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A View From the Field |
September, 2017
September 30 So here we are at the end of September. Sigh. It's not the snow or the other problems with winter - for me, at least - it's the darkness. I love the night, but not when it's always dark. Nights are almost 16 hours long and days are dull and dark and gray and even all the vitamin D I take doesn't compensate. No, I'm not sorry I live here. It's dark and cold and even nastier in Detroit in the wintertime. At least here in Copper Harbor, the snow is clean and white and when it frosts the trees it's beautiful.
I was in bed around 10:30 last night, amazingly enough. I didn't sleep very well, though. I had to get up a lot, and I had two cats in bed with me for most of the night, mostly in places that made it hard to get in and out and turn over. Even though I have the window open and it was chilly in the bathroom, I kept waking up sweating, and I was up a lot. Sigh.
I woke up around 7:45 and decided to get up, although that was a mistake. I almost fell asleep while I was knitting. I should have gone back to bed, but I wanted to be tired tonight. I sure am.
I knitted six rows. Now that I have 321 stitches, one row is taking a whole lot longer. It's kind of a fun knit, though, because it's really easy. I could knit the horseshoe pattern without seeing it - that's the one that brackets the other patterns. And I have plenty of yarn. If I have to add another tier to the bottom, I can do that easily.
I blocked another shawl. This is a "V" shawl I made several years ago. It's shades of blue and gray and the patterns are very interesting. I think of it as the German shawl, because that's where the pattern came from. Blocking a "V" shawl of any size (this one is over 60" long on the outside edge) is difficult with my blocking setup, but I managed. I'm not very happy with the way the outside edge came out, but there isn't anything I can do about it. I'm also not very happy with the cat who wants to lie on the table, but that's another topic.
Late in the afternoon, I started trying to sort out one of my folders on the computer. i have a folder I call "patterns" where I keep all the stuff I download from the internet. It has a lot of files in it, and it was nearly impossible for me to determine which ones were knitting, embroidery or sewing. So I sorted things out, and I discovered a lot of little gems. A whole lot of designers in all needlework media put out (or used to put out) free patterns of very high quality, so that they can entice people to buy their bigger patterns. I've collected a lot of them. I was particularly interested in all the embroidery patterns I have, including some extremely nice ones from designers who are dead (Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum of Lavender & Lace, for example). I have some extremely nice angel and cherub designs, as well as a whole bunch of small blackwork patterns I'd forgotten about. Not to mention a whole lot of knitting patterns I will have to modify if I ever want to use them.
It took forever to get things sorted out. Before I had an app to create .pdf files while printing, I saved stuff in Microsoft's .xps format, which is totally useless. Now that i have an app, I converted all of them to .pdf files. It all took a very long time, but now maybe I can find something. I discovered that I have an incredible library of washcloth patterns, too. Actually, those are mostly useful for some very interesting knitting stitches. Anybody can cast on about 40 stitches with cotton yarn, find an interesting pattern and knit a square. I actually like the round pattern I got from Jill better. but I don't want to throw all the other ones away.
There are also a whole lot of errata files for other patterns and books that I own, and I had to sort those out, too. Sometime I will have to try to rename them to point to the patterns they are errata for, but I didn't want to do that today.
The weather today was cool. It didn't get anywhere near the forecast temperature. The high was only 58º. On the plus side, the humidity got below 60% for the first time in several days, and it was almost completely clear all day. The moon is shining in the south windows now, and it's so pretty. It was clear last night, too, but there weren't any northern lights.
The guys were mostly sleepy. I didn't see much of Louie, but Grayson wanted to sit on me all day, as much as I'd let him, and when I sat down with the shawl to begin to block it, he laid himself out in the middle of the table and I finally had to pick him up and drop him on the floor to get rid of him. I also had to shoo him off the table when I went to get my dinner. He knows he's not supposed to be on the table when there's a shawl on it, and he knows he's not supposed to scratch the blocking tiles, but he does. Like I don't pay any attention to him! Huh.
So that was my day, and I'm tired. I was tired all day. I have to wash my hair to get ready for tomorrow, but hopefully I won't be too late. Now it's a clear, cold night in the field, and September is over. Sigh.
September 29 I think it was around 1:00 when i got to bed last night, but I'm not completely certain, and since I didn't get up until 10:45 this morning, it could have been 2:00. I knitted 12 rows, which included the next increase row, and that meant that I was extremely late getting dressed and eating. It didn't matter much.
I didn't do anything exceptional. I forgot to mention that I've been working steadily but slowly on the cross stitch. I finished the sky and I'm working on Joseph's headgear and cloak. It's slow going, but all cross stitch is, even the simplest. This one is very detailed, so it's even slower, but I'm making progress. I would like to get Joseph and Mary's headgear and upper clothing done before I start on their faces, but I haven't gotten far enough to see if I'll be able to do that. One reason is that I am going to have to change the backstitch that defines Mary's eyes. In the pattern, she is staring out into space - not at the baby - and she looks stoned. If she looks stunned, at least she should be looking at the Christ Child!
The weather turned cold again. The high temperature, 55º, actually happened at 2:00 AM, and it went down slowly from there. There was quite a bit of wind overnight, with gusts up to 28 mph from the northeast, but the wind died down during the day. it was cloudy and gray this morning, but as the afternoon wore on, the skies cleared. It was clear and lovely at sunset, and there is a just more than half moon shining in the south windows right now. There was 0.13" of rain between midnight and 1:00 AM, I was curious to see. So it's autumn again.
The guys were sleepy. Louie got a thorough brushing this morning. I'm not sure he really likes being brushed, but he does like me paying attention to him. Grayson slept on my lap for a good portion of the afternoon. If all I'm doing is using the mouse, he can sit on me without problems. It's when I need to type or when I need to get up that he has to leave.
So that was another quiet day. There were a couple of things I was thinking about doing today, including calling the repair guys, but I forgot about them. Now it's a clear, cool night in the field, and it's supposed to get cold overnight - there is a frost warning for the interior. It's autumn.
September 28 I was pretty late last night, but not as late as last week. I slept well and I got up around 10:45, I think. I was awake around 5:15, and when I looked outside, it was clear and there were northern lights! Not anything I could see much, but they were above the trees. The sun doesn't rise in the north, so that light I saw has to have been aurora. I was glad to see that, and I hope we have some more clearer skies this fall. We're falling down to solar minimum again, so we have to seize what we can. I was interested to see lately that scientists have confirmed what I've noticed - there are more solar eruptions, and therefore more northern lights, on the downward leg of a solar cycle than on the upward cycle. I've seen parts of two or three now, and that's what I noticed.
I knitted my 10 rows, so things are coming along. Of course, as I get more stitches on the needle, I will be doing fewer rows. The pattern ends with 521 stitches, but I may have to make it bigger to get the size I want. It will be a while, I think.
I'm beginning to think about the project after this one, but just because I like to plan ahead. What I do next depends mostly on how much money I have. I have two more Shetland shawls that I would like to make (the really big ones), but they both need yarn I don't have, so I'll have to see how things are when I'm ready to plan the next thing.
I didn't do anything today but put down some new towels in the kitchen, which are already sopping. I did my surfing, which took a lot of time, as always.
Tonight was choir and Bible Study. Choir made me chuckle. The thing we were supposed to sing on Sunday was a piece that Kathleen thought we had practiced enough to know - not!! We tried it a couple of times, and it just was not coming together at all, so we fell back on another one that we all know and we love - it's called "Here I Am, Lord," and I requested that we sing it on my 75th birthday, which was a Sunday. We did really well on that. The other one (that I can't remember now) will just have to wait.
i got home around 9:45, but I had forgotten to take my hamburger out of the freezer, so it took me a bit longer to get my dinner than usual.
The weather was sort of mixed. The temperature got up to 64º, and there was some sunshine around here, but around 4:00 it began to cloud up. While we were in BIble Study, there was a thunderstorm down around Laurium (or south), and there was even a little rain here, too. It was horribly humid all day, even before the rain. There was a little wind in the middle of the afternoon, but it died down quickly. Not very nice, but at least a bit warmer than yesterday.
