random thoughts – Day 2,123 (Thursday) – melting, shopping, learning

The trees had a light coating of ice this morning, which glistened as the sun rose over the rooftops. I saw the sparkling effect from the couch and moved to the window with the camera, but the angle was different and less dramatic from there. From the couch, it was too far to get a photo. 

Water drop gems on the tree.

Much of the morning involved me pinging between the couch and the angled panes of the bay window trying to get a photo of the sun through the icy trees in my yard, across the street, and behind the houses across the street. If anyone across the street was looking out their own windows, it’s entirely possible they thought I was taking pictures of their homes. 

By 10:00, the coffee pot was empty, I had hit a 2,000 day streak in Duolingo, and it had warmed up enough that the ice was melting. The tree in my front yard looked like it had jewels decorating the tips of the branches as the sun shone through. Just like earlier, it was gorgeous viewed from the couch and a bit disappointing closer to the window.

I drove Mom to an appointment in Athol in the shopping plaza with Market Basket, Dollar Tree, Marshall’s, a movie theater, and Hobby Lobby, among other retailers. We arrived early and went into the cleanest, neatest Dollar Tree I have ever visited. This location deserves a medal. There were 18-inch white trees for 75 cents and I couldn’t resist and bought four, with no real purpose in mind, just a vague feeling I might be mad next Christmas if I didn’t buy them today.

While Mom attended her appointment, I went to Hobby Lobby for a half-hour to get myself all worked up in the fabric department. There was larger selection of apparel fabric than I expected, which was good. There were catalogues listing patterns for McCalls and Simplicity and I flipped through them both, especially the costume sections. I thought patterns were pricey when they were $8.99, so it was an eye-opener to see they are now in the $20 range. One company had an entire vintage section with some reprints of original patterns from previous decades. My little vintage loving heart skipped a couple beats. No financial damage was done in the short time before returning to collect Mom.

We stopped for lunch on the way back to Gardner before going to the local appliance store. Mom’s washing machine died yesterday, and she was shopping for a replacement. She found something she liked and while she arranged the delivery I wandered the store. There were washer and dryer sets with sexy new colors and finishes like high end automobiles. There was a sea of glass top stoves and gas stoves that looked like they really meant business. Porcelain stovetops with heating coils still exist (I asked), but they apparently don’t deserve display space in the store. My favorite item was a pale pink vintage stove with a sign on it stating it isn’t for sale, just for show.

After the appliance shopping, we went to the grocery store. I haven’t been out on a four-hour shopping and lunch excursion in a while. Lunch was good and spending time with Mom was nice. The shopping was at least as much fun as getting the 2,000 Duolingo badge. Those can be added to LinkedIn profiles now, so I might just do so.

random thoughts – Day 2,122 (Wednesday) – ice and seams

Driveway looks like a trap.

The sky was releasing some sort of precipitation when I went to bed on Tuesday night. It was hard to tell exactly what was falling, but whatever it was made no noise on the skylights. This morning, the outside world looked cold, slick, and inhospitable. The asphalt of my cleared driveway looked shiny and like it was waiting for a victim. It might have been better off with the snow left on it but the neighbor came over yesterday with the snow blower. I called Mom and asked if she wanted to go ice skating. She declined my generous offer.

Impressionist ice painting.

By mid-morning, it was warm enough that the icicles along the roof were dripping and morphing into interesting glob-like formations. When I opened the front door to remove the wreath in the next phase of Operation Stripping Christmas, the lower part of the storm door had a coating of ice on it and it looked like the textured glass cutting board in the kitchen. Or an impressionist painting. Or like someone needs glasses.

Time was spent sketching (poorly, with a not sharp pencil)  and mentally redesigning the dance dress idea. Minimal cutting/sewing effort and maximum design impact are the current goals, but that could change 10 more times before anything actually happens. Another pattern was found in the drawer that has an interesting sleeve shape and now there are too many ideas to proceed. The dress form was brought to the dining room where there is more space and the lighting is better than the still not fully functional and poorly lit craft studio room.

