Inside Out

It was a short week, due mostly to a medical procedure, part of my preventative care. (That's the "inside" part.) However, that's over, and all is well.

Matti’s wardrobe is finished. As you may remember from last week's post, I made him the boy's version of the Cabbagetown Jacket (just shorter and without the flaring at the waist). Most of his wardrobe was purchased on sale from Silly Monkey, but his puppy, Goldie, came from Emily Rose Doll Clothes. Matti will be going to Therapy Animals of Utah soon to help them with their next silent auction. (The auction isn't for a while, but I'll be handing him over, because I'm leaving and didn't want to have to ship him.) Here are a couple of the outfits he will take with him. Dressy casual....

Of course, a boy needs pajamas.

He has an assortment of summer and winter, "dressy" and casual, and of course, Goldie. He's hoping she will have the right temperament to be a therapy dog, so he's being diligent with her basic training.

I picked up a couple of items for Jolena in the Silly Monkey sale, because she was unexpected (like my youngest child). My favorite is this outfit, especially the T-shirt with the butterflies.

The girls and I have been participating in a "Picture a Day in June" activity in the American Girl group on Ravelry. (They allow foreign-born dolls to participate.) Each day we get a prompt, and we're supposed to post a photo (or some photos) and say something about it/them. I try to make a little story out of each post.

For instance, June is a traditional month for weddings, so one day we needed to come up with something having to do with weddings. Here's what I did:

It's Mandy's turn to teach Jolena about her new family. Today's lesson is about Jolena's new parents' wedding.

Mandy started out with Vroni's Powerpoint presentation: 

"...and this is when they cut the cake at the reception..."

A Powerpoint presentation isn't really Mandy's thing. "I'll tell you what," she said. "Let's go cuddle in a chair with the old-fashioned photo album." That's cozier.

The chair was roomy with just two girls.

"They look like dolls," Jolena pointed out. "Pretty. They don't look like that now."

"Well, that was 52 years ago, Jolena," Mandy explained. "Human beings wear out as they get older, even if no one plays with them."

Jolena thought about that for a moment or two. "52! How much is that in doll years?"

Jolena's Viipuri Dress is finished.

I've been making corrections to the pattern, and I hope I've found all the errors. I'm making a new dress for Lotte, because her Russian Dress was the first one I did, and it wasn't small enough around the waist. It's a good way to check the pattern.

My sister-in-law's sewing machine has been serviced. I had planned to sell it, because I won't have room for it and its cabinet at our new place, but our younger daughter-in-law wants it, so we're taking it along to Bend and then will bring it to her when we visit next, as they only live a few hours away.

I think my sister-in-law would have loved for her to have it. She was very close to all our kids, having none of her own, but our youngest (husband of the DIL who wants the machine) lived with them for a time right after finishing college while he looked for a job, so they had a special relationship.

My girls were intrigued with the machine, especially Vroni. It formed the foundation for another little story, where they all cooperate to get the machine threaded and ready to use.

I'll be using it until we get moved, as my beloved Featherweight is in one of the U-haul boxes packed for the move. (I think those boxes have made it as far as Salt Lake City, but they will be on their way when we say we're ready for them to go. In my mind, they are on their way to Bend.)

Manuel, our music director at St. Luke's, and his family have gone to visit his mother in Argentina, so our little choir and our wonderful pianist are just providing basic service music, but Pam, our harpist, and Mary, an accomplished pianist herself, and the golden-voiced Felicia, are providing special music for services.

I managed to get the pups to Run-A-Muk Dog Park. I will miss that place, even though Bend has some great trails and dog parks.

We had a couple of warm days, and then it turned cool for about 24 hours. It's supposed to be warm again today.

We managed to sell a few more big pieces of furniture this past week. I think we're going to see what the local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity) will take, and then give St. Lawrence Thrift Shop a call. Both will pick up furniture.

The people we gave our piano to came and worked for a couple of hours bringing brush and other debris from our backyard to our dumpster. They are very grateful to have the piano, and we're happy not to have to move it.

I feel lighter, inside and out.

What's on my needles: Still the Coastal Skies, and a second Viipuri Dress for Lotte, so I can test the rewrite of the pattern.

What's on my Featherweight: On its way to Bend.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, no progress done this week.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still in hibernation. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz. It’s really good. Wish I had time to listen to it straight through.

What's in my wine glass: Lost Angel Mischief Red Wine 2016. “Naughty wines for naughty times.” On the back of the bottle it says, “Lost Angel’s wines are for people who appreciate bold, edgy and iconoclastic. They are as different and exciting as you’d like to be. As the old saying goes, ‘If you only live once, make it count. If you live more than once, then who the hell cares.’”

What's my tip of the week: There's no need to buy hummingbird feed with all that red food coloring. Just mix 1/2 C sugar with 1C boiling water. When it's dissolved, add 1C room-temperature water to cool it off. Store unused portion in the fridge.

Also, there is no reason to buy Gatorade or Pedialyte for electrolyte replacement. Unlike hummingbirds, I can't have regular sugar. I learned that if you mix 1/4 teaspoon sea salt per cup of water, you have the same thing. You can sweeten and flavor with honey, lemon juice, ginger or whatever, if you like. (If I get to be very old, I will have learned a lot of stuff.)

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.