by Kat | Mar 21, 2022 | General, In This Moment
I had such a lovely “list of things” I wanted to do this weekend.
Things that included tackling button holes with a fresh mind on Saturday morning, finish my handspun Hitchhiker, watch some of March Madness, and start reading The Books of Jacob.
But Real Life had a different plan because on Saturday morning we discovered that our refrigerator was not refrigerating… or freezing. And of course, we had gone grocery shopping on Friday so it was on the fuller side of the scale.
So we made some attempts to determine what might be wrong. (I say we, really I just stayed in the vicinity so Steve had someone to yell at, lol) And for some brief moments, there was a glimmer of hope…it started working again but it was not for long. Kaput refrigerator was not on my weekend plans… nor was scrambling on Sunday to try and find a refrigerator replacement. (Why do these things always, always happen on a weekend? lol) The Big Box stores near us were a mixed bag. One had nothing in stock (at least nothing in stock of a size that would fit or with a price that was reasonable… $7k for a refrigerator??? What??? Does it cook and clean too, because at that price it better!) and the other had some better luck… but no deliver until April 12th. Could I live without a refrigerator until mid-April? Could we live without a refrigerator that dispenses water and makes ice? Oh boy… those are the million dollar questions, are they not? The local appliance store was of course not open on Sunday… nor did they have any idea of available stock on their website (really, if you have a website – including useful information might be a good idea) But Best Buy to the rescue… (In a million years, I would never have guessed that that would happen!) They had the necessary size, with the desired bells and whistles… and they can deliver it on Thursday! Four days sans refrigerator almost seems something to be gleeful over, lol!
(And we really aren’t entirely refrigerator-less… we have the “Beer Fridge” in the basement and while it is not perfect, it is amazing how much you can pack into a refrigerator if needs must!)
Aside from all that drama… I did manage to see some of the Michigan game! Yay to them for advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.
I also finished the second sock!
And I started The Books of Jacob… but I have a very long way to go!
And this week… button holes… that is once I have the Monday chores done!
Oh… and that photo… that is a picture of my snowdrops. They managed to survive the 10″ of snow… only to be done in by Wednesday’s 70+° weather. (but I spied a tulip peeking out of the ground…yes, a single solitary tulip. Must be one the squirrels “transplanted” to my yard!)
I hope your weekend was much better than mine! I will see you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Nov 15, 2021 | General, In This Moment
In a week that did not at all turn out as I hoped or even in my wildest dreams imagined this poem from last Friday has been my lifeline.
At some point, Elizabeth Bishop renamed the poem… but I found her original name, Early Sorrow, to be so profound for me. But, the new name… Sestina… has stuck in my head and the words of the poem keep echoing there as well. It is a good time to plant tears… not very bright or cheery for a Monday but every day can’t be all sunshine and rainbows…
Sestina by Elizabeth Bishop:
September rain falls on the house.
In the failing light, the old grandmother
sits in the kitchen with the child
beside the Little Marvel Stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking to hide her tears.
She thinks that her equinoctial tears
and the rain that beats on the roof of the house
were both foretold by the almanac,
but only known to a grandmother.
The iron kettle sings on the stove.
She cuts some bread and says to the child,
It’s time for tea now; but the child
is watching the teakettle’s small hard tears
dance like mad on the hot black stove,
the way the rain must dance on the house.
Tidying up, the old grandmother
hangs up the clever almanac
on its string. Birdlike, the almanac
hovers half open above the child,
hovers above the old grandmother
and her teacup full of dark brown tears.
She shivers and says she thinks the house
feels chilly, and puts more wood in the stove.
It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.
I know what I know, says the almanac.
With crayons the child draws a rigid house
and a winding pathway. Then the child
puts in a man with buttons like tears
and shows it proudly to the grandmother.
But secretly, while the grandmother
busies herself about the stove,
the little moons fall down like tears
from between the pages of the almanac
into the flower bed the child
has carefully placed in the front of the house.
Time to plant tears, says the almanac.
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove
and the child draws another inscrutable house.
Elizabeth Bishop ©
I learned last week that my years-estranged sister has been evicted (yet again) and has spiraled down to the bottom of the bottom of the bottom of the mental health ocean. There are volumes to this story that I am just not ready to share and my Monday is going to be full of making calls, asking lots of questions and I am hopeful that I will find an answer or two. I am sorry, but I have closed comments for this post… I hope you all understand.
See you all back here on Wednesday.
by Kat | May 10, 2021 | General, In This Moment
- arrives right on schedule despite a weekend of little sleep…courtesy of a returning bout of insomnia.
- comes with a longer than usual to do list…courtesy of me ignoring things to sit and spin instead for most of last week.
- shows up despite having done no blog post prep over the weekend (if only that single thing kept Monday’s from arriving, I’d make it a weekly thing! lol)
I’d like to say it was a great weekend but the weather was really horrid here in Pittsburgh. We had to have the heat on because it was so cold and damp in the house. And Mother’s Day had particularly miserable weather, but I did get some “sunny” phone calls.
If you are wondering how cold it was here this weekend, I took the iris photo on Saturday and it is still blooming this morning.
Things I did not do this weekend (or last week for that matter): laundry, kitchen floors, bathroom, thank you note writing, (or blog post writing…sigh.)
So here I am on a dreary, yet dry, Monday – list in one hand, an extra large coffee in the other…and maybe, just maybe, if I can get through that list a reward of an afternoon nap could be mine!
I hope your Monday is less full than mine and that your weekend was amazing!
See you all back here on Wednesday!
by Kat | Nov 27, 2017 | General, In This Moment
Why is it that the Monday after a nice long weekend is even more Monday than usual? That is what my Monday is looking like, my list is long, and I feel like time is not on my side today!
We had an awesome weekend with lots of good things to eat. Okay, perhaps too many days of lots of good things to eat!
We watched some football that was sad and some football that was glad.
We even got the outside lights up, even if Steve a certain someone grumbled the entire time!
And, Frosty is back in town!
I hope your Monday is going smoothly!
by Kat | Oct 9, 2017 | General, In This Moment
This is our last Monday here in Michigan! Boo hoo! Our last day with this amazing view from our front porch. Those blue skies!
The weekend was filled with such fun though and I will just leave you all with this montage of photos!
I hope you all have a very happy Monday! As for us? We are soaking up one more day of Pure Michigan joy!
