Bad Surprises and Good Ones

One of our neighbors put a quilt up on the side of their house.

Here I've cropped it so you can see the detail. It reminds me of the quilt designs the Pennsylvania Dutch put on their barns.

We discovered it during our walk along the Larkspur Trail. 

We haven't gone this far for some time, and we discovered some new things, like this sign.

In the meantime, the whole cloth quilt is coming along.

I also got a little knitting done on my Which Came First shawl. I'm ready to start the golden yellow yarn now.

Out in the garden, things are moving along, too. The radishes will be ready to start harvesting soon.

Some of the pea plants have pods on them. 

The largest zucchini is taking over the zucchini plot.

We don't mind too much, though, because it is starting to produce fruit.

The blueberry plants have a couple of blueberries that will be ripe soon.

This week's story in The Doll's Storybook is about what it means to have courage. Mariah deals with something that makes her afraid. This week's story is Courage.

We had a little unpleasant excitement this week. Daphne developed a fever. She hasn't been playing with other children or going out in public except for dance class, which is done in groups of only five children each with masks and distancing. The health department helped the studio work out the logistics. They took her immediately to be tested. Fortunately, they have the Mayo Clinic for medical, so they were able to get the results back in 36 hours. It was negative, but it was an anxious time until they got the word. They have since decided it's stomach flu, and she is feeling better. She's attending dance class online for now. Our daughter and her husband have decided to do the online version of school when it starts again. They will have to sign up for the whole semester online, and they feel it's likely that school will have to go back online before the semester is over. This way will be less disruptive.

In other news, Dusty had his teeth cleaned and needed to have two extracted. We had three adenomas (moles) removed at the same time, since he was out for the teeth cleaning procedure. He's back to normal.

What's on my needles: The Which Came First Shawl. Just starting the third color.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little more progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Courage. Mariah has to be brave and do what she needs to do, even though she is afraid.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to D. E. Stevenson's Mrs. Tim of the Regiment. It's written like a diary and is very funny in places and always entertaining. Her books are like a little visit to  England and/or Scotland during times not that long ago.

What's in my wine glass: Atardecer de Los Andes Merlot/Malbec from Argentina. Lovely.

What's my tip of the week: We have been trying to avoid going to the store unless we absolutely have to. One way we have been able to spread out our trips is by using powdered milk and powdered eggs to stretch out the fresh versions of these two staple items. I've found powdered milk to be perfectly fine in cooking and baking. I just add it to the dry ingredients and increase the liquid ingredients by the amount needed to reconstitute the milk. If we're going to drink it, though, I've found that it tastes much better if it sits in the fridge for about 48 hours after mixing. We have been getting whole milk that is ultrapasteurized, which lasts a lot longer than regular pasteurized milk. I mix 2/3C instant powdered milk with 2C water in a bottle that holds about 2-3/4 C. (I use a small funnel, so I don't spill the powder.) I put the lid on the bottle and then tip it back and forth to mix. Then I add some whole milk to the mix, leaving a little room at the top. I give it a shake before serving after 48 hours. For eggs, I do the same thing for cooking or baking: mix the powder with the dry ingredients and the liquid with the liquid ingredients. It's usually 1/4C powder and 5T or 1/3C water for two eggs. We haven't had to mix them up to eat scrambled eggs yet, but that may happen. Usually we have to go to the store for a prescription or something, and we always get eggs when we do. Eggs keep a long time in the refrigerator.

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.

One Thing at a Time

The second pattern of the Which Came First Shawl is starting to be apparent. 

It's called "Chicken Feet." It's an entertaining pattern.

I finished a hoop-sized section of the whole-cloth quilt this week. Now I've moved on to another section.

We needed more kimchi. Neither Napa nor Savoy cabbage was available at the store where DH was shopping, so I settled for regular green cabbage. I've found that it works better when using regular cabbage if you cut it up into smaller pieces, as the leaves tend to be thicker than the other two varieties. The big chunks are fine, but I serve it in tiny bowls, so it will last longer, and the big pieces don't fit as well. I have read that the pickling process produces beneficial bacteria, similar to yoghurt. Of course, if you can the pickles, it kills the bacteria, so this kind of pickle has to be kept refrigerated and eaten in a fairly short time, like a week or two. Ours doesn't usually last because we eat it.

