Another productive day

Got up for breakfast but it was too early, before 7am. So I went back to bed, to meditate with my ipod. When that was over, I thought I remembered Bruce Boxleitner (Captain Sheridan in B5) from an earlier series called "The White Shadow". But when I looked it up on IMDB, that was Ken Howard. So where do I know Bruce from? Turns out to be The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I looked that up on Youtube, and what I found was lots of montages put together with love songs. You'd think it was a show about romance. But no, it is a spy show. Anyway, he's pretty hot in the montages. On Youtube one video seems to lead to another, and soon I found myself watching Pierce Brosnan on the David Letterman show denying rumors that he was going to be the next James Bond. Ha, ha. Now in the mood for breakfast, I prepared and ate it. I also read e-mail. I posted a tutoring announcement to Craig's list. I realized that I was feeling better than yesterday and I attributed it to the hydrogen peroxide treatment, so I did it again today. Then William called to tell me he had found a TV antenna. I got an e-mail from Chris about impending inclement weather. So I went outside and did some raking to get some fresh air while the getting was good. Actually it was hard to quit since the lawn (aka weeds) looks so much better after I rake. Still, it was threatening to rain. I unloaded and restacked the dishwasher. I went down to sew. I finished the corners of the purple and green quilt top, and cut and sewed on the last point of the blue quilt top. I am quite pleased with both. Then I found AV cables and took the PS2 upstairs to the small TV. I hooked it up with a controller and a mat. William called again to get my address so he could mail the items. Then I tried out DDR on a very simple song. I made a 'c'. Well, it has been a long time. So I tried again, doing much better. Or so I thought. Still got a 'c'. I took a break with my laptop. I was watching a free-motion quilting video when Chris came home. I tried DDR one more time, but still only got a 'c'. Must be rigged. Chris made a large omelette for our supper while I took a shower. Then we ate. I wrote a few notes for my blog and then went to the piano to warm up vocally. I had planned to go to choir practice, but wasn't quite sure that I am not contagious. So I went long enough to pick up the music for Sunday and came home. I can practice at home without infecting anyone. Chris and I went down to watch 2 episodes of B5. In the second episode the oldest being in the universe convinces the Vorlons and the Shadows to pass beyond the rim with him. Suddenly the war is over. So now how do they fill another season and a half? Maybe I'll find out tomorrow. Anyway, it was still early enough for Chris to work on some personal project on the computer. So I called up the latest episode of Castle on my computer and ran it full screen. That way I can watch it from the recliner. After the episode played, I saw that there are Castle quizzes on the website. I did three of them. I made a 70, an 80 and a 60. Time for bed.

What is it?

When I got up for breakfast, I saw the bread machine waiting for me with its lid open. So I started a batch of bread. Then I prepared and ate breakfast. After breakfast I remembered the old hydrogen-peroxide-in-the-ears trick for stopping a cold. I think it is supposed to be done at the first sign of a cold, so I did it twice during the day. I also folded two baskets of laundry and put most of it away, pulling out some of the raggedy socks. I took another hot shower, but it did not get as hot as yesterday. I looked online for lost dog postings to see if anyone had lost the dogs we found last week. Their time at the animal shelter is limited. And I posted in fidofinder.com. My jar of coconut milk was collecting a buildup of coconut solids, so I cleaned out the jar, and started a new batch of fermentation in another jar. It was about noon then and the sun was out, so I raked 2 boxes of leaves, pinecones and straw in the side yard. The cones were hidden like Easter eggs in the thatch. The ones I did not see, I found with my feet. Finally I went into my sewing room to work on the kaleidoscope quilts. I am so excited about my latest idea that I can't wait for me to finish it so I can see how it will turn out. While I was working, Chris came home and I was surprised to find it was after 5. He had supper while I ate lunch. Then we read our respective e-mails for awhile before starting season 4 of B5. This seems to be the part where it gets weird and dark and violent. Chris just went to bed, so I guess it is my turn now.
**I did not take any pics today, so here is one of something I found while unpacking that I have not been able to identify. **

Wild violet blossoms are tasty

After breakfast, I drank hot tea wrapped in robe, trying to sweat. I also deleted 300 pictures from my camera because I kept getting the 'memory card is full' beep. I had to do them one at a time while pinching the battery compartment shut. It seems to hold about 700 photos, so I may delete more tomorrow. Then I took a hot shower. There were a series of long interviews that came out around New Year's Day that I have been meaning to listen to, but did not want to spend so much time in front of my computer. So I had the brilliant idea of playing them on my laptop in the basement while working on my quilt tops. I added trapezoids to the wedges of the kaleidoscope, piped in between. I sewed them in pairs, and then sewed the pairs to the kaleidoscope. Maryann skyped me then to talk about her medical issues (still in pain), and the bright colors on black quilt. She wants to buy it for her son when I finish it. William called to tell me what he had found at Goodwill during lunch. He suggested I get a job. Then I continued my chat with Maryann. The sun was brightly shining the whole time. But when we concluded, and I made myself a salad for lunch, it went behind the cloud. I sat outside to eat it anyway. I found the wild violet blossoms growing in the yard are very tasty. My nose kept running. It is officially a head cold now. I got tired of killing trees to keep my nose dry, so I did yardwork, letting it drip all it wanted. When Chris came home, he gave me a tissue and we went inside. He fixed himself supper, and I went back to work on the kaleidoscope. He came down when he was ready to watch B5. We finished season 3. It is starting to get weird. Went to bed...did not post to blog.

Sewing in the sun

We did not go to church today. After nearly infecting someone with a depressed immune system yesterday, I figured it was safer to stay home. Maybe if all contagious people did that, I would not be sick now. We ate breakfast and read e-mail instead. I drank two cups of white tea with honey. My throat improved considerably but now my nose is running. It was such a nice day that I had to go out. I laid in the grass and read for awhile. Then I tried a little sewing. I added a pocket to my sling purse (which it has desperately needed for a year). But I needed the fresh air. So, since there are outlets on the patio, I set up the patio table, covered it with an old sheet, and set up my sewing machine. I patched a pair of Chris' jeans, set in points on the blue kaleidoscope quilt, and brainstormed a way to use up the leftovers from the green and purple one. Chris did two loads of laundry and went to the grocery store. I fixed myself a salad for supper. Chris made himself a chicken burrito. Then we watched 5 episodes of B5. Tonight I know exactly what photo to add to this blog post. But I'll do it from the desktop computer so all my pictures are on the same hard drive.

