Journal: Coffeepot Cozies, & Bats in the Belfry

Last Monday night, I was standing at the kitchen table doing some computer work when one of the cats came quietly in from the back hallway and began chowing down on the cat food in the auto-feeder just six feet away.  My brain registered, Cat crunching food, and I went on typing.

Now, I know what each cat sounds like when he eats and even when he drinks.  With my back to the feeder or the water bowl, I can tell you without pause which cat is snacking or slurping.  So it didn’t take the cat very many crunches of Iams before my brain exclaimed, Alien cat!  Alien cat!

I turned my head quickly – and there was a smallish gray striped cat with white paws and white bib, mouth full of food, but his chewing had stalled when I turned, and he was staring at me with big eyes.

“Get out!” I said loudly.  “You don’t belong here!” 

He hastily got himself out.  That was pretty brazen of him to sally right up to the food trough and help himself to the Iams while I was standing right there, don’t you think?

Soooo... down came the garage door again for a little while.  We give it a while, and then when we haven’t seen a stray cat for a few days, we open the door again to let our own cats enter and exit as they please.

Grrrrrrrr...  I’m soooooo tired of stray tomcats.

Tuesday, a man from the heating and cooling company came to check out our air conditioner, which was neither cooling nor blowing as it should.  He gave us the bad news we had been expecting:  the compressor was shot.  And they don’t give those things away.

The owner, father of the young man who had come, ordered us a new compressor.  Fortunately, we would be having lovely, cool weather during the next few days.

A quilting friend wrote to say, “I have inherited a very large box of squares that just won’t get smaller.  Silly things reproduce in the dark or something.”

Hee hee  I felt that way about my fabric for quite a while, even though I didn’t have as much as some do.  But I just checked, and I’m down to only five 28-quart bins of quilting cotton now!  Shocking.

I still have quite a lot of other types of fabric, leftovers from clothes-making.  I don’t get rid of it if I like it and/or think I’ll use it.  I have rag-shag knit rugs to make, for instance.

People need to quit getting married, having birthdays, and having babies, so I can have a chance to work on those other things!

No, never mind; what am I saying?  I’m enjoying all these things I’m doing, and I like to give handmade things away! 

That day, I put silk ribbon bluebells and primroses on the coffeepot cozy.

As I embroidered, a thunderstorm raged outside, complete with bright bolts of lightning and crashing thunder that scared the cats out of several of their nine lives.

Wednesday morning, I started filling the bathtub – and discovered that the water wasn’t quite as hot as I liked, even with only the hot water running.  I immediately became quite stingy with it, since I think washing one’s hair in cold water is one of the more unpleasant things in life.

Once done, I texted Larry, “We have very little hot water.”

He wrote back in his usual breviloquent manner, “No hot water, no cool air; it’s bad.  Check and see if the breaker is blown.”

I hadn’t thought of that.  Instead, I always assume that a heating element has gone bad.  I checked, and then wrote back, “Okay, I found one set of double switches in a different position than the others.  Flipped it back on.  Think I hear the water heater running, maybe.”

The young man who checked the air conditioner the previous day had evidently switched it off, and forgotten to turn it back on.  The amazing thing about this is that I had any hot water at all, in view of the fact that Larry likes to nap in the tub at night, and he periodically rouses enough to refill it with hot water.

That night before church, Larry, all cleaned and polished and combed, started putting on his suit.  I grew hopeful that we would be on time, for once.

Then he dashed my hopes by saying, “Oh, I have to shave!” and laying his suit back down on the bed.

“It’s time to go!” I protested.

“No, it isn’t,” said he, “because I have to shave!” 

Late that night, I finished the embellishment on the main part of the coffeepot cozy, other than the spout cover, which I’d just started putting on.  More photos here.

Thursday, I inserted the spout cover, which was a tricky job, sort of like a combination of bound buttonholes, narrow-angled inset Y seams, and over/under appliqué work, all at the same time.

I could’ve saved myself a lot of trouble by incorporating it right into the gusset or gore at the time I cut it.  Maybe I’ll do it that way on Matthew and Josie’s.  Or maybe not.  The way I’m doing it now probably looks prettier.

That afternoon, I purchased airline and bus tickets and made reservations for my blind friend Linda, as she will be traveling to Chicago, Janes-ville, and Orlando.  This always makes me want to make flight reservations for us, too, to go... somewhere.

And then I remember that just looking at pictures of the insides of airplanes gives me claustrophobia.  But maybe actually being inside one wouldn’t be so bad.  Besides, I can always pretend I don’t have claustrophobia, even if I do.  But... I really like Travel By Jeep.

I barely finished with that before I realized... The World Wide Web is Stalking Me!

