Daily Just Going- January 31st

 The big full sized one.  I just wanted it here.  The Just Going in the title- Grace buried another goat on her Hill yesterday (Windthread.typepad). How Life and Death are Just Going these days.  You can see upper left corner that it took me a few days to decide to draw and color each day's square with some reminder of how the day was. Like a diary.  The post it notes-  reminders- but very old ones no longer in-use or useable- I should throw them away. Old Classes.

Today is already filled in with a Full Moon casting a bright "shadow" over the snow.  The sky dark and star filled. I was still awake when Sunday had begun. And I went back to the desk to remind myself of the Time spent looking up thru the kitchen skylight at the Moon.

I have been "productive".  Shower. Two loads of Wash.  Dry. Folded.  Put Away.  While waiting I scrubbed the toilet.  Wrote two full pages in the notebook.  Plucked my eyebrows.  Old Lady Wild Hairs.

Snow in a massive amount (hype usually) is coming late Monday into Tuesday.  So, not the shovel.  The snowblower.  My shopping day will be fine.  We ordered Chinese yesterday.  I watched Hallmark's Signed Sealed and Delivered.  Everyone married or engaged.  So, all loose ends tied up nicely. Goodbye.

I watched Nightly News on NBC.  Will watch again.  Weekdays.  It was good coverage without commentary.  I am getting tired of commentary.  Let me decide for myself what I think.  And, anything that kicks butt with Hedge Funds? Go for it, daytraders.  Retirement money should be in safer hands anyway.

I guess I mentioned the vaccine number we have to call for an appointment has been disconnected. The Sunday paper had the number in it's article.  Saying we should call.  I am sending an email. Let the reporter know- there is no number to call.  We aren't getting a shot. It's Maine.  The Forgotten State.

Recipe for Rum Balls in paper.  Like the ones I made to take to work.  When I worked.  Not baked so the rum was still rum.  The reporter in the newspaper said they loved them when  a co-worker brought them to work-  the woman who made them was killed instantly with her husband-- just recently.  They had stopped for a traffic slow down.  Next car didn't stop.  Her Rum Balls had an addition of cocoa.  I will make them. Think of her even though I never knew her.  Before she died. Just after.

Daily Drawing- January 30th

 My desktop calendar.  Smooth slick surface.  Easy to draw on.  Easy to color.  I couldn't manage to get the whole of it.  Mask making day up in the right top box. Rain the day after the Orange. My haircut on the 21st.  The Nebra Sky Disc on the 30th.  A bread recipe on the 23rd in grams. So I can weigh everything on my scale.  Baking goes much smoother if everything gets weighed.

Finished Louise Penny's All the Devils Are Here.  I decided as I finished the book- to start ordering all of the older ones from the beginning.  Read them again. I had to wait a long time until it was my turn to check out this book.  Well worth the wait.  

Once, in the strange shop in my downtown area- I found sandalwood.  The scent Gamache wears.  I wanted to know what he smelled like.  I can well imagine his clothing having lived in Germany/traveled in Europe.  Men there were very very well dressed.  I dressed my husband accordingly.  Once back in America- a woman told me that she often stared at my husband during meetings and loved his shoes and socks- his clothing. When I had a Pinterest account- it was mens fashion- European.  So these books.  The men in them.  And often their clothing is detailed. Oh and also there are vicious murders.

I only have one book left on my table.  And I need to decide where I am going in February.  What I am going to read.  Homicide. Romance. or Mystery. 

Right now I am reading- If You Can Doodle- You Can Paint.  It might need another trip into the Attic for some art supplies.  I worked on pencil doodles in my sketchbook after finishing with Gamache.  Got my fingers quite dirty as I had an especially soft lead in one of them.  A soft black.  Really nice.  So, I am thinking I will be drawing instead of sewing in February.  And possibly making doodles while watching Hallmark. And I have Valentine's to make.  I have envelopes but no cards. And Valentine Stamps to buy at the post office.----a nice way to try and "feel" normal.

If it's Meatballs, DebL---it needs to wait till Monday which is shopping day.  My only "out in public" day. Great idea.  Lots of them.  So- today- Chinese Takeout, I think. (husband will enjoy hot and sour soup)  Yesterday was Pancakes (for me).  Not the best of meal choices but........I did eat my orange. 

Do you think Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup is out of business?  I know there was talk of removing her picture from the label.  But then the name would have to go as well.  I had to buy Hungry Jack.  Which sounds even worse.

Daily Notes- January 29th

 My cup.  Refilled many many times each day.  Morning- coffee.  Later- tea.  I always have one cup that I use until it breaks.  I have loved them all and mourn their loss.  I like a large cup.  I like a good open handle.  I like the cup to hold 10 ounces or more.  Most have had a floral design.  And they absolutely CAN NOT be made in China.  The Chinese allow heavy metals to go into their glazes.  Heavy metals are very toxic when heated.  Like if a cup is filled with boiling water or put into the microwave to heat up.  Heavy metals can possibly cause cancer.

Try and find dishes or cups that aren't made in China.  Try.  

Which is why I look for my mugs at Goodwill.  Older stuff- better odds it won't say China on the bottom. But that ship has sailed.  Daughter and I sort thru everything at Goodwill and so much says China.  We refuse to buy any clothing etc with a China label. And it's hard to find clothing that isn't labeled Vietnam. But everyone is having their clothing lines produced in Vietnam.

When I worked that One Season at LLBean- their stuff comes from many countries- I got a very very bad rash on my face from rubbing my hands- which had touched clothing for 8 hours- across my eyes. My eyes were getting involved and the rash was red and swollen all the time.  I was on steroids for a month or more..  8 pills the first five days.  I stopped working there and stopped buying new Bean clothing there.  I buy very old stuff at Goodwill (the old size tags are very different). I learned later it's the weed killer they spray where they grow fiber crops.  It's also insecticide they spray on the clothing itself to keep bugs and insects out the shipping boxes.

Christmas scarf around my neck.  Cashmink made in Germany ( I checked the tag).  Grey, charcoal, white and red plaid.  Goes with everything. Grey is the primary color.  Very nice.  Soft.  Doesn't itch.  Warm.   It's amazing that something around your neck can make you feel warmer than your sweater alone.  But it does.

I am doing an inventory of the fridge.  See what needs to be used this weekend.  Husband has been doing an excellent job eating the leftovers.  He might actually appreciate a fresh pot of chicken soup.  Me?  I am wanting pasta.  But need to think about what sort of sauce to make for it. Meatless.

Washing Machine Pages and might need to wear my Winter coat while watching the machine today. The outside air comes inside thru the dryer vent. Showers are very chilly as well in January and February. I said a few days ago I was going to wash clothes- I never did.   But running out of underwear.

Daily Shoveling- January 28th

 We'll get to the beaded bell in a second.  

Thank you Paula for mentioning the Liquid Thread in the comments of yesterday's post- I was wondering why daughter kept texting me regarding going to get me some today. Now I understand.

I went out to get the morning paper and took the snow shovel with me.  Husband isn't a fan of people walking on the unshoveled snow.  So I shoveled my way to the street and back and then walked over to watch the neighbor "zamboni" the small ice rink he built for the twins.  And I was greeted by a very very happy Retriever Puppy.  Who got an energetic ear rub and then promptly began digging a hole.

