The flood warnings were accurate, weaving and animals

Those emergency alerts I was getting yesterday were on point for just a few miles north of me. A neighboring suburb got over five inches of rain in a couple of hours. And other local towns didn't do well.

Here in town there were wires down and power out, but not my neighborhood, lucky there. Today the humidity is in the 80s, with sun and rain. 

I did get a walk while the walking was good, though. 

Patrick McDonnell, creator of the great Mutts comic strip, and a NJ local, it's not just Bruce, is a mover and shaker in animal welfare.

He's just sent out a survey as part of his work to improve animal shelters. If you'd like to take part, please do. There's plenty of places to express an opinion not just check a box

Note this is a screenshot, so you need to cut and paste.

Then there's the loving hands at home side. The woven belt is getting near the end 

When I reach the heddle you see at the top, the work will come off the loom. 

And I finally pressed that linen?cotton? I got ages ago. It's been waiting by the ironing board for months. 

It took about eight minutes including filling the iron. One of those jobs that took up a lot of mental energy before I finally did it.

I think this may become that surcoat/robe I was musing about a while back. With a woven patterned band for a belt, hm.  Simple, minimal shaping. Hand stitching. Now that it's prewashed and ironed, there's no stopping me.

Today's early morning picking yielded a new bouquet 

Daisies, chrysanthemums, black eyed susan, a lone coreopsis, ivy, wandering dude. Outside a pink zinnia is opening, so soon there will be zinnias in the bouquets.

Happy day everyone, weave all the things, do all the projects. Or maybe just think idly about it, no need to rush into things.

 

Bread, salt, olives, socks, rain, your basic Sunday

This morning with rain in the forecast, I glumly decided I'd better make bread, since I was totally out. No toast, nothing to make a sandwich or cheese toast, nothing to hold up my sardines, this wasn't right.

I wasn't in the mood at all, but as usual once underway I wondered what the fuss was about. My bread is no knead, easy to make.

Anyway I did, and here's the rather small cast of characters needed

to make a large loaf which I quarter into four medium loaves, three in the freezer.

I didn't have my favorite whole-wheat, so I went with bread flour and ap, and added in ground flaxseed, the usual vital wheat gluten, that's in the can marked chocolate fingers or something, salt, need to order, yeast, need to order, and for a savory touch, sliced green olives.

Quite a nice crumb and a good crust, crisp not tough. Not bad for an experiment, since I didn't know about the vital wheat gluten and how it works with bread flour. Okay, it turns out. The olives almost disappeared but there's a mild savory effect. I've been meaning to try them for ages.

Then I finished the socks, in yarn which the donor tells me is probably hand wash, so they're for me. I do need some anyway.

And I ordered various vital items, salt, etc.    The whole wheat flour is harder to come by, but it's ordered and I'm not in desperate need. 

Now I need to get packing small artworks to send to friends. Not a favorite activity but, like bread, you're glad you did it.

Happy day everyone, rainy here and my chives and honesty are happy, gentle rain is what they can use right now. I'm impatient to get seeds going, but last year what with surgery and rehab, I didn't get seeds in till late May and still had a nice showing. 

So you never know, late is okay.

Wednesday, where'd you go?

Lovely gentle rain and cool, the garden loves it

This rain is the edge of Erin, and we may have more wind and rain soon. 

Since I don't like to walk in the rain, I did an indoor yes2next, twenty minutes of moving to 80s tunes, of which I knew just one! (I got you, babe, Sonny and Cher).  

This was definitely a workout. It's the continual movement, unlike my outdoor walking, which is brisk, but with stops to look and listen and take photos.

So my afternoon plan, to listen to a Shedunnit podcast and stitch my linen, didn't happen, because I closed my eyes after lunch for just a minute. 

Then I woke up in time for tea and honey toast. I get the Shedunnit newsletter and finally got around recently to listening to the podcast which I found on Spotify, then I signed up to continue. I'll continue later.

What did happen though, was that I remembered to take the pictures of the kantha stitched purse 

You can see the clever strap, cording with a section of quilted fabric where it crosses your shoulder. And it's lined. You can see the size by comparison with my gnarly old hand.

