Music! for All Hallow's Grimm

Today, Magaly's  question is "Share the title of a song that becomes your gentle light when darkness threatens to blind, and turns into your soothing darkness when the light promises to burn."  

Turns out, I have a few! Here they are: 
    Nummer eins is always   Dvorak: Symphony #9 'From the New World'
This is closely followed by Carl Orff: Carmina Burana , 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' (Peer Gynt) , Respighi 'Pines of Rome' , Smetana's Ma Vlast (part one) , Smetana's Ma Vlast (part 2) , Corvus Corax 'Fortuna' ,
& Corvus Corax 'Ragnarok' .

When I need a quick laugh, I turn to one of my newest happy songs: That's the way I like it .  The clip is long because context is important! :)

Now, when the brightness burns to much, anything by Rammstein (played esp. loud) gets my shadows laughing & dancing!








     

What sweetness blooms in my darkness

*waves hello furiously* to the wonderful participants in Magaly's All Hallows Grim 2013 ! 

While some may insist on the dark/scary & light/good, I find that light & dark complement each other with their presence. Candle flame burns brighter against darkness while the moon's glow throws velvet darkness into sharp context.  That sentence comes close to the feelings in my heart (that also, life sustaining heartbeats work best within the comforting folds of a darkened interior).  Since words do not always match my thoughts, I present what represents the sweetness I find within my darkness.

This little felt pot is for my sweet Darkness, comfortably held within my heart. (Sorry about the photo quality...lighting really sucks in this apartment!)

Lift the lid, &, most especially during All Hallow's, I find the three candles representing Guidance (from the seasons, from the winds, from the ancestors...black, white, red).

Guidance is followed neatly by Pumpkin, for prosperity of mind & body.

Prosperity is always sweetened when Company is there to enjoy it. (Sugar skull decorations are all well & good, but sometimes there floats in a more Masculine air, which prefers simplicity in adornment)

Wisdom flies out, to join the company. There are times where Guidance & Company champion themselves far too loudly, & Wisdom is there to help settle matters ;)

Last, but never least, Bat brings good luck! Good luck for this year coming & bestest luck for all who welcome him with open arms!

This, then is the Sweetness within my Darkness. :)

*waves hello*

Back for Magaly's Hallow's Grim mid-evening. Figure it will be that long before I get this 'shortcut' that has been installed on this laptop to work for me properly.....

That really big place up North

that American media seems to ignore: Canada.  There are big cities ( Toronto), along with the woods & forests.  Toronto, Vancouver, & Calgary continue to rank high on livability . 

British Columbia even has a Sasquatch or two! Surely this would attract American audiences. But, no, only the Calgary floods got a bit of national notice (while they were happening, rebuilding & recovery seems too boring for we southerners).

Quite a few TV shows have been, & are, filmed in Canada, including Defiance & Siberia .  Caillou , Little Bear , & Rolie Polie Olie  are some of the educational cartoons produced in Canada. Granted, the jury may be out on how educational a show about a whiny spoiled bald headed child really is.

I hope to visit Canada soon. If not this year, then next. I have tried to finish this post properly for the past 4 days, but my concentration isn't up to par. There is a medical issue (not That Serious, but serious enough) I need to take care of first. So I'm taking time off to deal with it. Back mid-October!

Have you ever wondered what stars sound like, & why?

This is so beyond cool: star songs

Missed Tues. posting as I was ill. Feeling better, now. Going in to fill out a job application tomorrow morning.  Nothing exciting, but it would be the first time I've worked outside of the house in 6 yrs.  It would be a start.

Today...

...we had a nice rain, but no thunder.

I burnt the top of my left foot baking Lemon Squares .  This recipe turned out rather nice once I cut the butter from 1 1/2 cups butter to 1 cup butter. The lemon curd was nice as well.

The shrug I am knitting has left a little under the skin boil on a spot on a finger which doesn't even feel the pressure of needle or yarn.  Liking the drape of it so far.

I won two books from Red Tash  , who is having a FB book giveaways.  Yeas!

August is almost over. School's about to start, & an interesting  article on year round schooling has popped up. I rather like the idea of scheduling 9 on/3 off.  Given how urban our population is, moving away from the agrarian school calendar makes sense. Even our rural population is, mostly, not beholden to farming scheduling.

Also, Yuletide is on it's way. This is such a cute kitty pattern, it might find it's way under the tree.

Other than drooling through Lion Brand Yarn's NYC shop, I have one more reason for braving the toxic fumes of that city:  underground station :)

One more sign that the summer/Autumn switch is moving in: I am so tired, all I want to do (every day) is nap! Every year the seasonal switch just wipes me out for the first two weeks.  No motivation to do a damn thing.

Upon gardening

While reading Victoria's latest post, it occurred to me what a disconnect there is in the minds of many between gardening & Garden. 

When I think of the two, I see in my mind's eye a bewildering array of edible, vegetable, shrubs, & flowers. So many factors to consider: height, color, seed source (GMO, non-GMO), pollen or pollen-free, soil, solely for show or edible?  Then there is the whole where do I plant what question. I do so enjoy looking at other's plot plans .  Probably because I currently have no space whatsoever to put anything outside. What little space I have inside is considered indirect sunlight, & what will grow isn't anything I'm interested in growing. *sigh*

But I can dream! In my dreams I see a container garden fully planted with tomatoes & marigolds, herbs (basil, rosemary, lemon balm, mint, chamomile, mugwort, thyme, lavender) & maybe even a strawberry or two, petunias & a patio-rose, sunflowers (pollen!) & a Hosta or two...maybe even an Elephant Ear......oh, carrots & cukes as well, small sized pumpkins (yellow & white varieties), window boxes of Tulips, Crocus, Daffodils!  As Marie demonstrates, container gardens can be as varied & productive as a person desires.   *even deeper sigh*  Maybe next move.

In the meantime, I will dream through seed catalogs & wonder at the wasted space those with square footage waste on boring expanses of lawn.

Memories

One of my favorite bloggers, lovely Laurie of I love a cloudy day , has a post of memories linked to doors. I've moved so often, that doors only mean 'new' & 'different'. What my memories are linked most to are growing things.