Push the waves, hit the tiger, parting the horse's mane

After the usual morning routine, I googled the address of a lady who has started a Meetup for Tai chi and yoga. It is a new thing and I was the first to come. I wrote myself some notes for the trip out and back. I dressed in loose comfortable clothing. I filled a water bottle. Then I headed out 1 hour before even though it should only take 40 minutes. I was supposed to get on 72E, but there were no signs for it. Nevertheless, I followed the route as shown on the google map. I ended up on 72E, but all the signs were for 72W. Do they try to confuse me on purpose?
This place was truly out in the country. Her house is next to a field of cows. First we talked about tai chi and yoga. She had me sign a waiver in case I got injured. Then we stood on the lawn and faced the sun and the mountain. She showed me the moves and we tai chi'd together. Each movement set had a name to describe it (see title). I found it to be a gentle and meditative practice. The cows came over to watch. After a bit we retired to her porch where we talked of many things. We had a connection. When I learned that she had MS and was taking a drug to suppress her immune system, I was worried about 'sharing' my sore throat. When it was time to go, she held out her hand to shake in friendship and farewell, but I had to refuse and I told her why. She seemed to understand. It was a long drive home, and mostly uneventful. But when I turned off of 72 to get on Memorial, I found the signs confusing. Again. Fortunately I did get home, though not without some trepidation. Chris was on his computer playing with voices; I don't know which ones. I tried to have a bite to eat, but was too tired. So I laid down for a bit. Then I fixed myself a salad and finished of the last of the organic beef. I watched the latest episode of BBT on the CBS website and then, since Chris was still playing, I started an episode of NCIS. By the time I finished, he was finished, too. So we went down to watch B5 together. As usual, he has gone to bed now, and I am wondering what photo to post since I did not think to take one at her house.

A Dr. Seuss moment

When I woke up, my throat was on fire. I tried meditating it away and was partially successful. I meant to do the Silva meditation, but it has been so long that I couldn't remember all the phrases. I drank some water, read some e-mail, had breakfast, and read more e-mail. It was cooler than yesterday, but it felt good to get out of the house. So I raked inside the fence. It was windy which did not help. I also raked by the flower bed. I picked a few greens, blended them, poured over a salad. I also had a green egg from the carton of chicken eggs I bought yesterday. A little ham would have made it the perfect Dr. Seuss moment, ha! I took a nap after lunch. I was feeling much better. I cleared space for the small TV upstairs in the family room. Then I went into the garage. Using a level, I shimmed cabinets that Bob brought over weeks ago. Then the countertop fit much better. I swept the floor, moved boxes and other stuff around to make some room. Then I opened the pingpong table. I intend to clean it off so I can use it for quilting. But the level of each side did not match. Not sure how to fix that. Changing gears, I finished the blue kaleidoscope circle, but now have to come up with a background. I went up to google images of other kaleidoscope quilts for ideas. Chris came home with two burritos from the Mexican restaurant on his way home from work. His was the spicy beef and mine was beef tongue. It has been a while since I had that. All sorts of 'tongue' phrases are now occurring to me, but I will resist them all. This is a G rated blog. I could not eat all of the burrito shell or the rice, but I did eat the meat. Chris finished it for me. Then we watched 4 episodes of B5. Chris went to bed and I am about to join him.

You just never know how the day will go

I remember awakening from a dream. I can't quite put it together, but my husband was in it. My throat was still scratchy, so I used the colostrum again. I read e-mail for 20 minutes, and then made breakfast. I took a shower, dressed, and took my supplements. My friend Claire was going to call me so we could go out together. So to await her call, I read tapping articles in my e-mail. I did some tapping inside, and then outside, just in case there was anything inside that could interfere with my energy system. I went back inside to use the restroom and heard her on the porch. She had brought her van. I climbed inside and she drove us out of the city, northward. However, as we were preparing to turn onto a side road, we spotted two pit bulls walking around in the road. They seemed oblivious to the traffic and the danger they were in. Whereas most people would just drive by without stopping as long as they did not hit the dogs, Claire blew her horn and opened her back door and ushered them inside (with a little help from another driver). Kudos to her for bravery. The dogs were reluctant to go in, but acted quite friendly (but smelly) once inside. She turned around and drove to the ARK, a no-kill animal rescue shelter. The shelter had no room for them, but lent us leashes to tie them down in the back of her van. Then she drove to Animal Control. They were willing to take the dogs. Since their collars had no tags, I can only hope the owner(s) will find them there. Then we went on to Alison's place. It was not so far in the country as I had imagined. She raises dogs, chickens, geese, horses, and bees. And her neighbors are well within sight. It was interesting to arrive and be greeted by a flock of chickens hoping to be fed. Alison was in the front yard with a very small, cute dog on its bathroom break. She brought us inside. She showed us around and downstairs she has a frig with soap and creme making ingredients. The cremes are very nice, most of them scented. She invented the recipe herself using beeswax from her hives. They are really neat - solid like a bar of soap, but just a little comes off on your hands when you handle it. I got two of those and a jar of honey. We went out to the yard to see the chickens and the hives. The dogs were excited to have company. Then we stopped by the garage where she had cartons of eggs in another frig. I got a box of chicken eggs and one of duck eggs. We left them in the house and went to see Claire's 'new' house. They have not moved in yet so it was empty. It was interesting to see what previous owners had done to the place. There is a stove top exactly like ours. I wanted to take the panel off to take a pic of how the left side was hooked up, but my screwdriver was too small. Oh well. When we got back, Alison made tea and gave me an orange. Claire played with the little dog, who was amazingly cute. She wanted to take it home, but it is promised to someone else first. After a nice chat with Alison, Claire drove me home. I showed her around my place and let her taste my fermented coconut milk. She had given me a taste of the coconut milk that she makes from coconut flakes. While we were talking in the living room, Chris came home. Earlier she had mentioned that she and her husband play DnD, and I wanted her to meet Chris since he likes role-playing games too. After they met, she got a call from her husband and had to leave. I really enjoyed spending the day with her and meeting Alison. I showed Chris what I bought. I thought the different colors of the eggs were really cool. Then Chris fixed asparagus and we had chicken to go with it. We checked our e-mail. I got one that proclaimed that my order had arrived. I found it on the front porch - raw nuts! When Chris finished his e-mail, we went down to watch 4 more episodes of B5. And after B5 comes bedtime.

Chris makes a mean salad dressing

When I woke up, my throat was dry and scratchy. So I took some colostrum mixed in oil. Then I read my e-mail for the 20 minutes that the instructions required before eating. I fixed breakfast, and read more e-mail. It was trying hard to be sunny out, so I raked two boxes of leave and picked up pinecones. It got very windy at times and I had to stop to protect my box from blowing away. I picked a few greens for lunch, read more on wild edible plants, and looked for two more on the net. Did you know that kudzu is both edible and nutritious? It is amazing how many species of weeds there are. So after lunch, I read book outside, then came inside, read some more, unloaded the dishwasher. I checked the front porch for a box, and lo and behold it was there! Chris came home and fixed himself a burrito and I had some chicken. He made more salad dressing (see pic). Then he spent the evening playing with the voices. I watched the latest episode of Castle, while Kurt Skyped me. He wanted to talk about meeting me in Pinehurst in late March to help me pick up some things at our old place. But I am not sure I can face that 9 hour drive to meet him with so many road changes by myself. I have to think of some way around it. When I finished watching Castle, I took up the kaleidoscope project(s). I tried another method of cutting out the tangram-like pieces. I took pics to help me remember how I did it. And notes. In between those seams, I put pieces of the last blue wedge together. But when I went to sew that wedge to the other completed wedges, it did not fit, and in the weirdest way. As far as I can tell, the pieces were cut properly, so why was it off on an angle? Anyway, I fudged one, and was about to sew it when I saw how late it was. I came up to plug in my ipod to charge it for the night. It is getting late and I had hoped to go to bed early.

