Feeling the Love

Wow.  My birthday continues to be celebrated.  I'm really milking this thing!!!  My sister sent me the most perfect gift yesterday.  I still can't believe how perfect it is. 

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I spend an inordinate amount of time in the basement of my house working on the computer.  It's called home-based employment and allows my employer to avoid paying for a work space for me and allows me the flexibility of working my own hours.  Overall, that's good -- but spending hour upon hour alone in the cold windowless basement is a little demoralizing.

Enter Kathryn's gift.  It's called The Intelligent Plant Light.  It's a plant light that's just big enough for one potted plant (just the right size for my desk) and does everything possible to keep me from killing houseplants.  I mean, this thing is super high-tech.  You set it for the proper season and it's on a timer that will give the appropriate amount of light for that season -- or you can set it to give a uniform amount of light all the time.  AND it has a wand that you place in the pot and it will tell you when the plant needs water!  It's freaking amazing!  Surely, even I will be able to grow a plant on my desk.  Some life!  Some green-ness!  Some blossoms even!  I put one of my new african violets under it.  This one is called Starry Night.  It really adds a lot to my work space. 

People have been so amazingly thoughtful this year.  It makes me believe I am loved.  That's a very good feeling. 

Drama

Today didn't start out too well.  Sam made another puddle despite the diaper of shame.  I'm beginning to think he has a medical issue. 

I'm also still upset about all the drama that's been going on around here for the past 24 hours.  Kate bought a vintage wedding dress three years ago and has been planning to wear it at her graduation.  At her school, all the girls wear white long dresses (actually wedding dresses), picture frame hats, gloves and carry a dozen red roses to graduate.  The boys wear a tux with tails, top hats, gloves and carry canes.  It's quite a spectacle. 

Well, there has been some controversy about Kate's dress.  The rule is that the dress must be white -- NOT ecru, cream, candlelight, etc.  It must be stark white.  And it must have sleeves.  As a vintage dress, we were worried that it wasn't quite white enough -- so we decided to blue it to make it whiter.  When it came out of the bluing solution, a significant part of the lace had disintegrated. 

When she tried it on yesterday, it was clear that this dress was not going to pass muster -- especially since the principal has just sent out a memo that no used or vintage dresses would be allowed.  She could never sneak it past as new with holes in it.  Kate was devastated and I felt horrible.  We took it to a tailor to see if it could be repaired, but we were told it was beyond all help. 

So, off we went yesterday to the bridal salons.  We were lucky and almost immediately found a pretty dress that Kate likes and looks good in -- but it was $580.  And on top of that we'll need to pay for alterations (hemming and sleeves added), hat, gloves, and shoes.  This private school crap is EXPENSIVE.  When Ally graduated, we picked out a nice gown from a consignment store and she looked lovely.

Overall, Kate has been very mature about the whole thing.  Of course, there were tears. She was crushed by the loss of her vintage dress -- which had been created by an exclusive Beverly Hills designer in the 50s -- but she acknowledged that I was only trying to help and didn't blame me for the disaster.  She seems okay with her substitute dress, even though it's not what she had envisioned.  

I feel like I've been through a wringer.  I can't seem to get anything accomplished today.  I'm still a mess. 

This morning I was feeling so crappy that I decided to take the morning off and drove my large size pants to the local Goodwill.  I stayed for a little retail therapy and found a cute cookie mold in the shape of a sheep and a couple of other things.  The drive through the spring sunshine made me feel better. 

Sunny Spring Day

At last, we're getting some sunshine and spring weather.  I went outside and gave Genny and Andy a treat of the dandelions that are springing up.  I feel differently about dandelions with the rabbits around.  I alway try to keep a couple of healthy dandelions in the yard so that they have a supply through the summer.  They really love them -- and raspberry leaves, and oak leaves and parsley and apple branches & leaves.  They won't eat just anything though. I've tried them on a couple of random weeds and they don't even give them the time of day. 

The sun shining through the petals of these tulips made a lovely sight on my back patio. 

Today's good thing is people who are willing to do that little bit that helps. I wound up my new Swiss Mountain Sea Sock yarn and bravely started in on Mizar,  an admittedly challenging pattern.  Well,  I've been struggling with it.  It's from Anna Zilboorg's Socks for Clogs and Sandals.  It requires twisted traveling stitches and I found the chart almost indecipherable.  While I was trying to get some hints online to unravel the chart, I learned that Merike Sarniit did the charts for the book and that she has a published email address. So, I went straight to the source -- but not really expecting a reply. I was stunned to receive an immediate response, and not only that, but she said that Anna Zilboorg was with her and they would answer my questions.  Through a series of emails, I got straightened out and have completed two of the pattern repeats.  I guess it didn't really take a lot of time for them to help me, but it made all the difference.  Thanks, Anna and Merike!

