Labor Day weekend, here already?

 Mutts observes the day

Seems only fair.

Yesterday because of the unexpected free afternoon, I roasted the chicken and the rest of the yellow potatoes. 

Chicken stuffed with fresh sage, thyme and lemon balm. Butter and olive oil, coarse seasalt outside, you see it here after I did the leg test for doneness. That was a fine supper last night.

Now I'm set. Sliced with pasta salad, chicken salad, curried chicken, ending in soup. I made mayo again, just a cup, enough for now.

I've been spinning with the spurtzleur again.

This waiting period may involve quite a bit of production, one way and another. Last evening's audio pod with friends was very helpful and supportive. They didn't quite understand how it's easier for me to go in alone, for the retest of,  better than with company. It's how I roll.  I'm a solitary person in some ways. 

But I did promise them to  recruit Handsome Son to come if we find I need treatment, to the first appointment, to make notes, because I won't be able to listen and think. The hearing aids are a blessing right now! At least I'm catching much more of what's being said. So there's that.

Today's walk yielded evidence of recent wind and rain bringing down white oak foliage 

And a berried plant that might be sumac or not 

And, at the pond a flock of wild ducks swimming in formation, about a dozen, here's the front group 

One of the males gave a few warning quacks and right after this shot, the flock flew away, wheeling around the trees to land further away on the course.

Speaking of production, as  I was before I rudely interrupted myself, here's a couple of the many, some prizewinning, images I created in my early-adopter computer assisted art period, waaaaay back.  

I had to program, using early software, two screens,a keyboard and a stylus, not just click here and there. This was cutting edge stuff then, I think in the mid-eighties. Uphill both ways, you kids. 

Only two printers in the country could print this, one in Colorado, one in California, not available to the likes of me.  So I worked with a camera set into the computer system, and fed in 35mm film for photo processing. The processing staff at the shop were intrigued and baffled by how I made the images, and became fans! Too funny.

Full credit to the two art professors who set up this complex station, Frank Rivera and Rudy name escapes me, and who signed off on letting me work in the computer lab any hours, way beyond those assigned to my class. 

Happy day, everyone! Enjoy whatever displacement activity you get caught up in. Pro tip: everything is displacement activity. Unless you're running for office.

Displacement activity and its uses

Yesterday, digesting the news that I am not done with the mammo place, I read some Miss Mapp,  knitted the heel of a sock, listened to a Mrs Pargeter mystery, cleared up some dead foliage, leaving the patio looking a lot better and made a quart of chocolate oatmilk.

This is just a cup of rolled oats, four cups water, drop of vanilla essence, blurt of molasses, blurt of agave syrup,  tablespoon lovely cacao, blend, strain, drink. 

I've ordered strawberries and other berries from Misfits, for next week, so I'll make more flavors of oatmilk.  

So that was a productive day, if nothing else.

The weather is now very friendly, cooler, cloudy, easy to sleep in. I did some of that, too.

Here's something I didn't know

Speaking of holiday foods

Meanwhile, the Friday knitting group -- never happened. I arrived to find they were closing the building and ushering everyone out. It was scheduled as a regular day, or so our dear leader told us last week, but it turned out to be early closing.  Quite a few puzzled people there.

So I'll roast the chicken this afternoon since I'm free anyway, good chance to do it.

Happy day and holiday weekend if you have one, Labor Day in the US, when people celebrate labor by not doing any.

Hot Wednesday and Misfits box

 

This was Wednesday. I live in the dark red bit. The good part was that Tuesday and Wednesday, the days I had appointments, I was back home before the worst heat. 

It seems to be a change of season, heat starts in the morning and builds to evening, but mornings aren't too trying. It's not like the heatwave when there was no relief day or night. So there's that.

Hard to believe September is here soon. I have enjoyed August, so many hot but nice days, where I could sit out on the deck in the afternoon, it being in shade then. 

Labor Day is nearly on us, to my great surprise, I thought there was at least another week. I'm planning cold roast chicken with pasta salad and something involving chocolate, when I decide what. I might make potato chips with the remaining potatoes.

Misfits box arrived

Small order this week because I have good supplies already. Confectioners sugar for chocolate icing for future chocolate cake. Plums for plum snacking cake. Can of diced tomatoes free, used points for it. 

I usually choose that or cannellini beans or maybe parsley, when I accumulate enough points. It takes a while, not being a big customer.  

Diced tomatoes are endlessly useful, for baking with cheese and egg, or spaghetti sauce, or side dish. This small can goes quite a way for me

Meanwhile the mammo people sent a message that they need to retest one side, they'll set up another appointment. High anxiety time. 

This has happened before, other side and further testing showed it was in fact okay. So I'm fervently hoping this happens again.  Fingers crossed, please, blogistas. 

Doctor's office called to confirm another mammo with added ultrasound "just to make sure", tactful Nurse Christine.

And they gave me good bone density news: spine normal, hips improved, yay, that's the meds' doing. So there's that.

Channeling Picasso 

Hear ye! Hear ye! I can! I can! Thrills and spills with little kids, and other wonders.

My first day of interacting with people with the help of Ruth, right ear aid, and Laura, left ear aid,  has proved interesting.  I waited till I'd finished my hair this morning, which involves a lot of water poured through it, to make it wearable, before inserting r and l, because they don't like to get wet. I sympathize.

Then I found that I could hear the old tablet volume fine, the one I'm replacing, because I couldn't hear (!) and the phone, which was audible,  now needs the volume turned down. 

At the mammo and dexa building, I was successful in finding it this time, not wandering hopelessly, as usual,  around the nextdoor, identical, building.  Anyway, there, I could hear all the instructions!! Even when the technician talked as she walked in front of me. Or turned her head away.

