Again with the Snow

None of the seven snowfalls we have had were bad, but still. If you look closely or embiggen, you will see Corky at the front door.

He has been a problem child lately, even more so than usual. Last week he jumped Snoopy's shit over a dog biscuit and Snoop still cannot eat hard food. (There was no blood, but something certainly was bruised.) Today, Corky and I got into it over food. He snarled and growled at me as I tried to give Snoop a soft treat. I didn't have the energy to be alpha dog to him, and that schtick doesn't work anyway when food is involved. I get it that he is elderly, (13,) and probably doesn't feel great because of his chronic skin problems and allergies, but it gets fucking old. I actually looked into dumping him on a Corgi rescue in St. Louis this summer, and there were emails sent back and forth, but in the end, the rescue never came through. So here we are.

Elsewhere, Sweetie's new job at Coke is working out well! At least for now, it is 4 10-hour days each week. Once his 90 days are up, he says he expects overtime. Insurance will kick in then, too, so that's good. Just 2 and a half more weeks to go. His body is still healing from the punishing pace at his old job, but he doesn't ache constantly because instead of being the sole maintenance mechanic on call 24/7, he is one of four mechanics on his shift. Also? More money. Yay!

Grey Monday Outside

It's a thoroughly sodden day, this day before the midterm election. It's been raining off and on for three days, and the skies are dull and grey. It's 48º outside so I'm in a sweater and jeans and I'm wearing a little pair of wool wrist warmers that I am so glad I made just the other day. They make typing on this metal desk bearable.

So it's the perfect day to start a new project and learn a new skill.  I've figured out how to do the Turkish cast on for a pair of toe-up socks. I am sure I have done this before, but I don't usually make toe-up socks. I generally make vanilla socks from self-striping yarn for Sweetie and sometimes for myself. I call them Emergency Socks, because they are always there for a meeting of the Needle Arts group or a wait in a doctor's office, or in the 'lounge' of the auto maintenance shop, or even for a movie here at home. I don't need a pattern; just yarn and needles.

But I downloaded a free pattern that I liked and it starts with a Turkish cast on and I read the directions and I looked at three Youtube videos and I hunkered down and did it! Yay me, I can focus for an hour on sock yarn and size 0 needles and not yell at anyone. Not even Rabberto who was chillin' behind the desk.

 I am going to get to the required number of stitches to begin the foot bit, which is lacy, and then start the second sock while it's still fresh.

Sailor Drive

We went for a drive yesterday.

Little Yellow Mushrooms

                                              Lovely little mushrooms in my astilbe pot. 

So. I'm okay. Sweetie started work at Coca~Cola, and we are both happy. Better hours and more money, working for a stable Benevolent Overlord.

The weather breaks tomorrow, and we will be truly into autumn. I spent 6 hours in the open Saturday, for a stupid reason, and I have not yet recovered. I am hoping that the cool weather will make me feel better because it usually does.

Sweetie and I both acquired poison ivy from Snoopy, over a week ago. Not too bad or concentrated in one spot, but itchy enough.

We are working out about every other day to videos by Hasfit on Youtube. The ones for the seniors and the elderly, which still leaves us breathing fast and a little giddy. And I have mostly quit cheese because calories.

Stone.

We went for a drive in the Daniel Boone Nature Conservancy Sunday, and this is my favorite photo. It is the side of a 3-foot boulder.

Murgatroyd and Anna Nicole

Found among my unpublished posts.

My neighbor's banana trees

She is so pleased with these; her face lights up at their mention. She started with 4 trees about 5 years ago, and you can see how well they have multiplied. She also has others not shown.

I'm going to try a craft festival again, this time with some friends. I just ordered a Square in order to take credit cards. I think I have enough stuff already, but I will make some more little things. Because.

Take one Rabberto daily.

So. 

I have finally named the rabbit, after months of just calling him Rabbit. I call all my animals by various nicknames; Princess is Printemps or Springtime, Corky is Dorky or Ducky or Asshole, and Snoopy is Nooper or Pooper or Stupee. Millie the cat is Millster or Damn Cat and Reece’s Pieces is usually just Reecie. I began calling the rabbit things like Rarebit and I liked that but then after seeing Beto O’Rourke on Colbert and learned that his name is Robert or Roberto or Beto. The next time Rarebit came out of my mouth I added the long o and Rabberto is was. Here is a little video I made of him using the litter box for the first time.

Here he is again just tonight. 

I shot and edited that on my new iPad. Can I just say that after having Kindles for several years and having used my iPad just a few times, I can say honestly that Kindles are kinda shitty for anything other than reading the Washington Post and playing solitaire. 

It has been hot and ragweed-y around here. I am particularly allergic to ragweed so I am trying to stay indoors even more than usual, but I am still sick half the day. And I give myself allergy shots and I take Zyrtek and a benadryl at night and we put a better filter on the main air duct. Sucks to be me.