This is an easy project for you, Mary Ann, so I hope you do make it. It's a nice gift, too, especially  if you slip a little something in.

Wednesday evening online with friends. It's all go. Except when it's stop and sleep..

Happy day everyone, I'm learning that sleeping isn't time wasted, it's refuelling.

I had ideas to talk about retirement and other things which can wait till another day. Also the insurance company suddenly called and texted and emailed to say the house estimate had been revised upward, and approved,  and they're sending me more $. 

Since I paid the bill already I wonder if the contractors will be back with another bill. But I'll have the money to pay it, so fine.

Grantchester and Misfits

Today I made a trip to the library to return Foyle and borrow a season of Grantchester on DVD. Lovely greetings on my  front step as I was leaving,  from a family member next door visiting Gary. 

We talked about Hippolyta, J's replaced shoulder, and physical therapy. I admired her new range of motion, and it was a good start to the day.

At the library there was a rush of feet and "Leez!!"  And it was P, the librarian in charge of the knitting group, running across the room, evidently pleased to see me up and doing. She added herself to the list of people telling me not to overdo.

In other medical news, I have officially retired Walker Two-step and Carol Cane, and Greta Grabber remains downstairs. Onward!

Before Misfits came, lunch was pasta with a sauce using the last of the pasta and the last of the spicy sausage, diced tomatoes, butter, garlic powder and dried onion. Grated fresh Parmesan over it. Plenty for a couple more meals and maybe additions to soup.

It's a while since I had a good pasta with a big sauce. This was spicy because of the sausage, no need for the dried peppers I usually add. 

Here's Misfits today 

I think the Gala apples are finished for now, so I need a different fruit for morning breaks. Breaks. As if I'm toiling away and needing a rest, yeah.

There goes Haleem 

So it's the first cantaloupe of the season. I'll give it a day or two then cut into it. Quite a small haul today, replacement avocado oil, I seem to use a lot, lazy lady's bread, canned peaches and blueberries, for desserts with yogurt. I've come to prefer this yogurt to Nancy's for now. 

Panko because there will be breaded shrimp at some point. Tony's chocolonely needs no explanation except that it's been a while. Fair trade sugar, more expensive but a better food chain than supermarket granulated. Also with an actual flavor, not just a hit of sweetness.

And peacefully getting on with it near the kitchen window, the celery heart is putting out growth. See the little sprouting bit in the middle.

Happy day everyone, I'm going to watch Grantchester with a pot of tea.

Rain again today, what a surprise. I still have two doors, destined for the outside storage area here and next door,  leaning against the living room wall, because there have still not been two consecutive dry days to prime and paint them. 

Handsome Son's development has been trying to pave and stripe the parking lots for weeks. Up to now one section is done and all the others are repeatedly rain delayed. 

The water company sent a flyer reminding us we're still under water restrictions from last year. Still not enough in the reservoirs to compensate for the drought. Maybe if they moved the reservoir to my backyard the drought would be addressed.

Happy day everyone. When all else fails, try a nap and a piece of chocolate.

Ted sez 

Meanwhile a riddle, Shug made me do it.

Brothers and sisters have I none

But that man's father is my father's son.

Who is "that man" in relation to the speaker?

A Thing-Filled Wednesday

Rain today, gentle and just what my newly planted containers needed. There are tiny signs of flowers coming up, and hair like fronds of chives, last year's cosmos pushing up tall, and I'm hoping for reseeding forgetmenots.

This morning was my annual physical, or what Medicare grandly calls wellness check. Which they start with a form to fill out and bring,  asking about depression and illegal drugs -- would anyone ever really fill out those details? -- and go downhill  from there.

My doctor is one of the good ones who seriously does the whole exam, not just pro forma.  And she was very impressed that a month out from joint replacement, I was driving, dressing and undressing with no dressing aids, climbing unaided onto the exam table, and feeling cheerful about life. I lost a bit of weight, from my already meager total but she says it's due to the general circumstances of surgery, fine. 

All good. And on the way out, I met a baby. The mom had just put down the carbed in the lobby, waiting for their car to pull around for them, and this little guy was not having it. 

