She's Back Home...

 We just got her home today. I felt like I could write about her.

RAISA THE FURRY FLYER (2013-2023)

Raisa (formerly known as Dolly) burst into our lives at 12 weeks old, just as her proverbial namesake would’ve done – full of sass and glitter, bigger-than-her-size personality, and an energy level that just about added a second floor to our house.

We decided to re-name her Raisa – which means “Princess” in Russian. We joked later that we only named her Raisa because we couldn’t find a good Russian equivalent to “Goofball.”

It wasn’t always sunshine and doggie treats. Having 3 females in the house got…interesting. Eventually, for everyone’s sanity, we gated and everyone got a chance to breathe. The elkhounds got their space and Raisa had hers. They all traded off “couch time,” and things eventually settled down.

In typical Husky fashion, she could enter a room regally, surveying all and deciding where she would bestow her attention. And then, turn it into “Husk-Clown” mode: nosediving onto the couch where her intended victim was, somersaulting over, tucking her head, with her butt in the air and getting as close to that person as possible. We never figured out whether it was because she adored butt-rubs, or because, being in “perpetual shed mode” she wanted to deposit as much Husky-glitter as possible on her intended target.

Raisa completed 4 levels of obedience training (who says they can’t be trained?) and passed her Canine Good Citizenship test, to the astonishment of all. Our trainer Bobbie was continually amused as, with pockets full of treats, Raisa would ignore her, preferring the snack bag of buttered toast bits we used. That dog would climb a wall for a nibble of buttered toast. However, for some reason, she hated the basement stairs. No amount of toast would persuade her to go down those steps. Fireworks and thunderstorms never bothered her. She wondered what the fuss was about.

It was intended that, at the right time, she would take over our Elkhound Tippi’s position at Lewis University. Tippi was TDI-trained, and we never got around to that with Raisa. However, upon Tippi’s retirement, Raisa assumed her duties as a “comfort dog.” While there was a bit of dialogue with the students about how “this certainly was not Tippi, and all things change” (Tippi held the position of the University’s only therapy dog for 10+ years), all Raisa had to do was figure out what her job was. She did that job with relish. The first “butt in the sky nosedive” won her the hearts of all the students and library staff. When she sang the song of her people in the normally quiet atmosphere of the 2-story library, the smiles and surprise of those on the 2nd floor were well worth it. She earned her name of Furry Flyer for the University, known for its aviation program, and for the fact that, as a red-and-white, she matched the school’s colors.

Unfortunately, her time at the library was shockingly brief. In true Husky fashion, she did things her way. We found a lump on her thyroid gland and on September 2nd it was removed. About 4 days later, she had seizures, resulting in 3 days in doggy-ER, and she came home a bit wobbly, but with good expectations of being back to herself. The doctors were quite positive in their treatment plan and said that, at her age (9), she would come through chemo pretty easily, believing we’d caught everything early.

On the morning of Sept. 28, she didn’t eat, which was ok considering it was her 2nd chemo treatment. By 7 a.m. she was not doing well. The vet & staff worked hard to get her high fever down, but she chose her time and place, slipped into a coma and died peacefully. Everyone – even the vet – was stunned. But if by now you’re humming Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” you have perfectly intuited how Raisa lived her life. It wasn’t always perfect. It was always unexpected.

She loved her job of comfort dog. She loved walkies, loved stare-down contests with the neighbor’s chickens (she didn’t move, didn’t even attempt to catch one – the neighbor was amazed), loved staring up at the poles and wires for those nasty squirrels. Loved her family and car rides. Loved “pizza bones” and salmon skin. She sang along with the electric carving knife, the stick blender, the guitar and the harmonica. She has left a husky-sized hole in our hearts.

Just...

Gutted. 

Raisa, the Furry Flyer

2013 - 2023

Holy Crap, What a Week...

Oh. My. God. 

Just when we thought we had a handle on stuff. 

The Red Hot Mess...

So along about the time I was prepping to have my hip replaced, I found a knob on Raisa's throat. I remember feeling that same king of knob on Tippi's throat and my stomach dropped. We had our vet do a biopsy, but she said it was in an area where she couldn't get a clear sample. 

And then there was the hip replacement, and things got shoved aside for a while. So now that I'm 3 months post-op, we took her to the specialist. They did an Xray and scan and found masses on BOTH sides of the thyroid. The doctor said it's gotta go, so she was taken in for surgery. That was on a Friday. She got home and we thought, "Ok, wait for pathology."

That wasn't what we wanted to hear -- they got all the thyroid out, left a bit of the parathyroid, and found tumor cells in her blood and lymph system. That was Saturday. 

