The News from South Philly

Time to start planning for Christmas 2010. This is the first attempt at the pattern for the 2010 snowflake (it came from a book, not my brain). I did it, starched it and blocked it yesterday. I can see that this one will require very close attention to the tension -- the lower right point is much larger than its fellows, probably because I was crocheting more loosely. I'm not sure I like it.

I also ordered cards from the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- they're half price after Christmas.

Now to finish wrapping the almost-last of the 2009 gifties, for my sister, her husband and the niblings. I have things for my other daughter-in-law, too, but they'll be extremely late, owing to my having forgotten to click the "send" button on my Amazon order.

Sister etc should be here in a few hours.

Time also to turn my attention to my various hippeastrum experiments. I believe that my current ones may all have the dreaded red blotch. Rather than throwing them all away, I think I'll wait till the younglings have bloomed, choose a couple to save, put them and their parents in a heat bath that is supposed to zap the fungus, and...and then what? Heat-bathe and re-pot the rest, if I know myself.

They were too dark and wet in the place I put them last year. This year I will keep them all in one room so they can't contaminate the youngsters up here on my office windowsill.

Do I start the pansies, or not? I can't decide.