A narrow squeak and a silent car

This morning I finally did what I'd feared since hearing aids Ruth and Laura moved in. Forgot I was wearing them and jumped into the shower. Horror, maybe a hugely expensive mistake.

I realized quickly, whipped them out,  buried them in a dry towel and prayed to Saint Speakup that they'd survive. 

After I'd dried off and dared replace them I found one wasn't sounding.  Replaced the filter and the rubber dome, the parts which protect the electronics, and, relief, it worked again.

Every morning I put on the kettle for coffee and proceed to insert the aids. Almost every day I think this can't be right, they're whistling. Then realize yet again it's the kettle. 

Bitterly cold and windy today, so I made it outside to try starting the car and pick up mail. The car wouldn't start. Gary will come over later and use my  battery starter kit. I can't get the hood up, or I'd do it.

Ed note: not sure what's happening but he's on it now. Disregard the red shadow across the storm door. 

Meanwhile no car means I'm not able to make it to the Tuesday Knitting Group. So reading at home is on. And crocheting. And steam pressing the gloves, three pairs. And whining and grumbling and being a bad sport about it all.

Just that walk to the mailbox and back was tiring, the cold and the wind, and I fell asleep twice over the Forsyte S.  What a sugarbaby, aka wuss. Probably just as well I didn't try for the knitting group. I'd have fallen out of my chair asleep.

Textiles and Tea is on, though, with a great presenter, natural dyer, shibori artist, WARP activist working against child enslavement in the Asian rug world, aficionada of Indonesian textiles, teacher, designer, multi talented Sara Goodman.

The Asian weaver is modeling a traditional complex ikat weaving, the first she ever made, at fifteen!

Sara is passionate about using natural dyes and points out that in the Unicorn Tapestries in the Paris Cluny museum, all their range of color,  is from three or four natural plant sources. It takes knowledge and flexible thinking and experimenting.

She works in silk and wool, including silk ribbons. Go to her website for more, she's endlessly interesting and experimental.

Happy day everyone, my car's working again, I can hear, the ruggy thing is growing, all's well!

And it's Distaff Day, when spinsters, who spun thread for the family, respected, valued work, returned to their drop spindles after their Christmas break. 

Boyz, toyz, batteriez

Yesterday the pod was picked up, so the neighbor had to come and watch and have manly discussions with Gary. It's interesting to watch the very clever mechanics of one man loading a massive box onto a truck

Meanwhile I was pursuing AAA options for my battery situation, and found they were so pressed because of conditions that they were attending mainly people actually stranded, but anyone home or in a parking spot would get low priority, and batteries might not be available.

Meanwhile Gary decided to take care of it himself, took the car,  which amazingly  started, to the local battery dealer. They had no Honda batteries in stock.  So he went to another who could only offer a three-year (same as AAA, they do only three year batteries) at $285. He decided this was ridiculous, and wouldn't spend my money that way! 

Meanwhile again, he had them test the battery,  they said it may not need replacing, but definitely needed charging. 

So he brought it home, and here it is charging next door, the stepstools warning walkers not to trip on the cord. Soooo we'll see. The cold is abating a bit, which will probably help. 

Breaking news: Gary just came by -- the battery was down to 60% last night, is now 100%. He has a smart charger. So I seem to be in business again.

The saga goes on. Once again I'm wondering about options if I give up the car. It would save one lot of expenses, but would be awkward in other ways. Spontaneous errands wouldn't be possible. I think I'll keep track of my trips and see what they amount to in reality and if I'm holding onto assumptions that aren't accurate to what I'm actually doing these days.

There is no, zero, public transportation in the directions I need to go, so that's not an option, in case you wondered!

Happy day, everyone, one thing at a time, bird by bird.

Photo AC

Thrills, spills, adrenalin triggers

The car is again the focus. From a couple of days ago, blaring message on screen KEY FOB BATTERY LOW, and finding that I did have backup batteries from the last time I had the fun of changing the battery, to the solid hour spent prying apart the clamshell housing, to finding the parts which flew out in all directions, to finally getting the battery changed and the housing shut, at which point it proved I installed it right by going off in alarm mode... anyway the car's been making her in presence felt.

