August in September

It is always good to get a taste of something that you know, even as you are complaining in the moment, down the road you will remember is fondly. So it is with summer heat even if it is technically autumn. Come late October, knowing that it is going to get a lot colder than the current briskness, I will wonder how I could have written these words. Ah, to be able to slip outside without time spent adding layers upon layers of clothing. But today it hot enough to melt motivation in any direction.
Above is Odessa who somehow discovered that the tracks of the glass sliding door would cradle her sleeping form with no effort on her part. By the time I took this photo, the process had roused her from a peaceful sleep.
Now I know why Wegman used a dog.
Blog On!
Leslie

Recycling Old Tee Shirts

With so many cats in the house, the last thing you want covering the floor is
something you can't throw in the washing machine. The rug in progress
is crocheted from old tee shirts from a second hand store. I bought 100% cotton, men's extra large shirts which I cut from the bottom up in a spiral fashion. Being a knit fabric, the cut strip automatically rolled so there are few raw edges that show. It is soft, thick, quick to make and perfect for a bathroom or a pet's favorite spot. An interesting rug from friend's donated old shirts would give a patchwork look that would warm more than your feet on a cold day.
Have fun with the idea and don't hesitate if you have any questions to email me.
Blog On!
Leslie

Pray for Pavarotti

Maureen here.

I'll blog about something happier in the next couple of days, but I just read that Luciano Pavarotti is gravely ill as a result of the cancer he's been fighting.

I am not an opera expert, but I think his version of 'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca should be his automatic ticket into heaven when the time comes.

Here's a YouTube link to see him sing this aria in character as Cavaradossi.

Il dio è con voi, Luciano.

- Edited on Sept. 6 to add:

And now the voice is silenced.

National Tribute to Spell Check Day

I proclaim August 25th to be National Tribute to Spell Check Day. Why? Because Spell Check helps me hide my spelling deficiency. What credibility would I have with my readership if they had to pick their way through my blog guessing what I meant?
God Bless the person who invented Spell Check!
Blog On,
Leslie

On Being Present at The Wedding of a Friend's Child

Maybe if I had had children it would not have hit me so hard. But there I am in Lynch Park for Amy and Joe(y)"s wedding. When I was their age I lived with my high school boyfriend (17-25) just down the street in an apartment where I hosted the groom's parents for my first adult dinner party. We ate "piece meal" as the science of cooking times was new to me. Now this 58 year old butt is sitting in the formal rose garden waiting for what will be one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen to walk the grassy path to a man who is obviously eager to have her by his side for life. After the service I call my Aunt Ruth who lived next door to me way back then. Now she resides in an assisted living place in another town. She was one of the first people to show me by example that creativity was a gift and not a hinderance to living a "normal life". I leave a soppy, sentimental message, unsurprised to not find her in. Later at the reception I avoid the bridal bouquet tossing ritual. I sit with Joe(y)'s mom, Martha who actually wore a bra for the event. We are trying to figure out how so much time has gone by. It was the same conversation, but a different bra, that we had a few years earlier for her daughter, Jennifers wedding. I tell her we will be here in twenty five years or so for the grandchild's wedding. We will probably have the same conversation then.
Blog On!
Leslie

Basil

Maureen here. Every season has its scents: evergreen for Christmas, turkey for Thanksgiving, lilacs for May. My nomination for the scent of August is basil. The lovely basil pictured here is straight out of Leslie's thriving garden. After it posed prettily for this portrait, it became pesto and was frozen to be used during a cold winter's day. The scent was intoxicating. It reminded me of Grampa's garden and of the herbs Dad used to grow. I would love to buy some basil essential oil and make myself a basil perfume. Wonder if I would end up smelling like an Italian restaurant?

Just A Start

I have been promising myself and anyone who asks that I would get going on redoing my website. I wish I had a good reason /explaination of why this has been taking so long. I don't. Well, not one that would hold up in court, anyway.
But here is a beginning idea of showing several pins at once. Three show the classic stick method, while the rest are the tab closure.
I would love to hear any feedback.
Blog On!
Leslie