Embroidery

Saturday

I got up around 8:30, not having slept well at all. My stomach seemed to be full all night long. I blamed the fiber gel. So I only made half as much today. I took supplements and worked on gifts for the colonel's family and Michelle's family. I selected and cut squares of fabric for each person. I went through my lace collection to see what will go and decided to do them all the same.

I took a break to shower and to get my bicycle out of the garage. I worked a little longer, then rolled the bike over to Geode Circle. A man there had posted that he wanted to help people with their bikes for free. He looked over my bike and made some comments. He promised to text me what kind of tires and tubes to get. I met his wife and we talked about all the things to do at the chapel.

When I got home, I was ready for breakfast. But it wasn't ready for me. I had to parse out supplements for the week first. Then I made and ate breakfast. Someone texted me about the swap shop. So after breakfast I walked down there and unlocked it, then got the mail.

When I got home, I resumed working on the gifts. I laid a piece of stabilizer in the hoop and did a test run with Jamie's name. It worked out ok. So I did another piece and was able to get 5 names in the hoop, each one on a different fabric. I did a second piece, too and got 6 names on. I was really tired but I pressed on. I serged the edges. Then I heated some beef and rice for a quick supper. My stomach didn't feel right so that's all I ate.

I grabbed a craft project and my sewing project and ran to the chapel to open it for Craft Night. I was alone so I got out a sewing machine and sewed lace on the sides of each of the squares. Then Saronna's family came and Karen came. I hid the square with Saronna's name on it. They had their own crafts and dug in. Saronna's husband was back finally from Cuba. It was good to see him and I am sure she was happier still.

I finished sewing on lace and did some ironing. They finished their projects and packed up so I did as well. There wasn't more I could do until I get more toilet paper cores. We all headed home. I stopped to lock the swap shop.

I started working on my blog but got sidetracked with Telegram messages and then Sudoku. Kurt started texting me which was strange because its two hours later there. I finished my blog and went through my bedtime routine. For the shortest day of the year, it felt like a really long day.

Game Night

Friday

I got up after 8. I brushed my teeth and got dressed. I took supplements. I got online but the power blinked and the internet went out. I texted Chris. Then I printed out a page of Christmas math. I sprayed my car windshield with alcohol. I did a few last errands, then drove to the chapel.

Karen pulled up beside me with Saronna's kids. I unlocked the door and we all went in. Only Moira had math so Karen brought crafts for the other kids. When they were done, they went to the nursery to play. Moira worked as fast as she could. They stayed late and I had plans to go cleaning at 10 so I shooed them out at 10:20.

I went to 638 and worked on the front door and baseboards. At noon, I went home and started the breakfast procedure. I ate while catching up on e-mail. Then Michelle called to see if I was ready to go. She came over and checked on her dehydrated sweet potatoes. She brought the snack she was trying to emulate. I thought it was close.

Then we left them there, and I got in her car and we went to Tooele. She dropped me off at Melanie's while she went to Great Clips to get my name on the list. As I was checking out, she came back. She used their restroom and brought me back the toilet paper tube. We went to Great Clips and they called my name in less than a minutes. As I was getting my hair cut, I said Dugway needed a hairdresser once a week. A lady spoke up to say that would be perfect for her. She gave her card to Michelle. If it works out, that's my gift to Chris.

After the haircut we went to Macey's. I got some groceries but they didn't have everything. So then we went to WalMart. I got a watch and some bananas. But they didn't have much in the way of black earrings.

We headed back to base, chatting the whole way. We stopped at her house to let the dog out. Electra was happy to be home. Then we went to my house. I brought in my groceries and she collected up her sweet potato chunks. Then she left.

I ingested the last of the fiber gel. I heated the last of the chili. I made a carrot salad and ate while listening to something and checking e-mail. Chris called and we talked. Then I worked on my blog. I was still hungry but so full of fiber that I couldn't eat.

At 8:25 I pushed myself away from the computer. I made tea, then watered the plants. Then I went to Game Night. Michelle was all excited over planning a trip to France. She wants to stay in a castle and is inviting people to go along. She'd like me to come. I played the game, finishing the original version and turning my attention to the first expansion pack. I tried to use the toran, distance and elevation figures to find the last markers, but none of the places I went seemed to be close, although the library did give me a red blinker. But no marker.

It was after 11 when I left. I was in a hurry to get home and did not stop at the stop sign. I got pulled over for it and did not have my license on me. But I did have registration and insurance. Finally he let me go and I went home, jotted notes for my blog, and went to bed.

