We did it again

We're getting pretty good at this holiday thing.  Few expectations, lots of time spent laughing, lots of good food, and I learned something.  What could be better?  It was just the four of us and it reminded me of childhood Christmases at my Grandmother's.  There was always so much laughter and joy and good food.  Maybe there were squabbles too and I was too young to see them.  The only problem I remember was when a distant cousin brought a beer on Christmas morning and there was scandal and I think he was asked to leave.  Which is weird because my Grandfather probably had a beer in the backyard that afternoon.  My parents came from social drinkers on one side and alcoholics on the other.  My childhood was filled with mixed messages about alcohol.  But, I digress.

I got a new ukulele, my first nice one, which I decided I deserved for sticking with it and practicing every day.  It's very pretty.  And, Rob gave me a wall mount to hang them from so they're not cluttering up the floor.  We don't go nuts with gifts and there are always some practical ones.  I gave Syd the pumpkin pie bowl and a corning ware pie plate, just like the ones in the picture from the cookbook.  It made her cry.  That made me cry.  I also gave her that ginormous kitchenaid mixer that I re-built last year.  Okay, don't tell her, but I was so glad to get that behemoth out of my kitchen.  I have two other kitchenaid mixers, one that I inherited and my good one that I've had for 25 years and the big one didn't offer me anything I didn't already have.  And, it was loud.  Very, very loud.  And, she loved it!  Win, win, win.

The bounty of food.  No one walked away hungry.  We did all the favorites.  

Monkey bread and hot chocolate for me and Rob while we opened gifts to one another.  

Ham, scalloped potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, squash casserole (tis the season of casseroles), candied yams, homemade rolls (I remembered to put the yeast in this time).  It was a feast.  

After that, there was coffee and "cake".  This is where I learn something.  We all fixed our coffee and I go after the cake with a knife and it is tough as leather.  The knife will barely cut it.  This is the same reason I've thrown away every genoise cake I've ever baked.  They come out perfect and then I put them in the fridge and they get tough and hard and I throw them away.  

So, I apologized and carried the cake into the kitchen and we sat at the table and enjoyed our coffee.  When we were packing food for them to take, I poked one of the slices of cake I'd cut and it was soft and tender.  WHAT?????  

Genoise is all butter.  And, what does butter do when you put it in the fridge?  It gets hard.  After that, I started cutting Rob and I a piece and letting it sit out for a while before we eat it.  It's damn near perfect.  Just the right amount of orange.  Just a little too much frosting...enough you don't mind leaving some of it on the plate, but if there were less, you'd miss it.  And, it was pretty.  

And, on Thursday, I sat.  And sat.  And sat and sat and sat.  I was tired and I didn't want to do anything, so I sat in my room and was recharged my introvert batteries and Rob puttered around the house and played with the dog.  By Friday, I was feeling human again and we started to take down the decorations.  That's always a mix of sad the holiday is over and happy to have the house back to normal.  Most of it is down now and Rob is headed back to work.  He asked how many days I was taking off and I said "meh" because I really don't know.  I'm on call for emergencies and guess I'll go back full time on Thursday.  

Meh.  

For now, I'm cleaning.  Putting things away.  Getting to things I've needed to do for a while.  I'm thinking that today, I'll load white thread in the machine and sew on buttons.  I have a pile if shirts in the sewing room/office that need buttons sewn back on, and that feels like a good project to do while I watch a movie.  

Everybody have a great week and a great new year.  We don't know what the new year will bring.  The uncertainty is like a weight.  So, I'm celebrating the next three weeks and doing my best not to try to look beyond that.  

Personally, I'm hoping for comic bumbling ineptitude, but who am I to base my speculations on current events?

Lane

Sleigh bells ring...

Well, here we are.  We've made it.  Christmas is just 2 days away.  If it ain't bought, baked, or cleaned, it ain't gonna be.  Now we just slide into the holiday.  

I picked my cake.  An orange flavored genoise sponge with a chocolate orange frosting.  I didn't realize it was a genoise.  After several really, really bad experiences trying to bake end throwing away genoise when I was in my Julia Child incarnation earlier this year, I'm not sure I would have made it if I'd recognized what it was.  It was half assembled before I saw that grainy looking texture that isn't grainy at all and seems to be a hallmark of genoise.  This one came out perfect, but not until I'd had a little adventure.  