Tuesday, I awoke to Hubby telling me that at 4 a.m., Raisa had a seizure. He was staying home to watch her. Her eyes were dilated, and I was concerned. Late in the afternoon, he texted that she had had 2 more. I had a meeting to attend, and he knows what to do, so I would only have been in the way. During the meeting, she had 2 more, so he called our usual vet, who said take her to the ER vet. 

It was not a comfortable ride for Raisa; the seizures were really bad. They got her stabilized, and it was a bit touch-and-go for a while. They kept her overnight, and started pumping her with phenobarbital. The idea is to get her up to a therapeutic level quickly so the seizures stop.

There are several theories: Either it's a side-effect of the thyroidectomy or it's a thing that happened to her as a pup and they manifested after the trauma of the surgery; or -- huskies have seizures. Or her low calcium levels caused the seizures. In other words, not a lot of answers, but the phenobarb is a good, older remedy that works well with dogs. 

She finally got home Thursday (yeah, 3 days at the ER vet...). She shakes like Katharine Hepburn, and she sploots on the floor, and is incontinent. That's just her body adjusting to all the phenobarb; it should be about a week and she'll be back to herself. 

We have the big harness on her, which has a handle. Hubby has to literally carry her down the steps to get outside. Quinn's not sure what's wrong, but she knows something is off. 

We have an oncology appointment next week so we'll figure out where we go from here. The good news is that since they found those cells, it was a very specific test - if it's early enough, perhaps we can catch this before it goes all the way pear-shaped. 

She may have a very swift retirement from comfort dog work, which will be unfortunate, but we just don't know right now. 

It's going to be a very long week. 

Hip Update...

On a related note, I can get down on the floor...I have to get down there to rub her belly to calm her to sleep, apparently. Getting up isn't exactly poetry, but hey - I can do it! 

I've also got permission to add the Warriors to my yoga practice. And the doctor is pleased with my progress. I'll see him in 3 months, and next week, I drop down to PT two times a week. We now begin the strengthening segment in earnest. 

I am still not doing a full yoga practice, but when I did the warriors the other night, my students said, "Does your PT know???" I'm tellin ya - I've got eyeballs on me! 

I'm now walking without a cane; the first few steps might not be pretty, but I am doing it and my gait gets better with walking. 

The Knitting...

Washcloths. I'm on a washcloth binge. I am teaching my friend K how to do this and I'm hoping it sticks with her. She needs an outlet, and washcloths lead to other things, and knitting is a good hobby. 

The washcloth binge is alongside my Star Trek binge, so I can knit without too much brain work. 

It's the "Grandma's Dishcloth Recipe" - the one on the bias. It's a nice one to learn to knit with, as you learn increases, decreases, yarnovers and knit 2 together -- these are pretty much the basics. And it's all knit, so there's no fighting the curl. Yeah, there's no purling, but that can come later. 

I've still got Long Sands in time-out, and it's going to take a bit for the linen yarn to unkink from frogging it. And I still have that blue striped sock, so we're good to go. I will be switching up the projects as soon as I finish a couple more cloths - those are Christmas gifts, so I figured while I was on a roll, I'd knock those out. 

I want to make some progress on denting the stash, so I'm going to go through my patterns and see what I've got in the closet. I just feel like I'm in the mood to de-clutter the stash and get a handle on it. 

Counted Cross-Stitch...

Well. I joined a Facebook group on counted cross stitch. Boy, was that a bad thing to do. I also now want to get back into that. Luckily for me, I have all the stuff. I just need to figure out how to balance that and knitting and teaching and working... 

I truly think my mom has given up on a large angel project I started for her. Hubby figured out that, if I did 60 stitches a day, I'd have it done in a year. I suppose if I could dig it out, dig out all the floss (and there's a LOT of floss), find the beads... I could re-start it and get my act together and perhaps have it ready for her 87th birthday... 

This is an image of it - I'm done with her head and the top of her wings. I've got a ways to go. My mom picked out a dusty blue linen. It's going to be gorgeous. I just have to get skippy and do it. Maybe if I give up knitting for a year? Or if it's "only 60 stitches a night," I can balance the two? 

A girl can dream. 

Recipe...

I was talking about breakfast to Kid #1, who has been a chronic breakfast-skipper. I have found a sort-of solution, because I am kind of the same way, especially if I have something early in the morning to do - I have to shuffle around how I eat. I call this my go-to Overnight Oats with Apple Pie. This is one serving; I usually do 4, so I set my containers out and scoop everything in there. 

1/2 c. old-fashioned oats

1/2 c. your favorite dairy or non-dairy liquid

1 t. maple syrup

Small handful dried cherries or cranberries

1 T. chia seeds

1 T. cacao nibs

1 large Granny Smith apple, cored and diced (peel on)

1 T. brown sugar or coconut sugar

1/4 c. water

1/2 t. chai seasoning or apple pie spice

Put the first 6 ingredients in a container and set aside. In a small saute pan, add the sugar, spices, and apple and stir around over medium-high heat, so the apples soften and caramelize slightly. After about 5-ish minutes, add the water, clamp a lid on the pan, turn the heat down, and then let the apples soften for about 2 minutes. Set the pan aside for a few minutes to cool slightly and allow the sugar + water to make a slight syrup.

