313: trying for scarf photos once again...

fingers crossed, head bowed in prayer (with one eye open so i can see what i'm doing)...

okay y'all.

i'm giving up for now. i've already posted my help request to one of the groups. so i'll just wait. in the meantime, it's blogging as usual. (sans photos.)

312: scarf photos

hey y'all.

lemme see if i can post scarf photos tonight. not that it's a "decent" hour but hey, it's all i've got right now.

grrrrr!

i still can't do it. oh well. i guess i've gotta report it this time. ;-(

311: the scarf

hey y'all.

i'm posting a few pics of the scarf i sent to my friend overseas. she was nice enough to send me pics because silly ole me forgot to take some before i put it in the box.


grr! blogger is acting up so i can't suck the photos in right now. i guess that's my cue that i need to shut it down for the night. i have a dental appt in the a.m.

i'll come back at a decent hour and post the photos. '-)

310: weekend stuff

hey y'all!

how was the weekend at your house?

ours was long. kinda busy too.

i needed to do my friday errands (on friday) and baby bliss didn't feel well. so i bundled her over to grandma's and ran off screaming "Freeeeeeeeee-dommmmmmmmmmm!", scaring everyone within a 50-mile radius.

as i was finishing up. baby bliss called to say she wanted to sleep over at grandma's, a real surprise. which meant i had to go home, to grandma's, then back home. baby bliss can't sleep without her Teddy Bear.

mr. bliss and i watched movies for several hours friday night/saturday morning. (hmmm... why did i just have a deja vu moment? like i've written that line recently?)

saturday we slept in. later i got mr. bliss to go to hobby lobby with me. i was looking for yarn for scarves. it's not that i don't have a ton of yarn stashed already. but i needed more.

i made a scarf for a friend overseas and sent it to her for christmas. now she wants another. and her mom and sister each want one.

i don't have the colors they requested hence our look-see at hobby lobby.

we were in line in the dollar store (where we'd found some yarn that might have worked) when mr. bliss got paged to go to work. he said we could wait in the (long) line but i didn't want to. so we left.

i dropped him back here then high tailed it over to my grandma's (again). i passed #2 auntie's house along the way. she was getting her mail so i stopped to say hello and hang out for a few minutes.

when i got to grandma's, baby bliss was all packed and ready to go. huh? i'd told her the day before that she would have to stay at grandma's saturday as well because i planned to attend a meet up event that evening.

well that chap was up in arms. i had to put on the "cuz i'm your momma and i said so" hat. she backed down, we called a truce and returned to our respective corners.

yeah. i thought so. LOL

the event started at 6. knowing how slow i am, i should have been home at 4:30, getting ready to leave by 5:30 latest. instead i was at grandma's. and she asked me to take her to the supermarket.

graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand-maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

by the time i got back home, it was after 5. then i poked around here and next thing i knew, it was almost 7.

i grabbed my gear and ran.

i wondered who else was late as i lawfully made my way to the event.

as i read the directions to get past the point i knew, i sensed a mistake. how could i be heading south and be required to make a right turn onto south _______ street? if i was already heading south, a right turn should be going west. (right?)

any way, thank God for a fairly good sense of direction. i managed to get there no wrong turns. the only other weird thing was the address for the venue. no part of the building faced or attempted to go near the street that was named in the address. go figure.

when i got to the table, there were a few other ladies present. we all exchanged names and greetings as i settled into the closest chair. everyone else had ordered so i did too. while i waited for my tea and small bowl of soup, i engaged the ladies in conversation: where are you from, how long have you lived here? do you have any children, etc.

after we ate, we passed around photos and discussed the topic that had drawn us all together: natural hair. (for those of you who don't know, "natural hair" generally means hair that has not been "processed" or chemically treated. this is a commonly-used term in the african-american community.)

about mid-way through the event, i thought about moving down to the other end of the table to mingle with the ladies at that end. partly because i wanted to learn more about them and partly because i wanted to connect with someone closer to my own age. (the oldest person at my end was 10 years younger than me.)

