Poppies

 Recently I came across a company that carried this wonderful crepe paper. Nothing like I have ever seen before. They also had some free patterns one of which was for making Sweet Pea flowers. I ordered a couple of colors and my sister also gave me some of her paper. So between the two types of papers, I fashioned the flowers. I was fascinated with the process and how beautiful these flowers were. My first attempts were by far not perfect. I needed to develop technique. I used to make paper flowers when I was a hippie back in the 70's, but nothing like this. They were the typical huge things that were perhaps 12 inches wide in crazy colors and I would give them out to people downtown proclaiming "Peace and Love to Everyone". Flower child.

Amazingly, I have not been able to find any books on the making of flowers. I am sure they are out there, but they are hidden from me. So here I am making my own patterns and trying to figure out my own techniques.

 I

1. I found that if I type in a flower on Google there is usually a link to images and it is a good reference to quite a few great views to what I am looking for. This is how I figured out how to make the poppy. I also never realized how many colors this flower comes in. 

  

This is my first attempt. The one in the middle was the first. You can see that the center of it is way too big. I also used glue to hold it in place. It is rather fragile. The petals however are a good size. The front one is much better when it comes to the center. I really have to find tendrills however to make this flower look more realistic. And I didn't have any brown paper so I used a green and will have to paint them brown in the end.

Making the  template for the petals was not as difficult as I had thought. I suppose it is because I have seen so many of these flowers in my life that guessing was easy. I will however, make a size a bit bigger also. but not much bigger.  And I want to also make the seed pod but that will take some work as color is important and it has that flat cap to it. And I can't find a good image for the leaf.



 

 Try as I might, I could not get a good picture of the design of the petal. . This is how the petal begins. I cut it out and delicately pull out the very top edge with my thumbnails. You can see the ridges. Then I put a slight bowl into the paper just below that. I make five of these.

 This is the end flower  with the painted centers now smaller. I found, after the second one, that using glue to fasten the center to the wire is not the correct way of doing it. If I just use the floral tape it is perfect and solid and much less messy. I made the last one is a very pale pink. They come in several pinks and yellows, oranges, and some are even variegated. And some petals are shaped differently.

Interesting, isn't it?

The car

I have spent the entire week in mental hell going over and over trying to put everything into perspective as to how I was going to handle this whole issue. It just doesn't make any sense. But George was insistent that I wait till I get the second opinion from his garage which he and I had been going to for over twenty years.

OK. Then I can get their assessment on paper and deal with the issue from there. Off I went a bit ago. They put the car on a lift so we could all three of us see for ourselves what the condition was.

Nothing. Nothing!!  It looked really healthy under there. Am I blind? What am I looking for? There were a couple of spots that were peeling but I was told that that was an outer coating and that the structure underneath was in great shape. The brake lines look new. The muffler was obviously new. I just saw no rust. And we were not dealing with just a mechanic here. This is Gerry, the man who owns the place and who's wife I have known in the fabric business forever. Just a really great man. He walked us through everything. I asked him that - if I needed to have him inspect this car today, would he do it, being an inspection station. He said yes, absolutely. He said his son might fix the air conditioner, as he is certified to do that. If not, I will take it to this other garage just up the street, another reputable place which George is very familiar with from experience. But there should not be a problem.

This car looks great. I can stop crying now. My faith in humanity is restored. I can finish knitting up the little "monster toy" for a newborn boy who has arrived this week. I no longer have to be afraid that, while on my way to somewhere out there, the bottom will fall out from under me. And my mother will be safe in the seat next to me.

I don't understand however. How could a garage paint such a blatantly bleak picture on something that obviously looks so good and charge me almost $60 for that opinion? And they call themselves "Mom's Garage"???

Remember This?

My mother has been complaining for two months that my air conditioning is not working and I have kept putting it off. Finally I made an appointment this week and I dropped it off at "Mom's Garage" just down the street a couple of blocks. Two weeks ago I had brought it to Advanced Eurosport where I bought the car to see if it was just a matter of putting in some freeon (sp?). But they told me that the generator was not working and I would need to have that fixed as they didn't do that there. So last night I dropped it off and put my phone by my bed as I knew they would call me with their diagnosis sometime before I usually get up this morning. The man who owns the garage had told me it would cost between $300 and $600 to fix when I talked to him yesterday. . OK. We will deal with that.

