Midnight Maven

What a magnificent day!  Low seventies and the cool, strong breeze is blowing away the humidity and mosquitoes.  The wind chimes are tinkling and clacking – a perfect sunny September day!   Back to school!!

I’ve posted that to facebook but not everyone does facebook.  About 6 months of todays would please me no end.  Still working desk-wise, but the ambiance created by the view and breeze at the open window at my side is priceless.

Is everyone else totally tired of BP news?  Git ‘er done….Let Anderson Cooper be in charge and direct the whole thing…..and maybe throw in George Steinbrenner.  Aw – nuts.  He just died.  Or Dick Cheney – but he’s probably too ill now. Bill Clinton?  Too busy.  Well, try the Jesse – Ventura, that is.  He might make a difference.  Or sheriff Arpaio.  Now THERE”S a thought!

The National League finally won an All-Star Game, after 14 years.  And a Cub had a big defensive play to help that win in the ninth!  Proud to be a Chicagoan! ……………..hey.  Set that to music!

Finishing the gazpacho we had with our weekend guest.  This is a new recipe, and not as good as our regular one – too much bread, not brothy enough.  Back to the recipe box next time.  Chili for supper, from the freezer.  We’re trying to really get into Redo, Reuse, Recover, Rework, Review…….and all like that!  Knitting from stash……and that’s a real pleasure.  I’ve always done green stuff, I guess.  Actually I did much more in Chicago, years ago.  Must get back to some of those habits.

Living now almost 30 miles from civilization in any direction does call out the pioneer in us.  So many people are closet consumers – not that we consume closets (!) but we seem to use up so much more than we conserve.  It’s fun to see where even a simple thing like rinsing out a cup and putting it in the drainer instead of the dishwasher can make a difference.  I’ve got a file of tips like that – spread salt or baking soda for ants, mild shampoo for gentle hand-washing of hand knits, lavender to keep moths out of wool – and on and on.  I think I started it in the Sixties, which was another time when money was pretty scarce.  Probably I was Heloise before she was!

How I wish my mother had started this quilt years before she actually did!  It would be a marvelous king-size by now, even if she’s been gone for 20+years.  It’s called the Cathedral Window pattern, and it was partially finished then.  That is, the half she had worked was partially finished.  Making the other half is way, way beyond my aspirations!  But I was able to finally find someone who could finish the first half, and now I can display it.  Not sure exactly how yet.  The entire thing is hand-stitched, and each square is individually made.  No backing or further quilting is necessary.  It’s truly a difficult labor of love, and I’m really honored to own it.  Hopefully one of my offspring will want to have it someday!

The pink and green piece in the upper left is from the material my mother used for making one of my dad’s clown suits for parades and children’s hospitals, etc., so many years ago.  She made dozens of suits, for the hundreds of visits the Shrine clowns made to hospitals and schools.  Other little splashes bring back more memories….the way a fine quilt should, no?

About ready for the 3rd – and final – Steig Larsson book.  I need a bit of that crazy gal’s exploits to punch up the days.  Almost done with the Barbara Vine (a/k/a Ruth Rendell) book, “The Blood Doctor”.  Very strange book for Vine/Rendell.  Almost seems like someone else wrote it.  Not much summer reading going on this year – too many other things to do!  

Soon time for a new Indian Studies course – Native American Philosophy.  The cost of the gasoline to take me into town every day for classes is going to prohibit the language course.  Maybe I can find an online course.  Or perhaps I’ll locate a first-year language workbook, and I can study at home.  Usually I can find such inexpensive used books on betterworldbooks.com but haven’t located this one yet.

Trivia……I have an American friend in Paris who lives in a large Algerian area in the city.  She has a lovely Canadian maple leaf pin that she wears on occasion when she goes shopping about the neighborhood – as when the Americans defeated Algeria in soccer recently.  Clever gal!

Don’t think that there are no crocodiles because the water is calm.

– - – Malayan proverb

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Yep, July.  I don’t remember it being this humid when I first traveled in the north woods years ago.  Ish.  Isn’t it October yet??

Not a lot of knitting going on – a bit too futzy at the moment.  Quiet days of trying to stay cool and attacking lots of desk tasks.  Organizing magazines and projects.  Avoiding TV reruns, but enjoying the few series that do a summer season. “Lie to Me” – - “In Plain Sight” – - “Miami Medical”.  Reading – Barbara Vine’s (a/k/a Ruth Rendell) “The Blood Doctor”.  A bit dry, but I can feel the psychological conflict and horrific secrets looming in the future pages.  The title refers to haemophilia.

Anybody pick up the code on the US map for their own use?  The site now has maps for Europe and India.  I think the creator is Indian…..East Indian, that is.

Craving salads and shrimp and cold pasta things.  Wish the Gulf would suddenly be clean again.  I’d like to have Anderson Cooper as a friend.  Seems really sincere and solid.  And Rick Sanchez, too.  I guess that’s because I like to rouse rabbles………..

Lots of graduations for us in May and June.  Happy and proud of all the education going on!