Easter Sunday

I had a hard time sleeping last night due to anxiety over the services. But I did some tapping and fell asleep finally. I woke up before the alarm went off at 6:30. But I didn't get up right away. I was glad to see that daylight was present. I checked my e-mail and posted for yesterday. Then I fixed breakfast and took a shower. I wasn't able to finish breakfast before I had to hustle to get dressed and leave by 7:30. I arrived at the church on time, at least, by 7:45. But not all the brass players had arrived. I had time to warm up just a little before the organist started the prelude. We were all there when the service started and it went just fine. The 8am service was not well attended so communion went faster than expected. The choir was supposed to assemble by 8:55 to sing at the end of the service but we had to sing a little earlier so a few people didn't quite make it. Still, we sounded good, even if she made us sing acapella on the second verse. After the service, I checked out the craft supplies, looking for beads for the creation story. All I found were stars. I thought of using perler beads to make the items needed, and I found perler beads, but no bead board to hold them during the ironing process. I talked to Shannon and she said the dollar store had them. I also talked to Marilyn. She said she has a performance degree in trombone. But she doesn't want to play in church. I found out that the older trumpet player used to teach math. All these conversations happned in the fellowship hall where fruit and muffins were being served. I did not have any since I didn't want to get bits of fruit in my instrument. Then we gathered outside to staple flowers to the cross. Soon it was time to sit in place at the front waiting for the second service to start. I saw Chris come in, and a friend of mine from the Monday quilters. She came just to see me. And to worship, but she could have gone anywhere for an Easter service. First the choir sang, and then the ensemble played, and then we sang again, then sat in the pews for awhile, then played again, left for communion, and played again later. (I did not take communion at the second service because he was handing out pieces of bread and it left a crumb in the communion wine when I dipped it in the cup at the first service.) It all worked out. Bertha came by to talk to me after the service. Then on the way out, the pastor's wife entertained us with a story from Florida. I think there was one other person we talked to, and then we went home in our separate cars. I finished my breakfast and had some lunch. Then we went to Publix for groceries, but they were closed. So we bought our groceries from Kroger instead. After putting the groceries away, Chris put a roast in the oven. He fried some bacon and used the fat to coat 4 potatoes. I finished my Star Trek book and did a 16x16 Sudoku puzzle. I checked e-mail. AKO informed me that my password had expired, as it does every 5 months. Getting into the system and changing the password was lots of fun (not) as always. We ate some of the roast. I folded laundry. We watched several episodes of Eureka. And Chris, my wonderful husband, had the next season ready to go when the last one ended with a cliffhanger. Now he has gone to bed and soon I shall join him there. It has been a long day.

Easter Saturday

I got up at 8:30, read e-mail and fixed breakfast. I warmed up on my trombone. I folded up my stand and put the horn in its case. The music went into the case as well. I carried it all out to the car and went to church for practice. Even thought I was right on time, the other players were already there and waiting on me for practice to begin. We played through the program and I wrote notes in my bulletin about when to be with the brass, when to be with the choir and when to sit with the congregation. It's a lot to remember. Susan found me a place to hide my trombone so I won't have to carry it in the morning. On the way home I stopped at Hobby Lobby to find beads in the shapes of things that God created in the first six days. Pickings were slim. Cathy called while I was there to talk about arrangements for Paducah. Then I resumed shopping. I bought a new jar for the kefir and a piece of green fabric that I think will go with the Veggie Tales quilt. When I got home, Chris had finished the laundry. I started a loaf of his bread in the bread machine. I read e-mail and listened to audios. I had sewing stuff to do, but could not find the gumption to do it. Or much else. It was a rainy day but I did not check the basement for leaks. I spent the rest of the day reading the Star Trek book. William called to tell me that he returned one laptop and bought a different one. Chris played with the voices. Michele was one of them, but I did not get to talk to her afterwards. When I finally tore myself away from the book, it was past time for bed, especially considering that I have to get up early in the morning to play for the early service (but not the sunrise service, whew!)

Good Friday

I stayed in bed longer than usual, not wanting to get up. At first I thought it was because the bed was warm and comfy, and the ambient temp was not. But then I realized it was the thought of my morning routine. E-mail and tapping don't bother me, but exercising takes willpower and so does practicing. I am rapidly running low on willpower and high on boredom from playing 5 verses each of the same 3 hymns every day. But I told myself that today was the last day for that. Tomorrow I do a warm up and go to church for practice with the group. Then on Sunday we play those hymns for the last time. Last year she only asked for three verses each. With that thought, I got up and completed my morning routine. I ate breakfast around lunchtime. It was a sunny day so I mowed parts of the front lawn and some inside the fence. For lunch I made a large salad, adding pickings from the yard. I noticed that my turnip plants have small pink flowers on them. I brought my choir music in to practice the three pieces for tonight. Later I took a shower and scrubbed the green off of my feet. Chris came home early. I was still dressed in a towel, scrubbing a pan in the sink. Later I cooked the quinoa that has been soaking since yesterday. I dressed in black and we went to church for the service. It was a joint service with the church down the street, but the turnout was still light. As the 7 last words of Christ were read, they turned out more of the lights. The choir gathered in front where there was light to sing several times. But for the last song, all the lights were out and we had to memorize our parts. The pastor slammed the Bible shut and we all filed out in silence. At home, Chris worked on his laptop while I listened to an audio and tried to read my Star Trek book. When he was done, we watched an episode of Eureka. It was about bats, and I jumped when we heard a large something scrabbling back and forth between the floors above our heads. Yikes! After the episode, Chris went to bed and I am left to post.

Quiet Day

It was a quiet day. The green truck that cuts down trees and grinds them up moved to the next neighborhood. Whew! The morning proceeded in the normal fashion. Then, since it was awesomely sunny, I raked leaves around the magnolia tree. And, since it has been rainy or cold or both lately, I stayed outside to mow as much of the front yard as I could 'till the mower ran down. Then I picked up sticks all over the property. And cut off the monkey grass to encourage new, better looking, leaves. Inside, I boiled some organic eggs, emptied the dishwasher, and listened to some audios. Several of them about the 4 principle tuning systems. I can just barely hear a difference. I put quinoa in a bowl to soak. Chris came home and made himself a beef burrito. I wanted to go downstairs to sew, but couldn't get over the sunlight, so I took a Star Trek book outside to read. When it got chilly, I came inside and read some more. Then we watched several episodes of Eureka before bed.
* This is Cheryl's quilt, sort of. She and another lady took the same class and they didn't like how their quilts turned out so they traded. Pic was taken Monday *

Name that tag

I began the day in the usual way: practice trombone, exercise, tap, read e-mail, eat breakfast. Chris reminded me by e-mail to take the ground beef out of the frig to thaw. I took a shower. Although the day started out cold, it warmed up quite a bit. I was able to read a kindle book on my tablet outside barefoot. It was a book on tapping for procrastination. So then I brewed another batch of kombucha, which had been put off since yesterday. I spilled the tea on my shirt so I had to take it off and rinse it out, and find another shirt to wear. I made up eight days worth of vitamins. The Swanson supplement order arrived just in time. I checked e-mail again. It was supposed to be for a short time, but I ran across the term Pythagorean monochord and had to research it. Did you know that Pythagorus was into healing with music? And he mathematically calculated the cps for all the notes in an octave? There is much more to read, but I wanted to finish projects already in progress. I quilted a small sandwich, bound it, and sewed a ribbon on. Then I ironed on my name tag. Chris made hamburgers for supper. I ate two, then went to choir practice. William called just as practice ended. I guess he thought I would drive home while talking to him, but I stayed in the lot until after everyone had left. Then I told him I had to hang up and go home. Chris wasn't ready to watch TV yet, so I went downstairs to cut more green squares. I should have enough to complete 12 blocks. Then he followed and cued up the next episode of Eureka. There was time for only one episode. Chris went to bed, and I wrote to my blog and deleted handfuls of pics from my camera, whose card is getting full.