The guys were sleepy. Louie got a little loving this morning, but Grayson didn't sit on my lap at all today. I don't know why. While I was eating my hamburger, he grabbed my hand with his claws, but when I gave him a couple of pieces of beef, he tasted it and didn't want it. Oh, yes, and when I got up this morning, there was the hind quarters and tail of a mouse on the floor in the hallway. Yuck. Of course, they had to watch while I cleaned it up.
I really need a cane with a built-in long reach tool.
So that was my day, and now it's a dark, dank night in the field. Yuck.
September 27 I don't remember when I got to bed last night. I might have been around 11:30, but it was more probably around 1:30, since I was reading. I slept well. The cooler weather meant it was cooler in the bedroom and I could make my own climate under the covers. I got up around 9:30. I could have slept longer, but I had to pee, so I got up.
I knitted my 10 rows - at a rate of about 12 minutes a row. I finished Chart B and went back to Chart A, so I'm making progress. Another 12 rows or so and I will do the next increase row. That will make things slower, since it will have 321 stitches.
I didn't do very much, actually. I did get the bulletin made and sent out. I decided that the bracelet was too long, so I shortened it and it's a much better length, although it's extremely hard to get on. I like that thing. I put down some clean towels in the kitchen. With the fridge out of the cabinet, the water is pooling in different spots.
The weather was not very good, although after about 5:00 this morning there was no more rain. It was dark and dull and windy all day, and the high temperature was only 55º, but the humidity has declined to about 75%. That's more normal for this time of year, but still, I hate to see it happen. The wind was from the north, and it got up to 30 mph gusts. We had a very nice sunset tonight, although it looked wintry. The webcam couldn't see it - it has a very narrow dynamic range - and the digital camera has dead batteries, so all I can do is report that I saw some nice red cloud bottoms amid the dark gray.
The guys were sleepy. They both got some loving. Louie got a good brushing and a tummy rub this morning, and Grayson spent as much time on my lap as I'd let him. They won't walk over the wet towels in the kitchen, and they don't like that.
So that was another quiet day. I'm wondering if the repair guys have conveniently forgotten about me. I hope not. Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and I need to wash my hair.
September 26 I guess it was around 11:30 when I got to bed last night, and I slept well. it was a little cooler in the bedroom. Of course, I was up several times, but I mostly was able to go back to sleep, at least until morning.
I knitted about ten rows and the new shawl is coming nicely. I worked on the first large pattern, and I got about half of it done. All the patterns in this shawl are easy ones, provided I can count to four. Barbara and I agree that that's sometimes a problem.
I didn't do a lot today. The fridge finally began to get water sometime overnight, so I have some ice and a lot of water on the floor. If they don't come tomorrow, I will have to turn the water off again. The icemaker is working very slowly, perhaps because the water is flowing slowly, but I don't know. The door is leaking air enough that the ice in the bottom of the bin has all melted, and I can't get anything out of the door. The ice cream is all soft, too, so I don't think it's doing my frozen stuff any good at all. I sure do hope they get here tomorrow and they can fix all the problems!
i went to the post office because the beading kit I ordered had come in and I was anxious to see it. It's just as pretty as the pictures were, and I finished it tonight. Maybe I didn't do the best job, but I doubt it will show. I did have to lengthen it. Even though the ad said it was 8½" long, that was when it was laid flat, and the inside diameter was less than 7½". My right wrist is 7¾" in diameter - a full half inch bigger than the left - so I had to fudge. Fortunately, they included quite a bit more chain than was needed. It doesn't look quite as nice as it would have, but it will do. My hands hurt, though. The wire and chain they included were really stiff and hard to work with. Fortunately, my wrapped loops don't show, because I didn't do a very good job on them. Anyway, it was worth the money, and I'm sure I will wear it.
The weather was better off ignored. The high temperature was only 62º, much more seasonal, and the humidity was over 90% all day. There was some rain around midnight, 0.42" between 10:00 and 1:00, then a bit more between 7:00 and 8:00 this morning and some more between 6;00 and 8:00 this evening. In between it was dark and dull. There wasn't much wind until lately, when it got up to 18 mph from the north. Very yucky.
The guys slept. They both got some loving, except that Grayson didn't get as much as he wanted, since I was fiddling with my bracelet.
So that was a quiet day, and now I can go off to bed. It's a dark, cool, wet night in the field. At least the heat is gone!
September 25 It was so hot and I was so tired that I just did not want to move last night. There was a little breeze coming in the window and I had the ceiling fan on, and I just sat, even though I really had to pee. I finally had to do something, so I took a shower - oh, I felt better after that! - and got to bed, but not until around 1:30.
i didn't sleep as well as I'd hoped. I fell asleep at once, but after the first time I was up, it was harder. I was up a lot, because I'd drunk a whole lot of water and I ate fish, but I don't think I really slept deeply between wakeups. After the last one, I had to lie on my back, and while it was nearly 10:00 when I got up, I didn't feel rested and I had a really weird dream.
I had to cancel my appointment with Johanna, because there was no way I could get there by 11:00. So instead, I knitted, and I started the next lace pattern. It's easy, like they all are, although I had to change the repeat lines, because the original one was right beside a knit-three-together, and it would mean moving markers around on almost every row. I wish designers wouldn't do that. I can only guess that they don't think knitters will put markers in their knitting, but it's the only way I know to make sure the pattern is right, and when I have over 200 stitches, I need to have some sanity markers.
I washed a load of bottoms - I had either peed or (ahem) in enough that I needed to wash them. I forgot about it, though, and they still need to be dried.
Then there was the fridge. There is something wrong with the hinges, especially on the freezer side, and there is condensation all around the seam between the two doors. It has been running almost continuously - although, strangely enough, it stopped running while I was trying to find my dinner and had the freezer door open for quite a while tonight. I don't know why.
I actually managed to turn on the water, by sitting on a chair and reaching as far as my long arm would reach. The guy who turned it off, really jammed it, and for a while I didn't think I would get it on. It didn't make any difference. even though the valve is on, there is no water going into the fridge, no water in the ice maker and no water on the floor. I have no idea why.
Obviously, nobody came to repair it today. I am annoyed. I need ice, and evidently there is something going on that the water isn't getting into the ice maker. Well, maybe tomorrow.
I embroidered during the talking, and I have just about finished the sky. A few more long stitches to define the star and I can start on Joseph. The manufacturer of the kit sent me an email copy of the chart, and the problem isn't with the print - it's the chart. Until I enlarged it to almost 200% on the computer, I still had a hard time reading the yellow symbols. They are supposed to be green, but somehow they ended up very pale yellow-green, which is nearly impossible to see. I got the kit from Amazon at a very good discount, but it's supposed to be quite expensive. If I'd paid full price for it, I would be even more upset. Such junk.
The weather was...well, weather. The high temperature, 74º came during the night, and that held pretty well until around 10:00 this morning, after which, it began to fall off slowly. I left the window open until it got down to 61º, just to try to cool it off in the house as much as I could. It's 59º now. I think this is the end of the hot temps, but one never knows. There wasn't much wind all day, although now it has gotten up to 18 mph from the east. It was mostly cloudy all day, with only a few rays of sunshine.
Both cats were sleepy and i didn't see a lot of them. Grayson got some lap time and Louie got some loving this morning. Louie was a bit put out because his kibble bowls were nearly empty. Fortunately, they didn't move the fridge too much to the right, so I could still sort of get into the cupboard and fill at least two bowls. The other kind is out in the breezeway and I didn't feel like going and getting it. The bowl wasn't completely empty anyway.
So that was my day, and I'm tired again. At least tonight I don't have to wash my hair, since I did it last night, and I can toddle up to the north end and go right to bed. I need that.
It's a dark, cloudy, and possibly rainy night in the field.
September 24 Ooh! I am hot!
I was a little later than I wanted to be last night, but it was before 10:30 when i turned out the light. I slept very well, although it was hot enough in the bedroom that I slept without any covers over me except for my feet. I expect to do the same tonight.
Unfortunately, I woke up shortly after 6:00 this morning, and I had to pee bad enough that I had to get up. Curiously, I wasn't as early getting away as I wanted to be, but I spent more time than usual reading my advertising emails. Lesson learned. Next week, I'll just ignore them, like I have been lately.
