Adjusting to the Silence...

So it's been a couple months. And I'm still waiting to be greeted when I walk in the door. I still listen for the turn, turn, turn on the dog bed and the PLOP as Quinn drops into her comfy spot. And I still reach for the stick blender and turn, wanting to see Raisa ready to sing. I look at the leashes every first and third Tuesdays, figuring it's time to suit up to go out to the university. 

People wonder when the grief goes away, and on our "loss of pet" group, the constant question is, "When will I feel normal?" The answer is: Never. You never really do get over the loss of a companion animal, whether you refer to it as your furry child, or your soul animal. They leave a void in your heart and a mark on your soul. 

Which is why it's so freaking abominable that Governor Noem (my hands want to type out MORON) in South Dakota is bragging about killing - executing - a puppy and a goat. The puppy (14 months old) "didn't hunt" and the goat "smelled." Well, doofus --- TRAIN the puppy, and bathe the goat. Executing them in a gravel pit doesn't make you "able to make the hard decisions." It makes you an utter psychopath. Who shouldn't be allowed near ANY living thing, much less allowed in politics. And don't come at anyone with that "farmers/ranchers" BS. Every farmer I know (and I'm living in the nation's Bread Basket) would've rehomed the dog and hosed down the goat. But guess what? GOATS SMELL. So do pigs and horses and sheep. And most ranchers who've been shredding her on social media said the same thing: if the dog doesn't hunt, you train it -- and for God's sake, it's a PUPPY. They can't even process. They have instincts, yes, but they need focus and training. And if the dog still has no instinct for hunting, you rehome it or it's a pet. 

My uncle, a dedicated hunter, had a Springer Spaniel, Rags. That dog was nuts. He hated gunfire, he hated wet. He was allergic to grass and weeds. He was as useless as a 2-legged milking stool as a hunting dog. But he could bark. He could play with the kids. He was essentially a pet. I have no idea of his bloodlines, but my uncle was persnickety about his dogs. He tossed his hands up in the air and said, "I guess I've gotta get another dog that'll hunt." He didn't take him out to the quarry and shoot him. He kept him his entire life (the dog's - my uncle is still around). 

As I sit here contemplating what my next adventure with animals will be, this woman who thinks she's going to be the VP for that orange excrescense at the top of the MAGA party, is being flayed, as she should be. Karma is a bugger, you miserable excuse for a human. 

The Knitting...

I got my replacement Baby Camel yarn (exchanged for the Eco Cashmere that was defective) from Purl Soho. It's lovely! And it perfectly matches my vintage camel coat. So I think I'm knitting cuffs for the coat. I've wanted to for a long time, and I couldn't find a good match. Well, this could've been made for the coat! I'll do a 2x2 rib, and they'll be lovely! The sleeves on the coat are just a tad too short, so the cuffs will be a welcome addition. 

I'm still knitting on the Eco Cashmere Simplicity Scarf, but I set it aside. I have news....

No. No grandbabies...

I have yarn. (yeah, I know, I have STASH). My friend D gave me TWO "medium" sized moving boxes and a 35-gallon tote full of yarn. She's doing her Swedish Death Cleaning, and has moved away from knitting (yes, I know - seems impossible), though she's still knitting socks. And she asked me to help her get rid of her stash. I can keep whatever I want, sell whatever I want, but just get rid of it. There are some partially completed projects, which I will likely frog. She doesn't have the patterns -- and half the balls don't have ball-bands. There are also needles and some books. 

Anyway, I'm going to keep a bunch of it. There's some beautiful CoBaSi which looks like it was headed for a fade shawl, and a lot of sock yarn. 

I'm also working on another pair of socks. She has Opal, and the Love Story colorway just makes me smile. So I've started on a plain pair. There's enough for several pairs of socks, and I can add the partial balls to my "franken-sock" stash. Or make a shawl. The All Used Up Shawl (and the cardigan) could be a great way to stash bust all my odds and ends. 

I still haven't fixed the dropped stitch on the baby blanket, but I'm going to get to it. I have time. I also need to whip out a little hat, so there's that to finish and then the fleece throw which is going to go with this gift. Or maybe I'm not doing the fleece throw - that's still up in the air. 

The one thing that's been occupying my time with the boxes of yarn from D is the untangling.

I'm one of those weird folks who really enjoys untangling yarn. Some of the balls are better than others, but this cotton blend needed to be untangled and washed then re-wound. It took me a while, and after I got it untangled, I tied it in a couple places and used some Eucalan to soak it. Hung it on the shower and let it dry for a few days. I just need to re-wind it at some point. I know what this is, but I can't recall the name - so I want to do another shawlette, because I think that's all I have enough yarn for. Maybe I'll use a bit of a larger needle and just stockinette stitch. 

The Injury...

OK, so. The hand isn't fixed yet. But I did end up going back to the doctor. And I got TWO steroid shots in the left hand. It was as amazing as it seems. Not. Though she is good - I was really numb and didn't feel a thing. At least till the numbing spray wore off. Then, it was as if my hand was on fire! It's eased up somewhat and I'm feeling the effects of the steroids. 

I also made an appointment with the surgeon who fixed it in the first place - thankfully, he hasn't retired! The doctor said that she thinks the tendon that was wedged into my wrist has "broken free of the capsule" and that the swelling may be permanent, which affects my range of motion. I can put more weight on it, so that's good...but again, the biggest reason I dislike steroid shots is that they allow me to do stupid stuff. I did buy some blocks that had shapes cut out so that I can use more of my palm. Because that left thumb is fused at a 2-degree angle (for function), I can't flatten the hand. And sometimes, I don't get quite the right placement on a block, but with these blocks I ordered, the weight is more in my palm, which is a bit safer for my thumb. The screw is exactly where it's always been, but I don't want to risk it. 

So I figured that I should see the surgeon and figure out what we can do. Or not do. But it's worth the visit. Hubby wants to ask about the "lifetime warranty" on the surgery! 

The Garden...

The potatoes are in. I'm getting some repellant for the tree-rats (squirrels)...the stinkers are digging up my potted plants. I tried cayenne and red pepper flakes. They just scurry over to the bird bath, drink up and do it again. 

I have celery rooting in a bowl - we'll see if that comes to anything. I have grown celery before, out of starts from the greenhouse, and it's amazing the flavor you get from home-grown celery!! 

