The New Normal

Moving slowly, very slowly, forward after my mother's death. I've been back to New Jersey 3 times since. Never easy, but I so enjoy my father's company and (surprisingly) he mine! Of course I love to see Pepper. Here they are...

MOMMY

Barbara Ann Walsh Giacobbe

January 17, 1935-April 13, 2016

Being Green

When I think of "being green" I think of this guy!  It's not easy being green and with the linger Winter weather it's been even harder!

 

 

Dolly Emily came back with me from my parent's house in August.  She was a well-loved companion of my niece, who is now 18 years old.  All of Emily's long red hair had fallen out and she was in desperate need of a makeover.  I purchased this cute little wig on Etsy and ta-da, the new and improved Emily.  She is all decked out in her St. Patrick's Day attire.

 

 

 

The greenery is coming around in the yard too.  The daffodils and crocus and exceptionally hardy this year.  They are popping up in places I hadn't even realized they were planted.

 

Working on a pair of green socks.  This is Knit Picks Stroll Tweed "forest".  I am attempting a little diamond pattern around the ankle.  But when I try them on the pattern all but disappears.........

 

 

Not quite green, but sporting some green felt leaves, I have mage this bunch of 20 little calico carrots.  Not sure what I'll use them for.  They have a bit of green twine on the top so they could be hung as ornaments or used as napkin rings.

 

 

 

Even less green is this wildly colorful design by Kathy Barrick, "Moon Dance".  I have lusted after this chart for many years and finally bought it last Summer.  It was such fun to stitch that I didn't even notice that I had cut the fabric very short and it wouldn't fit into this frame from my stash.  So I had to stitch on a little "mat" from stash quilting fabric.

 

This lovely lady has no green at all.  At age 30 Vasiliki Milousi of Greece is still competing on the International Elite level.  Here is my interpretation of her in cross-stitch.

 

As I set out today to my usual swimming routine, a quick trip to the bank and then home to enjoy a mild day without many obligations, my morning was shattered by the news that my uncle had passed away.  To say I have an interesting family dynamic is an understatement.  I have never met nor spoken to this uncle before.  He is my mother's eldest brother. A prominent doctor, my grandparent's pride and joy.  In the early 1960s there was some sort of argument/rift/disagreement that broke the family contact with this uncle and the children of his first marriage.  I had heard, in my childhood,

 

 the whispered conversation among the adults on holidays but I don't really know the whole story.  In recent years I have come to know, via Facebook, my cousin, his daughter from his second marriage.  When I return to New Jersey for the funeral next week I will meet her in-person for the first time.

Maybe the older generation will learn something from this.....and the younger folks too.  Life is too short to hold grudges for decades.  There are so few people in the world who are your true family that you can not isolate or cut off anyone.  Yes, I am sure there is fault on both sides of this mystery, but now it's time to move forward with the time we have left.

God bless you Uncle Michael, May you rest in peace.

 

 

In A New Direction

 

Last week's bitter cold and snow has turned to milder temperatures and a strange big yellow ball in the sky that emits heat!  What is that thing?  THE SUN, at last!!  As the weather moves in a new direction, so does my crafting.  The cross-stitch has been seen in months and felt crafting has taken over.  Even the doll clothes and the sock knitting have taken a back seat to this obsessive little venture.

 

 

Last year it was donuts.  The past few weeks I am on to Swiss Roll Cakes.  The Japanese seem to have cornered the market on amazing books on this topic.  Some of the sweets I recognize and some are native Japanese and I have no idea what they are.

 

 

 

They are completed with the proper icing, sprinkles, nuts, whipped cream and candies and are set up in my ,Etsy shop

 

 

Now on to other things that need my attention!

 

January's Last Day

Although Winter is long from over, it certainly feels like it is today.  After several weeks of bitter cold with on-and-off snow, today is a warm and breezy 60 degrees F. Nice enough to trim down some dead branches from the pine trees and free up some grape vines.  I am filling the birdfeeders, refreshing the suet blocks and heated water bowls...all those lovely little outdoor projects that I dread when it's below freezing.  I know the wildlife appreciate my effort.  A few new "visitor" cats have been spotted around the neighborhood. I just can't bring myself to label them as stray or feral.  The are visiting me and I will show them the kindness and hospitality they deserve.  These two striped boys have been down at the neighbors house recently

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  I know I've seen these same cats (or similar ones) around my yard too.  The black and white boy who's been named Oreo has allowed me to pet him!  I know the little girl across the street cares for him and feeds him.  So do several other neighbors.  He lives in the barn that used to belong to the former owners of my house.  When the land was all divided up in the 1970s the barn is now part of the across-the-street neighbors property.  Oreo still makes his weekly visit to my house for a little petting but I refrain from giving him treats or food. Not to be cruel, but to encourage him to NOT cross the street.

On the stitching/crafting/sewing there has been limited action.  I am very into felt crafts lately, especially little sweets in the Japanese style.  Not that the sweets themselves are necessarily all Japanese, but it seems that most of the good books and patterns published on this topic are from Japan. I made this cake from a papier mache bax for my mother's 81st Birthday.  It is covered with little Andes mint candies, her favorite flavor.

My sewing addiction involves fashion doll clothes based on the outfits seen on "Downton Abbey"  As the show progresses through it's final season circa 1925/26, my style favorites still linger in the very early 20s.  Here is a collection that Lady Mary or Lady Edith might wear.

My lovely cats continue to be my loyal companions.  We miss our walks outside in the field, but everyone has found an indoor occupation to keep them busy  Simon has inherited a little play mat from the neighbor cat, Houdini.

 It makes a crunchy sound and has feathers attached to the corners.  Mel has discovered that the space heater under the sink has added benefits besides keeping the pipes from freezing.

The last two weekends have been totally taken up by gymnastics competitions of marathon proportion.  Looking forward to the next two weekends of peaceful pursuits and enjoying the paycheck well-earned from the past weeks. Many good results for my girls this season on all levels.

I've prematurely invested a bit of my money in a stash of sock yarn.  Knit Picks "Stroll" sock yarn was 20% off for the entire month of January.  I bought quite a bit and started my first more complex sock.  Most of my socks are of the "vanilla" variety...which I have learned in the vocabulary of trendy sock knitters means PLAIN!  So I upgraded myself to a basic basket weave pattern of knit 4, purl 4 for 4 rows and then the reverse for the next 4 rows.  I am pretty pleased with my results in this Hawthorne yarn called "Nob Hill".

Looking forward to catching up on all the PBS shows I've missed. Of course I can never get enough "Downton Abbey" and watch the re-runs over and over.  The new Civil War drama  "Mercy Street" is pretty good too.  PBS has been running last season of "Mr. Selfridge" so I hope this is leading towards a Season 4 very soon.

Happy February!