Yes, I know it is Halloween, but...

Last night I placed my Swansons order and went to bed – before midnight even. I had just woken up this morning when I heard the phone alarm. I stayed in bed for a few minutes, but somehow it was after nine when I got to the kitchen after turning on the router and awakening the laptop. I felt good, with no effects from the hike yesterday. I read e-mail while swishing, then listened to an audio while exercising, and juicing. I paused the audio to meditate, and then made breakfast. I listened to another audio on preparing to survive a large EMP (electromagnetic pulse) which will fry everything electrical unless it is protected by a Faraday cage. He recommended ceramic water filters, freeze-dried foods, seeds, essential oils for medicinal purposes, and some sort of protection from people stealing your food. He also recommended learning a valuable skill that you can use to barter for whatever you need. I hope that includes sewing. I stitched more of the binding on the dove project as the audio played. I had to rip some out that did not meet my standards and that made it take longer. At 1:30 I decided to practice driving before the schools let out, knowing I definitely did not want to be driving when trick-or-treaters were out. I went out twice, and then the rain started. I put bedding in the back of my car, knowing it would not get wet in the rain. I tried it out, and it was fairly comfortable. Since the car recognizes my key before I use it, I wondered if the car was a transmitter, of if the key was. When I came in, I put the beef heart in a large pot on the stove to cook. I stitched through tow more audios. I stacked and ran the dishwasher. When I finished the altar cloth, I went down stairs to use stitchwitchery to fix the accidental slice. Then I called Jeanne to tell her it was ready. She called someone else, and they told her the paraments this Sunday would be white, not red. So the dove set will not be used until May or June. Oh well. I tasted the beef heart and it was done, so I had two pieces. When it was cool, I put the whole pot in the fridge. Moving on to the next project, I looked up ideas for making a quilt from a panel. I did not see anything that spoke to me. I remembered that Toniette did one once, and I looked it up on my blog. I went down to try a simpler version since this project is due Sunday afternoon, bound and quilted. (I will be so happy to have all of these projects out of the way.) When I finished the top, I came upstairs to see if Chris was on Skype, and he was. So we talked for awhile, and then he went to bed. Now it is my turn. When I was out in the garage choosing fabrics to go with the panel, it was so cold, that I thought sleeping in the car was not such a hot idea.
*  ...this panel is due on Sunday.  *

Hiking on the mountain

I did some tapping before I went to bed. I did it sitting in the den with the lights out. I could hear a roach off to the left. How is it I can hear that, but not the car engine when it needs to shift? When I went to bed, I had trouble sleeping because of another roach. This one was climbing on the venetian blinds. I saw it when I turned the light on. I swiped at it with a shoe, but it fell into a pile of Chris's clothes and scurried off. Next time I heard it, it was on the other side of the room, at another window. Why is there always a critter in my sleeping space? Am I really that attractive?

I heard the alarm go off at 8, but my back said it wasn't ready to get up. Gee, maybe hiking later isn't such a great idea. I did some stretching and rolling and finally got up. I swished, and read e-mail. I added more X-Files episodes to my Netflix account. I exercised. When I juiced, I dropped the sprout container and they went everywhere. After drinking, I sat and meditated. Then I got dressed and took out the recyclables. I saw my neighbor bringing his tub back from the road, so I left my tub in the carport. William called and seemed very talkative. I made breakfast and ate it while he was talking. Then since I was so late for the Thursday group, I decided to stay home and work on the altar cloth. I hemmed the white part that will lay on the altar. I sewed it to the top of the top. I cut strips to make binding for the red part. While trimming the top in preparation for the binding, I inadvertently cut into the white part which was stitched to the top already. So I made a note to fix that. Then I sewed the binding onto the front. It was 2:30 then, so I put it away, and came up to prepare for the hike. I put on jeans and found a backpack to hold a water bottle. I filled the bottle. I put a towel in in case I got hot and sweaty. I put in tissue to blow my nose. And I put in $2 for entry to the park. I tried on Michele's hiking shoes, but they did not fit well and I was worried that even a small difference would become large over a long walk. So I wore my jogging shoes. Then I put the backpack on and walked out the door. Terry was waiting for me in the driveway. We needed walking sticks so I grabbed a rake handle and long dowel from the carport. Terry drove us up the mountain on a long and winding road (cue Beatles music). It led to a park where we each paid $2 to get in. Then we parked in a lot with a number of other cars, some of which she recognized. She introduced me as the other ladies showed up. One of them lent me her extra jacket because the temp was definitely lower at the higher elevation. After a perusal of trail maps, Marta picked one and we headed off. It was listed as 3.4 miles. There was a natural pairing as we drifted into conversation. The pairs changed occasionally. Terry has been reading my blog so she asked about some of the things she read. The terrain was not bad, but the roots and rocks were an invitation to twist an ankle. I spent all my time watching for roots as we walked so did not notice much of the scenery. I wished I had my camera though. I was surprised how quickly we reached the end of the trail, although if we had walked any faster, I would have been running. I was tired when we got back, but it passed. We stood around talking about next time, and when a plan was made, we left. I rode back with Marta, the organizer. We stopped at the park restroom, then went into town to drop someone off and pick up dinner for her family. She dropped me off at my house and I pointed out my tent. Then she left and I sat in front of my laptop and caught up on e-mail. I ate dates, an egg, yellow yam, and fermented cabbage for supper. I called Ralph and we talked about the work he is doing on our house in Pinehurst. He said I wouldn't recognize it now. He is going to make it look so good that we will move back in. If only that house were here in Huntsville... When he was done, Chris skyped me. We did not talk long. Then I brought up the banner to finish the binding by hand. As I worked, I listened to another audio, this one on theta healing. At 10:30, I decided to call it a day and go to bed. If there were bedding in the tent, I would go out there. But it is tough to assemble in the dark. Oh yeah, I have a Swanson's order to place before midnight. I hope I get to bed by then.

*  This is Cindi wearing her pumpkin costume for trunk or treat. *

Coming in out of the rain

Last night I went to bed in the tent with earbuds. The critter came but apparently I was able to scare it away. I fell asleep listening to my ipod, but woke up hearing the rain and having to pee. I bundled all the bedding in the center of the tent, gathered up the small things (flashlight, eyemask, etc) and exited the tent, zipping it shut against the rain. I went inside for the rest of the night. It occurred to me to put my rain collecting tubs out, but I was too tired and didn't want to get wet. By morning the rain had stopped. I waited until long after the alarm to get up and start my day.

I fired up the computer and turned on the router. I checked e-mail, and put Netflix in the mail. The dirty dishes were put in the dishwasher. The sink drained slowly, so I plunged the sink. Then I scrubbed the sink. I threw out the rest of the onion soup. I put away the garb I wore for trunk-or-treat. I put away the soap I bought yesterday and the soap that came with the supplements. I put on an audio while I detoxed with coffee. I washed a little too much produce for juicing, so I put some sprouts back in the fridge for tomorrow. I packed my gym bag with three filled water bottles, towels, bathing suit, lock, etc. On my way out I saw the tent and pulled the bedding out to dry on the fence. Running late, I ran to the gym on post, and got in the sauna by 2:05. A lady came in with me but only stayed 5 minutes. Later another lady came. She did lots of stretches to warm up for weight lifting. Some time after that, the temp went up. I thought someone had turned it up, but the setting was the same when I came out. I had been in for 1.5 hours with two breaks. My three water bottles were empty, but I hadn't sweated all that much. I showered, and dressed, making a mental note to bring soap and a comb next time. I came home, combed my hair, and made breakfast. After breakfast, I mowed the front yard with all its leaves. Usually I rake first, but the grass there is so shallowly rooted. I plugged the mower back in and read e-mail. I called Terry to get details for hiking tomorrow. I ate an egg and some cheese, chocolate with dates, and dates with yellow yam. I felt like I had to eat it because I cooked it, but it was like eating really stale French bread.  Almost impossible.  I pulled the tent bedding off of the fence and put it in the garage; it was not adequately dry:(  I found my bifocals in Chris' car where I must have put them on Monday.  I needed them for choir.  I put duck eggs, and licorice tea in a bag for Jennifer. I picked up my tablet and choir music to take to church in my car. I arrived there a little early. I talked to the guys about driving stick. I gave the eggs and tea to Jennifer. She gave her daughter a $5 bill to pay for the eggs. I turned on the tablet and then Shannon sat with me. She has no trouble holding pitch. I only wish the tablet would tell me if I am on the right note. She said her elbow would tell me if I was on the wrong note. After practice, I went home. I put down half of the back seat in my car. I called up an audio on my laptop, and brought up some red thread to continue handquilting around the dove while I listened. I finished the dove and pulled out a row of basting when Chris skyped me. We talked for a little bit and he had to go to bed. Now it is my turn. Where shall I sleep tonight?