but i didn't. i kind of got caught up in what the young ladies were talking about. not the specifics because the conversation was about musicians i've never heard of. i was drawn in from a nostalgic standpoint. at one point i zoned out and reminisced about the friends i had back in tha day, the concerts we'd gone to, and the other fun events we'd attended.

the pre-mommy days.

i didn't stay much longer. we opened the nice gift bags our organizer thoughtfully put together, ate cake and talked a bit more. and when the young lady sitting next to me said she was leaving, i did too.

we said our goodbyes to the ladies, walked out together, exchanged nice-to-meet-you's, said good night, and parted in the parking lot.

the next meeting will be in a month. we have some fun events planned but i'm not sure if i'll go. it was good to get out but i was tired by the time i left (around 9:30), i don't like driving in the dark, and i felt like i had missed out on some crochet time. (yeah, i know. i sound like an old lady, right?)

funny that i can stay up around the clock at home but out in the street, i start shutting down at dark.
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309: fun stuff

hey y'all.

i've been meaning to post this pic but kept forgetting. it's a belt i crocheted for baby bliss. it's ribbon i got from the dollar store and the hoops are recycled plastic covered in the same ribbon.

i like it but i think i need to add some plain, small beads to the tassels to give them a bit of weight.

the belt is 27 -- maybe 30 -- inches long. baby bliss wanted it to drape on her hips.

i couldn't find my camera the day i wanted to take the pic. so i just put it on the scanner. not a bad photo, i guess.

308: another one gone by...

hey y'all.

i can't believe another week has gone by.

time...

just yesterday (so it seems) there was sunshine and Susan was saying she'd seen a woman laying about in a bikini. or maybe it was a bikini top. either way, Susan doesn't live too far from me and i agree with her that it wasn't that warm.

seems like a few days ago Aly was talking about doing the girls' hair. but that might have been last week!

time is getting away from me in leaps and long strides.

i feel like i haven't had time to write any of my stuff in too long. i have been crocheting tho. but not as much as i want to.

too much other stuff to do: wipe down all kitchen surfaces, wonder what to do about the cracked bottom shelf in the fridge, wonder how much laundry i should do today or if it should wait until tomorrow...

and where the heck is that smell coming from? (or is it smells?) is it the fridge? the carpet? the kitchen floor? the garbage disposal?

do i really care????

should i?

yeah. i guess i should. *sigh*

well what about the rings in the bath tubs? and the spotty bathroom mirrors (that are the size of some picture windows)?

and all the dishes that are dirty despite the paper plates and paper towels i buy so we don't have to wash so many darned dishes?

and why am i the only one who remembers to close the pantry door and the foyer closet door and the laundry room door? so we aren't bumping elbows and knees on them when we walk past?

i have some clothing modification ideas i wanna work on but when? only God knows.

i've been thinking about giving up the writing gig. i mean writing for other people. their stuff i mean. i wanna get back to writing my own stuff. and to working on some other projects i've got in mind. i love the extra income but it's not steady and what i want to do will generate income too. eventually. ;-)

with my current schedule, there just aren't enough hours in the day. which is why i'm still up and they are sleeping.

welllllll, maybe i'll get a cup of tea and do some more crocheting while i try to get back to a few books i've been reading, defrag the hard drive, watch this documentary about ralph nader, and sketch out the design for a laptop bag for baby bliss that i'm gonna make using left over after denim from her jeans we cut last summer.

307: weekend bliss - the good stuff

hey y'all.

i was gonna get back to all the juicy details of my weekend alone with mr. bliss but i got a Phone Call.

baby bliss called to say they are right by the outlet mall, less than 15 minutes away. that means i've gotta scram.

#1 Auntie must have been doing 75 or 80 all the way cuz it's several hours from there to here, stops aside.

so y'all know what that means: more later.

