Full House

By the end of last week, we had too many pairs of shoes to fit in the shoe bench. 

It was a week of putting things away and organizing. We pulled out some of our Indonesian decorations.

The guest bath had to be readied for the first guests. While cleaning the tub, I discovered a crack in the tub (fiberglass). It may need to be resurfaced or replaced. We plan on replacing all three of the upstairs faucets, because they are all missing parts.

The powder room downstairs, doesn't need much.

We keep finding damage made by the move. All of our lamps looked like this.

We had planned on replacing the lampshades, so we gave them away before our move. That was probably a good idea. We're still missing some things, but we're hoping there's still a box that should have come into the kitchen.

I knew our two younger grandsons would be into everything, so I advised the dolls to move out of harm's way after the photoshoot for the latest story in The Doll's Storybook, "It's a Boy." They liked the kitchen cabinets, where they could watch the action and stay safe.

I thought it would be fun for the boys to see if they could find them. It was.

We knew cold weather was coming, with cold rain, freezing rain and possibly snow, so we spent Tuesday afternoon and early evening until it was too dark, trying to back our trailer into its winter berth in our backyard. It was very difficult, because we haven't had it paved yet. That will come in the spring, when they will level it and put in asphalt so we aren't driving on grass. That part of the yard slopes toward the hot tub, making it difficult to back up straight, as you can see from the angle of the trailer in relation to the pickup in this photo.

When it got too dark on Tuesday, we left the trailer with the tow vehicle attached in the side yard (at least off the street) for the night and started up again on Wednesday. It took a lot of back and forth, but we finally were successful. This is the new view from our back deck (and also the kitchen eating area). DH is planning to get a cover for it. I suggested a cover decorated with a painting of a forest.

Even unimproved, the RV parking was one of the mandatory features we had to have that narrowed our selection down to this one house, in spite of its need for repairs.

DH's brother was coming for Thanksgiving, followed by DS2 and DDIL2 and the two boys on Friday, so I did a lot of cooking on Wednesday. I baked two loaves of pulla, a Finnish family specialty. I have a recipe that I can make in the bread machine, although I don't use the machine to bake it, of course. One loaf was for DH's brother, who grew up having this when company came.

I also baked some sweet potatoes to slice up for a casserole, with the vegetable served au naturel other than some Smart Balance, a little maple syrup and a light sprinkle of cinnamon. I needed the sweet potato for a yellow vegetable, because my DBIL doesn't like the real star attraction, Lanttulaatikko, or rutabaga casserole, in spite of the fact that his mother served it every Thanksgiving and Christmas. I made the stuffing Wednesday night.

On Thanksgiving Day, I cooked the turkey breast with turkey gravy for the two men and a Quorn Turk'y Roast with mushroom gravy for myself. We also had roasted asparagus and cranberry sauce (from Whole Foods). The first course was a salad kit from Trader Joe's, Veggies & Greens, made up of chopped broccoli, shaved cauliflower, shaved Brussels sprouts, radicchio, kale and green cabbage. It's easy. Just dump in into a bowl, add the honey-ginger dressing and top with the extras: dried pear crumbles and pistachios. 

This is what my plate looked like before I added the asparagus and cranberry sauce to it.

Dessert was a pumpkin pie from Whole Foods with vanilla ice cream. Cooking was a challenge with an oven that doesn't keep a constant temperature. I had to use a flashlight to keep checking the oven thermometer.

DH went out on Friday morning to buy a new TV to fit the much larger space over our fireplace. (You knew he would, didn't you?) He also picked up a replacement for this gem:

It was full of dust (and one spider) when I was cleaning, and that was after DH cleaned it. It's way too ornate for us as well. This one will go into the Redmond Online Yard Sale group on Facebook.

Our younger son and his family arrived after a slow trip down from Beaverton. There was snow at the passes, but they made it before it was totally dark. They brought us this rubber plant to replace the one we left at our church in Park City. It now hides the trailer from view, at least a bit.

We reheated leftovers for supper Friday night.

