Friendships, strength and Magpie Murders

Today the mold and pollen counts are sky high as is the mosquito hunger level, so I decided instead of sneezing and gasping and scratching outside, I'd resume my long neglected indoor exercise.

April and Aiko showing me how. These days balance and fall prevention are big.  I'm fit enough to do the routine without holding onto anything, though I'm close to a chair just in case.

This is also a lift for the spirits, needed about now, too. 

I had a recent neighborly visit from a human bearing banana bread, and this morning one of my local mourning doves showed up to help with the ant problem outside. 

There's usually a pair, maybe the male is out on the nearby golf course this morning.

 

One of the issues weighing me down recently, which I hadn't mentioned, was the planned bathtub conversion 

Like this, a cut out to make it easier to step in. The contractor cuts down an opening in the side of the tub and installs the kit which covers the space between the tub inside and outside. I was very excited when I found they'd started making a kit, after I'd been looking for years for something like this.

So last January I arranged for my contractor friend to do it, and some painting and tiling, as soon as he could get to it. He's been slammed with work, some of which had been on hold and suddenly came through.

As the weeks have gone by and my reminders were met with reassurance but no action, and it's been getting harder to step into the tub to shower, I've been losing heart.

Then I checked again Friday and he tells me I'm in this week's roster, to measure, choose, order, yay. I instantly felt much better. 

Being able to shower solo is one of the markers enabling me to continue living here, like being able to be generally active, carrying and moving and making.  So it's a big deal.

In other exciting news now that I've finished All Creatures, I've embarked on

Lovely Horowitz, a murder mystery within a murder mystery..

I've been catching some discussion online about interspecies friendships and if they were real or ai.

I can vouch for their being real, because I've seen them, in my pet care and at home.

There was the big ginger cat whose friend was a hamster,  who used to run about playing on the cat's back and take a nap between his paws. 

The owner told me she was in a panic the first time her son's hamster took off from his cage, in case the cat hunted him down. He looked like a brown mouse. 

To her amazement, the cat gently touched Hammie, and rolled him softly about and the hamster ran onto his back quite confidently.

The owner was careful for ages before realizing it was safe and they were playing. 

I've known horses who loved having a cat in the stable, to sit on their neck, and got very restless if the cat wasn't around.

Nearer home there was the playtime between my tiny grey rescue cat Boud, hence my screen name in her honor, and my rescued lutino cockatiel Emily.  

No pictures of them but here's an idea, swiped from the Internet.

Emily was free flying all day, just caged at night or when I had visitors for safety.

So she and Boud developed various silly games, like lying side by side on the rug, daring me to step on them. And Emily would nibble gently on Boud's nose while Boud purred loudly. They were a dynamic duo.

Then there was Marigold the dumped Burmese kitten, and KC the dalmatian owned by Handsome Partner.  

HP took Marigold because I couldn't house one more animal, and she, tiny, maybe a pound weight, was completely taken over by KC, a large boned 60+ lb  Dalmatian, real picture of Marigold, swiped internet pic of a Dal.

KC groomed Marigold allll the time, swiping her giant tongue all over her till Marigold was pretty damp! She followed KC like her mom, slept between her paws and generally made a big nuisance of herself yanking on KCs ears and face, till KC like a patient nanny, pushed her gently away.  

We used to think they were the best thing that ever happened to each other. 

And then there are men and women, such  different species but you do see cases where they get along wonderfully...

Happy day everyone, here's today's little bouquet 

Up early, so I got back into training!

 Up very early this morning and I decided this was a good day, first of no coughing, and with actual breathing, though a bit stiff, to get back to weights. So I joined April and Aiko and worked out for 30 minutes using 5 lb weights. 

That was good. Later I also had a walk, not wanting to miss the lovely weather.  First day I've seen violets.  

And the Korean spicebush is nearly in bloom and ready to release a wonderful scent any day now.

The last chance for daffodils 

I've been hearing a lot of birdsong, and yesterday I noticed the mockingbird is back. That might account for some of the singing, since they have quite a range.

Yesterday was a day of puffy clouds, blossoms and birds. 

Also a mystery moss, I think, an emerald carpet of fine straight fronds. It's in a damp area, moss friendly, so that's why I think moss.

This time of year is precious because it's warm enough to walk and the mosquitoes haven't started up. I notice that despite the spring activities of the birds, the juncoes haven't left yet. Usually they're gone by now to wherever they summer, but they're maybe checking the weather at their destination and deciding to wait.

Cooking today was about that penne with cashew  white sauce, which I'll bake on Monday, since we now know that's when Handsome Son is free to celebrate Easter.

Yesterday I tried another idea, to go with my roast potato dice and a ground turkey croquette. A date, lemon, onion relish. And it definitely worked. 

I think this is worth doing again.

Last evening I treated myself to a new Beka rigid heddle, to continue my bandweaving backstrap style. This one is halfway in size between the tiny one I made and the medium one I wove a scarf on. 

There was also a beautiful small one, lovely wood, good small size. However it's made in Lithuania and the shipping would treble the price, oh. So mine is coming from Minnesota instead.

Happy day everyone, e came through her surgery and is now convalescing at home, great news, and many vibes to her to regain her strength. 

