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A View From the Field |
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August, 2017 August 31 I was late last night, of course. I diddled around for quite a while after I posted this, and then I had to wash my hair. So I was late getting to bed and I was late getting up, although it wasn't as late as I thought. I think I got up around 10:30. I knitted for an hour and a half, and I'm making progress, albeit slow.
I didn't do much today; I was too late. I did break down and order the yarn for my next project, but it was on sale for over 50% off, today only, so I had to get it. I went to the post office, because I didn't want to have to go tomorrow. There is some sort of bicycle event going on this weekend, and when those people start swarming around, getting anywhere in a car becomes almost impossible.
Choir was strange. Neither our director nor our accompanist were there, so we picked a hymn to sing on Sunday and practiced that, and then we leafed through the hymnal and sang whatever everybody wanted to sing. Nancy, our usual backup accompanist, had to leave, so guess who ended up sitting at the piano. It's been a good 20 years since I've actually had my hands on a keyboard, but I didn't do too badly, at least picking out the melody with one hand. I only ever had a few months of piano lessons, but until I moved up here, I had some sort of keyboard and I'm mostly self-taught, which means I don't play very well. At one time, I could play through the hymnal, but I didn't even try to do right hand and I only tried a bit, and not very successfully, to play harmony. It wasn't anywhere near perfect, but I did manage to accompany well enough that the rest of the choir could sing. They really do sound good. You would never have known there were only six of them.
Then there was Bible Study. There were only six of us, but we were looking at some of the hymns for the end of the church year, and that provoked a long, and I mean long, discussion. I didn't get home until around 10:30. I just finsihed eating. It was worth it, though, and I'm sorry the rest of the usual people (with one exception -there's one in every crowd) didn't get involved. I am more and more thankful for Pastor. He is so firmly grounded in the beliefs I think are important, and he's extremely articulate about them.
The weather was clear all day, but cool. The high temperature was only 60º. The humidity got down to 53% for a while, and there was almost no wind, so it was a nice day. When I turned up toward US-41 after leaving Mary Ann off, the gibbous moon was shining brightly in the south, so pretty! There should be stars tonight.
The guys slept. They got some loving, but after that I didn't see much of them. I know they're around, because they always sleep someplace close to me, but not on top of me. When I got to the door tonight, Grayson was sniffing around the side, and I discovered that I hadn't closed it very carefully. If there had been a wind, it might have opened, except that i haven't had the window in the breezeway open this summer.
So that was my day, and I'm tired. It's a clear, cold (under 50º) night in the field.
August 30 Oh, gee, I almost forgot to write. So I'll be late tonight, too.
I didn't get to bed until around midnight last night. I was reading again, of course. We had had the second power glitch of the day, and I was able to get the clock almost set right - it's about 41 seconds slow, which is tolerable. I slept well, although there was a thunderstorm around 4:00 AM. I got up about 10:00 and knitted quite a lot. I have the pattern so much in my fingers now that it goes fast.
I didn't do anything else. It was so humid that I hurt all over, so I just sat. Sigh. The story of my life these days.
The weather today was cool and damp. The high temperature was 62º, and the lowest the humidity got was 75%. There was a little sunshine and the half moon was shining in the south windows for a while. The thunderstorms moved in parallel to the peninsula around 4:00 this morning and it rained until 9:00. We had 0.74" of rain. None of the lightning was too close to us.
The guys got some loving, but they were as logy as I was.
So that was another lost day. Now it's a clear (I think) cold night in the field.
August 29 So I got to bed around 11:00 last night and I got up about 10:00 this morning, so I think I'm caught up on my sleep, if I can get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour tonight.
I finished binding off the first side of the shawl and started the second side. I just did 4 rows, but I'm into it - 180 rows of leaves! Ugh! I must make very sure that my next projects do not have any leaves. Or any scallops at the bottom. Those weren't hard to knit, but blocking them properly is the pits.
I washed dishes last night, but I didn't unload the dishwasher or do anything else except embroider today. I had to use Italian cracker crumbs on my lovely whitefish tonight because I couldn't find my panko. It's past time to clean off the counters and fill some trash bags. The fish turned out pretty good, though, and I may use the cracker crumbs again. They are finer than panko an they have some salt in them, besides the Italian seasoning, so they add something. I turned the fish in time to get a good brown, crispy coating on top (it was a thick fillet) and it was just lovely. Yum.
The weather was, um, lousy. It was mostly clear overnight and early in the morning, but by the time I got up, the fog was moving in and it has stayed for the rest of the day. The high temperature, 64º, was just before it got foggy. It was around 61º for the rest of the day. The humidity was over 90% all day, and I hurt all over. There wasn't any wind.
The guys slept. While I was knitting this morning, Louie sat beside me on the floor and purred continuously. I think it was because all his food bowls were getting empty, and he has probably noticed that by being real nice, Grayson has gotten me to do things. He did get his loving, and a brushing, and Grayson got to sit on me for a while. Well, I filled the kibble bowls and gave them some canned food, too, so Louie probably has something there, in his simple little way.
So that was my day. I am going to read some more of Special Forces now and hope to get to bed at a reasonable hour. It's a cool, foggy night in the field and it might rain overnight. Ugh. Ouch.
August 28 I had to laugh at myself. I just couldn't keep away from my ebook, so I almost pulled an all-nighter. My reading speed is almost back up, but still. It was a fun book, but not as good as the last two I have from that author. I'm glad I got it, though. I like to read something other than my own stuff every so often.
Anyway, I got my nine hours of sleep, but that meant it was mid-afternoon before I got up. Sigh. I only did a bit more than two rows on the shawl, because the bind-off row is fiddly, with two crochet hooks, a knitting needle and beads. I should finish it tomorrow.
The weather was nicer than yesterday, at least. The temperature briefly got to 70º, although it was in the middle 60s for most of the afternoon. It was partly cloudy, with both high and low clouds, but there was enough sunshine that it warmed up the studio enough for me to open the window. There wasn't any wind. Meh.
I guess the guys slept. At least they didn't wake me up. They both got some loving, and i had to shoo Grayson off my lap so that I could embroider during the talking.
So it was a very truncated day, and even though I got up so late, I'm planning to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight and get back on schedule. It's a sort of cool, partly cloudy night in the field.
August 27 So instead of going up to the north end at a reasonable hour, like I wanted to, I read, and it was 11:30 before I finally got to bed. I woke up around 6:00 and I had to pee, although I dozed for nearly half an hour before I got up.
I've been surprised by how efficient my Sundays have gotten, and I left the house shortly after 9:00 without any rushing. I was glad I did, even though I got to church before 10:00. It was pouring rain when I left, and I had to pay a little more attention to my driving. It was all right, though; I didn't run into any really slow traffic until Phoenix, so I took Cliff Drive and lapped them. There were some more slow drivers after Centennial, but I was early enough that it didn't matter.
Church was good and I managed to get up and down the stairs into the sacristy without too much trouble, although my knees were awfully sore. I got home about 1:15.
I toyed with the idea of taking a nap, but I was hungry, so I didn't. I was reading, and I didn't get sleepy or anything, which was good. However, the idea of getting up and going to the powder room was so painful that I sat for a lot longer than I should have, and I didn't have anything more to eat until around 9:30. Now I'm really tired, but I'm re-reading Special Forces (after reading a couple of other things) and I love that story. If I get tired of my own stuff, I bought a Kindle book this evening that I want time to read, because I know I'll get into it and I won't want to stop.
The weather was miserable. It started raining after 2:00 this morning, and so far, we've had 1.15" of rain and it seems to be continuing, although more lightly. The high temperature was only 62º. It was dark and dreary and at intervals, foggy. Yuck.
The guys thought so, too. Grayson spent a lot of time on my lap, and Louie jumped up, too, at one point, no doubt leaving scratches on my legs. He didn't stay long, and evidently I was too twitchy for Grayson. He didn't want me to go away this morning and he was very glad when I came home.
So it was a quiet day, and now it's a dark, rainy night in the field. Yuck.
August 26 I was a bit earlier to bed last night, but it was still after midnight. I don't know why I do these things, and I need to get back on a more reasonable schedule. I feel much better when I am. Anyway, I got up around 8:30 anyway, so I'm tired now.
I knitted six rows, and now i have only two more rows and the bind-off and I'll be done with side one. This shawl is V-shaped. I won't be able to do any more knitting until Monday, but then I should be able to finish the first side and get the second side ready to go. I'm not looking forward to the nine (total) repeats of the leaf pattern, but at least I'm familiar with it now.
