When a young man's fancy

From Locksley Hall

byAlfred Lord Tennyson

In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove;

In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.Well, I don't know if Ghen's thought are of love, or dancing, or what. He certainly looks handsome in his tuxedo.

Ghen is my nephew, and lives with us. His mother is my sister, MB, my faithful reader and frequent commenter to this blog. Your boy is all grown up, MB. Here he is with his prom date posing near the river in Mayville. Prom is still a big deal, as it was way back when I was in high school. It's something about the high school experience that crosses generations. My Dad was prom king way back in the 1940's, the prom theme then was Stardust. Now, that is a lovely song. When I went to prom the theme was Stairway to Heaven...........not on my top ten list.........





Just a few years ago, in the spring my thoughts frequently turned to gardening. I knew all the greenhouses within 50 miles, and planted lots and lots of flowers. Even years before Dave and I married, I was constantly planting, moving, dividing, watering, etc. Early in our marriage, we called May the month of "planting frenzy", just when we though we had every thing planted, one of us would bring home another tomato plant, or just one more perennial.


Since I opened the shop, I no longer have the "gardening drive". Sad, but true. All my creative energy is spent at the shop, or thinking about the shop.......I get my "color fix" from yarn instead of flowers. Dave plants almost everything and cares for the yard almost by himself. I do cut the grass.............

This shrub is blooming in my yard right now. It grows like a weed, and is very hardy. Dave dug out a few roots when his mother's farm was sold.........and I am so glad he did. When I was a child, we had the same kind of shrub on the farm. It has small yellow flowers, woody stems and an incredible spicy fragrance. A few branches brought inside makes the house smell wonderful.


The scent takes me right back to being a kid, a Catholic kid. May is the month to honor the Blessed Virgin. At school, at church and at home we had a "May altar", with a statue, and fresh flowers as often as possible. We also did May Crowning.

Bring flowers of the rarest

bring blossoms the fairest,

from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;

our full hearts are swelling,

our glad voices telling

the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!

Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!

Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

The lilacs, tulips, phlox, and bleeding hearts are all blooming, so much spring all at once!

Like youth, abundant, and fleeting.

Dave?

My sister responds to my last post about my husband,



Yes, I too have an added "appreciation" for Dave after all those Northern Exposure episodes...I wonder how many people think he looks like Holling Vincoeur? MB

I do think Holling looks like Dave, but it might be the plaid shirt.
John Cullum, actor, as Holling Vincouer


Perhaps there is more resemblance to this fellow.....Leader of one of my favorite bands.
Doug Green, of Riders in the Sky





















Dave , as himself

What do you think?

Blooming still

This is one of the blooms on our Christmas Cactus....the first bloom opened the week before Thanksgiving, November 2006.......and it has had a least a few blossoms at all times since!

This plant belonged to my mother-in-law for at least 50 years before I got it. Most years it stops flowering in late February, but not this year!

Asparagus, Spring and Romance

Mmmm, look what I found in the garden today. Just enough so each of us can have a small portion.

The color of asparagus,,, green and purple, makes me want to knit something in those colors. So fresh and springlike.


















I thought the colors of asparagus looked nice next to my favorite rock, but the camera didn't capture it well. ......WHAT? SHE HAS A FAVORITE ROCK? JUST HOW STRANGE IS THIS WOMAN?

Dave gave me this is rock when we were just "Buddies", before were were,,,, um,,,,,,,,,,, er......romantically inclined. ........... Years before we romantically reclined. (WINK).

I found the rock in the woods near his cabin. Dave was kind enough to haul it back to Mayville and place it in my yard. Then, some years later, after the romance began.........it became our yard and our rock. He has willingly moved the rock a few times,,,,,,but now it sits at the southwest corner of our house, and I think it will probably remain there. The rock reminds me of the early years of friendship with my husband, and why I liked him , before I loved him. He is solid, steady,,,,,,,and handsome,,,,,,,,,, just like the rock.

What?

First,,,,,,,,go back to January 2007 and read this post.. Really, go back and read that post first.









Did you? You won't understand today's post unless you read it the old post first.




Read it!



Now, here is the rest of the story.................
Dave had fixed the cord on the clock back in January, and it has been faithfully ticking since then,,no more problems. Until yesterday, at 5:20 AM, when it stopped again..........on the day of Ronnie's funeral! In case you did not go back and read the old post,,,,,,it was Ronnie's clock, he gave it to me.
Dave checked the cord,,,,,,,,,the clock seems to have stopped permanently this time. What about that?