*  Here are two more trunk or treaters from Sunday  *

I met a new friend

I made up a week's worth of supplements last night. Then I went to bed with the windows open. I got up with the alarm, or so I thought. The clock read 8:30 when I got out there. Strange. I read e-mail, exercised, juiced, and watered the kale. I put 24 balls and magnifying glasses in a bag. I put the bag and the empty honey jar in my car and went to the Tuesday sewing group.  I turned in the bag of toys to the ladies who were collecting cupcakes for trunk or treat.  I talked to Beverly and then to Terry. She offered me a driving lesson. She drives a motorbike (I forget what she called it) just for around town, and it is an automatic. Maybe I should get one too. She invited me hiking this afternoon but I had a previous appointment so maybe Thursday when they hike again. On the way home, I went to the Asian store for kimbap. I ate some in the car, and drove to the gas station. I had to wait until the three cars pulled away, all at the same time. Then other cars came forward to take their place, and I had trouble starting my car. But I got a spot, filled up, and went home. I played an audio Denise recommended on thyroid problems and gluten. I poked out the colored radish bits, then ate the rest of the kimbap with kimchi. I drank the licorice root tea I made this morning. I found a box of supplements on the porch, put them away, and got the mail. I read e-mail, and got hooked on a Quora question and all the answers. Finally I pushed myself away from the computer, got in my car, and drove to Denise's house. On the way, Jennifer called to talk, but I was driving. I asked if she wanted any of what I was going for and she said she'd try the duck eggs. I arrived at Denise's house at 3, then she got in my car and we went the back way to Alison's little farm. Alison showed us the chickens, the dogs, the horses, the mealy worms and the ducks. We got to feed bread to the chickens. The dogs found a dead chicken in the field behind the house. We don't know what killed it. She was still having a problem with the hawks. She is also having a problem keeping her bees alive. I bought soap, honey and eggs. We went back to Denise's house and she showed me around. She has a very nice yard, with a good crop of lettuce and kale. After her husband came home, it was time for me to leave. He complained about the traffic on his way home, so I was worried, but as I was going the other way, I needn't have. Denise called me on the way home to say she meant to have me look at her fermented cabbage to see how it was doing. I had to hang up when I needed to change lanes. On Drake, the jar of honey fell over and I picked it up and held it in place on the passenger seat. That would have been impossible in a stick shift car. When I got home, I ate an egg (store-bought) and some chocolate with dates. I put on another audio. I also had some yellow yam with dates. I took the audio downstairs to listen to as I worked on the banner. I took the backing fabric out of the dryer and ironed it. I drew lines on the banner and pinned along them then stitched. I decided to handstitch around the dove. I had just started that when Chris contacted me on Skype. We talked downstairs and then I took the laptop upstairs to recharge the battery. After his call, I checked for new e-mail, read some previous e-mail, and then brought my banner upstairs to work on while watching the last episode of X-files. After the episode, there was a mention of special features if the disc were inserted in a DVD rom. I thought my laptop was using a DVD rom to play it, but just in case, I put it in the desktop. Still no special features, just a waste of time. I came out to finish my blog and go to bed – somewhere.
*  Shannon the good witch at trunk or treat  *

Sewing to beat the band

I slept in the bedroom last night. After having the windows open all day and putting the fan on, the air was cleaner and fresher. I still turned off the router. When the alarm went off at 8, it seemed to go on for a longer time than usual so I got up to see what happened, and I couldn't tell. But it was 8:01 when it finished and that was definitely unusual. I went back to bed but not for long since I wanted to call Ralph. I did not see his number in my phone, so I turned on the router and laptop to find his number. I got caught up in reading e-mail. Then I put his number in my phone, but I heard the garbage truck, so I ran the garbage out to the road. Then I saw the kale needed watering, so I did that. Then I checked the tent and got stung by a large bee inside. I got him out with a stick, but it made me wonder how he got in. I came inside to find something for the sting. I could not find sodium bicarbonate, so I used potassium bicarbonate. It felt better and I tapped, and made a list of things to mention to Ralph. Then I called him, but only got his voicemail again. So I went back to my e-mail. Jeanne called to say she had finished with the dove and could drop it off at the church later this morning. I had e-mailed a friend last night and sent it to both of the addresses that popped up. Well, she wrote back to say only one was still in use. So I went to my address book to delete the other one, and it wasn't in there. However, it still pops up when I type her name into the recipient line. How do I get rid of it? I realized it was 10 and I needed to get moving if I were to get to Jeanne on time. She had given me her cell number, so I typed it into my phone. I forgot to exercise, but took the vitamin C , and colostrum. I juiced, and meditated, and made breakfast. I started listening to an audio about meditation. I packed my sewing stuff in Chris' car, and drove to the church. I set up my machine in the back. Jeanne called to say she was here, so I went out front to meet her and get the banner now with dove. While the other ladies ate lunch, I cut squares and strips to make the two blocks due today, then handquilted on the border of Barbara's quilt. When Lauri was ready to leave, I sold her the rest of the band fabric because she wanted it and I knew it would be awhile until I used it up. I drove home with no problem because I did not have to stop at the intersection of Drake and Whitesburg. I moved my sewing stuff inside, and ate the rest of the fish and checked e-mail. I listened to more of the audio, and turned the fan on, but then had trouble hearing the audio. I checked out the tent,and it was ok – no bees. I raked leaves in the back yard. When I came in, I called Dad. He talked for quite some time, and seems to be alright. I tried eating some yellow yam, but it was not good so I assumed I hadn't baked it long enough. I put it in the oven. I put some onion soup in the toaster oven. I opened a Halloween card from MaryAnn. It had a cute play on words. I ate a boiled egg. I went downstairs to find fabric to back the altar cloth. It had to be white because it hangs on the edge and the rest goes under the white parament. Well, I found an old but good sheet that had been cut into. It was big enough, but there were two spots on it. I treated them with a stain stick. Then I decided that if I backed it with the same fabric I used for the matching pulpit cloth, then I would not need as much white (and therefore the stains would not matter.) So I laid the backing out on the pingpong table, and taped it down. Then I spread the top on the backing and pinned it once in each block. I machine-basted around the edges. Then I considered how to quilt it. I marked one line, put the sheet in the wash, then came up to eat my now-cooled onion soup. It did not taste right, so I took some activated charcoal after I finished eating it. I got online to read e-mail and watch some tapping videos, waiting for Chris to come online. When I pulled the chunks of yellow yam from the oven, they were very crusty on the outside and flaky on the inside, like a piece of hard over-done bread. Since it was so much like bread, I decided to try it with ghee. Chris skyped me so I talked to him for a while, and then when he was putting his supper away, I got another piece of yam and applied the ghee. After we were done, he hung up and I finished my tapping video. I posted to my blog and considered whether I should watch the last episode of X-Files or save it for tomorrow night (when it might get late again).

Parade of characters

I fell asleep in the tent, listening to the critter who managed to find its way underneath. It was around 7am so I went in and laid in bed. I heard the alarm go off, but did not get right away because of the time change. When I did get up, I went downstairs to sew the last seam. Then I discovered that two of the other seams were wrong. I had sewed them 3-2-1 instead of 1-2-3. So I took them apart and sewed them back together. I checked my laptop and phone to make sure the time had changed, but they were not changing. I called Chris' phone just to make my cell phone to speak to the tower and still the time did not change. I took a shower and went online. The time changes this weekend... in Europe! I checked my calendar. The note “Summer Time Ends” was followed by “(EU)”. So no, the time hadn't changed, not here in Alabama. I grabbed my choir folder and stuff and headed to church. I walked in during the first hymn. My regular seat was full so I had to sit one row behind. There was a puppet stage sitting off to the side, blocking my view of the altar area. It was hard to squeeze around for the choir anthem and then communion. After the service, I gave the pastor's wife the pants I had hemmed for her and the banner in progress. She said she would leave the banner for Jeanne to pick up. Jennifer left some licorice root in her office for me so I picked that up before I left to go to the grocery store, trying to remember what three things were on the list and I finally did. I bought what I needed and went home. I changed clothes and put the groceries away. I made breakfast. I put the rice out to charge in the sunlight. I got out the garb and selected one for a fortune tellers costume. I had to take everything else off because it was so hot. I went through my old jewelry to find something appropriate. I opened my hatchback to put in the big black pot and toys. If the neighbors saw me in my costume with the black pot, they were poking each other saying “I told you there was something not right about her. “ I read my owner's manual, but there was nothing to tell me how to turn off the interior hatch light. I looked it up online, but nothing there either. Then I called my father-in-law, but he was out running. I finished putting the stuff in the car, hoping I'd thought of everything. On the way to church, Al called. He said that one light on shouldn't hurt the battery, but to run the car for a few minutes every hour to be sure. I parked in my assigned spot, and set up shelf as a table, covering it with fabric. I pinned pumpkin fabric to inside of car with the hatch up. I put toys in the pot and covered them with rice, but the rice ran between the toys and they were obvious. I pulled some out, but still the rice did not cover. The couple next to me were dressed like minions. They had a toss game for kids to play before they got candy. The balls would roll away and one rolled under my car. So I pulled out an old broom to sweep it out. She asked if I always had one in my car and I replied that my fortune-telling skills told me I would need it...and if my car broke down, I would have a ride home. Ha, ha. At 4:30 the kids made their rounds. I knew many of them, but the event was open to the community. Of course, several large churches were doing the same thing on a larger scale, so we did not get many extra. When the initial set of kids had collected their goodies, there were games and food. The kids won...more candy! Someone was giving hay rides in the back lot. I did not ride so am not sure of the route (if they went through the lawn or down to the greenway). A few more kids came. Some adults asked me to tell their fortune. I told Patrick that there was a lot of candy in his future (his son was dressed like the Tardis and collecting candy). A girl was dressed like Dr. Who and had a sonic screwdriver. As it got dark, I handed out glow-in-the-dark rice to those who wanted some.  They asked me how I made it, but did not believe my story about tweezers and a tiny paintbrush.  Shannon was dressed like a witch and had a cauldron of dry ice. But no broom. I tried to give her my broom, but she did not want it. Kelly was dressed like a devil, all in red. She stood out by the street to draw in people for our church truck-or-treat. It was ironic. After the first hour, I ran my car for a few minutes to make sure the battery was still charged. But when it was time to go home, I had no trouble starting the car. I came home and parked nose first in the carport. I opened the hatch and set everything outside, and closed it. Then it took me several trips to bring it all in. I ate some fish soup for supper. I sent a skype text to Chris. I finished an audio from this morning, and cleared new e-mails. I did not want to take off my costume because it felt so right to wear it. I watched an episode of X-Files, and was watching a second one when Chris called me on Skype. After we talked, I finished that episode and decided to save the last one for tomorrow night. I downloaded all the pics I took today and cropped a few.  I wrote my blog post, and thought about where to sleep tonight.

