Thursday, July 21, 2011

July 21: Curtains for Curtains (I hope)

It's hot already--due to be a humid, nasty one, so my plans of finishing the curtains, going for a walk for exercise and then adding a cross-and-back swim topped off by some school work seem to be right on track.

The Curtain Project has been going well: I love the material and the only place I got stymied was on mitering the corners: I finally went with a plain square corner. Bah humbug--they're GUEST ROOM CURTAINS. Sheesh. Otherwise, my standards have been high and I think things look good. I used some quilting techniques to keep things (I hope) square and straight, and I'm looking forward to a good final iron and the Big Reveal! The tabs are all done (thanks to Nate who was able to turn them inside out at great speed)and I just need to sew them onto the top hem. That might be a struggle, as there will be a lot of layers of fabric involved, but I trust my loyal Pfaff!

(Victorious?) Pics to come!

Monday, July 18, 2011

July 18: MONDAY!

Well. My addiction to leisurely mornings does complicate the rest of my life, since after a slow and indulgent morning, even one that starts at seven am, the day flies by! On my list for the day:
picking up/cleaning house
mailing C's nightie--got to post a pic of that too--And here it is:


food shopping with a menu in hand
picking up N's repaired bike, which requires mounting the bike rack on my car
a run, I think. . . maybe a swim, but probably a run
some work on either the curtains OR the dress, take 1
a Lib. Trustees meeting at 7.

WHEW! That should do it. We had a lovely weekend, featuring hot, sunny, breezy weather and lots of swimming in the river and in Green Lake, an inaugural paddle in the new-from-Mom double kayak which lasted longer than we'd expected and resulted in my first sunburn in a long time!, a great Nate b'day dinner/cake/celebration, a wonderful church picnic at Gil and Ruth's with tons of swimming, a long lovely nap, and some productive knitting AND sewing. So! Onwards!

Oh: while I'm posting: here's why sewing is so suddenly on my list again. This is a shot of my "outdoor sewing room":


It's a lovely place to be, even tho it does require complete breakdown each evening. Still. . . it's inspiring, and I hope will result in the curtains for the study at least, and maybe a dress as well!

ETA: So, at 4 pm when it's hot and steamy and I'm about to knock off ANY useful work except making dinner and attending that Library meeting, I will say: 1. I read some of a new Donna Leon, part of the Wonder Box of Books from Julie; 2. I found TWO new veggie recipes and shopped for them so we have enough food for THREE DINNERS in the house at this moment (this is big for me so far this summer); 3. I arranged to have three of Lyle's pictures framed for about $200, which I think is pretty reasonable; 4. I went for a 12 min walk and a 25 min run!; 5. I cut out all the remaining "contrast" bits of the dress pattern, and am about to go do some measurements for the curtains so I'll be ready to go tomorrow with cutting that fabric! So: despite a leisurely start to the day, I've done pretty well!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

July 16: Happy N's B'day!

Well, Nate is now 15! His wonderful Grand Camp friends have been making much of him and steak tips are marinating in the fridge. On Thurs/Fri night/morning they all went to see the last HP movie, getting home around 2, and Andy also flew back from his LV conference on the same night, so last night they both went to bed by 9. Today is a quiet, still, sunny, going-to-be-hot morning, and I thought I'd post, partly to help me grasp the summer, which seems to be slipping blithely away!

I have certainly been ENJOYING the summer--since it arrived around July 1, really--before then it was truly a fleece and bonfire summer, grey and chilly. That is done! But I'm also a doer and I've got a list of things I wanna DO, so here they are:

--I have finished Andy's Christmas socks (he got the yarn and a promissory note; there was no time limit) and a bonus pair of booties that I started at the Retreat when the orange yarn was too stringy for adult socks. Pic to follow.


--I have made three batches of strawberry jam, tho we were foiled in our attempts to pick our own berries.


--I have cleaned Silas's room within an inch of its life in preparation for its reincarnation as MY room again.

--I have finished Caroline's b'day nightie. I discovered that I can set up sewing on the back deck, thereby enjoying the lovely weather AND sewing, so that turned me on to all kinds of sewing dreams. . . see PENDING below!

--I have finished all 782 pages of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Suzanna Clarke, and also read a very inspiring AP Lit. teacher's guide.

PENDING I have

--two dress patterns I hope to play with and make a few dresses from;

--7 yards of lovely decorator fabric from Marden's for curtains in the study as a preference to repainting the room;

--done one sleeve cap on Nimbus (which fits PERFECTLY in the body, yay yay)--too loose and bunchy; dug around for advice and then done a second--a little too few stitches so there are a few gaps and some pulling, and therefore I have plans to take out cap #1 and redo it with about 48 stitches so it is JUST RIGHT and then ditto that for cap #2 (whereupon I have a hunch I will have run out of yarn and need to track down more!). . .

--AND my b'day cashmere, which needs to be made into a hat for ME and I'd also like to make some Norwegian mittens! So!

Upcoming are Dad's 80th b'day celebration in Casco with the family, several curriculum work days (money, money, money!), Aunt Joan's 80th in PA with Ann and Mom, and then Julie's week up here too. So there will not be too many uninterrupted work stretches, but that's okay. I am enjoying being Crafty McCrafterson, so here I go. Gotta love summer!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

June 25: Thunderstormy Saturday AM

Andy is off to pick up our rental mini-van so we can take Silas to Portland in relative comfort. We HAVE a hike planned for this am (my favorite North Ridge of Cadillac) but at the moment, the rain we had this a.m. has turned into a bit of a thunderstorm and downpour number, so we'll see. I *do* cling to Gram's adage of "Rain before 7, stop before 11", and it's worked before, EVEN when I really, really wanted it to (like Field Day Friday this year!), so I won't give up.