Anyway, I got to church before 10:00, which was my goal. Church was good, and pastor's sermon was good. There were some visitors behind me (Faye had to sit one row back), and they had very nice voices. The choir sang well (according to one of the visitors) even though Stuart didn't make it. He has been building his garage, and I think he overdid himself, although I didn't get a chance to ask Nancy about it.
That was, in part, because when I started to put my hymnal in my tote at the end of the service, I caught my bracelet watch on a loose thread, and I had to take the watch off and cut the thread with my teeth (!) before I could extricate myself and get up.
I like that watch, but it has been a sore trial to me since I made it. It was about my first attempt at making rings, and I didn't do the best job. It's too bad, too, because it's a pretty thing.
Then I had to get gas, but that didn't take too much time, and I got home about 1:00. I took off all my clothes and put on some shorts, and I sat for the rest of the day and half the night, until I peed all over everything.
The reason was the weather. It was so warm in the bedroom because it was so hot yesterday (a record by about 10º), and the high today was 86º again. It was horrible, in part because it was humid. I had the best spot there was, with the southwest wind coming in the window and the ceiling fan on, but the breeze was only about 7 mph all day. It was cloudy this morning, and apparently there was a little bit of rain early this morning. It was after I got up, so I'm questioning whether it really happened. It pretty much cleared up in the afternoon, so it was sunny and hot. Yuck. So after a cold summer with lots of rain, now in the first few days of fall, we get this. I think it will be over after tomorrow, but for now, it's horrible.
It was horrible, and every time I even twitched, I started to sweat. I would really like to go to bed, because I am supposed to see Johanna tomorrow, but I have to take a shower. I am so sticky and icky, I just can NOT go to bed like this. It was after 10:00 before I finally got up, peed all over everything, and got some dinner. I'm really tired, and I almost fell asleep this afternoon, but i just can't go to bed like this.
I don't know where the guys spent the day, but obviously, the heat was bothering them, too.
So that's how it was. I hope the repair guys come tomorrow. If they don't I will have to turn on the water (or try to). The fridge is running constantly, because the freezer door isn't closing properly. Besides, when they pulled the fridge out of the cabinet, they moved it just far enough over that I don't think I can get to the cat food, and the kibble bowls are nearly empty. We'll see.
So now it's a partly (I think) cloudy, warm night in the field, and i have to go to bed!!
September 23 Well, it was 1:30 again last night, and I don't know quite why. I was so tired! I slept well, with only two wakeups, and I got up around 10:00. I knitted for a long time - eight rows - so I got a late start.
I was sitting in the studio waiting for some of my funnies to be available (I am not impressed by King Features online presence) when I got so tired I almost fell asleep. So instead, I got up and filled and started the dishwasher, started a pot full of quinoa and finally got my hamburgers put away.
In the course of that, I discovered that there was condensation on the outside of the fridge doors and a cold breeze coming out between the doors. Oh, yes, and the fridge was running constantly - still is, as far as I know. By beating on the door with the heel of my hand, I managed to get it closed enough that the cold isn't coming out anymore, but evidently in the course of getting it out of the cabinet, they did something to the hinges. Sigh. Stuff inside, at least at the front, isn't very cold, and there is a huge chunk of ice where the cubes all melted together. Sigh. Maybe sometime we'll get this thing taken care of. I don't know who "Jeremy" is, but evidently management knows something about my problems. Sigh.
The water is almost all gone from the floor, although there are still a couple of wet spots. Of course, underneath the finish flooring, it's still wet, and it will take a while for that to dry up. It hasn't helped that it has been very humid for the past couple of days.
When I got back to the studio to sit down, I filled the pill dispensers at the south end.
The weather today was a summery as we've had all year. The high temperature was 85º, briefly around 1:00, and it was in the upper 70s for the rest of the afternoon. It's still over 70º, The humidity was very high, over 70%, for most of the day. It was sort of cloudy, but there was enough sunshine to warm things up in here. I was sweating before I finished in the kitchen. There was almost no wind. Summer, the first full day of autumn. Well, this has happened before.
The guys slept. Grayson did get some lap time, but Louie never came to see me this morning, for some reason. I think the heat got to them, too.
So that was my day. I have to put the quinoa away, and I have to fill the pill dispensers at the north end, so I may be a little later than I want to be getting to bed tonight.
Now it's a cloudy, calm and quite warm evening in the field.
September 22 - Autumnal Equinox Last night it was about 1:30, which isn't bad for a Thursday. The first time I woke up, there was a whole lot of lightning out over the lake, but very little thunder and no rain. It's so neat to see the lightning at night! It's one reason I love my big skies so much.
i got up around 9:00, I think (or maybe 9:30?) and I knitted 8 rows, I think. Now I have 201 stitches, so already it's going to be much slower going.
I was getting my breakfast when it began to get so dark that I should have turned on the lights, and then there was a lot of lightning and some thunder, including one bolt of lightning that was almost over us, but it was far up in the sky. The wind picked up to 38 mph gusts, and we had 0.14" of rain between 12:00 and 1:00.
It had stopped raining when all of a sudden two tall and muscular men appeared on the front stoop, but they noticed that there was stuff in front of the door, so they went around to the back. They were the delivery guys from the store, here to move my fridge. They didn't call ahead, but that was all right with me. They had a hand truck with them, but it didn't have a very big base, and I was afraid they'd never get the fridge out. They worked away at it for half an hour - while I had an accident and had to change my bottoms - but they did manage to get it out. Finally! I think they just kept rocking it until it moved. They were much taller and much more muscular than the repair guys, and they also had more patience. Now all I have to do is wait for the repair guys to come back.
I asked them to turn off the water before they left, and while I may have to try to turn it back on before Monday, just to get ice, for the time being, the water has stopped and the floor is slowly beginning to dry up. It's so humid that it isn't going fast, but it's going.
I washed the towels, although I haven't dried them yet, and I put the last one down in front of the sink because I have to wash dishes tonight - I'm completely out.
I went to the post office, where there was some confusing information about my Medicare Part D, which I will have to pursue next week. That was about all I did.
The weather was unsettled all day, although the only rain was around noon. The high temperature was 75º, right before the thunderstorm. Afterwards, it was only in the upper 60s and there wasn't any wind. It was dark and cloudy all day, and it was very humid. None of my weather sources got this one right.
The guys slept. I think they both were down in the basement during the storm, although Grayson was around and very interested when the movers came and I had to chase him out of the kitchen. They both got their loving, and Grayson spent a lot of time on my lap.
So that was my day. and now I have to load the dishwasher and get the towels into the dryer. It's a warmish, humid, cloudy night in the field. And my fridge is in the middle of the floor! Yeah!
September 21 I nearly pulled an all-nighter last night. I was reading and time just passed, and then I had to wash my hair, so it was some ridiculous hour when I finally got to bed. One useful side effect was that when I realized that the clocks had to be reset - we had a power outage of at least an hour yesterday - it was right on the hour, so the bathroom clock got set correctly.
I slept and slept and slept, although it wasn't enough. When I got up for the second time, my right hip was so sore I could hardly move it, so I took some Tylenol, but it didn't do any good. Apparently when I sleep on my left side, I rotate my right hip in a way that aggravates it, even though I have the body pillow between my legs. When I finally got up - I think it was around 1:30 - I could still hardly move.
I had to sit for quite a while before most of the pain went away, so I knitted, but only about six rows. I did decide to change the pattern a bit to add 48 rows to it, and I had to note that down. This is an easy pattern, but I think I'm going to like it.
Anyway, I was so late that I didn't do anything except eat and do most of my surfing before I was off to choir practice. Choir was good, and Kathleen had printed out the score I sent her. I think we'll like this arrangement of How can I Keep From Singing a whole lot more than the one we decided to scrap. The tune is right, too. It was a short rehearsal, because she had to leave, so we had some time to talk, which is always nice. I tentatively engaged Stuart to make me some new screens next spring (unless the car and the heating system break). I got home around 9:45, which is early, but now that Pastor is teaching two Bible studies, he is having to cut back on the material - the other one doesn't take to long sessions as much as we do. We had some good discussions anyway.
