Eh Voila! A repaired and embellished pair of pants.  I plan to bring that vine dowm the side of the leg some more but for now, this was enough to fix the hole and make them wearable.  And enough to get me called hippie by my daughter.

I bought several bags of embroidery floss from a 5&10 when it was going out of business.  There were sandwich bags of a dozen skeins of floss for 50 cents.  I bought a large bag full and now have tons of colors I may never use but they often come in handy.

In other sewing, Em's dress is pinned and cut out.  I wanted to put in the invisible zipper last night but it was so hot and humid that I was afraid I'd sweat all over it and the fabric is light enough that the fan was blowing it around.  I'll try again tonight but I'm not hopeful.  We're in the midst of a hot/humid cycle and while it's been really good for the moistness of my skin, not so good for anything else.

Here's Peter Kevin with his Father's Day present.  He wanted a saw so we ordered one from a guy in Wisconsin who operates under the name of Bad Axe.  (those silly woodworkers).  It's from the 1840's and the steel is much thicker and better milled than what we could buy in the stores today.  Mr Axe restores them and sells them for what I think of as exhorbitant prices but Pk assures me are not.

Unfortunately, USPs dropped the box and part of the wooden handle broke off.  Back into the box it went and right out to the post office.  Mr Axe paid for the postage and will fix it and send it back.  His reputation for excellent customer service is intact.

On our Date Night at the bookstore, I finished one of my red socks.  Pk picked out this yarn for me at the store a couple of years ago.  I love this pattern and how it works up (I chose to make the foot plain, sometimes I find that more comfortable in my shoes).  I didn't notice the stripes as I was knitting, must have been the light but when I took the photo, they are obvious.  I thought I had a solid color sock but not so!  It isn't terrible and I still love them, the color is bright red and will look great under jeans, I just wasn't expecting stripes.

I've started the second one but have put it aside to make a baby sweater for one of my coworkers and then a sweater for one of Kate's friends.  I love making the small garments.  They're fairly mindless and so darn cute when they're done. 

I'm disappointed to learn that our town is not having fireworks again this year.  I'm afraid that now that they've been out of the town budget for the last three years, they'll never make it back in.  I know they're frivolous and there are other more important things to spend our limited funds on but I miss fireworks.  Other towns have them and we could trek around and find some but there's something about making the picnic dinner and walking to the high school and sitting in the early twilight eating and talking to neighbors and then watching the display.  I miss it.

Pk and I have a quiet 4th planned.  We'll go to his sister's house for a bit and then to the lake on Friday (which we both took off from work).  We've tried for years to get into the lake on the 4th but have never gotten in.  It's always at capacity when we get there and we get there early.  Those people must get up in the dark and get in line.  Not worth it to me.  We'll go the day after and it will be just as nice (if the sun comes out).

If those are the worst things to happen to me then I'm a lucky woman.  No real complaints here, just whining as I sit in my overly a/c'd office and get ready for a paperwork day.

Happy Tuesday all!

A few years ago, I bought a new pair of jeans.  The first time I wore them, I tore the knee on something and was not-very-happy.  I sewed the hole and embroidered some flowers and vines on the repair and no one was the wiser. 

I even added some extra flowers and vines last weekend with the intention of making them more decorative.  I love these jeans.

And then today, early this morning, I left one of my desk drawers open and when I got up from my chair, I hit the sharp edge of the drawer and (insert sigh here), I did it again.

You can see some of the other embroidery there in the bottom of the photo.  I've stitched the hole with some black thread that I keep in my desk (yep, needles, thread, hammers, screwdrivers, glue, tape, tampons, baby powder-- I was a Girl Scout for 11 years , being prepared never goes away) so it doesn't rip any further. 

I'll embellish the repair when I get home.  I'll bring the vine down and add some more flowers.  No one will ever know it's functional beauty.

