House cleaning, postcards, Knitting Group, Textiles and Tea

This morning was about getting out from under the cleaning family's feet. So I went and voted, using the municipal dropbox, yayyy, go Kamala and Tim! 

Then I thought the world was quiet this morning and realized Ruth and Laura were still home on the charger, so I went back and got them in action.

Back out again, sound restored, to the library, to finish the postcards, watch the window cleaners working, from the ground, on the third  floor windows

and the local artists guild hanging their fall exhibit, and I fixed a public jigsaw puzzle that had been maybe played with by a little person. Then I got back into Oliver Twist, who's proving to be a lot more entertaining than I expected.

Home again, lunch, then out to Tuesday Knitting Group, no pictures, nothing new to show you. But we talked about animals, petcare, rescues, hospice, fear of death, insurance for nonprofits, more cheerful than this sounds!

home yet again, it's all go, for Textiles and Tea, with

She's a textile designer for mass consumption, as well as having art interest, using looms from the tiny Hello to a 16-harness one. 

She's studied a range of fibers, animal and plant, and of dyes, natural and synthetic. She's getting into tapestry weaving on  Mirrix looms, and makes journal entries to note natural scenes and colors for reference. She also tries found object weaving, for possible design ideas. 

In fact, watching her  suggests all kinds of cool ideas for weaving..just when you'd left the last rabbit hole!

This evening may be an online watch party with friends of the Walz-Vance debacle, I mean debate.

Then I plan to take the rest of the day off.

Happy day, everyone, resting is overrated.

Postcard update, the ears have it

I'm halfway through my target amount of postcards, and beginning to see light at the end of this boring tunnel. 

I'm at the point of snarling you better damn vote after I've done all this work!  And I note that the instructions for mailing point out that you must not rubber band the pack for posting. I guess people may not realize the post office won't separate them.

Years ago I experienced this when I found in my mailbox, after a few days away, a banded bunch of calls to artists, all separately addressed and stamped.  Mine, beginning of the alphabet, was on top, so they all came to me. 

I called the venue, a prized one for regional artists, explained, promised to remail the invitations separately, right away.   They said they wondered why they'd had no acceptances yet!  Very unusual. I'm guessing they had a word with the person in charge of mailing. But you can't count on someone realizing all this and resending.

I'm going to separate my cards and mail them in different boxes, to spread the load and make sure they don't stick together.

The audiologist appointment went well, she's very happy I had no complaints. So I'm boosted to 90% now, and adjusting again. I learned how to maintain the aids, clever design, easy to replace the end bit and the filter. Everything sounded loud going home.  

The door saga continues. We got a ruling from the HOA board which didn't surprise me. Owner responsibility. No help on where to buy them. My  neighbors are annoyed and upset, but I'm oh well. This too shall pass!

And I find that my mail rx people, after taking months and many requests, to process the smaller dose of one medication, have now apparently removed the larger dose of the same medication. I'm guessing their program doesn't allow for two different strengths, both taken daily, which add up to the right amount. Sooo I'm once again trying to get them to get it right. Sigh. 

And I have to call about the car recall. I've waited a few days in case they had a rush after the mailing arrived.

Meanwhile my bone doctor is very happy that I now no longer have osteoporosis in my hip, much increased bone density, and my spine is now totally normal, no bone loss at all. So this is good.  The medicine works. 

She diagnosed the dodgy hip as bursitis and gave me instructions on taking care of it.

Someone suggested that you not worry about something that won't matter in five years. At my age, that's just about everything😂. So there's that.

And you can catch a flower break 

These blue flowers are quietly increasing their territory. I'm hopeful for next year.

It's all relative.

Happy day, everyone! I'm thinking about fall activities now.  So's Gary. 

He came over to say he has a large bag of bulbs for fall planting,  red and white striped tulips.  

He was going to MEASURE for 6" apart. I suggested he just strew them and plant wherever they landed. Another neighbor came bustling over to add her opinion, that you place them here and there, no measuring, no strewing. So we'll see. I bet he still measures.

Postcards, Misfits and Emma again

The current Misfits box arrived, the ice blocks went to Gary, for his cooler, the foil insulated bag to be picked up by the Misfits driver and recycled. 

Once the summer's over, and Gary doesn't need portable ice  I'll resume leaving out the ice blocks for Misfits pickup with the other packing materials.