The news ended up rather bleak. He called about 9:30. He told me that he could not do anything with the car as the repairs would cost more than the car was worth. Aside from the issues with the air conditioner, the whole structure of the front of the car and the floor boards of the car are badly rusted. It happens with a car that has as low mileage as my car has with its age. When it sits for years it rusts. He made it clear that this car should never have passed inspection when I bought it. When you buy a car from a small dealership and they say they will take care of the inspection, it should raise a flag.  How was I to know? I told Eurosport that I needed a dependable car to drive my elderly mother around. I just assumed that they would be reputable in their recommending a safe automobile for us.

Mechanically, the little thing runs really well. I get good mileage, it runs smooth, I have no problems. It's too bad. I have until October to decide what to do. I don't know. It is a trust thing. I don't know.

Heights

When did this happen to me?  I have not always been afraid of heights. Golly, I have flown myself over the mountain area in New Hampshire in a two seater plane. It was thrilling. I didn't even have to think about it. I climbed the ladder and got into the cockpit. And away we went. That was when~~ in the late 80's.

Now I can't even climb onto a one step stool. I can hear you all laughing. Go ahead. I will put cotton in my ears. I am sure somewhere I have some silk batting I can use.

It is just after ten o'clock in the morning. Yes, I am up early. I have to frost yet another cake. How many chocolate cakes have I made since my return to New Hampshire? Oh and one cake I made in three colors. Pink, green and blue. Quite beautiful, it was.

The light has burned out in the entrance way. I just replaced that six months ago. It's not like I have that light on all the time. OK. This is the morning I change the bulb. Where are the men when you need them. I took out the dining chair. It took me less time to take out the new bulb than it did to just get up on the damn chair. My heart was pounding so hard you would think I was having a heart attack. (where is that silk batting).

So I make it up on the chair and unscrew the little thing there and remove the cover. Wow. Rather dirty. I should wash it. ~~~~~ I decide against it. I don't have that great of a relationship with heights. Only once... I can't do this again. I- I - I just can't. Now I have to get down from this chair. It was easier getting down.

I am going to put the chair back when I stop.  One of the kitchen bulbs has been burnt out for weeks. Not good when most of the work I do with my sewing is done at night. Is it too difficult for someone to come up with a light bulb that lasts longer than my life span??

I stood there for awhile looking up at the stupid thing. I made a cup of coffee and convinced myself that I can do this. I took out another bulb and stood in front of the chair. It occurred to me that the chair is higher in the kitchen than in the hallway. Or am I loosing my mind. Non. That chair was shorter in the hallway. I took the last sip of coffee I made five minute ago and stepped up (got it) to the task.

Only this time, I couldn't figure out how to get down. I have the support of the back of the chair and my sweet little task table in the middle of the kitchen. George and I had this made for us when we used to go up into the Adirondaks years ago..

I am standing there and panicking. Then for one short moment I am thinking "Just fess up and get the B-jeesus down". And I took advantage of that tiny moment and got down off the chair.

Now I have light and telling you all that yes, it is possible to do something that totally frightens you, even when it is so dumb that locking it onto your blog labels you for the rest of your life.

And how is your day going?

PS:  I often see Jody type these words in her blog and they have this line through them. I always wondered how she achieved these. And why would anyone want to strike through a word unless you don't want anyone to see that the word doesn't belong there. Why not just delete the word. So, despite that I wonder what the reason behind the doing of this, I still retained an envy that I could not figure out how to do this. I could write a whole book with every word stricken out. Another words, I've written a book but - don't read it!

Just now, while looking for the spell check, I found the little icon for the task. So Jody, again you continue to shower me with gifts. Beautiful.

 

5 seconds at Saks

There is a new mall in Merrimack. Today I went there with Suzanne and Mom. It was about 150 degrees out. There were few parking spaces. I have no summer clothes. I live for winter. I was a summer person. When was childhood? My father. The sailboat. Camping. Then one day I got boobs and, diving off a raft, my swimsuit strap broke and I vowed never like summer again.

Sacks Fifth Avenue. The store was cold, brand new and Suzanne was in heaven. I made hair combs with kimono silk and tied my hair back. It is getting long and I am enjoying it. I like Sacks too.