Hollyhocks are what my (late) paternal grandmother planted two rows of by the slope leading up to the top story of her barn. She told me that they were planted there to keep the hay truck drivers from missing the slope & ripping up her hill.

Joseph's Coat Rose lets me picture my grandmother's garden. She had 52 large old fashioned rose bushes & so many bearded iris in two rows that their perfume was almost overwhelming.

Both are memories of time decades past.  Before the birth of my daughter, before my move to Connecticut. 

The Sleeping Giant & East Rock overlooking New Haven remind me of when I first came to Connecticut, with a very young daughter.

Not so many images bring memories, anymore. Not so many reasons to feel rooted here, as home, this past twenty years.....

Creatures that freak out my daughter.

Because if you can't freak out your children, who else can you?
 1) crows #18, people.  *#18*!

 2)cute baby stingrays  These creeped her out so much, she couldn't watch the entire clip. *I* think they're adorable, & wish their 'legs' would evolve into legs.

 3)snakes  knock,knock!  Who's there?

 4)Peru  Peru is off the 'visit one day' list.

 5)rainforests Are we noticing a trend?

 6)She's not fond of Loas (opps....Laos), either.

 7)they're not even a spider !

Spoiled for choice I am :)

The sky is blue,

...the sun is shining, but it's too damn hot & humid out! So I'm watching Aerial America, in this instance, Michigan .  (yea, it's for a different episode, but this one will be on later this week). I love watching this sort of shows. Just amazes me how it is filmed & edited. The closest I will get to flying ;)

I graduated from High School in Michigan. Still love the weather & the geography. It is one of, if not the most, beautiful state so far as I am concerned. Detroit gets a horrendous rap (much of which is ripely deserved), but I still love that city. The state, itself, has such potential to become a powerhouse of alternative/green technologies. To really make something of itself while leading the country in the uses of alternative energies/food productions. Yet, the citizens of said state can't seem to get their head out of their asses long enough to take advantage of what they have all around them.

Every election cycle, Detroit & suburbs want to swallow the bs line that (usually conservative) politicians will bring back the car companies, that 25 & 30 $$ hourly automotive jobs will return! Detroit, meanwhile, refuses to think outside of the box in ways to save & promote their city. Instead, specializing in electing crooks as mayor.  Enough to make me cry. & goes a long way to explaining why I don't feel comfortable in moving back.   *sigh*

& then there are the Waters....sand dunes , trees , water , lighthouses , Mackinaw bridge .  *sigh*

2 Quotes, 1 Visual, #24

It's the middle of Summer Vacation Time.  Bookstores & websites have their Summer Reading Lists  published & pricing specials in place. While an absolutely wonderful read, 'Runelight' (Joanne Harris, sequel to 'Runemarks') is far too hefty, physically & emotionally, for beach or forest. My edition has 572 pages & weighs enough for a blunt instrument. The words so well entwine with each other, that pulling quotes out of context is nearly impossible. So, forewarned is forearmed ;)

Quote 1: "The words often sounded like nonsense to her, but there was wisdom in nonsense, she knew, if one could only fathom it; and as she watched the Fiery trail, she hummed a little rock-a-bye that had been on her mind since she awoke--a little rhyme that went all the way back to the Elder Age: See the Cradle rocking;   High above the town.;   Down come the Firefolk;   To bring the baby down.;   All the way to Hel's gate;   Firefolk are bound.;   Pucker-lips, a-pucker-lips,;   All fall down."  (page 84, paragraph 6)
   I do so enjoy the rhythm of poetry, when neatly inserted in a tale. I think it reflects my love of the rhymes associated with the Runes.

Quote 2: "Angie stroked his slimy mane. 'Hungry, darling? That's my boy.'  She smiled at Maddy.'My boys have always had a healthy appetite,' she said.  'Now come on, sweetheart, and take Maddy home.  You can catch a bite on the way.' "    (page 160, paragraph 7)
   Angie = Angrboda. Can you picture Her children?  Once more, that dry sense of humor that so appeals to my memory. It was rough going, sticking to only two quotes.  Pages 99 & 231 were very close runner-ups.

1 Visual: "The two birds disappeared at once, to be replaced by two tattered figures, one lounging on the ottoman, one perched on the bed.  To Maddy they looked almost identical, but for the difference in gender and size, and the  broad streak of white in the girl's long hair.  Both were dressed in shiny black, in a fabric that might have been feathers or silk, but which somehow resembled neither.  Their hair was wild and tangled, and they both wore a great deal of silver jewelry- rings on every finger, bracelets stacked halfway up each arm- earrings that jangled with feathers and bells; strings and strings of gleaming jet beads."   (page 105, paragraph 14)
   mmm---Sweet vision of Huginn & Munnin. The bracelets would drive me nuts, but I would love to find such earrings!

Upon my shelves sit 'Runemarks' & 'Runelight'.  No question that this pair will move wherever I do.

The Air that Strangles

...is getting to me & this blog is suffering for it. Amazingly, this post is quite timely.  After answering those questions, it would help to figure out how to use this desk  top correctly....but all that I want to do is surf the 'net & daydream over sewing blogs!

I received two 'the random generator loves me' prizes in the mail yesterday. As soon as I figure out how to upload my pics, I will.

Next up is finishing a knit scarf/wrap.

Fireworks!

Fireworks are on my mind today. I love them...the noise, the colors...everything about them.

Fireworks to color or use as an embroidery pattern.

Fireworks all over pinterest .

Fireworks science .

Fireworks history .

Fireworks displays put on locally. 2 or 3 to choose from. But, a young grandchild who is still nervous about loud noises means it will be next year before we all will go to any. For this year, it will be sparklers on the front steps.

2 Quotes, 1 Visual, #23

Along with 'Neverwhere' I picked up a copy of 'American Gods' (Neil Gaiman). This book has been talked about by so many people whose intellect & style I admire that curiosity got the better of me.  This tale of immigrants, cultural mores, power/attention (& the lack thereof), & of Older Gods/Goddesses is amusing, engrossing, & carries itself well enough to be considered more of a literary classic than, say, The Great Gatsby or Moby Dick, for me.