The tofu and mushrooms are for a Yeung Man Cooking recipe I'll make Friday,  the yellowtail because I haven't had it in a while, to be poached and later fishcakes.

I love that very hot spicy plant based "sausage", which works like burgers and meatballs. Cheese is always a staple,  and fruit is for breakfasts and desserts. I seem to have forgotten to order bread, so I expect blueberry muffins will need to happen. 

All set up now.

Gary is impressed with my improved hearing and is once again thinking about hearing aids for himself. He also started thinking about cataract surgery when I had it, but it's been a couple of years with no action yet. We'll see. 

This morning was about writing postcards to voters, very unexciting work but vital,  so, oh well. Democracy is a dull old business when it's working right.  

This afternoon involves reading,  listening to a podcast, sitting outside and some stitching

 with another Emma. 

This the best production of Emma I've seen, great casting, just very worth watching.

Then the mail brought this

After a year of informing me that my fuel pump could check out any time, causing a recall, but they didn't have parts yet, finally they've laid hands on them. 

My first ungrateful thought was, arghgh another thing to do dangit. Anyway I'll call and set up an appointment for the repair. I'll get them to check routinely while I'm there, usual points. 

My credit card bill which I've been paying buggywhip style, mailing in checks, also arrived and I found I was out of stamps. So I got into the 20th century, though the rest of the world is well into the 21st, and arranged to pay online.  I'm so clever, I am. 

And the flower patch is still blooming though cool nights have slowed things down 

Happy day everyone,  sometimes dull work has exciting results. At least that's the plan,with the postcards. The rest of the day is pretty good already.

Monday, Monday, bees and mantids

This morning turned out to be fine after all. Everything normal despite looking weird before. What a relief. So I've spent time emailing and messaging people who needed to know, including  you, dear blogistas, who gave me such moral support. I did make a change in yesterday's post, to let you know promptly.

And once again the lousy radiation group website sent me a diagnostic letter which would not open on any of three devices I tried, from the link they sent, or from a couple of links I found on line. All their support function could say was consult my own doctor. About their letter they'd sent. 

I did, messaged them on their portal and literally within minutes, they sent me a link which worked, confirming it's all normal, I can resume breathing. I have a great doctor and nurse team.

So the rest of the day has been lovely, walking in the sunshine, real and metaphorical, observing butterflies -- a silver spot showed up where I've seen him before, many little brown skippers. And this friend, Boy Mantis

There was a comic scene with a squirrel who spotted the cantaloupe rind I'd put out for him, he's mad for it. He picked it up, then spotted me, a few feet away, hesitated then decided to go for it. 

Leapt up the fence, the end of the rind caught the top, both fell down again. Clearly this was now personal, and he watched me watching him, then seized the rind again,  and cleverly bit off the pointed end, took another leap and made it, rind and all, onto the fence, then vanished, holding the rind about half his body size. He deserved it after that labor.

About the bee I mentioned on the sedum, I checked this Bee Chart, and the nearest to him seems to be the Tree Bumblebee. That seems likely.

My postcards to voters arrived, complete with instructions, and an electoral list of the voters I'm writing to. 

As you see, graphic on one side, the other blank. I get to fill it out.

They suggest message wording, and I'll adapt to my own style, as I did last time I did postcarding. I get going writing now, then mail them all out on the suggested date in early October. 

This has been figured out to allow for mail delays and  timeliness. No use reminding people too early, they forget. I know from previous experience this is an effective way to get out the vote. For someone like me, not a door knocker, but literate enough to be happy doing kitchen table activism, it's a good fit.

Happy day, everyone, I hope you get any good news you're hoping for. 

I'm continuing with the Great Jane Caper, now bingeing on an eighties BBC series of Mansfield Park. Great actors -- Lady Bertram played by Angela Pleasence, what a talented family, remember brilliant Donald Pleasence in Barchester Towers?-- and Anna Massey, from another talented family, another wonder of an actor.

Neither is in this publicity still (!) but you may recognize these actors? I don't.

Enjoy your day!

Kitchen table activism

 I've signed up, again, to write postcards to voters. You can choose swing states or House seats where dems need turnout. Postcards go to registered voters, and have been very effective in getting them to the polls.  Registered people who need a push to vote are the target. I've done this before, and it worked. This time it's NJ 7th district, starting at home. We need the House.

Anyone in the US who wants to be involved in getting out the vote can cut and paste or copy the links above. Come on, do it for an old lady's last presidential election!