Can you tell where it broke?

I did not want to get out of bed this morning. I contemplated going back to sleep, but the big machine was back today. It is trimming trees along the power lines and crunching up the branches. Not something you can sleep through. So I went through my complete morning routine, including tapping, exercising, practicing, e-mail and breakfast. By then it was almost time for lunch. I watched it snow. Did not last long, but I could see the thermometer drop as the flakes fell. I soaked my black pants in a bucket of water to get the dried soap streaks out of it. Must have happened in the washer, but I don't know how. I wrapped my honey bottle in a heating pad on high to decrystallize the hard stuff on the bottom. I decanted the brewing kombucha into jars and put them in the cupboard. I thought about starting a new batch but it didn't happen. I listened to two audios while replacing the patched globe, and sewing. I embroidered my name on a purple rectangle to test spray glue as a way to make a stick-on quilt label. I stuck it to wax paper after I sprayed it. Then I drew diagonal lines through all the little white squares that I cut yesterday. I even cut 4 more large green ones and mixed up the stacks so they are ready to sew. Then I peeled off the purple label to stick it to other fabric and it did not stick. So plan B is to use fusible. I fused a piece of Heat-n-Bond to the back. Then I needed to make a small test quilt to iron it to. That can be my name tag for guild meetings. I've only been a member for a year now. It's about time I made a name tag. But then the battery on my laptop ran out, so I brought it upstairs to recharge. Chris came home from work and made a burrito. I picked some turnip leaves and made a big salad. I wrung out the pants and hung them up to dry. I think the soap streaks are gone, but won't be sure until they're dry. I read e-mail while Chris played a computer game. Then we watched three episodes of Eureka. He went to bed. I rescued my bottle of honey which was all nice and runny inside. And now I'm about to go to bed.

Cold day in Alabama

Although I had time for a condensed version of my morning routine, very little of it got done. No exercise, and no tapping. I read e-mail, had breakfast and called my parents. Chris said there'd be bad weather, but they had it last night in the form of snow. We did not have snow but it was very cold today. Isn't it spring? My calendar says yes, but the thermometer says no. I packed green fabrics in my sewing box and some seaweed for lunch. I arrived at the church close to 11. I busied myself with cutting 5 inch squares of fabric. When I finished the fabrics that I brought, I went through the stash at church, cutting 2 squares from each one I found. Then I cut white squares for the stars. Mirna laid out a woven ribbons quilt, and Lauri finished her pastel sampler top. Bertha did not finish her project because she left for the dentist right in the middle. Carolyn talked about her impending knee surgery tomorrow. At 4 I packed up to come home. It wasn't any warmer. I brought my stuff inside the house, and had some kimchi and beef. I folded the laundry. I started the tapping. Chris came home around 5. He made his supper and I had a large salad, and some liver. I glued in the pieces that fell out of the chandelier globe. I folded a bunny and a chick. Neither is particularly recognizable. I did an internet search for a craft to go with the creation story. I made a list of ideas in an e-mail to myself. When Chris was ready, we went down to watch 2 episodes of Eureka. The second one was their Christmas special. It seemed fitting what with the cold weather we are having. It isn't snowing now, but it could.
* This is Debbie's quilt *

Fermented Lemonade

Last night I laid down to listen to two meditation sessions. I did not mean to fall asleep, but I did. Chris did not want to disturb me, so he laid down on the couch. He woke in the middle of the night, and so did I. So we both crawled into bed, with no sheets and only a tangle of blankets. I barely woke up when my phone rang at 8. It was in the den and I idly wondered how long it would ring if I weren't there to shut it off. It did not last long. Nor did it ring again. When I did finally get up, it was 9. Chris' phone did not ring. I showered and dressed. I was not hungry so I skipped breakfast. I woke Chris just as I left. There was no craft this Sunday, but the kids were assembling Easter care packages for servicepeople overseas. I arrived in the middle of that activity with extra boxes and my choir folder. Turns out the choir wasn't singing today. Instead, the kids rang chimes (as we processed into the church with our palm crosses), and later Cecelia sang a beautiful solo. Chris arrived before the procession. When the service was over, I was really hungry so we slipped out the side door and headed home. I fixed breakfast and Chris made lunch. We both read e-mail for awhile. I put the clean sheets on the bed. Then we went shopping. In the rain. We started at Home Depot for light bulbs and nails, then went to Kroger for flax seed, and finally to Publix for regular groceries and bandaids. I opened more e-mail, did three tapping videos and practiced for Easter. I also juiced up two red beets, a lemon, a cucumber, and some celery. It wasn't too bad. Some of the beet juice and vegetable pulp went into the kimchi to get fermented. Speaking of fermentation, I checked on my first batch of fermented lemonade. It still doesn't taste fermented, but I put it in the frig anyway. It might be growing a scoby of sorts. Then we watched three episodes of Eureka in the basement.

But Honey, I saved you so much money...

...and the shipping was free!!
I had toyed with thoughts of getting up early for the church workday, which was only from 8 to 12. It was after nine when I got up, so I scrapped that idea. I wanted to work on my quilt labels. Ironically I spent most of the morning and afternoon on my laptop reading e-mails, listening to audios and tapping. I did get in some practice time. Chris did laundry and defrosted a roast for supper. I pulled up two garlics to go with it. He sliced them up along with all the leaves, and spread the bits on top. I tried my fermented lemonade, but I am not sure it is fermented. It tastes just like lemonade. I did work on the remaining two embroidered labels. I ran into trouble with the first one. For some reason it just wouldn't finish the job. I took the machine apart several times and turned it upside down and shook it. Not easy to do since the machine is heavy, but the needle broke and I think I can hear the tip rolling around inside. Finally, after nothing discernible happened, it worked. It finished that one, and had no problems with the second one. Then I brought the labels upstairs so I could trim all the jump stitches while listening to another audio. But the light wasn't bright enough. And that was because three of the five bulbs were burnt out. So I unscrewed them, which was tricky because I could barely reach the swinging thing and the globes would not come off until after the bulb was removed. Then I realized that we only had two new bulbs left. I washed the three globes, and replaced two bulbs. The third globe was cracked and it only got worse when I handled it. I trimmed jump stitches while Chris played with the voices. When the game was over, I Skyped Michele. She seems to be doing ok, and her roommate has returned.

