Random February

 Well, it’s February in Rochester.  It’s gray.  It’s cold.  And tomorrow will offer not only more of the same, but will have snow and ice to add to the February pleasure.  I’m looking for cheer.  One sure thing is a grandchild fix.  Here are my son and grandson riding the DC Metro last weekend. 

Don’t they look like they are having fun?

Here’s my granddaughter in front of one of the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History.

For February cheer, this was the best part of the Museum of Natural History – Winter Jasmine blooming in a planter outside!

And then there’s the cheer that I can create.  I bought this wonderful yarn in New Orleans and am making a bag to carry my other knitting projects.  It’s called “Stuff” and consists of pieces of novelty yarns knotted together.

I’m having so much fun with this that it seems almost sinful.  The best part is that it’s wound in a ball that pulls from the center, so every couple of feet is a new surprize!  I never know what color or texture will be coming next.  As you can see from this next picture, there is a splendid fuzzy chartreuse coming next.  I can’t wait.  February will end and Spring will not be far beyond.

 

Home Improvements

Our bedroom is being painted.  Don’t faint.  When we moved into the house, it had wallpaper with gold, flocked fleur-de-lis.  It was so ugly, I tore it down before we could sleep one night in that room!  And now it’s been 27 years (the kids counted), and we have hired someone to repair the plaster, finish the woodwork, and paint.  My friend, George, who is retired from Branch Maintenance at the Library, loves to paint.  Go figure.  I certainly don’t!  He’s doing a great job.  You would never know that the hole in the wall was there.  It was left by the previous owner when he did some plumbing and then wallpapered over it.  At any rate, now we will need window treatments of some sort, and the furniture is going to look terribly shabby.  Oh my….

The addition to the sidebar is to keep me accountable.  I have joined Weight Watchers – again – and am determined to to succeed.  Every time the doctor finds another little gift that old age has left me with, the first thing on the list to help slow it down is weight loss.  It’s depressing.  This time I decided that I really have to do something about it.  The first two weeks, I lost 5 lbs. and was so thrilled that I went out and ate.  Needless to say, this week I stayed the same.  I need to get a grip, so here’s my accountability.  If I don’t start moving down the bar, you can all yell at me.  Feel free – I’ll deserve it – you have carte blanche.

I have added pictures from the guy’s trip sailing on the Chesapeake to my Flickr account.  Take a look.

 

OMG! Has it been two months???  Time flies when you’re having fun.

It’s been a chilly, but beautiful Spring in Rochester.  It’s lilac time and it smells GOOD everywhere you go.  Gary has been sailing for 10 days on the Chesapeake.  He came home last night looking tanned and more relaxed than he has in a long time!  He and his buddies Dan and Ralph had a great time.  I’m not jealous (much).

While he was gone, I dealt with selling some of Dad’s assets.  The nursing home is now sucking up his money faster than his wise investments can bring it in.  So, how does one find a “basis” for Kodak stock recieved as an employee benefit 60 or 70 years ago?  Most people would be “up a creek without a paddle”, as my Dad would say – but not me!  In his files I found meticulous records on every share.  Yes, he’s an engineer.  I figured anyone who kept a handwritten spreadsheet with a 30 year record of turning their mattress would keep records on investments.  Oh, if I had only inherited a fraction of that tendency to record-keeping!  My own kids are screwed.  (Hope you’re not reading this, kids).

 Well, my library wanted me to get into the blog world, and they have created a monster.  I discovered that knitters have blogs.  Now every break at work is filled with reading knitters blogs and looking for more.  I really must get a grip – there are just too many!  But I do love all those reaffirming posts about the need for large stashes of yarn and multiple unfinished projects – I’m not alone in the world!  Do you hear that, Gary?  Ours isn’t the only house in the universe with a yarn room!  If you don’t believe me, start by checking out Yarn Harlot - and there are plenty more.