I have a couple baskets of petunias out front, and they've survived at least one mild frost; they're magenta with lime green edges, so I can't wait to see what the hummingbirds think. I have lantana in 2 pots, cosmos + Dusty Miller in one pot and a big pot of dianthus. Waiting to see what else I can pick up; I need at least 2 more hanging pots - maybe 4. 

We're looking at a tiny veggie garden this year, as I may have mentioned. Romaine, a couple tomatoes, a pot or two of parsley (at least one for the butterflies!). Very simple. 

It was a busy morning today; out in the compost area twice already, and I made some ham and bean soup with our own herbs. My mom wanted some, so I made it; she and I are the only ones who'd eat it, so I got half and she got half. Good deal all the way around. 

The Reading...

Aside from a current addiction to Lord Peter Wimsey, I've started "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD. 

It's pretty deep. Very technical but also readable. I've heard from folks that it's a book you can't really plow through, and I can see that. It takes me a couple chapters, maybe, and then I have to put it aside. 

I'm also still working through 1Q84, about 50% through that one. It's fascinating and reads smoothly, even with the time jumps. 

When I need to rest my hand, I turn to my books. 

A Bittersweet Birthday...

So we recently celebrated my newest grand-niece's birthday. She's one. And it's bittersweet. She's the granddaughter of my late sister. One of the relatives hugged me and said, "It's so nice that you're the fill-in." I know they meant well, but boy, that cut. I don't WANT to be the fill-in. I want my sister here. And she's not. And there's still a huge hole in my heart. 

The little one is in the "daddy's girl" phase and it was so funny to see all of us turning ourselves inside-out to make her smile, only for her to rebuff all of us pretty consistently. 

Eventually, she'll come around. Babies do that. 

Unfortunately, I ate some things that didn't agree with me. Well, I take that back. The cheese sticks VERY much agreed with me....to the point that I should have just walked away. I adore a good fried mozzarella stick, and these were wonderful! Oh, I did have salad, so there's that! I think Hubby and I were definitely in a carb-coma in the evening. 

Miscellaneous...

Randomly...

1. I need to step up my fitness. My BF has offered to teach me to swim, and I may have to take her up on that. It's good for my hip and I should have learned a long time ago. 
2. I have to catch up with my remaining sibling; it's time for another adventure, and I don't want to let too much time pass. Life can get in the way for sure, but it's also what we prioritize. 
3. I really need to get into my home office and clear some crap out. Swedish Death Cleaning for me, too!
4. I've actually started Christmas shopping. It's better to get an idea of your list and chip at it all year long, I think. 
5. I've got to get out of the habit of going down the YouTube hole... I tend to do that when it's time to go to bed, and I need to cultivate a different habit. 

Random Picture...

The last of the lilacs of 2024. The bushes have been extremely prolific this year. This is the third cutting I've gotten and while they're a little beat up, it's still something I felt like I wanted to do. 

People have been walking past the yard and stopping to smell them for the past several weeks. They're at the end of the sidewalk, so it's easy for people to enjoy them.  

We're actually debating taking them out, because honestly they're planted too close to the sidewalk. They seemed fine when we put them in, but now they've gotten a bit loose. Hubby trims them so that they're never much taller than 7 feet, but one of the bushes has a ton of suckers, and the other seems to have sprouted a bit taller than its mate. I'd swear they're two different varieties, because the one on the right always blooms a few days before the other one. 

I got a hit of the smell, thankfully -- but the ability to smell is now gone again. But it was worth it. 

What. The. Fluff....

I mean, really. I refuse to ask "what now?" but I will say WHAT. THE. FLUFF...

Last week, at our women's group meeting, I said, "I'm sitting here and staying away from everyone, because I feel like I'm coming down with a cold."

By that Friday, I ended up at the urgent care. They said a vague "there's a crud going around, just watch so that you don't end up with pneumonia." Sent me home with OTC meds because apparently, some of the prescription stuff I'm on, they can't prescribe certain things. 

This past Sunday was our family's Thanksgiving. So Hubby made the turkey, I did the vegan stuffing, a soba noodle dish, and a vegan lemon cake. Oh, and we were planning home-made whipped cream (my sister adored Cool Whip - ugh - and the rest of us loved the stuff in the can). I had purchased a carton of heavy cream and didn't end up using it, so I figured we'd use our homemade vanilla and treat the fam to something interesting. 

But after the Friday appointment, I made the decision to stay home. I just didn't feel like it was a good idea to go. And when Kid #2 came over to do the spuds, I masked up and stayed away from everyone. I was hacking up a storm, but I had no fever, no chills, nothing. Oh, I was sore from the coughing, and lemme tell ya - a big honking cough with a 65-year old bladder? Yikes... 

Turns out it was a very good choice to stay home. Not because of Quinn, though I was worried about leaving her home alone for an extended period of time. Her potty calls are getting to be a bit more frequent, though she hasn't had any accidents in the house. 

On this past Tuesday, I went back to the doctor. I hadn't really slept since the Thursday-ish before because of the coughing. It wasn't getting better with the OTC stuff. And I had lost my voice. Cancelled my remaining PT appointments and pushed them back 10 days. 

Turns out, I have RSV.... Check here for what this is. The commercials you may have seen regarding either the babies or the elders -- they're not wrong. I am sick as the proverbial dog. Still no fever to speak of, the body aches are because I'm trying to sleep sitting up and I'm coughing like crazy. And what I have is considered "mild." 

It was a good call to not go, because we have a 6-month-old baby and my mom. There is a bright spot here... my mom and several friends, seeing how sick I am, have gone and gotten their RSV vaccine. 

They have me on an OTC med, tessalon pearls, a nasal spray and an inhaler now. The OTC med is ridiculously difficult to get open. I mean, I see the point, since the pills look like orange jelly beans. But I need scissors and basically a small knitting needle to get into the "tear here" portion of the package. 

This is supposed to be an expectorant and decongestant. Like in the Shrek movie, "Better out than in." The pearls make it so that you don't hurt when you cough. And the inhaler opens up the bronchials. No antibiotics - this is a virus. 

RSV is EXTREMELY contagious. Thankful for Hubby's wonky souped-up immune system. He's managed to not be seriously ill since he was in high school. I'm coughing into my elbow. Washing my hands. Staying kind of in my own area. We were supposed to have a small dinner on the "real" Thanksgiving, but I told everyone -- Hubby told everyone, since I can't talk much -- to stay home. 