Grumbling loudly, shoving aside the pacifier, looking around indignantly ready to call for the manager. I asked their age. One month!  I had never seen so alert a baby at that age. Lots of luck to them. I bet they're standing at five months like Handsome Son and walking soon after!

While I was at the medical building, I left ACLU  Know Your Rights cards in  the waiting room where caregivers might see them, and in the exam room, possibly cleaners might see. A lot of documented and undoc. residents not citizens in those jobs around this area.  So a little bit more sand in the gears.

Home again very pleased with my day, to soup and cheese toast. Then I continued reading the Grantchester stories.

Now here's how it goes. At one point there's a discussion of a disputed old painting, expert says it doesn't have the careless seeming virtuosity of a genuine Goya.  Then someone explains it as sprezzatura. 

So of course I had to look that up and see the etymology and origin. Turns out it was invented for the purpose of describing the ideal courtier in Castiglione's classic work. He said it described making the many skills and talents of the courtier, from combat to table manners, look unstudied and natural.

So I had to find and read a bit of the sixteenth century The Book of the Courtier.  And so it came to pass that he is now in residence on my Kindle, zero cost after credits were applied. 

You never know what rabbit is in wait down which rabbit hole. Speaking of which, go to She Who Seeks' blog for a great rabbit themed post today. 

 Finally I returned to Grantchester, enriched.

Happy day, everyone, get rich in events today! They're all over.

Cleaners here today, more firsts

I had planned on a couple of errands today involving carrying stuff, as well as a library pickup, while my cleaners were working at the house.

But this changed my mind

I wasn't up for getting wet several times, and maneuvering in and out of the car likewise. 

So I went to the library anyway to pick up my DVD of a later production of Cheaper by the Dozen.   

This is the Steve Martin production, and I think there's another later one. Anyway this is what my library had.

First time I've driven in heavy rain since Hippolyta, first time I've been to the library for an extended time, sitting on those way too big seats, and it was okay. Certainly nothing like the pain involved in doing this in Helen's time.  I'm getting less awkward in and out of the car, too, less worried about it.

Soon I'll have run out of firsts, and it will all be just everyday life. I'm looking forward to not being a patient, even to the end of my time with PT Emil. It means a return to good health, though I've really appreciated the work we've done. I'm far better off than I would have been.

So, all good, and here's my views. People on the right playing chess. After they left, a man was showing his little boy the moves.

And the puzzle table where I succeeded in adding one whole piece, after which I retired to read my Angela Thirkell.

 Just the right cosy read in rainy weather.

You'll notice no reference to the current gallery exhibit. It's a well meaning try, well framed and organized, print material nicely written and presented, the work of someone who really wants to be seen as an artist. This is quite different from someone who needs to make art and knows how. 

Home to cheese,  crackers and a pot of tea. The seeds I flung about on the crackers are quite successful, particularly the fennel seeds. I like the licorice flavor of the seeds while not liking at all the actual vegetable. There's something odd about a green salad type veg with licorice, or anise, flavor, to me.

This afternoon will be a movie matinee, maybe with more tea. Also laundry, my cleaning family using mops and cloths galore. My part is to leave them mops, cloths and cleaning liquids and a check. They take it from there. Suits me. 

Lovely day, though I'd been apprehensive about stormy driving and slippery walking, now I'm glad I did it.  I carried Carol Cane but didn't actually use it. Just in case of skidding.

Happy day everyone, take a little chance, you might be glad.

Quiet Wednesday

 On Freecycle this is on offer 

I'm refraining from checking into it. Trying to move the dolls, not bring in flamingoes. 

Quiet day with heavy rain, so I read, very good narrative in The Night in Question, and continued my crocheted and knitted gloves. 

And made a miniature lasagna, two helpings, which fitted into the little toaster oven. And it finished up the box of noodles which definitely needed to be done with.

This morning I called Gary and we continued the endless story of the exterior doors. The weather won't work for painting and hanging exterior doors now, so we talked about buying them in before prices rise (again) and storing them in my loft. He liked this idea and it may happen. At least that's the plan.

There may have been some sleeping, cosy indoors. 

Happy day everyone, a quiet day is a Good Thing.