On my return, I finished off the driveway with my best favorite scoop-y shovel.  The whole thing. And now it's a nice wet black clean driveway and looks very very nice.  Then I made breakfast and read the paper. My oatmeal was delicious.

Now the Bell.  Long ago and far way......... on a sweet dead end street in Florida where five adorable families with children either young enough for their kids to play with or old enough to babysit.  One evening two of the neighbors and I came to my house- my husband was rarely home- and we made bells.  I wrote down the directions.  I think we also made pipe cleaner rabbits. I found this in the Attic.  With directions. And an extra supply of beads.  It brought back so many memories.  It was on this street, that my marriage actually ended.  I just gave up trying.  Seven years in. Work won.  I lost.

It was where I returned from a family trip to see my parents.  With my brand new first time driver's license (my dad insisted I finally learn).  Which gave me a way to go to the bank in my own car.  Gave me a way to have money, ID, groceries etc. when my husband was too busy at work to come home.  I wanted the children to have a life they deserved. So, I gave up mine or part of mine.  My daughter is reading this and will text- why the hell did you do that???? 

Divorce and child support was not something I could count on in the 1970's (wild times for sure). None of his co-workers paid child support.  Most were divorced.  Some multiple times. We know some of them to this day. ..... and as long I wasn't complaining, my husband didn't really care what I did or how much money I spent. 

Would I, should I, have made different choices?  I don't know.  I never met anyone who made me question my choice.  And that beaded bell brought it all back.  That Attic.  What a pain in the ass it can be.

Daily Babbling- January 27th

 Okay- it's not quite as bad as the cartoon.  I did scrub the sink and kitchen counters. I did eat the daily oranges.  I did make the bed. I did eat a nutritious breakfast. I made the daily ham turkey and grilled cheese sandwiches for husband. I did not do the laundry. I did read an entire book- Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld.  A modern adaption of Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice.  With airplanes, sex and reality tv.  Did I enjoy it?  Yes.  I am not sure which of her other books I should read.  Curtis is a she.

I have two books remaining on the book table.  Then I will need to order more. Suggestions????

I did some actual coloring on my paper desktop calendar this week.  I drew a cartoon image of husband as he has/ had three appointments this week-- so far.  Lungs, Hair and Eyes. Tomorrow is blank as I pasted the cartoon on top to todays' square.  Hopefully something will happen.????

And we have SNOW.  Some light dry snow but still needs cleaning up.  Supposed to snow off and on for next three days.

There is a bright orange puffy jacket on my sewing room chair.  Seems I am going to be patching a small hole where the feathers are escaping.  Oh?.............  I can't see how my fussy sewing machine is going to accomplish that.  In my fertile imagination- I see the two looking at each other with some hissing and spitting coming from the machine.

In "Good News" I was looking for something and found a new Library Books Notebook.  Barely used. So, lots of pages for me to paste the library slips and make notations on the books as to plot and likeablity. I have often remembered there being three or four of them.  I was correct.  I do not know where they came from but the first is dated to my stay with my father a few years before he died.- single digits.. And it has lawyers and others with phone numbers in the first pages -so after he died.

I also found, washed and formed into shape three artist paint brushes that were looking quite unkept.  Very very nice ones.  So it was almost like a shopping trip to the Art Supply. The brushes along with the color sticks- plenty to be happy about. Tomorrow a picture and a story about something else I found in the Attic.

The Daily Orange- January 26th

 No personal photo this morning.  Things here are getting very dull. And it's just Tuesday.

Other People's Houses was actually Book Two.  Characters from the Garden of Small Beginnings started showing up at the children's soccer games. The tall Dutch man.  Good in bed.  Lili is still ambivalent. In Book Two.  I noticed she didn't take him to her sister's wedding in Book Three.

I didn't really enjoy Book Two.

I am having Noosa yogurt and Bran Buds everyday.  Sometimes early and sometimes late.  Strawberry Rhubarb- the 8 ounce container.  I forgot to eat my orange yesterday.  I did have toast after finishing my bowl of oatmeal.  Strawberry Rhubarb jam.  On the toast. A second breakfast.  It happens every so often.

I was asked to label the pencils in the spin around segmented container on husband's coloring table. I made small white paper labels he could attach with clear tape.  Easy to remove if he changed pencils. I have one set of his pencils here on my computer desktop.  Ones he no longer likes.

My computer has early onset memory loss.  Or late onset.  We lost the bookmarks column yesterday and it was only by very very dumb luck (on my part) that it's now back where it has always been. My list of blogs I like to read.  And no hardcopy so- I wouldn't be able to find any of you.  I am taking a photo of the list today.  But I can't see how that will help.  I won't have the code.

I have two loads of wash to do- many washing machine pages to write.  Very cold in the washing machine area.  The dryer vent is open to the 20 degree winds. Sun but still freezing cold. The grass is green. January.  So wrong.  So very very wrong.  

 I am not going to be baking any bread. Photo reminded of the panic for flour and yeast last March.  I baked bread three times.  The first time was the best.  I have raisins and VSOP so I could make Irish Soda Bread with cognac soaked raisins........ nothing Irish in the cabinet. Or just make pancakes.

Daily Mending- January 25th

 

Ah, Blogger.  Let me count the ways you insist on making my life more difficult.  They moved the image icon yet again.  And tricked me into opening an icon that was "trouble". One that refused to close.

Never mind- the oranges made it into the post. Eventually.

The oranges.  A story to be told.  These are Cara Cara.  At the store they were in a perfectly wonderful pyramid shaped arrangement.  But I like to look around and pick out my oranges.  So I took the stack apart until I had seven in the bag. Restored the pile.  And then walked off to my cart and new things to buy.... noticing too late- far too late-- the obsessive orange stacking employee. Seething.  Racing over to restore order to the Cara Cara oranges.  The pyramid.

I moved off quickly to the bagel table and then the Deli.  The Pirate waited on me.  Earrings in his ears. He is the sort of dangerous type who flirts with even old women in huge black wool winter coats.  I usually get the 80 year old man.  Hard of hearing.  So, the Pirate was a lovely change. 

I also took time to notice that the liquor aisle was really depleted and then that the ice cream replenishing guy had a huge cart of ice cream to put in the freezer cases.  I said you must have to fill the case everyday.  He thought about it and then said- just about.  So Brunswick Maine.  Ice cream and/or liquor shopping capital.  My daughter would suggest mixing the two together.

I am reading book one by Abbi Waxman.  Other People's Houses.  Garden of Small Beginnings is her second I think.  She finds her way in the Garden.  But here in this book- not so much.  I am 57 pages in and confused.  Having to go back to figure out who belongs to whom.  I hope it gets better.  At the end of the Christmas book with three short stories- one by the author of Love Lettering.  A book I loved.  But her short story was terrible.  I gave up before making it to page four.  And I hardly ever give up on a book. 

So...I am diving back into the hot suburban mess that is Other People's Houses and perhaps I will place the assorted carpool children in the proper family eventually.  The spouses all seem distant and bored- all we are missing here is two men interested in each other......but that might be the next surprise in one of the houses.  One spouse always has his laptop open and closes it when a child or wife gets close.  Sigh. 

