Is it nap time yet?

I've decided my grandson isn't the only one who benefits from an afternoon nap. I've grocery shopped, made an exchange at a department store and been to Target to get things I can't possibly live without. Is there a font called "sarcasm" available here?

 We had 90-something degree weather over the weekend, today's high might reach 62 and tomorrow is a few degrees cooler with an all day rain forecast. I'm saving housework and laundry for then. All the more reason to take a nap today and rest up for such strenuous activity tomorrow, right?

My sleepiness is all this guy's fault:


Photo Credits: iq-1.livejournal.com

Just looking at that yawn is catchy, isn't it?

It's Wednesday!

Hark! 'Tis Wednesday! 

Photo Credits: bukagambar.com via boredpanda.com

Just in case your weekend was longer than usual due to Memorial Day, I thought I'd remind you that today is Wednesday, not Tuesday and certainly not Monday. Not that I am ever confused or anything like that.....

The above photo was found on boredpanda (see photo credits for link) in an entry titled "33 Perfectly Timed Photos".

I would settle for getting a photo of what I want in the picture. Two year olds don't hold a pose. I did manage to capture the bubbles, but not the expression he had on his face a moment before the shutter clicked.

Anyone need Maple seeds? We obviously have plenty to share.

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get....

Anyone else feel this way?

Despite not being personally involved in Saturday's wedding, hubby and I had a long day. When the alarm went off Sunday morning, I reminded it that we are retired, hubby didn't have golf scheduled and it really should shut itself up. Then I  remembered that we were going to the cottage and wanted to get there before the kids.

Unlike hubby who wears clothes that he leaves at the cottage which he thinks are "good enough", I had clothes to pack. And shoes. And since we'd be there for Memorial Day, I needed to pack red, white and blue apparel just as I do on the 4th of July.

I came downstairs with my stuff to find that Bill had taken the box of dry food to the car already. I still had stuff to put in the box. "Stick it in a bag" was his answer. I guess that was better than just telling me to "stick it".

We packed the cooler and an insulated bag with enough food to feed an army. We packed some toys for Colton and his booster seat. We packed the monitor and keyboard that I used before my new setup here. Last week we took an old computer from work that was to be left at the cottage. While slow, it would be ok for Bill's minimal usage and we could use the printer that is too old to use with the new setup at home. What I discovered last week is that I forgot the installation disk for the printer, the monitor would not come into sharp focus, the keyboard had one leg broken and had to sit flat, and the speakers wouldn't work because they couldn't find a sound card.

Soon we were off. Or maybe we've always been 'off', but soon we were headed to the cottage.

Many trips from car to cottage to unload were followed by 30 minutes of putting things away, opening windows, and spritzing Fabreeze air freshener. A neighbor came over to tell us two transformers had blown that morning and our end of the island had experienced a power surge. The electric company was making repairs and should be done within 30 minutes, but we shouldn't run the TV or computer until 11:00. Our appliances seemed ok and Bill used a meter to test most of our outlets which were fine. (Doesn't everyone's husband have meters both at home and at the cottage for this stuff?). We sat for a minute, and then the kids called to say they were delayed leaving but would be there by noon. I swear I could hear my alarm clock at home snickering.

* Sigh  *

Our cottage has commercial grade carpeting throughout. Not our plan, but fairly new when we bought the place. Hubby and I periodically talk about a few things we I would like to change at the cottage. He agrees that the carpet has to be replaced, but if we remodel the kitchen or eliminate an unnecessary door wall, that would change carpet layout. The cottage definitely needs to remain a low maintenance place so structural changes would have to blend and compliment old paneling that would never be matched now.

Until we can decide what to do and find someone to work with us, we must get the carpeting clean. Renting a cleaner and taking it to a cottage on the island isn't happening. Rental cleaners, in my experience, aren't good for heavy duty dirt. The cleaning company we use at home doesn't go as far north as the island. There is a man on the island who cleans carpets, but he doesn't dry them well. Can't you picture very damp carpeting being closed up in a hot, humid cottage for a week between our visits? I have one number to call tomorrow. I hope I can key in the number while my fingers are crossed.

The kids left last night, Bill and I regrouped and enjoyed the quiet while almost immediately missing the little guy's presence. It was now time to see if using a different monitor would eliminate the focus problem, install the printer driver and change keyboards. We turned the computer on and nothing happened. Uh oh. The TV works, the lamp and phone on the same surge protector work, but not the computer.

