Yours 'til Niagara Falls

I Love to Go Swimmin' With Bow-legged Wimmen"

It has been a looooooong winter in Western New York.  According tho the weatherman, there have been 23 "snow events" since the flakes first started to fall last November. This month, the thermometer has crawled above freezing only twice, with the average temperature being around 20 degrees.  Anyhoo... this has not stopped my-favorite-little-boy-in-the-world from taking up swimming.  I had a wonderful time this afternoon (despite the worst headache I've had in ages) watching our little one, along with ten or so like-minded toddlers have a great time paddling around the pool.   

It's True - You DO Have to Eat A Peck of Dirt

According to this article  in the New York Times, the old "peck of dirt" notion is true.  If you are prone to getting the willies if you read about gross stuff - skip the article.  It discusses the use of intestinal worms to treat an array of immune-system diseases.

Mary, Mary, This News is Contrary

  Prepare to be bummed out - Mary Engebreit's Home Companion is ceasing publication.  Ouch, that hurts.  I have purchased every issue since it premiered.  I've saved all my issues and really enjoy re-reading them.  I am really sad that it will no longer be peeking out from the magazine rack.  MEHC is yet another victim of our faultering economy.  I'll miss the artist profiles and the paper dolls.  I hope it comes back in another incarnation.

Some other periodicals have also bitten the dust:

Wondertime - it was a good source for finding new products for young children

Oprah at Home - A glimpse of how the rich and famous live

Cottage Living - Inspiration for pretty interiors 

And... almost as sad as MEHC, Country Home.  I'll miss Country Home because It gave really good display ideas for antiques and vintage items.

What's killing off the magazines?  The economy, for sure.  Free online sources have bitten into paid subscriptions.  Why buy a cooking magazine when the recipes are free on some website?  Additionally, I guess if you are facing forclosure on your house, you're in no mood to curl up with a shelter magazine.  A few periodicals have suffered due to poor decicions on the part of the editorial staff, changing magazines we love to something dull and bland.  It is to be hoped that when the economy makes a bounce back, new magazines will be launched by editors and staff who are innovative and creative.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Bonefolder - an On-line Bookbinder's Journal

If you have ever wanted to explore the world of hand bound books, treat yourself to Bonefolder , one of the very best on-line journals I've ever happened upon.  Even if bookbinding isn't your cup of tea, taking a look at all the construction details makes you really appreciate what a work of art even a pedestrian volume is.

Northern New York Winter c. 1963

  Three of my four brothers (the youngest one must not have been walking yet) and myself chillin' in the early 1960's in Norwood, New York. 

Beaded Bird

  The photo does not do justice to this beautiful beaded bird.  It was made by a friend of mine who is one of the most gifted bead artist in the Tuscarora nation.  It's done on ultrasuede with a mix of vintage and contemporary glass beads. The bird form (with each bead artist having a variation of his or her own) is very traditional in the community.  The craftsmanship on this is exquisite in design and execution.  A closer look:

  The beaded fruit hanging from the beak is also very traditional.  Sometimes an artist will use "cheater beads" like glass cherries or strawberries for this purpose. A close up of the flower motif:

 Motifs such as this are worked separately and affixed to the piece.  It is really dazzling in person as the sunlight plays on the faceted beads.  It really has inspired me to try my hand at this technique.

Time for a Change

My job has involved teaching in a High School for the past twelve years.  My assignment was changed and so today was my last day there.  Some co-workers and students threw me a lovely party.  This cake was almond and raspberry cream.  The stuff dreams are made of. 

I have mixed feelings about my reassignment.  I will miss being at the secondary level.  I was lucky enough to work with some students from Kindergarten to commencement. 

I will, God willing, be able to retire in six years or so.  I am looking at this shift as an opportunity to revitalize my career.  The thing about elementary level students is that you laugh every single day.  Another big change will be my hours.  Instead of working 7:30 til 2:30 I'll work from 9:00 til 4:00.  I'm a-hopin' that the later start will work out better for me.  Even after twelve years, being at work at 7:30 has never been easy for me.

The End of the Weekend

Like all weekends, this one zipped by.  I took a class on making whisk brooms.  Basically the same technique as the broom I made just before Christmas.  If I did a start-to-finish tutorial, it would probably take fifty pictures accompanied by that many captions.  Maybe another time.  There's another class on March 7 and I'll probably take pictures then.  Here are a few random shots from yesterday:

   

   

There was a wonderful concert celebrating Mozart's birthday last night.(thanks, Joe and Kathleen).

This afternoon I went to the movie Doubt. If Meryl Streep doesn't get an Oscar for her performance something's rotten in the state of Hollywood.  Her portrayal of Sister Aloysius was amazing.

A very sad thing has happened.  My cousin Patsy died on Friday night. She was diagnosed with tongue cancer in October.  Like a lot of head and neck cancers, it was aggressive and difficult to treat.    She was a wonderful person and will be missed by everyone who knew her.  Her obituary is here .

 

Morphing Presidents

  This is a fun way to spend four minutes.  From Washington to Obama you get to watch the presidents' faces morph from one to the next.  It was kind of nice to review the names of all of them, too.

How to Spend a Day Off

In my little world, nothing is more disappointing that having a day off and sitting around doing nothing.  I made a point of doing a lot of different things, such as:

The day began with a trip to Vidler's for some basket splints. On the way my husband (he played hooky to keep me company!) and I stopped for a nice pancake breakfast.  I had good luck at Vidler's which, it seems to me, is the last bastion of political incorrectness as evidenced by these purchases:

 

We have a lucky rabbit's foot (I know, I know - not so lucky for its previous owner.)  We have a plastic Plains Indian warrior and we have some candy cigarettes. 

                                                                                                                                                     On the way home we stopped at Borders, where Iproceeded to go on an unprecedented magazine   bender.  I'm not proud to say it, but periodicals have been the lion's share of my reading since before the holidays.  I hope to remedy that before my brain rots.

We were home in time to have company for lunch including my-favorite-little-boy-in-the-world and his best friend who is called La-la.  Both boys are just getting over colds, so it was a little bit of a struggle to get some nutrition into them.  We were lucky enough to have our grandson stay for the whole afternoon after the rest of the group departed.  We had a 90-minute nap and woke up ready for action.  The baby (who just turned 17-months old) was playing with a rubber ball when something surprising happened.  It was just like the w-a-t-e-r scene out of the Miracle Worker.  Little Frida was watching the play and watching her, you could see a lightbulb go off.  After living here for nearly a year, she chased a ball!  And wagged her tail!  The first chance I get I will buy the poor dog a ball of her own.  To be honest, I had given up on her ever learning how to play.

We delivered our boy back home, which his mother in his absence had cleaned from top to bottom.  Our day ended with an outing to the movies.  We went to see Defiance which was intense. 

One thing which has been preying on my mind all weekend is the fact that two people I really care about are in the hospital.  I know it's a cliche, but a person's health is beyond the price of diamonds.