One thing that stays constant- with this author-- the never ending emptying and filling of the dishwashers in all three of her books.

Daily Puzzling- January 24th

 Two of the "puzzle" boxes husband got for Christmas this year.  Daughter buys them to ''exercise" his mind.  They are for ages 6 to 60+. I didn't have anything else to put up there.

I did NOT exercise MY mind yesterday.  Hallmark had episodes from the beginning of Signed, Sealed, Delivered on and I watched them all- most for the first time.  The first episodes had guest stars of some significance. Carol Burnett visits often enough to have a continuing plot line.  Next Saturday is another all day marathon- And I will have already seen the majority of them.

Today...I have laundry to do-  Maybe yes and maybe no.  

I am rather worried about the "open winter" we are having here in Maine.  Grass in January. Green grass.  It looks like summer out there with freezing temps. Bewildering.

I am already going into my Agitated Turbo Tax State.  I HATE doing the taxes.  HATE. HATE. HATE. And none of this is helped by companies that no longer send out paper copies of tax documents.  They are "so happy" to send me an email that contains the document IF I ASK ( and if it can even be read). And even tell me that I don't actually NEED a paper copy of any supporting documents.  Because...why? Since when? Just make shit up??? Okay.

I am going to read the next story in my book.  Already I know more than I want to know about the woman's clothing and stiletto heels.  And the cupcakes in the box.  Fairy cakes.

Daily Notes- January 23rd

 Difficult to say which of the many parts of yesterday were my favorites.  The dog (puppy) petting or the phone talking.  It was a good day.

My husband lost his slippers- in the house.  We looked and then...he remembered where he had last seen them.  He thinks all of his B12 vitamins might be having some results.  That would be nice.

I pinned the cloth from yesterday onto the wall.  Across from the dining table.  I may have it framed.  And I think this is the last of the chakra things.  This last one has all the elements of the remaining three and some of the elements of the two previous.  Only colors missing are red and orange.  So, it's finished. I really have very little knowledge of the stones, the body placements or the "balances".  So, this was more of a color project- thought- things happened that led me to think perhaps I did find my way into it.

I am reading a little paperback- I am the first to open it.  Pages are very stiff and new.  I had seen it in a list of Christmas fiction and it took awhile for it to arrive.  The first story was nice.  I would have liked to know what the man in the story was thinking and feeling.  But, that didn't happen.  Fern Michaels.  I won't be reading any of her other books.  So much name dropping of the clothing being worn.  The next short story in the book is by Tara Sheets and the third by Kate Clayborn. The book is A Snowy Little Christmas.

Thank you Annie for letting me know your husband did not get his $600 check either.  There really is no one to call to find out where it is.

My library had a box of heavy paper hearts by the book table.  We are asked to write or draw or embellish the paper hearts and the library will put them in the windows for the month of February.  I added paper decoupage to my two hearts.  Images from a few magazines on the stairs to the Attic.  Serendipity for one. Animals by the artist who inspired the animal quilt in the children's section.  Ipcar.  I hope that heart finds it's way to the Children's section windows.  Venice on the other.  

I was clicking thru the channels last night and stopped at CNN.  Chris Coumo (spelling) was interviewing a young teenager who had called the FBI to report his father who had gone to the January 6th Capitol etc. And was becoming more and more violent and frightening at home.  Chris was visibly upset.  He has a child the same age as this boy.  It was difficult to watch. The boy did the right thing but wondered if he had let his father down etc........ will this never end?

Daily News- January 22nd

 Sewn yesterday as I watched news programing.  With the exception of the center bottom blue (DebL's DyeWorks) and the dotted commercial fabric- the remainder (majority) is fabric I painted myself.  I cannot use dyes as they are very small particle dyes and I have reactive asthma.  Even with a commercial dye mask- particles can still be airborne.  So I use water soluble craft paint.  I added thread lines.  The dark blue paint blob seemed to want to be an atom of some sort.  An atom of creative-ness. Energy.  Expression.

This is more of a rectangle but I like square pictures here on the blog. So the image is cropped. And might have more edges added.  Or be sliced and have the "more" added internally.  Or be finished.  First, some spray starch and a hot iron.

Last night I visited the business end of this blog and found- "what to my wondering eyes did appear" but blog posts with 300 to 400 visits. In December.  Lately it's only 20 visits and no comments.  No comments is the usual here on this blog.  Which is quite fine.  As I am not writing to generate comments.

I am writing just to have a way to remind myself of daily life- if and when I forget who I was.  Who I am. I worry about that.  Losing myself.  To age.  To illness.  To loneliness.

But I will have this- my son says Blogger never loses anything.

The Euphoria of January 20th didn't last long.  The Talking Heads on television make everything seem so tedious and impossible.  Vaccine and a Vaccination site nearby (in Town) has been decided.  A telephone number has been given.  It is possible to sit dialing the number for hours and hours with no result.  My husband I will wait it out.  Let it all settle down.  We are close to the one year anniversary of being in quarantine.  We have toilet paper, flour and sugar.  Yeast.  And the government expects us to file our taxes on time this year.  So this is now "normal life".

My $600 check has arrived.  My husband's is lost in the mail. Pharmacy says something is ready for pickup.  We have no idea what.  See....everything is normal.

Daily Mending- January 21

 Trying to figure out the blue chakra square.  Nothing sewn as yet.  This is surprising as blue is my favorite color.  Nothing seems "right".  Perhaps it's the charka itself. Communication, expression, truth, meditation. I might have more problems with these things than I thought?

I will continue to look at the blue cloth in the closets.  Green went thru many missteps before it was exactly what I wanted.  Or "it" wanted-- to meld with yellow and a touch of pink.  Cloth has a way of speaking it's mind. Communicating.

The sky was clear last night and so many stars.  I found Orion.  His belt is easy for me to find.  Usually over the front door of the house.  Riley and I would stand and look at Orion's belt.  That dog loved to look up at the stars with me.  Sunday's paper usually has a star map. I'll look thru the recycling to see if I can find it. A Star Map.

And why do I call them squares as none of the finished ones are actually square? They resisted the square-ness of the making.  This sounds strange ...but my experiences with cloth have been .....odd to say the least. I make and then I look and see how the cloth is not happy and then I unsew.  I unsew so many many times. Lots of work is unfinished.  The cloth and I could not come to an agreement.

I bring out these projects and I can see the disagreement still exists.  But no solution is "there" yet.  So the cloth and I wait.  And I think about "what if" I do this or that.  One very large project- many separate parts- waiting 20 years I think.  One square is wanting to have the hand appliqued sawtooth sashing strips attached (not pieced).  The strips may not stay but there is "wanting".  Everything about this project is wanting some forward movement.  Everything was hand sewn.  No machine work.  And what was supposed to be four squares became eight (20  inches square). And that meant so many more sashing strips.  

My fellow quilters thought I was insane.  But perhaps...adding one strip to one side?  Just to see if I was right in making them.  They were not part of the pattern.  Hardly anything is part of the pattern.

I got my hair cut today.  My stylist/gardening friend was running about an hour behind. So I got to listen to the women talking.  Then....I just let all the voices blur and mix as I waited.  Almost every one was getting their hair foiled.  So time consuming for the stylist.   I watched the same movements as I moved my eyes around the room and the voices added a sort of "music" to the movements. Not  a job I would enjoy.