It won't be too long until the succulents will need to come inside for the winter. They have done well being outside on their own all summer. 

Thoughts on Tablet Weaving

Thoughts on Tablet Weaving

Tablet weaving is complicated and hard to understand. There are a plethora of variables that can influence the weaving. There is the S v. Z variable, that if gotten wrong, can make the weaving look a mess and not at all like the pattern.  And oh, does that mean S as to card tilt, or S as to thread direction? 

There is the turning sequence, which must be adhered to like glue. If one has cats, dogs, rabbits, a husband, a telephone, or the slightest interruption in concentration, it is likely that the sequence will come unglued. One may or may not be able to unweave the mistake. 

There is the thread and color selection the requires looking through website after website, comparing prices and yardage and shipping charges. That procedure can consume several days and is actually an ongoing process. 

There is the selecting of the pattern and the threading of the cards and the warping of the loom. There is the making sure that each card is in its proper place and facing the proper direction. Should one have a border? If so, one needs to learn how to weight those threads individually. Some weaves do not work with a continuous warp, and one will find that out too late, find out that the design threads have become hopelessly twisted with no way to release that spiral.

There is the need to remember each step involved in the actual weaving. Turn the cards first, then pass the shuttle. A person will finally get into the rhythm of weaving only to see that the warp needs advancing or one needs to unwind more thread from the shuttle. 

There is the effort of trying to understand a particular weave and failing in every step. One will scour books and YouTube videos searching for enlightenment. One will chalk that up to experience and move on to warp again another day.

There is the dawning realization that each teacher or source will have a slightly different take on every single aspect, and that teacher will say that theirs is the best way and all other ways are incorrect. One needs to choose a path forward. 

I have been tablet weaving for 4 weeks and I have yet to complete more than 10 inches of any weave without one sort of mistake or another. 

All that being said, I have not panicked. I have remained calm and determined and willing to try once more to get every detail and variable correct and weave a perfect band. 

There is the fact that I spent $200 on a ten hour class and another $200 on supplies and goddamnit, I am going to learn how to do this.

Bunnies are like heroin to me.

Fang Trip Hazard VI

I’ve been meaning to write since at least when it snowed in March. I took photos, nice ones, that just seem wrong to post now that it is almost June. So much has happened, at least in my circumscribed life. 

I have a new car which I bought at CarMax. It is not new new, but new to me - a 2013 Chevy Sonic with fewer that 24000 miles on it. 

The purchase came after the truck, a ’94 Chevy, left me stranded 50 miles from home. Once the wrecker delivered me I said I wanted something reliable and not a Project. The truck needed a new transmission, and it sat on the street for 3 weeks. I was afraid that it was going to become another Project, so I put a For Sale sign in it and it was gone that same day, along with the camper top which had been taking up space and killing grass. Sweetie was maybe not so thrilled but he didn’t really stand in my way, either.

I also wanted the driveway freed from the tyranny of the Project Car, the 1990 Mercedes, which had not run since 2015, and was looking at never running again. I donated it to NPR with the proceeds going to my favorite public radio station. (Shout out to WFPK in Louisville!) It took almost a month because I screwed up the title, but the process was well managed and customer service was prompt and helpful. I recommend.

We still have the POS ’97 Saturn that needs new brakes and a muffler, but it gets Sweetie back and forth to work and there are only the two cars in the driveway now!  And the motorcycle in the garage.

But back to CarMax. If the thought of going to a dealership or a car lot gives you hives, I have to recommend CarMax. There was no pressure, only helpfulness. It was just like the ads say - the listed price was the price with no haggling or ‘let me check with the manager to see if I can give you a better deal.’ That process always left me feeling dirty and used and taken advantage of. We financed through CarMax, and got the extended warranty, too, and drove it home the same day.

I have rejoined the Columbia Weavers and Spinners’ Guild and took a 2-day card weaving class. It really is fascinating and I understand it process well enough, but mastery of the S and Z still eludes me. I have put two warps on the loom since then, and threw one away but finished the other just now and the resultant band is for one of Sweetie’s hats. The bits in the photos are all from the class. The best one on the left I call the $200 book mark since that is the best thing I made in the $200 class.

A friend gave me bags of irises last fall and what a show they put on this month! Also carefree

Chicken and Potatoes

Today's lunch for Sweetie and me: Homemade Buttermilk Chicken Fingers, Small Seasoned Potatoes, Green Salad

Today's Menu March 12

Today's Menu

Pan Baked Tilapia

Baked Vegetables:
  small potatoes
  eggplant
  baby carrots
  green onions
  cauliflower

Mix/Mixto/Mixte

So. My mental health is good. In fact, this has been the best winter in a long time. Two things for that: Marie, my house cleaner who comes about 6 times a month, and not being a part of the Arts Council. Both of those things make me happy and made me feel free and unburdened. 

