The Well is Dry...

I wish I could tell you that things were back to normal, that all is well, that (maybe) we have a new doggo, that everyone was fine. 

But it's not, we don't, and we're not. 

The good news is that we made it through Holy Week and Easter. The bad news is that some promises got broken, feelings were hurt, and frankly, I'm so dry of inspiration that I could be in the middle of Death Valley and not even notice the scorpions approaching... 

All my girls are home, and even though my BFF says this is creepy, this is where they currently reside. Everyone does their thing and I'm not going to lie - it does give us some comfort. It's actually only coincidental that all the urns match. Hence the collars. I wanted to get matching memorial stones, but I think the company that did Tippi's went out of business because I couldn't find them. Anyway, we re-did Raisa's and did Quinn's via a company out of England. You can see Quinn's at the far right. The middle one of Raisa was one I got off Etsy and frankly, I didn't like it. So Raisa's & Quinn's match. One day, when we actually have spring and summer, I may put everyone's stones out in the rock garden. 

This may be my most "ugh" blog entry ever, sorry. But what comes out of my fingers comes out of my fingers...I didn't want it to be that way, but that's my whole writing process.  

The Knitting...

The "over-use" injury to my left hand is, if nothing else, getting worse. But I started knitting again - I have deadlines to meet. However, I've started to time myself. I can do about an hour with a sock-weight yarn, and a little less with a bulkier yarn. Sounds funny, but think about it --- the size of the yarn determines the heaviness of the yarn and the project. 

The baby blanket is done. I took a picture, noticed a dropped stitch and said something nasty. We're gonna have to bless this one! The good news is that since the yarn was held double, the dropped stitch (in the middle, natch...) wasn't a total disaster. I was able to pull through using that same color and weave in ends. Not gorgeous from the back, but from the front, invisible. Hubby, once his own grief-fog lifted somewhat, said to me, near the end of this project, "What are you knitting?" 

He never asks... Anyway. I showed him the project, and he actually said the colors were "really pretty and bright," again - usually, I get a "looks fine" from him. 

Mind you, I am NOT complaining. He's fantastic when I want to match color. As many long-time readers may know, he's got a great eye for color and often comes up with things I'd never think of and voila! They work. He and my mom have that in common. Anyway, he thought it was really cool, and I ws going to use that green variegated with some lime green yarn for a baby hat. Held singly, though, because double it is kind of substantial, which is good for a blanket but not what you want for a hat for a baby. 

Again, 8-hour baby blanket pattern (available just about anywhere) using Encore Worsted - 4 balls. This particular colorway is 2 of a solid and 2 of anything else. I tend toward using a solid and then a tweed of that same color family, but pickings were scant when I went to the yarn shop. So this is what I ended up with and it's really growing on me. 

I also have a fleece blanket planned for this little one - one side a gorgeous pewter grey for the bottom, and a wild tie-dye for the top. Did I say that I didn't like "traditional" baby colors? 

I don't. I'll knit that if I'm told to do so (and sometimes, if it's a relative particularly, and they know they're getting one, my mom will tell me if the nursery is "trad" or not). Otherwise, I'm doing jewel-tones, high contrast, etc. It's more fun and less boring. 

So after I finished this, I got some PurlSoho Echo Cashmere (95% recycled cashmere and 5% other stuff)... and am doing a Simplicity Scarf. I caught a sale on the yarn, and it's a purple - looks kind of heather-ish, and knits up really nicely. 

Good stitch definition, soft in the hand. The color is very rich; it's a nice deep purple with little tints of the 5% "other" in different tones. I'm doing the longer version, so that was a cast on of 375 stitches. NO WAY was I going to "guess-timate" the length for the long tail cast on, and I only recently came across a reasonably accurate cast on calculator (read on for that link). So I did a knitted cast on. It was interesting to work with that again. I've done that technique to add stitches in the middle of a project, like for my simple baby sweater. 

But never that many stitches. Actually, the beauty of this was that I could just knit along for a while to get the movements into my hands, and then I could stop and count. It does take a while to do that many stitches. 

I was able to knit outside on the porch yesterday (Easter Sunday) because it was nice outside. Today, it's about 10 degrees colder, and we're looking at the potential for snow by Wednesday. Welcome to April in Illinois!

Anyway, I'm doing the large one, which is 6" from the cast on edge. I've got about 2 1/2" in, and because it's so freaking long, it does take a bit to finish a row. 

I can do about 4 rows and then I have to set it down for a while. 

For the life of me, though, I'm having a mental-pause on the knitted row. I cannot -- just CANNOT - process the M1L. Do you know how many of those I've done? Not quite a zillion, but pretty close. But for some reason, this just isn't sinking in. I've watched Very Pink Knits You Tube. Every. Single. Time. Call it long Covid brain or just The Other Thing. But I just can't manage to remember how to do it. 

As far as the long tail calculator, I'm linking this video - please take a look and if you're interested, sign on to get her info. Purl Together is another source I do like. That's the fun of the You Tube knitting community - you can really find some great resources. 

The Injury...

Well, I was wearing the brace, doing the compression gloves, using lidocaine and some special "pain ointment" as well as Tylenol, red light, and ice (not simultaneously!). And there's a lump in my hand right where the thumb is attached to the wrist. It's just not going away. 

Fair point, I'm not exactly resting it. I mean, I'm not slinging horse crap, but I do have to work. I'm also not doing much yoga (again)... I did one class of a 3-class workshop I was taking, because I can't put any weight on it. Unscrewing a toothpaste tube is not fun. Bending or flexing is not fun. Needless to say, I picked up the guitar to practice for Good Friday ("Were You There") and it was a big old nopity-nope. I couldn't bend my wrist enough to get the chords. 

