The absent-minded professor strikes again.

I have been operating under the impression that I published this post ages ago. Well, apparently not. Anyway, above is a chronological jumble of photographs from my no-longer-recent trip.

To state the obvious: I have been absent. Busyness, school, blah blah and excuses and such. Mainly I have been preparing to move my bloggy little house. I decided to do a partial reboot of sorts (there will be a post here with a link to the new locale) and think more of what I wanted to write about. I enjoy the miscellany of blogging, and yet it felt as if this little spot wasn't quite what I wanted anymore.

So, there it is. I'm very nearly finished, so I hope to have finished my virtual unpacking within a week. My fingers are metaphorically crossed. (If they were in the literal sense I wouldn't be able to type.)

Slán go fóill, 
Giselle

World Traveller

 

Well, not really. But "Time-zone Traveller" just sounded pathetic. I have not been around here because I have been Going Places and Doing Things. I went to Gainesville, where I took the two photographs above at the University of Florida campus. I've been wanting to get a picture of that tower, and when I finally had a chance all I had was the phone. Alas. I should get a proper camera, but I also need a new violin, and a car, and textbooks next semester.

Anyway... I also went on a trip to Maryland with Mishka and his mom. We flew there.

In an aeroplane.

In the actual sky.

Yes, I had never flown before. Or at least not since I was six months old.

 

 



I must say, the weather was glorious. When the plane landed we were in the last row and had to wait to disembark, and they opened the door behind us. We could immediately tell the difference in humidity level. During our stay, the average temperature was 77 degrees, with the highest humidity count at 30 percent. And people there complained of the heat. The heat!

By the time we came back to Florida, I was completely spoiled. I now can barely stand being outdoors for more than five minutes at a time.

Since we were in the Baltimore area, we made the most of our time and did the rounds of museums and such. That is, as much as we were able with a two-year-old in tow. So be prepared for the attack of the photographs, because most of them came out pretty well.

"From scratch"

I am tired of cooking from boxes. Not only is it all dyed and preserved, but pre-packaged is just plain boring. So this is my new project: I want to make at least one thing, every day, entirely from scratch. I don't care if it's a three course meal or just eggs and toast, but it isn't allowed to use any premade ingredients.

Day one was Yorkshire puddings. (A recipe from one of my beloved European cookbooks, so plenty of measurement conversion went on beforehand... I know, I need a scale. I'll get to it eventually.) I've always been a little confused about why they are referred to as "puddings" though. They seem more like dumplings to me. But whatever they are, they're delicious even when served with something that doesn't properly go with them. Like tuna salad. It was all I had.

Day two was banana bread, from the best banana bread recipe I've ever made. (It's this one. For me it has the perfect banana to cinnamon ratio.) I love this, and the funny thing is that I hate bananas. 

And then I got ambitious and decided that my little bread needed something fancy. Something like caramel lace. 

Fancy has a price though. Cleaning that pot was not fun.

Some were dramatically prettier than others.

Day three was french toast and scrambled eggs, but you shall have to take my word for it. The pictures were all blurry.

I'm going to plan on doing posts like this every week or so, to hold me accountable. Hopefully there will be improvement.

Slán go fóill, 
Giselle

On paperwork, and other disasters

Time management is not one of my strong suits. No matter how hard I work at it, it seems as if I'm constantly trying to fit something in at the last minute. Currently I'm trying to get my paperwork sorted before registration for classes opens at the college. Sounds fun, doesn't it? It wouldn't be a problem if everyone else had their stuff together, but they don't. Therefore I've spent the past several days in a flurry of trying to get things from one person/place to another person/place.

A similar situation arose regarding a trip I am going on at the end of the month. I paid to overnight my registration, only to find out that I had been given an incorrect zip code on the address where it was supposed to go. Because of that I missed the workshop choice deadline and had to do the form over.

On Monday poor Mishka had a run-in with a wall that resulted in four stitches above his eye. He looks like Frankenbaby now, but it's surprisingly adorable. Given his tendency toward wild recklessness it's a wonder it took so long for something like this to happen, but it was stressful at the time. His mother had to come home early because I'm not his parent, and apparently that trumps having a child with a gashed forehead. But at any rate he's much better now. (Actually he recovered from the injury itself quite well; I cleaned him up and he was chipper as a lark. I, on the other hand, may be paranoid forever.)

I have to apologise for such a quantity of glumness, but having a bit of a rant has made me feel much better. And I promise to be back over the next few days with things that are decidedly less whiny and more cheerful.

As a sidenote, the rain wasn't a disaster. We just happened to have a tropical strom (or something, I think it might be a hurricane now) brush past us, so we had quite a bit of it this past week. Which was rather lovely; I enjoy rain. Besides that, I didn't have any relevant pictures for this post- probably a fortunate circumstance- so I decided to use them instead.