You are all so smart!

In a recent post, I posed a question , ,,, so many of you guessed correctly........ It is a bakelite darning egg. I got a wooden one, too, although I have others like it. I don't darn socks, I'd rather knit new ones.

Collecting darning eggs is a tactile thing for me,,,,,,, I like the way they feel in my hands,,,,,,,, the shapes.

Most of the darners in my collection are wood, but I do have a green glass one, and some plastic eggs,,, but this is the first bakelite..

Thanks for guessing!

Sunday with Emili

Nothing lifts my spirits like a day with Emili........She arrived Saturday evening,,,,,,we enjoyed the sunset

After church on Sunday we did some playing in the creek.

From the Koran:

Children are the adornment of life.

For Kyle

As you may know, Kyle lost his Dad yesterday. Some of the "Loose Ends" gang have expressed a desire to do something to help Kyle through this tragedy. We have come up with a plan.

Kyle is 17, but does not have a drivers license, family finances have been an issue for some time and drivers education was unaffordable for him. Kyle's mother, Peggy has never had a drivers license,,,,,,Ronnie drove wherever the family needed to go. So, we at Loose Ends have set up a fund to help Kyle pay for driver's training. We can show our love and support for Kyle and fill a definite need for him, and his Mom. In a small town like this, SOMEONE in the household needs to be able to drive.

If you wish to contribute, just contact me, at the shop, at home , or on the web.

Garage Sale Goodies

Is it a fishing bobber? A toy? What is it?

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Clues:

1.I got it at a garage sale today

2. I have some of these things already, but none like this one

3. I NEVER actually use them for what they are made for

4. I think this one is bakelite

5. It is NOT "adult oriented", if you know what I mean

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Any guesses???? If no one guesses correctly before Monday, I will post the answer and the entire photo then.

Another goodie from a rummage sale today, a dish/basket thing that appears to have been carved from a shell...........It has a beautiful mother -of -pearl glow.......only a dollar!

Here is another look at it with some beads.

I am still trying to grasp the news of our friend's death, I kept busy with some knitting, but concentrating on anything is difficult. Here is my work for the Favorite Socks Club, this is June's Sock in progress.

Sad news

Many of you may know Kyle, the young man (17) who hangs out at the shop and often is mistaken for my son.

Kyle's father, Ronnie, passed away in his sleep last night. Ronnie and my husband Dave have been buddies since 1st grade......... And Ronnie was best man at our wedding. Ronnie leaves behind his wife, and Kyle, and another, older son, and an older daughter and 3 grandsons. Ronnie was 57 years old.

Oh, the places we'll go!

Do you ever play the game ........" What if we won the lottery?" ? Sometimes Dave and I like to speculate how we might spend a huge windfall of cash,,,,,,,,,, Our dreams differ,,,,,,,, Dave's focus is on travel,,,,,, And I have no focus, I want to try a little of everything.
Come to think of it, that's the way we order in a restaurant, especially a buffet ,,,,,,, Dave always knows exactly what he wants, he chooses from one or two tried and true dishes,,,,and thoroughly enjoys them. I try something different each time,,,,,,,,,,Except for lunch, then I almost always get a French Dip.


One thing we agree on,,,,,,,,,,if we won the lottery , we would build a HOUSE. Maybe several houses..........as long as this is fantasy,,,,,why not make it a great one? One of the houses would be built here












These photos are from Sunday at my parent's farm, Dave and I took an ATV ride to get to this site. High, high on a hill, the photos look south, north and east, respectively. No more water worries (flooding) for me!
I love my little house now,,,,, I hope to live out my days here........But this is a nice dream.....


On the same ATV ride I took this photo of my parents barn if you look really close, you can see their horse , BO....from another lovely, secluded place on the farm
This is on the far west side of their property, the lottery home site is on the far east side. Equally beautiful........









Then, on the drive home (in the car, not the ATV) we stopped to say Hello to some old friends and relatives

Such a lovely place,,,,this is our future home, or someplace similar. No lottery win required.

37 Years later

Way back in 1970, when this writer was in Grade 8, we celebrated the first Earth Day. I remember it well..........Our school made a huge deal of it. (MB, do you remember?)