Pics of pics

Last night when I turned out the lights, the clear plastic bucket of rice glowed, 'though not enough to photograph. But then I noticed that the newspaper that the rice had dried on was glowing too. Cool.

I went out to the tent to sleep. Someone was having a party with loud music, but around midnight they turned it off. Not long after that, nature called. After I answered, I came back out to the tent. I heard two little critters scratching under the tent. However, I did not hover on the edge of sleep, like yesterday, imagining things and wondering if they were real. I thought about where else I could sleep which would be away from electrical fields and critters and open to fresh air. I went to sleep, and woke up, probably around 7. After gathering up my energy, I came in and laid down until long after my alarm went off. Then I fired up the computer, and went through the usual routine. I unstacked the dishwasher and put the dishes away. I listened to an audio, read e-mail, juiced, and watered the kale. I meditated, and made breakfast. I finished the audio, and made plans to visit Alison to get soap and eggs and honey. I called Parker. She said they took the trampoline away and so were done. But I need to call Ralph to find out what all he is going to do so Parker can hire people to clean and pick up the yard if necessary. I laid in the sun, then started laundry. I looked at old photos rescued from the shed. I left Ralph a message to call me. I raked leaves, and put bricks all around the tent to impede the critter, thinking that this tent thing isn't working out as well as I had hoped. But sleeping indoors is a problem too. Maybe it's just menopause. I came in to check my phone for messages, and then listen to another audio. The audio mentioned spiritual parasites. Sounds yucky. I ate the rest of a jar of fish soup, and went through a pile of pics of old quilt projects and photographed them for my Pinterest page. It was hard to get a pic without reflection from overhead lights or my shirt. I uploaded the pics to Pinterest. I read old blog entries and realized that I used to get a lot more sewing done. I went down to sew all the red strip blocks together. When I was down to the last seam, it was time to check for Chris on Skype. He and Michele were on so I called. We had a nice time chatting about old times and old music. I tried to make my rice glow for them, but it wouldn't show up. Chris went to bed and Michele and I chatted some more. I held up old photographs to her to see. At 11 it was time to sign off and go to bed. But not before blogging. 

*  I could not resist these pics of Michele and I wearing the same outfit.  *

A new 'recipe'

Last night I went right to the tent. It felt good, the air was fresh, and crisp. My mp3 headphones played a relaxing meditation. But I could not sleep on my side with it in my ears, so I took the headphones off when the meditation was over. The critter came very late and made annoying noises. Eventually I fell asleep, but it was still dark when nature called and I had to go inside. I went to bed and heard the alarm sound at 8 but did not get up until my cortisol kicked in. That is the only way I can explain why all of a sudden I got up. I turned on the laptop and the router. It was a normal morning after that. I heard an audio on clearing ancestral issues. I watered the kale. I made rainbow rice and added glow-in-the-dark paint: some red, orange, purple, blue and plain. I left it to dry and charge with light on cookie sheets outside. At noon I juiced, cleaned up, and meditated. By 1 I was ready to make breakfast. Then the rice was dry, so I put it into two containers. I cleared spam looking for today's interview by Jack Canfield. I did not find it, but was able to use yesterday's link. I finished my breakfast, and took my supplements. I was able to lay in the sun for 20 minutes. I watered the kale again. I finished the audio. I looked up how to make vinegar, and how to drive stick. I watched videos on how to downshift to pass other cars. But it did not make sense to me. Most videos were too elementary. I found one that explained how the engine/transmission connection works, which was interesting. I skyped with Kurt a little bit. I rearranged the bedding in the tent, and wiped up some water in there. I raked leaves in the side yard and dumped them in the garden. I checked e-mail again. I looked through pics on my computer and in my blog to send to the philharmonic which was asking for updates on its founding members. I found some to add to my Pinterest page. I watched more driving videos. I ate cold fish soup. I saw a video on clutchless shifting, and how the clutch works; the parts involved in the 'oreo cookie' that makes up the clutch assembly. It was more like a brake pad then a gear. Now I know why the gear shift looks like an 'H'. For each pair of gears (1,2) (3,4) (5,6), there is one dog clutch that moves right or left to engage a gear. Chris skyped me. Then I stacked and ran the dishwasher. While it ran, I watched an episode of X-Files. Now that my blog is written, it is time to go to bed.

*  Hey Grandpa, What's for supper? 

 Red glow-in-the-dark rice.  

Mmm Mmm.  *

Red and done

My stomach gurgled so much last night that I could not sleep. I tapped for that and other things. I fell into bed with my house keys, intending to go out to the tent. I woke with the alarm. My stomach still gurgling. I guess fish and breakfast don't go together. I checked e-mail. There was one from the handyman saying our tenant was upset because someone broke into the garage and stole some of his stuff. I did not know if it was just somethings we took that he thought were his or what. I called Parker, but got no answer. I called a neighbor, but her phone was busy. I cleared more e-mail, and put on an audio while I exercised, juiced, and made breakfast. I watered the newly-planted kale. I took out the recyclables, and put misdelivered mail back in the box. I tried the neighbor again. She told me that she saw lots of activity over there. Then I got a hold of Parker. She knew nothing of any break-in. She said the tenant was wasting her time by not showing up when he said he would to pick up his stuff. I took Chris' car to quilting. I did not bring anything to work on since I got there so late. A lady named Michelle offered to go driving with me. I told the group she would have white hair by the time we got back. We drove around for awhile, to my house and back and up a steep hill. When we got back, she said I did well. We all sat around gabbing for while. When I got up to go, Mary said they were waiting for me to leave before they got on the road. Ha, ha. When I got home, I brought in the mail, and laid in the sun. I played another audio. Parker called back to say that the father says they have all the want except for the trampoline. She sent me listings of comparable homes that sold in the last year. I ate the rest of a sweet potato, then had some strawberries and chocolate. I raked up pinecones (which usually gives me splinters), and then pinestraw. I mowed the grass revealed by the pinestraw and also the weeds growing in the ditch behind the property. I replanted some kale in the spaces where it died and watered the new plants immediately. I looked at the listings Parker sent. I searched online for ideas on how to dress up plain cabinet doors, and found nothing. I listened to an audio on biohacking. I warmed up a bowl of fish soup, and put the rest in jars so I can wash the pot for trunk-or-treat. I went downstairs to finished sewing the red blocks. Then I came up to skype with Chris. He is feeling better. I wrote an e-mail to Parker with suggestions. Then I found my missing block, and laid out all the blocks and took a pic. I sent it to the lady who makes the doves. I was worried about using too many dark strips, but the pic suggests I didn't use enough.  Then again, red doesn't photograph well.   Now I am ready for bed.

