De-Cluttering Lessons

In the Daily Challenge program, my track for the past 28 days has been "decluttering." OK.  So I've been slaving away at the clutter that feels overwhelming to me, and I've learned several good lessons:

1.  Don't buy any more books on decluttering.  I've found THREE in my den, and they haven't done anything but add to the clutter.  The best program is Flylady.com.  And her First step is Shine Your Kitchen Sink!  FL recommends ALWAYS keep your kitchen sink clean!  Well, I do that, more or less.  I also have to keep a little red bucket in my sink in which to wash dishes.  Being deaf, I learned a shocking lesson long ago that If I ran water into the sink with the drain plugged, I could easily let the sink overflow if the phone rang and I didn't turn off the water.  I couldn't hear the water running, and omg, wot a shock when the water ran into the apartment below me.  horrors.  So now I wash dishes in my little red bucket, and the drain stays open. No dishwasher any more, either.  Hate 'em.

2.  Find the website that helps you turn off junk mail!  and/or unsubscribe from the political websites that send you surveys and handy-dandy contribution forms and photos.  I have received 4 "Ready for Hillary" photos in the past month.  One would have been more than enough.  Din't like the photo, either.

3.  Read the little postcards from my local government.  It was small and pink and insignificant-looking, but if I filled out the postage paid half and mailed it in, I could qualify for payment of ALL my final expenses--up to $30,000 worth.  (That would probably bury one of my feet or a foot and a few fingers, but still....).  I found this is a bag of "to be shredded" documents.

The Joy of Moving House!

Jack is now living in a real house!  with a real yard!!
he loves playing in the yard, running with his mates, kicking a ball around, riding his wheeled toy.  BUT...the yard has to be mowed, and after he got down to crawl in the grass clippings t'other day,  gaaah...he was horrified to see the grass clippings were stuck to his hands!  He didn't realize the clippings would wash off, and his hands won't look like that all the time.  For now, this happy child is NOT HAPPY about this. He lives from moment to moment.

In Which I Have a Spirichal Quandary....

I have been entertaining the idea of going to church this weekend--lots of services to choose from:  Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.  Not necessarily a church from my Catholic upbringing, but there are some very nice churches here.  I'm thinking of the Pilgrim Church on the banks of Rock Creek in Dupont Circle.  Or the Buddhist temple across from Bistro au Coin on CT ave.

You'd think that my biggest problem would be spiritual, since I've neatly eliminated churchgoing from my life.  WRONG.  What has been eating at me is WHAT TO WEAR??  I will solve this problem by not going. 

Complaints for the weekend....

1. The list of things I have not seen or heard in my adult life would fill a very large trunk.  E.G. "Hair"--the musical.  What's more, it's on here this weekend, and my best pal wants to go see it.  It was on when she was in high school, and she remembers all the words to all the songs.  If they were playing "The Mikado" somewhere, I'd be very happy to go see that.  I loved Gilbert & Sullivan when I was in high school--there's that generation gap, yknow.  Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, had a fabulous music department, and I've seen many of their productions.  Had a massive crush on one baritone, whose name eludes me--he's probably about 80 now.  Mary Eide had a crush on him, too, but she's happily married (not to him) in Southern California.  They almost never have any G&S here. I have to rely on PBS and that lot for such things.

2. It rained again today...not too too bad, but it was damp.  Still, it's better than being COLD.

More About Coffee....

Officially it's spring, so time to check in on Snoozeville.  I'm considering recipes again, but so far, nothing edible has entered the scene.  I still like a big cup of espresso in the a.m., but I no longer make it as strong as before.  I use ONE big spoonful of coffee instead of FOUR.  And I have retired my really BIG cups for a normal (?) sized one decorated with stars of the Democratic Party: Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Harry Truman, Robert Kennedy,  Jesse Jackson, Al Gore (yes, many of us have not lost the faith), Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.  Missing, of course, are Michelle Obama, Jackie O, and Oprah. (Yes, she's getting into politics via fundraising in Virginia!  Stand back, Rove!) The coffee is delicious this way.

IT's Decorative Gourd Season, M-F'ers!!

If you enjoy 'bad language,' here's a good post from McSweeney's Internet Tendency.  You can order a T-shirt with this inspiring motto from McSweeney's Store, too.  I just may do that. 

Wot Th'....???

My stovetop espresso maker has quit working. How did this happen?  I haven't done anything different, but the coffee no longer rises to the top container.  It's there, all right, but it stays in the bottom container.  It's not plugged or misassembled.  The rubber gasket is just fine.  It just doesn't work.  I've had it for almost 10 years, and I'm flummoxed. 

All the problems with stovetop espresso makers cited online say virtually the same thing.  It works and then it doesn't, and nobody can figure out why.  The other commenters say it works even without adding the coffee grounds, and I just tried that.  True.  There's a little button on the bottom container, and that moves freely if I poke at it.   I do have a second one, but it's 1/3 the size, and I prefer a nice big mug of coffee/espresso in the a.m.

