HighFiber: chess

Showing posts with label chess. Show all posts

Monday, November 14, 2022

Finishing Things

Now that the election is over, I should have a bit of time to get back to my fiber activities. I've already finished the phone tote for our veterinarian's mother.

You may remember, I had to get measurements of her phone before I could finish it, because the lining won't stretch. Here's where I was when I had finished the knitting and fulling (felting). I found the iron-on patch actually adhered to the wool quite well. I tried sewing it on by hand, but I couldn't get the needle through the thick adhesive on the back. The patch came from Patch Collection. The pattern for the tote is my iPhone Pouch, free on Ravelry. Here's where I was before sewing in the lining.

Here's a look at the lining. I sewed it down by hand, going around once, then back the other way sewing it down a second time. I don't want her to have to do any repair on it. (The lining in my navy blue one came undone a little bit and needed repair.)

I've been meaning up update the front porch remodel in my blog. We couldn't walk on it for a couple of days. Then we had stuff in front of it, and then it snowed, leaving behind an icy sidewalk, but I finally got a photo of the new porch. Just to remind you, here's what the house looked like when we bought it.

Then we painted the house, but not the front porch, which needed to be rebuilt. It was a big improvement, though.

The next thing was the new roof, which we appreciated over the summer, because we needed to use the AC, not wanting to open the windows at night because of the smoke from the wildfires. The new roof keeps the house comfortable, and we're finding we aren't using as much electricity and gas to cool and heat it. We had vents put in when we replaced the roof. After that, we ripped out the poor, old bushes in front of the living room windows. As you can see from the photo above, they only had leaves on the part that extended in front of the windows, leaving the stalks bare. We put in some hydrangeas, which are still quite small, but they will grow. The front steps have now been rebuilt on a new foundation. The rails were replaced with a new shape––one that's easier to grasp when you're going up or down, and there are new square-shaped finials replacing the balls that were there before, and all of them match. Finally, the steps and floor were stained sort of a redwood color, using a stain that causes moisture to bead up, rather than sink in, and the painted part of the steps and rails, and the latticework were all painted the same iron black as the trim on the house.

The closet remodel continues. the cedar paneling is now finished on both sides and partway up the back. We're thinking of using the adjustable shelving strips and brackets, like this.

Here's a look at the progress as of Sunday night.

The new boards are a different size from the old ones we carted around for 36 years, but Charlie used the old ones on the sides and the new ones on the back. None of this will show much when the shelves are up, but I still think it looks pretty, and it smells delicious. (I think he's having fun with it, too.)

Zachary has recovered from the flu bug he had. Here he is, all ready to play chess...with someone. This was grandpa's chess set, purchased in Mexico in the 1960s, a special Christmas gift for the grandson last year.

After a big weekend performing onstage with La Crosse Ballet, Daphne and her friends took part in a dance competition.

My books continue to sell a few at a time. St. Jude was sent a check for $71 and change. It isn't much, but they say every little bit does a lot of good. I'm hoping that over time, it will add up.

I'll be cleaning house this week to get ready for the Oregon grand kids, who will be coming sometime the end of this week or the beginning of next, depending on the weather.

Rocky is still hanging in there. He had the stitches out this week and got some immunizations he will need when he goes back to the groomer next week. He has been sleeping well at night, since we started giving him the vetprofen and gabapentin at bedtime.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. 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 our other books, Emil and Mariah, 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: Still the Hinterland Pullover (some more progress made) and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: Dust, but I still plan to make some placemats.

What's on my sewing machine: Still ready for back of T-shirt quilt.

What's in my hoop: Whole Cloth quilt, still no progress..

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In It Snowed! Pauly finds out all the fun things you can do in the snow.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Plan for the Worst by Jodi Taylor, not very far yet, but I plan to listen while I clean house this week.

What's in my wine glass: MERF Cabernet Sauvignon from "The distinct wines of David Merfeld," Columbia Valley, 2017. Pretty good!

What's my tip of the week: Housework is often boring, so I find it a good time to listen to my audiobooks. Put on some comfortable shoes, and off we go!

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

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

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah 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.

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, March 21, 2022

Design for Life

St. Paddy's day is always time for celebration at our house. We had a multinational menu with our usual Guinness, this time in a Finnish beer glass, a souvenir from one of our trips to Finland.

I've made some progress on the Hinterland Pullover. Here's how it looked on Sunday.

I've ordered Götz Little Kidz Paul for Zachary for his birthday. It's going directly there, so Pippa is having to act as my model for outfits. I got the pajamas all done but putting on the buttons. I may have to adjust the sleeve length, I think.

I'm planning a shirt and some jeans, and maybe a nice pair of slacks, if I have time. I'll have to send it off the end of the first week of april to get there in time.

We had Rocky in to the vet. He has some kind of a skin lesion that is infected. It doesn't seem to bother him, but the vet wanted to clear up the infection before sewing it up. He thinks he can do it with a local. We have his care worked out as far as taking him out at night and looking after him during the day. He has a little trouble eating and drinking without stepping on his dish and knocking it over, so we got the dogs a raised feeding station. We discovered during our trip to visit the Beaverton grandkids that this worked well, especially for the water, which all three dogs shared from Louis' elevated feeding station. (The black mat is designed to go under a litter box, to keep the litter from getting tracked all over the floor. We got it to give Rocky a little traction on the floor, and it does work for that.)

We have been working on the taxes. DH figured out that I've only lost about $150 on my publishing foray, which was a lot less than I thought. He also was shocked to find that my screwy bookkeeping actually balances.

