A Listicle... Maybe

It looks like it's gonna be monthly this year, kids... At least that's the trend. Randomly, unless I get inspired. 

1. I continue to finish things; several badges instead of the MTI hats, for those protests that will happen when it's too hot to wear a hat. Started a pair of socks. I'm about on the toe, I think I've found a spiral toe (as opposed to a star toe?) that I can do. Nerdy Notes: US 1.5 DPNs (Zings, color-coded, really nice!) and a random Opal (my ball band is MIA). This is a Vanilla pattern, with an Eye of Partridge heel (flap & gusset) and honestly, one of the shortest gussets I've done!

2.  Things to be done: A's Chicken - that repair has to be from scratch. Not enough original yarn to fix it, and I have to find something similar. Trip to Betsey's to see what I can find... Mom's Sophie Hood in white - I have to figure out where I'm at in the pattern. ONE single sock - any ONE single sock; I just need to make a pair out of the singletons I have. And several other things - I have a list of WIPs. 

3. I have a wedding afghan to start. I know the groom's favorite color - green. Just need to know the bride's - so I can make that work. Then I have to figure out what I want to do - knitted takes less yarn, but more time. Crochet is just the opposite: I can crochet faster than I knit but it takes almost twice the yarn. 

4. I need to pick up that counted-cross stitch Pecadillo - I'm on the 2nd quadrant and I'd like to get it done for Xmas. And I have 2 more "trifles" that I want to do for ME. The Pecadillo is coming along nicely with the beads and the metallic floss. I'm still not certain how I'll finish the piece. It's part of a 3-some, but it doesn't have to be. So do I finish it as a singleton for the recipient, or do I do a 3-year-long Xmas project for them? I'm not inclined to do a bell-pull thing - the pieces are lovely squares, but too big for a bell-pull. I'm pretty sure that as the weather warms up, the counted cross-stitch will be my preferred project. Knitting, depending on the project, is too heavy for the summer. 

5. Rosaries: The Demented Doofus and the Drunk are ... taking on the Pope. Yeah, the guy who was raised on the southside of Chicago (cue Jim Croce here, if you're old enough, or Google him). Schooled in Philly. Ministered in Peru (the country, not the town in IL) for decades. And now lives in the Vatican. He (Pope Leo) has called for a national day of prayer and even us former RCs, the Jews, Muslims, Lutherans, etc. - we're all rallying around. I have (top to bottom) my paternal grandma's rosary (dad brought it back from Mexico when he was stationed in San Diego) - which is silver, and the beads are roses; an Anglican rosary (of course, muted...) which is a lovely warm wood one; and my maternal grandma's rosary from Our Lady of the Snows, where all good Catholic grannies made a pilgrimage at one point or another, which is crystal beads. Frankly, I can do a Catholic rosary in my sleep, so I'll probably do that. Prayer is prayer. 

6. I found The. Best. way to caramelize onions... Start them in the oven! You can use whatever Dutch Oven you have; I'm still holding out to find an old but still decent LeCruset at the thrift store, but I do have an old cast iron one. About 1 hour in the oven at 350 or so, with a stick of butter and a couple tablespoons of olive oil. I ended up finishing them in a big skillet, because the onions discharged so much water. But it was sooooooooooo much easier than standing there stirring onions in a saute pan till my arms fell off. Now I have to do a dish with those onions. I originally used them in a rustic loaf, topped with Asiago cheese, but I think I might want to do a savory bread pudding or something else. 

7.  Dinner - homemade pizza, hubby's crust, my sauce. And this is leftovers for lunch the next day. Is it me, or is my family the only one who does cold pizza for ANY meal? Hubby always thinks I'm nuts, but a quick poll at our last family gathering revealed that most of my nephews agree with me and so does my sibling... We usually make a very thin crust, and use plain Italian sausage (not the spicy one), with 1/4 c. of my sauce -- we've been making smaller sized ones, since it's just the 2 of us. Though I don't get "bored" of food, and I can eat the same thing for days... Anyway, we add shallots or leeks sometimes, and mushrooms when I can sneak them in. And then about 3 or 4 kinds of cheese. I would like to expand that basic recipe to add a few other things, like roasted garlic or fresh chopped herbs when we have them. Though I do use herbs we've frozen. 