This

Cute but not this

The coffee grounds (always Bustelo, preground) are wet and looking a bit strange after this happens.  And they smell funny, too.  Perhaps they're adding a bit of dirt to the blend.  Perhaps this is why there are sales in so many places on this particular brand.  2 10-oz vacuum packs for $5.  Ordinarily, it's $4.79 each. I keep the opened pack in the fridge.  Nothing unusual there.  Hmm....

...OW!

Every country has its woes.....

Thanks for the above image goes to Belgian Waffle.
Today marks the author's hiatus in US political and other pressing topics. If you want to read anything significant in that respect, please go to Informed Comment.

African Violet!!

African violet, [copyright] Linda Delk

 My multi-talented friend Linda Delk took this photo today--or was it yesterday?  She said this about it:

Here is a picture of my African violet. Seven flower stalks shot up a couple weeks ago. I have been feeding it, and I think that makes the difference. About half of the buds are open now. Picked this up at Frager's Hardware on PA Ave back in the fall as part of a DC [DC=Daily Challenge] challenge. It's turned out to be a lovely bloomer and very cheery to have in my window.

Thanks, Linda, for letting me post your photo here.  Linda has many talents.  Maybe I can persuade her to show us one of her knitting projects, too.  

Wind Chill table from Fargo WDAY station

Wind chill was something dreamed up by Canadians when I was a kid.  They never talked about it in the US
on the radio or in the newspaper.  You can see why.

Let's say it was -10F one morning when I left for school, and the wind was a nice, normal 15mph--pretty typical for Fargo.  That put the actual temperature at something like -35F, well into the frostbite danger zone.  Our mothers knew this from past experience, and they got out the woolen scarves.

Most of us went to school wrapped in scarves--over our hats so that our foreheads were covered and around our necks and up over our mouths and noses--so that only our eyes were not covered. Some kids did not have scarves or earmuffs, and if you sat behind them in school, you could see the tops of their ears bleeding from frostbite. I remember one kid....Richard Dahl....and he always had frostbite burns on his ears. As spring approached, the tops of his ears would peel a bit as the frostbite healed.  He was not the only one, but we sat in alphabetical order, and his desk was right in front of mine.

Anyway, it's not so cold where I live now (or even back in Fargo these days).  Today's local temp is 20F, and the wind is 8 mph.  That puts the windchill somewhere between 9F and 13F--out of the frostbite warning zone.  Still, it's very cold here compared to what we usually have.

Stay warm!

Wind(mph)	Temperature (Fahrenheit)
0	35°	30°	25°	20°	15°	10°	5°	0°	-5°	-10°	-15°	-20°	-25°	-30°	-35°	-40°	-45°
5	31	25	9	13	7	-1	-5	-11	-16	-22	-28	-34	-40	-46	-52	-57	-72
10	27	21	15	9	3	-4	-10	-16	-22	-28	-35	-41	-47	-53	-59	-66	-77
15	25	19	13	6	0	-7	-13	-19	-26	-35	-39	-45	-51	-58	-64	-71	-81
20	24	17	11	4	-2	-9	-15	-22	-29	-35	-37	-44	-55	-61	-68	-74	-84
25	23	16	9	3	-4	-11	-17	-24	-31	-37	-44	-51	-58	-64	-71	-78	-87
30	22	15	8	1	-5	-12	-19	-26	-33	-39	-46	-53	-60	-67	-73	-80	-89
35	21	14	7	0	-7	-14	-21	-28	-34	-41	-48	-55	-62	-69	-76	-82	-91
40	20	13	6	-1	-8	-15	-22	-29	-36	-43	-50	-57	-64	-71	-78	-84	-93
45	19	12	5	-2	-9	-16	-23	-30	-37	-44	-51	-58	-65	-72	-79	-86	-93
50	19	12	4	-3	-10	-17	-24	-31	-38	-45	-52	-60	-67	-74	-81	-89	-95
55	18	11	4	-3	-11	-18	-25	-32	-39	-46	-54	-61	-68	-75	-82	-89	-97
60	17	10	3	-4	-11	-19	-26	-33	-40	-48	-55	-62	-69	-76	-84	-91	-98

	Increasing Danger (Frostbite in 30 min.)
	Heightened Danger (Frostbite in 10 min.)
	Great Danger (Frostbite in 5 min.)

Fog pix....by Linda

My friend and former co-worker Linda took these fabulous photos earlier this month, but she hasn't been able to download them on her blog.  I'm going to see if I can download them on Snoozeville, which hasn't seen much by way of photography for a while.  She took them one morning while out for a walk.

Fingers crossed, Linda.