Stir the contents of your containers thoroughly. Then divide the apples between all 4 containers (if you're making 4 -- the apple mixture will go for 4 containers-worth of oats). Put the lids on the containers and stick them in the fridge. Next morning, grab a container and off you go! 

And, as always, There Are Notes.

NOTES:

You can skip sauteed apples and simply top your mixture with frozen berries of your choice. Overnight, they also add a bit more moisture to the oats. If you use frozen berries, all you need is that maple syrup - you won't need (or want) added sugar. The berries take care of that. 

Add a bit more milk if you want your oats a little looser.

Feel free to add nuts when you're ready to eat. I like slivered almonds or chopped walnuts for extra crunch. Sunflower seeds also work well here. 

There are a ton of Overnight Oats recipes out there, so have some fun with it. I've added nut butters, I've added chopped dates...it's really a blank canvas. 

Random Picture...

Sometimes, you just want to eat like a kid. One night, Hubby and I looked at each other and said, "fish chunks and tots." 

Little did I know that he had scored a deal on "dinosaur tots." Hey. Why not?

The fish chunks were cod that he hand-breaded with panko and fried. They were delicious and flaky. I love cod. 

Most every day, I get a text saying, "What do you want for dinner?" and I can tell you that it's usually timed (unfortunately) for right after I've eaten lunch. It's a pain because Hubby works from home so he's the one doing the cooking. And I'm never thinking of dinner. Especially after I've just eaten lunch. 

I know I'm extremely lucky to have someone who cooks and is good at it. And I also cook, but usually only on the weekends. But it inevitably happens that he times that text inadvertently right after I've finished eating. He doesn't know it, but it seems to always fall that way. 

Not Sure I Want This Much Change...

So Blogger changes. 

Then Facebook changes.

The West is on fire. 

We're in the thick of hurricane season. 

We're in the thick of a vile presidential campaign. There's gotta be a connection between weather and politics.

We've just found out that the #MangoMendicant knew --- KNEW --- how bad COVID-19 was back in January. Yeah, I know that there were probably some cognoscenti who probably saw this coming back in December. But one would think that if there was a scintilla of humanity in that moron, he'd have been honest. 

But there you go. That word. "Honest." He (and nobody in his family nor his administration) doesn't understand that word. Nor does he understand "Honor, Dignity, Service." 

The Knitting...

The Baby Hat Bonanza continues with ONE more hat. Then that's it. Seriously. I mean it. I have a baby blanket to work on (which, yes, I've started on, thanks). I've also done about 5 or 6 "ear savers" and just finished another one for myself. 

So this baby hat is for a friend who can't knit but wants to give a knitted gift. I do those "pro bono" things every once in a while, and if she asks, I'll ask her to make a donation to our church's food bank or something. I did have to buy a hank of yarn, but it's Encore Worsted, so it's what? Seven bucks? I can live with that. It's one of the rectangular ones; she wanted University of Michigan colors; so I've started with the gold (which I had) and I'm just now adding the dark blue. I had to buy that one. Which is fine. I use Encore for the prayer patches we do for church, too. Another hank in the stash won't kill me. 

The baby blanket is the Project Linus variation of Feather & Fan. I'm using the colors from the Wedding Afghan - the taupe (brown), cream (bone) and Ocean (forest green)... I love to do a baby blanket in sophisticated colors. The mom just had her first scan, and I'm not sure she'll share the gender. But with those colors, it's not a big deal. It'll be fine. I should have a picture soon.

I had actually finished the batch of hats and picked up the Long Sands tee - then realized that Baby was actually going to be along sooner than I'd thought, and I'd better "get skippy" and start knitting on that blanket. If I've learned nothing else, it's that time files and I do not like knitting deadlines!

Random Picture...  Raisa turned 7... She's technically an "adult" but since she's a Siberian Husky, we actually have a few more years... (sigh)... Now, for the elkhounds we usually do a tin of sardines. We tried that for two birthdays with Raisa. She loves sardines. They do not love her. They're not cool on the "come back up" round. So - she gets no sardines. This year, I bought her a "heavy chewer" squeaky toy, since she killed her flat stuffy. This one lasted 3 days. Now all but one squeaky has been killed. She's working on killing that last squeaky. There's some "fire hose" type fabric on the underside of this one, so we'll see if she ends up trying to eviscerate this one. 

 

 

It's a hobby. We all need a hobby. She and I can't go visit Lewis University this term; we'll see what happens for Spring semester. 

