December 31 Block

Happy New Year!  Mary

December 30 Block

Well, it's 364 days down and one to go....  Mary

December 29 Block

It's oddly intimidating to be just two more blocks away from a whole year's worth.... Mary

December 28 Block

My hip replacement made the front page of the New York Times again today.  My next appointment with my orthopedic surgeon is in early February.  Looks like I may be having a medically intensive summer....  Mary

December 27 Block

It's very quiet at work.  All the undergraduates are gone for winter break, and classes do not begin again until Jan 23rd.  Many of the faculty are away or with family.  The final chair candidate visits won't begin until the end of January.  I'm actually getting through some of the piles on my desk.  Actual desktop is visible again... Mary

December 26 Block

This afternoon our cat, Mittens, and I sat out on the screen porch.  It was 46 degrees on the day after Christmas so we weren't completely crazy, plus this time of year it's actually more of a window porch.  We watched a squirrel on the maple out back.  He was eating something off the bark of the tree.  The squirrel was really working.  I wonder if he was eating lichen or something similar off the bark.  It was a very single minded effort that he kept at for a long time.  That's him, right below the knothole, midway up the central branch....  Mary

December 25 Block

A Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight....  Mary

December 24 Block

We celebrated Christmas tonight because Eileen is on call tomorrow.  Then It's a Wonderful Life was on television.  With our two amazing, wonderful daughters, we really are the richest people in town....  Mary

December 23 Block

We made it to the end of the work week.  Fridays are notorious for afternoon disasters, not every week but the big ones tend to be on Fridays.  Now it's a three day, holiday weekend, and I don't have to set an alarm for anything....  Mary

December 22 Block

Here's hoping that Diane and I are the only people at work tomorrow and that it's very, very quiet, no crises...  Mary

December 21 Block

It's the Winter Solstice today.  Officially winter begins at 11:30 pm, central time, tonight.  For me one of the very best things about Christmas each year is that there are already several more minutes of daylight.  Before long we'll actually be able to see it.  And I won't have to walk home from bus in total darkness anymore with my flashy red bike light on my backpack for safety... Mary

December 20 Block

We went over to visit out former next door neighbors, Kent, Judy and Joe.  Joe is nine years old and a really cool kid.  Anne found two books for building mini weapons of mass destruction, like rubber band guns, playing card coin shooters, etc.  We included a tool box full of popsicle sticks, a rubber band ball, glue, clothes pins, everything you need to create mini destruction.  Anne and Joe made a great rubber band gun and shot it across the room.  Very fun, very cool.....  Mary

December 19 Block

Our old neighborhood had folks of many traditions, so we used to have an annual Hanzamastice Party.  That's Hanukkah/Kwanza/Christmas/Solstice.  We had menorah and moon cookies, Christmas carols, mulled cider, and Kwanza candles to name just a few.  It was great fun, and everyone got a sample of everyone else's tradition.... Mary

December 18 Block

The final two cats in our family belong to Anne.  Maggie and Meeko are sisters, litter mates to be more correct.  Like many sisters (Anne and Eileen included) M&M are wildly different personalities.  Maggie is a whirling dervish who has two speeds: full throttle and asleep.  She usually fights the latter until the last possible moment.  Meeko is sweet, timid, and cannot meow, only squeak.  Their coloring is called tortoise shell, and they have very lovely coats.  When they are curled up together the only way to tell them apart, even for Anne, is to look for Meeko's white patches....  Mary

December 17 Block

We had an inch of snow so at least it's white.  Maybe some Christmas movies will do the trick:  White Christmas, Love Actually, It's a Wonderful Life, Christmas in Connecticut.  "It's a cat-a-stroph!"  Mary

December 16 Block

Spent most of my day off cleaning the house.  Boring but now it's clean.... Mary

December 15 Block

This no snow (not that I'm really complaining) and warmer than normal temps aren't doing a lot for my Christmas spirit.  Hopefully by the time the actual day gets here, I'll feel a bit more festive.  This fabric reminds me of little, tiny ornaments, all colorful and shiny.  Every little bit helps at this point...  Mary

December 14 Block

Today is my father-in-law's birthday.  We always gave him a big jar of mixed nuts for his birthday, so Rick got a jar today.  Along with plotting an amaryllis bulb on Grandma's birthday, this will be a family tradition going forward....  Mary

December 13 Block

Today was the last of our chair candidate visits.  It will certainly be interesting tomorrow to hear what all the faculty have to say about them....  Mary

December 12 Block

Today is my birthday.  It's also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  When I was 16 years old, the family I was staying with in Mexico took me to the old Basilica to see the actual image on Juan Diego's centuries old tilma.  It was one of the most meaningful experience of my life to see the depth of faith exhibited by the pilgrims there.  Needless to say, the image of Guadalupe has a lot of meaning for me.  My friend JK and her wonderful partner gave me this fabric a couple of years ago.  It's perfect for today's block.... Mary