Watergate & Kennedy Center (copyright) Linda Delk

 Key Bridge (copyright) Linda Delk

Almost.....

My birthday!  I'll be 76 tomorrow.  That's a lot of years!  I've been thinking of them all in groups of 10.  Such a variety of events and people and experiences.  Maybe I'll get Le Singe Orange to demonstrate....

Meanwhile, this is what I saw from the bus stop and a poster on the bus.  I adore the clouds!!

14th Street near Whole Foods

More 14th Street--across from the bus stop

I agree!

Another one!

Sean and Laura are having a baby, too.  Here are Laura's recent bump photos.

Laura: Week 19

Laura: Week 20

Laura, like her sister-in-law Medea two weeks ago, looks very healthy and happy.  So....two great-grandchildren in the offing!!  Late winter, early spring.....Holding everyone in the light!

End of November

Walt Whitman on Dupont Circle metro

"Thus in silence in dreams’ projections,
Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals,	60
The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand,
I sit by the restless all the dark night, some are so young,
Some suffer so much, I recall the experience sweet and sad...."      --from The Wound Dresser

"Thus in silence in dreams’ projections,

Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals,

        60

The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand,

I sit by the restless all the dark night, some are so young,

Some suffer so much, I recall the experience sweet and sad...."
     --from The Wound Dresser

Gingko leaves on Corcoran St.

One more photo--Halloween, 1991, storm in Minneapolis

This is the view that sent me out walking around Lake Harriet on Halloween afternoon in 1991. Rabbi Cathy, my gracious and generous hostess while I searched for work, had this big red BBQ in her back yard, and the snow on top was impressive.  So I thought I'd go take a look at the lake, which was just a couple of blocks away.  Perhaps the most wonderful things about Minneapolis are the lakes in town, and all of them have walking/running/biking/rollerblading paths around them.  The walking trail around Harriet is 2.75 miles, which makes it a perfect workout.

I do have more photos of that afternoon's walk in the snow, but I need to do more digging to find them.  Stay tuned....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's a good quote a friend posted this morning:

Forget who you thought you were and accept who you are. --the Dalai Lama

To my wonderful family and friends:

Thank you for everything you are and have been.

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Walking in the Sunshine, Looking at the Trees

This past week I've gone out walking for at least two miles every day and brought my cell phone camera along. It's time to renew my cell phone contract, and they've offered me several free new phones, but none of them has a camera in it! Whoa. Since I rarely go out without my cell phone, I always have a camera with me, and it's always CHARGED! Now what?

Anyway, today, as I hoofed it past the L of C, I noticed there are still some autumn crocus blooming! Naturally, the L of C, like the other public buildings here, has gardeners. I would assume this is why these little plants are still going. My previous sightings of autumn crocus last month were in the metro parking lot. There, with no gardeners to speak of, it's every flower for herself!!

Also, I do have to get serious about identifying trees at all seasons. I like to know what I'm looking at.

Autumn crocus ringing a tree by the Library of Congress

Looks like holly, but which variety? English? Chinese?

Narrow-leafed Ash? Ailanthus?

Same tree as above?

22 Weeks!

Medea & Lennox, 22 weeks....

Here's my gorgeous granddaughter-in-law at 22 weeks.  My grandson made the sign!

A Gift from the Netherlands....

Via Open Culture, the Rijksmuseum has put 125,000 Dutch masterpieces online.  I'm visiting this later today to get a fuller picture of the opportunities.  The Rijksmuseum will allow you to remix the
art, also.  You can create your own slide shows (I think)!!  Dank u!  Dank u!!

In watching the first video, I'm noticing many women visiting the museum have hair like my mother's--and mine.  Over here, people sometimes call it "strawberry blonde." In our youth, it was thick and naturally a bit wavy.  In college, one of mom's history teachers told her that her last name was Dutch.  She was born in Germany of German parents, but her area is very close to the Netherlands.

Speaking of Weather Past....

Halloween afternoon 1991, Lake Harriet

The Halloween blizzard of 1991 that dropped more than 28" of snow on the Twin Cities before it was done 3 days later was one of the top 5 snowfalls of the 20th century in Mpls.  I took this photo of Lake Harriet in mid-afternoon of October 31 after the snow had been falling for a while.  You can see the faint streaks as the big heavy flakes fell on the water.  The ducks were huddled out away from shore, who knows why.  The willow tree, partially fallen in the lake, has a thick, frosty coating.  What I remember most was the sound (or the lack of it).  The snow muffled other sounds on this wintry (though strictly still autumn) afternoon, yet I could still hear well enough to catch the hiss as the flakes struck the water.

I have been looking for the first photo I took on this afternoon more than 20 years ago:  Rabbi Cathy's bright red barbeque in her back yard with about six inches of snow accumulated.  Can't find it, though I've seen it recently here in one of my cleaning-decluttering exercises.  It'll show up.