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The Finishing Touch

    It didn't seem complete...my Christmas tree.  Oh, it had red balls, and green balls and jingle bells.  There was an enameled sunfish charm that's really a stitch marker but I think is too cute to use for that, and a red paper Cardinal that I keep in my bedroom the rest of the year. The snowflake and star buttons look so good hanging from the green branches.  And of course, Dominic and his wagon are right in front, but it was still missing something.  Then, the week before Christmas I was fooling around online and stumbled onto a site selling ornaments.  And I found, quite by accident, what my little (2 ft artificial tree) was missing...a Nativity scene.  It's supposed to be glass but I'm not sure, it's about 4.5" high and has Mary and Joseph around Jesus's manger.  It can hang from a branch, but I have it sitting on the table under the tree with Dominic and his wagon in front of it.  Now my Christmas tree is complete!

                          Buon Natale!

 

No More Housework For Me! Please!

       Today I decided the house was decorated enough for Christmas for the 2 of us.  It was going to be a quiet holiday without any guests, and it was clean enough for that!!  But I wanted to move the floor lamp in my work nook...switch chair sides and get me away from the window a little more... so I had to do somethings.  

     My work nook is just a small area of a bedroom.  There is a large wingback chair (very comfortable for knitting and reading), an ottoman, and bags and boxes of yarn, all stuck between the bed, dresser and window.  The floor lamp, with multiple adjustments, fell over this summer...actually fell apart from multiple adjustments...and when reassembled got put on the wrong side of the chair.  I decided I wanted it back where it belonged and today was the day to move it.  

      I pushed most of the yarn out of the way and balanced the chair back on its back legs. I held it like that as I moved the floor lamp and made sure the lamp base and cord were not under the chair.  Everything was going well until I lost my grip on the chair, and it crashed to the floor...on to my foot!  I let out a scream, Zoey barked, Jeff called out "What did you do now?"  And I fell forward...on to the chair! I was lucky to fall into the chair because there wasn't much floor space to fall on to.  If I had missed the chair, Jeff would have had to call the fire department to come with the Jaws of Life to get me up...I would have been wedged in!  I haven't looked at my foot yet, but I'm sure I've got a bruise.

         Even with the lamp where it rightly belongs (on the left side of the chair) I think I need a brighter bulb, but that will have to wait until our next trip to town.  At least the chair is a little further from the window than it was.  That should make the nook a bit warmer...I hope! But that ends my housecleaning efforts for the year.  Anything else that needs doing can wait until Spring!

It's Really Looking like Christmas...at least Inside!

       Today I added a few more touches to the Christmas tree next to my computer.  First, I moved our 'Dominic the Italian Donkey'

& his cart to sit  next to it instead with the crystal trees on the shelf between the TV room and the living room, hoping nothing would knock the tree over and break Dominic.  I don't know where or when Mom got him, but he's been around as long as I can remember.  She may even gotten him back in the mid-50's when the song was first introduced! 

    Later this afternoon we went to Hannaford's and I got the batteries I needed for the mini lights on the tree.  It cost almost $17 for a multi-package of AA batteries and a 3-pack of 3.5v round ones.  It would have been cheaper just to buy 4 new strands of lights!!  When we got home, I started to change the batteries and almost created a disaster!  The tree toppled over sending the small ornaments flying all over!!  Luckily, I collected all the pieces...nothing broke but several came apart...before the dogs thought it was a new game with the winner getting to eat what they'd salvaged.  By then I was in tears and Zoey was hiding next to Jeff.  I asked for help and Jeff tried to stabilize the base of the tree by putting pieces of cardboard under the corners but that wasn't doing it.  There was a square from a 'blocking board' next to the couch and the next thing I knew, Jeff had traced the around the base of the tree and cut the hole to fit.  It worked perfectly.  (It should, it was a square from a 'good' thick blocking board from JoAnn's Fabric, not a 'kiddies' A-B-C version you can find at Walmart.)

   On the way to the check-out in Hannaford's, I saw the display of Christmas cactus and decided to buy one to complete the scene by my computer.  My mom had inherited Aunt Ant's Christmas cactus years ago and it was huge!  It blossomed every year and after we got it, sometimes blossomed twice a year.  It lived for over 20 years, too!  I don't know if this little one will make it that long, but it looks nice next to my tree.  Every thing is on the same scale:  Small.  Cute.  Nice.