I had to go to church today for Altar Duty, and I decided that I should do my shopping before I was to meet Deanna. So I left the house around noon. I had to pass a couple of tourists in places where one should probably not pass (although there is a clear view of the road ahead - go figure) but after that, I had no problems. I was tooling along at 65 mph when the guy who had been tailgating me for 10 or 15 miles decided to pass me and then he took off at at least 75 mph. You can get a ticket in Keweenaw County for that. However, at about the Cliff Bar, he came up behind a guy who was probably not going faster than 55 mph. Served him right. I cut over to Cliff Drive and lapped all of them, although there was some slow traffic from there to Calumet.
Pat's wasn't busy at all, but my favorite checker said it had been a zoo an hour or so earlier. I got what I went for and more, except that I didn't get enough lettuce, so I may have to go back next week. We'll see how much I eat. I can get lettuce at the Gaslite store.
Then it was off to church, where we prepped for tomorrow. It never takes very long to do that if there are two of us, and I was home by 3:30. I finished my surfing and read my emails, and that was about all I did. And of course, I had to bring in all the stuff - most of it was refrigerated - and put it all away. That's a worse chore than the actual shopping, in my opinion.
The weather started out cool but nice, but it was clouding up by the time I got home, and we're in for some rain. My back is telling me that. The high temperature was 66º about the time I left, and of course it was a bit warmer in town. There was just a bit of wind from the south, which is now gusting up to about 20 mph. It still isn't extremely humid, but I feel it.
The guys were sleepy, although they both got some loving. Grayson wanted to sit on me all day, but I had to chase him away when I got home and had a snack. Somehow, I find it hard to eat with a cat tail in my face.
So that was my day. I'm tired, but I have to fill the pill dispensers tonight - I did the ones at the south end earlier - and wash my hair, so I'm afraid i'll be late again. Sigh. It's a coolish, cloudy night in the field and it's going to rain.
August 25 I did it again last night, and I don't know why, except that apparently I didn't want to go to bed, even though I was tired. Once i did get there, I slept well, and I didn't get up until around 10:00 again. I knitted about 8 rows, I think.
That was pretty much all I did. I thought about going to the post office, but my timing was off. I got my Schwan's order and packed it all away, and now I have lots to eat again. While the talking was going on I embroidered, but I'm still working on sky and it's boring. I'm getting to the end of that, though, so in a few days I should be able to start on stars, and after that, figures.
The weather wasn't too bad, but not as nice as they predicted. The high temperature was 65º and there was almost no wind. It wasn't nearly as clear as they predicted; there was that high haze in the sky again that turned it white. I guess summer is over, although if it's a typical year, it will warm up a bit in early September.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me a lot and Louie got his loving this morning. He heard the Schwan's truck arrive and ran down to the basement, even though there was no possibility that the guy would come in.
So that was it, another very quiet day. I should mention that it cleared up enough last night that I was able to get pictures of the very thin crescent moon setting over the mountain. I'm not sure I'll see it tonight, but it should be bigger and higher, so maybe I will. It's a cool, partly cloudy night in the field.
August 24 So last night, I just didn't seem to want to go to bed. It was after 3:00 before I finally turned out the light. I slept, of course, and I got up around 10:00. Not nearly enough sleep, but I wanted to knit. I ended up only doing six rows in two hours, because I dropped something and there were beads on every other row, but i made some progress.
That was about all I did, except that I paid some bills. It was nice to have money for a couple of hours, but the bills needed to be paid.
There was choir tonight but no Bible Study - Pastor is "on vacation" overseeing his final move. Some vacation. We sang a bunch of nice things, including four or five Luther hymns. There is a program in Calumet on Sunday evening that I wish I could go to - a sing-along of Luther hymns in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. However, one trip down to town in a day is enough for me, so I'll just have to wish I was there.
The weather was cool but pretty. The high temperature was only 61º, and it stayed there all afternoon. It was a bit warmer in town, but not more than five or six degrees. There was almost no wind. It wasn't pristinely clear, but there were no clouds until late in the afternoon, when there was that high, white haze that seems to have gone away at sunset.
The guys were sleepy, but they both got some loving.
That's about all I have to report. Now it's a cool, calm, clear evening in the field.
August 23 I got a more normal night's sleep last night, thankfully. I turned out the light at 11:30 and got up around 8:30 this morning, so I'm tired now, and clearly it's going to take me more than a day to get back on schedule.
Sigh. I didn't do anything much. I knitted for a very long time, and I started the last chart, which is a weird one and has beads besides. In a couple of days, I should be ready to start the second side. That's the only thing I don't like about this shape. It's like socks - after you do the first one, you still have another identical one to do.
I did spend the latter part of the afternoon embroidering, and guess I had forgotten how much I enjoy cross stitch. Well, it didn't matter, really, since for six or seven years, I couldn't see well enough to do it comfortably. Now I don't have any problem, although I do need a lot of light. Probably that's because I'm doing sky, and it's dark blue, which isn't the easiest color to see. I'm making progress, though, and in a couple of days, if I have time to embroider, I should start on stars and then figures. This is a nativity scene.
The weather wasn't too bad, although it was cold. The high temperature was only 60º, and there was some wind until late in the afternoon, with gusts up to 28 mph. It was cloudy this morning, but the sun came out eventually before it clouded up again at sunset. Not what was forecast at all. The camera hung up again sometime early this morning, so I don't know how the day developed. One of these days, I am going to have to check all the connections and make sure they're solid.
The guys were sleepy, of course, but they both got some loving. When I got up, Grayson was asleep on the tub surround and Louie was on the rug on the floor. The floor was warm, and he looked sooo comfortable!
So that was my quiet day, and now I have to wash my hair. It's a cold, partly cloudy (I think) night in the field.
August 22 I expected I might have trouble getting to sleep last night and I did, but not for the reason I thought. I turned out the light around 11:30, and I tossed and turned until around 2:30. In part it was because my legs were twitchy (and yes, I did take my pills!) and my feet were cold, but it was also because around 12:30 a thunderstorm moved in and it was noisy. There were only a couple of cracks of thunder near the harbor, but the rain went on for almost 3 hours - we got 0.44" of rain! There was a lot of lightning as the storm cell moved parallel to the north shore of the peninsula. Finally, after the thunder was gone, and I sat in the bathroom for a while - again - I managed to get to sleep. The problem with that is that I didn't get up until 11:00, because when I finally did get to sleep, I slept well.
I knitted until I finished Chart F and started chart G, for about 2 hours, so my day was quite truncated and I didn't do anything else until tonight, when I did the bulletin. That doesn't take very long anymore, but I like to have time to concentrate on it, to minimize errors. I sent it out, and hopefully nobody will find any problems with it. Pastor is on vacation - well, he called it that, but he's overseeing the final move of his stuff from his old house, which is no vacation! - but I have other people checking me.
The weather today was much cooler than it has been, not surprising after the storm that moved through last night. The high temperature was only 67º, briefly at 6:00. For most of the day it was in the lower 60s and quite windy. When I got up, it was sunny and there were whitecaps on the harbor, the first we've had in quite a while. The wind topped out with 31 mph gusts from the north. It was mostly clear, although the camera hung up (I rebooted while I was making my dinner) and I don't have pictures. Then, around 6:30, I looked up from my embroidery to discover that it was pouring rain! We only got 0.03" in that shower, but it rained hard for about 10 minutes. It cleared up some after that, and there was a dramatic sunset. Until the rain moved in, it had gotten quite dry - the humidity went down to 56% in the middle of the afternoon. Helped a lot.
The guys were their sleepy selves. After I was up for one of many times after midnight, I heard thumping and scuffling around, and this morning when I got up, there was a tail and an undefined glob of stuff on my rug. So we got a mouse, and this time, somebody ate it, or most of it. I can understand why they don't want to eat the tails, but I wish they would leave them someplace where I don't have to dispose of them. I don't know what the glob was - I didn't look too closely at it - but I suppose it was some internal organ or other. Hey, at least they got the mouse! They both got some loving, too. Good boys.
So that was my day and now it's time to attempt to sleep again. It's a cool, cloudy night in the field, I think.
