I. Just. Can't...

For the love of God...everyone just STOP. Stop and take a deep breath. And then take another one. 

If you've been on social media, you may have seen all kinds of crap blowing up about "the city is in flames" and ... probably, it's not. I mean, honestly. A friend of mine took a picture. Because her feed was blowing up saying that the local library was "on fire." Clearly it is not. People are understandably nervous, but hysteria needs to be nipped in the bud. 

I'm planning on going to some of the protests. I'm going to hold a sign, wear a mask and stand 6 feet away from the nearest people. You want to flip me off and call me names? Oh, jeeze, grow up, but if you must, then go for it. Not gonna lose any sleep over it. 

I'm done. I called out an acquaintance over something posted on social media and if they get irritated, not my problem. I called out a sibling, who told me, "get off the liberal bandwagon" and I said, "when you take off your white sheet." 

I'm over it. I have tried to be nice about it but I think that time has passed. Verify what you see before you post it. It's not that hard. 

Municipalities all over our area are posting, "Hey, all, we're responding to rumors...we have extra patrols out, and ask you to be vigilant but stop spreading rumors." (paraphrasing, but you get the idea). 

Protesting is an American right and tradition. Looters and outside infiltrators are an invention by those in power to cast a blight on rightful protests. Don't be a loon. If you must post something, there are plenty of ways to verify it. 

Knitting...

Well, I'm not sure if I posted this before, but here's the set-up of my new Amish swift and ballwinder. The ballwinder is a large-capacity one that can attach to our dining room table. Yeah, pardon the Xmas tablecloth...I need to change it. 

So the swift takes up more space than my umbrella, but it doesn't have a "nut" that can strip out. It's also quieter. The umbrella swift was rather loud. 

I can still use the smaller ballwinder if I have yarn that's smaller quantity. The stuff that's being wound on this one is 550 yards; that would've been just about too much for the smaller ballwinder I have. 

I got this from Stanwood Industries. I got the whole set up on sale for $79... Again, I don't get any $$$ from these things; I'm just telling you that my umbrella swift crapped out and this was something I'd been looking at. Bit the bullet on sale. I'm happy with it. 

The Breathe & Hope has finally moved to Section 5, which is actually a repeat of Section 3. It's making more sense to me now and I'm quite pleased with it. The way the gradient in the contrast yarn moves, it sometimes looks like a stark change. But the base color, a beautiful shaded blue, is taming the flamingo pink. 

I'm looking forward to seeing it done. I have to say it's not a difficult pattern even with the colorwork. Casapinka did a good job on this. You can do it in subtle contrast, or really bold (I went with bold, Hubby picked the colors). I've seen nearly monochromatic combos and they do look nice too. 

I think when I do the next one, I'll go up a size in needles. Just for fun. 

I belong to several knitting pages on FB, and someone asked "what normal household item do you use as a knitting accessory?" Well. I don't use a "household item" unless you consider The Red Finger something you'd normally have in your junk drawer... Normally, it's turned the other way out, so the nubs help you with gripping - for page turning, money counting, etc. But I turned this inside-out and it fits my index finger. I can knit with my lace or more pointy needles and not skewer the "pusher" finger. 

I tried blister bandages, coban tape, surgery tape...nothing worked for long, and it got expensive to buy the pricey silicone bandages. This thing is sold at office supply stores and usually in boxes of 12. Which is cool. Put one in each project bag. Your finger will thank you. And it's cheaper than those leather thimbles (which never seem to fit me right anyway!).

Flowers, Bike Ride, Spices...

At my yoga studio, we have these 2 pots, and lately, since we've been closed, the folks who use the employment agency next door have taken to using them as butt bins. 

I wasn't having it. On top of which I usually plant flowers that are bee-friendly. On top of which, I despise smokers who can't keep their garbage under control. Smoking is YOUR habit; clean up after yourself. Don't make your garbage mine...

The plants are blooming in the pots nicely. I took a "neon marker" and posted a little thing on my windows. 

This one is Alyssum. It's white and it's going to be a "draping" kind of plant. Mainly a ground cover, it works well in pots too. The one on the other side is mixed wild flowers. 

We took our first bike ride of the season. In Dellwood Park. Which has hills. LOTS of hills. A couple of them, we just walked up because of all the rain; they'd washed out a bit and it was dangerous to try to ride a bike up the hill, even if we could have. This is me before the ride. After, I was quite grumpy. 