I got an email from Google Calendar, informing me that all those reservations I’d just made had been added to my Google Calendar!

I didn’t even know I had a Google Calendar. 

“So don’t be surprised,” I told Linda, “if I get all mixed up and go to the National Federation for the Blind convention by accident.”

She assured me that if I did, we’d have lots of fun.  😃

“I’ll slip you some money Sunday,” she added.

“What, you’re going to make our Father’s house a house of merchandise??” I exclaimed.  “I don’t need any money,” I told her.  “Well, I do, but you don’t have enough.”  Then I added, “I’m glad to help, and always hope I don’t accidentally send you to the Samoa Islands or somewhere.  If I do, don’t take it personal!”

Shortly thereafter, a friend sent me a picture of a path she was walking in what looked remarkably like the interior of the larger of those very Samoa Islands.  “I have to climb 20 feet above the trail to get a signal,” she wrote.

“What a pretty place,” I responded.  “Why would you need a signal, in a place like that?  If you fall down and can’t get up, don’t worry about calling 911.  Just lay there and enjoy the day.”  😆

That day I got the batting and Insul-Bright together for the coffeepot cozy.  I sewed the lining, spout cover and all.

The air conditioner man was supposed to tell us when he got the compressor in, and make an appointment to come install it.  Instead, without calling ahead of time, the owner’s son, who’s probably in his mid-20s, arrived Friday morning shortly after 8:30 a.m.

I, having stayed up until the wee hours of the night sewing, was happily snoozing away when the man popped his head in the front door and shouted, “Larrrrrry?” and then “Sarah Lyyynnn?” 

I wanted to bellow back, “SHUT UP, I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!”  Instead, I kept vewy, vewy still until he went away from the door and headed to the side of the house where the air conditioner unit sits.  Then I scrambled out of the feathers, quickly made the bed, grabbed my clothes, and skedaddled pell-mell into the bathroom to take a bath and wash my hair and make myself presentable. 

Siggghhhhh...  I appreciated the fact that I would soon have an air conditioner again, but I do wish people would tell me these things!

Still, there was a Baltimore oriole in the maple tree singing his heart out...  I was soon curling my hair and sipping the most scrumptious coffee (Blueberry Cobbler – mmmmm) ... so all was well.  The air conditioner was back in order again by midafternoon.

I should mention that the young man, other than his penchant for opening doors and shouting into the house without first bothering to knock, was polite and well-mannered.  Probably he’d just watched too many old Westerns, where riders came upon ranches way out in the western territories, and, in the interest of not getting shot before they could make their intentions known, started hollering, “HELLO THE HOUSE!!!” as they topped the far rise.

Meanwhile, I ate breakfast and got back to the coffeepot cozy.  I put the lining in it, along with the batting and Insul-Bright (thermal batting) – a layer of each, with the Insul-Bright being next to the pot – and then put the binding on it, loops, buttons (vintage, from a quart jar holding my mother’s old buttons), a few more beads, and a little more embroidery.  And then, late that night, it was all done.  More photos here.

A friend, knowing I am going to give the coffeepot cozy to my sister, suggested, “Maybe someone could record it as you give it to her!”

She would never act like herself if we did that.  She’d be more liable to act exactly like I do when I call someone and get their voicemail:  “Erg blah bleah bloog glob bloosh egaurph phloo blook yag!”

Phoney baloney, I call it.  😆

I went upstairs to the recliner, tucked the heating pad behind my back, and prepared to read a bit before going to bed. 

Now, usually what happens is that all three cats watch as I get myself situated.  They sit in a semi-circle and stare, as if I am a one-man circus show.

I plug in my laptop... I plug in the coffee mug warmer... (the cats watch) ... I make myself a cup of tea... I put it on the warmer... (all three cats sitting patiently, watching) ... I get my ‘crafting glasses’... (the cats look on, unmoving) ... I put Kleenexes, eyedrops, and eyeglass cloth on the bench beside the chair... (the cats keep track of each item) ... I sit down in the recliner... I tuck the heating pad behind my back... (the cats’ eyes following every movement) ... I turn on the heating pad... I pull the fleece throw over my legs... (the cats begin to show the very slightest signs of restlessness) ... I resituate the laptop... I lean back... I reach for my tea ---

And then Teensy gets up, goes to the door, sits down, pulls his ears back, and points his nose at the doorknob.  This is how he ‘looks the door open’. 

It works, too, because I set laptop on footstool, toss aside the throw, and get up to let him out.

The other two cats sit and observe the pageant. 

“Do you want outside?” I inquire courteously, holding the door ajar.

They decline.

I sit back down, pull the throw back over my legs, and lift the laptop back onto my lap.  I reach for my tea.