The circle is complete

I was having a dream when I woke up. It seemed significant, but now I can't remember why, or anything else about it. I started reading e-mail even before preparing breakfast. There were a number of informational audios to listen to. I played one while fixing my bowl of nutty goodness. It alternated between sunny and partly cloudy. The clouds were on the move. I did a little cleaning after breakfast and took a shower. It was so sunny I went out earlier than usual to do some raking, and without the need for shoes. The raking went well, except for one gust of wind that blew the box over and scattered the leaves over the recently-raked area. But I did not mind so much. The leaves were all on top of the grass, not mired in it, so they were easily picked up again. Then I took a bowl and scissors to select some choice plants for lunch. One of the articles I read today said we only absorb 25 - 30 % of the nutrition in a plant when we chew it, but up to 90% when the plant is put through the blender. So I brought my pickings in for a quick spin. Although I used the 'liquify' setting, it wasn't quite liquid. I ate half of it with a spoon. It smelled like a freshly mown lawn - a good smell, but not one I associate with lunch. I put the other half in the frig for supper. I don't think the drink is going to catch on. Seeing how sunny it was, I just could not stay inside. I went out to the back lawn with my laptop and listened to another of those audios while doing stretches. When it was over, I came in. I finished sewing the wedges for the green and purple quilt top. I had to do a lot of fudging to get it symmetrical, but I have gotten good at it over the years. I went up to get my camera for a pic, and Chris was having supper in front of his laptop. So I finished my green smoothie, and went back to take the pic. I then turned my attention to the blue one. No one commented on the replacement fabric, so I assume it must be close enough to the original. I was working on those seams when Chris came down. We watched Babylon 5: The Gathering, then the remaining two episodes from season 2. And now it is time to say 'Goodnight'.

Can you tell where the replacement fabric is?

We stayed in bed later than usual. Because it was President's Day, Chris had the day off. Deb had asked me to do a tutorial on the tangram I made that goes from a rectangle into a 30 degree wedge. So I had been thinking about it as I went to sleep last night, and again as I woke up this morning. I even thought about it through breakfast. I was eager to get into my sewing room and work out the details. But before I could work on that, I had to clear the previous project - the kaleidoscope in blues. For some reason I could not just put it away. I sewed as much as I could without the last strip. Then I searched my collection for the closest match. I cut a strip of that, and continued on. I went through the trash to get the little bits of the missing fabric no bigger than trimmings. I pieced them together to complete the center star. But I have to decide whether the replacement fabric is close enough or if I should search some more. When I did put it aside, I then needed to put away the fabrics from the project before that - the green and purple kaleidoscope. Then I was ready to go outside. I raked leaves in the side yard for an hour in my barefeet. Then I laid on the low brick wall around the patio and read a book. But it wasn't a very comfortable position. I went inside and had a bite to eat, then went down to sew. Chris was already down there, finishing up a Batman movie. I worked out how to cut pattern pieces without seam allowances with a minimum of cuts. But the important thing is to be able to cut the fabric pieces with a minimum of cuts and that was harder because the pieces don't fit so nicely with seam allowances added. I tried it out on a small scale with a striped fabric. The first effort was unsatisfactory but the second one seemed much better. Chris came down to watch B5 with me. We finished another DVD, but not the season. Now he has gone to bed and I shall be along soon.

Ran out of fabric?!?!

I got up early enough to shower, eat dress and read e-mail. I dressed in blue to be visually recessive since the altos have to stand in front of the choir in church. Not only does blue recede because it is a cool color, but it is also the color of the carpeting in the sanctuary. I sat at the piano to practice the alto lines, then I cut up some brownies, put them on a plate, and covered them with plastic wrap. When we got to church, I practiced with the choir before the service. Then we sang after the prayer of the day. During communion, the pastor gave me a hunk of bread he ripped from a loaf he was carrying. It was too big to eat in one bite and I wondered what was the best thing to do. I ate it in two bites, but did not feel good on it. Should I have offered it to Chris? Palmed it 'till after church? Blessed the birds? After the service, everyone in church went to the fellowship hall to wish the director Happy Birthday. Big cake, and a table of snacks and punch. With all those people there, I thought I should have packed more brownies, but they did not all get eaten. Probably because there was so much cake. We sat near the back of the room and talked to two older men. I did not notice that almost everyone had left. Chris went to get our plate, and one of the women added some pieces of fudge to it, then gave it to him wrapped up. We took our treat, and stopped by Publix on the way home for groceries. Only $75 this week. At home, we ate lunch separately in front of our laptops. I watched the latest episode of Castle. Chris went downstairs to watch BG on the large TV. I came down later to work on the blue kaleidoscope. It was nice to have sound in the background as I worked. I discovered that there were not enough strips for all the wedges. I was one short. I was able to cut three of the needed fabrics from leftovers, but there was nothing left of the 4th one (the light blue in the second pic). No selvedge edges either. I have no idea what the name of the fabric is or who made it. It is frustrating to be one 2.5 inch strip short of a complete quilt top. I searched for any pieces of it that might have been stuck to other fabric from the same source, but with no luck. Finally I decided to make all the wedges I did have enough fabric for. I sewed and sewed, and then discovered that piece #3's got turned around. No wonder they didn't fit. Then I ripped and ripped. I pinned the pieces in correctly just as Chris asked if I wanted to watch B5 with him. It was a pretty good offer, so I quit to join him. After an evening of episodes, we came up. He checked his e-mail and went to bed. I started to check mine when I became aware of a small, strange noise. It was my fermented coconut milk building up pressure and forcing itself out into a growing pile of white goo. I released the pressure, and put it in the frig, hoping to slow down the fermentation. Now I am posting and going to bed.

Everything works out

I got up early to have breakfast, shower, dress, peruse e-mail, and pack for class. I even remembered to pack lunch (seaweed) - everything I needed to sew, but I forgot my purse. That meant no glasses and no tissues. I was only 5 minutes late when I arrived in the parking lot. Not too bad. Other ladies walked in after I did, so I wasn't the latest one. The class got off to a slow start, as informal classes usually do. It was interesting to see what colors and fabrics each person was using. It was also interesting to see how it was supposed to be done, as compared to how I did it because I couldn't wait for the class. I had cut a wedge 30 degrees wide and 18 inches on two sides. As it turns out, that was only part of the pattern. Their wedge was cut from the middlle of a square of paper so it had pieces around it that add corners so the quilt will come out square. Oh, well, I am sure I will come up with something to finish it out to a square. Jen had an extra pair of reading glasses which came in very handy. Deb was very impressed with the idea of pieces that fit into a rectangle (for cutting) and then rearrange into a 30 deg. wedge to make the kaleidoscope. I tried it with the colored rick-rack on black fabric. The consensus of opinion that that it was too bright, so I did not sew the pieces together after I cut them out. I spent the rest of the day working on the green and purple one. Chris called while I was in class to ask for a carton of eggs. So on my way home I stopped at Kroger for eggs and I hope to find the raw organic cheese. But no such cheese was there. When I got home, he used the eggs to make dark chocolate brownies for after church. I helped a little, and watched the latest episode of BBT on my computer. Then we went to Best Buy to replace our TV. The TV's were on sale so we were able to get a similar one plus the tax for a little less than the money we were paid to replace it with. We also were able to buy organic cheese at the Earthfare next door. Then on the way home, we stopped at a gas station and filled my tank, AND we stopped for natto at the Asian market near post. When we arrived at home, Chris brought the TV in, and set it up while I took the cheese and natto up to the frig. It was great. Chris was everything I needed. He was my chauffeur, personal shopping assistant, delivery man, gas station attendant, installation technician, and snuggler. We watched more epsiodes of B5 and went to bed.