One of the reasons our school in Neosho, Wisconsin did so much,was the fact that Earth Day was introduced by Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin. We planned our Earth Day celebration for weeks,,,, Our generation would make a difference.

Have we? Pollution, mostly air pollution, was the big topic in 1970. Before the terms "global warming", and "going green", we tried to do the right thing to reduce pollution. Littering was also a buzz word back then. To this day, I don't litter, anyone who has seen the inside of my car can attest to that fact.!

I am not so sure about the effects of Earth Day 1970 on the rest of my life,though. I try, but going "green" is a whole lot of work sometimes. ( I know, it is worth the effort.)

Small things, done everyday, should make a difference. I buy local whenever possible. I don't drive much. I keep my house cool in winter,,,,,,,,( in the summer it is cool , too...shame on me for that!)

I reuse, recycle, and try not to fill the landfills with my junk. Heck, I even used cloth diapers for my twins!

But still, I feel like I might be a disappointment to my 1970 self,,,,,,,,so full of hope to clean up the earth.
Well, the best thing to do is resolve to do better, starting today.......... and turn UP that thermostat this summer!

Fo the knitter, here are some tips on "Knitting Green"

Oh, something else I just thought of..........we should all stop caving in to the pressure of our neighbors with the "perfect lawn"........all that fertilizer is just terrible for our waterways,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and I love dandelions!

Gray on Gray

Here he is again, my elephant. There is a possibility that a fifty year old woman getting this much fun from a toy might signal senility.........I prefer to think it is just silliness! He makes me laugh, just looking at him,,,,,,,Anyway, yesterday I made a pincushion, but it looks better as a circus prop.
I bought this vintage apron recently at a thrift shop. Crocheted with cotton thread, I thought it would look nice in the window at Loose Ends around Independence Day.


Someone in my household keeps hiding my elephant! I suspect it is one of the cats, but maybe it's Dave. He is often found under a chair or behind the curtains, this morning I found him on the bathroom floor, looking like he had a rough night. (The elephant, not Dave)


Do you think Thunder looks guilty?

Over the top

A lovely day in Wisconsin!

Most of my tulips are still a few warm days from opening, but this variety always seems to open early, and with wild abandon. One morning the buds are still tightly closed, the next morning

they are wide open. Nothing in between for these beauties.

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The peony's are just coming up, too. I like the colors and shapes of the just emerging stalks as well as the huge blooms that come later. The shapes of the stalks are almost primordial to me,,,,,,, and after a long winter, I am hungry for color...........

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Now for the part where I "go over the top". My daughter has informed that yesterdays blog post was a snooze..........she is not interested in birds,,,,,,,,and why didn't I write something funny?...............................so, today I am telling her ......be careful what you wish for............. I have lots of great stories about you and your childhood,,,,,,,,,does the name "BABY LOLLY" ring a bell???? I am sure some of the other readers would love to hear about Lolly's antics.





I have often aired my dirty laundry in public,,,,,,,,,I won't hesitate to do it again! Now, before I get emails from my offspring about telling humiliating family secrets, let me assure the rest of the readers that I would really never do such a thing..................
Really, I just loved Lolly and I miss her. :)



(This is today's clean laundry)
Talk about humiliation,,,,,,,,,,there is underwear in this photo!

Guilty Pleasures

I am a little concerned about my status concerning the hereafter. What I mean is,,,,,,I am feeling guilty........................Today I did a bad, bad thing.. I really try to do my best and do unto others, and all that,,,,,, but I slipped today.



I blew off a lunch date with two of my dearest friends, (both of whom faithfully read this blog),,,,,,,,,just because Dave was in the mood! Dave is so rarely in the mood,,,and I have been waiting sooooooo long, I needed to strike while the iron was hot!

No, not that mood,,,,,,, get your mind out of the gutter........ ..........he was in the mood to hang curtains.!

Clay moved out last July. Since then the windows in this bedroom were simply bare. Well, not bare,,,,,,,they had the mini blinds. I am not a big fan of blinds,,but this room faces the street, so for privacy sake, we kept them. I found fabric for a swaggy, curtainy, drapey kind of thing at a estate sale some months ago,,,but the hardware needed to be installed,,,,,,, and have been waiting for Dave to do it. I know, I could have done it myself, but my skill with hammers, screwdrivers and such is very limited. If the job can't be done with duct tape, I leave it for Dave.