So as you can see, I'm still struggling with this crap version of the "new Blogger" -- which they shouldn't have changed in the first place. You can't place pictures easily. "Give us your feedback" is a blatant lie. And margins change at whim. 

Do us all a favor and put it back. Otherwise, WordPress is going to see a heck of an increase in subscribers. And I hate WordPress even more than I hate this iteration of some programmer's nightmare... 

The Key to...

not twisting 350 stitches on a circular needle is..... to start out FLAT.

I started my Long Sands Tee (Quince & Co.) (here is the Ravelry link) using their Sparrow yarn, which is linen. I love linen, but I don't like knitting with linen yarn. I'm using colorway Moon, which is a gorgeous pewter color. 

The top itself has THIRTEEN INCHES of positive ease - so let's just call it really "floaty." For the size I need, I had to cast on 350 stitches. They call for 32" circulars - which isn't nearly enough. I did what they said, and it didn't last long; I ended up frogging. Went to Betsy's in Lockport, and bought 40" circulars (the largest they had) and started over. 

But I have to tell you about the cast on method I used. There was virtually no way I was going to "wrap stitches" to "estimate" the tail. I found the "Two Ball Cast On." I am in love. In. Love. This isn't exactly the link, but it's close enough. I thought I'd saved it, but apparently not. 

And another new thing...It's just been a great learning experience so far... After the frogging, I reached out on the Hive Mind of Facebook, and learned that, for a large number of stitches on a circular needle, one trick is to knit 2-3 rows FLAT, and then join in a circle. You can see whether you're twisted after the 2-3 rows of flat knitting and you're way less likely to twist. 

Jazzed with that, I am! 

The next new thing I'm learning is drop stitch. I dislike drop stitch stuff intensely. Reminds me of runs in nylons, frankly. But this is basically a tiny drop stitch after a row (350 stitches, did I mention???) of k1, yo, k1... So it won't be obnoxious. 

The shirt has a cap sleeve, and honestly, I'd wear a tank under it. It'll be a nice shirt for actually 3 seasons. 

Closing in on 200...

Masks, that is. I've made the pleats smaller, so I can get 3 of them in. We're thinking about doing them as a church fundraiser, since our Rummage Sale (spring & fall) is likely kaput for 2020. 

I'm working on several for Kid #2, since it looks like in Illinois, we don't give a rat's rear end for teachers... put 'em in classrooms where you can't circulate the air, social distance, or even open a window. With 1200+ kids in the average high school, plus another few hundred in teachers, staff, and ancillary personnel in there? 

Yeah. Let's just open the schools. 

Ahem. I digress. 

Anyway, what we were thinking was that we could put the masks out, ask for a $10 donation per mask, and maybe make a bit of money that we've essentially lost with the lack of rummage sale profits. 

We'll see how that goes. I'm also doing another of the more "fancy" masks for myself, using an over-the-head kind of tie so that it only takes a bow in the back. We'll see how that works. I want to get that one done prior to my next yoga training. 

I used a "coffee filter" mask (that's what I call the procedural masks that loop over the ears) for the last weekend training, and it was kind of a pain in the ears... I prefer the ties. But I need something a bit lighter than the ones I made for myself that were lined with flannel. Much too hot for summer!

Got Smoothies...

Well, I went a little nuts with the smoothies this week. You think I have enough? 

In my defense, I now only have about half of the Mason jar left. Here's the recipe:


2 T. Maca Powder
2 scoops your favorite protein shake powder
1 c. coconut water
1 avocado, do the usual prep...
1 cucumber, peeled & chunked
2 stalks celery, trimmed and chunked
1 Granny Smith apple, quartered
2 carrots, chunked
1 head romaine, chunked
1 piece of ginger, about 2" or so
6 ice cubes
1 c. frozen berries
1 cup Siggi's Yogurt, your favorite flavor
Extra coconut water if needed

WASH YOUR PRODUCE.... Use Thieves Fruit & Veggie wash (no need to wash the frozen berries - but if you use fresh? Wash 'em! 

In a VitaMix or Bullet or whatever you have, ingredients in as follows: 
Coconut water
Powders
Granny Smith
Carrots
Celery
Romaine
Avocado
Ginger
Berries
Yogurt
Ice cubes

Notice you're putting the "harder" stuff at the bottom, which, in the VitaMix at least, is the preferred method. Whiz. Adjust for thickness: Add more coconut water if needed. Don't make it too thick - you're not supposed to chew your smoothies, and if you're using a regular blender, a chunky smoothie is the quickest way to burn up a blender. 

Ask me how I know that...

Store in the Mason jar and however many extra containers you need. Use within 2 days. 

You can add any other fruit that you want; I'll often add a pear if I have it. But I like the Granny Smith for the snap. Always add veggies!!! If you just go with fruit, that's a LOT of sugar, even with using Siggi's (which has lots less sugar and a lot of protein). I don't add bananas -- too high in sugar for me. But if you use a banana, you don't necessarily need the yogurt. 