8. Cat Loaf - at the barn a few weeks ago, we were "invaded" by Canada geese. With all the rain, we ended up with a small pond near the community garden and the birds just flew in. They got all snippy about our coming and going in and out of the barn. Barn cat Brownie was on "observation" and (smartly) decided to stay in the barn. Even the horses stopped eating because they heard the ruckus. One of the pair of geese was a little cheeky as I brought out two big buckets of crap... I threatened said goose with a dousing if he didn't back off. Hey - you use what you got, right? 

Random Picture: So over Easter, there was a tragedy. In our family, a few of us like a particular "relish" - my dad used to make it from scratch, and you could occasionally find it in the "ethnic" markets when I was a kid (particularly the Kosher markets). I had to google the correct spelling - my dad always called it "hren" with a strong rolled "r" -- so for years, that's what I thought it was. Actually, it's cvikla s chrenom -- seems that "chren" (imagine it with a rolled "r") is horseradish in Slovak. 

Anyway, I found it in big jars in our local Berkot's...until I didn't! According to the gal at the check-out, "All the Polish stuff has just been flying off the shelves." It's all in the same neighborhood, so I didn't bother to correct her. I ended up buying a jar of shredded beets, and since I always have horseradish at home, I made my own. Stick blender, about a cup of the beets, drained (they come with a vinegar base), and about a teaspoon of horseradish. You can adjust the heat! So let's see how long this lasts. 

And yes, I love beets. Roasted, in a salad, AS a salad, with goat cheese, in a relish or sauce... Bring 'em on! 

I guess I'll go back to finishing that sock. Hopefully, by the next time, I'll have made progress on Sock #2, and we can show off a few more WIPs. This is The Year of the Finished Projects, so I want to keep that streak going! 

 

Holy Mary, Mother of God - All the Saints & Angels...

 ...what have we done? Well, what have over 50% of us done? I know who I voted for and WHAT I voted for -- and it wasn't Project 2025 or fascism. 

As radio host Dean Obeidallah says in his current email: The revolution starts Monday; now is a time for self-care. 

I'm tired. I'm exhausted, physically and emotionally and psychologically. I'm so, so very tired of fighting stupid. Ignorance, deliberate, by this point, is determined to have its day, and while one part of me does want to delight in the karma, I know (because I'm neither stupid nor ignorant) that the collateral damage is going to be immense. 

All of the stuff that these lunatics used to have fantasy dreams of? They're about to come true, if there are really no guardrails in place. And the carnage will be at every level of society. 

And may I just say: STUFF YOUR TOXIC POSITIVITY. On several sites, including a few which were dedicated to preserving this fragile democratic society we have, there was a lot of, "Ok, let's just move on. Let's all be calm. Let's all be peaceful." No. Pardon me, but screw that. If you're so oblivious about what's about to hit you, I'm just gonna make sure that my righteous anger and frustration are out of your way when you get flattened. 

How dare you - HOW. DARE. YOU. tell me what and how I should feel? And it's WOMEN. Seriously? No, your ovary card is officially revoked, kiddo!

I'm not a doormat. I will not be silent. I will not be silenced. This is not the future I wanted for my kids. And just because half of the population has its head up its kiester? That doesn't mean I'm unwilling to shine a light so they can un-constipate themselves -- if they choose. If they don't? You can lead a horse to water. But sometimes, you can't. 

Even on a church page (my denomination is pretty liberal), someone posted something and another person said, "This isn't very Christian." And the priest (yeah, the PRIEST) who posted it was much more diplomatic than I would have been. But they said, "Um. No. Remember Jesus overturning the tables in the temple?" 

And speaking of church, let me be a total heretic here... I absolutely want to scream when people say, "God will provide." Are you kidding me? God DID provide: God gave you brains. God gave you (hopefully) common sense. God gave you the ability to use both sides of the brain: the logical and the creative. God gave you opposable thumbs, for Heaven's sake. God GAVE you all the tools. God PROVIDED what you need. What do you want? An engraved invitation to USE the gifts you have? Yeesh. God gave you hands to WORK, not to sit on. So get off your hands, start up your rational brain and let's get to work. 

God will not fix this. This one is on us. 

There's some "shenanigating" going on here. If you remember that Combover Cheeto had said at more than one rally, "You don't have to worry about voting." Now, at the time, I thought it was that whole wet dream of dictatorship...but perhaps there was some hacking at a more cellular level - at the machines. Do you remember all the screeching and hollering about machines "switching" votes? 