* Sigh, again *

There was much less to pack coming home. The refrigerated items condensed to half a cooler. Colton's toys and booster seat made it back safely. I thought the whole PC, monitor, keyboard, printer would be going to an electronics graveyard, but no, only the computer came home. Bill wants our techie to look at it and either heal it or pronounce it DOA.

I dream that one day I will write about a week or weekend where everything went as planned, nothing broke or inconvenience us, cost more than expected and didn't result in schlepping stuff home that I thought was staying at the cottage or vice versa.

But then, what would I write about?


P.S.   Anyone else having trouble editing with Blogger? I hesitate to sound like I'm complaining again (which I am) but I've about had it with things not working as they once did here and on Facebook. Facebook I could turn my back on and not have regrets, but I can't leave Blog-land!

Remember brush rollers for your hair?

Remember setting your hair with brush rollers and pink picks or metal clips? That was before hot rollers and before curling irons.  I have all three here, but the rollers are now pick-less and clip-less. I used to do well with hot rollers but my hair was much shorter then. I usually dry my hair and touch it up with a curling iron.

This afternoon we are going to a wedding. I considering having my hair done, but I don't currently have a stylist and didn't feel like experimenting. So here I sit, typing in my robe, hair in large rollers, and with the shoes on I will probably wear this afternoon. I'm still deciding between two pair. I'd wear one of each pair in the house but I would walk kind of funny. Funnier than I already do.

I'd like to think my setting job was as neat as this (and that I was this attractive)

But in reality, the rollers look more like this with larger gaps in back. If I decide to do this again, I need more extra large rollers.

The consolation is that I don't look like this charming woman!

That would be true because I don't own that device, I don't smoke and my skin is looking lovely after yesterday's facial.

Never having had a facial before, I can't say that the woman who did mine was extraordinary, but I can say that I loved it. The one hour facial included (quoting from their web site) "cleansing, exfoliation, extractions, face, neck, and shoulder massage, mask, toner, and moisturizer". Ahhhhhh. It was relaxing and my skin looks and feels so nice! Even my arms. I didn't realize how dry my skin was.

Does that sound silly? My mom didn't use creams and lotions so I didn't grow up with that example. My skin was oily enough for years that I didn't need (or didn't think I needed) anything extra. I took my skin for granted. I plan to lotion up regularly now, making regular use of the facial moisturizer that I only used on a hit and miss basis before. The rest of me needs an economy size jar or bottle of youth replenisher.

I had a pedicure yesterday too. Same tech did the pedi and I liked her technique there as well. The callouses and dry skin are gone without me going crazy over the pumice stone. My feet are very ticklish and sometimes the stone is almost torture.

We discussed gel manicures but I'm not convinced they are right for me. While the polish lasts longer than a regular manicure, it isn't expected to last like it did on acrylics (been there, done that, not going back) and I don't want to schedule the time and expense for manis as often as my polish would chip and dictate it needed re-doing. Do you have the gel or laquer polish that requires a UV or LED light to sure it?

Speaking of polish, I should go finish my hair so that I have time to apply a coat of light pink to my fingernails. Nothing like attending a wedding to bring out the girly in me!

Charlotte's Easy Lace Shawl

I finished a shawl last night, named Charlotte's Easy Lace Shawl by Lily Chen. Here is what it looks like on the pattern.

The pattern can be done with any type and any weight yarn. I can't say I made a mistake, but the yarn I chose is very stretchy and won't block nicely to show the stitch pattern as in either example above. That's ok. I chose Pediwick yarn by Knit One Crochet Too because it was the color I wanted. The yarn is 66% bamboo and 34% nylon. If this yarn would block flat, the shawl would be quite a bit larger, but this is just fine.

No one is around to use as a model and since I am wearing a red shirt and don't feel like changing and attempting a self photo, this image will have to do. Here is a close up:

One skein of yarn is 392 yards (360 m) and weighs 100 grams. I used two skeins with a few yards left over.

We are going to a wedding Saturday and my dress has this shade in it. It is supposed to be quite warm this weekend....alright, it is supposed to be downright hot...so I may not need this at all. If I hadn't finished it in time, you know the weather would be otherwise.

I'll need another project by Wednesday when I go to my knitting group, but meanwhile, watching Colton tomorrow evening while Mommy and Daddy attend the wedding rehearsal and dinner, Saturday's wedding and this being Memorial Day weekend, I do have a few other things to tackle before I pick up yarn again.

