Signs of spring

We've had a weird spring here in Maryland.  For the past three weeks, temperatures have jumped around from the 20s to the high 60s.  We've had sunny days, windy days, rain, on and off, and snow a couple of times.  The latest snow was this week.  At one point I had icicles handing from the drain pipes and dripping down onto my front steps. Unfortunately, it then got below freezing so I had a coating of ice on the steps.  I don't have a railing out front so going down the steps was a bit iffy.  Luckily I made it without falling.  I then went to get some rock salt, but of course the store was sold out.  Instead I bought kitty litter and some salt that is used in water softeners.  The litter produced a crunchy surface over the ice, so I could safely go up and down.  The salt did help melt the ice, I think.  I've had to use the litter once since then, as we had another warm/cold spell.  Kitty litter is really messy when it is wet!  I sure hope we are done with winter now!

The birds that dine at my feeders seem to have decided it is now spring.  I haven't seen any courting so far, but the males are singing their spring songs.  The male goldfinches are all decked out in their courting colors.  When they share a feeder with the cardinals, it's very colorful.  I even had a pair of redwing blackbirds recently.  They don't nest around here and are seldom seen on my feeders.  They are voracious eaters, but not as bad as starlings.   I've been seeing flocks of robins all winter, so I don't consider them good predicters of spring, but now I'm seeing only one or two at a time.  I guess the migrants have passed through, leaving only the summer residents.  Interestingly, the juncos (a winter only bird) think it's still winter.  They usually fly north as the weather warms up, but they are still hanging around.  Juncos are ground feeders, but at least one of them has learned how to perch on a feeder.  I've never seen that behavior before, but I guess he was desperate, as there was no more food scattered on the deck floor.  I throw birdseed onto the deck only when it is snow-covered.  It's a mess to clean up the shells, not to mention the little white blobs the birds leave behind.

Here are a few signs of spring in my yard.

Trip to Florida

In late February, I flew to Vero Beach, Florida to visit my brother and sister-in-law who live down there during the winter.  I chose the cheapest flights I could find, but got a bit nervous after booking because the flight went from Baltimore to Rochester, NY  and then down to Orlando.  I used to live in western NY, so I know what the weather can be like up there.  Flying north in the winter is a bit of a risk.  As if turned out, Rochester was fine - a little snow on the ground, but none coming down.  However, we left Baltimore 45 mintues late because there was icy rain and the plane had to be de-ided.  We got to Rochester with no trouble and the plane emptied, leaving only 5 of us still aboard.  We quickly moved up to the front seats, before the folks in Rochester who were hoping to escape the winter, boarded for the trip to Orlando.  We made up a part of the time on the way south, but we were still later than scheduled arriving in Orlando.  I had booked a shuttle bus service to Vero and wasn't sure I would make the connection.  I called the company who said the bus would wait 10 minutes for me.  Boy was I lucky!  My bag came through among the first off and I hurried down to where the shuttel bus was waitaing.  Everything was fine from then on.  I arrived safely in Vero and my family picked me up.  This was much better than having my 86 year old brother drive to Orlando to pick me up.

The weather in Florida was delightful.  We had sunny days with temps in the 70s, although the last day I was there, it was going into the 80s.  My sister-in-law and I spent an afternoon going to all the thrift stores in town.  Vero Beach has many wealthy people, so the thrift stores have wonderful items for very little money.  I bought another bird house to add to my collection, but nothing else.  Of course, I had to leave 4 paperback books behind in order to fit the birdhouse into my suitcases!  No problem, as I had read the books by the time I left and was going to donate them anyway.

Another day we went over to the stores on the beach and wandered around a bit.  Went to a store that has all sorts of cooking things - pots and pans, gadgets to do just about anything in a kitchen, table linens and more.  I tried to buy my sister-in-law a couple of gadgets that I thought she would use, but she refused to take them.  She likes the things she already has and isn't interesting in anything new. Another store we visited is a wonderful store called the Laughing Dog.  It has fabulous creations of glass, ceramic, fabric or wood.  There was nothing I could afford, but I loved looking at all the beautiful objects of art.  We poked into some other stores as well, admiring all the birghtlyt colored Florida clothes.  Somehow I resisted them as well.  I was tempted just a little by the handmade baby dresses in one store, but as much as I love my 6 month old granddaughter, I just couldn't see spending $40 on a dress that had to be hand-washed and that she would out grow in a few months!  Sorry, Elise.  When you have stopped growing so fast, I'll see what I can find that you would like.

The day before I left, my brother took me out to dinner for my birthday - at my favorite restaurant.  I celebrated turning 73 by having a very good Margarita before a dinner of crab-stuffed flounder.  Yum!
The last day I was in Florida, we drove out to where the local water company has created ponds which attract many birds.  We watched flocks of small black and white ducks, and a few white herons, cormorants or anhingas (I can't remember how to tell them apart)and other birds we couldn't identify.

The trip home was uneventful - my favorite kind of trip.  I had lots of time at the Orlando airport, so I ate a nice dinner in a real restaurant and had no problem getting through the very long lines at the security checkpoint.  Of course I have a lot to do now that I am home.  The house needs cleaning, or at least dusting.  I still haven't done my income taxes, which I started before my vacation.  I am trying to finish reading a book before tonight's book club meeting.  We are reading "The Aviator's Wife" a fictionalized story about Anne Morrow Lindberg's life.  It's interesting and well-written, but I am a bit uncomfortable about this kind of book.  I prefer my books to be either fictional or true.  As  I read this book, it's impossible to know what is real and what the author has made up.  It will be interesting to see if the other members of the book club feel the same way.  I'm going to quit now and see how far I can get in the book before the meeting tonight.