Quote 1: "Well," he said, "I agreed to do it.  I could have said no." He wondered why he wasn't scared of her: why a dream of a museum could leave him terrified, while he seemed to be coping with a walking corpse without fear. "  (page 56, paragraph 14)
   What one can touch is often much easier to deal with than what's in the mind.  Then again....

Quote 2: "Hey," said Shadow.  "Huginn or Munnin, or whoever you are."  The bird turned, head tipped, suspiciously, on one side, and it stared at him with bright eyes.  "Say 'Nevermore', " said Shadow.  "Fuck you," said the raven."   (page 141, paragraph 6)
   A sense of humor runs through this tale, more dry than slapstick.   For me, characters not taking themselves, or the situation, straight-faced serious helps to ground the story as more of a fable than a lecture.  A necessity when the tale reflects what the author sees around him.

1 Visual: "Chicago happened slowly, like a migraine.  First they were driving through countryside, then, imperceptibly, the occasional town became a low suburban sprawl, and the sprawl became the city."  (page 67, paragraph 16)
   I find that authors whose works are memorable travel to the settings their tales are set in.  It's easy enough for the reader to discern as an authors' eyes percolate through the tale, invisibly but staining. This description of Chicago is spot on. Another author, whose cozy mystery series I read 10 of, hadn't traveled through the countryside (in a completely different country from where she lived) in which the majority of her series took place. Tellingly, the house her characters lived in always seemed to be out of place, setting but lightly in context. I can't remember her name, the characters' names, or where they were supposed to reside now, & don't particularly care to find out.

   The same can't be said of Neil Gaiman.

News!

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Google reader is dying on Monday

Nonsense thing for Google to do, but there you go. I've already switched the blogs that I follow to Bloglovin. Took me only a minute to do!

'Tis prime hibernations season!

The sun is bright (it burns!), making my skin itch & boil as much as it excites my young grandchildren. My ability to take them to the beach (which I enjoy) is limited to late afternoon or early evening. The high humidity makes it difficult to breathe,so, even if it's only 9.20 in the morning, the A/C is on.  Once it's after 9 a.m. & before 6 p.m. the only thing I'm interested in is staying inside!   Therefore, I've been searching out projects to do.

It's never too early to start on Yuletide ornaments .  Or, maybe, cute black kitties are the way to go.  Here's a sweet sampler type , but samplers aren't really to my taste. 

Then again, larger needles could be put to use. I have the yarn for this & a few of these .

Or, the sewing machine could be brought out for a few things.  Melly is wrapping up 30 days of Sundresses...giveaways, tutorials, patterns, etc.  & Kate has so many cute ideas! 

CraftGossip is always good for ideas in any manner of craftiness, as well.

Then again, this is just fascinating reading...way to go Jack & Harold ! & this piece will give you all you need to know about being happy :)

Or, I could just finish the two mini shawls & the birth record/sampler I already started.......;)

See, so many ways to avoid The Bright Burning One & it's companion Air So Thick It Strangles :)

Even though I knew

...that the proportions were off, to suit me, I made the biscuit recipe as written.  Yum...blueberry biscuits! This recipe had 4 cups plain flour, 2 cups milk,  2/3 cup sugar, 10 T. butter (cold), 8 t. baking powder, 2 t. slat, & blueberries. 

Just looking at this, I could see that there was too much milk for biscuits which were supposed to be rolled & cut. I also questioned the amount of butter & that the recipe called for the butter to be chunked (small) & folded in lightly, instead of incorporated.  Sure enough, the batter was more like a drop batter...no, more like a cake batter as I added another 3/4 cup flour to get the batter to a 'drop' consistency.  The chunked butter acted like I thought it might, as well. That is, melted all over the baking sheet. The taste is fine, except that much butter is making my digestive system most unhappy.

Usually, when I am this unhappy with a batter, I would just toss it out, *but* fresh blueberries only come along for a few weeks/yearly, so.....nuts.

Given my current living environment, money is hard to come by.  So when I get some unexpectedly, I do my best to get yearly gift-giving out of the way. To that end, this years' gifties are bought & waiting to be wrapped.  As well, I bought materials for throw-quilts & yarn for throw-sized afghans. Now, I now that, when substituting yarn, weight must be taken into account. Which I did...switching one bulky weight for another.  However, I forgot to check skein size (the ozs.).  Naturally, when checking the materials list, I discovered that I was 4 ozs. short. So, my order just came in. One more skein of each color:  (Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA) Phoenix Azalea, Napa Valley Pinot, New Orleans French Berry, Portland Wine, Cincinnati Red.  Also, size 13, 36" circular needles (I always knit a few sizes too big, so needles I use are generally 2 sizes smaller than requested in the pattern).

Ah, Stonehenge. After all these years, still it lends itself to much speculation. Still the occasional scholar just Knows they have discovered it's true purpose or some such about it's history. For example, a map !  oooooo  :)

& this, this is just an interesting thing to contemplate.

2 Quotes, 1 Visual, #22

After I picked up a copy of Neverwhere , I decided to buy a copy of the book. The series & the book are lovely close, thankfully.  It is an enjoyable read, to be able to put words to visuals. The novel allows for expansion on details, adding delicious context to a tale of loss, lost, found, danger, murder, & love all set in one of my favorite cities, London.  This is a tale of two worlds, almost parallel universes, intersecting & flowing smoothly, if not invisibly, together & through. 

Quote 1: "It was a Friday afternoon.  Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all at once."   (page 13, paragraph 2)
   Neil Gaiman has this wonderful talent of putting together words describing commonalities in uncommon situations (uncommon to the reader, at least). 

Quote 2: " She glanced at the little fires across the room. Then she looked back at Richard.  She smiled again.  "Do you like cat?" she said.   "Yes," said Richard.  "I quite like cats."  Anaesthesia looked relieved.  "Thigh?" she asked.  "Or breast?"
   It is  a smooth storyteller, who can get me to laugh at such words, even though I am a cat lover, through & through.  I felt Richard's shock & sadness when Anaesthesia died.