My A-fib is back. Not bad, but bad enough. I did have a hard time; but I have to admit that (a) it was my first bike ride in 2 years; (b) I have (ahem) some COVID weight on; and (c) Dellwood is crazy!!! We should have tried a more tame area, but we wanted to make sure we could "socially distance" if necessary. 

We finally got our Penzey's spice delivery. Of course the dogs had to do their thing and make sure this box was ok to come into the house. And, I suspect, make sure it wasn't anything for them!

I ordered some extra vanilla beans; my vodka needs a little more oomph in it. When you make homemade vanilla, you do need to replenish the vanilla beans every few years. These were a pretty good price, and so I'll be splitting them and tossing them into the bottle. I did also buy some regular vanilla - organic, I mean. Because home-made takes a couple months to get to the strength you want. So my homemade stuff will be ready for Xmas baking and I can use the other stuff as I bake from now till then. 

It's been a while, so I think it's time for a recipe. 

Roasted Garbanzo Beans...

1 large can Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper
3 T. olive oil
Penzey's Northwoods Blend
Penzey's Roasted Garlic
Italian Seasoning blend of your choice
Turmeric

Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. If you want, save the liquid from the beans; Aquafaba makes a great substitute for egg whites. After you run the beans under water, tip them out onto a tea towel. 

Pat dry, then roll them in the tea towel. Then, move them so they're in one layer and pick off all the "skins" that are loose. You can press them a little and roll them around on the towel a couple more times. See the paper napkin? Those skins are what you want to get rid of before you season them. 

In a small mixing bowl, add the oil and spices. Hint for the Italian Seasoning: Pour your amount into the palm of one hand, rub with the other over the bowl. Rubbing the spices in your hands helps release the oils and further crushes the leaves of the blend. Save salt & pepper till just before you roast. 


**You can add ANY spices you want. Use your imagination and raid your spice cabinet! The quantity of spice is also up to you. I add a good couple of shakes; you can go as heavy or light as you want. 

Whisk oil and spices and then toss in the beans. Use your hands; toss the beans to coat (and then pick off more of the "skins" -- you'll have more come off!). Layer the beans on a small rimmed baking sheet so that they're in one layer. 

Add salt and pepper to the beans. Oven should be heated to 425F (220-ish C); pop the pan in and set the timer to 15 minutes. Check, stir the beans around. You'll notice some shrinkage and some browning. The time depends on the size of the beans; you may want to add another 8 -10 minutes on. You can also let them get a bit more brown. 

Remove the pan from the oven and let them cool. Store in airtight container in the fridge. The combination of crunchy outside with silky/creamy inside? Ohhhhhhhhhhh. Yum!!

How to use them: 

• I will eat these like peanuts!
• Great on salads
• Use as a garnish with rice/orzo/quinoa
• Add to tuna or egg salad for spice and texture

Random Picture...

It's like he's saying, "Eat already -- I want my turn!! The goldfinches are really having a blast with this feeder. Today, though, the birds have stayed away. I'm a bit sad about that. With all the other crap going on (I'm telling you - it's 10:36 pm and we're hearing a lot of sirens), I was really enjoying zoning out with the birds. 

I've also pretty much over-knitted my left hand, so the birds are a welcome distraction. I suppose I'd better get back to making masks, since our church is opening up again soon (to small groups, 10 or less). But the traffic at the feeding stations is a bit scant of one species: hummingbirds! I've only seen 2 of them. And I have 3 or 4 feeders! I think I may move the oriole feeder to the other bed; just so the big birds leave the little ones alone. 

PS: We're still doing virtual yoga at the studio! Check our website: 

www.just-breatheyoga.com 

and go to the upper left corner to "Livestream Yoga" -- $10 yoga classes! 

Support a small, woman-owned business!

George Floyd

I am still formulating my thoughts. My head is spinning and my stomach is churning. My emotions are on a rollercoaster. I need to find the words to say what I need to say. 

But I'm not sure I'm ready to...because I'm not sure that what I want to articulate will be coherent. And I don't want to sound like a raving old white woman. 

I want to believe that there's something each of us can do. But right now, with Minneapolis on a curfew, and #WhinyWhiteBroad types in NYC (I can't call 'em "Karens" because one of my favorite SILs is a Karen....a good Karen)...I have to wonder what in the name of God has happened to our country. 