So I made another appointment for the hand person. End of this month. I'll let you know. The good news (I'm trying, really...) is that the last time I saw the NP, we had an X-ray and the screw where the thumb is fused is just gorgeous and in place right where it should be. That was something I was really worried about. 

I'm working with Tom Myers' energy trains and trying a hand massage to see if that helps. 

The Other Thing...

A long time ago, when I was in graduate school, we took a class in our HR module where we did testing for various things: the Myers-Briggs, a few other "what do you want to be when you grow up" tests, and some screenings. 

At that time, I was going through Some Stuff. One of which was my dad in the process of dying. It was just a few years after we'd moved back home, and the kids were just getting to know their grandparents. Life sucks. 

Anyway, I remember after doing one of the screenings, the instructor looked at the results and called out, "I need to see Number XYZ" (we were all numbers so the results were anonymous). That was me. It was quite sobering because the instructor told me that the screening clearly pointed to significant depression. Not the "I'm just sad and out of sorts" stuff, but clinical depression. 

I did talk to my neurologist and tried a couple things. Nothing seemed to work. And I'm complicated. I've mentioned it to my GP and my cardiologist and all 3 docs came to the same conclusion: I'm complicated. Because of meds I take for my heart, which really don't play well with the meds I take for seizures (thanks again, Covid), the combo there would be pretty difficult to balance with anti-depressants. Which have a host of side effects, which include seizures and some wonky thing with heart rhythms. 

Oh joy. 

Which brings us to now. I'm in a rough patch. I will cry at the drop of a hat. I can't sleep. I'm comfort-eating. I can't distract myself. My fuse is so short as to be nearly invisible, which is not cool. I have a sharp tongue -- that's not part of the depression. That's just who I am and I have to be very careful. Words can hurt. My filters are fading a bit, and I'm scared of that. 

I was able to pass off a lot of this due to work stress -- working at a church during Holy Week and Easter without a priest and with a bishop's visit pending? That'll curl your hair. Lucky for me I'm already totally grey... I've snarled at my kids and at Hubby. I haven't talked to my brother in a while, and I'm avoiding him. He'll want to know what's going on and I don't think I want to scare him. I did do a slight snap at someone at church. There was a personality conflict and I basically said, "Not my circus, not my monkeys. You two work it out now. " I think they were expecting sympathy. Sorry - I'm fresh out. 

There has also been some static in situations involving volunteer work, and I find that I'm no longer "the coolest head in the room." I am just so freaking tired of drama. And that's not the usual "can't we all just get along?" thing... This is "I really, really can't deal with you people anymore." And that bothers me because I am picky about where I volunteer and each place has a lot of meaning for me. 

I need to find a therapist. My problem is, I know a lot of them. Personally. And I don't want to talk to someone I know as a friend or socially. I know all about confidentiality and that sort of thing, but we're all human and I don't think I would feel comfortable taking a deep dive into my psyche with someone I know. 

So I guess I'll ask my friends for some referrals. I am also not comfortable just taking a look through the Yellow Pages (yeah, I'm that old...). 

In the meantime, I'll just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Maybe it'll pass. But more likely, it's time I tackled this head-on. I can't keep doing this. The older I get, the more I see how I'm actually cheating myself. Enough of that. 

The Garden...

So it's April 1st. And Mother Nature is in a mood. Yesterday, it was gorgeous, as I said before. The hyacinths are in bloom, the Monster Bleeding Heart has started to bud, as have the lilacs. The lily of the valley is pushing up shoots, and the lavender is greening up, as well as my beloved Icelandic Poppy. I can see bits of bee balm and a few things I can't quite identify yet, but I'm also trying to convince Hubby to do No Mow May...to leave the yard unmowed till Mother's Day. Or at least a chunk of it...to let the pollinators come out of their hibernation. 

And Wednesday it might snow. Of course. 

As I was knitting, I needed a break, so I got up to take pictures. I figured that if this week's weather took everything out, at least I had evidence that it used to be there. Along the north side of the front yard, we have a row of day lilies. I think I want to take those out, replant as many as I can along the front of the yard, and then plant some bushes for Raisa, Tippi, Quinn, and my sister. We hadn't planted anything for her and Tippi - and we usually do plant a memorial thing. Both of them died in cold weather, and by the time I was able to plant, I was laid up with the hip thing and couldn't go out and pick something out for them. And now they're all gone, so it's time to do something. 

Hubby has talked about removing the 2 lilacs at the end of the sidewalk - he thought he planted them too close to the sidewalk, and neither of us thinks they'll survive a transplant. We keep them about 7 feet tall, but they do overgrow sideways and one has some pretty bad suckers. 

So maybe we put a couple lilacs on the north side, then some forsythia at the end of the sidewalk. Those you can trim up nicely and they'll still look gorgeous. 

I'm still not sure about the veggie garden. I'm thinking small. Hubby's not sure about one at all - and admittedly, he does most of the veggie garden stuff. I do the flowers. So we'll see about that. 

Easter on Palm Sunday...

Regular readers know that we do things differently. We do the major holidays (except for Xmas Eve - that's in concrete) the Sunday before. So this Easter, we had an interesting mix of lasagne, salad, garlic bread, chicken enchiladas, and fruit. We did the lasagne and garlic bread, and for The Vegan Kid, I did donuts - which I didn't bring to the house. I knew the family would scarf them down. So I put together a little Easter basket. I'm not sure they made it home, but that's not my problem. 