1 Visual: "Richard realized that he could not tell what color her eyes were.  They were not blue, or green, or brown, or gray; they reminded him of fire opals: there were burning greens and blues, and even reds and yellows that vanished and glinted as she moved."  (page 39, paragraph 3)
   ooooo...I want those eyes!

Come Winter, when the colder winds blow ice out of the sky, this is one of the tales I will re-read to transport me to a different sort of weather.  I thoroughly enjoyed this tale & rather wish Mr. Gaiman would write a sequel as to how Door's sister is found.

Addicting...

...those damn Facebook games! Bubble Witch, Panda Jam, Pet Rescue Saga...timesuckers all. & I have decided to go cold turkey.  No more games, they just take up too much time.

Instead, I will catch up on my reading. I'm, like, 16 posts behind on Gordons' blog . Behind way too many posts to count on Dionysian Atavism .  Behind on my favorite blog named to remind of a garden , but not to do with gardening. 

Tomorrow I will bake a cake (so that I don't have to throw away a cake mix) & try out an intriguing frosting recipe. One that involves instant hot chocolate mix with the word 'golden' in the title. So I'm pretty sure that I will end up scraping it off into the trash. But.....it *is* an almost-intriguing idea.

Oh, & Gertie has it right. *Why* would people fuss over the sight of that fleshy upper arm skin?  Seriously, get off the insistence of ripping apart our appearance, women!

Bored, Part 2

Within the next 12-18 months, a great deal of change may well be happening within this household.   Accordingly, a few things have caught my interest. 

A little bit of geography, valleys are lovely to look at, but not sure about living in one.  Or at the base of a hill, for that matter.  Pretty beaches , though.  Lovely to look at, $$ to live there.

Interesting how housing makes all of the difference in cost of living analysis.

I am seeing California fruit advertised in sale flyers, & wonder if they're any cheaper *in* California.  Also, given the general climate, wouldn't they be grown year round?

Not sure which giant sea turtle my daughter saw from the plane, as she landed. However, she said that it was huge & kept up with the plane as it came in for a landing. If I can get her to load a video, you can see the size for yourself! 

Some trees are boring  Some are not.

Bored

I have lived in Connecticut over 20 years now.  I'm bored with it, so I've been armchair traveling.
To here and here .  Granted, Seattle is rather close to an active volcano.   Here is a  bit further away from Mt. St. Helens.  Some absolutely lovely scenery, my favorite bird as well as my favorite animal :)  Naturally, here as well  (I would dearly love to see the Beast of Exmoor).  I'm on Episode 54 of 'Midsomer Murders '....such lovely scenery.  But, what I wonder most is, would I be able to bring a red eared slider across the border?

Questions in this day

Can I substitute powdered for liquid pectin (in jam recipes)? I could only afford one type, so bought powdered. Naturally, the recipes I want to use this season incorporate liquid pectin.
      Yes, I can .

Can I substitute real vanilla extract for scraped vanilla pod? *$14* for *1* vanilla bean! WTF?
       yes . Yea!

How do I clean Torties' tank? Who would have thought that one small red eared slider would be so dirty? Just like dmn goldfish (which I will *never* own again, btw).
       At least a thorough clean is only monthly . I wonder if hydrogen peroxide will disinfect enough...I certainly have enough old toothbrushes laying around the apartment.

Do red eared sliders *really* get big enough to require a 40 gallon tank?
      Yes. Yes, they do .   However, this week I need to buy him a more accessible basking place.  & a hanger for the light, maybe.

I do read the occasional love story

In this instance, it's 'Graveminder' (Melissa Marr). 'Graveminder' is a love story between Bek & Byron, between Maylene & Claysvilles' dead, between Cissy & Blood, & how these strands weave themselves together.

Quote 1: "Then he turned and got back in his car as quickly as he could.  He didn't run from fights or anything like that, but he didn't want to know what he didn't need to know.  Anyone who paid attention understood that there were plenty of times that avoiding questions was the best way for things to work out."  (page 35, paragraph 1)
     There are times when other peoples' love stories have consequences for generations. Unintended  perhaps, but impossible to alter.  The consequences in this story involve rituals for the dead, limited birth rate, an interesting world below, & Mr. D.

Quote 2: "Charles nodded. 'They helped make the contract with the town.  The consequence of which is that there are new Graveminders and  Undertakers who follow in their footsteps.'
  'Because you made a mistake,' she said softly.
  'Because I fell in love,' he admitted."  (page 317, paragraphs 10-12)
     The best love stories doesn't involve blind adoration, encased within a bubble of skipping giggles oblivious to all as much as they are invisible to everyone else.  No, the best love stories reverberate, change those directly involved as much as it changes those around them.  These love stories gather sorrow as well as laughter, invite the living, include the dead.  'Graveminder' is one of the best love stories.

1 Visual: "As they went further into its precints, wooden structures gave way to brick buildings and steel-and-glass structures.  Horse-drawn curricles and barouches shared space with bicycles and Model Ts and 1950s Thunderbirds.  The costumes varied as much as the conveyances: women in flapper dresses strolled past others who sported punk and belle époque attire.  There was something unsettling about the unnatural beauty of these coexisting eras."  (page 105-6, paragraph12-1)
     Interestingly, a land of the dead appears vastly different to different people.  There is a reason for this.  Read the book & find out ;)

Turtie tank!

Tortie the turtle has a new home:

Just above the middle purple plant is a little red eared slider turtle. This is a 20 gallon tank, with about 5 gallons of water, 7 plastic plants, & a filter/basking area.

The tank is covered with an appropriate metal screen top. Heat lamp is on top.  For the first few hours   Tortie was not noticeably impressed. He spent a great deal of time hiding. Now that it is quiet, he has been out & about, small enough to climb the plants, he pops his head up & glares at whomever may be within vision.

A closer look of Turtie nesting in his plants.

Grandchild #1 watching Turtie looking for the best hiding places.

