HighFiber: May 2024

Monday, May 27, 2024

Renovations

I have several iPhone totes. They are all worn out now, and two would have to have the lining replaced to be able to get my current phone inside, even if I fixed the strap. So I made a new one from scratch using this pattern.

I had a nice piece of fabric left from Zachary's quilt that had some green in it, so I made the lining out of that. Here's a photo taken during the knitting.

I've needle-felted the logo on the past ones, but that sometimes wears off in time, so this time I cut the pieces out of thick interfacing. A piece of felt should work, too, but I used what I had.

I managed to get a few rounds done on the Oregon Autumn Cardigan this week. I now have only three decrease rounds to go before the V-neck will be finished. (Decreases are every third round, so nine rounds to go.)

We've been getting the r·pod ready for summer use. Saturday we got the first shelf put up. We bought 6' wire shelves from Lowe's and tension rods from Walmart that will accommodate a 6' length. The plan was to put them just above the cornices over the windows. However, one window is higher up than the other one, so we think we will need some kind of support for the two ends over the lower one.

Charlie had to measure from the ceiling to get them level. We could have used a level tool if our trailer pad were actually level.

We installed the shelf upside down on purpose. That way, we have a little rail along the front of the shelf.

I think Joann has some more of these plastic boxes. They came in sets of three, I think. This one is the perfect size. We plan to install another shelf over the bed. We will have the same problem with one end, but the windows are closer to the same level.

The pups went to the groomer this week. They look beautiful. Sandy is actually bigger than Dusty, but he hasn't gained any weight in two weeks, so he may not be growing anymore.

Charlie thought Sandy was getting fat, but I don't think so. His hair grows faster than Dusty's so by the time they go to the groomer he does look a little plump. Not afterwards, though.

The pups are always tired when they get home from the groomer. Sandy takes up Rocky's old spot in one of the beanbags in the family room. Cozy!

When I got home from choir Wednesday evening, I noticed the beautiful sunset. I had to get a photo

We had another Madroña Pop-up meeting on Tuesday. We grilled a piece of salmon out on the back deck and roasted some cabbage. I found a new recipe and cut it in half. It was tasty (see below). I also made some Dutch Oven Bread.

Besides all that, I've been reading through the stories for the new book, making corrections, and taking photos for the new story that came out on Friday, as well as a few for the new book, because I wanted to incorporate the new character into it. I'm planning to have a "Reader's Challenge" at the end of each story, so I have to make those up, too.

On this Memorial Day 2024, let's not forget those who gave their lives in our fight against Fascism.

If you don't know what Fascism really is, this, from Brittanica (the encyclopedia), about sums it up: "Although fascist parties and movements differed significantly from one another, they had many characteristics in common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the rule of elites, and the desire to create a Volksgemeinschaft (German: “people’s community”), in which individual interests would be subordinated to the good of the nation." In the lead-up to WWII, minority groups were used as scapegoats, and hatred of them was kindled.

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 or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems 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 or Classic Tales Retold, 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 working on the Oregon Cardigan.

What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows, not warped, but dusted, at least.

What's on my sewing machine: I used the Featherweight to make the lining for the new iPhone tote, but I need to put it away.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Remember the little girl Pam lives with, the one who has diabetes and wears a patch that gives her insulin when she needs it? She and her mother made one for Pam, who shows it off to her friends in The Patch.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to After Death by Dean Koontz. Also still reading Elfen Königin by Holly Black, translated from English. Didn't get very far with either this week.

What's in my wine glass: Sangiovese Negroamaro 2020 from Dominic Hentall. Pretty good.

What's my tip of the week: Cabbage is inexpensive and nutritious. It's great when you're feeding only two people, because it will store in the fridge for weeks if you don't cut it but just peel off the amount you need. I found this new (to us) recipe for roasted cabbage, and it turned out great.

Screen shot from the Recipe Box app.

