Art Show

     I've been to the Waldron Art Gallery twice this month.  I went to see a 40 year retrospective show of the employees and former owner of Pygmalion's Art Store.  The store always advertised itself as the Art store owned, run and staffed by artists.  My Daughter worked there for years.  So two of her pieces are in the show.  It was a lovely show but I hadn't taken my camera and the place was really too packed to make picture taking feasible.  So Eliyah and I went after school.  However, my photography leaves a lot to be desired!

"Tree" by Jude Heichelbech

Artist - Jude Heichelbech

 

 This wet-sculpted cement dog was the work of Tom Zeta, I just love the look this dog gives you!

All in all, a very successful show!

     I have put my sewing in the downstairs closet.  I confess the picture makes it look cluttered but I feel very comfortable in there.  My projects are lined up in hanging shelves on the right.

     I have cut out a pink dress to sew.  I'd like to finish it this week.  I have a pink and white shawl I want to wear with it.  It's a very simple pattern with only three pieces.

 

Feeling grateful

     I don't know why but as I age, I don't sleep as well as I used to.  After two nights of interrupted sleep, I woke up grumpy at 3:30 in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep.  After several hours of trying I gave up and got up to get breakfast.  Padding around the house in bare feet, I went towards the dining room to get the big teapot and at the window I stopped, entranced.  Three deer, two does and a yearling were drinking out of the tub I've put out so that the birds could have water.  They were hardly 8 feet from me and with the room darker than the dawn beginning outside, they couldn't see me and I was able to watch them for about ten minutes.  Immediately I felt different, I felt grateful for the many good things, the birds at the birdfeeder, the sturdy wildflowers that bloom in spite of the drought and now a few deer.  I watched them until they moved on and then fixed breakfast with a different attitude.   Still feeling grateful, I went out in the evening to see the meteor shower though we are so close to town I usually don't see much but this year was different.  At 11pm I saw two but when I woke up again at 3:30 I saw 4 or 5, three big bright ones and two so faint I wasn't sure.  Then I came in, thoughly chilled and snuggled under the cover and went back to sleep again.

     Last week I showed you a picture of an inexpensive contempory doll (1989), cheap and not worth much he nevertheless intrigued me and I have been working on him this week.  Not entirely finished but here he is today:

       That's a cashmere sweater I've cut down for him, nickers and a newsboy hat, made from the material I've bought to make my fall suit.  Here's hoping I haven't cut off too much!  He still needs shoes, a bag for his papers and a white shirt.  Bill is looking for proper sized newspapers too.  I am very happy with how he is looking.
     For breakfast this morning I made an Italian omelette, with mushrooms, mozzerelli and leftover spaghetti sauce.  I liked it very much!

 

Pork fajitas tonight at 7pm, to watch "New Tricks" and eat in front of the tv.  We only do this on Sunday nights as a treat.

     I have been looking at my stats and was astonished at the number of people from other countries who read my blog!  Welcome to Russia, France, UK, Germany, Latvia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Canada, Sweden and Australia!  And anyone else who's interested!

New things

      In spite of my buying diet, things do come into my house.  People send me things, or give them to me when I help them move, or I just break down and buy them anyway.  Last month my sister-in-law came to visit me and I joyfully took her to all the antique malls, and of course, in the spirit of companionship, I bought a couple of things, noteably this mincey purse, so called because carrying it absolutely forces one to mince slightly with each step, it's so girly.  Saks Fifth Avenue too, so it's marked!

 And then my best friend sent me some Hollyhock seeds, in time for fall planting.  Thank you Ida!

 And these aren't new, I've had them for 50 years.  I asked my then new husband to get them for me when we were newly married and had bought a sewing machine for me to use.  "A good pair of scissors" I said as I sent him off to the store.  He bought the best, some Gingher shears.  I used them for decades, having them sharpened every so often, until they no longer worked, having been sharpened too many times.  We sent them back to the factory last month to be refurbished and for $7.50 they were fixed, sharpened and inserted into a new sheath and mailed back to me, good as new!  I was most delighted to have them back, like old friends.

 When I went to drop off stuff at Good Will, I could not resist going in.  I found a little china "trug" style basket for Mary Lincoln.

Now for some cut flowers to put in it!

But these last two I shamelessly shopped for and, though I put off buying the head for a month, eventually I caved in and went to the Seventh Street Mall and bought her!

She is only a head but I am getting ready to make her into a whole doll.

  
 This contemporary boy doll and Limoges tea or soup cup with miss-matched saucer just came along with.  The total was $21.50 so not a serious budget deficit!

