Iron caddy and neighborhood yard sale

I woke up at 8, which was kind of early considering how late we were up last night. I skipped the bouncing, and went straight for breakfast. I found time to water the cucumber sproutings before digging some up for Deb. I also put in a few black-eyed susans. I loaded the sewing stuff into the car, along with the cup of sprouts. I passed numerous yard sale signs on the way to UAH, arriving about 20 minutes late. The iron caddy class was already in progress. Jen had bought kits for all of us. All we had to bring was the cover fabric (and basic sewing supplies). She had the pattern in four pieces, so I had to tape them together first. Then I used that to make a pattern on a sheet of packing paper that I'd brought. The next step was to pin the paper to the stack of focus fabric, batting, and heat-resistant fabric. Well, it did not pin nicely, and I wanted a smooth product. So I sewed the center rectangle, but basted the other lines before sewing them. Then I removed the paper in pieces. The pattern was ruined, which was why I had copied it first. The others were ahead of me and had packed up and gone home by then. So I called it quits too. That was about 12:30. On the way home I passed a neighborhood yard sale. I stopped here and there. I bought some fabric before I remembered my vow not to. But at 8 yards for $1, I am not going to beat myself up for it. I also got a printer and scanner/printer for $6. When I got home, I replaced my printer with the 'new' one which was the same model. It worked perfectly. I had a bite for lunch, then went out to get some sun. I started weeding the garden and couldn't stop. I came in about 5 for supper. Chris was watching Hellboy II in the basement, so I sat and watched it too. Then he put fish in the oven for supper and discovered that the voices were gaming without him. But they let him join in anyway. I read e-mail and followed links until Kurt called to tell me I was wanted on Skype. They were celebrating my mom's birthday. So I got to join in vicariously. I took her on a tour of our house. We sang Happy Birthday, she ate cake and opened her gift. I asked Kurt to pick up a bouquet of flowers for her. Faye arranged it in a jar, so it was kind of from all of us. When the party was over, I signed off. When Chris' game was over, Michele Skyped me and we had a nice chat. She is doing well and likes her job at Craftworks. I only ended that call because it was so late and I have to get up for church in the morning.

Gaming night

I woke up in the middle of the night and stayed awake for quite some time. So I got up late. The house was cold even though Chris turned on the heat last night. He asked me to call Bob. Bob said he'd have his wife call someone to fix it. I never heard back from either of them. I put on the latest audio, bounced, and had breakfast. I went through a bunch of e-mail, then watered the garden and uprooted a mess of weeds. I assembled my sewing items for tomorrow's class, plus the materials for Steven's quilt. I thought about loading my car with cardboard and driving over to the recycling center, but it was more than I could do before 4pm. Chris came home early and fixed cheeseburgers. I took a shower and dressed in nice pants and a top. We drove to Claire's house with a container of tea and a board game (Big Bang Theory trivia). We were the first people to arrive, but not for long. While I was washing avocados for Claire, Joy and Paoulo came by. He did not stay, but she did. Others arrived and Claire made mohitos for everybody. I had a sip of Chris'. It was very good. Claire gave me a glass of her homemade kombucha tea. It was good at first, but then was too strong. Many of the attendees were gamers, so I let Chris do most of the talking. We were definitely the oldest couple there. We all gathered in the family room to play Balderdash. It was actually fun. Then we retired to the dining room to play Apples to Apples. That wasn't as much fun, but by then most were well lubricated. One couple left at midnight. When I realized what time it was, we left too. But we had to turn back for my handbag. Now it is late and I have to be at sewing class by 9 am. Sorry, forgot to take pics today.

