A Red Mid-Life Crisis?

Hiding in a parking lot, I saw a zoomy...no VERY ZOOMY red car.

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It was low slung, all angles, looking like it could go 3000 mph

 before starting the engine 

It had a proud prancing silver horse on the back deck

Mean tail lights

And of course it was a red Ferrari. Funny thing it was parked by other cars...generally when you see a Ferrari in a parking lot it's all by itself where no one can take a piece of the precious paint.

 Is this someone's mid-life crisis or what? I looked at the Ferrari webpage, and guess what? Prices are not listed. I guess if you have to know the price, you can't afford one.

This car is very different from my last car entry...a 1957 Chevrolet Belair. For some strange and wonderful reason, I'd rather have the Chevy.

Poncho

My latest piece of crochet is a light and airy poncho which is surprisingly warm. 

 

Sand Storm

Yesterday we experienced our first sandstorm. We were driving to St. George and the sand was blowing across the highway...great gobs of sand. In some places the visibility was obscured, but it never seemed to be dangerous. My neighbor sent me a picture of her backyard...and the mountains were completed gone.

This is what we usually see from the backyard

The sand "ate" the mountains. In addition, we have sand everywhere. The deck is covered in sand, there are little sand dunes inside the garage by the big door. The front porch is covered in sand. I have to wonder what it did to the paint on the truck as we were driving? 

Mark 2 Hip

The "mark 1" hip wore out, and was replaced thirteen days ago with a shiny titanium and polyethylene device. When I came home from the hospital I felt like there was a dagger in my leg...and this x-ray explains why. Happily, I don't feel the dagger any more. Soon I'll be able to walk without a walker, but for now, the walker provides the support I need. I'm on the mend.

 

A Walk Down Memory Lane--65 Years Ago

 

In 1957 this Chevrolet BelAir was the top of the line. She boasted a price tag of $2,750 (which is equivalent to about 30K today). When she was purchased, gasoline was less than 30 cents a gallon. Sometimes there were "gas wars" and the prices would go DOWN. The lowest price I ever saw gas cost was 22.2 cents per gallon one Washington's Birthday. 

Now, here's the tricky question. How do you fill up this car? If you walk around the car, you will not see a tell tale gas cap because it is hidden. Lift the middle chrome section of the left fin and you'll be rewarded with a gas cap! When I was a little girl, my neighbor's son bought a brand new 1957 BelAir convertible with a continental kit. Every so often Mickey would take me for a ride in his shining new car with the top down. I was the luckiest kid on the block!

St. Patrick's Day Food

Some folks looked for the perfect corned beef and cabbage dinner...others dreamed of Irish Soda Bread...yet others thought a nice Irish coffee would round out the day. We decided to do something unusual....

Homemade Enchiladas. 

What can I say...we're not Irish.

Pi(e) Day

It's Pi day. If you need an excuse to eat PIE, today is the day. March 14 is also written as 3.14 which everyone knows is PI.

I have a great PI story. During my elementary teaching days, I created a Pumpkin Lesson for Halloween. Halloween is not a good teaching day, as the students are too excited about their costumes and the candy they are going to gorge on that night...yet school goes on. In order to make the day worthwhile, I created a lesson about pumpkins. I had pumpkins for everyone in the class and every bit of the day revolved around that pumpkin. We wrote stories about the pumpkins, drew our pumpkins, named our pumpkins, we estimated weight, circumference, and diameter. When we finally opened the pumpkins we estimated the number of seeds then counted the seeds. We added, subtracted, multiplied and divided seeds. We determined the ratio of seeds to weight and size of the pumpkin. My students measured their pumpkins from every angle you can imagine. THEN one year, Larry did something different. He took his string and measured his pumpkin and said "Mrs. C the diameter is 3 and a little bit smaller than the circumference..how come? So I asked him to measure other circles in the room. He measured records, round trash cans, round crayons, the tires on my car...and it was always the same, 3 and a little bit. NOW I had a lesson...and we all learned about the mathematical constant PI. I had hoped someone would discover PI and after 5 years Larry had done it. I taught this same lesson to my university students and NONE of them discovered PI, but eleven year old Larry did.

So today is 3.14 and it's time to celebrate with a pie be it pumpkin, apple or pizza Enjoy.

More Busy Fingers

More crochet stuff has been created. 

I love this crib-sized blanket of pink/lavender/white. I started this blanket a few weeks ago, but I ran out of yarn (well I have a stash of yarn in boxes in the scary box room, but I don't know how to find it). Thankfully, there's a nearby yarn store. I don't have a home for this blanket, but if you know of a baby in need of a cozy coverup, let me know.

Meet Holly Hedgehog. She's a happy little critter I made for cousin Joyce's birthday

...and  meet Peppermint Bear and Lucy Bear that I made for Joyce's grand-girls. 

The smiles tell the full story on why I love to make toys.

I branched out into clothing, and made a shawl for my friend's birthday

...and I liked it so well, I made a variation of that shawl for my sister's birthday. 

I told you my fingers have been busy.

Escapism

I know there is a lot off evil stuff going on in the world, but I'm doing my best to recover from an ugly illness, so I'm escaping the evilness by watching completely apolitical uplifting TV programs. I've seen a collection of wonderful old movies that are light and fun ranging from Roman Holiday to My Fair Lady to The Sound of Music to Topper and many more in-between. 

On my morning 30 minute walk, I look at "Waiting for God" on Brit-Box, I watched the show in the 90s and found it funny then, and it's still funny 30 years later. The two main characters are cranky old Diana and kind, loving Tom who are living their final days in a retirement home in England. The chemistry between these 2 characters is fun. I walk around with a smile on my face as they go about their "merry" way.

Just recently I found "The Donna Reed Show" on Prime. I remember this 1959 sit-com from my youth. My family liked it then, and I'm liking it now. It's a time capsule of life in the late 50s. The roles of each character are definite: Dad is a doctor and head of the house; mom is a housewife; the daughter is pretty and perfect and the young son is a mischievous but lovable BOY. Each episode teaches a little "life lesson" in a charming way (now it would be considered a sappy way). The stories are predictable and enjoyable once you realize that  MOM is the glue that holds the family together. Unlike some sit-coms in the 50s where the father was a a bit of a punching bag, the father character in TDRS is thoughtful, tough, loving, and a decision maker too.  Again, complete escapism.

While scanning the offerings that Netflix has, I stumbled upon "Sweet Magnolias." A chick-flick that celebrates a decades-old friendship of 3 women. Much more complex in plot than the other two series, the viewer gets involved with the everyday life of the friends, their families and their hometown. The stories are heartwarming, have a teachable moment, are somewhat predictable, yet there are enough plot twists to keep them interesting. Yep, pure escapism.

Don't get me wrong. I know there is a war in Ukraine, I know the President gave the State of the Union Address yesterday; I'm informed about Covid. Daily, I deal with inflation, supply line problems and a myriad of other things that make modern life what it is...but I'm recovering from an illness that temporarily disabled me. I'm on the road to recovery. A long time ago, I read it's important to see funny, lighthearted, uplifting and heartwarming stories when recovering from a disaster. These programs are part of my "medicine" for recovery. They give me positive images to look at rather than the real-life images I see on the daily news.