I will be able to go to work next week, but I'm wearing a mask. My voice is still a little rocky, so I'll stay home from church, and I got a sub for my yoga classes; at this point, I can say a few words in a row, but that triggers coughing. 

And as soon as I can, I'm getting the blasted vaccine. I was waffling. See what good it did? I don't even know where I picked this up. But it sucks. And I'm over it. 

Thanksgiving... 

So everyone enjoyed everything and even ate the vegan dishes! Win-win! My mother has also decreed that "henceforth, we shall have home-made whipped cream," so I guess I need to buy 2 cartons for Christmas. 

The lemon cake was really pretty good. As Kid #2 puts it, there's no magic in vegan cooking - just using other ingredients. It was meant to be a layer cake, or a 13x9, but I did it in a Bundt pan. Not sure that I'd do that again. I have a nice 12" ring pan that might be better. 

The recipe had some erzatz "buttercream," but I'm told that if you use vegan butter and regular shortening, my own recipe for buttercream turns out just fine. Nonetheless, this one got a dusting of powdered sugar. Hubby managed to scrape together some whipped cream from the vultures... and so I had a slice of this with the whipped cream. It was really nice and moist. Good crumb. I would probably add more lemon zest in the batter. And I might try my own buttercream on this one, just vegan it up. 

The stuffing went well too. I did 4 kinds of bread: a French loaf, sourdough, pretzel bread and pita bread. Cut them up, dried them in the oven and then added all the veggies, dried cranberries, cut up a couple apples and tossed them in there. Leeks. Veggie broth and vegan butter. It was really pretty good. Just juicy enough, not soggy and not heavy. 

I asked The Kid about the "main" vegan dish, and ended up going with a soba noodle concoction with a Greek dressing. I diced up a butternut squash, roasted it along with mushrooms (white and mini bellas), shredded carrots, chopped spinach, and roasted red peppers. Tossed it with the noodles and the vegan Greek dressing. It was warm; but it could also be served cold or room temperature. You could also add beans to it, but I didn't this time. Funny enough, everyone ate some of it! 

We boiled the carcass with the veggies I stuffed inside of it (we don't stuff our bird). The fruit & veggies this year were: 1 lemon, 1 apple, 2 carrots, 4 celery stalks. Just cut 'em up and poke them into the cavity, and then the front end of the bird. The bird then gets a massage of olive oil, some salt & pepper, and rosemary under the skin and in the cavity. Roast it... 

So after we boiled the carcass and veggies, we plucked the bones clean, set that meat aside, and whizzed the broth. I made soup with thin egg noodles, and have been eating that all week. 

Seems like everyone liked everything, from the texts I got. And yes, they were appreciative that I kept my sick behind at home!

Reading...

I've been reading my usual mysteries, but I bought this actual book, Greg Louganis' autobiography entitled "Breaking the Surface." It's fascinating. And an easy read. I admired him during the Olympics, and now after reading this, I feel sad. Pick it up. You'll learn a lot. I was amazed, watching him compete, how a guy his size (I don't know - it was hard to judge, but he's not a small man like some of the Japanese divers) could rip into the water with nary a splash. Nobody does it like he did it. And he's still, in my opinion, the world's greatest diver. I don't think anyone has beaten his record of 4 golds in consecutive Olympics. 

I've been reading and going down the rabbit hole of YouTube, lots of Harry & Meghan videos. Though I did see the tiara that Katherine, Princess of Wales wore recently. I was so happy to see the Strathmore Rose tiara come out into the light of day. As I recall, this tiara was in contention for Meghan to wear, but once I saw her (not too well-tailored) wedding dress, I realized the tiara she wore actually matched it much better. 

Of course, Katherine could wear a sack and look good, but on this instance she was a real stunner... and the tiara was perfect. She's not suited to the bigger, bolder ones (except for the Cambridge Lover's Knot). Camilla can carry those big honkers off much better. The fact that this tiara was just kind of stuck in the vault for a century is kind of bonkers. But it suited her dress and her head. Here's some info on this little bauble..and also where I plucked this picture from, giving credit where credit is due. 

I do like the "flapper" version but I honestly don't think Kate could have carried that one off. The dress was too modern. It wouldn't have looked right. And if nothing else, she usually does try to make everything perfect. 

Knitting...

I'm also getting a lot of knitting done. The mindless Part 2 of the Bias Before & After scarf is coming along well. I'm really digging the "matcha latte" color. I think I've got about 31" or so. I can see the ball of yarn coming down, which is perfect. 

I really think this will be done if not in December, early in January, so I can block them both and still have enough of the cooler weather to wear them. Hopefully - they're calling for an El Nino winter and sometimes I feel like they don't even really know what that means. 

I kind of want to speed this along so that I can get to the beading. And I want to see how that updated provisional caston un-picks, considering that I really faffed up the one on the peacock scarf. It was just so clunky. 

After that, I may go back and finish the sock for the North-South-East-West pair to have them off my needles and in the sock rotation. And then I have to decide: The DROPS sweater? The black/brown Expression Fiber Arts shawl WIP? Start up the Long Sands? It's going to be tough. 

Oh, and an update from the Cascade Heritage Sock - the Petty Harbours that I finished? They washed up like a dream. Were so yummy to wear. And they didn't pill. Though I've only worn them once. So we'll see how they wear long-term. 

If nothing else, I'd buy a solid in that yarn and do the most warm and cuddly shawl. It would be awesome. 

Random Picture...

I was all set to give you an update on the ornaments, when I remembered I had already done that! Yikes. My brain... 

So instead, I reached back, WAYYYYYYYYYYY back, into the NAS and found this picture. 

It's St. Mary Lake, Goose Island in Glacier National Park. I can't even tell you how old this is. I am pretty sure I took this with my honest-to-God CAMERA, my Canon. 

This is one of my favorite spots in Glacier. We didn't go often enough. I'm hoping we will have time to go again. We haven't been back since my mother-in-law's funeral, and at that, we certainly didn't have time to go to the park. Being that it was in April, if I remember, the park wasn't open. It usually doesn't open till June. 

Now with the new hip, I'm in better shape to actually travel without being bound by the pain. Just have to figure out where we want to go. 

Blowing a Gale...