My friends....I do suspect that's what happened. It just doesn't make sense that so many states which flipped blue in the house and senate races seemed to have voted in the exact opposite direction for president. Too many new Dems have seats in their states and in DC. It's just not logical. I wish that there would be an investigation. But you know that the Diapered Dimwit and his puppet-masters will quash whatever attempts to raise its head. 

I also think that they're gonna 25th Amendment him quicker than snot. Then we get JD Maybelline, who's a child. Worse: a conservative child-man. Yes, I put child first. Because he's a waste of an Ivy League education. How many women would've benefitted from what he was given for schooling?

So many Democratic governors are prepared for whatever's coming. I have to believe they'd been in meetings even prior to Mango Mussolini re-upping as the candidate for the GQP. They are the ones standing for us. Newsome, Pritzker, Hochul, and more. The "originalists" on SCOTUS remind us often that "it's up to the states to determine..." -- sooooooo - the governors will do that. The Demented Doodlebug may not like it. There may be ketchup flying. But too bad, so sad. You wanted "originalists" on the court, and you got 'em. Deal with it. 

I am not normally an alarmist. But for my LGBTQIA friends: get your paperwork in order, and if you have kids, make sure that the proper adoption paperwork is in place. If anyone has a passport, make sure it's current. If you don't have one, get one. If you have student loans and you are a public servant, there are programs to pay off your loan now - get moving on that. My immigrant friends: Make sure you have your documents in order. I don't even know if that will help, honestly - because I am seriously afraid of "goon squads" sweeping up anyone who doesn't "look white." Make sure you have the number of a good immigration attorney, just in case. 

Women? Stock up on Plan B while you can still get your hands on it. The expiration date is usually 4-5 years. Anyone of child-bearing years? Ditch the period-tracker on your devices. Go old-school and use a paper calendar. And when your doctor asks the date of your last period, just tell them, "It's regular." 

As I take a breath, I give you this, which was posted on a social media page that I check in with regularly. The OP (original poster) got a TON of flack, but I appreciate the words. 

You are awakening to the same country you fell asleep to.

The very same country.

Pull yourself together.

 And, when you see me, do not ask me, “What do we do now? How will we get through the next four years?”

 Some of my ancestors dealt with at least 400 years of this under worse conditions.

 Continue to do the good work.

 Continue to build bridges, not walls.

 Continue to lead with compassion.

 Continue the demanding work of liberation for all.

 Continue to dismantle broken systems, large and small.

 Continue to set the best example for the children.

 Continue to be a vessel of nourishing joy.

 Continue right where you are.

 Right where you live into your days.

 Do so in the name of The Creator who expects nothing less from each of us.

 And if you are not “continuing” ALL of the above, in community, partnership, collaboration?

 What is it you have been doing?      What is it you are waiting for?

(author unknown)

We will regroup and we will continue to be activists, writ large and small. And we will not quit. We have kids, grandkids, neighbors -- and we are, at our core, compassionate human beings who believe that each of us was created as a unique human and has a right to be here. 

But for now? We need to breathe, hug our pets and spouses (maybe in that order, just sayin'...) hug our kids and gather ourselves. As has always been, WE are who we've been waiting for. 

The Knitting...

Oh my dear knitters, I am TIRED of chickens!!! I'm on the last one for Christmas. I did start some socks, FINALLY in purple (right???), Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn, that I found in a yarn shop wherein the staff were really incredibly rude, but I loved the yarn, so...it came home with me. 

Yeah, so this store, which shall not be named, is close-ish to me, and I had never been, so off I toddled. And I walked in. It was a bit of a mish-mash of yarns, and the owner(?) and someone else were chatting. Fine, that's cool. But nobody even acknowledged that I walked in. I am not the Queen of England (blessed be Elizabeth's memory), but I did figure that a simple, "Hi, welcome!" would be offered. It was not. Nor was, "Can I help you find something?" uttered. I think the gal at the cash register glanced over, but she was laser-focused on the conversation at hand. 

I wandered about, looked at the pretty diverse number of samples that were knitted up, petted some pretty yarn, and still, the conversation went on. And on. And on. Pretty personal stuff, too. Okey-doke, I found two Cascade yarns that I figured I could use, and to be honest, I thought I'd do a shawl with the two contrasting colors. 