I’ve been cooking some nice things, too. No breads or pastries because carbohydrates and type II diabetes, but sort of fancy things like chicken eggplant parmesan and pan roasted vegetables and chicken. Also a lot of fish. Someone once asked if I liked to cook and I said, not really but I don’t mind cooking but now I search online and in magazines for recipes and I try new things. I make Sweetie a nice lunch every weekday so I have a reason to cook. I still keep it all mostly healthy with lots of veg and salads and not much frying. It’s almost become fun.

Spring bulbs give so much pleasure, don't they? First with the incremental progress of green fingers reaching up, and then the pleasure of the actual bloom. Most of my plants that are indoors for the winter are doing well although I lost an orchid because the plant room can be too cold on the coldest of days. The thermometer stayed around zero for too long for the delicate things. But still, most of the succulents are fine and the geraniums have continued to bloom in their little window nook.

Facebook coughed up an old photo of mom and me. I think it was one my oldest brother posted 7 years ago and I was not at all familiar with it. I was 16 and looked such a sweet thing, which I was not. I always thought my mother was so beautiful what with blonde hair and a slim figure, but now I look at her and I don’t know her. My therapist remarked that, in photos I showed her, my mother looked positively emaciated and I thought back to memories of her not eating things she made. She cooked a lot, but wouldn’t eat spaghetti or chicken or desserts. Was she anorexic? Was her weight the only thing she felt she could control? I don’t know. Me, I love food too much and I get that from the pater's side.

1973.

Sent off my spit to Ancestry.com to get a genetic profile. I’m fairly certain of my Great Britain roots, but here’s the thing. While it is not impossible for a 55-year old woman to give birth in 1922, it is a bit unlikely. That would be my father and his mother, if she is. The curiosity may not be answered by my genetic profile, it may toss up something I don’t know. Sweetie’s sister’s indicated a 4% from India/Pakistan but no Native American, which she was sure of. So, something interesting to look forward to.

Cold time in the old town tonight.

Oh - so much I want to write! But first let me get this off my whiny, petty chest. (And my chest is petty, that’s for sure.) Two friends of mine back in Indiana are going to the Edinburg Fiber Festival this year. Yeah, so first I am happy for them until I think, well shit,  here I was happy to be going to the Fiber Event in Greencastle, Indiana this April. Makes my dreams seem piss ant, right? And it ain’t cheap, either, that flying stuff! How can they afford to go to Scotland? Again? 

Oh, right, they both worked hard all their lives and so have money to spend on travel. Not like me, who hasn’t worked a real job in 25 years. 

And also? I hate traveling. New situations make me anxious and I would rather spend my few measly dollars a different way. Don’t like vacations, or even the thought of vacations. (Because you are going to come home in a week or two, and maybe less happy in your same old situation.) I don’t even like holidays because they throw off my routine. I am a homebody and I am not ashamed. Also an introvert with anxiety issues. 

I hope my friends have a great time, I really do! They both like to travel and both really like Scotland and I hope they buy a shit ton of yarn and take some classes. I  

will be happy to take my little trip to a place that I know pretty well, having been there 6 or 8 times before, and I will buy a shit ton of fiber and have a good time. I’ll be going with a buddy that I am very comfortable around, even though she is a Christian and believes that Satan walks among us on Earth. Can’t have everything.

It snowed Christmas eve and it didn't melt until last week and we finally had 2 days above 32º. Now it's snowed again and is -3º this morning. Fuck me.

On the other hand, the orchid I brought myself last year for mothers' day has bloomed again this year! Not that I had anything special to do with it except not killing it.

So. I have been enjoying my freedom from the arts council. It’s as though my brain has been freed up to think of something arty shit instead of being bogged down in a million little, (and some big,) details. I am not worrying about the next meeting and changing banks and getting that grant in on time and checking on emails. I have been able to let my imagination travel to weird places and think about several ideas for art pieces. I have been spinning and knitting and weaving, but I am ready to move beyond scarves and hats. Something useless and impractical.

I bought a new reed for my rigid heddle. It’s the Kromski Weaver’s Choice, which is basically a build-your-own reed with your choice of dents. I  bought extra heddle pieces, so now I have a 5, 8, 10, and 12 dent reed for my 24” Kromski Harp. I love that loom and I am enjoying messing around with the new reed. It came with a 10 dent reed, and I am thinking of getting another pair of heddle blocks so I can use 2 reeds at once to double my options. Honestly, though, I prolly have enough on my plate just using pick up sticks.

I have been having adventures on the drum carder, too, using a diz to pull off the batt as a roving. So many ways to use that technique! I made the diz from the bottom of a milk jug, (talk about cheap, nay, frugal,) but it works great. Those are the things that make me happy, simple oaf that I am.