Tabby trots to the door.  “Meeee!” he demands plaintively.

I, being my cats’ resigned felierry (if an equerry cares for horses, then a felierry must care for felines, right?), get back up and let Tabby out.

“Do you want out, too?” I ask Tiger.  He gives me his best enigmatical look.  I try a firmer hand.  “Go outside!” I instruct him.  He lifts his chin regally and turns his head from me.  I will not be dictated to.  I am a cat.

I shut the door, return to my chair, sit down, pull the throw up, collect the laptop.

This is Tiger’s signal to go to the door.  “Meooooooooow,” he says in his low, gravelly voice, and fat cat that he is, he then does a remarkable imitation of a toddler dancing in place.  He needs out!  NOW!!!

I get up and let him out.

So this is routine, we’re all accustomed to it, we accept our lineup in the queue, and we play our rolls faultlessly.

But Friday night, Teensy had not yet gotten his cue, when an imposter interrupted the shtick and put on his own melodrama.

It was a bat.

He swooped and dived, and dived and swooped, as bats are wont to do, and he did so most especially at my head, as bats are also wont to do.

So I, with great presence of mind, unplugged my laptop before I leapt to my feet, tossing aside the fleece throw.  Then dodging and ducking, I fled for the bedroom, calling for Larry as I went. 

He, hard of hearing and napping happily in the tub, didn’t hear me.  I yelled, shouted, and thumped on the door.  The cats, unnerved, ran to and fro in somewhat frenzied fashions.  Larry, upon being roused, promised to be out shortly.

When bats get in the house and Larry is not home, I turn off all the lights, open all the doors, and turn on the porch and deck lights.  The bats, knowing that bugs congregate around lights, soon make their way outside.  However, Larry highly disapproves of this method, as he is more paranoid about mosquitoes than I am of bats.

Well, I’m not paranoid about bats when they’re outdoors; in fact, I enjoy standing on the back deck at night watching them swoop around, working hard to snatch as many bugs as possible right out of the sky.  But when they intrude into my private sanctuary, that’s different.

Eventually Larry made his way out of the bathroom, found a tennis racket, and went to Bat Hunting.  He skulked about, tapping on curtains and the tops of cupboards.  Suddenly and entirely without warning, the bat swooped lickety-split around his head ----- and then made the error of trying one more orbit.

WHACK!!!  Larry tapped him out of his flight pattern.  PLOP.  He landed on the floor.  (The bat, not Larry.)  Larry grabbed a towel, tossed it over the Microchiroptera critter, and picked him up even as he started looking for a way to climb the cupboard and achieve liftoff.  Larry took him out the back patio door, gave him a little fling, and away flew the bat, seemingly none the worse for wear.

We prefer to not hurt them, but to set them free.  These ordinary little brown bats can consume over 1,200 insects per hour, all night long!  Imagine that.

Saturday was a beautiful day.  The clematis, iris, and lilacs are blooming, and there was a half-grown White-lined Sphinx moth flitting about.  Photos here.

When Larry got home, he mowed the lawn with his ‘new’ zero-turn John Deere riding lawn tractor. 

Bobby, Hannah and the children came, bringing gifts for Mother’s Day, including an orchid corsage for me to wear to church the next day.

Hannah made the little crocheted bowl and the crocheted scrubbie, which is soft enough to use on one’s face.  The hand-milled soap smells like lily-of-the-valley, and the lotion is a favorite brand of mine – Crabtree & Evelyn.  The microfiber cloth is for glasses or electronic screens.

Kurt and Victoria came a little later, giving me a box containing three big, pretty cookies, made by niece Abbi’s talented fingers, and Bali Blue Surf aloe gel lotion.

Hannah has been sick for a week with sinus and ear infection, and possible Staph infection of the throat.  The doctor gave her some tablets big enough to cure a horse, providing the horse can swallow them.

I suggested she put the tablet on a paper, drive over it with her van, and then lick off the paper.  Funny how they can make computer chips smaller, but can’t shrink an antibiotic tablet!

Hannah and Victoria both made the cards they gave me, and I bought a card from Victoria to give Norma, too.

That day I started coffeepot cozy #2, the one that will be for our great-nephew Matthew and his fiancée, Josie.  The foundational Crazy Quilting sections are done and ready to be sewn together.

A quilting friend wrote, “Sarah Lynn, I think you’ve lost that last marble, starting another cozy so soon!  Just sayin’...”

That reminds me of back when we used to have mice with roller balls.  Teddy, who liked pulling pranks, twisted the cover on the ball on the bottom side of the mouse to ‘Open’, then set it carefully back down on the mouse pad so it looked quite fine.  I’d sit down at my computer... and eventually I’d pick up the mouse, and the ball would fall out.