306: the MIL visit - part deux

to continue...


the MIL went on and on about how tall baby bliss had gotten in the two years since they'd seen each other. (i think they're the same height now.)

she gave mr. bliss some things from home she'd brought down for him, we all hugged good bye, and that was it for friday.

(we had arrived just as she was about to leave with one of her neices, hence the brief visit.)

we did hang out with the rest of the family tho. we all had dinner at a moderately exxxxxpensive and well known surf and turf restaurant downtown. there were so many of us that we had to be broken down into two groups. we were seated in the same area but not together.

mr. bliss and i sat at the children's table. with the children, of course, and a few other adults. dinner was fun.

mr. bliss has a few cousin who i totally dig. one lives here (the guy who hosted the Big Event) and one who now lives in our home town. they are father and son. both laid back guys with innocent faces that belie their daredevil and prankster-ish hearts.

dinner was fun. Cool Cousin Elder sat with us at the kids table. he filled us in on all the fun and exciting things he's been doing since we moved away.

thank God for good conversation cuz i'll tell y'all, the food wasn't anything to brag about. i ordered fried jumbo shrimp and mr. bliss had a crab cake. poor baby bliss. she doesn't eat beef and she doesn't like much seafood. i don't even remember what she had.

i do remember that she said it wasn't as good as what we get at our favorite little seafood place up near the outlet mall. mr. bliss and i agreed.

the fries weren't bad though.

thank God too for Cool Cousin Younger's savoir faire. right when most of us were wrapping up our meals, he came in and made the rounds. he finally sat at our table, next to his dad. when the waiter came round, Cool Cousin Younger immediately let the guy know that the entire tab was on him.

mr. bliss sees him pretty often but i only see him once in a while. we all caught up and he talked about sunday night's Big Event. i was glad he did because that's how we found out that it was okay for baby bliss to attend the party. (mr. bliss was supposed to ask but didn't so we were planning to send baby bliss to Grandma's.)

baby bliss was overjoyed to know she would attend a party with the grown-ups, at a real night club. LOL

saturday, we didn't see the MIL at all. baby bliss and i spent most of the day trying to find her a decent pair of shoes to wear to the Big Event. she wears adult-sized shoes now and most of the time it's difficult finding a shoe she likes that is appropriate for her age.

she has a thing for wedgies and platforms and sometimes she wants shoes that i think are too adult for her. as was the case this time.

we ended up not getting any shoes at all. instead, i told her she had to wear the shoes she already had. they weren't as dressy as the invite called for but they were black and she's a child. no one would really expect her to come dressed to the nines.

305: hallelujah! it's a beautiful day.

hey y'all.

i stepped out on the balcony to re-arrange some things and i was entranced by the beauty God blessed us with today.

i observed the shining sun with much appreciation, noted the gusting wind blowing thru the naked branches of the willow trees with thanks and prayer (tornadoes in some parts...), and i was delighted and amused to hear frogs singing.

i stood there for a few minutes, to soak it all in. upon closer observation, i saw that the willow trees are budding already.

all this mid-february.

thanks God, for showing us that despite the fact that we haven't been great stewards of this earth you've given us to call home, we are still your valentines. :-)

304: weekend bliss

hey y'all.

baby bliss took a trip this weekend. she went home (mine, not her's) with #1 Auntie and (my) Grandma. she'll be home later today.

mr. bliss and i had grand plans for the weekend.

we were gonna drive a few hours to the mountains, stroll leisurely through small town streets, window shop, grab a good meal, and a room for saturday night.

but we didn't. we couldn't.

we came home after we dropped baby bliss at the leaving place. we were supposed to decide where we were going then Google-map our route.

we sat side by side on the couch. i powered up my laptop and mr. bliss turned on the telly. i thought he was watching. but when i looked at him a few minutes later, he was asleep!

i woke him but it was useless. not long after, we were both nodding.

i poked him and said, "honey, i think we should just stay home. we're just too old to party when the baby's away."

he laughed and agreed with me.

we talked and laughed while we watched some of the basketball all-star pre-game stuff.

