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| (l-r) Baxter Bell, me, Melina Meza - Yoga for Healthy Aging Training |
And in this week, I not only have half a notebook of notes, picture upon picture of sequences (easier than writing it all down while doing it), and some excellent notes for future reading, but I HAVE SOCKS...
Knitting...
I finished the blue self-patterning pair. I was kind of a "hit" at the training because (huzzah!) I wore hand-knit socks EVERY day of the training. Of course, you can't practice yoga in socks, unless you're doing everything on the floor. But the weather has finally "found" fall, and the studio was cold. Which was fine with me. Rather cold than warmer. The blue pair are another "fraternal" set. I'm going to be jazzed if I get a matching set, but so far, unless it's a variegated yarn or solid, nada.
Everyone was amazed that I was knitting during lunch. Hey, that's my meditation...and I was so close to finishing that I really was motivated to get them done.
The St. Charles socks are moving along; I'm at the cuff ribbing. The size 0 needles are...interesting. We'll see how this goes. I think it'll be fine, but I'm a bit worried they'll be too big. But I think casting on 64 would make them too small. So I went with 72. I've done several in that size before.
This is the next yarn up, but you know...I'm not sure. Well, I know it's sock yarn, but I can't find the label. And looking at it, I'm wondering now. Would it make a beautiful shawl? It's soft enough. But then it's neutral enough for a very nice pair of socks. I have to figure out what I did with the label. If it stripes, maybe it's destined for socks. But if it pools and puddles? I could live with a shawl in this yarn. Or I could do the shawl and give it to someone. I wouldn't have a problem doing that.
It did come out of the "12 bags, a pair a month" tote. I haven't been in that closet lately to see how many more bags I have... But "too many" might just cover it. And that's not counting the bag of sock yarn in my office.
Speaking of which, I've done a little planning.
The Office...
As I sat in a moment of "potty break" in the training, I started thinking about the office area (a/k/a The Dumping Ground). I've started to clear out the crap. Kid #2 has finally, I think, removed all of his stuff, from his recent change of house.
And I was thinking. I need space for my yoga mat and preferably also the meditation set-up. But we have an oak rocker in the basement that's just sitting and doing nothing. I could get cushions for it, move an Ott light from the dining room (don't ask) and stick that near the window. Then, remove my computer from the front room, putting it back on the desk, where it belongs. Move the file drawers back UNDER the desk, eliminating a hiding spot for Quinn where she gets tangled up in wires, and giving me a touch more floor space... I'd probably get more done that way...
And a little rug under the rocker. The music stand and guitars. And I thought I could make all of that work. It's a small bedroom, and Hubby did me a huge favor by lining the walls with bookshelves. Though it does make some inverted yoga poses a bit of a challenge. But I really need to cull through things. Perhaps put the fiction books down in the basement on the bookshelves that used to line the hallway. We moved them to gain more space in the hall and hang up a bunch of needlework and photos that I'd done. Which I like, but then I had to put the bookshelves somewhere. And in the basement they went.
It's a work in progress and I'm going to be fiddling with it for a while. I just need to get back to having a dedicated space to write, plan my yoga sequences, and have a "she-room" since we don't have room for me to have a "she-shed." Now THAT would be ideal...Hmmmmmmm.
Baking Again...
Not like I had nothing else to do, but in a moment of weakness (or maybe ego?), I volunteered to do the cake for our vicar's retirement. Tomorrow. Which means, yes, after a solid 30-hour intensive yoga training, I headed to the church office where I'm the Administrator, and put in another 4 hours getting things in shape for Sunday (I'd already done the church bulletins on Tuesday for the vicar's review), and drafted and mailed a newsletter. And so I made a cake. We're holding a luncheon for the vicar. I'm on the Bishop's Committee and we have a present for her. The congregation is also getting her something - no idea what... but we do know how to put on a feed. I was watching one of the gals dress up the tables. Of course, it's all a fall theme.
So of course, my cake is pink and green. See, I have this theory. Retirement is a change. I love autumn. I do. I just think that it's depressing as a colorway for a "retirement" cake. "Autumn of one's life" and all that. I kind of like the "jazziness" of pink and green. This is tinted burgundy, and so there's probably more "rose" than "pink" in it. And I had some edible glitter gel, so I put some "squiggles" on the cake. Anyway, my point with the colors was that I wanted it to be more like, "Wow - retirement opens up possibilities! You have a Third Act (or maybe Fourth Act?) Who knows WHAT could happen?" I wanted it positive and joyful. And to me, pink & green exemplify joyful colors. I do have orange, but I thought orange and green were too Halloween...
I was messing around with the Russian frosting tips again, but I got the frosting too soft. It's going to be a work in progress to get the texture right. On my mom's birthday cupcakes it was too thick. This was too thin. I have to figure out what's "just right."
Here's the thing. I'm about done making wedding cakes. Most halls or banquet venues have stopped allowing "mom-made cakes" and you have to have their nasty stuff. (Sorry - I am a consummate cake snob.) When my nephew got married, I was going to help my mom make his cake, but he wasn't allowed, unless we were "licensed and bonded." Crap - we're RELATED. Not like we're gonna skip out of town!
And my friend Doris had asked me to make her granddaughter's wedding cake. We just had this phone conversation because I told her there was no way I was going to get my kitchen inspected randomly by the local health department, and I wasn't going to spend all the money to get certified as a commercial kitchen. It wasn't worth it. It's probably all for the best. But it's nice to know my church will let me bake for them any time I want to! That being said, this recipe looks like a good one to try for the next coffee hour. Though Heaven knows we don't need more sweets. I love baking cookies and it's nice that, with the braces, I can't eat half of what I'll be baking this Christmas.
It's really time for a sugar detox. Hubby got me the stuff for smoothies, and even though it's colder outside, I really do need to get my sugar addiction under control. Because it's wayyyyyyyyyyyyy off the scales.
Random Picture...
So our church is almost 200 years old. And it's haunted. I went in today to drop off the bulletins and some other stuff, and said hi to God and the ghosts. I had to turn up the heat because we'd just had the organ tuned and it was too cold. Well, my phone was acting up and kept shutting off. And it's nearly November, so it gets darker early and I was having trouble seeing the thermostat, but too lazy to turn on lights.
I was all, "Ok guys... quit spazzing my phone out..." and I finally wrapped everything up and got packed up for home. The light was beautiful. It's a lovely building.
As I took this, my phone took another dive. But THIS time, I saw the message on the screen...
"Battery critically low."
Some days, it's not the ghosts. It's the battery.
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