The boys wake up very early, and it was still dark when I let Dusty out Saturday morning. Our back deck looked like this.

Later on Saturday, the ladies and pups accompanied the boys on a short walk to this playground next to the Bend Senior Center, close to our house. They burned a few calories playing on the equipment, which was coated with snow.

While we were out at the playground, DH and DS were busy trying to put together my sewing table. It was probably a good thing were out, because I take it that there was a lot of cursing. They found the directions very confusing and some of the holes drilled in the wrong place. DH is going to have to drill a new hole for the right front caster, so the doors will slide into the slot, because the screw blocks the way. On top of that, the sewing machine sits too low in the table. The airlift for it can be adjusted so it will be flat, but we can't figure out how to do it, and the demo on the website is for another kind of airlift.

On the bright side, the acrylic insert that makes a flat surface around the sewing machine actually fits the machine I ordered it for.

I will have to call the company today. It's a very expensive table. The support should be better. I hope we can get these problems worked out.

The boys spent a lot of time in the backyard playing on the play set, which their parents decided was suitable, except for the rope, which needs replacing. They also threw the ball for Dusty and Rocky, who really appreciated it.

For dinner Saturday night, we had salmon, zucchini sautéed with onions and mushrooms, another nice Trader Joe's salad (this time their Broccoli & Kale Slaw) and this gem, which the kids brought. 

This baby weighed five pounds. They named it Herman. DH carved it like a turkey. I thought it looked like a piglet.

Johan had had a nap, so he joined us for dinner, but Soren doesn't nap anymore. He crashed early and missed the meal.

Saturday night, DH and DS put the new chandelier for the dining room together and Sunday morning they installed it before they left to return home. 

The old one will be appreciated by someone, I'm sure, and this one was a sale item, so a big discount.

The kids made it home safely, taking the Elna that had belonged to my sister-in-law and the clock they want to fix and use. We have a lot of antique clocks, and we had planned to sell this one and the sewing machine and its cabinet. DDIL2 saw them listed and asked to buy them. I told her she could have them. I had the Elna serviced, so we brought them with us. We'll get the cabinet for the sewing machine to them on some future trip.

Another thing I managed to accomplish this week was Billy's preliminary haircut. As soon as I had Friday's story written, which required his original hair, I got out the scissors and had a go, leaving it still rather long, at least until my hairdresser can advise me. Then I put what was left of his rooted hair in curlers so the long hair would look a little fuller and shorter. Here he is with a hat.

This is without the hat.

Billy's new shoes, ordered from FairyTaleLOVEit on Etsy. They came from the Ukraine, so it took a long time to arrive, and they were very expensive, but they are beautifully made, and I think they are perfect for Billy.

The other two younger grandkids were playing a hedgehog and a snail in Ballet La Crosse's production of Alice in Wonderland over the weekend.

Rocky's thyroid and blood-pressure check showed his medication is appropriate for him. We're happy the old guy is doing well. We like the new vet.

What's on my needles: Back to the Kisu Takki Cardigan based on the Stavanger, but with a cat theme. Just finished the body and ready to CO the sleeves, planning on working them together in the round with steeks between them, as I did for the Stavanger.

What's on my Sparrow 15: Still sitting in my future sewing room, but out of its box.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, no progress again this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: It's a Boy! Billy arrives and meets the girls. I'm working on the story for this week now. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Ladies of Ivy Cottage by Julie Klassen. No listening time this week.

What's in my wine glass: Oak Knoll Reserve Royale Collection, 2016 Sparkling Pinot Gris. Exceptional, a gift from the kids.

What's my tip of the week: A "soaking tub" is a good place to store pictures and artwork while you're finding a place to put them on the wall.

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.

At Last! Part I

Wow! What a week! I had hoped to get the loom put together, but it was too busy. I did get all the heddles loaded onto the rods in the shafts. Here it is with just two shafts loaded, and there are four, but I did finish that part.  There are enough heddles (those things that look like wires hanging down in the middle) to weave something with more than 400 warp threads.

