Sunday, October 12th... Cloudy and cold this morning. 58 degrees

 I've been entertaining myself by drawing on index cards.  I had been coloring the drawing in with colored pencil...but this one hasn't been touched with color as yet.... I send some to my brother for his birthday.

1.  Arrangements are being made to take care of the Snow Plowing for the Season. Our biggest issue is the huge pile of snow deposited at the end of the driveway by the Street Plow... It's usually quite heavy and gets stuck in the snowblower.  I used to fill the shovel and then walk (shove) it across the street and dump it there..   Was younger then...

2.  Son collected the Lady Bugs setting up housekeeping in my shower.  Son thinks they got in during the window AC unit usage.  

3.  We are making an additional visit to the grocery store....I am out of yogurt, Bran Buds and the Strawberry Rhubarb Jam I add to my yogurt. And a replacement pizza dough.... the one we bought on Friday had a hole in the plastic packaging.  I also need mouthwash.  My list making capabilities suffered....

Daily Notes- Saturday, October 11th. Sunny and 57 degrees here in Maine. Wool Socks.

 Well.   Another Saturday without British Soccer.   what will I do with myself????

1.  I have recorded the two Saturday Cooking Shows I watch.  And I stockpiled some Law and Order as one would stock a pantry before a pandemic.

2.  My shots had little to zero effect on me...no aches, no fever etc...  I noticed the person doing the shots aimed higher on my shoulder than usual.....which might be the best placement ever.

3.  Finished off the recored episodes I had of the PBS series of Professor T.  I now have vintage Law and Order to watch.  I also have two different editions of recorded Pride and Prejudice... which I may have outgrown.   

4.  Today's book is "definitely not mr. darcy". by karen doornebos....the author uses no caps.  A  modern reality show set in the 1800's with all the smells........no cell phones, no indoor plumbing,  no deodorant. The comment blurbs are by other authors of similar books- PrIde and Promiscuity, the Jane Austen Handbook, and the Lost memoirs of Jane Austen.   I have in my bookcase Austenland...same idea.

5.  September and October have become very Austen here at my house (this year)....I also have recorded three Hallmark "Austen-like" movies which I watch....in one that I particularly like...the Librarian who Loves Darcy hits her head and goes back into Time and finds Mr Darcy to "not be her actual "cup of tea"'. I'm not sure I would actually like Darcy......how about you?????

Daily Notes- Friday, October 10th. COVID Booster today.

 Not much to say this morning... sunshine here in Maine.  But a chill in the air.  All good weather must come to an end.......

1.  Emails regarding Snow Removal for Winter....a heads up that all this nice weather is short lived...

2.  Cookies.   Like real cookies- I had two of them yesterday- shortbread.

3.  My Lunch buddy ordered me a book and it's arrived and I can go pick it up from her house. The first book in a series of four- I have the other three...now the set is. complete.

4.  Reading a book about rich people who lose everything because the husband had a secret second family I realized when I read the final few pages before returning the book unread....that I had read it before.  I know these things happen and it's always a "surprise" until they really think about it...then it's NOT a surprise.  At all.

5.  I was always mystified by the second wife- (Trophy Wife) worrying about her husband straying ....noticing younger women etc....of course he's going to leave her.......he left someone else he said he loved- for you!!!!!   And the guys did leave the second wife for the third wife etc etc.  Just like in the book I am returning to the Library.

  

Daily Notes on Thursday. October 8th- 48 degrees and Sunshine here in Maine.

Well. as it is almost "All the Time" around  here- I have plenty of the fabrics I don't want to use right now and very little other than scraps of the fabric I actually do what to use..Right NOW.. 

I made one small square and wanted a few more- well, that isn't going to happen...so I watched Law and Order.  I wanted NINE... that's my happy number....I can make ONE more.  Two is not a great artistic number.  Three could work.  If I could make three by sewing tiny scraps together.  The real thing isn't this dark.  (I don't have any lights turned on as yet)

1.  Stopped looking in the storage boxes, stopped reading, stopped paying attention to Law and Order and just felt like kicking something really hard for a long time.  I have enough of the shortest supplied fabric to make one more square.... a few other others are enough fabric to make the nine I would have liked.  

2.   My own solution is to take the square apart and use another fabric that I have in abundance. Or have the other eight with a  different fabric... second from the center.  This was NOT a problem when I was making each square different from all the others.  Not a problem until I want NINE of them. And NINE could still be a number I can't manage......THREE might be what I end up with.

In better news.... this book is on its way from the Big A...via my neighbor's account.  She tucked it into her shopping basket.  So Life goes on....