I kept drifting away from my entourage. Everything was catching my eye.

I was in the sunglasses department. Silence. There was this man. He had presence. Beautiful. Dressed in a black suit. Tie. Exquisite. Very slowly I said "Bonjours" he looked at me for a good five seconds.

"Bonjours" he replied slowly smiling. I turned and  walked away.

Five seconds of sex. Yes.

And how was your day?

More on bugs

I know that we shouldn't be spraying bugs in the house. Chemicals. But this is the back of my left leg. My right leg looks the same. Above the knee I have maybe three bites. This is coming from somewhere. Have I developed an allergy? I think maybe bugs in the hallways or maybe in my car? I don't know. I have closely searched my chair and my bed but nothing. And if they were there, then why have I not gotten bitten above the knee? All I know is, it is horribly hot here and I am always scratching my legs.

Bugs, I just hate bugs.

New Bug

Summer is upon us, I can tell. The bugs are here. I really don't mind them outdoors. But I can't stand them indoors. 

I have seen this one before. I know I have seen this perhaps often in my life. Something in me recognizes it although I can't, in the front of my mind, remember the visions. This is an Organ Pipe Mud Dauber. I looked through a thousand bug pictures before I found it. Maybe it is not so common. The one below is from Florida. The one I saw today was black with the typical bug iridescence.  I love that beautiful shiny blue green that appears on wings and bodies. This bug is over an inch long, maybe and inch and a quarter.

Mind you, if I saw it outside, it would be OK. But in the house, I just can't do it. It is called a Mud Dauber because it build its nests out of mud. The female rolls a ball of mud and begins to pack it. She then finds an insect, stings it, places it into the nest, lays and egg, then plugs in a ball of mud. she does this over and over creating these long tendrils.  You can find them on the sides of buildings, in gardens, even on parked cars the article said. Some people destroy them and some people adore them. The Mud Dauber eats small insects and so to the knowledgeable person, is a revered bug. I can respect that. But not in my house.




Did I ever tell you my bug story? How I woke up one night with a bug in  my ear. George was at work at the firehouse and I had to drive myself to the hospital. It took four tries for me to get out of the driveway as this bug was eating away at my eardrum. I went through every red light thinking that if a policeman put on his blue lights, he could very well escort me to the hospital as I was not going to stop until someone got that thing out of my ear.

The emergency door was not working and I had to walk around to a different door to get in. I wasn't screaming but I was making quite a commotion. The nurses grabbed me and brought me into this room and started asking me for insurance info. "ARE YOU CRAZY???" Get this out of my ear and I will tell you anything you want!!!!

So they injected some sort of liquid that was supposed to anesthetize the bug. Oh god, what a relief. And then, just as they were preparing to in, the bug started up with a vengeance.  So, one nurse held my head while the other tried different tools to dig in and get the bugger out. When finally out, they showed it to me. It was a beetle about a 5/8 inch long. They put it in a jar and asked me if I wanted to take it home.  I just shook my head.

I, up till that point, had never been a bug killer. I would find even an ant and would gently pick it up with paper and put it outside. As a matter of fact, I had seen that very bug earlier in the evening and had placed it in the livingroom among my plants. I was so innocent. In all my life it had never occurred to me that a bug would ever dare to violate my body. Ever!

Once home, I laid down to sleep and sleep would not come. I had to cover my ears. I went into my sewing room and tried to design ear covers out of chiffon and elastic. But they didn't stay on. I suffocate under blankets so that was not an option. I tried a headband but it would slip off during the night. Insomnia. It took months to get over it. One night I was just too tired and I fell asleep.

Every night, even to today, I watch for bugs in the house before bed. I don't just decide to go to bed. It is a process. In the apartment I am in now, the screens are broken and I have fixed them somewhat but I have to stuff them with towels a bit because they don't fit flush to the frame. I should get an electrical tape. That would be the best thing to do. I just never expected to be here this long. So I will take care of it tomorrow.

I killed this bug today, and I feel badly about it. I only had a natural bug spray for house plants and it was too weak for this Mud Dauber and I ended up having to hit it and the violence was unbearable. I am not supposed to be killing things. I am appalled at how affected my mind became from one single night 20 years ago!~~~

I just watched the movie "Capote" with  Phillip Seymour Hoffman playing the part. Everyone should see this.