Wedging in more time to sew

I woke up early this morning. Got up for breakfast, but read some e-mail first. After breakfast, and more e-mail, I resumed sewing. I made another strip set for piece #2, to replace the ones I made yesterday. Then I finished one wedge of the green and purple kaleidoscope quilt. I packed those pieces in a box to go to class on Saturday. I also put in scissors, pins, rulers, etc. For some reason I broke off a little early for lunch. I had defrosted a pound of organic beef. So I was able to put it in a pan with some chopped onion on low heat. Then I went outside to pick some greens. The good ones are getting harder to find. When I got back the beef was cooked. I cleaned and prepared the salad and put the beef on top. Then I took it outside and ate it, then read for a bit. It was such a nice day that I took off my shoes and socks and grabbed the rake. I raked a boxful from the front yard and was starting a second when Chris came home. They gave him 59 minutes at work. I dumped the leaves, put away the rake and went in. We talked for a bit, then I went down to sew. My phone rang and Chris brought it down to me. When I finished talking to Alison (she has chickens and sells the eggs), I came up for some fruit. Then I went down again. I searched my whole stash for some fabric that could substitute for a strip set. But not much spoke to me. I had figured out how to cut all the pieces for a kaleidoscope quilt without any leftovers, but I wanted to try it with 'cheater' fabric in case it did not work as I expected. The one piece that might work went into the box so I will have something to do tomorrow. Then I found some strips that were someone else's leftovers from a LONG time ago. At first I wasn't sure if she had just started the project or she had finished and all the strips were extras. (She died so I couldn't ask her). I decided they were leftovers and fair game. Since the fabrics were pretty together, I sewed two opposing strip sets and cut the pieces. I sewed the first wedge and liked it so much that I make another. Chris was upstairs playing with the voices. I was waiting for him to finish so we could watch more B5. He finished around 10 and we watched two episodes together. I am not completely packed for tomorrow, but hopefully will be able to finish in time tomorrow morning. After class we are going to replace our large TV. I am really looking forward to being able to read names as they appear on screen. I don't need glasses, just larger TV's as I get older.

Hurray - it's quilted!

As I was reading my e-mail after my breakfast and shower, I remembered my blog. After I posted, I went looking for the checks again since I needed to write one for Linda Thompson. I found them in a box that we had mailed ahead of us from Korea. That means I DID NOT move the checks and then forget where I moved them to. I wrote one for Linda, and met her at the church to pick up my quilt. She did a great job. The edge-to-edge was just right in size and design. She was very complimentary about my piecing.
Then I went to the bank, and drove through a few nearby shopping centers to see what was around. I stopped at Fresh Market. It is bigger than the one near my parents but poorer in selection. They did not have the raw organic cheese, or organic coconut milk. I bought a lemon and mustard. When I got home, I picked greens for salad, ate it for lunch. There was more e-mail to read. My new friend Cyndi sent me a lot more links to articles on Monsanto, chemtrails, and other conspiracies. I watched the video on HAARP. Scary stuff. But what can you expect when the people in charge are making their decisions based on fear rather than wisdom? I had to get some fresh air. I raked three boxes of leaves and collected a box of twigs and branches. It was warm enough to go barefoot. Back inside, I finished cutting out quilt pieces from the strip sets. I arranged and sewed one wedge, realized that one piece was turned the wrong way so it did not give the look I intended. So now I have to decide whether to use it anyway, or make another strip and re-cut all the #2 pieces. Hearing Chris upstairs, I quit for the night and went up for supper. I had celery with hummus. I cleared out a few more emails, and then we went down to watch "Forbidden Planet" and two episodes of B5. Now it is just blog and bed.

Hanging pictures in the bathroom

After breakfast, I put a nail in an old pair of shoes - raked leaves under magnolia tree. I did it to connect with the ground when it is too cold to go barefoot. I don't recommend it for walking on concrete. Then I hung a picture over the toilet, and a pair on either side of the mirror. It was such a nice day, that I went back outside to sweep tree droppings off of the porch. I intended to call Bob about the backed up sink, so I cleaned the sink area so he could work. I forgot to call Bob. I took a bowl outside to cut a salad from the yard. I cut oxalis, mint, deadnettle, chickweed, clover and dandelion. It was a good salad. I also added some things from the frig. I checked the front porch to see if the rest of my supplement order came. No. I had to put in another order because today was the last day to get free shipping. Then I went down to finish sewing the strip sets. I could have stopped there and been ready for class on Saturday where she is going to show us how to make the pattern pieces and cut the strips. But I just couldn't wait to see how it turns out. I made a good guess at how to do the pattern pieces yesterday and today I cut a new set, hopefully more accurate. Then I played with the arrangement until I found one that fit in a 7 inch repeat. I had forgotten that seam allowances were not included in the pieces so had to put them farther apart. I drew lines on each piece where it crossed a seam line. Then I started cutting. I heard Chris come home and fix himself supper. I had been thinking all day about whether or not to go to choir practice. I was putting off the decision. When the lines on the pieces stopped matching up (can't figure out why), I quit. I went up to greet Chris. I got an e-mail from the lady who had my purple quilt. She wants to meet me tomorrow and gave me the amount. I am almost out of checks, so I asked Chris where they were. He showed me the spot in the computer room, but they weren't there. So we searched. But time was short, and I decided to go to choir practice. The director invited me personally. I was worried I might miss the place in the dark, but the sign was well-lit and I couldn't have missed it. It was nice to be singing again, but the choir as a whole is not strong. Many people do not read music. And they made a big deal over me. It was a little embarrassing. Several people pointed out that they prayed for an alto, here I come, an answer to prayer. (Obviously God's answer was "No". ) I studied music in college. I can look at a note, tell you the name, what chord it is in, what part of the chord it is, whether the chord is inverted and what inversion it is, the key, the clef, where it falls in the scale, everything but the most important thing: what it sounds like. My dad can do that. Why didn't I inherit that ability?
When I got home, Chris and I watched several more episodes of B5. Then we went to bed...and and I fell asleep without posting to my blog. In the morning, I looked for the checks again, but with no luck. Chris thinks I moved them. I'd like to be able to say that I would remember if I had moved them, but sadly, there is no guarantee.

