Thursday Misfits

The weather being cool enough for a jacket on my morning circuit of the development, all on sidewalks because of the rain, I did get out for half an hour good walk. 

It's such a luxury to walk without cringing, just painfree, I'm not used to it yet. I hope I continue to remember what a treat this is. My body is finally getting back in balance after the months of limping. It takes a while. 

Then home to various online activity and the walk caught up with me and I slept a while.

Robert brought my Misfits right after lunch.

Canned goods for the food pantry, then potatoes for roasting and salad, also to go with the fish I have thawing. Apples for mid mornings, plums for freezing, until I get to deciding on crumble or torte. Tofu for crunchy sticks, cauliflower for a spicy Will Yeung recipe, mushrooms for omelettes, eggs ditto, cheese for that tomato egg cheese bake I like. Blueberries with yogurt. Coffee, whole beans for grinding. All set.

Once everything is washed and the box broken down and tied for recycle, the delivery is complete.

Happy day everyone, some days are about tasks and maybe this is one.  I'm still intent on stitching along with a podcast but we'll see if that comes to pass. This may be the last quiet day before Gary returns..

Meanwhile a quiet time on the patio watching quite a few clearwing hummingbird moths, then I picked flowers. 

Late breaking news, Gary called, he didn't take the flight, sick and will return Sunday. He didn't sound so well, so I warmly sympathized with him. He's with family and he's in good hands.

Bee lecture this evening online, from the county extension people. I can always learn more about bees.

Gentle welcome rain, stitching and tiny dolls

Monday is about hours of gentle rain, medium warm, just what the earth needs right now. I walked yesterday so I'm not too deprived about not getting out today. 

I did arm weights and that exercise about getting out of the chair without holding, you know the one. I did ten of them. I'm trying never to get out of the chair by pushing myself up, surprising how easy it is to forget.

And I suddenly realized the cleaning family comes tomorrow, so I have to organize a bit today. I don't want to waste their time tidying before they can clean. They really keep me going, so I take care of them. Including a Christmas boost in their check. 

We have this weird little thing going. They've been working here for about fifteen years, and have never raised my rates. So I raise what I pay them every January, fair's fair. 

And I paid them for six months of lockdown when they couldn't attend, to help them stay in business. I mentioned it to other clients, to encourage them to do likewise.

Anyway they come tomorrow so I will be out of the house most of the morning. Related, more or less to the tidying, is the decision also to tidy the knit jacket by binding the edges and getting it DONE, finally. Then by tidily wearing it tomorrow. This does work, oddly.

It also reduces the TBD area of my life

And here it is, finished and ready to wear.

Another TBD is winnowing art. I'm thinking next of tiny dolls.  If any blogistas would like any, and they live in the lower 49, please get in touch. I'll choose some and send you them. 

They're all handmade, some by me, some by friends, some folky little wooden bobbin ones from craft bazaars.  There's wood, cloth, porcelain, fiber.

One's an antique porcelain, original boots, with an amateurish repair on a leg, for whom I knitted clothes. One's a modern porcelain I made from a kit and dressed about fifty years ago. Her red silk dress has deteriorated and needs to be replaced. The peasant lady has her own hand basket. They range in size from a couple of inches to maybe 6".

Here's a gangshot 

They can be Freecycled if I don't hear interest from blogistas, but I thought you'd like first chance.

So that's where we are on a wet Monday.

With a bit of good news from my home state

Happy day everyone, stay dry, hang in there.

Photo AC 

Postcards, walking and other events

The postcards are ready to mail early next week 

And Saturday, beautiful October day, almost hot in the afternoon, I walked to the pond and admired foliage and reflections.

And the random oak leaf tangled in other leaves

On the patio yet more flowers

And yet another bowl o' blooms.

Gary was doing everything everywhere all at once, wanting input on planting a tree and putting pavers around. Then a while later input on color choice for walls, to work with wallpaper and floor already in place. 

It's all a bit somber for my taste, but he loves dark shades.

Then I got to my stitching and finished the mottled leaf 

Mottled leaf sounds like a nightclub Bertie Wooster might go to.

Then, officially reading Tey's The Singing Sands, but in fact sleeping and even dreaming,  I woke to make a nice supper of steamed broccoli with an omelette on top. 

What a life of luxury, to be able to rest when I'm tired, take a walk without extensive planning and preparation, stitch without checking the clock. 

None of these was possible during the nine years of caregiving for dear Handsome Partner. I did it gladly, and now I'm glad of my freedom.

Happy day everyone, check what we take for granted, sometimes we're on velvet and don't realize it. 

Fridgescaping, art, ducks, fall copper

 Fridgescaping, my minimalist take. This is after shopping. Just sayin'.

In the container at the bottom is this, cooked Saturday from Yeung Man Cooking

Here the cartoon is nice, and the quotation is everything

Art is not to make a living, it's to make a life.

And in order for our lives to continue as planned, democracy work continues. I write a few cards then rest my hand a while, then resume. I've timed it to be done in time for the mailing date.

Today's art is setup, the latest color combinations chosen, ready to stitch.

Meanwhile I went for a walk, lovely sunny weather, saw fall copper, goldenrod and some white fluffy stuff 

And at the pond, the little flock of wild ducks is back. Briefly. As soon as they spotted me, one warning quack, and they were off 

Back at the ranch, the pioneer lady is ready to make a gallon of clothes washing liquid.

 

It suits my budget and I know what's in it, no scented additives or whiteners other than what I put there. This recipe gets the laundry as clean as the expensive stuff. The container at the back is empty. It's what I use as a dispenser, disregard the label.

So that's where I am at the time of writing.

I finished Clever Girl, and find that Tessa Hadley is the only writer I've found whose novel and short story writing both work well for me. 

Alice Walker, wonderful essays, but novels not for me. Anne LaMott, great nonfiction, oh dear on the novels. Hadley, more of both,  please.

Happy day everyone! You do you.

 

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.