I makes me feel vaguely like a hippie.  I remember when self embroidered jeans and shirts were all the rage, the more colorful and creative, the better.  I embellished some denim shirts for Pk when I was in college, and being the good boyfriend he was, he wore them.  I asked if he wanted one last weekend and the answer was a resounding NO.  He's not in love with the embroidery.  It doesn't fit in with his manly image.

As for the "infusing every situation with love" thing yesterday.  I did about average.  I was pleasant and upbeat but was not feeling any sort of love for the coworker who dumped what should have been her job right on top of my head (and was snotty in the process).  I shook it off but then she had the temerity (or just cluelessness) to ask how it went later.  I tried to stay in the moment and stay positive and loving but it was a real test. 

The glass screen for my ipad is coming from China and will take 6 weeks to get here.  I figure someone is walking across Asia and then Europe and then will row it in a boat across the Atlantic.  Expedited shipping was 30 dollars (which was more than the cost of the item) and somehow it doesn't sound quite so bad anymore......

But, it's Friday and that usually means good things.  Pk and I are having a quiet date night and then watching the last two episodes of The Fall on Netflix.  Very creepy killer and Gillian Anderson as a bright but very flawed DSI.  And I will, of course be pulling out the embroidery floss.......

"It is possible to live twenty-four hours a day in a state of love. Every movement, every glance, every

thought, and every word can be infused with love."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

What do you think about this?  Can you imagine a day during which every interaction you had was "infused with love"?  Could you be loving to everyone you met (in all situations) for an entire day?

I'm not sure I could.  I will admit to being a basically cheerful person who is prone to saying "excellent" when someone asks how I'm doing but to carry that forward all day is a tough assignment.  

One of the things I enjoy about the daily inspirations is that they give me something to think about and once in a while, something to work towards.  I may not be able to sustain a loving attitude toward everyone for twenty-four hours but maybe I can do it for two or three (or maybe more).  I think the point for me is to keep the ideal in my head and try just a little bit harder. 

 I've already broken it today (and it's only just past 7:30 AM).  I saw the email announcing a meeting at 9:30 and had negative thoughts about it, mostly because I wasn't planning on it.  I will try to approach the meeting with a more positive/loving frame of mind in place.  (I said TRY).   

I have Poetry group today and they chose poems about history and love.  I am bringing The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and my favorite ee cummings poem.  It will be interesting to see if any of the group brings anything or writes anything of their own.  

I  hope your day is filled with loving interactions and you are able to maintain a loving attitude for most if not all of it.    "Imagine all the people, living life in peace......" (lennon)

Here in the US, yesterday was Father's Day.  When I asked Pk what he wanted for dinner, he said "Sausage".  Now, to be fair, he says Sausage most times when I ask him what he wants for dinner.

This time, however, he was ready.  One of his co-workers is Ukranian and told him about a market where we could get SAUSAGE and lots of it.  So we went there on Saturday morning (we had a backup plan for dinner if the sausage thing didn't work out but no worries).

Bell's Market was an adventure.  The left half of the store is a seemingly average grocery store but then you go through to the other side and it's like being transported to Eastern Europe.

The packages are no longer labelled  in English and most of the people are speaking something other than English.  It was so much fun.  We were trying to identify items by the photos on the package. 

And yes, we got sausage.  Six different kinds. This is one of them.  I think this one was not one of the smoked ones.  It had to be steamed before it went on the grill.  We also got some cheese.  It's all very smokey and strongly flavored but interesting. 

I also bought some dumplings from a large freezer where you took a scoop and put them into a bag.  They were labelled, "russian dumplings.  Meat, Chicken, Pork".  I'm not sure what "meat" means and probably don't want to know.  I cooked them and let them cool and dressed them with some olive oil, garlic and lemon and they were delicious.

Kate and Em and Jim came for dinner and we had a good time trying the different foods.  It makes me laugh since Kate not only tried the sausages, but ate a Rambutan (the hairy fruits we got at Produce Junction?) as well.  The child who only ate mac and cheese, pizza and spaghetti.

