Cover Problems

I'm continuing to make progress on the whole-cloth quilt. I'm getting really close to the swag pattern on this side, as you might be able to see.

The Which Came First Shawl is still waiting to be blocked. Why didn't I get it done, you might ask? Well, I need to clean up the table where I put the blocking mats, for one thing, and that didn't happen because of more problems with my end of the book production. I had the cover to the book finished (I thought) and it came back with some problems. It all worked out in the end, and the sample copy of the book is in the works.

The problem was with the logo for St. Jude's. I had asked for permission to use the logo, and I thought I was told it was OK. However, the resolution wasn't good on the copy of the logo I was able to download, so I had to go back to St. Jude to ask for a better copy. That's when I found out that I couldn't use the logo after all. Either I misunderstood or the person I talked to told me the wrong thing. I can't mention St. Jude in the book at all. However, I can say that the proceeds from the book will to go an organization that provides research and treatment for pediatric cancer, and it will. I removed the logo and the description of what St. Jude does and replaced it with a summary of how The Doll's Storybook got started and a group photo of the dolls. It should still be ready before Christmas. It was a good thing the publisher held things up with the resolution problem.

I still have nearly two weeks to work on The Big Send. We (all the people nationally working on the project) blew through our goal of 10M letters by the end of the week, so the "powers that be" upped it to 15M. We now have another 5M letters to write in two weeks. This should be possible because more people have joined the team. I stamped most of the letters I had finished already and ordered more stamps on Saturday.

The letters still in the box (with rubber bands around them) still need stamps. I have 400 done and am going to try to do 100 more before time to mail them, October 17th.

I had to have something to knit while on calls with family and others when I couldn't be writing letters, so I made two more dishcloths. I've been using the yarn left over from the dish mat I made a few weeks ago. I had wound off half of the yarn so I could knit with two strands. Then I used single strands to knit the dishcloths. I ran out of the yarn from the cone when I was about three-fourths of the way through the last dishcloth, so I had to join the remainder of the yarn from the ball I had wound off. Since it's cotton yarn and the dishcloth is just for me, I decided to just tie a square knot. I think I might get a coaster out of the tiny amount that's left. In the photo, you can see where I added the leftover yarn.

We had to pick up Rocky's medication during the week, so we all went along for the ride. We stopped off at the park on the way back, and the pups had some play time.

When Dusty was suitably tired, someone came with a little dog and was waiting, so we left to let them have the little-dog park to themselves. It's nice to be able to get out again, now that the smoke is gone. We've started walking in the neighborhood, again, too.

Daphne and Zachary had another dance performance outdoors. The videos were fun to watch. They are both getting to be very good dancers.

They have become used to doing their classes online with minimal supervision from parents. That's good, because the parents have their hands full with college students, some of whom contracted the virus early in the semester and have gotten behind in their work. They're mostly in an age group not always willing to be responsible.

We've been eating some of the last of the vegetables from the garden. This stir-fry was a mixture of our zucchini and chard, and purchased vegetables with Quorn "Meatless Pieces," which is made from mushrooms.

We've also still had grape tomatoes and some yellow pear tomatoes. It's getting colder now, so I expect the garden will be done soon. Before that happens, though, we will enjoy what we can get from it.

Another virtual choir performance has come and gone. This year's annual "Blessing of the Animals" had to be virtual, so we sang "O God, Your Creatures Fill the Earth" while photos of people with their pets and other animals showed on the screen. Our photo with the pups was in my blog last week, so I won't show it again.

The new doll is expected this week, and she will be introduced next week in person, assuming she arrives safely in time. As I write this, she has already gone through Customs and Immigration (!) in Los Angeles, so the rest is just catching the right flights. That will give me something to look forward to.

What's on my needles: The Which Came First Shawl is still waiting for blocking. Still working on dish cloths.

What's on my sewing machine: Still waiting for costumes. I hope to get on it this week.

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

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Interview. Mariah interviews Jolena and asks some interesting questions. Some of the answers might surprise you.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I've still just been listening to music.

What's in my wine glass: Radford Dale Syrah 2017. Nice, but not exciting.

What's my tip of the week: Halloween is coming up. Children should know that regular Halloween masks are not adequate protection. Our Oregon Health Authority has posted this recommendation, and I see that there are some masks that are suitable AND scary.

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.

Taking a Breath

You may remember our Air Quality Index reading last week of 525 (September 12), which was "Hazardous." By Wednesday, we were down to 264. 

As I write this Sunday evening, it's 46, which is "Good."

We kept the pots of water and the air purifiers going all week, including during our anniversary dinner on Tuesday. We had grilled salmon (cooked on the outdoor BBQ by DH wearing his N95 mask) with air fries, salad and aparagus. We had a nice dry white wine in our special glasses that say "50th Wedding Anniversary," even though it is now 55 years.