One technical question of the day was, “will seams in silk provide stability or add stress on the fabric?” Also, “what is the best seam technique for silk?” (I generally prefer having enclosed French seams but not doing them because they are more work.) These answers would surely have been learned in my 20s had I enrolled in the fashion design school I was accepted into, but I didn’t go and that is another sad story for another day. Today’s brief self-study at the Worldwide University of the Internet tells me that the answer to the first question is that seams can provide both stability (yay!) and stress (on, no!). Stress can occur if the seam is not done correctly or the fabric is pulled or stretched while sewing. The best seaming technique is indeed the French seam in this case, because unfinished seams can ravel (and cause stress). Good to know. 

random thoughts – Day 2,121 (Tuesday) – stripping christmas, plotting a dress

Today, Christmas came down at my house. Most of it, anyway. It wasn’t a formal plan for the day, but suddenly, it felt like the thing to do. I set my book down, arose from the couch, and started the process of stripping Christmas.

Naked silver tree.

The two smallest trees on the buffet were stripped of their small pine cones and iridescent glass balls, collapsed, and set in a storage tub. The ornaments were removed from the three-foot black tinsel tree and the four-foot silver tinsel tree and they now stand naked in their respective spots. Ornaments were wrapped and packed in the usual boxes and through whatever magic was at play today, there is more room in the same bins used year after year, despite my recent purchases of additional ornaments. Go figure. It’s a cool trick, but I don’t understand it. Maybe the recent move refined my packing abilities and boosted my experience points.

The wreaths are still on the front and back doors, partly because the storage container is in the shed and I didn’t want to put on shoes and go outside to get it. Partway through the process of stripping and packing, I took a break to check email and LinkedIn, where I saw a great job posted just 27 minutes earlier for a role for which I am qualified at a company within a reasonable commuting distance. An immediate break from the un-trimming was declared and I shifted gears to submit the application.

The application process required the usual customization of whichever existing resume is closest to the job description and the drafting of a cover letter, which always takes longer than it seems like it will (or should). The automated application system almost timed out on me while I was bouncing back and forth between the job description and resume to write the cover letter, but I caught it in the nick of time.

It didn’t snow this morning because Mother Nature seemed to be saving it up for tonight. The forecast included a “winter weather advisory” in effect from 7:00 p.m. tonight until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow with a “wintery mix" expected in my area around 5:45 p.m. The forecasted timeline put the winter weather during the drive time to and from dance along winding roads and I chose to not attend. 

Soon to be a dress.

Instead, I read this week’s book (The Paris Seamstress) while also mulling ideas to lay out and cut the dress for the dance costume. I like to have the process mentally mapped out before the scissors (or rotary cutter) touch the fabric. Trims were found in the sewing drawers today, bought on clearance forever ago (just in case) and may be considered for possible appearances in the dress. There was black beaded fringe, silver paillettes, silver coins, and some chiffon ties cut off something else that might make a headband. While the overthinking takes place, the fabric sits on the dining room table which managed to remain cleared for two entire weeks (a recent personal best).

Ideally, I would be testing the entire dress on muslin or some other inexpensive material, but gone are the days of dashing out to the local neighborhood fabric center to get a few yards of whatever because there are no such stores anymore. I wish I had bought a lifetime supply of bolts of muslin in the 1990s the time I found it on sale for 39 cents a yard. Of course, I would also have needed a place to keep it, and then move it too many times, so it would not have been practical. My friends are still recovering from moving all my books (again).

random thoughts – Day 2,120 (Monday) – more snow and dancing

Bunny tracks?

It didn’t snow this morning and I was content with that. It waited until 3:00 in the afternoon, as I exited the house on a walk to the mail boxes at the end of the street. I was less content with that, but it was okay. It snowed for at least 90 minutes and after that I turned on the lights and closed the shades and don't know when it stopped.