  Oh, I found another circular knitting needle when I was search for ornament parts!  I thought that one (a 3.5mm) was long gone!!  

                               

 

Our Tree

    I finally got our tree up and decorated today.  It wasn't a great feat...it's only a 2ft tall (and spindly) table topper that I've used for the last 10-15 years.  (Putting up the big tree got to be too much work, so I switched to this tabletop one.  I actually gave away the big tree and all the ornaments Mom and I had made over the years...a dumb move but....).  I've got 4 strands of mini lights on it and a couple of dozen snowflake and star buttons that are hung on ornament wires.  I also hung the cute little stitch markers

that I got in swaps over the years ('balls of yarn', enameled and silver animal charms), there's a crocheted wreath and a Hallmark ornament or two.  Last year I got 2 paper gift labels that were 'special' so

they were added.  I found that Snowman on a Sled that Mom had made in the back of a cupboard and he's perfect to hide the battery paks for the minilights.  I don't know what else I'll add this year...it looks pretty good to

 me!  I'll add a photo of the tree when the sun goes down.

   I really had to do some cleaning to get this far.  I wanted to move the table my printer was on over so the tree would be more visible from outside...incase a squirrel or deer walking by would be interested.  To do that I had to move the printer to the other end of the cedar chest.  I decided to move the ceramic dogs (Samantha and one of her puppies, Lady Di-can you guess when those puppies were born??)  I thought they'd look cute next to the tree, so they got dusted off and moved closer.  I think I'll find a placemat to put down for them as a rug to make the scene more natural.

   I had to add a layer of styrofoam to the tree's base because Fanny had knocked it over so many times with her tail it wouldn't support the metal rod that's the 'tree' trunk.  I had planned to replace the styrofoam in the base but decided it would be very messy and just added a 2" layer to it.  I taped it all together with packing tape and it seems a lot sturdier now.  I just want it to last this year.  I looked for a new tree at Walmart this week but they were too big and too expensive.  I think I'll order one from Amazon and turn this one into a bird feeder or something!

   While I was cleaning for this move, I found things that I didn't even know were missing!  A pair of 'good' scissors, a single short size 8 knitting needle, and a long circular size 4 or 5 needle, the dvd "Mama Mia", a nice little rollup tape measure from a Swap, the dog's muzzle and the newest pair of dog's nail clippers (who hid those??), and a dime!

My New Thought to Live By for 2024

 

It's Beginning to Look A Little Like Christmas

   Had to change the lyric to the Christmas song because the snow we've been getting hasn't stayed for more than a few hours so, it's beginning to look a little like Christmas!  We picked up the tray of cookies I ordered from the Java Shop in Herkimer yesterday and oh, were they worth it!  They look so nice and taste out of this world!  (I enjoy baking but it's so hard to do 4 or more kinds of Christmas cookies alone!  Besides, Robbie is a better baker than I am!!)  Anyway, I put most of the cookies in a Tupperware-type container and put them in the cupboard to try and save them for Christmas but I did fill a plate and put it in a ziplock bag and put it on the table so we would have something to have with our coffee. I picked a Cucidati for my 1st cookie when we got home and after supper, I tried another and what to my wonderful surprise, found I had an almond paste cookie!  Right there, those 2 made it worth the cost of the tray!  Today I tried a biscutti (it had yellow frosting and was lemon flavored) and a sesame seed cookie.  Both were better than I could have ever done. Jeff likes the Reese's treats (a PeanutButter cookie w/a Reese's cup on top) and the Cucidati's. I know we'll have enough cookies to make it to Christmas if I keep the big container hid in the cupboard!!  

   We went to Ilion today to the Library and made a quick stop at Aldi's.  I saw last Friday that they had panettone...an Italian dessert bread...so I got one.  It lasted until today (I was the only one eating it!) and I decided to get another.  It was great for breakfast, lightly toasted.  They were only $5.99 and the ones I got were filled with chocolate chips.  Traditionally, panettone is filled with dry fruit but since I'm not a big fan of dried fruit I went with the chocolate.  One of 

my mother's older sisters made it for Christmas and Easter but this one beat her's hands down. My mother never made panettone but until this year, I didn't know how good it could be.  My aunt's version was good but this one from Aldi's is better.  The score between homemade and storebought is Homemade 0, Storebought 2.  Now if I could just find some Honey clusters....