All the ingredients were on the counter, the oranges were squeezed, the eggs and milk had come to room temp, the butter was soft.  Next step was to grease three 8" cake pans.  The only 8" cake pans I have were my Mom's and they are beat to hell where she creased them while trying to get cakes out by banking and using the point of a knife.  And, there were only two, so okay, let's run up to the store.  I decide to try one of those stores that sells stuff that didn't sell at other stores.  Two Martha Stewart cake pans, $5 each.  So, I go next door to Michael's.  Cheapest one they have is $12.99 and there are only 2.  Next one up is 19.99.  Not!  So, I go to another store that's related to the first one and is a few doors down.  They have one Martha Stewart cake pan, $5, so I buy it and then go back to the first store and buy two (and a small casserole dish I'd seen in there and couldn't resist again) and then I came home and made cakes.  Fortunately, all that only set me back by 40 minutes.  I guess I was speed walking through stores.  A man with a mission.  And the mission was cake.  

I wasn't paying attention and almost bashed into a lady about my age waiting in the checkout line.  I apologized and explained I was looking at the pretzels with lust in my heart.  And, then I realized I'd just said lust to a lady in the checkout line and sure hoped she didn't think I was a creeper.  

The cakes aren't decorated yet.  That's today's job.  I realized yesterday that my Christmas cakes are about more than just cake.  They're about challenging myself to try new things.  Be a little extravagant in my cooking, have an adventure.  Yesterday, I candied orange slices to go on top.  Never did that before.  They sure are tasty.  For background TV, Rob put on the GBBO Holiday Specials, so I got to watch former contestants bake holiday treats.  I loved it!  It was great inspiration.  

On Saturday, Rob cleaned up all the leaves in the back yard.  It was a LOT.  While he did that, I prepped the tropical plants to go in the greenhouses.  We had a couple of cold nights and it was time.   Then there was a little shopping and some lunch and a nap and Mexican food for dinner and a movie and that day was suddenly over.  Yesterday, I spent the whole day in the kitchen and it passed just as fast.  

Here are the last holiday decorating pictures.  

Here's the village that started it all.  My Mom was doing the village pieces and I found this smaller scale version in a store and bought it.  Rob loved it and would set it up every year.  Then, my Mom gave him a full scale piece and he really fell in love and it developed into what we have now.  

This is Retroville and is set in the 40's.  I think it's Rob's favorite.  It was a limited series and he has all the pieces except 1.  

We bought this ceramic tree at a garage sale.  It was a fun story where the seller's price was so unreasonably low that Rob offered her double what she was asking and still felt like we'd gotten a steal.  We love the old ceramics class projects.  

My Mom's ceramic tree was white, so when I saw this ornament at JoAnn's, I knew I wanted it as a reminder.  It's been sitting next to my work desk and I've enjoyed looking at it while I was on boring work calls.  

Today is my Dad's 91st birthday.  This is him with his first great-grandchild.  He still lives alone, keeps house, cooks for himself, works in the yard, helps his kids and grandkids and neighbors, drives his tractor around, looking for stuff needs doing and sings in church choir.  We should all be so lucky, right??

Everybody have a great Christmas week!  Enjoy yesterday's traditions, but don't forget to create some new ones for tomorrow.  May your holidays be a time of abundance, especially abundant joy and happiness. 

Lane

Cookie week is ended

Rob and I did a really good job of reducing the number of cookies I needed to frost last week.  And, even though there were less than 4 dozen left, it still felt like it took most of a day.  But, they're cute and I packed up a dozen for Syd and a dozen for us, and Rob packed the rest to take to friends at work.   The cookie tree in the upper right is for us, too.  I only made the top half this year.  I got the cutters as a set for a discount after Christmas a couple years ago.  Last year, I made one and dropped it while I was frosting it, so you didn't get to see it.  This year, I ran out of dough half way down and decided not to make another batch of cookies, just to finish it.  The bell cookies were supposed to be silver and the frosting was a nice light gray that continued to darken as it dried, so they're very tarnished bells.  

Rob continued to decorate.  The dining room looks like Santa exploded in there.  

And, speaking of an explosion of Santa.  We've collected Santas for more than 25 years and this is what happens when you do that.   The one on the hearth, far left is this year's acquisition.  

And, of course, there's the swag.   across the living room ceiling.  