It would've been different if I could sense that this was something urgent, or someone was in crisis. This was gossip, pure and simple, and while I'm no prude, I do run a business. It's a bad look...

I found the bag on the dining room table (our table is really just an extra storage space, now that there's just 2 of us). I ended up taking the really nice purple (with a slight reddish cast to it) and starting a plain sock. At least, so far, it's going to be plain. I could do a traveling rib, but I'm still on the ribbing, which you know takes For. Ever. I might frog it - because I did also do a deep-ish dive into the Doris Donation Yarn (from my friend) and came up with what's probably an Opal purple variegated colorway. Doris is notorious for pulling off ball bands...it's always fun to see if we can figure out what yarn that is...So I might frog the plain one so that I can actually set up for a Roman Rib or some other pattern for the plain yarn; or I may go back to my original idea to just do a shawl in those contrasting colors. A garter-tab triangular shawl would be awesome, if I held the yarns together. Or did stripes. Either way. 

And the purple variegated I just found is either (a) a true variegated yarn; or (b) a self-patterning yarn. Either way, I have no idea how old it is, but it looks good, so onward for purple socks! I can't believe that I haven't done more purple pairs. I mean, it's my favorite color. 

And this is the Curse of the Chickens... I'm having a royal pain seeing the small needles. After having done FIVE of these little (not so little) critters, and working on the 6th, that worsted weight yarn has done a number on my ability to work on the smaller weights. 

I figure it'll come back, but for now, it's a bit frustrating. 

Cross Stitch???

Yeah. I'm back in love. Long Dog Samplers - out of England, thank you very much, is just fantastic! And while I'm not up to doing the HUGE ones, I did find some smaller ones that can be stitched in your choice of color and adornments, so I got myself some fresh floss, linen fabric and I will dust off my cross stitch skills. If I start now, I can make some for NEXT Christmas. 

In concession to me being "older," I did buy some clip-on magnifiers; it's been about 20 years since I did any needlework this small. 

I found her on FB - one of the more accurate "pages you may like" suggestions, and her posts are hysterical. Heaven knows we need that kind of humor. So after looking at her site, I bought three small ones, and they come to you as PDFs. Easy-peasy. Now to stitch them. I did buy beads, because...beads, fer gosh sake. I honestly want to start one right now, but I have The Last Christmas Chicken to finish. 

And....as long as I'm feeling guilty about the long span of time, I really need to finish my mother's angel. I have a lot to go, Hubby figured out that if I did "sixty stitches per night," I could finish that in a year. I guess I'd better get skippy and start. As soon as I'm done with the last chicken, I should dust off that angel and get a jump on Christmas 2025. 

Health Stuff...

I'm usually pretty transparent about my health; I think that maybe what I've experienced can help someone else advocate for themselves (at least as much as we're going to be allowed to advocate, for now  - who knows what the future will hold?). 

So after my hip replacement, and while/after I was released from PT, I gained a lot of weight. Without changing how I ate, and with actually moving a ton better with the new hardware. I mean, seriously, if I got 300 steps pre-hip replacement? That was a good day. I'm regularly exceeding 4000 steps, plus teaching yoga 3x/week and using a hula hoop (don't laugh, it's intense and good for you!). But the weight piled on, more than I'd lost. 

I didn't know what to do. My cardiologist is upset (yeah, me too...) and I went to my doctor. Twice. Finally had the talk about medication. And because of my heart issues, we have to be careful of what we do so we don't mess that up. 

I'm in the midst of a tangle with the doctor and the insurance company, because we decided on Wegovy. It has better cardiovascular benefits. If they ever get their ducks in a row to get me started. 

I do feel squeamish about it. I don't want to go down that road, but I feel like I've tried it all. WW, Adkins, Metabolism B, Whole 30, Intermittent Fasting. All of it. When I've done a plan, I've committed to a year, because I know there's no quick fix. And those years? I've never gotten to a goal weight, and my goal weight is nowhere near what the charts say. My goal weight is a weight I'm comfortable at, that's still within reasonable healthy guidelines for me. I've been vegetarian, and to be honest, I am mostly meatless; I really need to coordinate with the protein needs as I get older. I tried vegan, but I couldn't sustain it. 

I am a foodie. Even though Covid took my sense of smell and taste, I do enjoy cooking and feeding people. I'm not a "live to eat" person per se, but I do like food. And lately, I don't even eat that much; thanks to Covid, I can easily forget to eat. 