  The 3rd thing that is different this year is I'm not involved in any swaps.  I've been so busy trying to keep my stock up in the shop and do some special gifts that I just didn't have time to do anything else.  Besides, since I wasn't working in the shop, I wasn't tempted to buy any of the fantastic and different stocking stuffers that the shop members produce and that left me at a loss as to what to include in a swap package.  Just as I was feeling really disappointed because there wouldn't be any great packages in the mail, the group administrators decided to skip swaps this year.  I'm not sure why...I haven't been following the FB pages that closely, but hopefully, next year things will be back to normal for all of us.  I know I'm not the only one who is missing those great packages!!

  We haven't got our Christmas tree up yet but that should be done tomorrow.  My little table top tree has taken a beating over the years as Fanny, our Australian cattledog mix, usually knocks it off the table with her tail at least 2 or 3 times a year.  I've pushed the tree 'trunk' (a metal pole) back in the styrofoam base so often there's not much styrofoam left to hold it steady!  I bought a piece at Walmart today and tomorrow I'll try to fix things.  Last year I ended up having to tie the tree to the window frame to keep it upright! I looked at artifical Christmas trees today but they were all too big and too expensive! I'll post a photo of our tree here:

Cucidat

Happy Thanksgiving!

     Yesterday we went with my cousin, Ed, his cousin, Carolyn, and her sister-in-law, Delores, to the H.C. Smith Benefit Club, in St. Johnsville, NY for their annual Thanksgiving dinner.

Besides the fact I didn't have to clean house or cook a big meal, that was the best turkey dinner I had in a very long time! Served buffet style, you had your choice of white or dark meat (or both), mashed potatoes, squash, green beans, stuffing (out of this world!!) , and gravy. And you could have seconds! (Yes, Jeff and Ed did!)

The dessert table was overloaded with pie! We all picked a different variety, so I can say all the pies were delicious!

Delores's grandson told us he and his father (there were others) delivered over 400 meals as far as Canajoharie! There was a steady stream of take-out dinners, too. Over 40 turkeys were cooked for this feast and I'd be surprised if there were any leftovers! (They did run out of squash but that wasn't a shame to me!)

This was a 'free will donation' meal and was better that some you could have gotten in a fancy restaurant. Bread and butter and cranberry sauce was also on each table. They served soft drinks, milk (white & chocolate), eggnog, fruit juices and punch but no coffee. On the way out, Ed said we'd have to remember this for next year! Oh, yes!!!

p.s. When we got home, I made a pot of coffee and Jeff, Ed and I drank our fill!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Isn't This How It All Started?

   I've recently gotten interested in Knit Teddy Bears and have purchased several patterns in the past few months.  Sarah Gasson's "Knit A Teddy" has really captured my interest and at the same time allowed me to make changes to her designs.  I finally have a Teddy about ready to be put in the shop (hopefully for our Open House, Nov. 24-26th) and here she is...step by step.

This was after the first day's work.  I got her stuffed and her arms and legs attached.  I am so glad I remembered how to use buttons with shanks to attach arms and legs to make the doll sit more naturally.  I had a lot of fun getting her this far...and a lot of trouble!  Stuffing was not my thing!!  When Mom and I started out in the craft business, she sewed and stuffed the bodies and I handled the hair, faces and clothes.  Mom had a real knack for stuffing animals!  I think I got the arms and legs ok but the body is a little lacking!  It had a bigger belly at one point and suddenly, when it was all sewed up and the arms and legs were attached, she lost her belly!  I missed my Mom so much that night!  I kept calling her, asking for her help stuffing the bear.  I finally decided to name the bear Josie.

   I was so confused by the time I gave up and went to bed that night I wasn't sure what I was doing.  The next day I went thru the clothing bag looking for the bear's bloomers that I thought I had finished the night before.  No, what I had finished were the boy bear's baseball pants.  I finished the bloomers in the morning, dressed the bear and took the first picture.