The sauna at the gym

Last night I sat in the dark, tapping and getting up now and then to add to my list of things I want to discuss with Parker – if she ever answers the phone or calls me back. I laid down in the tent, but like last night, I left the tent in the middle of the night to drink and go potty and then fell into bed until morning. I stayed in bed a little late, then got up to vacuum my computer fan ports because the fan makes so much noise. Then I turned on the laptop and the router. I also vacuumed the bathroom, hallway, and part of the den. I drank several glasses of lemon water. I killed a roach crawling on the counter top. Then I locked the dishwasher and plugged sink to stop others from coming in. I washed three water bottles and the water pitcher. I played an audio, while I exercised. I saw the meter man come by to read the meter. I wasn't completely dressed, so I hid. But I was glad to see him, because it means we don't have a smart meter. I ground coffee, and boiled water and drybrushed. I did a detox, then poured out the coffee grounds. That is when I realized that the kale I planted yesterday never got watered. I watered it hoping it wasn't as dead as it looked. I got dressed, packed a gym bag, and filled three water bottles. I took a bag of Dvd's and a bottle of coconut water to post. I waited in front of the gym for Denise. When she arrived, I followed her to the women's lockerroom and sauna. I put on my bathing suit and put everything else in a locker. The sauna was small and private so we talked in there. We stayed a little long, about 40 minutes. We came out to cool off and finish our conversation. After she left, I went back in for a while, tapped, then took a shower. I got dressed, and drove to the library to drop off the DVD's. When I got home, I put fish soup in a bowl in the toaster oven, then realized that I never got breakfast. So I made breakfast, ate it and then ate the fish soup. I finished an audio from this morning and another one. It was hard to hear over the fan noise, but then later it quieted down. The second audio was on the danger of smart meters. Not only is there a risk of dirty electricity, and pulsed radiation, but also the potential for the meter to send information about what electronics are used in the home and when, possibly even what channel you're watching. This is info that can be sold to third parties. The risk is even greater as many appliances are going online. I went downstairs to pull some fabrics together for the last row of the red altar cloth. When it was time, I grabbed my choir folder and tablet and headed to church. I guess I didn't need the tablet because Shannon was there. She has been gone since January. We practiced 4 songs. Then I stayed after practice because Jennifer wanted advice on how to hem her daughter's concert dress. The school had just given the dresses out and the concert is next week. It was a multi-gored a-line dress, and Jennifer only wanted a temporary hem since the dress is supposed to be worn for the the next three years. I recommended tape and Mary suggested stitchwitchery. We also looked at taking it up in the shoulders instead. There was not a good way to do it. When I drove home, it was dark. I called up an audio by Jack Canfield on my laptop and took it downstairs to listen to while I worked on the last row. Chris skyped me and it was loud enough to get my attention. I brought the laptop up so we could chat in comfort. He kept it short because he was tired. He said there would not be a time change there, so when we in the states 'fall back', he and I will be on the same time schedule. I posted to my blog, hoping to make it through the night in the tent.

*  This is a quilt top that Bertha made  *

Why is it never easy?

Last night I laid down in the tent with my eyeshades and mp3 headphones. I was comfortable and plenty warm. But there was a dryness in my throat that would not let me sleep. I stayed there until the headphones ran out of power. Then I went inside to drink. There was a strobe light effect from a column of lights in the distance. I had never noticed this before and wondered if a new cell phone tower had been built just north east of here. After a glass of water, I fell into bed.

I got up when I heard the alarm. I wrote a list of things to do today. I checked e-mail, exercised, juiced, and cleaned up in the kitchen. I grabbed a pair of pants that needed the hem fixed (and needle and thread) and went to the Tuesday quilt meeting. I talked to Beverly as I finished re-stitching the hem: one more thing off my list of things to do for other people. She left and Jane talked to me. She gave me a coupon for Michaels. Several people reminded me that we are all supposed to bring cupcakes next week to donate to their trunk-or-treat. I was noncommittal on the cupcakes

. When I left there, I had to pull out into Jordan road traffic. It made me think that Tuesdays will be the last day I add to the list of days I drive Chris' car. For now it is Mondays and next I will add Thursdays. I stopped at the Asian store for kimbap and sprouts. I also bought a persimmon to try juicing. I ate half of the kimbap in the car. Then I drove over to Michaels to look for glow-in-the-dark paint for kids. I couldn't find it so I had to ask. They couldn't find that kind, but called the # on one bottle and learned that the AP seal meant it was non-toxic, approved for kids, etc. So I bought the smallest bottle. Then I walked to the bank to get cash. The loan officer waved to me so I chatted with her for awhile. Then I got money and came home. I put on an audio on adrenal fatigue. It was dead on. I finished the kimbap with kimchi. I ate the hummus from yesterday's lunch. I laid out in the sun for 20 minutes. Then I made breakfast. I spent some time outside raking up magnolia cones and packing them in the hole in the backyard and covering it with dirt. I am sure they will eventually decompose and the hole will be back. I also replanted a dozen of the kale seedlings into the flower bed by the house to grow as long as the weather permits. I went to my sewing room to work on row 4 of the red dove banner. I played an audio as I worked. I ran out of bobbin thread and wound 5 more so that won't happen again any time soon. When the audio finished, I was going to play the meditation that went with it, but it would not play uninterrupted in the couch area. So I went upstairs to play it in the bedroom. I took a break to check e-mail and eat some sweet potato and let the laptop recharge. I went back down to finish row 4 and pull out some fabrics for row 5. It was almost 9 so I came up to skype with Chris. He asked me to scan a paper that came in the mail. Well, the desktop had rebooted itself and was not responding to the mouse. I tried ctl-alt-delete to reboot it, but that doesn't reboot any more. It brought up a list of options that I could not get the cursor to. But by random tabs, I eventually hit something that rebooted it. THEN, when the item was scanned and saved, it did not appear in the folder in which I saved it. Like Captain Dylan Hunt, I had to ask “Why is it never easy?” When I finally got a hold of it, it said it was in that file. ?!?!?!? “Microsoft sucks” is the only explanation that makes sense. I sent Chris the scan and took a moment to write to my blog before going to bed.
*  this is a picture Chris sent me from his quarters in Honduras.  I wasn't expecting it to be so green.  *

Like it was all a dream

Chris' alarm went off at 4:30. We did not get up. Later he took a shower. When he left the bedroom dressed, I got dressed and put h2o2 in my ears and gargled with it. Then I joined him in the den. I just watched him for a little bit, then I started stacking the dishwasher. When he was ready, we went to my car. I let him drive us to the airport. There was more traffic than I expected, but it wasn't bad. We got out, kissed and said goodbye. He went in the terminal, and I drove home. I was proud not to have cried much. But it did involve forcing myself to think other thoughts. I had no trouble following the traffic signs home. I went back to bed, and was glad I could. I fell asleep. When I woke up, the sun was shining.  It was like the last two weeks were but a dream. I heard my alarm go off, but did not get up. Then I heard a phone ring, but it didn't sound like mine. I was worried that Chris had left his behind. I searched for it, but could not find it before it stopped ringing. Then I heard my phone chime a voicemail. So I checked it. It said Chris called, so I called him back. He told me he was boarding the plane in Atlanta and that he loved me. After the call, I checked the voicemail. It wasn't a message, it was Chris talking to some agent at the airport at a distance. Since I was up, I finished stacking the dishwasher and ran it since it did not get its Friday run. I boiled my toothbrushes. I sat down to read e-mail. I tried to listen to some audios from last week, but they must have expired yesterday. I played an audio that came in today as I exercised, and juiced. I meditated on my own, and made breakfast. Then I meditated again because there was a meditation on the audio. I packed a lunch, and took Chris' car to quilting. I worked on Barbara's quilt with Bertha, and Alice. Denise called, and I talked to her for some time. We agreed to meet on Wednesday. I worked on the quilt some more. We may finish it in November. I asked Bertha to take me to the airport for Christmas, and she said she'd be in town. Lauri gave me a bag of scraps that she bought at the quilt shop. Alice added more scraps to it. I marked the last quilting lines on Barbara's quilt before we packed it up. Bertha followed me onto Drake so I would feel safe in case I stalled Chris' car. I had trouble at the light because somehow I had put it in reverse instead of first. But then I was ok and she turned in the church parking lot and went the other way to meet the other ladies at a restaurant for dinner. They asked me, too, but I told them I was having fish soup. By their expressions, you would have thought I announced I was going to eat raw liver.

When I got home, I checked the mail, and then put fish soup in a bowl in the toaster oven. But I was too hungry to wait, so I ate some cheese as I sat down to read e-mail. I ate the fish soup with a little rice thrown it. I unloaded the dishwasher, and loaded the tent with bedding. I checked the weather report and it was going to be dry and cold. I read e-mail, and listened to some short audios. I looked through old pictures rescued from the shed in Pinehurst. Some were of my mother and I wished I had had them at her funeral. Chris skyped me from his quarters in Honduras. I tried to play an audio but it took too long to download, so I went downstairs to sew. I saw that there was one episode of Castle left. So I watched it. Then I finished the third row of red strip squares. I realized that the first square in row one was missing and went looking for it. But I did not find it :( Then it was time to go to bed.