I also emptied a few things out of the fridge....and discovered enough bread for a toasted cheese sandwich...with pickles..... (possibly two) and possibly some additional vintage episodes of Law and Order later today.  I wanted to comfort myself with potato chips...but thank goodness there were zero chips in the house.

October 8th..Dark, Wet with Rain.

 I have a bunch of chair images so we might be having those for a few days.  Or not.  For a while I was cutting out images of chairs....I can't recall why...but I like chairs.... I do recall- I was using the images to draw the chairs in my art notebook freehand....and then I stopped.  Easy enough to return to doing the drawings.  And I can put THOSE here....  I think I would have liked owning the chair in the image here. Midcentury modern-ish.

1.  It's very dark in here....very wet outside.  I got up from the desk to turn on MORE lights.

2.  My neighbor has ordered the book daughter and I were searching for- from Amazon-- as they are having their usual "big sale" and she was filling her basket.  Six dollars less than the price on the book jacket.  I was tempted to also ask for Mont Blanc pen refills but do not know which ones I need. Book will arrive by end of the week.

3.  None of the Lunch Offers have been followed up on.... I was starting to want Sweet Potato Fries....

4.  TV- Other than British Soccer games in the RAIN-- has been dismal.  I watched a few things but got seriously depressed by all of it.  Even Finding Your Roots.

5.  I used the heating pad to ease up the tight neck and shoulder muscles...right side.....I believe it's tension.  Even right now the neck and right shoulder feel stiff.

6.  I sorted thru a few storage tubs of fabric to make some additional squares...the ONE I made during the Soccer Match was exceptionally GREAT and now I want all the others to look that good. I even turned on the iron and pressed a few scraps of fabric.  I should have had that here instead of the chair...tomorrow for sure. and perhaps a second one....I also got into a huge bag of cloth I had dyed and black cloth I bleached to a spotty white and black....some grey.... I sorted during Law and Order...  

7.  I could just make three more that look like that really GREAT square and sew them together... I doubt I have enough of any of the fabrics to make it into a 36 or 48 inch square ART Quilt.  but a nice 12 inch square could be framed...under glass.

Daily Notes for Tuesday. October 7th. Sun is shining here in Maine- 62 degrees.

 Banana Halloween Pops.  I asked if we should make some- he said no.  So....Plain Bananas are just fine. As is.  But these are very cute.....

1.  ...read the newspaper....now trying to cleanse my mind.......the Suduko wasn't going anywhere and the internet was giving me a tutorial on bar soap this morning......I actually do not use bar soap....so that was today's personal update....continue to not use bar soap..(now)  I do have a stack of bars somewhere.........

2.  Watched a very long program on a guy from Tennessee who pushed all barriers (brains but zero cash to get into college) and get a degree and head up Moderna and develop the COVID vaccine and many many other wonderful life saving things.  It was a very very good thing to watch.... I get my COVID shot on Friday.  I signed up on the internet.  Successfully.  Which is a Major Victory..... (balloons, confetti and a parade)

3.  Previous to the medical program I watched different teams in Egypt digging up old tombs looking for...they never actually say for sure.....what they imagine finding....one guy was over the moon about finding broken pale blue pottery bowls.  Which "proved" something.  I get all nervous when they shimmy into very tight spaces that could fill with sand.....I would NEVER.....

4.  Yesterday was a Road Trip with daughter....first she had to move all the landscape tools out onto my front porch so I would have somewhere to SIT.  Then the Town Office to pay Property Taxes... BIG CHECK.........THEN down the hall and I voted absentee (in person)...I found that amusing. Then to the bookstores to buy books.   And a new wall calendar for 2026.  I very nearly bought the identical one to the 2025 on the wall....ooops

5.  I looked over the Art Supply section but didn't feel the need for any supplies of that sort...I have husband's colored pencils and pens and my own sets.....and the pencil sharpener from Germany is still working to capacity.....all is well in the colored pencil area of my Life.  Wish I could say that about other areas of my Life.

6.  I also visited two books stores and purchased BOOKS which are now residing in my bookcase. Two favorite rom com authors had new books....we are still looking for Pride, Prejudice and other Flavors by Sonali Dev.   I had just finished reading Birding with Benefits - Sarah Dubb and purchased my own copy. just because I often forget I like the book....I also purchased a hard cover of the Love Haters..... Other new titles are Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver,  The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell, Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter (of Mr Wrong Number FAME) and The Launch Date by Annabelle Slater.

I was looking for something new from Tessa Bailey but....no.   I might do an internet search after hitting publish......then move on to Antiques Roadshow-  TiVo recorded quite a few yesterday.