   Today I dressed Josie in her pink dress (it still needs some butttons on the back) and made her one sock and shoe.  Tomorrow I'll do the

other shoe and sew a black bow on each.  It was suggested I knit a strap and make the shoes into MaryJane's but I'm not sure where to put it.  (There is a pattern available with MaryJane's that I might buy to settle that.)  Tomorrow I'll sew the buttons on the back of the dress and make a headband out of white grosgrain ribbon and the knit flower that was suggested to go on the bear's dress. I even got some elastic to put under the flower to make it easier to put the headband on.

   That leaves my problem of the rolled hem.  I guess I'll just put some water in the iron and try to steam the bottom of the dress. I'll add that picture tomorrow!
  

September Already?

   I haven't been the most faithful posting here lately.  Life has slowed down (like me) and not much has changed.  

   We finally got our car to pass State Inspection.  Took about a month.  We kept taking it to the mechanic who'd adjust something/change something/do something and tell us to drive it for a couple of days to see if the dashboard lights would stay off.  They wouldn't.  We'd drive it watching the milage, trying to get to "50-lights -off -miles" and as soon as we got near 45 miles--on would come the 'check oil' light and all the rest.  It got to be a real joke/pain.  Jeff kept trying to do what he could, too.  We ended up with several new filters, new spark plugs, clean oil and I don't know what else.  Finally, it came home with the new red sticker on the windshield that said it had passed inspection!  And 3 days later, all the lights came back on!  At least we've got until next July to worry about what to do with this car.

   I had just about decided to retire from the shop this winter.  I can't work in the store anymore and the drive to Cooperstown is too much for me to do alone.  Now, with the idea of replacing the car it looks like I'm going to have to stick with it for another year...or at least until I can save up a decent down payment.  I'm lucky enough to be able to send my stuff down and not have to spend several days every month down there thanks to a good friend in the shop.  Without Bonnie 'truckin' my stuff to Cooperstown I would really be out of luck!.  I started the season with just putting hats in the shop but managed to get a couple of small sweaters knitted for Labor Day.

This is one of them...a variation on my ol' sheep sweater.  I think it's cute...sure hope it sells!
I'm trying to knit a teddy bear for the new grandchild of a college friend and if it comes out OK, I may put some in the shop.  In the meantime, I knit when my hands allow/suffer when they don't...I never thought my fingers would hurt so much during the night!  The pain in my hands actually wakes me up!  Our summer weather this year hasn't helped much either.  It's rained a lot and there haven't been many 'hot, hazy days of summer' like in the past.  Or if there has, I sure haven't felt them!  I guess I'm just getting old.  Hey, it's better than the alternative!!

Life Goes On

     A couple of months ago Jeff's endocrinologist suggested he start using a new glucose monitor...one that you wear on your arm all the time.  That would mean he wouldn't have to prick his fingers multiple times a day to get a blood sample for a glucose reading.  That seemed like the way to go, so he agreed, and she ordered it.  His insurance company refused to approve the new monitor twice!  Finally, the doctor wrote a letter to the insurance company and...Viola!  the monitor/meter was approved.  It took a couple of weeks to be delivered but finally it got to us, and we had an appointment to learn how to use it.  Turns out it is quite simple to use.  The sensor rides on his upper arm and the monitor in his pocket.  The monitor beeps if his glucose level goes up or down and keeps track of the changes. He changes the sensor every 10 days, and he says it's easier than pricking his finger!!

  This week he had an appointment in Cooperstown for a Lumbar puncture with contrast and a CT scan.  He told them about the sensor, but no one seemed interested...they didn't cover it during the CT!  The Lumbar puncture took about 9 mins and the CT about 45, then he had about 4 hours in recovery. They let me go in and sit with him after he had been in recovery about half an hour.  When I got there his monitor was beeping!  (Jeff can't hear the monitor when he's sleeping and the staff in Recovery didn't hear it because of the other monitors beeping.)  I woke Jeff up and asked if he had eaten anything yet.  He mumbled something I took for 'no', so I looked for and found his monitor in his pants pocket.  His glucose level was 61 and I called a nurse over and showed her. They had offered him OJ and coffee but hadn't forced anything on him.  She got him to drink the OJ and got him some cookies (Fig Newtons and Lorna Doones) while she ordered him lunch.  The OJ and cookies got his glucose on the rise again, but I kept his monitor in my shirt pocket and kept checking it while he slept.  He ate the cookies...and his lunch (turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans) and his glucose level continued to