Stripping in the basement

Before I went to bed last night, I sat down to write in a Valentine card for Chris. He always writes such nice things, and I wanted to reciprocate. I left the card on his backpack for him to find in the morning. When I got up, there was a card from him perched on my computer for me to find. It was a very nice card, and not one that I had seen when I was looking at cards. After I read it, I had the usual breakfast and read my e-mail. I took a shower, and dressed. The bathroom sink was slow (still) so I plunged it again, several times. Each time I had to wait for the water to drain, and then wipe the dirt out. But it only drained slower. I gave up, and went down to the laundry area to put detergent on the shirt I was wearing when I spilled the scalding soup. The shirt had not come clean in the wash. I left it to soak for a bit. I resumed my work in the sewing area. I rearranged the 5 pattern pieces to the kaleidoscope quilt, making sure I could fit them in a 7 inch repeat that is 25 inches tall. Then I took a picture to remember how I did it. The next step was to decide how wide to cut each strip, and then to cut them. I did that, having to cut extra in some cases because the fabric was less than 42 inches wide. What is this world coming to when you can't count on quilting fabric (which should be 44/45 inches wide) to be at least 42? Most of the fabric strips are scraps from Gladys' box. For some reason, other people's scraps inspire me more than my own. Anyway, while I was cutting, my phone rang. A lady from Freecycle was calling for boxes. I told her to come on over. I finished assembling the two matching piles of strips. Then I put on a heavy coat and went out to meet her. She took all the dry boxes she could find in the pile. I was suprised how much of it was just cardboard packing, or paper. I was disappointed to see how much was wet. Then we stood around talking about where to find organic and local products. She changed her diet kind of like I did. She wants to get pregnant and figured it would help. We said goodbye and she promised to look me up on Facebook to send me more info. I fixed myself a salad for lunch and sat down to clear the most recent e-mails. Maryann skyped me. We talked for two hours. During that time, the Fedex man knocked on the front door and left a package. Then she had to go, and I was ready to get back to sewing. With the two complete piles of strips, I started sewing two identical strip sets. Chris came home and greeted me with two more seasons of B5. Then he fixed himself supper. I wasn't hungry. Around 7 he came down to watch B5 and I stopped sewing to sit with him. We watched the entire first DVD. My nose got cold again. I remarked on it, and he said it was much colder in Korea. I replied that our Korean apartment was a lot warmer than this house. He parried with 'But we weren't paying the bill.' I really miss the heated floors.

Cold weather might have benefits

I got up thinking I'd heard the garbage truck. It wasn't, and that meant I still had time. I gathered up all the wastebaskets in the bedrooms and bathrooms. I took it out to the street. It was cold! I came back in to make breakfast and read e-mail. One article talked about brown fat. Apparently it is better than the other kind. It keeps you warm and burns calories. But it has to be activated by being cold. They recommended sitting in icy water and drinking lots of ice water first thing in the morning. Gee, I think I would rather exercise. There was also an EFT newsletter with lots of success stories. I got a lot out of the ones I read. I read the Sandhills Guild Newsletter. They are really busy this year. I saved the pdf of the QOV blocks to print. I may make a few. I called the company that sells the laser pointer I wanted. The lady was able to take my order over the phone. She said my order was refused by the system because the credit card company did not have this Garth road address. Then I swept the porch and patio, trying to activate some of those brown fat cells I read about. Then I had hummus and natto for lunch. That hummus really warmed me up. There were two baskets of laundry in the family room. I took the to the bedroom to fold and put away. But not Chris' underwear. I folded those but left them for him to put away. I am not tall enough to see in his top drawers. I went down to the basement to work on my strip sets for the kool kaleidoscope class. It seemed like there would be a lot of leftovers, so I did the math and devised a plan to use half the amount of fabric, but will probably take twice as long. I heard the phone ring, so I went upstairs to answer it. Then I opened the front door to see if any packages had been left. No. But then I saw the empty garbage can, so I brought it back to the house. Then I saw leaves on the ground, so I picked up the rake and raked for awhile. I was picking up sticks when Chris came home. He remarked on a card from Bob D. Actually it was from Maryann. It featured a cute little cat, looking innocent, paw prints everywhere. Uh huh. Reminds me of cat-sitting in Korea.
I had defrosted a package of organic beef, so I browned it with some onion that Chris chopped up for me. He made himself a burrito with leftover pork. I ate the beef with a kale salad. Chris and I read e-mail for awhile. My computer kept warning me that it was going to shut down to perform maintenance. But when I finally acquiesced, it did not. It required me to click on stuff. Then it warned me that it would take hours. So we watched our latest Netflix arrival -"He-man, Masters of the Universe". It was one of Chris' picks. A number of the characters looked familiar, so we looked them up on the internet. That was interesting. The guy who played Kevin also played Tom Parris in Voyager.
Knowing what tomorrow is, I have one more thing to do tonight. Then it's off to bed for both of us.

Holy Guacamole, Batman, that's some hot hummus!

We made it to church on time after a leisurely breakfast. The choir director came over to meet me before the service started. She encouraged me to join the choir. I am thinking about it, but wondering if due to the price of gas, we should join the closest church. On the way home from church, we stopped at Target to look at large screen TV's. We have received unofficial word that the replacement price for our stolen TV has been approved. The same brand and model is not available in the U.S. so we have to choose a different one. Chris bought a DVD there. Then we went to Publix for groceries. $150 to just the two of us! We took them home and put them away. I changed clothes, then made a pizza crust dough. It made two pizzas. Then I started a loaf of bread in the machine. Chris got out the fixin's for hummus. He said the recipe called for two garlic cloves, but would it be alright if he put in more? Naively, I said yes. I even helped him peel them. About 8 we estimate. I washed some celery and spread it on. Wow, what a kick that hummus had! It'll cure whatever ails 'ya. Then he peeled more garlic, and made the pizzas. I only had a little bit since it had sausage on it. Then we went down to watch the rest of Babylon 5 season 1. He went to bed after that. I stayed up to research laser pointers. I finally found a reasonably-priced one and tried to order it, but the site keeps rejecting my order, no reason given.

