     

    IMG_7651Today is the second class.  My thread arrived yesterday.  I love the colors, they are just what I wanted.  I feared the two light purples (seen together to the right of the photo, next to the rust swatch) are too close in value, and they may be.  I have ordered another shade, darker than these but lighter than the deeper colors, but it is backordered for two weeks.  I ony need three to 4 colors, so I am fine even without it.

     

    The bit of rust is my initial foray into basketweave stitch.  There are a few glitches in my tension, and it would have looked nicer if I had pulled that stray thread out of sight before I snapped a picture, but otherwise I am in love with needlepoint and my colors.  I can't wait for more.

     

    IMG_7650After class this afternoon, I may settle down with some needlepoint, but I am also planning on starting to read the new issue of The Gentlewoman.  It arrived yesterday, and I adore this photo of Angela Lansbury on the cover.  There is just so much character, intelligence, wit and grace captured in this photo.  She looks like more than just a star, she looks like someone with whom I'd like to sit and chat for a while.  So often photos of actors and stars look shallow, as if one was looking at a persona or a mask rather than the actual person.  Not this photo.

     

    Well, at least I have the magazine and a few hours.  

     

     

  • Vodka as household necessity

    IMG_7211

    When I was in Texas back in February, G was not the only member of my family who was unhappy that I had gone away.  Sam too expressed his displeasure by peeing on the sofa in my office.  He had done the foul deed before, and I was fit to be tied, and one of my first tasks upon my return was googling such fascinating subjects as "cat pees on furniture" which proved to be worthwhile as I learned about the usefulness of vodka, to whit:  

        Cats don't like the smell

        It removes odors

        It removes stains

     

    After I poured vodka in a spray bottle and liberally dosed the scene of the crime, I was shocked at how good my pale gray sofa looked, all the rings and pee stains almost magically disappeared. I put the vodka aside and forgot about it. 

     

    Until last week when I was despairing over stains that were not coming out of linen napkins and thoughts that I might have to resort to special actions such as:

            using only paper napkins

            keeping two sets of napkins, one marked G,and one for general use, or 

            using linen napkins myself and giving G only paper napkins, further stigmatizing him,

    when it occurred to me that I still had a bottle of vodka in the house, and if it worked on a sofa it might just work on badly stained napkins.  After all, what did I have to lose (except some good vodka).

     

    So I doused the stains with the vodka and allowed them to sit.  Then I put the napkins in their normal pre-treat enzymatic bath for a few hours, then washed them.  They came out mostly stain free, and they ironed beautifully as well.  Well linen usually irons beautifully and perhaps they just seemed special because I was so happy, but I do think they ironed up just a little more crisply than usual, but not at all as stiff as if I had starched them.

     

    Now of course, I used good vodka in this experiment because that is what I had in the house in the mistaken idea that I should have vodka that I like to drink.  This sounds good except that I really don't drink vodka.  I would be surprised if I drank vodka twice a year, and then probably only when I am out, not at home.  So the next bottle will be your basic cheap vodka.  I am sure it will work just as well.

     

  • Settling In

    Already I have been in Knoxville a week.  It seems like it has been a busy week but in truth the busy-ness has been tempered with ample amounts of sleep.  I didn't realize how thoroughly I had been running on adrenaline and worry, and how much sleep I would need once I arrived.

     

    We have been out to the new house a few times now.  It is progressing nicely and I am very happy with how it is shaping up.  I am eager to move in, although I am also happy for this bit of respite, this time to rest and regroup and explore our new town just a little bit.

     

    IMG_6654I had been told that Knoxville is a very casual town, and in some senses it is, and as a small city it would certainly be considered very casual compared to a city such as New York, but overall, I would say it is not more casual than my previous suburban/country abode.  

     

    Already I am enjoying dressing again in the morning.  Admittedly however this may be more dependent on the items of clothing I brought with me and the fact that the shape of my days have changed than on any aspect of my current location.

     

    I do wish I had brought another dress.  I wondered, when I was in Hyde Park, if I would continue to wear dresses more after I moved, but I only brought two in my suitcase to the temporary abode. The dress in is photo, taken at our house in Hyde Park, is one of the two that came with me.  But I wish I had more options.

