Confessions of a Grandma

For some reason, I got it into my head today that the scissors hanging naked in my sewing area just needed clothing. I made three scissor pockets out of felt scraps and two out of the blue flowered fabric I used for my sewing machine cover.  I also felt the need to make the ironing mitten because I had just enough material left. If you think all of my scissors are now clothed, you would be oh so wrong.  I actually horde scissors.  I have at least two pair in every room of my house. There is probably a scientific classification for those who horde scissors.  I'd do some research, but right now I am feeling really sleepy.  I'll save that task for another day.  Making scissor pockets has worn me out.

Bright blossoms are greeting me these days. Bee Balm Liatrus and Phlox Clematis Day Lily There are still garden tasks that occupy a part of each day.  I try to pull a few weeds on a regular basis.  This time of year, it does seem that the need for dead-heading increases as well.  I look at these balloon flowers.  I like their purple presence in my garden.  But it does not take long for them to abandon the job I assign to them--beautifying there designated space.  They quickly--and they are certainly not alone in this mid-summer season by any means--take up their selfish thrust to produce seed and ensure reproduction, taking on their own agenda entirely.  When I pinch them back, they keep on blooming, but they do need reminding who is in charge with each pinch. They kind of remind me of the politicians we elect, believing their promises of a brighter future for all.  All too soon, they are off on propagating a political future and forgetting those who made it all possible in

I had to go to visit the sewing machine shop to get a refresher course on using the buttonhole function on my sewing machine.  It is a NECCHI--a wonderful machine.  Once I was reminded how to use it the the buttonholer just goes ahead and makes perfect buttonholes.  EASY, no kidding! Before my 40 year old Singer sewing machine went to stitch heaven, I was thinking about buying a serger.   I thought they were complicated and temperamental after trying one out.  My NECCHI 4825 has ability to do overlock stitches and it has a serger setting.  It doesn't have all the threads and complicated threading that I've seen on regular serger machines.  I'm not sure how it works, but it really works well. I started a knit dress.  Knits are something I have avoided in the past, but this new machine is handling the job like a pro. I do love my new sewing machine.

It was a dark and rainy kind of day here today.  I spent a lot of time sewing.  It is nice to be able to sit on the breezeway and work no matter what the weather.  I made this shirt and a new cover for my sewing machine. Good grief, I could have used a bit of make-up here. I spent so much time weeding last week, I thought I could coast for the rest of July.  Guess what...the weeds I missed were about two feet high yesterday.  And speaking of July, I cannot believe it is almost over.  I have been in a bit of a fog lately.                                                      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ My sister-in-law introduced me to fennel last winter.  I used it in a spinach salad with dried cranberries and walnuts tonight--really yummy.  Mike had his lettuce, tomato and olive salad.  He had chicken.  I had roasted vegetables.  We shared some brown rice.  Some nights it feels like I am running a restaurant. Corn-on-the-cob season is just around the corner.  We both appreciate that.  Then it&#

I recieved the Bernie Buzz via e-mail today.  This is a newsletter put out by our Vermont State Senator, Bernie Sanders.  I copy it here, because I cannot agree with the man more than I do.  I  know that some pundits say boycott Vermont for our overly liberal ways.  I'm thinking...Bernie for President. With one week to go before an Aug. 2 deadline for raising the nation's debt limit, the stakes are enormous. Some in Congress continue to press for steep cuts in programs for working families. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid remain in jeopardy. Funds for education, child care, nutrition, affordable housing, environmental protection and energy independence also are at stake. When Republican leaders talk about $3 trillion or $4 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, with no new taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, please understand what they mean. SOCIAL SECURITY — The average Social Security recipient who retires at age 65 would get $560 less a year

We sat on the deck to watch the sunset as night tried to settle in. The sun seemed reluctant to give up its hold. Then we went inside and ate cheesecake.