Dehydrating sweet potatoez

Thursday

I got up at 7:30. I brushed my teeth and took the first supplements. I made solé water. Then I showered and got dressed. I put away all the dry dishes and took out the garbage.

I took the large print Bible and went to Bible study. No one else came, so the Chaplain went over the study sheet with me. Towards the end, Cpl Popkin came. When I told him about the Christmas Eve service I was planning, he offered to give a short message.

After the study, I went to 638 to clean for 90 minutes. I did the sliding glass doors and some baseboards. Then I went home for breakfast. I ate the fiber gel, then prepared the usual breakfast. I put on The Highwire to watch as I ate. The program was about the politics of polio vaccines. How they are credited with a reduction in the levels of polio, but actually it was changing the definition of what constituted polio that made the numbers go down. The photo of a gym full of iron lung machines was actually taken on a movie set. I also wrote an announcement for Christmas Eve service and sent it to Chris to forward to the people who send e-mail messages to residents. And I posted it to the Community page.

When it was over, I went back to 638 to clean the outside of the windows since it was the warmest part of the day. Because he (the former occupant) had dug out 6 to 12 inches of his back yard, I had trouble reaching the tops of the windows. I used the step ladder but it wasn't very stable. I also cleaned baseboards and walls and the inside of the front door.

I read messages for awhile, then ate the rest of the fiber goop. I heated up some chili and beef. I also made a carrot salad. After eating the salad, Michelle came over to use the dehydrator for slices of sweet potato. I ate the beef and chili as we talked. We talked more than I thought because I was surprised when she told me it was 10:30. I had to kick her out after that.

Then I took my evening supplements and answered some e-mail. Then I worked on my blog. It was after 11 when I went to bed.

Planning a service

Wednesday

I got up soon after 7:30. I prepared for coffee morning. I had to make more dosages. I exercised, meditated and tapped. I kept checking my phone and Facebook for messages from Chris or the community. Chris kept me up to date on his flights to Virginia. Nothing from the community.

When I finished coffee morning, I started cleaning. But I guess I was distracted because I started washing dishes before the bathrooms were done. I vacuumed the den and mopped the kitchen. I went to 620 at 1 to open the door so Kyle could get the vanity. I went home and did the C cleanse again, for two hours with no result.

At 3:30 I went to 638 to start cleaning the kitchen cabinets. Jamie came by right after 5 to run the trash out to the street. We talked for 20 minutes and she went over to 620 to finish cleaning. I cleaned until 6:30, then went home.

I talked to Michelle about having a singing service for Christmas Eve since neither of the churches had any plans. She seemed to like it. She said she would ask around. I put on an interview to listen to while peeling eggs. But I only did two and then ended up reading e-mail and Telegram messages.

Finally I worked on my blog. Jamie called to let me know Samantha had picked up the table and chairs. I ordered an egg-peeling device. I posted about the craft night. I put on another URU video and paused it. I watered the plants, then played it while I peeled the remaining eggs.  Soon it was 11 and time to get ready for bed.

Fern

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die leaving undone.

Pablo Picasso

Let the shenanigans begin

Tuesday

I got up before 8. I took supplements and steamed over a dozen eggs. I checked e-mail. I prepared an ice bath, then put the eggs in when the timer rang. Mikeala called to ask me to unlock the chapel. So I threw on some clothes and drove over to open the door.

When I got back, I prepared for cleaning. I went to 638 to see what condition he had left it in. The door to the garage was open and would not close. I started to clean and Jamie came over. We discussed what to do with stuff left behind. We went through some of the food.

I went to 620 for an hour. When Jamie arrived, we changed the garage code because someone had left a window open since I left last night. At noon I went home for breakfast. Someone posted on Facebook that they wanted to get into the swap shop, so I went and opened it. I proceeded to the library. We talked about the craft kits they were handing out and if it would be ok for me to schedule a craft night for that.

Then I went to 620. Jamie and I talked for a bit, then I cleaned for 2 hrs. A man came to fix the toilet. Jamie moved the leftbehind stuff to the laundry room. She wanted to finish up so I gathered my cleaning stuff and went home.

Chris arrived seconds after I did. He changed his clothes and we filled the water jugs at the Primo machine. When we got back, I made supper. He packed the car, kissed me and left for Salt Lake City. I ate supper and worked on my blog. I wanted to watch an episode of Call the Midwife, but I could not find the open tab. So I watched a bunch of URU videos.  It was very soothing.  At 11, I quit and went to bed.