The weather was OK, but humid. The high temperature was 66º. It was horribly foggy until around 10:30 this morning, and the humidity was bad except for a couple of hours this afternoon. After the fog left, it was clear until around 7:00, when it got foggy again for a while before sunset and it clouded up again. I think it was clearing when we came home, but I'm not sure about that.
The guys slept. They don't care when I go to bed or get up. Grayson slept on my lap all afternoon, until I had to get ready to leave. Louie got his loving this morning, and he'll get more tonight.
So now it's time to shuffle up to the north end and crash. It's a cool, humid night in the field, and if it is clear, it will probably get overcome by the fog.
September 20 I managed not to get to bed until 12:30 last night, but I slept very well, since I was so exhausted I had a headache. I didn't get up until around 10:30 this morning, so I felt much better today.
I started the new shawl - I'll call it the Shetland cape - and I did 14 rows, so I was late eating. it starts with 121 stitches and ends with over 500, although since I'm doing it on much smaller needles, it may end up having to be even bigger. It's going to be an easy knit, other than the number of stitches. The patterns are simple and on the right side only, and the whole thing is garter stitch - all knit. I did have a problem remembering to knit the plain rows, but I think I have that under control. Since I have a marker only every 20 stitches, I got confused at one point and had to unknit a bit. It's always a challenge to get into a new project, and I'll get better at it. I like the color, even though it's a sort of weird one. I think it's just about a true mauve, if what I've read about that color is any guide. It will be nice to knit something that isn't green for a change.
Otherwise, I did nothing except try to do something about my freezer. I had to, just to find what I wanted for vegetables for dinner. It ended up that It's just as much a mess as it was, and I don't think I still have that one shelf where it belongs, but I'm working on it. It's cold in there!
Oh, as an aside, I've gotten a couple of calls from the ersatz technical support people lately. Beware them. They know your name and they want to tell you you have a virus or something. They call on hacked numbers that show up as what look like legit personal numbers (although I did get one today that I didn't answer that said "Invalid number!" As If I'd ever answer that!). They all have Indian accents, and I hang up on them as soon as they start to identify themselves. One of these days I'll stop answering my phone altogether...
The weather was warm but unsettled. The high temperature was 70º, briefly, and it was 68º or higher for most of the afternoon. It was very humid and very windy this morning, with gusts up to 32 mph. That resulted in a power outage of about an hour, but it was over by the time the power company called me to check on it. It was cloudy all day, and I just noticed that I missed a spectacular, red sunrise this morning. Too bad, but I had been up not long before. It got very dark a couple of times this afternoon, but while there were some showers around us, there wasn't any rain here. It's supposed to clear up tonight and be warm tomorrow and hot on Friday. Do love that weather!
The guys were sleepy again. Grayson slept on my lap until I absolutely had to get up, and I think Louie was in the pink chair all day again. They have both looked longingly out onto the porch, but no way am I going to let them out there. They were bad, and that means I won't trust them out there again...at least until there is chicken wire over the screens!
So that was my day, and now it's a dark, probably still cloudy night in the field.
September 19 Excuse me for not uploading last night's journal. I do that occasionally when there's something else on my mind. What it was last night, I don't know, but I didn't get it done until today. Sorry, and thanks to Phil for pointing it out to me. Not that it was very interesting.
I got to bed around 12:30 last night, having washed my hair, but I had a lot of trouble falling asleep again, and I didn't sleep very well. Who knows why? Maybe I'm going into my change-of-seasons routine.
I didn't do much today, either. I did finish the shawl, and it's ready for blocking. It's in the queue.
I was wondering when, or if, the repairmen were going to come, and they finally arrived around 3:00. I still have water. I warned them that they would need a hand truck or something, but they were driving a mini-car, and there wasn't room for the kind of thing they needed. They worked away on it for almost an hour - and incidentally, took everything out of the fridge and just threw it back in - and never got it to budge. They did try to turn off the water, which I wouldn't let them do, because I need ice, but now I know where the valve is. I don't think I can reach it, but at least I know where it is. So we left it that they are going to try to get the delivery people to come out and move the fridge, after which they will come back and fix it. I can see the dollar signs, but I need water in my fridge and I need it not running all over my floor, so I have to press on. Sigh.
The weather turned out rather nice. The high temperature was 69º and the humidity actually got down to 50% for a while. There wasn't much wind. It was cloudy overnight, but the rain stopped before 1:00 AM. It began to clear up around 10:00 AM, and the afternoon was clear and sunny and lovely. The clouds began to move back in late in the afternoon, and I guess there may be more rain tomorrow. These fast-moving fronts are a feature of autumn here in the north, and predicting them with any accuracy is almost impossible, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens. At least it's supposed to be relatively warm for the next couple of days.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson wanted to know what the guys were doing, so he made a nuisance of himself until I came back to the studio and sat down. Louie has been asleep in the pink chair, although I have to believe he ran away when the guys came. They both got their loving.
So now I'm tired again, and I hope to sleep better tonight. I've been thinking about Trine again. I had a couple of scenes pretty well mapped out - if I can remember them! - but I was having a hard time figuring out how to get from where I left off writing to where they started. I think I have that figured out now, so maybe I can do some writing in the next few days. Fingers crossed. They say you should write something every day, but I do that with this journal, and I need to write some fiction for a while. I will start the next shawl - a half-circle with Shetland patterns in a mauve yarn - tomorrow. It will be nice to work on something else for a change, and this one looks to be easy, at least until I find it isn't big enough, since I'm not using the suggested needle. It will be another adventure, and it is a pretty thing.
Now it's a partly (or mostly? I don't know) cloudy night in the field and I'm off to the north end.
September 18 I guess it was almost 11:30 when I got to bed last night, and I don't remember why. Probably I was just fooling around. I got up about 9:30 and I knitted. I have only three rows left to do on this shawl and I can go on to other things. I think I can finish it tomorrow, but that depends mostly on the repair people.
They didn't come today, much to my annoyance. I know the fridge is still operating, but the water is doing a number on my floors. It seems like the water, besides pooling on top of the floor, is seeping under it and it looks like it has gotten out into the great room. It's going to take quite a while, and some drier air, to dry it out after the leak is fixed. Maybe tomorrow?
Otherwise, I didn't do anything. Well, a couple of small things. I have a bracelet watch that I made from a kit a long time ago that had partly broken, and I patched it up well enough to wear. I embroidered during the talking, and I'm now working on the fourth shade of blue (the lightest) in the sky. I still enjoy cross stitch, although I think it would have been better if my first project after my long hiatus would better have been done on larger count fabric. I don't mind 36 count linen, but I find 18 count aida is hard to work on, especially when there are no open parts. Well, it's fun to stitch again, and I like the project, so I'll persist.
The weather wasn't very good. It was cloudy and dull all day, and the high temperature was only 59º. The humidity was high all day - I felt it - and there wasn't any wind. Not very nice.
The guys slept. Louie was in the pink chair for most of the afternoon, and Grayson was on me as much as I would let him, and otherwise he slept on the desk. I think Louie spent part of the night in bed with me, too.
So that was still another quiet day, and now it's a dark, cold, rainy night in the field, just the kind my joints don't like.
September 17 I turned out the light not long after 9:30, but I had a hard time getting to sleep again. I finally did, and when I woke up around midnight, there was lightning. That continued for most of the night, although most of it was too far away for thunder. I guess it started to rain around 1:00, with a rush, and it continued off and on until 6:00 this morning. That was when I woke up, after several other wakeups during the night. I looked at the clock and decided I might as well get up then. I was really sore.
I did my morning thing and I left around 9:00, which is what I've been aiming for lately. I wanted to be early, because I had copied the hymn we were singing and I wanted to get it to the choir members. I did that, although I missed one of them, because she usually slides in right around 10:30 and by that time I was sitting down.
Church was great - the theme was forgiving as we have been forgiven - and we sang remarkably well for having not had a rehearsal with all the choir.
I came right home and I didn't do anything for the rest of the afternoon, although, surprisingly enough, I didn't try to nod off.