rise.  After 3 hours or so he decided he had to go to the bathroom, so a nurse walked him down the hall to it.  When he came back to his bed, she said he could get dressed and he would be released shortly.  I waited until I heard his discharge orders then I went to get the car to meet him at the door. The car and I made it back to the door at the same time as Jeff in a wheelchair, so I'd say I was hobbling pretty well!  We had gotten to the hospital about 9:15am but the only parking spot we could find was in the middle of the parking lot!  I was sure we would have found a space by the fence, but no such luck!

   The ride home was uneventful and when we got to Herkimer Jeff suggested stopping at BK... he was hungry.  The hospital lunch hadn't been enough for him!  He was uncomfortable overnight and yesterday (he asked if the area around the band aid on his back was"black and blue" ...it's not but it is tender!) but today he is more like himself.  I don't think he'll agree to another Lumbar puncture anytime soon.

Happy Fourth of July...a little late!

    The Fourth of July was a big holiday in our family not just because it was the start of summer but because it was my dad's birthday!  There was always a party...at home or wherever we were camping.  And we managed to celebrate across 2 countries without really trying. 

   The Adirondacks were our favorite camping site and we pitched our tent (and pop-up) pretty much all over the Park.  We spent one Fourth in a cottage at Fourth Lake because that was the winter Mom had pneumonia and 'roughing it' was 'out'.  That was also the year my cousin Peter was born and having a cottage instead of a tent allowed the baby and his family to accompany us.

   In the middle/late 1960's we left the tent in the attic and went to Canada with our neighbors.  The first few years they rented a small cabin...with an outhouse...on Mississippi Lake.  The owners lived in an old, small house nearby with very thick walls (10-12") and took good care of us.  Joe and Kaisea were an old German couple who lived year round by the lake and had a part wolf dog for a pet.  (At least he looked like part wolf to us!)  The outhouse was slowly sinking towards the lake and the door tended to stick making trips to the facilities even more exciting! After a few years our neighbors bought a small house in the nearby settlement on the lake with all the modern amenities.  The settlement was several miles off the paved road and the people who lived there were honest, friendly folks.  When my mom asked one of the kids if he spoke French he was insulted!  He told her he 'wasn't no frog!"  My father and our neighbor enjoyed fishing on Mississippi Lake and our families made many overnite trips from Herkimer to Carlton Place, Ontario.  One summer we even managed to take a bus into Ottawa from Carlton Place!  (4 American females -2 in their 50's, 2 in their teens. We (the teens) thought we could speak French but when we got to Ottawa neither of us could even manage to say 'bonjour'!)  We missed the bus back to Carlton Place and ended up taking a taxi that cost about $50!!  Definately a trip to remember!)

   We also camped at many of the state campsites along Rte 30 between Old Forge and Speculator.  After spending some time at a private campground on Indian Lake we tried to camp at the public sites on Rte 30 but they weren't for pop-ups. The sites were all 'lake side'...beautiful, close to the water and not accessible for us!  Raquette, Saranac and Blue Mountain Lakes were also spots we camped at over the years.  But our favorite campsites were in Siberia at Moffitt Beach.  Some of those were lakeside and rather difficult for a pop-up to get backed into but when we couldn't do that we always found a site in Siberia that we enjoyed.  

  The last year we used the pop-up we seemed to be jinxed.  Dad got a flat tire while towing the pop-up and shattered the hub.  (We spend a week using the camper while it was balanced on a pile of rocks waiting for repairs!)  It seemed that every time we headed north on Rte 28 the sun would be shinning but we'd lose it by the time we turned on to Rte 8 at Poland and it would have started to rain by the time Rte 365 joined Rte 8.  It would usually be pouring as we turned on to Paige Rd to go to Moffit Beach.  My friend Fran and her husband Larry joined us one weekend...in the pouring rain.  As they pulled up to our campsite, she stuck her head out the car window and yelled, 'If you're dumb enough to set up in this, we're stupid enough to join you!'