Daily Notes- Monday October 6th. No Newspaper Monday.

 Three sets of dots- might need one more.  Notice how the colors are identifying with my emotional state???  We won't be seeing pink or bright yellow in the near future.  Or cooler blues and greens.

1.  British Soccer was good....American Football was almost good....my book finally got to the best part.....and now we have to get thru the typical "misunderstanding" part of any of these rom-com books. I've read this one before so...this dull part of the book. ...was something I was not surprised by.  This Time. I'm going to skip ahead while the mom tries to totally "manage" her daughter's choices. (because mother had made all the wrong choices).

2.  Still waiting to see if either friend is actually going to have lunch with me. Unless they decide to have lunch with each other and skip my participation......which could happen.  But it is Monday and a great day to go out and have lunch....the sun is shining here in Maine.  No Military Take-Over as yet.

3.  I Swiffered the wood floors yesterday....easier than dragging the central vac hose around the house. The Swiffer picked up quite a few VERY large dust bunnies.

4.  Sunday Pizza was great....  I just wished I had eaten some of the birthday ice cream after........

5.  Monday and zero newspaper...zero news...  which is beneficial to my mental health these days. And I have a stack of partially finished Suduko puzzles to work thru while eating my bowl of oatmeal. So..Life is okay...''not watching news on TV" really helps me get thru the day.... and not having a newspaper on Monday is also helpful........bad things happen on the weekends.....

6.  Was America always like this?  OR was it just not as loud and in our faces????????

Daily Notes- Sunshine Here In Maine on Sunday, October 5th.

 I bit of this and a bit of that....hasn't been sewn together as yet.  Still playing with color and fabric. This looks very Halloween (ugh).   Not a Great Fan of Orange...but do like Halloween Candy.

1.  The Sunday Newspaper........not much there....and the Sunday Suduko- not much there as well. Just when are we going to stand together and overturn this particular government???????

2.  Perhaps none of us actually care?  I do but...I'm old.  And I do vote. Every Time.

3.  I am going to attempt to use the internet to make an appointment for a Covid Vaccination.  I did this once before- in the very beginning of needing a vaccination (years ago).....and it was difficult.  I might not need one as I go No Where and No One Sneezes on Me.  

But I do Touch Surfaces..... I'm more concerned about the Flu-- I got REALLY sick one year--with the Flu.  Back when I worked at the Greenhouse. My husband never noticed I was very sick........what a guy. Never even made me a cup of tea.  This was YEARS  before he forgot who I was.

4.  My former cross the street neighbor sent an email....I sent one back.  This is a second person wanting to have lunch with me... but that is as far as it goes (we never actually set a day and time)..... my Lunch Buddy..sigh...we haven't had lunch in a Great Long Time......so many other important things on her calendar... I have only Library and Grocery Store on my calendar....Town Hall is added this week to pay taxes on my house.

5.  Two British Soccer games yesterday- one in the pouring rain,...another one today. Possibly two. And later Sunday Pizza and American Football.  I have salad to go with my slices.  I'd like to also have a glass of wine...but I don't have any......that I can open.  I need twist off caps not corks.  I do have ice cubes, a cold bottle of Gin and tiny bottles of Tonic. (in the fridge). But wine (whine) sounds better.

Daily Notes Saturday, October 4th. Sunshine here in Maine and 66 degrees

 As you can see....added strips.  I like the keyboard squares under it also.  White makes everything better.

1.  One more day of Hot Dogs and tomorrow is Pizza.  I've run out of Antiques Roadshow episodes. Today is cooking shows which I have recording.

2.  Ran thru the cable channels I have (yesterday) and found exactly NOTHING worth watching.  I've already  missed two British Soccer Matches....I did watch one late yesterday in the driving rain...had to be miserable for the players...

3.  The Newspaper continues to infuriate me....why are we allowing this to continue????? Countries have overthrown insane dictators for decades....why can't WE?????

4.  Putting the duvet cover on the king sized down comforter was easier than I imagined it to be... and I was nice and warm all night long.

5.  Yesterday's and Today's book is. Birding With Benefits.  First time around I missed quite a bit...so I am enjoying the banter this time.  Sarah T. Dubb is the author.  And I might retain some bird info.

6.  Only four days in and the October Desk Calendar is filling up FAST.  And that's it for today.

Daily Notes from A Chilly but Sunny Day in Maine.

Stitched while watching TV.

I gave up on finding something that worked with that blue square and made this out of a long strip of cloth cut into rectangles....now the difficult part of adding another color.