I brought a little of the springtime indoors to sit on my desk.    

A Sign of Progress

Today's good thing is tangible progress.  I'm wearing clothes three sizes smaller than I did last November and even those are beginning to feel roomy, so I decided it was time to take the big pants out of my closet.  It was starting to drive me crazy to dig through them to find the pants that are the right size for me now.  So, I stacked them up ready to take them to Goodwill or St. Vincent dePaul, whichever one I get to first. 

It's a good feeling.

Cosy

Today's good thing is sitting quietly after everyone else is off to work or school.  In semi-darkness.  Listening to the rain splattering and the birds trilling.  With my dog sleeping on a cushion nearby.  Feeling the warmth of my hands inside the pockets of my terrycloth robe.  Taking a few minutes just to be. 

STILL my Birthday?

Last night we saw a moving and powerful performance at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.  Corinne Mohlenhoff did a one-woman show of The Handmaid's Tale, which was adapted from the book by Joe Stollenwerk with Corinne in mind.  It was amazing. 

Having read the book many years ago, I warned the family that it was bound to be a little weird and I really wasn't expecting much.  What I got was a punch to the gut that was both frightening and sadly sweet.  Offred's struggle to deal with her present reality and remain human was touching in a way that really stuck with me.  If you have a chance, go see it.  It's on until April 20th.

The whole family was together again this weekend.  Ally came home so we could celebrate my birthday as a family.  We had cake and presents on Saturday night.  Ally made me a beautiful beaded bracelet and Kate and Jeff, together, got me two sparkling Swarovski crystal figurines, which I collect.  It's hard to photograph them because of all the facets, but one is a little lamb and the other is an angora rabbit.  Kate says it's definitely an angora because it looks a lot fluffier than the other Swarovski rabbits and it does. You can't really see it in the picture, but the lamb has the cutest little face.   Kate also got me a lovely figure of a mother and daughter.  She said it was for me to look at when she's away at college next year.  It goes with the one Mom gave me of the woman holding a lamb. The pictures aren't staying where I put them with the text, so I'm afraid you'll just have to figure it out.

On my real birthday, last Tuesday, I got my big gift -- an atomic solar watch.  I've always wanted one and they don't make many styles for women, for some reason.  I like the idea that it's always set to the correct time and that it won't run out of battery. 

Along with the sweet it seems there's always a little bitter.  Yesterday, while Ally and I were out bargain hunting, the pipe under the kitchen sink disconnected itself.  Jeff -- sweet person that he is -- was washing the dishes full of stew and coffee grounds and other yuck.  He didn't know anything was wrong until the filthy water had filled up a plastic tub of cleaning supplies and spilled over onto the kitchen floor around his feet.  Needless to say, he was not amused.  Kate called us away from our shopping to tell us that he was swearing like a sailor and we were out of paper towels.  By the time we got home, he had cleaned up about half the mess and reattached the pipe.  I emptied the rest of the under sink space, wiped it down with 409 and sprayed it with Clorox.  All the stuff is still on the kitchen floor, waiting for the space to dry thoroughly. 

In other bad news, Sam wet on the floor again Sunday morning.  This time he hit Ally's backpack, an unfamilar object in the family room.  He soaked not only the backpack but one of her expensive college textbooks inside.  She was furious with him, as can be expected.  We decided to try the "diaper of shame" and it may actually work.  He wore it last night, didn't chew it off and didn't pee. 

However, peeing Sunday morning was not the full extent of his crimes.  When we went out to the play, we left him alone for about three hours.  When we came back, he had pulled Jeff's leather coat from a hook in the laundry room and chewed it to bits.  This is the SECOND leather coat that he's chewed up this winter (the first was Kate's leather bomber jacket). 

I'm not sure what we're going to do about his behavior.  It's like a strange new -- and very tense -- dog has joined our pack.  He's not a puppy who's teething.  This is all nervous energy because he gets frightened when he's left alone.  I don't know why he's suddenly so insecure.  He's been a model house dog for 10 years. 

Pictures!

I feel like a severed arm has been re-attached.  My camera battery charger finally arrived yesterday and I'm back in the photo business.  So, I can show you my desk top:

And my newly potted african violets:

And the way the orchid has bloomed.  All of the buds are in bloom now except for one last one. 

And the windowsill where I keep all my succulents (likely to live) and the new african violets (on thin ice, if they expect to be watered regularly):

Happy, happy, joy, joy!  My window to the world is open ... or, rather, the world's window to me is open.