So I don't know what's going on. I'm very frustrated, and it's not only embarassing but it's not good for my health. 

I'll let you know. 

Halloween...

Hubby outdid himself this year. I went away for a conference, and came home to skeletons and flying ghosts. It was wonderful! Except for the fact that the purple string lights didn't come in on time, it was really fun. I expect the lights to be in the mail in the next few days, of course. 

Funny enough, you see the skeleton on the left there? We had horrendous winds, like we were chasing stuff across the yard, things were blowing 40-50 mph. This particular skeleton is on the northwest corner, and it got twisted in the wind. Exactly as if it was looking at the skeleton dog JUST below it! It made the display even more funny. 

The neighbors and even the post-lady loved it! He's got to top it next year. So we'll have to see. 

I really enjoy decorating the yard for Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays. I got my flamingos out (the summer ones, the larger ones) and I wired 16" skeletons on them, as if they were horses. I had purchased smaller ones, and initially thought that the skeletons would fit on them - but the birds were too small, so I made the bigger birds the "horses," and the little ones the "herd." As if they're herding the little ones. Everyone loved those, too. 

We need a laugh, so if I can provide it in my yard, I'm happy to do that. 

Random Picture...

At our last church auction, there was a tea basket. Well, I need more tea like I need a hole in the head, but I got it anyway, because it had no bids, and I felt sorry for it. So I brewed up some tea and used one of the "pretty" cups that came with the basket. 

This was a ginger + pu'erh mix, and I will say, it's unique. I wasn't quite sure what I was tasting (thanks again, Long Covid), but I did have a stomach ache and ginger is always my go-to for that. 

I gave a sibling some ginger + turmeric tea, so I have to check to see how that's going. I love to introduce teas to people who may not have tried them, and hopefully, they're open to giving it a sip. 

I love loose tea, though I'm not a huge snob, so I'll use a tea bag, thanks! 

Leave a comment with your favorite tea -- I'd love to discover some new ones. 

Holy Crap, What a Week...

Oh. My. God. 

Just when we thought we had a handle on stuff. 

The Red Hot Mess...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's going to be a very long week. 

Hip Update...

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

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

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

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

The Knitting...

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

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

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

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

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

Counted Cross-Stitch...

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

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

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

A girl can dream. 

Recipe...

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

1/2 c. old-fashioned oats

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

1 t. maple syrup

Small handful dried cherries or cranberries

1 T. chia seeds

1 T. cacao nibs

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

1 T. brown sugar or coconut sugar

1/4 c. water

1/2 t. chai seasoning or apple pie spice

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

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

And, as always, There Are Notes.

NOTES:

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

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

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

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

Random Picture...

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

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

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

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

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

What I'm Reading, and What's Finished...

Having survived my first (and hopefully ONLY) root canal, I decided to treat myself. Well, I did have to go to B & N for a bible. It's kind of a story...

Bible Study Commences...

As a cradle Catholic, I am woefully unfamiliar with the Bible. Seriously, if you could answer the questions in the Baltimore Catechism, you were golden, as far as the Church was concerned. The less you thought, the better. The less you delved into the Bible, the happier the priests were, I think. 

Our church has started a Bible Study, and I thought I'd give it a whirl. Except I couldn't find my Bible. Granted, it's a Catholic Bible, and I attend an Episcopal Church...but according to the person hosting the group, that was fine, because "I'm going to use about a dozen Bibles anyway, and it's all interpretation." 

I went downstairs to look in the boxes of books for my Bible. I did purchase a Study Bible when I worked for the nuns, and practically never cracked it open, honestly. And I couldn't find the thing for the life of me! I even had Hubby go downstairs to see if I was missing it. He couldn't find it, but he did point out, "You have 2 of them on the top of the red cabinet." Which I did. And I suspect the kids put them there, because they're both Gideon Bibles. They'd do that, figuring, "Mom wants another Bible." I have all the funeral bibles that were given to the family when people died. It's a funeral home thing, and the crucifixes and bibles somehow ended up with me. I have a crucifix in every room except the bathrooms... Each from a relative. 

Anyway... No bible. So I trotted over to Barnes & Noble to peruse the Bible section. I was given a couple different editions to review. 