Teddy would then scramble to pick it up, crying, “Oh, no!  Mama lost her marble!”  (singular, not plural)  haha

Well, I enjoyed making the coffeepot cozy... and it was supposed to be for Matthew and Josie... so I have to make another one... and I won’t mind.

Aaaauuuugggghhh, Tiger just brought in a baby bunny!  He sat it down by his food dish and started cuddling up to the bowl.  “Mmrrrrroow,” he said, which of course meant, “Stay there, bunny, while I start on the main course.  You’re dessert.”

I rescued the bunny (“MrrroooOW!” protested Tiger) and put him outside under a bush.  I have no idea if he’ll survive; he just sat there, after I put him down.  I couldn’t see any obvious injuries on him; but when a cat catches a bunny, there just have to be injuries, don’t there??

Sunday morning after church, Caleb and Maria gave me a large Rhododendron, all covered with blooms.

On the way home, we picked up the mail, and found a card from Keith with a gift card for Cracker Barrel, and a card from Todd and Dorcas with a stack of photos.

After church last night, we took Norma a large potted miniature Gloriana petunia with some type of tall, narrow-leafed plant in the middle.  What is it, some kind of sweetgrass, maybe?  We always enjoy visiting with her.

Did you know I can make it rain?

Some people make it rain by washing their cars.  I make it rain by peering out the window, seeing blue sky, and hanging clothes out on the line.

I walk back into the house... AccuWeather informs me that it’s going to rain in 27 minutes flat... I wait as long as possible under a steadily-increasingly-menacing sky (are you impressed with how I handled those run-together adverbs?)... dash out and collect the clothes off the line... put the next load of wet clothes into the dryer -------- and see that I can also make the sun come out.

Meanwhile, it’s snowing in the Sierra Nevadas.

Amy and the children brought me a Mother’s Day gift a little while ago:  a bag full of humongous chocolate chip/white chunk/raisin cookies, plus a framed collage of the four younger children, cute and precious as can be.  Two shots of each of them, in the collage.  A couple of the older boys were beside me, looking at the picture as I admired it --- and then I exclaimed, “Oh, no!  Look, look, they’ve turned into twins!  Each of them has an identical twin!!!  What are you ever going to do?!!”

They started laughing...  I tell you, one of the delightful thing about grandchildren is, they think their goofy grandma is clever!

Okay, I’ve scrubbed the bathroom, and the last load of clothes is now hanging on the line, and the weather gave up on playing cat and mouse with me, and is blowing a nice hot breeze, drying those clothes quickly. 

The second coffeepot arrived; this one really looks vintage – it has crackling in the glaze.  The other looked brand-spanking new.  I think I’ll give this one to my sister – she likes vintage-looking things, and won’t mind the crackling, same as me.  The young bride would probably prefer one without a crackled glaze.

I’ve backed up all my data from laptop to two separate external hard drives.  It hadn’t been done for a couple of months, which starts making me nervous.  I do have a lot of data stored online here and there, but of course pictures are quite compressed.

The Schwan lady came.  My order of last night hadn’t gone in soon enough... so I read it to her from my computer, and then canceled last night’s order.  We will have lasagna and a big bowl of Golden Fruit (mango, peaches, strawberries, pineapple) for supper tonight, with chocolate brownie frozen yogurt for dessert.

Larry is helping Bobby with his pickup; it needs a new fuel pump.  They got it taken apart – had to lift the box off the frame – but it was too late to buy a pump anywhere, so they’ll have to finish it tomorrow night.

Lydia and little Ian came a few minutes ago, bringing yet more gifts:  a little wax warmer that plugs into the wall like a nightlight, and has little birds on ‘twigs’ on the outside that show up in silhouette when it is on.  Lydia made a jar full of yummy-smelling wax pieces that look too pretty to use.  I’ll just open the jar now and then to scent the room, until the fragrance fades a little, and then I’ll melt them in the warmer.  She made the card, too.

Andrew and Hester have been sick for the last couple of days with either the stomach flu, or possibly food poisoning from someplace they ate Friday night.  I just wrote and asked if they were feeling better, and Hester replied, “As long as we don’t eat!  lolol”

And now I’d better get back to coffeepot cozy #2.  The wedding is June 11^th, and the first cozy took many, many hours.

Hmmm... looking at my photos... last month’s journals... I didn’t keep track, but I can clearly see I spent over 100 hours on that coffeepot cozy.  I thought it was longer – but I forgot that I got interrupted by that Tangled Stars table topper for the last wedding gift.

Hopefully, this cozy won’t take as long as the last!

,,,>^..^<,,,         Sarah Lynn         ,,,>^..^<,,,