I went to bed last night and watched flickers and flashes of light in the northern sky for the longest time.  I heard not one rumble of thunder--although I do have to admit that the windows were closed because the air conditioner was on.  It was hot and it was humid so I was thinking "heat lightning." I understand that heat lightning is just a regular old electrical storm that is so far away that you just cannot hear the thunder.  Still, those flashes were persistent and lasted for quite a long time.  Someone was getting a hell of a storm. It was hot again today, but the humidity was not so bad.  I did my library volunteer gig and then went for a short walk.  I even turned the oven on and baked a cheese cake that I topped with blueberries.  I used my adaptation of a recipe from Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen.  My copy is a 15 year anniversary edition--printed in 1992.  It all of a sudden occurred to me that that makes it a pretty old book--almost an antique.  I still

I set my sewing machine up in the breezeway during warmer weather.  Today, I had both doors open and, true to the name, a steady breeze was blowing through,  Not a cool breeze.  A breeze that might have originated in a blast furnace. Now, I know that there are those who would welcome a daytime temperature of 93.  And, I am not complaining.  I like hot weather.  I did not even raise a sweat sitting there sewing in my breezeway.  I did not go out for a brisk walk, though.  That might have turned me into a puddle.  It is supposed to stay in the 80's through the night.  That's, at the very most, a once a year event in Vermont.  Usually, we would try to arrange to be camping during these glorious summer days, but Mike has been too busy with his e-bay sales of motorcycle memorabilia.  All that "stuff" he collected over the years served him well in coming up with money for the Florida house.  Who would have thought? This poster was a hefty start to the house fund.  you w

It is official, now.  We had the closing on the place in Florida and now have the papers in hand.  We own a winter home in Florida and we are very happy about that for so many reasons.  We will take a trip down again in the fall just to get a feel for living there and to figure out what we may need to make it truly home for us. It is in Venice, where we wanted to be--about four miles from the beach.  It is further away from the Sarasota County libraries.  I may have to get myself a bicycle to tootle around town.  My brother suggested a Florida car--you know, one where I could not see over the steering wheel.  Three thousand comedians out of work and he makes jokes. Maybe winters will get longer and longer, now.  Our Vermont house has been very good for us, but it is a raised ranch.  That means those pesky stairs.  (My black and blues are fading now, BTW.)  It also means windows that are a story and a half high.  My ladder climbing days are definitely over.  If I can't ha

A recent post on Aunt Amelia's Attic  got me thinking and wondering about comments. I always like to read the comments that readers may leave and I often--but by no means always--like to leave a comment on the blogs that I read on a regular basis. But I'm thinking I don't really know the standard protocol. I see that some respond to individual comments on the same comment page.  That means, if you assume a conversation is taking place through comments, that you would have to check back for new comments.  That's extra time and effort I don't always make. Some bloggers send an e-mail as follow-up to a comment I have made on their blog.  It's nice to get e-mail that isn't selling me something. Sometimes it seems a response is called for--some kind of acknowledgement--but is it always expected?  Is there and Emily Post for bloggers?  Friends and family often ask me what a blog is or why I write on.  I say it is just like the diary I used to keep hidden

Sunday morning is flea market time for Mike.  Today I took the ride with him and wandered around amongst the many vendors.  Mike wandered in a different direction since we are never likely to stop and peruse the same merchandise anyway. One lady was selling, according to her sign, "handmade" "soap" with "shea" oil and "lavender" oil and on and on.  I had to wonder is her product was not really made by hand and maybe not even really soap--hence to quotation marks.  I have to believe the scents she used were chemically enhanced since they really were overwhelmingly strong and made me "sneeze" so I kept on walking. This reminded me that I was in a downtown shop in Venice last winter that prominently displayed ladies' purses.  I had just picked on up when the saleslady (and I think the store owner) proudly announced that all the purses were designer knockoffs.  Now, excuse me, but I was under the impression that that kind of thing w

I just handed over my debit card at the grocery store and did not even look at the total.  That only delayed the sticker shock.  I had to look at the receipt to enter it in the check book at home.  How do people with large families to feed afford to eat?? There are lots of sites with coupons and lots of sites with money-savings tips available on line.  I was moved to check a few out.  Being the daughter of depression-era parents, most of the tips were second nature to me. Don't shop while hungry--you'll spend more. Shop the periphery of the supermarket.  That's where the real food tends to be stocked. Avoid processed, pre-cooked, pre-washed, pre-chopped, and overly packaged items. Watch the specials, plan meals, and make lists. Buy only the amount of perishable that you can use before it goes bad or you just waste food and the money you spent on it. Use coupons only for something you would buy anyway. Watch the scanner.  Mistakes happen. Now these things were in

A few errands to run on a foggy, grey Tuesday morning, but by noon the sun was out and the lake beaches are finally open so we spent a long afternoon at the Sand Bar State Park.  It's a nice sandy beach where a four year old boy can spend hours digging  holes and then filling them with buckets of water.  All that is required of a grandma is the occasional  admiring comment and the offer of a drink of water.  After a hearty supper of ham, noodles and corn on the cob, with strawberry shortcake for dessert, Dane spent the longest time drawing and setting up his own "art exhibit." Only a minor meltdown from over-tiredness before off to bed.  But Mike pured me a glass of wine and all was well.