Well. Then I look at Washington DC. The #ToddlerInChief can't be bothered to even speak one word of sympathy to the families of the 100,000 dead of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. 

And he hasn't done jack diddly about any kind of plan -- we know he sat on his Twitter and did nothing. Nothing. For MONTHS. 

But by golly --- let Twitter call him on his lies (finally, by the way...took 'em long enough)? Well, lickety spit he gets his Sharpie and does an illegal executive order. 

It IS illegal. There's this thing called the First Amendment. And there's this thing called "we're not a dictatorship - yet" -- Twitter, love it or hate it, is a public company. So they block a tweet of his. On his personal account. 

What does he do? He puts THE SAME TWEET on the WHITE HOUSE Twitter account. Right. That's cool. Not. 

So it's going to take me a day or two more to actually formulate what I want to say about George Floyd. 

Flora & Fauna...

As I was coming from work the other day, I saw this arrangement in someone's yard. I really like it; I've seen it done with smaller clay pots, but I think this could work in my yard for herbs. Now I just have to talk Hubby into it! You take a metal or PVC pipe and "stagger" the pots on it, by size. It's called a "Tipsy Pot" and I've got a link here in case you'd like to take a look. They're cool and a great way to grow herbs and some trailing plants if you have the space. I've seen them as fountains, too, but I think that's a bridge too far --- but maybe not. I've been asking Hubby if he thinks a fountain could work in the front yard. Hm..... 

As you can see, we have more than a plethora of milkweed. Hubby pulled some from inside my Icelandic Poppy today, and it's coming up in the yard. I can see the blossoms starting. 

I'm hoping to get monarchs this year; this is year #3, I think, of milkweed in the garden. Last year, I had ONE monarch caterpillar and I think a bird got it...I also got a bunch of swallowtail caterpillars last year, so I have my tub of parsley for them. We'll see how the dill does; it seems slow this year. 


I may have to get more stakes; depends on how many of these milkweeds I actually keep. There may be more thinning of the bed. 

These are Common Milkweed; it's what grows around here. It's in a bed along with 2 kinds of bee balm, lavender, dill, Cosmos, Prairie Blazing Star, the Icelandic Poppy, and Purple Coneflower. Oh, and both a large and small pot of parsley: one flat and one curly. I think there's some Gallardia there, if it comes back, and a bit of snapdragons. And a couple other wildflowers that I won't recognize till they grow past the "Is this a weed or a flower?" stage... I put markers in. Every year. And they seem to disappear. Every year. 

I think this will be a banner year for the Icelandic Poppy. It's got so many more buds on it than it did last year. It's funny: I have this in a V-shaped bed, and every year, it moves over a bit. I don't move it. It just pops up a few inches left or right of where it was the year before. Heaven only knows why... But as long as it comes up, I'm happy. I'll post pictures when it blooms. The blooms are the most delicate peachy-pink/ivory...It's hard to describe. 

So the tree-rats (squirrels) got to my one small tomato plant. I mean, really, they've got the whole yard. Why pick on my tomato? So I took a page from my friend's book and put a bottle in the pot. Apparently, the idea is that the wind comes across the bottle and makes a sound that the squirrels don't like. I have no idea if it will work, but so far, they've left my little sprout alone...so I'm good with it. Hubby thinks I'm nuts. It'll be worth it to see if I can get this little guy to grow. It's a "bush" tomato. Supposedly will not need a cage, but again - I have to keep the "tree rats" out of it!


I haven't grown irises in a long, long time. They were on the south side of the house, but gradually, said tree-rats ate them. Along with my tulips, my daffodils, my crocus, and my grape hyacinths. I mean, again - I feed them. I give them cracked corn and peanuts. I dusted the bulbs in both talcum powder (my granny's trick) and bone meal (got that from a garden expert). 


And still they ate 'em. So I gave up. These are alongside my office building. I thought about putting bulbs in the pots outside the yoga studio, but as I've done in the front yard, I've moved toward plants that benefit birds, bees and butterflies. I may "sneak in" some sunflower seeds; as far as Hubby is concerned, perhaps the squirrels will have planted them. I can blame lots of things on them!!

Anyway, these are gorgeous and they're needing to be thinned out this year. I had wanted to do it last year, but we didn't get around to it. This year it's got to be done. The whole bed needs a rehab. And maybe some sort of "fence" thingie that I can just push into the ground. Nothing too fancy, just a border that will spiff up that area. 

Knitting...