And a table of vintage pieces Rob has collected.  He loves the blow molds.  The ornaments and tree topper came from my Parent's and Grandparent's collections.  They're not the shiniest or the brightest, but they have a lot of history and meaning.  

And, yes.  There's still more to show next week.  It's mostly Rob.  If it was left to me, there'd be one sad tree in a corner, but 17 pounds of candies and cookies.  That I'd try to eat by myself.  

Still haven't picked a Christmas cake, but I'm thinking orange and chocolate.  It's an unbeatable combination.  And, I have some orange curd in the freezer to get me started.  

Dottie doing dotty things.  Every day, when Rob gets home from work, he goes out to the garage to get her a special treat.  It's a chicken flavored chew stick that she devours in about a minute.  If he forgets, she dances and sings to get his attention.  When he hands it to her, she runs through the house as fast as she can and jumps on the bed and sits there and eats it like she's just conquered the world.  Every day.  Same routine.  

When I take Bella to the vet for her monthly injection, I take Dottie.  They all know her there and call out her name like it was a Cheers episode and she gets lots of treats.  She's the only dog I ever owned that runs into the vets office.  I practically have to drag Bella through the door.  The other day, the office manager said she'd make a good ratter.  I sure hope we never find out.  

Rob asked me to make her a winter jacket.  Ignore the unhappy look.  She's just not used to wearing clothes.  I think she'll get used to it after she wears it out walking once.  It has velcro up the back to close it and a built in harness in the front with a buckle and D rings to clip to.  When I put it on her this morning, I found a mistake in the buckle that I'll need to make a quick adjustment to fix.  Oops!

Everyone have a good week!  I hope your holidays are shaping up to be both merry and bright.  Two weeks ago, we went Christmas shopping in coats.  This weekend, it was shorts.  Winter in the south can be fickle that way.  

Lane

Cookie week has begun

The time is short between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and we're trying to squeeze a lot in.  Plus we have our first cold night coming up, with temps that my outdoor tropical plants will not enjoy.  It made for a very busy weekend.  

On Saturday, I started the cookies and put the dough in the fridge and we went Christmas shopping.  It was cold and rainy.  Not quite coat weather, but certainly right for multiple light layers that could be added or removed easily.  We hit all our regular haunts, plus a new store and we laughed and had fun and we bought gifts.  And, if the sales staff wasn't smiling when we walked up, they were smiling by the time we walked away.  When we got home, I baked cookies.  For hours and hours and hours.  Unfortunately, I didn't get them decorated yet, but that just means there's fun to be had later, right?  And, I know from experience, they eat just fine without the frosting.  After the grocery yesterday, I cleaned inside for a while and then went to the greenhouse and cleaned out there.  There was a LOT to do to get ready to move in plants.  Then I came in and did some cooking for the week and suddenly the day was over.  

I was on my feet a lot!

I solved my toaster problem.  I had kept the off-brand one on the counter, but hadn't used it.  I just didn't like it.  It was the wrong red and it felt so cheap and I was hoping I'd find something better while we were out shopping.  I'd even added a couple of stores to our regular shopping, just to look at toasters.  We went to one of those stores that sells overstock and found a Krups for the same price I'd paid for the cheap one and brought it home.  It's still not as sturdy as the old one I sent with Rob to his office, but I believe it will be fine.  And, it makes toast so fast, and I can get the perfect shade of brown.  That's all I needed a toaster to do.  I've boxed up the cheap one to send it back.  

This is the Li Bien tree.  These ornaments were available exclusively at Pier 1, before they decided to go broke rather than lower their prices.  Then, we found them at World Market and we bought a few last year, but this year, they're not the same.  The paint is splotched on and the price has gone up significantly.  We have at least one ornament for every year since 1998.  Some years, there are 4 or 5 because we just couldn't pick one.  They do an angel ornament every year and this year, that's the only one we bought.  They sure do make a pretty tree.  

This is one of Rob's villages.  The other night, we were watching The Great Christmas Light Fight, which we watch every year, mostly so we can talk about how excessive other people get about decorating for the holiday.  There was a lady that had a village that had about a hundred buildings.  Rob was amazed and impressed.  One day, I'd love for him to be able to set up an excessive number of houses in a diorama like that.  

His people move around and go places and do things in a story he updates regularly.  

This is one of the ceramic trees.  This is new to the collection this year.  Rob's Mom made it and gave it to him when he was home last time.  It's a beautiful tree.  It sits on a tall narrow table that I will be gingerly stepping around for the next several weeks.  

