Unraveled Wednesday

Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday.

On the knitting front, I'm working on a Hitchhiker and a sock, steadily but very s-l-o-w-l-y. I'm busy with work (literally out standing in fields) and outside work here at home, so knitting has taken a back seat as the weather has warmed. 

My reading has slowed down also. I'm listening to Midnight Riot and Before Green Gables on my ipod, and while they're both enjoyable, neither one is a page-turner. What I have been doing is some planning for Mary's Summer Book Bingo. Here is my card:

I've been putting book possibilities for my squares on my goodreads book bingo 2017 shelf:

In the next few days, I'm going to sit down with my printed card and start penciling some of these book titles into squares so I can see where I stand, what books I need to look for at the library, and what squares I still need books for. We can really start reading at any time, as any book you finish between May 27 and September 4 will count for Book Bingo. So, any suggestions for books that will make me a better person? I welcome all your ideas for this interesting square (and any other suggestions for must-reads that you would like to make)!

What are you reading and knitting this week?

Range of Emotions

I have been getting tired of my normal Monday posts that are really just a list of what I did over the weekend (and I suspect many of you would rather read something more interesting). While I haven't yet come up with anything new and exciting, I did recall some of my feelings while looking at the photos I took on Saturday and Sunday.

Excitement at finding yellow and blue columbines among all my red ones.

Relief that we got the tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts seedlings planted in the garden,

even if they don't look like much now.

Dismay that the deluge on Saturday would drown the poor things. It did not, but the peas and tomatoes are currently in a bit of a swamp.

Contentment while baking more zucchini bread.

Anticipation that Justin might make it home on Sunday for an overnight visit.

A bit of sadness that things didn't work out, especially because today is his birthday.

Willpower when I packed the six dozen chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles I had baked for Justin into bags and containers to freeze for when he is next home.

Much happiness, joy, and extraordinary pride that I am lucky enough to have such a wonderful 24-year-old son!

Summer of '74

In the summer of  '74 my main concerns were could I get an even tan before I started my all-important senior year in high school, would I pass my driver's license test, and how to avoid sweating too much (and thus dropping my baton) at majorette camp. College was also in the back of my mind, and the whole country had been consumed by Watergate since the previous year, but these were small things compared to majorette camp.

So all the majorettes went off to camp where we sweated, dropped our batons, and learned the new halftime routines with the band. We spent two weeks of long, hot August days practicing, but then something extraordinary happened.

Hundred of teenage camp attendees were summoned to the cafeteria on Thursday night where a TV was wheeled in and we all sat, stunned and quiet, and listened to Richard Nixon's resignation address.

"I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first. America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad."

If we hadn't fully understood the momentousness of the occasion that night, we certainly did the next morning when practice was cancelled and we watched Nixon leave the White House.

We all went home the next day, and I spent the next few weeks before school started learning exactly who Howard Hunt, James McCord, Haldeman, Erlichman, Mitchell, and Dean were, understanding the role of the Pentagon Papers, and reading All the President's Men. 

Forty-three years later, I'm hoping that the current-day Woodward and Bernstein are out there somewhere, that the current-day Archibald Cox has some (albeit slim) chance of being appointed, and the current-day Leon Jaworski can be appointed when the first Special Prosecutor is fired. We may not be there yet, but as even a 16-year-old majorette learned, the truth came out in the summer of '74 and I have to believe it can happen again.

Ideally

The Think Write Thursday prompt for today is to write a post describing your ideal day.

So, ideally, my day would include ...

the perfect cup of tea,

blue skies,

plenty of relaxed time for knitting,

yet more relaxed time for reading,

time spent in nature,

some flowers,

and my family.

(I'm not-so-secretly hoping that Sunday will include at least some of these things!)

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Read other Think ... Write ... Thursday! posts here, and sign up for Carole and Kat's great idea here.

Unraveled Wednesday

Joining Kat and friends for Unraveled Wednesday, but thankfully there's no unraveling going on here!

This week I finally got my Peace Cowl off the needles and took it outside to put on plants, flowers, and bushes in my quest for a decent photo.

I also started a sock yesterday from the Solemate I found in my stash search last week. It's compelling knitting and kept me from some doing some work that I should have been focusing on, but fiddle-dee-dee, I'll work later after I have a pair of socks done.

Reading has been slow going. Midnight Riot is a fun book, and Moments of Seeing is comfortable reading for reflective times, but I think my reading mojo has really been devoted to thinking about books I might want to read for Mary's Summer Book Bingo. I hope you'll consider joining in. It's something I look forward to every year, and some of my favorite books have been ones that I've read for Book Bingo.