Holy moley... It's Halloween, and it's literally snowing sideways here. Lord knows how many (if any) kids we'll get. I saw a couple headed toward the grade school. The local Lions Club does a Halloween bash, so a lot of the kids start there. And our porch light is out -- the sensor is wonky and the thing won't stay on. So I have The Great Pumpkin lit up out there, our only Halloween decoration, and I'm hoping that's enough for the kids. But it's still too light outside to see that it's lit up. 

Catching Up...

Where do I start?

Well, let's see. Quinn may be coming out of her very natural funk. She's stopped looking for Raisa, but she still looks to see when one of us is coming home. Doesn't matter WHICH of us. If I'm gone, she waits. If Hubby is gone, she waits. I think this may have triggered a bit of separation anxiety. 

A funny thing. My friend D (not the knitting one) came by - I was driving us to an event recently, because she wasn't sure where it was. And it was a good thing, because they'd closed off a few more roads since I'd last been downtown. Yeesh. 

Anyway, THIS particular D is very involved in Lab rescue. She has 3 dogs now, and is staying at her sister's - and Sis has a dog. So she came in the house and Quinn barked, as she does. She approached D, and D being a dog person, knew how to act for an introduction.  After the appropriate sniffs, Quinn sat down, put her nose in the sky and started "talking" to her. I mean, like, singing/howling. Having some sort of words with her. That's a first! 

We gave D a couple bags of cow ears (chews we use for the dogs). We did an inventory of the treats we have, and there will be leftovers -- Quinn can't - and shouldn't - consume that many treats. She's 14. Healthy, but still, 14. We're going to have her checked out by the vet, just for our own sake. Peace of mind is at a premium here lately.

I got Raisa's memorial stone. I couldn't locate the green granite ones I usually get, so I tried a company from Etsy. I'm sorely disappointed in the laser-etched image. It's pretty much invisible unless you tilt the piece. I'm waiting to calm down a bit before I leave a review. 

The Knitting...

I have finished the washcloths for Christmas, and I've started a set of 3 more for a gift. I will wrap those 3 in special ribbon as a set. The others will be given individually with some special soap. 

And I did an insane thing. First, the story of the latte... The Friday after Raisa died, I sat down with a matcha latte. I got hit by a fit of tears, as one does, and I reached for a tissue. And dumped 16 oz. of latte. All. Down. The. Knitting. It hit books, 3 project bags, the power strip, went under the standing lamp, under the area rug, hit the side of the chair, splashed up the wall. 

I mean, physics. Liquids dropped from a height will splatter. I hollered, "CRAP!" and Quinn took off to the back of the house. 

Prior to this, I had been kind of skittish about getting up and down off the floor - we hadn't really tried it in PT, and I thought I didn't want to do something wrong. But the latte...

I grabbed a roll of paper towels and started sopping everything up. I was not happy. I got 90% of it, dumped out all the bags, mopped up and propped up everything so that it could dry. Wiped off several soaking wet tool bags. One ball of acrylic got pretty soaked. But it's acrylic; I wiped it as best I could. I'm going to make a couple baby hats, and then wash them. It'll be fine. 

Under that, I found (thank you Knitting Goddesses) three hanks of Expression Fiber Arts mulberry silk + camel. THANKFULLY in their sealed bag. The bag had matcha latte on it. I would have wept if it had gotten to the yarn. 

It's for Etude  #1 from Expression Fiber Arts. I reprinted the pattern and put it with the yarn. That's what I want to start in January. 

Except... 

I found a DROPS pattern I want to knit It's the Abstract Rose Sweater, and I chose to knit it in the yarn they suggested, but I'm hoping it's comfortable. It's DROPS Nepal, a wool/alpaca blend. Like 75/25 so it's mostly wool. Not superwash either. This will be interesting. I've heard conflicting things: "DROPS patterns are lovely and easy." "DROPS patterns are awful, good luck!" and I'm lengthening the thing to a tunic length - well maybe not that long, but at least to my hip bones, like below my tummy. I like my sweaters a bit longer. 

So as I went to grab the link, I see I could have used A + A -- which means instead of doing the Nepal yarn (which is still ridiculously cheap), I could've used yarn from the "A" category, held double. Oh well. If I love it, I can knit it again. 

I ordered the yarn from the UK, as it's not available here. It was something like $48 for the entire thing, including 3 extra balls, just in case. First off, for lengthening it, but also because I've seen reviews that the "marled" version of the yarn, which is what I bought, is prone to random knots. We'll see. Yes, forty-eight dollars (US) for a sweater's worth of yarn. Insane, right? 

I don't know when I'm going to start that. I also have the Copland shawl to finish, which I'm keeping for myself. It was going to be a gift, but now I'm keeping it. It's about 2/3 done, so maybe after I finish these last 3 washcloths, I can pull it out and finish it up over the holidays. 

And I also have the Long Sands Tee to re-start. I think I'm done with baby knitting for a while, so that is kind of a relief. 

Socks will, as always, be my fill-in work. 

The Dancing...

Yep. Dancing. So recently, we had our women's club's 50th anniversary. We had Brandye Phillips, and the Tina Turner Experience as our entertainment. Now, not only is Brandye a local gal, having gone to the larger public high school, but her father was a renowned musician. She also has done extensive research on Tina Turner. Our organization works with domestic violence issues, among other things, and Brandye was able to educate us more in detail about what Tina Turner went through, from her humble beginnings as a sharecropper's daughter to international superstar twice over. 

We listened, we clapped, we interacted with her, and we danced. Yes, even me. Now you have to understand that I look like a baby with a full diaper when I dance. I can count the rhythm, because I'm a singer. But I'm not graceful. But I had fun. And today? I paid for it. My legs were sore. Not "killing me," but "yikes, I haven't felt this sore since I last mucked out a horse stall."

It was good. And my PT took a little (very little) pity on me. I was lucky enough to meet up with good friends, we had a great time, and it was a late night. 

And then, I had to go staff an info table at a 5K walk/run. And it's chilly here in the mornings. So I'll need to balance out my "need tea" with "need to pee." I don't do porta-potties if I can at all help it. And baking an apple cake for church on Sunday. 

It was a full weekend. 

The Reading...

I finished "The Loved One," and I wonder if I'm "today's years old" to realize that one of the characters has a last name which references, in Greek, death. Evelyn Waugh certainly had a way with words. So that was a hand-held book. 

I've finished several on my Kindle, mostly mysteries. Margery Allingham, the Campion mysteries, and I'm also done with another Lord Peter Whimsy compilation. 