August 21 After going to bed around 11:30 last night (I think) and getting up at 11:45 this morning, I think I'm caught up from my two days of bad sleep. I still don't feel great, and I'll be glad to go to bed at a reasonable hour. I knitted, and I only have about 12 rows left on Chat F, at least for the first side. Maybe tomorrow I can start Chart G. It starts out the same as Chart F, but only for 10 rows or so before it begins to morph into the bottom border. It will be nice to work on something besides leaves!
I was so late that I didn't do anything except go to the post office, where there was a whole lot of mail, including bills and magazines and the usual pleas for money. I got the bad news that my long term care insurance policy is going up again this year (sigh). And there was a bill from the hospital for part of my mammogram. Huh? I thought that was all covered by my insurance! So I immediately called them, and it was indeed a mistake, and I do not owe them anything. So I guess their billing is just as screwed up as it ever was, sadly enough. I have to believe that one of the many reasons health care in the US is so expensive is that most purveyors of services have totally horrible accounting systems and they spend most of their time fixing errors. Grr.
The weather was so-so. It started out sort of sunny (I just discovered that the camera has been hung up all day - sorry!), but it soon began to cloud over. The sun was still visible during the eclipse (I didn't watch it here - I've seen partial eclipses before), but then it clouded up and I guess there may be some rain. The high temperature during the day was 67º, and there wasn't much wind.
I didn't watch the eclipse here. I was so late that all I could have seen was the midpoint, and I would have had to make a pinhole camera and go outside with it, so I didn't. I've seen partial eclipses before, even one from here, if I recall. I did manage to get into the NASA site just at the end of totality in Carbondale, IL, so I saw parts of the corona in real time and Bailey's Beads. It wasn't as good a picture as I'd hoped; the filters on the camera prevented seeing much except for the very inner part of the corona, although I think there was a prominence on the southeast edge. I'm sorry I couldn't see it in person, but I just don't travel well enough anymore for things like that. I guess it was an awesome sight.
The guys were sleepy. While I was knitting, Louie laid down beside me with his head on my knitting bag and purred for over an hour, so he got his loving. Grayson got some lap time after I got home from the post office, but I had to move him because my tall hurt and I had to move. Louie will put up with me moving around, but Grayson expects his human pillow to lie still.
So that was a very quiet, very much needed day, and now I'm off to the north end. i might wash my hair and I might not. It's a cloudy, possibly rainy night in the field.
August 20 Well, I got to bed at 9:30 last night, but I didn't sleep well at all. I think it had something to do with the temperature and humidity, and I was up a lot. I woke up before 6:15, and I decided I might as well get up then, even though I didn't want to.
I got out of the house shortly after 9:00, and I was still early getting to church, so I don't know exactly when I should leave. It was all right, though.
Church was good. We sang well and Pastor's sermon was excellent. I had to stop and transcribe the flower list for September and October, and I still left around noon.
While my drive down was fine, coming home was difficult. The art show was on today, too, and there was some very weird driving going on. I didn't get home until around 1:00, which is far too long.
I didn't do much of anything for the rest of the afternoon, but instead of eating dinner early and going to be early, I just finished my dinner and it will undoubtedly be 11:00 or later before I get to bed. Sigh.
The weather was pretty nice. I'm so glad it was good for the art show! There have been years when it was miserable. The high temperature was 80º, around 4:00 PM, but it quickly dropped back to the middle 70s when the wind shifted to the north. For some reason, the weather station reported at 5:09. Usually it doesn't do that unless there is a major change in the wind or temperature, and there wasn't. The wind shift came earlier, when it began to shift around from the southwest to the north and pick up. at one point, we had 21 mph gusts, although it has died down lately. Skies were sort of partly cloudy, but there was quite a bit of sunshine. It's been so nice to have the window open and hear the water for a change. Most of what I hear is waves lapping at the shore, but when there is a bit of wind, the water itself makes a rushing noise independent of the shore. Nice.
The guys were sleepy, but I think they were a bit worried, because their kibble bowls were almost empty, and they were very happy when I filled them. Grayson sat on me at bit, but he was rather impatient with me today - probably because of the food situation. Louie was off someplace, but he did go out onto the porch from the bedroom and then try to get me to open the kitchen door. Ha. No such luck.
So that was my day, and I am tired. I actually think I don't have much going on this week, at least until Thursday, except to go to the post office tomorrow. It will be nice to relax a bit.
Now it's a partly cloudy night in the field, I think.
August 19 Sigh. I got to bed a bit before 10:30 last night and I went right to sleep. Then around 12:30, I think, I awakened abruptly in the middle of a bad dream - ugh! I think it was because some cretin was setting off fireworks from then until around 4:00 AM, at random intervals. I was so into the dream that I just couldn't shake it, and that, plus the fireworks, meant I didn't get any really deep sleep until after 7:00 this morning. I think the fireworks were at the fort, but it could have been my neighbors to the south, who are here now for the first time this summer. At any rate, I was not pleased.
I was also not feeling good. Having my rest, particularly the first two or three hours, disturbed like that always leaves me feeling bad, and besides, it was humid all day. So I was headachy and achy and I decided to take the day off.
I did knit, and I started the seventh repeat of Chart F. I also worked on the Panda cotton sock. I got the heel done, but when I looked at it, the foot looked long and it looked like i wouldn't have enough yarn to make the leg as long as I wanted, so I tried it on, and yes, it was at least an inch too long. Grr. So I raveled out everything I had done, back to where the foot was about 6" long, and I will start over sometime, maybe tomorrow. I didn't do that with two other pairs of socks I knit from patterns from that company, and I've been sorry ever since. Yes, you can try on the foot when you knit from the toe up, but if you discover that it's too long after you're finished, you can't do anything about it unless you unravel the entire sock, which I just will not do. I'm glad I checked this one. I like the colors and the leg and instep aren't plain knitting, and I want it to be the right length so I will wear it. Grr.
I decided to take a day off from blocking. The Icelandic Shawl is all right, but it isn't as big as I would like it to be. It is a pretty thing, though, and the pattern stitches are very interesting.
The weather was nice, for a change. I'm so glad for Johanna and Art in the Park. She is the coordinator of A/P, and she was worried about the weather. It was fine today - perhaps a bit windy - and tomorrow looks to be almost as nice, but a bit warmer. The high temperature here was - and is - 69º. It was humid, over 70% all day. Earlier there was some wind, up to 17 mph from the north. It wasn't perfectly clear - the satellite imagery shows very diffuse clouds over the lake - but there was plenty of sunshine and the sky was pale blue. Nothing to complain about, for sure.
The guys were sleepy. When I got up, Louie was asleep on the tub surround, where Grayson usually sleeps, and I think Grayson was in the window seat where Louie usually sleeps. Louie did want to sleep with me last night, but he wanted to sleep down by my legs, which makes it nearly impossible for me to get out of bed. They both got some loving, and Grayson slept on my lap until my tail got so sore i had to move him.
So that was a very quiet, unproductive day, and I'm tired. Now it's a mostly sunny, warm, calm evening in the field, and I'm off to bed. Now.
August 18 Amazingly enough, I made it onto bed by 11:30 last night. I slept very well, and I didn't get up until 9:30. I knitted and I finished the sixth repeat (it's Chart F). So I'm still making progress.
UPS finally called me around 10:30, and I thought I explained things, but I nearly missed the driver anyway, because he knocked once and then was going to go away. Grr. When he finally came, I was in the middle of trying to block the Icelandic Shawl, which I knitted several years ago. So my shoes are now gone, and in a week or so, I should have most of my money back. Amazon charges $6 for a pickup, but I figured that was better than having to drive down to Houghton and find the UPS store. Also a lot easier.
About the shawl. It's the first one I've knit that I couldn't block to size. I think the reason is that the pattern was written for a thinner yarn and the person who adapted it probably knits loosely, which I don't. I don't knit tightly, either, but it meant I couldn't make it as big as it was supposed to be. It's not much smaller, but enough so it will just be a shoulder shawl, not a big, cuddly one like I wanted. I like it almost enough to do over again on thinner yarn with bigger needles. It's not all one color; the main color is off-white, but it has stripes of two shades of gray and three shades of brown and the crochet bind-off is done with black. It has several stitches I haven't seen in any other shawls, and the construction is strange - the center is done from the bottom up, and then you pick up the cast-on stitches and knit the border down. Anyway, it's blocked as big as I could do it, and tomorrow it should be ready to fold up and wear as soon as it cools off.
