New Beginnings

Clue #3 is already finished. I won't be able to work on the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery KAL again until Clue #4 comes out on Wednesday. I was a little uncertain about the contrast color (pink) because it has bits of magenta in it, but I think the pattern is showing up nicely. It's a challenge, though, because sometimes I don't know which yarn is on my needle in the next stitch.

I need something else to work on, and a friend recommended the Melt the Ice Hat. The pattern is a fundraiser for immigrants' rights groups. 

In the 1940s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. Needle & Skein has raised $400K so far.

Speaking of fundraisers, the ALS Association gave me a badge for completing the 50-mile challenge. They say they raised $130K for the organization. The challenge event is over now, but you can still donate to the cause here. You never know when someone you know and love will be diagnosed with this debilitation and fatal condition.

We haven't stopped walking, though, just because the challenge is over. Saturday the pups and I walked along the trail and cut through what's left of the woods. Charlie is working on our taxes, so he didn't come, but he joined us again on Sunday, when we 

did the trail and then walked through the woods.

On Thursday I had my other cataract surgery. There is usually some fogginess for the first few days after surgery. The first eye cleared up quickly, but this one has taken longer. It's better each day, though, and my after-surgery check showed everything was in order. As with the other eye, they sent me home with a plastic shield over the eye. I have to put it on if I take a nap and again at night. I found this to be the only painful thing about the surgery: ripping the tape off my face. Ow!

Special drops are required after surgery, four times a day in the beginning, and then tapering off each week for four weeks. Under this sheet, used to keep track, I have another one for the left eye. I'm down to twice a day for that eye.

Johan is learning how to change the oil in a car. His other grandpa is a retired auto mechanic with all the equipment and expertise to do such things. He's a handy consultant to have in the family, as we have found out several times.

Another new beginning for us this week was the reading of David's play, "Hannah's Promise, or a Life Without Limits." The reading was announced in a couple of articles in advance of the reading, here and here.

I'm so glad David was able to finish the play before ALS sidelined him. I hope he'll be able to have it appear on stage soon with sets, costumes and props.

And happy Groundhog day! Will we have an early spring or six more weeks of winter?

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 or B&N and search for Billy: Stories 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, More Classic Tales Retold or Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, 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: The Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along shawl, and now my Melting the ICE hat.

What's on my iPhone: Still The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, also on theAudiobooksNow app. No progress this week.

What's on my sewing machine: Put away.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Pippa lacks information about growing up in Baby Doll, this story from The Doll's Storybook.

What's my tip of the week: Here's a solution to a problem I've been having using cooking spray. My thumbs aren't very strong, and the can is slippery metal, so I was having to use two hands to spray, meaning I could only spray down into a pan or prop the pan up on something. Good old rubber shelf liner to the rescue! (I use a square of this to open jars and a much smaller one to help me change the cables on my interchangeable circular knitting needles. For this project, I cut a rectangle of the shelf liner just a little bigger than the circumference of the can, wrapped the can with it and fastened it with a rubber band from a produce purchase. Works great!

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 Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.

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.

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, only 8%, 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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