I'm working on another Lisa See book, "Dreams of Joy," which is a two-parter. The first was about the generation before. It's interesting to follow along, seeing as this one delves pretty deeply into the formation of Communist China. 

Whacking away at my TBR (to be read) stash, I can read while I knit, as long as it's not a difficult pattern. I don't like audio books, though. They're usually disappointing. 

When I'm not reading, just knitting, I'll often have Star Trek on as "background noise." It's too quiet in the house with just one dog...

Life Goes On...

This past Sunday, I had to cancel my Yin class. I pulled up the notice of cancellation and I sat back as if I was pushed. You see, the last time I cancelled that class was the day my sister died. This time? It was the day her granddaughter (whom she will never meet this side of the veil, as they say) was getting christened. My mom did the part of the ceremony which my sister would have done. I did have a small part, as they put a small cross necklace around the little one's neck and the priest had "fat fingers," I was the closest, so he asked if I could help. Thankfully, I managed it!

But it really was a shock to see the notice. It brought back again that loss is part of life. Not that I needed a reminder, but still... 

Not to bury the lede here, and not to minimize it, but Hubby just came back from the vet with Quinn. Seems that our luck lately is rotten. 

She's got lymphoma. She's 14. All her lymph nodes are involved, and really at this age? Steroids, but sooooooooo many side effects. Including internal bleeding. Chemo is too rough at this age, and realistically won't buy any time; Elkhounds can live between 14-15(ish) years, so why put her through whatever time she has left in misery. Palliative care it is. No clue how much time she has. Could be a month, could be weeks. 

I'm not processing this very well. I think that my entire train of thought for this blog has gone right off the rails and down into the ravine. 

Random Picture...

Quinn "checks the mail" for us. She waits (and barks) for when the mail comes and we let her "snurffle" it. She checks it all, from any and all angles and pronounces it safe for us. 

We've been doing that for her for a while now, and she's come to enjoy the game of it. 

If it's too quiet with one dog, what is it going to be like with NO dog??

Plot Twist!

Well. Lots of news to share, and updates to provide. 

First, I have already frogged the baby jacket. It wasn't working. It's a lovely pattern by Lion Brand, but I ended up messing it up, got frustrated and went back to my "old standby." Figured I'd biggen it a bit, and now I'm in full EZ-mode: THINKING about my knitting and making changes to a pattern on the fly. 

I have never done this. I'm a pattern-follower to the nth degree.

I'm a Capricorn, we follow the rules. To. The. Letter. But here I am, goin' rogue! It scares the crap out of me. And I had to order more of the "latte" colored yarn, because I don't think I'll have enough. 

So of course, I added a few hanks extra, because you know. You never know when you'll need a random hank of Cascade 220 Superwash. I do plan to make a neckerchief/shawlette thingie, but it's nice to have a bit of extra just in case. 

As you can see, the bottom is the turquoise and the top is the latte. So I'm on a search for turquoise buttons now. I had some brown/tan ones for the other version, but now they won't work. And do you think I can find ALL those baby buttons that I bought years ago and "stashed in a place where I can find them again"? Nope. Of course not. That would be too easy. 

So I've got a month to finish this AND two baby hats. The baby hats will be out of the Softee, same as the afghan. It will all get done. I keep saying that to myself. I'm trying to knit faster, but it's garter stitch. It just seems to go on forever. 

Winter Tries to Kill Us...

So awhile back, it was freezing. Like "sub-zero, your face freezes, eyeballs feel cold" frozen. Like "why do I live here?" frozen. And I don't have a garage (long story). 

Of course, we're in Illinois - it's just weather. Stick around, and it'll change. But my car has a nasty habit of the driver's side door freezing. Which it did. Three times. 

So the solution to that is, I open the passenger door, crawl over the seat, open the door from the inside, then crawl back down and walk around the car and get in the driver's side. 

Imagine doing that with a cane, when you can't put a lot of weight on one of your legs. 

Yep. That was fun. 

But the best part was grabbing the door handle on the outside and the thing snapping back at me. I didn't even realize that I was bruised till I noticed it a few days later. My ring finger got whacked. You may notice the lovely color of that part of my finger. I was kind of surprised, but then, not - it's happened before. Hubby said it looked like I'd broken it. No, just the joys of being on a blood thinner and a door that was out to get me. 

Today is sunny; it's 38 degrees outside. Beautiful day. But give it a moment. Winter is still out to kill us. We'll be whipsawing from the 50s to the teens over the next 10 days. Never cold enough, long enough, to kill off the crud, but enough to keep our immune systems guessing. 

Latest Read...

Just finished Jennifer Chiaverini's book Switchboard Soldiers. You need to read this. It'shistorical fiction - meaning that the story is based mostly on facts. A couple of characters were created out of an amalgam of real people, but several are "real people" and their story is amazing. 

Back just before WWI, in the era of switchboards which were staffed by women, and you had to talk to an actual operator to make a call, the idea that a young woman could have a promising career as an operator, or even a supervising or instructing operators. That was big stuff. 

Then, WWI happened, and General Pershing needed operators. The male telegraph operators weren't fast enough. So AT & T (not the AT & T we know now - the one BEFORE all the consolidation) advertised for bilingual French/English operators to serve in the battlefield. 

It's an enthralling, untold story. It's a beautiful read, and would make a great book club selection. 

I'm on to A Murder of Crows, a mystery, and I'll report back when I've finished that one. But for now, go grab a copy of Switchboard Soldiers and learn something!

The State of the State of the Union...

Well. Talk about adults in the room. There was one. And the idiots walked right down the cookie-crumb trail he laid for them. "Dark Brandon" definitely came out, though I can tell you that the Republicans are still bound and determined to cut Social Security and Medicare. You know, those safety nets YOU AND I PAY INTO, and we've paid into them ever since we drew a paycheck. 

I used to say that I'd be grateful enough for my grandma and my parents to get theirs. Well, my dad died before he could draw his first check. My mom is in her mid-80s. She's terrified. And I just hit my mid-60s. And I'm mad. 

Morons in Washington who were and are insurgents and traitors are sitting in the House and Senate because enough voters are idiots (and enough districts are gerrymandered) and those voters don't know or care that these folks DO. NOT. CARE. They want raw power and the squirrel-brained Magats who voted for them will be out on their pasty-white keisters into the cruel, cold world. Without a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of, as my dad would say (cleaned up, of course!). They think that their little red hats will protect them. 