eventually we began to nod again. the nods stretched into an hours-long nap for both of us. i woke up in the dark on the couch hours later, as mr. bliss was on his way out, to get us some yum yums for dinner and snack.

he grilled us a huge steak and cheese sub to share. we washed it down with dr. pepper. (yes, yes. i know that kind of meal is not good for me. but we had lots of green leaf lettuce on our sub. lots.)

after dinner i began crocheting a scarf for a friend's mom while we watched more telly. we stayed up reeeeeeeeeeeee-ally really late. (according to his standards, not mine. i've been known to do 36-hour marathons. back in tha day...)

sunday morning i awoke to a half-empty bed and the muted sounds of the telly rambling on in the living room.


to be continued...

303: happy president's day

hey y'all.

happy prezzy's day to ya!

i'm sending a special shout out to our own president.

it's said he's spending time in a certain african nation, one where he's being greeted with cheers and love, and where his face is plastered not only on billboards, but on women's dresses as well.

i believe we all need to feel loved and wanted, no matter callous, unknowing and uncaring we may seem to others.

if we can't get it at home, most of us will take it where we can get it. apparently he is no exception.

302: doing time with the MIL

i guess i should tell y'all about my date with the MIL.

It Wasn't So Bad.

we saw her very briefly friday evening. (feb. 8)

baby bliss and i rode downtown with mr. bliss to the hotel where his mom was hanging out for a few hours (with the family members she'd come to town with). he was like a little boy, wanting to see his mommy before he turned in for the night. it was kinda funny.

the MIL looked at me, wary, not knowing how i would greet her i guess. i smiled and hugged her hello. it was an ice breaker.


to be continued...

301: tidbits from grandma

hey y'all.

baby bliss and i hung out with grandma most of tuesday. we were at her house for several hours, while we waited for a repairman and then while they waited for me to finish a few assignments.

grandma loves her grands and great-grands. she'll feed us, clothe us, buy us gas and let us sleep at her house if our heat goes out.

but she is one who believes that chil'ren should not run amok and tear up the house, no matter how cute we may be.

wellllllll, baby bliss has her own renewable supply of petroleum-free energy and she loves to expend lots and lots of it at grandma's house. one reason is that we have downstairs neighbors and grandma only has next door neighbors.

baby bliss likes to run about in the backyard but grandma said no. even tho it was in the low 70s here today, the grass was damp and i'm sure the dirt was a bit muddy. so grandma said stay on the deck.

in between completing paragraphs, i watched periodically from the window. baby bliss tried as hard as she could to stay put. finally i saw her break free.

she was ecstatic as she ran through the grass, whirling her walking stick around in circles above her head.

finally i finished the last of my assignments and e-mailed it in. then i called to baby bliss to come in so we could take grandma to the store.

baby bliss bounced back into the house like she was on a pogo stick. i saw grandma's eyes flash. as i packed my things away, baby bliss began jumping around in the family room. i told her to get her things put away so we could go.

she said "okay mommy" but all her motion didn't take her one inch closer to her stuff. at one point, it looked like she was gonna run into the brick that surrounds grandma's fireplace.

grandma couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

"now. if you fall and bang your head on that floor, you will be sorry little girl. you just need to sit down and stop all them monkey shines."

uhm yeah. we love you grandma.

300: more on the MIL

hey y'all.

sunday at our house...

mr. bliss went to church with baby bliss and i. and he only went cuz our downstairs neighbor (who shall ever after be known as DSN; more about him later) urged him to go with us.

DSN went with us too.

we all had a great time. DSN said the message was one he really really needed to hear.

it was one i needed to hear too.

the topic was Forgiveness.

y'all know who came to mind as soon as i heard the word right?

yes! the MIL!

as i'm sure y'all know, sometimes God is subtle. then i'm left wanting clarity. thank you God for putting it smack upside my head this time. '-)

mr. bliss and i talked about it and it was all good.

