Fair season

In my newsfeed this morning, there was the perennial article about some fried confection at the New York state fair. Yes, it is that time of the year for harvest festivals.

My first date with my husband was at the Helena Watermelon Festival in 1983. A quick search on Helena, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, doesn't give me much. I can't tell if they still set up feed troughs down the middle of the main street and fill them with watermelons, cooling in water. The demographics don't look good for the town. The major employer is a state prison that has a medium level security center housing offenders 35 years of age or older. I'll leave that intriguing fact for another post.

If my memory is correct, the first time I met my husbands parents was when we went to the Oklahoma State Fair. It actually is a good way to get to know each other, chatting about what we encountered in the exhibits. On the other hand, I did make an offhand snobbish remark about the superiority of knitting over crochet that my future mother-in-law, an avid crocheter, never forgave. The dear, sweet woman did take me into the family, in spite of my many limitations.

Jumping ahead many years, I have fond memories of the Tri-State Fair in Amarillo with my in-laws and two year old son. That's when we spent lots of time around the animal pens.

A favorite video about our house about then was "State Fair". I don't mean the Pat Boone, Ann Margaret version set at the Texas State Fair, but the 1945 one with Jeanne Crain and Dana Andrews. Nothing tops Percy Kilbride showing his pig at the Iowa State Fair.* If you are in need of something to hum this weekend, the Rodgers and Hammerstein's title song is delightful. Upon checking IMDB, I see there is a 1933 version with Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers and Lew Ayres. I may have to put it on my viewing list.

After years of fair going, we got side-tracked by planning our travels to coincide with World's Fairs. Here is a pic taken inside a gondola above the Expo 2009, Zaragoza, Spain.

Expos are great on culture, innovations and food, but not so good for viewing the animal pens.

Maybe I'll head over to the state fair tomorrow for $1 day.

*Correction: Percy Kilbride's character bets against the success of Blue Boy.

Nobori

When we went to Japan for the first time in 1999, I was fascinated by the visual display of long banners everywhere. They ranged from elegant traditional to garish commercial.

I now have a word for them: nobori.

I have noticed that they are much more common here now. You see them on lampposts in many towns. Friendly's at the end of my street has a teardrop banner advertising their kid's meal. Pizza Hut has a feather style. Don't quote me on it. I meant to stop to take a picture of it.

This morning I happened upon this display from a corner of picture from 2010. I knew it was perfect to include on this Labor Day Saturday. It is outside the Chuck Jones Cinema, Telluride Film Festival.

SHOW, we are there in spirit and will return to you again.

Why didn't MoM knit?

I'm thinking about my mother and her creativity.

Her father was an engineer with the gas company and her mother sewed clothes to dress three daughters during the Depression. My mother was a graduate of engineering school. In that post-war time, by choice or necessity, she became a math teacher. I think of her as making do, getting by and not making waves.

I wish I could touch the maternity suit she fashioned from a man's tailored suit.

As I look around my office studio, I think back to her sewing room. It was the space where a half bath was to go, off the master bedroom. But they never spent the money to finish it. It was big enough for a card table, rickety under the heavy Kenmore, and a folding chair. I was always afraid of stepping on a pin or picking up a splinter on the rough sub flooring. I don't think she even put down a throw rug.

Wonderful things came out of that room, but never quite designer masterpieces. They were pretty things, useful things.

So I wonder why she never picked up knitting from my grandmother. Is it because it is more public, that people would inquire what she was making? As a child of the Depression, did she not want people to think that she couldn't have store-bought? Or might it be that she couldn't fully concentrate while carrying it around?

Was she more comfortable creating in a small, hidden, unfinished room?

Green Chili

My husband has introduced me to many wonderful things through the years. New Mexico and green chili are two that I love dearly.

When we lived in the panhandle of Texas, we were close enough to get it regularly. This time of year, a grocery on 10th in Amarillo roasts fresh chili for you. I remember negotiating with the produce manager at Lowe's, the grocery store before it was a hardware store, for a bushel that I would roast and freeze. Yes, I want the "hot".

Now that we live in a small town in upstate New York, I often miss the southwest. I have a hard time getting corn tortillas, let alone hot chili or posole, i.e. hominy. 

When my son asked me what I was making for dinner, he expressed delight when I told him green chili enchiladas. But he quickly followed up with, "Spicy?". No, short of adding jalapeños, which is another taste entirely, there is no way to get it hot enough.

So I'm thinking of panhandle or NM friends who might pick up a bushel to ship overnight. We might have to work on the logistics.

What I'm doing instead

I knew had a doctor's appointment today. I had it on my calendar which syncs to my iPhone, iPad, desktop and various emails. It even sends me an alert a day ahead. When I looked last night to see what time, it boldly told me noon. Now you and I know that that's highly unlikely. My calendar doesn't know that medical offices are allowed lunch.

