A Brief Spring Complaint

Yesterday was the most dreary and cold Easter I can remember. We went to my brother-in-law's house (a long, long drive) but because of the weather few of the family showed up. It didn't really feel like an Easter gathering at all; it just felt like an ordinary weekend day but it was still nice to get out and see a few of the relatives.

I shouldn't complain about the weather overall though. We have had some very nice early spring days. It just so happens that yesterday and today look and feel more like February.

This is a picture I took in 2016, just because. It's not foggy this morning, just gloomy.

Harvey

I commented on Twitter at the time when Hurricane Harvey was first approaching way out in the Gulf that hurricanes should not be named Harvey. Harvey sounds like a friendly but ineffectual guy. Well, it looks like Harvey decided to teach us a lesson about not taking him seriously.

So far I am impressed with Houston's mayor and FEMA shows signs that they have learned from past mistakes. Everything seems to be going as well as can be expected. I won't make any comments about certain politicians because they have nothing to do with any of this. I guess that's about all I have to say other than, my sympathy to all who are affected.

It's funny how things seem to intersect sometimes. Like coincidences but I don't think this qualifies as a coincidence but something like that. Last week there was a conversation on one of the sewing blogs I read. I mentioned that I had been thinking about trying some of the African wax prints (also known as Dutch wax because they were originally made in Holland, and some still are, for African trade) and the blogger encouraged me to go ahead and do it already!

Well, the last thing I need is more fabric but one has certain social obligations you know. One simply cannot declare a desire to do something, receive encouragement and then just drop out. [ahem] Anyway, I searched Etsy for African wax prints - for days. I favorited almost two dozen fabrics and spent almost every waking moment thinking about them and trying to imagine each one made into something until I woke up Monday morning and just knew which one I had to have. But then I realized that the seller is in Houston.

So now I don't know what to do. My heart goes out to this woman who might have lost everything and I feel bad about even thinking about myself and something as trivial as fabric shopping. But I guess I'll pick another fabric eventually. There are many more that I like but I am so in love with that one that I probably can't have. Right now I am back to looking and thinking and waiting for another fabric to say, "Pick me! Pick me!"

Fascinating Fungi

We have been getting SO MUCH rain lately! I think maybe someone is supposed to be building an ark. We have had a few breaks, like yesterday, when the weather was nice and I could get out and walk around outside. Naturally, when we get lots of rain we get lots of fungi and it seems like every year I see something new. A few days ago I found this gorgeous fungus growing on this small tree. It actually seems a bit translucent.

A Little Something...

Wow, have I really not posted anything all week and the week is almost over? I need to do a book post because I just finished another book and that makes three since the last time I posted anything about books. I probably won't get the chance tomorrow either because we're supposed to have a massive rainstorm, 4 to 6 inches of rain and hail likely and satellites apparently can't see through heavy clouds so no Internet or TV for me tomorrow. I should get lots of reading and sewing done.

So, for now, here's a little something from one of my favorite "lesser" composers.

Hello February

It seems like everyone hates February. I often hear people say that the only good thing about is that it's short. It's true that we have had some of our worst weather ever in February but to me February feels sort of... I'm not sure this is the word I really want to use but sort of hopeful. This is because the days are getting noticeably longer. It's a little less dark. It's increasingly possible to imagine spring. (March, on the other hand, makes me impatient because it's usually still cold in March and it starts to feel like winter will never end.)

Saturday it was 80F. Today it's gray and cold, more like February is "supposed to be" but that's okay. I had Saturday and today it's still not freezing and the sun will come out and it will warm up again soon. February is okay.

I took the picture in this post a few minutes ago, between 8:15 and 8:30.

The Best Week of the Year

Well, we did that Christmas thing. We all got a lot of nice stuff and ate too much and spent the day just hanging out. It wasn't a white Christmas; in fact it was more like mid-spring. All in all, it was a really awesome day.