Slán go fóill, 
Giselle

Just keep stitching...

I'm still plugging away at my little sampler, and reading the same book. I haven't made much progress with either, because since my oral surgery adventure I've spent most of my time in pain or doing something else. And it is surprisingly difficult to crochet a motif while holding an ice pack to your jaw. Nevertheless, I have finished the rose, made an adorable little leaf (I think it's the picots that make it so cute), and started a fun spiral-thing.

It is all passably photographed on my favourite apron. However, I really should get a new camera. I've been stuck with nothing but my phone for ages now, and I'm starting to feel very limited. Right now I don't have room for one in my budget, so I will have to put up with some graininess for a bit longer, but it is on the list. Along with a new violin (my bank account weeps at the thought, but one does what one must when they need a more advanced instrument).

Due to a new resolution I have been cooking more, and taking more passable photographs. More on that to come later. For now I am linking up with Ginny's lovely Yarn Along.

Slán go fóill, 
Giselle

This is going to be a really short post because I'm on pain medication.

Because I had my wisdom teeth removed this weekend. The most irritating thing ever, that was. So I've been surviving for the past few days on yoghurt, chocolate pudding, and pastina. The good news is that the swelling has gone down and my face no longer appears rectangular, although I still have a sort of chipmunk look. (Any previous thoughts I've had complaining about my face being too skinny have been rescinded.)

My uncle sent me flowers, which was very kind and resulted in a bunch of photos of the bouquet because I had nothing better to do all weekend.

It came with this bear. His name is Edmund

Relearning

Look at me, remembering that it's Wednesday. What an accomplishment. But at any rate, I'm linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along again.

I have just dug out and semi-unpacked my yarn box and found the box that had my crochet hooks in it, which had me worried for awhile because I couldn't find it anywhere. And I have a lot of hooks. So this week, because I love working with thread, I have begun getting back into something I haven't done in ages: Irish crochet. It's wonderfully fun to make, because many of the motifs have a 3d aspect to them. (Such as that unfinished rose in the photo. When it's done it will have three layers.) It's basically multidimensional lace.

Right now I'm just making a sampler; I haven't done it in so long that I need to get into the habit. There's a technique to it, but hopefully it will be like riding a bicycle. The big thing so far has been reaquainting myself with the padding. I'm a traditionalist and don't believe in "cheating" (a.k.a. the modern method) so it's a necessary annoyance.

As for the reading, a friend of mine recently gave me this book by C.S. Lewis called The Discarded Image. As you can read in the tagline, it is "an introduction to medieval and renaissance literature", which is very much my thing. Everyone should read some old story-poetry (there must be a technical term for that, but I can't seem to remember it) at some point, in middle English. With notes of course, because some words are completely different, but it is so much fun. But I digress. The book I am actally reading is also brilliant so far, which is up to about the third chapter. I've only just started, although it seems to be one of those intelligent books that do not make for quick reading.

My goal is to keep posting with the Yarn Along on Wednesdays, so I don't end up swamped with sampler progress that I never put up. We'll see how that goes.

Slán go fóill,
Giselle

Musicianing.

I had an orchestra concert today. We've been calling it our "spring" concert, but let's face it. It's summer. It was grand though. I took the above photograph while waiting before the show. The lighting was too strong from the window so the brightness was ridiculous, which explains such a strong filter.

The orchestra played the second half, after the intermission, so I got to sit and enjoy the first half. The classical guitar ensemble played, and a string quartet. Then two of the students played one of my favourite Beethoven pieces, the "Eyeglass Duet". The last piece of the first half was a Haydn trio, which was also fantastic. I really enjoy listening to Haydn's music, although I find playing it (on the piano anyway) rather irritating.

When it was our turn, I was far less nervous than I had expected. I have discovered since I began to play with the orchestra that I much prefer playing with other people. I do love the spotlight, if I'm being honest, but I like to have other people in it with me. 

We did three pieces: L'estro Harmonico Op. 3 No. 8 by Haydn, a "Pirates of the Caribbean" medley, and "When I'm Sixty-four" because that's how old our conductor is this year.

Mainly it was a lot of fun just to be there playing, but it was also nice to do well. I did better than any of my practices, except for the one section that I always did perfectly. That's the part I messed up. There's some kind of irony there that I find amusing.

When we stood at the end to take our bow, my bow (not the action, the violin bow) slipped forward and knocked into the head of the person in front of me. Oops. Occupational hazards: we do have them. I was nearly stabbed in the eye with someone's bow once. (And there was the time several years ago when my mother switched my piano bench around without my knowing, so when I went to open it I just flipped it over onto my foot.)