And I ended up buying another St. Joseph Bible. Sorry; it's habit. I bought tabs, too, and a case to carry it around, since it's a paperback and will get shabby. 

I was going to knit tonight - instead, I tabbed a Bible. Talk about futzy, picky work...the pages are thin, so you have to be careful to get the tabs lined up. 

So far, we haven't even cracked the bibles, but it's only going on the 3rd meeting this coming week. Our facilitator is a noted Biblical scholar - we're talking someone who's taught in seminaries, and can read two versions of Hebrew, Aramaic, and 2 versions of Greek. We're very lucky to have someone of that caliber here in our area. 

Last Tuesday was Mary Magdalene. Quick lesson: No, she wasn't a prostitute. She was a woman who believed in the ministry of Jesus, and if you delve into it, while the guys were off preaching, the women were back home making sure they had food, shelter, and honestly? Cash. So to disregard their contribution is remarkably short-sighted. 

But then again, most organized religions always do discount the women. The feminist in me is coming out more and more. 

So what was the treat? It wasn't the Bible. It was books. This is the one I started today at lunch, and boy was that a mistake! I wanted to keep reading. I'll be reading tonight; when I should be sleeping, probably!

I loved the series "Anne of Green Gables," and I eventually bought the books. I read all of them. This is a "prequel," I suppose, written by another author, not Lucy Maude Montgomery. It's Marilla's backstory. 

So far, it's lovely. The same kinds of lyrical descriptions in the original. It reinforces my desire to go, someday, to Prince Edward Island. Which I'm sure is kind of a tourist trap now, but I'd love to tromp around where this story originated. 

I also picked up a couple boxes of Christmas cards, and two books - one for each kid - as a stocking stuffer. 

Speaking of the kids, it's also time for The Annual Ornaments... 

2018 Ornament Project...

As is my wont, it's ornament time. I ended up, earlier this year, ordering some over the internet because I could no longer get the plaster ornaments at Michael's. Well, I could find some, but they were - honestly - stupid... Squares of plaster. What the heck??? I need ornaments in different shapes for the kids. I had a couple years of those idiotic squares, and then I found a bunch of cool ones.

For those who might be newbies to this tradition, it's about, oh, almost 35 years old. I started it right after Kid #1 was born. Born of necessity (not a lot of $$ to throw around on gifts and my siblings and I all had our kids around the same time), I became "The Aunt Who Paints Your Ornaments." 

Each nephew got 18 years of ornaments, one a year. Mostly, I was able to stick with "themes." One kid got all Santas. One kid got cats. One got gingerbread houses. Honestly, I still make them for MY kids...What can I say??

Now, I'm on to the great-kids: my siblings' grandkids. There are only a few of the original nieces & nephews left. I keep a spreadsheet. It's necessary for my own sanity! 

I do still have to paint my kids' ornaments, but this is what's done so far. I still have to finish them, but it was too cold to spray the finishing on them. This weekend, I think I can get it on. 

So: the trees go to Seattle. The pink snowflake, wreath and "Joy" go to Michigan, and the mitten, snowman and two name tags go here in town. 

Finishing includes spraying them with a sealant, adding "fake snow" texture and glitter, and for the name tags, I'll write the recipient's names on them, "From Santa" perhaps. Not sure yet.  Oh, and sometimes, I gild the ornaments, when appropriate. I tie on ribbons for hanging and we mail out what goes elsewhere. The remainder go to my Mom's house for Christmas Eve dinner. 

As far as I know, the nephews have used their ornaments on their trees. And Kid #2 asked me, "As long as you're doing the ornaments this year, can you paint me 5 or 6 more ornaments?" What??? I asked him why and he said, "I don't have mine."

Well... They're here in a box. Somewhere. I'm going to pull them out for him. This is what the bottom of our tree looks like. We have exactly 4 ornaments on the tree - maybe we'll get the rest on over the weekend. 

Hubby has become enamored of my Frosty Friends theme, and he's gotten a bunch of the animated thingies. 

He pushed all the buttons the other day, and honestly, I wanted to take a hammer to the whole thing... I had a 2-day migraine, with a 1-day rebound headache. I really didn't want to hear all the cacophony of 5 different carols playing. These things go round the entire tree. It's adorable. As long as it's silent...

Knitting...

Yes, there's knitting. I was at the gastro doc the other day and I was knitting. And knitting. And knitting. 