Too cold for yard work

Saturday morning I got dressed, had breakfast and read my e-mail. One article was promoting the benefits of EDTA. I did a google search on it, and it sounds like it is tricky to use. I saw the trees outside rustling in the wind. So I went in to the garage to get my kite. I put on my warmest coat since it was so cold out. When I got out there, the wind had died down. So I waited. There were gusts now and then, but not enough to make it worth staying out. I put the kite away. Then I got out my tennis racket and a ball. I played against the side of the house, avoiding the windows. I tried the garage door, but it made too much noise. When I got too cold I went in. Chris and I took his car to get the oil changed. Then we went to the Goodwill at the end of Whitesburg to look for a VCR. But they had no electronics section. So what do they do with donations of that kind? There was a sewing place across the parking lot. We drove over there, but they were closed. Then we saw an Asian market across the street. We were able to buy seaweed and cute little mushrooms. Then we went home. I fixed myself a salad and ate some of the mushrooms. I followed some links in my e-mail. Then, since the kaleidoscope class is next Saturday, I printed off the directions for preparation. And I googled images of kaleidoscope quilts for inspiration on how to choose and place the strips. When I finished and my mind was full of images, I went down to the sewing room to begin the process of choosing. But first I had to clear some space, clean up a bit. Then Chris came down and he was ready to watch some Babylon 5. So we did. And then it was almost midnight so we went to bed.
* Why is Blogger rotating my picture? *

Things get a little hot

I cleaned the stove because Bob said the repair person was coming. I fixed breakfast, and read my e-mail. I decided to carry the cell phone while waiting for Bob to call. Picked up more dead stalks from the garden area. I raked up leaves in the back yard trying to find out what is lawn and what isn't. Raked up magnolia cones under the tree in the front yard. Lots of chickweed came up too. I sorted through the rakings to pull out the best of the chickweed. I filled a bowl. I picked a few dandelion and mint leaves to go with it. I brought it in for lunch. I washed it and doused it with sesame oil. I used kale to mop up the rest of the salad dressing. Bob called while I was eating my salad. He said the repair man WAS on his way, but when he heard that the job called for working on an appliance that was 'messed with' by the home owner, he (the repair person) refused to come. Bob said no repair people would take the job, but he did not say why. So, he thinks he should take a whack at it himself, and if it doesn't work, he'll have to install a new cooktop. Then there was a basket of lingerie in the sewing area. I had been avoiding it because I knew I would have to try on each piece to decided whether to keep it or give it away. Not good for my ego. But, today was the day. I went through the whole basket, dividing the contents into two piles. There were belts in there, too. When I finished, I remembered a box of old clothes in my closet that I had also been avoiding. I finished that, too. I took the donation pile to the donation area in the garage. I put part of the 'save' pile in the laundry and the rest went back in the box. Then I took 4 items that needed mending to the sewing area. Two were mended by machine, and two by hand. Chris came home while I was down there, and fixed himself supper. He was on-line, waiting for the game with the voices to start when I came up. I ate a piece of chicken and bit the inside of my lip badly. So I sat at my computer, trying to ignore the pain and the blood. I played a new computer game for awhile, listening to Chris and the voices. When I got tired of the game, I called up the latest episode of BBT on CBS. I watched that, and then called up CSI. In the middle of that, I decided that maybe I could handle some chicken soup. I pulled out the large jar from the frig. Chris heated up a portion on the stove. When he pronounced it ready, I put it in a bowl and sat back down in front of my computer. But it was way too hot to eat. I was going to get up to put some cool water in it. But I spilled it on my chest and down my leg. It was really hot and went through my shirt. I may have screamed. I ripped off my shirt and bra to find a really red burn spot in a tender place. Chris enjoyed that more than I did. I took the rest off and put on a bathrobe. I added water to the remaining soup and ate it while watching CSI and NCIS. Now it is after midnight, Chris is still playing with the voices, but I am going to bed.

* I didn't take any pics today so here is one from a quilt show in Seoul. *

Getting away from the house

When I got up, I looked out the window and saw the neighbors had put out their recycling. We don't have a bin yet and the recycling is supposed to be out by 7. But it was not yet 8 so I took a chance. I put all the paper in a large white trash bag and wrote 'RECYCLE' in large letters. I set it out by the driveway. Then I prepared and ate my breakfast. I spent more time reading e-mail than I normally would. I had made an appointment to meet Linda T at noon to give her my quilt to finish on her longarm. I did not want to get into the middle of something and forget to show up on time. Still, I did go down to rifle through the box of scraps that came my way Tuesday night. After I had selected a few to keep, I decided to try ruler-folding again. I measured the opening of one cabinet - 14 inches. So I used my 12.5 inch ruler to fold a stack of fabric that completely filled the cabinet. Now there was a few inches of clear space at the top. But is it enough to justify the effort of refolding my entire collection? Then I grabbed my keys and headed to the church where we agreed to meet. Apparently I misunderstood the exact place, but she found me. She liked the top and was eager to work on it. Then she told me that another quilt guild meets at this church on the third Thursday of each month and they have over 80 members. I will have to check them out. After she left, I went across the street to Hallmark. I was shopping for a Valentine card for Chris. I read so many. Do I buy a heartfelt one, or a light-hearted one? It is so hard to be so indecisive. I paid for my purchase and went home. Cyndi had forwarded an e-mail from the Madison Freecycle group where someone was offering a VCR. So I responded to it, but figured it was probably too late. I noticed it was a little sunny outside, so I went out to rake. This time I raked around the magnolia tree. I discovered a patch of dandelion there, and another wild plant that is edible. I raked carefully so as not to disturb my future lunches. After a few boxfuls of leaves and cones, I went to the garden to pick up more dead stalks. There were also branches and I stacked them near the property line so the neighbors could mulch them if they wanted. Cyndi showed up then. She brought me an edger and some pots. She took empty boxes, paper, and most of the donation pile. She told me about her conspiracy theories. We saw an airplane trail in the sky and she thinks it is spraying us with chemicals which are killing the bees. Hmm. After she left, I collected more stalks. William called to share what he found at the Goodwill. But he did not find a VCR. He made the comment that I must be bored, not having a job, or groups to volunteer for. I told him he obviously wasn't reading my blog.
I moved boxes of paper to the carport, and cleaned up an area along one wall to put the base cabinets that Bob brought over two weeks ago. Chris came home as I finished it. I asked him if he thought it was possible for us to move the cabinets from the carport to the garage. He thought it would be difficult. Bob called earlier to say an appliance repair person was coming to fix the stove tomorrow and that he would come too. So maybe Bob can move the cabinets tomorrow. Chris made more asparagus for supper and some tilapia. Then Michele skyped us. It was so good to see and hear her, all the way from Korea. We asked how the apartment was, and she did not want to comment. She said the frig was almost empty, and that her roomates friends had eaten all the ramen we left. So her big project for the day was to go shopping. She wanted a tour of the house, so Chris carried his laptop to every room. It went kind of fast, I hope we didn't make her dizzy. Then we said goodbye, and went down to watch "The Librarian". It was cool, but not as great as Indiana Jones. We also watched an episode of Babylon 5 after I gave Chris the sad puppydog look. Then he went to bed. There is no reason to stay awake, so I will go, too.
* This is the weed that I can't identify. Any one know what it is? *