December 11 Block

Moving my mom to her new senior apartment went beautifully.  We had six family members and two very nice young moving guys.  By bedtime on Friday, it looked like Rosemary had lived there for years.  All the furniture fit.  Everything was in place.  We even had her little tabletop Christmas tree set up, and her niece, Diana, had brought a lovely Christmas decoration for her door.  The next day we did all the errands and shopping that she needed, then we left her to settle in.  When I talked to her today, she said she had dinner last night and brunch today in the dining room.  She is making new friends and reconnecting with old.  There are three other women there who went to high school with her.  It's like old home week.... Mary

December 10 Block

Today is the 63rd anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  If you've never read this amazing document, I highly recommend it.  One of my heroes, Eleanor Roosevelt, was instrumental in the writing and passage of the UDHR.  The UDHR has influenced the world for the better and allows universal human rights to be a common expectation if not the actual rule in countries around the world.  I sometimes wonder if we would manage to pass it today....  Mary

December 9 Block

Today is Donny Osmond's birthday.  While I think Donny is a perfectly nice guy, I'm not a huge fan.  However, my cousin Lisa was his biggest fan.  Lisa was one year older than me and developmental disabled.  We grew up across the street from one another.  Lisa's favorite color was purple, so every birthday, Christmas, whatever, we bought her purple presents:  scarves, bracelets, slippers, mittens, etc.  Purple was Lisa's favorite color because she had a record album of Donny Osmond's and on the cover he was wearing purple socks.  Lisa passed away a couple of years ago, but I still think of her whenever I see the color purple.  So happy birthday, Donny, and thank you for all the joy you brought to Lisa's life over the years....  Mary

December 8 Block

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  One of the symbols of Mary is the iris.

For the next couple of days I'm going to invoke the JK rule of single fabric squares while we get my mom moved into her new senior apartment.  It will be a much better living situation for her changing needs, so we are all very happy she's made this decision.... Mary

December 7 Block

Seventy years ago today Pearl Harbor was attacked.  When I was a kid, I'd look at military photos of my father and uncles from World War II.  I remember thinking they were all old guys like my dad.  Now I look at the photos, and those young men were babies.  Our younger daughter is now older than her grandfathers were when the War ended....  Mary

December 6 Block

We're going to drop down into the teens this week.  I definitely need to wear my down coat tomorrow.  It was very chilly waiting for bus with the wind coming off the lake....  Mary

December 5 Block

Mittens is our 18 year old, kitten mill, pet store cat who lived under the tyranny of our old cat for 13 years.  Even though Mittens was twice the size of Winkie, she was completely cowed by that runt-of-the-litter with attitude to burn.  Winkie passed on just before we moved into this house, so Mittens has spent five years reveling in being the queen of all she surveys.  She is the most generic looking grey/brown/white pawed (hence, Mittens) cat you ever saw.  But she is sweet and happy and content, in her old age, to sleep about 20 hours a day....  Mary

December 4 Block

Anne pointed out that the year is almost over and I have only done a square for Eileen's cat, Monster.  So tonight's block is for Duvy, Eileen's other cat.  Duvy was abused and then abandoned in the New Mexico desert.  He was found living in casino where he'd taken refuge.  He and Eileen took one look at each other at the shelter and that was it.  Duvy is an English short hair and a very sturdily built fellow.  At first glance, he looks like black and white feline version of a panda bear, but on closer inspection he turns out to be Cuban brown and clotted cream.  Duvy is a very low maintenance, meloncholy guy who just wants to snuggle.... Mary

December 3 Block

We decorated the Christmas tree today with the ornaments we brought from Grandma & Grandpa's.  There's everything from vintage frosted ornaments to ones made by grandkids to red plastic balls.  It's not going to be a particularly cheery Christmas, but life does go on even after a year like this one.... Mary

December 2 Block

Since I nearly threw my alarm clock out the window this morning, I'm thinking no alarm for tomorrow morning....  Mary

December 1 Block

Today is my mother-in-law Kate's birthday.  And as we all learned this year, her favorite color was green.  Every year for her birthday, we gave Grandma a potted amaryllis bulb.  Their living room seemed to have the perfect light for getting the bulb to bloom, sometimes twice.  We planted an amaryllis bulb today in her honor.  I doubt the light in our living room with be quite as magical, but it is a tradition after all....  Mary

November 30 Block

After work I went to hear a presentation by author and cartoonist Lynda Barry.  It was one of the best hours I've spent in a long time.  Lynda was funny, poignant, insightful, and did I mention hilariously funny?  She will be giving four more presentations this coming semester as Artist in Residence at the UW.  I'm hoping to attend them all.  The blocks tonight are doodled in honor of Lynda....  Mary

November 29 Block

Rick was one of the keynote speakers at a conference in Milwaukee today.  There was a dinner last night, so the conference put him up in a really nice downtown hotel.  I decided to go along just for fun.  It wasn't a hotel room, it was a suite, a really, really nice suite.  While Rick went out to dinner with the other speakers, I stayed in, ordered room service, and watched Dr. Zhivago with no commercials.  An upgrade for us would be the Holiday Inn, so a boutique hotel suite was pretty decadent.