The weather was variable. It was warm and wet and stormy all night. The temperature went down all night, but the humidity was over 90%. The temperature evened out at about 60º for the afternoon, but the dew point continued down, thankfully, although the humidity never got below 60%. It was so dark this morning that I had to turn on the lights, but by the time I got out of church it was beginning to clear, and the afternoon was nearly clear and sunny - and very windy. The wind peaked around 4:00, with gusts up to 43 mph (when I saw that, I said "What?!!"), but it's died down now to only 7 mph. For the afternoon, it was from the northwest, which is the direction that makes my patio door whistle. It made for some nice whitecaps on the harbor, too.
The guys were sleepy. Louie slept in the great room and Grayson slept on me until I had to twitch and make him move.
So it was a quiet day overall, and I need to go up to the north end now. It's a clear, cool night in the field.
September 16 Sigh. I turned out the light around 11:30 last night, and about an hour later, I shuffled slowly down to the studio to make sure I hadn't forgotten to take my pills, although I was nearly certain I had. I had. I don't know why I had such a problem getting to sleep, but after my 60-yard walk, and turning over to the other side, I went to sleep. I was up several times, and I got up around 9:30, I think. Although I thought I got enough sleep, I almost fell asleep in my chair this afternoon.
I knitted twelve rows, and I'm getting there - I'm getting there! I will be happy to get done with this thing. I think I've said that before.
Otherwise, I did nothing. Well, not totally nothing. I wanted to make a copy of the hymn the choir is singing tomorrow, which was a good chance to play with my new printer. The scan function works just fine, and I was able to scan the page, crop and enlarge it and print 10 copies with almost no trouble. It's so nice to have a device I can count on working! There was another hymn that I suggested to Kathleen that I had an alternate arrangement of (from back in Christ the King days), so i did the same thing with it, although I only printed one copy so she can see it.
When I got to the studio, around noon, my internet connection was down, and according to PastyNet, there was a serious problem with the cabling on top of Mt. Horace Greeley. My guess is, having not seen the problem, is that some other people who had been up there recently hooked a wire and compromised the connection. I think it finally came up around 3:00, but there wasn't much I missed except my funnies.
The weather was warm and humid. The high temperature was 78º, early in the afternoon, and the lowest the humidity got was 65%. There was a little breeze around noon, but for most of the day there was no wind. It was mostly cloudy all day. Meh. Not good for my joints. My hip was aching while I was sitting at the computer, which doesn't usually happen.
The guys were sleepy. I haven't seen Louie for a while; I don't know where he chose to sleep today. Grayson slept on me a lot.
So that was all there was, and now I have to go and get ready for church. It's a warm, cloudy, humid night in the field.
September 15 i got to bed around 1:30, which isn't too bad for a Thursday. I didn't sleep as well as I'd hoped, mostly, I think, because it was so humid. There was a phone call at 10:00 that made both Louie and me glare at it, and I didn't think I went back to sleep, but I must have, because it was 11:30 before I finally got up.
I knitted, and I finished Chart G and did the first two rows of Chart H. This one will go more slowly, because not only is it more complicated than leaves, there are at least 8 beads on every wrong-side row. Well - I guess it's how you look at it. This designer has you put beads on the wrong side stitches before you knit them, whereas the designer of the maroon shawl had you knit the stitch on the right side and then put the bead on. The result is the same, but I think this way is a tad easier. Now it's full speed ahead and only 27 rows left.
That was about all I did. i went to the post office, where there were a lot of bills - it's that time of month - and not much else. I just sat and played Solitaire with a cat on my lap through most of the talking.
The weather was not very nice. I woke up around 4:30, I think, to see lightning out over the lake, and it was far away enough that I thought it was going to miss us, but sometime later, after the lightning had passed far to the east, all of a sudden, the heavens opened, and between 5:00 and 7:00 we had a quarter inch of rain. There was still water on the windows when it got light, so I knew it was humid, and it was. The high temperature was actually between 2:00 and 3:00 AM, and it went down steadily from there. The temperature during the day was in the upper 50s, and the humidity was over 90% all day. There wasn't any wind. Yuck. Then between 7:00 and 8:00 this evening, we had another 0.05" of rain. Double yuck.
The guys were sleepy today, both from the weather and from their exciting evening last night. Louie slept with me all night and Grayson slept on me as much as he could during the day, although he has now gone away. I refused to acknowledge either of them last night, so they knew I was angry and I think they spent the day trying to assure themselves that I still love them. I think I made it clear that I do. They've probably pretty much forgotten most of what happened last night, and so I will, too. They've just made it impossible for them to go out onto the porch any more and for me to open either the window or the doors. Poo.
So that was a quiet day, and I'm tired again. Now I have to decide whether to go to bed after the Mozart finishes or wait about an hour for the Schubert Unfinished. Decisions, decisions...
It's a cool, humid, sort of foggy night in the field. Yuck.
September 14 I was so sore last night that I just did not want to move, and as a result, I was ridiculously late getting to bed. i had to wash my hair, among other things. I don't know quite why I was so sore yesterday, but I could hardly move. Today was better, at least in that.
Since I got to bed so late, I didn't get up until nearly noon, and I knitted. I'm now fully into the border, thankfully. Only about 40 rows to go and I'll be done. It will take around a week, because the pattern gets steadily more complicated toward the end, with the beads and the crochet bind-off, but at least I can see the end. It's a pretty thing, and I will enjoy wearing it, but I'll be glad to get done with it. I guess I'd rather have projects I'm sorry to see end, rather than the ones that I'm glad to get rid of, but there haven't been many of those lately.
The only thing I did today was go go choir and Bible Study. Three people were missing from choir, but we're singing a hymn on Sunday, so it's not a big problem. We might get together before church, just to go through it, but we didn't talk about that. We'll make do one way or another.
Bible Study was good, too. We're looking at the Luther hymns - there are 25 in our hymnal, as you might expect. All of them are deep theologically, but a whole lot of them have tunes that are extremely hard for modern people to sing, so it's been interesting. It's better when Kathleen is with us, as she was tonight. She is a wonderful keyboardist as well as our choir director and for a lot of the hymns we need her. I got home at just about 10:00.
The weather was nice again, although there were clouds to add to the smoke. I don't quite know why, but between 2:00 and 3:00 the temperature went from 67º to 77º. The wind did die down a bit, but not that much. 77º was the high, but the rest of the afternoon was in the 70s and it was nice to have some summer, finally. There wasn't much wind. Some clouds moved in late - it may rain overnight and tomorrow - and there is still a big plume of smoke. I'll take the temperature.
The cats - oh, the cats! They were sleepy all day. They got some loving this morning, and Grayson kept pawing my hand to pet him while I was drinking my OJ. But when I got home, nobody was waiting at the door, which I thought was odd. I had left the window to the porch open, and after I came in, I heard Grayson go thump on the floor. He acknowledged that I was home and then he disappeared again. I was suspicious, so I turned on the porch light - and there was a tear in the bottom corner of a screen! Oh, no! So I went out and started looking around. I found Louie fairly fast - outside! - and shooed him into the porch through the door, but Grayson was nowhere to be found. Well. closed the window, but I couldn't get Louie to go inside. I even tried to pick him up, and he must weigh at least 25 pounds, because I had a terrible time, and I couldn't carry him in. So I opened the door that goes to my bedroom. By that time Grayson had appeared outside, so I let him in the door, too, but he wasn't going in either. So I went in and started making my dinner. The next time I went out, Louie was in the bedroom, so I closed that door, but I couldn't get Grayson near a door, so I left him on the porch, after I blocked the open screen with a table and a chair. I made my dinner, and when I looked out again, Grayson was standing at the kitchen door looking innocent and meowing. Little snot. I let him in, but now we can't open either door or the window. I think they think the deck is just another room in the house, and I know they don't understand the dangers of being outside around here. So they did it to themselves. If they were content to stay on the porch, there wouldn't be a problem, but if they're going to try to get out, and succeed, they'll just have to stay inside. I will have to try to patch up the screens, because of the bugs, and next summer, if there is weather that means I want the doors open, I guess I'll have to do what I did at Hillcrest - get a lot of chicken wire and staple it over the bottom half of the screens. I should probably just plan on doing that anyway, so I don't have to worry about coyotes and bobcats and other critters. Oh, yes, and now they're mad at me.
So that was my day, and now I'm tired again - or maybe still. It's a warmish, cloudy night in the field.