*  This is Bertha wearing the lovely jacket Dinah made for her  *

Sticks and cones

I got up when I heard my phone alarm. The thermostat in the hall read 66. I closed the windows and turned on the heat. I tried to practice the choir anthem but I sounded like a wornout squeaky toy. I put h2o2 in my ears and on my toothbrush to disinfect it. Chris browned onion and garlic a large black pot. I saw him put slabs of coconut oil in a dish. He added fish to the pot. I wondered about the dish of coconut oil. Then I found out it wasn't for kitchen purposes. Fast forward to taking a shower to get it all off. I dressed for church, made breakfast, and only had time to eat part of it. We went to church. Rachel remarked about what a lovely quilt it was. I did not have to wonder about her comment for long, as the quilt was shown off at the beginning of church and its raffle announced. I tried to sing the first hymn, but it only made my voice worse. I decided to dab at my nose with my left hand so I could pass the peace with my right and not pass more than peace. But my hands touched each other during the service so I could have overshared. Everyone loved seeing Chris. When Rachel did the children's story, she had the kids identify all the different vegetables in the harvest display by the altar. I meant to get a picture of the display after the service. When we got bread at communion, I was not sure whose communion bread it was. It was dark like mine, but not in squares. After the service, I got lots of kind comments on the quilt. One lady bought 10 tickets at $5 each. I still couldn't talk right, but I congratulated Roz on her birthday (85 or 86). The man who almost gave me a ride to the airport back in July told me that if I ever needed a ride for anything, to call him. Yikes. We came home. I could smell the fish cooking. I finished breakfast. Chris put laundry in the washer. I went outside to pick up sticks and fallen limbs until Chris was ready to shop. We went to Publix for groceries for me. We were able to use a Publix coupon that came in the mail. I drove us home in Chris' car and had no trouble. We put the groceries away. I finished my Chinese dinner from last night with chopsticks. I worked outside picking up the rest of the fallen limbs, and threw dirt in a hole in the back yard. That did not fill it, so I thought about adding magnolia cones next time. I read e-mail, and talked to Kurt. Chris helped me pick flights to Richmond and back again for Christmas. I ate some fish, and Chris made a chicken burrito. We went down to watch episodes of Castle. We ate dates with sections of a 99% dark chocolate bar that Chris picked up at Fresh Market. After we finished season 4 of Castle, it was time for Chris to pack for his trip in what always seems like the middle of the night. He asked for thread, so I wound black, white and dark blue on a slip of cardboard. He finished packing. I asked him to bring my embroidery machine up to Grandma's sewing table so I could use it when the time came. Then he went to bed, and I stayed up just long enough to post to my blog.

*  this is the big kale plant that survived last winter  *

Castle and kale

I had trouble breathing during the night.  I put essential oils on a cotton ball and held it near my nose to alleviate congestion.  However, it got too close and some of the oil got on my skin.  It burned.  I tried washing it off with water but that just spread it.  So then I rubbed olive oil on it and that quieted it down immediately.
  We stayed in bed late for being up so late. I put h2o2 in my ears, I swished, I gargled, I took two packets of highpowered vitamin C, and the old colostrum. I juiced the last of the carrots plus some cherry tomatoes and some small peppers growing out back. I threw in some sweet potato vine 'cause there wasn't quite the usual two cups. I laid in the sun in the back yard. Then I made breakfast. I read e-mail while I ate. I took a shower and dressed.  I researched trunk-or-treat ideas and saw lots of glow-in-the-dark crafts. We might have gone somewhere close. Chris brough in the mail. There were two bottles of calcium and magnesium. I added them to the supplements I made up last night. Then we watched multiple episodes of Castle. Around 5 we took a break to go to a nearby Chinese restaurant because on one episode they were eating Chinese food. I ordered the squid with pickled vegetables because that was recommended by our waitress. She didn't seem friendly until I tasted it and told her it was good. She was warmer after that. Chris got pork. At the end of the meal, Chris opened his cookie to reveal a slip of paper which said something about traveling and coming into a fortune. Mine said I should try something daring. I figured it meant I should drive Chris' car home, but I didn't. I sat in the car while he went into Fresh Market for garlic and onions. Then he drove us home. We spent the rest of the evening watching Castle episodes and went to bed. I think there was more to this day than I remember.

*  These are my baby kale plants  *

Catching up

Chris turned his alarm off when it rang so I never heard it. I got up to go to the bathroom and he told me about the alarm. He got up to take a shower and go to the eye doctor. I swished, exercised and checked e-mail. I was doing my Wednesday detox when Chris came back. I got dressed and we went to the mechanic to pick up my car. He told us my transmission could not be fixed and he could not recommend a used transmission. He brought the car around front for us to take home. I asked what kind of car he would get. He said used, and probably a Toyota or Kia. For $45 they would check out any used car that I might want to buy. I drove home and Chris followed me as far as the optometrist. I finished my detox and he picked up his new glasses and went to post to chat with people he used to work with. I juiced carrots and thawed some cucumber popsicles. Then I made breakfast and ate it. I laid out in the sun. I heard the mailman, so when I was finished sunning, I checked the front door and the mailbox. I found two boxes; one of supplements and one of small toys to hand out for Halloween. I cleared more e-mail and listened to an audio on exercise. When Chris got home, we looked at airfare to Richmond and to Belize, both in dollars and in air miles. When to travel depended partly on when someone would be available to pick me up at the airport. He called his parents, and I talked to Faye and Kurt. Only Faye had any idea what her holiday schedule might be. Chris was worried about my dad driving to the airport. I called Allison to find out when I could come by for soap, honey and eggs. She did not have any soap left, so it will be next week or later until she could get more made. I went outside to rake leaves and pick up sticks. I rolled up one hose and hung it in the shed. I turned off the water timer and disconnected it. I set the mower to short and gave the lawn inside the fence its last mowing of the year. I started mowing outside the fence too, but it got dark. I raked up the magnolia cones from the driveway and called it quits. I came in for supper, which consisted of chicken and fermented cabbage. I wrote e-mails to Parker and Ralph about the rental house. Chris took the communion bread from the freezer and we got in his car. I drove us to the church where we dropped off the bread. Then I drove us almost home and then to the church where I quilt on Mondays, and back home. Chris thought it went well, but that hill was a challenge. He cut up a cabbage for me while I made up ten doses of supplements, setting aside those that needed reordering. Then I cut up an onion and salted the cabbage-onion mixture to draw out the cabbage juice. My eyes stung badly from the cut onion. I crushed up some herbs to add to the mixture. Then I ran some purified water through the coffee maker to heat up. I mixed it with unheated water to make lukewarm. Then I dissolved a packet of fermentation starter and some sugar. I pressed the cabbage mixture tightly into three jars. I poured some starter liquid on all three and put on the lids. When Chris was ready, we went down to watch 2 episodes of Castle before going to bed. 

*  this is a pic of the basement of the house in Pinehurst

A good trip home

I got up in the middle of the night with a sore throat. I took 2 packets of vitamin C and went back to bed. Later I got up to drink some fermented cabbage juice, and do some tapping. I also swished with my tooth powder which has a nasal-clearing effect. Alarm went off at 7 but we stayed in bed a little later.  I did some tapping for a quick easy trip to Huntsville.  We took a shower and dressed. Joyce made eggs for Chris for breakfast. I assembled my usual breakfast from my breakfast box, and made green juice. It tasted terrible and I looked forward to going back to juicing again when I get home. When I finished breakfast, Chris had finished packing the car so we bid Joyce and Bob goodbye and we started our trip home. The book on 30 CDs finally finished. We started it so long ago that it wouldn't have bothered me to listen again from the beginning. But we started a new one by Richard Castle. It was full of action and I had trouble following it. Sleeping on and off during the trip probably explained a lot of it. Chris stopped for gas and I asked him for a bottle of water which I drank immediately. So we had to stop again later at a rest area. We got home about 4:45. Chris and I emptied the car. We cried together as we brought out things that belonged to Michele when she was a kid. There were a lot of ripe cherry tomatoes hanging on the plants so I ate most of them, and some small bell peppers that were ripe. The kale was still alive, but the carrot top was gone. I think something ate it. I hope whatever it was doesn't like kale. I went to bed for a short while, but my brain would not let me rest. So I got up and ate some raw cheese. I asked Chris for a rotisserie chicken and he procured one for me. I put water in the coffee maker and mint in the filter, as well as dandelion tea bags in the pot. I drank that hot tea while reading e-mail. I also listened to an audio on EMF radiation. I had to put away the items in the breakfast box because ants found it. I slathered myself in magnesium oil after reading (again) about how it helps one sleep. After the audio, we went downstairs to watch the last few episodes of Warehouse 13. Then Chris went to bed, and now it is my turn.

*  this is the hot tub after the top got broken  *

Some things are better than expected

Last night after I posted, I asked Chris to tweeze the grey hairs out of my eyebrows. Unfortunately when I do it, I get brown hairs by mistake. I don't have much room left for such mistakes.