We haven't changed a bit

As I ate breakfast, I perused my e-mail and came across some interesting info. There is a new thing in grocery stores called MAP produce - modified atmosphere packaging. It is a plasticy film added to fresh produce to keep it fresh longer. Organic produce is not exempt, so beware. A short Youtube video showed a woman peeling this film off of a piece of Romain lettuce. The article claims it has been done to tomatoes, too.
Also looked up Willard Water (allegedly helps your body absorb more vitamins and minerals), and that led me to shungite, which is supposed to detoxify water. I could not find any info on these reportedly healthy products that wasn't from a site selling the product.
When I'd had enough, I shut the laptop, took a shower and considered going out to the shopping plaza and to the bank. But when I noticed my phone was discharged, I plugged it in and decided to go later. I watered the plants in the living room. One fell and spilled dirt, so I got out the Kirby to clean it up. I did more vacuuming upstairs and some downstairs. I unpacked a very large, ornate mirror that has been sitting in the diningroom covered in cardboard and paper. I carried pictures around the house to see which ones will look best in certain locations. I did some outdoor work too, picking up more dead stalks from yesterday. Then I went inside to get my purple quilt ready for quilting. I had to pull out a couple rows of the hand stitches my mother put in. Then I took all the pins out. I separated the three layers. I pressed the top and backing. The backing was just slightly larger than the quilt top, so I sewed some leaders on each end. Then I was ready to go shopping. But it was 3pm, and time for raking. I raked up two boxes in the front yard, and another in the driveway area. Then I picked some greens for lunch. I made a salad and ate it while checking for new e-mail. Chris came home while I was listening to an audio clip about QuikLearning. Chris fixed asparagus and we ate it with leftovers. I phoned Linda to arrange a meeting tomorrow to drop off the quilt top. Then I called up the latest episode of Castle from the ABC website and we watched it on my laptop. When that ended, we went down to watch "Mysterious Island", from Netflix. Chris went to bed, and here I sit, surprised to learn that I did take a photo today. This is our wedding picture, which I haven't found a place to hang yet.

It was a bright and sunny day

I fixed breakfast and sat down to read my e-mail. I discovered that Yahoo was not working. So I ate breakfast while researching the unknown weed in my yard. After visiting the book store on Sunday, I came across the term 'whorls'. So I searched for 'whorls of 6 leaves'. The closest hit was gallium concinnum. Not sure that is exactly it, but very close. Then Yahoo mail came back up. I checked my new e-mail. Then I called the city for a recycle bin, but was told they were still filling requests from November. I entered the kaleidoscope class to the NEAModernquiltguild yahoo group calendar for Feb 18th. I am not sure it is my place to do so, but I keep forgetting when it will be. I sorted the pictures in the living room into piles which seemed to go together. I unboxed a large green painting with an Asian flair. I set it aside until I know what to do with it. Then, because it was such a nice day, I went outside to work. I swept the patio. I pulled dead stalks from the flower bed. I swept part of the carport. I tried to dig out the leaves under the grates. But the grates were heavy, and the leaves under the bottom had degenerated into dirt. I went into the garage to break down boxes. Cindy had been promising to pick up boxes for over a week. I brought out two more boxes of stuff to store out there. I fixed a salad for lunch. Then I did some raking in the front yard, but only enough to get one box of leaves. I decided that I should conserve some energy so I wouldn't be too tired to go to quilt meeting tonight. So I sat to read a book. It felt good to sit and read. Then Cindy called. She hinted that tomorrow might be a better day for her to come, but I told her the boxes needed to go or I would post them on Freecycle. So she drove over and loaded the flattened boxes in her car. She also took a bunch of the donation pile. She brought me two packages of yeast, a leaf blower that might work, and two tops that are too small for her. After she left, I grabbed a quilt for show-and-tell, and headed to the meeting. This time we were meeting at UAH, Morton Hall. There was a good showing for the meeting. Maybe 20 ladies? We had show-and-tell, discussion of up-coming events, exchange of pizza boxes, and a demonstration of how to make flying geese blocks. Linda sat next to me, which was good because I wanted to talk to her about getting my purple quilt quilted. She gave me her address and phone number. Then, as the group was breaking up, several of us walked up to Deb with scraps since she had posted that she needed some. One lady brought a box of them, and offered to let me pick whatever I wanted out of the box after Deb picked. So I did, and while I was doing it, she told me just to take the box home and bring back whatever I didn't want. God bless this woman. If you have seen my sewing room, you know that I need more scraps like I need a hole in the head. But I never turn leftovers away. Whoo-hoo! So, then it was time to go home. I had checked the map before I left to be sure I could find the place in the dark. But the road was one-way and I hadn't checked how to get home. I had an idea, but found myself in the wrong lane. That put me on Holmes ave going SE. I did not know where it went, but when it crossed Triana, I turned because I had seen Triana on the way over. That took me to Bob Wallace, so I turned again. I was looking for Whitesburg, but didn't find it before I felt I had gone too far. So I turned South, which took me to Drake (a good thing). From there I knew where I was and went home. (It is more fun getting lost in Seoul) Chris was finishing up an episode of Battlestar Galactica. So then we went down to watch 2 episodes of B5. He went to bed after checking to see that Michele's plane to Seoul had landed safely, and I stayed up to post to my blog.

Cleaning in the garage

I got up around the usual time. It was sunny, but as the day went on, the sun was in and out. Before breakfast, I started a loaf of bread in the bread machine. After breakfast and e-mail, I finished sorting the sheet music. I divided it into categories by instrument and genre. Then I weeded out some that seemed to be duplicated in other books. To do this, I had to play a few selections on the piano. But it was tough because of all the pictures lying on top, waiting to be hung. There was no room to place the music. I had to hold it in one hand, and play with the other. Anyway, I selected a pile for donation, and a pile for recycling. I took the packaged shelving unit that sat in the family room for almost a month, down to the den and assembled it. Now that Chris has unpacked some boxes of books :) there is room for the shelf unit. Then I turned my attention to the garage. What doesn't find a place upstairs goes to the basement, and what doesn't find a place in the basement goes to the garage. But in order to do that, I had to organize what was already there. And most of that area was covered in roach droppings. So I donned a facemask, and grabbed a dustpan and brush. I cleaned all the shelves and loaded them up. I wish I had a 'before' picture. Only that pic could make the 'after' picture look impressive. Near the end, my throat started burning so I took a break. The facemask was dirty inside and out. I made a salad and ate it outside. I also cooked up a pkg of grass-fed beef on the bulgogi pan. Not an easy thing. Then I raked up the leaves lying on the patio. I also cleaned up the leaves I had raked in the backyard weeks ago. Finally I did some raking in the front yard. I added some bricks to the flowerbed border. Then I finished cleaning the shelving in the garage. I was so dirty that I took a shower. I knew Chris would love to come home and find me wrapped in a towel, but it was only 4pm, and I couldn't wait for him to get off work. After dressing, unloaded the dishwasher, and I checked the hauling strength of the tow bar on my car, then swept the leaves out of the garage. That is when Chris came home. We had leftover meat for supper, and he made asparagus. I called up the latest episode of BBT on CBS and we watched that. Then we went downstairs to watch more Babylon 5. He went to bed early, and I just might follow him when I finish this post.

