As you can see, our computer is back out of the hospital. It still has numerous quolly fobbles, but I can type letters and print them out.....that is, I hope I can; I am now attempting to retype this first page after the stupid thing locked up and lost the entire page. Friday evening, after retrieving the computer from the technician, we were able to log onto the Internet--only once. We found four E-mail messages; after that, every time we try to hook up to the Internet, windows are thrown onto the screen that say such things as, “Error Starting Program. The SHDOCVW.DLL file is linked to missing export USER 32, DLL:. A device attached to the system is not functioning.”
This is Latin for, “Stupid Humans Disregard Our Cleverly Ventilated Wigwams. Dumb Lunkheaded Lunatics!” and “Utter Saphead Employs Ritual 32, Destroys Lower Lombardy.”
I eventually discovered that the device the computer thinks is either missing or not connected is the modem, which is what connects the computer to the phone line. It’s a brand new modem, and it’s worked fine before, so I don’t know what the problem is. I reprogrammed it in, forcing the computer to acknowledge that the modem is, in fact, connected; but just as soon as I try going OnLine, it throws a tantrum again. Bother. Help and bother.
Last Monday, Lawrence was washing the windows at the Dairy Queen. A woman who works there, who is also one of Lawrence and Norma’s neighbors, told him that their freezer had quit working, ruining their Dairy Queen cakes (a concoction of vanilla ice cream as the top layer, chocolate as the bottom, with a thick brownie-type cake in between, and frosting covering all that). They were getting ready to throw out all the cakes, but the woman asked Lawrence if he would take any, and he gladly accepted three of them. Arriving home shortly thereafter, he proudly brought his cakes into the house to show Norma, informing her, “They were throwing out lots more, but I didn’t want to make a hog of myself.”
“What?!” cried Norma, “They’re throwing them out, and you only got three?!” She snatched the phone and handed it to her bewildered husband. “Call them, quick, and ask for more! We’ve got lots of grandchildren who like those cakes, didn’t you know?”
Lawrence dutifully called the Dairy Queen, spoke with his neighbor lady, who assured him they would be more than happy to let him take however many he wanted; so back to the DQ he went. They brought us four of the cakes, and we spent an equal number of days enjoying them.
The first night, Caleb’s piece had the majority of the words ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. “Hee hee hee!” he giggled, “and it’s not even my birthday. Oh, well,” he continued, “it doesn’t matter; it’s just early or late!”
A few days later, Lawrence was again in the right place at the right time. A local company that makes such things as syringes and other medical supplies, Becton Dickenson, had a seminar. They engaged Pizza Hut to cater the convention. Pizza Hut is required to discard of, in one way or another, any leftover pizza from catered events; they cannot return it to their inventory and resell it. So there was Lawrence, swiping away at the windows of a local business, when one of the Pizza Hut employees spotted him and decided to see if he would be so kind as to take the excess pizzas off her hands. He was, and did. Three of them. Larry, Teddy, and Joseph were among the recipients of that bonanza, after having gone to Lawrence and Norma’s one evening to repair something on their van.
Bobby and Hannah are in the Looking-At-Houses mode, an Altogetherly Exciting Adventure. They toured several on Monday and Tuesday evenings, finding a miscellany of domiciles, some too old, some too expensive, some too small, some too far away, some too smoky. That last one, the one that’s too smoky, is the one they are most interested in. It’s only two blocks south of our house, and was built in the 1960s, I think. There are new cupboards in the kitchen. It reeks something awful of smoke, but that problem can be solved by taking out carpeting and drapes and repainting walls and ceiling. The people that owned the house have recently gotten a divorce. They’ve left the imprint of their troubles all over this poor house in the shape of holes in doors, and gouges in counters and walls. Because of that, a fundamentally nice home is being sold at quite a bargain.
No decisions have been made yet; Bobby has said that he might wait until summertime to buy a home, since, by then, he will be able to make a larger down payment. No dates are being set, but I would venture to guess that by the time summer of the year 2000 rolls around, we’ll be getting ready for another wedding.
Wednesday, I finished Hester’s dress for the evening Easter service. That done, we went to Wal-Mart for the purpose of buying some material for a blouse for myself, one that would match a pretty blue skirt with a border print of pink flowers that somebody gave me for Christmas. Well, I did get some fabric for that purpose, but I also spotted some teal material with pink roses of all shades. There were two bolts of the same print, one of brushed cotton, the other a sheerer batiste. There wasn’t much material on the bolt of brushed cotton, and it must’ve been feeling forlorn about it, for suddenly, as I walked innocently past, it took a jump and landed right in my shopping cart. Its coordinating mate, seeing this, jumped in, too, and nothing I could say would convince them that, truthfully, I didn’t need either one.
So I relented and bought four yards of batiste, along with four yards of teal broadcloth with which to line the batiste. I bought all the rest of the brushed cotton, which was about a yard. Then I got all carried away and bought a length of wide pleated lace with a variegated edge that coordinated with the fabric and would look fine and dandy around a ‘platter’ collar. And fancy buttons. And thread. And a zipper.
