A day in the life
It’s awfully nice when you can do something different with your day than you usually do. Even if it’s just going to the doctor, or just sitting at home in the morning cleaning up data files (wow, didn’t I have an exciting day?) Too much sameness drives me nuts. Actually met a doctor I liked today. Typically, no. We had some political excitement today just a quarter mile from my office…
… pause … I wonder what just crashed down off of my roof and down to the ground? That was alarming. Thinking about caring …. nah, I’m sure it’s fine …
Helicopters at the Alamo?
Well then! So as I said, UT’s Rec Center had the Obama-Clinton debate this evening. 
Now local news is completely beside itself with the local version of the talking heads. Definitely the locals haven’t figured out the talking head thing quite yet. It’s looking a teeny bit amateur. And of course they’ve brought out the helicopters. Wow. Ooh, there’s Huckabee in front of the Alamo (cliche!). People ususally ignore Texas, this is weird!
Saw bunches of students being … well, students, today. Excitable, activist, that sort of thing. Left my doctor’s office near campus and this huge group of people in front of a cafe started wailing and waving Clinton signs at me. I was pretty startled until I figured out what was going on. I wish Clinton hadn’t called attention to our local senator Kirk Watson freezing on camera. Kirk’s really nice, and has done a lot for people around here, and I think she could have left him out of it. It seemed like a cheap, unnecessary dig at the expense of a hardworking guy.
Brilliant Blocks
Amidst the doctors, political excitement and data, I kept working on adding black borders to squares. This has two purposes - one is aesthetic and the other unity. With all the different colors and styles, the black is there with the purpose of creating a common, unifying element. Whatever the pattern, the style, the texture of the granny squares, this border gives a finite space to the donors’ creations. In the end, it is supposed to give the effect of a stained glass window. Pretty cool, eh? It would also be a good way to build a sampler blanket, if you were into sampling granny square blocks.
With these squares, I’m amazed at the variety, yet really there are definite repeating patterns and colors. A lot of 3-dc, 2-ch in pinks. All sorts of yarn textures. You know, though, surprisingly it isn’t that hard to create these borders, just to create something similar for each square, no matter how it’s made or with what. Fiddle with it a bit, and they just sort of work.
I admit - it’s nice to see all these examples of people’s crocheting - now I know that my crocheting is, er, normal. When I teach myself things, I do wonder if what I do is totally unlike what others do. I’ve been very interestedly reading all the slips that go on the blocks, too. It’s really quite something to see all these squares from all these people, and to see the wonderful tags that people have added. Some cute things. I just did one square from Japan.
Well, off to listen to more helicopters. This can quit any time.
Five things …
Jenna has done a blog post about things that cheese her off. I do try to be positive, but am a person of definite opinions, so how could I pass up such a vague and uninvited opportunity to describe a couple things that irritate me? I shall restrict myself to five.
- Bad grammar. I don’t think anyone has an excuse. Most people in the US had plenty of opportunity in their many years of required, government-subsidized primary education to grasp the rudiments of appropriate punctuation and sentence structure. Choosing to ignore that education does nothing for you but convince people you hope to impress that you are not really the capable person you hope they believe you are. Like on resumes and college papers for which you will be graded. It’s not cool to sound inept.
- Cell phones at dinner. If I am eating with you and you answer your cell phone at the table, it is a mark of my great appreciation for you in other areas if I do not just get up and leave. But you’ve pissed me off. Cell phones are now so common that people no longer think that they can be overused or that there are times when their use is inappropriate and rude. If you’re conversing with someone else, let your voicemail get it. Theater, dinner, while driving, just leave it be.
- Carpeting. Once I moved away from Texas I discovered that people in other parts of the country like things like wood and tile floors. Here there’s this obsession with wall-to-wall carpeting that’s baffling. I like some carpet, but all over? Ew. You know you can’t really get that clean, right?
- People who cut me off on the road or tailgate. Something about the size and safety features of cars these days seems to make people believe that a large metal object traveling at high speeds will not really hurt you, or that it couldn’t happen to you. Basic physics says it will. Is the big hurry you’re in really worth risking the lives of the people around you?
- People who spell medieval “midevil” or imply that the time period was full of uncouth, unwashed savages of no learning or culture whatsoever. Not so! Yeah, that’s not a complaint most people have, I know. I struggled enough with translating their Latin that I have a fine appreciation of their erudition.
Somehow Microsoft didn’t make it onto this list. Odd. They’re often #1. You know what? Here’s five things I really like, just to even it out.
- Flowers are the best thing ever. This spring you will no doubt see some of the extent of my obsession with wildflowers in particular and flowers in general. The Texas Hill Country is nothing if not known for Lady Bird’s wildflowers. There’s just nothing better than a flower. My favorites are all versions of daisies, but I won’t say no to any of them, even the prickliest of them. Hope, new life and beauty.
- I love pillows. There’s nothing better than a new pillow on your bed or a huge squishy pillow for the floor. My first sewing project was a pillow. They’re my favorite type of craft project - short, sweet, decorative. Oh! Even pincushions are a type of pillow.
- Cats. I love my dog, and never tell her this, I’ll deny it but … I think I’m a cat person at heart. Independent, aloof, silent, prickly, inscrutable, demanding cats. They’ll never promise to be anyone’s friend and they’ll always mistrust your motives. I visit zoos just to visit the big ones. Who really can resist a white tiger?
- Coffee is easily my favorite beverage. My favorite is fresh-ground, strong-brewed, percolated Ethiopian Harrar, but as long as it’s not some icky cheap unfresh kind, I’ll probably like it. Black coffee? Just a little milk, please. Cafe du Monde chicory? Wonderful, and I’ll take the cafe, too and a beignet. Espresso? What a great idea, I’ll take it straight, triple please. Turkish coffee? Sure, where’s my sugar cube and funky perforated spoon?
- Tax refunds. Having just done my taxes, I am pleased to report that I did not do anything stupid to cost myself money this last year. The fact that I’m getting money back is so completely icing on the cake. This last year was the last one we were able to deduct tuition expenses, so that’s going to hit hard next year. What to do, what to do? Shall I be responsible and pay bills or go to San Francisco?
Probably I’ll go to San Francisco in the spring and drink coffee and look at flowers. Just a guess.