God gave me a few practice lessons today.

i didn't bat an eye when mr. bliss's ex-wife (mother of my inherited child) called and yelled at mr. bliss for 15 or 20 minutes.

i didn't even flinch when his momma called and he told her, "i went to ________'s church today" and _______ was his ex-wife's name instead of mine.

then guess what his momma said. something like, "ewwwww. you don't mean that buddha mess do you?" and he laughed and said, "no, it's a church but they're all a bunch of hippies."

then the MIL asked him where he was, where was i, and if he could talk. i guess she thought she was gonna get some church gossip outta him.

*raising my eyebrow*

after they got off the phone he said, "oh, i shoulda let you talk to my mother. you could have told her how much you love her." then he laughed.

i gave him the evil eye and reminded him that our minister said Forgiveness is a process.

* * *

and after that phone call, my feet got stuck in the mud and the 3 baby steps i took forward will be as far as i go for a while.

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299: oh, and...

we got our invite to The Event that the MIL might be coming to town for.

it's on feb. 10, a sunday, from 6-12.

does that mean feb. 11 is a holiday? i haven't looked at a calendar yet but maybe it's President's Day? i'm gonna check online soon's i'm done with this post.

looks like i'm at least getting closer to nailing down the dates of the MIL visit...


update: i guess y'all already know President's Day is feb. 18?

LOL

is this part of the "mother-in-law" trick?
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298: we're home

hey y'all.

i was checking out at the library without really paying attention to what i had. (cuz i reserve most of my stuff online and pick it up after i get the e-mail notice.)

we got home and i put all muh stuff down. then i noticed one of the movies was "Monster-In-Law".

i swear y'all, i reserved it a while back. i can't even remember when. cuz sometimes when you reserve stuff, you have to wait for stuff to be returned or come from another branch. and it can take a while.

but ohhhhhh the irony...

then i realized i hadn't taken back all the ones that were due today. they were sitting right where i left 'em, right on the half-wall by the front door.

so i logged onto my library account and i was able to renew all of 'em. wellllllll, almost all. there's one that's in demand so they said i can't keep that one any longer.

well they're wrong. cuz they can't get it back until i take it back.

good girl that i am, i'm thinking about taking them all back later tonight.

but mr. bliss will have to drive cuz i'm wearing my glasses and driving in the dark with my glasses on has already proven to be a scary experience.

297: i'm being nosey

hey y'all.

we're at the library, baby bliss and i.

i'm busy doing all things blog.

and i'm listening. cuz i'm nosey.

there are two guys talking near us.

it's probably not what i think but it sounds like a personals ad hook-up is going on.

one guy said "so how do you want to do this?"

and the other goes, "well i just live around the corner..."

of course they're saying some other stuff too. like about computers and other stuff. and they're sitting right out in the open. and they're not whispering.

so it's probably a meet-up of some sort but not the kind i'm imagining.

right?

296: the retraction (sort of)

a recent conversation at our house...


me: so is your momma definitely coming this weekend or not?

mr. bliss: i didn't say she was coming this weekend.

me (staring in disbelief): um, yes, you did.

mr. bliss: no i didn't. this is super bowl weekend.

me: so? i know what you said. you said she might be coming this weekend.

mr. bliss: naw. i said she might be coming february 11.

me (not knowing that feb. 11 is not even a weekend day): you never said "february 11". you laid in this bed right here and said "this weekend".

mr. bliss: oh. well i meant february 11.

***

i hope with every cell of my being that he meant she'll be leaving on feb 11 cuz no way can she stay with us from the 11th (a monday) until the following weekend.

:-o

i'll have to move to my grandma's for the duration.

and apparently they are caravan-ing down. and i know those other people ain't staying with us. cuz that's just pushing the envelope too far and i'll have to put both feet down to quell that notion.

so if there's a bunch of in-laws coming, why can't the MIL stay where the others are staying? i think she'd be more comfortable surrounded with more of her kind.

and mr. bliss can even go stay where ever they're all staying and it will be just one big happy mish-mash of THEM.

i'm just saying.
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