Monday, December 31, 2018

Vintage Holidays - Happy New Year

image from the Graphics Fairy

In a startling break from the usual, Brian and I will be spending New Year's Eve in the company of some incredibly witty and sophisticated people.  AMC is having a Thin Man marathon.

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Caturday!


I've posted this before but it bears repeating.

Friday, December 28, 2018

Quote of the Day


The world is full of books about women - most often alluded to in such books as "Woman." The vast majority of these books have been written by men. ~ Helena Stanwick

Thursday, December 27, 2018

The Online Bookshelf: Rescue Dog Of The High Pass


I loved this writer's animal stories when I was young.  A free download is available on Project Gutenberg. I think he also wrote "Big Red."

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Monday, December 24, 2018

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Caturday!


(somewhat belated).

Friday, December 21, 2018

Quote Of The Day




Treachery has existed as long as there has been warfare, and there's always been a few people that you couldn't trust. ~ Gen James Mattis

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Grrrsday


Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Help Not Wanted


Judging from the shouts of "What did you do with the washcloth!" emanating from downstairs, Little Man is helping Big Man take his shower.

Other Crafts - Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas


More ideas from Nina Jordan's book, Holiday Handicraft.

Monday, December 17, 2018

Vintage Holidays - Christmas

A vintage Santa Claus from the Graphics Fairy.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Caturday!


Friday, December 14, 2018

Quote Of The Day

photograph courtesy LA Times

Nature bears long with those who wrong her.  She is patient under abuse.  But when abuse has gone too far, when the time of reckoning finally comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her wrath. ~ Nathaniel Egleston.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Grrrsday


Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Aunt Martha's Workbasket, August, 1937


Volume 1, No 11, which if my calculations are correct (and there's no guarantee of that) is the August 1937 issue. In this eight-page little booklet, readers could find patterns for a late summer blouse in shell stitch, a collar and cuffs, and a pan holder.  The only non-crochet pattern was for "From The Land Of Cherry Blossoms" in embroidery, the next in the magazine's round-the-world children's series. 

This pdf can be downloaded (free) at the Antique Patterns Library site.

Friday, December 7, 2018

Quote Of The Day



magazine cover from Pinterest

Half of our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. ~ Will Rogers

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Grrrsday


Monday, December 3, 2018

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

He just pee'd down the heating register in the front room.

Sunday, December 2, 2018

No Rest For The Wicked


Last night was my last in Florida, and I was called at the hotel by my region.  They need me to deploy for the tornado response.  Unfortunately for their plans, when I got home there was a summons to jury duty waiting for me.

(And in other news, while I was gone Little Man figured out how to open the gate to get to the basement where the kitty litter boxes are).

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Lost In Translation

The room is full of female volunteers, all over 60.  Enter an ebullient 20-something volunteer from the Puerto Rican chapter.

Diego*:  We had such a good time at karaoke last night!  You should have been there.  Carole* (points at a nurse sitting at one of the tables) was making all the young people ashamed!

Me:  Ah...that's kind of a backhanded remark, there, chum.

Diego*: No, I am complimenting her, she sings so well! The young people were amazed!

Me:  (gently) You realize you just called her old.

There is a pause while this sinks in.

Diego*:  No habla ingles.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

All Ahead Flank


One of my fellow volunteers claims to be a former Navy Seal*. We had some vehicles to pick up and ferry back across the causeway and I asked him to act as navigator.

He got us lost.

(*and I'm a French lingerie model).

Friday, November 23, 2018

Capitalism


Caseworker:  There's a lady who says she's come to pick up her check for $2,200,000.00 from the SBA.

Job Director:  I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that's not happening.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

It's Deja Vu All Over Again



I will be spending Thanksgiving Day conducting a vehicle inventory.



Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Back In The Saddle


We're supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow tomorrow, but I'm headed back south (either Tallahassee or Panama City).  Timing is everything.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Picky, Picky, Picky


 The spousal unit has just gotten out the stand mixer.

Me:  Are you going to make pumpkin bread?

He:  How did you know?

Me:  We've been married for thirty-three years.

He:  Thirty-five.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

"Some Very Interesting Events"



In a navy transport, therefore, U.S.S. Henderson, the 5th Regiment of Marines embarked for France in June, 1917, with the first armed American forces.  The 6th Marines followed...

...About 30,000 Marines were sent to France, some 14,000 of these were replacements to maintain the two regiments of the 4th Brigade. A brigade musters some 7,500 officers and men; this brigade took part in some very interesting events. ~ Capt. John W. Thomason

Saturday, November 10, 2018

The Cloak of Invisibility


Poor ol' fat yella bastard thinks he is hiding from the puppy.