The rest of my photos from last week are cake recipes.  I still haven't figured out what kind of cake to bake for. Christmas.  They're usually something complicated that takes more than one day to finish and I haven't found it yet.  I've been toying with the idea of a steamed pudding.  Then that voice in the back of my head asks if I'm feeling okay and I start looking at cakes with white frosting again.  We'll all have to wait and see what ends up inspiring me.  

So much to do, so many distractions, and I need the distractions from the news.  I have a growing resolve to be myself, no matter what happens in the future.  To celebrate life the way that Rob and I celebrate life, no matter who disapproves.  I can't change other people.  But, I can prevent them from changing me.  

Everybody have a great week!  16 days til Christmas and the start of Hanukkah!  May your spirits be merry and bright.  

Lane

hustle and bustle

Well, the holidays are in full swing and I hope yours are peaceful.  We're having a good holiday, focused on important gifts that we may not be able to get later, which was originally anything made in China, but now includes 'hecho en Mexico' as well.  I'm focused on getting through each day so I can enjoy these holidays and doing my best not to worry about the future.  

Thanksgiving was very nice.  It was just the four of us and we talked and laughed and ate and watched movies.  They recommended a horror movie called Thanksgiving that was...just not right.  It is not for the faint of heart and I admit to turkey dozing during part of it.  Syd's pie was delicious!  Everything was delicious.  I specifically wanted a picture of the table but in the rush to get it all on the table, all I remembered to take a picture of was the turkey.  It was perfect!  Yesterday, I picked the last of it off the bones and made a small pot of soup and some leftover for turkey tetrazzini tonight.  

Then on Friday, we started decorating.  Friday, I put up the tree of Li Bien ornaments.  That isn't a huge project and was a good one that I could knock out and then get off my feet for a while.  Then, on Saturday, I put up the swag.  As I was pulling it out of the box, I found a strip of fabric tied around it and said to Rob 'there's a strip of fabric.  that's got to mean something.'  Then I said, 'wait, there's a note'.  I'd left myself a message from last year.   That took an hour to fix.  

While I was putting up the swag, Rob assembled the added the lights to the tree.  Yesterday, I put on the ornaments.  There are not as many on the tree this year as last.  I reached a point where I'd just done all I could do, so there aren't any on the back.  BTW, if you're looking at the back of someone's tree, maybe you shouldn't.

It looks like it leans, but I can assure you, Rob put that tree up and it doesn't lean.  

And, all lit up.  

One of the things I decided to buy pre-tariff was a toaster.  I bought a name recognized brand with a good reputation.  I was disappointed.  It didn't pop the toast up very high, so I felt like I had to reach in to retrieve it and on the lowest setting, the toast was very dark.  I thought 'maybe I'm using the darkness settings wrong.  Maybe the highest number is the lightest toast', so I adjusted it, put in a piece of toast and got distracted by the dogs wanting out.  When I came back, the kitchen and dining room were full of smoke and the toast was very, very black.  That toaster was boxed back up and returned.  Then I ordered another.  It looked great, had great reviews and when it got here, I thought how cheap it felt.  I haven't decided whether to keep it or not.  There are some things that it's hard to buy without holding them in your hands and giving them a squeeze and a shake.  I didn't think a toaster would be one.

While we decorated, we watched a season of Great British Baking Show.  It was perfect!  And, it's left me inspired for cookie week around here next weekend.  Now that I remember how (I think I ended up making 4 batches last year before I got it right), I might even make a batch of divinity.  The yule log was fun last year, but I think I need a different Christmas cake this year.  No ideas yet, just thinking about it.  

My Mom was on my mind a lot around Thanksgiving and I made a couple of her favorites; cornbread dressing, and candied sweet potatoes.  Both came out perfect!  While no one else wanted my sweet potatoes, Sydney's boyfriend thought they were wonderful!  I even heard him say something about real southern cooking.  Syd and Rob still treated them like they were Satan's covered dish contribution, but I didn't care.  And, they're easy enough that I should make them more often, just for me.  I remember my Mom being very anxious that they wouldn't come out like my Grandmother's.  They're supposed to come out "almost translucent" and mine didn't do that, but they were mighty tasty all the same.  