The Scandinavians are credited with saying “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.” I had on proper winter footwear, a warm coat, and a warm hat. The clothing deficiency was my chosen gloves and my fingers got cold, which didn't deter me from taking the gloves off to take pictures of tracks in the snow in the driveway (possibly bunny) and along the street (likely turkey). 

On the way to the mailboxes, I was carrying a bill to be deposited into the blue postal collection box. My left sleeve was pulled down over my gloved hand but my right gloved hand was not as covered and got cold. On the way back, I was carrying two pieces of mail collected from my mailbox and it was the same sleeve arrangement. (Note to self: the preferred gloves for use in the car are not the best choice for walking in 20-something degree snowy weather. Put on ski gloves, doofus.)

Afternoon snowfall, 4:17 p.m.

The day was productive. The trash and recycling were put out. A job application was submitted. I called the customer service number for my Bosch dishwasher with which I have been engaged in battle since August and the robot receptionist recording directed me to the site with online manuals. I sought tips on loading the thing so my plates, bowls, and cups will stop chipping, but mostly it was illustrations of how to load 10-place and 12-place settings consisting mostly of many plates in different sizes.

My usual load is primarily soup bowls, drinking glasses, coffee mugs, and flatware, and used to take a week to accumulate. This current piece of domestic insanity gets run a lot more often because I can’t figure out an efficient way to load it. Even half empty, everything comes out chipped and soon I will have to buy all new dishes. After consulting the manual and the illustrations I was no closer to a solution unless I start eating soup from a dinner plate. I am less thrilled about buying new dishes than I am about using newly chipped dishes, some of which are already new or were gifts.

My duet partner came over and we worked on new choreography and talked about costuming. We conquered half the dance and costuming is under control, so that felt very good. In less than two minutes looking through a drawer of patterns, I found one bought possibly a decade (or more) ago which will work perfectly and spares me drawing a pattern. It’s time to fire up the Singer machine I haven’t touched, possibly since I lived in Tennessee and made harem pants in a hurry for a dance costume after the ones I ordered were lost in shipping. Sewing is a perfect snow day/cold weather indoor activity, which means it will probably be beach weather beginning tomorrow.

random thoughts – Day 2,119 (Sunday) – assembly required

Old tracks and new tracks.

It was snowing (again) when I woke up today and it’s feeling like a daily situation that can stop any time now. As much as I would have liked to stay home staring out the window, it was the first day of dance group for the new year and we are scheduled to perform in a showcase in a month, so there would be no skipping out for me. I was prepared to assemble. 

The yard and driveway had a combination of freshly covered old tracks and recently made fresh tracks from the local wildlife, not that I could identify any of them. Luckily, the snow was light and fluffy and stopped before there was much accumulation. 

Driving back from dance the sky was blue and at times, the glare of the sun off the wet road was blinding. The wind blew powdery snow from the trees and created ghostly snow shapes in the air. Or maybe it was real ghosts. I’m certainly no expert in the world of the supernatural. As I passed Dunn Pond State Park, there was a sudden urge to go snowshoeing, but the snow shoes were still at home in the shed and not in the car where they belong in the winter.

Another piece of assembly-required furniture delivered this afternoon, on schedule as promised. It’s a bathroom storage cabinet that felt necessary to store the toilet paper closer to where it’s used and declutter the linen closet. The unit was on Amazon offered by two different companies at two different prices with one charging $10 more than the other. WalMart often has the same products available for delivery and I found it on that website for $20 to $30 less than the Amazon sellers. Then, I remembered I had a new postcard from Wayfair with 15% off. The Wayfair price was comparable to WalMart and the discount made it even less.

How it started.

It delivered mid-afternoon and I got busy with the assembly. There were a lot of pieces and hardware to be sorted but the instructions were remarkably clear and were illustrated well. I laid everything out on the bedroom rug which was the largest space available close to the final destination.