Daily Mending- January 20th

Hello- watching the inauguration and just a bit  "on edge" waiting for the other shoe to drop.  So far- only  a few assholes like Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.  Lady Gaga- that was quite a skirt and quite a song. And the poet was wonderful but I had wished she had spoken just a bit slower.  But she was nervous and only 22 years old.  And I loved hearing Amazing Grace.

Good Bless America.

Daily Mending- January 19th

 Another cloth that did strange things in the bleach.  This brown gave me pink.  The blue is unpicked thread.  I don't know if I am "typical" of the hand sewers out there reading this- but I un-sew nearly everything- eventually.  The equivalent of erasing.

If I need a fabric that is already "in use" in some other cloth- I take the old one apart.  Even if it has been quilted as this brown had been- but not in such a way that I saw as "finished"..  Nothing is ever permanent.  With cloth.  And with paper there is always the eraser or the pen.

It seems like the Pandemic has erased me.  I don't feel particularly "here".  I know my neighbors are still alive- they have their recycling containers out this morning.  Mine, also.  My son sent a few texts yesterday.  His check in.  So I don't worry.  He just wants to eat a well prepared meal in a restaurant.  Such a small want but magnified by it's impossibility in California.  We discussed things he might eat. Oddly enough- we both are missing leafy greens.  So I made a second trip to grocery yesterday for a large fresh bundle of kale.  It's too cold for a big salad.  But a nice mess of cooked greens...okay.  They didn't have collards.

I got a big heavy bag of oranges.  Navels as I forgot that I liked Cara Cara.  But they are good.  The Daily Orange.   Green Food and Orange Food.  And Oatmeal.  

Husband is at the doctor for a lung check up and I am going to the library to pick up two books.  I returned five yesterday.  I made an appointment for an eye exam-- March 15th.

I don't know about all of you- but I am very very anxious about tomorrow.

Daily Drawing/and or Mending- January 18th

Haven't done any mending but am shocked--pretty much every day-- by the growing holes in the elbow of my red cardigan.  I need to find a suitable patch- a very large patch. Very. Large.

Grocery this morning before breakfast.  Not as many people there and I remembered to buy a daily multi vitamin for my husband but forgot to buy oranges for me.  I zigged to the vitamins and then not back toward produce.  I might drive out again and buy oranges. Buy. Oranges.

Watched the first playoff game yesterday but gave up on the second.  Tampa Bay.  I should have stayed they actually pulled a win out of that mess.  Instead a did a few rounds with Law and Order. We did have PIZZA during the Chief's Game.  I REALLY do not like the Tomahawk Chop Chant.  Really Do Not Like. And that was Sunday.  I gave reading a good try but couldn't get into the book.

I returned five books.

We have a substantial amount of leftover food in the fridge.  So no cooking.  Which is always a happy event. I happened upon two "new to him" cake type snacks for husband to have in the evening with coffee. And I found frozen chopped green pepper.  I never use the fresh ones in Time.  These will always be ready for chili or what ever.  Who knows?  

Nothing much going on.  I have to find an elbow patch. Hope your Monday is more eventful than mine.

Daily Mending- January 17th

 It rained.  And the side yard- where the land dips lower- filled with rainwater.  Like the Old Days before the Planet started it's Warm Up.  Ducks, passing thru, and my dog Riley would swim in that Vernal Pool. Looked like a river as it curved alongside the house and down to the road out front.  I wish it had stayed.  But this morning only a few puddles remain.

And you can see what makes my days so sad.  The trees.  Dark. Deep. Endless Darkness. And THIS is after we removed 10 which had roots on the edges of that pond this summer.  

We could remove ten huge old trees every year and still see this.  I think we have already removed over 50.  Which is why you see grass. But the surrounding Dark still is there. And the trees are not healthy. Too crowded. The ones you see belong to the neighbors.

The remaining huge old skylight that brightens the day, for anyone washing dishes in the kitchen, is leaking (in yesterday's rain).  As the "no longer here" one did over the dining room table.  So, I must call in some one- the guys who usually work here- are not answering texts.  Removal.  Not replacement.  Which means new roofing etc.  Interior work as well.  But just patching.  Why fix what will be torn up if we ever get a new kitchen????  Scaffolding to paint the ceiling which is two stories high.  It's a big room.  When I first walked into this house--- I thought wow! Am I going to live here????  Yes.

It felt like a dream.  It's a very good house.  I just wish I had been happy here.

The kitchen will be darker.  No sunshine will fill the sink each morning.  The Avocado Pit will be unhappy as it enjoys the light from the skylight more than the light by the windows.  The Pepper plant prefers sitting on the floor cuddled up to the baseboard heater with the Sun shining on it's happy green leaves. How funny.  Each plant having such specific preferences. We have tried having them side by side. No.

I made a supper that could have been better.  Buying different brands of ingredients has shifted the taste of our long time favorites.  Not everything I used to buy is available. A slight but still defining difference. The sun is shining today. But it feels cold.  Football to look forward to.  The Green Bay game was good the other was lifeless.  Perhaps they didn't want to play?  Today.  Two more. Perhaps a second chance for Pizza???

Daily Mending- January 16th

 We did not have pizza.  Husband rustled up soup and so I just kept quiet- even though we had talked about pizza. He forgot.  I went over to his table and confiscated some luscious crayon type sticks and made my pencil orange look so nice. About six different layered colors on the orange.  No idea what I will color today.  I am enjoying the smooth slick surface of this new calendar. The colors go on easy.

We carried the Christmas Tree out of the house yesterday and then I dragged out the Central Vac Hose and sucked up all the pine needles and then used the Swiffer to polish up the floor.  That corner of the room looks mighty bare.  Sigh.  Prior to the room being painted and getting new baseboards we had packed up all the moveable stuff.  Bringing it all back down from the Attic.......not really interested. But pictures on the walls might be doable.

I had intended to read yesterday evening but there was a Lifetime Movie with an interesting idea.  Woman wakes up from a coma (car accident two months prior) with clear memories of a husband and two children.  But she isn't married they tell her- the house she lived in is still under construction.  She is given a temp job- guess where??- and is the receptionist for her Coma husband.  Normally this would be pretty lame but for some reason- Lifetime hired a real actress for the part. Sister to the Danish or Swedish guy in the newest Tarzan movie.  Very good looking family.  The father was in Hunt for Red October years ago and in a Netflix series I watched.....he also might have been dead ......I am reminded of him dancing by himself in a dark street even though he thought he was dancing with a woman. It was left up to those of watching to decide.

My visual memory is excellent.  Names not so much.  There are things in my past I can recall and watch like one watches home movies- but it's just a memory I am seeing.  Am I very very weird??? And it's not everything I can see- it's those important moments in time.

I made daughter three more masks.  Then made two for myself. Hers are fine.  Mine are not.  Only because it is very difficult to breath and still contain droplets etc.  But I used that blue sprigged cotton- very tight weave- and it's a very pretty mask. As long as I don't pass out from lack of oxygen.

