Mrs Soprano lives!

Friday was the Chair Installation Day, and Cody and his sidekick arrived and set to work.

How it works is pretty easy. You hold onto a switch thing indicating which direction, up or down, and it starts up slowly then gets up to speed, slightly faster than an athletic snail, and you ride sideways. 

At the top you push one of those paddles under the seat to turn the chair so you're facing the landing, and you get off, remembering your purse and carryon.

There are two remotes, so you can send it up or down, carrying stuff without a person. I could have used this the other day when I lugged up a big wandering dude, indoors for the winter. One remote stays downstairs, the other upstairs. The tech showed me how to use the seatbelt to secure big items! He knew.

I've been thinking about this for years and I'm glad it's finally done and seems to be working fine.  They are located about 40 minutes away, pretty good if service is required. 

That was one of the things that knocked some makers out of contention. One, based in Massachusetts, couldn't service where I live. Good to check because you don't want anyone other than techs trained on your brand tinkering with it. After I'd learned a bit and watched many videos, that service question was the first one I asked. 

So I'm all set to come down like Mrs Soprano and terrify people. Or, more likely, come down waving and screaming and eating cotton candy. You gotta take your fun where you can.

Interestingly, I priced these chairs many years ago when it still seemed possible for Handsome Partner to use one. They were almost as expensive then as this one now.  Maybe they were rarer then, but the various makes were comparable in price. 

And while the installation took place I went off for a nice hike to the pond, maybe to prove I can.  And to look for ducks.

I think this might have been a puffball. 

It was a beautiful day, great for walking and tossing stray golfballs back onto the course. These players are wild hitters but very strong.

And there were ducks, one male and three female friends. 

The "beef" plant stuff makes good burgers, mixed with egg to bind them, no spice needed, they're well seasoned. Just broiled and served with three bean salad, or, today, lovely roast diced potatoes and malt vinegar.

Since I'm weaving again, I ordered two more loom clamps from the Woolery, nice artisanal people to deal with. This is how they acknowledge an order 

This enthusiasm reminds me of Ivy! All joy all the time, that's Happy Whisk.

Happy day everyone, there's usually some reason to scream and wave and eat cotton candy.

Stairs and steps and food

 Look at nature's art. With a bit of help from hybridizers.

Misfits this week is a nice array, with the makings of the giant quiche, using onions and kale from the freezer with the eggs and carrots and cheese that just arrived. 

Also raspberries, can't often get them because they don't ship well, and two kinds of yogurt because my regulars aren't available. 

So I'm trying a coconut cashew yogurt, and I'm not sure if I'll repeat it. It's a bit oily in texture compared to dairy yogurt. Nice with raspberries, though anything would be, really.

A lot of bread for the freezer, in case I don't feel like baking, and these loaves aren't available often these days.

Whole bean coffee, though I don't like grinding coffee early in the morning. The ground coffee wasn't available, but maybe I'll grind it all at once, I'm not a coffee purist. Hot, strong and in a cup will do it.

I'm back to eating apples raw, and up to now it seems okay. 

Meanwhile back at the stairs, I decided to just go ahead, not wait for the bathroom work, who knows when that will happen.

So I had a brisk correspondence with a stair man, exchanged pictures, questions, got a quote, name brand products, clear quote, all answers handled well, and decided why not. 

I have to say he wasn't pressuring me, in fact I was driving the tempo. So we set up first visit, measurements, deposit, for Tuesday, then installation, since everything's in stock, Friday.

Then I seem to have put a stick in the spokes, because I suddenly wondered if I needed a permit. 

Now, for a removable, battery operated device attached only to stair treads, it seems unlikely. But I know the town I live in, and the building department, and I don't want to complicate life later for Handsome Son. So I put in a question to the building department.

Meanwhile the stair man said well technically NJ does have requirements, which will take months because it has to be approved by state, county and township. And we can handle that for, whoa, $1800.

I think he's mixed up with the state requirements for public spaces and ADA compliance. I looked it up, I found it does exist, but does not apply to private homes. So I put a hold just for now in the process until I hear back from the township. I'll still go ahead soon 

I may be worrying about nothing, not unusual for me, because the company has a buyback policy, where they will remove and buy a stair glide when it's no longer needed. 

Tactful way of saying when the user dies.  Which means it needn't be an issue at sale time, my real concern, not wanting to burden Handsome Son with complications after I die. He'll have enough to deal with. 

Same permit thought crossed my mind about the bathtub cutout but it's hardly likely to need permitting, since it's not changing plumbing or redoing construction. So I may decide to calm down 

In good news, my bone doctor liked most of my blood test results, except one high parathyroid one but she said let's just watch, no need to rush to surgery. 

She meant at my age, I expect, and fine by me. My bones are doing fine.  She instructed me not to fall, please, and I agreed to do my best.

So that's where I am.  I finished the gloves and may have a taker, and that's my knitting chapter closed.   I'm thinking about several weaving projects next. 

I like to have something happening, particularly when the season changes, not being a big fan of Fall, and I can't handle Halloween. So I need a project to turn to. That's usually not hard to find.

Happy day everyone, don't worry about being in the minority among people who love Halloween so much they've been counting down for months. It's okay not to.

No money pit, I mean place, like home

Yesterday was full of things happening, such as the knitting group playing with a yarn winder. One member had given this to another so it was in use instantly 

Then the resulting wound yarns 

A new member showed up with her current cross stitch, while a sweater and a bunny continued  

And a conscientious knitter who makes wonderful tops showed a couple of swatches she created to get gauge, meaning correct size to fit. We suggest that they become pockets, waste not, want not.

And here's her current cardigan with buttonholes. She's searching for leather or wood buttons 

She's interested in trying cross stitch so I plan to bring in some counted cloth for her to try it.

Home to an unexpected meeting in the street with my bathroom contractor who, despite my fears, has been researching.

He's found the insert he plans on, correct color, searching now for tiles and I assured him exact match not needed, but maybe close to wall color, peach, apricot.  He's over Thursday for final measurements before ordering the kit, yay.

Then, a bit late, to Textiles and Tea with Richard Vijgen, who does mysterious weaving on the Jacquard TC1 loom to translate computer chips to large and tactile artworks. 

I might have been less mystified if I'd been in time for the intro. I'd read his statement and was baffled. So I just let the work flow over me.

He's a Dutch designer working in various aspects of machine learning, of which his weaving is one aspect. 

Speaking of being challenged, I've started inquiries into installing a stair lift, well ahead of needing one, seems like a good idea rather than wait till it's urgent. 

This is a world of high pressure sales I'm navigating, all wanting tons of my information before giving theirs.  

But I'll wade through it, ready for installation after the bathroom is done. It's all go. And all $$. But cheaper than moving, and I keep my neighbors and my privacy, which would be all changed if I had to move. 

Happy day everyone. After I'd said yesterday to Codex the only limits are the ones you decide on, I realized that applies to a lot of contexts, including weaving and home reno.

And Freecycle, once again assisting with the decluttering of Handsome Son's condo. 

He brought this lot over when he gave me a ride to the lab this morning. After the labwork, we went to the bank so I could deposit a nice rebate check from the state, which will no doubt be turned over in due course to pay for the bathroom.  I'm getting to wave at it as it flies by.

Then tea and apple cake, which got a good review and request to bake it again. 

It's all good, and I'm happy the bathroom is finally about to see action.