Thursday afternoon, I cut a suit out of that material, making a full circle skirt and sleeves for the jacket of the batiste, and lining the skirt. The jacket bodice is of brushed cotton. By Saturday, it was done. It turned out utterly too-too, and is just exactly what I really needed. Well, I did. Sort of. I even have shoes and a hat to match. Woo-hoo!
In the meantime, Hannah has been decorating hats. We have a choice: we can buy already-adorned hats from Paula’s Hatbox, with prices ranging from $40 to $250; or we can buy meagerly embellished hats from Wal-Mart at a cost of $3 or $4, and decorate them ourselves from my large stash of leftover trimmings and trappings. We choose the latter.
For Victoria, we bought a little white straw sailor hat. It came with one small bow at the back, made of lace. Since it is to go with her lavender satin and lace dress, Hannah wound together, in a soft twist, fine lavender and white netting and a single strand of pearls, which she then nestled into the turned-up brim of the hat. She also covered the crown with slightly-gathered pieces of netting. After removing the lace bow, she affixed a larger bow of wire-edged chiffon, then put the original lace bow on top of that, and glued a small white flower into the middle of the bow. It’s adorable, it really is; and Victoria is tickled pink. Or lavender.
I tried it on her, and she immediately headed off to show Teddy. Teddy, you see, is one of those brothers who appreciates the cuteness of his little sisters, nor is he ashamed to tell them so, neither.
Hannah also used the wire-edged chiffon ribbon to make big double bows for her satin shoes. In the middle, she glued a pearl button with gold fluted edge. They look pretty sharp, if you ask me.
Lydia’s straw hat is all white, with the brim turned up in front and decorated with a satin bow. And that was all there was to it.....until Hannah tackled it. Now the wide brim is covered, over and under, with a wide-mesh netting; a spray of shiny white flowers and pearls comes from under the turned-up front brim and trails off halfway around the hat; wide, re-embroidered lace is wrapped all the way around the crown, and a six-looped bow with a ribbon flower in the middle bedecks the top of the crown, and five streamers of ribbon hang from it.
Hester’s hat was given her by my niece, Susan. It is a small pink portrait-style hat, totally covered with pink lace. One side of the brim is curled up, and tacked onto the underside of the brim is a nosegay of pink blossoms. Do you think these little girls can wait for Easter? Well, barely. Just barely.
I think it is important for our children to have nice, new clothes for Easter, because it helps them to understand just how important this occasion is, wherein we celebrate the death and resurrection of our dear Saviour. After all!--Isaiah says, “Put on thy beautiful garments”! ...and to put on “the garment of praise for (or, ‘in place of’) the spirit of heaviness”! Why, even Joseph, a prisoner, shaved himself and changed his raiment when he was summoned to come before Pharaoh! There can be little doubt, as one reads through the Bible, that the Lord loves beautiful clothing. He promises to clothe those that follow Him in fine linen. His directives of the workmanship of the priests’ clothing were careful and explicit, and their robes were richly colored and embroidered, and set with gems of all hues. The Lydia of Acts 16, who was known for her piety, was a seller of fine purple linen.
Yes, there are verses that say, “...women (should) adorn themselves in modest apparel, ... not with gold, or pearls, or costly array; but with good works.” (I Timothy 2:9&10) or “...whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning...of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.” (I Peter 3: 3&4) But other verses make it clear that these admonitions are simply telling us that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Yes, we believe we should dress modestly, but we also like a variety of colors!
One afternoon Caleb was watching me add still another row of ruffles to Hester’s dress. I asked him, “Do you wish you were a little girl, so you could have a pretty dress?”
“Hee hee hee!” he replied. “No, I’m glad I’m just who God made me!”
“Well,” I questioned further, “Do you wish Victoria was a little boy, so you’d have a little brother to play with?”
He laughed again. “No!” he responded quite adamantly, “I like Victoria just the way she is! I like playing with little sisters!”
Teddy has been busy getting information about car-buying in general, and Toyota Tacoma pickup-buying in particular, for a project for his Consumer Math course. One day after school he had an insurance agency write up an estimate for him, discovering that, were he to buy a new Tacoma, his insurance would run $276 a month! We are fortunate that Larry’s dealer license and insurance allows us to put business plates on the children’s cars, for that saves us a lot of money. It’s not cheap, but it’s better than the alternative.
Friday night, we went visiting at Keith and Esther’s house, meeting and befriending their adorable little black cat with the white boots. Lydia, in particular, was badly wanting to go see them. “I’ve really been missing Keith,” she told me, “because he likes to tease me and he plays with us little kids so nice.” She tipped her head thoughtfully. “He got that from Daddy,” she concluded.
Esther has their house decorated so pretty; everything is just right. By all appearances, the honeymoon isn’t over yet!
After leaving, we went to Lawrence and Norma’s so Larry could run a computer check on their van. The airbag light was flashing, and, because they were planning a trip to Omaha with Lawrence’s daughter Barbara and her three children the next morning, they wanted it investigated, since they didn’t prefer to have the airbag suddenly go off in their faces. Before going home, Norma fed us a midnight snack of Mississippi Mud Cake and the last of the Dairy Queen cakes. As we were going out the door, Victoria said, “Bye!” then added sweetly, “Have fun!” which set everybody to laughing. She didn’t say anything until we were in the Suburban; then she turned to me with her eyebrows high and inquired, “Funny?”