Kate and I also discussed the difference between a Father and a Dad.  I have a Father, she has a Dad.  I love the fact that they all have Father/Daughter days with Pk and he enjoys them as much as the girls do.

Oh, and I forgot the bread.  When we bought the Black Baton and the Lavash with Feta, they were still warm from the oven.  It was all I could do not to rip open the bags and eat them in the car on the way home.  They were amazing.  I am so looking forward to going back to this store.

Pk spent his day just the way he likes.  He went to the flea market early in the morning and then came home to brunch of scrambled eggs and Lavash with blueberry/strawberry crepes and whipped cream.  He took a nap and then dug out a garden bed to put in the mushroom soil we ordered a few weeks ago (and is sitting under a tarp on the driveway since it's been raining steadily since then).

The girls left and we had some time to just relax before pulling things together for work today.  I worked on my red socks.  This red yarn is some that Pk chose for me a while ago.  Originally it was going to be Bayerische socks but I hated working the pattern so I pulled out 1 1/2 finished socks and decided on this Simple Lace Sock from an old issue of IK.  It doesn't look like much until you put it on.  It's an easy ssk lace pattern and looks really good in this yarn (I think it's Louet Gems).  There is no halo/fuzziness to obscure the pattern. 

I like this quite a bit.  This is not the best photo and when they're finished, I'll take a better one.  It's easy enough to carry on a conversation and knit at the same time.

Other than that, things are quiet.  We are getting ready for the slow, hot days of summer and planning for Em and Jim's wedding.  The latter is not occupying much time since we are not intimately involved in the planning.  I hope to start the dress this week if the humidity cooperates.  It's hard to work with the satin if I'm sweating all over. 

Work is busy but satisfying and I guess I can't ask for much more than that.  Happy Monday all.

I am sitting here being very very grateful for the small heater that lives under my desk at work.  When Pk and I left the house this morning, it was spritzing.  A few drops here and there.  No need to panic and run inside for the boots.

30 minutes later, as I walked toward the steps out of the underground train station, I could see the water cascading down the steps and knew I was in trouble.  I pulled out my (Van Gogh sunflowers) umbrella and headed out into the deluge.  And a deluge it was.  I only walk 2 blocks to work but my legs were wet from the knees down and the back of my sweater from where my umbrella dripped on it was soaked.

The heater is drying my pants and keeping me from being too cold here in the a/c.  The phone has been ringing and I'm pretty sure it's people cancelling appointments due to the weather.

We have had a fair amount of rain this year, not a bad thing because it makes for lush green grasses and lots of blooms. 

The "sticks" have been growing and growning and we still have no idea what they are!  They started out, literally as sticks about 18" tall, all brown and naked.  They just keep getting taller and the growth at the top is green and looks like it will keep going. 

Our plants from MDSW have small yellow flowers on them and will hopefully continue to fill out the bed.

This was a mixed bag of a weekend.  I broke the glass on my ipad in a stupid accident.  I hit it with a dinner plate (it slipped out of my hand and hit the front of the ipad just so) and it shattered the glass on the camera end.  It still works but there is a large crack running through one corner.  I called Apple and they do not replace the glass on ipad2 but will take it as a trade in and give me a discount on a new one.  We'll go see how much that will cost before I decide to replace it.

In more pleasant news, Em and I went shopping for her dress pattern/material yesterday and we came up with this

pattern.  That's the blue satin she chose and the white is an embroidered tulle.  We'll use the edges of that to stick out of the bottom of the dress as an accent and then some of the motifs from within the fabric to put on the bodice. 

It went better than I thought.  Em had a very definite idea of what she wanted and I wasn't sure we would be able to find it.  There aren't as many patterns available (even online) as when I was learning to sew. But, we got lucky and found a very similar style that Em likes and I think will look flattering on her.  It's evern fairly simple.  I've never used Burda patterns before but it doesn't look too difficult.  Making sure it fits well will be the most difficult part.  Satin is a pain to work with because of the slipperiness of the fabric but it's so worth it for the shine and drape of it.