I had to take the pink stole oft the blocking board, too, and finish off, mostly by cutting off the ends of the yarn. Even though I stitch in the ends before I block a piece, I don't cut off the ends until after its blocked, so that when it's stretched, the ends will stay in place. Now, that is a really beautiful thing, and I will enjoy wearing it. It's a cooler season thing, too, so it may be a while.
I forgot to mention that late yesterday afternoon, I started trying to turn the heel on the summer sock, and I had gotten part of the heel done when I realized that I had screwed it up and I had a lot more stitches on one side than on the other, so before I left for choir, I pulled most of it out. This afternoon, while the talking was going on, I finished ripping and restarted it. I'm about halfway up the heel, and this time I think I've done it right. I did make one mistake on the heel itself, but I don't think it will show much. Hey, things like that happen when you're doing something for the first time. I'm keeping better track of where I am, too.
The weather was good for ignoring. It was totally fogged in overnight, and while the fog did go away when the sun came up, it was dull and gray for most of the day. It wasn't until after 6:00 tonight that there was even a bit of sunshine, and there are still a lot of clouds, although it's clearing. The high temperature finally hit 65º at 7:00, briefly. for most of the day it was in the high 50s. There was significant wind for most of the afternoon, too, with gusts of up to 29 mph from the northwest. The dew point was steady at 55º all day, which meant that it was horribly humid, and only now has the relative humidity gone down below 80%. Better I did something else.
The guys were really sleepy - the weather, you know. They both got some loving, although Grayson was frustrated because he wanted to sit on me when I had the sock yarn on my lap. And when the UPS guy came, he darted out and took a look out the open door (why do people leave doors open, anyway??). However, the guy was near the door and I was on at the inside door, and I called him and he ran back in. Little snot. And of course, he had to get on the table after I blocked the shawl, but so far I don't think he's sat on it - near it, but not on it. It's wet anyway, so he probably wouldn't like it. Louie beat it to the basement when the UPS guy came, of course, and I don't know if he's come back up yet. Poor Louie! He's so timid.
So that was our day. I didn't make it to the post office, and I won't go tomorrow, because this is Art in the Park weekend, so I'll go Monday. Mostly what will be there are bills anyway, and I can't do anything about them until Wednesday.
Now it's a partly cloudy, coolish evening in the field and I'm tired again.
August 17 I got to bed by 10:00 last night, and I didn't get up until 9:00 this morning, so I got caught up on my sleep again. I'd rather get a reasonable amount of sleep every night. I knitted and I started repeat 6, so I'm still making progress.
I had several things in mind to do today, but the only one that got done was that I blocked another shawl - or, rather, a stole. A couple of years ago, I made the "Waterlilies Stole" out of a fuzzy pink lace yarn, and I've wanted to block it out and wear it ever since. Now I'll be able to do it. Since it's just a big rectangle, it didn't take me quite as long to block as the other ones, but I think it was over an hour. The problem was that it wanted to be longer and skinnier than I wanted it to be, so I had some tugging and pinning to do. I think it came out well, but I immediately covered it with tissue paper, so I don't really know. It's a pretty thing, and I can't wait to wear it.
In the meantime, I managed to miss the UPS guy who was supposed to pick up my shoes. Grr. I guess that the replacement driver doesn't want to come down my driveway - Gary prides himself in being able to back all the way down to the garage in his big truck - so he walked and as a result, I didn't hear the truck. Then, he went to the breezeway door and knocked quietly, so I never heard him. I don't think I could hear someone knocking at that door anyway. So instead of doing something else, I spent the latter part of the afternoon in chat with UPS, raising hell about the whole thing. He is supposed to try again tomorrow, and if he got my messages, maybe I will see him, although it will mean I'll have to change the time I go to the post office. Oh, and they said the local office would call me within an hour, but that was at 4:30 and I had to leave at 5:00, but anyway, nobody called. We'll see if somebody calls early tomorrow morning and wakes me up. Grr.
So we had a truncated choir practice without a director and with an accompanist who had to leave after about 10 minutes, and a good Bible Study.
The complicating factor was the weather. It rained hard between 6:00 and 11:00 and again between 5:00 and 8:00, while I wasn't here. We've had 0.62" of rain today. And in between it was foggy - really foggy further inland. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as it was last week, but it was foggy going both ways. The high temperature was 64º and the humidity has been over 90% for most of the day. Between 9:00 and 3:00 we had some wind from the south, with gusts up to 28 mph, but then it died down to nothing and switched around to the north. Not a nice day at all. Myjoints told me so.
The guys slept, as they always do when it's like that.
So that was my day, and now it's late and I'm tired again. It's a sort of coolish, foggy night in the field.
August 16 Wow, I'm tired, but at least that's over with and I don't have to go down to Houghton until October, I think.
I think it was 11:00 or 11:30 when I got to bed last night, and I slept well. I got up around 8:30, so I should have had enough sleep, but it didn't feel like it. I did what I had to and I got away at 11:30, when I wanted to.
My eyes are fine, and the ophthalmologist has turned me back over to my optometrist, which is good. I like him and he is very thorough. It was only about 1:15 when I got out, and my appointment with the audiologist wasn't until 3:30, so I had some time to kill.
I got gas at Walmart, which I don't do very often, but it was several cents cheaper than at my usual place, and then I went inside. I walked around and got some elastic and some envelopes, but nothing much to play with, even though they had all the back-to-school goodies out. Since I'm pretty much on a cash basis until next Wednesday, I was being careful, and I spent less than $30.
I was still early, so I sat in my car and knitted and listened to the radio until about 2:45. The result of the tests is that I do need hearing aids, but they don't have a payment plan, so I can't get any. So I guess I'll just have to make do. New hearing aids begin at around $2000 and go up from there. They occasionally have used ones, but even those will start around $600. So I guess I'll just hear what I can and guess at what I can't. Sigh. It would have been nice.
I soothed my disappointment by having dinner at Bambu again, and it was so good again. I got home around 6:00 and ate the rest of my lo mein and took my pills. I will be going up to the north end as soon as I post this, because I have to wash my hair (again), and I'm really, really tired.
The weather was rather nice. The high temperature here was 70º, briefly, and it was in the upper 60s for most of he afternoon. It was in the middle 70s in town, but it was nice. There wasn't much wind. It was mostly clear until about 4:00, when it began to cloud up, and I guess we're in for some rain tomorrow. Nice summer weather.
I suppose the guys slept. Grayson didn't meet me at the door, and I don't know where Louie is, but they both got some loving this morning. I think Grayson was put out because I went away and left him again. Since I haven't worked since he's lived with me, he doesn't know what it's like to have mama leave every day, and he does not like it when I do. Poor Grayson.
So that was my day. Now I can see, but I can't hear and I can't walk. Well - that's not entirely accurate. I can walk slowly and with difficulty and I can hear enough to function, although I suspect I say "what?" a lot. The legs there's nothing to do about, but it's a disappointment not to be able to fix the hearing issue. Sigh.
Now it's a cloudy evening in the field, and I'm tired.
August 15 Well. I did what I had to do last night. I got the dishwasher primed and I took my bath and I got to bed by 11:30. I slept well, although I was up several times, and I didn't get up until around 10:30. So I got caught up on my sleep.
Today turned out to be a busy one. I knitted for an hour and a half, and I'm making progress, albeit slowly. I have about 3½ repeats of chart D left to do. I had to wash a couple of pairs of my summer jeans - the cheap, lightweight ones that I only wear when it's fairly warm. While that was going on, I started blocking another shawl. This is one I did several years ago out of a cobweb-weight (half the weight of lace yarn) yarn that, when I had it all laid out properly, looks like oil on water - a shimmery rainbow. I was amazed. It didn't look like that when it was all scrudged up. It took me two hours to get it blocked, though. I think the bottom edge was supposed to be scalloped (oh, scallops again! Geez!), but i couldn't get that to work so now it's mostly straight. Besides. I think the rest of my t-pins must be downstairs, and it would have taken hundreds to pin out every little loop. It looks fine, and nobody but me will know I fudged it. I had to keep spritzing it with water, because it dried amazingly fast, and it wouldn't block out right if it wasn't wet.
All this time, I was wondering where my printer was. I finally checked after I finished the shawl, only to find that it had been delivered around 2:30 and it was sitting outside the garage! Geez! I guess my regular UPS guy must be on vacation this week. He knows things are supposed to be left in the breezeway. In this case, I wish he had knocked at the front door.