1.  Today is Library Grocery Store....And it's also Stuffing the King Down Comforter into the Comforter Cover Day....this activity closely resembles turning the mattress- not flipping it- I used to do that but I was much younger---I turn it clockwise  so I make sleep dents in both sides of the mattress....while still only sleeping on my side of the bed.  I have a tall four poster bed- so the turns have to work with the four posts...  it's a geometry puzzle.  And only once a year....

2.   I haven't decided on a Luncheon Choice for the WEEK and we are going to the grocery store today.. Hot Dog Week was just "okay".  Perhaps it was my choice of hot dog brands.....I usually had lunch while watching a repeat of Antique's Roadshow.  Repeat Show and Repeat Lunch.

3.  I will be looking at the bottom shelf in the hallway of the Library today for a nice book to use as a canvas for some ART.  Removing the pages from the cover...using the inside of the cover as a canvas, If it actually turns out to be a workable "thing" I will take pictures of the progress.

4.  The majority of last week's books are going back unread...well, I read 10 pages...each...then gave up. In the final book, yesterday...I lost track of who was who and what was what and actually...didn't care. And the husband who was supposed to be "training to live on Mars"?????? whoa.  And there was an entire family speaking German.  It was "a lot".

5.  I am going to grab a few Danielle Steele books...they require very little on my part to keep up with the plot lines...

6.  I discovered- while looking for replacement ink cartridges...that the fat Mon Blanc fountain pen husband bought me in Germany is now worth 1K.  It's now "vintage:.

 

Daily Notes on Thursday, October 2nd- Sunshine..62 degrees

 Austin Read-a-Like booklist.... tomorrow you get a Rom Com List. (the Decoy Girlfriend sounds interesting and I've read or own most of the others).  I love when a book list matches my bookcase.

Horoscope- Don't Live Someone Else's Dream when you have Your Own Dreams to Pursue.

1.  Son says ignore that little blue icon in the top right....

2.  My neck aches..Son says it's from turning my head sideways while watching tv...  I recall this happening in other years when I stayed on the couch for weeks- once with what we thought was COVID. that was long ago and it wasn't...it was the FLU.  I now get an annual Flu shot....well, I did before Trump said NO.  I'll try again tomorrow at the Grocery Store Vaccine Desk.

3.  It's getting cool enough in the house for me to wear wool socks....so it's the right TIME to start making pots of Homemade Vegetable Soup.......

4.  Lynn Painter has a new booklet....Maid For Each Other.... Gonna look for it....

5.  Law and Order episodes yesterday were dreadfully upsetting...I deleted most of the ones I decided I could NOT watch.  Will set 10 more to record today... still season one.  The CSI series  I like is still showing in the square box format....eventually- it takes months.. but they will notice and go to full screen again...... maybe.

6.  Well...that's it for today...Heating Pad, Book and Law and Order ....I also have cloth here to sew into very strange squares........nothing goes with anything else and there isn't enough scrap material to make a second one of any of them........ah...add HOT DOGS to the list......and some more Tylenol.

Daily Notes- Wednesday, October First..... with some unwanted blue extra. in the right top of this post.

I have begun reading Alexander McCall Smith's Emma.  Two pages so far and he is describing a field. An actual field.  Which I have little to no interest in.  The book has about 15 more minutes and then it goes into the return to the Library Book Bag and I read the Lottery Winners three books.  (daughter found them)...

1.  I watched a few not very good Law and Order episodes yesterday....by that I mean I watched a few minutes of each. I need to find something new to occupy myself... the last of the modern takes on Jane Austen was read and finished yesterday..... the World Cup Soccer- the camera work is not good...so I deleted the games.  I am used to the British camera work which is so so much better.

2.  The Computer Engineer doesn't know what that new blue icon in the far right top corner is....it showed up when I opened this page....he tried to remove it but it's still here.

3.  I have a few more books on the Library shelf....one of them is certainly NOT going to be describing a field.  I hope.  But then I will return to my bookcase here at home....select something I have read before... a sure thing.  Or draw things on index cards.  I did some of that yesterday... flowers.

4.   Jude posted that TypePad is gone.....I recall that they did warn people.  Jude was worried about all the years of content on her blog...... I can see all the decades of my posts...all still here on NOT Typepad-.... that would bother me a bit but I actually NEVER go back and read any of it.  I know Readers often mention reading from the beginning.  I think I have enough words written to create a large BOOK.

5.  blogger.com......free and secure...   Well, I have the desk calendar to work on- getting September off and uncovering October... the monitor is quite heavy......Son got me the larger one...I better get started.