However, in this quietly gloomy house, I need to clean up for Alissa, our wonderful cleaning person, so I need to spring into action--or maybe glide into action. More coffee, then cleaning up, I think!

Monday, June 20, 2011

June 21: NOT OUT OF SCHOOL YET

That's the downside to all those lovely snow days I wrote about. . . TWO Saturday school days and then in school till Wed. WOW.

But I am done correcting and nearly done my little "gotta dos" and big ones like interviewing English candidates and the like. And I feel like I am refinding myself, slowly, slowly.

I am thinking about cooking and baking.

I am thinking about making fancy drinks.

I am thinking about going out to dinner with my beloved husband in Bar Harbor, all dressed up.

I am thinking about spending pretty much a whole day reading for fun.

I am NOT thinking about taking Silas to Portland to drop him off to go to Denmark forever.

I am thinking about knitting more, soon: finishing Andy's second sock (I'm on the foot already!) and then the sleeves for MY nimbus from Julie.

I am thinking about summer vacation, and that's. pretty. good.

Friday, April 1, 2011

WHOOPS: April 1

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can I believe it? March was full of Fabulous Firsts--Teacher of the Year nomination and Day of Honor in Augusta, meeting the Governor (oy!), and taking a knitting class in Belfast, BUT March is always Crazy Time so I didn't post! On this Friday morning SNOW DAY I am posting!

And now I am going to correct five papers and then to work on Caroline's (ahem) Christmas (cough) or b'day (Jan. 5) (er) present nightgown. . . The shonda!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Feb. 26: Sat. of Vacation!


The sun is pouring in, gleaming off the 12" snow we got yesterday, from the second snow storm in February. . . I think. Funny how they all run together! It's 16 outside, so feels very January-ish, except for the strong, golden sun. Silas's sister, Sissel, just left this am after her flight was canceled yesterday, so we heeded the strong "stay put" message and had soup and homemade rolls and two different movies and much lolling about. Today I plan more activity: laundry, the house stuff I didn't do before, and more work on finishing Julie's sweater. All in the sunshine. Yessssss!

For my "new" resolution. . . well. Let's see. Had a girl in the house for the first time for a week! Did NOT get a hot stone massage in Portland with Julie last weekend, but did hang out in Border's doing school work for the afternoon. DID complete my Teacher of the Year app., and did also make TWO new meals--a slow cooker chicken curry and a potato/garlic soup. So, tho it's not exotic, I think I've met my goal. Meeting it for March might be harder or easier: I have to go to Augusta for the TOY assembly (ye gods), and I thought I'd try to take a yoga class downtown sometime, and I'd also like to knit with cashmere, which, it turns out, is much harder to get a hold of than I'd anticipated. BUT March is a crazy month, too--evening events at school and N's music/show choir ramps up, and, well, it's MARCH. . . but we'll see.

This is kind of fun, I must say. And now I have to head off to Do Stuff like cleaning off my bureau and the kitchen desk, at least partly in search of my lovely watch which I have, uncharacteristically, misplaced. Sharing below a pic of the lovely second year amaryllis and SWIPE one sunny am this vacation, before I leave!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Feb.1: ANOTHER Snow Hammer?

We are due for another snow day--we DID get a five day week last week, despite hope for a Wed. snow day. But this one looks pretty definite.

So my to do list is:
sleep
swim
knit
read
write my essay, "WHY I SHOULD BE THE 2012 TEACHER OF THE YEAR," trying not to make it too toe-curlingly awful.

Feel lucky.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

January 12: Snow Day and New Update

We are due to be hit by a "snow hammer," so despite the fact that we had NOTHING on the ground OR coming down even by 8 am, school was called at 5:18 am. Andy and I went back to bed; N got up at 6. . . Raised waffles and soon, some knitting.

BUT FIRST: I did another new: new soup recipe. From Country Living, Feb. ? Jan.? issue, Roasted Garlic and Potato soup. Even without the cup of fontina cheese melted in, the fam. pronounced it yummy. Not too gluey, and tho it did have several steps, it pureed well with the immersion blender, which is a huge plus in my book. So: another successful foray (how DOES one spell that?) for me in 2011!

Here's the link, for those so inclined: oh, no, Blogger declines the honor. So go to www.countryliving.com, and google within the site for "Roasted Garlic and Potato Soup," and you should find it. Adaptations below!

I doubled the batch for my voracious crew, and found I would've liked either 2.5 heads of roasted garlic, OR two bigger heads of garlic to roast. Have no idea what "creamer potatoes" are, so I got regular reds that were described as "creamy textured"! Also, used less water, and, as I had no fontina, I sprinkled on grated sharp cheddar. No complaints!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Jan. 2: Resolution?

I suppose "resolution" should be followed by a big old exclamation point, but I've been pondering this one and am still not 100% committed, so I will stay with the ?.

I think that for 2011, a year described in my Yahoo horoscope as "fiery hot," my goal will be to do something new at least once a month. Doesn't have to be dangerous, physical, expensive, or big, but new. I'm hoping that January will feature a new recipe. Ha! Yes! Just one! But January is often the month of the cooking rut, so I hope I'll avoid it that way. We'll see. February??? No idea!

So there we go. A resolution? We'll see if it was, in Dec. 2011!