May Day? Ooooops……missed it. Well. How can I be so-o-o-o busy and still be retired?
Bonnie’s in Phnom Penh, seeing Cambodian friends and gathering herself and her belongings, after a day or two at Wat Opot seeing the kiddies. Goodbyes are bad stuff, Nak says – - -
Bonnie says “Not forever!” But kidlings can barely see tomorrow.
Nak is sad.
Bonnie will fly to Paris tomorrow (Thursday) and spend a month visiting (first-floor, or elevator buildings, hopefully) old friends, seeing a new physical therapist, and dealing with the always-tediously-slow French bureaucracy to negotiate reimbursement for all medical expenses. Good luck with that!! 
In June Bonnie will come to Minnesota for a little American cooking – sure hope it doesn’t snow…..
Speaking of food, today the Kentucky Fried Chicken coupon offered by Oprah for a free 2-piece Grilled Chicken dinner is bringing many ISP servers around the country to a small halt. Long lines are appearing at KFCs everywhere!! Get your coupon by midnight tonight (CST 6 May). It’s good until 19 May, if you can print it….. the site doesn’t like my printer! (Later – ah! Bob just printed two coupons!!)
Today Bob installed the electric fence around the house, and it includes the flower gardens. Wonder how many zaps it will take me to remember it’s there. Just as long as the deer feel it! There are so many deer this year – hunting season should be a frenzy. This summer it will be really nice for a change to see all the lilies that Bob plants. And the tulips….and the iris…..and the lilacs…..
One knitter’s contribution to the (swine) flu……No requests, please.
Working at the antique mall again tomorrow. So many interesting folks stop in and it’s always educational to talk with them. Once in a while somebody is a little scary, but so far we’ve had no problems. And the 11 of us dealers are managing to stay in business. Not much Red Wing or Gonder or Frankoma pottery is selling, because Rangers aren’t really into those finer collections. But lots of small items keep moving out the door. The interesting thing is that in these slender economic times an antique business can almost flourish. Many customers buy small gifts and used books and unique housewares – instead of going to the big-box stores for poorly-made or plastic things. A nostalgia for the old times seems to be affecting everyone – a time when life was more meaningful, and gifts had more value. With fewer bucks to spend, customers are becoming much more discerning.
So many Chicagoans stop in the shop. We talk Cubs or Bears or Riverview and lots of other Northside stuff. We also have quite a few visitors from all over the U.S. who are just off on vacation or fishing or hunting or just wandering around the oft-frozen North.
Of course I always have plenty of knitting to work on, socks or a baby sweater or a sontag or two. My Queue is a-building with so many new patterns, and the skeins are hollering at me from the sleeping stash like wanton revelers, anxious to get out. But OTN at the present is the February Lady Sweater, and it has a target date of early June. Just sayin’.
However – a real button dilemma is arising. So many big buttons here, 
but so few in triplicate! Maybe – I should make a few more buttonholes and use some other buttons……too late. No, scissors wouldn’t be a wise move. Or perhaps I can sew up one of the buttonholes and just have two big buttons instead. Hmmm………not a very professional solution, I’m afraid. And the drape would be really goofy. No. So the search goes on. Three gorgeous brownish buttons, 1-3/4″ to 2″ in diameter, in an unusual pattern and a composition of natural stone or wood, where are you? Something to really catch the very particular eye of the Invalid…….er, the Immobilized One, as I’ve been corrected recently.
Reading the other books of Malcolm Gladwell – “Blink’ and “The Outsiders”. His first one, “The Turning Point” was a treasure……and one to read again. And of course Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters and Peter Robinson and Ian Rankin and – - -so many more. And really enjoying every issue of a British knitting magazine that crosses the doorstep. And going on a 3-day watercolor workshop with Carole near Fargo in a few weeks…..why should I want to retire?? There is entirely too much to do!
Now, finally – . Do you need seeds to get going on your tomato plants this year?? Well, here’s a place that can help you, and help lots of others in the country at the same time. Go for it!!
Grey and cool today, as befits a day of reflection. Grey and a bit rainy, as often on Good Friday and Armistice Day. Grey and deliberate, as should be a day of Memorial thoughts and remembrances…………Grey and thankful……. lest we forget that last full measure..