The instructions called for full assembly before placing the cabinet. That would have required lifting the 42-pound, 66-inch tall cabinet above the toilet tank to slide it into place behind the toilet. I can do some stunts, but that wasn’t one I was willing to try.

I assembled the lower half and placed it, then attached the assembled upper section. The only issue is the backing board couldn’t be screwed to the top edge of the bottom half but it’s a small price to pay to avoid breakage of a wall, the shelf, or myself. I also could have left off the bottom crossbar and slid the unit straight back to the wall, but the crossbar adds stability so I did the lift and lower installation. 

How it finished.

My measuring was good and the thing fits in the intended space, which is a small nook. The color in the product photos looked like a near exact match to the bathroom woodwork, and it’s close but a little bit off. The woodwork now looks more olive than sage by comparison, but daylight might have an affect, and it’s not something I am going to lose sleep over (there are plenty of other things for that). 

It only took a couple hours and it is possible there was not one single swear word uttered, which would rank the project as a near miracle. I may need to write to the company to congratulate them on the clarity of the instructions. The packaging is ready for Monday’s recycling and the cabinet is already stocked with toilet paper, tissues, and a surprising number of jugs of soap refills and shower pump soap which had been hidden in the previously crowded linen closet.

random thoughts – Day 2,118 (Saturday) – fox talk

Since the first time seeing a fox in the neighborhood I’ve been on high alert. The few viewings were random and fleeting enough that I sometimes wondered if I had really seen a fox at all. A movement, a flash of a reddish bushy tail, and then not much else.

Fox on a morning walk.

This morning, while drinking coffee and reading a book while facing the living room bay window, there was movement outside. A fox crossed a yard before dashing from the far side of the street to my side, and then up Mom’s driveway and out of sight. It made me wonder what’s wrong with my driveway that the interesting critters seem to go through Mom’s more than mine. It put me on super high intensity alert for another sighting. 

Whether it was a male or a female or even a cub was not something I could tell. All I knew for sure was it had a beautiful reddish long bushy tail, a reddish coat, triangular ears, and matched every description and image of a red fox I’ve ever seen.

Fox on a rock.

Over the course of a couple hours, my windows framed a fox living what looked like one heck of a great morning. A fox ran across the snowfields of neighbors’ yards and up cleared driveways. It walked along the edge of the street. It disappeared under a tree with low bushes. It reappeared in another yard. It ran through the wooded area behind my house. Each time, I moved towards a window, cell phone in camera mode in hand, and camped out, waiting for another glimpse.

Once, for a couple minutes, one fox chased another through the other side neighbor’s yard into the wooded area behind our houses. One paused on a stump, then they both turned and ran across the yard and crossed the street again. There were few cars out and hardly anyone out waking so they had free rein in their adventure.

As the fox(es) scampered from yard to yard, I scampered from room to room trying to get pictures. Today was much more successful than past efforts. I got pictures of a fox trotting on the street, pausing at the edge of a driveway, posing on a stump in the back woods. Getting the two foxes playing together was less successful as they were in the trees and just far enough from my window and from each other to be hard to get both in a shot. Plus, they move quickly when they want to. Later, one headed to Mom's yard up the path cleared for oil delivery.

Fox headed to Mom's house.

It looked like a great day to be a fox running on the snow. I had fun watching and wondering how many sets of the tracks in the snow in my yard are from the foxes. My dashing from window to window was a test of speed and agility. 

random thoughts – Day 2,117 (Friday) – inside looking out

Kiki looking out.

It looked cold outside so I stayed inside and looked out the window. Kiki spent some time this morning also looking out the window before trading sitting in the living room for lounging on my bed. She now alternates between laying at the foot of the bed and nestling up against the pillows at the head of the bed. She will allow me to join her on the bed to pat her head, stroke her face, and feed her treats from my hand, but I must approach slowly and calmly. One sudden move and she is gone.