I've noticed that my Mom leaves the spices out of her recipes.  She's left the nutmeg out of the sweet potatoes, the cloves out of the pumpkin pie, and the sage out of the dressing.  These were all flavors my Grandmother added and I can only assume my Mom didn't care for them, so left them out.  That's based on one clue: I know she didn't like sage in her dressing.  When Rob and I used to go for the holidays, we'd joke about the bland food.  But bland or not, there was always plenty of it and for even the most picky of us, there would be at least one something that we liked, so no one walked away hungry.  That's how you get one plate with a grilled t-bone on it at a table full of turkey (brother in law).  

Everybody have a great week!  Find peace.  Find joy.  Search for what the season means in your life this year.  For me, it's the traditions.  My traditions, Rob's traditions, and the traditions I grew up with.  Melding them all together and making new traditions, some of which Sydney will likely carry on into her life.  Little links to the past's peaceful memories.  

Lane

A little of this, a little of that

 Last week got busy at work.  I was asked to help with two research projects, plus the two projects I was already working on really took off.  I was creating and explaining my ideas and getting people to adopt them.  Then I spent the weekend cleaning house.  Way back in the corners and along the baseboards.  I took down my cutting table.  I wasn't using it as a cutting table, but rather as a collecting table and I kept thinking that if it wasn't there, all that stuff would be put away.  All the stuff piled on it kept me from cutting on it, so I took it down and made plans for multiple ways I could set it up temporarily when I need it.  I also got some Christmas shopping done and figured out what I'm giving Syd (the really big vintage pyrex bowl that we always made pumpkin pie in because it's the same one pictured in the cookbook with the recipe).  She's making the pie for Thanksgiving this year, so it seemed like a good choice.  

I really didn't do much this week but work and cook some really, really tasty meals...not sure what was up, but my flavoring was spot on!  I hope that lasts until Thanksgiving and that I didn't spend it all last week.  I looked back at last week's photos and I'd taken pics of two strumming patterns from ukulele how-to videos and two recipes for Thanksgiving (green bean casserole (where is my recipe???) and poppy seed dressing).  Nothing of interest, so I'm going to share some I took a while ago of the small quilts on my studio walls.  

This is the quilt I made in a thread painting class a couple years ago.  I want to do something like this again and have some great ideas that I haven't executed.  

This is from a kit I bought many years ago at a quilt show boutique to make 4 or 5 small quilted Christmas ornaments.  It was vintage when I bought it.  I added some additional fabrics and picked some additional blocks and made this from it.  Each block is 3".

I love miniatures.  It's TX and really, how many bed and lap quilts do I need?  But, taking a full size quilt and making it as a miniature makes it much easier to store and display.  I took a class and made a basket block pincushion.  The basket block was the same as this quilt, so I made the quilt too.  The blocks are 3".   While it might take less fabric to make a miniature, it doesn't necessarily take less time.  

From a paper piecing kit I bought at a quilt show.  

I made this so long ago that I can't even remember where the pattern came from but I'm going to bet Alex Anderson't Simply Quilts had something to do with it (I was a BIG fan).  It has curved piecing and a little appliqué.  

3" blocks again.  I love taking a print and buying it in multiple colors and then making a quilt out of it.  I did that as part of a BOM many years ago and I've done it several times since.  I have a couple of really cool lines bagged up in the studio closet.  

I read a Jennifer Chiaverinni book about a quilter that moved to Hawaii and it inspired me to try Hawaiian appliqué.  Around that time, we were vacationing on Arkansas and there was a quilt shop there that specialized in pre-cut appliqué.  He sold it as pre-cut kits, but offered to machine cut mine using any fabric I chose.  I bought his kit and the next year, when we went on vacation, I took that as my project.  There is a bag in my fabric stash with a piece of golden buttery yellow and a slightly off white to make a bed sized quilt like the one in the book.  There's even a pattern in the bag.  One day.  

Another class.  She sold an apple core ruler and we learned to make the blocks.  My first experience with curved machine piecing.  

When I was really studying color, I bought a brown, multi-colored fabric and then chose fabrics from my stash to go with it and I made several quilts.  There's at least a table runner and another wall hanging, but the smallest one hangs in the studio.  The squares are 1".

There are some others, many be for another day.  

