The slippers are now taking on the shape of my wobbly old feet, also stretching a bit with use. So I decided to run elastic round the edges to draw the knitted part in and avoid losing them off my feet.
I hadn't much elastic available but I found what turned out to be a stretchy shoelace, which, cut in two, was exactly the length to do this improvement.
And since each end had a tip, for inserting into shoelace holes, I did it without any needles or threading.
So now we know. Aglet would be a good name for a tiny dog, too, or a kitten.
I think this musing might qualify as nixen or whatever that Dutch word is for not doing much that's productive.
And while we're at it, here's another fun and pointless thing
Just sayin. Do you have any categories to add?
Happy day, everyone, sometimes an aimless day indoors in the rain is a good thing.
Birthday celebration continues with Handsome Son coming to cook lunch tomorrow and finally put up my small collection of decorations because I will now permit Christmas to happen chez Boud, the natal day having passed.
As far as we know, that is. When I was born, difficult home birth, attended by a midwife, paperwork was a more casual affair, the mother and baby being more the center of the activity.
There was nobody taking notes and checking the time of the exact minute of birth. The father usually moseyed down to the Town Hall to register the birth when he got around to it.
In my case, what with six other living siblings and Christmas and my mom not being too well, and the Town Hall shut for the holidays, it was late December when he got there.
And, knowing him, I will bet dollars to donuts, or pounds to mince pies, that he took his best guess at the date, things having been a bit hectic there. Anyway that's what got onto the paperwork, so it's what I've observed ever since.
I fully expect St Peter, when I apply to the pearly gates for admission, to look over his ledger and say, hm, there's a discrepancy here, you'll have to get your earthly papers sorted before we can proceed. My language will probably determine my ultimate warm, cosy destination.
I hear all the time that back in the old country births were recorded when they got round to it.
ReplyDeleteUsually it was because of heavy snowfalls, or the harvest having to be brought in or they just didn’t get into town for a few months
It makes you wonder how accurate our statistics are,doesn't it?
DeleteI love the story of your birth date and what you expect to happen at the Pearly Gates. Aglet is a not uncommon crossword puzzle word. Niksen is new to me (I looked it up). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAh, puzzlers know the word. Thanks for fixing niksen. I thought it looked funny when I put in the x.
DeleteI like the glasses of water.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to note the lack of precision about your birth date. I wonder how many others have similar tales to tell.
A glass of acrobat, similar to Utopist but a thinner layer.
ReplyDeleteI did know about aglets. I learnt the word when I broke my aglet.
I too have a different birthdate to what my birth certificate says. Thanks for inspiring a post.
I hope your lunch is lovely, and isn't it so nice when someone cooks for you. Accept with good grace, even if the meal is crap.
Btw, have you been out drone spotting? I reckon they might be Trump drones, surveying the population to sort out the good God fearing Trump supporters from the Trump haters. You are done for, as a non supporter and an activist against him. Your card is marked.
The lunch will be good, since handsome son is pretty handy in the kitchen. No drones where I live. They're scared to upset me. I think they're just stupid drone club people having a good time at the expense of the general population. That's an inventive glass!
DeleteI hope St. Peter has a sense of humor and enjoys the air around his head turning a bit blue...Wishing you a sweet day!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if any saints other than Benedict had a sense of humor! They're a solemn lot on the whole.
Deletelol. It appears many families did the same with children’s birthdays years ago. My grandmother and FIL celebrated birthdays on a particular date only to discover, years later, the dates were wrong, according to the registered paperwork. My grandmother’s was three months off. I suspect her originally celebrated date was the correct one.
ReplyDeleteI've always observed what is on my birth certificate, but I doubt it was right!
DeleteI had an uncle who discovered in middle age (once he saw his official birth certificate) that what he believed was his birth date was off by a few days. And one of my grandmothers was unsure of the year of her birth -- either 1888 or 1889. She always used 1889 though, because it made her one year younger, lol.
ReplyDeletePeople weren't so anxious about exact days and dates, I guess! I love the grandmother choosing to be younger!
DeleteThank you for my morning smile - I needed that. Paperwork at the pearly gates made me laugh right out loud.
ReplyDeleteAt this time of year, sometimes an early morning laugh is called for. I start the day pretty gloomy but it improves once I'm moving.
DeleteMy mother-in-law finally got a look at her birth certificate and discovered that what she thought was her name was not her name. And what does it matter in the grand scheme of things?
ReplyDeleteIt matters enormously to the person concerned.
DeleteThis is true but in the case of my mother-in-law's name, I think she was mostly just amused.
DeleteThe last sentence! Enjoy your day with HS. I can see how birthdates could be off, especially if there is a lot of chaos at the time of birth.
ReplyDeleteAt my son's birth, everyone stopped and checked the clock, nurses made notes, he got a wristband to match mine etc. All very organized. I think my own birth was a bit less so.
DeleteEnjoy the celebration whatever the date might be — of either the celly or the birthday.
ReplyDeleteThank you, yes, good plan.
DeleteAglet and philtrum are two of my favorite scarcely-known words. Let us know how the shoelace addition holds up.
ReplyDeleteI can see how the date of a birth might have been lost in the shuffle at your natal house! Have a lovely birthday dinner with HS tomorrow. You two are a good pair.
Chris from Boise
Chris from Boise
Philtrum, a little known body part. I vaguely knew that one. But there are others most of us don't.
DeleteTomorrow will be very nice if previous years are anything to go by
Very clever to use elastic on the slippers. I need to remember that!
ReplyDeleteInteresting about your birth registry. Genealogy is one of my hobbies, so I know how often the vital stats can only be assumed to be correct. At any rate, Happy Birthday!
Yes, a lot of written records may be best guesses. No knowing how long after the fact they were entered.
DeleteAlso thank you for the good wishes.
ReplyDeleteMy father was born in a little coal mining town in Pennsylvania. His "birth certificate" is a note from the midwife that my mother obtained from the midwife. Mom was organized enough to realize it would come into play sometime.
ReplyDeleteSmart mom. That's pretty informal. But midwives had standing in the community, at least in the one I was born in. So her signature would carry weight.
Delete