Anyway, it was 5:00 by that time, and I had a pot of rice cooking, but I got right at the printer. I have to say these "simplified" installation directions they send with these things, where there are no word, just pictures, are the pits. I was guessing most of the time. And when I plugged it into the computer, nothing happened. Oh, no!! It had turned on and printed a test page just fine, but the computer couldn't hear it. So I rebooted, and I ended up rebooting three times, because I decided to move the keyboard and mouse back to their original connectors. Anyway, when I finally got the computer back up, the printer installed like it was supposed to and I immediately printed two copies of my health page to take with me to the audiologists tomorrow. I think it got registered with HP, but I haven't been able to add it to a new feature they have, because there is a piece of data I don't have. I think I've said before that HP's support web pages are simply horrible.
So now I have a printer, and it seems to work, although I haven't tried all the features. I also seem to have gotten a copy of Read IRIS, which I've been longing for, but I haven't been able to find it yet. That is a premier scanning app that I used to have on the old computer and really missed, but I didn't have the $79 to get it. Now I think I do, if I can find it. I don't know exactly how to print envelopes or pictures, or how to copy and enlarge (if you can do that), but I'll figure it out somehow. One thing that is sorely lacking is any documentation at all. Some things were better in the old days.
When I got back to the computer after the shawl, the information for the bulletin was in my inbox, so while I ate my dinner, I began putting the bulletin for next Sunday together. I got out a first draft that looked all right to me, but I did it rather quickly, so I'm not sure. Since I'll be gone for most of the day tomorrow, I wanted to get it out tonight.
I had dropsy for a while this afternoon. I dropped a full 24-ounce mug of water and ice on the floor in the great room - I moved the blocking board without remembering that the mug was on it - and I dropped a jar of pickled beets on a cat dish. That was after I knocked over my cane and broke a wet cat food bowl. I've had those bowls since 1974 or so, and I still have most of them, but I can't get anything like them anymore and they are the best cat food bowls I have had. There were some more minor things. Some days I have it all together and some days I don't.
The weather was all right, I guess. The high temperature was 61º for most of the afternoon. The wind was from the northeast to east, although there wasn't much. It was rather humid, over 70%. There were periods of sun and periods of clouds, but it was clear at sunset. It got horribly hot in here, and i wished I could have opened the door in the great room, but with the screen stuck, I can't, so I sweated.
The guys were sleepy. They both got their loving this morning. Louie spent the entire afternoon asleep in the light blue chair, to the extent that until he moved I wasn't sure he was still with us. Grayson slept, but he was extremely interested in what I was doing when I was bring in the printer. Louie has not much interest in people activities, but Grayson does, and anytime I do something a bit different, he's likely to be around and watching.
So that was my day, and I'm tired. I find that blocking a shawl is strenuous exercise, even if it isn't hard to do. Now it's a cool, clear (I think) night in the field, and I'm off to bed.
August 14 Last night was one of those nights I have occasionally when I just did not want to go to bed, and as a result I was ridiculously late. i really did not want to get up in time to go for my massage. However, I woke up around 9:00 and really, really had to to go to the bathroom, so I decided, oh, well. I got up and got ready and did my important surfing before I was off to see Johanna. I'm glad I went; I feel much better, except for my hips.
That was all I did. I am really tired, but I have to get the dishwasher ready to run and I have to wash my hair tonight. Thankfully, I don't have to do anything tomorrow except the bulletin, so I can sleep as long as I want to.
The weather was not so good. It was cloudy, cool and humid, which isn't good for the joints. Johanna said everybody she saw was creaky. There was only a little bit of actual rain, around 5:00 AM, but the high temperature was only 65º and the humidity was over 80% all day. There wasn't any wind. It still is cloudy and dull. Blah.
The guys were a bit out of sorts, because there wasn't time for much loving this morning. Grayson got to sit on me, and Louie actually got on the counter, but I think I was doing something else. So he took out his mad on Grayson. When he's really mad, he tries to bite the middle of Grayson's back, which no doubt hurts and makes him cry. So I slapped the yard stick at him and made him go away. When I brought my dinner back to the studio, Louie was lying in the middle of the floor looking very grumpy. I'll try to make it up to him tonight and tomorrow.
So that's all I have to report, except that evidently Schwan's has been hacked. I received an email this evening that said that I had been removed from their delivery route - but I guess so did everybody else. I had to wait on hold about 15 or 20 minutes when I called, because everybody else was calling, too. The rep said it was a global problem. Ah, the joys of computers!
Now it's a cool, cloudy, humid night in the field and I'm tired.
August 13 Today is my mother's 100th birthday. Of course, she's been gone for 24 years, but it's still her birthday.
I got to bed right about 9:30 last night. For some reason I was particularly efficient yesterday. Not so much today. I slept fairly well, with a number of wakeups made more difficult by a white cat trying to sleep in places that made it hard for me to get out of or back into the bed. I got up when the alarm went off, but then I really wanted to keep sleeping.
I did my morning stuff efficiently, too, and I left right about 9:00, so I was early getting to church. It was all right - there are other people there before 10:00. I got to talk to a couple of my fellow knitters about shawls and other stuff, and that was nice. Church was nice, too, and I got to come right home afterwards.
Then everything fell apart. I sat down to eat some lunch, and I just never got up. I was, and still am, very tired. I finally finished my dinner (the rest of my dinner from Friday) about 10:00. i had some ideas of things I might do, but none of them got done. Sigh.
The weather wasn't too bad. The temperature finally got up to 74º at 7:00 this evening; for most of the day it was in the middle 60s here. However, when I was driving home, it was already 75º at the top of the hill, and I suppose it got that warm in town. It was partly cloudy, but there was a lot of sunshine, at least until late in the day. I might add that the Perseids have been drowned out both by the bright moon and by clouds. I couldn't see Polaris last night. Anyway, there was a bit of north wind late this afternoon, with gusts up to 17 mph. So I was able to open the south window in the studio, and I got hot anyway.
The guys slept. Grayson wanted to sit on me this morning, but he didn't try very hard this afternoon. Louie got some love, not much, this morning. By this time they should know what Sunday means.
So it was another very quiet day, and I need to go to bed. It's rather warm, mostly cloudy night in the field.
August 12 I don't know exactly when I got to bed last night, but I think it was around 10:30 or 11:00. I do know it was before the Neurontin started working, because I was twitchy for most of an hour. Once my legs settled down, I was out like a light. I really was tired. This is the reason I take the Neurontin at dinner, and one reason I don't go right to bed after I eat. I'm not sure what the mechanism is, but I do know it takes at least an hour or more to kick in.
I slept well after that, and I got up around 8:30. I knitted and I'm now halfway through Chart D (I think it's D).
Evidently I felt pretty good today, because after breakfast and my surfing, I got out the Shetland shawl and it is now pinned out on the table, safely (I hope!) covered with tissue paper. Even though it's square and I could put the blocking wires through every point of the edging, it took me an hour and a half to get it laid out. It's going to be just under 60" square, and it is a pretty thing, even though I'm not entirely happy with my knitting. I think it will be a bit too warm to wear tomorrow, but I'll decide that in the morning.
I also broke down and ordered a new printer. I hope it works better than the one that is now dead. And I washed the pair of indoor jeans I messed up last week.
I don't know what got me so jazzed up, but it was nice. I wish it happened more often. I might get something done around here.
The weather was nice, but not as warm as they predicted. The high temperature was only 64º and there is a breeze from the north at up to 13 mph. It was clear until around 6:00, but there are some clouds now.
The guys were mostly sleepy, although they had to check it out when I started rustling around. Grayson was particularly interested in the blocking of the shawl, and when I went to get my dinner, I had to chase him off it three times. He knows he shouldn't be there, but he's going to try it anyway. Little snot. That was why I put tissue over the knitting, but I don't want him lying on it anyway. The configuration of the blocking tiles I had to use is 5 x 5 tiles, so it hangs over on both sides of the table. All I can hope is that he stands on it and ends up on the floor. Maybe that will teach him. Louie was sleepy. While I was blocking and Grayson was watching me, Louie was laid out in the pale blue chair, sound asleep.
So that was my day. I am amazed that I actually got something done. I wish I could do it more often. Now it's a sort of warmish, cloudy evening in the field, and I have to get ready for tomorrow morning.