Caturday!


Thursday, November 8, 2018

Irony

The man in Colorado who refused to bake a cake for a gay couple now has a gay governor.

EDITED TO ADD:  And this kid was just elected Senator.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Lime Flower Tea For Everyone. Please.

image from The Graphics Fairy
"To half an ounce of lime-flowers, placed in a tea-pot or jug, pour a pint of boiling water, and when the infusion has stood for ten minutes, sweeten with honey or sugar, and drink the tea hot, to assuage the pains in the stomach and chest, arising from indigestion. This beverage may also be successfully administered in attacks of hysteria." ~ old cookbook.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Caturday!


Funny how I had forgotten that a puppy is a cylindrical furry object with needle-sharp teeth on one end and a teeny tiny bladder on the other.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

"They reminded me of the chalk outlines detectives draw around a dead body."


Matt  is a volunteer from our region. 

...every one of the buildings that housed and served what must have been a beautiful place pre-Hurricane Michael, is severely damaged or...just gone. Erased.  Deleted from the face of the earth.

Totally and absolutely gone. ~ Matt Swaney



Progress



Batdog wasn't quite sure about the new family member yesterday...


But he seems to be adjusting (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery).

Monday, October 29, 2018

Stand By For Heavy Seas



He's on his way home with our new puppy.


Reserve Cat can hardly wait.




Home Again


I'm glad I got back in time to see the last bit of it.

(Ran into another volunteer from my region in the Atlanta airport and we shared the home leg to central IL.  He was in Panama City and he says he's never seen such destruction; and he was in the Gulf last year for Harvey).

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Bad Habits

I've been working closely with the Southern Baptist disaster relief field kitchens for refueling and other motor transport support.  

Based on a phone conversation I had this morning with one of their team leaders, they are under the impression that I am a former nun.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Just A Couple of Good Ol' Boys

First volunteer: (Hunting and pecking on a laptop) How do you spell "destroyed; "D-E-S-T-O-R-I...?'

Second volunteer: (slyly)  R-U-R-E-N-T.

First volunteer:  "Ruint."  Yeah, that works.

(It was a good day, all told; I managed to get my hands on a pillow last night).

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Matthew 19:26

Shortly before lunch today the refrigeration unit failed in the trailer holding the perishables for the Southern Baptist Disaster Services field kitchen that is turning out 3,000 meals a day here. While I was on the phone  frantically trying to locate a technician, two Baptist ladies walked over, laid their hands on the trailer, and began to pray.

It re-started.

Thursday, October 11, 2018

On The Road - But Not For The Reason You Think


Off tomorrow for a family wedding - blogging will resume Monday!

UPDATED to add for your reading pleasure, or rather growing sense of horror - Hurricane Michael, A Confluence of Awful Factors.

UPDATED to add - looks like I'll be deploying to Florida the day after the wedding.  Onward and upward!

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Vintage Sewing - A Gypsy Costume From Bandannas


Another project from Nina Jordan's Holiday Handicraft, just in time for Hallowe'en.  This book is well worth checking out from the Open Library, if you have an account.

We've All Been There


From our dog trainer's FB page this morning:

"Just a reminder; if you cancel your appointment within 24 hours of the start time, you will be charged $20.

And if you cancel after I've put on a bra and eye liner you will be charged triple."

Monday, October 8, 2018

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Cat Physics



"When a material is heated, the kinetic energy of that material increases and it's atoms and molecules move about more.  This means that each atom will take up more space due to it's movement so the material will expand. 


When it is cold the kinetic energy decreases, so the atoms take up less space and the material contracts."  Physics and Astronomy Online.

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Caturday!


Friday, October 5, 2018

Quote of the Day


Silence does not make mistakes. ~ Hindi proverb

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Aunt Martha's Workbasket, July, 1937


In this issue from the summer of 1937, readers can choose from projects that include two garden hats crocheted from crepe paper, a two-color star quilt, another hat to sew from linen or pique, and the pot-holders on the cover.  Free download from the Antique Pattern Library.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Caturday!


Friday, September 28, 2018

Quote Of The Day


There are three ways to get something done; do it yourself, hire someone, or forbid your kids to do it. ~ Mona Crane

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Grrrsday


Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Ruining The Curve

photo from akc.org

There are ten dogs in our class at the kennel club.  Six are goldens.