I'm stuck on Section 4 of the Breathe & Hope Shawl. It's 60 rows and it's taking forever. But 2 of the rows have a K1b (knit one below) and I really have to concentrate since it's knit 1, k1b - you can get hypnotized and then screw it up... I've made what I think are a few boo-boos, but I'm not sure I've screwed up the stitch pattern - I just know that it looks a bit wonky in some parts. 

That being said, I'm anxious to move on to the next part. I think that'll be tomorrow, since there are only 9 rows left. 

And yeah, try not to be freaked out. It'll all flatten out in the blocking. I've seen several of these in this shape, and the finished ones are great, after some pretty stiff blocking. 

Food & Drink...

No offense to the local Berkot's grocery store, but their latkes stink. I mean they're just not good. So I went to the Polish Deli the other day and got some soup, a batch of latkes and these beauties: chocolate covered gingerbread. 

I'm telling you they're incredibly addictive. The gingerbread is soft, with just a hint of bite to it. And the dark chocolate just accents the heat of the ginger perfectly. 

I kid myself: ginger is good for the belly. Well....it's a huge stretch to consider dark chocolate covered gingerbread as ANY way "medicinal" but I figure that as long as I don't eat these every day? Or even every week? My addiction will remain under control. 

I've been getting on the elliptical every other day. I thought I'd balance out the gingerbread with the exercise. Ha. It does require that I watch what I'm doing. And today was kind of a pain - I didn't eat anything. I mean, I skipped breakfast, thinking that I would be at work for a couple hours with a "quick AT & T repair." Which took 5 hours. 

So. No morning Keppra dose (yeah, I'm back on it. Long story. More migraines.). No breakfast. No lunch. I was starving. Which isn't a good thing. I have to do better. Tomorrow, we're hopefully going on a bike ride, so I need to pay attention to hydration and eating. 

Kid #2 turned us on to a company called tealyra out of Canada. Check this link. FULL DISCLOSURE: I DON'T DO AFFILIATE LINKS. I MAKE NO $$ FOR ANYTHING I RECOMMEND. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I like to recommend things I like. This is great tea. The White Champagne tea is lovely. And this here? This is fresh ginger (see the theme???) with verbena and lemongrass. It's delicious. And caffeine-free. I also got a few other varieties, but I thought this was a good one so I wasn't up all night (which I have been, thank COVID-19 stress, Keppra and who knows what else...It's 11:07 p.m CST and I should be asleep, but I am not. I just re-set the "blue light" level on my laptop, which probably isn't helping.... but I digress).  

The "mug" I'm using is a borosilicate glass, double-walled. It's 12 oz, which is perfect. I've even been drinking less of my British Blend -- which is very weird. 

Anyway, those are my recommendations for tea stuff. And gingerbread...

Random Picture...


This is what I found last night as I walked to bed...Tippi, "tipped" and snoring... This is apparently how she likes to sleep. And that's cool. She's so stinkin' cute!!!

Today, I left Raisa out later. She even gave up on me and stalked to her bed in the kitchen with a snort...I think the dogs sense my current state of insomnia and it's frustrating them (as in they're out of their usual routine) and it's frustrating ME... 

I'm just not sleepy. I don't fall asleep till the wee hours. And I wake up several times a night. 

I'm over it. I just don't know what to do with it... 

Memorial Day Musings...

Y'all know the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, right? On Memorial Day, we celebrate the members of the military who gave their lives in service of our country. On Veteran's Day, we thank active duty and retired military. 

It is NOT a day for fireworks, in spite of what you'd say if you were sitting next to me...there are a few dipsticks who are setting off boomers. Luckily, we have the house closed up, A/C running, and the fans going. The sounds are muffled and the dogs are quiet. So far. 

It's kind of an oxymoron to say "Happy Memorial Day" when it's actually a day to mourn those who are no longer with us. It's important to pay attention to that kind of stuff. 

COVID-19...

And it's also important to pay attention to things like social distancing, masks, and keeping down the number of people in groups. Because this virus is ugly. And mean. And a shape-shifter. You can be a carrier - ever heard of Typhoid Mary? She was an Irish cook who spread typhoid fever across a city. But never had a single symptom herself. 

Don't be Typhoid Mary. I mean, for the love of heaven: You wear a mask for a 45-minute trip to the grocery store. It's not like you're totally sealed in PPE for a 12-hour shift. Get over yourself and grow up. 