August 11 I was later than I wanted to be last night, around 1:00, but considering when I got home, it wasn't surprising. I slept well, and I got up around 10:00, I think.
I knitted for two hours, but I didn't get very far, because I discovered that I had dropped something in one repeat and it took me a while to figure out what it was and what to do about it. I'm working on the fourth repeat. Oh, and when I discovered the mistake, I actually dropped everything - needles, hooks, pencil, yarn ball...for a moment, I was wondering if I was going to lose everything. Geez. Sometimes I'm really spastic when I get up in the morning.
I didn't do very much else. However, I did finally clean up the bathroom sink and countertop, which were gross. When I went up there tonight to curl my hair, I was a little disoriented. It doesn't look like my bathroom at all. However.
I curled my hair because I met Johanna at Harbor Haus for dinner tonight, and it was a fun time. She is so nice. She had to tell me all about Eos, and while we will all miss her, she agrees that it was time for her to go. Thirteen is old for a big dog. Anyway, that was the only down part of a very enjoyable evening, and even seeing the two sour looks I got when I came home didn't spoil it. We didn't see a water skier - too cold - but we did see a bunch of kayakers and a seaplane, so that was fun. Oh, and dinner was great, as usual.
The weather was miserable. The temperature only got to 62º, briefly, and for most of the day it was in the upper 50s. The wind was from the northeast, and it got up to 15 mph for a while. We had 0.28" of rain during the morning and early afternoon. The humidity was over 90% for most of the day. Some of my least favorite kind of weather.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me as much as he could, although I wouldn't let him sit on my white jeans. I don't know where Louie was; I didn't see him until I got home.
So it was a nice day in spite of the weather and now it's beginning to clear a bit so maybe there will be a star or two - or maybe a meteor? It's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field and I'm tired.
August 10 Oh, I did it again. I guess I just didn't want to face having to wash my hair, so I was ridiculously late again. I slept well, of course, and I got up around noon. I knitted, but not more than six rows, because I had to splice in a new ball of yarn, and that takes time. I didn't want to sit there all afternoon.
As a result, I didn't do anything else. Tonight was choir and Bible Study, and I went alone. It was nice. The ride home was not nice. This is the first time I can remember since I've been able to see that I've had to drive home in the dark in fog. I had to pass three people in a row, because there was some really weird driving going on. I mean, I can understand going slowly - but not that slowly - if you can't see very far, but these guys were speeding up and slowing down and putting on their brakes at weird times and generally driving me nutty. After I passed those three, though, which was right after Phoenix, there wasn't any more traffic in my direction. There was a lot going south, though. I still have some glare, but that's from my corneas, and I've had it for most of my life. The worst trouble was that the glare of the headlights on the fog made it hard to see the striping. And when I started down the hill to Copper Harbor, the fog went away. So it wasn't actually fog at all, it was just extremely low-hanging clouds - like at ground level in the higher elevations. In all, it was a slow ride. I didn't get home until 10:00.
The rest of the weather wasn't very good. The temperature for most of the day was 61º, and the humidity was over 90%. There wasn't much, if any, wind. It was dark and dull and we had 0.43" of rain between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Yuck. No wonder I hurt.
The guys slept. Grayson slept with me for a good part of the morning, and Louie slept on the window seat. They both got their loving. Grayson sat on me as much as he could.
So that was it - another quiet day. I'm tired; I didn't get nearly enough sleep this morning, but they are going to play a piece I like at the end of this hour, so I have to decide whether to stay up to hear it. I'm thinking not. It's a dark, cool, damp night in the field. Tomorrow should be better.
August 9 Well, as usual, I didn't get to bed as early as I'd planned. i started playing a game and it was going well, so...I finally turned out the light around 12:15. I slept very well, with only two wakeups, and I got up around 9:00. That works when I sleep well, at least for a while.
I didn't do anything I intended to do today except to look at the shambles of my checkbook and pay a couple of bills. I'm heading into the difficult part of the year, and it's not pretty.
The weather was so-so. The high temperature was 71º, and it was breezy, with southwest winds from 10 to 17 mph. The humidity was over 70%. It was partly to mostly cloudy all day. Sort of blah.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson was asleep in the bathroom when I got up. He is so cute when he does that. He had his paw over his eyes and he was sound asleep. He got some petting, because Louie was even more sleepy than he was. I was going through the kitchen when I saw Grayson peering out onto the porch, and when I looked out to see what was so interesting, there was the teensiest little chipmunk running around on the porch, looking for something to eat. He didn't find it, of course, but he had to check everything out. I presume he got in through the break in the screen. Grayson would love to have gone out, but the chippie was so cute, I didn't want him to bother it. i think it's gone now.
So that was my quiet day, and now I have to wash my hair. It's a cloudy, breezy night in the field, and I guess there may be some rain overnight and tomorrow.
August 8 So I staggered into bed around 10:30 last night and I didn't get up until 9:15 this morning, although of course I was up several times. I felt much better today, but I'm getting tired again.
I ended up not doing much of anything. I had been reading Osara, and I noticed that suddenly Word was indicating spelling or grammar mistakes, so I tried to fix them...three times. Evidently I managed to go over some threshold, and now it won't save the "ignores" i indicate. So finally, and just now, I split it into three files. Eventually I will have to go back and fix the three files, but for now, I'm tired of it, so I will just read the version with all the little underlines in it and ignore them. I know, the file is almost 400,000 words long, but if the spelling and grammar checks were really useful, there would be no reason for it to overflow the area set aside. Most of the "errors" are passive voice errors, and most of those are absolutely NOT passive voice. I've blogged about this before. It seems clear to me that that part of Word 2010 was written by non-English speaking people who were working by rote from some grammar book. Grr. Double GRR!
Oh, I did get the bulletin together and sent out for proofing. I've already made one change. I think slowly the three of us are getting into a groove, which is a good thing. Pastor sends the details, I do the bulletin and he and Sue proofread. It should all be ready by Thursday at the latest.
The weather was somewhat unsettled today. The high temperature during the day was 68º and there was a little north wind, with gusts up to 20 mph. It was partly to mostly cloudy, and between 1:00 and 2:00 we had the smallest measurable amount of rain (0.01"), just enough to wet the deck. So it was dreary and humid and it made me creaky.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got a lot of lap time, although not all he wanted. I guess Louie slept. He got his loving this morning. When I got up, Grayson was asleep in the nest behind my knees, and he didn't move until I was ready to get dressed. Louie was asleep on the cat rug in the bathroom. My little barometers.
So that was it, and now I will go to bed early again and hope to get caught up on my sleep. it's a sort of warmish, humid night in the field.
August 7 Oh, I was ridiculously late getting to bed. I was reading, and I got into George, which I like a lot, even though it can't be published. I was looking around the folder with my writings in it and I saw a file I didn't recognize, which turned out to be a start of a story that I abandoned. If I were to try to finish it, it would have to be expanded and modified considerably, because all the mysteries seem to be resolved in 6,000 words, although it's not a short story. However, it has some of the best dialog I've written lately, so I had to read that, then I had to take myself in hand and go to bed.
I got up around 11:00, which was not nearly enough sleep, so tonight I expect to be very early to bed. I'm even toying with the idea of skipping the hair.
I knitted 10 rows in an hour and a quarter, which is quite manageable. And during the talking I embroidered. The beginning of a new project always goes slowly, and there is a whole lot of sky at the top of this stocking, so I don't seem to be making much progress. I am; it just doesn't seem like it.
The weather was nice. When I got up, it was quite breezy, but the temperature was already 70º. The wind was from the north with gusts up to 25 mph. It was clear until around 4:30 this afternoon, when an isolated thunder cloud came in from the northwest. I guess it hit Isle Royale hard, but all we got was the clouds. They should go away by sunset. I finally reset the start and stop times for the camera - after I rebooted because the picture was breaking up again. I think I cut off about an hour of black. I hate to do that! It's been so nice to have all the daylight.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got a lot of lap time, although not as much as he wanted. Louie got his loving in the morning, and I got two swipes with the comb on his backside, where he has some pretty big knots.
So it was a very quiet day, and I'm glad of that. Johanna had to postpone our night out, so it will be Friday. I'm sorry to say she had to put down her wonderful dog, Eos. She was 13 years old and full of cancer, and it was time, but I know how she feels. I'll miss Eos, too. She was one of the most wonderful dogs it has been my pleasure to know: smart and gentle, and oh, did she love doggie biscuits! RIP, Eos. Maybe we'll meet again someday.