Now she is talking about the joys of spinning.  Oh, dear – I’ve always wanted to try that.  But where would I put a spinning wheel?  I think I’m in trouble…

 

Meatloal Madness

Tonight is the Genesee Yacht Club’s annual Meatloaf Madness.  Last year we were newbies and had no clue, so I made Mom’s meatloaf that we love, love, love, and was blown out of the water by meatloaves shaped as volcanoes and sailboats!  Who knew they were going to judge on presentation and creativity?  Mom’s meatloaf is yummy but, let’s face it, it’s a lump of meat in a loaf pan with a sauce made of ketchup, mustard and brown sugar.  This year G. is cooking.  He has plans for a meatloaf roll-up with spinach and cheese stuffing.  M. suggested a leg-lamp meatloaf and said that if we could get the light to work it would be a sure winner!  I’ll take pictures.

 

Florida Vacation 2007

We are just back from a wonderful trip!  We rented a 37 foot houseboat from Paradise Vacations in North Ft. Myers, and cruised the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway as far as North Captiva Island.  A few pictures are here on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbangrandma/.

We began with a night at the dock at Cabbage Key, home of the “Cheeseburger in Paradise”.  No cheeseburgers for dinner, though – it was quite upscale and absolutely fabulous!  We ran into another couple, Chuck and Lynn from Greenville, and joined them for an evening of houseboating stories.  They were at the end of a week of exploring, and gave us lots of advice.  We both saw the same show on the Travel Channel, thought that renting a houseboat sounded cool, and searched the internet for places in Florida to rent one.

Then we went to Cayo Costa State Park (http://www.floridastateparks.org/cayocosta/) where we anchored in a quiet bay and kayaked to the island for a visit to the Ranger Station and the most beautiful beach that I’ve ever seen!  The next day we motored to Captiva and docked at the Tween Waters Marina (http://www.tween-waters.com/).  We liked it so much that we added another day and then, with thunderstorms forecast, added another. 

The next day, we headed back down the Intracoastal and spent the last night anchored in Popcorn Bay.  It was a perfect, still, quiet place and we were the only ones there to watch the fish jumping and the osprey fishing – gorgeous!

 

Before I race off to work, I am reading my email and found this wonderful slide show shared by my pastor:  http://www.lucasgray.com/video/peacetrain.html

What a powerful message as our administration escalates toward invasion of Iran.  Take a moment to see images of this beautiful nation and it’s people.

 

I’ve been feeling pretty guilty lately for not going to visit my Dad.  A cold with a cough has taken over my life and shows no sign of going away.  I hear from others who have had this that it lasts 4 to 6 weeks!  Oh, joy.  I’ve pulled a muscle in my back by coughing, and haven’t had a good night’s sleep in 2 weeks.  I also passed it on to my husband.  Happy Valentine’s Day, honey!  This is not the sort of thing to take to the nursing home.  It’s a viral infection so the medical profession is no help.

We are expecting a big snowstorm tomorrow.  I must admit that Rochester has been feeling a bit left out in the snow derby this year.  Right now we have a paltry 6 or 7 inches on the ground, and I haven’t even shoveled once all winter.  Maybe tomorrow will make it up to us.  If we have to freeze, it might as well be pretty!

Next week we are off to Florida on vacation, and I should have some more interesting things to report!  We will be renting a houseboat from Paradise Vacations out of Ft. Myers and cruising the inland waterway for a week. 

 

Hello world!

Welcome to urbangrandma!  This is my first blog.  So far I have spent two hours trying to customize the heading photo before giving up.  I will come back to that some day when I’m feeling smarter and more patient.

I am a poster child for the sandwich generation.  I work full-time as a Branch Manager of a small city branch library, have a husband with a heart condition, two grown up kids, five grandkids, and a 93-year old Dad who is in a nearby nursing home.  I’m responsible for his care and his finances.  We live in the 19th Ward, a busy urban neighborhood, and I like to participate in activities here when I have a spare minute or two.  For therapy I knit…a lot.

Today is cooking and laundry day.  We are trying not to eat out as much, so I’m cooking ahead for the week.  There seem to be an awful lot of days when we come home from work lacking the energy to fix dinner, and the corner bar for burgers and cold beer seems to be an excellent option.  However, we are both trying to lose weight and we need to get a grip on reality.  There’s a chicken roasting in the oven now, and I will put on a pot of lentil soup soon.  That should keep us safe for a while!