February 2012
A Southern Gal
Blog Roll
Flickr
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Ravelry WIPs
wherein one returns to blogging perhaps?
lets start with this lively photo of Queen Elizabeth in her first official Diamond Jubilee appearance - this is the first time I have ever seen the Queen in RED and such a glorious red...and if you notice that hat - its KNITTED!!!!
and here is a closer look at that HAT! would love to see more .. but that is the best photo I could find.
* * *
some things happening finally for the better in this house... more to come soon as superstition reigns supreme ... until all is dotted and crossed and in place... suspense will continue.
* * *
in other news, what a weird winter - i do almost feel as if i am living in Louisiana again - i did treat myself to using the heat over last weekend - the first time in over three years (yes really) - its a new furnace and hopefully the bill wont be too much more (penny pinching still rules) but i needed wanted to celebrate a bit and also had a few days off. so instead of a short trip decided to staycation and turn on the heat.
the cats were rather amazed that they didn't need to burrow under wool blankets or cuddle together (well, not really together - opposite ends of the sofa) how i envy them their fur coat sometimes - but not really this winter.
[side note - what happened to the Flickr app for chrome? its missing... I started this post using scribe fire and then went back to blog jet which never published the posts so now I am using windows live writer… and it seems to be pretty good.]
up there they are inspecting a new toy … which of course has disappeared… along with a few others
this week we are seeing temps in the mid 40s!!! in FEBRUARY!!! whew... i shudder to think of the summer if this is the winter
Seasons Greetings!
Where a Mother laid her Baby In a manger for his bed:
Mary was that Mother mild, Jesus Christ her little Child.
He came down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable, And his cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly, Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
And through all his wondrous childhood He would honour and obey,
Love, and watch the lowly Maiden, In whose gentle arms he lay;
Christian children all must be Mild, obedient, good as he.
For he is our childhood’s pattern, Day by day like us he grew,
He was little, weak, and helpless, Tears and smiles like us he knew;
And he feeleth for our sadness, And he shareth in our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see him, Through his own redeeming love,
For that Child so dear and gentle Is our Lord in heaven above;
And he leads his children on To the place where he is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable, With the oxen standing by,
We shall see him; but in heaven, Set at God’s right hand on high;
When like stars his children crowned All in white shall wait around.
Words, CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER
Melody, HENRY JOHN GAUNTLETT
Harmony, HENRY JOHN GAUNTLETT AND ARTHUR HENRY MANN
Arrangement, STEPHEN CLEOBURY
Nativity with St Francis and St Lawrence
Caravaggio 1609
Oil on canvas, 268 x 197 cm
Palermo, San Lorenzo
Merry Christmas!
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
(available til Dec 31st)
lemons
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[deleted stuff that would be too revealing]
suffice it to say that today and this week sucked
one wonders what the f#$k
life sucks a big lemon today
Remembrance poppy.
From Cosmicpluto knits! Remembrance Day is this week (along with Armistice Day/Veteran’s Day) and here in Canada we wear a poppy to remember the sacrifices of those who came before, and to remind ourselves to look to the future in peace. These knit poppies are super quick to knit and I love that we as knitters can make them with our own two hands (and pointy sticks). You can download my Poppy for Remembrance pattern from Ravelry here. Poppies are not bought or sold; you can make a contribution to your local Royal Canadian Legion or through me to be passed on to them.
the computer geek strikes again
my vista laptop had been getting slower and slower and crashing and finally -
WHUMP ! ENOUGH! Time for a cleanup!
last night copied off all important files to the portable hard drive and then WIPED the WHOLE DANG THING and ran system recovery set to "Fresh From the Factory"
of course one consequence is the time it takes to reinstall necessary and wanted programs - but am taking much care to install only what is really needed. part of the reason the laptop was falling apart and misbehaving so badly was an, uhm, propensity to try out new things - and after two years, things like file sectors and memory were a bit messy.
usually do a clean sweep at least once a year - somehow let it slide much too long.
its so nice to have a fresh clean laptop running fast and responding quickly
and it was fun too (call me a geek)
and so it goes
so bad things come in threes? hopefully mine is over for awhile!
with the two from yesterday - the ruined pants and the colleague giving notice comes one from today ....
i had bought a lovely cinnamon roll to eat with breakfast today. after making my daily espresso, popped the roll in the toaster and went to check on clothes in the dryer.
come back a few minutes later to a STONE COLD toaster oven.... after unplugging and turning on and off and to various degrees, have to pronounce this toaster dead.