Will be March before Maine has enough vaccine for people like me.  So...... Maine only got 18,000 doses and still need to give second dose shots.  I will have been quarantined for an entire year by then.  Wow. Hope your States are doing better.

Daily Mending- January 15th

 A segment of a cloth on the dining room wall.  Next to Riley's cloth.  This one seems to suggest a door way- a path.  A window.  Going. My two favorite cloths.  Made so with bleach- just poured on and then quickly rinse when I got what I wanted.  One gave me purple.  The Walmart black gave me that silver grey white.  I have very little left.  The cloth I used was old.  I don't think black is dyed on this old silvery white  base these days.  And the other.  Who would ever imagine these two colors under their original black?  I only discovered the grey purple while discharging every black I could find in scrap piles we had at the monthly quilt meetings.  Only once did I find a second black that gave me the discharge on the left.

I continue to search for old black Walmart fabric in other people's stashes.  But...until then- I take apart things I made with it and use the scraps of cloth for new things. Life (for old cloth) goes on forever.

I read Twice in a Blue Moon.  Straight thru a doctors visit and then an evening.  No tv. "Bored of it" as my very young daughter used to say about things.  A five year old "bored of it". The book was well worth it. And it ended well.  I hadn't thought it would.

I heated soup for myself yesterday and fried dumplings for husband.  We were both happy. Today I am making pizza.  Right now I am eating the second to the last orange.  I've made no decisions on how the day will go......what I will or will not do.  Some days are mostly what I will not do.  A negative day.

The Sun is shining- 24 hours of rain is also coming tomorrow.  We need rain- but not in January. The Earth is so screwed up.  I only watched Brian Williams at 11pm last night.  Nothing before that.  I would be fine with the oath of office being given in private with cameras.  Safer.

I also have come to the conclusion that Trump is actually too stupid to have planned ANY of this.   I believe he is Putin's Puppet.  Putin.  Yes. Smart enough for this Very Long Game.

Daily Mending- January 14th

 Well, Happy Readers- things are going South quickly with my old computer.  I lost the agent that ran my little weather app and another app that I looked at once in awhile- phases of the Moon on the desktop.  Adobe something or other that had/has -the noticed explained- "outlived it's live expectancy".

So many things......outliving their Life expectancy.  My sweaters.  My pants.  My socks. I live in fear my little pot that heats water for my tea and coffee will suddenly not display that lovely but strange blue light inside itself that tells me- the water is getting hot.  How will I blog?  How will I order books? will I just scream all day????? 

Your picture for the day is the rather mixed messages stack of cloth on my chair.  Shouldn't look good together but they do.  For some reason I do not have hand dyed blues.  So commercial cloth has to stand in.  Not that any cloth making is going on right now- this week.  Book Reading is Going On.  Today is Lauren's Twice in a Blue Moon.

Yesterday was double Washing Machines Pages.  Two loads.  There was some "new" squeaking noises. I hit the "pause" button by accident and spent 30 or 40 minutes in acute anxiety that the machine would overflow water all over the floor.  Like it has many times BEFORE.  It didn't.  OMG.  Longest 30 minutes.

Husband is suggesting I cook something. But something he likes- not something I like.  Um... Chinese Take Out sounds more likely. Or I could fry him a package of frozen Chinese dumplings from Trader Joes. He actually "thinks" that is cooking so I might just go that route.

Husband has a doctor's appointment today- a follow up of the severe back/leg pain visit.  My presence is requested.  All the pain is gone.  Seems the rather rough application of the "stick with rolling balls" did the trick. Even if there was screaming on his part.  After the screaming almost anything seems better. I offer my services to the President.

Husband has also offered me a page in one of his coloring books- to color.  He found a double page of snakes for me.  I tend to use a black sharpie and do designs in the coloring spaces.  Zentangles type designs. But not by their rules.  I really hate rules when it comes to pens and colors. I don't like snakes.

Three paragraphs that begin with the word Husband.  I need to get out of the house. See People.

Daily Mending- January 13th

 I am doing (trying to do) a bit more drawing on the new calendar each day.  A little reminder of something I accomplished.  Yesterday it was Pandemic Pantry Soup.  Dee's "not a recipe" soup of what she had on hand on a day in March of 2020 when we were all taken by surprise by COVID.  The recipe calls for potatoes. I usually have some. We had finished them off the day before.  So.....it's just Pantry Soup... I added in more carrots.  More celery.  It needed something.  It has always seemed to "need something" and I was reminded of a way more complicated garden vegetable soup- based on bacon.  But what I was thinking about was an addition of ketchup to that soup.  So, I added a squirt of ketchup.  Stirred and simmered and then tasted. ABSoLuTeLeY delicious. I also added cooked macaroni before eating. Because......everything is better with elbow macaroni.

And I paid the bills and sent a mask pattern to Angie. And I started reading Waxman's Garden of Small Beginnings.  Which is about Lili, Annabel and Claire who we meet in the Bookish Life of Nina Hill.  In the Garden of Small Beginnings we meet Edward and he sends Madame Hardy Roses.The roses like the ones in my grandmother's garden.  Perfumed.  There..... and then..... just petals scattered on the lawn. That's all been hybridized out of today's roses- except for the Austin Roses. They still have scent and shatter.

These two books and the third book which I ordered today- Other People's Houses-- might be the high point of the Winter for me.  But I have Louise Penny up next.  

No sunshine here in Maine.  Cloudy dark and dismal.  And cold.  I am happy to have my soup. Happy to have my book.  Sigh- not happy to have Washing Machine Pages (again so soon) to write in the very chilly bathroom while I wash the bed sheets........ and  kitchen towels used to wipe up the chicken soup husband spilled all over the kitchen floor and counters.  There was enough left for his bowl of soup.

I am considering mask making- I made the others well after dark- I might do that again.  There is a sprigged blue cotton here on the ottoman where I am reading.  Just a sliver of it visible.  But I keep looking at it.  And it might be okay for a mask.  Or I will use the tomato print.  But daughter is requesting a repeat of the three I made for her.  Procrastinating.  It's my fall back position.

Daily Mending- January 12th

 Jude Hill (Spirit Cloth) is the inspiration for this drawing I made while watching the Capitol Aftermath. I had paper, pens etc just sitting there while I was mending the holes and weak entry points on my sweater's elbows on January 6th.  Echoing the Capital.  Anyway...... Jude had made her usual wonderful nine patch and then added points- usually only 8 but this time she added a ninth.  I drew and added fabric design not like the original but just reminded of it.  And that little ninth point that Jude had added.

I don't want ANY Readers here to think I am cheating or stealing Jude's work. I am not.  This is just a drawing that I made to remind myself of something I liked.  It will be pasted into my art journal. If you don't know Jude Hill- please go visit her site-  Lovely cloth and paper art there. 

I walked down the drive to collect the morning paper and while out I dragged my cross the road neighbor's  now empty recycling and garbage cans back up her driveway.  Lots of ice has stuck to the surface of her driveway and I didn't want her to fall.  Then I collected all the debris the garbage men leave on the street and pulled our container up the drive to the garage. It's sunny but cold.  