A house with hay

Monday

I got up around 8. I watered the plants. I checked e-mail. I made more breakfast mix, and chia water and fiber gel. I went cleaning at 10, then stopped at 11 to go to a signover. But when I got there, he said it was rescheduled for 3. I went back to cleaning. At noon I went home for breakfast. Saronna wanted to get in the swap shop so I walked down there to unlock it. When I got back, I worked on scanning and printing hymns for this coming Sunday and the next.

I was going to go to the library but there wasn't time. In a few minutes, I went to the signover. Along the way I got a text from Keli that she had to work till 7 (which means either she would miss band or I would have to reschedule everybody). But I didn't have time to deal with that. I found the occupant talking to the ladies from Housing. He said he had to go get more cash so he left.

We looked around and commented on the yard which he had dug out and filled with hay. She called Gary to come look at it. He said they would have to charge the resident to remove the hay and fill in the dirt. I called Jamie to see how much she would charge to remove the hay. The resident paid me for cleaning and we all signed the contract. Jamie came over and quoted a price. Then she went to talk to Carrey about the hay.

I went to 620 to clean. Housing wanted it back sooner than usual, so I finished the downstairs and worked on the tub upstairs. Someone had flicked ashes in the toilet so I flushed it. I kept cleaning and eventually realized that the toilet tank was not filling. I tried to settle the circular thing in the middle but with no luck. So I called Chris and he said to call Maintenance. So I did and they said I had to stay there until someone came out. So I continued to clean. And a man arrived to assess the situation and jury-rig it to stop running.

After he left, I turned out the lights and went home. I ate the last of the fiber goop and put some chili in the toaster oven. I made a carrot salad and ate that. Then I ate the chili. Chris came home from work and set up the rice cooker.

And it was time to go to band. I took my trombone and the music and headed to the chapel. Saronna was there with Sophia. I unlocked the door and we all went in. We turned on the lights and got set up. Janet and Liliani came. We went through 4 carols and a few tunes for the possible talent show in January, all without piano.  But I was very happy to have Saronna back.  Afterward we packed up and went home.

I walked to the swap shop to lock it up. Then I started working on my blog. But Faye called, so I talked to her till 9pm. Sounds like she has been working on the house. Then I made tea and we watched two episodes of Taxi.

Chris went to bed and I worked on my blog and read some e-mail. Then I went through the bedtime routine and joined him as he slept. However I could not sleep, as usual.

Christmas readings

Sunday

I got up after 8 and brushed and took supplements. Chris cut up the bacon from yesterday. I made cheese squares using the bacon. I read some e-mail, and asked for a massage, then took a shower. I ate some fiber gel, read a little e-mail, then worked on breakfast. After eating, I got dressed for church. I put the cheese squares in a container and went to the chapel.

Having arrived, I put the cheese squares in the back. I came up front to greet Keli. She paid me for cleaning. I talked to the chaplain about putting up the lyrics to Little Drummer Boy next week. There was a chair and stand set up by the Christmas tree for readings and I suddenly remembered I had agreed to do one. It was still in my music bag so I looked over it hurriedly while placing hymns on the stand by the piano.

We sang all the verses of two hymns. Then the chaplain explained the order of the readings. He read first, then I went up to read, followed by Janet, followed by Keli, followed by Rick, then Jenni, then Bryce, then Summer. The chaplain said his closing prayer and I indicated our playing. So he invited us up to play. We did our two hymns and he prayed again. Then Mikeala came up to entreat people to stay after the service and help with Project Poinsettia.

After the service, no one had opened the cheese squares, so I did and I walked around offering them to whomever would take one. One little boy followed me and he ended up getting three. Then I said goodbye and went home.

I changed my clothes and contacted John who needed another 15 minutes. I read some e-mail and then he and I got on Discord. We talked about all the numbers that needed updating since our group is now at level 4. He sent me a large print game sheet. I printed it off but the gray parts did not print and so there were no lines or boxes to write in. I started writing in the new numbers as best I could understand them.

I ate the last of the fiber gel. Chris started the game: We met clandestinely with an older fellow for information but he got shot in the eye by an arrow. We caught the culprit and questioned him. He agreed to talk if we agreed to let him go. He was more helpful than his life was probably worth, but we let him go anyway.

It got late so we ended the game there and promised to meet back up in January. I worked on my blog. I made tea and we watched three episodes of Taxi.  Later Chris went to bed, but I stayed up to read.