I also did vegan stuffed peppers. I bought orange ones (on request) and stuffed them with a mixture of farro, mushrooms, kale, chives, spring onion and celery. I had extra filling, so I brought it -- and they ate it... My brother managed to take a pepper home, and really enjoyed it. 

Obviously, that picture is not the stuffed peppers. We have these large catering pans, and we took the 3" one and made a 5-layer lasagne. With smoked provolone, mozzarella, sharp Italian, and Parm, along with several pints of our own home-made sauce. THEN my niece tells me that she and her oldest kid are cheese-intolerant. Well, not totally intolerant. She ate it and so did the kid. They just said they would have a "good tummy ache." Oh well. Now I know. Guess maybe next year we skip that. In my defense, the chicken enchiladas also had cheese...And they did know we were going to have lasagne, so if you don't speak up, you get fed what I cook. I'm happy to turn over cooking duties for once, but since there are usually only crickets when I suggest that? Deal with it. 

The vegan donuts were with the help of my friend's Baby Cakes donut maker. I must have one of these. I had asked her to borrow a donut pan (the recipe is for baked donuts, much easier and less messy), and she said, "I'm bringing this - you're gonna love it!"

Oy. I do. I made 2 varieties: an apple spice, dusted with cinnamon sugar and a chocolate dipped in a chocolate glaze. They're so stinking cute! I used a chopstick to remove them from the pan, it makes 4 at a time, and it's about 6 minutes per batch. 

I did bring some leftovers to church and they were gone. Heaven knows they're super easy to make, so I may end up buying one and then doing that every so often for coffee hour. 

Random Picture...

A number of years ago, we went to Europe. We traveled to Lyon, France, and went up into Switzerland.

It was Hubby's first time over there, and my second (a graduation trip to Greece in the ancient days...), and we had a blast. Everyone asks what we brought back for souvenirs, and it was like, "5 memory cards full of pictures!" I did bring back some lavender from Provence, but customs searched HUBBY'S suitcase, not mine. Go figure! 

Anyway, have I talked about that 2-part scarf project, finally completing it? This is the blue part. I told you it was one of my longest-running WIPs...it was around 2013. I took it everywhere I traveled, and back then, it wasn't uncommon for me to travel a lot. Workshops, trainings, fun travel...this scarf went with me everywhere. It was my travel project. Notwithstanding the fact that I used a circular needle, the TSA let me take it on planes (you really can hurt someone with those needles, but who am I to argue??). Here, we were waiting for our parasailing adventure and I had it in my bag. The scarf hit both France and Switzerland. For the brief time we were in Italy (a drive-through) I wasn't knitting. 

I would love to plan a trip again. Maybe to see the Northern Lights. Or the North Pole before it melts. A girl can dream. I just have to find the right travel project. 

Life in the Time of Covid-19

I've been trying to blog for about ...well, a month now. Trying to get back in the groove. I take a picture and think, "Wow, that would be great for the blog." And then? Pfffffffth. No mojo. So, pardon the whatever-it-is that I'm feeling (lots of things, simultaneously, honestly).

The "shelter-in-place" order we've been under for about a week now isn't what's bothering me. Honestly, as a high-functioning introvert (meaning: I can ACT like an extrovert when I have to, but I'd prefer to just not "people" if I don't have to), it's not too bad. I've got the Internet, yarn, books...I've been baking up a storm (see the pics) and I don't have to put shoes on. All good.

Let's just go to pictures and we'll start from there. So I guess the bad news is that I'm one of the "laid off" folk again. That being said, this pic was from the local store near where I used to work. That was the "wipes" section. Empty.

Kinda like the paycheck I'm not getting. Kinda like my attempts to call the Department of Employment because I need a password reset. And I can't get a human. No answer even on the day that I spent calling every ten minutes. Hoping to get an answer. Not sure how or if that's going to improve, and it's frustrating as all get-out.

The one good thing is that I still have a part-time gig that I can do at home. Which leaves me time to clean out and purge my home office (it's either that or drink WAYYYYYYYY too much tea, which doesn't make my heart happy). I've been seriously purging stuff and tossing. I have a great idea for the old "The Sun" magazines -- I'm taking my address info off and donating them to the local Little Free Libraries. I hate to toss them because they're treat magazines. But I don't have any reason to keep them. Maybe if Kid #2 ever gets anything published in there, I'll keep one.

The Knitting...

And the other good thing is that I'm knitting like crazy. I took what turned out to be a "last" trip to my favorite LYS, Le Mouton Rouge Knittery in Bloomington -- which isn't exactly LOCAL, since it's 2 hours away, but I like to support Kelly because I've been a friend & patron since she was actually "local." Do a gal a favor -- check out her site. I don't get any compensation -- but you'd be helping a young woman business owner. Who also happens to be a fantastic knitter, designer and person who can help you pick colors and yarns. And who does a great mail-order business as well as the brick & mortar store.

Anyway... I got some Cascade Yarns cotton, and finally, instead of stashing it, I had Hubby be my yarn swift and wound up the cotton. I needed to replenish my stash of washcloths, so I did. Here are a few of them. A simple bias-knit one, a ribbed one, and a circular one. Kinda liking the circular one. The ribbed one - I'm not sure how I got the 2 ribs in the middle; could've been during a binge of "The Royal Now" - a UK hospital soap. Again, no matter.

It was the "last" trip only in the sense of the "shelter-in-place" order we're under here in IL. I actually put in an order for Kelly to send me because as you'll see in one project, I want to make it a little larger. I wasn't sure what I was going to knit out of THAT cotton yarn (I seem to be on a cotton binge these days), but I ended up with a lovely shawlette.

