Monday, May 6, 2024

An Eye for the Future

I did get the binding on Daphne's quilt, and it went off in the mail as planned.


Here it is with one corner turned over, so you can see the backing.


Here's a closeup of the main (focus) fabric.


Meanwhile, Johan is finding a good use for his quilt. (Every kid needs his own fort!)



I managed to complete a few more rounds on the Oregon Autumn Cardigan. This view is from the side, so you can see the sleeve steek, where the stitches for the sleeve will be picked up. I've just finished the first few rounds of Chart B again am making the decreases at the front neck every three rounds.



Dusty's birthday was Wednesday. We're checking him for food allergies, so he's off wheat and dairy right now, so no birthday cake, but we think he was just as happy with an outing at Alpenglow's off-leash area.


Sandy enjoyed himself, too, and the pups got to socialize with some other dogs. I was careful to stand with my back to the fence when the big dogs came to play.


In lieu of cake, both dogs got a large piece of beef trachea to chew on. Not my taste, but they like it.


Sandy was very relaxed after the outing and curled up in the beanbag with a friend. Rocky used to like the beanbags, but Dusty would rather hang out on the dog bed right in front of the fire, or else on the couch in the living room.


We said goodbye (over a long distance) to Fluffy, our 17-year-old grandcat, who had been in failing health for the last couple of years. She was a sweet kitty and helped raise two of our grandchildren. I'm certain she'll be missed.


It's election time again, and the signs are going up. This one is for our choice in the primary this month.


I opened up Word to use a copy of the last book as a template for the new one. After gasping at the task, I set to work and discovered that I could remember or figure out the procedures that had been so difficult last year. What will the new book be? I'm not talking yet, but I wrote in one of our new characters. Here's what I see on my screen. I'm deleting text and photos from the final version of Our Favorite Verses and pasting in text and photos for the new book as I go. Then I have to change the typeface, text size, and size and location of the photos. It's getting easy. I may work on the following book while it's in my mind.


We're hoping to do some camping this summer. The Portland area relatives want to go to South Dakota. We'll hook up with them to do some joint camping. We need to plan, so we can get reservations. Peter has a professional conference to go to in Denver, so he may fly from there to wherever he can connect with us.


We had some fresh yoghurt and some we had been using for a while. The probiotics may have diminished in the old container, so that's when I use it in cooking. One of my favorite uses is in this dish I invented back when we were volunteering for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City and had potluck meals with the other volunteers. I call it "Spotted Angel" because the black beans give it spots, and it's good for you, so "Angel." I substituted frozen mixed vegetables for the zucchini, because I had them. I let them thaw slightly, then chopped them up: broccoli, cauliflower and two kinds of carrots.



Here's the recipe: 


Spotted Angel
Ingredients
• 1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 Zucchini, sliced 
• 2 C Cooked Brown Rice
• 1 C shredded Mexican cheese combo or other cheese, divided
• 1 box firm Silken Tofu (can substitute 6 eggs for tofu, so 8 total)
• 1 t. Salt
• 1/2 t. Pepper
• 1 C Yoghurt
• 2 Eggs

Directions

Spray 8" X 12" X 2" (roughly) baking pan with cooking spray or grease with oil or butter.

Spread rice across the bottom of the pan. Add beans, onion, zucchini and half of the cheese over the top.

Mix remaining ingredients except the extra cheese in blender or in a bowl using an egg beater. Pour into pan.

Top with remaining cheese.

Bake in 350°F until slightly browned on top, 30-40 min.

Makes 6 servings

Variations:
Replace cooked rice with equivalent amount of cooked potatoes.
Vary type of cheese. I like to add 1/2 t nutmeg when using mozzarella.
Other types of quick-cooking vegetables may be substituted for zucchini, or cooked vegetables that take longer, like carrots. Frozen vegetables can be thawed and added without cooking.
Any kind of bean will work, but dark beans show up better.
Small amounts of leftover cooked meat or vegetables may be added.
Extra firm or soft Silken Tofu will also work.

Put all the cheese in with the vegetables and top with bread crumbs sprinkled with paprika.

My right eye had been bothering me, so I had a look in the mirror. It had a bulge on the eyeball in the corner closest to my nose. I went to urgent care to have someone look at it. The PA said it was a conjunctival cyst and I should see an ophthalmologist, so I set that up. The doctor said it should be removed, so that will happen this afternoon. It's considered a minor procedure. I hope so! It doesn't affect my vision at all.

My hearing aids haven't been working as well as I had hoped. Then, a few days ago, they wouldn't pair with the app. I was able to pop in at Hear USA and get them reconnected. I found out there that a lot of people had had the same problem. I knew from trying to delete the app and reinstall that there had been an update a few days before. That was probably why. It's fixed now, and I have an appointment to reevaluate how my aids are set up.

If you can't see and can't hear, you might as well throw in the towel.


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: Waiting for what comes next.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In another reedited story from The Doll's Storybook, "On the Wing," which came out in August, 2019, the dolls find out how to tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly and how ugly-looking worms can turn into creatures that can fly.


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. Not much progress with either this week.

What's in my wine glass: Colossal Reserva Casa Santos Lima. A nice red wine.

What's my tip of the week: If you're making a steeked stranded-colorwork cardigan and have a knot in your yarn or run out in the middle of a round, you can usually just find a long float (the loose yarn in the back of your work) of that color and tie it together there. Otherwise, adding a new color at the front steek or the armhole/sleeve steek is easy, and you have nothing to weave in at the end, because it will all be cut off.

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 DayKeeping PetsBack to School, Victor the VultureThe Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.
The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green GreatcoatThe 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 hereThe three stories in Emil are Best BudsGetting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
The three stories in Mariah are Being LittleBesties, 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.

<a class="blsdk-follow" href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/highfiber-7365001" target="_blank" data-blsdk-type="button" data-blsdk-counter="false">Follow</a><script>(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s);js.id = id;js.src = "https://www.bloglovin.com/widget/js/loader.js?v=1";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, "script", "bloglovin-sdk"))</script>

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7365001/?claim=kkvctsdtf4n">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>  

No comments:

Post a Comment