Lets Cool Off!

Here we are at the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics. Although there have been some upgrades to the stadium over the years, it's still the same size, small, by todays standards. The jump itself is being redone and enlarged, so photos are not interesting.
Not everyone that came to see the competitions had a seat. Folks stood in the cold snow to see the jumps and and Nordic events. Bear in mind that clothes have come a long way to provide today's wearer with dry comfort. Just imagine standing there, for hours, in soaked shoes and wet, woolen socks.
However, those that had tickets to be in the stadium had the pleasure of sitting on stone bleachers. In the freezing cold.
Today there is a cafe operating in the stadium, which probably was a place for guests to warm up and use the bathrooms then. Anyway, sitting on the terrace of the cafe one can imagine watching the sporting events of cold days gone by.
Hopefully this little narrative has cooled you, the reader, off. It's given me the chills.

Red Hot Prunes on the Go

A bunch of ladies, with red hats, get together regularly for any variety of social reasons. Lunch (as at Applebees,) little outings, cards at someone's house, and such. It's a non-threatening way to get together, just to hang.
Needless to say some ladies are the organizers, some are the enforcers, and some just fall into step.
In my work I had to be the organizer and I'm done with that. I'm happy to fall in line.
I've been wondering how much our birth order still plays a role in behavior today. I think I'd like to do a study of behavior of senior ladies and what has influenced us to be the way we are. (Did I just imply I'd organize something?)
As we were lined up for the photo shoot today I wondered who of us were the first borns.

It's Really Not Springtime

I live in the land of peaches, walnuts, and rice. I don't live in the mountains with an alpine climate. So why are some of my plants so confused? Beats me!
Yet I have many Cyclamen in bloom (December and January bloomers as a rule) and then the Wisteria has decided to give us a second showing. Both are very frequent and blast their aroma across the yard.

The End of Birthdays

Tomorrow is Suzanne's birthday and in our family hers is the last one this year.
So I shall bake her her requested cake. After that, any cakes I'll bake will be "just because".
We hope she has wonderful day even though she'll be slaving away at her job. (Green is her favorite color.)

Happy Birthday Suzanne!
from your mom

The Three Sleeves Sweater

Last year I began to knit a sweater but didn't have the patience to master the directions. I put it aside. Last month I picked it up again, and lo and behold, the instructions seemed so easy now. Front and back are complete, together at the neck and trimmed.
Now just the sleeves to finish. I made pretty quick work of #1. Then last evening, enjoying the last bit of daylight, I sat outside and worked on #2. Ray asked me to come and look at a clip on television. Putting my work into the little tub by the bench, I saw the short segment on the tube and returned back out.
Let me just say that I was not happy with the cutest dog on Earth just then. My second sleeve was wrapped around a tree. My wonderful 10 1/2 bamboo needle has chew marks in it. My completed sleeve was on the lawn and has threads pulled here and there, so I'll need to redo it. Never mind that it's soiled in spots. Ray walked around to retrieve the #5 needle, I couldn't find it. Thank goodness no bites to this. Surely my eyes were glazed over, and I must have been seeing red.
So that is why this sweater needs three sleeves.

Michelle's Birthday

Today is Michelle's birthday. Happy Day!
When I offered to make her a cake she opted for Chocolate Mousse. Although I have several cake cook books, that's a recipe I don't have, so I had to invent it. Deep chocolate cake base, on a chocolate graham cracker bottom. First layer: a coating of raspberry glaze, topped with white chocolate mousse. Then another thin layer of chocolate cake topped with European style mousse. Edged with short ladyfinger cookies glued on with frosting from a can. Piped on decor, with a piece of fancy truffle.
It took several hours to create, I thought it was delicious.

Elvis Lives...