I finally had the nerve to let Rob hear me practice the uke.  He was setting up Christmas village on Saturday and I played everything I can play from my songbook, except the Christmas carols.  He said he enjoyed it.  I sang, but very quietly and sometimes I could hear him singing along.  Singing is my weak point, but it's getting better as my ability to control my breath gets better.  I've been buying inexpensive ukes and decided that for Christmas, I wanted a nice one, so I did some shopping and found out that you can spend as much as $4100 on a ukulele.  A UKELELE!  Anyway, I found out who the best makers were and kept a watch on what was available and found one that has a "blemish" and was on sale for half price and I pounced on it, getting twice as much for what I was willing to spend.  There are reasons to have multiples.  They sound differently, and I've found that some songs sound better on a small instrument that sounds a little like a banjo and some sound better on a larger instrument with a deeper resonance that sounds more like a guitar.  They can also be strung differently to give different voicing, so I plan to string two differently so I can try that out.  I still play like someone that's only been playing for 5 months, but it's a little better every day.  

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you can enjoy NOW!  Don't put it off.  We don't know what's going to happen.  All we can do is enjoy today as if it might be the last day.  

Lane

Staying busy

I've been filling the time I'd normally be focused on the news with plenty of other things.  Silly stuff, but it feels especially important to be organized right now.  And, it's autumn, so there are plenty of gardening tasks that need to be done.  Rob put his greenhouse up on Saturday, so he's ready.  I didn't get quite that far.  I had some pruning and weeding to do and after that, I cleared off the vegetable patch, which is also where my portable greenhouse will go.  I could spend a whole weekend in the permanent greenhouse, just cleaning up all the little messes I made and left during the heat of summer, when my energy was zapped and I just couldn't put those pots back where they belonged or sweep up the little bit of dirt I spilled.  And, the spiders had a hey-day in there this year, so I need to sweep out the cobwebs.  A lot happens out there in a year.  

I'm keeping up with the news, enough.  Just a little here or there.  Nothing that sounds too sensational.  Anything that's about real people and not politics.  I'm taking comfort from preparing.  I cleaned my pantry this weekend so I could make a little room to store a little more food.  I bought a couple of things that I was going to need soon and were on sale and that I thought might get more expensive later, including a new pair of walking shoes.  It's not that I believe anything bad is going to happen.  I can be as optimistic as Rob and believe that we won't be affected too badly.  But, the election has made everything so unpredictable.  I'm less worried about what little t will do than I am about him losing control of the chaos...starting a downward spiral that he can't stop and that we all get caught up in.  

In the meantime, there's still work to prep for next year's garden.  This year, that meant some digging up and dividing.  This area used to be three clumps of yellow daylillies and a large clump of amaryllis.  There's still a clump of daylillies and some of the amaryllis, but now there's also a small clump of spider lily, a white Nile lily and a purple one, and a small clump of yellow Louisiana iris.  There are two other small beds that got some transplants this weekend as well.  I made room in the sun for a couple of daylilies that were still in shady spots and in digging them up, I dug up some shade loving volunteers that I moved into a little shade garden that I've been struggling with all year.  It's a weird spot that's shady until very late in the day when it gets about an hour of very intense, hot, end-of-day sun.  

It's shrimp plant season.  I love my shrimp.  I'm about to move one that's not doing as well.  I moved this one a couple years ago and it's thriving now.  I love this one because it's a shrimp plant that's the color of cooked shrimp.  I couldn't resist.  These come tagged as full sun plants, and that's where I put them, but around here, they like a little afternoon shade.  

I've also been playing in the aquarium.  About every 3 years, my aquarium needs a "reboot".  The fish start to age out and I end up with a couple of fish and a boring tank that's more burden than pleasure.  And, then I pick a theme (active tank or slow, relaxing tank) and add some fish and a couple of live plants and off we go for another 3 years of me enjoying being a fish keeper.  Rob tells me that there are people that are fish keepers and people that are fish buyers.  The people in the fish store know the fish buyers because they're there all the time, spending money.  They get extra attention and their questions are taken seriously. The staff don't know the fish keepers because we're only there every few years.  We're treated like uneducated hobbyists and twice I've had my questions or decisions laughed at...not in a kind way.  

There are only a few fish in there right now and most of them are bottom feeders to help clean up the tank.  I'm adding fish slowly so I don't overtax the cycle that converts ammonia to the nitrite that feeds the plants that create extra oxygen in the water.  

We were in Petsmart yesterday buying plants and I saw a school of the next fish I plan to buy.  They're bright red (cherry barbs) and fast swimmers and should really add some movement to the tank.  Then maybe a shark.  I've never raised a shark before.  