Anyway, I am enjoying my newly dressed windows, while begging for forgiveness,,,,, Lynda and Terri,,,,,,,,,,, please absolve me of my sin!

No place like home

Well, I finally caved in to the pressure! Here are the results.

For some years, I have gotten my haircuts in a nearby town, about 20 minutes away. I loved the way this hairdresser cut my hair,,,,,,,, and he is a really great guy, too. We had a lovely time together,,,,,the trouble came when I opened my shop. His salon is closed on my days off......finding the time to get trimmed was getting tough. As stated in my profile,,,I am truly a "homebody", I value my time at home and guard it... traveling 20 minutes to the hairdresser in the evenings when I really wanted to be home was getting tiresome.



I shopped around in Mayville a bit,,,,,did not find a stylist I liked much... I went back to the original guy.........



Dave has patronized "Greg's Barber Shop" for as long as I have known him, and has frequently teased me that I should go there for my hair since Greg's is right next door to my shop. Now I usually don't take advice on my hair from Dave,,,,,,,, and his hairstyle is ..........well...........let's just say vintage. Circa 1966 Do I want to look like that? I think not.And, this is truly a BARBER SHOP, not a salon, think Floyds Barbershop in Mayberry. Striped pole, razor straps..........maybe a checkerboard...............I was not going there!!


After many weeks of untrimmed tresses,,,,,,, I finally caved in and paid a visit to Greg's.... The decor and atmosphere may be retro,,,,,,,,,,,, but my hair has never looked better! Definitely not retro. Who knew? Right next door.

Let's call the whole thing off

You sat tomato, and I say to-mah-to,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off

Words & Music by Ira & George Gershwin

Recorded by Fred Astaire, 1937

From the movie "Shall We Dance?"

At our house we have frequent discussions about language, pronunciation and Proper English. None of us speak or write "Proper English" We just like to argue about it.

There is the never ending debate about MAYVILLEESE, that is, the language specific to Mayville. For instance, some long time Mayville residents, when referring to their hair,,,,,,,,,,speak in the plural form,,,,,,,,,,such as

Michele: "Oh, Agatha, your hair looks lovely today."

Agatha: " Thank you, I just had them cut and warshed."

Drives me crazy!

Ghen uses British English frequently, and we have some interesting discussions about words. He reminded me recently that I am using the term "ghetto" incorrectly, and he is right, but so am I.

My daughters use it this way, as an adjective :

Jane hid her head in embarrassment as her mom shamelessly committed the ghetto act of stuffing the restaurant's bread rolls, sugar packets, and silverware in her purse

I use it this way, as a noun:

John's paranoia about triple-checking whether or not he's locked his car doors comes from his growing up in the ghetto

And Ghen insists on this definition, also a noun:

Area in which the Nazis contained the Jews prior to being taken to concentration camps

Hitler created ghettos in WWII Germany

I think Ghen uses the word ghetto as a non-American English speaker might, I use it as many Americans do.

Now, for the tomato/ tomahto part. Here we have a tabby sniffing some tabi.

Ghen is having senior portraits done tomorrow (weather permitting), and he will wear a traditional kimono for some of them. He needed toe socks (tabi), so I improvised some with the sewing machine.

a Piggy, Ducks, and Geese

Today Emili is here. We took a drive to look at the marsh,

Even though it was snowing there was lots of waterfowl to see. I think this is a pair of shovelers.
Geese in flight.

This afternoon Emili and I made a piggy from recycled wool. Emili has become quite good at stuffing her creations, And is patient while I do the sewing.

Happy Easter !

Now I am paraphrasing George Harrison:

I look at the floor and I see it need sweeping,

while my meringue gently weeps

Dave says he likes a weepy meringue,,,,,,,, Just makes me sad.

A promise?

I have begun using up bits of leftover yarn in a random ripple afghan. I hereby promise to actually finish this project, all you readers can hold me to my word! December 1st seems like a reasonable deadline,,,,,,,,,

,,,,,all you non-knitters may be thinking' "What? Why does she need that much time?" Well, summer is coming , even an unfinished afghan is way too warm to work on in the heat.......that's why. AND, this afghan is as wide as a queen sized bed,,,,,,,,,one row takes twenty minutes,,,,,,,,Maybe December of 2008 is more like it.........