I have been keeping the food budget at $70 or below each week though and it has so far worked out.  I'm worried that prices will surge when it becomes apparent that the harvest has failed because of the drought.  We are in the midst of it here.  Last night it rained all over the state but only a few drops fell here.
     Here are my suggested menus:
Today, big meatballs, small tomato sauce and miniscule pasta.  I will have as an appetizer hot spinach and artichoke and cheese  dip with french bread slices for the others.  I'll just eat mine with a spoon!  And a big tossed salad and canteloup and blueberries for dessert.
Tomorrow salmon, roasted vegetables, salad and low carb ice cream.
Tuesday hamburgers and salad and chocolate square.
Wednesday the second salmon dinner, about the same though I might just fix steamed broccoli instead of the roasted veggies.
Thursday Lamb patties with sour cream and cucumber sauce and a salad enriched with herbs and lots of cheese.
Friday an old favorite. Chicken Fajitas with refried beans but no rice.
Saturday we'll have chicken and herbed cream cheese sandwiches on low carb bread and pumpkin and peanut butter soup.  

     This is not all the stuff that has come into my house this month but I'll save some for later!    

Of skunks and dresses

     It has been 8 months since I showed you the picture of Mary Lincoln in her new skin.  Since I suggested she would have a new dress by Christmas.  I am a little late!

     I had asked The Book Corner to order a Dover book with pictures of the Lincolns in their clothes.  Here are the men in their underwear.

      Here are their dress clothes.  This dress was a "back-up" dress for the Inauguration.  She never actually wore it but it is often pictured because it was very expensive. Here is my version as well as the "new" pitcher and bowl I got at the Kokomo Antique sale.  Mary now has a room of her own as it has gotten too crowded in Abe's room.  Abe himself is being fitted for a new white shirt upstairs in the sewing room.  I am very happy with Mary's dress.


     It has been so awful hot here that I am in danger of becoming an indoor pet.  My trips to the backyard are just short jaunts to turn on the hose.  I have been watering the garden though it doesn't seem to help much.  On one of these trips, I spied a slip of peppermint in the north-side shade of the house.  Leaning over to pick it, I saw a snip of long black and white fur down in the window-well.  It was small, flattish and didn't move.  "Oh, poor thing, some little skunk has gotten trapped in the window-well and died and now I'll have to pick it up and put it in the trash" I said to myself.  But first I went to water the garden.  And I forgot all about it until later that night at supper.  My Husband talked about when to do it and since he seemed to think it would be his responsibility, I was happy to dismiss the whole thing.  We watched some television and went to get ready for bed.  While I was lying in bed, propped up on pillows, reading a murder mystery, some small knocking sounds caught my attention.  Whaaaat?, I pulled the shade aside and there was a little black face looking in at me, it's nose pressed up against the glass!  A baby skunk!
     I made some phone calls.  Then people called me.  We got dressed again.  Here came the wild life rehabilitators.  With a long handled net.  Better her than me!
     But the little skunk was gone.  Not trapped at all, just happily living in my window-well.  And I've a pretty good idea why it was gone.  While we were waiting, I tried to take some pictures of the little skunk through the window.  Of course the camera flashed, it must have frightened the little thing.  The wild-life rehab left the net with me in case the little one came back though I think I would as soon climb into a garbage can as brave the skunk spray!  The pictures do show me one thing though, Little Skunk has chewed my window screen to bits!  That's how the little nose could be pressed up against the glass!

Soothing an irritation

     For the past month the phone has worked only spasmodically.  The phone guys were here 5 or 6 times, all nice guys but our wiring was old and funky.  I was very irritated.  In fact, that hardly seems a strong enough word though it wasn't
a crises, really.  I guess I just hate to miss a call.  Now I'm not a person who displays anger and irritation very well.  I found it very tempting to eat.  Food has always been my great panacea for emotion. Biscuits mostly, tempted me.  In fact several times I planned to make biscuits for breakfast and only squeaked by with tiny toast instead.  I could hardly think of anything to sooth myself.  Eventually I fell to organizing my clothes.  They are all hung in matching sets, color coordinated in my closet.  I did a lot of laundry while I was doing that.  Then I undertook to re-read all my Victoria Magazines, which I love devotedly.  I have 46 and now they are all catalogued and Bill is ordering the ones I don't have.  All except the first one, which seems to be going for $125.  I have some early ones though and could sell them on E-bay if I could bear to part with them.  When I explained to a daughter about all this she said "OCD as a calmer of emotions"?  But of course that's exactly right!  At least order is a desirable effect, in this case!

     While I was rearranging magazines, I got out some other of my favorites and among them was a volume of poetry written by another daughter and given to me as a present.  This is a treasured gift! 


 Here is one of my favorites:

Little Deaths

The trails of moths in velvet cloaks

Grow scarce in October's funeral rain;

The frost that fringes the shawls of oaks

Will hem my Mother's windowpane.

For little deaths she will not grieve,

But occupies these last warm hours

Simply;  pulls her heart from her sleeve

Look:  her arms, full of flowers!

