Long showers...I do some of my best thinking during a long shower!  Hmmm...wonder if they have a waterproof writing surface and pen so I can make notes and lists while showering...

While showering this morning, I began to reflect on the emails and conversation I had with an internet match I met for a drink this past week, the puzzle pieces all came together.  Here is a brief synopsis.  His (he shall remain nameless) emails were short, yet chatty and funny, and our children had attended the same private high school.  In these emails he specifically mentioned he was interested in a woman who enjoyed being active and liked to travel.  Check, check.  Then he asked how my legs and butt looked as he was a leg and butt man.  My legs look great, but what kind of a question is that?  Am I supposed to ask him about his IQ number?  He did say he was new to dating...after being divorced 6 years...  Anyway, so I meet him and he is good looking, well dressed, and very nice.  We have a drink and he says he likes to be very active, rides his bike around town every other day, tans once a week, likes to walk and really be active.  So turns out he is retired, and on social security disability because of his arthritic ankles, no cartilage - bone on bone condition.  He has had one knee replacement and is needing the other knee replaced soon.  Oh, yes, a previous broken elbow gives him a problem every now and then as well.  So, if he is this active, why is he on SS disability???  While talking about his three kids, ages 23, 19 and 13, he begins to share the 13 year old was a surprise...he wanted a divorce from his wife back then.  Um, isn't that a contradiction...desiring a divorce and getting your wife pregnant?  Oh dear.  Hehehe.  We all live and learn.

I just have to laugh because he is a walking contradiction, and the contradictions seem to never end.  ;-)

 

 

 

My experiece on E-harmony and Match...well, it has been interesting.  There are probably services men can employ to polish their profiles, run spell-check, and perhaps take a photo of them all alone vs. cropping out the last significant other.  Hehe.   Emails typed in all caps are difficult for me to read, the shouting is just too much.  Once, when I asked the writer if he knew typing in caps was shouting, the response I received...he was not skilled at typing and it was easier to type in all caps.  Oh, dear, maybe he just purchased his first computer...  One of my preferences is a non-smoker.  After reading an email one day, I was checking out the writers profile and pictures when I noticed even though this gentleman listed himself as a "non-smoker," one of his pictures showed him in the middle of enjoying a cigarette! Der.  How about the guy who when we finally graduated from the email stage to a phone call answered my question - "So how long have you been divorced?" with "Well, we aren't divorced, we have been separated for quite a while because she owns half of my realty company."  I did call him on the fact that he intentionlly checked the "divorced" choice on his profile.  What was he thinking?!  The most peculiar thing that has happened...for about a month I was attracting deer hunters!  In my youth I did my share of handling firearms and target shooting, but that was then and I do not handle guns now, nor do I like to hunt.  It was difficult to look at profile pictures with the smiling men dressed in camo holding up a dead dear head.  Ugh!   One of the questions I ask in my email is "What is the last book you read?"  If they haven't read a book in years, I know we would not be a good match, because I LOVE to read!!!!  These are just a few of the funny moments I've had.  And, I am sure they won't be the last!

Remember cutting out paper snowflakes when you were young?  I do and I loved the surprise when you unfolded your triangular cut piece of paper.  Wow, it was magical.  Each winter, when my girls were elementary school aged, we would decorate our lake house with tons of paper snowflakes that we would make in one afternoon while watching a classic movie.  Good memories.  With all the lake effect snow we have been having here in northern Indiana, I had the urge to decorate my kitchen window..um, and two other windows.  ;-)  Good paper folding techniques help as do a pair of sharp scissors.  I kept to my large paper scissors and refrained from using the scissors from my manicure kit - as many You Tube tutorials demonstrate. 

Go on, steal a couple of sheets from your computer printer, trim that 8 1/2 x 11 rectangular piece of paper into a square and get creative!!! 

 

Repetitive needle arts are a favorite of mine...crochet, knitting, embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery...  Knitting SHORT projects was in order for some handmade Christmas giving this year.  So, inspired by the pattern Bulky Mobius Cowl by Haley Waxberg, I created my own cowl which is not a true mobius.  A mobius has a 180 degree rotation and my pattern has a 360 degree rotation.  It was much simpler for me on my circular needles and I like the twist at the back of my neck that keeps the cowl profile lower.  (If you doubt the simplicity of my pattern, take a look at the Cat Bohrdi Intro to Mobius Knitting tutorial on You Tube.  This was not my year for learning her technique...maybe in the future.)  I have made 7 of these warm, speedy cowls so far this winter.

You must know something else about me, I am in a bulky yarn phase...and I knit loosely.  And, even though Elizabeth Zimmerman won me over with her explanation of checking guage, guage is not even remotely necessary for this pattern! 

Fauxbius Cowl

Size 13 circular needles, 24" long

1 skein Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick

1 - stitch marker

 

Cast on 50 stitches, loosely

Rotate yarn 360 degrees

Place stitch marker (give first join stitch a tug to tighten)

K 2 rows

P 5 rows

K 5 rows

P 5 rows

K 5 rows

P 5 rows

K 2 rows

Bind off loosely

Weave in ends!

 

It is the Christmas season and I have been watching my share of Hallmark and Lifetime movies. 

Amid the stories of hope, renewed faith and new found love, I have taken the time for a bit of introspection.  Is my heart open to love finding me in an interesting and suprising manner?  Yes.  And, I would like to find a multi-faceted man I have "chemistry" with to spend some time together.  (Alas, this hasn't happened in time for this Christmas, just a few days away.)  Am I giving love to everyone I meet, albeit a smile, an encouraging word or a listening ear?  Yes, I am and I strive to be more consistent with my efforts.   Life is all about happiness, fun, and loving everything! 