I tried something new with the masks, but I only did it on one mask. A "floating" nose wire. As you can see, I encased my pipe cleaner in the fabric I'd usually sew in place. Technically, I could've left the short sides open - so you could replace the wire. But I sewed it up. 


These are masks - not heirlooms. Meant to be worn, washed, worn, and eventually tossed. I can live with that. And this "floating nose wire" busted a needle... Jeeze. So I changed it and went on with life. As you can see, the bottom part isn't sewn into the body of the mask. I think that (a) this is lots less fabric on the inside of the mask; and (b) it will enable a better way to adjust the nose wire to fit the person who's getting the mask. We'll see how she likes it. It's a prototype. 

I've been asked to sew masks for my church; for walk-ins at the point where we're allowed to let people come back to the building. 

My 2 cents? That COVIDIOT in the White House can't "order" the governors to open up the churches. It's a tiny little thing called the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 

It's an issue that conservatives screamed bloody murder about when President Obama was trying to enact legislation around the ACA... States Rights. The rights of the states to do certain things with no input by the Federal government. 

But apparently, that only matters when the black guy is in the White House. 


Not when the Mango Mussolini is trying to tear our country apart. 

So. My church is obeying our Bishop. And we're looking at maybe...MAYBE.... late June or early July. If the state moves past Phase 3. We're just going into Phase 3 and the thing is, we could backslide if people aren't careful. 

If you gather in large groups (see: beaches), fail to observe social distancing, and whine and cry about wearing a mask? COVID-19 can surge back. (See 1918 Flu Epidemic)

These 4 are going to Colorado, to Kid #1. Notice the "snowflake" patch? He requested that on each of the masks. Because he's tired of petulant morons telling him that he's a "snowflake" for wearing a mask. 

Kid #1 wields a welding torch and handles large pieces of plate steel. Not someone you want to annoy. Or call a "snowflake." He's got an awesome sense of humor and will, quite deftly, insult you if needed and you won't notice...I wonder where he got that skill from. Oh wait. No I don't wonder. That's my kid. 

I'm going to be sewing the plainer masks (like those I showed you in the last blog entry) for church. So far, we have guidelines that limit us to 10 people - which we're having to grapple with in terms of "walk-ins." Same thing I'm dealing with in regard to when my yoga studio finally opens. 

Anyhow, these babies are going to our vicar and her wife. She wants ties; but her spouse doesn't. So I've made one set without any ties (the ones on the left) and she can string the elastic to fit. 

I'm giving myself a break from sewing for about a week. I'm just saying that, of course; I'll probably be back to sewing masks in a few days. It just feels like I need a week off from the machine. And the material. And the production sewing. 

I'm not cut out (see what I did there??) to just sew and sew and sew the same thing over and over again. That's why I could probably never have an Etsy shop. Unless it was something like this: "I'll make you a mask. You get what I send you." 

Breathe & Hope Shawl...

Well, I got some good news. I was worried because of the puckering of this shawl. But it seems like that's normal. Blocking will fix it. 

I'm on Section 4 - there are 10 sections. And this one is taking me a few days. It's a 4-row repeat and I've got 7 more repeats to go. It's coming along. 

And now that I know that the wavy parts will even out, I'm happier. I can see myself doing this one again a couple of times. I'd like to finish this one, see how it goes and perhaps do another one for Christmas. 

It's not going to be a small one; it'll be a snuggly size. And it's sock yarn, so it's going to be warm, but not too bulky. 

I'd like to do a grey one - grey as the base. But I'm not sure what the contrast would be. Cream would be lovely, you think? Or a speckle of some sort with lots of colors? I'll have to puddle around at my LYS's website to see what I can find. 

But not now. This one has to be done first. 

Pictures From Today...

Today, Hubby and I went out. We haven't been "out" as in "anywhere together in public" since the shelter-in-place orders. It's just that we believe in obeying the rules... But we went out today to the I & M Canal trail. We wanted to go somewhere to take pictures, but it looked like a storm was moving in...it actually didn't, but that's ok.

It was hot & humid; I did have my mask for the few times I encountered someone else, but golly, it was steamy! And yeah, I know, that's a complaint. But I'm still going to wear it in public. 
There was a duck. The canal was quite high. He was having fun. He had some pals. 


There were some flowers. I'm not sure what they are, but they were along the bank of the canal. Anyone know what they are? 

They were pretty. 