I might try pickling red cabbage sometime. 

We aren't planning to fly anywhere, but we get to see planes come in to land at the small airstrip about a block away. I was knitting on the front deck when this one came in to land. I heard the hum of the engine and grabbed my phone.

I read in the local paper that a newcomer to Bend saw this and called 911 because she thought the plane was crash-landing. Depending on the wind direction, they sometimes come in low over our street. 

So do the geese who like to graze on the field a few blocks away. They honk instead of hum.

I had to make a trip to the audiologist because I couldn't hear my audiobook out of one of my hearing aids. I was afraid something was broken or that I had wax in my ear. The technician came out to the parking lot, took both hearing aids into the lab, found that they both had wax in them. While she was cleaning them, the audiologist came out and checked my ears. No wax. When I got my hearing aids back and tested them, they were fine. Everyone wore masks.

The Wisconsin grands have been enjoying their huge swimming pool. However, they have decided that it's more fun to take turns.

This was an interesting study on the efficacy of face masks. You may have heard that a Missouri hairstylist became ill after face masks were required in the salon (for stylists and clients). A few days later a second one became ill. The 139 clients they had served were notified and followed. During the maximum incubation period of two weeks none of the clients became ill, leading to the conclusion that face masks worn by both the persons who had COVID-19 and the uninfected people who were in close contact with them prevented the spread of the virus. This would be good news if we could get everyone to wear masks when they go out.

Our zucchini plants are starting to fruit. They are already a few inches long. Here's Mandy, showing Jolena one of the blossoms, part of this week's story, The Homecoming, in which Jolena comes home from Chile and finds out all the news she missed while she was away.

The YouTube video of our virtual choir performance is now available for viewing. You can see it here, if you like. Not everyone in the choir was available or wanted to participate. I'm hoping for more from the next one.

The new microwave is working out in it's new location. I'm liking it better than the one over the stove (besides that it works).

The pups go to the groomer today and Dusty gets his teeth cleaned on Thursday. Busy week.

What's on my needles: Still the Which Came First Shawl. Some progress.

What's on my sewing machine: I'm not sure what's next for them.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Homecoming. Jolena comes back from Chile, and the dolls catch up with each other.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Just finished listening to Mary Trump's book, Too Much and Never Enough. It was like a soap opera. Very well written, narrated by the author. I can recommend it. Back to listening to D. E. Stevenson's Mrs. Tim of the Regiment, which I left off listening to because the Trump book had come out.

What's in my wine glass: Pedroncelli Petite Sirah 2017 Sonoma County Dry Creek Valley. Nice!

What's my tip of the week: Does it get hot in your house sometimes in the summer? Have hot flashes? Get a dish towel and dampen it. Wrap it around your neck. Unless your climate is very humid, the moisture in the towel will evaporate and cool your neck. You (if you're human) have big blood vessels that come close to the skin at your neck. The towel will cool these vessels and the blood inside, carrying the cooling effect around in your body. (This is safe.)

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.

Out With the Old, In With the New

First, some sewing!

Some of the events of this week made it clear that we needed more than one mask each, so I made two more. We are happy with this design, because, with the filter, they provide eight layers of fabric, and the ties can be tied behind the head to get a snug fit without interfering with our hearing aids, which fit behind the ear. I plan to make a few more. For the nose piece, I had one more aluminum strip from my BIL, so I used that. Then I made another one by rolling heavy-duty aluminum around a straw, pulling the straw out and flattening it, then cutting it to the right length with rounded ends to make insertion easier. This worked fine.


I made some progress on the Which Came First Shawl. The multi yarn has entered in. The pattern for this part of the design is looking very interesting in the different colors.