Project Linus

I got up a little early. I went through an abbreviated version of my normal morning routine. While I was taking a shower, my phone rang. It was Bertha trying to find out if I was ready to go. I called her back. I also listened to a message left by Charlie. He wants to mow our lawn again this year. I told Bertha I'd be ready by the time she got here. I packed some green fabrics in a box with the usual sewing utensils. I also packed some seaweed and liver for lunch. Hey, no one steals my lunches. I was opening the garage door to roll my machine and box out, when she drove up. I put my stuff in the back and off we went. She showed me the back way to Quilter's Combo. In their classroom were bins and bins of fabric for Project Linus. This only happens once a quarter. I picked out some fabric to make a Linus top and she picked up some completed tops that just needed binding. Then we entered the main part of the store to hear a lady talking about maybe giving a class in fabric dying and painting techniques. When we left the store, we went to Joan's house. Her other house. Yes, she has a house just for sewing and quilting. Bertha gave me the tour. It isn't House Beautiful, but it is comfortable and well equipped. Some ladies sewed with Joan's machines. I ironed Project Linus fabric and cut green squares. We broke for lunch, and then sewed some more. About 2 it broke up. Bertha drove me home. After she left, I ate some kimchi and checked out e-mail. I had a few audios to listen to, and one was a meditation. Chris came home early. I made myself a weed smoothie. He put pork in the oven to heat up. I had a salad. Later we watched several episodes of Eureka. At one point I wondered if they made up the stories as they went or if the way it turned out was the plan all along.
* This is a newly arrived Linus quilt *

Raffle Quilt

The morning began with e-mail. I did most of my exercising and tapping before I remembered to write a blog post for yesterday. Then it disappeared. I spoke a few choice words vehemently before reconstructing the whole thing. I did not learn these words in Sunday School. Then I got dressed and took out the recyclables. I ate breakfast at 11. As I was reading and eating, I heard something out front and saw a man sprinting away from the house toward a UPS truck. I opened the door to see that he had just delivered a box of nuts and a 5 gallon tub of coconut oil. I struggled to get it inside the door. I decided to leave it sit there for Chris. While listening to an audio, I organized sheaves of receipts. I labeled my earbuds L and R. I was slicing some cheese for lunch, when the knife slipped and cut my thumb. I could not find any bandaids anywhere, so I taped a piece of tp to my thumb (after disinfecting it). I went outside for the peat discs which were now fully expanded. I planted organic tomato seeds in them, and set the tray in the front window. Meanwhile the old computer was waiting for some keystroke to complete the reboot so I supplied it. Once it was up and running, I called up the embroidery software. But it wouldn't run because it couldn't find the card reader. The card reader was connected, but not powered. I searched all over the house for its power cord. Finally I used an all-purpose one with a variety of tips and selectable voltage. So, back in business, I typed up the first quilt label. I experimented with fonts to find the best one for the job. Then I wrote three of them in a file to the card. I put the card in the embroidery machine. But its power cord was missing too. Looking in our box of cords, wires, and headphones, I found one that would fit. It was labeled "tape deck". Oh well. When the machine had power, I realized that it would be easier if the labels were in separate files so I could tweak their positions independently. So back upstairs to save them separately. Then I loaded a piece of stabilizer and the first fabric. The machine stitched away and I ran some small errand. When I came back, it was done perfectly. So I loaded the second one. Same outcome. I loaded the third one, very pleased with the machine's progress. Chris came home so I greeted him, etc, and when I went back to the machine, it had stopped on the first line because the thread was broken. So I fixed it, got it going again, and took a shower. When I came back, it was on the last line, thread broken. I fixed it and waited until it was finished. By then it was almost 6:30. I did not want to wear tp on my thumb to guild meeting, so I looked through an old purse and found a small bandaid, which just covered the wound. I ate a piece of cheese as supper, grabbed the donation quilt, and headed for Faith Presbyterian. The lot was full when I got there. People arrive early for these meetings. The program for tonight was a team of quilt shop owners. They talked about how much fun it was to operate a fabric store, but it wouldn't make you rich. After the program (and guild business and show-and-tell) we all went by the ticket table to get our raffle tickets to sell. They gave out pictures of the raffle quilt, but they don't do the quilt justice. Hopefully my digital pic is better. If anyone wants to buy a ticket for $1, let me know. If you win, they'll ship it to you. Anyway, I returned home after the meeting. Chris and I watched an episode of Eureka. Then it was bedtime.

More star blocks

I spent the morning exercising, practicing, tapping and finally having breakfast. It was a sunny day and not as cold as had been predicted. Last night I had spot treated a shirt that came out of the wash with stains on it. Since that didn't work, today I rubbed the stains with leftover lemon halves and set it in the sun. I decided to plant tomato seeds, so I got out a tray of peat discs and watered them. They kept soaking up all the water so I kept watering them and never got around to actually planting the seeds. I picked some greens for my daily green smoothie. I took some fabric to the basement to wash, iron and fold. While it was washing, I cut sets of white squares for making more star blocks. Then I made list of all the quilt labels I have been meaning to make. I found coordinating fabric for each one. Then I fired up the oldest computer (Windows 98) because it has the embroidery software on it. While it was booting up (the older they are, the longer it takes) I took a shower and dressed up a bit. I was ironing fabric in the basement when Chris came home. When I finished, we drove to Bonefish Grill to meet three of his coworkers. But before they arrived, we saw Bob and his wife leaving the restaurant. We chatted with them briefly and then our party arrived. We had a long wait outside because they were so busy and I was worried about being late for choir practice. Then we waited inside. Maybe an hour total. But we got a nice table near the door. Getting our food took awhile too. My phone rang when I was in the bathroom. It was Charlie. I tried to call him back but the reception was so bad that I could not get through. So how could my phone ring? Anyway, Chris and I finished eating and had to leave before the rest were ready. Chris drove me to the church. We were a couple minutes late, but not too bad. Cecelia was waiting for me so she could tell me that Ed said we could spend the money we needed to make the new kneelers. Then a lady I did not know asked me about quilting since I was carrying the baby quilt in a bag. I gave it to Megan, who is due right after Easter. Then we had a short choir practice. Chris waited in the vestibule. Megan looked at the quilt after practice and thanked me. Then Chris took me home. We watched an episode of Eureka and went to bed. I was feeling lethargic after the restaurant meal, so did not feel like staying up to blog.
* These are the blocks I made Monday *

Fermenting lemonade

I got up early, sometime after 7. I did all the usual things, like exercise, read e-mail, blah, blah, blah. But somehow I did not get breakfast until noon. It might have had something to do with rebooting my laptop. I did it 'cause Firefox was having problems, but rebooting didn't help so the problem is not on my end. AND, it closed all of my open windows and DID NOT give me the option of recovering them when I reopened Firefox. I had a few choice words for whomever was responsible. I spent some time sweeping off the deck and patio barefoot. It was a beautiful, warm sunny day and I just needed an excuse to go outside. Sadly I was told yesterday that a cold front will go through tonight and temps will drop below freezing. Really? Hard to believe. Anyway, because I liked my green blocks so much, I decided to keep them and make another one for donation. A purple one this time. I took a pic of it and tried to load it to Facebook, but it just wouldn't go. I heard Chris come home so I went upstairs. I folded laundry while he rescued the latest loaf of bread from the bread machine. He read e-mail but did not eat because he had to meet some people from work at a restaurant later. I picked some greens from the yard and made a smoothie. After Chris left, I got out the citrus juicer. I have never used it before, so I washed the parts before starting. I washed some lemons, too. I researched fermented lemonade. All the recipes called for whey, which I don't have. I thought of using a scoby, but no one has, or least if they did, they didn't live to blog about it. So I used a packet of kefir starter. I put it in a jar with warm filtered water and the juice of 5 lemons. Oh, and a half cup of organic sugar. Now we wait for 2 days. I also gave me fermented coconut milk a new jar so I could wash the old one. Then I realized that I never finished the tapping videos (since Firefox had trouble playing them). So I did that, until Chris came home. I went down to make some more star blocks, and Chris came down when he was ready to watch TV. We only saw one episode before he had to turn in.