They're sadly mistaken. 

He led them by their twitchy little noses right into admitting that, "of course" they're standing up for seniors and "of course" they wouldn't DREAM of cutting the social safety nets that everyone has been paying into. Because, why would they do that? 

(Though, to be sure, the subsequent appearances on Fox to state that "obviously" they want to protect seniors fools absolutely nobody. They don't even believe evidence when the smoking gun is set in front of them, so the day they want to vote these safety nets down? They'll swear on the souls of their respective grannies that they NEVER said that they weren't going to do that...that their souls are pure and they're doing this "for the good of the people." To which I say, HORSE-PUCKIES.)

In spite of the shenanigans (or malarkey, if you prefer) of the screeching gibbon MTG and the scowls of Lauren "Food Poisoning" Boebert, the president actually played them like phonograph records. 

Couldn't have happened to a nicer set of sub-human criminals. 

Now, calling the DOJ... Would you PLEASE start arresting the people higher up the food chain? Particularly the Mango Maggot? It's time. It's well past time. You're sending absolutely the wrong signal - that they can get away with saying - and DOING - anything and y'all aren't going to do a blessed thing. 

That would be a tragic lesson for us to learn. And would be another nail in the coffin of decent, respectful discourse and civil behavior. 

Toilet Water...

A long, long time ago, "toilet water" was a lightly scented perfume used after bathing or shaving. "Eau de toilette" was an elegant way of saying "light scent." 

People used base scents, like lavender, geranium, and the like. And it's pretty concentrated, though "light" - about 8% perfume oil, where cologne is more like 3-5%. 

Well. Then there's the OTHER toilet water. 

The other day, Quinn didn't drink after eating, which is her normal pattern. She eats, drinks her fill and is done, so she drinks about 3 times a day. Ok, well, everyone's entitled to a change in pattern. 

I heard slurping and thought that Raisa had been drinking out of the bowl, which is normally in the kitchen. 

As you may remember, we have a "gated community," because the girls don't get along. I mean, seriously don't get along, and while we thought it would get better as they got older, it really hasn't. So for our own sanity and safety, we keep them separated. 

Wasn't Raisa. It was Quinn, drinking out of the "Porcelain Water Bowl." See, in the one bathroom, Hubby leaves the lid up. I am a "keep it closed" kind of person, because first, that's how we did it growing up, and second, I've always had dogs. Never a potty-drinker, but why take chances? And of course, in the days when you used toilet cleaners that were the in-the-tank kinds of things (which I no longer use), the potty-drinkers would've been poisoned!

We have never had a potty-drinker. Till now. 

Gives a new name to "toilet water," and the toilet is now closed. There's a second bowl in the bathroom, and the one time Hubby forgot to shut the lid, Quinn went back to the Porcelain Water Bowl because apparently, that's the vintage of water she prefers. Um. No. Lesson learned. 

The Saga of the Hip...

Well. I totally blew January, as I figured I would. It was a rough month. I was supposed to have the 3rd shot, but I didn't. 

I have now acquired a sore shoulder because I think I've been using the cane wrong, and my muscle tone in the left leg is shot. And of course, the right shoulder being the side I use the cane on -- shoulders aren't meant to take our body weight over a period of time. 

And, hey -- let's throw in me being on the spectrum with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, because my muscle tone has been shot to smithereens, my joints are killing me. There's nothing to "cure" with EDS. All you can do is strengthen the muscles around the joints. Which is what my regular yoga practice was doing. I am literally not practicing...and I mean that in the grammatical sense of "literally." I am not practicing at all. Which has really wreaked havoc on my body. A lot of it was and is the pain. 

And a lot of it was January. The month I lost my sister, a year ago. That was a clumsy sentence, but that's what has been whirring in my mind. It's depression and grief expressing themselves physically. 

It also doesn't help that (a) I've had a lot of work which involves sitting my butt in front of a computer up to 6 hours a day; and (b) knitting is safer when I'm sitting! I'm on a baby deadline. 

I have been exercising as much as I can. But it's not enough. 

I have a plan... I'm going to get the 3rd shot in the series. Then I'm going to ask my doctor to send me to physical therapy. And then we're going to talk about a scope to see if they can blast those bone spurs off the ball of my hip and the socket of my hip. I don't necessarily think they'll do anything with the labrum. For those of us who are flexy-bendy beings, our joints are inherently unstable in the first place -- so trimming or removing any of that labrum is just going to destabilize it further. But -- I'm thinking that if they can remove the bone spurs, that might alleviate a lot of the pain. 

You should hear my hip. It snaps, crackles, and pops. It's not cool. It's kinda freaky. 

So I'm waiting for the doctor's office to call me back to schedule things and we'll move forward. 

Random Picture...

I live in a town next to another town known for its drawbridges. Bridge roulette is a thing here. The canals are heavy traffic areas for barges, and I grew up knowing that if you wanted to get from one side of town to the other, you needed to build in "bridge time."

And all of the bridges are old. Like "we have to hand-make parts" old. We run cycles of which bridge is closed. There used to be individual bridge tenders in their little towers next to the bridges, but now they're trying to centralize and computerize the raising and lowering of the bridges. So one by one, the bridges are now cycling through the process of being upgraded with computers and software. 

A few months ago, I got caught. If you're a "lifer" in this town, you can usually anticipate the bridges, and you know the side roads, and alternate routes, and a way to get around without being caught. 

Well. Occasionally, you lose at "bridge roulette." There's even a high-rise bridge which is known to back up for a mile or two if you don't time it right... 

This was one of the bridges which lies south of the high rise bridge. And it was a beautiful morning. So I sat and listened to the radio while I was waiting. 

Because sometimes that's all you can do. Waiting. An art that all of us who live here have cultivated. Because like time, you can't stop a bridge from going up or coming down. 

Cute, but Useless...

 Yeah, that covers a lot, doesn't it?? Well, in this case, I'm talking spatulas. 

The Cookie Baking Season has begun and is almost done here in my house. And I dug out a spatula that someone gave me a while ago. Honestly, it's too long ago - I could've bought it myself, thinking it would be a cute addition to my kitchen. 

Cute, yes. Useful? Nope. All style, no function. 