By Saturday morning our AQI was down in the "Good" range, thanks to some rain, but then started back up to "Moderate." I think we will be smelling the smoke for some time.

The fires seem to be under control now. I hope so, anyway. The fires have brought great cost, however. Some towns in Oregon have been completely wiped out, including a town not too far away named "Phoenix." I can only hope that the town lives up to its namesake and rises from the ashes, along with the other towns in the surrounding areas. You may remember our visit to Belnap Hot Springs the week before Memorial Day. Much of the forest in that area has burned in a separate fire. I'm glad we were able to enjoy it while it was still there. The facility was left intact the last I checked, but they were closed due to the smoke and closed access roads.

A good part of this week was spent on trying to get the arrangements for the book settled. I was finally able to talk with Beverly at St. Jude's Fundraising Department, and, based on her directions, set up a fundraising page on their website. I have a tentative start date of December 1st, but that may change if I don't have the books in time. There's still a lot to do. Here's a look at the tentative front cover.

There will be three stories from the story blog, all starring Mariah. I've had the layout done for some time, but when I spoke with the publisher, I learned that I had it in the wrong format, so I had to redo it. (I won't bother you with the details.) I should have spoken with them first, but if there's another book, which I hope, it will be easier to do. I will keep the amount each book cost me, and  then all the rest of the money received from the sale of the books will go to St. Jude. 

I picked Mariah as my subject due to the attention given to the Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. I felt that children needed, and the public is open to, looking at race relations in a positive way. I hope the book will help in some small way.

In that same vein, this week's story was about Mariah's disappointment over a friend's assurances that she was "color-blind" when it came to Mariah, in Color-blind. The story goes into explaining what real color-blindness is, but then Charlotte and Mariah talk about why it bothers Mariah and what her friend might have been trying to say.

The garden continues to produce. Our grape tomatoes are really going to town. Temperatures are dropping, though, so it's not going to be long before our garden is done.

I'm continuing to write letters. I'm up to 300 letters and had to get approval to download more. I had to send this photo.

We've been having a "party" every Saturday to write letters, safely done by way of Zoom. We needed four "pages" of participants, with one person left over for a fifth page, because we had 101 participants. We're up to 7.06 million letters written as of Saturday evening, asking people to vote and giving them the information for how to find out how to vote in their individual precinct.

Today, we will be writing letters with the cast of Hamilton. I don't know if there are still slots available to participate, but if so, you can sign up here. We aren't asking voters to vote for any particular candidates, just to vote. 

The Oregon grandchildren, Johan and Soren, started school on Monday.

Their parents survived the first week of school. 'Nuff said.

In other grandchild news, Miss Daphne has become a movie producer, producing her first movie.  Well, she produced the trailer for it. We will have to wait for the actual movie. Zachary was an assistant producer/director.

Daphne and Zachary had outdoor dance performances on Saturday. They were really happy to be performing again.

Saturday was DH's 79th birthday. I had ordered him a new, smaller Aerogarden for his present, but had not yet received notice that it had shipped. I was planning to call them today to find out about it, but after DH opened his "coupon" telling him what his present was, the FedEx driver dropped his present on our front porch. He didn't get to unwrap a package with pretty paper, but he did get his present on his birthday.

We felt bereaved at the loss of the amazing Ruth Bader Ginsberg. According to Jewish tradition, a person who dies on Rosh Hashanah is called a tzaddik, a righteous person. A Jewish teaching says those who die just before the Jewish new year are the ones God has held back until the last moment because they were needed most and were the most righteous. I have admired her for years. I'm sure she will inspire future generations as well.

Sunday we went for a walk with the pups, since the air quality was so much better. The trail was dirtier than usual, perhaps because of the ash from the fires. We had a good time though.

I'm praying for all the fires to be out, and for all those made homeless to be restored to proper and comfortable housing without becoming infected. I'm feeling very lucky.

I've continued to work on the whole-cloth quilt each day. I finished a couple more rows of the "Which Came First Shawl" during church (shhhhh!) and while we Zoomed with the kids. I will be able to finish it quickly whenever I have time to work on it again.

What's on my needles: Still the Which Came First Shawl. A few more rows done. Also a dish cloth with the leftovers. I need to have something mindless handy to take when I have to go out.

What's on my sewing machine: Waiting for Halloween costumes for the dolls, now at the idea stages.

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

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Color-blind.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: No change from last week. I can't listen to audiobooks and write letters, so just music.

What's in my wine glass: Baywood Cellars Classic White. I don't usually like white wines except for very dry Gewürztraminers or Rieslings. Chardonnays and Chablis are not to my taste in most cases, but I really liked this one. We had some for our anniversary.

What's my tip of the week: You can save water when you wash smaller dishes by filling a bowl or pot that needs washing with hot water and dish soap, rather than filling the sink.

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.