Mirna's quilt top

I heard Chris' alarm go off this morning. I think I fell back asleep for awhile after he left, but still got up before 8. I read e-mail, practiced, tapped, and exercised. Then I went downstairs to pick out fabrics for a project to work on at the church (usual Monday thing). I decided on greens. When I finished picking them out, I packed them in my sewing box and realized that it was almost 11 and I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. So I ate breakfast before going over to the church. It turned out to be a rainy day, but I had a window of time to get my machine from the car to the church. It was not as crowded as I expected. I found a place to set up. As the other ladies sewed and chatted, I cut 5 inch squares of greens and 2 7/8 inch squares of white. The blocks were easier than I expected, but took longer. Still they turned out so well that I will have a hard time parting with them. The project is to make a few squares for a donation quilt. Lauri finished her beautiful pastel scrap Irish chain quilt and folded it up before I had a chance to photograph it. Bertha worked on an Easter tablerunner and Mirna finished the wonky butterfly quilt top. It rained all afternoon but slowed down about 4. I finished my second block and started packing up. MaryAnn called and I promised to call her back as soon as I got home. I repeated "Call MaryAnn" all the way home so I wouldn't forget. Thankfully I didn't. Didn't forget, I mean. We had a nice chat about how she fell off of a ladder. She thought it was funny. After she hung up, I fixed a salad for supper and made a green smoothie. Yum. I read e-mail and Googled upholstery foam. I learned a lot. Now I know what kind we need for the altar rail cushions. I took a pic of my blocks, intending to post them on our group Facebook page, but never got that far. I also put together a list for supplements. Before I finished, Chris came home from work. Apparently things got real interesting just before he was about to leave. He made himself some supper. I made up an 8 day supply of vitamins, noting that I am completely out of krill oil. Then we watched several episodes of Eureka before going to bed.

Beautiful day for the walls of Jericho to come down

We woke up before the alarm went off. I kept thinking it would go off any minute and when it did, both of our phones rang. So we were up. I fixed breakfast, checked e-mail and took a shower. I was a little late getting out the door for church. But it was a beautiful day. The magnolia trees were in bloom. When I got to church, I played the alto part of the choir piece on the piano. Soon we gathered for Sunday School. I actually had 4 girls today, and they seemed to like the origami inflatable boxes. They preferred to make their trumpets out of paper towel tubes and wax paper rather than the posterboard. I did not have much wax paper, and I did not realize that there is a shelf life for rubber bands. Many of the ones I brought were brittle. I've had them since we lived in Augusta. But the papertowel tubes made more effective trumpets. After the kids went on to their next center, I was able to talk to Linda and Jennifer about the funeral. I thought if I had gone I would have learned a lot about Brenda, but they both said that no information was given. The family was unable to do a eulogy. But Linda brought me an extra bulletin from the funeral. She also brought in the one child who hadn't done their handprint for the quilt. That was remedied quickly. The choir practiced for a few minutes. Then the substitute organist asked me if I would be willing to play a solo with her sometime. I would like that, if she gets hired to replace Brenda. I joined Chris in our normal pew for the service. Afterwards we went home, then to the grocery store. We ate lunch and read e-mail. Chris did several loads of laundry. I put the baby quilt in one of them. I emptied the reservoir and cleaned the filter on the vacuum. I swept one on the silk rugs at length. When the baby quilt came out of the washing machine, I pinned it to the rug to block it. I opened a window and turned the fan on low. Chris kept interrupting me so I did the only thing that would stop him. Later, it was time for supper. I picked some oxalis, violets, chickweed and clover for a green smoothie. I cooked up some liver with onions and garlic, and some quinoa. The onions were sooo good I could have eaten them all. But I saved some, along with the liver broth for cooking the rest of the fermented soybean pattie. The liver was good, too. After clearing more e-mail, I made and ate a large salad. Chris peeled an orange and brought me half. I precticed my trombone and I watched two episodes of TQS, which are all free until midnight, but I'm not staying up just for that. Then we watched several episodes of Eureka before bedtime. Chris changed a lightbulb in the bedroom. I guess he wanted to read for a bit before going to sleep.

Jen's Wedding

It felt like we slept in a long time, but it was around 9 that we got up. I checked e-mail and had breakfast. Then I put on a video about the problems with water (and the control) of water around the world. I finished the green binding on the quilt, but it was after 12 when I finished. Chris indicated that he wanted to leave for the wedding at 1. I did not have time to get ready and made a label for the quilt. So I took a shower and put on a dress. Then I found a roll of wedding paper and a box. I looked in the hall closet for tissue paper. Not only did I find tissue paper, but also the bag of 5 DVD's that I bought for Chris' birthday last year and subsequently lost. I decided to give them to him immediately. I wrapped the quilt in paper, put it in the box, and wrapped the box. There wasn't time to find a bow. But I did find an all-purpose "Thinking of You" card to use for the gift. Chris signed it and taped it to the box. Then I put on my white flats because the only heels I could find were black ones. We left about 20 after 1. Using the GPS, we arrived early. They picked the lodge at Guntersville state park for their wedding and reception. As it turns out, they weren't the only ones. We found ourselves ushered into a room with round tables. Chris took the gift over to the gift table while I signed the guest book. Chris helped me delete pics from my camera to make room for more. While I was photographing the cupcake display, he struck up a conversation with a couple at the table, discovering that we were with the wrong party. We collected our gift and looked elsewhere. I wonder what they'll think when they see our names in their guest book? Anyway, down the hall we found another room with tables. This was the right room. But there was no one in it, so we went looking for other guests. We found the on the next floor down. White chairs were set up on the terrace. We waited inside to be seated. Then we waited outside for the wedding to begin. It was a lovely day, but a bit windy. The service was fairly short (less than 15 minutes). The maid of honor had to pull the bride's veil off because of the wind and a wasp that got caught in it. After the ceremony we went to the reception room with the others. There were platters of fresh fruit and vegetables to snack on while the pictures were being taken. There was a photo of the happy couple inside of a large blank matting. That was the place for us to sign our names and well wishes. There was a basket beside the photo of seed packets for wildflowers. Each table had a list of names and we found ours, with other people Chris works with. There was no shortage of good conversation. The bridal party arrived and was announced. A toast was made and then we all waited while the serving table was loaded. They went first, and then the rest of us followed, buffet style. Later they played music. The bridal couple had the first dance, and then it was hard to get anyone else to dance. The story I heard was that the bride wanted to wait until people danced before she cut the cake 'cause that's when people leave. We took our turn. Then the music got hipper. Gagnam Style really bought out the younger generation. But we showed 'em how it was done later when they played something from the 70's. We talked to Rod out on the terrace. What a view! We came in when it started to get dark. We said our goodbyes. Then went out to the car. It was about an hour's ride home. We had to check our e-mail, but then we watched several episodes of Eureka before going to bed.

