Friday, January 02, 2009

Seventeen: A Puzzling Day or Skirting the Issues

K & D gifted us this Christmas with among other things, a jigsaw puzzle of all of the U.S. state birds posing on top of their states on a map of our country. When I first opened it, I acted surprised and excited, but thought to myself, "Yeah, right, that'll never happen....another thing to clutter up my closet." You may recall the picture of Kristin working on the puzzle at our party last weekend. I thought perhaps all of our guests would finish the sucker so that I wouldn't have to! Then I got hooked on it last Sunday! I would only allow myself to put in five pieces after breakfast, another five after lunch, and then five to ten before dinner. It was simply addictive!!! C caught the bug, and I would find him seated before the puzzle at the oddest times: the middle of the morning or the middle of the afternoon. Those are definitely NOT puzzle times now are they?

So, this afternoon, there I was having folded the laundry and I passed through the great room:

He was making great progress! Granted, it was a cold and rainy day. He had said yesterday that today he was going to work in the garden, but in his defense, the weather wasn't cooperating. So, I sat down across from him and:

For many years, we would spend two weeks every summer on Squam Lake, in New Hampshire, with all of C's extended family. We would rent three cottages and just have a ball, swimming, canoeing, playing tennis, Bridge, Trivial Pursuit and doing puzzles. The number one puzzle rule was that once you had taken your glimpse of the puzzle box, it had to be put away, never to be seen again until the monstrosity was completed. K remembered that rule, and made us abide! Do you like to do puzzles? If so, do you have a method of solving them? Do you go by color or shape? Do you sort colors and patterns methodically or just work sort of willy-nilly? I find that I'm mainly a color person, but I don't sort.
oh, and p.s.: we've ordered two Springbok puzzles....remember those?

Skirting the Issues?
I, along with so many others, am loving wearing skirts again....but I cannot abide by the obscene prices that are being charged for a simple pencil skirt! Gail K's (read the Insider's Tips you Project Runwasy fans) is one of my favorite clothing fabric shops.....well, er, I don't think there are any others remaining in Atlanta, because you surely cannot count JoAnn's or Hancock's! So I dropped in there the other day and picked up a couple of yards of lovely silk/wool blends and had a great, great time carrying on with the staff and just loving their great selection of fiber related stuff. In just a couple of hours this afternoon, I had nearly completed this little number:


well, once again Blogger won't turn my pic, so just turn your head toward your left shoulder so that the waist is at the top....does it really matter with this fabric anyway??????

So, I will have two new wool skirts, lined no less, for under $45!!! and the pleasure of sitting at my sewing machine constructing them! While I sewed, C was busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm! I love that he is so comfortable in there!!! He began by making a batch of his designer suet for the birds, and then he got into fixing a mess of turnip greens AND more charro beans. His last pot of beans was so yummy neither of us could wait for more! I am usually not a fan of turnip greens, but he doctored them up so that even this little Yankee loved them! MMMMMM! My sewing room is just around the corner from the new kitchen, so I could catch glimpses of him as he contentedly tasted and added more seasonings, sauteed onions, stirred the peanuts and raisins into the suet, and tinkered away over the range. He has even gotten good at cleaning up after himself. Ya know, I may just keep this guy after all!

And then there's the sock:


I am now shaping the toe, so will finish this guy tonight! Phew: it's about time!!!!

What a great, great rainy winter day!!!


PEACE

8 comments:

Gerrie said...

I would need to find a pattern that fits my strange body. I wish I could wear skirts.

Do not put a jigsaw puzzle in the same room as me. I am an addict. I must have the outside edge done before starting the innards. I sort by color first and when I get near the end, I sort by shape.

Would you send C out here to teach Mr C to cook?

Eva said...

Exiting new worlds! I never do puzzles, I almost never wear skirts -- I own just one, I think! O, no, that old one... and I'm not a great cook. What a lot I can learn!

Eva said...

If you want to get your pictures turnt: There is free software for picture manipulation like Irfan View, I don't know what I would do without this one.

Joyce said...

I don't let puzzles come into the house any more - too time consuming! Lol.
I used to make all my clothes and my two daughters' and lots of polar fleece for my husband but now that I quilt I don't make many clothes. It's way to cold here for skirts right now anyway. We have another blizzard on the way. Enjoy your new clothes.

Judy H said...

I always wanted to get "grounded" as a teenager so I would have an excuse to do nothing but read and work on jigsaw puzzles. And I love Springbok puzzles. They are the best.

Eva Hagbjärn said...

What a lovely puzzle! Bertil loves puzzles, but I know that I will be hooked if I sit down, so I don’t touch or look at them ;-)
XO Eva

Elizabeth said...

Hey Judy!!
Beautiful puzzle!! I just love the birds! i love doing puzzles though we hae not done one in a very long time!! by all means you need to hold on to your Hubby- what a guy!!!
i just went thru your flickr photos( OMG- how beautiful!!!) and I want to come over and play!!!!! I have been wanting to play with soy wax resist for forever- have not gotten the supplies- and I want someone to play with!!!
oh yea, my family owns a cottage on Crystal Lake in Gilamnton Iron Works in N.H and we used to spend lotsof time there in the summers- Yet another thing that we share in common!!
Hugs!
elizabeth

Carol said...

Great puzzle and especially nice with the State birds. Like Gerrie, I'm an around the edge first girl but I haven't done one for ages. Maybe in my new house? I'm always impressed with you making your own clothes, and not only that but you can knit socks! XO