Saturday, about the time I sat down at my sewing machine, I remembered that Teddy had told me he was in need of short-sleeved shirts. He’s grown out of men’s size medium, and Keith went off with most of the men’s size large, which were his own, anyway. Now, Saturday is the day that the Salvation Army always has special sales, so Hannah called to see what the specials were. Usually they have one or two sections designated as ‘sale’ areas, but this time they were having four. All sweaters, cardigans, and vests were $.29 each. Blouses and shirts were $.79. Shoes were half price. Children’s clothing was selling at three items for $1.00. You can be sure, I popped right back up off my sewing chair, snatched purse, coats, and kids and headed straight for the Salvation Army!
Dorcas, Hester, Lydia, Caleb, and Victoria came with me. Dorcas pushed one cart, and I pushed another, and we managed to fill them both right up to the top. I got a heap of shirts, including several for Larry and Joseph, although the majority was for Teddy. I got 3 vests, and several sweaters or cardigans, many that are brand new. Also, I bought 6 blouses, 3 dresses for Victoria, and 16 pairs of like-new socks, which are a bargain any day at $.69 for adults, and $.29 for children. Then, since Victoria was trying to write on a piece of paper, and needed something hard to put under it, we chose a cute book for her to use, which we bought for Hester and Lydia. I found a set of four ceramic napkin holders for $1.16, and I’m going to machine-embroider four linen napkins for Ann, who will be married in three weeks. I got a couple of other kitchen items for them, too.
In the meanwhile, Hester, Lydia, and Caleb were conducting a detailed examination of the stuffed animals. If they look like new, we buy them for presents.... and we found seven cute animals that we will save for somebody for next Christmas. Hester found a big, droopy-eyed puppy with long, soft fur that she thought she badly needed; and, after looking into its face, I thought she probably did, too. That one was the most expensive, and it was only $1.25. Lydia found a fluffy little chickie; it was $.25. For Caleb and Victoria, we got a couple of ducks in plaid pants and brown floppy hats. They were similar to a duck we’d gotten Joseph for his birthday when he was about four; when its paw is pressed, it quacks out “Easter Parade” and “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” and “Farmer in the Dell”. It’s dressed in overalls and a plaid shirt. In order to stop its singing, just bop it on the head. The song can be continued, one quack at a time, by continuing to bop its head.
Well, these two ducks didn’t work, but they were only $.69, and we hoped that once new batteries were installed, they’d quack into song, too. We paid for our purchases: $49.87 for all those 84 items! If I would have spent the same amount at J.C. Penney’s, I’d’ve only been able to get two shirts.
Once home, we put batteries into the ducks--and they worked. The littles were delighted. Lydia set all three ducks side by side on the love seat, pressed each paw (do ducks have paws?), and then stood back to listen to the ‘choir’, as she called it. Joseph was proud of his duck for far out-quacking the others; but Caleb and Victoria are equally pleased with theirs, because, lo and behold, their cheeks light up and blink while they are singing!
Saturday evening, the Junior Choir came back to church to practice their song, “Blessed Be The Fountain Of Life”, which they sang Sunday night. Hannah went to practice, too, with a girls’ group; they sang “He Doeth All Things Well”.
Sunday for dinner, I broiled fish, haddock and pollock. When it was nearly done, I drained all the fat out of the bottom of the broiler, then put a couple sticks of butter in it, along with the fish, and lots of chopped green pepper. I made one of my mother’s old recipes of cottage cheese and pineapple, with raspberry jello powder poured in. It was really yummy, until......I decided it needed some additional garnishes, for the sake of aesthetics, don’t you know, and beautiful tables. So I put lettuce leaves on china saucers, then a big scoop of the pineapple cottage cheese (bright pink, on account of the jello); around that, I arranged three half-circles of bright red candied apples, and on top I put three marchino cherries. Well, the cherries didn’t damage things too badly; but, oh!, those candied apples! Good grief, I nearly destroyed the sweet, delicate taste of the pineapple salad. Just add lots of cinnamon and corn syrup to your cottage cheese and see how you like it. Icky. I guess I won’t do that again.
Anyway, the rest of the food was good: blueberry biscuits, vegetable pasta salad, peach halves, peas, orange/grapefruit juice, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate-and peanut-butter-chip granola bars.
After dinner, we went for a drive. Lakes Babcock and North are still locked up, in order to allow the waterfowl to rest without disturbance before they continue their northern migration. But at Wilkinson Wetlands, we can drive right between two of the bodies of shallow water. Now snow geese are joining the ducks, and shovelers and pintails have arrived, too. Even the mosquitoes are sailing in, all in the best of health.
Only one more week until Easter! Crocuses in bloom! Today my daffodils are blooming, too.
I just noticed that I need to alter the shoulders on one of Dorcas’ dresses, and I would like to sew that white linen blouse for myself, so I’d better get myself in gear. May God bless you this Easter time.
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