 Elizabeth Heichelbech

     Eliyah went with us to Spring Mill Park last week and we had a grand time.  We cooked Southwestern on the grill and he doused his with hot sauce.  I didn't use the ice chest as I thought it wouldn't fit in his Mother's car.  Instead I used an insulated bag that came from Kroger years ago.  Despite being full of holes, it did the job but I thought I would buy some new ones when we went to the store.  However, I came in $2 over budget as it was and declined to spend any more.  Rather I came home and found that I could mend the two bags. Even the one with the broken zipper allowed itself to be pieced together.  Bill went through the house singing "Mighty Ana with her needle, here she comes to save the day"!

I'm afraid all our menus are very monotonous these days, although the shish-ke-babs with pineapple, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and chicken chunks went over big last night.   I am continuing to spend about $70 a week on this low carb diet and we are not hungry and I have my old energy back, for which I am very grateful.

Hyalophora Cecropia (silkmoth)

     Spring came early this year.  I was out pruning the shrubs in March.  I pruned a large, really a giant cocoon off one of our Rose of Sharon.  I put it in a muddy gallon glass jar I had used last year to protect a little tomato plant when I first put it out.  Later I found a second one, different in style.  The two jars stood on the patio table for 3 months or so.  During a period of cold and rainy weather when I didn't go out to do yard work (and check the jars)  something large came out of one and expired in the bottom of the jar.  I felt awful that I didn't catch it but it's wings weren't furled so he might have died of cold.  Then last Sunday I noticed that the other one had come out of it's cocoon and was fanning his wings!  Oh, he was beautiful!  I had never seen one like him.  Red and brown with white spots and Big!  He didn't like me taking pictures of him and so they are not so good pictures but here is the best of them.

 When we examined the cocoon we could find no hole large enough to permit the escape of such a large moth!

We think it may have been a male.  He would not come out of the jar but it was a bright sunny day. He flapped his wings open and closed and came to the lip (I had laid the jar down on it's side for easier egress) to look out.  He bristled and took a step toward me when he saw me looking at him and holding a ruler out to measure him.  6 inches wingtip to wingtip.  As  it got dark he held his wings upright, ready for takeoff.  Late in the night he left to have romantic adventures on his own.  We were so sad to see him go I made a paper replica to keep us company!

 It has been the adventure of the silkmoth!

Making my own clothes!

          I have been thinking about clothing myself without the second-hand option.  It's funny but I don't feel the same way about the clothes I buy and those I make.  When the children were small I made many items, pajamas with feet, frilly dresses, curtains and slip covers, even some underwear.  When my oldest son graduated from the eighth grade, I made his suit, of dark green polyester blend and it was not my best effort.  I had never been taught to tailor things and I didn't know how it should have hung from the shoulders.  However, it couldn't be noticed on a trotting horse and I'm sure he wore it only a few times.  The point is, one looked at patterns and fabric and there was no limit how much trouble one would go to in order to have the thing wanted.  But buying retail, I tend to look at the price tag first and then consider if it's ok.  Ok enough to wear.  Maybe goes with something I already have, sorta.  I don't seem to see the manufacturers of clothing as asking my opinion.  In fact, I have bought some items that sort of dismayed me but seemed trendy enough.  Buying second hand, even the trendyness goes.  So when I thought about sewing some things, I was perplexed.  I didn't know what I wanted!  I did some research on line.  I found articles about fashion, especially for older ladies, that mentioned classic styles, shawl collared jackets, 40's style tailored slacks, the little sheaths and full-skirted dresses I made in High School are back in style and flats but with little white socks now.  But I could not find outlets that sold these items.  Not in my price range anyway.  I began to go through my collection of Victoria Magazines, they don't show many fashions but what they do show are very classic.  I took a girlfriend and went to the fabric store.  Patterns were on sale for the same prices I used to pay, just $1 or $2 apiece.  I had a coupon good for 1/2 off a piece of cut fabric.  I looked at linen and linen-look, hunting for Taupe.  I had to settle for a medium brown but I like it.  Then a piece for a dress.  I already had some white linen for blouses, some green denim for shorts, some plaid for a casual top.  I spent $43.   When I got home I spread them all out on the bed to gloat over!

     It was not so easy to get back into the sewing mode.  I made the green shorts first and made a slight cutting error.  The same thing with the plaid blouse but I fixed it.  The button holes aren't as nice as I wanted but practice makes perfect, or at least better.  Now I'm working on the first white blouse and it's coming along nicely..  It makes me feel happy to be working on these things for myself.  And already I've become picky about what I'll wear of what I already have.  Also I've hemmed up good pieces left languishing for lack a little hand-sewing.  This is gonna be fun!


     Friday I took the day off and went with a friend to see the Indiana Pioneer Mothers' Memorial.  It consists of 88 acres of virgin timber just south of Paoli, Indiana.  I took pictures but it was a cloudy day and virgin woods are dark always but here is a view of the Memorial wall in the center of the woods.  Quite a walk for these old legs.  But I loved it and thought it well worth the effort.  Afterward we had lunch in Paoli, came home and took a nap!

     There are no menus this week,  I've been busy so Bill did the shopping and I've just been making easy things.  Meatballs and tiny bits of pasta tonight!