The yarn is Blue Moon Fibers' Socks that Rock Lightweight in "Navy," "Hipster Hen" and "Red Dawn." I have been taking my knitting or quilting out onto the front porch/deck while it's still shady out there. I used the puppy pen opened up flat to close off the access to the steps, so the dogs can stay out there with me if they want. Late in the afternoon, when the sun gets low, it's too sunny for me out there, so I come in, but until the sun hits me, it's very pleasant. The hottest day of the week it was still pleasant out there.

I'm really glad the weather has played nice. We had this past week scheduled for replacing the rest of the windows in the house. The men came on Monday to get started. 

Here are some of the windows, ready to be installed.

They finished the downstairs on Monday and did the upstairs on Tuesday, four windows each day. 

They wore masks when they had to come into the house, and so did we. (That was part of our increased mask usage.)

We will have to have our house painters come back to paint the outside frames the same color (off-white) as the rest of the windows.

This is my favorite window. It's in our guest bath. The glass pattern is called "Raindrop." It provides some privacy while letting in the light. I think it looks like rain running down the window.

So that was the "out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new" Part I. It was planned over a year ago and done in two batches, so we could avoid having to pay for all of it at once. Nothing unexpected. However, we had another issue come up this week that required an additional but unexpected change. Our over-the-stove microwave quit suddenly. First it was fine, and then there was no power coming to it. We discovered that the circuit breaker had tripped, but after resetting, it kept tripping every time we tried to use the microwave. It's too bad, because the previous owners had installed it new, we think, right before they put the house on the market. So now we can use it as a cabinet, and the light over the stove works, but I have a Post-It note taped over the keypad to remind myself I can't use anything else on it.

DH took his mask and ran over to Costco and picked up a new microwave for us. We tried it several different places, but it's pretty big, and I need my countertop space for cooking, so we settled on the spot where we had the coffee pot and toaster. They have been relocated, and my big Kitchen Aid mixer, the best-looking appliance I have, had to be stored in the broom closet. I don't use it often, so it was the one that had to step aside. Here's the new microwave. It's easier to use than the old one. My only complaint is that the numbers on the keypad are hard to see, but I had the same trouble with the old one. The functions are more useful, and the auto-cook settings are labeled on the front of the inside. It's a Panasonic Model No. NN-SC668S.

Dusty went to the vet on Wednesday, another use of the mask for me.
Later in the week I cut up some of the apples I was sure we wouldn't get through before they rotted and sliced them up to dehydrate. They are deliciously sweet and sort of crunchy and chewy at the same time. We are trying not to go to the store any more often than we have to.

The garden is growing pretty well, considering the nights have been cold and the days not too hot. We've had a lot of flowers on our zucchini plants and hope to be seeing some little zucchinis growing soon.

The radishes are growing well. We got a late start with them, but they don't take too long to grow, fortunately. The peas are getting taller. Either the birds or the squirrels have taken our strawberries before they are anywhere near ripe enough, so I don't know if we'll have any this year. They might do better after they have grown longer in the ground where they are.

Veronika and Mandy got some new shoes from the UK. They are real leather and fit nicely. The dolls can even wear them with socks.

I've never heard them complain about the old shoes pinching their feet, but they probably don't want to bother me with their problems.

What's on my needles: Still the Which Came First Shawl by Cheri Clark, from the kit I picked up at this year's Rose City Yarn Crawl.

What's on my sewing machine: More masks, I hope

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little more progress this week. I worked on it for about an hour. It's mindless, so it's good to do while watching TV.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Boys Cook Dinner and have an interesting experience they weren't expecting. I sent Daphne a text on her iPod when it came out. She and Zachary read it. She said they "loved it because it was about boys and it was funny."

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I finished listening to My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows. It was a funny story, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I had read it as a physical book or an eBook. Katherine Kellgren's narration was outstanding, and her over-the-top expression fit the sometimes-sarcastic, often melodramatic writing. I can highly recommend this story. Now I'm listening to Mrs. Tim of the Regiment by D. E. Stevenson, one of my favorite authors.

What's in my wine glass: Landing 63 Heritage Red 2017 from California. We have been getting most of our wine online lately, something we can do in Oregon but could not in Utah. It's nice. Not up to favorite standards, but very nice to drink with food.