We've had a couple of bitterly cold nights, and since I had a doctor's appointment this morning, I went out early to warm up the car. Which wouldn't start.  Not enough time to review the charging instructions with my  battery jumper, I urgently called Handsome Son for a ride.  He was able to get here and I did make it, just, to the office.

I'm in the middle of a trial of a new rx, important to get there. However it's about blood pressure, and I mentioned to her that it might be high on account of the early morning shenanigans. It was. She declined to tell me the numbers. I rested, we did it again, it was down to just high, not four alarm high. Fine. New rx happening.

Home again, we tackled the dead battery situation, never had a Honda that failed to start before this one, grumble, grumble, and got it running. 

I supplied Handsome Son with a hot lunch before he had to go get on with his day. We commented that Gary must be away, or he'd have been running out, putting on his jacket, to supervise, or take over. 

So that was an exciting start. I did have a very pleasing earlier thing, though, before rashly thinking I could warm up the car. I learned a way to do a provisional cast-on for the Second Ministry Sock.

This is a technical knitting thing you need to do with a piece of waste yarn, to make comfortable toe-up socks without a hard ridge across the toes where you cast on.  

I've had varied success, usually not being able to unzip the prov.  cast on and having to unpick bit by bit. But this one worked! It's done by crocheting the base, but differently from the way I've crocheted it in the past.  Very pleased about this.

So though officially this is doing good work to help people, it's also a terrific learning curve, from reviewing   the whole sock making process, to this shining success with the cast on, to another new learning, Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bindoff.

It's a special cast-off that makes it easy to get the sock on and off. A firm castoff can make it difficult to navigate your heel. This one looks nice and works a treat. I do want the recipient to be able to slip them on and off easily.

So here's today's peaceful happy valley activity.

The toe cap, see the crocheted tails at each end. Thats where I cast on, then you knit to the toe tip, then back again, on two needles. That's why the cast on thread seems to be in the middle of things. Up to this point, stockinette stitch is one row purl, one row plain. The shape is created by a series of short rows, clever stuff. 

Then you add in the third needle so as to work around all the stitches, and by magic, stockinette on three needles is done by plain knitting, no purling required.

So here, toe completed, we can get into random stripes, like the finished one. You see four needles, three needles holding stitches, one a working needle.

And here's the new sock with its partner, see the cast off, really happy find, good old Jeny.

If you think this is a lot of fuss over a sock, guilty as charged, but I'm easily pleased.

Happy Sock Day. Boo hiss to Honda day. It seems quite symmetrical  at this point.

The day started well, anyway

Here's the breakfast of pancakes from this morning.  I used the pastry flour, and they are light and very delicate, really good.  The first two, as usual with pancakes, not very shapely, but the last is fine, as you see.  I didn't put sugar in the batter, so they're neutral, and I can use the rest of it as a savory, or, like here, a breakfast with a bit of sugar sprinkled on.  Sometimes I like a spritz of lemon juice, too.

And is it now amazingly, one year since the Great Winnowing, when I reduced the contents of my house considerably.  Here's what used to be a jammed art studio

And, after giving masses of materials to artists and students, here's what I kept in a walk in closet

And I can say I literally have not missed a single item I gave away in the Winnowing.  Of all the clearing, only a tiny bag was suitable for the garbage.  Everything else was given or recycled. Several carloads, to be exact.

And here's a picture to accompany a request for input.  This is the nest and eggs pin I created from the cashmere goat fiber donated by Quinn last year.  I spun and crocheted and felted it to make this little pin.

Today I was offered a bag of dog hair from a friend's beloved Belgian Malinois, who died in early 2020.  I plan to spin it mixed with other fiber, and will possibly get just a few yards of yarn.

What I'm looking for are suggestions on what I might crochet or knit or weave with that small quantity, with a gift to the owner in mind.  I think she might like a memento of her much-missed dog. When I was doing the cashmere goat hair, blogistas came up with all sorts of suggestions, which eventually led to my making the seasonal nest with eggs, it being Springtime.  So please think again and see what we can come up with now?