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

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook is available from the BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook 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. 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, May 20, 2024

Adventures in Phishing!

We had a major phishing attack last Monday. They somehow had the PayPal app pop up to tell me someone was requesting money. If I didn’t recognize the request to call, I should call this number. I didn’t completely trust it, so I logged on to the Website. There I saw the same message, and now there was a second request as well. The website also had the same number, so it must be legitimate, right? (This is a screen shot of the notice from the website.)

It looked as if they had paid the first one. I don’t know how they did it, but the website was really the criminals. Either they made my computer navigate to a phony website or they hacked into PayPal and put this up. We called.

The person on the phone had an accent...Asian, I would guess, but I can't be any more specific, because I can't tell the difference well enough. I could hear lots of voices in the background, so it was some kind of call center. Typical, we thought, for a call center for a big company. They claimed they wanted to give us a refund and had us download an app that would facilitate this. Partway through the interaction with the thieves, I started to get suspicious and began passing notes to Charlie. They pretended that Charlie put in the wrong amount of the refund, and instead of the $698.99, it went to $10,000. The person got upset and wanted us to give them back the balance. To do that, we would have to buy gift cards. Both of us would have to go to a bunch of different stores and get the maximum amount allowable for a gift card for each. BIG RED FLAG! While Charlie was talking with the thief, I went into the other room and called the trusted number I had used before for PayPal, using his phone, because he was still on mine.

PayPal had the same requests for money from my account, only by then there were 10 more. The representative told me not to get the gift cards. That isn't how they do business.

After we hung up with the thieves, we called both of our credit unions. The $10,000 we saw appearing in Charlie's checking account had come from our line of credit. They transferred it back and told us the crooks would have had it out within minutes. We kept getting calls from 402-935-7733, ten during the afternoon and several the next day. I have YouMail screen my calls, and the phone only rings if the number is in my contacts. Sometimes the YouMail app has additional information, or the person calling leaves a voicemail, so I went and looked. Somehow, the number had identified itself as PayPal, but it wasn't, because I called MY number for PayPal and asked them if that was one of their numbers. I marked it as spam in YouMail with a note that it was NOT PayPal but phishing. This will go into their system, so all of YouMail's customers should be protected, at least until the scammers get a new number. (I have the free version of the app, but you can pay for more features.)

After we got off the phone with our banks, I called Apple to see if they could check my computer remotely. They could and did. They found the software involved and we got it deleted. They checked the whole laptop in the places where something could be hiding. All should be good. Next, we had to deal with more fallout from our bank accounts. We have direct deposit for our Social Security checks, and we had to close our checking accounts. That required contacting Social Security to get the switch made. I couldn't get into my online account, so I had to call. The first agent said we needed more information from my bank, so I had to call the bank and then try again. Each time I was on hold for close to an hour.

The dogs go to the groomer tomorrow, and we have to pay with a check, but my bank said the checks hadn't been mailed yet. I was afraid we were going to have to cancel, but we have an account with a local credit union that has a small amount of money in it. We decided I could write the check on that account and then replace the money when my new checks come.

I'm still working on the new book, but I didn't get much done on it this week. On top of that, I had no knitting time.

The Wisconsin kids had their dance recital on Sunday. Here's Zachary:

Here's Daphne and Zachary hamming it up together.

Meanwhile, Johan is enjoying his new role as baseball player.

We had to walk the dogs, but the walks were short due to the phishing cleanup.

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

What's on my needles: Still working on the Oregon Cardigan.

What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows, not warped, but dusted, at least.

What's on my sewing machine: Put away for now.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: I had planned on a new story this week, but that didn't happen. This is another reedited story: Billy feels bad because he didn't help a classmate who wanted to copy his answers. Now he wonders why he was reluctant to help. Veronika helps him see why what he did was right and how he can help that doll better in the future in Getting the Answers.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening paused for After Death by Dean Koontz. Also for Elfen Königin by Holly Black, translated from English. Didn't get any reading or listening in this week.