What are you reading and knitting this week?

Weekends at Loose Ends

I had big plans for last weekend. Most of them involved planting seedlings in the garden, moving some roses and clematis that I thought would be happier in a better location, and getting some of the new plants I bought into the ground. But with a whole weekend of rain, temperatures in the 50s, and frost predicted, I had to change those big plans a bit.

I wanted to plant my tomato seedlings mainly because they've gotten too tall to fit under the grow lights, but even an impatient gardener doesn't set out tomatoes when there is a danger of frost. I rearranged the plants I usually have on the mud porch to make room for the two flats of tomatoes, hoping that they'll get enough light there until I can hopefully plant them next weekend.

I did brave the rain to move four roses and two clematis, and even though I got soaking wet and muddy, so did the plants, which is a good thing. A rainy day also means reading time, so I made some tea to warm up and finished a book. I was unsure how to review Celine, but finally wrote one I was relatively happy with.

I also took inventory of the shredded zucchini still in my freezer, and when I found more than 30 packs, I decided it was time to bake some zucchini bread. I made four loaves and spent Sunday afternoon doing a zucchini bread drop-off to friends and family. I hadn't planned to stay long, but had some really long and delightful conversations at each stop. Those days when we take a breath, converse gently with other humans and have time to look around & enjoy the world are precious.

There are also some literal loose ends. My Peace Cowl was only six rows and a cast-off from completion, but at 11:45 pm Sunday night with more than 200 stitches still left to cast-off, I had to give in and set it aside. I knew that if I tried to finish when I was that tired, there would be mistakes and sloppiness that I would regret. I think I can say with confidence that after finishing the cast-off and weaving in loose ends, I will have a completed Peace Cowl within a day or so.

I hope your weekend was a good one and your week is off to a great start!

Friday Letters

I haven't written any Friday Letters for a long time, but I do have a few this week to say what's on my mind, take the opportunity to offer a thank you, and wonder about things. Let's open the mail ...

Dear Verizon,

Thank you for offering the worst customer service I've experienced in quite a while. You felt it necessary to switch me to something called Visual Voice Mail on my cell phone, but I don't know exactly what it is because the app doesn't work and crashes every. single. time. I've tried following your instructions to go back to Basic Voice Mail, but that didn't work. I tried calling Technical Assistance, but I didn't know my PIN. When you texted me a temporary PIN and I tried to input that, you told me it wasn't valid. When I called regular Customer Service, they told me I needed to call Technical Assistance, and oh, by the way, did I need them to assign me a temporary PIN? I told them I already had one that didn't work, so no thank you.

I may head to the Verizon store after I've restored my supply of patience. I'm betting they'll tell me I need to upgrade my phone, and this broken, unremovable app that renders my phone almost useless just might convince me. Was that your evil plan all along?

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Dear Larimer County Colorado Assessor Department,

Thank you for providing the best customer service I've experienced in quite a while. I called with a question about how you assess property value for taxes and the very kind woman I spoke with answered my question thoroughly, politely, and even emailed me with additional information. I was really calling just to understand your process, not to complain about property taxes, but you apologized for the large increase in property value (and probably a significant increase in taxes). When I said that even the increased taxes were only about 20% of the property taxes we are currently paying in New Jersey, you said that now at least you had something to tell Coloradoans. I'm not sure that "Hey, it's cheaper than NJ" will catch on as your state motto, but I'm almost happy to pay taxes if it gets me accurate information conveyed in such a friendly manner. I don't suppose you can help me with my cell phone, too?

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Dear Cheez-Its Guy,

I have to commend you for your incredible patience. When I first heard the woman approach you while you were stocking your company's crackers on the shelves, I assumed she was asking you for help reaching something on an upper shelf. But when she proceeded to loudly tell you that she liked Cheez-Its, except for that awful cheese taste, I had to stop and eavesdrop. She asked you where she could find the Cheez-Its without cheese, and you only hesitated for a second before explaining to her that cheese was in their name and all your products were made with 100% cheese. This only seemed to anger her and she proclaimed that she was no longer going to buy Cheez-Its and you needed to tell your boss how angry she was that she could not buy a simple box of Cheez-Its without cheese. Your apology sounded sincere and your demeanor was calm and courteous the whole time, while I was having a hard time not laughing hysterically. Thank you for the entertainment during an otherwise boring shopping trip!

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Wishing everyone a great weekend, with lots of good customer service and plenty of Cheez-Its!