There was a robin. He was right next to us, so sorry - it's a little blurry. I had the telephoto lens on and if I'd had sense, I'd have used my phone's camera. But I didn't want to scare him off. 


Apparently, he wasn't scared -- he was hungry. He actually stood there till we passed, then hopped over to the mud and grabbed a worm. Circle of life, I guess! 

And then there was the old lock. This dates way back - like to the late 1800s. 

The bridge is, of course, a new addition; it's part of the trail. The canal used to have a tow-path and there were mules hauling the barges. The Canal Trail is amazing. Our section in Lockport is in the history section of that town. 

With the water as high as it's been, the lock area was really roiling. I took some video; I love the sound of moving water in the first place; the area where we first walked, it was just small "rapids" but here? It was moving... 

I noticed the debris; the water line at one point was incredibly high. 

For the shot on the left, I was straddling a tree. Hubby wasn't happy... I was definitely challenging my own balance! 

But look at the stones... Imagine if they could talk. What stories would they tell? Would we want to listen? 

Because it is very true: those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. 

And right now? With COVID-19 on the rampage? We have to study history (see the 1918 Flu Epidemic again) and be sure to not be in a rush to "get back to normal." Because normal now isn't what it was. And it shouldn't be. 

Random Picture...

Before we walked, I was knitting (see above)... And Tippi wanted belly rubs. Hmmmm. Knit or belly rub??? One of my friends said, "Can't you use her as a foot rest?"

I answered: Nope. Her Majesty has needs...and right now she needs a belly rub. 

Since I've been home, she's been very happy to push her agenda on me. And I've been happy to oblige. I think a lot of our pets are going to have some problems when (or if) we get back to regular work habits. Lucky for me, I'm scheduled to be out of the office "for the near future" so the dogs will be happy. 

100 Year Floods...

...Every year... Seriously, the folks who disbelieve climate change need their heads examined. Today, we had another drenching rain, flooded roads, downed trees and a building in town partially collapsed. I took some pics afterward, and thought that the ripples on the bird bath were particularly interesting. Maybe not. But what the heck. I was waiting for the indigo bunting to come back to the feeder, but by the time the bird came back, the temperature had dropped about 8 degrees and my camera lens fogged up... 

But hey - no climate change here... We wrapped Tippi in a blanket and she was happier during a pretty intense thunderstorm. Quinn spent most of it in her "cave" - a little freaked out but not too bad. 

And I was sitting there, on the one day I decided to put a sheet mask on my face.... waiting to hear if the tornado sirens were going to break out in song and shuttle us down to the basement... because, of course. The one day I decide to pamper myself, the pampering is cut short with the prospect of having to haul three dogs downstairs to the basement in quick order -- three dogs who don't get along in the first place. That could've been fun. Not.  

I'm currently sitting here munching on raisins - supposed to be golden, but they're not looking like they usually do. Anyway, raisins are supposed to help you sleep. Hopefully that's true, because I have been having trouble sleeping. Many folks have said the same thing; it's the long shelter-in-place during the COVID-19 pandemic which is messing with all of us. The best thing, though, is that I've gotten a lot done. 

I delivered 50 masks to the local hospital. And...a set of 8 ties that we had set aside for more masks. Which I didn't realize till I'd gotten home to sew said masks. Jeeze... Anyway, dropped those off. I have a small stash of these (2-pleat, flat masks) at home and I'll be starting on some more for the hospital in the next week. We'll be wearing masks for a while so I may as well use up the fabric I was given. 

I'm also making more of the fitted ones; I have 4 to send out to Colorado, and 4 to make for our vicar and her wife. Then, I think, a break. At least 3 or 4 days of no sewing. Give me and the machine a rest. 

We've used 11 spools of thread so far. Hubby has cut material till he can do it in his sleep, and finally he's using the fabric scissors! He was using scissors that he has at his desk, and I was having trouble with some of the ties that he was cutting (we're not using bias tape, but some of the fabric, which makes really nice ties). And so on this most recent batch, I handed him a lovely pair of Gingher shears, and the cutting has gone much more smoothly. I'm doing a couple special requests with interfacing for a 3-layer set of masks, and good scissors really do make the difference. 


I've been using thread that we bought when we did a lot of dog rescues, and were making our own leashes to have in the car. The thread is a sturdy cotton, an off-white. I tried to use up some of the thread I had from long-ago sewing projects, but it seems my vintage machine is persnickety. It likes certain tensions and as I mixed up the threads (say a color on the top and white in bobbin), the tension went all wonky. So it's back to plain white thread. I have 6 more full spools. After that, I'm going to have to go shop for new stuff. 