The heddles hold the warp thread, and the shafts can be lifted in various configurations as the weaver works with the weft thread on a shuttle. I hope to make some rag rugs for the house, and then (after I have the techniques down) for gifts.

The arrival of the final part of our shipment on Wednesday stopped the work on the loom, as there were other things to be done.

We were glad to have it come, because most of my kitchen equipment was missing or partly missing. (How can you use a blender if the container is missing?) We were lucky to have our 5th wheel parked in front of the house, and we ended up using most of the pots, pans, cutlery, knives cutting boards and towels from the trailer in the house. I'm still missing things, but we are still unpacking. Wednesday evening the kitchen was unusable because of all the boxes piled on the floor.

Thursday morning we went out to breakfast with my DBIL. It was nice to be able to sit for a bit. When we got home, it was back to work...to this:

I had brought half of my omelette and pancakes home, so I skipped lunch and had my "doggie bag" for supper. Working flat-out, pausing only to fall into bed late Thursday night, I started again in the morning, and by lunchtime on Friday, I had a nice cup of tea and this:

That's just the kitchen, mind you, and the breakfast bar was/is still covered with papers, DH's computer and some other stuff he will have to remove, so my job in the kitchen is now just to clean up after us.

I took time off from unpacking on Friday to advertise our packing materials on the Redmond, Oregon, Online Yard Sale Group on Facebook. We had this overflowing box of foam peanuts.

Then we had this large garbage bag full of bubble wrap (which had been tempting me to sit and make pop-pop instead of working), and an overflowing box of foam sheets and envelopes for putting between dishes.

We had seven or eight of the giant yard trash bags full of clean, wadded-up newsprint.

Then we must have had 40-50 boxes of various sizes, opened and flattened.

A nice young woman responded to the listing and said she would take it all. She had four children, and their landlord had said they had to move because he wanted to sell the house in the spring, and needed to start working on it. She came Saturday afternoon and got it all...in four trips with her large car (family of six, remember) packed.

We are gradually meeting some of the neighbors. DH was working out in the front yard, trying to tidy up our lawn hoses, when a gentleman from across the street stopped to talk. We found out from him that the previous owner had spent a month working in the house, fixing things. We can kind of understand his perspective now, how he didn't understand that we had such a long list of things to fix and wanted him to come down on the price. He had seen the house before he spent that month fixing. I'm glad we didn't see it then. We probably would have written it off. In spite of all the things we've had to replace, we're starting to feel like it's going to be a nice house. We keep discovering things we like about it. For instance, I hated to give up my laundry chute in our bedroom closet, which dumped laundry right into the laundry basket in the middle of my laundry room. Here I don't need a laundry chute, because the laundry is upstairs with all the bedrooms. All I have to carry down the stairs is the kitchen towels, cloth napkins and the occasional tablecloth.

Another fun thing about this house is that small planes land on a landing strip that is next to our street, but further to the north. We live on SE Airpark Dr., but off the bottom of this photo. Occasionally a plane will come down just above the trees across the street to land on the strip.

We watched one sail over us on Saturday. It will be fun if we can see one when the grandkids are here. It reminds me of when I was a small child, spending the summer with my mother and brother in New Hampshire, in a cabin just across the train tracks from Silver Lake. We saw an aquaplane land on the lake one day. The trains were fun, but that aquaplane was unusual. We hear the trains frequently here, too, which brings back pleasant childhood memories.

The long-awaited Billy has arrived. He was expected for some time, and progress was slow, often with no word at all. However, Thursday I received a notice that he was in Bend and would be delivered the next day. Here he is:

I think he looks a little like our youngest grandson, so I have named him William (Billy) Johan (for the grandson) Gotz (for the doll company).

I haven't cut his hair yet, just pulled it back in a low ponytail. My hairdresser offered to help me with the haircut, but she was leaving Saturday morning from LA for a cruise for two weeks. Billy says he doesn't mind waiting for his haircut, because he wants it to be right. So the hair will become part of the story. He looks pretty masculine in his cardigan and hat.

