A visitor

 Last weekend was a busy one, with an overnight visit from our six-year-old great niece, Miss V.

We always pack a lot of activities into her visits. This visit was no exception.

Soon after her arrival, she asked if she could "do that trick with the colors." I knew she meant the vinegar/baking soda/water/food coloring activity, so I promptly set it up for her. The most enjoyable part of this activity is playing in the colored water and mixing the various colors together to see what new colors she can create.

 Violet announced before she even got to our house that she hoped Uncle Ken would show her how to build a bird house. The two of them set to work on this project first thing the next morning. Or at least Uncle Ken set to work. That's Violet in the distance, sitting in the back seat of Uncle Ken's Model A. Violet's dad said this is Violet's version of "distance learning."

She did, however, get into the spirit of things once it was time to drive some nails. She'd been hoping to learn how to use a hammer to drive nails, and that dream became a reality.

I found it a tad anxiety-producing to have someone else in the house who enjoyed using my iPad. Ken never uses it, so it's all mine, all the time,...except, I now realize, when Violet visits.

We planted some seeds in egg shells, which Violet took home with her. I hope the cukes and basil sprout and she's able to grow them outside once the weather warms up.

Here Violet is strolling through my larger flower garden, which she calls the Fairy Garden, because she and I built a fairy house there last year. This past winter wasn't terribly kind to the fairy house, so Violet did some general maintenance work around it, hoping to lure the fairies back again.

Violet and I enjoyed a couple of walks in the woods. Violet loves nature, just as her mother does, and keeps an eye out for interesting sights. We think we spotted a tree stump where other fairies are living.

It was interesting to see, first-hand, how well Violet now reads. She's in first grade, after all, so she reads like there's no tomorrow. Late Saturday afternoon she said she'd run out of things to do, so I suggested she read to me while I knit.

And that she did.

In every position imaginable.



Just before she went back home Saturday, evening, I said, "Well, Violet. It's been a good visit."

She immediately corrected me: "It's been a GREAT visit," she said.

I can see again! Fa-la-la.

This past weekend I tried to start knitting a scarf, but I kept experiencing nothing but frustration. I raveled it four or five times after knitting several rows and finally ditched the pattern altogether.

Ken said maybe it is a pattern that requires TWO eyes for knitting.

He had a good point, because I've been "knitting with one eye" for several months. (These socks, finished last week, are from the one-and-only sock pattern I've ever used, by Yankee Knitter. http://www.kyarns.com/product/yankee-knitter-classic-sock-pattern I used Red Heart "Heart and Sole"super fine yarn and size 2 needles, so they took awhile to knit, but as I've said many times before, there's nothing like a pair of handknitted socks to make the feet feel cozy and cared for.

Anyway, on Tuesday I finally had the obstacle to happy knitting, the cataract in my right eye, removed. This creepy photo is me the evening following the surgery. I can hardly believe how much better my vision has become already. I thought it might take several days or even a few weeks before my sight was much clearer, but yesterday, the day after surgery, was like a dramatic scene from a movie for me: images grew sharper as the day went on, and colors grew richer. I was practically skipping with joy. I had all I could do not to run through the fields, my arms outstretched, singing a happy tune. I'd known for some time I had a cataract, but the thing developed so quickly over the past year that I thought maybe I was just being a wimp in saying I could barely see anything from my right eye. The ophthamologist said the cataract was a "doozie" and he wondered how I was able to see out of that eye at all. I said, "I couldn't."

So that's that. Cataract surgery, which was fairly simple from my perspective although no doubt requiring expert skill by my surgeon, is behind me and it's time to move on....(I should admit I felt the need to go to YouTube.com and witness a cataract surgery yesterday, just to understand exactly what had gone on while my face was under a sheet. I can't imagine daring to poke into someone's eye to correct a problem. What skill and knowledge!)

Let me introduce to you the very first blossom (above) from my Christmas cactus, which was given to me last year as a slip from my mother's Christmas cactus. My mother could make anything blossom.

I was so glad to get this slip, because I'd neglected to get one from my mother years ago.

And my African violets are enjoying the return of spring, if this particular one is any evidence.

They're coming into bloom again after a short rest. I discovered finally, after years of neglecting African violets but not realizing I was doing so, that the secrets to successful care are...
1. a North window
2. never direct sun
3. watering from the bottom of the pot (This alone immediately resulted in dramatic improvement in my violets' health) I put each pot in a plastic container with some water and..
4. a light dose of African violet food with each and every watering
5. light misting daily, and perhaps most important of all,
6. not overwatering  I touch the soil to make sure it feels dry before watering a plant, and I know it's sufficiently watered after sitting in the plastic container (margarine tub, whatever) when I touch the soil again and it feels damp. This can take a few hours on watering day.

Ta-dah! Happy violets.