I read Abbi Waxman's The Bookish Life of Nina Hill yesterday- straight thru only stopping to make lunch.  I highly recommend it.  I will begin the Garden of Small Beginnings today after I do some Washing Machine Pages and perhaps a bit of dusting. I purchased extra heavy duty dust things for my Swiffer yesterday.  We'll see.  Otherwise I have to drag out the Central Vac Hose.  And that's quite a workout. And I am not sure I want to do that.  Reading seems like a better choice.

I'm not sure I mentioned that I had been wearing my "new to me" (Goodwill) cranberry red corduroy pants.  Just yesterday.  But I decided (this morning) the pants were too loud and I'm back to my usual old drab olive green ones.  It was just too much for me.  Too much.  When I look them up on sites to see if I can buy more drab green ones- they are described  as "vintage".  My cross body purse, also.  Vintage.

I guess that's me.  Vintage.

Daily Mending- January 11th

 So- Monday.   The Library was my first stop and I picked up my long awaited book. Then the Grocery Store where I got a bag full of Cara Cara navel oranges.  The grapefruit looked wonderful but..... not this week.  Interferes with my meds so I save eating a few for special occasions.  The Cara Cara surprised me by being pink inside.  Like grapefruit. And there is a similarity so perhaps I am not supposed to eat them either?  I seemed to have bought quite a bit today and my list hadn't been that long.  I had to buy a secondary choice in pancake syrup- along with changing her name from Aunt Jemima and removing her picture- the company must be thinking about not selling the syrup anymore???  It's my favorite.  I did find one ball of pizza dough.  All the others in the case had been infested with "flavors" not of my choosing.

I did buy a new dustpan and brush at the grocery store- husband borrowed the kitchen one and it hasn't been seen since.  They didn't have brooms.  He borrowed the broom as well.  I am in the process of affixing a big NO on the brush and pan.  I have sticky NO notes on my food in the fridge.  He eats it even thought he professes to not like it (YUCK) ..example- meatloaf. Which was for my dinner.  He ate it.

Football.  I gave up on one game and later (after some Hallmark) found myself back to watching Cleveland and Pittsburgh.  As usual, neither team has much "poetry" to their strategy which I noticed because there wasn't one great looking guy on the combined total of players.  

Just pound each other into the frozen ground. Ben ended the game in tears.  He might have reached his expiration date. I was as surprised by the Cleveland quarterback as everyone else on Earth is.  Whether they can do anything with Baltimore and Lamar is the BIG Question.

My brother in Georgia has gotten his first dose of Moderna vaccine.  He was given an appointment date and time for the second dose.  So different from Maine.  No info on anyone not in a nursing home or working in a grocery store or hospital getting a shot.  They are saying husband and I will get one- maybe-- in April.  Bah Humbug.

I will be making more masks today.  I didn't get to make myself a tomato fabric mask. Maybe today.  I am not sure today is a sewing machine day.  I'll know within minutes of turning the machine on. Sigh.

Daily Mending- January 10th

 Don't be afraid- it's just me.  Weird hair (from couch slouching), neck skin sagging and all.   Daughter dropped off a bag of fabrics from JoAnn's (not what I would choose) and said- make masks please?  And a good friend in Florida had sent me excellent templates.  Even though my first attempts months ago- were frighteningly wrong.  

This Time- the Planets Were Aligned and I actually followed the directions (not questioning them) and I made an excellent mask so quickly- this one- later it got one tuck in each side and now doesn't flare out below the ears.  Fits well, doesn't cling to one's mouth as you breathe etc. And husband took the picture and we sent it and she replied YES!!!.  So I made two more in other fabrics.  Now she is thinking ahead to having to wash them etc.  So needs MORE.  I wash mine in the kitchen sink after each use with antibacterial soap and rinse and it's dry by the next day.  I only ever have needed the one mask.  But then I am not my daughter.

And this was so easy- goodness things work better when one reads directions!!- that I am going up into the Magic Attic to find the vegetables fabrics.  I think I might want to wear a Tomato Mask to the store tomorrow. I think those are butterflies or colorful moths on the one up top. Daughter likes rainbows.

I watched Football last night.  The Tampa Bay and Washington game.  And Washington has run thru all their quarterbacks (the first of the night got an ambulance ride) and sent in a new one straight from college getting a degree in mathematics.  As he lay on the field for the fourth or fifth time- exhausted, in pain possibly wondering why the Hell he thought football was a good idea- and no one helped him stand upright.  He had to do that himself with one injured shoulder already and go right back- call the play take the ball and throw it.  And it was an excellent throw and it was caught.  Then Tampa knocked him down again.  Washington almost won the game.  3 points difference and a world of pain for this guy.

At the end.  Tom Brady (43 years old) walks over and starts talking to him.  I think he was more than likely inviting the guy to his house for avocado ice cream and Pilates. Telling him he had to take better care of his body if he intended to continue being a quarterback.  And for his first professional game- this new guy was really excellent.  And Tom Brady does look marvelous.

Daily Mending- January 9th

 Books.  And two more are at the library waiting for pickup.  I guess I should have taken the picture sideways.  Easier to read.  Paris, He Said (cause if Paris is in the title I get the book and this one was on the free cart at library)  Eligible - a re telling of Pride and Prejudice. Twice in a Blue Moon and Love and Other Words (favorite author).   Bookish Life- recommend by a Reader.  Caught in Time.  FBI agent (female) falls back in Time to 1700's I think.  This is book three which I think I already have read so it might go back unread and then I will need to order books 4 and 5.  

I have many book lists going right now- which is a recipe for mistakes on my part.  And I have books recommended by friends to add.  Plus, quite a few new books coming out right now.  I am not reading political books.  I know they are popular but I may save them for the decade of my 80's.  The new Louise Penny book has finally gotten to my name on the reserve list.  I can hardly stand the wait to go pick it up at the library on Monday- my only day when I go out into the World of COVID. And return to Three Pines and the little cafe and all those old fictional friends.

My daughter has brought me fabric to make her more masks.  All sorts of flashy patterned cottons and flannels. I am really terrible at making masks.  A true zealot on the mask fitting properly etc etc. so I am constantly sewing and adjusting.  And for some reason it's the over the ear elastic that really gets me "CRAZY".

Struts stabilize and have to do with front end steering the car. "loosey goosey" not being something you want to describe steering on your child's car.  $800 for parts and service. Here in Maine where everything is VERY EXPENSIVE  I was expecting it to cost a HEAP of money. $800 is a lot but I had already spent $900 on the back bumper rust body work situation on two Fits- mine and daughter's. Sigh.  

Very expensive (Maine) for me is nearly $400 a month for heating the house. To 64 degrees. And closing the hall door and keeping the bedrooms at 58 which includes my sewing room.  The Magic Attic at 49 degrees so bathroom pipes don't freeze. And it is sometimes below zero outside.  So furnace sometimes seems to be always running.  Why I sometimes wear two sweaters and a scarf in the house.

Daily Mending- January 8th

 Changes.  To the Green Square.  But since I use square pictures here- you can't see that it's actually a Green rectangle.  I added the pink circle to the center.  It changed everything.  It wanted to be lighter. More joyous yesterday. Got additions of the yellow with black specks.  Joy. Love. Inner Peace.

It was supposed to be heavily starched and pressed with a hot iron.  It hasn't been.  Not as yet.