Wondering what he looked like as a girl? Here he is, right out of the box, still fastened in with the restraints. He has a puppy, a female Dalmation named Freckles. (The doll comes with a pink knitted hat, which was almost off when I opened the box, so I had already removed it for this photo.)

The girls will love the clothes. I like him better as a boy, I think.

This week's story was about recycling. I think I'm getting divine inspiration. I didn't know this was National Recycling Week in the US.

Saturday morning we went with my BIL to the Holiday Food and Gift Festival at the Deschutes County Fairground in Redmond. They had some interesting booths, offering wine, spirits, oils, vinegars, fudge, salsa, shortbread and other tasty treats. This place has a store in Bend, which we plan to visit sometime soon.

There were also several booths with quilted and sewn items, like table runners and aprons. This lady also had knitted dish cloths.

This booth has some lovely items, Hilltop Quilts. The owner doesn't have a website, but she gave me her card. Her phone number is 971-645-8772, and her name is Rita. She says she's living surrounded by boxes, too. She moved three weeks ago.

Here's the booth for Imperial Yarn. We bought some of the dryer balls, which you can see (barely, because we got the last package) in the top tray of the stand in the middle of this photo. They are made from felted alpaca. You can add them to your wet clothes in the dryer, and they function as dryer sheets do, to reduce static electricity and soften clothes. You can also add a few drops of essential oil of your choice to add a nice scent to your laundry. I already knew about them from my visits to the Blue Moon Ranch Alpacas in Utah.

We bought a new lampshade with a silhouette of a family of bears and some trees on it, and a hummingbird feeder made out of a fence post. We also picked up a bar of special soap for each of the younger grandkids from Penelope's Soaps and Such. (Each bar contains a LEGO Harry Potter character.) They will want to wash and wash to get the figure inside.

You may remember that we had to take Rocky to the vet on Sunday. By Tuesday, he was running and playing with Dusty in the backyard, and I had dropped the pain medication, just keeping the anti-inflammatory medication. We have an appointment for Rocky for November 20th for his intranasal Bordetella booster, as well as a check for blood pressure and thyroid, to make sure his medications are working. My BIL is coming for Thanksgiving, and (if no one gets sick), our Oregon son and DIL will come down from Beaverton on Friday with their two boys to spend what's left of the long weekend.

My foot has gradually improved with the treatment prescribed. I wish I could have gone to our new doctor before all the other attempts at treatment, but I'm so grateful to be able to sleep at night and to walk around without discomfort. I have much to be thankful for. Which reminds me, Thanksgiving is coming this week! Here's my favorite offering for my quilting friends at Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What's on my needles: Back to the Viipuri Cardigan for Jolena.

What's on my Sparrow 15: Still sitting in my future sewing room.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Reading, Writing and Recycling." This week's story is about doing homework and recycling, oddly enough, from the title. I'm working on the story introducing Billy. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: The Ladies of Ivy Cottage by Julie Klassen. I've made some progress with the story.

What's in my wine glass: Terrain Vineyards, California Red Blend, 2015.

What's my tip of the week: I keep a basket at the bottom of the stairs for stuff that need to go up. It's elongated, so it doesn't take up much space but holds a lot. It saves time and effort.

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.

Waiting for the Final Shipment

Well, the loom didn't get put together. This week got away from me, and the light in there isn't too good yet, so from late afternoon on, it's hard to work in the alcove where the loom is.

However, Billy's hat to go with his cardigan is done.

I CO the Cur-Pic-u-lum pullover by Deb Denair. You make the sleeves first and then join with the body when the body is done to the arm scyes. One sleeve finished and one partway done.