Now it's a warmish, breezy, cloudy evening in the field, and as soon as the Bach finishes, I'll be off to bed.
August 6 I got to bed by 9:45 last night, which was rather remarkable, considering. I slept so-so. I was up several times and for a while I only dozed. I don't know why, except that it was very humid and I guess I hurt. The alarm woke me up, and I did my thing. I had a couple of glitches. I wanted to wear my pink sweater, which had had a spot on it the last time I wanted to wear it, even though I'd never worn it. So I treated the spot and washed it, but when I turned it right-side-out to put on, the spot was still there. I'm having a terrible time with stuff like that, and I guess I'm going to have to take drastic action and hope I don't bleach out all the color. And then I forgot to put on the thingie that holds my left shoulder strap in place. There was no way I was going to go out and keep having to pull up my shoulder strap, so I had to go and get it and put it in place.
I still got away about 9:05, and it was good that I did. I ran into some slow drivers that I had to pass. I got to church before 10:00 anyway, which is what I intended. The choir practiced with our organist, who wasn't there on Thursday, just so we were all on the same page, and our director got there in time to hear the end of it. We only had three parts, though. Our bass was sick. I think it came out well anyway.
Church was nice. It was another good sermon. I'm still delighting in being able to see the pages in the hymnal.
Then it was off to Pat's for food. I had hoped to be moderate, but oh, well. Too many good deli salads was my downfall today. I got what I needed, including cat food, but they didn't have the kind of orange juice I like and I had to get something else. That took a while. Then I had to get gas - too much flying down and up the peninsula. I was supposed to swing by the post office, too, but I forgot all about that, so I had to stop at our post office and mail my letter.
I got home around 2:00, but that was mostly because I was the third car behind one of the most terrible drivers I've encountered this year. I came up behind him on the covered road, and he refused to go faster than about 40 mph, he slowed down to 30 on most of the curves and he kept putting on his brakes at the weirdest times. Yaaahhh!! I doubt he knew that there were three cars behind him. Even the first guy behind him, who was driving rather strangely himself, seemed to be upset. Ah, the joys of the tourist season! I understand that tourists don't know the road the way we do, but the speed limit is 45 mph and the places you might want to slow down are clearly marked. You do NOT have to slow down at every curve and going up every hill (yep, he hit his brakes going UP the hills!), And there are numerous places where you could conceivably pull over and let other drivers pass, just in case they might want to drive a little more sanely than you are. The more of these people I encounter, the poorer my opinion of the driving skills of my fellow men become.
I had some of my deli salads and put away the critical stuff and sat down. I didn't do much more, but around 6:30, I decided to embroider for a while, but as I was getting ready to do that, I discovered that I was missing one (it turned out to be two) of the threads. When I searched around, I discovered the hank and another hank wound around one of the casters of my chair. Grr. So I sat down on the sewing machine chair and turned the desk chair upside down, sort of.
Well. I managed to get the threads untangled without losing any, but then I realized that all five casters were just packed with stuff, and I decided I'd better do something about that. Two hours later, I finally managed to turn the chair over again (it's remarkably heavy). I had a pile of all sorts of stuff: yarn, thread, dental floss, cat hair, my hair, dust bunnies...you name it. I didn't do a complete job, because it was getting late and I needed more light to see well. By using my big Xacto knife and the big needle-nose pliers, I managed to get most of the stuff out, but the casters still don't roll very well. it's the thing I hate about the plastic casters they use on almost all rolling objects these days. Stuff gets wound around the shaft and it's nearly impossible to get it out. It's a wonder the chair rolled at all.
So that was the end of my attempt to embroider. Maybe tomorrow.
The weather turned out rather nice. It was below 60º this morning, which is why I wore a cotton sweater. It was warmer in town but not much. From about 12:00 until 2:00 it was very foggy here, but by the time I got home, it had cleared up, and it has been clear and lovely ever since. The high temperature was 64º, and there was no wind at all. The humidity went down to around 60% for a while, but it's up again. It was so humid this morning that my hips actually stung when I sat down. Ouch! After the fog lifted, it got nice and sunny and the later afternoon was pretty. It got so hot in the house that I had to open the window in the studio and the door to the kitchen.
The guys were sleepy, I think. Grayson got quite a bit of lap time when I got home. While I was working on the chair, the door to the studio nearly closed, so after a while, he had to push it open and come in to see what I was doing, but it didn't seem very interesting, so he left again. And when I came in with my dinner, he managed to push my yarn swift onto the floor (or what passes as a floor behind the desk). Now I absolutely have to do something about the avalanche, because I need that thing on the desk. At least it didn't bury him. Louie mostly slept, although he did appear when I opened the door to the porch.
So that was my day, and I'm tired. I didn't do what I wanted to, but I did some things that needed doing. Now it's a clear, coolish night in the field, and I need to go to bed.
August 5 i don't remember exactly when I got to bed last night, but I suspect it was around midnight. I slept fairly well. I was awakened early in the morning by an altercation in the bathroom, but after I peed, I went back to sleep and I didn't get up until 10:30.
I knitted 10 rows. It took me an hour and a half, but those rows are 105 stitches long, so I guess I did all right. I hope I can do better, or it's going to take me forever to get this thing done. The edging, which is the last 20 or 30 rows is all beads and will take a while, so I want to get done with the leaves - ugh! leaves! - as soon as I can.
That was all I did. i was tired and sort of headachy today, although the headache may have been hunger this afternoon. I feel a bit better now. I didn't even embroider. I did look at the state of my finances, which are grim, but I didn't do much about it.
The weather was better than they predicted. The temperature actually got up to 68º briefly, and now the humidity is going down. It was over 70% for most of the day, which didn't help my case very much. There was a brisk wind, with gusts up to 28 mph from the north. It was partly cloudy after 10:30 AM, and there was a lot of sunshine. It got quite warm in here.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me as much as he could, but I kept having to move. Louie got his brushing this morning, and I guess he's decided that as long as I don't pull on his knots, any attention is good attention.
So that was a very quiet day and now it's a relatively warm partly cloudy evening in the field and i'm on my way up to the north end to wash my hair and get ready for tomorrow.
August 4 It was 12:30 before I got to bed, but I slept well, and I got up around 8:30 again. I knitted for quite a while, but I got Chart E done and started Chart F. That one is repeated eight times, so I knitted until I finished the first half of the first repeat. Now I can do 10 rows and feel like I've made progress, or I can do more if I have time.
I didn't do anything much. I folded the underwear and put it away, and I went to the post office, where there were a lot of bills, including the one for the second visit by the heating guys. Shudder!
While the talking was going on, I began working on my cross stitch project. It's not going to be a fast project, but that's all right. I like things I can sink my teeth into. This one is a Christmas stocking with the Nativity on it, and it's going to be pretty. It will be slow going, because it's on 18 count fabric and it's completely stitched, but it looks like it will be interesting to do. I can see and my thimble fits, although I did have to turn on the task light. I can see clearly, but it's a lot easier if there's a lot of light.
The weather was a bit better than yesterday, thankfully. It rained until 7:00 this morning, and we had 1.23" for the whole storm. We needed the moisture, but it would have been nicer if it had been spaced out over a couple of days. The wind blew until 8:00 AM or so, with gusts up to 37 mph. After about 8:00, things calmed down quite a bit, although it was dull and gray until around 4:30, when there was a peek of blue. The high temperature was 64º, but that was at 6:00 PM and it didn't last long. It's supposed to warm up to more normal August temps over the next couple of days, as well as be less cloudy. Well, these things do typically happen around here.
The guys were very sleepy. When I got up, they were both asleep in the bathroom on the nice, warm tile. Louie was less vocal today, and he got a little love. Grayson still wanted to camp out on my lap, and he got a lot of sleep there, although I kept having to move and disturb him. They will be happy tomorrow when I don't go anywhere.
So that was another quiet day. I've been having a conversation with Nordic Needle, which is one of the places I get my needlework supplies, about silk yarn, and I think perhaps some of my cross stitch pieces (the ones in the gallery) may turn up in their newsletters. They were under the mistaken impression that silk could only be dry cleaned, and I had to correct them. The problem with many silk threads is that the dyes are not colorfast, but if they are, silk can be washed in water just fine. I know, because I've done it. So that was interesting. They seem like very nice people, and I wish I could buy more from them.