Chris' alarm went off at 7. I heard it but did not get up. The bed was too comfortable, or I was. But by 7:30 we were both up. I exercised, and then made my green drink in the kitchen while talking to Joyce. Then I added fermented coconut milk to my pre-made breakfast and ate it. Chris was ready to roll before I was. We planned to meet our agent at the back of the property at 8:30. We pulled up a few minutes late, and waited. Then I called. She was already in the house, looking it over with the man who she gets to fix things. She greeted us at the door, and then showed us the house. It was in much better shape than I had imagined. Of course my imagination was fueled by our agent, and she was surprised too. There were plenty of little things to fix; some normal wear and tear, and some not so normal. And a lot of deep cleaning. Her repair man made a list so he could give us an estimate. She had called the lock people to open the house because no keys were turned in. However, when she got there, the doors were all unlocked. So when the lock people arrived, they were instructed to replace the locks on the three house doors and the garage door. They did that and gave keys to her and us. She gave one to the repair man. He gave me an invoice for some work he did two months ago. I could not believe that she hadn't paid him. So I wrote him a check. He wanted my name, address and e-mail so he could send me a receipt. Then he left. We talked with her a little more, and then she left. Chris opened the shed door and we started going through stuff in there to weed out anything we did not want to ship to Huntsville. Then he went to a store for lightbulbs, paper towels, toilet paper, a flashlight, and batteries. I found a flashlight in the shed, but it needed a lamp-type battery. I went through stuff I hadn't seen in years. I marked several things with yellow tape, but the yellow did not show up well, hardly better than masking tape. I made piles of items to take right away, items to throw away, and items to donate. Chris came back with his purchases. The light bulbs helped a lot. I don't know if the tenants took a lot with them, or they were burned out and hadn't been replaced. I called Ralph, the gentleman who did some fixing up for us when we left back in 2008. He came over to see what needed to be done. Everything he saw, he said was a small job. We told him he could have the hottub since it would be too expensive to haul it to Huntsville and we did not know if it worked (the tenants drained it and turned it off. Also, something happened when they moved out and the top was stove in so it was full of pinestraw and dirty water). He seemed happy about that. After he left, Hannah walked over to talk and say how happy she was that they moved out and that she wished we could move back. We went through stuff in the garage, moving to the shed the items we wanted to ship. We came across items that belonged to Michele's childhood which made us both cry. We found Grandma's grill, and Chris' grandma's parrot. Parker called to say the tenant wanted to come by and apologize, but lost his nerve so he called her. He wanted to come over and get some more of their stuff. He also offered to haul off everything else (theirs and ours) if we paid the poundage fee charged by the dump. Durham drove over on his lawn tractor. He likes to talk, and was also glad that the tenants had left. After he left, we walked around the property finding items left by kids, mostly full of water and probably growing mosquitoes. The bushes were overgrown, but it could have been worse. Then we finished up in the shed and garage because the daylight was fading. I took some pics of holes behind the house. Our host called to say that supper was almost ready. We hadn't known we were invited for supper, but it was really nice since we hadn't stopped for lunch. We drove back to her house. As we sat for supper, I realized just how tired I was. Joyce served us chili that she made in her new crockpot. It was good, especially with the cheese. We told them about our day, and they told us about theirs. Then the conversation turned to other topics, like previous employments. By nine we were tired and ready for bed. But of course we had to check e-mail first and I was surprised to see over 200 unread e-mail messages. I deleted the ones I had no intention of reading. Then I wrote to my blog, trying to remember what all had happened during the day. I know I will have to tap for all the feelings that came up as we went through our stuff, discarding things that triggered old memories, and wondering if I would be sorry later for anything we left behind today.

Pinehurst and some great conversation

I got up when the alarm rang at 8. My phone was in the den recharging which means I had to get up to shut it off. I talked to Dad, then exercised, and made green juice. It was not so bad this morning, but then I realized that I had left out the trace mineral drops. That put it back to absolutely disgusting. I told Dad that we would be leaving and asked him what we could do for him before we left. I was expecting banking stuff, but he gave me a pair of pants to hem. After hemming the pants, I made two breakfasts, one for today and one for tomorrow. I read e-mail, and listened to a short audio. Chris packed the car, and I packed up my laptop. We said goodbye to Dad and got on the road about 11. Chris followed the GPS to Pinehurst, which was not the way we have ever gone before. We stopped in Aberdeen to visit the game store, but there was no one there that Chris knew from when we lived here. Then we stopped at WalMart for yellow painter's tape to mark items in storage on our property. Then we went through the traffic circle (not as bad as I remembered) to Joyce's house. She and her husband welcomed us, and showed us their guest room. We spent the afternoon catching up. She served us meatloaf, potatoes, and green broccoli for supper. The men had ice cream for dessert. Then we spent the evening talking about politics, gasoline, communist countries, getting stuck in the snow, and dumb people doing dumb things. They are both great conversationalists. But it got late and we had to go to bed to get up early to meet our real estate agent in the morning.

 *  I did not take any pics today, so here is one from Chattanooga  *

Not much got done today

We got up late. I just wanted to sleep, because it was warmer in bed. But eventually we got up, dressed, and checked e-mail. I talked to Dad, and then we spend quite some time splitting tremor pills. We tried hard to split them exactly in half but mostly that did not happen. He got out several other pill splitters, but none worked as well as the first. I mixed up a green drink and made breakfast. Later I ate a banana with cinnamon, and Neufchatel cheese. I called one of our Pinehurst neighbors and she said all she saw was lots and lots of stuff in the yard. Dad and I put together some bank phone numbers to call tomorrow first thing in the morning. I also looked at an annuity contract he was planning to buy. I put magazines in a bag for the Vets to pick up. I put some of Mom's clothes in a drawer for next time I come. I read online all about Samson in Judges chapter 14. Dad took a walk and Chris shopped for supper. He made pork, rice and warmed up casserole. I looked up what to do with unused medicines, but none of the links were any good. I also looked up purple broccoli since Dad got some from the fridge to add to his supper. Then we watched a Va senatorial debate. I looked for a cabin at two state parks for this weekend. There was no vacancy. I did two tapping audios and read an online magazine. I listened to an audio interview with Mamapotamus – she writes a health blog about homemade remedies and advice. Then I laid down on the couch until Chris was ready to go to bed. He made the couch into a bed while I wrote to my blog. 

*  Here is some fall color I snapped on the way up last week  *

Whale Milk

I woke up early, discovering that menopause had not arrived after all. I cleaned up and took a shower. Cecily had some emergency supplies. I read e-mail, and made breakfast. Chris packed the car, and then we left for church. On the way we stopped at Walgreens. We arrived at church a little early and greeted a few people (including Faye and Dad) before we sat down in a pew. Faye was the worship leader this morning. She had a cold but spoke well in spite of that. Her voice gave away her feeling about the Samson story this morning. After the service, I had to run to the bathroom and then Chris and I went into the fellowship hall. The congregation sat for a few extra minutes to elect new officers (or something like that). Then they too came in. Many of them came by to say hello to us. I caught up on the lives of a few. When everyone had left, we went in Chris' car to Subway for lunch. Then we came back to their cars, and we all drove to Dad's house. Faye cleaned the heat registers at Dad's request. We cleared a shelf of quilt books. Faye gave them to me to keep or donate as I chose. William came over to get a lawn mower battery off of the washing machine so I could use it. Then Faye and I went through some of Mom's clothes, packing some for donation and putting a few aside for me to wear when I visit. I also chose some to take home. Parker called to say that the tenants had even more stuff out on the lawn, but they had texted to say they would be moved out and cleaning by Tuesday. Dad told Chris what to heat for supper. William ate with us, but Faye had to go home. I went through the rest of the clothing, packing another bag for donation and putting aside some nightgowns that I could wear. I sat down at my laptop to look up whale milk. I saw a video of someone milking a killer whale. I read that whale milk ice cream has 900 calories per half cup. Then I looked up explanations of the Samson story: apparently chapter 14 explains why the f-i-l thought Samson hated his wife. She agreed to be married to another man because the Phillistines threatened her and her father. But in the end they killed her anyway. By then it was after 11pm and time to go to bed. Even Dad had gone to bed by then.

Early Thanksgiving

I woke up early hearing Cecily walking around. Alarms went off at 8 EST, I turned them off and snuggled up with Chris. I fired up the laptop and downloaded pics from my camera and posted the blog I wrote last night. I listened to an audio on detoxing and exercised. Chris helped his mom and took a shower. When I was ready for breakfast, I brought the breakfast box out to the kitchen to prepare my meal. The four of us sat around the table and talked. Cecily kept getting up to do stuff. When it was time for the rolls, she and I did them together. She used bread dough from the store. The rolls rose a lot, some far bigger than others. She and Chris did the turkey – a 15 pounder. In the late afternoon, Chris took me to a parking lot for a driving lesson. I asked for the lesson and Cecily suggested the place because it had some slopes. I practiced starting on hills, shifting into second and third, and starting from a random 'go'. The last part was to emulate traffic conditions like waiting to pull out onto a busy street. When we got back to the house, my dad was there. We talked to him until Faye and Kevin arrived.  William was invited but did not come.  Faye brought a pineapple casserole. I got a call from Parker saying that the tenants had massive amounts of stuff out in the yard like they were moving. And then it rained. She promised to call and find out if they would be out by Wednesday, but she never called me back.

