The Virtual Wren

I'm back from Libertycon- we actually got back 11 hours ago but I've slept most of that. I got up once to let the dogs out and back in, dose Honey, bring in Mom's paper and answer the 'phone but I went back to bed.

I got to catch up a little with a lot of old friends... and promised some one on one time to many to really catch up. Which is good but I'm still pretty depressed about the whole thing. I miss Dad a lot, there, and I miss being young and vital- I don't usually feel so old and frumpy anywhere else. And I miss talking about books- nobody talks about books any more.

( Pictures- or it didn't happen! )

I'm not saying I didn't have a good time- I did. But there were several people I missed quite a lot- Dad, Ken Moore and Wilson Bob Tucker so there were moments when I felt a bit like this was a personal wake for me for them. I really didn't go through the Art show as carefully as I would have liked either- I still felt too responsible about keeping up with Emily.

We will be going back evry year unless something drastic happens that prevents us. This is more like a high school reunion than a high school reunion would be!

Ebay auctions were not as impressive in the end game as I expected. I'll probably run a couple of new ones this week.

Yesterday was very full and I did not get everything done that I planned. I did get the recycling and shopping done and then came home and made the torte and the strudel and something else but I ran out of steam before I made the banana bread. So I still have that to do this morning as well as pay bills and make up the packages for Ebay. Only two people have paid... and one of those is my friend John. He won the Schwarzer Mond but since it was re-released just recently again, I knew he would so I took his bottle with me and gave it to him Friday. (If someone else had bid and beaten him, I did have another backup that I was willing to send and just invoice John for a second chance offer.)


A little lopsided...


The recipe actually made eight... but I couldn't get them all in the pan.

I did have to go get cat food while we were shopping and I also picked up a cat tree/scratching post because Shredder is starting to try her claws on the door frames and, dammit, I just replaced those from the last round of cat destruction. She seems to like it pretty well- of course I couldn't get a picture of any of them playing on it. 80s screwed it to the floor (under protest- he didn't want to mess up the flooring) while I was baking so that they can't turn it over even if they run down the hall and swarm up it at full speed.





Yes, 80s came over yesterday- partly to check on his tomatoes and partly, I think, to assure himself that he hasn't entirely lost me as a friend. I warned him that I was baking and pretty busy but he came anyway and offered to help anywhere he could. He peeled all the apples for me while I was washing up from the torte, screwed down the cat tree, stirred melting chocolate and generally lent a hand where it was needed.

I think I may have mentioned that a house wren has built a nest in Mom's paper box. The delivery person has been throwing the paper in the driveway rather than disturb her lately so I managed to get some pictures:







Emily surprised me while we were shopping. She needed a new bathing suit and we found a couple in her size that fit her requirements. She wanted a one piece that didn't look horrible- no flowers and no stripes. We found two and she went to try them on... and came out declaring that we were not getting a suit for her! I talked her into the one that covered more- apparently the one with no sides and not much back she didn't like- possibly because that particular design would make anyone who doesn't have a perfect midsection look chubby. I had really expected to have to talk her out of something too sexy- instead I had to talk her into anything at all!

Ok- on with my busy busy weekend!

46 - 51.


This really ought to count as five books.... so I will. I can't convince Goodreads of that, however.

I've had a lovely day- reading interspersed with exercises and a few leftover chores- all of which got done- and then cooking dinner. Poached chicken and a rice dish with broccoli, portabello mushrooms and cheddar cheese. Emily categorically refused to eat the rice dish so I made her a 5 minute chocolate cake so she wouldn't be going to bed with only chicken in her tum.

Yes, I spoil her. I spoil the animals too and it's just as well I don't have a mate as I would spoil one of those as well. She tells me that the cake is quite good.

After dinner I took apart my ARC copy of Stardust in preparation to binding it in a blue leather- by way of a dessert. It gave me a bit of problem as I am attempting to bind the covers into the book as part of it and they are peskily slippery. I'm also adding an illustration from Bpal's website simply because I love it to death. Next up will be tipping in the end papers. These will be in two pieces as the paper I want is just barely not wide enough. For that, I want a paper printed with a brick wall. (If you need an explanation of why I want that particular end paper, you need to read the book. Go and do so now.) I may actually get that done tonight... and then I'll be up to gilding the pages. Eek!

By now I'm sure you have all heard that an F-4 tornado went through my neighbourhood. We were so very lucky- we were inconvenienced but were far enough away that we don't even have tree limbs down.

I'm going to put the pictures in a separate entry because 80s took quite a few on his first jaunt out- I didn't know to take the camera when I first went out and it was even worse. We were without power but that's not uncommon here for a little while after a big storm so I didn't think anything of it. And then we were driving through trees and over powerlines and through the remains of houses- it was awful. These people are my friends, my neighbours and my customers and I was horrified to see what had happened to homes and yards. I hadn't been able to hear any news reports so I had no idea that we had been so badly hit so close to home.

