The Ds in unaccustomed finery

Speaking of awash, Judy....so the Dollivers did manage to get some bling going, after rummaging in my new bead stash and finding the strings of beads. I explained that this is like the Oscars -- you borrow the jewelry, under guard, here in the persons of Marigold and Duncan, who briefly investigated the scene then decided it's not for cats --and return it right after the photo shoot.

They did mutter darkly about knowing where the beads were kept, in case I thought they might give them up so easily.  For now all is safe, beads back in the little bags, Dollivers back in their nook.

Freecycling for my neighbors goes on merrily.  Currently I have a highchair and a bouncy toy thing that looks like a giant ladybug in my kitchen, and an eager throng wanting them tomorrow when I put them out. Only the first in line has the address right now, so if she shows up as planned, it's done.  

This is for a friend, in case you wondered how the heck I came about this!  I have freecycled some amazing items over the last couple of years for freecycle-challenged friends, whose houses are looking a lot more shipshape now.  I don't know about the houses of the people who took on the items, though.

I'm merely hoarding little bags of beads, very space saving.

Beadorama extravaganza

So a fellow Raveler offered a destash opportunity, which I leapt at, and today a small and very very heavy parcel arrived.  Joy!  a wonderful trove of beads, many in colors I wouldn't have thought of, always good to have someone else jolt your color rut sometimes, because now I wonder why I hadn't thought of them.  Thanks, Kathie, for being a great person to transact with!

So here, before the Dollivers arrive on the scene, demanding new jewelry and doodads, and generally arguing and staking claims to various favorite colors, and before Elton barks up a storm wanting a new hat band, this is between you and me...

Playtime, with the new beads spread out in approximate color families on a tray, to be pushed about and admired and played with and imagined in future works. 

If little things please little minds, well, I admit to being a beadbrain at this moment!

Oh, we won't get up in the mooooooorning...

Call this St. Patrick's Day?  there's yet another fall of snow, and the Dollivers decided to hold their parade safely in bed, with accompanying serenades from Elton.  Whatever happened to those St. Patrick's Day when you planted potatoes and peas in this neighborhood, huh? huh?

Note the green surroundings, though...and Elton played Rose of Tralee, tra-la, Dolly Boy, and the Sleeping in the Green, with other seasonal selections.

The date? 3.14 Happy Pi Day!

The Dollivers leapt into pi formation today as soon as they checked the calendar, to wish you a Happy Pi Day.  And if your dating system doesn't read day/month,  Happy Pie Day instead!

And while they posed, they sang along to this:  Thanks, Annie, for the link.

And of course Elton accompanied the whole performance.  With delegates from his gang of Minivers.   Given the limited keyboard range of his piano, this was just his speed.

Probably last Spring for dear friend K.

Just last week, my close friend K. and another friend came to the house together to break it to me that the weird little swelling in her midriff we'd been a bit worried about, and she'd finally agreed to see a doctor about, had thought for a couple of weeks it was an injury from digging out her icebound car, is in fact Stage IV of a very aggressive cancer.  

She is not quite aware of how little time she might have, and I'm doing all I can to help, be available, support her visiting sister, who is beside herself, naturally, keep tabs on house keys, phone numbers, whatever I can do, arrange for other friends to deliver edible items to her, after her sister has to go back home far away, all the things you think of.  Since she lives alone, I put together a neighborhood A team to be available, including several men who want to be called on to move stuff (thinking ahead to later at home).

But it's a huge weight of sadness over those of us who know what this probably means in terms of remaining time for her and for us to have her company.  I can't write more about that.

She has always been very much interested in natural remedies, ways of keeping calm, and so on, and I introduced her to our local labyrinth last year, which she took to very happily.  Since I doubt very much she can ever do that again, I printed out a finger labyrinth for her, enlarged it, and gave it to her yesterday.  She is pleased with it, will start the practice right away, and I think might take it with her into treatment, since it's just a piece of paper, very portable.

I made one for me, too, since I figured I needed a bit of support too. If you're interested, go here and enlarge and print it.  It needs to be followed slowly, doing the usual labyrinth practice.  

This means calming before you start, deciding on what issue you're bringing to the labyrinth, following slowly to the center, pausing, then leaving, but not rushing out, and allowing time afterwards to digest what you've learned.  It never fails me, never, and I walk it for friends in trouble, for funerals, for memorials, for happy stuff, all kinds of things.

Please keep her in your thoughts.  This neighborhood is like a family, and she's an important member of it.  She was so good to me during Andy's last days and after, and gave me wonderful advice right after.  One of the few people who was able to do that.  As far as I'm concerned, only the best for her, for whatever time there is.
That includes vibes from you, dear blogistas, all over the globe.

