About two weeks ago we were threatened with a Fast Thaw, when it rains heavily and a foot or more of snow disappears in about 24 hours. A couple of years ago this put 10" of water in my basement. Plastic containers full of spare china, drop cloths and extension cords, Christmas decorations, the spare coffee maker and the spare microwave floated. Sadly, the container with the spare appliances toppled over. Did you know that 8-foot 2x4s will float in 10" of water? Indeed they will.
So fearing Impending Doom I went to the basement and tested the sump pump. It works, but I think that the float and the safety are installed too high in the concrete receptacle. I decided to be safe, not sorry. I unfolded my pair of metal sawhorses (which anyone who's done work in my house just adores), laid boards on, and put the paint cans and garden stuff up. The plastic containers came upstairs to my bedroom. There was no Fast Thaw and the plastic containers are still in my bedroom. I'm going to see if I can get them up in the attic.
*****
Today is my sister's birthday, and she loves old movies. I hit the jackpot at my favorite remainder seller with a 3-movie set of oldies, plus "The Philadelphia Story", plus the John Malkovich/Gary Sinese "Of Mice and Men", which no DVD-watcher should be without. For my birthday she'd sent me some CDs and the 1935 "David Copperfield" on DVD.
I was doubtful, because I don't possess her love for old movies, but it's a great movie. (David's aunt, Betsey Trotwood, is a woman ahead of her time!) W. C. Fields as Mr. Micawber is unsurpassed. Lionel Barrymore is a wonderful and touching Mr. Pegotty. Basil Rathbone's Mr. Murdstone is icily cruel. Freddie Bartholomew as young David is positively saccharine, but was a product of his time, and the quintessential "sweet boy". Certainly more bearable than Shirley Temple ever was. The DVD's a keeper.
*****
A little background: if I bring home a bunch of parsley from the store (far more than one person can ever use), putting it in water does no good. It just wilts. Even hanging the bunch up to dry doesn't produce dried parsley as much as it produces wilted parsley.
At Christmas a friend gave me a pot of parsley from her garden and I've been keeping it going with some effort, because water runs through that soil like, well, water. When I went away at Christmas half of it wilted beyond help, so I cut that half back hard, and added a little Miracle Gro.
TWO WEEKS AGO I "harvested" the long stems from the potted parsley that were so long that they were struggling. I put them in a glass of water on my kitchen window sill. They freshened up and have remained freshened up since. And the cut-back part is sprouting new growth vigorously. Just incredible.
*****
In October or November I knit myself a wonderful pair of mittens from alpaca and wool produced on a friend's farm when he was in the alpaca-and-sheep business. They were 2-color mittens, thick and warm, fit well, looked great. I'd perfected my mitten pattern, and I was proud of that knitting. Today I lost them. AAAAUGH! I backtracked my steps, which included driving back to the campus, and checking where I'd parked the car, and asking at the Campus Center lost and found, to no avail. I am upset with myself and SAD. The bed is currently awash in mitten yarn so I can get another pair started. It's still winter!!
Update: I asked my friend the former alpaca raiser if he had any more yarn. I told him my sad story. He reached into a file drawer, pulled out a small bag, and handed me two skeins, one brown and one natural, which he'd never taken home. "They're yours," he said. "Make those mittens again!" There's nothing like a good friend in a time of trouble.
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