is there any more pie?

why people move south

Posted on January 28, 2022 by is there any more pie?

We’re expecting a huge blizzard tonight and into Sunday. Weathermen have been using the phrase “cyclone snow bomb” or some such thing.

They are also predicting up to 34″ of snow.

I know my Idaho and Montana readers are saying, “Ho hum” and wondering what the big deal is.

I know.

But this is a rough winter for us and there is only so much more I can take before throwing my hands up in the air and a “For Sale” sign in the yard.

Just kidding. Sort of.

After 25 days a repairman came to fix our propane fireplace last week. It seemed to be fine at first, but the next morning I turned up the thermostat and a huge BANG scared the life out of me. From what I have googled, this is called “delayed ignition” and there is no quick fix on our part, such as adjusting the pilot, and requires a technician.

Uh, we just had a technician last Thursday. Banjo Man called the fireplace repair place and they are going to call us back.

We optimistically thought at first that the noise would stop. But from what I’ve read it’s dangerous and could break the fireplace, especially the glass.

The problem? We are most likely going to lose power during this storm. A foot or two or three of snow plus 60 mph winds. That’s a recipe for disaster. So with no electric heat and no propane fireplace, our living area is going to be cold.

So we’ll move back to the basement to stay warm, except for trips upstairs to heat water and soup on the gas stove. Thank goodness we have it!!!

We’ll be fine huddled around the propane stove, at least for a day or two. We’ll be fine. And who knows? Maybe the power will stay on and we’ll roll merrily along as the snow piles up outside.

Today I am making banana bread. And potato-corn-shrimp chowder in the crock pot.

It’s good to keep busy, otherwise I’d burst into tears every five minutes. My coping skills are nonexistent this winter, I admit it.

On the upside: I passed my annual cancer tests this week and am good for another year.

Posted in rhode island | 4 Comments

25 days later

Posted on January 25, 2022 by is there any more pie?

I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see flames in our propane gas fireplace again. It heats 2/3 of the house, including the living room and kitchen.

Those rooms have been 42 degrees. Banjo Man and I moved downstairs for eating and sleeping and tv-watching, but during the day I cranked up the electric heat in my office and worked on something that made me think of summer.

I love summer.

A snowball quilt was the perfect way to use those beautiful large print floral fabrics I’d been saving. There are four sections, due to the small size of my design wall.

This is section 2. I didn’t have enough of one perfect fabric to use for the corners, so I found four fabrics that worked and came up with a way to use them.

This is my very official chart and…so far so good.

Last night, with the fire burning brightly, we curled up on the living room couch and watched episode three of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. I’d dvr’d it because Sunday night was the Bills/Chiefs game. And who wouldn’t watch that football game!!!!!

Anyway…it snowed an inch or two last night. I have Ebay sales to mail, errands to run, an annual doctor appointment and a few groceries to buy (let’s hope there is milk on the store shelves). But as soon as that’s all done? It’s back to my NICE WARM KITCHEN as our little world returns to normal.

How many days until Spring???

Posted in quilting, rhode island | 2 Comments

how it’s done

Posted on January 21, 2022 by is there any more pie?

Rest in peace.

Posted in music | 2 Comments

does anybody need a nun?

Posted on January 16, 2022 by is there any more pie?

Meet Sister Cecilia. She is in the midst of gardening, with her basket and her scissors and her apron. She proudly holds flowers in her right hand.

She belonged to my mother, who had fond memories of her years in a Catholic high school in New Orleans. In 2004 I accompanied my mother to a reunion where a beloved nun joined in on the fun with a dozen of her former students.

I don’t know what to do with this doll, though. I want to show her to my friend, Dancing Mandolin Player, whose joy in her flower garden lights up her summers and whose generous gifts of flowers to her friends are amazing. But after that, what?

Sister Cecilia looks like she is about to hand the flowers to someone while saying, “Isn’t this beautiful?”

As you know, I’ve been cleaning the storage room and making hard decisions about things I’ve hauled around for decades.

It doesn’t get any easier.

Posted in family, rhode island, secondhand stuff | 2 Comments

halfway through january

Posted on January 15, 2022 by is there any more pie?

Halfway through January. It’s not exactly “halfway through winter” unless you count December and don’t count March, but it’s close enough to celebrate.

So let’s break out the coffee and party!!!!

It is 9 this morning. But no snow in sight unless it’s piled up in parking lots.

Which means…Dump Day! That is our big errand for the day before we start watching the football playoffs and eating soup. Banjo Man was thrilled with his Pasta Fagioli last night, and my Thai Basil came out great. Because it was a “warm” (39) day, I stayed out in the unheated kitchen and baked a Nantucket Blueberry Pie Cake, just because I could. So that was dessert.

Side note: I had an annual physical, complete with bloodwork, last week with my new GP. One problem: a very low B12 count. Did I feel tired, she asked? Would I prefer shots or pills?

Tired? Huh? I’ll take the pills, thank you, because I don’t feel the least bit tired unless it’s 9:30 PM and then all bets are off.

I keep busy, I explained. I don’t exactly sit around. I’ve had those shots before and never felt one bit of difference.

I think she believed me. If not, I would have shown her pictures of my sewing room.

Posted in family | 2 Comments

my ebay life

Posted on January 14, 2022 by is there any more pie?

Remember Diablo?

He has been on Ebay for 8 days and has had 15 bids. He is now going for $144.50. I knew he was a winner!

Six other auctions have bids, too, so I will be busy going to the Post Office next week.