The snowflake design is adorable, but it's a pain in the butt to clean, and to be honest, the "tips" of the snowflake make it impossible to get a good grab on a cookie. I tried it. The cookies pushed themselves to the edge of the parchment, and the spatula had no grip, in spite of the pebbled surface. And the snowflake cut out? Yeah - not easy to clean. 

So back in the drawer it goes. And I go to my old standard - the GOLD standard, in my opinion. By the way, as always, I don't do "affiliate" things. Whatever I suggest here is just because I think it's a good thing. 

My absolute favorite spatula is the Wilton one. It's got a nice sharp edge. It can actually dig into the parchment paper, but it's a boon for the more delicate cookies. It can also stand up to the sturdier cookies, like slice & bake, chocolate brownies, etc. I got this at the local Michael's store when they had a decent selection of Wilton stuff. Now, lately, it's mostly their own stuff. Sorry - I'm a snob when it comes to some products, and I know that I'm lucky to have the ability to buy the things I buy. It's a good idea to always get the best item you can. It doesn't help if you skimp on some basics, because you just have to spend more to replace the cheap stuff. I think this spatula was maybe $10.00 and it's lasted me for years. 

We have a rule with scissors and spatulas. If I say they're my fabric scissors, and you cut something other than fabric? It's not going to end well for you. 

And if I tell you "This is the COOKIE SPATULA," then don't be using it to lift fish sticks off a baking pan. I will be very upset! 

Anyway, we're mostly done with the cookies except for the Pineapple Crescents, a/k/a God's Fiddliest Cookie. I'm doing the dough tomorrow; it will sit in the fridge all day and then Tuesday & Wednesday nights, I'll bake it all. My kitchen will be a wreck, and I'll be dead, but it'll be done. Actually, Hubby will help me do some of it. He's been a great help in keeping me balanced. 

In order to rehab this hip thing, I'm learning the balance between "pushing" and "don't push." I'm feeling better, and I have to work on the "don't push" thing. 

The Knitting...

Just moving right along...Knitting for about 18" now. I have 35" or so to complete. I'm loving the heft and squishy feel of this afghan. 

Barring any emergencies or injuries, I'm going to sail through this and move on to the other items in the layette. 

Honestly, with a project this big, the changes are pretty much invisible in pictures. But I can tell by the weight of it. This is the heaviest one I've made so far. The Encore yarn I usually use has a gorgeous loft, but this Softee Baby is HEAVY. 

I can feel when it's not quite right on my lap because the whole thing lists over. 

Now, I'm wondering if when I do the Baby Surprise, I ought to just do one strand. I was going to hold 2 strands together, like the blanket, but I'm thinking that's gonna be a COAT and not a sweater. So maybe I just use the 1 strand and work it that way. 

I can always cast on and see how it goes. 

Bad Book...

Back in the way-back, when I had a Kindle Gen 3, I was still unsure about how this "e-book" thing was gonna work. Much like farmers never thought a tractor would beat a horse. 

(sigh) Ok, call me converted. But there are still glitches that wouldn't happen in print. 

I bought a great Agatha Christie mystery and I was so eager to get into it. But...The upload sucked. I mean, there was code or gobbledy-gook on every page. I got to Chapter Two and my eyes wanted to vomit. 

I found out how to report it to Kindle, and then I went on Amazon. I thought, "Maybe it's just me..." and lo & behold -- MANY readers rated this gorgeous mystery as a 1-star because "the upload was crap and we can't read it!"

I mean - zoom in on that picture and you'll see what I was looking at. You can't read that. Your brain searches for the word stuck in all that crap, and your eyes are literally twitching. 

I hope that Kindle sees this stuff and updates the book. I went on to another mystery, but it makes me sad to see how bad this is. 

As an editor, I'm used to being the last set of eyes before a book goes to print. This stuff? It's unacceptable. 

Random Picture...

Well, we finally decanted the Mother Jar of vanilla. Hubby re-upped the vodka and we put it in the pantry till next year. He found a bottle that I think used to carry honey mead. I remember one of the kids got it for him for Christmas. 

He's not a mead drinker... But the bottle is cool. 

I knew it was down there, and I'm glad it's now holding our precious vanilla. I have my original -- I mean from like 2000 -- vanilla where I used Svedka. Hubby decided to get me Tanqueray Sterling Vodka. 

Honestly, when making vanilla, middle-shelf is fine. But I must say, this vanilla is quadruple-strength and it's smooooooooooooth! 

I have Indonesian beans coming. The vanilla comes from the POD, not the bean. So I've been scraping some of my beans to make cookies and frosting. Now, I'll add the Indonesian beans to my Ugandan beans; likely, I'll start another Mother jar, because this one should be split up. Too many beans in the jar. It'll be easier to make 2 jars, as long as we have enough vodka. 

I wonder about transferring the vanilla out of the Svedka jar. I just love it because it's my "vanilla history." It's something think about. 

Resurrection...

There's a part in the Episcopal funeral rite which says "in sure and certain hope of the resurrection..." and the words themselves are beautiful and give much comfort to those who have lost a loved one. 

Well, Sunday? No resurrection in sight. 

I'm not talking about Jesus. I'm not talking about funerals, and I'm not talking about church. 

I'm talking about our nearly 30-year old upright freezer. In the basement. The one that "grew up" with the kids. Old Faithful. 

Hubby said to me, "I think the freezer door didn't close completely..." which isn't just a silly excuse; sometimes the door just doesn't close unless you really pay attention to it. 

Nope.

It was dying. No, there are no pictures of us in action; this one of the coolers is all you get... 

This was an "all hands" emergency, on Easter Sunday, to gather up our embarassingly large stash of coolers, and get it empty and unplugged. No hope of leaving it all till the morning, because we weren't sure it would even still be running and it was better to be safe with the food. 

We did keep putting off the "inventory" of what was in there, so I guess this was the freezer's hint that it was time. We'll do another purge (ugh - a package of beef liver from 2010??) when we get the new one. 

We found 3 turkey carcasses, several bags of buttercream frosting that I'd stashed in hopes of using them again (fat chance), and two large bags of chopped up tomatoes that I was looking for the last time we made sauce. I knew they were somewhere!

I guess it was decent timing, just wish that the "No Appliances Croaking on a Holiday" thing was in place. Isn't there a rule?

The Knitting...

So in order to liberate a few coolers, I did a little stash-arranging. As you might remember, my friend D gave me a large portion of her stash, as she's drifted away from knitting. When I brought the yarn home, I stashed it in coolers, in case there were "visitors." 

