Wrecollections and Writings...

I've had this problem on my computer lately. Makes it hard....nay, impossible to blog. Darned nuisance.

Memories and Recollections: no idea why these random things pop into my mind. Mr Dearling says he figures the inside of my head must be like some kind of surreal carnival ride. I can't disagree, it gets pretty colorful in there. I attribute it to a) a profligate youth; b) diverse interests; c) awful lot of imagination; d) Advancing Age. Also a lot of faeries and elves live in there. Nevermind.

So, I heard some reference on This American Life (which I recommend HIGHLY, by the way) about recollections and memories. And listening, I suddenly had a recollection - actually, perhaps a flashback. I used to walk to school every morning with my BFF Fran. I haven't talked to her for years, but she is/was my Best Friend as only adolescent girls can be best friends.

Her mother was a treat. She was darling, short, and possessed of what she referred to as "my wide Dutch bottom." She was also kind, creative - and she made dipped fondants in the winter. Some people call those "creams" -- they're chocolates with a creamy middle in them. But hers were homemade, and when she made them, she put them on a slab of marble and set them on the enclosed front porch to cool. I used to go there in the morning, knock on the door, and while I was waiting for Fran, I would eyeball those fondants in their neat rows. My biggest regret at being lousy at math is, I could never figure out how to rearrange them so that it wouldn't be obvious that four ....uhm... two -- ONE was missing.

Now - Mrs Fran's Mom always did give me some, and they were indescribably good. I have absolutely no have rather limited self-discipline, but I managed to wait, every year, for my allotment. And they proved up the adage, "Anything worth having is worth waiting for." Why did I remember that? NO idea. It just bubbled up from the effluvia in that corner of my head-chamber.

On a Cat theme: How many cats are in this picture? Now, obviously this is something of a trick question, because you can only see Lilliane, nestled between Mr Da's knees; the fact that I'm asking would indicate that there must be some others. Well, there is ONE other. Evangeline is under the blue shawl on Da's lap. She looks like a lump (contrary to appearances, Da is not preggers). What is remarkable is this: while it's usual for Evangeline to be under my shawl, either behind me on the couch or on my lap -- she had never crawled up on Da before. He obligingly draped the shawl over her, and he and both cats spent quite some time happily watching taped motorcycle races. In case you can't make it out - Mr Dearling's sweatshirt says "Still plays with motorcycles". He does.

Glancing at that picture, I realize that there appears to be - something of a crowd of teddy bears on the back of the sofa. They are NOT there because we were expecting grandchildren. They were there because I was a pretty serious Arctophile (teddy bear collector) for some years, and during that time they all developed an unquenchable thirst for racing on the teevee, not only motorcycles but cars. All kinds of car races. NASCAR, stock, Formula One, you name it. (OK, the truth is, they tend to live there, on the back of the couch. Some day I'll introduce the more notable here...Miss Iris Von Heliotrope in particular would relish the notoriety fame.)

On the knitting front, I went to Late Night Knit last Friday night with the Lovely Daughter and had the unalloyed pleasure of seeing Molly Bee , although even though we were both seated in different places from other Fridays, we STILL had a post in our mutual line-of-vision, and also Beth (thanks again for the delicious writerly* books, Beth!). And guess what? I spent the ENTIRE knitterly time NOT knitting toques ! Actually I was knitting on the fingerless mitts I'd cast on for my very own personal ME, and a scarf which I think may be a belated birthday present for a friend from the Museum.

* Writerly - refers to the fact that along with signing up for the first Creative Writing class I've ever had (referenced previously), I've been a) reading the writing books Beth gave me; b) writing some every day; c) feeling more like a writer. I've found a couple more quotations (I LURVE me some quotations, goes back to my Calligraphy-teaching days). For example:

"I like deadlines - I love the whooshing sound they make as they rush by." Douglas Addams

"Don't look at your feet to see if you're doing it right. Just dance." Anne LaMott

And lastly - the other night I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators!

This, on the recommendation of a children's writer whom I admire HUGELY - and if you like making absolutely cunning little paper toys (which even *I* can manage!), so will you: The Toymaker .


Yeppers, this is it - this is the year I become a Bubbe-Knitting-Museum-Guiding-Storytelling-Old-Ojibway-Woman-WRITER OF CHILDREN'S STORIES. (Uhm...ideally with the world "published" popping up somewhere in there, I HAVE been writing the stories.) That's my Birthday Resolution. Just sayin'.

Ed. note: had an e-mail from one of my toque customers - he'd like another, in red. I of course said........ sure