 So yes, musicianing can be dangerous. And I've had people in grocery stores make jokes about my having a machine gun in my violin case. But it's alright, we can take it. We're tough.

And yes, it's true, we're also a bit crazy.

Sherlock's glamour shot.

In which moving is a pain, but instead of whining about it I decide to talk about other things.

So. First of all, I made this little ribbon substitute for a friend's birthday last month. I was shipping her gift to Tennessee, and was reluctant to either send it off with no bow or one that might be squashed between states. Anyhow it turned out rather well, and I wanted to use it for a yarn along post but I kept missing Wednesdays.

Imagining this much tea in one place nearly short-circuited my brain with happiness. 

Wednesday was my birthday, so I went to the museum and took pictures of old cars and hotel registers and things. It was great. I hadn't been since they built a new building for it a few years ago, which had made me feel like a fraud of a museum-lover. To be honest though, I think I liked it better the way it was. Not that it isn't fun and wonderful now, but before it was just as fun and wonderful, although smaller. And it was very quaint and inviting. The atmosphere of the new building is, to my mind, too industrial.

And on Thursday I took Mishka to the fountain park for the first time. He was intimidated by them at first but warmed up to the idea quickly, though not quickly enough to prevent his stuffed elephant from getting soaked. It was a successful outing. Mishka was well behaved and adorable, and my display of healthy-but-good-tasting snack packing and child management skills made me feel like super-nanny. Which is just a couple of steps below Mary Poppins.

...

In other news, I had planned a giveaway for this week in honour of my birthday, but I've just moved and don't know where anything is. So that will happen as soon as I've found it.

Also, I have ordered a Miss Juniper Kitty softie kit from Alicia of Posie Gets Cozy. Though I have (very) meager sewing skills I have not yet begun to panic, even though this means I shall have to make frequent trips to the fabric store to use their sewing machines. I am buoyed up on a wave of completely unjustifiable self-confidence. The recipient is still undecided, but as I shopped I found myself listing all the little girls in my parish. "I could give it to Hannah. Or Abbie. Or Ava or Giovanna... Goodness if I turn out to be good at this I can order more and make one for each!" Oh my, such enthusiasm. We'll see how it's holding up when I have to do the sleeves.

Surviving Mother's Day, finally.

Sunday was Mother's Day here. The maple syrup candy was well received, to say the least, and I found a card that says "Mom, you were right about everything" on the front and "there, I said it" on the inside, which sums up our relationship rather well.

That morning at church after the liturgy we had a little party in the hall, which was lovely. (There is a new family who just joined the parish, and the grandmother is absolutely brilliant at planning these things.) There was lunch and cake, and the pastor put on his go-to party music. It's a polka cd, and something of a parish joke by now. They also had a tray of these pretty drinks on the table, each with a strawberry in it. I couldn't tell whether they were iced tea or punch, but I was incredibly thirsty and didn't much care. So I picked one up and took a large sip.

It was wine.

This is where I mention that, while I am old enough to drink alcohol in almost every country in the world, the one I live in is not one of them.

Oops. It was quite a shock actually, to someone expecting iced tea.

But luckily one doesn't usually die of embarrasment, and I survived. I'm very glad I did, because I ended up going out to dinner with my family. Now, my poor dad has tried to take my mom out for Mother's Day nearly every year since I was born. Different places, different cities and states, but no matter what we end up doing it has always been a complete and utter disaster, often of grand proportions. Last year we tried staying in, and even that didn't go well.

So this year we decided to go to one of the local Thai restaurants, because it's close, the people are absolutely lovely and recognise us since we've been there so many times, and we hadn't tried it for Mother's Day yet. (It also happens to be my favourite restaurant in existence.) My dad called ahead to check if they were closed or packed. We got ourselves ready. We drove over. We arrived, were seated, and had dinner.

And nothing terrible occurred.

Miracles are real.

Lately, I have been...

Finishing the food from this year's Easter basket. This year's cream cheese with pepper corns, pictured above, came out better than last year's, but the colour photos were all awful.

Valiantly not devouring all of my boss' candy, which is made of only pure cane syrup and pure maple syrup and just might be the Best Thing Ever. I had to get some for my mom for Mothers' Day. Shh.

Back at the Children's Museum. Quite a bit. (Note: Photographs taken whilst having fun are often blurry.) The elephant is Eli, Mishka's absolutely definitely positively Favourite Object on Earth. If anything ever happens to it, none of us will ever sleep again.

Under the bridge.

And over it. Just on the other side of those trees and buildings is the ocean. You can see it from the top of the bridge, but I was too slow with my camera and missed it.

Blowing lots of bubbles.

Driving English style in the grocery store cart. The seat belt on the left side was broken.

And also...

Not crocheting. For shame.