Universe, please - NO MORE BAD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
long time
yeah so i havent posted in a while - well, truthfully - a loooooooooong while... why has to do with part of why i AM posting today (night?)
it was one of those days - where i spent two hours dealing with stupid and vindictive financial people (with a few reallllly nice and helpful ones in the midst) and then went to the place where i work (LPJ) and things went from bad to worse: a really good worker/colleague has given notice - the second one in three months - can we say rats and sinking ship?
then i come home to find the REALLY good pair of pants that i had to wear cause tmy work pants had not finished dryng before i had to leave - anyway - the REALLY good pair HAD F#*$(#G bleach stains down the front of one of the pants legs. not even not noticeable little ones - but huge splotches.
i am soaking that leg in a ton of SHOUT but the bottle even says it probably wont get out bleach - and i am SO F-ing FURIOUS... and feeling so impotent - dont really have the money to replace these GOOD pants and hate that they were ruined making such little money that i cant even replace them - well i could replace them and just not eat next week. or not feed the cats. or not buy gas - oops need to buy gas to get to the LPJ
i guess i will have to try to dye them ... or use a sharpie.. UGH UGH UGH
at least in the pouring rain when i came home i found a parking spot near my apt and didnt have to park/walk several blocks away.
DAS RHEINGOLD
opening night last night at the Met for this season and the first in the new production of the RING cycle.
i had to work and so taped it (although i managed to hear the SSB and the opening 15 mins, Bryn's debut scene and the closing scene via my Blackberry and stealthly hidden earphones).
came home armed with a venti vanilla latte and am now at the final scene ...
Bryn sounds wonderful but ERIC OWENS - WOW! what a voice! and Stephanie Blythe sounds gorgeous (as was to be expected).
now need to figure out what arm i am going to cut off to get a ticket in the house....
reflections on elspeth
the gardening blog community is reacting in shock to the recent suicide by elspeth thompson. below is a comment i left on a fellow ET lover blog:
i reacted as you did - and was in shock. and still am. my life is rather tough right now and one way i cheer myself up is reading several women's blogs - yours and Elspeth's are among the ones that help me feel less blue - by reading of the glimpses of life in your blogs i feel a part of a kind of life i wish i were living - and may never have - however for a brief time it helps take me away from the current troubles.
i am still reeling in a deep place inside about ET's suicide ... depression is a dangerous black place to be ... and takes a strong sense of survival to climb out from under - the hardest part is the facade that was in her posts - i love that she continued to find joy but ache that she felt she couldn't share or get help about the illness (although i don't know that)
in trying to explain to myself, i seem to remember something about her mother's death last year - was it the anniversary? - in trying to understand why?
to me her life seemed one of charm and beauty and grace and joy and love from family and friends - many things that to a mere reader seemed to add up to a wonderful life.
oh the ache and tragedy of it! and the pain she must have had in that final act.
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Elspeth Thompson Remembrances
Elspeth Thompson Photo: Andrew Crowley
Note: The Telegraph reports that death was by her own hand - this is so terribly upsetting.
Elspeth Thompson, the much-loved gardening and interiors writer for The Sunday Telegraph who has died aged 48, had a particular talent for bringing beauty to the places where she lived, no matter how unpromising those places first appeared. rest at THE TELEGAPH
a lovely tribute by Justine Picardie
Elspeth's website 
TWENTY BLESSINGS
adapted from the Celtic by Thomas A Clark
May the best hour of the day be yours.
May luck go with you from hill to sea.
May you stand against the prevailing wind.
May no forest intimidate you.
May you look out from your own eyes.
May near and far attend you.
May you bathe your face in the sun's rays.
May you have milk, cream, substance.
May your actions be effective.
May your thoughts be affective.
May you will both the wild and the mild.
May you sing the lark from the sky.
May you place yourself in circumstance.
May you be surrounded by goldfinches.
May you pause among alders.
May your desire be infinite.
May what you touch be touched.
May the company be less for your leaving.
May you walk alone beneath the stars.
May your embers still glow in the morning. 
(this was one of her favorites)
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what you don't want to see at your favorite blog
MESSAGE FROM ELSPETH THOMPSON’S HUSBAND FRANK WILSON
so sad (no details) sending prayers for her husband and daughter -
this was one of my most favorite blogs - do have a look at the wonderful posts about converting several railway carriages into a lovely beach home.
Elspeth had only one post in her new blog Gardening Against the Odds - full of great promise.
a life cut down too soon.