  

Procrastination Post

I am home today with a cold and am supposed to be doing my income taxes.  I think I have all the information that I need, although inevitably there will be at least one missing piece.  The paperwork is sitting on the table, nothing filled out so far, although I did do some calculations the other day, adding up things that are additions or will be subtractions.  That's really the hard part.  Today all I need to do is put the info into the right place on the forms.

Meanwhile, I am sitting here at the computer rather that getting to work on the taxes.  Yesterday I had no internet connection and no phone service, as they are all on my wireless connection.  That went kaput, so I was stuck.  Comcast did send a tech out, after several conversations convinced them that the problem could not be solved over the phone.  The tech fixed the system temporarily, but said that when the weather warms up, they will have to come out and put in a new cable.  Evidently they can do this whether I am home or not. I just hope that the temporary cable lasts until they can come out to put in the new one.  It could be a month or more, considering the weather we've been having this winter.

Today the sun is shining and melting the ice on my car's windshield.  Always nice to have Mother Nature working in my favor for a change.  The dusting of snow we got last night just covered up the ice.  And out front, the ice seems to have melted.  I just hope it doesn't rain today and freeze up tonight.  Don't think rain is predicted, so perhpas we will be ok for a while.  I've really had all the winter I want this year.

My deck, in back of the house, doesn't get any sun in the winter, so it is still snow-covered. I've been throwing seed for the birds out onto a semi-cleared path from my doorway.  The birds must be really hungry becasuse they have been coming right up to the door to get the seeds I spilled on the door mat.  I should get my boots on and go out and fill the feeders.  Maybe I"ll do that later.  This morning I'm being lazy.

In the living room, I have an amarilys (how is that work spelled?) starting to bloom.  This plant was given to me a number of years ago and it faithfully blooms every winter.  I put it outside for the summer, bring it inside in the fall, leave it alone for several months and then start watering it again.  Voila!  It blooms!  In full bloom, it will have 4 blooms coming from the single stalk.  Very impressive.

SNOW!

Since I am snowbound today, it seems like a good time to put up another post on my blog.  We got about a foot of snow last night and a bit more this morning, but nothing coming down just now.  What I worry about is freezing rain, which is still a possibiity today and tonight.  That is what brings down tree limbs and power lines.  As long as I have electricity, I am fine, but if the power goes off it will be darn cold in my house!

At this moment, I am watching birds and a squirrel argue over the bird seed that I have thrown on my deck.  There are cardinals,bluejays, juncos, starlings and sparrows out there just now.  I also have the occassional titmouse and chickadee.  Haven't seen the woodpecker today, but I put a suet cake out yesterday, so perhaps he (she?) will arrive later.  Birds are very entertaining, but it's not cheap entertainment.  I spend a fair amount on seed for the birds, especially in the winter.  There is a sale at the bird store on Saturday, so I hope to stock up then.  That's assuming I won't be still snowed in, of course.

I just looked out front and two of my neighbors' teenagers are shoveling my sidewalk.  I had planned to shovel later, so now I feel guilty that I didn't get out there sooner.  I actually enjoy shoveling snow - at least in small doses.   I told the boys that they could stop and I would do the rest, but they seem to be persistent.  I don't know these neighbors very well.  They are renters who moved less than a year ago and I seldom see them.  I think they are from Africa or the West Indies because their English has a definite accent.  I have a little trouble understanding them.  I'll have to bake something and take it over to them - brownies maybe.

My computer is giving me problems.  Recently, I actually took it to Best Buys where a Geek Squad member tested it and found nothing wrong.  He said the trouble is with Comcast and perhaps I need a new router.  He suggested that if I wanted a really good router, I could buy one at Best Buys, but he wasn't pushy about it.  I will call Comcast soon - after the snow goes away.  The only current probem is that loading anything is slow and I can't watch youtube or suchlike because they load up very slowly.  It's like the way my computer worked before I got wifi.  I think we don't realize how dependent we are on our computers until they aren't working properly.  Of course today, with no newspaper, I am especially dependent upon the computer for my news.

I am planning several trips this spring - to Florida in March and Arizona in April.  I spent hours on the computer recently trying to find a 'cheap' fare to Florida and coordinate that with a shuttle bus service that runs from Orlando to several cities on the East Coast (including Vero Beach, where I want to go).  I finally did get it all worked out and all will be well as long as we don't get another snow storm on the day I'll be leaving.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed - or at least I would be, but I can't type that way!!

This past weekend, my former husband, Andy, was a guest at my house.  His brother has cancer, so Andy and Robert (Andy's son) drove up from Hampton, VA to see him.  Andy and I are still friends, so it wasn't a problem having him stay here.  He took me out to dinner at a local steak house on Saturday night.  We are both showing our age - neither of us could finish our dinners.  And, by 10 PM, we were each ready for bed. The only problem for me with having company is that I get very tired of talking.  I'm not used to having someone around for a day and a half.  My house is quiet most of the time and it's really odd for me to be sitting there making conversation.

Monday night, I went to a book club meeting.  I have just joined this club and only know two of the members.  They are all women about my age and very friendly.  The book we discussed was TransAtlantic by Colum McCollough (I can't spell his name).  It was a very interesting book and we all liked it.  This book club will be good for me, as it will force me to do some semi-serious reading instead of the mysteries and romances I read all the time.  I'm having trouble getting a copy of the next book.  It's "Boys in a Boat"  and is connected to past Olympics.  Perhaps that is why all the copies are reserved.  I'm 17th on the list at the Howard County Libraries and 3rd in the Laurel Library (PG County).  Hopefully, I'll get a copy from one of these lists before March 10, which is the next meeting.

