HighFiber: 2025

Monday, September 8, 2025

Ta-da Again, Again

Well, it isn't exactly finished yet. I still have to trim the excess fabric off and put on the binding, but the hand-quilting is done.

There's plenty of fabric in the part to be trimmed off to make the binding. I will just have to determine which part will give me the width-of-fabric rather than the straight-of-grain direction, so the binding will have some flexibility. (The straight-of-grain won't stretch.) I don't know if I'll be able to get it done this week, but we'll see. It's almost a shame to put some machine stitches in this quilt, because it's all hand-stitching, but the binding is really best sewn on by machine and then stitched down on the other side by hand.

I managed to get a few rows of knitting done while at the doctor's and waiting for physical therapy. It's hard to tell what this is: The back shoulders of the Gentle Spirit Tee. It should move along faster, now that the hand-quilting on my whole-cloth quilt is done. It's just straight stockinette stitch for a while; boring, but great for watching TV, because I won't have to look at it while I work.

The smoke problem seems to have resolved for now, but it was either too hot or it was raining when we wanted to walk. We did manage to get in a few walks, usually just about a mile. The cheatgrass is starting to die down, and the short haircuts the dogs have now protects them somewhat from having the seeds jump out and latch on to them as they walk by, so we walked to the recreation center several times.

On Saturday we walked to the park, so the pups could play in the off-leash areas. There were a few dogs in the small dog yard.

They really enjoy socializing, and it's good to play with other dogs, even though they have each other to play with.

Dusty appreciates having some competition for the ball, because Sandy doesn't try. He's fast enough now that he could beat Dusty occasionally, but he spent his puppyhood not being able to get to the ball before Dusty, so he only goes after the ball if Dusty is somewhere else, of the ball goes into the kitchen, where Dusty doesn't like the floor.

The choir has started up again, so we had practice Wednesday evening. A couple of new people have joined, and my friend who picks me up when she's in town also gave a ride to one of them. We had a lot of work to get ready for Sunday with one practice, but our new director (who was also our former director for a couple of years) sent us some practice tracks to simplify learning our parts.

Exercises for my back problem has cut into my activities, but they seem to be helping.

For some cuteness, here's Johan, making meatballs. (Teach your boys to cook!)

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry, BlueSky or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for More Classic Tales Retold or Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses or More Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Continuing with Gentle Spirit Tee.

What's on my iPhone: Back to Listening to The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles.

What's on my sewing machine: Binding for the whole-cloth quilt.

What's in my hoop: My whole cloth quilt. Still filling in the rest of the border.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Boys Cook Dinner is s story from our second book, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook. In this story, Jolena is away on a ski trip, and it's Billy's and Emil's turn to cook for the family. They have been trained by Jolena, and all goes well. Mostly.

What's my tip of the week: We often eat boiled eggs, but hard-boiled eggs usually need to be peeled. I dip them in a bowl of cold water, one at a time, and repeat until they are cold, letting the cold water run when needed to keep the water in the bowl.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog, and they are reproduced in print with a few changes.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Coming in a few months: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less, because the vendor gets a cut. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your local library to order the books.

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.

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Monday, September 1, 2025

Home Again, Again!

Monday was our long trip home from Placerville. If you read last week's blog post, you may remember that we stopped at Heritage RV Campground and Resort in Corning, California, on our way south and stopped there again in the early evening Sunday, on the way back. There were a lot more people staying there this time, perhaps because it was the weekend.

When we were there on the way south, I hadn't taken any photos in the off-leash dog play yard. These spaces at campgrounds are very much appreciated. We don't have a lot of space for the pups to stretch their legs in our RPod, and walks are rather pokey, so they really needed it before we started our long trip home on Monday.

Tuesday was a very busy day. The dogs went to the groomer, and I had a doctor's appointment. In the evening we had another Madroña pop-up meeting. It gave us a chance to tell everyone how much we enjoyed seeing them in person (if we did) and how we were sorry not to have been able to meet the others in person. A few of them live further away from Placerville than we do.

The next day, I decided to defrost the big freezer in the garage. We took the car out to make room for the ice chests that would hold all the frozen food during the process. Once I had unloaded the freezer, I set up containers for the water from the melting ice and put sponges in the bottom. I really should have taken a photo of what it was like when I started the process. It had been some time since I had done this, and lots of ice had built up on the shelves, especially the top shelf, where you can still see a layer of ice about 3/4" thick covering most of the shelf. It took all day for the ice to melt. I couldn't leave it long, because water would run out onto the floor of the garage, so I would set the timer for 10-15 minutes to run back and check. It was a busy day.