The Easter chick in the header photo is from here: http://www.skiptomylou.org/
It's a quick and easy project requiring some felt pieces, a sewing machine, and a bit of your time.

Finished projects...and basil update

The Multnomah Shawl (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/multnomah")is officially completed. As you can see, it doesn't look like much before being blocked.

But after blocking? Oh, my! I do enjoy knitting this pattern. I think this is the third Multnomah I have made, or maybe it's the fourth. The pattern is free on Ravelry. If the designer had charged even $2 per download of this pattern, she'd be one wealthy woman by now.

The Tea Leaves cardigan ((http://madelinetosh.com/store/index.php/patterns/tea-leaf-cardigan.html finally has its buttons. I don't know why it took me so long to sew them on. This was quite an enjoyable knit, albeit a bit monotonous once I finished the neck design. I added a crocheted edge to the neckline to prevent it from stretching.

The Hiker's Waistcoat, a free pattern at Kelbourne Knits,  (http://www.kelbournewoolens.com/hikerswaistcoat.html) finally has its buttons, too. And I know why it took me so long to sew them on: eight of the little buggers. I think this will be a gift for a friend at Christmas. The trick will be to determine, somehow, if it will fit her before giving it to her. She was at my house a day or two after I'd finished knitting this secret project. As she flipped through my latest issue of the WEBS yarn catalogue, she spotted this exact waistcoat, held it up for me to see, and said, "Isn't this a nice vest?"

I can see that I need to block the waistcoat again before giving it away. I had it stuffed into a bag for several days, so the wrinkles are obvious in this photo.

And the Basil Project? So far, so good. The tender little seedlings have been loving the stretch of 80-degree weather we've had for the past few days (and again today). They're out on the sundeck, in fact, sunbathing this morning.

It's going to be difficult to adjust to more typical March weather this weekend. Temperatures in the 40's and 50's will feel brutal, for sure.

For now, I'm headed out to the flower gardens to do some more raking.

The basil project

I'm wondering what I've gotten myself into.

My chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa is in charge of table favors for our big state convention on April 28.

I pondered this for awhile, then I suggested to the group that pots of basil plants would make terrific favors. I mean, who doesn't love basil? I know I sure do. If there were a basil perfume, I'd wear it. I love to break leaves off my basil plants in the summer and hold them to my nose, inhaling the wonderful, sweet scent. I also love to add fresh basil into any type of tomato-based recipe.

I'm picturing healthy, robust basil plants in 4-inch pots, wrapped in green tissue and tied with yellow ribbon, in honor of our A∆K official colors. I think these will look quite striking on the luncheon tables when the ladies arrive for the meeting. I can almost hear the ooohs and aaaahs.

Before I knew it, all the other ladies thought the basil-as-table-favors idea was perfect, and I was purchasing a packet of basil seeds and some seed-starter mix.

I planted the seeds, which are about the size of sesame seeds,  with a set of tweezers last Friday. Laborious work. I set the seed trays beside the woodstove and let nature take its course.

The tiny basil seedlings sprouted within five days. I felt so proud. My little basil project was becoming reality.

The thing is, though, that before long I'll be transferring the seedlings to 4" pots...forty 4" pots. That's right, 40.

Here's what's giving me nightmares: What if my basil crop fails? What if the seedlings don't get enough sunlight to flourish? What if the dog somehow gets into the basil and destroys it? What if I set the 40 pots of basil on the sunny front porch some warm day, forget they're there, and awake in the night to the realization that I've just succeeded in freezing 40 pots of tender plants?

What if? What if? I'm causing myself so much anxiety over this little project, and it's all my own doing. Why didn't I suggest we fill small plastic bags with mints and let those be our table favors? Why did I think it had to be basil????

I need a back-up plan. Something to fall back on in case of basil crop failure. Something quick and easy, not requiring sunshine and warmth.

Who came up with this crazy basil idea, anyway?

Where were you when we needed you?

Dear Blizzard of March 1, 2012,

Where were you when we needed you? In December, I mean. Or January. Or February. When we wanted to put on our cross-country skis and go exploring in the quiet woods....

Today's March 1, for crying out loud. Our thoughts have turned to spring. I've begun planting seeds in peat pots for my summer garden. I even saw a snowdrop in bloom in my little kitchen-corner flower garden a few days ago.

But you chose today to barrel into southern Maine, closing schools and shops and cancelling all kinds of plans.

It looks as if I'll be forced to stay in side and knit on my Multnomah shawl (free pattern on Ravelry; Cascade Heritage sock yarn)...

...and finally weave in the loose ends and sew buttons onto the Hiker's Waistcoat, which I finished last week (another free pattern at Kelbourne Woolens; Linus yarn from Knit One, Crochet too).

Come to think of it, I don't mind being snowbound at all!

But it's about the next storm, predicted for March 3....

