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.