Soon Al was carving the turkey and it smelled really good. It was my job to cut the rolls out of the pan to put in a basket. We set all the food on the kitchen table, then filled our plates and went into the diningroom. We held hands and prayed. I ate a lot of turkey because I know Cecily doesn't like dark meat. Also, it was one of only two things that did not have sugar in it. Dad ate well, but did not have seconds, probably because dessert was ready by the time he finished his first plate. Cecily made whipped cream and Chris cut the pies. I was surprised how many went for the pumpkin when there was a whole pecan pie available. Faye helped Cecily wash dishes and clean up. Then my dad said his goodbyes and went home. Chris showed Faye and Kevin his pics from Kwadjuleine and Honduras. Then they went home. I checked my e-mail and saw that Michele had skyped. So I called her back. Chris came in and we all chatted for awhile.  She gave me her other e-mail address so I could enter it on Blogger so she would get my blog entries.  But I could not find the blog list anywhere. Then we had to hang up so we could rest and get up for church tomorrow.
*  Faye and Kevin  *



pf

Virginia here we come

I stayed awake much of the night hearing a cyclical sound. By morning I decided it was a washing machine. Only thing that made sense. There were a few breaks. We stayed late in bed when it was quiet (on and off). I finally got up to make breakfast, have supplements. I read e-mail, too. Chris checked out and then we got on the road about 11. It rained the whole way to Richmond. We went past several accidents. Our rental agent called to say one of the tenants still hadn't signed or brought in money. She will go by the property tomorrow to see if there is any moving activity. I called Al to let them know we were 45 minutes out. Dad called from the grocery store to ask about cheese. He called again later to ask about dates. We stopped at a 'scenic rest stop' to take pics, but the fog covered the scenic parts. The rain, traffic and accidents made us later than we anticipated. But the Damours were ready for us. Cecily was cooking in the kitchen. She had to bake for Sunday as well as Saturday so was fit to be tied. She had printed out a shrimp recipe from Ina Garten's website. Chris helped her do that while we all sat and talked. We had shrimp, peas, tomatoes and wild rice for supper. We helped Cecily clean up. Then Chris got his laptop and showed pics from Kwadjuleine and Honduras. The conversation went on a long time. Chris brought out a Honduran coin. Cecily went to bed. The rest of us turned in. I sat to write my blog and Al turned off the router. So now I cannot post until tomorrow. Well, I have to download my pics anyway.

*  This was taken at the scenic rest stop.  *

Halfway there

We got up after my alarm went off. I read some e-mail and listened to an audio while I exericsed. I paused it while I juiced. I took out the recyclables. Then, as I made breakfast, I packed or repackaged each item. They went into the breakfast box. I also put in figs and the dark chocolate bar and the last of the eggs for snacks. The garage called about my car. They confirmed that it needed a new transmission and said the brake module wasn't talking to the computer, and also that it was slipping in first gear as well as second. I guess I shouldn't give up practicing stick. I started packing my suitcase. Chris started laundry early, but two loads took awhile. When the second load finished, I finished packing. It was almost one as we pulled out of the driveway. Chris had me call the motel to reserve our usual room. We played more of Paris: a book on CD, about 30 of them. I think I slept for awhile. We made one potty break and stopped once for gas. Chris bought a burger at the potty break. It smelled good so I ate one of my eggs. At first I thought I should do some of the driving for the practice. But when we ran into stop and go traffic, I was REALLY glad it wasn't me driving. We got into Bristol after 7 local time. Our room was ready. We moved our stuff in and put some things in the fridge. I called Dad to tell him which nights we would be spending with him. Instead of supper, we ate figs and dark chocolate while watching episodes of Warehouse 13 on Chris' laptop. It is like waking up from a dream to be here with him; like the last three months never happened. When I finish posting to my blog, I will go to bed. 

*  another pic from Paducah  *

Access to MWR facilities

Chris got up when his alarm went off. It was still dark. He got dressed and took his car to the dealership. The plan included me picking him up at some point because no one knew how long it was going to take. I must have gone back to sleep. I remember thinking I should follow him, but it was flooding and I couldn't drive my car through all the water. Then he came back, soaking wet with a towel over his head saying that the engine seized up, all the trouble indicators were on and that he was giving his car to Faye. Thankfully it was just a dream. I woke up with my alarm at 8. I called Chris and he said it wouldn't be much longer so not to come get him. I cleared some e-mail, listened to an audio on health care and exercised. I posted to my blog. Chris came home, and we decided to take my car in today. I got dressed and I followed him because he had the GPS. We found the place and parked. It was a nice place to buy automotive parts and get a car fixed. I told the man what the problem was and he was telling me a story about how they fixed a similar problem for someone else. It sounded like Jennifer's son's experience and then we realized we were thinking of the same person. So I left my key and car with them. Chris drove us home. We found our wedding license to get a spouse's badge. He went to visit the guys for lunch. I worked on the second red banner downstairs while listening to an audio. When he came home, we went to post. First we went to DHR for a spouses badge, but he said they don't do that, and sent us to another lady who said we had to go to ACS and pay a fee since I am not a military spouse. But then we got sent to MWR, who gave us one for free. The man deserves an ICE award. Do these people talk to each other? We went to Publix on the way to practice driving at Mayfair. We bought a few groceries, some of which were frozen so we had to go home before driving practice. Chris let me drive home. I know that when the engine is running too fast, I should shift up. When its running too slow, I should shift down. But what should I do when it smells like it is burning? Cry and apologize. He insisted I hadn't broken his car and I coasted down the hill in neutral until we got to our turn, then drove home and parked the car. We put the groceries away and Chris drove us to Mayfair, a huge church with a huge parking lot. I practiced shifting up and up, and starts and stops. They did not have much in the way of inclines. So when I drove us home, I continued past our house and turned left to the steep hill. I got two stalls and two starts with just a little slippage. Then, exhausted, I drove home. We fell into bed ( I guess we got up too early). My phone rang, which woke us up. It was Chris' Mom asking about cauliflower casserole. We read e-mail, and I finished an audio from this morning on natural cures from the owner of the website Wellnessmama.com. She rubs magnesium oil on her feet and covers them with socks to help her sleep. Chris tightened the shower filter so it wouldn't leak and I took a shower.   then I oiled my feet and put on socks.  We ate some figs with a square of dark chocolate.  Then we watched “Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines”, and two episodes of Castle. I found a new website to order vitamin C from and then posted to my blog. He went to bed and now I shall join him.
*  this is from the Chattanooga show  *

Taking car of errands

I woke up before 8, and checked the basement for water. I also checked the time. I went back to bed intending to get up in 8 minutes when the alarm went off. But I didn't. Chris wanted to snuggle longer. Later I did get up to put on an audio on electrical sensitivity and exercise. I cleared some e-mail, and juiced. I wrote down the quotes that had been suggested. While Chris went to the eye doctor, I took the quilt to the Sew Faithful group. They liked it, and offered to sign it, so I let them. Then I sat and wrote on it. When I finished, I went to the Asian store for sprouts and kimbap. It wasn't as good as the usual one since that lady was on break. (How dare she?) Then when I got home, I looked up more quotes. I toweled some water out of the tent. When Chris got home, I gave him the quilt. He told me he had to go back to get a glaucoma check. He called the dealership to make arrangements to have something done on a recall. I called an automotive center to make arrangements to get a second opinion on my car. I made breakfast (after eating all the kimbap). He loaded the glass recyclables in his car and we went to the recycling center to drop them off. Then we went to post. We stopped at one place to talk to a few people he knew. Then we went to Pagano gym to check out the facilities. They have a scanner for ID's which can't scan mine, but the guy said if I asked for him, he would remember me. So I plan to use their sauna over the winter. Then Chris let me drive his car to the library. We got Dvd's and Cd's for the long drives we will be taking. It'll be good to have a book on CD for the long trip because I need the sleep. We tried to stop by the visitor's center where they might be willing to make me a spouse's badge (which would work with the scanner), but it was closed. When we got home, I toweled the rest of the water from the tent and laid down on a dry towel. It was nice in there, even without all the padding. Then I asked Chris to help me pull the tarp over the tent so it won't leak so badly next time it rains (which could be soon). I thought about mowing, but the grass did not look bad and it was getting dark. I ate the nuts and berries that I forgot to put in my breakfast. I also had a square of dark chocolate. I finished my EMF audio, and heard one on exercise. It was frustratingly non-specific. I guess they want the listeners to buy their program. I drew a diagram of the next week and a half to see where we might have time to spend at a national park. I put in what we already know, and there wasn't much left except for the first of next week. I sat with Chris to fill in the blanks. He made himself supper. I made up a weeks worth of supplements to last until we get back. Then I placed a Swanson's order and an Amazon order to restock the items that are running out, and try some new ones. When I finished that, we went downstairs to watch TV. First we watched some short vids making fun of DnD scenarios. Then we watched 2 episodes of Castle. I mentioned to Chris that it was 11:40 and that he planned to get up early to take his car to the dealership. He put on a third episode. I thought I was tired enough to sleep through it, but I didn't. When we went upstairs, I was so tired I just fell into bed, figuring to post to my blog in the morning

*  This is a Linus quilt that Alice is working on  *.