My favorite new movie has been "Christmas Angel" on Lifetime.  Bruce Davidson plays a man who loves being an anonymous Secret Santa.  What a heartwarming story and an encouragement for us to follow suit.

In the few days left before Christmas, consider being a Secret Santa and pay it forward!!!

I am so excited some of our Saffron & Nutmeg handmade Christmas ornaments are for sale at the South Bend Museum of Art in The Dot Shop!  These snowflakes are made of polymer clay and have jewel tone glitter on them.  The picture was taken before we put the hangers on them...got a bit anxious there!  Yay for handmade and made in the USA!

I love animals.  They are such pure energy giving us unconditional love. The following story is what happened to me when I opened my heart to one cat. 

My girlfriend was moving from her apartment and asked me if my girls wanted to adopt her cat Mao-Man.  Though he was so cute and quite a prankster, I stood my ground and firmly declared "no."

Shortly thereafter, around St. Patrick's Day 4 years ago my older daughter asked to bring her beloved outdoor cat Cali, from her boyfriend's home, to our house to live.  After much pleading please...I consented.  By Easter I noticed Cali's profile had changed and requested someone google "feline pregnancy symptoms."  They all giggled with delight and I immediately knew the answer to my question. 

The kittens were born in my daughter's closet and we were able to hold all 5 of them very soon after Cali had bathed each one.  There were five little fur balls.  Garfield and Saffron were buff colored.  Ringo and Nutmeg were marmalade and the runt, Tux, was black and white.  Since Swizzle, the resident dog of my house at that time, was on the loose, we kept a baby gate at the door so the kittens could not escape and be slimed by the dog.  The kittens were a delight to play with and I talked often of the day when they would be old enough to adopt out.  Can you predict my next sentence?  The family became attached to the kittens and they never left.  We lost Ringo at 2 weeks old to an illness, and Nutmeg was never as robustly healthy as the other 3 cats.  Nutmeg and Tux attached to me and were and are forever more mine. 

Nutmeg had a touchy digestive system and even the vet couldn't figure her out.  The end of last week I noticed her failing health and had a knowing that she would not live long.  Wednesday my daughter said Nutmeg waited for me to get home from work to be close to me.  Late that evening, as weak as she was, she jumped on the chaise where I was sitting.  I held her, stroked her marmalade tiger striped fur and talked to her.  She listened.  She meowed.  And, when she took her last breath, something inside me knew and I sadly heard myself speak, "That's your last breath."  We were connected.  Somehow if we allow our inner voice be heard, we have the answers or a knowing will surface.  I took the time to hold her and cry my

I was with Nutmeg at the beginning of her life, I was with her at the end.  I miss her sweet face, her talking back to me, and her siblings miss her too.  She was a furry marmalade blessing in my life!!!

 

 

 

 

Dilemma...here it is November 29th and my Halloween spider web is still up (though we are under a winter advisory today and the sun is nowhere to be found!).  My daughter crafted this web at the side of my porch and I love it!  She has had more paying spiderweb jobs (even a couple of businesses) around town this season - yay!  I dislike cutting this work of art down.  Do you think if I put lights on it or perhaps a sprig of holly on the spider I could transform the decoration through to the Christmas season?   ;-)

Here is a glimpse at my Thanksgiving turkey right out of the oven - before I tented it!  Ohhhh, the skin was so crispy and golden!  Just looking at the picture I can smell the melange of seasoned mashed potatoes, corn pudding and green bean casserole (yes, I actually make this dish!) baking in the oven.   Two random pieces of turkey advice I incorporated this year - first, I used a piece of foil to cover the breast of the turkey for half of the cooking time and then removed it, second I cooked Mr. Turkey at 350 degrees the entire time!  A bit speedier than the slower and longer method of years past.  The free-range, organic turkey was delectable! 

This was absolutely the best Thanksgiving I have had in a few years...being with my family was the perfect and I have much to be thankful for in my life!!! 

 

Yes, the weather here in Indiana is getting colder...brrrrr.  What the heck am I doing living in Indiana in the winter!  I need to become a snowbird!  Anyway, restaurants have begun serving more soups and the other day I had a creamy Pumpkin Apple Bacon soup for lunch.  I am not too sure I would have ordered a bowl to go if my girlfriend hadn't raved on and on about the soup.  I should never doubt one of my diehard foodie friends.  ;-)  The soup was divine!  That's all it takes for me to search the internet recipes and create my version in my kitchen for grateful tummies in my family.  I opted using canned pumpkin because I cook with pumpkin all year round - ex. my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins which are always a hit wherever I take them.  Can you tell it was a hibernate and cook Sunday?!   

Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup

4 slices bacon, diced

2 T. butter

3 large red apples, diced

1 carrot, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 celery, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 t. ground cinnamon

nutmeg, a few gratings

1/8 t. allspice

1/4 t. thyme

1/4 c. white wine

1/2 c. apple cider

1 bay leaf

8 c. chicken stock

2 1/2 c. canned pumpkin

1 c. cream

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, cook bacon until crisp.  Add butter, apples, carrots, celery and garlic.  Stir frequently until vegetables are lightly cooked, 5-10 minutes.  Add cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and thyme.  Stir for 1-2 minutes for spices to meld.  Add wine and apple cider and let it reduce a bit.  Add chicken stock, pumpkin and bay leaf.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Puree soup in blender or use an immersion blender.  Ad Cream.  Adjust salt and pepper.  Can serve with homemade croutons.  Freezes well.

Servings - depends on how much you are going to eat...hahaha!