A little celebration

This morning I'm celebrating the fact that my desktop computer is out of surgery and doing well. Hooray.

It had been grinding along slowly for at least six months, and I kept postponing the chore of taking it to the Apple repair store and getting it fixed. I'd also been trying not to think about the surgery's expense.

But last Thursday I'd had enough of the computer's antics, so I decided I'd take the bull by the horns, as my mother used to say, and deliver it to the repair shop.

Initial diagnosis didn't sound good: The shop owner said he suspected, from my description, the hard drive needed replacing. Many, many dollar signs danced in my head. I figured I'd better brace myself for a bill of $500, minimum. I like to plan for the worst, then it if doesn't happen, I can celebrate.

He said he'd have the tech guy look at it on Monday and give me a call with the official diagnosis.

The tech guy did call, as promised, but he surprised me by saying the problem was simply that the computer needed more gigabytes (I think that's what they're called) of memory.

I gave the go-ahead, he installed the additional memory yesterday morning, and I brought my precious baby, still a bit drowsy from the anesthesia, back home at noontime. I was out a little over $100, but that seemed fair enough.

She's working like a charm: much, much faster and, if I'm not imagining it, rather happily.

*******

Meanwhile, my older sister surprised me on Friday by sending me these two snapshops of my middle sister and me. It's fun to receive photos from my childhood, especially photos I didn't know existed.

In the top photo I'm the one on the receiving end of the trumpet's blast. I must have had tremendous faith that Roberta wouldn't render me deaf.

My older sister, Shirley, included a note asking who'd given us little sisters permission to play with her trumpet! We probably took it upon ourselves to give it a road test while Shirley was at school. (Roberta and I used to enjoy prowling through Shirley's belongings while she was at school. The funny thing is, recently my niece Cheryl, who is Shirley's daughter, confessed to me that she and her sister used to enjoy prowling through Roberta's and my things while we were at college! What goes around truly does come around.)

In the second photo, we're standing in front of our playhouse. We were lucky girls: friends of the family gave us this playhouse on loan after their daughter had outgrown it. We had a lot of fun, and many fights, in this playhouse. We also committed our share of small crimes, if memory serves..

What caught my attention in this photo, though, is our attire. I'd completely forgotten about these drop-dead gorgeous creations: red/white/green plaid with matching shoulder bags. We were runway-ready once fully decked out. I was thinking as I looked at the top photo that I'm sure my mother made our sweaters and dresses. How she had time to knit and sew for us, in addition to her many household and farm chores (and four other, older kids to raise) I'll never understand. The dresses in this second photo, are "store bought," which I'm sure Roberta and I considered a special luxury.

We also seem to be sporting fresh Toni home permanents. How my mother loved Toni home permanents. How Roberta and I hated them! How we dreaded hearing Mum announce, "I'm sending you girls down to Mrs. Norton" (I think that was her name), "for new permanents." Mrs. Norton was a nice-enough lady, but she took her home permanent-giving a little too seriously. She would chop our hair short, twist the curlers so many times that our eyebrows would be yanked up to giddy heights and we'd swear our hair was being pulled out by the roots, causing us to stifle cries, and send us home with curls so tight we couldn't get a comb through them for days.

There. I managed to get from a computer's repair to Toni home permanents in one fell swoop. I started this post feeling happy about my computer's new health, but now I'm feeling depressed about those darned Toni home permanents. I guess I'd better take Molly-the-dog, who's waiting patiently here beside my chair, for a walk. A fresh snowfall last night and sunshine today make for a beautiful world, and today I'm the one in charge of my hair. (I'm not saying it looks any better; I'm just saying I get to choose the style!)

Throwing a party

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

On Saturday we members of the Maine Beta chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa threw a Valentine's Party for the residents of a local assisted-living center.

We've been doing this for several years, and it's always one of our favorite activities.

We members bring to the party two or three small, wrapped gifts: luxury soaps, nail polish, candy, notepads, postage stamps, fancy socks, etc.

We also bring refreshments: punch, ice cream with strawberry topping, cookies.

Two of our members always volunteer to have their students make Valentine's cards and placemats, which our guests get to keep. The Valentines this year were gaily decorated with lots of glitter. I heard one member ask the teacher who brought them in, "How did your first graders manage to use the glitter so well?"

"I added the glitter myself after the kids went home," I heard the teacher reply.

We play rousing games of Bingo with the residents. Each resident is "allowed" to win twice, thus receiving two gifts. If a third or fourth win should happen, that resident gets a warm hug. Many hugs are given.

We have so much fun bringing laughter and small gifts to these lovely people. This year we had so many gifts that each resident received a third gift at the end of the party.

 The residents always thank us warmly for coming to their residence and throwing a party for them.

It's a simple gesture, but it means a lot to our guests...and to us.