   After a summer of weather like that, my mom had had it.  I don't know how she did it but the next spring she had talked my dad into selling the pop-up and buying a trailer in the park across Rte 8 from the turn to Moffit.  My cousins had a trailer there and Mom liked the set up and the people she met there.  Before we moved in, Dad always said he didn't like it.  'Too many people.  It wasn't for him'.  Once we were there, Dad changed his mind.  He was one of the first to put his boat in the water in the spring and the last to take it out in the fall.  He hardly came home during the season!  Everyone became his friend (and he caught some huge Rainbow trout!) We had the biggest birthday parties for him, too.  They got so big we had to us the park barn to accommodate all the people!

   Those people at camp became more than summer neighbors. They became friends and we spent the winters visiting their homes. Now most all of them are gone...just like our family members...but they live on in my memories.

Happy Birthday, Zoey!

 Yesterday was Zoey's official birthday (the vet emailed Jeff to remind him!)  She is 6 years old and going strong!  She still loves to go for rides...in the car and in the garden wagon behind the Cub Cadet but her days of riding in the car are about over.  She has a hard time getting into the back seat and getting out again.  She limps for a couple of days after every ride in the car so Jeff decided yesterday that enough was enough.  Zoey won't like it but the temperature has gotten too high around here for dogs to go joy riding in cars, anyway. If she stays on her diet (ha ha) and regains some of her jumping ability, he may change his mind.  Or at least it will be easier to pick her up and put her in the car!!  Here is Zoey's official 6th birthday photo.  She is a beautiful beagle, isn't she?

p.s.  Fanny is still going strong at 12!  Her problem is also jumping into the car and sitting down.  Once she is settled in the car she enjoys the ride, too. You'd think Fanny would have it easier getting in the car because she is so much taller than Zoey, but she won't jump in!  I think she can and just wants to be picked up like Zoey!!

Time to Restock!

      The shop in Cooperstown, Cooper Country Crafts, has been open for about a month now and, luckily, it's time to restock so today after my appointment with the dermatologist in Hartwick Seminary (park of Bassett) we went to Cooperstown.  I hadn't realized how much I had sold so I didn't take much...just a few baseball hats.  Guess I better get knitting and really get my display filled before the 1st big summer holiday hits:  Memorial Day weekend!

  We did some 'exploring' on our trip to the doctors, taking Rte 51 or the Ilion Gorge to Cedarville, then to E Winfield before heading and back to Richfield Springs on Rte 20.  The scenery is nice but Rte 20 is in lousy shape until you get to Otsego Country, then the road really becomes a 'scenic highway.'  We stopped and ate our lunch along the creek in the gorge in one of the large parking areas.  Lunch was McDonald's and while the price wasn't bad the portions weren't 'hearty', leaving us both hungry.  

   After we turned off Rte 20 at the light in Richfield Springs we took Rte 28 to Fly Creek and turned right at the blinking light by the fire house (that road cuts a few miles off between Cooperstown and Index.)  There's a nice settlement in there and today I saw a sign that identified part of it as a bible college.  After the road rejoined Rte 28 we were in Hartwick Seminary before you knew it!  We were a few minutes late for my appointment but I blamed it on traffic.

  I had my regular 'mole check-up' and no new growths were found.  (I had had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my back in 2018 without any problem or regrowth.) Today I had 2 large moles frozen, (1 on my chest and the smaller one on my upper arm.)  The larger one may have been caused by the radiation treatments I had had for Hodgkin's Disease 40 years ago. It's about the size of a nickel!  The smaller one on my upper arms was probably caused by the sun and irritated by clothing.  If they don't drop off in 2-3 weeks, I have to schedule an appointment to finish the job. After that we went to the shop before heading back to the Valley.

      All day Jeff and I had talked about where to go for supper.  When we had gone thru Cedarville this morning, he saw the sign for the Cedarville Country Store (diner) and I saw the Matteson Hotel.  Both looked look for supper but by the time we were headed back to Mohawk, he had decided maybe Denny's would be the best bet and that's where we ended up.  (He had his steak dinner and I had salmon.) Once we got home after stopping there and were greeted by the dogs, I fed them, and we all settled down for a nap. Now everyone is awake and bright-eyed again!  I think I 'll pick a tome from the bag of books I picked up at the library Thursday and settle down for the night. Jeff had the dogs outside and Fanny is stretched out next to me ready to sleep, while Zoey followed Jeff back to his PC.  No knitting tonight, maybe tomorrow!