Long gone, and never forgotten, my feline textile assistants, or supervisors. 

Strength, cardio and misfits

Thursday is misfit day, and I did a workout to get my strength up ready for the Big Lift. In fact I bring the food in bit by bit, so the big lift is usually the almost empty box with maybe a few apples in it.

April and Aiko again. I hadn't done resistance, the physical kind, that is, for a few days, just walking and stretches and dancing in the kitchen, so I was pretty feeble. I did get through it, strength, cardio, isometrics, not resorting to sitting.  Strength really melts away if you take too many days off.

Yesterday I donated a bag of food to the food pantry with the help of a ride from Gary, and he carried in the bag. I did have a little agenda here, because he's been talking about donating and hasn't been doing it. 

But once he saw how local the pantry is and how easy it was to donate, no bureaucracy, he was all fired up with ideas about cans he has in the house that he'll donate.  He tends to over buy, so he can do this.   And he has plans to buy for giving in future. That will be good.

On the way home he said his phone, yet again, was out of action. Until he could get it to the shop later that day, he couldn't get on with some urgent calls. 

So while his latest top of the line $$$ iPhone, carrier some big name,  was out of action, I lent him my cheap and cheerful $Motorola, carrier Tracfone, and he got caught up.  I was nice. I didn't gloat.

Today's haul, delivered by Jeff. Pure cane sugar, fair trade, for general use, red onions to dice and freeze because I'm out, yellow onions dittto, I use a lot of onions, ginger and garlic likewise, spinach to go in everything, more or less, canned goods for the food pantry, beautiful brown free range eggs. 

These are real eggs, that need a sharp rap on the counter to crack them, and have a deep yellow stand up yolk. I don't crack eggs on the side of the bowl since Jacques Pepin said it was a way to drive eggshell fragments into the egg. 

Blueberries to go with the yogurt, bread because I'm too bone idle to bake, chocolate almonds because everyone needs a little something now and then. Some to my neighbor across the street whose soup container needs to be returned. Never return a container empty!

Look at these beauties. Too big for the supermarket -- this is two pounds each of the onions. They're now more or less diced and frozen, and the red onion skins are in a jar of water to make a nice pink dye for some future purpose or other. 

Happy day everyone, do all the things, follow the Yorkshire saying: break eggs with a stick. Meaning plunge in, regardless.

Marigold looking down from the blanket in the sky saying look at that, still running about doing stuff, she hasn't learned a thing.

Balance and boots

After snow and ice meant no outdoor activity beyond trudging to the recycle, I thought I'd better keep up my strength Saturday, and did a thirty minute resistance and balance workout with April and Aiko.

April used 8 lb weights, I used 5 lb and Aiko used 2 lb. It was certainly warming, and I felt more cheerful after it. 

And I thought why not try the ice idea, thank you Ellen, for stretching the right boot, the one more in need. 

I found a Ziploc bag, to my surprise, half filled it with water and for safety put it inside a plastic loaf bag, not wishing to soak the boot. 

Putting it in the boot was tricky because the design of this one doesn't open up completely. There's a kind of inner lining holding it together. Anyway I managed it.

And here it is in the freezer for a day. So we'll see.  I already tried ramming a plastic glass into the toe of each boot, and hadn't tested whether it worked on this one.

But I did wrestle the glass back out of the other boot and found it had worked okay there. 

Fairly happy foot there. One down. 

Happy day everyone, One foot after the other does it.

Yes2next, Knitting Group, Textiles and Tea,

Heavy rain Tuesday, so instead of outdoor walking, I did an interesting 20 minute yes2next walking video

April, the trainer, daughter of 84 year old Aiko, seated there, is very good on warm-up and cool down, and reminders about a sip of water now and then.  Much better than when I do it without their instruction.

Two offers to ride to the  Tuesday knitting group, it's like a polite bidding war!  

Despite pouring rain, the regular members showed up. With all kinds of work in progress.

The two pictured above are hand spun yarn created by the knitter, who has resolved to use her stash of hand spun before buying any more yarn. 

Note the Icord edging 

Wearing one sweater while knitting another for her niece.

Talk ranged over teaching writing, blogging, freelancing,  teaching music, transgender relatives, giving away art -- invitation extended to group to come here and pick -- dermatology, pet care, houseplant care, the urge to make, the pandemic, the way we washed and sterilized everything, and more. It was a lot funnier than it reads.

Then at the close of the meeting, the member who'd driven me arranged with another to drive me next week! I felt like a parcel, but they're so determined to keep me going, it's lovely.

Home to a pot of tea, with honey toast and Textiles and Tea with 

Rebecca studied tapestry with the iconic Archie Brennan, and practiced it before moving into transparent weaving, where you can literally see through the work, which casts shadows onto the wall behind.

She also incorporates beads into freestanding weavings, and uses the transparency of the glass as part of the work. She's written a book which will be out next year, currently the only one which gathers the knowledge and skills of transparency weaving in one place. 

See the Anni Albers quotation from her upcoming book. Albers pioneered many weaving approaches and patterns in her Bauhaus and Black Mountain College days. What she says here is so true. In the making comes the shape and meaning of the work.

Happy day, everyone. Leap, and the net will appear! That's my policy anyway. It's worked up to now.