September 13 It was another quiet day. I like those.
i got to bed before 11:30 last night and I slept fairly well, although I was up several times. I got up around 9:30, I think. I knitted and I finally finished Chart F and started Chart G. So now I'm getting done with this thing. I have only 50 rows or so to go. It's a pretty thing, and I'm not sorry I'm doing it, but I'll be glad to be done with it and go on to other things. And no more leaves for a while! Please!!
The only thing that happened was that the repair guy came today and left without doing anything about my water problem. His problem was that he couldn't pull the fridge out of the cabinet. It's been there so long that the casters have sunk into the wood floor and he couldn't budge it, even though he tried several things. He won't be back until Monday, and in the meantime, there is water on my kitchen floor doing a number on the finish. Sigh. Nothing is ever easy - or cheap. The thing is, it wouldn't matter what the floor was made out of, the problem would be the same, and I'm not sure how to solve it. When I bought the thing, the real built-ins were much more expensive and I don't think they came in the right size for the space I have. Or maybe they didn't come in stainless steel. I don't remember, but I know I looked into them and they wouldn't work.
II got the information for the bulletin and put that together, and I think it's right. Oh, yes, and I just finished doing the software update on the desktop. I still have to do it on the laptop, but I can do that tomorrow.
The weather was nice, but not as nice as yesterday. It wasn't as clear as it was yesterday. I just looked at the satellite imagery, and it's clear that the white skies and all the cloudiness at sunset were due to a huge plume of smoke from the forest fires out west. I thought so. The high temperature was 75º, at noon, but then the little breeze shifted to the north, and it cooled off into the upper 60s again. There was almost no wind, and it was calm after about 5:00.
The guys slept, I think. They both got some lap time. I think Louie spent most of the afternoon in the basement, especially while the repair guy was here. Grayson was interested when the guy left the door open, but I got it closed before he could get out.
So that was another quiet day. I'm disappointed in the fridge, but after Mary Ann and I couldn't move it on Sunday, I knew it was going to be a problem.
Now it's a sort of cloudy, sort of warm night in the field, and I'll be off to the north end soon.
September 12 I think it was not long after midnight when I got to bed last night, and I slept quite well until this morning. I was waiting for a call from the repairman, but it didn't come until 9:00, when I would have gotten up anyway.
He won't be here until tomorrow afternoon. Sigh. I've given up trying to keep the water off the floor.
I did a few things today. I folded the underwear and a set of towels, so now I have two empty wash baskets. I finished up soaking the towels and washed them and they are in the dryer now. I got the money out of my IRA - much more than I hoped, but I think it will be enough. I mopped up the water twice before I decided it was hopeless.
I knitted about 14 rows on the shawl, and I have only about 26 left before I start the border. I'm anxious to get this one done and go on to other things.
The weather was lovely again. While It seems strange, I've seen this happen so many times. Around Detroit, it seemed like when I was a kid, it would be cold and sometimes rainy for the second half of August, then - bam! - the minute we went back to school it would get hot and sunny again. And when we were vacationing up here, somehow that first weekend we were here - the weekend after Labor Day - usually brought an abrupt change in the weather. Usually it seemed to go from hot to cold, but I've also seen it go from cold to warm, like it has this year. Not that I'm complaining, you understand. It's been nice to have the window open. Grayson and Louie think so, too.
The high temperature was 75º, but that was at 1:00 PM, and then in the next hour, the wind shifted from southwest to north and the temperature went down to 66º, where it stayed for the rest of the afternoon. Now it's shifted back to the southwest, by the way. Not that there was much wind, it was just the direction. It was mostly clear all day, although there was some of that high, white haze late in the afternoon. It was nice.
The guys thought so, too, although they both took their afternoon siestas near me - Grayson on the desk and Louie on the couch. They both got their loving
So that was my quiet day, and I hope to get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour tonight. It's a relatively warm, clear night in the field.
September 11 - Remember I was so tired last night that I couldn't get up and go to bed, and as a result, I was very late. I slept, of course, and I got up around 11:00, I think. I knitted 10 rows, so I'm still progressing.
I called the repair people and I hope they will be able to get here tomorrow. I still have water pouring out of my fridge, and even the towels we put down haven't kept it from getting all over the kitchen floor. I can't dry the wet towels because I have a load of bath towels soaking in my washer, and they need a couple of days more before they will be all right to wash, so I now have several sodden towels in the sink in the laundry room that need to be spun out in the washer. Sigh.
That was about all I did today. I am still tired. Norton wanted me to reboot the computer, and I did that, which seems to have cleared up a few other problems I've been having. The Weather Underground rolled out a new web page a week or so ago, and it has been a disaster. Not only are a whole lot of things missing or not working, something it does keeps hanging up my browser. Since I can't go to Edge, I am seriously thinking about going to Firefox and being done with IE and that horrible "Windows Live" email client they attached to it. Stay tuned.
The weather was so nice I was sorry I forgot to open the windows. It was cloudy and dull this morning, but it cleared up later in the day and the high temperature was 75º for a couple of hours in mid-afternoon. There was some wind, with gusts up to 28 mph from the west. The wind has now shifted more to the north and died down to almost nothing. Nice.
The guys were sleepy. Louie slept with me after about 5:00 this morning, and Grayson was nearby. They both got some loving.
So that was it. It was a rather truncated day, and I really need a bath tonight, so I'll be trundling up to the north end soon. It's a clear (I think), warm night in the field.
September 10 I am sooo tired!
I got to bed by 9:30 last night, and I slept well, although i was awake at 5:30 and I didn't really go back to sleep until just about the time the alarm went off. I have a rhythm to my sleep/wake cycle, which depends upon when I go to bed, and when I go to bed that early, I guess I would normally wake up around 7:30 or 8:00 - not 6:30!
Anyway, I got up and got going. I took my shawl off the blocking board and clipped the ends of yarn while I was sitting at the north end. Unfortunately, I clipped one too many. I'm not sure what happened, but it looks like there was a break in the yarn, so when I clipped the other end, I was left with a large hole and a bunch of stitches that want to ravel. Ugh! Not only couldn't I wear my lovely shawl today, I have to face the problem of darning up the hole. Ugh!
Anyway, I wore another one and I left home about 9:00, so I was early getting to church, which was fine. I got to talk to some of the other early arrivals.
Church was lovely, as usual, although we didn't sing very well. I think almost all of us are very pleased with Pastor.
Then I had to do some shopping and get gas. I did more damage at Pat's than I hoped, but that usually happens. I got gas. I didn't need a whole lot, and I had coupons for 30¢ a gallon off (one reason I shop at Pat's) so that wasn't too much of a hit.
I got home around 2:00 and then I had to unload the car. I put the cold stuff away and had some lunch before I put everything else away, and I discovered that I was exhausted and sore. Oh, sigh.
I didn't mention last night that when I went out into the kitchen, there was water all over the floor. It looked to me at the time like it was coming out under the cabinets. So I talked to Stuart, who is busy, and Mary Ann said she would come and help. She didn't arrive until around 5:00, but we got right at the floor. One good side effect is that I now have a nice clean floor. She wielded the string mop and I wielded the sponge mop, as much as I could, and we sopped up all the water and scrubbed and scrubbed until we got everything clean and pretty dry. As she said, the stuff we mopped up off the floor looked like mud, and it may have been, but mostly I think it was a combination of the stuff I drop on the floor, including water, and that the floor hasn't been mopped in several years. I do bring in a lot of mud and grit on my shoes, which I'm sure doesn't help either.
Then, while things dried, she got at the trash while I filled bags in the powder room, which was full of newspapers. I like to get the paper, because it has things that aren't online, but it makes for lots of trash.
Once most of the floor dried, Mary Ann discovered that the water is actually coming from under the fridge. This isn't the first time that has happened. There is a water line into the freezer door, which is supposed to dispense cold water. It hasn't worked in several years, but the line is still there, and it appears that the water is coming from that. I'm not completely certain of that, but since it's a fridge problem, I will be calling the repair people tomorrow and hope to get somebody out here in a day or so. I may get some chilled water out of it, too. That feature of my fridge has to be one of the worst designs I've ever seen.