Good Bye, Billy

   Every year my family seems to get smaller. I am an 'only' who grew up in a big Italian family in a large Italian neighborhood.  Everybody seemed to be related to everyone else!  I never felt lonely.  There was always somewhere to go, someone to visit, someone to talk to--in 2 languages English and Calabrese! (Never mind me trying to speak Basilicata...my grandmothers couldn't even understand each other's dialects and spoke to each other in broken English!) 

   While I have plenty of cousins, I was born at a time when I had the attention of both my grandmothers and most of my aunts to myself.  I was made to feel special.  When I went away to college my father's sister (Bill's grandmother) crocheted an afghan for me that I still use!  As the younger cousins were born, I was not jealous of them.  I enjoyed watching them play and grow, and to be perfectly honest, I was glad they took the spotlight off me.  (To this day I do not like having my picture taken because it seemed I had it taken every day for the first 5 years of my life by one aunt or another. When we moved out of the neighborhood to the country and found that our next-door neighbor had a horse (actually, a pony) anyone could ride, a trip to our house was high on the to-do list for younger my cousins...and I could be behind the lens!!) I was always proud of my younger cousins' achievements and supported them.  (Try explaining to your 85+year old mother why the band, Classified, Billy was performing with that night was so good-- even if it was so loud...and we were outside!)

   When Diane called me to say Billy was gone, I just sat here at my PC staring at the screen.  I couldn't believe it...or didn't want to.  Please read his obituary...especially the last paragraph.  It is so important to prevent this happening to any other family.

Herkimer - William M. (Bill) Mirgo, 64, a life-long Herkimer resident, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

He was born on July 19, 1958, in Herkimer the son of the late William and Phyllis (Fiorentino) Mirgo. Bill was a graduate of Herkimer High School, class of 1976, and he furthered his education at Herkimer County Community College, graduating in 1978.

Music was Bill’s life. As a talented and respected self-taught guitarist, he entertained Central New York as a member of many bands including Honeybush Brothers, Lonesome Dove, Classified, Southern Grace, Joe Angerosa, and most recently Vinyl Logic and Groove Machine. In addition to performing, he shared his knowledge and passion of music to others through teaching.

Mr. Mirgo was of the Catholic faith.

Survivors include his sister, Diane D'Amelio and her husband Dean of Frankfort; a niece, Melanie D'Amelio; a nephew, Paul Dack and his wife Katie Hong; a cousin, Mary Terico; and the numerous members in his musical family.

Bill was predeceased by his parents and an infant brother, Eric Mirgo.

Graveside services at Calvary Cemetery, Herkimer, NY will be held at a time to be announced. Arrangements are under the caring guidance of the Vincent A. Enea Funeral Service, (next to Hannaford Markets), 527 E. Albany St., Herkimer, NY. 

Some of Bill’s colleagues have organized a musical tribute to his life at Masonville at Station 233 in Westmoreland on Friday, April 21 at 6pm. Anyone who has performed with him before or who would like to honor him is welcome to attend.

His family appreciates the outpouring of support, well wishes, and fond memories from so many of the members of his musical family.

Depression is a serious illness. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to someone, seek professional help, or contact Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. Please don’t allow this to happen to another family.

               I know Heaven's got a hell of a band!

  

   

 

Happy Easter!

   Happy Easter!  Hope everyone had a beautiful day.  The weather definitely cooperated with blue sky and sunshine! 

   We had invited my cousin, Ed, to join us for dinner and Jeff did the honors.  He put a pork roast in the slow cooker, and it did its magic!  I asked what flavor packet he used and was blown away when he answered, 'beef stew'.  The potatoes and green beans he had added to the roast were cooked perfectly and the roast itself was fork tender!  There were very few leftovers!!

   Because yesterday was also my birthday, Ed brought a cake for dessert...a chocolate layer cake topped with delicious, whipped frosting.  We managed to eat half the cake!!