What I did over the Holidays

I haven't been doing much Blogging lately, but I will try to do it more frequently.  Today I'll write about my 3 weeks in England and post a few photos.  (There are some on Facebook already.) Eventually I will have all my photos on Flickr, but they aren't up there yet.  There are far too many to try to put them all on this blog.

Christmas this year was at Kate's in England.  My grandchildren are growing up so fast!  Both Sarah and Olivia are taller than I now.  I can still look down on Alex, but then he is only 11 (almost).  I'm sure his day to be taller than Grandma will come soon.  The girls are very much teenagers, but still very sweet.  There are few issues between the girls or between Alex and Olivia these days.  This makes for a more peaceful household than it was sometimes in the past.

I arrived before Christmas, although not early enough to help decorate the tree.  I did get to attend a holiday 'concert' at the secondary school.  This was remarkable in that kids as young as 12 acted or sang solos or played instruments.  Some of them were very good and all did very well without any symptoms of stage fright.  Sarah did not participate, but Olivia played flute in the 'band' which accompanied some of the acts.

Christmas Eve we attended the traditional neighborhood party with Lana and her family.  Lana is Kate's close friend who lives two doors away.  Her son's birthday is December 24, and every year they have a birthday party for him, inviting the neighbors as well as his friends.  I know most of the people, as I have been there many times, so it's a party I really enjoy. Oh yes, I almost forgot that before Christmas we went into London to look at the displays in the store windows.  More photos from that trip have been posted on Facebook, but here is one.  

 Christmas morning was less hectic than it was a few years ago.  Still we all had fun unwrapping gifts, some of which were surprises.  As usual, I gave the kids cash and/or took them shopping.  Even though they knew what they were getting, they insisted that I wrap the gifts and put them under the tree, so that they would have things to unwrap.  I received a few gifts, including a school photo of Alex and a pair or earrings (from Olivia) in my favorite color (turquoise).

The weather during my visit was rather typical for England - chilly and drippy.  No downpours, but enough drizzle to make outdoor activities somewhat iffy.  We did go to an historic house (one we had been to before), but just wandered around the grounds, rather than paying extra to tour the house.  We were supposed to go to another garden (Wistley) but got rained out on that one. Here are Olivia, Alex and Sarah on an outdoor stage.

Still there was plenty to do.  Kate and the kids and I went to the Warner Brothers' 'exhibit' where they have many of the items used in making the Harry Potter movies.  This was an amazing place with all sorts of props - large and small.  We all had a great time. This is just one of the many amazing displays.

Kate and the kids and I also went to a Panto (pantomime) one evening.  I'd never been to one and it was quite an experience.  It was a bit like a musical, with singers and dancers, but the difference is that the actors and the audience talk to each other.  The villain was greeted with boos and hisses from the audience.  Often a character would say "I'm going to do something" and the audience would shout
"Oh, no you're not!"  It was great fun and the dancers were very good.  There was a team of about 8 Black guys who did the most astonishing athletic dancing I've ever seen!

I think I've covered the highlights of my visit.  As usual it was wonderful seeing Kate and her family, even though the kids talk so fast that I often can't figure out what they are saying.  Even with my hearing aids, I have trouble hearing Kate, who is rather soft-spoken.  My son-in-law, bless him, has a loud voice, so I can always hear what he is saying.  The same is true of Alex.  So, even though I miss some conversations and often don't hear clearly what is being said, I love being with them.  Kate says that my responses to comments are often not germane, but they do provide unexpected humor! 

Fall is here - brrrr

We had such a warm fall until recently, that a couple of frosty nights have been quite a shock.  I think last night was another chilly one.  Yep, I see the car windshield is covered with frost.  I'm glad I brought the last of the iris inside to finish blooming in a vase.  (If you read my Facebook posts you know that I have a re-blooming iris which waits until November to produce the second round of blooms - stupid plant!)   Anyway, I am enjoying the blooms in my kitchen now.  I'm sure the remainder outside are frozen.

This has been the most beautiful fall I've seen here in Maryland.  Our native trees mostly turn gold, rather than red, so some years the color show is rather bland.  Not this year!  We've been treated to several weeks of wonderful reds, golds and browns in a brilliant contrast to the evergreens.  Everywhere I look, the colors are a vivid treat!  I've tried to take some photos, but one really needs a video to show the contrasting colors that can be seen walking or driving along the roads.

Fall is moving right along now.  Just a few weeks until Thanksgiving.  Where does the time go?  This year I am eating Thanksgiving dinner with a friend from pottery class and her family.  She invited me to join them after I mentioned that I would be alone this year.  I don't know this person very well, although I enjoy chatting with her in class.  It will be interesting and perhaps a little awkward to be with someone else's family, but certainly better than being alone.  I had been hoping for an invitation from my brother who lives within driving distance of me, but hadn't heard a thing from him, so when my friend invited me, I accepted happily.  Yesterday, I called my brother to see if there was a weekend when I could drive over to see him and my sister-in-law.  And he said (I"m sure you guessed this), that he had just written a letter to me, inviting me to come for Thanksgiving!!  What's that old saying - it never rains, but it pours?  Anyway, I told him I already had plans for Thanksgiving, but would come to see them another weekend. 

I really love fall, although I'm not that keen on cleaning up the dead plants and putting away the summer outside decorations.  I have a lot of outdoor decorative stuff (ceramic animals that I have made; mini garden tools and watering cans that hang on the trellises; balls and insects (and one flamingo) that sit on poles and wave in the wind, and many wooden birdhouses) all of which must be cleaned off and stored away inside for the winter.  I brought most of the stuff in this week, although the flamingo is still out there, as are some of the birdhouses, but I'll get to them soon.  Unfortunately, I have run out of boxes in which to store these objects, as well as run out of space in the basement storage room for the boxes.  I don't think I am actually one of those 'hoarders' who never throw anything away and have stacks of stuff everywhere in their house.  However, I do seem to acquire more decorative items than I get rid of.  I'm trying to get control of this, but I just love going to yard sales or bazaars and picking up cute little things.  In fact, this weekend and next there are several such sales that I may be visiting.  Perhaps there is no hope for me and someday I will be found buried under piles and piles of stuff in the basement!!! 