We had bought this freezer from Sears & Roebuck in Houston in 1998. We moved it to our condo in Park City, then to our house there, and again to Bend. It has continued to operate properly.

I tried to organize things a little better when I put them back after the freezer was defrosted. I'm glad that's done!

During the trip, I took the Gentle Spirit Tee to work on. The pattern starts out with short rows across the back neck and shoulders. While we were driving, we listened to an audiobook. I kept losing my place on the short rows and had to tink back, so I could work on it when I could concentrate. I'm on the straight stockinette stitch now.

Before we left on our trip, I bound off my The Love of Spiders shawl. I didn't have time to block it, though.

Thursday I finally did the blocking. It measures 2.5" wider and 2" deeper than expected, although I had gone down one needle size to account for my normally loose knitting. I think it's because the green yarn is a bit thicker than fingering. That would explain why I was playing yarn chicken with the green toward the end.

I was happy with how it turned out. I took it out for a photo on the deck.

Then I tried it on one of the bushes in the back yard.

I didn't take the quilt along on the trip because it would have filled up the RPod, but I'm back working on it now, just coming around the last corner.

Then it will be a straight shot down the final edge and done. I might finish it this week.

Friday we went to the grocery store and got our flu shots. The Covid boosters still aren't in yet. Last year I was exposed to Covid three days after getting the booster and came down with it a few days later, along with several other people I know who were there. I plan to go to the same event this year, but will wear a mask, regardless of when I get my booster. I wasn't very sick, but it was a real pain trying to keep my germs away from Charlie.

While we were gone, a fire developed north of us, so most of the time we were gone the air quality was listed as hazardous. It was a good time to be gone. The air quality was OK again when we returned, but the smoke returned again Thursday and Friday. We finally got to walk again on Saturday. A good walk always calms the pups down.

Sunday was smokey again, so we skipped the walk and had a session of tossing the ball up the stairs or down the hall.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: I finished blocking The Love of Spiders shawl by Melanie Berg. Done swatching for Gentle Spirit Tee. I had to go down a needle size. I finished working on the shoulder short rows during the trip. Now it's straight stockinette stitch for a while.

What's on my iPhone: We listened to Southern Cross by Patricia Cornwell using the AudiobooksNow app, finishing it just as we were approaching Bend on the return trip. Now I'm back to listening to The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting on something new.

What's in my hoop: My whole cloth quilt. Still filling in the rest of the border.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: When I was working for Personnel Journal magazine years ago I edited an article reporting on an experiment that compared groups of different types all working on solving the same problems. One group was all men, one all women and one a group of men and women. The groups' interactions were evaluated as they worked together to come up with solutions. The most effective group was the one where men and women worked together. I thought this could also apply to other characteristics besides gender. The results of that article inspired this story, Mariah's Play, where Mariah is rehearsing her lines for a play about a group of dolls that have a problem to solve.

What's my tip of the week: We buy organic vegetables whenever possible. I was looking for mushrooms and complained to the produce employee that the organic mushrooms always come in a plastic tub that our curbside recycling won't take. The employee was a member of a local mushroom organization. He explained to me that the mushrooms that are sold by the pound are basically organic, because mushrooms don't tolerate chemicals. He also pointed out that the white mushrooms are the same as the brown ones. The white ones are just an albino variety.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog, and they are reproduced in print with a few changes.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Coming soon: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook.

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Monday, August 25, 2025

Madroña!

As it was Member Appreciation Week at Madroña Vineyards, several people from the pop-up meetings (wine-drinking and socializing parties) were going to the winery. We suddenly decided to drive down to California to visit the Madroña Vineyards and see the people from this group who could make it and would be there when we could go.

We had to reschedule some appointments, but we managed. We left on Thursday and stopped for the night in Corning, California. We had planned to stay at a roadside rest there, but it was hotter than Hades, and we ~~wanted~~ needed to use our AC to keep cool, so we quickly made a reservation at Heritage RV Campground and Resort right before they closed their office for the day.

They have a nice little gravel dog run, which we used several times, as it was very close to our site. Friday morning we were off again, completing the trip to Placerville RV Resort and Campground around lunchtime.

The first thing Charlie did after getting us hooked up was take a nap with the dogs. It was a very long drive, especially pulling a trailer.

This campground has a large grassy play area for dogs. Each time we took advantage of the off-leash area we found more tennis balls, to Dusty and Sandy's delight. We left the balls when we went back to the RPod, but the dogs sure had fun while we were there.