And someone got this for Christmas:

I wasn't sure about what kind of reaction this would get. A quilt isn't a typical gift for a 17 year old young man but he loved it. I also managed to finish another gift quilt that I had been working on for years so now I am between projects and that just feels wrong but at the same time I don't feel especially motivated to start anything else. At least I don't feel motivated by any one particular project but I will start something in a day or two. Right now there are books to be read and Mythbusters Mega-Marathon to be watched.

And speaking of Mythbusters, did you see that they're bringing it back with new people? There is going to be a "search" series first, to pick the next generation of Mythbusters. I have mixed feelings about this. I think the world really needs Mythbusters. We will never run out of myths to bust. But so much of the appeal of Mythbusters was the people so a new set of people? I don't know. I'm sure I will eventually get used to whoever ends up on the new Mythbusters but it will never be the same.

At the top I called this the best week of the year but is it really? The weeks before Christmas are pretty fun for me and there are other weeks of the year that are just as nice in their own ways but there's just something about this week when all of the busyness is done and there's nothing that has to get done in a hurry... And sometimes it can actually be sort of boring and, in some years, even a bit of a let-down but I suppose, like any other week, it's mostly whatever kind of week you choose to make it and this year I choose to make it about drinking tea, reading, and watching Mythbusters.

This 'n' That

As some of you have already noticed, I have started using Twitter again. A lot. A couple of things got me back into it. One is football. We watch football every time there's a football game on so that's five games a week, sometimes six counting college. I like football sometimes but I quickly get bored with the game if it's two teams that I don't really care about and I can't read a book while the TV is on. Sadly that's not one of my talents. So when I get bored with the game I pull out my phone and see what's happening on Facebook. But I'm starting to get bored with Facebook so, Twitter.

Turns out that Twitter is much more interesting than Facebook. Facebook is mostly the same memes and listicles and slide shows over and over and over again. On Twitter you can have actual conversations. It's like texting with people you don't know well enough to give your phone number. Including sometimes even celebrities. And since my phone is always in my pocket I've taken to checking Twitter all through the day, maybe a little too much. So if you wonder what I've been up to you can probably catch me there. I'm @uppityokie.

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Besides tweeting too much I've been doing what most people are doing this time of year: shopping, though I'm about done with that. I have also finished a quilt and I'm about to finish another. Not sure if I can finish it by Christmas but I'm going to try. Sewing clothes has taken a back seat to quilting lately. I got the last thing finished except for the buttons and buttonholes a couple of weeks ago and just kind of abandoned it but I will eventually get back to it. I've also been doing some reading but it's been a while since I've read any science fiction and I'm starting to crave some.

* * * * *

I was at Wal-mart this morning, in the checkout line, and the woman in front of me turns around and says, in a Russian accent that sounds like something you only hear in movies, "I'm 80 years old and I don't know how much longer I can do this," and then starts talking about how she's getting tired of supporting her grandson and all he wants to do is hang out with his friends and so on. I didn't know what to make of this but after she had left, the checkout girl said something about how sweet she is and that she talks to her frequently. So, I don't know... she might be a fun person to talk to when you get used to her. I kind of hope I run into her again sometime.

* * * * *

And finally, a "This 'n' That" post is not complete without complaints about the weather, right? Actually, there's probably something else I wanted to say but I can't remember it so... It's cold today and tomorrow it's going to be f***ing cold. Well, it's December so that's normal but it was nice for so long when it normally should have been getting cold so now this feels like a sudden tragedy. (Yes, I am being overly dramatic.) As I said on Twitter recently (or was it Facebook?) I wish global warming worked like people think it does - you know... making the weather warmer than "normal" all winter instead of making it weird and sometimes colder than normal.

Not Ready Yet

It's the last day of August. Everyone seems to be looking forward to fall, just like every year. Summer won't really be over until the end of September but August is one of my favorite months and I'm not ready for it be over yet. And it hasn't been a normal August so all month I've been impatient for "real" August to get here. But this is what August looks like today and has looked like for much of the month. Oh, I appreciate the rain but I also enjoy three or four weeks of uninterrupted hot, sunny weather. I'm just weird like that.

Today's Sky

It was supposed to rain today. No rain yet but we do have some interesting clouds.