We had another online get-together with fans of Madroña Vineyards. They had sent us a recipe for chimichurri sauce to go with macaroni and cheese and chorizo sausage, with a special wine, which was sent to each participant. We were supposed to take a sip of the wine with the mac and cheese, then try it with the chorizo added, then add the chimichurri to the whole thing and see how the wine changed. They used Annie's Mac and Cheese, but I made mine from scratch. I used Soyrizo, since we don't do meat. I made the chimicurri according to the recipe, although I cut the recipe in half. It was a delightful party.

Friday night, we had a Zoom date with our younger son and his wife. (They are the ones who live in Beaverton.) They had given us a two-part membership in Flaviar. We got to pick a tasting set. We chose the New World Single Malt.

It turns out, they are coming to visit the middle of this week, so we can enjoy the tasting together in real life, instead of on Zoom.

I'll be doing the H-word for the next few days, and then I'll be busy with them. Anticipating that, I wrote two stories for The Dolls Storybook, so I don't have to do one this week. I have several ideas for the following week. I'm coming up on 200 stories, one a week, with no breaks.

For some cuteness, Johan had another chess tournament on Saturday. Two losses and three wins, an improvement over the previous tournament. He took second place in his age group. Not bad!

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. 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 our first book, Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, it would help if you left 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: Still the Empower Kerchief (a few more rows done in the dentist's office) and the Hinterland pullover (see above).

What's on my loom: Same as last week.

What's on my sewing machine: PJs for Zachary's Paul.

What's in my hoop: Same as last week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Caring for Pets––A Poem. The cast of The Doll's Storybook shares what is involved in keeping a pet. Be sure you know what you're getting into and can live up to expectations before getting a real pet.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Unthinkable by Jamie Raskin. I can really recommend it, especially if you want to know more about what happened at the Capitol on January 6th of last year, coinciding with a long eulogy to the author's deceased son. It was beautiful and gut-wrenching. Now listening to The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse, a thriller. Both are on the Audible app.

What's in my wine glass: Ithafa Western Cape Shiraz, 2019. Excellent.

What's my tip of the week: Here's my recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup à la Morinu. I had planned to take a photo of the soup in a bowl, but it somehow disappeared. This is a high-protein, low-fat version of this creamy favorite.

Ingredients
• 4 T olive oil
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 t thyme
• 1 t lite salt
• 1/8 t Pepper
• 4 cups water
• 1 2-cup bouillon cube
• 1 t psyllium husks
• 1 box Morinu silken tofu (shelf-stable, found in the Asian Food section, either firm or soft is OK)

• Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions
In pressure cooker pan, sauté vegetables in olive oil for a few minutes until slightly softened. Add water, thyme, salt, pepper and bouillon cube and bring to full pressure. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add tofu and psyllium and blend in blender or use immersion blender. Heat up until just serving temperature.
Top each serving with Parmesan cheese.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is now available for preorder from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book 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.

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Monday, February 28, 2022

Yarn Crawl 2022

Our trip to Beaverton was exciting, due to a car stopping in the middle of our lane in a two-lane Highway to make a U-turn and then was waiting for oncoming traffic. He was hard to see because he was in the shade, and it was bright where we were, with the light in our eyes. We could have rear-ended him. The sudden stop disconcerted the pups, but we avoided an accident.

We started the Yarn Crawl on Thursday, visiting eight shops before quitting for the day. We both spent a lot of money! We visited the last two on Friday, finishing at The Knotty Lamb, which is where we stopped two years ago. (Last year was virtual.

Mandy went along to shop for herself. She isn’t used to walking fast enough to keep up with human people, so she had to take a break during the long first day.

Not having enough projects still in the works, I bought some yarn for a sweater. The navy is the main color, and the lighter blue and white are the contrast colors. The pattern is Hinterland by Jennifer Steingass.

I used my trick for doing a long-tail cast on without risking running out of yarn (see below). I’m having to use Magic Loop, because the needle I had with me was the right size, but only one long circular needle. Of course, I could have borrowed one, but this is convenient.

I’m at the back of the neck now, doing the short rows.

DDIL finished her Gresham Wrap while we were there. It was a kit that was a Christmas present from us. (Still needs blocking.)

The dogs are enjoying their visit with Louis. Dusty and Louis have played a lot, and Rocky has been learning his way around the house, a challenge, since we haven’t been here for two years, and he can’t see.

Charlie has been enjoying time with the boys. Here, he’s playing Battleship with Johan.

The boys wanted me to read the two latest stories to them. They’re so nice to humor their old grandmother.

Johan was in a chess tournament on Saturday. Here, he’s practicing, playing with Grandpa.

The tournament went well. Johan provided his team with 1 1/2 points, which was enough to move them from fourth place to third. It was a great first tournament!

On Sunday, we braved the light rain to walk to the park. Rocky rode in the stroller until we got there. Then he wanted to get out and walk at his own pace.

The two younger dogs chased the ball or the Frisbee, or both at once.

It was a great visit, and we left to go home after this was posted, so if you're reading this early on Monday, maybe we're on the road now.

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

What's on my needles: The Hinterland sweater.

What's on my loom: No change.

What's on my sewing machine: No change.

What's in my hoop: No change.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: This week's story in "The Doll's Storybook" is Winter Games.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin in the car and still Unthinkable by Jamie Raskin at home, both on the Audible app.

What's in my wine glass: Sheep Thrills Red Blend 2019 by Terre Siciliane IGT.

What's my tip of the week: If you have a long-tail cast on and don't want to run out of yarn before you finish casting on all the stitches you need, try taking the two ends of the yarn (one from the inside of the ball and one from the outside) and tying them together, then start the cast on from there. After I'm sure I have the right number of stitches, I cut the one from the outside of the ball.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book 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.

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