...in my memory. Listening to the radio station of my choice this morning the D.J. mentioned that one of the listeners had an Elvis story (which I had told him many months ago at WalMart). He mentioned my name and here is the story:
When Heide was a little girl traveling on the Autobahn in Germany with her mom, the car (a 1939 DKW) had broken down. Along comes a big Army truck, a couple of men get out asking what our trouble was. The radiator had overheated and water was needed, which they did not have. So the four of us stood around discussing the options and shortly thereafter they left. I remember telling mom that that had been that singer guy, I recognized him. Besides his name was on the uniform. As you might have noticed that nice D.J., John, shaved a few years of my age, I actually was a teen then and quite into the rock n' roll scene.
I fondly remember that little meeting with Elvis Presley almost fifty years ago.

Gas Prices

It's a good thing to get out once in a while. I'm staying at home so much I might have missed this.
The last time I bought fuel for my car, I paid twenty cents more. This is great.
Is it a last reprieve before we pay much higher prices forever? The cost here used to be significantly less than, let's say, Europe's prices. But no more. We pay about the same now. (Keep in mind that I remember paying $.19 for a gallon of gas.)
We'll have to wait and see how long this holds.

Summer Living

I have moved. To the outside.
With the patio project complete, the weather very nice, there is no point to being indoors. I pretty much live out there now. I have Harry Potter, some knitting, Pepsi.
I come inside to get food, load the dishwasher, and sleep. It will be over all too soon.
So today I'll cut our grass, visit a grocery store, maybe wash my car, and soak up more vitamin D.

More gardening Projects

Suzanne had asked me to redo the area in front of her house. Bermuda grass had swallowed the flowers.
We hate Bermuda grass!
So I'd come up with a plan, purchased the materials on her ticket, put in three hours of effort and, voila, spruced up front yard. The youngster got to help: dead heading with real scissors, digging and filling the green toter. (Garden recycling container) She got to spread the mulch from the Camphor tree, which smells wonderful. We replanted a large pot and delivered those I'd taken to my house to redo.
So it's done and looks nice.

It's Done, It's Done, It's Done!

So this is what it feels like to move a couple of tons of gravel, sand and bricks. My hands ache from lifting twenty pound pavers into place. And I had help! Lots of help. Thanks Ray and Shel. As can be seen, some work around the grass edge remains to be done. Small stuff compared to this.
We are very happy with the result. Such an improvement.

Photo Updates

Suzanne made me promise to post some photos next time I write. So go back some blogs as I've added some all the way to the Quincienera.

I've added three more rows of pavers, all the way to the 2x4. And it's framed now on the far side. I need more sand and a few more pavers. Tomorrow, tomorrow! I'll be glad to get the extra soil put away, now it's just piled by the post in the middle of the photo.

I made a Black Forest Cherry Torte for the child's birthday. That's the kind she wanted and it turned out quite well. Clearly her dessert stomach had been empty as she was able to consume a sizable piece.

Azi's Routine

Schedule for Azi: Meal #1 at 6am.
Hang out with humans, police the kitchen floor periodically during the day.
Meal #2 at 6pm.
After that, dive under a cover on the couch and sleep. Come out only if someone is puttering in the kitchen, they might drop something.
When the favorite human goes to the bedroom, follow, crawl into bed, under the cover.
Always under the covers.

Running

Well, I haven't actually been running, but I feel like it.
The nasty Liquid Amber tree took two days to be gone. On the first day it was so hot, and it got late. (It had been a taller tree than the Sequoia next to it!) So they cleaned up the neighbors yard, and finished the trunk and grinding on our side yesterday. The guys start at five on these hot days, so by four in the afternoon they are tired.
We are making progress on our patio. Nearly half the stones have been put down. We need more sand, which I will get by the bag. It wouldn't be worth it to buy another yard and pay for delivery. Besides, bagged sand is finer, preferred to finish this job.
Our house smells nice as I just finished baking the birthday cake. I will fill and decorate it tomorrow morning.
Then Michelle takes over the kitchen to make the chicken pot pie.