I got 3 cloths out of the Cascade Nifty Cotton Splash, colorway 204. It's a bit more drapey than Sugar & Cream; I'm sure it's more intended for garments than "washrags" as my Granny used to call them. But it does work for a cloth, and I could see a baby ensemble out of this. Knits up nicer - it's got some give. I have already used and washed these; they don't shrink like the Sugar & Cream ones but that's ok.

The circular one was a fluke - if you look at it, it's vaguely like the top of a hat. I did kind of ham-hand the finishing, but hey - not like I'm entering in the State Fair. And this one looks like the top of a mushroom if you flip it over!

I have ordered another hank of this, in a "Lime Splash" color. I'm not wedded to any color; I just use them in my bathroom. You want to know why I get so many compliments on my skin? These cloths and goat's milk facial soap. That's it. My "beauty routine" in a nutshell.

The other cotton was going to be destined for cloths, too, and it was on sale (pitter-patter goes my heart!). But after looking at it, I decided not to. I went tiptoeing thru Ravelry (and really? If you're NOT on Ravelry?? ... ) and found the Two-Color Seedlings Scarf. This is a vaguely crescent-shaped shawlette with a Feather & Fan border. It'll look nice when it's blocked... The yarn called for, Classic Elite Seedlings, wasn't what I put in my basket.

I bought Classic Elite Yarns Mika. It's discontinued, so I got the hanks for $7 each. It's 100% organic cotton, with a little wrap on it. The border is in "Rose" and the body is in "Terra Cotta." I do want to make the body a bit more substantial; I'm playing yarn chicken as it is, but it's also for a friend of mine who's on the tall side. I don't want it to be too small for her to wear.

She loves orange; this picture is a bit deceiving; it looks coral, but it's more like pumpkin and the rose border stands out a bit more. I think she'll like it. Her purse is a bright orange - not "traffic cone" but a nice deep orange.

I'm hoping that my order gets here soon, so that I can drop it off.

I'm also working on the Green Travel Sock; I'm just going to put my head down and knit a bunch of stuff that's been sitting around far too long. I did a bunch of prayer patches too, and a friend of mine asked me to knit a crown for her granddaughter - which I will, in pink, and find some jewels. I may have some buried in my sewing box.

Life in the Time of COVID-19...

Speaking of sewing, it's a "thing" to sew masks for the healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. After talking to Hubby, I've decided NOT to sew those. First off, I honestly believe they give a false sense of security. Oh, I know - what our government has done is criminal. That Mango Maggot in the WH is a crook.

He's mentally and socially retarded, and I do use that word in its traditional sense of "stunted" - as in, "the growth of the organism has been retarded."

He's thumbing his nose at everyone and doing exactly what he wants to do; he's aiming to be the Emperor of America and he doesn't care what happens to anyone but himself.

Back to the masks. I've seen several patterns and I think that they're just not effective. I wonder how many hospitals are actually accepting them and I'm not sure I want to go through the time and expense to do them, and for what? Maybe I need to find another way to help out. Rather, I absolutely KNOW that I need to find another way to help. I believe, in spite of rosy predictions from DC, that we're not going to ease up anytime soon on the social distancing and other precautions. There will be opportunities for me to help in some way.

Bread Bonanza...

I've been baking. Thankfully, I've not been eating; I'm a huge stress-eater. Unfortunately, since the bout of bronchitis I had at the beginning of the year, my A-fib seems to have come back, so I do have to watch my tea consumption. So to keep myself busy otherwise, I'm baking bread. Lots of bread.

Kid #2 taught me a "no-knead" recipe which gives you an amazing rustic loaf. The downside is maneuvering it into the scalding hot Dutch oven you bake it in. That's still something I'm practicing.

It also has a 5-hour rise. That's totally different for me. You make it in a tub. No mixer even!

The recipe is all in grams and you use a scale. Another first for me.

I must confess that I did try to make bread with my "1:1 Gluten-Free Flour" --- "use just like regular flour." Not so much, it turns out. It was a brick. A nasty, pale, raw brick. No pic, just trashed. Hubby got me a fresh yeast supply and I made my old standard: Potato bread, which was delicious and not gluten-free. I've discovered that I can bake bread with organic flour and it doesn't make my stomach go nuts.

Of course, with the hoarding going on, flour and yeast are in short supply. Seems like there's a rash of Instagram "sourdough" posts. Everyone is rediscovering bread. Thanks to Kid #2, bread is actually not a "new fad." He's been baking it since ... well, about 2 years ago, he bought himself a bread book and decided to make one new kind of loaf a week. Took off like quick-rising yeast, and now, he's a regular bread guy. Pizza crust. Donuts, English muffins, Poolish (look it up - it's a kind of bread)... all kinds of stuff. Japanese Milk Bread. I just drool from afar.

Anyway, back to the Potato Bread. It's an old recipe, and honestly, my next challenge will be a good Challah bread because I want to try braiding.

This bread is easy; and it makes a nice loaf. I'll make it again, but I want to work on a bread we can actually use for sandwiches. This one can be a bit crumbly. But it toasts up lovely and it's nice with fresh butter on it.

I have not made sourdough and I'm not going to. People don't realize that those starters practically turn into sentient beings and I don't want to make a loaf a week. I love sourdough, but not that much.

Moving House...

No, we're not moving. I'm talking about a house that moved. In the downtown of the next town over, there was a huge push to save this house that was on the chopping block for a gas station. Yeah, that's preservation in our area: tear down the old stuff and build yet another gas station, mini-mart... This is the Cassaday House. It's a rather nondescript house, but what it DOES have is local limestone. And history. It dates back to the 1880s and it might've been a hotel or something commercial. We have a nasty habit of destroying our own history. Our courthouse for the county was an architectural gem, and it got torn down for an upside-down concrete monstrosity that's on the verge of being torn down for a glass-and-steel monstrosity...