Over-binding

I think it was almost 9 when I got up. I did not want to get out of bed. I checked e-mail, exercised, practiced my trombone and tapped. I did a lot of tapping. About the funeral. In the end, I did not go. But I said prayers for those who did. I got out the package of liver to defrost. I cut up an onion and browned it in sesame oil in a glass pot. Then I added some leftover broth, some garlic from the yard, and some cheongukong. It was supposed to smell terrible, but it did not, so I wondered if I did it wrong. I e-mailed Hyon. I watched an episode of TQS outside in the sunshine. Today's green smoothie consisted of wild violets, dandelion and chickweed. Then I went into the basement to find a new binding for the double wedding ring. The wedding is tomorrow and there isn't time to remove the existing binding. so I decided to bind over it. This makes a wider binding and I like it. But the corners are tricky. Chris came home and made himself a burrito. I made my usual large salad. I listened to an audio on Feldenkrais method. It is a way of healing the brain through movement. I returned to working on the binding. Chris finally pulled himself away from his computer game and we watched 2 episodes of Eureka before going to bed.

Going in circles on Pi day

It was after 8 when I got up. I checked e-mail, might have exercised once, ate breakfast and got dressed. I was supposed to meet Cecelia at Hancocks at 10. I discovered that they open before that so I left early. I was only early by 10 minutes. Still, I found some nice 50% off fabrics. She came at with a kneeling cushion from church. She asked me where the upholstery section was and I had to admit that I did not know because I had never gotten past the quilting fabric. We found it in the back of the store. She got several samples to check out and I bought some quilting fabrics. We did look at batting and foam, but did not note prices or anything. Then I followed her to King Cotton. It is kind of expensive but they specialize in home decorator fabrics. We found a couple of samples there, too, and a piece of cording. I followed her back to the church. We put the kneeler back and laid the samples on top to compare them with the rug. They looked different in the light of the sanctuary. One blended so well with the carpet that it almost disappeared. But it was greener than the blue kneelers and all the pews are in the same blue as the kneelers. So we decided to call in whomever was in the church office. They came and seconded our decision. We thought if we matched the present color, maybe people won't notice the change, and that would be best. I measured the cushions. Then they went back to the office, and Cecelia picked up her refrigerator cookies and went home. I went home, too. I ate lunch and cleared more e-mail. I mowed more of the back lawn. I picked some chickweed to make a green smoothie. Not as good as the one yesterday. Cecelia called me with the width of the fabric. I calculated how much we would need for the cushions, piping, etc. I also calculated yard of cording. I still need to do batting, foam and zippers, but do not know how wide the batting or foam is. Yet. I did my tapping videos and continued to tap for the feelings brought up by the funeral tomorrow, which will have an open casket. Chris came home and make himself a burrito. I made my large salad. We discussed the wedding on Saturday. He had not gotten a gift yet, so I suggested a double-wedding ring quilt that I have in the cabinet. I pulled it out but am not happy with the choice of binding. I took it downstairs to audition other choices. But first I had to clear my workspace by finishing the border on the baby quilt. Chris came down while I was auditioning, and suggested Eureka. That was fine with me. So we watched several episodes before going to bed.

Another funeral coming

When I woke up, I checked on the kimchi. It had bubbled over with fermentation during the night. I couldn't resist eating some before I cleaned up the jar and put it in the frig. Then I remembered that the LS vit C is supposed to be taken on an empty stomach. Oh well. I read some e-mail, did my tapping for the day, practiced my trombone and exercised, all before breakfast. Ok, so breakfast was at 11:30. I read more from the book of Dr. Weston Price. It is amazing what any nutritional deficit in parents will lead to in their children. Isolated societies did not have dentists or prisons. I folded the laundry but forgot to put it away. I listened to several audios. I mowed part of the front lawn and part of the back yard before I had to plug the mower back in to its power source. I picked some weeds and greens to make a green shake. With the oxalis in it, it did not need any taste adjustment. Kind of lemony. I added quilting to the border of the baby quilt, one side at a time. That is when Chris came home. I was able to check e-mail quickly and put the laundry away before it was time to go to choir practice. It was cold and dark, two things that will pass soon, I hope. I thought my choir folder was at church, but it wasn't, and I did not remember seeing it at home or in the car. The director gave me new copies of the music for Sunday and for the funeral on Friday. Our regular organist died on Tuesday. She had been on sick leave and receiving radiation and chemo treatments for months. She died of respiratory failure. She is well-known and liked. It will be a very emotional funeral. There is a viewing thursday night and again on Friday before the service. I don't know how I will handle that. They expect standing room only.
When I got home, Chris was on his laptop. I found my choir folder in my Sunday School bag. Then we watched several episodes of Eureka before bed.
* These are the blocks I demonstrated last night *

He fixed it!

I slept in later than I expected. I kept to the normal routine, including exercise, e-mail, tapping and practicing. i put a card in the mail. I took a shower and ate lunch. I went downstairs to sew what I had pinned on the baby quilt so that I could remove the pins for show-and-tell later. I also sewed a button on Chris' shirt. Then I got out some double pinwheel blocks from years ago. They were made for a block swap but came out too small. I determined that the strips should have been cut at 3 3/4 inches instead of 3 1/2. Then I sorted through my stash to find those same three fabrics. I only found two but was able to match the third one remarkably well. I cut the strips and went through the process, leaving each step unfinished to show the group how the process goes. I packed it all up for later. Then it was time to leave for the dentist. I figured 20 minutes was enough but did not count on after-school traffic. The receptionist gave me a paper to fill out. It asked for some information that I did not have. She had assured me earlier by phone that I did not need to bring any info other than my usual. After a bit of a wait, I was taken to a small room to consult with the dentist. I had my list of questions. She answered them all. She did not share my opinion that mercury in the mouth is a dangerous thing, but she has the equipment and protocols to remove it safely. So when we were done, I scheduled an appointment. It will be in April with another dentist. Huh? They said they would call my last dentist to get the x-rays she took. I filled out a permission form in case she showed any reluctance. After I left the dental building, I stopped by the nearby Korean grocery for a large jar of kimchi. They had some with store labels, but I asked for handmade with no MSG. And that is what they sold me. I took it home and tasted it. It was too fresh and needed to ferment, so I let it sit on the counter. I went out side to rake and mow the lawn. I did not get far with mowing because the battery was low. I came in to check my e-mails and Chris came home, carrying the Netflix movie and some Eureka DVDs from the library. Then I realized it was time to leave for guild meeting. I grabbed the baby quilt and the demo materials before I left. I arrived on time. We waited for a bit in case anyone else showed up. Nine people attended, I think. Anyway, the meeting commenced with old business and new business ( a color challenge and blocks for charity). We did show-and-tell and the demo. Now they want written instructions so they can post it on the website. After leaving the meeting, I stopped by another Korean grocery for natto, but they did not have the one I usually get which has no MSG. So I bought chungbukung instead. Tastes terrible unless you cook it. It is a fermented soybean product but doesn't cooking destroy all the probiotics? I also bought some kimbap. When I got home, Chris proudly announced that he had fixed my laptop so that it would connect to the internet without the D-Link. Turns out one of the internal components was not fully connected. Hurray! I was always concerned that it might get damaged, but now I don't need it. Isn't he a wonderful husband? Chris packed a care package for Michele. Must be a good father, too. I ate some kimbap and then we watched several episodes of Eureka. He went to bed and I am looking for a proper pic to post.

