The proof copy of my new book arrived on Monday. I found a mistake and corrected it before reuploading the inside pages. I received word on Wednesday that the full run was now in production. The boxes of books are on their way to me, but no estimated date of arrival yet because of the holiday weekend. They could arrive later this week or early next week.
Also in production is the front yard. Monday the xeriscaping was completed (aside from the planned addition of plants). Ryan, our landscaper arrived first with some large rocks (small boulders) he had picked out for us.
He moved those to where we wanted them. Then he left to pick up the cedar chips, which would be our ground covering. This type of ground cover is used in playgrounds and is dye-free. It should be good for the dogs.
While he was gone Jesus and Charlie tested the irrigation system. They found a leak under the fir tree and went about trying to find the exact location.
Meanwhile, Ryan came back with the cedar chips. He and Santiago spread the cedar chips on the ground.
The men lowered the edging behind the bench, because Ryan thought it was a bit too high there.
The cedar chips had to be spread around in an even layer.
The bench was moved aside so Jesus could install a lining where the decomposed granite would go.
He and Ryan then spread the decomposed granite over the lining.
Once it was down and smoothed out, the men sprayed it with water.
Then they went over it with a machine that tamped down the decomposed granite.
The dogs watched everything from our front door.
Jesus and I had an interesting conversation. He is on his second marriage and wanted to know how we (Charlie and I) had managed to stay married for 61 years. (It will be 61 this month.) I told him both of you have to want to stay married, and then it takes work. One interesting aspect of this conversation was that Jesus understands English pretty well but has trouble speaking it. My Spanish is very limited. He uses an app that he can speak into and it will translate what he says. Sometimes the little interpreter inside his phone came up with something that didn't really make sense, but most of the time it worked well to facilitate the conversation. Occasionally, if I used a word he didn't know, he would ask me to repeat it into the phone. I asked him if Sofia (his young daughter) had enjoyed the books I gave him to take home to her. He confessed, appearing a little embarrassed, that he hadn't given them to her yet. He was saving them to be a special present. I told him that he was a wise father. I told him to let her know if she would like to visit the dolls in the books, to let me know, and she could come to the house and see them.
Back to the front yard: The short walkway from the driveway to the RV drive, where we keep our trailer in the summer, got the same decomposed granite that was put on the section with the bench. It also had to be watered and tamped down.
The bench was put back. Each foot rests on a concrete paver imbedded in the decomposed granite in just the right places. We plan to select some plants to go on and around this mound and the other one on the other side of the driveway, and then along the strip of ground on the other side of the RV drive.
We were expecting rain on Thursday and Friday, which is good for firming up the decomposed granite. Ryan told us to walk on it gently until it hardened, which could take several days. It ended up raining pretty much every other day through yesterday, off and on.
Here's what the decomposed granite looks like close up.
This will be a nice spot to sit with a glass of wine in the evening when it's warm enough. The hardscaping is done. We just need to add plants.
Speaking of wine, we had a Madroña Vineyards pop-up meeting party again this week. We had a 2022 Zinfandel with salmon, vegetables, salad and a baguette. The pairing was quite nice. It's always nice to find out what everyone is up to. Paul, the owner of the vineyard, says they are picking grapes now and bottling, so they're also in production. The weather has created some challenges. Some of the varieties have produced smaller quantities of grapes than usual, but that could result in some very special wines.
The Vilai socks were still in production this week. When I took this photo I only had 16 rounds to knit before starting the toe. The rounds were going faster, because the pattern is only on the top of the foot. (The pattern slows me down a lot, but it's interesting.)
I finished on Sunday, early evening. I'm looking forward to wearing them.
We went to the vet on Friday afternoon to have Dusty's ears rechecked. The cytology came back clear, so I can discontinue the treatment. I'll have to wash the pups' ears out every couple of weeks, I think. The vet said Dusty's teeth look pretty good still. Because of Dusty's heart murmur, he had me count his resting/sleeping respiration. I got 13/minute, which is good. He loves to run and can keep running fast without getting out-of-breath, so I wasn't too concerned. A leaky valve can get more serious with age, though, so we have to monitor it. I need to do this count every once in a while and let them know if it gets too high, which could be a sign that his condition is worsening. There are medications that can be given to help with that. The pups only got a few walks this week, due to the rain. Saturday's walk was entirely on sidewalk to minimize the mud exposure.
I had ordered some Teeccino from iHerb, and they accidentally sent me what I ordered in duplicate. I was surprised to find two boxes on the porch when it was delivered and thought they must have divided my order up, which didn't make a lot of sense. Each box contained my full order, though. I had only been charged for one order. I contacted them to ask what I should do. They took the information, including the order number, which was the same on both boxes, and told me to keep the extra items at no charge, so what I ordered was basically half price. Lucky me! I'll definitely use it. I hope no one got in trouble over my order!
I use the loose coffee in my coffee pot with regular decaf coffee in the morning. The bags are nice alone in the evening. I rotate through the varieties so my taste buds don't get too used to the flavors. They're all good.
I made more granola and more bread. I grew more sprouts. I cooked more meals. It all gets eaten. Also made some apple cobbler, since we had apples that needed to be used.
David's wheelchair ramp was completed on Thursday. Now Karen just has to figure out how to use the wheelchair and get David into it. Then she can take him for a walk. The local Lions Club built it. It's beautiful!
For some cuteness, here's Soren running the bases. The family went to a baseball game Saturday night, and when the game was done, the kids were allowed to come onto the field and run the bases. Soren took his animal book with him. (That book pretty much is part of him. He takes it everywhere.)
I'm spending more time on BlueSky now that the midterm elections are coming up. What I'm doing is basically getting factual information out there and combating misinformation and (even worse) disinformation. I'm also encouraging everyone to vote. If you aren't registered to vote and you're a citizen, please register, and then vote! If you don't vote, you shouldn't complain if you don't like how the vote turned out.
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 iPhone: Still listening to Wildwood by Colin Meloy, only 3 1/2 hours left of a long but very exciting book. I wouldn't say it was good for very young children. The vocabulary used by the author is fairly advanced, and there's some violence in the story. It's beautifully written, though, and enjoyable for older children and even older adults.
What's on my sewing machine: Still put away until the next project.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: Mandy doesn't want any birthday presents because she thinks she already has enough stuff. She suggests they try to come up with a way to give a donation to an organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. Here's Mandy's Birthday Gift.What's my tip of the week: I've made so many knitted dish cloths that I have plenty, so I put a few between my nested pottery mixing bowls and nonstick cookware to protect the bottom from scratching.
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 in production.
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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