If you want, skip the coconut water and use almond or oat milk. 

I Broke the Dogs...

Or, the heat did. Well, I kinda broke Tippi. She wanted to go for a walk today, and Hubby said, "take her around the block." We made it 2 blocks. The humidity was awful. And she's recovering from a UTI, so I know the antibiotic knocked her for a loop - on top of giving her the runs. Poor baby... She came back in, drank about a gallon of water, and plopped over... Quinnie was behind my chair as always. 

Raisa, on the other hand, has now got the HVAC stuff figured out. She has found the kitchen AC vent and that's her spot. 


It is, of course, the most inconvenient spot, being right in front of the sink. 

Does she care?

Nope. 

Her butt is right by the vent. We call it her "Freezy butt seat." You should have seen her when we had to get the AC repaired. 

Thank goodness that day was in the 70s. She laid by the Freezy Butt Vent and there was no cold. She looked at me as if to say, "What the heck is this bamboozle???" 

Once the guy repaired it (we only needed a sploosh of freon), she was back at the Freezy Butt Vent and happy. She was mortally offended that, till he fixed it, she only had a fan to keep her cool. 

How Does My Garden Grow...

Well, pretty darned good in certain respects. My cherry tomatoes are coming along nicely; I usually buy Sweet 100s - very reliable. My romaine has bolted; I have one pot of parsley eaten to the nubs by the caterpillars. The kale and broccoli rabe have been eaten, I suspect, by Mama Woodchuck and her babies. She's living under the neighbor's tool shed. The neighbor keeps blocking the holes, and Mama just digs more. I suspect the neighbor should just give up, otherwise, the toolshed is going to fall into the huge hole Mama has dug...

My wildflowers are doing ok; the Brown-Eyed Susans are in bloom now. The rest of the garden is starting to fade, but it's time. 

I was quite skeptical when Hubby moved the tomatoes, parsley and lettuce to the deck. But he was right. Even though it's the north side of the house, it does get enough sun - and plenty of water with all the rain we've had. I have to tug the pansies away from the back door - they need to dry out a bit. They're a tad too soggy. 

It's so cool that the tomatoes are taller than I am. 

I can slice them up, and put them on pasta. A cool tomato on warm pasta or risotto is really quite yummy. Hubby says they taste spicy, but I don't think so. I think they're a bit sweeter this year. 

If the Beefsteak tomatoes come in, I'll be using those (and maybe some of my friend's Romas if she has extra) for a fresh batch of canned pizza sauce. 

The basil was really nice; I need to plant more of it next year. I don't have enough to do pesto, but I do have enough to add to a salad or to add to pasta sauce or pizza. My Rosemary, this year, is kind of slow. I have it in the same place as last year, but it's just not thriving. Not sure why. It's usually bigger by now. There's still enough to freeze, though. 

The Stormtroopers...

Apparently, the president of Chicago's police union wrote to Washington DC and asked for help. Not sure how the new Police Superintendent feels about that. But I am sure how the mayor feels. 


Having armed, unidentified "cops" in the street, just like they're doing in Portland, OR, is frightening. And unconstitutional, though that doesn't seem like it bothers anyone in DC lately. Can you smell the Constitution burning? 

There's a hot dog place called The Wiener's Circle. They're known for their "attitude." And lately, because of COVID-19, they've been doing business in a different fashion. You can call your order in, and then specify the "level of rudeness" you want. From basically just "Chicago rude" to F-bombs. 

It's a thing. 

This is their latest sign. In honor of the Stormtroopers. 

This is a swift fall toward authoritarianism, and martial law conveniently placed close to the 2020 election. It's also very bad theater for one madman. Who managed to conflate a test for dementia with a "genius" test. 

Citing the "failing New York Times".... (sorry, snark is now "off"), we have the Wall of Moms; the Wall of Dads. And now? The Wall of Vets. See the story here. Veterans have had it. After the beating of a Navy veteran who just wanted to talk to the "federales" -- they're now standing in front of the moms & dads. 

Now, given "white privilege" and all -- I get that many black moms are kind of upset about the idea of the Wall of Moms, given that they've been doing that for at least 2 generations. I hate the idea that we, as white women, are co-opting the thing they've been doing. 

I'm wondering how awful it sounds to just say, "But if we can get it noticed and change it, is that bad?" I don't know. I'd welcome discussion...

It will be interesting to follow up on the Portland story. The "cops" have now gassed the mayor, at which point #MangoMussolini crowed that he was "pathetic." 

Mirror, dude. Just look in a mirror. THAT is pathetic. 

Random Picture...

So I did something I'd been toying with; just something to "check off my list." I had my stylist put a few purple stripes in my hair. Jeeze - I'd forgotten that "hair dye" takes forever!! I was there for 2 hours! Now, as you can see, with short hair? I'm in and out. 