Now it's a cool, clearing evening in the field, and I'll be off to bed as soon as the Schubert finishes.
August 3 I got to bed before 11:00 last night, I think, after I washed my hair, and I slept well. It was cool in the house, so I could add another layer to my covers and be nice and warm.
i got up around 8:30 and I got right at the shawl. I finally realized that the designer wanted me to buy her Craftsy course to learn how to do the bind off, and since I was not going to pay $20 or $30 to do that, I got out my size C crochet hook and did it the right way. That way, it wasn't hard and it came out fine. Possibly I could have used a bigger hook, but this one worked. It was awkward to place the beads, juggling a knitting needle and two crochet hooks, but not nearly as awkward as trying to do the whole thing with needles would have been. I started the first straight side, but I only did two rows, just to get things going.
When I got to the studio, my internet connection was down. Apparently there was a power failure someplace downstream that affected all of us. It came back up around 1:00 or so, I guess.
I finally tried my shoes, which came yesterday, and I think they may be a bit small, which means I will have to return them. I will try them tomorrow and see what I think then. I indulged in a cross stitch kit and it came today, so with my new eyes, i immediately started work on it. I only got the center lines basted in and got everything set up, but I expect to start working on it tomorrow. Now that I can see again, I have an urge to embroider something and the sampler I have been working on is, frankly, boring me, so maybe this will be better.
Tonight was choir and Bible Study. Since our director couldn't be there, choir started late - at 6:15 - so we started south just as it began to rain. Ugh. We picked a piece to sing on Sunday and practiced it until we felt comfortable. Bible Study was good, with three more Easter hymns. I got home around 9:45.
However, we had to drive home through the rain, which was coming down hard by that time. There wasn't a lot of traffic, but I was so grateful to have my eyes back, because we ran across several drivers coming in the other direction who had their bright lights on and didn't turn them down. When I wish I drove a tank and could turn into them and mash them. Some drivers are so stupid! The last one was while we were winding our way down to the harbor, and I almost had to come to a complete stop, because I - and Mary Ann - couldn't see anything and that is a particularly windy, twisty part of the road. He had those high-energy lights, too, and with the rain and all, not even looking to the side of the road made any difference. Some drivers are SO stupid! Anyway, we made it home safely.
I was sad about the weather last night; I finally get my eyes fixed so I can see stars and there are no stars. It was just cloudy until around 5:00, when it started to rain. According to my pictures, around 8:00 or so, it got foggy as well. I'm not surprised; the high temperature for the day was 59º and it was 57º for most of the afternoon. Of course, the humidity is up over 90%. The wind is from the east and there have been gusts up to 24 mph. At 10:00 we had already had 0.61" of rain. Not a nice day, especially for August!
The guys were clingy. Louie sat beside my feet with his head on my knitting bag all the time I was knitting, and Grayson did not want to get off my lap. In fact, right about the time I had to get up to leave, he came and sat down on me again. And they were both waiting when I got home. I guess I've been going out much too often for their taste.
So that was my day, and I'm off to bed soon. It's a cold, windy, rainy night in the field - a good one for a long sleep!
August 2 Well, there. Now I can see out of both eyes about as well as I could right after the surgery. I certainly hope that's the end of it. I have to go back in two weeks for a checkup, but that's all. And now that the dilation is wearing off, I am seeing quite well, thank you.
I got to bed before 11:00 last night, and I thought I slept well. I got up a bit before 9:00, and I didn't feel like I had enough sleep, but I wanted to get my morning stuff done before I left, so I got up. It was probably not a good idea. I tried to knit, but I had a horrible time with the bind-offs and I only got two repeats done. I was having my old trouble seeing, where my two eyes don't want to cross enough to see something close, and I had to rip a lot, which is when I really have to see.
I was glad I had time, because the camera had broken up when I got to the studio and I had to reboot to get it to come up. Sometimes, I can make it start working by closing some of the apps I have open, but today that didn't work and I had to reboot.
I got everything done by 1:00, when I left. I was glad I did, although the mess I got into last Friday is over with. However, when I got to the bridge, it was up - why, I don't know - and while it started down just as I got there and they didn't put it all the way down, I think I probably sat there for ten minutes or maybe a little more.
I was still quite early, but at least I wasn't late! They had to turn away someone who came in half an hour late, and I did not want that to happen to me. There was nothing new about the procedure, except that I don't think this one took quite as long.
Even though it was very early, I went to Bambu. I promised myself I would when it was all over. Oh, it was so good! I brought a bit of my lo mein home with me and I just finished it. I wish I had a tubful of it. I think I will go back the next time I'm down there.
I got home around 5:00. I had been feeling tired and headachy all day, even before that bright light, so I just sat through the talking. This was a sinus thing, which doesn't happen often up here, but with the weather so weird, it did today.
It was cool, almost cold. The high temperature was at midnight, and the highest it got here during the day was 61º. It was warmer in town, of course, but not more than 67º or so. There was a bit of wind this morning - 15 mph or so from the east, but it died down this afternoon, and it was calm this afternoon. It was blowing in town, which is interesting. Contrary to the forecast, it was partly to mostly cloudy, not clear, although there was a lot of sunshine.
My guess is that the guys slept. Grayson got some lap time this morning and some more when I got home. Louie got a some petting and some brushing but he wasn't in the mood to purr, so he didn't get a lot. When I got home, Grayson was at the door and Louie was in the basement.
My new shoes came today, but I didn't open the package. I hope they fit, because my old white shoes are falling apart.
So that was my day. I need to wash my hair tonight, and I'm tired. How odd, that driving 100 miles tires me out.
Now it's a cool, partly cloudy evening in the field, and it will be a good night to sleep.
August 1 I got to bed about 12:30 last night. After I talked to Debbie and to Johanna, it was late. I was awake around 8;00, but that seemed to early, so I went back to sleep and it was 11:00 before I woke up again. Or I think it was. I've been ignoring the clock a lot lately.
I knitted and I finished the square part. I decided not to make it any bigger. I started trying to bind off the two sides, but it's fiddly and I'd been knitting too long. It may be Thursday before I get back to it, depending on when i get up tomorrow.
I have to be at the eye doctor's at 3:00, but given my experience last Friday, I'm planning to leave shortly after 1:00. I may get there very early, but at least there's less probability that I'll get there late. I really want to get that second eye done.
I didn't do very much today. I was doing my surfing when someone knocked at my door, and I discovered that an acquaintance - the woman who got the rocks for her fireplace out of my beach - and a friend were there. They had been kayaking on the harbor when a line of thunderstorms began to come through, and they were a bit worried about being out on the water in the lightning. They wanted me to call somebody else to drive them back to the marina, where their truck was, but I offered to do it instead, so I did that. I haven't been down to the marina in years, and it was interesting. They came back a while later to retrieve their kayaks, but we didn't have any more conversation.
i was wearing my shorts, but I didn't have to get out of the car, so they were the only people who saw my compression hose.
I just finished doing the bulletin. That was about it.
The weather was unsettled. The temperature got up to 82º at noon, but then the rain started in our direction, and by 3:00, it was 68º. The wind got up to 34 mph gusts, too, between 1:00 and 2:00, and we got 0.11" of rain between 2:00 and 4:00. Then the showers passed east and the sun almost came out. Now it's nearly clear, or at least the moon is shining brightly in the south windows. I was glad to see the rain, what little there was, and I was glad that the temperature went down. It's still warm in the house, but it's supposed to be cooler tomorrow. Of course, it was humid all day.
The guys were sleepy. Louie bugged me for most of the time I was knitting this morning. He figures about an hour is enough time for me to be up without petting him, so he wanders around and talks to me, even when I ignore him. Geez. Grayson got some serious lap time. I went out into the vestibule to get some embroidery I did years ago that I wanted to look at, and i didn't realize that he snuck out behind me, so when I went to get my dinner, he was waiting patiently out there for me to open the door again. I try to keep them out of the vestibule so that I can open the outside door without having to worry about cats, but occasionally he will sneak out there. Snot.
So that was another quiet day. I had my torte for dessert tonight and it was so good! I really wanted chocolate amoretto, but this one was nearly as good. Good thing I don't get them very often.
Now it's a sort of warm (73º), sort of clear summer evening in the field and I'm off to bed. With as much sleep as I had last night, I don't know why I'm so tired. And it's August. Summer's almost over. Sigh.
Last updated 09/01/17 09:32 PM |