Like most people of a certain age, I have blood work every appointment. I usually call and get the order ahead of time. Otherwise, what good is seeing the doctor? After taking your vitals and inquiring about your current state, what else? But last week we were just getting back from our trip and I never did make the call. 

So my plan this morning was to be there when the office opened, fasting. If the appointment was this morning, I'd just hang around with my knitting. Otherwise, I'd try to get the orders and go to the lab. 

My appointment is at 1pm. It was soon obvious that my request for the lab paperwork was out of normal procedure and not so simple. 

So plan B?C? I decided to get coffee and a little breakfast before heading to the grocery store.

I've been meaning to stop at a place with an interesting concept: laundromat with a cafe.  And it has wifi. I didn't think much of it when the customer in front of me requested a hug from the counter help. Friendly place, a notch above service-with-a-smile?

Turns out that today is her last day. The new owners are putting in a wash-and-fold. She's headed to plan D or E, I imagine. 

So here I am, enjoying this late summer morning at an outdoor cafe across from the cemetery with coffee, my knitting and a half moon to take back to my son. 

This is what I'm doing instead.

Edited later: My son informs me that the cookie is called a black-and-white.

Another update: As I handed my son a couple of strawberries, I informed him that I was going to the doctor's. Imagine his responses with a strawberry popped in his mouth. "Didn't you go this morning?" No, you can read about it in my blog. "I don't read your blog"

He-he, I'm safe.

No Trouble in My Paradise

The Emmys were last night. Alerts notified me of the results. We weren't watching.

Let me tell you what we have been watching lately, "The Lieutenant" from 1963-4. It was the first series produced, and principally written, by Gene Roddenberry. It stars Gary Lockwood, pre-"2001: A Space Odyssey", in the title roll.   Robert Vaughn, "Man from U.N.C.L.E.", is the gruff captain. Looking through the cast list, I see many actors who went on to acclaim, like Greg Morris on "Mission: Impossible."

I find it fascinating to think of this show in historical context. It is similar to "Dr. Kildare", in the slice-of-life portrayal of a young, idealistic professional out to prove themselves. However, this is a lieutenant is fresh from Annapolis and Quantico, arriving at Camp Pendleton, CA. It is so hard to watch the training exercises showing napalm demonstrations without thinking about Viet Nam. I can imagine that Gene Roddenberry was happy to move his military operations into the future with Star Trek.

We often springboard on actors with our viewing. IMDB, streaming videos and our own collection of DVD's make it relatively easy to track down the careers of people who catch our fancy.

The second episode of the series featured Kathryn Hays. Although I watched some soap operas in my youth, I didn't watch "As the World Turns" or "The Guiding Light". Ms. Hays was featured in both. We put on our viewing list episodes from "Hawaiian Eye", "Surfside Six" and "Dr. Kildare".

We turned to our "Route 66" DVD to watch an episode from late in the series that I may not have seen before. It was after George Maharis was replaced by Glen Corbett and I lost interest in watching the series.

As the story unfolded, my breath was taken away. There was Miriam Hopkins, not all that much older than I am now, famed actress of  "Trouble in Paradise", "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", "Becky Sharp", "These Three" and many others. She gave a understated performance that brought tears to my eyes.

I wanted to show you an image of her from the DVD, but I can't seem to manage it. Here is a vintage poster from the great Lubitsch film.

We took a while to get there there, but we ended up in paradise. I think you can imagine what has moved to the top of my viewing list.

My Cardigan

I have been reflecting on what this portion of my life will bring and what I can do to make the most of it.

This is a time of transition in several ways.

I find that I am choosing to stay close to my family rather than commute or live apart. Thus I am unemployed. At my age, this may be permanent. There are so many quandaries and implications.

This is my son's senior year in high school. I will spend time supporting him. I think back to the time when I would take him over to the big parking lot of the WT Event Center to teach him to ride his bike. I ran like hell beside him, timing when to let go. He will be ready to pedal on his own soon.

After almost thirty years of marriage, it gets easier as our relationship continues to grow with love and respect. We know what keeps us sustained and for the most part, we know where the minefields are buried. And it gets harder, as we face new issues and struggles.

The last five years have been a time of upheaval that has taken a toll on my physical well-being. Given my family history of dementia and my own personal health issues, I need to work on my personal health and fitness, as well as to set patterns of living that will support the life I wish to lead.

So I start with a to-do list. Things I can do now that will help me face the transitions.

1. Eat oatmeal three times a week. 
2. Walk/hike/exercise 30 minutes every day. 
3. Do something creative every day.
4. Write something in this blog every day.

I am doing this for myself. I can do it every day and eventually I will have something wonderful, for myself and those I love.

I have started knitting a cardigan on circular needles. I have planned it out on a spreadsheet, knit samples and cast on over 300 stitches. My first goal is 3 inches of raised ribbing.

This is for myself, one stitch at a time, with a overall plan that I have made my own. I am dreaming of the day that it will warm me.

These are stitches in my time.

Thank you for listening. Please leave comments.

Come back often. 

Originally published 8/25/2014.