You can see the larger of the stripes in this picture. When it's really styled correctly, the purple is just under a "layer" of my silver/pewter (or whatever color you want to call it). 

I have to use a special colored-hair shampoo, which is kind of annoying, but I do want this to last. It's only semi-permanent anyway, but I'd like it not to fade at the first wash!

Anyway - it's something fun.I needed some fun. 

STOP. BLOWING. THINGS. UP.

For the love of God... Since MEMORIAL DAY, there has not been a night that goes by that my neighborhood isn't ablaze with booming fireworks. We're not talking the rat-a-tat-tat of the regular ones, or the ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzPOP of a bottle rocket.

We're talking M80s and quarter sticks of dynamite. And if that's not bad enough? Last night we had a severe thunderstorm - wailing winds, sideways rain, thunder, power went out...And I honestly thought, "Ahhhhhhhhhh, BLISS! I'll get some sleep before midnite!"

Nope. The guys (and I know it's guys, sorry) started right after the T-storm blowing things up again. Really. REALLY??? 

I'd like two things: To not have to dope up my dogs every single night. And to get to sleep before midnight. It's not too much to ask. 

How Does The Garden Grow...

Well....We have cherry tomatoes. Lots of them. And we harvested a handful of snap peas. I think we can start plucking the kale. 

But there was a casualty today. And I was rather heartbroken to do it. We removed two very large Lemon Balm plants. 

I mean, they were 3 feet high and 3 feet across. Each. They took up the entire corner of one garden bed -- this year they just exploded. Last year they were reasonable. But this year, they managed to crowd out the gallardia and almost kill off the snapdragons, lavender and cosmos. 

This is the "after" --- before removal, you couldn't see the marble stepping stone there, and you can see where everything else was just being smothered. 

I hated to do it, but they were just too far overgrown and it would've been detrimental to the other plants. I want Lemon Balm, but I have to look for a smaller variety. 

The flowers at the studio are doing nicely: the alyssum is blooming in the one pot and the mixed wildflowers are coming along fine in the other. 

So perhaps the folks at the employment agency next door have stopped using my flower pots for ashtrays...


Speaking of which, I'm opening the studio back up!! We're in Illinois, and we're in Phase 4 of the 5-phase reopening. We've dropped in number of cases - precipitously. For those saying that the "virus ran its course," y'all are wrong... What happened was that our governor clamped down and most of us paid attention... 

What worries me is that as we can go about more, people will get complacent. And then? We get bit in the backside. Again. And I'm thinking most of us with small businesses won't survive a second shut-down. 

Just Breathe Yoga Studio...

Today, we went in, did a clean, and set up to open on July 1st. Hubby taped the floors so that everyone knows where their mats go. We can open at 50% capacity, but we're being a little more cautious. Our studio can hold 30; but we're topping out at 11 students per class right now. We'll see how it goes.

I wrote out some protocols on the one whiteboard. And I've notified the students. We're still going to do online classes - we're just doing them in a new way. We're back to doing in-person classes soon and quite happy about it. 

It's hard (in my opinion) to teach to a camera. I need to see people. Especially if I want to teach them something a bit complex. I need to see where your body is and where I may need to adjust your alignment. Can't do that the way we've been doing, but what we were doing was better than nothing. 

Each person gets a little more than "social distance" for his/her mat. And we're requiring everyone to have their temperature taken at the door...and we're lucky in one regard: once you're on your mat, you don't have to wear your mask. But it has to be worn inside and as you leave. 

I'm going to encourage everyone to be safe, but I can't police everyone. What I can control, I will. What I can't? I can't. 

Polish Sausage Risotto with Peas...

Bet you never thought of that combo...Neither did I till I was faced with dinner, a sore tooth, and lack of inspiration. Here's the recipe.

1 Polish sausage (or 4 links) cut into thin rounds
1 T. olive oil or bacon fat
1 c. risotto
4 c. hot water + broth cubes
1 1/2 c. leeks
Salt & Pepper to taste (save for last)
1 c. shredded Asiago cheese
1/2 c. goat cheese
1/2 c. half & half
1/2 stick butter
1 1/2 c. frozen peas
Penzey's Green Goddess spice blend
Penzey's granulated garlic

In a large saucepan, melt the butter, and then add leeks. Stir and cook till translucent. Add the risotto and stir around, till the rice has a bit of a shine to it. The leeks should be slightly golden. 

Add a bit of the water. Turn heat to low and simmer; stir every couple of minutes. When the rice has absorbed the water, add more; keep repeating that pattern till the water is used up and the rice is slightly al dente. 

While the rice is cooking, put the sausage into a large saute pan with a bit of olive oil or bacon fat (live large...). Stir it around till the sausage is warmed through and maybe a little browned around the edges, just for taste. Set aside. 