He wondered why my BP was high. Well, he was nearly an hour late, and I had to be somewhere (I was late). Not cool, dude, but he's a doctor I'll wait for. 

For my Terribly Simple Shawl, I found A Knot. I do not like Knots... 

I knitted through it, and it's for me, so I wasn't going to splice it. If this was a gift, I might cut away the knot, double knit a few stitches, and weave the ends in. 

It's a pain. 

The shawl, however, is coming along. 

Remember the other day when I said I was "monogamous" when I was coming close to the end of a project? I'm kinda there with this. I'm close enough to the last third or so of the yarn, and I want to get it done and wear it. 

I still have a sausage. The Precious Metals scarf will, I'm afraid, perpetually "sausage." It's not the yarn, not the blocking - it's the pattern. I thought, knitting this, that I'd do it again. 

I will not. I had to block the living daylights out of this scarf, and I think I blocked out the texture of the yarn. It was a nice fluffy 4-ply but now it's...flat. I feel like I blocked out the "warmth" of the yarn, if that makes any sense. And as you can see when you click on the picture, it's still sausaging. I wore it today, wrapped around my neck; it wasn't as warm as I thought it would be, but it was long enough for me. 

I'll live with the sausage. 

By the way, the gastro guy says my gut is messed up with the food poisoning and then the antibiotic for my tooth. He gave me a rather expensive probiotic (Rx only) used for folks with IBS. I have 90 days to get my gut in order. And in January (happy birthday me), I get an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. Joy. But it's time; I can't complain about that. 

I hope my gut settles down. I'll tell you - the probiotic has 950 BILLION bugs... I took the first dose at lunch. I've been burping all afternoon, and belly is gurgling. Those side effects were noted in the leaflet. Teaching my yoga class tomorrow night ought to be interesting, to say the least.

I'm excited because, between work commitments and The Root Canal, I've not taught for 2 weeks. I miss it and miss my students. They're not going to know what to do in my class anymore! 

Random Picture...

I did get a little bit more Christmas up in the house. This is a Lizzie*Kate cross stitch I did years ago. I have a few more in the series, but I'm not sure I can find those metal frames again. I love the way they look, for these in particular. 

What I also love is the hand-dyed floss. I have the box full of them, and my goal in 2019 is to finish at least one more snowman, finish my mother's angel (finally) and find a way to get back to doing more of the cross stitch along with knitting. 

My friend J and I did these together. I think she framed hers in a rustic kind of barnwood frame. I know I fiddled with the clay buttons on mine. And she did an ivory fabric. Mine is Lugano, tan with gold flecks in it. I think I should have doubled up on the white floss, because even in person, it's not easy to see. 

I have to find the December snowman - he's in the closet, I think. And get him hung up too. He's on linen. 

What's on your needles? What have you been making for this holiday season? And what decorations do you put out year after year that are "musts" for your holiday? 

I Habe a Cowd...

As I sit here watching the leaves blow off the front maple tree, "The Good Earth" is on the television, and I'm brewing my "umpteenth" cup of tea, as well as diffusing Young Living Essential Oils "Raven" blend. Hubby says it smells like menthol rub - it does, but not a lot. Just enough.  I've got a cold. Now, it's been brewing for a few days, so it's no surprise. It's just better to stay home from church (and the peace sign/hugs) when one has been up coughing in the night. 

Watching Paul Muni and Luise Ranier play Chinese characters...Nothing like Hollywood cultural appropriation. Looks like Chinese folks were extras. Nice of them. 

Anyway. I got someone to sub for my Yin class just so I don't cough my way through that. I'll be at work Monday, but I may as well give myself another day (was home yesterday, too). I swear, I'm normally healthy as a horse, but I'm not sure why I've been smacked with this mess. 

At least I'm pottering around the house. Though I did go out yesterday for a haircut and -- finally - a pedicure. I've only been trying to plan that for 6 or 7 months. Yeah, I know - real "First World" issues. But because of my insane schedule, I usually don't schedule them. I rely on the ability to get a last-minute appointment at my favorite place. Second-favorite, but quickly becoming first on the list if the other place doesn't get its act together and finish its remodel!