The bonescan machine that hovers and beeps over you was really loud, those beeps much more SF and ominous than the polite little murmurs I used to hear.  So I've been missing a lot more than I knew. I don't think I mind missing those beeps, though.

And now I'm up to date, until the next round of labs and visits in September. First, Labor Day and I think chicken salad. Must make mayo.

In other news, in from Israel, here's before

See that large, perfect old clay jar on the right? Then a family with a bright little kid arrived. After

I can guar.an.tee you he moved so fast nobody could catch him.   Also I expect the jar was rare because bronze age four year olds broke all the others.  

The Museum director handled it with great kindness. No blame. They're getting the jar restored, well, at least they know they have all the pieces, unlike many ancient finds. Then it will be back on display, and the family will be invited back to see it all repaired, with a label explaining it all.

Meanwhile here's an item from today's Freecycle

I don't think I want to know.

Happy day everyone, if there's a skeleton in your closet, I know how you can take care of it.

Future planning and current excitement

I'm looking ahead to when I'm no longer driving, and though friends and Handsome Son would help, they also have a life, and in the absence of public transportation around here to get me where I need to be, I'm investigating other options, too.

I found a volunteer group who drive  seniors and visually impaired people to local destinations, and amazingly, include my town. Usually these things go strictly by county. 

I live very close to one county, in fact most of my activities and doctors are there, but I'm in the extreme south of another, big, county where everything happens way north of me, and where they won't cross county lines. So this service is promising. Usually the county I do most activities in won't cross county lines to service my town. 

It's also overloaded and I spent time trying to get on the waiting list. Several emails explaining the basics, cost, etc, but they want a call. I explained finally the phone is difficult, that's why I'm emailing. They responded helpfully.  I'm now on the waiting list. So I'm a step further on. 

It's cheaper than uber, but not cheap. But when I use the service, I won't be running a car, with those expenses, so the math may math. I may be on the waiting list for a while. The plan is to try it out while I'm still driving, to see how it works.

Meanwhile I'm still driving locally.  And this afternoon is taken up with hearing aids, fitting, learning how to insert, whatever that entails.

Home again, with my little shopping bag, complete with charger, case, cleaning materials and Tootsie rolls for being a good patient. One for each ear.

You can't see the hearing aids because I'm wearing them, having navigated my weird shaped ear canals. The over the ear part is tiny, and pretty much vanishes into my hair.

On the way home from the appointment, I noticed various interesting things such as: the signal on my car is not silent after all. It clicks. So do the keys on my phone. 

I go back twice more to get the volume raised each time till it's normal, meanwhile I wear them all day, I read aloud to get used to my voice which is sounding weird just now, and generally discover sounds I'd forgotten about. 

This is fun. It's a strange feeling having things in my ears, but I expect to get used to it. At least, that's the plan. 

My bank account needs a Tootsie roll after the onslaught, but, oh well. Gary stopped over later on other business,  and he sounded so loud! He's thrilled that I'm going with the aids, very happy. 

After all this excitement I was still in time for Textiles and Tea with photographer turned tapestry artist Jeane Vogel. Her small, often four selvage,  tapestry works all have messages and she uses a lot of Jewish symbolism and iconography. But as she says, it's meant to work as art even if you aren't familiar with the meaning. 

hand facing up: halt, hand facing down: blessings descending on you

Hebrew letter indicating a Hebrew word meaning almighty, i.e. G-d, omitting the middle letter out of respect for Jewish usage.

Photographic images on fabric, on the right with sashiko stitching.

One of her tapestry looms with a work in progress.

Here's a spiral idea bursting out of the work

Happy day everyone, mine was packed with good things, even Tootsie rolls, so I hope yours was, too.

Bumper crop at the mailbox

Well, on the front step. 

Package one, from blogger Wilma, whose blog has been in abeyance a while because she's been very busy, 

Complete with map showing the family farm the cocoa came from, and Wilma's various home locations, current and planned. 

A consumable gift is so good, and I have plans already.

Next to it on the step, my spurtzleur arrived and now I can spell it 

It feels wonderful in my hand, waxed and smooth, so I tried it right away.

It's quick to learn, though my yarn is a bit overspun and underspun here and there, as I was learning how to draft for this tool, a bit different from the drop spindle.

After a couple of minutes I had this output 

Two different kinds of roving, so I had to learn both. It's a really friendly tool, and a nice addition to my spinning collection. 

I still have to learn to make a more consistent twist, but that will come. It certainly spins fast, so there's that, too. 

Excitement galore. I can make interesting chocolate things to accompany my spinning and keep my strength up.

Happy day everyone, I hope good things land in your mailbox, too.

 

Balsam, indomitable flower

This morning's walk yielded wet feet, and here's a stray balsam flower 

Deep among the trees, in a really dark,  unpromising environment. It doesn't care! The balsam has seed pods that just explode, hurling seeds for yards. So we find them all over, growing in unlikely places.

Lovely reflections at the pond, not much frog activity today.  

I was finding golf balls way out of bounds, probably the Saturday duffers. I threw a couple back onto the course.  

We're getting cool nights after hot days, much easier to tolerate. 

This week is about medical appointments. Hearing aid fitting, mammo, bonescan. I'll find out if the shots have improved my bone density. It takes a couple of years to register.

Meanwhile simple meals, turkey burger and mashed potato, nectarine dessert, last piece of chocolate cake today. That baking didn't last long, with help from Handsome Son and Gary. 

Still knitting, not much stitching though.

It's cool always to have socks and gloves to knit. No thinking and planning required. I might send gloves to Warm up America, too. They're a pretty fast knit.

Happy day everyone! Good to have something to make.