So. 

I still have a bit o' cough, which could be either residual bronchitis, or more likely, allergies. Most days I feel as if I had been in a car wreck, as every part of my body aches and all I really want to do is sleep. It's the allergies. It will pass.

Last week was my first visit with a therapist, a talk therapist who eschews cognitive behavior therapy. (yay!) Today was my second visit, and she is truly helping me to get my brain around all of the hurt of my childhood and teen years. Not too expensive, and well worth it.

Today is grey and cool, and I am tired but, I feel okay. 

Sweetie is now on a 50-hour a week schedule, with overtime. We are finally getting ahead instead of just making ends meet. Now there are rumors about the Tyson plant here in Montgomery City being bought and re-opening in December. Tough choices, if true. He never had a lick of overtime at Tyson's, and the pay wasn't great, but it was close. His new job pays better with OT, but is 25 miles away, and has better insurance. Take it as it comes is what we'll do. No need to get the panties in a bunch about a rumor. 

Ya want to see a photo of Leslie, the Head Gypsy at Gyosy Gatherings? 

Really?

Isn't she adorable?

Ambient temperature must be 77º or below.

I am feeling better; the fever is gone, much of the fatigue has lifted, and I can almost speak but I have to pitch my voice in a lower register to avoid squeaking.

Here are my crewel squirrels, each about 16" square, and nicely framed. These little guys will live for a nice long time.

And I can finally post Trixie's last photo, and I hope you all can see how vibrant she looks.

Slow Cooker. Ha ha!

So. What I thought at first to be a mere cold has grown to be acute bronchitis. Nothing cute about it, ha ha. I am resting, drinking lots of fluids, blah blah blah, doing what Web MD recommends and saving an office call with the doc. Sweetie's insurance card is in the ether cloud somewhere, but nowhere near my limp little hand and I just don't feel like dealing with any sort of red tape.

Anyway. Here is a recipe to feed everyone the sick person cares about, to be made by the sick person. Because dog knows those people's arms are all broken.

Meat and/or Vegetable Soup, for the Slow-Cooker

(Skill needed - Opening cans and dicing.)

If you are a sensible person, you  should already have on hand several cans of different vegetables in the pantry, along with some canned pasta sauce or salsa.

Into the slow cooker, combine a can of corn, a can of beans, a can of peas, a can of diced tomatoes or salsa or pasta sauce. Maybe add some little bits of frozen vegetables that are taking up space in the freezer. Add some water to each can, swish around, and add to crock, and maybe add some garlic or some dried onion bits. If you have some bulgar wheat or pearl barley, add some of that too. 

Add some meat. It can be leftover hamburger, or weenies, kielbasa, sausage or the meat from a chicken breast, chopped into small pieces. Add enough water to fill crock.

If you have no meat, it'll still be good. Just add some cajun seasoning or any other form of salt and spice.

Set on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 2-3.

It's nice served over crumbled hard rolls. Or rice. 

Its a Mad World

I fell sick with a creeping crud on Monday, after portents of things to come on Sunday. Here it is Thursday, and I only feel moderately better. Some of my 'tubercular' hack-up reminds me of honey mustard, and today there was ketchup involved. I know. Ick.

I have slept about 20 hours of every day this week, which I hate, but I am unable to do otherwise. I hate being sick and alone. I am trying to start on a knitted sock, but it is slow going.

And then there are creeps on fb that I try to argue with. (Maybe I should say, well, Hitler made good roads! How about that!?) I know, I am almost delirious. Monday night I was mouthing along words to Blue Collar Comedy - other times, I just went "blblblba blablblb." Seriously. I don't think I have ever done that before without the use of recreational drugs.

On the 3rd season of Mad Men. Still loving it.

Google it.

Trixie went into convulsions last night and died a few hours later. She had been eating, drinking, pooping just fine.

I am bereft.

Among the several dozens of bunnies I have had, this was something new.

Sweetie says I can't have another bunny.

It's Toasted!

So. 

Thanks to the technology that is Netflix, I finally watched the first episode of Mad Men. I was fascinated by the wardrobe, by the interplay betwixt the sexes, the subtle and not so subtuttle power play machinations and the characters. 

The final scene of Don Draper with his children and wife was totally unforeseen. I liked the show and I can see that I will want to see all of the episodes available. It seems to me to be more of a girlie-type show; maybe one that Sweetie wouldn't like, but I could be wrong. Also? The head tobacco guy was played by John Cullum, the sexy barkeep from Northern Exposure. It took me quite awhile to place his face in the dustbin that serves as my mind. 

Sweetie has gone onto his regular 2nd shift with the new company, and into overtime right away. Two extra hours every day and he'll work tomorrow, which means 18 hours of overtime this week. We can really use the money, so neither of us will complain very much. 

With him gone now, most of the week, I have been working more in my studio, sewing every day. There will be an Autumn Fest next Saturday on the street where the gypsies live, so I am trying to make as much product as possible.

My gypsies have been keeping me sane and happy. I love Leslie and Dammit Janet so much!

On the bunny front, Trixie has learned how to leap out of her corral here in the computer room, but she only does it at night. The rest of the day? She is happy to be 'kept,' but at night? Not so much. I hate to cage her within her cage, but she likes to jump up on us in bed and poop on the bedclothes. She reminds me so much of Sheila, (and sometimes I forget and call her by that name,) but Sheila never pooped or peed on the bed. She would rearrange my covers, annoy me, stare at me until I awoke to see her nose on mine, but she kept her shit out of the bedroom. Maybe Trixie will figure it out - she is using her litter box more and more.

Engineered for Brilliance

Hope everyone had a good Labor Day, and that you remembered the Labor Movement, for whom we can thank the 40 hour work week, the end of American child labor, better working conditions, and so on. 

I celebrated by working at Gypsy Gatherings. I usually go in on Mondays, and Leslie gave me the option of opening the store or not. I'm glad I did, because business was brisk! I've been making shopping bags, and I have a stack of things to work on, including a Halloween costume and some alterations. The costume will be a cancan sort of thing because I found a beautiful black and red Victoria's Secret corset and the perfect skirt from a fancy chair cover at Goodwill in Corydon. 

I grow weary sometimes of cranking out the same thing, so I used up left over bits and 

pieces from the numerous feedbag/shopping bags to make this. Reminds me of Carnaby Street mod from the 60s. Even though they take longer to make, they are fun. (And of course I will charge more for them.) This is the same bag, front and back.

I found this set of five leaves at 

GG. The largest is about 4.5" across. As soon as I saw them, I knew that I wanted to hang them thusly, drifting down the wall. 

And these two darlings are scenic paint-by-numbers and they are on the same wall as the p-b-n parrots. I also acquired two large squirrel crewel embroideries, (crewel squirrels?) but they aren't up yet.

The heat wave finally broke on Saturday. It has been very hot here for three months, so to wake up to a 50º morning is a delight. Today, the sky is a beautiful clear blue, and not a cloud to be seen. I feel really good.