It's a chill wind blowing

But it's still April.  Which is very close to a warm spring. Which means that I am looking for rhubarb in the grocery stores (marmalade or BBQ! ), wondering about good buys on grapefruit (jam!   ), & still looking for a decent sized 5l crock .   The thing with moving frequently is that I don't get the chance to see where the cool spots are in the summer (in other words, where best to put The Crock). Then again, it does give me the opportunity to take my time in finding a nice sized crock ;)

On a side note, I did get my plant tower put together. Also, discovered that I need some lower sided plant flats for it. & I need my daughter to show me how to upload photos on this new laptop.  By the time I figure out the photo issue, I should have Tortie the Turtles' tank washed out. Yea!

My guilty secret!

Whenever I'm feeling stressed & have the need to hide out inside of a book, I turn to the mystery cozies of Marian Babson .  No scary monsters, no gothic horror romance, no masterful wordsmith-ery that remains with a person through the dark night. Just a bit of mystery, the occasional murder, & usually a cat in tow, somewhere.  Nice, soft, & relaxing-- Babsons' books are the literary equivalent of Midsomer Murders .  Easy on the eyes, shorter in length, predictable to follow, & a comfortable fit. For example, from "The Cat Who Wasn't A Dog":

Quote 1: "Come to think of it, she was right.  Your average ghost isn't really the matey sort.  At least, not with his peers, although he might occasionally try to cosy up to the living- when not content merely to scare the living daylights out of them."  (page 116, paragraph 14)
     Why is that, anyway?

Quote 2: " 'I like to know where I am, in relation to everything around me.'  I couldn't understand people who didn't.
                 'It's all those gangster films you were in', Evangeline said severely."  (page 118, paragraph 10)
      Evangeline could have a point.

1 Visual: "We were surrounded by dead creatures.  They stared at us with glassy eyes from dark corners.  Birds perched on rocks beneath glass domes, a fox lurked in the shadows behind a trestle table, on top of which white mice paraded in increasing sizes from a baby mouse up to a large white rat."   (page 11, paragraph 1)
     I like a sturdy trestle table almost as much as I do a sturdy, but graceful, pedestal table.

Feels like Spring outside,

so garden daydreaming is at its' height! Just because I'm restricted to a plant tower inside doesn't mean that I can't sigh over various container gardens. For instance, a used wading/puppy pool & a few re-usable tote bags equals a neat little garden.  Bet I could manage a few radishes ...just because I'm not overly fond of them is no reason not to grow them ;) Probably won't try the carrots as they're not a big fan fave of the grandchildren.  For next season, I'll be stocking up on a few nice sized, tough bags.   Thinking about sprouts & sprouting , but not sure how well they will go over.  For lovely, lovely inspiration, 66 square feet is a wonderful place to start. 

For days when I need a bit more daydreaming time, I think how lovely it would be to grow my own cocktail ingredients, thanks to Amy Stewart & Territorial Seed .  And, if I had a bit more room in my city yard, little dinosaur fluffies would be skittering around :)

Poem Bone

My homage to Magaly, in honor of To The Bone :

Saw this:

      Photo courtesy of Conjurers Kitchen .
Thought this:
                                                       Lifes' support leeched by
                                                       Death marked runes tell the future
                                                       Frost the wedding cake.

Lovely vision in bone ;)

(I had planned to post this book opinion on Saturday, but the laptop decided to kaput, so...)

Todays' book is number 12 in Yasmine Galenorns' Otherworld Series.  By title, it is 'Shadow Rising' & is told in Menollys' POV.  This series involves three half-human, half-fae sisters (Camille/witch, Menolly/vampire, Delilah/werecat), living in Seattle, working for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency, & looking for 7 Spirit Seals while fighting off demons looking for the same. 

Vision 1: "He began to transform, right there, in the tree-crowded wood.  Smokey let out a low growl, but backed away as Shade's form rippled.  He began to grow, but unlike Smokey, instead of a majestic white dragon, what appeared was a terrifying, haunting form of a skeletal dragon surrounded by shadow and a violet smoke.  He looked almost fossilized."  (pages 57-8, paragraph 10/1)
      His appearance may not be as intimidating as a white dragon, but a shadow dragon is just as cool!  It also makes sense, within the story & within Otherworld cosmology.  The logic within those inhabiting Otherworld is one of the things that keeps me reading the series.  Peoples found are functioning & correct, not placed merely because the species happens to be trending in the readership of the moment.

Quote 1: "Spirits dance and spirits writhe,/ spirits toil, spirits tithe,/ Fire and ice, and spinning wheel,/ let your life to this sign be sealed!  A fiery glowing sigil appeared in the air, crackling as it burned with a bright purple flame.  A thousand howls of anger came rushing through the rune...  (page  130-1, paragraphs 8/1)
     A witch is known by the power of her chants, & this is a lovely one ;) .  Once again, purples are associated with shadow/banishing/dark.  A stronger touch than basic black, most thankfully marking an absence of 'Bewitched' or 'Charmed' sorts of magic.

Quote 2: "There was an eerie silence that went along with being a vampire.  No breath filling the lungs, no heart or pulse beating.  Once I'd died and been turned, I began to realize how many sounds the living body makes, sounds that I never noticed, but took for granted.  As a vampire, all the sounds of life  within are silenced."  (pages 185-6, paragraphs 9/1)     
     Here is something that I had never considered, about vampires.  How silence accompanies the vampire everywhere.  How unnerving the quiet must be, as noise is one way we humans make our presence known.  Menolly wears beads in her hair to alleviate this unease.

The Otherworld series is one of the very few that I collect.  A cohesive adult world, full of good/bad/both species (human, vamp, demon, damn near everything in between), living ordinary lives in between hauntings, drug dealing, &, perhaps, demon invasion leading to the end-of-life-as-we-know-it. A thoroughly enjoyable place to visit on a regular basis :)

Mundane bones

Not all bones are metaphysical, mystical, or used in foretelling. Some bones are pretties which lead to shinies! For example, this lovely from Hula Tallulah .  Or my shinies, which were packaged in such bright beauty:

 The brightness revealed:

It's a peacock pendant, by the way...please pardon the crappy pic!