Here is a peek at a non-knitting project I've just started, a beaded necklace. Ignore the yellow beads and spring like things. They are "stoppers" used to keep the tiny beads from working their way off the loose end of the beading thread. The cross weave pattern you see here will form the chain-like part of the necklace leading to and from the back clasp.



This might take awhile......

Let's talk spas and girly stuff

Years ago I went to a massage therapist for muscle ache in the shoulder and upper back area. She was wonderful. I booked a series of appointments, a pre-paid package. Her technique remained great but she got chattier with each visit. Where the first visit had been quiet except for questions as to how I was feeling, subsequent visits gave me way more information than I ever needed about her unmarried daughter's problems with her grandson's babydaddy (is that supposed to be one word or two?) and the masseuse's sister who never brought anything to holiday dinners.

Should I have said something? Yes, but it all felt awkward to me. It was easier to remain silent, hoping she'd take the hint, get my clothes on ASAP and get back home. I've had one massage since then that was ok, but nothing like the first woman who has since gone out of business.

Years before this experience, I won a pedicure in a drawing for my niece's school. Oh my, that was wonderful! The problem was that the location was far, far from my home and not in the best of neighborhoods. Once again, subsequent treatments have not equaled that first experience. In fact, some pedicures (not that I've had many professional ones) have actually hurt.

A salon called Luv, part of a chain of mani/pedi salons opened relatively nearby last year. The place was clean, friendly and the techs all spoke English. I don't mean that to sound narrow minded, but the time a young man was actually hurting me, he didn't seem to understand when I was telling him to stop. Oddly enough, his English was crystal clear when it came to the bill. Gosh, now I really do sound bad, but I am a victim of a friend planting a bug in my ear about what the techs might be saying about us old farts mature matrons while they work on our callouses.

A woman from my knitting group mentioned that she treats herself to a facial twice a year because her pores are so large. I hadn't noticed but that comment made me look at mine. I look better without my glasses on. I don't mean when you look at me, I mean when I look at me!

I started pricing services for massages, facials and pedicures at salons within a reasonable driving distance. Boy, oh boy...the wide range of services and fees is amazing. I think of myself as a girly girl, but grew up doing that stuff to and for myself. People in average neighborhoods didn't have facials done and I don't think I saw pedicures offered anywhere for more than the first half of my life.

I am about to call Luv's and try to get an appointment before Saturday for a pedicure and facial. If I get it on Friday, I might even add a manicure. We're going to a wedding on Saturday but I know me...if I get a manicure today, I'll have chips by then. I'm hesitant to go with the laquer manicures that require UV lights to set the polish.

Do you indulge in any of these services regularly? Occasionally when you feel the need to pamper yourself? Do you feel like a new woman afterward? Pamela Anderson certainly looks different after work has been done and makeup has been applied.

Don't you wonder if she was able to lay on her stomach for a back massage though?

Clean, clean, knit, clean

I like knitting and appreciate clean, but that is all I've done the last five days.

Whine, whine, whine...with no wine.

The hard part about not being 30 anymore. Ok, not being 40...what? You're holding me to telling the truth? Geesh! Not even being a mere 50 anymore is that it takes longer to do things. Now don't be thinking it has anything to do with stamina. I am still woman, hear me roar! Ok, moan might be more like it.

And why is it so hard to get the seal off a new bottle of Ibuprofen?

I can't believe that I used to clean houses for other people. You wouldn't believe it either if you caught my house some days. If you feel the need to inspect my quarters, please hurry over to either the house or cottage now. Right now! But don't look at the cottage windows. Or the stack of stuff in the spare bedroom that needs to go into the attic. On second thought, just close your eyes and imagine clean, neat and happy.

I am attempting to post this from my iPad, something that hasn't always been successful in the past. Speaking of iPads, I should point out that the real reason cleaning takes so much longer now is the Internet. If it isn't someone!s blog begging to be read, it's something on Pinterest that needs repinning or an email that needs a reply or a forward.

If you all would be less interesting, my house would be much cleaner and the shawl with a Saturday deadline would be done by now. We are minutes from home now. Wanna bet dust has somehow gotten in and settled on surfaces that were clean a few days ago? We know the grass is going to need cutting again. Spring's rapid growth plus hubby's fertilizing make a beautiful but demanding lawn. How the heck did we get things done when we both worked?

P.S. This originally posted as one long paragraph despite how I entered the text on my iPad. Anyone know the secret of posting from an iPad, short of using another service like Blogsy?