Saturday night I was unsure whether my phone would ring, or ring at the right time, or wake me up, etc. So I hedged my bets by drinking a glass of water before going to bed. I woke up at 6:30 (according to my cell phone) and rolled over to go back to sleep. But then the phone rang. It was William. He said it was 8:30 his time. Apparently my cell phone did not change to DST. I told him the problem with the headphones and he advised me to clean the jacks with alcohol. Then I called Chris to see if his phone was aware of the time change, and it was. So I got up to eat breakfast, skim e-mail, shower and dress for church. At 9 my phone alarm rang. It was an odd mixture of ringing and music. I left a little late, but in time to get there before 9:30. As I was passing the big church, the cop walked into the street and held his hands up to stop traffic so the church bus could get out. I slowed down but could not stop before I passed him. At that point I figured I was in the way of the bus, so I continued on to church. Halfway there, I found the policeman behind me, pulling me over. He was not happy that I hadn't stopped. He chewed me out then let me go on to church. There was no one in the sanctuary for Sunday School when I got there. I got the room set up, then went back to the sanctuary where they were starting. I had two kids for class. They each made a trumpet. Then I showed them how to paper-fold the cubes. Time was called just after they knocked down the wall of Jericho. During the second half of Sunday School, Susan approached me about joining a committee to have new kneelers made for the communion rail. My big mouth opened to say I could make them. She introduced me to the one committee member and we made plans to go fabric shopping on Wednesday. Twist my arm! I went through the church service alone. Chris wasn't there, and neither was Shannon and her family. After church, Susan and I examined the kneelers. One was dirty but the others seemed fine to me, especially for being 20 + years old. On the way out, I offered my best wishes to the pastor on the upcoming operation for his wife. We talked of energy medicine and he indicated that he would like to pursue the conversation further sometime. I went home to change my clothes, read e-mail, practice my trombone and have lunch. At 2:30 I drove towards my newest quilting group. When I was almost there, I passed a Lowes and turned to stop in for some nails. The 2 1/2 inch seemed to be the right length, but they only came in 8d. So I bought 8d even though I would have preferred 4d. I met the other ladies in the storage facility. We talked and saw what the others were working on. It was after 6 when we broke up, but it was broad daylight outside. I drove home. After supper I read more e-mail, and started a long pdf by Weston Price about his studies of dental health and nutrition in aboriginal tribes. The main point seemed to be that those who ate their natural diet had less than 1% tooth decay and those who had access to store-bought food had 16 to 50% decayed teeth. Wow! I was so tired that I went to bed without blogging.

Monday morning I woke up at 8:30. It was rainy (what is the point of DST if the sun isn't shining?). I did not feel good. I really toyed with the idea of not going to Monday quilting. I read e-mail, did some tapping and practiced a little bit. I did not want to take out my machine in the rain, so I put some fleece strips in a bag with a large crochet hook and went. Very few ladies came since the others were at a retreat. I had forgotten about that. None of the rest of the ladies brought their machines either. I crocheted and listened to them talk. About 1:30 I left so I could be home when Chris arrived. But when I pulled in, I could see wet wheel marks in his space. I figured he had gone grocery shopping. I fixed breakfast and he arrived before I finished. He put the food away. We both spent time with our laptops and then with each other. We took a nap. When we got up, it was supper time. I fixed a large salad and he made hamburgers. After my salad I was too full for a hamburger, but I ate one later. I switched the receiver in the bedroom for the one in the living room because the headphone jack worked better. Cleaning did not help. But the plug on the CD player was polarized and would not fit in the back of the receiver. So I went through the boxes in the basement allotted to electronics that William bought me. There was a Denon receiver in there. I needed Chris to pull it out of the box. I hooked it up and it played through both sides of the headphones. Yea! Then I used the box of nails to more firmly attach two pieces of wood that hold a drawer front to the cabinet where the stove top is. About 8:30 or nine we went down to watch home-recorded VCR episodes of Star Trek TOS. At ten we came up to get ready for bed.
* Here is a pic inside of my greenhouse. That tall plant is a turnip. *

How long does it take to play a 1-hour CD?

I got up about 8:30. I did not exercise. I took the vit C and read e-mail, and listened to audios. Later I ate some grass-fed beef tongue (so good I could almost taste the grass) and then breakfast. I started paper-folding yesterday's project when I realized that it is the same cube that we are making on Sunday for the wall of Jericho. I did my tapping videos, and extended the tapping to include whatever else came up. I drank lots of water. I spent 45 minutes outside in my bare feet. Later I watched the man behind us mow his lawn. Ours could use some mowing, too. I worked on the quilt downstairs. I tried to take a pic, but the battery was too low. I plugged the battery into its charger, then put the memory card in the old camera which uses AA's. That worked, but it reminded me of all the reasons I needed a new camera. After taking the pic, I added more quilting to the quilt. I need it to be dense enough to go through many loads of laundry without the batting shifting. I cut squares of paper for SS tomorrow. I was going to make a large salad for supper, but suppertime came and went while I was downstairs and I wasn't particularly hungry anyway. I did drink a glass of cilantro water. When I tired of quilting, I decided to listen to my Holosync meditation CD. To get the full effect, a good sound system is needed and high quality head phones. I used to use the receiver in the bedroom, but it wasn't hooked up. So I found the cables, hooked it up, and plugged it in. It seemed to work fine, but the sound only came out in the left ear. I tried plugging the headphones into the jack in the tape player and that worked, but there is no volume control on the tape player. It only plays LOUD. So I connected the CD player to the reciever and ran that to the tape player. It sort of worked except that I had to hold the speaker wire to plug ends. No good for meditation. I called William but he never answered. For some reason, it then started working from the receiver. I was relaxing into the music when Chris called. I restarted the CD after he hung up. But a few minutes later, the sound in the right ear quit. I decided to use the receiver in the living room. I brought a couple of pillows to lay on the floor. The first half of the CD worked fine, but when the second half started, the right ear quit. I switched some cables in the back and it started up again. I finished the CD, wondering what the root problem is. Some people would say it is because Mercury is in retrograde. But to my knowledge, it has never been a problem before. So anyway, it took all evening to listen to a one-hour CD and now I am going to bed. My phone is on the headboard to wake me up at 8am for Sunday School.