Anyway, it moved this week and it took 14 hours to make the move about 2 blocks up. I can't wait to see the museum they'll be creating. I believe they're going to make it about prominent African-Americans in the area, which is cool. The county has been around a long while, so I'm happy that our museum system is going forward.

In Memory...

So on the 22nd, it snowed. A lot. My dad died on the 23rd, at about 2:20 a.m. And it snowed. A lot. My brother and I shoveled a good bit of snow off the driveway so the hearse could get him. This will be 27 years since he's been gone. We didn't always get along, but I can say I have several of his traits, among them a talent for cooking and baking. 

We ended up with more than a few inches and it made me smile. It was the same day I made the Potato Bread. He taught me to bake bread. He taught me to make potica, bake cookies, cook from my imagination and intuition. Using a recipe as a jumping-off spot.

The snow doesn't last in March; it just falls to scare the crap out of people. I predicted this. I told people that we were in for some snow late in the first quarter.

Random Picture...

Madame Tippi is enjoying me being home. She's getting her fill and more of belly rubs and attention.

She's recovered nicely from her bout of pneumonia and her X-ray is clear. She's got a lot of her spunk back. Her voice will never be the same, but that's ok. Her personality is back.

All the dogs are enjoying me being home; I realized how much time I've spent away from home. What with teaching and working, I was running in several different directions.

Maybe this "shelter-in-place" is a blessing in disguise. At least my office is getting purged and my dog is getting spoiled.

I Am So Far Behind...

...that I might just catch myself coming AND going...

It's Been Rough...

May as well start out with the bad news. Took Tippi to the vet a while back for swollen lymph nodes. Our regular vet is good - we trust her. We thought it might be an allergic reaction to something so we went with that, but it wasn't getting better. 

Went to a specialist, and it turns out that it's lymphoma. So I'm beating myself up about catching it sooner...We could've pushed harder to get to a specialist earlier. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel: she's basically in good health. It hasn't metastasized. 

BUT - she's 12. Doc (specialist) says she's a good candidate for chemo. But, she's 12. 

We go on the 31st. I've done major switching around of appointments to get there. Not that I don't trust Hubby to listen to the doctor - and we all know that Tippi is my heart-dog (I've been lucky to have a few of those) and I'd do just about anything for her. And I want to be there. Through thick and thin. That's what it's about. 

On the other hand, Raisa...our crazy problem child Husky - has had her thyroid medication adjusted, and the doctor gave her an appetite enhancer. The dog wouldn't eat. Huskies can be picky, but she refused every kibble, and at one point, also refused: chicken; rice; scrambled eggs; cheese; buttered toast.... We knew it was serious when she stopped eating toast. She would scale Mt. Everest for toast. 

Anyhow, hoping that the drops work because the dog's gotta put some weight on. And -- at some point sooner than I want to think about, I want to get her ready to take over for Tippi's therapy work. 

Springtime, Randomly...

Some pics that prove, sort of, that spring may finally have come to Illinois. Though it's still debatable, this Memorial Day weekend. 

A tree in Bolingbrook; I was taking a walk during lunch, and saw this beauty. Yes, it's one tree. Crabapple, I think, or maybe some sort of "mock apple" that was grafted, because it clearly has 2 different flowers on it. Same shape, just pink and white together on one tree. 

This is the fire alarm on the building. Needless to say, the birds have been enjoying themselves building their home there. What a pain! 

But it's not the only place; they've built nests in all the neon signs in the plaza. And you'll see another picture later on...

My front garden is going like crazy. The milkweed is actually sort of taking over; my parsley is bursting out of its pot (the pot I set out specifically for the butterflies - I have another set of parsley that we'll actually be eating!). The Monster Bleeding Heart is back in good form. The other wildflowers are coming along nicely, and the seeds I planted have, for the most part, come up. 


The Icelandic Poppy is nearly ready to pop. 

Remember, this is the big white one. And each year, it seems to get "poufier" in the front garden. 

We put out 3 new hummingbird feeders, but with the rain and the cold, we've only seen the hummers zip by. Hoping to see them landing and eating soon. 

This weekend, we'd like to get 2 more pots of basil planted, and get the gazing balls out on their stands in the garden. And clean off the front porch. 

The veggie garden is bursting. We've already done 3 harvests of romaine, and we've got about 6 radishes. The herbs are doing nicely and the leeks (see the front of the nearest bed) are going to be lovely. 

I've been really happy with the early planting; it seems to have made the lettuce happy, at least. I think it appreciated the heavy rains, and definitely likes the cooler days. 

The first radish of the season was very peppery, and with a bit of pink Himalayan salt, it was very delicious! 


Speaking of gardens, I went past the Cathedral the other day and noticed that they actually have done something interesting with their front yard at the Rectory. They've given it over to public gardens for fruits/veggies for the local families in need. That's actually pretty freakin' cool!! 


Our vicar over-planted...I've got about a dozen Roma tomato plants to find homes for, and I may just drop them off there - maybe they have space, or maybe someone knows of a yard they could grow in. Either way, Hubby has said that we are NOT growing tomatoes this year; and Kid #2 doesn't want them. 

So here's the other nest. This is a robin's nest at our church hall. And there's another one on the other door. Yeah, lovely signs of spring, till they nest on your building; then they get kind of shirty. I hope all the little ones have fledged; we had a rummage sale and they used this as the EXIT door. The robin wasn't happy... 

