Sign of the Times

I've been working on my whole-cloth quilt while watching Star Trek: Voyager in the evenings.

Most of the week I was working only on the cross-hatching, which was getting a little boring, but Saturday night I got to start a different part of the design, a sign that I'm making progress.

Friday we went to pick up lawn signs for candidates in local, state and national elections. It was nice to see everyone wearing masks. They were giving them out at the park where we usually take the pups to play with other dogs.

We stopped at the dog park before we went home. There were no other dogs there, but the pups enjoyed being there anyway. 

Although we arrived only 30 minutes into the yard-sign handout session, they were already out of the Biden/Harris signs, so we had to get on the waiting list and go to a different park on Sunday. This one also had a dog park, so we sampled that one, too. There was a dog for Dusty to play with, and the owner stayed away from us. She had been there for some time already, so they left after Dusty and the other dog played for a while. When we were alone, the pups had a good run, chasing balls. 

We took two balls, so they could each chase one. Rocky can't outrun Dusty anymore, and he appreciated having a chance to get a ball, too.

I'm still writing letters urging people to vote. We don't ask people to vote for any particular candidate, just to vote. We each say why we vote. I usually mention that I have grandchildren, and I want to have a say about the world they will have to live in. We had our weekly Zoom party on Saturday. It's fun meeting people from all over the state and sharing tips with each other.

Someone I know from choir came and picked up forty letters to write. She didn't have a printer, so I printed them off and left them on the front porch for her. Later we talked on the phone. She won't have her computer back from being repaired until Tuesday, so she couldn't join us for the party, but I hope she will next week. The goal is 10 million letters to voters. We (the nation-wide organization) are at five, but they say we're on track to finish in time.

I finally started having good results with my sourdough bread. I make it in the bread machine, but then I turn it out and knead it, put it into a bowl and let it sit overnight or all day long, depending on what time it is when I finish mixing it. Then I knead it again before putting it into the pan for the final rising. It gets more sour with the longer rising time.

We have been feeling the effects of the fires in California. We can smell the smoke, and sometimes I cough a lot when I first get up, until we can close the windows to keep the inside of the house cool. Sometimes the moon is red and the sun gets red, too. This was what it looked like one morning this past week. It's pretty, but I feel sorry for people in the areas that are burning.

The four younger grands will be going "back to school" soon. Zachary and Daphne start tomorrow. Their classes will be entirely online to begin with. The School District will decide during the term when/if it's reasonable to meet in person for classes, but for now, they have a semblance of a normal schedule, having to be in their "seats" and online on time when the class starts. I'm sure there will be glitches, especially at first. Their learning will be different, but they will be learning skills for a new world, one that is changing.

They met with their teachers during the past week, one at a time, and everyone wearing masks.

What's on my needles: Still the Which Came First Shawl. A few more rows done. Only one pattern repeat to go and then a few rows of ribbing. Making dishcloths from Peaches 'n Cream yarn left over from my dish mat.

What's on my sewing machine: Halloween Costumes for my characters, in the planning stages.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. More progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Composing Compost," in which Emil gets a lesson about how kitchen garbage can be turned into nourishing soil for the garden.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Mrs. Tim of the Regiment by D. E. Stevenson the beginning of the Mrs. Tim series. It was delightful and funny. I'm looking forward to the others. Just started listing to Proof of Conspiracy by Seth Abramson.

What's in my wine glass: Sertório Vinho Tinto (Portuguese). Very nice.

What's my tip of the week: I discovered that those little plastic tubs that mushrooms come in are just the right size and shape to hold my sprouting jars at an angle so they can drain properly. In this photo are a jar of mixed sprouts and a jar of mung bean sprouts, which I used in a Thai stir-fry recipe.

Our local city recycling program won't take these little tubs anymore. (I think it has something to do with the Chinese not wanting to take our waste because of Covid-19, which is sort of ironic, but I'm not sure. I got the information third-hand.) I'm trying to find uses for them around the house, so I don't have to put them into the trash.

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.