A Comeback, maybe

I've not blogged for quite a while.  I think it's because I've been using Facebook a great deal and so much of the information/chatting that I used to blog is now on Facebook.  However, there is a lot more space available for writing on a blog, so I"m going to see if I can get into that again.

The most exciting thing that has occurred in my life since I last blogged is a birth of a new granddaughter.  After many years of waiting and trying, my son and daughter-in-law have a baby girl - born in late July, 2013.  My daughter, other grandchildren, and son-in-law came from England to visit me this summer and we all flew out to Arizona to see little Elise.  She was only a couple of weeks old when we saw her and I think we all fell in love with her.  The few days we were in AZ were busy ones, especially as we all (including Elise) drove up the the Grand Canyon one day.  Some of us had seen it before, but it's still an amazing sight.  We didn't get many good photos because it was drizzling rain all day, but it was worth the trip.

I can't seem to find the few photos I took of the Grand Canyon trip, but I did find these of my grandchildren holding their new cousin.

 Sarah (brown hair), Alex, and Olivia (blond) cuddling the baby.  They all wanted to hold her and there was some arguing about whose turn it was.  Aunt Kate and Grandma Kathy also did some cuddling.  I had forgotten how small new babies.

Of course, by this time I have a whole bunch of photos of Elise.  Steve and Christine are very good about posting many photos on Facebook, so I get to see the baby as she grows.  She is about 3 months old now - much more of a person - as you can see in the last photo.  I can't seem to get this text where I want it, or actually it's that I can get the photos where I want them.  I was able to do this before Blogger changed things.  Changes are not always improvements.   I'm going to stop now, but I will try to get back into blogging - maybe once a week?
 

 

Florida trip

I think spring is finally here, although snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow, so maybe it's still winter, despite what the groundhog didn't see.  I have a front flower bed bursting with mini daffodils.  They look so spring-like.  Also a bush (tree?) by my front door is blooming.  It's a mahonia, commonly known as grape holly.  (computer doesn't know how to spell the name and neither do I!)  The yellow blossoms have a very sweet odor that attracts bees and flies when the weather is warm enough for those insects.  I love walking out the front door and sniffing that lovely odor.  After the blooming, the bush produces little purple berries that look a bit like grapes - thus the common name.  The catbird and the robins will fight over those berries!  Also, the leaves have points on the ends (like holly).  The thing was just a small plant when I bought it, maybe 8 years ago.  It is now about 5 feet tall and about 4 feet wide.  I keep cutting it back every year.  ( I think it can grow to 20 feet, which will not be acceptable in its current location.  Thus the trimming.) 

Recently I spent a week in Florida visiting my brother Tom and sister-in-law Peggy.  I enjoyed the visit, despite the cold weather.  The day I got home, it was warmer here in Maryland than it had been when I left Florida.  I did go over to the beach one day.  I walked along the water line for about 20 minutes and then spent several hours checking out all the very expensive stores along the ocean drive.  I didn't buy anything, but it's interesting to see what the rich folks spend money on. 

Luckily, I don't go down there for the weather, but to see family.  They are in their mid-eighties and doing pretty well for that age.  Both are deaf.  Peggy has hearing aids, which she will wear, but says they don't help much.  Tom denies that he has a problem, because we are shouting at him, so he can hear us.  He keeps putting off getting tested - probably because he knows he will need hearing aids. 

The flight from Baltimore to Orlando was interesting.  I arrived in Baltimore and went directly to security because I didn't have any luggage to be checked.  (I'm too cheap to pay $25 each way just so I can take a few more items with me.)  After I passed security I began to look for area C, which was where my gate would be.  I finally found a sign and followed it, only to discover that at the end of a corridor the sign said, "Leaving secured area".   The signs for C were pointing out, so I followed them and finally found another security checkpoint, just for C people.  I was cleared again.  Boarding the flight was the usual confusion, but I found my seat and stowed my carry-on.  Then we sat and sat.  After about 35 minutes, they announced that the plane had a problem that couldn't be fixed, so we were told to get off with our carry-on luggage.  We left the plane, walked down a corridor and - surprise! - had to go through security again!  The rest of the flight was uneventful and we arrived only about one and a half hours late.

 Of course Tom and Peggy had been in the terminal at Orlando for hours, as they had arrived early.  Luckily they had eaten lunch, so I just grabbed a sandwich and we headed up to the parking garage.  Tom didn't remember the aisle number, but said that the car was on the top level over near the edge.  It wasn't there.  Tom and I walked up and down all the rows of cars on that level and some on the next level down, looking for the car.  All I knew about it was that it was a  white Toyota with a black stripe and a license plate that had a Z in it.  I did find a car that met those criteria, but it had an ashtray full of cigarette butts, so I knew it wasn't theirs.  Finally I found a person who was one of the parking lot personnel.  She called someone in a truck and he took Tom to go look for the car.  Peggy and I waited.  Luckily it was warm and sunny.  Now, you have to understand that the parking garage is enormous and there are actually two of them - A and B.  The truck driver asked Tom where his car was parked and Tom replied' B'.  The driver then said, 'But this is A.'  They found the car right where Tom thought it was, but in the other parking building! 