Not that D is prone to "visitors," but the yarn did live in her garage for a bit, so one never knows. It's a sensible precaution. Normally, I'd have bagged it all and tossed it in a freezer, but our freezers are all in use. Hubby sort of "assumed" the cookie freezer (which is a small one that we had only dedicated to cookies, just out of convenience). He promises that he'll relinquish that one and once again we can have a cookie freezer -- or maybe a "yarn freezer," just in case. 

I found some beautiful Liberty Wool, which was a project she started. That may be frogged. It's a bit hard for me to get my hands on Liberty Wool lately. I've done two pair of mitts with it, and I really liked them. Toasty, but not overbearing. So maybe a shawl? Yeah, I know - it seems that all I knit are shawls. OK, maybe, if there's enough there, a bolero? I have a nice pattern for one that fits well, and I can use one of my "crazy" buttons on it. Maybe it's a cross between a bolero and a vest? I don't know, but I did just wear it the other day over a light mock-neck long-sleeved t-shirt, and since I knitted it in cotton, I can carry it over to several seasons. 

And I found a DK-weight partial sweater front. I'll have to see what's what on that one. Luckily, it's a self-patterning "Icelandic" kind of thing. I'd never have courage to try one of those. What's interesting is that it's in a lovely colorway of dusty pink, grey and ivory - one of my favorite combos. D and I often have similar tastes in colorways. 

And speaking of this stash, I'm gonna have to finish up that Secret Project (I have about 2" to go and then I can block it). There's enough yarn in D's stash to keep me busy for several years. That doesn't even begin to dent MY stash. 

I will admit to being intimidated by the amount of yarn that's available to me in my own house. That sounds awfully "first world problem," doesn't it? So it's time to buckle down and knit it up. I can stash several baby blankets, and I'd really like to do a BSJ (baby surprise jacket) and perhaps use some of D's gift stash on an adult Surprise jacket. 

The Secret Project...

Like I said, I'm within sight of the finish line on this one. I'm thinking that perhaps the one side will be a bit longer after blocking. It's quite true about tension; I've gotten to this part of the project after my sister's death, having to deal with some other health problems and lots of stress...it all shows up in the knitting. I bought the fabric for the lining of the stockinette parts; I did end up with fleece. It just seems easier to assemble, the fleece is washable and won't need ironing, but will be thick enough to hold its shape. But not too thick. 

I promise I will show you when it's done. I'm actually getting more and more excited as I get closer to the finish. I'm thinking it'll be blocked by Monday and finished sometime next week, with the linings in place and all. 

Mostly, I'm going to be happy to have it done. It seems like, because of the advanced deadline, this is the only thing I've been working on. Seems like? Actually, it HAS been the only thing. And I'm kind of itching to dive into my newly acquired stash and see what it entails. 

The picture above is some lovely alpaca + silk. It's almost 1,500 yards, so there's a sweater or pullover in there somewhere. And there may be more of it in one of the bags. Heaven knows what was on D's mind.

The Yoga...

I did it. I finally jumped in on a prenatal training. The full thing: 85 hours. I've taken a few "what do do when a pregnant person walks into your class" workshops, but I do get a lot of calls for prenatal classes. (Hey, maybe there's yarn in D's stash that I could use to whip up baby hats for my soon-to-be students??)

So I'd been eyeballing a training, but it was up past Chicago. I wasn't interested in hiking up there weekly (or the weekend versions) 15 years ago, and I haven't changed my mind. It's also too costly now, because gas prices are up. It's too far to commute, so I'd have to get a hotel, there's meals... just too much cash. 

They ended up, in The Plague Times, expanding it to a hybrid model, so I don't have to go up there. All I have to do is park my butt in my own studio and attend virtually. Thank goodness!

I think this will help; I'm not kidding you when I tell you that The Plague did a number on our studio and it's going to be a hard slog to get ourselves back to where we were, and hopefully beyond. 

My goal is ongoing prenatal classes, workshops at least bi-monthly, if not monthly, a rope wall, and hopefully two more: a vinyasa class on Saturdays, and a class in Spanish. I do get that request, as well, and we don't have anyone who can do that right now. 

The Reading...

I'm on an Elizabeth George kick, and am continuing with the Inspector Lynley series. I know that people have issues regarding the casting of the characters in the TV series. I personally like Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small in the roles. I didn't like the "dumpy" portrayal of Barbara in the books; Barbara is smart and a good cop. Yes temperamental, but that's part of the character that I like. I guess I identify with being a bit of a grump occasionally. 

I'm also reading "The Complete Surprise" by Cully Swansen, EZ's granddaughter. It's a dissection of the Baby Surprise and the multiple variations. 

What's scary is that "use your brain" wasn't just some catch-phrase. EZ's instructions are "scant," to be generous. I'm going to have to YouTube a few things. I like to read my knitting, but I'll admit: I like instructions. I admire the fact that she says that knitters have brains and can do it. I have brains. Just not sure I have the courage required! 

Random Picture...

I bought two small rolling pins from a Polish business, where they're donating proceeds to Ukraine refugee organizations. As you know, the Poles, having been in the position of being invaded many times in their own history, have stepped up to help Ukranians who are fleeing their country in the wake of the invasion by that absolute maniac. 

I can't wait to make butter cookies and shortbread with these. Of course, you use your regular rolling pin to roll out your dough, but you only make the batches about 7" wide. Then, one pass of one of these "patterning" rolling pins, lightly, and you're good to go with a cookie cutter. I mean, there's a little pressure, but not a lot. The mushroom-shaped brush is to clean it off after use. I have to look up whether I need to oil them before use. I know flouring won't be particularly useful, because you want as much of the detail as possible. 

I love to support small business operations, so here's a link for you, if you want to give a very unique gift: PastryMade - for what you're buying, it's really a cool idea for the baker in your life. 

Looking for yoga but not ready to come into a studio? 

We have Zoom options. 

Contact us at info@just-breatheyoga.com or text/call (815) 546-2770 to find the class that best suits you. 

If you're in the Will County, IL area, we're starting workshops again! Keep an eye on the website for the Chakra workshop, FACE YOGA (Yes, it's a thing!) and Upper Back Health workshop, as well as the Ocean of Devotion coming back soon. 

Private sessions (in-person or Zoom), small group classes (in-person or Zoom) and all our classes are open for drop-ins.