There was briefly a general idea to go out to some vague and nebulous “somewhere.” While drinking coffee, there was briefly an idea to take a ride to the beach, but it was dismissed. The freezer and fridge are loaded and the pantry is full, so grocery shopping would result in unnecessary purchases and storage challenges. I could easily hide out for a month (maybe more) before needing to restock, which is a pretty good situation. It’s fun to imagine hibernating, but it couldn’t just happen for real. Dance groups begin again this Sunday and Tuesday and those are great reasons to leave the house, so maybe I’ll just plan to hunker down on the cold non-dance days.

Suddenly it was lunchtime, then suppertime, then “too late” for any grand adventures I hadn't yet thought up and didn’t really want to go on anyway. For most of the day, I continued the momentum of my year-end reading frenzy and read a book I started yesterday (Brace for Impact). It’s a well-written memoir by a midwestern roller derby girl that makes me nostalgic for my own roller derby days and the workouts, the team, and playing in bouts. During reading breaks, I arose from the couch and worked on dance combinations and tried balancing a dance cane on my head which is a lot harder than I thought it would be because it feels too light to stay put.

The moon and the tree.

As the sun set out beyond the back yard, the practically-full moon rose out beyond the front yard. I forgot to look outside until it was already pretty high behind a tree. Before it was dark, it looked like a fuzzy ball or a balloon caught in the tree.

And that was pretty much the day. It was a really good day. So far, this has been a great year.

random thoughts – Day 2,116 (Thursday) – hello 2026

First snow of 2026.

It was snowing again this morning. Steadily. At 7:30 I was suddenly very glad that I had not put in the effort to successfully invite/convince anyone to attend one of the 10:00 First Day Hikes in the area because now I didn’t need to try and weasel my way out. 

This year's local-ish options were Willard Brook and Wachusett Reservoir. After failing to round up accomplices, I had figured I could go alone, but the falling snow stopped that line of thinking. Walking in freshly fallen snow is one thing. Walking in a steadily falling snow is another. I found out much later that one of the hikes was cancelled due to icy conditions, the other recommended cleats and poles. 

While it was snowing and for a while afterwards, the plow for the neighborhood was doing laps like it was a NASCAR track event. By 8:30, the snow seemed to have let up and the Snow Angel was out clearing the neighbor’s driveway, then mine, then Mom’s. My mind had already moved far off the hiking plan and I indulged in an extra long, hot shower. The new journal for the new year was cracked open. There were word games and Duolingo lessons in chess. The turkey soup started a couple days ago with half already sent to Mom’s house was put back onto the stove. Rice was cooked for the soup and lunch of soup and toast was had.

A couple things needed to be mailed so a trip to the mail boxes was executed, followed by a visit to Ocean State Job Lot because I was already out. I failed to take a basket or a cart and the shopping was dictated by what I could carry. A pajama set was built from the women’s pajama pants rack and a men’s rack of Henley shirts. The discounted Christmas decorations were browsed and spools of ribbon and some ornaments were gathered. A jug of body lotion was selected to combat winter dry skin. 

The annual Twilight Zone marathon was dabbled with and man, those stories still hit home today. Apparently, greed, ambition, paranoia, fear of the unknown (especially strangers), and extreme ideology are everlasting themes.

Pink-ish sky and full-ish moon.

Late in the afternoon, the sky in front of the house took on a pale pinkish color and the almost full silvery moon hung in the sky. Out back, a sliver of darker sunset color was barely visible through the trees.

A macaroni and cheese dish was baked, mostly to use up some tired milk. Pots and pans were washed by hand. Dance steps were reviewed and music listened to for a new choreography. Videos were reviewed with time stamps noted for cool moves that could work with my dance partner’s choreography. That’s how we work. Music is chosen and I search out cool combinations and vibes and send them over, and she does the heavy lifting of somehow making at all come together and make sense and then we meet up and dance, practice, and refine it until it’s in our bones.

The Christmas cards came down from the kitchen wall and holiday serving dishes, napkins, and cups were put away. The day was a nice way to ease into the new year.