Friday Letters

I've written a few Friday Letters to recap my week, say what's on my mind, and take the opportunity to offer a thank you or two. Let's open the mail...

Dear Guardian Angel,

Thank you for watching over Justin at the end of March. Even though he drives drove a big diesel truck, his truck was no match for the last surprise eight inches of *%&$#*! snow and ice that sent him careening into a marble post, mailbox, and tree. I'm so incredibly thankful that he was okay, even though his truck was totaled. Every time I complain about endless calls with the insurance company, all the other associated details that have to be dealt with, being without my car for the past several weeks because Justin needs it to get to school, and now the process of looking for another vehicle, I stop as soon as I catch myself, and say another prayer of gratitude that he was okay. Please continue to watch over him; he is a 21-year old boy man male and could possibly even use an extra guardian angel if there is one to spare.

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Dear Verizon,

Just a customer service tip, "Oh, crap" is not what your customers want to hear from you after being assured by three different associates that you can easily transfer contacts and photos. After two and a half hours and a suggestion from a helpful customer that happened to walk in, then you were able to easily transfer things. Good job!

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Dear Life,

The past four months have been a little trying in many different ways. If there is any possibility, could I please ask for a slight reprieve for the next month or so? It doesn't have to be anything big, maybe just an hour or two to sit peacefully, concentrate on reading a real book, knit without making so many mistakes because I'm worrying about other things, and not feel cold dread in the pit of my stomach every time the phone rings because I'm expecting bad news. Thanks for considering my request!

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Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, safe, and smart weekend!

To the Rescue!

Now that spring is ever so slowly returning to my neighborhood, today seemed like a good day for one of my personal spring rituals. Our past five days have been chilly, grey, and rainy, but the rain has served to melt away the very last dregs of snow. This is a real cause for rejoicing, but it also revealed how badly the lawn suffered from winter's ravages.

We are not well-manicured lawn people; with lots of shade trees and plenty of lawn apathy, we can only grow some grass, but lots of moss. I think it's beautiful, soft, and fun to walk on, and since I'm the one that mows the lawn, my husband's desire for more "real grass" gets vetoed.

The towering piles of snow killed some of the grass and moss, leaving big bare patches scattered throughout the lawn, and our resident deer herd, digging and foraging for something to eat, dug up their fair share of moss. We scraped up some large patches of moss with our enthusiastic shoveling, so it was clearly time for my spring ritual - Moss Rescue Day!

Big bare patch

Deer digging patch

Moss Rescue Day consists of walking around the yarn, picking up any scraped or shoveled moss patches and using them to fill in the bare patches. I know, it doesn't sound exciting and I'm posting odd photos of dirt, but it does my heart good to save the moss and try to make the yard look a bit better and greener.

Before: Ugly bare patch

After: Bare patch filled in with rescued moss

I don't have nearly enough rescued moss to fill in all the bare spots, but I do have a plan. In the next month or so when temperatures start to warm and grass and the existing moss start to really grow, I'm going to make several batches of moss milkshake, pour it on any places that are still bare, and happily watch my new moss grow. My neighbors already wonder about me, so I may be providing them with some extra entertainment. 

These lovely green patches of moss in my rock garden are already reproducing and spreading by producing spores, all part of the beauty of moss and why I look forward to Moss Rescue Day!

The Last 10, Plus One

This week's Ten on Tuesday topic is The 10 Last Books You Have Read. Luckily for me, Goodreads is one of the few places where I manage to stay up-to-date and organized, so this one should be easy. Including what I'm currently reading, my books are:

1.   The Golem and the Jinni - I'm reading (actually listening to) this one after Carole convinced me with her review. I was a little hesitant because the story sounds so different (almost odd!) but it's really wonderful so far.

2.   The Green Road -  Another current read, this Irish family saga is a pre-publication copy I was lucky enough to win through First Reads. I would probably be done with it if The Golem and the Jinni hadn't captured my attention so well.

3.   Better Than Before - A nonfiction book, that, while not bad, didn't really teach me anything I didn't already know. I need to stop thinking that new self-help books are going to solve all my problems and bad habits.

4.   Unless - A successful writer's oldest daughter drops out of college to become a panhandler, sitting on a street corner with a sign around her neck bearing the word "Goodness". I read this one in search of some parental insights. I don't know that I came away with any answers, but it did raise questions, which can also be a good thing.

5.   Hausfrau - Ugh! This is definitely not the book for me. I honestly couldn't even finish it (and I rarely abandon a book) after I grew weary of a protagonist intent on self-destruction of her decent life, without any desire to change herself or her circumstances. On the plus side, the cover is beautiful.

6.   The Martian - Science fiction with lots of science! MacGyver on Mars! I found the book fun, entertaining, and enjoyable. Some of the writing is adolescent, and if you're looking for evocative prose, a beautiful, complex story, character development, and introspection, I'm afraid you won't find it in this book, but you will find a compelling adventure.

7.   A Fatal Grace - This is the second in the Armand Gamache mystery series, and I liked it even more than the first. I've got the third and fourth books ready to go when The Golem and the Jinni release their hold on me.

8.   Station Eleven - Post-apocalyptic fiction is not my favorite, but the author managed to intertwine both the pre- and post- worlds in a well-written, thoughtful, and unique way. 

9.   The Shipping News - This was a reread for me, and I was thrilled to find that The Shipping News is one of the few books that stands up well to a reread and is even better than I had remembered!