I have over 20 other items to list today and that is going to take many hours. I emptied three huge bins of vintage drapes and fabric last weekend. I washed most of it, then measured, photographed and weighed each piece. Quite a job, but the satisfaction of creating space on the storage shelves is great.

Banjo Man likes to fill the empty bins with “Work Clothes”, which means old clothes he doesn’t want to throw away are saved for outdoor chores. I have stopped arguing about it and just roll my eyes.

Our gas fireplace won’t be repaired until January 20, which means another week living in the basement or holed up in my office/sewing room. Banjo Man loves his cozy basement and, because it’s going to be 9 degrees for most of the weekend, plans to sit by the gas stove and watch football and eat soup (he has requested Pasta Fagioli). I’ve never made it before, but a Pinterest recipe called for a Parmesan rind. Yesterday I spent an indecent amount of money for a chunk of Parmesan that had a rind on it, so I hope the “flavor profile” is worth it.

I’ve lost much of my sense of taste over the past couple of years, so I’ll have to take Banjo Man’s word for it.

So…a three-day weekend of football to look forward to! Go Pats! Go Bucs! Go Bengals!

Posted in family, food, rhode island, secondhand stuff | 1 Comment

snow day 2022

Posted on January 7, 2022 by is there any more pie?

Our first snowstorm of the winter is happening now. Forecast is 4-10″ of snow by 2 PM.

I am less than deliriously happy about this. As I said to a friend yesterday, now that I am too old to make snow forts I have no use for snow.

No. Use.

There was also the drama of not having a snowplow driver this winter. Barbara came through with a name from her Grange. Jeff offered to come with his new old tractor. And I gave my number to a guy who works at Cumberland Farms (I was buying Banjo Man’s milk).

So I think we’re set. But it was a bit stressful. We’d hoped that we’d have another dry winter and could skate through.

Nope.

I was up at 5 AM doing this:

And making a bean and sausage soup in the crock pot.

Banjo Man is still asleep, so my cooking adventures have been very, very quiet.

Yesterday I listed “stuff” on Ebay. This means that I am certifiably insane. In my defense, I have collected a huge bin of wonderful vintage trims and laces and edgings. I can’t throw them out. I don’t know any Vintage Textile Artists to give this stuff to. I hate for it to go to waste, so I am listing it in lots on Ebay at inexpensive prices in hopes that everything will find a home with someone who will ooh and ahh over such treasures.

Probably a longshot.

I’m already wondering if I should cancel the auctions and drive around the state until I find a thrift store that will take craft supplies.

I also listed four of my vintage horses. The others are going to a thrift store that raises money for children’s music camps.

Was this time-consuming? Oh, yes! It took up most of my day. I don’t even want to think about having to pack it up and ship it in ten days.

Tomorrow I will move on to listing the big stuff, the drape panels, unless the local consignment store will take them. They are beautiful, but it is definitely time for someone else to enjoy them.

Today I am taking a break from Ebay. I’m going to play with a new quilt project and cut out fabric and see what happens.

Perhaps the new snowplow driver will want some cookies.

What are you doing today?

Posted in food, rhode island, secondhand stuff | Leave a comment

goodbye to austin on new year’s eve

Posted on January 3, 2022 by is there any more pie?

I asked Will to take a picture of us at the Austin airport. It was 4:30 AM and I’m sure you can tell who was the most excited about a pre-sunrise flight. Banjo Man looks stoic but he’d rather be in bed.

I love early morning traveling.

We’d had a fabulous Christmas, 12 days filled with family time and breakfast tacos and blueberry pancakes and cookies and turkey and gumbo, along with card tricks (Banjo Man) and chess games (not me) and painstaking paint repairs to the condo walls (definitely me). Lots of laughs with the Funny Grandson, of course. He spent four nights with us at the condo, a new record. I think his parents were happy about that.

The FG’s favorite condo drink: a root beer float. It’s tradition!

While we were in Texas our gas fireplace in RI stopped working. The pilot light was dead and there was no fixing it. I think we’re due for a new burner box, but our local stove repairman can’t come out until January 27th to even assess the problem.

January 27th?

This stove heats two-thirds of the main floor of our house! Thank goodness we have another week of above-freezing temps in the forecast, along with three small portable electric heaters.

I think we’ll be moving down to the basement again when we have another cold spell.

So far I’m finding this winter a teeny bit stressful.

Posted in austin, family, food, grandmother stuff, texas, travel | 2 Comments

so long, diablo

Posted on January 2, 2022 by is there any more pie?

Meet my childhood friend, Diablo, a Breyer horse from 1961. He was a great friend to my Barbie doll, too.

Now that I have turned 70 I have decided I am too old to play with horses. Well, maybe not the real live ones (I might have another trail ride or two in my future), but certainly the ones I collected when I was a horse-mad girl.

Diablo, according to Ebay, is the only horse in my collection with any monetary value. The other fifteen or so are porcelain and made in Japan. Some are beautiful, though. And might also be Ebay-worthy. My daughter and I spent several hours yesterday unpacking the plastic bin marked “HORSES” and then scrolling through Ebay listings to see if they were worth anything.

We also ate beef stew and pumpkin pie, took down the Christmas tree and changed the decorations on the mantel. As far as a first day of 2022, it was a good one.

Rhode Island’s governor has issued yet another mask mandate, so once again I plan to spend the winter inside my house. It is time for a new purge, starting with horses and hopefully ending with more cleared shelves in the storage room.

I have enough quilting fabric to last through a half dozen more “variants”, so no worries there. And today I will inventory the freezers and pantries to see what meals we will eat between now and when we leave for Idaho in April.

So…what are you doing this winter? And what would you do with a dozen “Made in Japan” porcelain horse figurines?