My blogger dashboard page is completely different and I now have a hard time getting saved posts to edit and publish.  Not impossible,but much more cumbersome than the previous dashboard and "new post" page."  Also I used to be able to get to GMail and reader from my blogger dashboard and I can't seem to do that at all any more.  It's just weird.  It's grammy camp week for Dane.  Mike will be working in the basement while we are full tilt energy level going.  Today did a craft project--a card for his mom.  We went shopping for new shoes, then spent the afternoon at the Birds of Vermont Museum .  I'd never been there before and it was just delightful.  We took a walk to the frog pond and found...frogs!! Then it was a refreshing dip in a cold Vermont stream. Where there just happened to be an endless supply of rocks that could be either put in a pile to bring home for the "rock collection" or thrown to make a series of splashes. 

There was concern for the past couple of years about bees disappearing.  I haven't heard anything about that this year, but I can say there are definitely bees in my garden--tons of them and it looks like at least three different kinds.  Astible, lavender and thyme seem to be particular favorites.  Oh, yeah, how did I forget the bee balm?  They like that too.  Mike said he was nervous about mowing around the flower beds, but so far they just seem intent on the blossoms. Some bee facts : *Honeybees make honey--the only insect produced food for humans--not counting chocolate covered ants. *Bees are socially tolerant, living in groups of 40 to 45 thousand per hive. *Honey making is hard work, resulting in a short life span--about 6 weeks. *Bees are long distance travellers.  A bee can travel up to six miles per pollen gathering trip.  It takes 1600 round trips to make just one ounce of honey. *Bees are speedy, averaging 13-15 mph. *Bees are patient and persistent.  If bees from

We didn't go to the Burlington waterfront fireworks, which are always held on July 3rd.  They always put on a good show, but this year the estimate was 100,000 crowding in to see them.  They set off the fireworks from a barge out in the lake.  People with boats make a day and evening of it.  The waterfront park is always jammed.  The hard part is getting out.  You really can't leave the waterfront without going through the city streets where everyone else is simultaneously trying to make their exit.  I guess we are old.  Watch boomy lights or avoid a two hour traffic snarl--no contest. But I did have a bang up Fourth of July...quite literally.  I went out to take the picture of my lavender for a previous post in the morning.  I didn't even step into the garden.  I don't know how my shoes got wet, but they surely must have been wet because as I stepped on the stairs to go into the lower level of our spit ranch I slid.  I completely lost my footing and went "ass ove

My lavender has been blooming nicely this year, and my plant has lasted for quite some time now.  I learned how to prune it and that seems to have made a difference.  I am drying some this year to replenish my sachet supply in linen storage.  I also found this recipe for making lavender oil and I just may give it a try.  I love the scent of lavender.  It is supposed to have a calming effect. I also like Herb Gardener  Blog , complete with a recipe and other useful information (like about allergies). Of course, essential lavender oil can be bought already prepared.  If you mix about 20 drops or so of lavender oil with 1/8th cup of vodka (I wouldn't use Grey Goose or Stoli, just cheap stuff) and add a couple of cups of mineral water, you get a lovely spay for the linen closet--or spritz it on your pillow before bedtime.  It also makes a cooling foot spray.  I think it would have deoderant properties as well. With the marauding critters decimating my vegetables, I may go more an

I admit defeat.  I give up.  It's back to growing flowers for me.  The neighborhood woodchuck has struck once again.  That darn critter is under the mistaken notion that I am running an all-you-can-eat salad buffet.  My first planting of lettuce and beans were sheared to the ground.  I was spraying the second planting with a substance that is supposed to be unpalatable to woodchucks, but with all the rain, I guess I should have been more diligent about getting out there every single evening.  Any evidence of the second crop is now gone as well. Then there is the raccoon that discovered the bird feeders.  Mike started bringing in the feeders at night, but that has only served to piss off the raccoon.  He left a large pile or two on the deck to communicate his irritation.  When that didn't have the desired pay-off, he ravaged my deck planters and broke some pottery. Meanwhile, Mike is being plagued by a mole in the side yard.  He thinks woodchucks and raccoons are cute, but a m