Funeral

For some reason I woke up at 6:40. So I read e-mail and took that special Vit C. I was listening to an audio and had a hard time concentrating on it. So I took the laptop to the bedroom so I could lay down and concentrate. I think I dozed off for a bit. When it was over, I plugged it back in in the diningroom. I did my exercises, my tapping, and cleared more e-mail. I had some beef tongue about 10 and breakfast at 11. The mailman came by with another box. But, like yesterday, it was for Chris. Where is my book? I worked on the quilt for awhile, then spent an hour outside raking up leaves and pinecones. I made a glass of cilantro water, and had some cheese. I took a shower and dressed in black. I left about 3:15. There was bad traffic in front of the high school, but it did not delay me too much. When I got to the church, hardly anyone was there. I left my phone in the car. I greeted Shannon, then sat in the sanctuary to wait. I got a program which reminded me which song the choir was going to sing. I looked it up in the hymnal and practiced it in my head. More people came, some of them choir members. The choir director came by with enlarged copies of the hymn. The service started late. I heard two phones ring. It was a full Sunday-type service, with eulogies added. I nearly cried several time. Thank goodness I had extra tissues. I only knew the deceased as the man who sat in our pew. But I learned a lot from the eulogies and took notes. I was thinking of embroidering pillow top or something. After the service there was a reception. First I spoke to the pastor's wife about her upcoming medical procedure. It is a three-day process where they cut something in her ear, and then injected medications. It is for vertigo. She says the medications can cause dizziness. I wondered how they could tell. Then I spoke to Shannon at length. Then I spent time at the picture table, seeing what their fondest memories were. Some pictures were reprinted in the programs so I did not take pictures of the picture table. Google says it is not nice to take pictures at a funeral. After the reception, I went home, changed my clothes and made a large salad. I checked the latest e-mail. Chris called to talk before he went to bed. He did not win all the tournament rounds today playing feudal French. Tomorrow he is playing a Vlad the Impaler army in team tournaments. I needed a break, so I watched 2 episodes of Castle through the ABC network online. Then I got an e-mail that Michele wanted a particular rice pudding recipe. So I typed it up and sent it to her. Now I am ready for bed.

What not to say at a funeral

Chris left yesterday, so.I woke up alone. At least I got to use his pillow. And maybe later the remote. In addition to my regular morning activities, I had trouble with my laptop. The touchpad stopped working, so I plugged in a mouse. But it wanted to download a driver to make the mouse work. And without control of the cursor, I could not initiate the download. So I rebooted. Then the mouse and the touchpad worked just fine. Go figure. The mailman came to the door as I was brushing my teeth. He handed me a box and some mail. The mail was junk, and the box had a book in it. I did not open it until later, and it turned out to be Chris' book, not mine. Sigh. I swallowed a package of the LS vitamin C. It was awful as usual. Since today was a nice, sunny day, I raked leaves in my bare feet in the back yard. I had beef tongue for lunch. With a little salt, it was very good. MaryAnn called to talk about her mother's death. The funeral will be in Pennsylvania so she has a long trip ahead of her. Chris e-mailed me that he arrived safely in Lancaster. I wonder what army he will be playing in the tournament. I ran out of prepared vitamins, so I made up 8 days worth. After supper I took the stack-n-whack top downstairs to find a backing and some batting. I pinned it all together and decided to quilt it in straight lines on my machine. I quilted through two audios before the laptop battery got low. When I came up, I checked e-mail. Netflix wanted to know when I received the movie they sent. I guess I didn't change the address in time. It must have been delivered to the address on post. Then I googled appropriate things to say at funerals in preparation for tomorrow. Some of the things I thought were good were on the "Do Not Say" list. Since I did not know the deceased, my responses are limited to various forms of "I'm sorry, is there anything I can do?" One site suggested "There's a ton of bacon in my car with your name on it." (Hope they are not Jewish) And on that note, I am going to bed.

* Yesterday's fish "

Searching for videos

Chris did not go to work today, so I slept a little later than usual. He took his shower, dressed, had breakfast and packed his duffle bag. It took him no more than 10 minutes to pack. I would have spent days. He read e-mail for a bit, then kissed me and headed for PA, or at least the halfway point. I read e-mail, tapped, exercised, and fixed breakfast. By then it was nearly lunch time. I had trouble with the toilet. It needed plunging but the bowl would not hold enough water to make good suction. I paper-folded a fish and practiced my trombone. I put the kombucha jar back in the diningroom where it belongs, freeing up space on the kitchen counter for other things. I poured a glass of water in the blender and added some cilantro. It made a green drink, not exactly tasty, but close enough. I put the beef tongue in a casserole dish with water and placed it in the oven to bake. I forgot to note the time. I read more e-mail, googled the benefits of removing amalgams, and then went outside to rake leaves. When I came in, I remembered the tongue. How long it had been in I will never know. I took it out and it peeled easily so I pronounced it done. I ate some. After more e-mail, I went to bed to rest, not feeling so good. My phone rang so I answered it. Chris was calling to say he'd arrived at his hotel. We chatted for a bit, and he told me about the snow in Richmond. I went back to bed. I think I dozed off for awhile. When I got it, it was an hour before choir practice. I took a shower and redressed. I did a Sudoku puzzle and jumped in the car. They were just starting when I got there. We practiced a piece for the funeral on Friday, as well as music for Holy Week. I am so uncomfortable at funerals that I find any excuse not to go. It's like I can feel the grief of every person in the church and I am drowning in it, even when I do not know the person who died. But I don't see how I can get out of this one, and Chris won't be here to go with me. When I got home, I used my laptop to google quilting videos. The next BOM is next week and this one is complicated enough that I want to give out a link to a video tutorial. But the only tutorial I found for the block is half an hour and that seems longer than necessary. I am giving up now and going to bed.

* Here is a pic of the stack-n-whack with borders *

The indestructable wall of Jericho

I slept in until 9. It was a usual morning, except that I put a card and a check in the mail. The mailperson delivered a box, which had my order of lypo-spheric vitamin C. I took a tongue out of the freezer to thaw. I wanted to spend time outside raking, but it was rainy. The next best thing was to stand just outside the door and breathe deeply. I did a lot of tapping on grief for Shannon whose father died on Sunday. I got no sewing done. I did do a few Sudoku puzzles while listening to an audio. I scheduled a consultation with the dentist recommended to me yesterday. I hope it will go well since I just want to be mercury-free, not start a new career interviewing dentists. I researched more effects of mercury toxicity. I came across this statement ...if they have as few as 4 amalgam fillings present in their mouth, the average person's saliva is so high in mercury they cannot legally spit into the toilet. Their saliva exceeds the EPA maximum legal municipal discharge standard for mercury..--David Kennedy D.D.S. When Chris came home, I told him about it and he said there is an exemption for household use. Still not reassuring. He hadn't had lunch, so he fixed himself a burrito while I made myself a salad. He whipped up a cruet of salad dressing for me. It'll have to last until Monday. When he was ready, we went down to watch TV. He hadn't gone by the library to get the next season of Eureka. So we had to choose from our collection. I enjoy a new movie over one that I have already seen. And I'd seen all of our movies. So, we watched Star Trek episodes on vcr tapes. Sure I have seen them before, but it has been a long time. Then he went to bed. I reminded him of the time change this weekend and that he uses his phone as an alarm. Since he won't be here, he programmed my phone to ring then. I hope I hear it.