This is an OPI color, called "Teal the Cows Come Home." It matches my flip-flops, and looks more blue in the bottle. More teal on the toes. I usually buy the ones I want and bring them. I don't know why, but it just makes me feel better knowing that I'm the only one who's used that particular bottle. I've never had a problem, but I know people who have, and I don't want to start having any issues. Of course, I go to a regular salon and they're pretty strict on their sanitation protocols, but still - you never know. And I'd rather be safe than sorry. Don't need an infection to slow me down --- when I've got a cold that'll do the same thing!

Knitting...

I'm doing Christmas hats; I was just thinking that perhaps I should have made a blue one for Kid #1 - he loves red, but his coat is blue. Maybe I'll just make two of them and let them figure out which one each one wants. 

It's coming along - about another row, I think, then starting the purl ridges. The remainder of the red yarn will be stuck into the "Prayer Patch" bag and we'll do more squares - a nice Episcopal red!

I stuck the "October" cross stitch banner on the front door. Inside, though! This is a Lizzie Kate design, done in the hand-dyed floss. I created the pillow out of my own head; the backside is a Halloween-orange and the ribbon is orange gross-grain. I have a few more of these. One of these days, I should do the other ones - for the holidays. 

I haven't really made any progress on the Monkey sock; I've been pushing to get the hats done. The socks are for me, so we can wait on those. 

I should pick up the Grapevine Lace scarf; it's almost done. It would be nice to have it done for when the weather finally settles into the cold. I'll see how much I can get done with the red hat; maybe switch off with that before I start the other hat. 

The Latest Shooting...

I'd like to think we could go a month without a shooting. But we can't. And that maniac in Washington doesn't think he's to blame. 


Let's see. 

"Fake news."
"Fake media."
"I'd bail you out if you hit him." 
"He can body slam you."
"Lock her up!"

Get the picture? In his latest rally (because, you know, there's nothing else he's got to do), he thought about moderating his hate-speech, but his rabid hordes shouted "NO" -- so he didn't. 

Kid #2 made this stencil for me a year ago. I don't even remember which shooting. A school, I think. It's amazing that it's still relevant, isn't it?

Maybe it's not so amazing. 

I'm voting in the November 6th election. Everyone needs to. Someone needs to temper the baser instincts of humanity in this country. It's got to be us. 

Reading This...

I asked a friend of mine about how one learns more in regard to church. I've only been an Episcopalian about 5 or 6 years. And honestly, I know a lot more about the Catholic church, having been born & raised in that religion. So I've just kind of picked up stuff as I've seen it. But I'd like to know more. She recommended this book. I've been reading it, and it's cool - I understand more of what we do and why we do it. 

She loaned me her copy, and then I bought one of my own. I found that I wanted to underline and highlight! Not that I'd do it in her copy, of course. 

And I'm reading a Kinsey Millhone book (Sue Grafton's Alphabet Series): "W for Wasted." Sue Grafton died recently, and she almost got to "Z" - her last book is "Y" and her family said that she didn't leave any outline or manuscript. 

I'm actually hoping they do NOT find anything - or they do NOT hire a ghost writer to complete the series. They did that for VC Andrews, and I'm sorry; it's crap. 

Sometimes, the stories just have to die with the authors. I loved her writing (Grafton's I' mean). And now she's gone. And that's why "the alphabet ends in Y..."

Random Picture...

While home sick, you may notice all kinds of things. I noticed that the neighbor's car just about matched the leaves on my tree. Which have thinned considerably, given this morning's wind. It's cloudy and the wind is blowing. A great day to stay inside and make chicken soup. Hopefully, we have enough garlic. Maybe I'll add orzo and grab some carrots out of the garden in between the raindrops. And if I'm really lucky, I'll have some mushrooms and leeks frozen. Or even chopped kale. I'll take it. 

I like to make soup when it's real "fall" weather. And when I feel like crap. It not only makes the house smell good, but it feels good as well. And it gives me stuff to eat for lunches. I freeze it in portion-controlled containers and take it in a thermos (no microwave at work). 

The other night, I did a chicken and quinoa dish in the Instant Pot. I have to branch out...one of these days! I know you can do a lot with it; I just never think about it till it's just about time to eat. It's not that quick - still takes about 10 minutes to prep, 5 - 10 to get up to pressure and then however long it takes to cook. So "instant" is relative. It's quicker than baking, in many cases, and quicker than using a crock pot. 

Either way. Soup. Yum! What's your favorite cold-weather, turning-fall recipe? Share, please!