What's my tip of the week: I've been making a lot of bread lately to cut down on trips to the store. I use the bread machine set on "dough" to mix it, then shape it into a loaf or loaves to bake in the oven. The bread machine pans on most if not all bread machines don't hold up well if you let water sit in them for too long to clean them. I have learned that I can use almost no water at all if I let the pan sit out, without the paddle, until any little bits of dough have dried completely. Then I use a dish brush to brush out the inside, following up with a rinse and turning upside-down to dry. The paddle can be washed with the dishes.

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.

Independent Living

The whole-cloth quilt proceeded a little bit more this week.

The "Which Came First Shawl" is moving along, too. Here's how it looked Sunday afternoon when I wrote this up. It doesn't look much different now, because I've only done another 3 1/2 rows.

The vegetable plants are growing (it's their job), and the zucchini plant has a blossom in there somewhere. DH has stationed little garden gnomes here and there to remind the squirrels and birds to leave our plants alone.

Our church choir has been working on a virtual choir performance. We were each given links to practice recordings a couple of weeks ago, and then a week later, we received a link to a video recording of the accompaniment with the person directing us to watch and listen to with earbuds or headphones while we recorded ourselves singing along. The hardest parts of the assignment were 1) finding a time when the dogs weren't likely to bark and 2) getting Dropbox to work for me, because I hadn't used it in a long time, and it wouldn't let me change my password. I eventually got it all worked out and sent off my recording. If I get a link I can share, I will include it in my blog. I have no idea when that will be.

We're still having our Zoom meetings. Sunday was Soren's birthday, so we got to sing "Happy birthday" to him.

The dolls watched the fireworks on TV, which was sensible. 

DH went over to his brother's house to watch from the street. He wore his mask and took a lawn chair. He sat far away from his brother and they were both far away from the neighbors, who were setting off personal fireworks. They had lots of company, as every block and cul-de-sac had its own individual fireworks display. The commercial fireworks started about 9:30 and went on for much longer than normal, because so many places in the region had cancelled the fireworks because of Covid-19. I guess it's the same company that puts these shows on all over the area, so they had a lot of stuff they had to use. When they finished, the neighbors went back to setting off their own supply, continuing until well past midnight. I had stayed home with the dogs and my bottle of wine. I had opened all the doors and windows early in the morning, so it would be cold in the house, then shut everything up again and pulled the shades, so the house was tolerable even after dark with the windows closed. Rocky slept through the noise, so I guess he can't hear that frequency anymore. Dusty was nervous and stayed close by me and the wine.

Our governor has extended the mask mandate to all the counties in Oregon. We must wear a mask if we go inside any public space. I found this photo online from our local airport.

I'm glad masks are required now, as it seems that does more good than just distancing, and this will take the pressure off the stores, most of whom had been requiring masks for customers and employees, making some customers unhappy. Now they can blame the governor, who can shut down any business that doesn't comply.

What's on my needles: The "Which Came First Shawl," first section (Egg) finished and ready to start the new color.

What's on my sewing machine: They are thinking about making more masks, so we can have several, as we will be using them more now.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Mariah's Play," a story about a play Mariah is in. She explains to Billy how, in the play, diversity helps a group of dolls solve a problem.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows. Not your typical historian romance, nor your typical fantasy novel, but somewhere in between and pretty funny. The great Katherine Kellgren adds much to the story with her expressive narration.

What's in my wine glass: Liberty Road Merlot, which was an appropriate choice for the Fourth of July Weekend.

What's my tip of the week: If you practice "catch-and-release" with spiders, it's easy enough to do. I put a small jar or a small plastic container over the critter, gently slide a card under the container and spider and carefully lift the whole thing so there are no gaps. Out he/she goes to the garden and off to find a new home. The exception, of course, is with spiders I know to be poisonous. With them, I just read them their rights (they have none) and send them off to spider heaven with a quick, merciful blow. Spiders are good in the garden. They keep the destructive bugs down.

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.