* This is the wall that the kids could not knock down by blowing their 'trumpets'. *

Carolyn's Quilt

The morning went quickly. I read e-mail, exercised, and had breakfast. I loaded the bread machine and started it. Then I packed a lunch and two projects, and took my sewing machine to church - the church where we quilt on Mondays. Being the first Monday of the month, ladies with birthdays were honored. Two cakes were cut after they blew the candles out. After lunch of course. Before lunch I ripped out and replaced the centers of all the orange blocks. After lunch I worked on a scrap quilt started in Korea. It is turning out badly, which is quite good. The worse it is, the less I shall mind practicing free-motion quilting on it. Mary Ann gave me a recommendation for her dentist. Around three I packed up and left. I made a left turn onto Whitesburg, which is a gutsy move. I proceeded to Publix to buy some organic kale, but they were all out. I bought the regular instead. When I got it home, I brought out the juicer. I put in a good amount a kale and half a hank of cilantro. Cilantro binds with mercury to pull it out of the system. I figured juicing it was the most potent way to consume it. But neither it nor the kale was juiced very well. Mostly it bounced off of the spinning blades and into the pulp basket. So I dumped the pulp basket into the blender. I drank the little juice there was, and added water to the blender. The result was pretty thick. I ate some of it with a spoon and put the rest in the frig. I washed up the juicer and blender parts. I emptied the dishwasher. I had just started an audio when Chris came home. He ate supper and worked on taxes. I practiced my trombone and did some tapping. Chris heard a knock at the door and found a man delivering a box of supplements. I folded a what-ever-it-is from the calendar. Then we watched "The Femme Musketeer" from Netflix. The lead female was unbelievably beautiful. Really. I could not believe she was the daughter of D'artagnion, raised in a small cottage in the country. If nothing else, where did she get the make-up? Anyway, so then it was time for bed.
* Carolyn showed off her completed quilt *

Looks like a muppet

We woke up early, so had time before the alarm went off. It went off at 8, giving me time to check e-mail, read the story about the walls of Jericho, shower, eat and dress. I also took that awful tasting vit C that the dentist gave me. It was as bad as it was made out to be in the reviews on Amazon, but swallowing it off the end of a spoon was more efficient than trying to mix it in water and drink it. When I got to church, I put my ss stuff in the craft room, then gave the baby quilt to the assistant pastor. I returned to the room to set out the papers and crayons, then sat in the sanctuary for the opening. A total of three kids showed up. Two were in my craft class. Although making the trumpets and blocks for the wall went well, destroying the wall by blowing the trumpets did not. And there was time left over, so we used paint bottles as bowling balls to knock the wall down. When the class ended, Patrick came to get the kids for their next activity. He told me that the grandfather of one kid died and his mother left for the hospital. It was not entirely unexpected, but we really felt for her. I cleaned up the room a bit, then waited for the choir to run through their song. I was talking to Cindy in the vestibule and then entered the sanctuary to find Chris already there. The service went without a hitch. The last song was "Guide me O thou great Jehovah" 2.0. Someone had updated the words, and we don't like that. Doris came by with some tickets to a classical concert. She needed to give them away and I accepted them suspecting that we wouldn't make it. Chris left for the grocery store and I went home. I changed clothes, and started my tapping videos when Chris came home with food. I helped put it away. Then he changed clothes while I folded the laundry. He seemed to be working on taxes and I knew that the concert would go on without us. I spent some time outside, sweeping the patio, picking up sticks, enjoying the sun. It was cold, but not as cold as yesterday. I dug up a garlic and ate a little bit. I spent the afternoon searching the internet again for dentists who came recommended and would be cognizant of the dangers of removing mercury. After supper, we went down to watch the last two episodes of Eureka. At the end, Allie was pregnant and Jack got fired. How's that for a cliffhanger? The library doesn't open again until Tuesday.

Trumpet for Sunday School

Chris got up early to take his car to the dealership for regular maintenance. When he left, I got up. I read e-mail and jumped on the rebounder. Interestingly, since I had three amalgams removed, I have not had any trouble with leakages while jumping (or sneezing, laughing, etc). Finally a cure for incontinence. I did four tapping videos, then I wrote a check to the Dixon meat people. I grabbed my cooler and checked the map. Chris pulled in as I was leaving. I found the meat truck in a church parking lot 14 miles away. It was bitterly cold and I did not need the cooler. I hope the eggs didn't freeze. On the way back I stopped at a HUGE Kroger. I found raw organic cheeses there. I could have spent all day looking at their wonderful selection so I had to hide my eyes and repeat "Don't look, don't look" as I proceeded to the self-check-out. I went home in the driving snow and put all the frozen meats and the eggs in the refrigerator. Today is a sewing Saturday, but I did not have any projects ready to go. I ate breakfast, read e-mail and listened to audios. Chris did several loads of laundry. I put borders on the stack-n-whack quilt. That cleared my cutting table so that I could cut up the posterboard to make trumpets for the kids in Sunday School. I could not find the directions, so I just guessed. All the trumpet-making materials went into a bag (not a grocery bag) for the trip to church tomorrow. I put the finished green and brown baby quilt in an unused grocery bag that I grabbed at Kroger. I figure if check-out lanes are among the germiest places, then the groceries on those belts must get pretty germy too, and that would contaminate any bag those groceries are putin. The quilt and my choir folder went in the car. Chris started gaming around 5. I came up for supper, which was a large salad. I ripped the big veins out of the kale to make it easier to chew. I laid down to meditate and might have fallen asleep. I did an internet search for the effects of electrical charges on teeth. These charges come from metal in fillings. One article had a long list of effects of mercury/electrical charges. I have nearly all of them. Scary. When Chris was done gaming, Michele Skyped me. We had a lovely chat, until I realized how late it was and I need to get up on time tomorrow. Chris went to bed and I have to find a pic to post. Maybe in the morning.

Origami for the week

I spent the day with my laptop. First it was e-mail, then tapping videos, then internet searches. I looked for a mercury-free dentist and I looked up people in my address book. I did not find any of them on Facebook. I took breaks to exercise, eat breakfast, and practice my trombone. Playing my trombone made my face hurt. That has never happened before. Hmm. I put together an order for the Dixon farm for pick-up tomorrow. I cut some pieces of brownish green batik to audition as new centers for my orange blocks. I decided to go with it. I took the blocks and my laptop downstairs to made the switch. But instead, I found myself trying to decide on a border for the green and yellow stack-n-whack. I also cut paper squares for sunday school. Chris came down to watch Eureka, so we did that until bedtime. He said he saw snow flurries on the way home, so we might wake up to a wintery scene.
* Here is a tee-pee and a box with lid and divider. *