Do you ever walk past someone's car and think 'I think we'd be friends'?

Everybody have a great week.  Find something that makes you happy and gives you peace, whether you're worried about the future or not.  Don't buy in to the news media's desire to shock you and keep you clicking.  Try to find something that's important to you and focus on that.  Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  I've been practicing making cornbread for dressing.  And, playing the ukulele.  And, the garden and the aquarium and cooking.  And, work.  Whatever it takes to slow your heart rate and help you relax your face muscles and maybe sit down for a few minutes, without wringing your hands.  

Lane

Something else

I didn't get much done last week.  I just shut down.  I kept things going at work, but I didn't start anything new.  I just wasn't feeling up to it.  I cooked for a good part of yesterday, which always helps...it's casserole weather this week.  But, mostly I was introspective.  I made plans for how to adapt, and this week, I'll be implementing them.  

Someone commented on my post-election post that they didn't understand what the big deal is, there are always elections and disagreements.  I was jealous.  How nice it must be to not be afraid.  My greatest fear is health insurance.  I don't think it will take long for them to start mucking about in that, and me and my pre-existing condition may not be able to afford coverage or the medications I take.  I am very afraid of that.  I plan to put a pin in my early retirement plans in case I need the company's health plan until I'm officially 65.

And, speaking of retirement, experience has taught me that when republicans have too much power, they stick a straw in the stock market and steal all the retirement funds.  I'm too old to be able to recover from that again, so I'm trying to more heavily invest in the bond market.  I've been focused on the bond market since the first time I saw them drain the stock market like that.  It's been long enough for most people to forget, but I remember how angry that made me.  

I am so jealous of anyone that isn't afraid.  

But, life goes on and my niece had her baby.  A beautiful little girl.  They sent pictures and everyone looks so happy.  I don't know what the rest of the family is saying, but I think she looks like her daddy.  

I finished another project over the weekend.  I've been tatting the little 3.5" squares for a couple months.  I enjoyed making them, but the finished product is a mountain of obvious errors.  I've been toying with the idea of making it again.  I don't know whether I will, but tatting is such a portable project.  Not like the other UFO I'm working on, an afghan with its bag of yarn and bulk.  I can watch TV and tat, or sit in the yard, or ride in the car, and the whole project is held in my hands.  The closest runner up for portable projects is probably knitting socks.  

Anyway, I got to practice multiple new skills on this one, including using two shuttles, each with a different color thread, and adding beads to my work.  The inspiration photo was four squares and I thought why not go bigger, because that's how I think, right?  I have a square table that it should fit perfectly, but I haven't tried it yet.  I just didn't love the finished product as much as I thought I would.  

This is the afghan project I picked back up.  I was so excited when I started this, but goodness it's taking a long time.  And, it's not nearly as big as I remember it being when I set it aside for the summer.  Can't sit with an afghan in my lap in summer, but it's a perfect winter project.  

Everybody have a good week.  We will adapt.  Things will change.  And, we will do the best we can to survive.  And, somehow, we will figure out how to be nice to people that are not nice.  Because that's all that we can do.  I have no interest in the news.  Not interested in watching the party leaders point fingers in the blame game.  Not interested in reading about the wealthy turning their backs on their positions to kiss trump's ring.  Not interested in the pundits telling us why Harris lost.  We all know why.  The good guys only win in the end.  So, this is clearly not the end.  

Lane

And, the next day

Rob woke me with the sad news yesterday.  Oh, how I would have loved to stay in bed.  

But, Bella needed to be let out.  And Dottie needed her first, second, and third walks.  I needed breakfast.  I still needed to answer questions about the project I submitted on Tuesday and I needed to get that file to the data analyst.  I needed to eat that spaghetti at lunch...maybe not all of it, but whatever.  I needed to help some customers with problems.  I needed to order a toaster while I can still afford it.  I played the ukulele a lot.  I played my whole songbook, including the dozen or so Christmas carols.  I learned the strumming pattern for a new song.  Until my fingers hurt.  And then Rob needed supper.  And, the dogs needed out.  And, then it was bedtime again.  

And then it was today and Bella needed to be let out.

The things I needed to do got me through the day.  

I hope you're also finding a way to cope with the fact that 72 million of our fellow citizens voted for the right to be an asshole whenever and to whomever they choose.  