While Rick was at the conference today, I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see the Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper.  It was a lovely exhibit of pastels, drawings, and watercolors by the Impressionists from Cassatt to Monet to Van Gogh.

The most amazing thing about the museum though was the couple of hundred school children who were there.  There were big round tables set up in the permanent collection galleries with chairs filled with kids maybe 10 years old.  They were all writing and talking with the docents who were helping.  It was phenomenal:  Renaissance art, icons, 15th century silver crucifixes, and 4th graders everywhere!  After once having my younger daughter followed around by a security guard in a Madison museum just because she was a kid, this was a completely different experience.  Hats off to the MAM for making the museum experience so accessible for kids!

November 28 Block

Posting in the morning because I won't have a connection tonight....  Mary

November 27 Block

Even four day weekends seem too short sometimes....  Mary

November 26 Block

It's hard to believe that November is nearly over.  So far we've been very lucky weather-wise, only a dusting of snow and unseasonably warm weather.  The temperatures will be dropping tomorrow into the 30s with a dash of snow.  Time to break out the warmer coat.... Mary

November 25 Block

We went down to Streator today to see how my mother is doing after her hip replacement on Tuesday.  She's home, moving slowly, but doing very well.  Rick did all the driving despite many offers from Anne and I to trade off.  We went to visit Rosemary's new "senior" apartment, and it is wonderful.  We took pictures and measured to make sure her furniture would fit.  We'll go down in two weeks for the move to new place.

Eileen decided she really wanted to get a Christmas tree on her way home from work tonight, so we (mostly Rick) got it set up in the living room.  We'll decorate sometime tomorrow, the next day, whenever.  Since it's been a very long day, I'm invoking the JK rule and using a simple square of fabric for the block tonight....  Mary

November 24 Block

Happy Thanksgiving!  Mary

November 23 Block

Anne was over this evening making desserts for tomorrow.  The house smells just wonderful.  Eileen is on call tonight and tomorrow and is coming down with a cold.  We (read: Anne) will just have to feed her really well when she's home....  Mary

November 22 Block

My gravy experiment seems to have worked very well.  It's a lovely golden color and tastes very good.  It should be even better when we add all the lovely brown nibbly bits from the roasting pan.... Mary

November 21 Block

Cook's Illustrated has a new slow cooker cookbook that we just got.  It has a slow cooked gravy that you make in advance of Thanksgiving.  Rick and I chopped and cooked the veggies, brown the ground turkey, and made the roux.  Tomorrow morning I'll put it in the slow cooker and let it simmer for 11 hours, then strain it when I get home.  On Thanksgiving it gets heated up gently and all the good brown bits from the bottom of the pan get added.  I'm really looking forward to some seriously good gravy and potatoes on Thursday.... Mary

November 20 Block

Sunday night again.  Why are weekends so short?  But we can actually walk through the living room again thanks to the hard work of Rick and Eileen in getting things moved and sorted.  The room looks so big all of a sudden... Mary

November 19 Block

Tomorrow begins a new week.  It will be a short, but action packed one at work with another chair candidate coming to visit.  And on Tuesday, my mother is having a hip replacement.  Thankfully my brother David is there to take her to the hospital and hang out in the waiting room.  Anne and I will go down on Friday to see how she's doing and to check out her new senior apartment.  We'll go back to help with the move in early December.  The new apartment will be a much better place for her to be with another Illinois winter coming on.... Mary

November 18 Block

It's Friday, so happy, happy weekend.  Don't you just love the fabric with fat commas all over it?  Mary

November 17 Block

A scrap bag block tonight....  Mary

November 16 Block

I tend to forget from one enrollment period to the next just how many emails are involved....  Mary

November 15 Block

All the students today were very nice, but the volume will only pick up once Juniors begin enrollment on Thursday.  Our really large Physiology class have very complex enrollment since everyone takes the lecture portion, but there are then 7 lab sections and 14 discussions to choose from all with limited enrollment numbers.  Of course the labs with the best times fill up immediately, so I then get endless emails telling me how they absolutely have to have that lab or their whole schedule will fall apart.  The thing they don't know is that I can see their entire schedule and know if that's true or not.

I like the shapes in this fabric.  They remind me of very circular amoebae....  Mary