The rest of my visit was very uneventful.  It was sunny every day, but so windy that it felt cold.  We didn't do any outdoor things, like going bird watching.  Peggy and I went to a couple of thrift shops - I bought a pair of trousers for $2 - a real steal!  I need them because I had brought only warm weather clothes with me.  We ate dinner out twice, which I always enjoy.  We did visit a couple of nurseries because Tom and Peggy are giving up on annual plants and are going to fill the garden room flower beds with perennials.  Tom and I selected some shade plants - ferns and suchlike.  They will go back and get plants for the sunny bed.   The day before I left, I took their car and drove around Vero, searching for thrift stores and antique dealers.  Didn't buy much, but enjoyed looking.


It was a good trip, but I'm really glad to be home.

More online problems

I'm still having to put in my entire 'key' in order to get my online connection.  The computer keeps latching onto an unprotected connection, which is evidently somewhere in my neighborhood.  It is much weaker (fewer bars) than the connection I am supposed to have.  I will call Comcast again today and see what they can do about this issue.  I REALLY do not want to have to type in 16 digits every time I want to go online!!

I'm also having a problem with my phone, but this I can't blame on Comcast, as it has been going on for quite while now.  When I talk to Kate (in England) she hears lots of noise on the line, although I do not hear any.  Sometimes the situation is reversed and I hear noise and she doesn't.  I don't know if it's my phone, hers, or something in the connection.  I seldom use my phone otherwise, so don't know if it's a common occurrence or just when I call England.  Next time I call her I will use the only phone in the house that is not cordless and see if the noise still persists.  If that phone is clear, then I think my cordless phones are going bad or need new batteries or ???   It's lovely having all these gadgets that make my life easier, until something goes wrong with them. 

Another annoying thing here in the house is a really bad odor that I sometimes smell in the basement.  I think it's a dead mouse, but have not seen any other evidence of mice.  The odor was strong last week, then seemed to vanish, but it was back yesterday.  More than one dead mouse?  Dead mice usually only smell bad for a couple of days.  (Voice of experience)  Maybe I have a whole nest  of mice?  I sure hope not.  No food available for them in the basement, unless they like cardboard (lots of boxes down there).  And, no water source that I know of.  I really don't want to start searching for dead critters, so am hoping the smell will go away on its own.

This is such a negative blog, sorry about that.  Actually my life is going along pretty well.  I'm busy and, as is often the case, my activities are conflicting with each other.  On Saturday I need to be at two places at once.  The compromise is that I'll leave one early and arrive at the other late.  I hope that works out ok.   I will go to the church leadership retreat in the AM and do whatever they want me for (a committee report).  I will then leave and go to the Raku firing here in Laurel.  I only have a few pieces to be fired, and we usually don't get started until noon, so hopefully I will still have time to get my stuff fired.  Raku is slow because there is only one small kiln.  I don't know how many people will be firing stuff.  There is only one Raku class, but people in other classes may bring their pieces for firing.

I'll post a photo of my work sometime after Saturday.  Stay tuned.

me and Comcast

A week or so, a very persistent salesman from Comcast came to my house.  He actually came back a few days after the initial visit, when I told him I needed time to consider switching from Verizon.  I have not been thrilled with Verizon lately, mostly because they raised by rates a while back.  Anyway, I signed a contract with Comcast, getting Internet, Phone and TV for just about the same price I had been paying for just phone and Internet. 

The installer came on Monday.  He had a bit of difficulty finding the Comcast cable in the house.  We found one "outlet", but it wasn't live.  He said the cable came into the basement near the outdoor water faucet.  To connect there, he would have to drill a hole in the wall, which is behind my bookcases or perhaps he could run the cable along the door sill and come in behind the TV.  Before he did this, however, he poked around some more in the beams in the basement ceiling.  He climbed up on the clothes dryer and Eureka! found the cable.  So then he proceeded to hook it up. All seemed to go well.  The new router is in my bedroom, because he needed to put it near where telephone wires exist and where there is an elect outlet.  (I now know why Verizon put the router in the basement near where the phone wires come in.

Anyway, when he left Monday, all was working.  However, when I when online Tuesday AM, things were not working properly.  I logged onto the computer, but couldn't get into my email or anything else.  So I called Comcast and they sent the tech back yesterday afternoon.  He checked the router and then said, "I think I know what the problem is".  It turns out that the outlet where he connected the router is controlled by a wall switch.  There is a light plugged into that outlet.  I turn the light off and on using the switch.  Since that is my bedroom, I turned off the light (and the outlet) when I went to bed Monday night.  The router worked using it's battery until the battery wore out, then no connections and no phone!  All is well now, except that I am waiting for a new battery. 

I think in retrospect, this is very funny.  Neither the tech nor I thought about the possibility of the outlet being turned off!  I'm afraid it says something about my life, when the most exciting thing that happens to me is the kerfuffle with Comcast.  Actually, I am very happy that my life usually does not have anything exciting happening.  I like having activities every day, with lots of free time in between.

We did have a lovely bit of snow last night.  I was at my pottery class and went outside to watch huge snowflakes come down.  The snow didn't stick to roads or sidewalks and will all melt today, if the weather prediction for 60 degrees is correct. Here's the snow on my artificial poinsettias.

I see it's been quite a while since I wrote on this blog.  I guess I've been putting short messages up on Facebook and neglecting the blog.  I will try to do better this year, but no guarantees.

Not much happening in my life recently.  I will be doing some traveling this winter/spring and will blog about that after the fact. 

 Here are some random photos from my files since I last posted. 

The first photo is  couple of Raku pieces I made back in the fall.  The pot has faces all around it.

 This bowl/pot also has faces imbedded in it. 

