Cleaning and Keeping Clean

I knew you'd rather see this than watch me washing floors:

Those are my Banana-oat Waffles. I've shared the recipe before. It's a good use for bananas that have passed their prime.

Now that I have your attention, here's a rundown of my week, other than making waffles.

The Doll's Storybook was scheduled through the time we were gone on our trip, but I had another one in the works. I needed to be written, though, and then photos taken. It's called The Cruise That Didn't Happen. In it, Veronika was going to go on a cruise to the Bahamas before a hurricane destroyed her dream.

Of course, she was disappointed, but Veronika being Veronika, she was philosophical about it. The dolls talk about how to deal with negative emotions and Mandy gives a short lesson on how hurricanes form. I had to clean up my fiber studio before I could take photos.

I'll be cleaning up the knitting docket soon. I'm coming to the end of my "Sunshine in the Rain Shawlette" after all the extra knitting time during our trip. Just one more pattern repeat to go, the bind-off and blocking. I could be wearing it this week.

Friday was the Climate Strike, and our little town of Bend put in a good showing with "hundreds" of people showing up, according to an article in the Bend Bulletin. The local event was run mostly by high school students, and the participants were predominantly young people, but we noticed a lot of other grandparents turned up. It was a good reminder to be good stewards of Mother Earth.

After the demonstration, we stopped in at the Bend Brewing Company for a beer.

On Saturday, I had a visit with my friend Eevi, who came down from Tualatin with her parents to visit her aunt for the weekend. I picked her up and we went to BJ's Quilt Basket. We met online at the Knit Picks Knitting Community about 2009 (?) and stayed in touch after the Knitting Community folded (due to the assault by spammers), primarily through Facebook and Ravelry's The Frog Prince and His Knitting Community Orphans group.
We went to the Old Mill District for a stroll and stopped in at Flat Bread Pizza for lunch, where our wait person took this photo.

After lunch, we went back to Eevi's aunt's home and picked up her dad, before coming to my house for coffee and pulla, an old Finnish tradition. Eevi's dad is Finnish, so we had lots to chat about dealing mostly with Finnish food and our favorite dishes.

Sunday I got to sing with the new choir for the first time, having missed the choir's first time to sing for the new year last week. We have a few new members with the start of the new year after being off for the summer. It was fun singing with a larger group. On Wednesday we had cleaned up the pieces we were singing, so they went pretty well. I think everyone was pleased.

In other news, Zachary has lost his third tooth in nine days. At this rate, he'll need some choppers soon. He says that his doll Zachary Jr. has also lost some teeth, although it doesn't show. The Tooth Fairy had to reward the doll, too. I guess you could say the two Zachary boys cleaned up, money-wise.

The Oregon grandkids participated in a 5K run/walk/skip/jump event on Saturday to raise money for local schools. It was put on by Reed College with a number of sponsors. They were joined by their cousin and everyone's parents. The boys are, from left, Soren, Leo and Johan. Leo's parents are in the middle.

The cast of The Doll's Storybook will be welcoming a new member this week if all goes well. We needed a second boy, so this doll (called Emilia) will get a haircut and become Emil. I'm going to try to do the haircut on my own this time. I hope it will look neat and tidy when I'm done, Otherwise I will have to order him a wig. If he's ready, he will be introduced this week, as he's due to arrive on Wednesday. I think this face will work well as a boy.

He had already left Los Angeles when I got up yesterday morning, so I'm sure he will arrive this week, even if there is a delay.

What's on my needles: "Sunshine in the Rain," a shawlette from this pattern. Also still making some dishcloths to have something mindless to work on.

What's on my sewing machine: Clothes for Emil.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt, but no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Cruise That Didn't Happen.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still A Scandal in Battersea by Mercedes Lackey. Not much progress this week.

What's in my wine glass: Phigment Red Wine Bland 2017 vintage from the Notso Wine Company. Lovely!

What's my tip of the week: You don't have to buy those expensive single-use Swiffer pads for your Swiffer (if you have one). You can make a reusable one. It's a simple knitting project. There are a lot of different designs available, but this is the one I like. Just spray on your choice of cleaners that doesn't need rinsing, or dip the Swiffer into the solution, and you're ready to go. When you're done, you can throw it into the laundry or wash it by hand, if you need to use it again. I plan on having several, so I can try to keep my floor clean, a never-ending job.

It takes 60-70 yards of cotton worsted yarn, such as Sugar 'n Cream, which also is good for dish cloths.

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.

Fiber Fantasies and Teeth

Ready for Tour de Fleece!

This year it starts on July 6th. I plan to spin a little each day the "Tour" is on. I started last year and had to drop out, because we had our house on the market and my life was bedlam. I'm going to try to finish what I started. It's a Merino/Tencel blend from AlohaBlu in "The Frog Prince," in homage to the Ravelry group, The Frog Prince and His Knitting Community Orphans, which was begun to replace the KnitPicks Knitting Community when it closed down because it was taken over by pirates...I mean spammers.

