Monday, May 29, 2023

School's Out For Summer

 I am going to bore you with photos of Dan for a bit. I hope you don't mind. 21 May was the commencement ceremony. Isn't Dan handsome in his cap and gown? Ignore the mask hanging off my ear.

It was a beautifully sunny day
The ceremony was held at the university hockey stadium. I had a good cry in the stands with some other mums.
A day earlier they held senior honours night at the school where students were recognised for scholarships,adacdemic honours, etc. It was lovely.
I baked a cake. The concept was to edge it with rolled biscuits that look like diplomas.
I think it turned out well.
Chocolate genoise with non-dairy "buttercream" frosting.


Some blog old timers might remember Dan's first day of school. 9 August 2010
He's grown a bit.

Dan didn't have any trouble moving from nine years of homeschooling to public high school. He isn't a hermit, wasn't academically under-prepared, and managed to make friends with students, and enemies with school administrators. Well, that was the job of the student journalists. Having school disrupted by Covid and remote learning was a drag, but he handled it well. I'm proud of how hard he worked. I'm going to miss him going off to university, even if it is only a few minutes away down Dodge street. He has a key, and is free to drop by any time he pleases, if only to raid the pantry. 

Well done, kiddo.

 

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Cruellest Month, Blah, Blah, Blah

Hello everyone! 

We've reached that time of year in the Midwestern, US where we can experience all four seasons in the span of a day. More often than not, April means starting the day with the heat running, only to end the day with air conditioning. That's fairly typical, though having wildfires due to extreme drought is not. We had some thunderstorms last week, but any good the rain did was quickly rendered useless by lightning strikes starting the cycle anew. The air quality has been terrible, and I'm thankful for the air conditioner as opening a window is out of the question even if ultimately all our air conditioners are contributing to the messed up climate. 


 

I did the Storm Spotter recertification course with the National Weather Service that's required every three years, and we promptly had a storm the following day. Nothing exciting save for a bit of hail, but it was good to get ready for the severe weather season. Tornadoes aren't typically an issue in Nebraska until May and June, but they do happen year round. And now of course there's wildfires which weren't previously an issue. We'd always get brush fires, or people burning trash in high winds on farms that subsequently got out of control (seen that one up close when idiot neighbour nearly set the farm alight), but large scale, multi-day affairs are new. If you live in the US and are interested in becoming a storm spotter, check with your local NWS office for classes. You do not need to be a ham radio operator to be a storm spotter, though if you are, that's great! The class takes about two hours, most of which was going through the stupid things people do, and being warned not to do them! I have a healthy respect for the power of weather and no desire to be struck by lightning, so no worries about that.  

Still giving some clothing items last wears before moving them along. I will keep the cardigan but the dress is going away. I felt like I was cosplaying late First Lady Betty Ford, and I'm not quite ready for that!



Yes, that's a dress. I like 70s vintage generally. There's nothing wrong with this, but the faux linen look polyester wasn't exactly comfortable, even on someone that's nearly always cold.

Betty Ford would have rocked the hell out of this dress. And the shoes.


Keeping the shoes, though it might be time for new soles.

Moving along...

"Dress" shorts. I don't know. Maybe? They're having a moment again worn with a matching jacket for spring. I wouldn't deliberately seek them out as a fashion, but I've had them for years so perhaps I'll keep them a bit longer.

Not terrible from the back the way some shorts are. 

White leather for Spring? Sure, why not?


A bit much with the matching jacket, but worn as separates, sure. My mother's giant "Door knocker" 80s earrings seemed right.

Ha, yeah the 80s were fun fashion wise.

Can't go wrong with red and beige, unless you're headed to Target. Might get mistaken for an employee.
This is more my type of 70s vintage clothing.

This was about a month ago.

The dress is made from a stiff sort of nylon. I'm sure it was a house-dress, but that's never stopped me.




The basketball brooch was for the annual, "March Madness" tournament.

And now, please sit back for a dump of outfit photos.































Which brings us to this 1930s velvet dress that finally, after close to a decade of owning it, got worn.









Bad photo of the weight sewn in to create the draped neckline

So that was fun. Typically avoid bias cut dresses as they don't work for me, but this was an exception. 

Had my hair cut into an asymmetrical style. Still had to pay full price for half a haircut.
I like it!
Sort of like a sideways mullet.

I will leave you with the Not A Lamb Cake I made for Easter from lamb mince and mashed potatoes. 


 








I will try to be back soon(er).