Spring might have finally got here. It's true and I can prove it.

Warmer day today, first one in ages, high 50s.F, and I thought since the snow was vanishing off the deck I may as well sweep off some of the winter debris. 

  

Stepped out, and shrieked!  All the snowdrops had suddenly stood up and bloomed. Overnight.  All six of them!  Blazing away, two months late, locked under ice and snow for months,  but still there, yay them.  Hero flowers.  First sign of spring. Two portraits.

Well, yes, I was a bit excited.   I celebrated by putting out a suet cake for the birds, since they'll soon need to keep up their strength for the nest building program.  Since the snowdrops have played the overture.

Couple of weeks ago I ran into a friend out walking her dog, in the teeth of a bitter wind, snow blowing, ice everywhere, and she said gallantly, just think how we'll appreciate the Spring if it ever gets here!  I bet her little dog takes her coat off today.

All you ever wanted to know about tortoises

I found this blog almost by accident, and just want you to see it.  You can't help but get carried along by her enthusiasm and her knowledge.  I love an expert, particularly a good humored one like Katie.  The Dollivers are now demanding tortoises, with dresses to match theirs..

Go here

What I did on my Friday afternoon.

To take a look on how I improved the shining hour this Friday afternoon, take a look  here

Great fun!  so used to working alone that it was interesting to have onlookers and innocent bystanders.

Sunday we move the clocks forward or back, or up or down, or some such damn thing, and I just hope it results in better weather, that's all I have to say.  My car clock will then be right, since I can't be pestered to change it every five minutes, and the computer will fix itself.  So some things will be right anyway.  Forgotten what daffodils look like, though before the latest ten snowstorms, I did see little green leaves coming up.  I wonder if they'll manage to blossom.

But, just to show that some things are going on just fine, here's a link to an eagle cam, real time footage, watch the mom bald eagle feeding the babies, and cleaning up the nest, and the father swooping in too.  Just fly up here.

Take at look at Art the Beautiful and what's up there

If you're interested in what's up over in the art side of my life, take a look: 

http://beautifulmetaphor.blogspot.com/2014/03/stop-me-before-i-bead-again.html

Field and Fen has been a bit sparse lately,largely because of the intensity of what's up in the studio, but that will ease up in the next couple of months.  At least that's the plan! 

And I've spared you endless pix of snow and more snow, and ice, and wind and sad cold people, so there's that.  I have made some great soup and bread, though, always welcome in winter.  I like having soup in the freezer so I don't have to emerge from the studio and then have to start thinking what to eat.  Currently it's a big batch of potato leek.

Remember that lovely lady on BBC cooking shows many years ago, giving a recipe for a leek dish, and starting with:  "Ladies, first take a leek"!  Live tv, they couldn't bleep it, just had to keep calm and carry on.

The Dollivers Strut Their Stuff for the Stitchers

Despite the exaggerations of the weathermen, the snow did not show up,but the stitchers and the Dollivers did.

 
The monthly meeting of the embroiderers' guild was hampered at intervals by the Ds trying their hands at the current perforated paper project, joining in, while the rest of us admired the marvelous many-parted needlework case being passed around, and the Thai stitched purses, brought back as gifts from family of one of our members in Thailand recently.

 If there's a nicer way to spend a Sunday afternoon among friends toward the end of a long grim winter, we're not sure what it would be.

Dollivers anxiously following the weather patterns

The Dollivers, promised a first ever visit to the stitching guild's monthly meeting tomorrow, leapt into their best knitted gear, hatted, sweatered, best silk undies, the lot, jumped into the traveling bag and then we found that the snow may start during the meeting.

Another major snowstorm starting tomorrow, up to a foot of new snow.  So they refuse to get out of the traveling bag, now that they're gowned and bagged, or as they like to put it, bound and gagged, and Bette Davis insisted on checking online to see what was going to happen tomorrow.

The thing about living here in central NJ not far from a long coastline is that we tend to be in the middle of colliding weather systems.  Sandy was one giant collision of two big storms meeting right over our roof.  

So tomorrow's storm may be a foot or more of snow, or a mix with ice or rain, or gumdrops, I mean wintry mix, who knows. Anyway, we're ready, complete with tools, labels, needles, ref books promised to other stitchers and Dollivers anxious to get in there and  run the show.

Here we all are, ready, and wondering if skis might be the traveling mode tomorrow.  And wondering if the new format this post suddenly decided to go into after deleting half of itself, is a function of the weather patterns.