What's in my wine glass: San Cisalto Syrah Terre Siciliane, 2022. Pairs nicely with chewable Vitamin C.

What's my tip of the week: Have a trusted phone number you can type in if you need to do business with an organization where money is involved. If something comes up, use that number. Don't trust the number on the website.

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

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

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.

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Monday, May 13, 2024

Coming Together

A lot of things were going on this week, but I still managed to get a few rounds of knitting in. It doesn't look much different from last week, but I thought you might like to see how the front steek degreases are coming along.

It's a little messy right in the middle of the steek, because I'm changing colors there every few rounds, but you should be able to see how the motifs are bending in toward the steek. When the steek is cut, the motifs will straighten out and it will produce a V-neck.

We had another Madroña Pop-up meeting (actually a party) this week. Remember the mushroom soup I made a couple of weeks ago? Almost everyone made the soup this week. We compared the wines we paired with the soup, and talked about how the wine affected the taste of the soup.

I finished adding the stories to the new book, then went through and changed all the quotation marks from the straight type to the curly or smart type. I had to do the same thing with the apostrophes. I hope I got them all. My editors will find them if there are any left. I still need to go through the knitted items that show up in the stories and get the links to the patterns for them.

The weather cleared up about midweek, so we walked Thursday through the woods and the neighborhood around the "Senior Center," Friday we did the Larkspur Trail and on Saturday we went to Good Dog Trail, so the pups could have some off-leash time.

They knew where we were going and cried (with joy) the whole way, especially Dusty.

There were lots of good smells, at least in their opinion; I couldn't tell.

By the time we made it down to the Deschutes River for a drink, we were regretting not bringing water along. The river proved the dogs with plenty of water, though.

After I took those photos, I wanted to restart the Walk for a Dog app, but I just got this screen:

I hadn't put in my passcode. It wasn't an emergency, but I was stuck for about 15 minutes of the hike not knowing whether the app was working or not. I'm going to have to call Apple and see what happened in case it happens again. When I got it going again, I saw that there was a gap in the record of the hike, so it turned out to be more than 3 miles, but probably not much.

The dogs were relaxed after we got home. That's always nice.

We got our Ballots out of our mailbox on Tuesday. They could have been there for a couple of days, because we usually get our mail on our way back from our walks, so it took a special trip. I already knew how I was going to vote on several candidates and issues, so that was easy. I've been filling it in as I research the other items left on my ballot. I only have two to go.

I wrote a letter to the editor of the Bend Bulletin this week in support of my preferred candidate for U.S. District Representative. My topic was the poll I was sucked into responding to because it seemed like a regular poll, not a request for money. The candidate posted it on her Facebook Page.

We went out to look at the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), but we had too much ambient light. I took several photos anyway, with timed exposure and without. They didn't show anything, just night sky. The next day, I tried adjusting the exposure and saturation and ended up with something you can barely see.

This one showed a little more. I don't know if it shows up on your screen, but I can see it.

Johan is on a baseball team now. They took some great photos. I think this looks like the baseball cards we used to get with a thin slab of bubble gum. Remember those?

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

What's on my needles: Still working on the Oregon Cardigan.

What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows, not warped, but dusted, at least.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting for the next project.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The dolls are doing their homework, and Jolena asks Mariah for help to study for a spelling test in The Spelling Test, this reedited story from The Doll's Storybook, which came out in August, 2019.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to After Death by Dean Koontz. Also still reading Elfen Königin by Holly Black, translated from English.

What's in my wine glass: Madroña's El Tinto again. A case of it arrived just as we were getting ready for the Pop-up party.

What's my tip of the week: Coffee will stain the carafe if it's left to dry. I pour the coffee into a bottle with a lid (a jar would work) and store the coffee in the fridge when it cools off. If I rinse the carafe right away, it doesn't need washing as often.

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

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

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.

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