And...the chickens are laying again. Not mine - heaven knows we have no room for fowl. But a patient in the clinic has provided us with a couple dozen eggs the past few weeks. Yummy. 

Seriously, yummy. I'm spoiled now... 

And that's the wrap up for spring, so far. Lots of green stuff growing, but no blossoms yet. Well, the Bleeding Heart and the Lilac have bloomed. And the lily of the valley. But nothing in the "big flower beds." 

I trimmed up the bushes (butterfly bush in the front and a flowering tree in the back) and they've perked up nicely. Funny what a little trim will do.

The Knitting...

Well. Progress of sorts. The Kid #2 afghan continues to move bit by bit. However - it's getting warm outside! I traded the Green Sock for this today just because I needed to NOT have it on my lap. 

I'm feeling this afghan starting to "zip along" so I'm not going to abandon it; I want to get it to him for THIS Christmas! After that next red section comes the first black section. 


And as you can see by the Copland Shawl, black is a stinker to knit with. 

I'm really not enjoying the black parts. Copland is also zinging along. For a simple shawl, it's actually got a few hundred miles (or so it seems) of garter, and luckily, this yarn's stitch definition is amazing. It's also squishy and warm, so the recipient will really like it, I hope. And while my camera doesn't do it justice, the warm tones of the brown really pop against the black, which is blacker than this...Go figure. 

For the heck of it, I whipped up another small bag. I needed something to put my gemstones in because I carry them in my purse and didn't want them rattling around in a plastic bag, or at the very bottom getting scratched up. This is using leftover of the MadTosh "Robin's Nest" that I used for socks a long while ago; they were short-cuffed socks, so I had lots left over. Frankly, I dislike this for socks because it pills like crazy. And it was one of my maiden forays into "real sock yarn" so I really was sketchy about whether that 400 yards would "really" make socks with cuffs; my cuffs on these are barely 5" whereas now I know how far to stretch a sock leg!

This bag actually took me about 2 hours from start to finish. It's not great, but it holds my gems. Instead of an i-cord, I did a crocheted chain; and it's smaller than my other mala bag. It serves the purpose though, so that's all that matters. 

And I didn't have to buy yarn to do it. Just went into my "Oddments" bag and found this. 

And then there was my "personalized yarn crawl." This is "Yarn Crawl Week" for a lot of stores; but I didn't want to hike my butt up to Chicago to troll around there. Hate driving up there anyway. 

My friend Roberta and I did our own. We hit two stores, Knitche in Downers Grove and String Theory in Glen Ellyn. In Downers, we had, by the way, a fantastic lunch...But I digress. 

Knitche has QUINCE!! I have some Quince in stash for an open-front cardigan. I love it. And they were having a sale!!!


So I have "Tern" - a wool/silk blend, and I got the maroon one on 40% off!!! This will be a long-ish, very open cowl. I also got the pattern. I'll have to fill you in on that one later; it's in my Ravelry library. 

Then I got "Kestrel" - a linen yarn, flat-braided structure. This was in their "last chance" bin. Do I have a clue what I'm doing with it? 

Nope. Probably either kerchiefs or a table runner. Not sure yet. But it's lovely stuff, and for something around $7 a hank, it was a bargain. 

I've got one project that I started in linen, and it's a table runner but the linen is a bit more coarse than this. This stuff would be easier to wear next to your skin. They had a sample of a sweater (another open cardigan) that I'd have bought yarn + pattern for in a heartbeat, but it would definitely have busted my budget. 

So I'm glad I didn't see it till we were done and ready to leave! Yarn gods had mercy on me in that case.

Random Picture...

After yoga tonight, the sky was just so pretty. I pulled into the local cemetery to take a picture. And I thought I could find my great-granny's grave, but somehow, I couldn't locate it. That bugs me. Mostly because I've always known where it was, and this is hardly a huge plot of ground... Maybe if it's nice tomorrow, I'll see if Tippi is up for a walk and we can trot over there to see if we can find her. 

We may have our share of crap going on in Illinois, but in my little corner, we still have open space and lovely blue skies. 

At Least She Waved...

...with her WHOLE hand. 

The lady who actually used her signal, I mean, as I let her get between me and a school bus on the ride home today. 

That courtesy, which my grandfather taught me 'lo those many moons ago when he was teaching me to drive (wave a "thank you" when someone lets you in) has gone by the wayside. 

Usually, the wave consists of one particular finger. 

I drive a good 40 minutes to GET to my part-time gig with the chiropractor and going home can be nearly an hour due to traffic. It behooves us all to be nice to each other. 

That "full-hand" wave was the first I've gotten in a long, long while. It helped that she also used her turn signal to let me know she wanted in... 

That's another thing: the stick on the left-hand side of your steering wheel is an important thing. It's a TURN signal and lets people know what you're doing. Try it. It helps. 

Summer Toes...

Finally, after almost 3 years, I broke down and got a pedicure. It's an OPI color, something about the Seventh Hill. All I know is that it's a rose gold and I wanted to do that rather than the jade-ish turquoise I had brought from home. Ended up at Diva's Salon because the place about 3 miles from my house is STILL "working on the remodel" of their pedicure section. I wonder how much business that has cost them... They started this remodel about 5 years ago, gutting the shop and putting in a new hair styling area, removing a "spa" area that was really not a nice area, and renovating the front entrance. Then they began working on the pedicure area. And working on it. And working on it. I'd call a couple times a year, and they're "still not ready."

Wow. 