My wheel is a Kromski Sonata named Stanzi, after Mozart's wife. She (my wheel, not Mozart's wife) has a special flyer called a WooLee Winder. The flyer that came with the wheel had hooks or teeth. I had to stop periodically and move the spun yarn from one hook to the next. This type of flyer has a travel screw that moves the spun yarn automatically, which makes for smoother yarn.

My WooLee Winder is primed with this much to start, when the "Tour" begins next Saturday. I hope to finish the 100g this year. This is how much I got done last year:

Need I say, I haven't done any spinning since the "Tour" began last year. I hope to remedy that this week!

Mandy, who has no teeth, finished the cardigan she was "making" to go with her dress. The sweater and dress come together in a pattern by Sharisse Dunn of Sugar Grove South. The pattern is called Church Picnic.

It was otherwise a busy week. We picked up our hearing aids at Pacific Northwest Audiology on Monday. We have already made the first payment, even though we could have waited. I already forget that I'm wearing them. There has been no change to the tinnitus yet, but that can take a while, and they have some programs that can be used if needed. We go back again in two more weeks. I do notice rustling paper and plastic, as well as the tires of bicycles on the trail before someone has to yell something for us to get out of the way. I can make adjustments with my cell phone, so I'm learning a new technology, as well as getting in the habit of cleaning my hearing aids every night and putting them on again in the morning after I shower.

Dusty was scheduled to have his teeth cleaned on Wednesday of this week, but the vet called us Friday night and asked if we could do it Saturday, as they had had an emergency cancellation. We could, so Dusty went in for the better part of the day. Here he is getting some needed (!) affection from Alex, the technician at Alpine Veterinary Clinic here in Bend prior to his procedure.

Here he is allowing the vet to show of his pearly whites when we picked him up. (That's Rocky in the background checking to see who else had been there since we dropped Dusty off at 9:00 AM.) No extractions needed. Dusty gets his teeth brushed every night at bedtime. Miniature poodles are prone to tartar buildup, so it's important to take care of their teeth. Rocky had his teeth cleaned about the same age and not since. He probably should have his done sometime in the next six months while he's still in good health. When he's older and possibly has age-related conditions it may not be possible to have a cleaning.

While Dusty was having his teeth cleaned, Rocky and I went out for our walk. I was thinking Dusty might not feel like putting in two miles after being knocked out for part of the day. I had planned on going to the end of the regular trail and back, as usual, but Rocky had other ideas. He insisted on going to the dog park. When we got to the street that leads to the park, he dug in his heels and wouldn't continue on the trail. Instead, he tried to drag me up the street, so I gave in. He had a nice romp with some other dogs, and then happily came home with me. We managed to put in two miles.

After we picked up Dusty, we stayed at home for several hours, and then Dusty told us he wanted to go for a walk, so Rocky and I did a second two-mile trek. Dusty was calmer than usual, but otherwise back to normal.

On the way back, we took the trail that leads into the wilderness on the other side of the trail. That made it possible for the dogs to be off-leash for a bit.

Here's our route, using the Walk for a Dog app.

Here's the app's history page for us. If you look closely, you can see that the extra two miles brought us up to over 54 miles in the past 30 days. I'm aiming for 60, which should be possible at two miles a day. It's a little complicated, because every day, we lose the walk we had 30 days previously. If we didn't walk, we don't lose anything. If we only walked around the block, we don't lose as much.

After Sunday's walk, I'm up to 55.26 miles, having gained two and lost one from May 31st.This is helping me regain my fitness, which had diminished due to some health problems and the strain of the move, which had made exercise difficult. It's good to be moving again.

Our new home continues to offer us surprises. This week's was the bushes on the side of the garage. Friends online have identified this as a rhododendron. I think I really need a touch of this with some dark purple in a quilt or a sweater.

When I look at them, I think of that song, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody." I wonder what surprises our yard still has to offer. At least these are good surprises.

Saturday night we sunk our teeth into this pizza. We get the cheese pizzas frozen at Costco. They have almost nothing on them. Then I doctor them up. This one has thinly sliced zucchini, pickled garlic, sweet peppers, red onion, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green olives, crumbled faux sausage and fresh basil. Here it is before it went into the oven.

Here's how it looked when it came out. (It didn't shrink. I cropped out the ugly pan in the photo above.)

While we're on the subject of teeth, Zachary lost a tooth last week.

The other two grandsons, Soren and Johan, got together with their cousin Leo, who had just returned from living in Moscow (the one in Russia, not Idaho) and played with something called Ginormous Grow Frogs. Here they are showing off their teeth. (That glass of white wine in front of Leo isn't his. It belongs to DDIL, who was taking the photo.)