And here's my new exercise program, which looks exactly like a bunch of scarves, which it is.  Silk to be exact, very lightweight.  The idea is to bend down, pick one up, then with a fluid, graceful (!) large movement, toss it, catch in the other hand. Repeat and return. Chiffon or silk are the best choices, because they float in the air, so you have a chance to focus on them and catch them.

It's good for eye-hand, not a big need for me, for balance, this is a need, and for large coordination, which is a desperate need for me, mine being fair to lousy. A friend with serious health conditions which I don't have, has started this at the recommendation of her physical therapist, for improving movement and keeping shoulders supple as well as maintaining and improving balance.

So I did this today, and was able to catch and throw just fine with my left hand, but was all at sea, unable at first to catch, with my right hand. No surprise there, since my left is always my throwing and catching better side.  But once I got the hang of it, my right hand did a bit of catch up.  And it did open up my shoulders nicely without strain, and was generally quite a bit of fun to do.  I could pretend I was being fluid and graceful, anyway.  Always good to vary exercise so you don't get bored and stop.

So that was the first part of the day, which went very well.  Then I thought I'd go out and start the car and let it run a few minutes while I went to the mailbox. That's where the day got away from me.

The car was totally dead.  Not clicking, not cranking, absolutely nothing.  Used both keys in case it was a battery problem in one of the fobs.  Nothing.  Heaved a sigh, and went for the jump starter kit.  Attached it, got the green light, fully charged, tried to start. Nothing whatever.

Appealed to neighbor, who came and tried with his starter kit.  Nothing.  Cleaned the terminals of corrosion, nice and clean, tried again. Nothing.  Called mechanic, tried horn, nothing, lights, nothing. I called the dealership who said they could do nothing unless I got it in to them, I needed to get a towing company. Neighbor said, nah, let's not yet.

He brought out the big guns, charged it off his pickup truck, and after lengthy effort, it finally turned over and ran.  We left it for fifteen minutes, and he offered to take it to his own mechanic this evening, get his partner to follow in a car, so he could get home, mechanic would look at it this evening.

So that's where things stand right now.  Car is at an undisclosed location with a mechanic trusted by neighbor who knows all about cars, and its fate is as yet unknown. Brand new battery was working fine yesterday.  After forcible starting, working fine again today. But I can't be doing this every few days! And I'm not pleased that the dealership was so quick to just replace the battery without looking for any causes why the previous one was weak.  They assumed that it was at the end of its life.

So that part of the day was a downer, other than the huge generosity of neighbor spending most of his afternoon and evening working on it, then delivering it to the mechanic. And came home to chocolate walnut cupcakes to cheer them both up a bit.

Son brought groceries and stayed to eat chocolate walnut cupcakes and drink tea and sympathize.  I really felt very catered to today, despite all, what with two neighbors attending my car and son attending my grocery needs.

Breathing now, and suspecting whatever's wrong, it's not covered.  But I'll be glad to have an operating car. Again. And I think I may have found a good mechanic.  But, as always, we'll see.

Fast food and the return of the light, oh, wait..

So I had a post thought up for today, peaceful, unaware that stuff might happen. Or not happen.  I went out for the morning start the car ritual, and it didn't.  Flat as a pancake. Oh.  So here was my chance to learn how to use the new portable charger.  I sound a lot calmer than I felt, literally dropped the cables once because my hands were shaking! such a great mechanic.

And studied the little book, remembered how to pop the hood, eventually got the power cable inserted into the unit, shaky hands not helping, and went to fiddle about trying to figure out, after red to red, black to black, exactly what I was supposed to attach the alligator clips to.

Eventually got it, not the bit I expected, much easier, and the green light went on, saying well done, thou good and faithful servant, go thou and start thy engine. 

See below!!

So I did and it started first try.  Yay me.  Then I had to study how to detach the unit safely.  Good thing, because you're supposed to separate the unit from the power cable before unclipping the ally clips.  Ah.  Done.  Now the unit's back in the house, charging, found out how to do that, too.  It had arrived 80 per cent charged, fortunately, because I hadn't had the chance to charge it fully anyway before I had to use it.  

Did I mention my phone's losing its charge faster and faster, meaning I may need a new one soon.  The proposed tablet is sliding down the list of priorities around here, I can see.

Meanwhile, nature knows what she's doing. As soon as the solstice was past, here come new blossoms on the primula, unfailing.