Anyway, being a yoga teacher, I like to have my feet looking decent. I was kind of dreading the "sanding" but according to the pedicure lady, I have the equivalent of "baby feet." I guess she's worked on some real hard-core feet. 

The Garden Grows...

It's spring. Finally. Our garden is blooming. The Monster Bleeding Heart is back for the 31st year. Yes, thirty-one years with the same plant. It takes over the northwest corner of the porch. I have to have Hubby put down more pea gravel in the front bed there. It's remarkably shallow, and aside from The Monster, nothing else grows there. There's a hanging hook (double) and a couple of solar lights. And a cement Virgin Mary. Oh, and a garden flag. Otherwise, I've never had any luck at anything growing around The Monster. 

To the left of The Monster are our hostas and a plethora of Lily of the Valley. I mean a super-plethora. Hubby pulled two of them out of the crack in the sidewalk! I should actually say the seam in the sidewalk, but it is slightly cracked. Not sure how everyone manages to get along, but this year, we do need to thin out the lilies. 

He took up some of our day lilies out front and put them in "pineapple" planters in front of the yoga studio.  I mean, the planters are large ceramic planters, deep red, and they have a pattern embossed on them where, with the tops of the lilies, it looks as if they're large red pineapples! At least that's what the students are saying. If we have spares, we'll put more at the Vicarage for a maintenance-free garden spot for whenever we get our permanent priest.


The Icelandic Poppy has again migrated. I swear. I planted it in the tip of the triangular garden and every year, it comes up in a different spot. I have no idea how or why. This year, it's looking particularly lush and I'm looking forward to those fuzzy heads popping up. The flowers are a delicate ivory-blush and they last for about a minute. But it's a glorious minute!

I'd like to find another one, but so far, I've been unsuccessful in finding a decent-looking plant to add to that spot in the garden. I have to check on my butterfly bush - to see if it survived the winter. That was a late addition last year, so hopefully, it stuck. 

One minute, the lilacs were just turning green. The next, there were buds. 

And then, WHOOOOOOOOOOOF -- we have lilacs! And the smell?? Wow, I can smell it in my kitchen. I love that. Hubby keeps them to about 6' high, and the pair of them flank the front sidewalk. To either side of them are the day lilies, and right under the left-hand one, the bee balm is coming up gangbusters. I don't know why it never took on the right side, but I'm willing to wager it's because of the lack of sunlight when the afternoon hits. 

The Prairie Blazing star is back. The cone-flowers (purple, of course) are back. The dill is back, teeny little sprouts. I think the lavender is back. And all the stuff in the front flower bed is also back. Just have to figure out what's what. 

I want to get to Eastside Greenhouse this weekend, if I can, for the veggies. They're selling singles of heirloom tomatoes. Unfortunately, the seedlings didn't do well...so I have to get the plants. 

Reading...

Oh my. I picked up a couple of books, ostensibly for the trip to see Kid #1 in Colorado, but I started one. It's called "The Couple Next Door," and it's by Shari Lapena. It's got enough twists and turns for anyone, and I'm gobbling it up. 

There's also an Anne Perry that I'm re-reading, and I have a few Louise Penney books in my Kindle. Likely, the Kindle comes with. Not the "real" books...

There's nothing to report knitting-wise. I haven't done any. I'm scoping out music to play on the guitar for services when our organist isn't around - I need 4 hymns and service music - about 7 pieces in all, that I have to have down cold (with the music in front of me, thankfully) and ready to go at a moment's notice. So the hymns likely won't match the readings, which is the usual procedure. But it'll be music, and that's what the congregation wants. 

Yoga...

Thank you, Universe! The private sessions have been popping lately, and I love that. I love teaching my open classes and I've had several students since the first day I'd stepped in front of a class. That makes me happy. 

But private sessions are great for folks with issues, or who don't know a lot about yoga, or who want a refresher before they step into an open class. And I've had a string of bookings, which is a nice thing. If I can get several steady private clients, I'd feel like I'm doing well. 

Here's a little inside scoop on the yoga biz. About 99% of the time, your yoga teacher isn't making a whole lot of money. And no, honestly, we're not in it to give away yoga. We ARE doing our jobs. We are putting a lot of money into training so that we can give you the best we have. And we do deserve to make a decent wage for our services. So private sessions are where most yoga teachers can get to the point of making a living teaching. That and workshops. Or teacher trainings. And I need my own 500-hour certification before I can feel like I can reliably teach people who want to teach. 

I'm happy with the private sessions; I know the business waxes and wanes. And while it's waxing, I'm going to give my best to my students and enjoy it. 

Random Picture...

This greeted us after tonight's class. Can you see what's in the picture aside from the gorgeous Midwestern sunset?

A couple of the students were out in the parking lot before class looking at it, and then after class, as I was closing up, I saw it, and ran to grab my phone (which was in the bottom of my purse, as it usually is). I managed to get about 6 shots off, and Hubby was kind of astounded at this. 

He was also complimentary on the fact that I really did get a nice picture of the sunset, light poles and stop signs notwithstanding. That's the nice thing about living in the country-burbs. We're close enough to the Big City, but we have space. And sunsets. 

Plugging & Plodding...

I wish I had something remarkable to report. As I'm on Day 25 of Whole30, I wish I could say that it's awesome, I'm awesome, life is awesome, and I'll do this the rest of my life. 

But I can't. There are also no new revelations about recipes, food or anything of that sort. 

I've been doing more research, and I'm also listening to my own body. I don't like the protein content of this diet. I feel like my portions are all off. I feel as if I've done no good at all except that I've not eaten any processed food, no sweets, and gotten off sugar. 