Today, I had a near tragedy -- well, "tragedy" --- because I was in the middle of sewing a fitted mask, which is a bit fiddlier than the flat ones. And it requires a lot of top stitching. And I was almost out of thread on that particular spool. This is what I had left after finishing the top stitching... In knitting, we'd call this "yarn chicken," and I don't know if this is a thing in sewing. But I am hereby calling it "thread chicken."

And I won that round. 


The Breathe & Hope Shawl...

It's coming along. I'm on the 4th section and there are, I believe, 8 sections. Zipping along with very little problem. I think I don't like the switching of needles. I'm not sure how it's going to block out, though on the pattern, the example shows a great deal of drape. Mind you, even though I'm using sock yarn, as suggested, I notice some slight difference in thickness of the yarns; the base color is a tad finer than the accent color. That may be making the difference you see in that middle blue section. 

But then - I changed the needles and am using smaller than called for. You have to have 2 sizes between them, so I'm using size 3 and size 5. The pattern calls for size 4 and size 6. I have no idea where all my size 6 circulars are.

Though I suspect they're in WIPs somewhere. Luckily for me, I can't go out and just pick up another set. Because sure as you can imagine, I'll find ALL of them. 

I also whipped out one of these for my friend. We've been trying to figure out how to retrofit her mask. The clinic she works in won't let them wear home-made masks, which is fine. But the one she has is one with elastic around the ears and as you can imagine, her ears are raw. 

Technically, it's crocheted, and it took me all of 10 minutes. I did it in 100% cotton (same stuff for face cloths). That way, if she has to "sterilize" it, she can use hot water. The buttons are out of my button tin. But I realize that I don't have a good stash of that size. So I don't know if I'll be able to make a quantity of these. 

I do have a stash of baby buttons for sweaters, but I'm not touching those! Besides, they're "character" buttons - teddy bears, flowers, etc. And they wouldn't stand up to heavy washing anyway. I'll skim through the button bin again and see what I can come up with. They have to be at least 3/4" wide. 

Anyway, if you can't sew, but you can crochet, these are ridiculously easy to do. Do yourself a favor, if you know front line medical workers -- or anyone who has to wear a mask - and whip up a few of these. Here's a Ravelry link for the free pattern.... Ear Guard. 

Nature in Bloom...

Took a couple more shots of the garden; we've got birds, we've got flowers. We've got milkweed. ALL. OF. THE. MILKWEED. Seriously, we counted 65 plants growing and so we plucked that back to about 30. And then more sprouted! Even this little guy in a crack in the sidewalk. If that's not an exercise in persistence, I don't know what is. 


My lily of the valley are so beautiful! I do have to thin them out. I think that Kid #2 is going to get some for the shady side of his yard. I've never had the opportunity to smell them - I understand their scent is lovely, but my allergies have been nuts lately. The lilacs are done; I think they keeled over prematurely because they got beaten with the incredibly heavy rain storms we've had in quick succession. 

The Icelandic Poppy is starting to bud. I love the parchment-like blossoms, and the creamy-pale-pink of this variety is always a welcome sight in my garden. I can't even remember how long ago I bought it. Surely, at least 15-20 years ago. 

And then there are the birds. Oh my... Today, I got the blue jay on the shepherd's hook - back view only, sorry. And I was wondering what was chomping on the orange in the oriole feeder. It hadn't been the orioles. They hadn't quite figured out how to nibble at the oranges, so I put more in the holders on the larger feeder. 

Turns out it was a visitor I haven't seen in a lot of years:

A red-bellied woodpecker... 

Normally, they suck down the suet. And I had just put fresh suet out there, with mealworms no less. But - he decided that the orange was what he wanted. Suits me. 

As long as he stays off my house. 






Random Picture...

This is the Cassaday mansion. Well, that's what the local historical society is calling it. It's on blocks because it was moved from its original location over and down 3 blocks. Because the city wanted to put a gas station there. Because that's more important than historical buildings. 

There was a kerfuffle that I documented about this house. It finally ended with the house being purchased and moved. It's not settled yet, and I have no idea what they're going to do with it. Preliminary plans seem to be another museum, this one housing records of African American history in our area. I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like when they get it done.