annie blog

The Jacket Progresses
Well, some of you may have seen a week or so ago when I said that I wanted to make a jacket like this one. Well, despite my lack of garment making skills, it is coming along okay. And it has even taught me something about my sons. What has it taught me about them? Well, during the jacket construction, I worked and worked getting the ruffle right, and then when I had succeeded, I got all distracted with my victory and couldn’t even put my thoughts together. I wonder if this distraction of mine feels anything like their distraction. Probably not. But it is enlightening, anyway.

Happy Thursday. And come back soon for a little announcement about something new in my life.

**My sister read this post and then called me with her heart racing — she thought that my announcement had to do with me expecting another child. (Sorry Dean, didn’t mean to stress you out.) Alas, that is not what this is about. It’s about my new business — which is boring, compared with a baby, but it is my baby, sort of, except that it’ll hopefully make money for me instead of taking all of mine and I’m fairly certain that it’ll let me sleep through the night and won’t wear diapers for four years.

So, business, yes. Progeny, no. And that is the way it has to be.

The Jacket Progresses
Well, some of you may have seen a week or so ago when I said that I wanted to make a jacket like this one. Well, despite my lack of garment making skills, it is coming along okay. And it has even taught me something about my sons. What has it taught me about them? Well, during the jacket construction, I worked and worked getting the ruffle right, and then when I had succeeded, I got all distracted with my victory and couldn’t even put my thoughts together. I wonder if this distraction of mine feels anything like their distraction. Probably not. But it is enlightening, anyway.

Happy Thursday. And come back soon for a little announcement about something new in my life.

**My sister read this post and then called me with her heart racing — she thought that my announcement had to do with me expecting another child. (Sorry Dean, didn’t mean to stress you out.) Alas, that is not what this is about. It’s about my new business — which is boring, compared with a baby, but it is my baby, sort of, except that it’ll hopefully make money for me instead of taking all of mine and I’m fairly certain that it’ll let me sleep through the night and won’t wear diapers for four years.

So, business, yes. Progeny, no. And that is the way it has to be.

Grumpy-licious
My youngest son has recently dropped his afternoon nap and has, instead, taken to falling asleep around 5 o’clock on some days. He sleeps so hard during these naps that it is very hard or impossible to wake him up for dinner. I tried to wake him the other day with no success, so I decided that he could just have his dinner later. We ate without him. After dinner, my oldest son, who can make quite a racket if he chooses, went into the room where my youngest was sleeping and woke him up. Youngest wasn’t happy — with anything. He was having one of those grumpy, groggy sort of awakenings during which he is pleased with nothing and no one. My oldest observed the Grouch and then suggested to Jon, “Dad, make him a tater tot that he can’t refuse.”

Grumpy-licious
My youngest son has recently dropped his afternoon nap and has, instead, taken to falling asleep around 5 o’clock on some days. He sleeps so hard during these naps that it is very hard or impossible to wake him up for dinner. I tried to wake him the other day with no success, so I decided that he could just have his dinner later. We ate without him. After dinner, my oldest son, who can make quite a racket if he chooses, went into the room where my youngest was sleeping and woke him up. Youngest wasn’t happy — with anything. He was having one of those grumpy, groggy sort of awakenings during which he is pleased with nothing and no one. My oldest observed the Grouch and then suggested to Jon, “Dad, make him a tater tot that he can’t refuse.”

Grumpy-licious
My youngest son has recently dropped his afternoon nap and has, instead, taken to falling asleep around 5 o’clock on some days. He sleeps so hard during these naps that it is very hard or impossible to wake him up for dinner. I tried to wake him the other day with no success, so I decided that he could just have his dinner later. We ate without him. After dinner, my oldest son, who can make quite a racket if he chooses, went into the room where my youngest was sleeping and woke him up. Youngest wasn’t happy — with anything. He was having one of those grumpy, groggy sort of awakenings during which he is pleased with nothing and no one. My oldest observed the Grouch and then suggested to Jon, “Dad, make him a tater tot that he can’t refuse.”

My Favorite Find
A few weeks ago, I stumbled onto this page on the New York Public Library website.

Oh. My. Goodness. They have made hundreds of thousands of digital images available for online browsing and purchasing. From Cyanotypes of British Algae to historic illustrated zoologies, from a general file of portraits of historical and public figures to illuminated manuscripts of the Medieval time — this site has so much to offer.

You should check it out. But be prepared, you might get totally sucked in and look up only to discover that hours have passed and darkness has fallen and, goodness, that there are people that you need to feed. And, of course, I’m not speaking from personal experience or anything like that.

Being able to sit home in my pjs and flip through images that I would never have had the opportunity to enjoy otherwise just reinforces to me that this here internet is something else, y’all.

My Favorite Find
A few weeks ago, I stumbled onto this page on the New York Public Library website.

Oh. My. Goodness. They have made hundreds of thousands of digital images available for online browsing and purchasing. From Cyanotypes of British Algae to historic illustrated zoologies, from a general file of portraits of historical and public figures to illuminated manuscripts of the Medieval time — this site has so much to offer.

You should check it out. But be prepared, you might get totally sucked in and look up only to discover that hours have passed and darkness has fallen and, goodness, that there are people that you need to feed. And, of course, I’m not speaking from personal experience or anything like that.

Being able to sit home in my pjs and flip through images that I would never have had the opportunity to enjoy otherwise just reinforces to me that this here internet is something else, y’all.

My Favorite Find
A few weeks ago, I stumbled onto this page on the New York Public Library website.

Oh. My. Goodness. They have made hundreds of thousands of digital images available for online browsing and purchasing. From Cyanotypes of British Algae to historic illustrated zoologies, from a general file of portraits of historical and public figures to illuminated manuscripts of the Medieval time — this site has so much to offer.

You should check it out. But be prepared, you might get totally sucked in and look up only to discover that hours have passed and darkness has fallen and, goodness, that there are people that you need to feed. And, of course, I’m not speaking from personal experience or anything like that.

Being able to sit home in my pjs and flip through images that I would never have had the opportunity to enjoy otherwise just reinforces to me that this here internet is something else, y’all.

The Men of Austen
While perusing the Masterpiece/PBS site, I found this page about the men of Jane Austen’s novels. You need to click “see the men” and then scroll over each photograph to get the details on each. It isn’t totally correct, I’m sure, but it does tell us a little about each man and (this was the interesting part for me) translates the amount of money then — however many pounds per year — into the amount that it would equal today. So, Darcy’s 10,000 pounds per year would be 6 million.

The possession or want of fortune plays such an important part in her novels. It makes it all the more understandable, to me, having it in modern day amounts.

Check it out.

The Men of Austen
While perusing the Masterpiece/PBS site, I found this page about the men of Jane Austen’s novels. You need to click “see the men” and then scroll over each photograph to get the details on each. It isn’t totally correct, I’m sure, but it does tell us a little about each man and (this was the interesting part for me) translates the amount of money then — however many pounds per year — into the amount that it would equal today. So, Darcy’s 10,000 pounds per year would be 6 million.

The possession or want of fortune plays such an important part in her novels. It makes it all the more understandable, to me, having it in modern day amounts.

Check it out.