I managed to get next week's story done. This week's is up at thedollsstorybook.blogspot.com. It's called "Charlotte's Birthday." Here's a taste:

So what did I do all week instead of putting the loom together? I've been having trouble with my foot. We didn't have a doctor here yet, and I went to urgent care for extreme itching/stinging/burning of my right foot, which made it impossible to sleep well. It seemed they were just throwing things at it to see what would work. Eventually I had blisters on the bottom of the foot, possibly from the topical ointment prescribed or a further symptom of the condition. Possible diagnoses ranged from fungus to neuropathy. We finally were able to obtain a GP/internist who brought in a black light to shine on it. His tentative diagnosis was a possible bacterial infection, but he's doing a culture. In the meantime, I'm treating it with antibiotic ointment. While we were in his office, he noticed that I needed the second Shingrix shot, which he had on hand. (The local pharmacies are all out until January.) Just like the first shot, this one made me sick, but this time just for 24 hours. That killed the next day (Tuesday), though. I had a fever, aches and was exhausted. The foot seemed better, though.

Tuesday also was the election. DH stayed up all night to watch the returns, but I went to bed about 10:30. (I'm still catching up on lost sleep from the foot problem.) I woke up Wednesday morning feeling almost back to normal, but still very tired.

The pups hadn't been to the park for some time, so we walked over there on Friday. We have access to the Larkspur Trail just across the street and a few houses up from our place, so we went on the trail. When we left the trail, it was only a couple of blocks on regular streets.

One lady was dog sitting several other small poodles, plus she had her own dogs, one of them a Yorkie, I think. There were five all together. It was sunny, and we were warm enough with only light jackets.

Sunday morning, Rocky woke up not feeling well. He seemed uncomfortable getting off the bed, wanted the door opened for him instead of using the pet door, and then seemed to have difficulty keeping his leg in the air. He started shivering after he came in. He seemed uncomfortable for a while throughout the morning. We called our new vet, whom we had not yet met, and was able to get an appointment for 3:30 PM. By the time for our appointment, he seemed much better. On examination, the vet's guess was a mild back injury, not uncommon among older dogs. We left with some anti-inflammatory medication and a mild pain medication. We go back on the 20th for a recheck and for his twice-yearly blood pressure and thyroid check. The three of us are growing old together. Dusty, on the other hand, is taking his time about growing up.

This week will be busy. I have an appointment with the doctor today. The plumber is supposed to come on Tuesday. The rest of our shipment is supposed to come on Wednesday. I'm really missing things like the dish rack.

It's a good thing I have the tray that goes with it. I will also be happy to see the container for my blender. The blender isn't much good without it.

We're continuing to fix things in the house. One item is the refrigerator. The shelf under the ice maker was installed wrong, but that was an easy fix. One shelf in the freezer was missing. We ordered one, but they sent the wrong one.

Strangely enough, it had the right part number on it, but the photo didn't match what was inside. They're trying to make us pay for shipping on the return.

One good new purchase (one we're keeping) was this bench, with storage for shoes. We have it right by the front door, so we can sit to change our shoes. (We have boxes of packing materials--bubble wrap, peanuts, foam envelopes for dishes--to give away, sorted and lined up along the wall in the hallway.)

Billy landed in San Francisco on Saturday. I'm hoping they don't keep him in Customs and Immigration too long. Maybe he'll arrive this week.

What's on my needles: A new pullover for Billy, the other things still untouched.

What's on my Sparrow 15: Still sitting in my future fiber studio.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Charlotte's Birthday." Friday a new story comes out, "Reading, Writing and Recycling."

What's on my iPad/iPhone: The Ladies of Ivy Cottage by Julie Klassen. No listening this week.

What's in my wine glass: The most delightful Apothic Red. "California--Intense fruit aromas and flavors of rhubarb and black cherry that are complemented by hints of mocha and vanilla. The plush, velvety mouthfeel and smooth finish round out this intriguing, full-bodied red blend." No lie.

What's my tip of the week: We have several places where we buy groceries. There are certain things we like to buy at each place. We have made up a document with those items listed after the name of each store. We print it off, stick it on the fridge with a magnet, and when I discover something we need to replace, all I have to do is circle it. When one of us goes to the store, we grab the list. If there are items we didn't get because we didn't go to that store, we bring the list back, with the purchased items crossed off.

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.