When not drooling through the pretty shiny bones, older bones, if not ancient bones, call my attention. A favorite blog for reading about same is Powered by Osteons. A lively writer, who is also a mother of a young one & a college professor, she writes reviews about (the tv show) Bones , from an bioarchaeological  POV, ancient romans, & what her students are up to . 

Her take on Bones is lighthearted & I wish I was close enough to take one of her classes (& qualified to!) :)  Either way, reading her words about the Romans & looking at her photos, my mind happily leaps to old days, imagined lives, & just where these bones wandered & what they said.  I wonder, as well, what these ancients would have thought of the Sugar Skulls & their newer neon colors.  Would they have gladly worn these colors or been appalled?  Ah, if only I had the wordsmiths' skills.......

2 Quotes, 1 Visual #21

Between 'The Clairvoyant Countess' & 'Kaleidoscope' is 'The Tightrope Walker'.  Another tale told in a gentle manner, ripe with characters being Characters, not caricatures.  Another favorite where choices are made & a life is actively led.

Quote 1: ' Sometimes I think we're all tightrope walkers suspended on a wire two thousand feet in the air, and so long as we never look down we're okay, but some of us lose momentum and look down for a second and are never quite the same again: we know.'   (page 9-10, paragraph 1)
  Neatly explaining the title & the main characters' motivation.

Quote 2: ' "It gave me a certain feeling," I said, choosing words cautiously, "and out of this feeling came the idea that maybe life isn't meant to be easy, that it's a kind of pilgrimage or testing ground, and we have to fight like warriors to live.  I mean to live well.:" '   (page 95, paragraph 4)
      Amelia speaks of *her* favorite  book, & how it impacted her life.

1 Visual: 'I pushed the buzzer and the woman who opened the door at number 305 looked as if she'd never experienced an inadequate moment in er life.  She was easily six feet tall, an Amazon of a woman with a face like a Barbie doll.  She wore jodhpurs and a white shirt open almost to her navel, and her curves were breakneck; I must have said 'wow' without realizing it, or perhaps my eyes did, because she grinned.'   (page 37, paragraph 3)
     :)

Upon procrastination

Watching/listening to Castle .  Feeling envy .  Daydreaming through colours.  Skipping over to Amazon, seeing that my wish list is over 300 items, skipping out of Amazon.  Reading Gordon & all of the links he posts in his posts.  Interesting take on St. Patricks' Day :)

2 Quotes, 1 Visual #20

The sequel to 'The Clairvoyant Countess' is 'Kaleidoscope'.  I adore kaleidoscopes, have done since I was a little girl. The brilliant colours shifting & clicking, bright as jewels against the sun.  This book is also, again, filled with patterns: chance meetings, interwoven with coincidence & Choice. 

Quote 1: 'No one in the subway car appeared startled that Madame Karitska had been tossed a small attache case by an apparent stranger.  At the next station she left the train, and once above ground, she signaled a cruising taxi: this was one time, she felt, when it was expedient not to be walking the streets...'  (page 5, paragraph 2)
   Urban dwellers are such jaded creatures.

Quote 2: 'She blurted out, "My name's Betsy Oliver," and then--again startled--she added, "I didn't expect you to look so...so...I thought you'd look more like a gypsy fortune-teller."
    "Life is full of disappointments, is it not," said Madame Karitska humorously...'   (page 10, paragraph 4)
     Marina Karitska is not jaded, merely unflappable.

1 Visual: 'She held it up to admire.  Hanging from a long gold chain was a heart-shaped turquoise-colored stone in which five tiny gold stars had been set, the turquoise framed by a hammered-gold heart-shaped frame, from which were suspended three gold coins.'  (page 181-2, paragraph 7-1)
     So pretty to be filled with such heartbreak.

Some are more settled than others

I can not possibly make my 'bed'. Jade is sleeping!

I can not possibly harass Daughter to put this bin away. It's Xaviers' preferred napping spot!

I can not possibly consider removing this ottoman (which is pretty much the same size as the chair, in a *very* small living room) . It's reserved for Charlsies' use!

I am not a big fan of pink, but Zim finds it comfy. Yes, she is rather broad in the beam.  I put it down to her being a young cat (3 yrs) while Xavier (who is 12 yrs) & Jade (10 yrs. next month) are seniors, not given to cat-play.  Also, Jade doesn't like Zim.  So, while Jade will play a little, she wants *nothing* to do with Zim!

What there is never enough of

When moving, there never seems to be enough storage. So Ikea is where I went.

The beginning......

I must needs separate & count every screw.....

Clothes on one side, fabrics & do-dads on the other, storage  boxes on top.  Now, just need a storage bench & a corner shelf, & find studs to hand a long shelf on the wall.....

It's contest time

at one of my favorite jewelry sites! The Laughing Vixen Lounge is participating in the Spring Fashionista giveaway. I won her Halloween contest in 2012, & just *adore* the charm bracelet I won.

The jewel tones in the glass beads don't show in the pics nearly as brightly as they do in person.

Done moved, for the most part.

Most of the stuff is here. However, until my armoire is put together, I can't empty a few bins/boxes, so everything is wooper-jawed at the moment.

Grandchildren #1 & #2 have started at their new school.  Although the Principal is not happy that an out of district kindergartener has been registered to her school.  Her unhappiness with the situation  did not come close to my daughters' unhappiness with her attitude.  I found the principal to be rude, condescending, & class-ist.  The school itself is a lovely one, however, the kindergarten teacher was very nice & tried to reassure poor pale Grandchild #2.  Grandchild #1 is excited. So long as that principal doesn't say or do anything to upset them, I will regard her at arms' length. 

The landlord/lady seem pleasant enough, although whoever painted, finished the bathroom floor, & the kitchen cabinets was *lazy*, to put it politely.  The animals are settling in, the kids are settling in, once this weekend is over & my storage is put up, then I will settle in as well, I'm sure.

