What Happened to November

I know it took 30 days for the month to go by, and there were four weeks and two days in the month, and 24 hours in each day. But it seemed to go by so fast that it was like picking up a book, opening the cover and arriving at the back side of the book while bypassing all that was in between.

Needless to say, I don’t now participate in many of the same things I once did, due to age, health and the circumstances of my life. So, what did happen in those 30 days?

I admit to spending a good portion of my time with my Kindle. What a boon that is! My eyes were getting to the point where I had great difficulty in reading new books; either purchased or borrowed from the library, due to font size and the faintness of the ink used in printing. My Kindle has the advantage that I can enlarge the size where it can be comfortably read.

I spent part of each Wednesday afternoon with a group of women who have an interest in handcrafts, plus a few others who don’t ‘craft,’ but stop in to chat and look over what we have done. Most of us crochet, though there are a couple of knitters and one woman makes quilts. Such pretty and useful items emerge from this group. I only crochet, and as I have said before, it is fun to see what you can make out of a straight piece of string.

There were two or three trips to the grocers during the month, and one stop at the local yarn store. Shopping has never been one of my favorite activities, so I avoid it as much as possible. There was little else I needed, and I made a relatively small online purchase for those items. Of course, there are the odd bits and pieces of daily life, plus phone calls from family, conversations with neighbors, and so on.

I had to renew my car license this month, so had it inspected and winterized, and it’s good to go. Also had a medical checkup, which went well, except I have to follow through on one thing, which I have not yet done. Tomorrow, I promise myself I’ll call about that appointment.

Of course one must allot some hours to eating and sleeping and attending to various household tasks. I usually make daily checks to see who said what on fb, read and answer emails [at least some of them], check out genealogy correspondence, and do a little research. However, there has been a day or so in the past few months when I haven't even turned on my computer. Strange!!!

Last, but certainly not least was the Thanksgiving holiday. I had a great dinner as usual, with Russ and Jan and their family. I enjoyed being with them, also as usual, while missing the one who couldn’t be there.

Well, there you have it. Whatever I missed, you don’t need to know, and I don’t need to say; but in enumerating the events of the month, now I know what happened to it.


Tomorrow begins December. Our family has an important birthday on the next day. Towards the end of the month is the most important holiday of all, so...

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Making a Mess

Two years ago yesterday on July 31st, I began this blog. The day before, on Sunday, I spilled a full cup of coffee when I attempted to set down the cup on a side table while watching that couple dance their way down the aisle to be married. Not paying enough attention to what I was doing, I set the cup too close to the edge, it bobbled, I lost control of the cup, and the “whole cup of coffee” spilled onto the floor.

Two years later, plus one day, I did the same thing again this morning, though for a different reason. This time I lost the cup as well as the coffee, so every drop went on the floor. Not a great start to the day.

When we were raising our family, I had a motto about making a mess: When you make a mess, there’s just one thing to do about it, and that is clean it up. I’m talking about the accidental, unintentional things that will occur in a home and in a family. I see no reason to get excited about something that wasn’t done as a result of mischief. In that case it would be the mischief that needed attention. Goodness knows, I got scolded and punished plenty of times for the sometimes broken dish, as a result of my clumsiness in the kitchen. I was the family klutz it seems. Yes, I know the reason.

I did have a word or two for myself this morning, due to my not paying attention to what I was doing. Not having the luxury of maid service, I had to take my own advice and clean up the mess. When the carpet dries, I will see whether or not I have to go over it again, and I strongly suspect that I will have to do just that.

Since the ‘spill’ episode, the day has gone by much as usual, doing this and that small task. Among other things, I finished the edge of a crocheted scar and have begun a small baby cap, which is about 2/3 finished.

When I go out again, and pick up new batteries and a charger for my camera, perhaps I’ll post some pictures.

Hope you haven’t had any messes to clean up today; but, if so, I hope they’re all small.

P.S. Being right is good, except when it isn't. More spot cleaning [a realllly big spot] coming up.

Cold Weather Idea

What am I doing in this super cold weather? Making a hat. Why? The above occupation was inspired by the extremely cold temperatures we’re now having and the fact that the two knit hats I own, have chosen to keep themselves hidden from me when I actually need them.

I don’t like to wear anything on my head, and usually don’t, except that I did in the dim, distant past when everyone wore a scarf if it was windy, cold, raining etc. And even in this cold, if I were just dashing [if an almost 84 year old can be said to dash] across the street for the mail, I probably wouldn’t bother. But walking down to the end of my block to the trash dumpster, and especially walking back with that wind out of the west hitting me head on, I really wouldn’t mind wearing something on my head. But, alas there was no hat to be found.

That led me to look in some of the ‘closet bags’ to see if I could find enough yarn to make a hat. For the most part, I stopped crocheting years ago when my hands became too painful after only a few minutes. I gave away almost all of the yarn I still had on hand. But a hat shouldn’t take too much time. I didn’t find any complete skeins of yarn, but did find some already crocheted swatches that I had intending for an afghan at one time. So I thought, what can I do with that? I had some small balls of yarn in a contrasting color, so began putting the swatches together to see how it would work out. The swatches have been ‘whip-stitched’ together, and the bottom is finished. All that is left now is to decide how I want to finish the top and sides of this weather-inspired hat. So far, it is working out fairly well, but I would have chosen a different color if I had begun it from scratch.

Within minutes my forefinger became numb, which occurs with pressure on my fingertips since the advent of the shingles last year. Even have to watch out for overuse of the computer mouse. Restrictions! Bah, humbug! So, I probably won’t be going back to crocheting much, but maybe I can get this small project finished without aggravating those nerve endings too much.

Note: The hat is finished now; it will be warm, and doesn't have to stretch to make room for your head/hair. How will I look in it? Welll! That reminds me of what I heard a woman on an MSNBC news show say a couple of days ago. She had said something about the cold in Chicago, and her male partner on the show made a remark about looking cute. She said there is no such thing as cute in the cold in Chicago when you're trying to be warm. These previous words are not verbatim, but the gist of what was said. Children are cute when they're all bundled up for the snow and cold. The rest of us just do the best we can.