Selective Memory For Sure

Today I was talking to my lovely older sister about the first time she met my husband. I am sure this encounter has been entirely created in her mind as I have absolutely no recollection of it. And I am younger, so I should have the better memory. In fact, we have had this same discussion (those I remember) on many occasions and it has still failed to created even one iota, one teeny smidgen, one inkling of recall about this meeting. How can this be so vivid for her and so nonexistent for me? Hmmm...

Speaking of memories, something that does stick out in my head, especially these days, is the report I did with several classmates in the seventh or eighth grade about the 1930s. Each group had a different decade. It was in English class. I think Whitney Bass and Laura Haacke were my mates. We had all these photocopies of black and white photographs of dirty, starving, homeless mothers and children, men in bread lines, people living in cars and shacks, some moving to other parts of the country looking for a better life, a new chance, some hope.

Guess it really didn't hit home then. I read an article yesterday about 10% of school children in one California school district being homeless. Ten percent! How are these kids making it? Be thankful. Don't forget to be thankful for what you have.

When I told LLSS what we were having for dinner, she said, "Ooh, thanks for making risotto. That is my favorite." Then, twice at the dinner table, she thanked me again. Who knew rice and broth could make a kid so happy!

I should write down more of the things she says, because, as noted above, my memory is probably not the safest place for them.

Homemade Victim

Last weekend, when we still had snow on the tree lawn, Mike took LLSS for a little trip to the Playground Park. As reported back, they had a lovely time. Here they are returning. Clare has a wickedly happy grin on her little face.

Aunt Sissy's wedding is coming up. What to wear? What to wear? Aunt Sissy's favorite color is green and she loves birds. Why not make LLSS a new dress? Yes...make. Use a pattern? Oh, no. This is fitting number three. Let's just say that I am getting pretty handy with my seam ripper. Plus, when I work all the kinks out, I should be able to crank out a few more of these.

Attempt number one: Shouldn't this fit over her head?

Attempt number two: Clare: "Uhhh, acckkk, gah!" The noise a child makes when the chest portion of a dress is a bit too snug.

We also went to the library a couple times last week. Clare is in love with the idea of taking a book for the evening and returning it the next day. Plus, it gives us a great excuse to get back into our daily walking routine after giving up our post office box in lieu of free home delivery.

A couple of Clare quotes from the past few days...

"It is inceptible to poop in the bathtub. It is ceptible to poop in the potty." No mention of where diapers fit into the grand scheme of things.

"And I want you to bring some cheese. And we definately need to bring a banana." Directions given to me before our little trip to Ontario today.

Spring is slowing coming. The snow is melting from the sunny parts of the yard. The fruit trees have buds. The daytime temperatures have crept into the forties, oh glorious forties. Kids are wearing shorts to school again.

Here is another picture of Baby Ella's quilt. My trusty assistant held it so nicely for me. Thanks, Mike! This is after washing and drying it so it is a little crinkly.

Everything in our house is now an item of clothing. Rug pad = dress. I'm thinking this might have something to do with the fairy godmother in Cinderella, since most things turn into dresses.
Auntie J-Dog sent this AMAZING hat to Clare last Friday. It has three fins and a tail and two felt eyes. Clare adores it almost as much as she adores the aforementioned J-Dog!

And that is a sucker from the bank. It seems as though LLSS requests to go there every day. I'd like to think that she is very interested in economics and such, but I know it is really only for the sucker.

The newest treat in her life? Condiments. She is in love with ketchup and mustard. Today she had an indepth conversation with Mike about how mustard is spicy and ketchup is sweet, but they are both good for chicken nuggets. And it seems that nuggets may be optional considering this picture.

Clare's New Dog

Yesterday a new pet came to live at our house. Perry's quiet, polite, well-mannered, and invisible. Clare raced into the living room announcing, "He ate my best toy!" Hmmm? Who? Perry, of course. Okay, so maybe he's not so well-mannered. We couldn't "find" him last night before bed until I remembered he'd gone outside. Open the door, call the imaginary dog, put the toddler to bed. Pretty normal, right? The best part: imaginary dog equals imaginary dog poop!

This is some bread I made from my favorite More With Less recipe. Honey Whole Wheat. If I use the dough to make two loaves they come out too large to store conveniently, the slices don't fit in any of our lunch containers, and we end up wasting some. So I've taken to baking it in thirds: two regualar loaves and something sweet with the remaining third. Last time I made cinnamon rolls but was feeling a bit lazier this time so I rolled out the dough, spinkled it with a lot of cinnamon and a bit of sugar, rolled it back up and baked it as a loaf. It's pretty darn delicious toasted up with a little butter.

And this... This is the second doll quilt in what I am assuming will be quite a large series. This one is for Curious George. Baby Jane Doe was the first to receive one and there is a long list of potential candidates wait for one. I really like the simplicity of this one and it used very little material. Plus, I'm getting a wee bit savvier when it comes to piecing, saving some time and frustration. I'm hoping to have this finished today or tomorrow so I can start on another baby quilt.

Glorious Nap Where Art Thou?

The nap is eluding us. When I say us, I really mean it. Sure, LLSS is the one to actually take the nap, but both of us benefit in the end. Happy baby, happy mom. So, instead, we did some nice things: had a tea party (our fourth or fifth of the day), went for a walk since the sun was actually shining, and made some bread together. LLSS was a bit cranky by the evening hours, but not too bad. Maybe that sunshine brightened her mood like it brightened mine.

We took this picture in the morning, before all the lack-of-nap crankiness began.

The quilt is finished. I sewed on the rest of the binding this weekend and washed it on Monday. I love how the bright blue binding contrasts so nicely with the oranges on the front.

And here is the back... I machine quilted around all the rectangles on the front. They were certainly close enough and it did take some planning to make sure that I wouldn't dead-end somewhere, but rather stitch off the edge of the quilt after each square.

And in happy migraine news, I have not had any major headaches since last Thursday, so for two weeks that is only two and one was cured with Tylenol. Wow! My hip is still sore from the Demerol shot ten days ago. What do they put in that shot? The same thing happened last time. Bizarre.

A Little Glimpse of Rural AK

I found this very interesting, and yes, I was certainly able to relate to it.

http://www.themudflats.net/2009/01/25/shopping-day-in-nunam-iqua-alaska/

Enjoy!

Hard Core Narcotics to the Rescue

Well, that migraine monster didn't go away as planned. I hate it when that happens. So we made the trek back to the doctor's office for a shot of some good old Demerol. Ah, you might be thinking, that will kick that migraine. Well... that's what I was thinking too. When I got a shot of it in Sitka it worked like magic. By the time hour three had passed and the only benefit of the shot was a glorious Phenergan-induced nap, I was pretty sure that something else was in order.

Should have called Mike at this point for back-up...

Instead, opted for blinding (literally) pain on the left side of my head for several long hours, all the time thinking, "That Demerol should start to work pretty soon..."

It wasn't until the early hours of the evening that I took my second large drug cocktail of the day: phenergan and two Tylenol with Codeine. Okay. That, coupled with twelve hours of sleep knocked the migraine nearly out. There were still a few residual twinges this morning but they had cleared up by noon. Now, here's hoping the beta blockers will work to prevent a new one from starting up. Fingers crossed everyone!

Yeah, drugs....