Other than that, our weekend was a quiet one.  We did some chores and mostly tried to stay dry.  It rained and rained and rained on Friday into Saturday.  We had to pull out the pump and clear out the crawlspace.  Pk's shop in the garage flooded and now needs a bit of a clean up but he'll have to wait until this storm moves through.

I have a full day and last night suffered a bout of insomnia.  Something woke me around 1:30 and I couldn't fall back asleep.  I'm a bit on the tired side today but it's a busy one so hopefully, it'll keep me awake.

Happy Monday to everyone. 

Today is D Day.  The day the ships of the Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy. No, it's not a day traditionally remembered or celebrated.

But, Pk is a WWII buff and is interested in war in history in general so in our house, June 6 has always been observed with the Watching of The War Movies.

Usually, I sit in the same room and do something else. I mostly ignore what is on the screen and keep occupied with my own things.  This year, I told him I'd watch whatever he wanted (although I reallyreally rather not watch Saving Private Ryan again nor do I want to watch The Longest Day) with him.

We started last night with three episodes of Band of Brothers, the ones in which the Band parachutes into France on the eve of D Day.  I have heard how well made this series is and how good the acting, directing and special effects are but I was unprepared for how emotional it was.

Now, to be fair, it's time for my period so I'm a bit more easily weepy than normal.  But, think of the movie that makes you cry the most/hardest.  Got one?  Mine is Steel Magnolias.  I love that movie but it makes me sob hard enough to get a headache every time.  I love the portrayal of support and love between friends.

These few episodes of this show last night were worse.  The scene we ended with was so emotional last night that I had to pull up some Eddie Izzard to restore some balance before I went to sleep (and even then the feeling haunted my dreams).  Even my manly husband was overtaken by emotion.  It's inoccuous enough.  A soldier goes to a woman to pick up his laundry and she asks him if he can take some of the other laundry that has yet to be picked up.  As she reads off the names, he realizes they are all members of his squad that have been killed. (as I write this, I can see the look on the character's face and the tears are filling my eyes again).  It was an extremely effective way to show how great the losses were without an actual body count chart.

After last night, Pk said "you don't have to do this, you know.  I can watch them by myself".  My purpose was to share this with him and give him a person to talk about it with because these films bring out powerful emotions. 

I will say that I know that every generation has its good folks and bad folks and most folks fall somewhere in between perfect and awful.  The men and women of the generation that fought in that war seemed to have something that I don't know if we still have.  You can't compare wars to one another, each one is so different and the circumstances are so different (except for the tremendous sense of waste and the dreadful loss of lives).  But I've always thought that people are just people.  Now I'm not so sure. 

But onto more mundane and less profound, and profoundly affecting subjects.  We picked up Kate and Patrick from the airport last night.  They were in Jamaica for the week. 

It was an eventful week since Patrick asked Kate to marry him and she said Yes.  He told us before they left of his plans and it was killing me to know and to keep it to myself.  Fortunately, he asked her the night they got there so we could talk about it. 

They had a great week (Kate posted on Facebook that they were offered marijuana several times over the course of the week, she was amused by this).  Swimming with dolphins and having nurse sharks sit on their laps (!!!!!) being two of the highlights.

But now it's Thursday and we have a staff meeting which does not promise to be pleasant (are they ever, really?).  I'm off to find some poems for my group and gird my loins for the meeting.  Have a pleasant Thursday!

Good Monday Morning!  It's 100% humidity (so you can imagine what my hair looks like today) and I am sitting at my desk enjoying the quiet that is early morning here.

