May 15, 2013

• This Can’t Be Good

  Last night I suspected that I was getting sick. Lucy, Jasper and Mercy have fallen victim to very serious colds in the last couple of weeks, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I also succumbed.

  At least I got to sleep in this morning. Jasper wanted to make me a belated Mother’s Day breakfast in bed, and I was more than happy to humor him. With Lina’s supervision, he made me a feast which included eggs, sausage, hash browns, and yogurt. I had a leisurely breakfast while reading my book and then got ready to head to the fabric store.

  I was rather shocked when I saw the price of satin, compared to what the online store charges. However, the exact kind of satin I wanted happened to be not only in stock, but on sale for 30% off, which brought it sort of into the realm of affordability.

  The elderly lady who cut my fabric has been working there for many years. Working beside her was another lady who has worked there a long time. I have often wondered if the two ladies were related, because there seemed to be a definite familial resemblance there. Today I found out that they are indeed related. The lady who served me today is the other lady’s mother. Her 86 year old mother–still going and still sewing! She is remarkably vigorous. In fact, she does not seem old enough to be her daughter’s mother!

  I had some things to do when we got home, like pack up the gauze and have it ready to be picked up by UPS. Then I got a call from a friend who wanted to make a cloak. She needed to borrow a pattern. If you were going to make a cloak, I bet you’d call me too.

  Late this afternoon I got an email from the online fabric store saying they were going to ship me some replacement fabric right away. I fired off a response begging them to pull the shipment as I have already replaced the fabric. We shall see what happens!

  I kept going all day by taking cold medicine and lying down until it took effect. Then I’d get up and get stuff done until the meds wore off and I had to take more. In this way I got quite a bit of sewing done on the mockup for Mary’s wedding dress and we had our first fitting tonight. It does need some alteration, especially since Mary has lost so much weight, but nothing too drastic.

  Speaking of Mary, we had a belated birthday dinner for her tonight. We made one of our favorite meals, which happens to be gluten free, and Lina also made a very rich gluten free chocolate cake, which I topped with mocha icing. It was delicious, but very rich and filling.

  I also finished my book today. I have been reading the book Trek, by Paul Stewart, which my friend Angie loaned to me. Now, if you know me at all, you know that I’m a sucker for a good survival story. Make the story take place in Africa, and it’s even more attractive. This is a story about 2 Englishwomen and 2 Englishmen who go off on a world-class road trip together in an 8 horsepower Morris Minor in 1955, driving from Kenya to England via the Sahara desert. None of them knew each other before the trip. Of course, they soon became very well acquainted.

  The book gets off to a rather slow start, but the author’s constant hinting of tragedy ahead kept me reading because I wanted to know what happened. It was fascinating to read about the details of taking a road trip across Africa in the 1950’s. In some ways, I think it might have been safer and easier then than it would be today. By the time they got to the Sahara I found it hard to put the book down. I was so absorbed in their predicament that I hesitated to open the door to my house–I suppose I expected to be met with a blast of searing desert heat.

  The story was not just a survival story. It was also a coming-of-age story for one of the participants, a 17 year old boy. It was also a cautionary tale showing how a man with a strong personality can persuade very smart people to do very stupid things. It was a classic illustration of how one bad decision leads to another until the situation becomes life threatening. It was a compelling drama and I highly recommend it.

  Please pray that this cold will only be a cold and not develop into another sinus infection. I am faithfully taking zinc and vitamin C and irrigating my sinuses. I cannot afford to be sick!

  • 12:57 am
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