I think I'm feeling unbalanced. I think that perhaps the fruit that we're allowed is even too much sugar. But I'm enjoying the fruit. 

I was thinking that I could eat this way for a long, long time, and the truth is, that in the main, I have been. All a long. Except for the sugar. If I were to truly go off sugar, I'd eliminate the fruit. 

But I don't like saying, "I will never have XYZ ever again in my life," especially when that XYZ is a whole food group!

I do have good  news, though - this has been rather morbid, hasn't it? All "woe is me" crap for a food plan where you really have to have the ability to pay for the food - it's silly. 

Anyway - I'm going out to see Kid #1 in a few weeks, so "clean eating" is still on the bill, but I'm going to start walking and exercising more. Kid has plans for hiking --- and I don't think I'm up for it right now. But I can work toward it. 

I'm really excited about that, because Kid hasn't been home in a long time, and frankly - it's hard not to worry. Of course, someone could make the case that moms having kids in the military have it harder - and they do. But that's not the case here, and I'm not apologizing for missing one of the kids. 

Knitting...

Well. Knitting has happened. I'm on Point 10 of the Close to You Shawl, and I'm plugging along on that. I've put a few more rows onto the traveling sock, but I haven't done a thing on the Petty Harbour sock. I need to start alternating projects. 

Of course, watching "Miss Marple" is kind of inspiring. The little knitting detective, plying away at whatever's on her needles (I've never seen a finished project in all the Marples I've watched!), and solving crimes that have stumped the authorities. This one is Joan Hickson. She's one of the better ones. I was going to say she wasn't the "iconic" one -- but it turns out she was!

I just haven't seen a lot of her versions. 

The one I'm watching now has a heroine who's apparently fallen for a real creep. She's just found out, and I've been thinking, "How could you NOT know he's a creep? I don't have to do anything but listen to him and I'm feeling queasy about him touching you!"

Anyway, I feel good about progressing on this project. I'm planning to spend time with the intended recipient this weekend, so that's kind of a nice, juicy secret I'm keeping - hoping the recipient will love it. 

I've been looking at other knitting blogs - different ones than I usually read. And honestly? I can't find anything else that engages me. I've read some and I either get turned off by the format (please don't type everything in a medium grey on white background and center every line of your work), or I don't like the projects, or I think the person is ... boring. 

Not like I'm lighting the world on fire with my prose. My friend Nat just wrote a lovely short essay on a jar of peanut butter which left me near to tears. My words don't often flow like that. 

There are so many bloggers out there, it's hard to read through all of them - I just don't have that kind of time! So I think I'll stick with the ones I read now. But I'm willing to take suggestions - if you know of a knitting blogger who just makes your needles sing - let me know!

I have to plan the knitting for the trip to see The Kid. Definitely the shawl. And a pair of socks. I'll be gone a week, and there are already activities planned, so we shall see how much I get done. I'm driving, so that's kind of no help. Looking forward to some time by myself and some silence. 

I hope to have lots of progress pictures ready after that trip. 

It's Spring...

We had the windows open! Spring has sprung! The daffodils at the church have come back to life after a wilting frost-ish kind of span of time. 

And sort of to celebrate, flowers were brought to work. Pink tulips. 

Funny enough, in a vase which I've had for almost 15 or 20 years - a crystal vase into which water and flowers were never put.

It's serving its purpose now, but I had used it as a "pretty" -- I put either shredded curly ribbon in it or Christmas ornaments, or those cute marbles. 

My thoughts are turning to the garden. Hubby, in spite of his continuing shoulder thing, managed to clear out two of the raised beds. 

My young tomatoes are looking peaked - so I may put them outside tomorrow to see if they perk up a bit. I talked to a friend who's done heirlooms from seed, she says that's not unusual. Thankfully. 

They're little sprigs of things. She says to plant them right up to the leaves. All I can do is try. 

I want to do lettuce (even though it's kind of late), mostly because of the whole "romaine scare." And I want to do carrots and radishes, along with the tomatoes. That should about do it. Though I'd love to try potatoes one year. Have to ask Hubby about that one. My MIL used to do potatoes every year. 

Herbs, too. But given our winter, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to start them from seed. It's almost May already. 

Stained Glass Repair...

I get to watch someone fix our stained glass windows at church. As you can see here, if you click on the picture, you can see the lead part slipping away from the glass. I understand from someone who knows about these windows that they're restored, and on the outside, they're protected by triple-pane thermal pane glass - also protecting them against fading and against the weather. 

On the inside, that wood frame is removable, so they can remove the stained glass when it's needing repair or something. The church is over 180 years old - and some of these windows date back nearly that far. 

Anyway, a couple of people noticed that two of the windows had some damage at the top. 

I called a restoration expert - happens to be the one who worked on the windows when they were first restored - and she'll be coming to the church on Tuesday, and I'm getting kind of excited to see what she's going to do. 

I will try to snap some pictures of our windows - now that the light is better, they'll be easier to photograph. I also have to take some new pics of the hall as it's being renovated. Which reminds me of a few other things I have on my to-do list... it just never ends!

Random Picture...


The sunset a few days ago after yoga class. We all enjoy watching it as the class ends, and we all joke that the building there on the left? We want it moved about 100 feet to the south, so we have a better view. 

It's a beautiful way to end the day. I turned around and saw the nearly-full moon, and it was stunning against a sky that was the total opposite of this one. 

I love to be able to look out at the sky. That's why I'm eagerly anticipating the trip to see Kid #1 - I've never been to that area, but am anxious to see it. I was told that, during one part of my drive, that I'll be "able to see the curve of the Earth." I'm looking forward to that!