It RAINED today. Actually rained. Not clouds, not virga, not the weatherperson being all apologetic and going 'well, it must have evaporated before it hit the ground.' Real rain. Probably 1/2 inch. And it's still raining. And it might rain again Thursday and Friday. I hope we have shifted into a new weather pattern and will be rid of that high pressure and unnatural heat we've had for so long.
You must understand, the last real rain we had was in OCTOBER. Except for that tee-toncy bit of snow we had back in early December, there has been no precipitation.
It's washed all the grass-fire fallout off of Eggbert (no fires near me but all the crud gets carried by the wind and falls out eventually). My lungs are much happier today too.
And it's cold - or as cold as it gets here; in the 30s and 40s. It's supposed to feel this way in the winter. Welcome back, winter, hope you stay a while...
(And don't forget The Contest if you've not entered yet! I will choose the best two jokes (which I recognize is a totally subjective thing) early on the morning of the 28th.)
I finished the back of the Cache-coeur:
Yeah, it looks short to me too. But it's supposed to be kind of an Empire-style thing that stops short of your actual waist, and also there's a broad edging that gets knit on at the end. The short row shaping for the shoulders was surprsingly tedious.
I also began a "Spherey" from the Jess Hutch toy book but he's not that far along yet.
I also have pictures of my happy new home-purchase from my favorite swanky home store, "Tar-zhey" (Target):
I had been wanting a candleabra sort of thing for my "fireplace" ("Fireplace" in name only; the chimney is bricked up and the thing's plumbed for a gas stove. I don't want a little gas stove there, both because of the ventilation issues and also, because, this year gas has become startlingly expensive). Target had these "antiqued" (brown sort of oxidized finish) leaf-based things on sale, so I grabbed a fireplace candelabra and two candle stands.
And here they are, lit:
It makes me so happy. I just sat and watched the candles for like an hour last night. It doesn't take much to make me happy, but it does take certain specific things.
I also got yet another bookshelf; one of their bastardized Mission Style folding bookshelves. My science books are now almost all together in one place in the living room. Geography and geology on the bottom shelf; physics, chemistry, and math on the second shelf; and biology and ecology and conservation on the top two shelves. It makes me irrationally happy to be able to group all my books together and to hunt around in my house for other members of the "family" to put with their "kin." There wasn't enough room for my history-of-science books or the field guides, but oh well. This life is not perfect.
So, here is my new "reading corner" in my living room:
(Also quilting corner and knitting corner. That chair is one of my BEST antique purchases ever - part of a set of 2, probably 1940s era chairs upholstered in coral colored velveteen. They are exceptionally comfortable chairs and have good support for the back. And they look very good in my house. Total cost for both was just under $120.)
All it took was moving first the table with my plants to the dining room (which has better light any way) and then moving the chair over into the corner, then setting up the bookshelf. I love this kind of furniture rearrangement and refinement of what I want and need in my house. (Always have, in fact, I remember many Saturdays spent in my room moving my furniture around in new arrangements, much to the chagrin of my mother, who was afraid I was going to scar the floor).
5 comments:
Congratulations on your rain at last. We've had some nasty droughts here in CA, and I know well the feeling of total joy when it finally rains. Your house looks very nice and homey.
Nancy
The fireplace is very pretty! And, a cozy corner--how can you go wrong?
Here's my entry. True to form - it's long. After all, it's from TheQueen.
* * *
A man on a business trip walked into a restaurant one evening. He was the sole customer and was taken to a table by the window. Suddenly a woman, drop dead gorgeous, stepped through the door. The waiter led her to the adjacent table and as he seated her she said "I only want a salad, and a glass of wine."
As the man surreptitiously eyed the beautiful woman, the waiter returned with the salad.
"Pepper, madam?" he asked and when she nodded he began to grind with a flourish.
Suddenly the woman let out an enormous sneeze and a glass eye popped out of her head, flew across the table and out over the floor. With perfect timing and masculine grace, the man grabbed a napkin, reached out, and caught it! Discreetly, he slid his napkin into her lap and whispered "I believe this is yours."
The gorgeous woman nodded, got up, went to the ladies room and returned a few moments later, composed and still as gorgeous as ever. Stepping up to the man she said "That was such a nice thing to do. Thank you."
She looked around and said "I see you're alone. As we're the only two diners here, might I join you?"
Well, who was he to turn down such an offer. They dined. Her conversation was as delightful as her looks. They talked and laughed and after a while she said "I live in this neighborhood and I know a place where the music is hot and the drinks are long and cool. Would you care to join me?"
Again, he was not one to pass up such an opportunity and she was right. The music was hot and the entertainment which followed was even hotter. Come dawn, when he woke up on silken sheets in an elegant bedroom in a chic apartment he turned and said to his companion "Don't misunderstand me. I've had a marvelous time. But ... are you this friendly with every man you meet?"
She smiled at him and answered, with a toss of her head, "On no. You just happened to catch my eye."
Love the fireplace candles! I have working fireplaces (one gas, one wood) but I'm often tempted to get the candles instead.
Gotta love the rain.
Those candles are beautiful, I could stare at them all night, too.
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