When the rice is al dente, add the peas, spices and pepper and stir. Then add the cheeses, stirring. Add the half & half and stir. Then add sausage. Taste. Salt here, if needed. The whole process takes about 45 minutes. You may have to add more water - if your rice is exceptionally dry. 

This serves 5 people. Or 2 people with really lovely leftovers... 

If you want to use this as a side dish, omit the meat. 

It's a Bird, it's a Plane...

It's a bell tower! The bell tower project is about 98% done. There's some clean-up work to do, but it's all in place. The grass is growing; we're planning a labyrinth and adding a deck to the office space to make it ADA compliant (there'll be a ramp to access off the church property). 

And tomorrow, because I said yes before getting all the details? I'm participating in another peaceful march. We're marching in support of Black Lives Matter again, but our destination is to go to a prayer meeting that the black pastors are organizing. 

Yes, in case you're wondering, we have their permission to march to their event; the timing is that we'd be there before they start. No way do we want to take away from what they're doing...we want to support them, because unfortunately, the neighborhood is kind of ... um... racist, actually. It's kept under wraps, but those of us familiar with the area? We know. And we want it to be better.

Back to the bell tower....The bell has been in the church garage since the late 1980s. It was given to our church from another church. And I have to do some research; it's from the early 1900s we think. It'll be fun to do that kind of detective work.

Knitting...

I'm still beavering away on the Breathe & Hope Shawl; only because I've been busy on other stuff. Not knitting, sadly. 

I'm half-way through Section 8. According to the change the designer made, the colors in this section are actually backward of the way I am doing it. She wants B/A/B/A and I did A/B/A/B. It looks fine to me. 

I don't think it matters in this section how the colors go. It's an interesting one that's going by quickly. See all that pink there? That's Section 6. Which was FOR. EVER. Honestly my least favorite part of this shawl. 

Section 7 in this pic is barely started (sorry, been busy knitting and haven't photographed it in its latest iteration)... it's the striped section, which is the unifying component of the whole thing. 

I'm finding that this is now going faster as I'm closer to the end. When I finish Section 8, there will be 193 stitches. Section 9 brings us to 208 stitches, and Section 10 gives us 211 before we bind off. 

Random Picture...

Well, Raisa is totally untroubled by the fireworks. She sleeps through most of it. And here's her teddy-baby. 

Which she disemboweled this morning. End of that one... I caught her before she could ingest any of the stuffing. 

I have to take a rake to her tomorrow. That will not be fun. She hates to be brushed. Another oddity. 

Every other Siberian Husky I've had has (a) been terrified of fireworks; and (b) adored --- ADORED --- being brushed. She's merely tolerating me plucking her floof. 

I have enough now to knit a small spaniel. 

And it just keeps coming...

Work In Progress...

That's what we all are - or what we should aspire to be. Works in progress. Always growing. Flexible. 

Now, there's a difference between flexible and wimpy. Flexible: open-minded but discerning. Wimpy: "I blow with the prevailing wind." (cue Claude Rains and 10 points for anyone who can tell me which movie that quote came from) And no, I didn't Google the quote. It just came out of my very weird brain...

I'm taking an online Restorative Justice class. Not because I need it...or maybe because I need it. I don't need the credit or the CEUs. But I'm interested in learning about inherent privilege and how to best move in the world without flashing too much white female baggage. I mean, we all have bias, and I have learned, from my kids, that it's actually pretty insulting to "not see color" because it renders people invisible. 

Much like my grey hair causes people to underestimate me and other women like me. For a man, you see, it's "just because there's snow on the roof doesn't mean there isn't fire in the furnace." For women, though it's changing thankfully, "Oh dear, haven't seen your stylist in a while? Or don't you care?" Honestly, I don't care, but my grey hair isn't the point here. 

Over the columns on the Supreme Court building are the words: Equal Justice Under Law. Granted, for a long time, women haven't had equal justice. But that's nothing compared to people of color. I'm talking about not only those who are descendants of slavery, but also those who come here from any other country who aren't white. I like to think I see everyone as equals, but I was raised in an era where racism was pretty casual, even though it wasn't anything as bad as in the south (sorry, but it's true). 

Tomorrow, unless it's called off, I'm marching in a Black Lives Matter protest. And I want to make it clear: if you're going to say "all lives matter" then you probably need to attend a Black Lives Matter march. Because "all" means ALL. Black, Brown, White, Blue, Red, Yellow, Green - doesn't matter. All lives. 

The idea of "protester" and "looter" is being conflated. There are those of us who protest pretty regularly. We don't loot. We're exercising our First Amendment rights. Looters are scum and crooks. Period. I give no quarter here. First, because looters detract from a legitimate protest. And second, because I'm surely NOT going to be collateral damage because the police are reacting to looters and we protesters get caught in the middle. Not gonna happen. 