All the people I know are ok, as best as I can find out but several people have unlivable houses and one friend of my Mom has no home at all- he escaped with only a cut on the head, thank all the powers that be.

Our worst problem was water. Since we have a well, no power means no water and no water is hard. One doesn't think too much about water- until there isn't any. Water for drinking is not so bad- they sell cases of water for drinking at every store. Water for washing- hands, bodies, dishes, clothes- that's where it gets hard. I finally went to the army-navy store today and invested in a camping shower and a camping percolator (we melted the lid of my stovetop percolator- go figure). When we got home, we had power in less than an hour but I will have it for next time so I don't feel like it was a waste. I also went to the laundromat and washed clothes- Mom reamed me for that after the power came back on but I didn't know we were so close to getting it back- they were saying 3 weeks so I was setting up to manage for three weeks.

As a matter of fact, I had come up with a clever plan of filling my 5 gallon shower unit at work every day and then we would have had enough water for everyone to have a shower every evening. If we showered into a mop bucket, that would also give us enough water to flush the toilet- something else that takes a good bit of water that no one ever thinks of.

While we were at the laundromat, a fellow quilter told me that SewBeeIt- the best quilt shop in the south-east- had been destroyed. I knew Ringgold had been hit pretty hard but that was very sad news. I hope they rebuild- they had just expanded. This comes right on the heels of our other local quilt shop closing so it's doubly bad just now.

All the cooking we were doing on the grill- including coffee which was annoying. I'm practically useless without my coffee so trying to light a fire and set it up to brew first thing in the morning was interesting at best. If I was trying to do it before dawn, that was even worse. We didn't have a problem with too little food but rather too much since the freezers were defrosting and we were trying to cook and eat things before they went bad. I'm not much of a griller so 80s was doing most of the cooking- he's very good at it which was fortunate.

With all the damage, we've had a problem with looters and gawkers out here- so the police shut the roads down. That wouldn't have been so bad but it was Saturday before they managed to find a way to tell who to let in and who to turn away. At different time I have had to detour 30 miles out of my way and/or show my driver's license to be allowed through. At other times they were not letting anyone through because the roads were blocked my work crews or by downed and live power lines.

Strangely enough, Eliz didn't seem to have any problem getting through to see me and make sure we were all ok. I think she was most concerned about Mom- which is as it should be. She's the one who would have the most difficult time. They had lost power twice for a short time but were otherwise ok and power had already been restored at their house. She and Ross took video on the way over and she promised to email it to me- I'll post a link if I can but it's pretty horrible too.

On Friday, they had the whole neighbourhood locked down- no one in or out- to the point that the policeman in front of my house would not let me out to go to work.. although another one did later when I told him that I had to go pick up medicine for Emily. Which I did, I was not fibbing... and 80s need medicine as well. Fortunately Mom did not- I had just brought home her medicines a few days previously and there is nothing that I must take every day.

Right now (Saturday night) we still don't have phone and internet so I will have to save this and post it later but given a choice between no phone and internet and no power and water, I'm happy enough. The previous entry was made possible by a station at the elementary school. They were giving away food and water and helping people with injuries- and also giving out cards to residents to get through check points without trouble. At the back of the school they had a tent set up with charging stations for all kinds of cell phones and other electronic devices (Emily got to charge up her PSP there which made her very happy) and courtesy internet connection. It was through the school's wifi which meant that both LJ and Facebook are blocked sites but one of the kids told me how to get around that. (It figures that the kids would know how)

Amusingly, the mail has still been being delivered- they're letting Rita through- but we can't get the paper. ???

Just before this happened, my living room light fixture (that I just had fixed) started flickering and popping again so while the power was out, 80s and I replaced the fixture (it looks just the same) and now that we have power again, it works well. We were joking, while we had bare wires hanging down, that it would be just about right for the power to come back on while we were doing that but we were either lucky or not so lucky, depending on how you view it.

I planned for this to be an unplugged weekend- I just didn't plan for it to be quite like this!

Emily and I went to the 4 Bridges Art Festival last year and had such a good time that we went back this year. Most of the art is so far out of our price range that it's unthinkable to bring any of it home but we still had a great time looking at it all and spending the day together.

I was totally foolish and forgot to charge my camera battery last night so I was only about to get pictures of the first third of the highlights but I collected cards from the rest of the artists who especially impressed me and, if they have a website, I'll post a link.

( Since this will be picture and link heavy, a cut to be gracious )

Easter Baskets- yes, everyone gets one!



Rolls for Easter- you'd think that would be enough for a family of 4... probably not.


Very first time using my big oven!


Later- herbs are good! Now if I can only get them to flourish...


We were supposed to dye eggs too but Emily couldn't get ready in time- 5:30 tonight was a bit late, I think. Maybe next year.