A good day to have a 24th anniversary

Last night I went to bed dressed for outside. I decided that if I tossed and turned for a long time, then I would go out to the tent. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up still in bed. I got up before 8 and decided to do my Wednesday detox today in case the coming weeks are too busy. I listened to an audio that seemed to go on forever, but it gave me time to exercise, juice and make breakfast. Finally at noon, I gulped down my supplements and headed to quilting. If I had thought ahead, I might have taken Chris' car. But it did not cross my mind until I had already started my engine. So I went in my car. Instead of bringing all my stuff in, I just brought in my notions case and Chris' quilt to show off. I finished it last night just after the episode of X-File ended. The ladies were having lunch when I came in. I sat and talked with them. Then Bertha and Rebecca worked on Barbara's quilt in the garden room. I marked quilting lines on the border and stitched one corner. Bertha had to go home. Then Rebecca and I packed up the quilt. She admired the quilt I made for Chris. Dinah suggested I look in the hall closet for the iron I had donated but which they weren't using. And it was there so I took it back. Parker called to tell me that she had driven by the property yesterday and there were men cleaning up the yard. She said they had plans to re-screen the porch and fix a window. Still no funds, but the important part is cleaning up and vacating the property. So it was good news. Carolyn and Debbie left. Then Lauri and I packed up. She had more to pack because she had brought food, but she told me to go on ahead. When I got home, I rolled my sewing stuff inside. It had rained so I closed the garage doors because I would not be mowing. I made an egg salad with hummus for lunch. I also had some fermented cabbage. I went out to the tent to bring in the bedding so it wouldn't get wet. I brought in the blankets and sheets and pillows. The padding was still in there and I laid down for awhile to watch the tent leak. It was raining harder and I didn't want to get the padding wet. So I moved it as far as I could from where the leaks were. Then I put out the rain collection tubs. I finished sewing shut the remaining pillow for my mother-in-law while sitting on the porch under the overhang. I made our bed and spread the anniversary quilt across it. That way I can tell him that his anniversary present is in the bedroom. I cleaned up the table that Chris normally sat at and put a new tablecloth on it. I cleaned up the kitchen counters and all the empty shaker bottles and dropped bottles from supplements. All the quilt magazines lying around got put in a box. I threw out one of my sprouted sweet potatoes that was bad. I didn't know if it went bad and then attracted fruit flies, or if the flies made it go bad. Rebecca had suggested some quotes I could put on Chris' quilt to fill up the empty boxes. I thought of a few more and e-mailed Michele. She was full of suggestions. I grabbed the quilt off of the bed to write on it. But my phone rang. It was Chris who had caught an earlier flight. Hastily I put the quilt back. I drove off into the rain, thunder and lightning toward the airport. The rain made so many reflections it was like a fun house. I could not tell what was real and what wasn't. I think I ran someone off the road because I could not see the lines in the turn lane. When I got to the airport, Chris was waiting outside. I let him drive us home. The car gave him no trouble. He was hungry so he got turkey burgers from the freezer and made rice. I took the quilt off of the bed, figuring I could write on it tomorrow and present it later. While he ate, I pulled the wet bedding from the tent and put it in the garage. Then he showed me the results of his workouts and led me to bed... I was cold so I put on a nightgown and posted to my blog. Then I shut off the router and went to back to bed.

First cold night

The temperature dropped steeply overnight. Thankfully I had enough sense to wear sweat pants and shirt and my usual blankets kept me warm at first, and then I opened the rolled up sleeping bag that served as a knee pillow. So cold was not a problem and there was very little scratching from … whatever it is that scratches. But still it was hard to sleep. That part is the same whether I sleep inside or out. I woke up at 6:30 and came in for a potty break, turned on the heat and went to bed. I had closed most of the windows last night so the house wouldn't be cold, but it was down to 65.

I stayed in bed until almost 9. I read through some e-mail, swishing. I took both packets of Vit C together. Then I made breakfast and ate part of it while listening to an audio on healthy soil. I had to stop it so I could take a quick shower and get dressed for church. When I got to church, the choir was lined up ready to practice but hadn't quite started. So I wasn't really late. During the service, Doris sat with me since she said we were both alone. And then Cecelia sat with us too because her husband stayed home. We are all sopranos voices, and got compliments for singing so well together. I put in my offering for October. November and December so I would not have to worry about remembering that. I had brought Margie's jacket, but she wasn't there so I left it in the office. Since Pastor wasn't there, we did not have communion and since I was not paying attention, the service seemed to end too quickly. Cecelia straightened the kneelers after the service. I talked to several people who assured me that driving stick was fun and with practice, could be done without thought. Uh huh, sure. I went to Publix for groceries for me and Chris. I put them in the fridge and made notes for my blog, and finished breakfast. I changed my clothes and put my sewing stuff in the car. The church where Renegades meets was not far away. I was there by 1:15 and they had space for me. Somehow it took me 45 minutes to stop talking and pick out strips to get started. (Why I am starting a new one when I have not finished the one from July is beyond me).   My idea was to sew short strips into longer strips and then made sets of 5 to subcut. By 3:30 I had 20 subcuts. But then it was time to pack up. I got home about 4:15. I did some watering and picked some cherry tomatoes. I left my sewing stuff in the car for tomorrow. I ate something, and was feeling sleepy. But I made myself mow first. Dillon came over to see how I was doing. I finished mowing and went into the tent for a nap. Sadly the somnolence was over. As I came in, I felt sleepy again. I ate something and checked e-mail, finished the woodchip video from this morning. I laid in bed trying to nap, and that didn't work either. I heard the skype sound and got up to talk to Chris. During our chat, he suggested that if I bought super balls to hand out for Halloween and did not want any leftovers, he could take them back to Honduras and pass them out at the orphange. So I looked them up on Amazon. I bought a bunch of those and some other small items that would work well as handouts. I plan to watch the remaining episode of X-Files and go to bed.

*  this is Bertha's version of the quilt we worked on today  *

Like a kick in the head

I got up at 8, hearing the alarm because my bedroom door was open. Otherwise the sound of the open window would drown it out. I turned on the router, and saw several long skype messages from Chris about how he loves and misses me. I listened to an audio on electrical sensitivity, exercised, swished, and put a check in the mail. I added moringa oleifera to my Swanson list because of the audio. I rewrote the communion bread recipe to make it work in a bread machine. Yesterday morning when the thermostat hit 80 I was tempted to turn on the AC. But today it was 69 and I wanted to turn on the heat. And its sunnier today, so what's up with that? I emptied the dishwasher, juiced, and made breakfast, I mowed part of the front yard. I started a batch of communion bread in the bread machine. The butter was hard, so to measure it, I weighed it. But the scale kept decreasing the weight display with each second. I put in a dark load of laundry. While it was washing, I sewed two sheets together that had been pinned. When they were sewn, I added them to the light load and washed it. I took a pillow outside to sew shut. When I was finished, I came in and emptied the dryer. I ironed the fabric pieces from that load, then moved the light load to dryer. More ironing. I brought all the laundry up, but left it in the basket. I finally remembered the communion bread dough. I patted it into a rectangle to divide into 4ths. I intended to make round loaves, but then it occurred to me that rectangles would be easier to cut up into equal pieces. Maybe it's time to think 'inside' the box. Nothing I saw online said they had to be round, so I placed the rectangles on the cookie sheet and baked them at 400 for 15 minutes. It seemed to be plenty of time. I flipped them over and scored them on the back as requested. I was tempted to try one – just to see how they were on the inside. It had nothing to do with how good they smelled. While they were baking, I made egg salad out of a boiled egg and some hummus. Then I picked some tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes haven't been very productive since the weather got cooler, but the heirloom orange ones (that are blighted) have been doing better. While I was out there, I noticed that the tarp had been blown off of the tent. I looked up the weather report and saw only a 2% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow night. I pulled the dry bedding out of the garage and assembled it in the tent. The tarp would not be needed for rain, and it makes noise, so I left it off. I covered the side of the tent with a blanket to keep out the neighbor's porch light. Daylight was waning, but I got in 15 minutes of mowing in the front and side yards. As I put the mower away, I could hear Craig in his back yard. I walked over there to see if he wanted to go for a drive. He was putting up a target for an air rifle. He offered me a shot. So I went up on the deck. He took two shots and then had me hold the rifle and aim. I had my brow against the sight to see the target. When I squeezed the trigger, the recoil broke the skin of my eyebrow. I just thought it was a bump, but Dillon saw blood. We went in the house and he gave me a wet papertowel to dab it. He also got out a gecko/lizard which was pink spotted with black and offered it to me to hold. So I did and it was calm, so I was too. Then I went home to put some h2o2 on my wound and get shoes. I sat in Chris' car and started it. They walked around the corner into the driveway. I did not know how to open the doors so I stopped the car and pulled out the key. Magically the doors opened and Craig and Dillon got in. Following Craig's instructions, I drove up to Mayfair and through the Jones Valley parking lot, practicing on their hill. Then we went through our neighborhood, trying out the really steep hill. Not so good. Then we went to Bailey Cove. I drove past our church and back. The car told me when to shift, but Craig said it meant 'shift already!' and so not to wait for that light. Then I drove into his driveway to let them off, and then into mine to park and call it a night. He said I did ok and just needed practice. I smelled the bread when I came inside. I packed them in a zip-lock bag and put them in the freezer. I wasn't sure if they were too hard for communion. I could put them in the freezer at church without my name and if they don't like 'em, they don't have to use 'em. I went down to iron the last of the fabrics that just got washed. When I came up, Chris was online. We skyped for awhile and I could not stop yawning. He signed off and I put on an episode of X-Files while I worked on the binding of the quilt. I thought I would be able to finish, but I needed at least another episode. It will have to be tomorrow. I posted to my blog and went to bed.

*  another pic from the Chattanooga show. I wished I had one of Craig and his air rifle.  *