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.

Caturday!

I've posted this before but it bears repeating.

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

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."

A Christmas Poem

Vintage Images - Christmas

free image from the Graphics Fairy

Caturday!

(somewhat belated).

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

Grrrsday

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.

Vintage Holidays - Christmas

A vintage Santa Claus from the Graphics Fairy.

Caturday!

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.

Grrrsday

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.

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

Grrrsday

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

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

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).

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.

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).

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.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again

I will be spending Thanksgiving Day conducting a vehicle inventory.

I'm sensing a trend, here.

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.

Picky, Picky, Picky

image from the Graphics Fairy

 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.

Reunion

Three-quarters of a century later, he finally gets to say "thank you."

"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

The Cloak of Invisibility

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

Caturday!

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.

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.

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.

"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).

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).

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.

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).

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.

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!

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."

It Depends On How You Look At It

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.

Caturday!

Quote of the Day

Silence does not make mistakes. ~ Hindi proverb

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.

Vintage Magazines - Captain Science, 1951

Caturday!

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

Grrrsday

Ruining The Curve

photo from akc.org

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