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garden update 3 (now with photos)
he trash bags - six, all full to the dotted line - and the pile of larger branches cut down to the required length:
the bed i cleaned up for my elder neighbor (the other ground floor apt) - i am going to take away some of those leaves during the next big clean up* (its raining today and the next few days) and leave half of them to decompose) * when i clean up the rest of my beds)
the more securely staked pergola - between the stakes (pounded in the ground for about 1.5 feet) and the screws and the wire - this should be set for another year! (it IS level, its the ground that slopes!)
the cleaned up potting bench all ready for action
the view from the alley
before
after
an upcoming project - to redo the border around this bed (bricks? stones? combo?)
and finally - wonder how long it will take for the neighbors to fix this...(sigh)
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Wolfgang Wagner has died
Wolfgang Wagner passed away on March 21, 2010 in his house in Bayreuth in southern Germany at the age of ninety. He directed the Bayreuth Festival, the legendary opera event in southern Germany, for 57 years before stepping down in 2008.
Wagner was a stroke of luck for the post-World War II development of the legendary Bayreuth Festival, according to Austrian conductor and long-time participant in the festival, Peter Schneider.
"I once observed how he looked into the pots in the cafeteria kitchen to make sure everything was running smoothly," said Schneider.
It was Wolfgang Wagner, the last living grandson of composer Richard Wagner, who transformed the Bayreuth Festival from a private legacy into a successful cultural institution.
Bildunterschrift: The Bayreuth Festival site is known as the Green Hill
Restoring the Wagner name
But it wasn't an easy path to success. After World War II, Wolfgang Wagner toured Germany on his motorcycle in an effort to recruit sponsors for the reopening of the Bayreuth Festival, which exclusively features operas by Richard Wagner.
"There was a lot of resentment, since my mother had been a friend of Adolf Hitler's," Wolfgang Wagner once said. "Without foreign sponsors, we wouldn't have managed it."
On July 30, 1951, six years after the end of the war, the festival reopened with a premiere of the opera "Parsifal."
Wagner co-directed the festival with his elder brother Wieland, until his death in 1966, when Wolfgang took over sole leadership.
As a conductor, Wolfgang Wagner roused mixed opinions. He was said to be musically conservative and stood for a long time in his brother's shadow. Still, his extensive practical experience earned him respect: He brought some of the world's most renowned singers, directors, and conductors to Bayreuth.
But his so-called "workshop" approach to the festival didn't go over well with everyone. Wagner's concept was that opera productions were never finished, but would be honed to perfection year after year, sometimes with extensive changes. In other houses, productions are simply repeated wholesale over several seasons.
Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson, who frequently performed in Bayreuth, felt that Wagner's workshop model threatened to compromise quality. "People are now talking about the Bayreuth Workshop," she said shortly before she died in 2005. "Any beginner can sing at Bayreuth!"
In addition to his artistic direction, Wagner was closely involved in founding the Richard Wagner Foundation, which actively preserves the composer's estate and the Festspielhaus theater. Wolfgang Wagner was also responsible for the restoration of Richard Wagner's villa, the Wahnfriend House, which is now a museum.
Bildunterschrift: Katharina Wagner, 31, is an accomplished stage director
Changing of the guard
Family quarrels have plagued the Wagner clan since 1999, when the process for determining a successor to Wolfgang began. The impresario's second wife Gudrun was considered a likely candidate for the position, but when she died suddenly in November 2007, the door was opened for Wagner's two daughters Eva and Katharina to take the helm.
On September 1, 2008, the Bayreuth Festival foundation board approved the joint leadership of the two half-sisters. That marked the beginning of a new era in Bayreuth. They have begun by setting a more youthful tone in the artistic programming and placing greater emphasis on publicity and communication. But exactly where the young Wagners will take the festival is yet to be seen.
Wolfgang Wagner's health had declined since 2007 and since then he largely withdrew from the media and from his remaining involvement in the direction of the festival. He celebrated his 90th birthday last summer quietly, surrounded by his family. For the first time since 1951, he was no longer in the limelight.
Author: Dieter David-Scholz (kjb)
Editor: Ben Knight
Deutsche-Welle
Guardian Obit
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Roy Marsden takes on The Hobbit
The Hobbit is such a concentrated dose of imagination that it can be tricky keeping the audience on board
• Gollum (Christopher Llewellyn) threatens Bilbo (Peter Howe). Picture: Complimentary/Dan Wooller
"When we were working on the adaptation we tried to stay within the bounds of the story as much as possible," says director Roy Marsden – who, as a TV actor, is best known as PD James's police commander Adam Dalgliesh. "There's a part in the book where the characters cross the stream by boat, and we decided to use a rope swing instead – but really the majority of it is truthfully told."
Marsden's experience as an actor was useful. "I'm very aware of all the physical problems they have, because it's a very physically demanding show," he says. "And I think the actors appreciate that there is someone out there trying to be a midwife to this show, because as an actor, I know what it feels like to be up there doing it."
The Hobbit is such a concentrated dose of imagination that it can be tricky keeping the audience on board - Scotsman.com News
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