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 

Sunday morning, cool, with dragonflies

This morning is so great for walking to the pond 

I don't have to carry water to the flowers, always a plus, because there's rain in the forecast.

So I moseyed down to the pond noticing new fungi and dragonflies. We have many species and here are two from this morning 

This one's harder to see because he's so transparent, perched near the top of a daylily stem, about halfway up the picture.

And the early signs of seasonal change, leaves coming down and the sighting of goldenrod 

I made it to the pond and here's the wind blowing the beech leaves about. Ripples in the water where frogs are moving.

Happy day everyone, great sleeping weather with windows open. Perfect.

And here's a little bouquet with today's additions 

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.

 

Blessed cool, bracelets and Lively

So much cooler today, and tomorrow more so.  Last night we had lashing rain and high winds with thunder and lightning. 

I looked out to see the solar lantern swinging wildly back and forward as the Japanese maple was whipped about.    Both looked fine this morning.

I even got a bit of gardening done, pulled out and disposed of a lot of vines which were choking shrubs out front. Evidently the torrid weather just suited them. 

And I made a little bouquet.

Daisies, lemon balm, wandering dude, English ivy.  The daisies are a bit tired after the heat. But there are plenty of zinnia buds, and the hibiscus looks promising, with multiple buds. Out front the little patch of black eyed susans is budding up. And the daylilies are about halfway through blooming.

Today's reading is a great, if harrowing, Penelope Lively. Note you can choose your spelling.

It's thoughtful, unsparing, analytical and prime Lively.

And I am determined to get the hang of the bafflement of the easy, easy, beginner, your cat could do it, knotted bracelet.

I have finally found out what's getting between me and succeeding. These are points none of the videos mention. I think they seem so obvious they don't think about it.

One, you need the right thread. My weaving cotton wasn't very knottable. Now I'm trying a mixture of perle cotton and embroidery floss, working better. If I had more perle thread I'd use it. Paracord, of which I have none, might be even better. 

Two, nobody shows exactly how to tighten the knots. I made the mistake of tugging both ends equally, which made the knots lopsided and pulled the wrong color to the surface. Once I grasped that you hold the anchor thread firm, and slide the other thread up while tightening it, things improved.

Three nobody explains the path of the thread as it travels across, in the candy stripe design. Does it go over or under the last thread?  I got this eventually, on bracelet three, which you see. 

Four, this was my own mistake I invented, I kept forgetting which was the traveling thread and started moving the wrong one before I realized this. This is how threads get all out of order and you can't make stripes, and you get a lot of practice in unknotting.

I have developed some expertise in unknotting at this point and I'm bloated with pride that I have, by George, finally got the candy stripe design, more or less.

Wobbly but more recognizable. Diagonal stripes are emerging. And I'm finding knotting isn't hard on my hands, a big plus.

Happy day everyone, it's okay not to get it right away. Anyway that's my story.

She's right, you know, sez Ted and Big Ursy and Pony and Ursula.

Wednesday not in Egypt

 One of the YouTube channels I've been following since it started is Silver and Solo, created by Jen, lifelong happy single person and a lot of fun to follow. She's so honest, and her life is interesting. A Canadian, she now lives in Vancouver, and recently turned 60. 

Here's part of her birthday present to herself, balloon trip over the Valley of the Kings, and more.

 

She saved and planned and splurged on a once in a lifetime solo trip to Egypt. Checked all her boxes. Hotel room overlooking the pyramids, see King Tutankhamen's tomb, sail down the Nile, another hotel room overlooking the Nile, even ride a camel!  

It was fun just seeing her face whenever she saw something she'd longed to see, and the squeee of excitement.  Anyway I was touched by her joy and thought you'd like it too.

My own 60th birthday present to myself was a set of free weights, not as romantic, but they've improved my life.

If you're solo and have passed your 60th, what did you do for yourself for your birthday?

Wednesday self care involved the biannual doctor visit to get assessed again for the Prolia injection. My doctor said nice things about my fitness and was very happy I'd had the successful hip replacement. 

Meanwhile I had a couple of interesting convos. Her nurse commented on my cold hands, which led to pastry and how I make it well, because cold hands. 

Turns out she started life at culinary school as a pastry chef. I commented there was probably less shouting now, whereupon she said I could tell some stories about restaurant kitchens!

When I checked out there was an interesting discussion in the middle of setting up my appointments, with a receptionist who'd worked way back for Disney. She was explaining to a bearded colleague that Disney required a beard or clean shaven. You had to take vacation time to grow it! Who knew.

Never a dull moment in my doctor's office. I also had a comic interlude when the injection lady called my first name and another lady and I both stood. Then she explained it's the one here for an injection, and we both said still me! Then she specified what kind and my namesake went with her. She returned after a while to the waiting area and when my name was called, dammit if she didn't jump up again. But it was me this time.

Handsome Tenant seems to be studying the heatpump and getting the hang of the system. One thing I liked that they did was reconfigure how to change the filter. 

Now it's set up inside the return grill in the living room rather than out on the deck where the furnace is in a storage area. Saves going outside in winter to change the filter, I like this.  You just pop off the grill and insert the filter, then close it again. Easy.

Today's yes2next was 20 minutes' resistance band work. I've moved to the blue, heavier, band now. Yay me.

Happy day everyone, give yourself a present, you're worth it.

Meanwhile here's yet another bouquet. When I thought I'd picked the last, the zinnias and daisies evidently took it as a challenge.

Incidentally the chickens have been busted. Some miserable person reported they were ALL OVER, THEY'D ESCAPED, WHO DID THIS, etc. So the HOA is looking into it. I know nothing..

Where it makes sense to alert: I got a text from the bank security department asking if I had authorized the (big) check for the heatpump. I confirmed, and they will pay it. 

 Still there for you, friends 

Because it's my flag, too!

Butterflies and Victorian murder

Another marvelous day, largely outside walking, watering, picking flowers, loafing, reading

The butterflies are very active, too fast for anything better than this blurry attempt at a silver spot. 

There were monarchs and another similar butterfly that isn't a monarch, Marie will know what I mean, also many insects of all sizes. There's a lot of activity around my tiny patio which has never been sprayed. There are even little bees trying to break into closed morning glory flowers. They should have been here earlier.

Indoors some accidental art, the shadow of the window curtain cast on the fridge. 

This was a bonus I hadn't thought of when I hung the curtain.

And there's a bouquet guarded by a Herend hound

While the posh orchids are posing 

Today's yes2next August challenge was only five minutes of arm weights, so I added in another 15-minute one, using resistance bands. Some of the moves are tricky for balance, and I noticed I'd improved since I last did that routine. All good.

I'm beginning to think about soon being ready for fall, after so much time outside, and for once I'm not cast down about it. I think the experience of surgery and car upheavals has made a quieter season quite appealing. And maybe new interests, too. We'll see.

Thank you everyone for your takes on work and value, always good to hear what blogistas have to say, never dull.

Happy day everyone, speak up always, especially in here, sez 

Ted and Big Ursy