And yesterday I found to my surprise I was out of soup, right before I planned to heat some.  Needed fast food, soonest.  So a can of cannellini beans, mashed, with capers,  can of chicken, egg, potato flakes, and I had a set of fritter things ready to go, with steamed broccoli.

 Then I remembered scallions in the freezer, so added them into the remaining batter.  Scallions always make me think of Chinese food, I guess they come in there.

So here's yesterday's lunch, sans scallions but with pickled beets, remember those, they're still going. And above that, today's lunch, with scallions, and I'll add the beets again, I think.

Just as well I had a lunch already set up, considering the excitement earlier. There's a limit!

And now Blogger refuses to insert this pic where I asked, repeatedly. Bear with me, tech is not friendly today. But here's the operation in full swing.

I'm having a restful cup of tea now.  Then I'll go see about getting a mechanic's licence.

New daily ritual

Now that Advent's past, the main daily ritual around here, since the debacle of the dead battery, is to go out and run the car for a few minutes even when I'm not going anywhere.

 

It doesn't have the interest and variety of a daily calendar window, though, so I think this is the one and only entry about it.  But there's something to having a little activity  to look forward to doing each morning, usually in the arts, a drawing, or painting, or knitting or reading,or something that you will always do for a little while.  If you're a follower of  The Artist's Way, it's your morning pages. I think I'll get back into my Basho poetry  which I have on my Kindle.  Haikus are about the right size for this purpose.

 

In the evening, I've had my annual viewing of The Bishop's Wife, and it was as good as always.  Now I'm revisiting some of my own collection. Here the ever hilarious Mapp and Lucia, still as good as ever, humor intact, interiors and fashion wonderful, acting first class.  Five star viewing chez Boud.

And there's reading.  Winspear is the author of the Maisie Dobbbs books, to which I'm devoted, and here's her memoir, showing how she's always been interested in a good story without losing track of actual events in the process, and has done her own research from an early age.  Her path hasn't been an easy one, and you can see how she's been forced to consider other people's quirks as they affected her, all her life.  Also where she gets her grit from.

And the Maggie Rudy books, which I can't take back to the libe without showing you a bit more.  This is from The City Mouse and the Country Mouse, traditional meme written in her own take. This is the kind of illustrations that makes you sit like a little kid, noticing all the detail and finding one more thing, one more thing.  Here's the city. All the inventiveness in the dioramas!  The great observation of street scenes and people doing their daily stuff.

And a country scene, with tiny mice in proportion to enormous flowers and birds, seeing all there is to be seen.

Then there's I Wish I Had a Pet, which is a great intro to little kids into the realities of having a pet and how it's about taking care of them and enjoying their company and working for them, too.  This is one I picked out for knitters here!  And I, the insect lover, one of the first visitors to the Smithsonian Insect Zoo, appreciate that she includes all kinds of insects and beetles and other tiny life forms, as potential pet friends.

 Maggie Rudy isn't just for kids. In fact I wish a lot of people who ran to adopt dogs from shelters for company in the pandemic were aware of a lot of the advice in this book.  I hope they're all doing well, particularly first time dog owners not really knowing, until they got into it, what it's like to share your life with a dog.  As well as a lot of pleasure and fun and company, there's a lot of work and responsibility and expense.  Take this from a lifelong pet person who has rescued many a dog and cat and bird.

 Currently petless, because of age, don't want to leave an animal in need of a new home at midlife since they will almost certainly outlive me, ruling out a kitten, and because of finances, just couldn't keep meeting the vet bills, which are as high as human ones, why not, same machinery and skills, but without Medicare! Which rules out older animals.

I don't foster,because that comes with the obligation to load up the animals and crates and take them out regularly to adoption meets, in order to get them permanent homes.  More than I can physically do.  I'm not sure how adoption meets are working during the pandemic, come to think of it.

Anyway, I salute you dog owners for your care of your animals, especially people who have to get dogs out in zero degree weather no matter what!  Been there, done that, know what that predawn cold is like! And how dogs get you up and out early to walk them, then when you get home, cold, and it's too late to go back to bed, because the day beckons, the dog hops right back into bed to sleep till noon.