I was busy with the newspaper and my breakfast.  Then coffee.  Then making Chicken Soup. I will get up from this desk every so often to check on the Simmering Soup.  Not too much simmer. Not too little. My re-heated morning coffee and a sweet navel orange here on the desk with me.

Yesterday the ornaments came off the tree and were packed up.  In the packing I discovered, at the very bottom of the box, two different kinds of stars.  I had Stars.  I had forgotten to bring them out.  But now they are on the top layer of the box for next year.  And next year I will forget something else.  One string of lights is off the tree- the one with many lights dysfunctional. The Tree is still a comfort to me.

Daughter's car was picked up yesterday afternoon.  Daughter reports the drive is "less loosey -goosey" Which had her father and I looking at each other in shock. She has a sticker.  She has new "struts".  I imagine at least one someone out there knows what they are? what they do?  Other than "be loosey goosey" when they wear out?  I have a feeling they hold the car together.

The library sent notice.  After over a week of not having even ONE Book to read-- I have seven or eight books now. And they are the very best of books.  An excuse to stop watching so much news commentary.  To rest my nerves. I will limit myself to PBS News Hour.  Perhaps Nicole Wallace at 4pm.  I will bury myself in someone else's story.

My disbelief yesterday:  Capital Police taking selfies with the crowd breaking into the Capitol Building. did they think about that at all when they decided to do it?  I laughed when Mitch's wife was the first one jumping off the "sinking boat".  Betsy was second- "...thinking of the children who watched the Capitol etc".  I wrote a few bad words but deleted them. 

Daily Mending- January 7th

 Well....that was quite a day yesterday.

I stayed up and only felt able to sleep after seeing Lindsey Graham say to the Senate floor- "Stop it!! Give it up!"  (and it looked like he was close to weeping) And they voted to let Arizona's count stand. Even his golfing buddy had had enough. Hawley is beyond contempt.

Well, a new day.  Mitch has got 13 days left but not much remaining support.  People aren't getting their $600 checks.  Facebook has banned the President for...how long?  Twitter is feeling it's way to a ban.  But the Talking Heads seem to think Trump likes Facebook best so he's taking this badly.  They are "thinking" about the 25th Amendment a bit late, I think.  And Golfers are getting the Medal of Freedom. But refuse to attend.

The Sun is shining here in Maine but it's cold.  I have books to pick up at the Library and I have an overdue book.  I finished the mending of the elbow patches on my favorite sweater during the riots.  I made myself a bowl of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for supper.  And I took antacids before bed.

And I am sad to have to say- if the rioters had been Black.........the steps to the Capitol would be red this morning.  Instead the rioters were angry gray haired old white men and women mostly and a bunch of young men who are possibly finding it difficult to find a job. And  they were treated with staggering politeness even as they screamed hate filled words at the policemen.

This is America.  Before.  During.  After.  Trump.   We need help .

Daily Mending- Still January 6th

Nothing at all prepared me for what has happened today in Washington DC.  Nothing. 

Daily Mending- January 6th

 Perhaps for a week or so- we'll have Daily Mending up top in the headline. There's a learning curve here. And a lack of supplies.  So....nearly every sweater will get the Yellow Boro Stitch thing.  I am not going into any stores.  I have crewel yarn in the Attic or perhaps it was for rug hooking???  It could be unwound into strands. Wool.  There are lots of colors.  It's a thought.  

And Daily Mending.  It's something our Country will be doing this year.  I hope.

I am getting used to the lime yellow.  It looks okay.  And who sees ones' sweater elbows in Winter in Maine anyway???  I am usually in the gigantic long black wool coat in Winter. When I go out in Public.  From ankles to neck.  And when Riley and I walked twice a day- the collar was up and I had a wool hat pulled down past my eyebrows and a black scarf up over my mouth and nose.  Walking in 10 degree wind is difficult.

We stayed up late to watch the Election Returns come in.  Nothing had been decided when we turned off the tv.  So we were pleasantly surprised the Reverend won his race and we will no longer have to see or hear that horse faced woman again.  Today is the day I usually take down the Christmas Tree.  The Three Wise men arrive on the sixth. Epiphany. It might also be the twelfth day of Christmas.  

I have three books awaiting pickup at the Library today.  Pretty excited about that.  Reading and Mending.

All the Boozy Cake and Pumpkin Pie II have been enjoyed.  So...cookies.  Husband MUST have a sweet something to eat with his evening coffee.  Making the pie was the least amount of baking.  Making cookies is always time consuming.  But husband likes cookies.  So............he HAS to have something to go with the coffee.

Jude (on Spirit Cloth) stitched the most amazing little 9 patch with multi colored Deb Lacativa thread layered in points- 9 of them around the outside edge. I was so taken with it's beauty that I just sat for quite a long time just looking at it.  And then LizA (I'm Going to Texas) gave us a picture of a patch stitched to remind her of wood grain and I was quite impressed by that as well. These little patches are small.  But intricate.  Works of patience and love.  Something to consider as I Boro. Something for Winter Mending.

Daily Notes- January 5th

 Yesterday's elbow repair on the charcoal grey sweater.  I seem to wear out the left elbow on all the sweaters.  I am right handed.  So it seems odd.  The entire Boro stitched area above and below the black patch is backed with a donation from a too small black cashmere sweater from LLBean's Employee Store.  (It's now a vest as I have removed both arms).  The black "dot" is actually two layers of black.  That area was entirely gone.  An open hole where my elbow obviously rubbed the fibers away.

Today I am working on my most favorite and treasured sweater pictured below.

As you can see large areas are already covered in patches.  And adjacent to them- more holes.  I can imagine the entire donor sweater being used to patch this sweater in the months and years ahead.  The reason I do this mending- I can't find sweaters to replace them.  New sweaters being sold as cashmere are very thin, very smelly and obnoxious colors.  Goodwill hasn't had any cashmere in years- daughter and I check out every grey or charcoal sweater in two different Goodwill's often.  We don't care what size they are.  But we do smell them.  Some smell like chemicals and others smell like dung. And they feel weird to the touch.  Too light.  Flimsy.  Not good for patching.

I also went up to the Attic see what I had for Boro stitching on this light grey one.  I found a ball of thin but springy pale yellow green.  I think the yellow green will look interesting in many lines of small stitches over the surface of the patches.  It may turn out to be too thick.  But I will give it a go.

I'm 74.  My parents (neither healthy) lived into their mid 80's.  There is a very good possibility I will be wearing these two sweaters into my mid to late 80's.  10- 15 years.  Unless COVID gets me. A possibility. So, I need to keep working on the patching.  I think the Boro will help stabilize the sweaters.  But not too much as the weight of the stitches might be hazardous to the sweater's life.  Anyway- that's what's going on today.

I am patching as America heads toward an uncertain Future. Sixteen Days. Until January 20th.  And let's remind ourselves- people are dying every day, every hour of COVID because the Man Who Thinks He is  "perfectly" in Charge - worries about votes not people.  Cannot even ship vaccine to the States properly. 

