Crochet success, pond walk, and third party Freecycle

Beautiful morning, and I was out early, walking, and feeling more energy. It's a particularly rugged allergy season and I have to take all kinds of drops and compresses and pills, to cope with terminally swollen itchy eyes and sneezing. I try to take as little as I can manage without, because it drags me down. It's a balance. 

Anyway today's better and I had a great walk without wanting to lie down on the way back.

There were many rings on the surface, turtles and frogs, also water striders. And you may detect a golf ball in the water.

When I was taking out the garbage I spotted this perfectly good stuff left there. Probably wouldn't fit on the truck, or maybe too expensive to move it.

So I put a picture on Freecycle as a drive by, giving location and explaining it's not mine. 

But chances are I'll get emails asking me various questions and requesting I hold it, and other things people think up. 

I'll disregard them, not get into an email exchange. I've done my bit and it's going to rain so I urged anyone interested to get over soon.

While I was in Freecycle I saw this wanted post 

Hm. Maybe the gilded look is spreading beyond Washington? Ew.

I have turned a corner with the crochet.

I now know what I'm doing. That broad bit at the bottom wraps around the back of the heel, and will be stitched. Now I'm working the sole of the foot.   

It wasn't only the stitch that was tough, but doing it with accommodations for what is now functionally a partly disabled hand. 

This work isn't pretty but it will work as a proof of concept and a template for a future project. I'm very pleased with what I've learned here.

And look what came in the mail. Comic relief.

This cracked me up. An exclusive club I don't qualify for! Could they be more oblivious of people's feelings? Medics certainly have a different way of seeing the world. I'm guessing it's my age range that's expected to be falling to bits.

Also my age range is probably why I'm getting many many offers to take the condo off my hands. For cash. Fast. Easy. Three texts and calls just today.

On the other hand, my doctor's office called this afternoon and announced that the recent blood work is normal. So there!

 In other good news: in NJ as of today it is illegal for stores to use variable pricing. That's where their surveillance shows your personal shopping information and charges different customers different prices for the same product.  So yay us. 

And, because of cyclobadstuff, I did check with Misfits about sourcing of produce and they tell me their records show no instances of involvement with the sus sources. So far so good. I'm still cooking what I can't peel though.

Today's reading, among other books, is this gripping story, historical fiction, of a young girl in a Venice orphanage, abandoned at birth by a young woman who couldn't keep her. 

The orphanage has a music program, and after flute, piano and voice, she turns out to be a violin prodigy who gets Vivaldi as her teacher.

It's very well written, understanding synaesthesia and its relationship to music and the drive of a child born to play. I'm liking this.

Happy day everyone, my new neighbor just showed up to borrow my stepladder, which just arrived back from Gary! Her (and his) granddaughter is available to help her hang drapes so she's seizing the day. 

Neighborly day and annual treats

There was sheeting rain Friday morning, washing away all the snow and ice, and finally I got out to walk, quick between storms.

End of the street looking left, clear blue visible 

Looking right, a lot of black, darker than it looks here. But note the complete absence of snow and ice.

Nice chat in the way home with next door neighbor about cars and his latest adventure with a dealer who thought he was an easy mark, and found his mistake, and his various buying adventures, resulting in three cars. He'd hoped to sell one but was dismayed at the price he was offered, so it's still here.

He introduced me to a new neighbor, Surya, actual name much longer but he said Surya is fine. Nice man. He bought the house so that's good. The owner landlord had let to some fairly sketchy people over the years but has now moved to Colorado and sold.  

And two more neighbors have offered me rides where needed.  I should have sold the car years ago!

Mike the Artist Contractor came over to present me with my annual peppermint bark and cookies and a chat. 

They're off to drive to their daughter's in Florida Saturday and the weather has blessed them. They drive because dogs, two Cavalier King Charles spaniels.  

For readers outside the US, it's quite a few hours from NJ to Florida, down a lot of the East coast.  They sometimes stop off in North Carolina to see his mother, pretty much on the way. From door to daughter's door is over 1,000 miles, a fair way.

And I got back from the walk about one minute before sheeting rain started up again.  Timing!

Happy day everyone.  Timing may not be everything but it doesn't hurt.

 

Misfits, smoothies, surprise and kind offers

Today is Misfits day, this time Ronald has the honors, and the morning shift.

Neighbor contractor Mike who designed the risers for my sofa saw the pink truck arrive and carried in the box for me.

I got a refund on the eggs because two arrived cracked, very unusual. The other ten are fine but eggs count as a unit so Misfits takes  the loss on the dozen.

Sugar because I use sugar, and this is organic and fair trade, or I suppose as fair as you can get in the sugar trade. Nice pack of hake, affordable white fish which will make fish cakes and whatever else I think of, maybe just battered and fried.  Spinach which will make an appearance below, along with berries and a couple of these apples.

You'll notice other things happening in the background on the stove too. That's because I finally got around to making the crunchy tofu sticks. So easy and I really enjoy them. 

I make a dozen sticks from one container of extra firm tofu. Simple batter, panko, fry in avocado oil, dipping sauce made of ketchup, soy sauce and a dash of oil. Done. Today's lunch was roast chicken chunks with tofu sticks.

I forgot a picture of mine, but they're pretty much like these

This also gives you the reference to find the recipe on YouTube.