This week's story combined some photos taken during our visit to the northern part of the state a few weeks ago. I had to bake some bread to make sandwiches, so the dolls could have a picnic. Mandy used my cell phone to find pictures of animals to share with her younger siblings.

Finally, I made some progress on the shawl I started more than a year ago, the Coastal Skies.



What's on my needles: Coastal Skies shawl, using the pattern Knockout Round.

What's on my sewing machine: Still costumes for the cast of The Doll's Storybook.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. No progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Myrtle the Turtle. Mariah and Billy learn about turtles, frogs, limericks and more from Mandy during a picnic in a state park.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Murder at Archly Manor by Sara Rosett. Now listening to The Wicked Godmother by M. C. Beaton.

What's in my wine glass: Rosario Estate's Viñas Chilenas Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, vintage 2018.

What's my tip of the week: Don't buy peaches in June unless you plan to cook them. Another tip: I have a great recipe for Peach Crisp.

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.

Legends of the Fall...and Falling

Ah, fall colors. Colors for outfits...

That's the T-shirt that didn't fit the boy twins, Buddy and Dude. I managed, in spite of an insane week, to get some knitting done for Hannah. As part of the KAL in two of the doll groups on Ravelry, I've been knitting clothes in fall colors for back-to-school outfits for the dolls we're giving as Christmas presents to the grandkids this year. The skirt is from Jacqueline Gibb's Girly Tank Top Set for 18inch Dolls, which I made for Daphne Jr. The jacket is the February Doll Sweater, based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's February Ladies Sweater. The doll version is really for a smaller doll, but someone had made it in heavier yarn for an 18" doll, so that's what I did. I'm happy with the result, but I wasn't crazy about working with the yarn. It split, frizzed, caught on my fingernails and made it hard to see what I was doing.

Speaking of fall colors, I'm glad I snapped this photo of the maple tree in our yard before the heavy rains came, this one a fine example. The leaves are now on the ground.

Leaves aren't all that have been falling this week. Daphne lost her first baby tooth and wrote this note to the tooth fairy. I guess she has decided to keep her first lost tooth.

Dusty has been losing baby teeth, too. This was one we managed to find. We're wondering what the tooth fairy will bring him...besides permanent teeth, that is.

Fall weather usually means mud in these parts. We thought we might get some snow, but all we got were heavy rains. I shouldn't have washed my kitchen floor. This is what my back door looks like.

Dusty doesn't know what to think about the cold rain. He was born in southern Nevada the beginning of May, and the coldest he has been was in air conditioning. For several days, he came in soaking wet.

When it's warm enough, he has been carrying on an archeological dig in our backyard. Here are some of the relics he has unearthed. He also found a dog's tie-out line. None of this stuff came from us during our 13 years in this house. I sense a story in each item.

Leaves and teeth fall...and pups can, too. Rocky took a tumble last Sunday night when he changed his mind about climbing up onto our bed using the new dog stairs we bought for the pups. He jumped while he was turning and landed on the hardwood floor, slipping and dislocating his hip. Monday afternoon, the vet was doing X-rays, and it popped back in. She says he will be prone to dislocation, but the chances of avoiding surgery are better if we can keep his quiet for two weeks. No walks, no climbing on furniture, no playing with Dusty. The first 24 hours are the most dangerous. We are almost at a week now, and we're doing OK, but it hasn't been easy. First we kept Rocky in the play yard. Then we learned that he could walk pretty well on the deck, so we switched the pups and put Dusty in the play yard and let Rocky have the run of the deck, as they were used to.

We have our fingers crossed that it will do the trick.

With all the rain falling, they had to stay indoors a lot. We ended up having to watch Rocky in the living room and let Dusty fend for himself in the kitchen.

Dusty, in the meantime, is still gaining weight. He is now over 14 lbs., more than half Rocky's weight.

Vintage Stitchers was cancelled this week.

What's on my needles: A dress for Hannah. The “So-not-my-palette Cardigan” is still on hold while I work on doll clothes. Still waiting for the second sleeve.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll clothes. No sewing this week because it's hard to sew and watch the pups at the same time.

What's on my wheel: Put away for now.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still no audiobook in action, but I'm listening to practice music for the Park City Singers' Holiday Concert. Still reading Corinna: A Sweet & Clean Historical Romance by Lauren Royal. I'm still liking it.

What's in my wine glass: Crane Lake Malbec, 2013, always a nice choice.

What's my tip of the week: If you need to know how much yarn a project took, you can weigh what you have left and subtract from what you had to start with, or you can weigh the completed project, before adding buttons and other items, adding the tails you cut off to the project on the scale. This is especially useful if you want to make another of the same thing with the same material and want to know if you have enough yarn.

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 were harmed during the production of this blog post.