Daily Notes- January 4th

 Photo taken yesterday as afternoon became evening.   I re-worked this blue square as I watched three football games.  What held my interest was that players who normally never saw prime time action- were playing and playing really well.  One quarterback was having his first day on the field- in a finals game- and his previous time on any field was college.  He won the game. His first throw was terrible.  But then, well, he relaxed and got into it.  He was a first or second round pick.  An excellent college quarterback. He "read" the field.  Saw who was open- not always or ever the obvious choice.  And threw the ball straight and true...to them.  I know his parents were overwhelmed with pride and joy.

And my Tennessee Titans pulled a win out of thin air.  Seconds to go.  And Cleveland.  OMG Cleveland. My hometown team.  So, in these Winter Covid days...some unexpected JOY.  And the Patriots did okay. They were also using members of the practice squad to fill holes in the team. I think Tampa Bay won- but that game wasn't on Maine's cable network yesterday.  It was a great football Sunday.  No pizza.

In taking apart the squares I already thought were "finished"- I learned some things.  Sometimes the square doesn't actually want to be square.  Sometimes you have to remove more than you add. Sometimes the cloth needs embroidery.  Little black circles.  And sometimes I forget that my own painted cloth is nicer than anything store bought.  The three outside strips are painted with acrylic craft paint.  Still soft to the hand and easily needled.  I'll try for a picture in better light.  Almost all the fabric here is painted cloth. 

So the Life Lesson from yesterday.  Make your own cloth in the colors and textures you like. The central blue flower is from Deb Lacativa.  Her soft delicious blue cloth.  I wanted it to be the Star of this square.

Daily Notes- January 3rd

 My workspace which is also an ottoman.  Used to be used as an ottoman and now just holds a massive amount of sewing stuff.  Every few days I gather up about a third of the piles and carry it off to the sewing room where I put it "away" and then.....while "putting away" I start collecting new things to bring back with me.  Oh....why?

In the end days and weeks with Riley--I was productive.  He liked to sniff the cloth I was working on and didn't like to re-sniff cloth he had already sniffed.  So, I had to keep working on new projects.  A whole wall of projects that I look at everyday as they are pinned to the wall I face at the dining table.  I was very productive.  I made excellent choices but I had the approval and disapproval of my best friend every step of the way.  On my own now- it's not as easy.  I make so many bad choices- I spend more time taking apart than I do putting together.  I disappoint myself frequently.  That blue square seemed like a good idea.  It isn't.  Not balanced. Not interesting.  It's about to be taken apart.  Which is fine.  The parts are all okay by themselves- it's just that the together doesn't work.

That's where I am just now.  The sewing together doesn't work.

I had to come to the rescue yesterday.  Husband had hoped to use the new snowblower to clear the driveway but warmish weather was quickly turning the snow to slush clogging the snowblower.  And I did not want a repeat of that years ago heart attack while shoveling.  So I ran out without a coat and told him it was time for lunch and I would tackle the driveway slush.  He agreed.  I used  my scoop and dump  method which involves no lifting.

We had freshly baked pumpkin pie for supper.  Husband  said it was the best one ever.  We do have lunch between five and six o'clock so technically- the pie isn't actually our supper. But I like thinking it is.

Daily Notes- January 2nd

 In the Spirit of community- no picture.  So many of the blogs I like to read -Typepad-- are having troubles uploading pictures.  I guess, for them, the pictures are the true motivation.  For me- the photo is more often than not- just something I noticed as I walked past with the camera.  Nothing special.

So, today- no picture.  Not because I can't...but because I don't see anything interesting. And I...like words.

I folded the laundry.  I had done a "white" wash yesterday.  No darks.  A pile of flour sack dish towels.  New and used. Restaurant aprons from when we owned a restaurant.  I don't like to use bleach- it breaks down the organic fibers- so my flour sack towels are not as white as they once were.  And you all know I like white.  So.......I was disappointed in the way they looked as I folded them.  But they felt good to the touch.  Softening with age for some and still brand new for others. My daughter seems to be gifting me four new ones each Christmas.  When they get really old- or badly stained-- they will enter the wonderful world of the dye pot.

We had cake again for supper.  We did have a good breakfast and a very decent late lunch around 5 pm. We had Chinese take out left overs.  I always get Orange Chicken.  And a large white rice.  Lasts me three and sometimes four meals.  I fill my morning oatmeal bowl.  I use the same bowl all day- just a good hot wash in between uses.  I even eat my cake and ice cream in that same bowl.  It's not the deep bowl.  It's a wide flat heavy restaurant weight bowl.  Pedestrian.  I think I got it at the job lots type store.  I got a stack of them for perhaps 99 cents each.  The other bowls are from various places.  Crate and Barrel.  Taller, whiter, thinner.

I am tasked with baking a Pumpkin Pie today.

It snowed overnight.  Not much.  Mushy and wet.  But nice to see white again since it is Winter. Husband was in the workshop.  He had been asked to repair daughter's "favorite" shovel.  He had not. Reminded. Forgot.  Asked.  Forgot.  This morning a text message.  Insistent.  Three storms and still no shovel. He is now driving over to give her the repaired shovel.

I am reading.  So slowly......... Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan.  I think I missed a book. The Endless  Beach.  The first in the series is Christmas on the Island.  It's slow going.  And I don't know why.  I like the setting and the characters.  Perhaps it's because I am missing that in-between book?? I have to remind myself to order it.  Well, I  should begin on the Pumpkin Pie.

Happy Second Day of 2021.

Daily Notes On the First Day of 2021

 There is no Rule that says a picture has to actually be a picture.  It can be words.  We did eat CAKE for supper last night.  At around 10pm.  I wonder if most people in isolation eat meals at strange and sometimes wonderful times during the day?  I remember one day when I had breakfast three times before noon.  I was just hungry.  And didn't really need any other food that day.

The NYTimes has another recipe for bread this morning.  I got to read the notes- sometimes the NYT allows access to the notes etc. for non subscribers.  The notes on recipes are fascinating.  I once had a free subscription for 12 weeks.  I read the notes on recipes like it was an ongoing saga of "what not to do". I find that really well educated people have very little real practical knowledge.  I now have a list of ingredients for the recipe- simply flour, yeast, salt and water.  I have it in grams and ounces.  I have multiples of many many different equations.  Different processes.  Obviously no one decided to follow the recipe as written.  Or did.  And found the NYT recipe to be incorrect.  As it often is. This was way more fun than the crossword puzzle.

The Sun is shining here in Maine.  A very Cold Sun.  But my Christmas Tree brightens the dark here inside the house.  Six more days.  I take the tree down on January 6th.  And then it goes out back and shelters birds and animals the rest of the Winter.  This year we will secure it to the post in the back fenced garden.  Standing tall with zip ties.  And I will see it from the kitchen windows each day. Usually it stands next to the compost pile.  Also a great spot for small animals to find a frozen but tasty meal.  Vegetable peels, etc.  I will miss the tree.  I do each and every year.

My new calendar already has four date squares decorated with little drawings and colored pencil.  Reminders of events- in cartoon type drawings and not words.  One- for today- reminds me to Pay Bills. My little dollar store marker pens are rapidly drying up so I have a tall can of very nice colored pencils for the rest of the year.  I like the painterly quality of the pens.  But I will get used to the pencils.  I can usually get used to almost anything.  Not like it.  Not enjoy it.  Just get used to it.  Well, not Trump. I never got used to him. Ick.