Holy Week Adventures

It was a busy week for the pups. Dusty had to get his teeth cleaned on Wednesday, and a couple of benign lumps removed from the back of his neck and from between the toes on his left front foot while they had him under. He wasn't going to be able to have a bath for a while after the surgery, so we moved his grooming appointment to Tuesday. The surgery went seamlessly, and the lump that was between his toes was sent off for analysis to make sure they got it all. He was so good during it all, they gave him a Certificate of Bravery.

We took the cone off for him to be able to eat. We left it off because he was mostly not bothering with his foot. He can't reach the incision on the back of his neck.

Dusty went back to most of his usual activities, like lying in the sun on the dining room floor. Sandy joined him, in solidarity.

The pups like to hang out on the couch when nothing much is going on.

Sandy's grooming appointment was on Friday. Now both dogs are looking nice.

Friday was pretty busy. After dropping off Sandy at the groomer's, I stopped at the grocery store and then went on to Trinity Episcopal Church for the noon Good Friday Service. Members of the choir were encouraged to attend, even though we weren't singing officially. I think there were four of us there. I got this photo before the service, when not too many people had arrived. I love the stained-glass windows and the architecture of the church. 

The pews filled up when it was almost time for the service. I went back for the 6:00 PM service because the choir was singing for that one. It was a longer service because there was more music. Saturday we had the Easter Vigil service. It was even longer with lots of music. I didn't get home until after 10:00 PM and had to get up at 5:30 AM to be at the church again by 7:15 AM to go over music for the 8:00 AM Easter service. We weren't done yet! We moved over to St. Helen's Hall for the 10:00 AM service, because more people were expected than would fit in the much smaller Trinity Church. The Hall was packed, and they even opened the balcony. The view from the balcony is somewhat restricted, so they projected a better view on the wall of the sanctuary. We sang the same pieces, and I think we did better, having practiced it one more time at the early service. We had some additional singers for both services. They sat with the congregation and then came up to sing the anthem with us.

If you want to hear us sing our anthem, you can watch it here. It's at about 51:30.

Sunday afternoon, I crashed on the bed and took a long nap.

The Summer Sorrel top is coming along. When I got to the end of the first chart, I put half of the stitches on another circular needle, so I could try it on. I think it's going to be OK.

Here's a look at the progress so far:

Although it was a busy week, I managed to rework some stories that might go into the new book.

I managed to find time to make bread on Saturday.

I'm going back to Wisconsin later this month, so when I cook for supper, I put one or two servings of whatever it is in the freezer for Charlie to have while I'm gone. Anything left over after I get back can be used when we go camping.

I have some more medical adventures coming up this week.

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, BlueSky or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon or B&N and search for Billy: Stories 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, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses, More Classic Tales Retold or Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, 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: Making progress on the Summer Sorrel Tee.

What's on my iPhone: Just finished The Strange Case  of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss on the AudiobooksNow app. Picking out a new book to listen to.

What's on my sewing machine: Put away until the next project.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The story for Friday was Mandy, Why Do Stars Twinkle. Emil and Mariah listen to Charlotte playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and wonder why stars twinkle. They look for Mandy to get some answers.

What's my tip of the week: I use small amounts lime juice (about 2 tablespoons or the juice of one lime) in some of my recipes, so I like to keep it on hand, but I don't like the kind that comes with preservatives. I've found bottled lime juice that is only juice. It will only keep for 60 days after opening the bottle, so I pour 2 tablespoons in each compartment of an ice cube tray, freeze the juice and then pop the cubes into a plastic bag for storage in the freezer.

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

The stories in Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. 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.

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook 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, only 8%, because the vendor gets a cut. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your local library to order the books.

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>   

Peace to All

Peace on Earth. I ask for this from Santa every year. It doesn’t hurt to try.

This photo was taken from moon orbit by crew of Apollo 8, Christmas Eve, 1968. I was a young mother at the time, and I remember it well. This is worth a read/listen.

Crystal Stars quilt (aka "Ocular Migraine) is bound and in use. Here it is at night, laid out across the bed to show off the borders:

Here it is in the daytime.

I copied the pattern from “Sumptuous” from Connecting Threads, which was only available as a kit, with colors that didn’t work for me but with a pattern that was so attractive. Most of the fabrics were from Connecting Threads, although the border fabric, backing and binding came from some local quilt shops, and some of the block fabrics came from my stash. I eliminated a lot of the seams by making a star block and an alternate block, described in my blog post from September 2014. It was so nice to have it quilted and bound in time to decorate the bed for Christmas.

Nekkid Dolly has been making me feel guilty, so I CO a new outfit for her I’m calling “Dolly Does Dinner.” It’s sort of a going out outfit or party dress. I’m using Stroll Tonal in “Blue Yonder.” This is the project that inspired me.

Here’s what I had as of Friday: 

The outfit will go to Miss Daphne for her birthday in May for Dolly's counterpart, who arrived safely in Wisconsin the day after the clothes) to wear. Can you believe Miss Daphne will be six? I’m so glad most of my grandchildren weren’t born in November, December or January! Between November 21 and January 10, we have birthdays for DS2, DS1, mine, DD, DSIL and DGD1. As a day-after-Christmas baby, I appreciate how kids (even adult kids) feel about merry-Christmas-happy-birthday presents, so I don’t do it. Each receives a special day, if I can manage.

This time of year, the pups really enjoy a cuddle together after a walk in the snow (we’ve had lots) and a nice lunch.

Thursday wasn’t good. DDIL1 had a heart attack (her second) and we learned she needed bypass surgery. Not long after we found out about that, DH slid off the road and into a snowbank. It took us (and a friendly young woman who stopped with another shovel to help) 45 minutes to get the car out. The irony: He was on his way to get an estimate of damage to his car from snow and ice thrown onto the hood from a snowplow going over the overpass he was driving under. It’s not all bad, though; the bypass surgery Friday morning went well, she has beat all the estimates of a timeline for milestones, and DDIL will probably be home in time for Christmas, with DS1 taking leave to look after her. And the car goes in next week to be fixed.

But winter still sucks.

Friday night was the last concert of Park City Singers. We were so squished, some of us didn’t have any place to hold our music. I gave up and just had a 3 X 5 card with the order of the pieces. This photo was from the Sunday performance, a week ago, held at my church.

We had a party after the Friday performance, which was a fun chance to get to know people I had only talked with in passing during practice. One young (50-ish) man in the choir guessed my age as 60-ish. I would have kissed him, but DH was standing right there. It’s the hair. The grey is mostly where it doesn’t show.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate. By the time I post my next blog, I will be one year older, and that’s only next week.

I’m feeling grateful for all the blessings I have in my life, especially these guys:

What's on my needles:  Still the Trickle Socks and now the “Dolly Does Dinner” outfit for Dolly.

What's on my Featherweight: Still waiting on the last two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt. More doll clothes coming

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to Christmas and holiday music. Still reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app.

What's in my wine glass: Rex Goliath Shiraz. (Wonder what it’s like to be awakened by a 47-lb. rooster.)

What's my tip of the week: Enjoy life!

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 were harmed during the production of this blog post.