How My Garden Grows...

Well, I have shoulders on my radishes. I'm going to pull some in the next few days. They're lovely and when home-grown, (a) soooo easy to grow; and (b) much tastier than store-bought, even organic ones. 

The fun thing is you can have at least 2 growing periods for radishes. You can sow them so early that in reality, you can usually get in one more batch before the first frost in most areas. I'm growing red ones and white ones. I think the white ones will take a bit longer. And I'm about ready to pluck some romaine and the softer lettuces. 

My poppies have popped! I have several requests for seeds, which is fine with me. This plant -- well, maybe not THIS plant, it keeps re-seeding itself... has been in the front of our garden for over 25 years. It moves ever so slightly every year. But it's so far stayed just west of the milkweed. 

As with our lilacs, we seem to have an exuberance of poppies. I have no idea if that's a thing - but it is now! They seem to be a little more pink this year. 

My tomato is still with us. The tree-rats have left it alone so far. But they have been digging in the rosemary and the parsley. 

I saw a swallowtail today; so I'm pretty sure egg laying is commencing. I feel kind of bad; we've moved our feeder to avoid the squirrels, but now it's closer to the parsley, dill and milkweed. 

And birds eat caterpillars. 

The circle of life sometimes sucks. 

Garlic Brussels Sprouts & Ham...

We had some purple Brussels sprouts and we NEEDED to eat them. Like today. So I did the Google and came up with a couple of recipes for Brussels Sprouts & Ham. The original one had sauerkraut. I don't care WHAT could be offered to Hubby, but he won't touch sauerkraut. I will eat it almost every day. But he won't and I can't budge him. 

Here's my modification of the recipe I used... It wasn't too bad, served with whole-berry cranberry sauce and homemade bread. 


1 lb. Brussels Sprouts, trimmed & halved
Penzey's Frozen Pizza Seasoning
1 lb. leftover ham, trimmed and cut into cubes
1/2 c. parmesan
1/2 c. asiago cheese
1/2 c. Panko
Penzey's Granulated Roasted Garlic
2 T. bacon fat (already rendered)
6 green onions, trimmed and diced
4 potatoes, cut into cubes
2 T. lemon juice

In a Dutch oven heat the bacon fat till it's melted then turn off the heat. Add the Sprouts, ham, onions and potatoes. Stir to coat in the fat. Add the seasonings and stir once more. Add the cheese and lemon juice and stir one more time to evenly distribute the cheese. Top with the Panko. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and put it into a 350F oven for 45 minutes. Test the potatoes and stir the mixture up. Turn oven to 450F and take the lid off for 15 min or till potatoes and sprouts are tender. 

***NOTE: I had to cook this for quite a while because the spuds and sprouts weren't quite done. If you have to cook it for longer than the time indicated, for the last round of cooking, put the lid back on. It'll help steam and cook the veggies. 

And yes, bacon fat. In the scheme of things, it's not a lot. If you do NOT have bacon fat, you can use olive oil or avocado oil. 

I like the addition of the cranberry sauce; it brightens up the sprouts and takes the salty edge off the ham. You notice I didn't add ANY salt. It didn't need it. This is after Hubby tucked away the leftovers...an escaped spud tried to stay on the stove! 

I like the Penzey's Frozen Pizza blend - it's a zingy blend not unlike Italian Seasoning but with caraway in it, that kind of gives it a peppery touch. I will be doing this again, and I think I'd add more cheese, but I would NOT add anything like Mozzarella. Stick with Asiago and Parm - they meld well with the sprouts. I might also soften the onions by sauteeing a tiny bit. 

The Knitting Keeps On...

I'm now on section 6 of 10 of the Breathe & Hope shawl. And I'm still sweating the blocking to come. There are a few blips in here, but I like how the K1b looks like little EKG patterns. 

I'm liking how the "bands" with the larger needles are working out. That is apparently the repeat of the whole thing. The part with the smaller needles changes, but the bands are the part which will bring the whole thing together. 

I kind of thought the K1b part would, but apparently not. I hope it doesn't look too jarring with the switching in the variegated yarn. It's a pretty strong variegation, rather than something more subtle. 

But either way, it's still a nice little shawl, that will work for 3 seasons. Now I just have to figure out whether I'm keeping it or sending it elsewhere...One never knows. 

Random Picture...

How does she breathe like that??? I did a seminar with Young Living Essential Oils and Pets and in my research, found the "breathing pattern of dogs" to be quite interesting. All I can say is that it's a neat trick.

FYI, they breathe through the sides of their noses. If you've ever noticed how their nostrils curl, that enables them to efficiently sniff and snort and breathe.

Anyway, this was her afternoon "meditations." She's such a goofball and such a kook. 

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