   I made a traditional Italian Easter bread, braided and trimmed with eggs.  The arthritis in my hands has been bothering me a lot the last few weeks as I finished things to take to the shop and I was worried I wouldn't be able to make the bread.  I finally decided to use the bread machine we had to mix and knead the dough, and everything came out right!  I did make 1 mistake when I ran out of lemon juice and did not add water, so my bread was a little dry and flavorless but with butter on a slice it tasted almost as good as my mom's!  Jeff had cleaned out the flatware drawer and threw away the old pastry brushes I had had for years.  I had to use a bunched-up paper towel to spread some milk on my bread before sprinkling on the candy sprinkles.  Oh well, we really didn't need all that candy!!  My braided wreath always comes out lop-sided! 

This is what half the dough the recipe made.  I also formed 2 small, straight, braided loaves with 1 egg each.  For some reason the candy sprinkles

 stuck better to them!  My cousin took 1 home with him and the other was my sample!

    

It's That Time Again!

    It's that time of the year again...the shop in Cooperstown opened this week for the 49th season!!  I decided to stay...one season at a time...and made some new hats (not many, but a few)!  I'm not a 'worker', it would be too much for me.  The ride to Cooperstown was exhausting...when we got home both Jeff and I had a cup of coffee and a nap before doing anything else!!  

   Since getting my stock ready to take to the shop last Monday I've been bothered by the arthritis in my hands...especially around my thumbs!   I've even been woken up in the night with shooting pains in my fingers and this week when we stopped for coffee at Stewart's on the way to the library, I managed to spill my coffee!  The hot liquid felt good on my hand, but I felt like a fool making a mess!  I haven't knit a stitch since April 3rd but my thumbs are still sore.  And the strangest thing, Thursday night was a really restless night for me with strong pains in my hands but when I woke up Friday morning my left hand was pain-free.  And there was a black and blue mark on my left thumb the size of a nickel, too.  I have no idea where it came from but it's still there! This is what my thumb looks like:

    Here are my new hats for Spring!   I made just 2 Bunny hats because the shop opened the Thursday before Easter! 

   

This other hat is more of a Spring hat.  I think it's so cute!  A friend of mine crocheted the flower for me.  It really finishes the hat, doesn't it?  All three spring hats are hand-knit with 100% acrylic yarn and are machine wash and dryable.  The shop, Cooper Country Crafts, is located in Doubleday Court in Cooperstown, NY and is open 10am-5pm, 7 days a week.  You can always call ahead to make sure it's open 607-547-9247.  Parking is free in front of the shop!

  

 

Bah, Winter!

    The holidays are over for another year and Winter is back in force again.  We've had below freezing temperature days and below zero nights for the last week or so.  Had to raise the thermostat a couple of notches and started wearing my sweats to bed!!  We haven't had a lot of snow, but everything looks cold outside my windows!!  

   To be honest, except for letting the dogs in or out, I haven't gone outside in days!  I even stayed home last Wednesday when Jeff went to Little Falls for his yearly cardiology checkup. (MD's report:  Everything's looking good/ See you next year!)  The same week, he ran out of his weekly insulin and eventho there was still 1 refill on the Rx, Walmart couldn't fill it.  They were all out!!  We called his doctor and her office called around and found some at Hannaford's, so they switched his Rx to them.  He was impressed and is thinking of switching all his Rx's to Hannaford's. 

   Jeff was talking about going to town today but decided to take a nap instead.  We went to the library on Friday, and I don't want to go out again so soon. I'm happy going to town once a week and this week I have to go have an INR on Thursday. I know we'll have to do some grocery shopping and should go back to the library then, too.  I got Prince Harry's book, Spare, and it's boring.  He's a Peter Pan.  Uck!

   Besides reading late at night, I've been doing some knitting.  I've got 2 baseball hoodies going and when they're finished, I'll do some hats.  I know I should be knitting more but I get what I call "Vulcan" hands (cramps)...and they hurt!!

   Sherry, Jeff's sister, has lost both of her dogs (mini-Schnauzers) this winter.  Max was as old as Fanny, and Sunny was about Zoey's age. I was shocked to learn that it cost almost $600 apiece to put down those little dogs. (I've never had to pay to put a dog down.  Our dogs always seem to die of old age.) Now Sherry's shopping for a new puppy and I'm finding it shocking how expensive puppies are! She said the humane society shelters seem to have only big dogs and pit bulls.  We both wonder what happened to all the 'mutts' there used to be?