This shows what I did last year in the backyard.  I have a collection of antique tools which have been hanging on my fences.  They were looking a bit dull, so I used spray paint to make them colorful!

Fall decorations

Last weekend, I changed the seasonal decorations in my house.  I do this periodically - five times a year.  So I went from summer (with seashells and suchlike) to fall (colored leaves and lots of brown stuff).  This involves a great deal of going up and down the basement steps, carrying large, sometimes heavy, boxes since all the decorations not currently in use are stored down there.  There are 3 or 4 boxes for each season.  So I brought up the empty boxes to put the summer stuff in and also the full and heavy boxes filled with fall stuff.  when I finished decorating, I had to reverse the process and take all the boxes back down. 

The kitchen decorations are fake flowers, leaves, etc. and are all stored in a huge plastic bag.  They are really easy to haul up and down, thank goodness.  The glass items, of which I have many, are stored in three other boxes, so I have to get into those as well, although sometimes I can do that in the storage room and just bring up the items I want to display.  Anyway, it's a lot of up an down and a lot of lifting heavy boxes off and on shelves (some above my head).   If that wasn't enough, on Monday I  redid the jewelry cases at the Hospital Gift Shop, taking out the summer stuff and putting in the fall items.  I've gotten a lot of compliments on them, so I can say without prejudice that they look really good!  I haven't been able to take good photos of the jewelry cases in the shop, too much reflection from the glass, but I'll try again today, with the flash turned off.  (If I remember to take the camera with me, of course.)

A few new ceramic pieces

I haven't had many successful ceramic pieces in the last few months.  However a few have turned out more or less the way I wanted them to.   I'm trying to be more selective about what pieces I keep, since I now have 4 boxes of ceramic stuff that I have made and have no use for (or space to display).  I've tried selling, once or twice, at local craft fairs, but didn't sell much.  And selling online is somewhat involved and would mean I'd have to package and mail the items.  I'm not sure the effort would be with what I would get by selling them.  So, for now, I'm trying to be more selective with what I keep.  I've also made some things to go outside in flower pots or just in the flower beds.  This morning in class I made an elf.  If he turns out ok (it will be several weeks before he is finished) I may try to make some more.   To make matters worse, I am again taking the Raku class at Montpelier Art Center.  This will eventually produce perhaps 5 or 6 items.  Some will certainly be masks.  I don't know what else.  I have, however, sorted through the boxes of my ceramics and donate a box to one of the local thrift shops.  They will sell them for next-to-nothing, but at least they are not taking up space in my basement.

These photos show the ceramic birds I made for the tops of the colored branches.  Of course, during the summer, I am somewhat obsessed with my flower gardens.  As I mentioned yesterday on Facebook, I have spray painted an old bicycle, turning it into a 'work of art' or at least a bright spot in the backyard!  I have hung two planters from the handlebars, with yellow and orange/red flowers.  It definitely brightens up an 'empty' spot in the backyard flower bed.  I should explain that the spot wasn't exactly bare.  In fact, it was covered with the wild violets that have pretty much taken over the whole bed.  In the spring they are lovely with their little dark blue blossoms.  Unfortunately, they keep on growing and by this time of year they are about 6 inches tall with lots of leaves.  They tend to choke out any less hardy (i.e., more desirable) flowers.  So, yesterday I was out there again, pulling up violets.  I have cleared most of them from the path, and actually planted some ground covering plants, which are supposed to spread, but stay low to the ground.  We'll see how that works.  In the flower bed, I have tried to clear a space around any of the flowers that I actually planted back there.  I probably should fertilize the remaining plants, but I certainly don't want to encourage the violets, so I need to get them out, before I add fertilizer to the bed.  I know that they violets will bed back in the spring, because in about half of the cases, I was not able to get the roots out (actually a corm or something like that).  But at least some of them will be gone.

If you look closely at the photo on the right, you can see a butterfly enjoy the butterfly bush.  The photo on the left is the painted bicycle with hanging baskets.  Hard to see, because there are still too many violets!

In the front yard, I have given up the battle with the groundhog.  I took down the chicken-wire I had covering the bed, but it appears that the critter has found another dining room.  Perhaps it doesn't like the smell of the mothballs that I sprinkled around all the flowering plants!  I'm not sure the critter is gone, but nothing has been eaten lately, so I have hopes that the problem is over for this summer.  (Having said this, I will probably find more buds eaten when I check tomorrow morning.)  It doesn't look particularly exciting out front, but I have some mums that will (if not eaten) bloom later this fall and a few surviving bright-colored zinnias.  I have hung small birdhouses (minus the birds) from the Japanese maple tree and on the decorative fence around the flower bed.  So, there is some color, even without as many flowers as I had hoped for.  The flowers in pots on the deck look lovely.  They are blooming vigorously and will continue to do so until frost, as long as I water them regularly.  They are my real success story this year.

Gardening news

Lately, I've been trying to get control of my back yard.  It's been a jungle all spring and summer.  I have too many large bushes back there and the wild violets have gone crazy and almost managed to take over the yard.  They did completely cover the path between the steps from the deck and the back gate.  I have managed to pull up all the violets and other weeds that were growing in the path, but there are still  MANY growing in the flower beds. 

Anyway, I have trimmed some of the bushes, so that at least I can reach the path from the steps - the hydrangea was completely blocking the path.  However all the bushes (except for one that has only been in the ground 2 years) need radical trimming.  A friend is urging me to cut the hydrangea back to the ground, but I just can't bring myself to do that.  I will give it a radical cutting this fall.  It is too big for its space at the bottom of the steps, but that is NOT my doing.  It was there and already too big when I moved in.  I will just have to be very strict with the other overgrown bushes (four of them) and cut them all way back.  I just am waiting until they finish blooming this summer. 

