And January Goes On!

Lots of bits and pieces to go on, as the month of January continues. This morning I woke to our first measurable snow since Christmas. The weather folk say 3-6 inches are expected today. We'll see. This has been our weirdest winter in ages.

Pumpkin Update

Thanks to a great neighborhood group, as well as Nottingham Nature Nook and South Lyon Murphy Lost Animal Rescue, Pumpkin the Deer is safe and the bucket has been removed! This occurred on Sunday, January 22, through the use of an overhead net. Prior to the rescue we learned that Pumpkin was a button buck and the strap of the bucket was stuck on his button antlers. Several days before the successful rescue, experts told our neighborhood association that Pumpkin was in good shape, due to it being winter and the metabolism of the deer slowing down to compensate for fewer food sources.

Photo: John DeMarco

The net was dropped on pumpkin, who tried to flee but was tangled up. 

Photo: South Lyon Murphy Lost Animal Rescue

The crew quickly ran to him and covered him, both to calm him and protect themselves. The bucket was cut off and the net was then carefully removed.

Photo: South Lyon Murphy Lost Animal Rescue

Pumpkin scampered off -- glad to be rid of the whole ordeal. We're betting that he's one hungry deer!

Photo: South Lyon Murphy Lost Animal Rescue

Good Mail

Unexpected mail can be such fun and two lovely packages arrived over the past week. The first was this very cute apron from Laura of Decor to Adore. If you haven't checked out Laura's posts or her youtube page with its wonderful tutorials (mostly sewing and costume on youtube, but also some craft projects) give it a look. It's one of my happy places!

Then I came home from the store to find a package in the mail from a friend I haven't seen in more than 50 years. She knew from the blog and FB my passion for all things England and France and sent a lovely package with a beautiful book about London (fabulous illustrations and etchings), a print of Notre Dame and a program from the Folies Bergere.

These were things from her mother's trip, probably in the late 1940s (the book is dated 1945). The items themselves are real treasures, but so, too, is the thought of being remembered by an old friend.

Thanks to them both!

Ladies Who Lunch

No photos here, but I enjoyed a delightful lunch with two friends I've known a long time but never known well. We reconnected after the death of my friend Dick Hill -- one of the women is his widow, Susie. I'd seen Jane Z. more recently, as she has been a theatre stalwart for years and one of our area's best actors. This was our third meet-up and they get better and better! Lots of smart, thoughtful talk on every subject from aging to theatre, health to climate change, and of course family and friendship. They say "everything old is new again," and I'm glad this old acquaintanceship is a new friendship.

On the Art Table

In December I signed up for Este Macleod's online Creative Circles workshop and, of course, didn't even begin to finish the projects by the time the workshop ended at the end of the month. I finally wrapped up my wreath. (This was comprised of first painting the "ornaments," then creating a watercolor wreath, and integrating the two.) I put mine on a rich blue background and finally got it framed. It was hard to get a photo without glare or reflection (hence the odd angle here!) but you get the idea.

Another project in the class was a watercolor "stained glass" window using wonky, colorful stars. Este's was fabulous. I decided to put my stars into a "lake scene." I think you get the stained-glass idea. I'm going to try this one again with a slightly different design; this was for practice.

Baking

When I went to Jane's for lunch with Jane and Susie, I was assigned dessert. My offering? Marie's Lemon-Ginger biscotti (which is always a HUGE hit!) and madeleines.

There's wasn't a lot left. (Actually, by now, they're all gone!)

Plodding Along. Literally.

Results of two MRI's are in. A rotator cuff torn in two places, arthritis and bursitis in the shoulder. As for the back/hip, I personally think they MRI-ed the wrong part of my back/hip and not the part that hurts. (That said, yesterday's doc agreed it might be sciatic and that is controlled by nerves in the upper back.) In any event, that one didn't yield much in the line of results apart from a future consultation. How to proceed? We'll see. In the waiting mode.

Meanwhile...

This will be a hunker-down day or two. Right now, lunch with a friend is on the calendar for tomorrow, along with more Goodwill sorting, wrapping some birthday presents, reclaiming my house and who knows what else!

We'll think of something!

Sharing with:    Share Your Style    /    Saturday's Critters