Improving with Time (& a Contest)
Friday, November 28th, 2008Oh, happy, happy day! Today is my 50th birthday. It is also my 6th Blogiversary. I am going to celebrate and celebrate, by connecting with as many people I love as possible.
Past and Present, a Chuckle
For your entertainment, here is a photo taken within a few weeks of the day I turned 18, perhaps even on my birthday. (It was 1976, do you remember the jingle “Hold the Pickle, Hold the Lettuce… at Burger King?)
Below I then offer you a photo taken of me at my early birthday party a few weeks ago. The same house, the same arms out to the sides. Spooky!
I am of the opinion that I’m getting better with time. I am definitely happier and I wear a few sizes smaller in clothing, somehow. My mom looked 30 for what seemed like forever, and I am thinking I lucked out and got a bit of that genetic luck from her.
Yes, I have some arthritis and a pile of allergies, bodies do not get younger even when we look great. However, generally things are so much better for me now, that I have no complaints.
A Plan for My Big Day
I may run errands early in the day if I can wake myself up early… and then I will go to Rae’s Yarn Boutique from 11-6 while that store is open. I’m not working or teaching (except maybe one hour) but I just want to hang out on the East Side, my favorite block in the entire city. I will be with creative folks, some of whom are friends and some will be new to me. All good!
Baking Cakes
I made two cakes (they are in the oven now, at midnight-thirty) to celebrate. It’s pretty simple stuff; just two small, one-layer cakes. I made both of them with ingredients I’m not allergic to, and happily they are quite good enough to share.
One is spice (nutmeg, allspice and clove… no cinnamon) and one is chocolate. They have no wheat, egg or milk. They are tasty. I was inspired by a King Arthur Flour recipe for a wartime ration cake, but had to change a lot of the ingredients to make it work for me.
Rae found me some confectioners’/powdered sugar without corn starch somewhere on the internet, so for the first time since 2002 I will make buttercream frosting. No big deal if you can have it, in fact I’m not all that fond of frosting as a rule. But having it when one hasn’t had it for years, is a lovely gift indeed.
Fun on the East Side
I will socialize and knit on Friday, and no doubt get all wound up and bounce off walls and ceilings (though I’ll do what I can to keep that to a minimum). Maybe I’ll finish up that final bobbin of handspun that I’ve been working on for a year. I’m actually spinning again since Rae invited me to bring my wheel to her shop.
I will wear the now-finished ballet top (well, all but working in ends, I better get busy while the cakes bake). It’s now the Judy Jetson/Star Trek tunic, but it’s really quite fun and funky in a very Lynn way and I’m going to enjoy wearing it. I will get photos if all goes well, and show you the results soon.
The Party that Already Was
Several weeks ago my mother threw a dandy party for me. I am still trying to remember who all was there, and right now the attendee list (from my memory) is at 83. Go, Mom! She didn’t even break a sweat. She made four layer cakes, and meatballs, and a zillion other things. She really enjoyed herself, and I really appreciated that more than anyone can know.
Above is a photo of me with Mom and my brother Eric Oscar (at the party). Thanks to Cynthia for taking the photo!
At the party, there were two jam sessions, one downstairs and one in the sun room. There was food and drink in two rooms. There was knitting and socializing and there were new friends being made.
Mom invited a bunch of folks I haven’t seen in years. There were at least five people there who I’ve known since elementary school. I also continue to receive lovely birthday cards from folks who could not make it.
The party was a wonderful time! THANK YOU, MOM!!!
The Contest
This week I am going to have a contest complete with prizes, to celebrate my Blogiversary. The way you enter is you leave me a comment about what the concept “ColorJoy” means in your life, anything about that idea/concept in your own world. Has coming here made you think of color differently? Did you check me out because of the name?
Do you resonate with the all-creativity focus, “Art as an everyday attitude?” What is ColorJoy to you? It need not be rainbow colors, it can be the color of a laugh.
It can be a happy moment with a child, or music, or an impromptu dance. It can be good food, or building a satisfying relationship. It can indeed be visual, whether knitting or polymer clay, quilting, painting on a canvas or a home.
Dig deep inside to find one answer (or more), and comment with a valid email address (the email is seen by me but not other readers, though if you leave a blog address they will see that).
I will have at least 5 prizes, and at least 2 of them will be made by me personally, either yarn I dyed or something I knit or made of polymer. You never know what you might win, and I promise they will all be things I would enjoy winning myself.
You can leave one comment per post starting with this one, until midnight Eastern Time (same as NY City) on next Thursday night. Each comment is one entry in “the hat” when I start picking names, though you can only win one prize. More comments will give you more chances to win.
Thank you all for being a part of my life. I appreciate each and every one of you. May you also have a pleasant and satisfying day.