I said I would try to post more often. I meant it. Really.
But here it is, over a month later. At least it’s not a whole year this time, right?
Knitting: Working on a Bistro Shirt, which I really should be doing in a cotton/linen blend, but I’m so iffy about working with cotton that I just impulsively bought some good ol’ Patons Classic Wool and started knitting. (Yes, the yarn purchase was in a little fit of pique after a bad moment/afternoon with my mom, but I’m not writing about her today. I have decided, though, that I will buy plants instead of yarn in that circumstance. My yard is getting quite Eden-like…).
So this lovely little sweater will be much too warm to wear when I finish it. Likewise, the darling little “Orenburg Lace” scarf I knitted to wear at my daughter’s wedding – it finally occurred to me about halfway through the project that the Saturday before Memorial Day might not be a scarf-y day. But it’s pretty, and the color is called “Forever” – very fitting for a wedding, yes?
The lace was practice for a bigger scarf I plan to make with some lovely incredibly fine yarn I picked up at Stitches West – funny how when you see a knitted sample, and it seems so simple, and you don’t want to pay for the printed pattern because, really, it’s just the same stitch pattern over and over with a garter stitch border – it’s so FUNNY when you can’t seem to find that same stitch pattern ANYWHERE. Finally found one that seems similar enough, and I’m truly hoping the bloom of the teeny tiny 100% merino laceweight will make it look more like the one I should have bought the darn pattern for… Smack my forehead, please.
Listening to Linda Ronstadt today as I write – bought a couple of CD’s (more Amazon fun, but this time with a better outcome*), because, y’know, she’s not going to record anymore and she really is a big part of “the soundtrack of my life.” What a talent – so versatile, like no one else I can think of. If you don’t think so, just Netflix “The Pirates of Penzance.” So sad to think that she will never sing again, due to Parkinson’s Disease. Thank God she DID sing – that she DID put her voice out there and live her life, tough though it may have been.
Sometimes I wonder what might have been if I had not “let fear hold me back,” as one of my former bad-boyfriends once said about me. (A bad boyfriend, and a “bad boy”… too many of those). Usually, though, I’m just so glad that I did what I did (get a good day job, stick with it even though it wasn’t lots of fun, sing when I could, have a beautiful baby, finally meet my prince after the frogs and now I have a lovely little life and I can knit and write and maybe even someday start that book…). Maybe somewhere there’s someone who remembers me singing in a piano bar or at church or in the Symphony Chorus. Maybe not. It’s okay.
Still, sometimes that fantasy flits through my mind…
*Amazon update – Never found out what the problem was with them and my beloved Harlot’s latest book, which I pre-ordered and they apparently didn’t believe I really wanted. So, it was with some trepidation that I ordered two Linda Ronstadt CD’s and the Whole30 book, “It Starts with Food” – ordered on April 15, over $35 so I could get the free shipping… Got an estimated date of delivery of MAY 27-JUNE 7!
I’ll admit I didn’t even notice that until April 19. So I called them. Not a good experience. Seriously, I’m not that person, but I couldn’t understand anything the rep said other than that it was one of the CDs that was holding up the order. Out of stock (even though online it said there were two). Then she said a number of other things that seemed to be some kind of choice I needed to make, but since I couldn’t understand what she was saying, I was reluctant to say anything one way or another. So I said I couldn’t understand. She repeated. I said I couldn’t understand. She repeated. I asked to talk to her supervisor. She repeated. (AAAARRRRGGGHHH!) I asked to talk to her supervisor. She put me on hold. Someone else came on, said she was the supervisor, then started giving me options (I assume)… I couldn’t understand a word. I finally just said “I’m sorry, I CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOU. I don’t want to be rude, but I’m going to say goodbye now and I will EMAIL Amazon.” Jeeeeezzzz. So, got online and found out that they have a Live Chat feature. So even if I am chatting online with another country, which I believe must have been what was happening on the phone, it will be TYPED, and VISIBLE and presumably more clear. Had a lovely typed chat with “Joe” and he fixed EVERYTHING, got EVERYTHING shipped (the book and one CD overnight!, and even the “out of stock” one has now arrived), and I still got free shipping. Thanks, “Joe” – Amazon lives again for me! And Live Chat RULES!
In other news, I started my Whole30 yesterday – it’s a way of eating that I hope will help with aches and pains I’ve been experiencing, maybe with some body composition improvement (please?), and a way forward for a healthier life. Six decades late, but whatever. This pasta addict will let you know how that’s going in a couple of weeks. These two weeks at the beginning are supposed to be kind of tough. (No grains, no sugars, no dairy, no beans or legumes, no pasta, no alcohol, for the whole30… Your positive thoughts would be appreciated!).
And maybe I’ll give Amazon a little more love and order Linda Ronstadt’s book…