     

    While I am on the subject of style, I have noted a much wider variety in skirt-lengths here than I ever did in the Hudson Valley.   This trend seems to encompass all age and size groups, with a wide range of skirt lenghts represented, from above the knee to the floor.   I have seen older women nicely turned out in low calf and even ankle grazing skirts as well as fashionably trendy young women in maxi dresses and coats with sky-high heels.  Although I have no idea about what was seen in NYC, in the section of the Hudson Valley where I lived, once you ventured past the summer season when you would see chic young things up for the weekend wearing floaty summer dresses, mainstream skirt lengths generally hovered around the knee with the longer skirts wearers generally falling into the fringe groups of "earth mother", "artsy", or "Sicilian widow". Of course there are always exceptions to every rule.  I often wore whatever I wanted despite what might be considered mainstream, and I am sure there will be some things I consider normal that may be viewed as odd in my new locale.  I'm sure I  don't yet have my finger on the pulse of Knoxville style, but I certainly don't mind that my long black coat might fit in a bit better here.  

     

    Minor points:

    I wish I had brought a camera tripod to the hotel instead of packing them all for the house.  Not that it matters at the moment as I have misplaced the USB cable for my camera although I was certain I had packed it.  If there is to be blogging and photos, I may have to rely on my iPhone.  

     

    I have not knitted a single stitch since I left Hyde Park despite having mailed myself 4 boxes of projects to "tide me over".  That may change soon now that I am feeling a bit more settled.

     

    I am very happy with our temporary abode.  Of the two choices that would accommodate our needs and our cats, this was the best fit for many reasons: It is spacious, the bed is comfortable, it is convenient to our new house and family, and the staff are universally helpful and kind.   However, if you had told me two months ago that I would ever find myself living between Cracker Barrel and Hooters, I would have said "Not on your life".  And yet it has come to pass.  All one can do is laugh.  

     

     

     

  • Drying Sweaters

    I had hoped to have Creep ready to show you today, but that has not come to pass.  I did finish knitting it this weekend, but as of last night the blocking board was still not available so Creep just had to wait.  I washed a couple of sweaters Saturday afternoon and laid them out to dry, but the weather is cooler now and the sweaters simply take longer to dry than they did even a few weeks ago.  This despite the ministrations of my sweater-drying assistant.

     

    IMG_6325I present the assistant dryer of sweaters, otherwise known as Sam.  Shortly after I laid the sweaters out on the blocking board Sam jumped up to take a nap in the sun.  Apparently a wet cashmere sweater was no impediment to a good nap.  In fact, the part of the sweater which served as Sam's bed is actually dry, unlike the rest of the sweater. I am now wondering if there is some way I can get Sam to move around on the sweater in fixed intervals, without disturbing its position of course, in order to speed up the drying process.

     

    IMG_6326In the interest of fairness, here is Moisés.  Moises is sitting exactly in the place I tend to sit in the mornings when I put my shoes on.  This explains why, if I don't remember to brush the furniture first thing in the morning, I spend the day with gray cat fur on my back.  Perhaps wearing more gray is a good thing after all.

  • Sunrise Glow

    The skies were clear this morning as the sun rose, and the temperatures have finally equalized enough that we no longer have the thick early morning fog rising off the Hudson River.  For a few brief moments everything just glowed with the warmth of the early morning light.  I grabbed my camera but as I went outside my battery died and I had to run in again.  I only managed one photo before the light suddenly shifted, and you can, in fact see the beginnings of that shift along the bottom of the photo and along the edge of the opposite shore.

    IMG_6150

    That lovely autumnal color is as much the light as the colors on the trees.  Most of the trees are actually bare, which you will see if you look closely.  The colors have not been good this year, which is a sad kind of fairwell.  There has been very little red, the leaves mostly just turning yellow then brown and falling off the trees.  There has been far too much rain.  The ground has been saturated for weeks and never really dries out.  Trees don't any better with overwatering than houseplants.

     

    Still, it is nice to have one last autumnal photograph to remember the old place by.  We have decided that we will be moving in December.  The new house should be ready the very end of the month or beginning of January and we should really be down there before closing anyway.  So there will be a few weeks in temporary housing.  I'm not ready, but I really won't be until it is done, and I already feel like our life is in a kind of limbo.  Might as well get things moving along.