Then she got under the sink in the bathroom, and after a lot of trouble (another bad design), I think the drain plug in my bathroom sink is working again. I hope so. It's extremely difficult to get to. It seems to be working now, so we'll see.
Whew! She left around 7:15 with a bunch of orange trash bags and some yarn I have no use for. Bless her! I don't know what I would do without her.
It was a beautiful day, and I was able to have the window in the studio and the door from the kitchen to the porch open for most of the afternoon. The high temperature here was 69º, which is a whole lot warmer than it has been fro several weeks. The humidity got down close to 50%, which was nice, although my poor old bod didn't notice it much. There was a brisk wind from the southwest, with gusts up to 24 mph. It was sunny and beautiful all day. Nice. And it seems like we're in for several more days of the same.
The cats were weird. When Mary Ann arrived, Grayson came up and started talking to her. I haven't heard him talk like that since he first came to me. I don't know what his problem was, but she fascinated him. Then, when we were folding sheets (another small task we did), Louie came up to her and started rubbing himself on her shoes and her pants, and he actually caught a claw in her pant leg. He would not leave her alone until we walked away. Whatever was on her shoes and her pants, he really loved it. It was like she had been walking around in a field of catnip, which I know she hadn't. They are weird little critters. I opened the door to the porch, and when i wanted to close it, Louie was sitting on the footstool out there, so I had to open the window when I shut the door. It's been several weeks since they've been able to get out, and they really enjoyed it. So I guess I will leave the window open tonight, too.
So that was my day, and I haven't worked that hard in a long time. Usually, just shopping and getting gas would be about all I could do, but as I said to Mary Ann, she needed to come over with her cattle prod and get me going. Now I'm exhausted and my feet and legs are sore, not to mention my back, but I have the good feeling that a lot of the problems I have in the house have been taken care of, and I know where the water is coming from.
Now it's a clear, cool night in the field and I'm off to crash.
September 9 Oh, I diddled around last night, and it was 1:00 before I got to bed. I slept fairly well, but apparently I hurt, because I spent quite a while dozing on my back. I got up at around 8:45.
I knitted for a long time, and I finished the sixth repeat of Chart F. Now i have 50 more rows to go and I can start on the edging (there are 10 rows of leaves in Chart G).
Even though I started rather late, I actually did something today. I put a load of towels to soak, I hard boiled a dozen eggs (I've been noshing on lazy girl's egg salad sandwiches lately) and I blocked the Shetland Garden shawl. Whew! That took me two hours. It's a huge thing (for which I'm glad) and it's more rounded than a usual triangular shawl, so I had to pin out the edging point by point. I think it came out all right, although I'm not satisfied with how the center pattern looks. I'm not sure how to stretch it to get that pattern right, though, so it will have to do. I think I'll be able to wear it tomorrow. It was almost dry before I finished pinning it out, and I had to keep spraying it with water. I need to find my big spray bottle.
That exhausted me, but it was after 5:00 when I finished. Then I forced myself to sit down and plot out my finances for the next three months, so I could determine how much I will have to take out of my IRA. It's more than I hoped, but as someone once said to me, that's why it's there. What will happen when it's gone is another question, but maybe I can get my spending under control before then.
The weather was lovely. I should have stuck my nose outside. The high temperature was 62º. for a couple of hours, and the humidity has been under 60% (for a while it was down around 50%) for most of the afternoon. There wasn't much wind. It was clear and blue all day, although there has been some of that high haze in the west this afternoon. After reading about all the wildfires in Washington, I think that a lot of the haze we've seen is actually smoke, which has been pushed eastward on our prevailing westerly winds. And no, I didn't see any northern lights. The moon is still too full, and with the haze, it washes out anything so subtle.
The guys slept, mostly. Grayson slept on my lap until I decided it was time to get up and attem, and Louie was asleep on the couch for most of the afternoon.
So that was my day, and I must say it feels good to know I did something today. There's still the trash, and I need to wash dishes. but those things will always be there. Now it's a clear, coolish evening in the field and I'll be on my way to the north end soon, maybe by way of the dishwasher?
September 8 I made it into bed a bit after midnight, which is pretty good for a Thursday. I slept well, and I didn't get up until around 11;00, so I got caught up on my sleep.
I knitted a bit - only about eight rows, because I was late - but I began to work in a new ball of yarn. Barbara jogged my memory last night about the right way to transition to a different dye lot of yarn - two rows of each yarn until you run out of the old one - so I started doing that. It was just in time, too, because I'm almost done with the second ball. For the next several rows, I will be juggling yarn ends, but it won't be long. I was afraid all along that I wouldn't be able to finish this shawl in two balls, and I was right.
I went to the post office, where the yarn for my next project arrived, as well as several bills. I wrote checks for my taxes and my payment to the heating people and mailed them. Now all I have to do is figure out how to cover them and the other things I need to pay before the 27th. It never seems to end.
The weather was much nicer than it's been for some time now. The temperature actually got up to 60º briefly and the humidity was around 50% briefly. It has gotten a lot more humid lately, and I guess we may have some fog tomorrow morning. It was almost clear all day and it's supposed to be even warmer and clear tomorrow. There wasn't any wind. I think we deserve some nice days for a while, after what we've had to endure for the past couple of weeks.
The guys were sleepy, but they both got some loving.
So that's all there is, and maybe I can get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour tonight. It's a clear, cool night in the field, but the moon is still nearly full. I'm not sure whether this is the Harvest Moon or the next one is, but moons at this time of year tend to stay close to full for several more days than they do at other times. So pretty!
September 7 The information for the bulletin didn't land in my inbox until 9:30 last night, and even though I was exhausted, I needed to get the bulletin put together and sent off, so I did that. Evidently I did well under pressure and tired, which was my usual state when I was working, and there haven't been any corrections.
I went up to the north end soon after I sent it off, and I made it into bed before midnight. I slept well, and I got up a bit before 9:00, I think. I knitted, but just eight rows, while my joints settled down. I actually didn't have to rush, because I didn't have to leave until 12:30.
I think the optometrist just wanted to see what the ophthalmologist did, but we ended up having a good discussion about my other eye problems, which was very helpful to me. I was back home by 3:30.
Of course, I had to leave for choir at 4:30, so I was home just long enough to have some cheese and crackers and exchange my planner bag for my choir/Bible Study bag before I was off to pick up Mary Ann and go to church.
We had a good choir practice, and while we sang through several things we might sing, Kathleen had chosen something else, which I think we appreciated. Bible Study was good, too. We are still looking at hymns, but for this month we will be looking at some of the Luther hymns. There seem to be about 30 in our hymnal, so I doubt we'll look at nearly all of them, but we'll hit the highlights. Tonight it was three of the best - "Out of the Depths," "Our Father" and "A Mighty Fortress." We were fortunate that we had Kathleen tonight, so we had an accompanist. Sometimes, when we don't, things get pretty awful. I got home about 9:45.
The weather was a bit better than it has been, but not a lot. The temperature was right around 53º all day and the humidity was over 70%. There wasn't much wind. Most of the day was dull and gray, but around 5:00 it cleared up here, and we could tell that it was clearing down in Laurium, too. When we came home, it was all clear, and when we turned east in Copper Harbor, there was the lovely, 98% full moon rising in the east, so big and pretty! The next several days are supposed to be warmer and clear. I hope so. I hurt, and I'm tired of it.
The guys slept. They both got some loving when I was around.
So that was my day, and I'm tired again. It's a clear, cold night in the field. There may be some scattered frost further south in the interior. Ah, autumn is creeping in.
September 6 Ugh. I am tired. I got to bed before midnight last night, but it was a horrible night, and only this morning did I discover why: I didn't take my pills. I took the probiotics, but somehow I neglected to add my prescription pills. I wasn't especially twitchy, but my feet were cold and I couldn't get them warm. I did finally sleep after about 4:00 AM, but I got up around 9:00, and that wasn't enough sleep.
So I sat and did nothing all day again. I did wash the last load of clothes, and I will put it in the dryer when I go up that way, but otherwise, I was too tired. I had a cat on my lap all afternoon, too, and we dozed together for a while.