I saw these tweets in the news that helped.  A little bit anyway.  

Chin up.  Shoulders back.  Being a good person IS what it's all about for us.  

Wrapping things up

 I've been working on multiple projects to finish them up.  Some are holiday gifts, so can't share yet, but this sweater was for me.  I've been working on it about a year, with long breaks when I would get tired of it and need to work on something else.  All that's left is buttons and I believe I have a nice set of brown ones that I didn't use on the last sweater I made.  

I was more sure about the gold yarn last year when I bought it.  This year, I was in a different 'fashion mood' and was worried that it would be too bold, but once I had it on and felt how soft it was and saw how well it fit and went with blue, I stopped worrying.  The yarn is a wool/cotton combination.  One or both of those has a short staple and it made the finished product "fuzzy", but blocking the pieces seemed to control some of that.  

I don't care for how the collar was made.  Instead of picking up stitches around the body and adding the collar to the sweater, the collar was made as a separate piece and sewn on.  I made 40-something inches of it and sewed that on so that I only had the bulk of the sweater in my lap while I was making the button holes.  I marked where the buttons should be on the sweater and then knitted and sewed collar to that point, made the button hole and kept going to the next one.  The button holes are totally decorative.  If I ever tried to button it, they'd pull and make that weird scalloped stretched shape across the front, not because the sweater is tight but because of how they're made.  I guess that's okay.  If it's ever cold enough that I need to button it, I probably won't care how it looks.  

The election wraps up tomorrow...or soon after.  Rob shared a meme that said something like If you don't know why your gay friend is afraid right now, then you don't have a gay friend.  You just know someone that's gay.  It's true.  I am afraid.  I'm afraid I'll lose my right to be married.  I'm afraid I'll lose my right to live my life the way I want to and out loud, not hiding it under a bushel to make the false christians comfortable.  My only feedback on that meme is that gay people and trans people are not the only ones afraid.  Women, black people, Latinos, and actual Christians are all afraid.  And, still that's not all the people that are being made to fear by a small, insignificant criminal, so hell bent on staying out of jail that he's willing to bring down our country for it.  

I also saw this.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Stephanie Ruhle asked a young non-binary student "If you were to ask Vice President Harris a question, what would it be?"

The student replied "How soon do you think we can get the Equality Act passed?"

Stephanie then asked "How about Donald Trump?"

The student replied "I would ask him 'Do you see me as a human?'"

'How soon will I be fully equal' compared to 'do I exist to you?'  What a telling contrast to illustrate the difference between the candidates.  

Worthless piece of shit could spend nine billion dollars at beauty spas and he still gonna look like Grandpa Munster in a grizzled old man beard.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Sorry, that one's so funny I had to say it again!

Rob and I had a serious conversation in the car yesterday.  He said he was feeling pretty calm about the outcome, whatever it is.  I said I was so stressed I could barely contain it.  We agreed that we make a good balance.  A lot of mine is personal.  How dare people that say they love me vote in ways that would harm me and my family.  Logically, I know that they have shifted all their focus onto pretending that they are victims and making sure not to look around their lives and count their many (many, many, oh so many) blessings.  They've lost focus on their own families and on God.  The family that raised me would have taken cyanide before they voted for a man that bragged about grabbing women by the genitals, got caught paying off a sex worker, was convicted of digital rape, was credibly accused of treason,  and lies ABOUT EVERYTHING.  Sometimes I wonder what happened to that family.

I can't leave that thought hanging there like that.  I moved away.  I became a person that I am proud of.  I remained the good person I was taught to be.  I took lessons I learned from my Daddy and became a success.  I learned to overcome the prejudices and controlling habits I'd seen and embraced people as equals.  I'm an encourager.  About a million times, my Mom said 'Raise a child in the way that is right and in their old age, they will not depart from it' and then she'd say something like 'I guess you're not old yet."  

I'm old now. 

So, here's a flower.  An out of season Amaryllis blooming outside (not forced).  Mine will not be blooming this month.  They're recovering from summer nicely, but not enough to bloom.

Everybody have a good week!  Try to be calm and relaxed.  Read a book (not the news).  Watch a movie (not the news).  At this point, there's not much we can do, unless you've been waiting to cast your vote.  And if you have, then please be sure to vote.  Don't let that privilege get away from you this year because it is oh, so important.  Maybe more important than it's ever been.  

Stay calm and carry on.  Lane