Saturday was the big day. We had agreed to meet with some of the people from the pop-up meetings (referred to as "Zoomies") who could be there at noon. We had checked to see if the dogs would be welcome inside, and they were. I'm not sure we could have gone without that, because leaving them so long in the RPod might not have been good, and the cost of boarding them while we were gone would have cut into our finances. We had looked into staying at a motel, but it was going to cost almost as much to do that as to board them. It turned out to be cheaper to take the RPod and the dogs. We enjoy their company anyway, and it has worked out well. The four of us (having 12 legs in all between us) arrived at Madroña right on time. Four of our friends from the pop-ups were already there. We went down to the cellar where big tanks of wine were busy fermenting.

We recognized each other from our Zoom meetings, so no introductions were needed. We got a group photo right away.

The owners' daughter Tessa works in the "tasting room." She took some of the group photos and proved to be competent with a variety of cameras and devices. For "Member Appreciation Week," we, as members, each received our choice of a couple of flights of wines, along with a little box of munchies for each couple. It was hard to choose our wines, because there were so many options.

I had taken one copy of each of my books to give out to the people in our group. I let them pick which ones they wanted. One of the participants had made some chocolates to share. She's also an artist, so we looked at photos of some of her paintings.

Paul, the owner of the winery, who runs the place, left his activity of the day (harvesting zucchini to give to people in need) because he knew we all would be there and wanted to visit with us. Another member of our pop-up group Zoomies showed up a little later. We didn't recognize her face, but we knew her voice, because during meetings, she shows up as a black rectangle with her name in white in the middle.

Of course, we needed another group photo, as the group had enlarged.

While we were there some other people we knew from the group showed up. It was like a party. After we were done with wine-tasting and discussing what we liked, the in-person meeting broke up, and some people left. The rest of us sat at one of the tables upstairs and chatted some more, while the pups took a nap on the floor.

We didn't buy any wine on Saturday, but instead took the list of options home to mull over. (Mulled wine?) We planned to go back Sunday morning to pick up our selections. I'm not a fan of chardonnay, but I really like Madroña's chardonnay, especially the 2024 vintage, so that was one of our choices. We arrived back at the tasting room before they got too busy. Tammy, who is also one of the "Zoomies," works in the tasting room. We had seen her on Saturday, so we could take the time to chat and discuss what we wanted to take home. She had plenty of time to put together our order before Tessa arrived and other customers began to appear. Then things got busy and they had to help other people.

They took a moment to pose for a photo, though, before we left to eat our lunch outdoors.

As they both got to work, we went outside to sit at one of the tables under the trees and eat our peanut-butter sandwiches and feed the dogs. It was pleasantly warm, but much cooler than the day before. After lunch, I got a photo of Charlie and the dogs posing by the big sign in front of the tasting room.

I also got some photos of the grape vines posing with actual grapes on them.

After lunch, we went back inside and picked up our wine, along with a couple of Madroña glasses.

From there, we went to Lava Cap Winery, where we picked up a couple more bottles of wine. Then we went on into Placerville, where Charlie bought some beer from Eldorado Brewing Company, which he had read about.

It was almost midafternoon when we arrived back at Placerville RV Resort and Campground to pack up, disconnect the trailer and take off. We got gas, then started our trip home. We pulled in to our campground in Corning, California, again, about 7:00 PM. We had to put everything back on the shelves and hook up to utilities before I could fix supper. We still had approximately 325 miles to go to reach home.

Today we are finishing the trip. We may even have reached home as you read this. Tomorrow will be a busy day, with dogs going to the groomer, andI have a doctor's appointment. In the evening, guess what we're doing? It's another Madroña pop-up Zoom meeting!

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: I finished the binding off of The Love of Spiders shawl by Melanie Berg. It still needs blocking. Done swatching for Gentle Spirit Tee. I had to go down a needle size. I'm working on the shoulder short rows

What's on my iPhone: We listened to Patricia Cornwell's Southern Cross during the trip, finishing just a few minutes before we arrived home.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting on something new.

What's in my hoop: My whole cloth quilt. Still filling in the rest of the border.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: A Ski Trip for Jolena takes us back to when Emil was fairly new in the family, and he finds out that Jolena is going on a ski trip with the Doll Ski Team, but it's summer. Billy explains how the Southern Hemisphere is having winter right now, and the boys help Jolena get ready to go, but who will cook for the family while she's gone?

What's my tip of the week: For camping, when we have access to a microwave, I make enough coffee for several days and store it in bottles in the fridge. It really simplifies breakfast time.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog, and they are reproduced in print with a few changes.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Coming in a few months: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook.

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