And I found a smoothie idea on Shug's blog, thank you, Ivy,  which I tried with the ingredients I have, not much resemblance to the original. I don't like the name smoothie, a bit twee, but I do like the results, and definitely appreciate the reminder.

Gala apples, blueberries, spinach, milk, honey, blended 

Here's two instant breakfasts or something. It's a nice mix, not all smooth, more of a roughy, but good anyway.

Today was not all food. I made it to the mailbox and met a couple of neighbors on the way, who both offered help in the next little while, so nice. 

Then there was actual mail in the box, a beautiful pop-up from C, thank you so much. 

I've been playing with it. Local birds there, too. It's a great lift to my spirits on a grey cold day. 

Good day, and I'm recovering from yesterday's excitement. My shoulders definitely feel the results of lying for long periods on my back, arms stretched above my head.  But there's worse stuff around us,  not much to complain about really. 

Happy day everyone. I may need to wait a day to crochet, to give the shoulders a rest, but that's fine. I'm planning the stitch pattern, simple, the size, small, figuring out the hook and number of chains to start. For once I'm thinking ahead, amazingly.

And in more direct resistance,  I wrote an email to one of those treacherous Dems who voted for the SAVE act, which will disenfranchise millions, Jared Golden, of Maine. 

The others close their contacts to anyone outside their district.  If you're in the districts of Ed Case, Hawaii, Henry Cuellar, Texas, or Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Washington State, please give them your thoughts. Firmly. 

Everyone's taller than me now

Marigolds have joined the ranks of taller than Boud! Here's this morning's first view 

On other important issues, the bursitis is so much improved from the icing. Why didn't I do that before! Ice is not in my vocabulary. I don't use it in drinks, doesn't occur to me to apply it. It takes a doctor with multiple credentials to tell me to do it. 

I was thinking about people's approach after yesterday's neighborly chat. The shouty neighbor is one I hear from when she wants something. Information, an egg, a cup of sugar, name of my powered milk, name of plumber etc.

My oldest, lifelong bully,  sister was the same, except she'd call, once in a while,  to tell me what she'd just acquired. Or to say she'd waxed the floor, had nothing better to do, so she called me.  Never asked about my family, not interested, seemingly. Same idea.

I didn't like this for many years, why not just visit or call to ask how I'm doing, anything, you don't need an excuse.

Finally it dawned on me that they want to be in touch and feel they need to provide a reason. Oh. More benign than I'd realized. Not able to be casual. Maybe it's a bit of shyness.  So now I'm not so ready to criticize.  I'm a bit slow at times.

Today is about knitting, I need to finish a second pair of socks, maybe gloves, to send off. 

Top, first spiral sock of the pair, bottom, the other style, with the patch toe, this pair complete. Same yarn, different looks. I always try on to make sure they're comfortable.

Small finishing job on the woven vest. More postcards to voters -- handwriting is tough on my neck, don't want to go back there -- and another Horowitz audiobook. 

I googled Horowitz to check on books and got a lot of references to the pianist. Forgot about Vladimir! Have you seen his keyboard style? It's weird, very flat hands, not what my teachers taught me, but clearly it worked dramatically well for him. Giant hands, too. 

Happy day everyone, play life your way, never mind the convention 

And here's yet more black eyed Susans 

And more fungus veil, decorated with fallen Russian sage flowers

And for the brave folks who tried it, here's the Haggard Hawks puzzle solution 

Bee sleeping, Freecycle and neighbors

 Lovely sunny day, cool, perfect for walking. Around the corner there's a tiny front yard crammed with color, and the pink dahlias are a bee magnet. I watched this friend for several minutes, sleeping, rocking in the breeze, until he finally stretched and took off.

Before that, Gary was out front, in pajamas, checking and adjusting my tire pressures. All low, probably because of the sudden cold nights.  He also mentioned he'd really enjoyed "whatever those things were called". The cranberry muffins in translation.

While he was at it, contractor artist friend from across the street, the one who made the mancala boards, stopped to see if he needed help. I think contractor friend probably thought if he was attending my car in pajamas, it must be urgent! Nah, it's how he rolls. He didn't need help, but this was a snapshot of how my neighborhood works.

Then Gary said he knows now never to throw anything away before checking with me (my work here is done) and wondered about this set of fireplace tools. He's getting his fireplace converted to gas.

I put it up on free cycle, and had a quick response. It will be in a new home, all being well, tomorrow.

And just to keep my upcycling cred going, here's my former pretty kettle now acting as a handy watering can for the upstairs plants. This is the second bedroom, sunny in the afternoon, great for a read with a pot of tea, like this afternoon. That's the bed, aka reading area, in the corner there.

I learned a new exercise related to walking, involving the long-named muscle group on the front of your shins. Apparently one of its jobs is to lift your foot so you don't trip as you walk. 

So I did the exercise yesterday, involving leaning against a wall and raising the toes, ow. Judging by the soreness in the front of my legs, I'd say I need to pay some attention to this area. I do toe lifting, but differently from this, on the stairs. And less demanding, clearly.

Back to less physical work, I'm back to the socks for the Sock 'n Glove Ministry. This is sock one. When the pair's done, I'll send them with the pairs of gloves including the pair and a spare. High time I got something sent off.

Lovely day, neighbors, friends, art, reading a rattling good book, sunshine, sleeping bees, what more could a person ask.