Do you have Produce Junction where you live?  That's a link to their Facebook page (and am I the only one who thinks it's weird that a business is on Facebook?)  It started out as a way to get fresh fruits and vegetables cheaply.  I assume it's because it's all they sell and they buy in bulk.  One of the things we like about them is that we often find odd fruits and veg there.  For instance, this.  These are Rambutan and are native to tropical areas in the south Pacific and southern Asia area.  If you cut it open, you get what looks like a smooth brain inside a hula skirt.  The clerk at Produce Junction talked us into trying them (she told us her name and said we should come back and make sure we told her what we thought). 

Now, I will freely admit that I am not an adventurous eater.  Pk and Elanor will, however, try almost anything.  Their report is that it's veryvery sweet with no real flavor, just sweet.  They're so strange looking and so very odd but we have tried several odd things from this store and I'm glad they're there.  They introduced us to Asian pears which we love but almost have to sell a kidney to afford.

For the first time in my life, I am keep track of what I eat.  I downloaded an app to my phone called My Fitness Pal.  I didn't find it, it kind of found me.  I was reading the blog of one of my favorite authors, Joshlyn Jackson, and she was talking about how much she loved it.  I checked it out and decided that it might not be a bad thing.  So, I signed up.  There are a lot of features but for me, the only one that I use is the calorie keeper.  I put in my actual weight (and this is all truthful since it's not fair to myself to lie) and how much I think I'd like to weigh and  my exercise level and they told me how many calories I can consume each day- 1500.  That is not very many but most days I am managing to keep under it and still not be starving.  After 2 weeks, I have lost 3 pounds and haven't really changed much except to be more aware of what I put in my mouth.  If I know I have to put into the food diary, I think twice about whether I really want to eat it.  I try to make every calorie count.  If I go to the gym, I can have a few extra calories but not many. 

I am not a fanatic.  The beauty of this is that it's making me think about my food, not just consume it.  I am consciously eating more vegetables and less carb loaded meals.  I am happy if I end the day below my allotted calories but if I come out with a bit more, I am not crushed.  It's become habit to enter my foods and the app gives you reminders, "If you continue to eat this way, in 5 weeks, you will weigh......" and things like that.  You can also hook up with friends and offer encouragement.  I don't know if I'm ready to make tis a social activity.  Some things I can keep to myself.

Pk and the rabbits are at war now.  He started with 12 beautiful pod bearing pea plants and Thursday night when we got home, we found this.  Only 3 plants are unscathed.  He was not a happy camper.  Out came the trap and the chicken wire.  We have several rabbits in the yard and we have been happily cohabitating for years.  However, we have not planted a vegetable garden in those years so it was all good.  We liked having the bunnies. 

Not so much this year.  It's hard enough to keep the insects out without resorting to chemicals.  

We're leaving a bit early today because Pk has a root canal appt this afternoon.  I have my mp3 player and my knitting so I'm ready.  He has to get to a drug store this morning and get a toothbrush and then he'll be ready.  It should take about an hour but I remember one endodontist telling him he has particularly long roots so who knows.

This is the end of our first heat wave.  It was not unbearable all weekend.  I sat outside in the shade and there was a breeze and I was just in awe of how beautiful it was.  I didn't pick up the knitting, just sat and listened to a book and dozed.  I am so lazy.  Sunday was much of the same but with laundry thrown in.  We grilled for the first time in a long time and it was delicious.  Pk does the grilling and he is quite good at it.  I cleaned some corn on the cob and wrapped it up in foil with basil leaves and a bit of butter.  It was so good.  I ate one piece and kept eyeing a second but corn and I don't get along well as I get older. 

The doctor I work with this morning called out sick and I have been scrambling to get hold of people before they leave the house.  It's so humid and difficult to breathe so if I can keep people from coming out unnecessarily, it's all the better.  I reached everyone except the first one.  They travel a distance so I rescheduled them and gave them a prescription.  I'll talk to the dr tomorrow and we'll sort everyone else out then. My week is off to a flying start.