Church and shopping on Superbowl Sunday

We got up for breakfast. I read my e-mail until it was time to shower and dress for church. I did not realize it was Superbowl sunday. After the service, the kids were taking a special collection. On the way home, we stopped by Publix for milk and celery. We took it home. I changed clothes, sorted laundry, and then started sorting books of music in the guest room. Chris wanted to go to Home Depot, so we did. We had to buy two circular lightbulbs for the kitchen fixture. We also got a trowel, a pruner, and glue for Chris' shoe. On the way home he remembered that he had a Home Depot gift card. We went home. I swept the porch and steps. Then we went to GNC for fiber, and to BarnesnNoble. I got two books on wild edible plants, and Chris got two DVD's. When we got home, I took one book outside and used it to identify greens in the back yard. I picked a bunch for lunch. I added kale, tomatoes, mushrooms, and sprouts. I poured Chris' salad dressing over it and ate it. Chris watched episodes of Battlestar Galactic on his laptop and kept tabs on the laundry in progress. I cleared so much old e-mail that I got the unread ones down to 20! Chris had put pork in the oven. When it was ready, he made pasta and asparagus to go with it. We ate it for supper. I researched places to go for yoga. Then we went down to watch more Babylon 5. He quit early to go back to his laptop. I scoured the yoga sites - it gets expensive! And I checked out the price of renting a U-haul trailer to pick up some of our remaining items in Pinehurst. Now Chris has gone to bed and I have to figure out what pic to go with this post.

Organizing can be so liberating

Because it was Saturday we lingered in bed before getting up for breakfast. Then breakfast meandered into e-mail, and I lingered over that, too. MaryAnn skyped me for a bit. She said they'd had bad weather. Then she had to go, and I did too. I went through a box of records to keep only my favorites, yet thinking when will I ever play them again? The record player is not even hooked up because it is too far from the receiver. Even though I can't imagine there are any songs on those records that are not on Youtube, still I kept most of them. Then it rained. Thanks, MaryAnn.
I 'liberated' a piece of pegboard from the garage to hang in my sewing area. Chris helped with the installation. Don't you just love the word 'liberated'? Sounds so much better than 'ripped off the wall'. Then I shredded all the papers from the buying, selling and refinancing of two homes. I felt sorry for all the trees that were involved. Hopefully some day such transactions will be paperless. I took out three bags of paper shreds. Then I picked salad greens from the lawn. There were two kinds that were similar and I kept mixing them up. So I rechecked on the internet. One set I could not identify so I threw them away. The others went into a salad with tomatoes. Then we went grocery shopping. When we got back, Chris went downstairs to go through some boxes of books. It made me very happy. Then we had leftovers for supper. I lost track of time looking through my e-mail trying to pare down the 75 unread e-mails to 50. I didn't quite make it. Around 9 we went down to watch episodes of Babylon 5. And that is pretty much it for today.

Finding old pictures

I really put the shredder through it's paces today. I had quite a bit of former bills to dispose of. In the past, come January, I would pull out everything over 2 years old, and burn it. Since we did not bring our files to Korea, it hasn't been done in awhile. And here, there is no place to burn. So I shredded. It just isn't as satisfying.
I also moved things from downstairs up, and from the upstairs down. Still trying to get everything in its proper place. I matched lamps with their shades and changed out the ones in the livingroom. I went through 2 more boxes of papers. I found old pictures of family (see Kurt with hair!), friends, and 'friends'. Also former students who wrote nice things on the back of their senior pics. Even my old algebra lesson plans. Such a different life than the one I have now.
Today was not sunny, but windy. I went out after lunch to rake the lawn. The lady next door came over to introduce herself. She also told me a bit about the neighborhood. I have been wanting to meet her and her husband. While she and I were talking, Chris came home. He had two boxes of supplements for me. I thought I had ordered them to come to our home address, but I guess they still have our P.O. box. Since we finished the Castle DVD's, Chris went by the library and got a season of Babylon5 and Max Headroom. After supper I read the dictionary, trying to write a winning poem for the Bali Batik's contest. Then we went downstairs to watch TV. We started with Max Headroom, but after 2 or 3 episodes, we switched. I had never seen it before and Chris said it was hokier than he remembered. So then we saw Babylon 5. That was ok. It was the first episode, which I do not remember seeing. Chris was falling asleep, so we turned it off after that. He went to bed, and I am trying to blog while fielding texts on Skype.

Before and After

I did not shake the coconut milk this morning, but it did its shaken soda imitation anyway. After breakfast I installed the new shower filter head. I have been putting it off for some time because I thought something might go wrong. But after a bit of tapping, I did it. The hardest part was getting the old one off, but it worked out ok. Then I took a shower. I finished unpacking a box of papers. I moved all the Sudoku and puzzle books from the bookcase downstairs to a bookcase upstairs. I found my Nutrisystem book nearby. Here are my before and after photos. Why didn't I think to wear the same outfit for both photos? Having set up my desk and office area yesterday, I tested it out today. I wrote a check and a Thinking of You note. It was nice to have everything I needed in one place. Except for my date planner. I haven't seen it since we left the apartment on post. Anyway, I ran them out to the mailbox around 11:40. Then when I noticed the SE corner of the lawn was in sun, I started raking it, or rather teasing it. The grass (a term which is too kind for most of the lawn) is a bit long and has grown up through the leaves so I have to tease the leaves and twigs out. I saw three of my neighbors come home and get their mail. I have seen the mail come at noon, but I guess it was early today, or late that day. Anyway, it was such a beautiful day that I did not want to go inside when I finished raking. So I did a little weeding in one of the flower beds. I selected one weed to research on the net to see if it is edible. I had a heck of a time identifying it. I think it is a dove's foot geranium. If so, decoctions of it can be used for medicinal purposes. I think I'll skip it. For lunch I had the chicken soup and a salad of chickweed, clover, and deadnettle. After lunch I went through a box of Michele's stuff in my bedroom, then carried it downstairs. I have been setting aside stuff for her, and I boxed it all up and put it in the tornado room. I cleared off the diningroom table, brought up a lamp to match one already in the livingroom and another smaller one for the desk. Finally I sat down to watch our latest Netflix arrival - Silk Stockings with Fred Astaire. Chris came home while it was running. He fixed himself a burrito, and I had a turkey burger. When my movie was over, we went downstairs to finish season 3 of Castle. After that, I called up the last week's episode of BBT on CBS and we watched that. Chris went to bed, and I went to blog.

Don't shake the coconut milk...

...when the jar is full and it has been fermenting overnight. Just little tip I learned today while cleaning up puddles all over the kitchen.
Last night I prayed for an answer to all the glassware on the dining room table, and this morning I moved most of it to the shelf above the cupboards. It looks nice, but I wouldn't want to be standing in the kitchen if we have an earthquake. I also unpacked boxes of files into the filing cabinet. I selected a number of outdated ones to be shredded. I also discovered that I probably have every letter and card I ever got. Bags and bags of them. I loved re-reading what was written. But where and how shall I store them? Alphabetically? Chronologically? Randomly? In one of the boxes was more desk supplies. I know what to do with those.
Mary Ann skyped me around lunch time. We had a good chat. I did not do any raking because it was raining. However, no water came in the basement or in the garage. I wanted to scrub the leaf stains off of the porch, but I need a nylon scrubbie for that and I can't find one. Chris stopped at Kroger's on the way home for a few groceries. He cooked some organic turkey burgers for me and burritoes for himself. We went downstairs to watch episodes of Castle. We must be almost finished with season 3 by now.