Friday edit: Snow day for the kids as school was cancelled due to weather. The principal hasn't said anything further about Eli not attending her school.  Daughter called Ms. Rodriguez & explained what the principal had said (Who is this Rodriguez? I've never heard of her!) . This irritated Ms. Rodriguez, who said that this isn't how things are done & she would call the  principal immediately.  We shall see what Monday brings.......

2 Quotes, 1 Visual #19

As I am packing for a move, I once again go through my shelves to see what I love enough to pack & carry around. Here is one of three faves: 'The Clairvoyant Countess' by Dorothy Gilman.  I've read all of the Mrs. Pollifax novels, as well, but this book (& two others) top them in my mind.

Marina Karitska is what the title says she is, clairvoyant. This book is about the adventures of herself & a few of those clients.

Quote 1: 'The girl looked at her, started to say something, and then flung herself instead toward the door.  Opening it she said over her shoulder in a choked voice, :"One of the girls at the office said you were great--just great."  She was like a child who had been cheated as she said, "Good-by!" '     (page 12, paragraph 7)
 Ahh...how many, involved in  dealing with the public while selling our services & wares, have been faced with such reactions from clients?

Quote 2: ' "He has lost his kitten," she told him calmly. "You must not think, Lieutenant, that the loss of a kitten is not also a cosmic event.  We hope, between us, to discover where he may find it." '   (page 46, paragraph 2)
Such a gentle reminder that the little things matter as much as the large scale.

1 Visual: 'She chose to walk to the store by a route that was colorful to the eye, and upon arriving at Banmaker's, she stood transfixed at the entrance, absorbing the marvels before her: broad aisles, brilliant lights and colors, books in bright jackets with letters fairly catapulting from the page to catch the eye; purses of leather and velvet and tapestry heaped in piles, a ribbon counter dazzling with stripes of fuchsia, melon, scarlet, pink, orange, blues.'   (page 58-9, paragraph 1)
Choosing ones' path in matters large & small.  I can smell the purse leathers as I read this.



 This book is full of gentle insights into human behavior & how a persons' choices make such differences in how life turns for them.  Love. This. Book.

Moving this weekend...

...most everything is packed. Just a little to do in my room, the grandchildrens' room, a touch in the kitchen,  more than a touch in the basement.  Have fought off a nasty stomach bug, but now the rainy weather is killing my sinus', which is  pressuring a nerve in my bad tooth, which is horribly painful, & now I'm going to take a nap & hope that that helps ease everything.

Friday night will be pretty much like...

...Thursday, around here.  First, music (The Pines of Rome).

On the table:

Still at work on the Frost Bearer.
Watching me

is Tortie, the Red-eared Slider.  He (?) studies me for about 10 min. before settling into a nap.
Also keeping me company is

Charlsie. The click & flash woke him up, but not enough to move. He will be 12 yrs. old this December.  He prefers to retire for the evening between 9.30 & 10.00 p.m.
Exciting, yes?  ;)

Moving, moving, moving....

Still packing (few hours a day), still working on the Frost Bearer (few hours a day.....just to steady my nerves ;)  Packing is no fun, so I've been distracting myself with the odd giveaway ( Bees' Wrap sounds like a fascinating product),  the odd droolworthy eye candy ,  the odd addition to my (Dear Gods) 12 page wishlist (  the Art of Glamour  ), & the odd burst of bright light , which reminds me of the wonderful Magaly  . 

And, just for randomness, photographic evidence of what happens to a Bratz doll after two days worth of 2yrold play.

It only took 2 hours for the (interchangeable) feet to be popped off & discarded. Both granddaughters do the same thing with Bratz dolls: pop off the feet, discard, & play with the doll, no feet.
 

2 Quotes, 1 Visual, # 18

The first gardening book of 2013 is Derek Fells' 'Secrets of Monets' Garden'.  This volume is full of photographs which had me lusting over rich soil & bright sunshine. Also pleasing to my eye where the included colour plates of Monets' works pertinent to the subject.   Knowing his audience, Fell includes ideas on how to break down the scale of Monet to a more manageable home-garden size.  Keep in mind, however, that this is not a 'how-to' book.  There aren't any lists of steps needed to improve soil, or what zone a garden is in.  This is an ideas book, ideally suited for those January days spent dreaming through seed catalogs & sketching out planting guides.

Quote 1: "Obviously, Monet was interested in painting the yellow sunflower heads in company with orange-red apples against a clear blue sky.  The base of the sunflowers would not show in his painting, so why bother planting around them?  He was a pragmatist."  (page 45, paragraph 1)
     While Fell is a fan of Monet & his garden, he is not blind to what it is.  The plants were there on basis of need & colour, not to be shown off to tourists on a 'famous gardens' binge tour.  Still & all, I would dearly love to see these five acres in person!

Quote 2: "  'A landscape doesn't get under your skin in one day.  And then all of a sudden I had the revelation of how enchanting my pond was.  I took up my palette.  Since then I've had hardly any other subject.'--Monet, on his water garden "   (page 65, paragraph 1)
     Not only a pragmatist, but particular over what was planted & what was harvested when, as well. A small battalion of gardeners work Monets' garden today, a gift shop as well (of course).  Monets' garden is a lovely reminder that   'pragmatic' does not exclude 'beauty'.

1 Visual:  "Nasturtiums of all colors and saffron-colored eschscholzias collapse in blinding ruins on both sides of the sandy pathway.  In the wide flower beds, covering the irises stripped of their blossoms, surges the surprising magic of the poppies, an extraordinary mixture of tones, an orgy of bright nuances, a resplendent and musical muddle of white, pink, yellow and mauve; an unbelievable kneading of blond flesh tones, on which the orange tones burst, the fanfares of burning copper ring out, the reds bleed and catch fire, the violet tones bri"ghten, and the dark crimson ones light up."   (page 47-8, paragraphs 5-1)
     Wordy perhaps, but satisfying for a gardeners' heart, who misses the growing season.