10. If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This - This book illustrates some of the difficulties I have reading and rating a volume of short stories. Some of these stories are very, very good (the title story) and some are very much less so.

11. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend - This picture book is the 2015 Caldecott Medal winner, and I loved it so much that I had to include it as a bonus #11. I won't bore you with all my thoughts here in case picture books for children 3-6 years old aren't your thing, but you can take a look at my review if you're interested. It's possible that I may have ordered a copy for myself.

So, what are some of the last books you've read? I'd love to hear about them, good, bad, or in between!

It's a Seedy Business...

But it means that spring is finally approaching! I started some of our garden seeds about a week ago, and just seeing those little seedlings makes me happy. There are Napa cabbage, Brussels sprouts, three types of tomatoes, two types of watermelons, and five types of marigolds in the front two trays. I planted the back tray on Saturday with peppers and more tomatoes.

My started seeds usually live in our cheap cost-efficient planting arrangement - shelves from Costco with fluorescent fixtures suspended over them, housed in the dungeon basement. This is why I wish I had a greenhouse, but it works even though it's not pretty. It's more Mother Earth News than Martha Stewart.

I love how the watermelons look so strong and energetic, reaching for the sun.

Some of the marigolds are getting their first set of true leaves, above the seed leaves

 (or cotyledons for those that might remember some botany terms). 

I marvel that these tomato seedlings, some of which haven't even fully broken the seed coat, will be producing delicious red fruit in only four or five months.

I'm glad to finally be employed in some seedy business!

Friday Letters

I've written a few Friday Letters to recap my week, say what's on my mind, and take the opportunity to offer a thank you or two. Let's open the mail...

Dear People in Hospital Waiting Rooms,

I wish this was a thank you note, thanking you for leaving me alone to knit and listen to my audiobook in peace. Sadly, it is not. Instead, it's a note asking you to please never again spill your coffee on my prized Wollmeise while you are fondling my knitting without asking. The Hitchhiker I'm knitting with this yarn has many good memories already knit into it, but the memory and stain from your clumsiness is one that I hope I can wash out.

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Dear Mother Nature,

Six more inches of snow on the first day of spring is just a mean girl prank. I'm sad that I've turned into that cranky old lady that complains about the weather all the time, so I'll stop if you'll stop.

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Dear Aetna,

Thank you for making all my interactions with you pleasant and expedient. Thank you for reminding me why I despise insurance companies.

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I had a less than stellar week, so my apologies for the bad-humored letters. I'll try to make next week a much better one!

Ten on Tuesday - At the End of the Rainbow

Today's Ten on Tuesday topic is 10 Things You Would Buy If You Found a Pot of Gold. I've searched at the end of the rainbow and never found the mythical pot of gold, but if I did, here's what I would use it for:

1.  A house for our Oldest Son - I'm not sure that members of my sons' generation will be able to purchase a house, no matter how hard they work and save. A house would give him a great start and enable him to put his money towards other things grownups should have, like a car, savings, health insurance... 

2.  A house for our Youngest Son - Because he deserves the same great start as his older brother.

3.  Plane and train tickets - The gold would be put to good use buying plane and train tickets so I could visit my sons more often.

4.  Books, lots of books - Many of these would be for me, but I would also give our small local library a big infusion of cash to purchase more books for their collection.

5.  Yarn and more yarn - Lots of cashmere, alpaca, and maybe I'll even try some qiviut!

6.  A greenhouse - I'm getting ready to start my garden seeds and this has helped fuel my fantasy of how nice a really large greenhouse would be.

7.  Lots of plants to fill my greenhouse - I would fill my huge greenhouse with dwarf citrus trees, Brugmansias, Epiphyllums, Bougainvilleas, lots of amaryllis bulbs, and many orchids.

8.  An on-call masseuse - My neck and shoulders are often tense and achey, so it would be wonderful to page my masseuse and have him give me a relaxing shoulder massage. I don't think I would need him more than an hour a day, so I would be happy to send him to any of you who might also need some relaxation.

9.  Different types of 25-year-old whiskey - It would be fun to buy and try several different bottles of well-aged whiskey and see if I can taste any difference between it and the younger, more affordable stuff.

10. Another college education - I've been to college and graduate school, but there are so many courses I never had the chance to take that I'd jump at the chance to return to school and take some things that really interest me, like Introductory Beekeeping, Queen Rearing, Plant Science, Literature, Creative Writing, and Philosophy. I bet I'd even be more engaged as an older, wiser student.

What are you going to buy when you find your pot o' gold?

One Month Early

I'm rarely a month early for anything, so it's quite possible that I'm really 11 months late with this scarf. I started it for my husband's secretary, Arlene, a week before Secretary's Day in 2014, under some delusion that the knitting gnomes were going to visit in the night and knit while I slept. Of course, I didn't finish it in time, but I did complete it in August with the intention of gifting it to Arlene when she retired at the end of the year. She decided to postpone her retirement, so I put the scarf away without blocking it.

When I was shopping for cards for our many February birthdays, Hallmark alerted me that Administrative Professionals Day is April 22 this year. Usually I'm running around the day before, trying to find a gift to show Arlene how wonderful she is, but this year I don't have to do that!

I blocked the scarf.

Admired and petted it a bit. (I knit it with Smooshy with cashmere.)

I wrapped it.

Now all I have to do is remember where I put it and remember to have John give it to Arlene on April 22. I do hope she likes it, but I'm really loving the feeling of being prepared a month early!