When I was visiting my family in NY State back in June, I brought home some flat stones my brother had in his yard.  (For some reason, he didn't want to take them to Wisconsin with him when they moved!!)  I decided these stones would look very nice on the path, but of course there weren't enough of them to make adequate stepping stones.  So today I went to the Stone Store and selected more flat stones.  The main criteria for them was that I had to be able to lift and carry them.  I think I bought about 20.  My friend went with me, as she needed to get a few rocks for her yard.  When we got home, she helped me carry some of my stones through the house to the back deck.  After lunch, I went out and started carrying them down the steps and laying them in the path.  It was very hot work and I'm not quite done.  There are 6 more to take down.  I have laid them on the path, but not done any arranging.  Last week, I purchased plants to put in-between the stones.  These little plants can actually be walked on and will fill in the spaces between the stones.  They will not grow as tall as the wild violets, so will be a better ground cover.  Should look pretty good next year.

Last week, I also did a bit of work in the front yard, pulling up all the Queen's Ann's lace.  That stuff has a pretty strong root system.  I needed to get it out before it went to seed.  It was a mistake to transplant it from the wild.  It spread all over the bed and into the grass.  (Not as bad as the violets, however.)  Most of it is gone now, but I'm sure a few survivors will come up in the spring.  I'm thinking of redoing my front flower bed, but it will be a major job, so it certainly won't be done this year. I love plants and could easily fill twice the space, if I had it.  Unfortunately, I am at the size limit for the beds in the front.  If the Homeowner's Assoc. would let me, I would have no grass, just plants and a path in the front yard.  Maybe someday.....

 Not a very good photo.  I was taking it into the sun.  But you get an idea of what the path will look like. 

If the weather cooperates, I hope to get the stones in place and the step-able plants (not pictured) planted between the stones.  If it rains all week or stays in the high 90s, not so much will get accomplished.  Time will tell.

This picture is taken on the deck.  You can see a few remaining stones on the table.  I'll take them down later, after sunset.  The plants on the talbe and on the chair are some I just bought.  The red ones on the table will go in a pot and stay on the deck, probably.  The green/white one will go below the deck, in the deep shade.  There is also a begonia, which needs to go somewhere, but I don't know where.  The petunias in the little yellow and blue pots live on the table, but have been temporarily displaced by the stones! 

around my house and yard

I'm going to try to put up some photos, but Blogger has gone all weird, so I don't know how successful I'll be.  It wasn't this way when I last posted, but I think I wrote a post the other day that never was posted.  I'll see if this one is successful.

I like to make little scenes using some of my nick-knacks and pictures.  Obviously, these are beach scenes.

  Here are some garden scenes.   First, a red hibiscus in the front yard.  Each bloom only lasts a day, but they are gorgeous.  Next, a butterfly visiting the cone flowers. 

A busy few weeks

After only a week at home from England, I drove up to Bath, NY (my childhood home town) to help my brother and sister-in-law pack for their move to Wisconsin.  (They will spend summers up there, near their daughters.  Winter in Florida as usual.)  They have lived in that house in Bath for 60 years and have never experienced a 'move'.  I tried to give advice to my brother, rather unsuccessfully, about how to pack breakable items. (He's a retired engineer and doesn't easily take advice from his younger sister.)   Luckily there weren't many valuable, breakable items and I think the box with them went into the car, rather than with the moving van.  Hopefully, nothing was broken.  My niece, Terry came down on Sunday (a week ago) to help with the packing and to drive a pickup truck to Wisconsin.  She is an artist and knows how to safely pack art, so I left the job of packing up the paintings, mirrors and glass shelves to her.  Hopefully, the travelers are in Wisconsin today, waiting for the moving van to arrive. 

We had some excitement up there when a huge branch from a tree out by the road detached itself from the tree and landed on power lines (didn't break them).  The neighborhood came out to watch the guys from the local electric company saw bits off the branch and finally tie it to a really tall metal pole on a truck, lift it off the wires, and drop it to the ground.  They did a really good job.  I'll post a few photos below.

I got home a week ago and got back into my usual schedule, more or less.  Luckily I was home, as we had a huge storm Thursday night and lost power for 27 hours. Actually, I"d just as soon have been elsewhere, but for peace of mind, I'm glad I was at home.  My fridge/freezer stayed cold and I slept in the basement on a very comfortable futon.  In fact, I practically lived in the basement until the power came back on.  I discovered that it's really hard to read or do a crossword puzzle using a flashlight!!  All is well here as to the electric and I hope it stays that way! 

One odd coincidence - a tree down the street lost a huge branch, very much like the one I saw in NY.  Neighbors all came out to look at it and eventually to trim off branches so that cars could drive past it.  I brought out my little tree saw (hand powered) and some very large clippers.  No one else seemed to have the tools needed for sawing through green wood.  Gardeners are always prepared!  We have buried power lines, so no problem there.  (Of course our power was off anyway, due to the storm!) I"m pretty sure the tree will have to come down.  There is a tear almost all the way down one side.  Our homeowners association will have to pay for that.  We're lucky it didn't fall on anyone's car.  All these photos are of the branch that fell in Bath, NY. 

 Here's the guy in the little cherry picker basket sawing off small limbs. 



The second photo shows the long-armed thing they used to lift and hold the branch above the power lines.

The last photo shows the branch suspended upright, being lowered to the ground.  You can see how big it was.

I just want to say that I've had enough excitement in my life recently and would like a peaceful, uneventful summer!

,

trip to England

This is my first time using Blogger's new format.  I don't like it.  I find it much harder to find my way around.  Why do all these companies update with making things harder, rather than keeping things simple?