The thing that is concerning me is that I haven't gotten any emails since about 11:30 this morning, including anything about the bulletin. I have to see the optometrist tomorrow and then I will probably go to choir and Bible Study tomorrow evening (yep, two trips), so it will be late when I get home. I have a call into PastyNet, but I haven't heard back from them.
The weather was only marginally better than yesterday. The temperature has been 55º almost all day and there was a brisk wind, up to 16 mph, from the northeast. It was cloudy and dull and humid. Not nice.
Grayson spent the entire afternoon asleep on my lap - I was reading when I wasn't dozing - and he wanted to get back on me when I came in with my dinner. I don't know what his problem is. Louie came around briefly, but he didn't stay. He was so asleep this morning that he didn't get his loving. Maybe tomorrow.
So that is all I have to report. There is something awry with the Weather Underground, too. I have been seeing a new page layout that I don't like, but apparently they're still fiddling with it, because now it doesn't want to load. I'm getting my music, though, so I don't think it's my connection. Well, I won't worry about the bulletin. It will get done eventually. It's a dark, cold night in the field and I need to go to bed, after I wash my hair.
Whew! The emails finally started coming through! I guess I'll be late tonight...
September 5 I was late again. I think it was around 1:00 AM when I turned out the light. I slept well, and I got up before 9:00. I could have gone back to bed, but I decided it would be better to get up. As it was, I knitted for two hours and I'm almost through with the third repeat of the leaves. I will be so glad when I'm done with that part!
Other than do another load of laundry - which still needs to go in the dryer - I didn't do anything. I had hoped to do something today, but it was cool and humid and for most of the afternoon, my right shoulder was so sore it ached even when I wasn't moving it, and moving it was excruciating. I finally put on a sweat jacket, and it feels better now, but there was no way I could do any of the things i was planning. Maybe tomorrow, although that's supposed to be cool and damp, too.
I had gotten a weird email from the propane company, so I called about that, and I think I may have gotten my account straightened around. Those people are completely out of control, and the only reason they make any money (if they do) is that they sell a necessity. I'm happy to say that by sending them money when I didn't absolutely have to, I've managed to cut about $60 a month off my budget bill for the next season, which is a real relief. I'll be looking carefully at my balances, though, because it seems to be a very small amount, compared to what I've paid in the past.
The weather was not nice. The high temperature was 55º and there was a north wind with gusts up to 31 mph. We had 0.06" of rain, but it was very humid all day. It was cloudy, with only the barest rays of sunshine. Not at all nice. It seems like Labor Day was a signal that it is now autumn in the Copper Country.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me until I started twitching and then he moved onto the desk and slept there. Louie came around, but I don't think he could jump high enough to get on my lap. I think he has arthritis, too.
So it was another quiet day, and I still hurt. Now it's a dark, damp, cloudy and probably rainy night in the field.
September 4 - Labor Day Oh, it was another lost day.
I stayed up much too long last night, and I had to get up around 9:00 this morning because I had a massage. That went well, except that I'm still stiff. It was nice to see Johanna again. Sawyer is back, and he starts pre-school tomorrow. Wow, how time flies!
Other than that, the only thing I did was cook rice. I hurt and I am tired, so I just sat.
The weather wasn't the best. It was cloudy and windy and the high temperature was only 62º, briefly. The humidity was high all day, and around 7:00 PM, we had a short, heavy shower. Only 0.05" of rain, but that was enough. There were enough rumbles of thunder to send Louie downstairs, but they were far away and we didn't even see any of the lightning. Not very nice.
The guys were sleepy, of course. Grayson sat on me a lot. I couldn't give Louie all the attention he wanted because I had to get up and get going. Tomorrow, Lulu.
So that was it, and now it's a cool, humid night in the field.
September 3 I sat around too long last night, but it was only 10:15 when I got to bed. I slept very well and I was waking up normally when the alarm went off. I didn't want to get up, but that's because I'm not used to getting up at 6:30. I did my morning thing and I got off at about when I wanted to.
It was good that I did, because they were having some kind of race at the fort and I had to wait with a very grumpy traffic controller before I could go on my way. The rest of the trip wasn't too bad and I got to church when I wanted to.
Church was good, with another good sermon. I really enjoy Pastor Lundquist.
I had to get gas, which has gone up to $2.699 here, a combination of the holiday and Harvey, no doubt.
I got home around 1:00 and I didn't do anything. I almost fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon, so I guess I have to go to bed early tonight.
The weather was better than it has been. The high temperature officially was 73º, although it only got to 72º here, and that was briefly. There wasn't any wind. It was extremely humid this morning, although the dew point went down to more reasonable levels in the middle of the afternoon before the next round of rain began to creep up on us. I guess we're in for some more thunderstorms tonight, maybe. That system has been up in Canada, and it seems to be moving almost due east, so it may miss us. We'll see. Anyway, while it was fairly clear this morning, it clouded up and got dull and gray this afternoon.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me as much as he could. Their food bowls got empty, and they both had to tell me about that, but I filled them, so they are happy now.
So that was all there was. It's a cloudy, possibly rainy night in the field.
September 2 Ew, what a lost day!
I was late getting to bed again, for no good reason. I slept well, of course, since I nearly fell asleep in the bathroom. I was only up once.
I knitted, and today I did fourteen rows in an hour and forty minutes, which is pretty good, considering how long the rows are and that it's a fussy pattern. I'm making progress. This is the time in most of my projects when I just want it to be over with, but I don't want to leave it unfinished, so I have to press on and try to knit as fast as possible without making any mistakes. I was knitting fast enough that I dropped a couple of stitches, but fortunately, they weren't hard to pick up even though they immediately raveled back several rows.
And that was all I did. I had some things I would like to have done, but it was cool and extremely humid, so I was very creaky, and sitting and doing nothing useful seemed the best way to go.
The weather was not good. The high temperature was only 62º, briefly a couple of hours ago. The humidity was over 80% all day. It rained from 7:00 AM until noon, there was a brief, heavy shower between 2:00 and 3:00 PM, and we just had a brief thunderstorm, although it was mostly sound around here; there wasn't much rain. The total so far is 0.65". Yuck. This weekend is some kind of bicycle convention, and it's a shame for them to have weather like this, but hey, that's the way it goes.
The guys slept, mostly, and I think probably Louie spent most of the day in the basement. He didn't get his loving, so I'll have to try to do that tonight, if he's around. When I got up, the rug I keep down in the bathroom for them to sleep on was all in disarray, and when I unfolded it, there was a little mouse, extremely dead. I slept so soundly I never heard them. Grayson did get his lap time, although not as much as he wanted, and he thought he wanted some of my dinner, although my piece of chicken was very small tonight, and the sauce has garlic in it, which I don't think is good for cats. He turned his back on me and whipped his tail around, which sent my Kleenex into my bowl, and then he went off with a thump. Too bad about him. No, he can not have some of everything I eat. Not that he wants it, really; he just wants to know I'll give him some.
So that was it, and now I'm off to get ready for tomorrow. It's a cool, cloudy, humid night in the field.
September 1 Oh, sigh. I hate to write that date! It turns out that while I wasn't looking, the sun moved back into view from the camera, and it's now setting over Hunter's Point. Sigh. Soon enough it will disappear to the south.
I was late last night, of course, but I slept well, and I got up around 10:30 and I knitted for a couple of hours. I'm making progress.
That was all I did. I had some plans, but I'm tired and I hurt a bit, and I was late enough that there wasn't much time.
The weather was all right. The high temperature was 63º and there wasn't much wind. It was rather humid, though. The lowest it got was 60%, and not for very long, which is no doubt one reason why I wasn't interested in moving. The skies were clear all night and until around 4:00, when the clouds started moving in from the west. I guess it's supposed to rain again. This has been a remarkably cool summer, at least here in the Harbor. Much though I would like to have the house opened up, I'll take the cool temps. It's better than heat any time.
The guys slept. Louie sat beside me and purred while I was knitting this morning, and he got his love. Grayson spent a good portion of the afternoon on my lap. I think they are just happy that mama didn't go away at all today.
So that was my day, and this is the end of summer, such as it was. It's a cool, cloudy night in the field, and the rain is coming back...
Last updated 04/01/18 10:47 PM |