Claims to Fame

The older one gets the more life allows them to have certain claims to fame. I was thinking today....

I once worked for THE Howard Hughes. (Never actually saw the man.)

I once toured the locker room of the Denver Broncos. (None of the Broncos were present.)

I once almost got taken up by a tornado. (That was at an outdoor theater showing 'The Valley of the Dolls' and that should date me pretty well.)

I've twice had a quilt exhibited at one of the biggest annual quilt shows in America. (I didn't win any prizes.)

And I once took a beating that at the time I thought would kill me. Throughout the beating I kept screaming "He's killing me! He's killing me!" Thank God, he didn't. That was 30 years ago and he is dead and I am not.

That last one came to mind today as I visited a friend in the intensive care unit. Early last evening she was the victim of a serious stabbing (several knife wounds). She survived. Oh, my friend, my friend! My mind reels at the depth of your wounds --- those wounds that the knife will have inflicted on your mind, not your body. I pray that God returns you to full health and that he gives you great courage to overcome those wounds, both the physical and the mental/spiritual. God bless you. God bless you.
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Thank you, Mrs. Anderson!

I bake pies at Thanksgiving and Christmas and maybe now and then through the year. I hate making those foil trims to place on the crust through part of the baking time to prevent burning. So when I discovered Mrs. Anderson's pie crust shields I knew these were the perfect solution. It was months before I had an opportunity to try it out -- remember, I only bake now and then. I loved it! No battling with shaping several pieces of foil into a piece long enough to circle the edge of the pie and trying to make it stay atop the pie. This was easy to put on and to remove and my pie turned out perfect. The only drawback is that if I decide to make a smaller pie sometime I may need to buy a second ring in the smaller size. But still it is much easier to use than foil and I can use it over and over again.

How Did They Do That Anyway?

It was cold last night. To say "very cold" is simply not descriptive enough. Both our remote thermometers showed 10 degrees below zero. That's 42 degrees below freezing. That's 82 degrees below our daytime comfort level. At night we turn the thermostat down to 65 degrees but that still means the furnace has to heat the house 75 degrees above the outdoor temp. That is Cooooooold. How did our grandparents survive their pioneer years in sod houses or in their first wood homes with no insulation? And how did the Native Americans survive the winters when cold spells far exceeded what we are currently experiencing! I'm grateful for a good furnace. Still....that kind of cold tends to put a nagging fear in me that is relieved when weather brings warmer days.

How Difficult Is It Anyway????

Looking for an easy pattern to make a slip cover for a cylinder-shaped pillow I typed in the words "how to make" in google. I already know how to do that...I've been sewing for fifty years...but here I am, in front of my computer, and I couldn't resist the google thing. The first site on google's list was "how to make a bed". Stunned that someone needs instructions on how to make a bed I check out the site. (If your mother had been doing her job, you would have learned how to do this before age ten and would not need to learn now at the ripe old age of 19-and-living-on-your-own.)

The instructions (for the ignoramuses of housekeeping) suggest using a "hospital corner" at the foot of the bed when placing the top sheet in place. There were no illustrations on how to make a hospital corner. (Yes, I know how to make a hospital corner and I don't need an illustration.) However, anyone who NEEDS to read instructions on HOW to make a bed just MAY need an illustration on how to make a hospital corner at the foot of the bed. That is, IF they want to be that precise in making their bed.

Anyone who does NOT wish to be that meticulous can simply smooth the sheets, pull up the bedcovers, plump the pillows, tuck your jammies under the pillow. Now how difficult is that? And if you've read it here, you won't have to do a google to learn how to make your bed.

Go make your bed. This is a Mother speaking.

Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight

Sunday night the sunset was a glorious red that covered the western sky to the zenith. In the Upper Midwest of the United States a red sunset is almost a sure sign that the following day will be sunny. In spite of weather forecasts for rain/snow, I hoped that this portent was true. Monday morning I awoke to overcast skies...but no precip. Sure enough, by noon the sun broke through bright and bold. According to an online weather site, a red sky at night usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. I've watched this phenomena for at least fifteen years and this little weather hint from the sun is right nearly 99 percent of the time. As for the rest of the saying, "Red sky at morning, Sailor take warning", it is not at all accurate in our part of the country. This morning forecast may be true in the land where Jesus spoke it (Matthew 16:2-3) but here in the middle of the United States the geography is different. We have no sea to the near west of us. Still, it is fascinating to me that the red sunset part of the saying is so accurate, even here. (I apologize to an unnamed online site for lifting their photo of a red sunset...I didn't have a camera last night and this image is very close to our sunset Sunday.)