I recently spent 2 weeks in England, visiting Kate and family. (Geoff, Sarah, Olivia, Alex).  With three kids, it was as usual a boisterous, busy visit.  I had one week on my own, as Kate and the kids were still in school.  The weather that week was wonderful - in the 70s with no rain.  I went on a day trip tour of Salisbury (Cathedral) and Stonehenge.  Our guide (from London Walks) was very knowledgeable  and provided sometimes humorous cometary.  I took scads of photos, which can be found on my Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/kathydillard.   I also did a tour of London which took in a number of oddities.  This included memorials to Gilbert and Sullivan and Oscar Wilde.  Also one for the British Camel Corps.  That one consisted of a statue of a camel, created by the military man who was in charge of the Corps.

The week when the kids and Kate were on holiday had much worse weather.  There was a street party on Sunday to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  Lots of food and drink under a tent, because it was drizzling and chilly.  We watched the boats and the Royal Barge sailing on the Thames on the telly.  You couldn't have paid me to be in London during the celebrations.  We also watched the celebration outside Buckingham Palace, at home on the telly.  The Brits sure do put on a good celebration - especially lights and fireworks!

Kate and I and various kids went to an historic home - Polesden Lacy.  It's a beautiful home, although the decor is not to my taste.  Lots of crystal chandeliers, gold framed mirrors and antique furniture.  Rather overwhelming, but very impressive.

 Kate, Alex and I went to Wistley Gardens.  I love those gardens!  They are spectacular and quite large.  We didn't try to see all of it.  Roses were blooming along with azaleas and rhododendron and much more.  It rained just a bit, but luckily we were in a wooded area at that time, so didn't get wet.
 This is one of the rock gardens.

Another day we went to the British Museum.  It was a mob scene outside when we arrived.  Hundreds of people under umbrellas (it was raining a bit) waiting to get inside.  Evidently there was some sort of security problem, but eventually the lines moved and we got in.  The most popular exhibits (Magna Carta, mummies, etc.) were overflowing with visitors, but we went upstairs to the Mexican exhibit and some other less popular areas and were practically the only visitors there. I find the place overwhelming and can only enjoy a few hours, which is about Alex's limit as well.  

The day before I left, I went back into London to visit my favorite museum - the Victoria and Albert.  I took photos and gazed longingly at ceramics and glass and also  enjoyed a room featuring very early photography.

Long time gone by

I realized the other day that I had not blogged anything for several months.  I guess I haven't been doing anything worth chatting about.  I have been fairly busy this spring, especially with the Senior Chorus at the Bain Center.  We've been busy rehearsing for our spring concerts.  The first one was a concert with a student chorus at Howard Community College.  We sang some numbers by ourselves, then they sang with us.  Finally, they sang some numbers by themselves.  I have to say that those young people were quite a bit better than we were.  Of course it helps to be twenty-something instead of seventy-something!   In addition to that concert, we also sang at a Senior apartment complex and at the Bain Senior Center.  The group will start up again in the fall.  I've enjoyed singing with this group.  The music isn't very difficult, but we have an interesting variety of songs.  And, best of all from my point of view is that we rehearse during the day.  I find it very hard to go to night meetings, even for something like singing, which I really love.

This spring I finally got most of the deck cleaned and re-sealed.  It is a bit of an undertaking, mostly because I have about 30 pots (full of dirt and plants) as well as a metal table and 4 chairs, a stepladder, garbage can, recycle bin, yard waste basket, and small shelf unit - all of which have to be moved from one side to the other in order to work on the deck floor.  I cleaned the deck using a long-handled brush and a mixture called Outdoor Clorax.  I have to cover the plant below the deck so that the stuff doesn't drip onto them.  It burns the leaves if it touches them.  Somehow I managed to do all the heavy moving without messing up my back!  It took weeks to complete the job (actually it's not quite done) because for the sealing/staining I had to have 3 days in a row without rain.  We had a lot of rain this spring, so this prolonged the deck work.  A couple of weeks ago, I finally did get the flat surfaces done, but the stairs still await my attention.  I ran out of sealer too.  However, the deck looks much better now and I noticed that the rain now forms puddles on the surface, rather than soaking in. One of these days, I will get the stairs done.

  

a day in DC with cherry blossoms

As I wrote on Facebook, my friend Lynne and I went into DC on Monday to see the Annie Leibowitz display (Pilgrimage) at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art (or whatever it's name is).  Since the museum doesn't open until 11:30, we decided to stop off to see the cherry blossoms.  The paths around the Tidal Basin had lots of tourists, although they were not impossibly crowded, and many, many cherry trees all blooming.  We took photos - quite a few.  I'll post a few here.  It was a lovely sunny day, but not too hot.  Just perfect for being outside.

After seeing the blossoms, we went into China Town and ate lunch.  Boy has that place changed since I was last there!  There are all these US stores with their names written in Chinese.  I think we saw ONE Chinese restaurant.  We didn't actually go under the arch, but just went along the street the Metro is on, so perhaps there are authentic Chinese stores and restaurants on the other streets.  We ate at a place that seemed Asian and featured broiled chicken.  Delicious food.  We did go into one Chinese store - it was amazing!   They had very inexpensive embroidered house slippers (I bought a pair) and
 shelf after shelf of lovely pottery, which I managed to resist.  Lots of Chinese spices too and other foods.

After lunch, we went to the museum.  The photography display was interesting.  She is a marvelous photographer.   If left me wondering how Annie L. selected the places she would visit.  Each photo was connected to a person (at least most of them were).  The people were not all Americans - several were English.  Some were writers, some artists, some pop stars (Elvis), quite a variety.  We didn't have time to visit the rest of the museum.  I plan to go back one of these days.