Blow the House Down

 

It really is warm enough to go sleeveless in Omaha at the moment. We're expecting mid-70s F by Wednesday, though that's coming with the threat of severe weather. I hope the models are wrong, but it looks like it might be a wild ride. For the moment though, the weather save for a brief snowshower that melted a few hours later, we've been having mild temperatures. 

As a midwesterner I know that can sometimes be followed by a couple feet of snow. The worst blizzards I saw in Chicago all followed unseasonably warm days. I'm ready either way, but getting dressed requires a bit of creative layering.

This vintage twin-set is perfect for our strange weather. 

Made in the British colony of Hong Kong, so pre-'99 at least.

The skirt is 80s by Star CCC which always sounded like it should have been Soviet! They made interesting clothes aimed at the juniors market. At first I though the skirt was a slip but then noticed it was lined. 

I always thought I didn't look good in grey but I rather like how this came together. 

I baked dairy-free, sugar-free, whole wheat Lussekatter buns. We're not Swedish, but the town where Danny spent most of his childhood was a town settled by Swedish immigrants and making these every year is a nod to his hometown. They worked, the boys liked them, and Danny has been having them toasted with jam before school. If they're happy, I'm happy. They were simple enough to make. 

He's studying for final exams next week and getting last minute assignments done. We're so proud of him, and how hard he's worked. AP classes are demanding and require a lot of work. No wonder he looks forward to PE class! A chance to blow off steam and exercise is a welcome break. He's probably going to be the first member of this family to get an A in physical education. I  certainly never put much effort into it. I was a smoker. And asthmatic. Yeah, I know, it was the 70s😁. 

I'm planning his birthday cake, but beyond that I only bought him a book that I hope will be meaningful. Anyway, my baby will be 17 soon. That doesn't seem possible. I took him Saturday for his booster jab now that it has been approved for teens. The health department was holding a clinic in the middle school lunchroom. It was surreal with all the signs on the wall for the school children. "Stay in your seat", "No touching", "No talking" it felt like we were visiting a prison rather than a school. No wonder these kids are so messed up. Our schools were old and decaying but at least we didn't have to sit in silence to eat. Hopefully it was just some Covid precaution, but I don't think it is. All that was missing was a large poster reading, "Obey."

I continue raiding my vintage collection for things to wear. This skirt, while not expressly a holiday piece works nicely in December. The shirt is a jersey knit by BCBG. It was probably expensive when new. It looked unworn when I bought it for two dollars. The shape works  with vintage and hopefully I will get loads of use from it. It is well made. 

The earrings are recently purchased vintage from the church basement thrift shop. 

The partridge in a pear tree brooch is a few years old. 

And a close-up on the skirt fabric. 

Christmas bracelet. I have a nicer one depicting the scenes of the Nativity in enameled panels. I need to find it before Christmas is over.

My skin is so dry. I do use lotions and salves but they only do so much. That's OK. We all have terrible hands right now from constant washing and hand sanitiser. Or we ought to. Don't trust anyone with nice hands in a pandemic, I guess.

I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a Christmas jumper, but when a really good one comes along (not the ones deliberately made to be ugly) I'll grab it. 

The woman that sold it to me didn't think I'd really wear it. Clearly, she didn't know me well enough. The inside label is dated '99.

Also, the return of my Santa Pants basket bag. Don't mind me just fumbling around in Santa's pants...

All I did was line it with holiday fabric and made a lid from the matching fabric and a piece of cardboard. 

I've started making cookies for the library friends. They'll get decorated with royal icing. I missed last year so it was really important to me to get these completed. I'm pacing myself with the project rather than doing it all in one day like previous years. I used a new recipe that has honey. They're very soft compared to the usual sugar cookie. I hope they like them. I always hesitate to stray from what has become my tradition. I'm also going to try and bring some to my friends at the state park office. That's a bit of a drive, so we'll see. They were so good to Danny when he was small and learning about birds. 

So, about me. *Shrugs* I'm a mess.

I'm starting to feel sorry for the doctor because he had to call me again asking for another diagnostic test (two actually). We've established that my esophagus isn't working correctly but in the process of figuring that out stumbled into a couple other things like poor kidney function, severe anemia, and hypoglycemia. That last one explains a lot of the weakness and dizzy spells I've been having. Who knew that a blood sugar of 50 isn't good? I guess that can happen to diabetics, but I'm not diabetic-I just live with one 😀 

I can't seem to get enough calories from food (also a problem I never imagined having) but why I'm not absorbing nutrition is anyone's guess. Anyway, that's just a quick update and I will spare you the awful details because I'm sick of thinking about it and you're undoubtedly sick of hearing about it too. Remember a few years ago when they started selling Golden Syrup in a squeezy bottle and I was all outraged about it? Yeah, I'm carrying one in my purse now for quick glucose infusion in a convenient leak-proof package. If you'd told me I'd be pouring Golden Syrup into my mouth from a squeezy bottle a year ago...ah well, been a weird year for everyone, hasn't it? 

Medicinal purposes only. Don't tell my dentist.

Well, we just got emergency weather alerts sent to our phones about tomorrow warning of dangerous winds, power outages, and debris. So far Dan's school hasn't canceled, but I'm hoping by morning they come to their senses*. I'm not looking forward to driving in a hurricane force gale. If I'm absent for a few days, assume the power is out like last time. Hopefully it won't take a week to get it back on and the tree will stay in the yard, not through the roof. Fingers crossed. See ya on the flip side. 

*They're going ahead with school. All the other districts have called off classes. This is madness but obviously a lot worse for students that walk with flying debris all around. Sigh. Gonna be a wild day.