Out and About

The Speculoos Sweater is off and running. The orange stitch marker (lower middle right) is the center back. This project is less complicated than the Vilai socks.

I got my flu shot and Covid booster on Tuesday, both in the same arm. The pharmacist recommended doing it that way, because she said that leaves you one side to sleep on comfortably, if you like to sleep on your side. All my joints were aching for about 12 hours. My arm was no longer sore on Thursday. I should be mostly immunized in time for the Condega event next Sunday.

The Condega Celebration is a fundraiser for our church's support of the people of Condega, Nicaragua. I'll be there, selling my books. I'm happy that my new book will arrive in time for this celebration. It's basically a big party with nice things to buy. Charlie is going to attend and see what he might want to spend money on. Last year we bought tickets to a high tea on Valentine's Day. It was a nice outing, and we enjoyed the company with the other participants.

The dogs went to the groomer this week. First we walked with them to the dog park and walked around the trail in the big-dog section, because there were no dogs to play with in either section. When we finished that, there were a couple of dogs in the big-dog section and one little dog in the other. Dusty and Sandy played with the big dogs for a bit and then we went to play with the little dog, so he wouldn't be lonely. After a while, another little dog arrived, and it was time for us to continue on to the groomer. After we dropped them off, we walked home, cutting back through the park, crossing 15th Street and then going the rest of the way back the way we had come.

Charlie didn't want to walk with us the next day because he had some gardening to do, so I took the dogs by myself. When we were a short distance from the usual turnaround spot, it started to rain. Fortunately (for me, but not the dogs) I was wearing my waterproof windbreaker. Instead of turning around and heading home, we continued until we reached Bear Creek Rd, where we usually turn around. It only rained for about five minutes or so. I stopped to take a photo of the dogs on our way back. I wanted to get them immortalized while their haircuts were still fresh.

We walked past the construction site, as we often do, because the area where we can let the dogs off-leash is adjacent to it. I noticed that they had put in the walkways to the front doors of the little houses and had added some bushes and a few small trees.

I don't know how much longer we'll have access to this place, but for now, it's great for the dogs to run.

We walked again on Sunday. I discovered that the construction company had started building some fences surrounding the development.

During our walk on Saturday, we came across a big box labeled "FREE SQUASH." I peeked in. There was one left, so I took it. I've been trying to identify the type of squash. It seems like a winter variety, although the peel isn't excessively thick. It looks a bit like a cross between a zucchini and a green winter squash. It will be interesting to see what it's like inside.

I baked some bread on Saturday. I prefer this bread for sandwiches over the whole wheat bread from the store. It's made with sourdough starter and whole wheat flour.

On Sunday, the choir began singing again. We'll be singing most Sundays from now through June. We had a big back-to-school celebration, with a blessing of the backpacks. The children brought their backpacks up to the front to receive a blessing. Charlie came to the service because our anniversary is Tuesday and his birthday is Saturday, and we could get a blessing for our anniversary, and Charlie could get a blessing for his birthday. Here's a screenshot of that moment from the video of the service. (Those are my Vilai socks!)

The first box containing my new books is expected to arrive today, and the other two boxes should arrive tomorrow. I'm excited to open the box! If you have one of my books, please leave an honest review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or the BookBaby Bookshop, if you have the time. It helps others decide whether to buy or not, and the royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment.

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 Mandy's Little Science Lessons: 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. As I said, 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: Working on the Speculoos Sweater.

What's on my iPhone: Still listening to Wildwood by Colin Meloy, getting close to the end. I'm looking forward to the movie October 23. Here's the trailer:

What's on my sewing machine: Getting ready to make clothes for Elsie's Christmas doll. She and her brother are my honorary grandchildren, because she's the cousin of two of our grandkids and doesn't have grandparents.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Mariah is feeling bad because she thinks she did something wrong. A talk with Veronika puts everything to rights. This week's story from The Doll's Storybook is Bear.
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What's my tip of the week: Aluminum foil can be washed (if needed) and reused, even the "everyday" thickness if you buy good-quality foil and handle it carefully. After it has tears in it, it can be recycled. I wash it regardless.

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

Book #7 is on its way to me and should arrive today. Yay!

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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