More stitches in as unease settles

I've been working on the blues this week past. In stiches

& in mood.  This upcoming domicile move is getting ever closer, but there doesn't appear to be an apartment on the horizon. Hard for me to tell what's going on as daughter refuses to share information.  Could really use Rammstein played loud to help soothe the nerves & motivate. However, they're packed away! My personal spaces are 4/5s packed, 2 1/2 weeks of laundry is nearly dry.  I have a few boxes left for me to pack for myself, then can start on the grandchildrens' rooms. Also have a Big Brother/Big Sister (out-grown) clothing pick-up set for the 20th.  The roads are finally cleanly plowed & the garbage pick-up is only  a day behind, so at least packing is moving forward :/

Blah Tuesday....

Looking for pick-me-ups, between packing & the weather, even baking sugar cookies doesn't alleviate the fogginess. So, on to a few funnies:
                   Simon learns that it's best to pick up after the cat is fed.
                   Not a funny, but a profile of one of my favorite artist .  I own a few of her 'Strangulations'.
                    The reason why young children don't trust those who wear costuming.
                    A fairy tale re-told.
                    Just beautiful :)
                    Finally, the song I sing myself to sleep with ;)

Winter Storm Nemo from the front porch

Yes, it snowed. The dogs were not pleased, nor was I as I couldn't get the door open far enough for them to go outside. Boots on!

Getting there!

*Knew* I should have put the garbage bin on the the porch last night....

Charlsie took all of 15 seconds to do his business & return to the door.

So much yet to do. :/  But our electric remained on so it's all good :)
Street view  .   Off to make syrup & pancakes.

Sweet things

There hasn't been much stitching done this week as I'm too distracted over moving.  However, two sweet packages arrived this week that I would like too share.

Isn't this just a little sweetheart? :) The Ehag emporium has a monthly giveaway to help promote the wonderful artists featured on this blog. I won this cutie from Joyce Stahl . Isn't she gorgeous? :)

This sparkly shiny lovely is one of the creations from Kris of the Laughing Vixen Lounge.  Kris' pieces are beautiful pieces, heavy in weight & charms!

Unfortunately,  my blurry pics don't do justice to this beauty!  Currently, there is a Valentines' Day Movie Marathon contest on the Laughing Vixen blog.  Goodies on giveaway :) 

Tortie turtle

Tortie is Grandchild #1s' young red-eared slider.

He (?) came to live in my space when Papi Antonio & Sara thought he would like more attention than he was getting at their place.  A quick look online ( 10 page PDF ) revealed that a healthy red-ear slider can live 70+ years.

This is his (?) exercise bin.  Little guy moves quick.  He isn't thrilled with show & tell, either, or 2 yrolds yelling when they touch him (gently).  Little guy spent most of the evening trying to climb out of his travel tank.  Instead of working on cross-stitch or reading, I spent the evening watching him not-climb.  Kind of like a lava lamp bubbling away......

Hopefully, Antonio & Sara will help get a proper tank for him (heater, basking rock, 20 gal. tank).  It seems that these little guys can grow 12'' (shell-wise) & need a correspondingly sized tank for swimming........

2 Quotes, 1 Visual #17

Every year I buy myself Yule & birthday presents. One giftee I gifted myself is 'the BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook' (Nora Abousteit, Alison Kelly).  My first handcrafting love is sewing, ever since I was in high school. This book gets me excited, once again, to sew. 

Quote 1: "Patterns are the most valuable tool a fashion designer or sewer possesses. Think of Coco Chanel, who repeated the same basic shape of her iconic box-cut tweed jacket for more than seventy-five years--and it makes just as powerful a statement today as it did when it was first introduced to the world in the 1920s.  Slight variations have been made to the fit, and the fabrics change from season to season, but the essence of that iconic silhouette remains true to the original pattern."  (page29, paragraph 1)
    I love a concise handbook.  This Sewing Handbook is written for beginners, to inspire them to approach patterns &  alterations with confidence, & for the more experienced sewer, to remind them that inspiration & fearless go together.
    The illustrations are clear, the directions on-point ( how to sew a curved seam, page 26, is wonderful), the photographs of finished clothing are as sweet as the photos of BurdaStyle members sewing spaces are cause for envy.

Quote 2: "I hate ironing, and I always tried to skip this step when I first learned to sew.  Big mistake.  Big.  My wonky cloth napkins can attest to this.  A friend told me 'If you don't have time to iron, you don't have time to sew.'  I now know that's true."  --Indiana Adams   (page 60, paragraph 5)
     Nicely spaced with hints from a variety of people, this handbook talks to the reader, not down to them.  Not once did I get the uneasy feeling that the projects within aren't doable.

1 Visual: "I think it could be worn just about anywhere with an olive-green belt, pleated trousers, and a T-shirt in something like mustard yellow.  This should be worn with serious heels, a no-fuss hairdo, and natural-looking makeup.  Alternatively, it would work great over a floor-length empire-line dress, either cream or in a very pale color, worn with ballerina flats, glamorous makeup, and long hair in a fancy updo---although I have yet to come up with the kind of event that would call for such an outfit."--Aicha Hockx   (page 165, paragraph 4)
     It was difficult deciding upon a visual piece as so much of what thrills about sewing for oneself are all of the fabric & colour possibilities.  When I see the patterns (5 basic patterns included with the handbook), I see, I visualize, what these patterns would look like, how I will alter them, what colours, what fabrics drape.  Happiness :)

The Frost Goddess has been agitating...

to be worked on.  She is impatient to be finished & framed! She's a nine page pattern with many blues/purples incorporated.

She stands, holding a crystal ball full of dancing fae.

I get quite a peaceful feeling when I'm working on Her.

What I should be doing

...is packing up for an upcoming move (month or so).  Instead I'm busy skimming sites.  Such as this lovely mushroom ketchup.  Considering what colour to use in knitting this double seed stitch blanket.  Thinking that this stitch might work up well into an afghan.  Wondering which (width yet unknown) window of the (yet unknown) new apartment this sweet Chevron Valance would fit.  Thinking that these Dahlias would do well as container plantings (thanks for the recommendation VP :).
     Really trying to work up some enthusiasm for this move & having a difficult time of it.  Usually, I look forward to any sort of adventure...new curtains to make, new ground to turn over. This time, with no information being shared, the interest isn't here.