Raw milk

It was another cold and chilly day. I had to wear a jacket to water the garden and flower beds. Still no sign of the spinach or peppers. I listened to another audio while watering, bouncing, ironing, and preparing breakfast and taking out the recyclables. This one had more content than the others, so when it was over, I queued it up again. The speaker was using Access Consciousness techniques. I cleared as much e-mail as I could. I called Claire and she said she'd be over soon. I started gathering items for Saturday's class (sewing an iron caddy). She arrived about 12:35. I got in her car and we went to downtown Huntsville. We found a farmer selling frozen meats and raw milk from big coolers in the back of a van. Claire knows him. She bought beef, bacon, and milk. I got ground beef and milk. He was very interesting to talk to. I'd like to see his farm sometime. Claire dropped me off at home. She did not have time to talk because she had to get her food home. I put my items away. I looked up how to make cheese on google. I also called Mom, but her info did not sound reliable. I think she gets things confused. Anyway, the consensus of all I read seemed to be that the milk gets heated, you add lemon juice, it curdles, you strain the whey from the curds and voila, cheese. So I put the gallon of milk in a pot and warmed it up. I squeezed a lemon and kept stirring. And stirring. Finally I put in another lemon. More stirring. Only a few curds. Chris came home. I added some vinegar. More stirring and no more curds. Chris said he thought it had done all it was going to do, so I decided to put it in a jar. He tried to pour it in, but that did not work. The curds went in the sink. I spooned the rest into the jar and put it in the fridge. I cooked the quinoa that I soaked since yesterday. That was supper. We went down to watch BBT at 7. I watched part of a B5 movie called "Third Space". Then we watched another BBT episode at 8, and finished the movie. I had a headache and was tired so we both went to bed.
BTW, I tasted the milk. It was very good. It reminded me of how milk used to taste when I was a child and the milkman delivered it to the house in glass bottles.

One perfectly mown and trimmed yard

I had trouble getting to sleep last night. I kept hearing sounds from the closet, like a large bug or small rodent. But I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I awoke to the oddest sounds: one piano key being struck over and over, very faintly like from far away, and a moaning sound. I went to the window but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. In the morning I swept out my closet to see what was there, but all I found was dust. No droppings and nothing chewed. I put on the latest audio and stuck the laptop in my sachel so I could listen while I watered the garden. I also jumped on the rebounder. Then I noticed the sound of a lawn mower. It was Charlie, mowing our lawn, driving like he was in a race. I prepped and ate breakfast. He finished mowing and fired up his weed eater. When he started the leaf blower, I went out to make sure he did not blow the dead poison ivy vines into my dandelion patch. We chatted a bit, then I wrote him a check. When he finished our yard, he did the neighbor across the street. He did a great job, but cut down a few things I would have left standing. I finished as much e-mail as I could stand. I wanted to sew but it was a sunny (but cool) day and I just couldn't face being cooped up in the basement. Charlie had mentioned spraying the far back yard with roundup. I don't like poisons, so I went back there with a shovel to dig up all the little saplings. Eventually I got to the garden and dug and weeded there. Spent hours. At three I came in for lunch and to read the latest e-mail. I swept the bathroom. I took my laptop and a timer down to the sewing room. I set it to go off at 4. Then I followed a link to a live call about brain function. It ended about 5 when Chris came home. I had finished cutting all the alternate blocks, and sewing them together in rows and had only one seam left. Chris fixed himself a burrito. I picked some dandelion and added spinach for a salad. I took a shower, and dressed for choir practice. I sewed the last seam and took a quick look at the choir music. I wanted to call my Mom and wish her a happy birthday, but I knew they were already at choir practice. I went to my car and put the back seats down. I flattened some cardboard, and then it was time to leave. I went to practice at the church and got back about 8:30. Chris and I watched 2 episodes of NCIS, then he went to bed. I hope the closet will be quiet tonight.

Comfort quilt

Emerging slowly from a dream, I realized I was in a good state for a few hypnotic suggestions. I don't remember which ones I chose. I called up yesterday's audio on my laptop and listened to it while folding laundry, watering the garden and bouncing on the rebounder. I fixed breakfast and cleared e-mail. I made another Swanson's order when I found that the 'new' can of protein powder was an old empty one. I went out to rake up magnolia leaves, two boxes worth. The neighbor had a visitor with a dog. The dog came over to say hello. The sun wasn't out, and then it started to rain. I came in to work on the comfort quilt. When I got the blocks made, I went upstairs to find out what the dimensions should be, but somehow got sidetracked between my inbox and the suddenly sunny outdoors. I went out to lie in the sun and read. But I did not read. I ended up weeding instead. Just can't resist. I weeded until almost 6. Then I came in, browned hamburger meat with the leftover fresh garlic. I ate that for supper with some veg soup. We watched a B5 movie and two episodes of NCIS. Chris went to bed, and I changed the batteries in my camera so I could take this pic.

A new color

I did not toss my salad last night, but did discover that poke weed is as good as Ex-Lax. First thing this morning, I sent out a few e-mails that I meant to send last night. I called Mom and Dad to wish them a Happy Easter, which I also meant to do last night. I bagged the garbage and wheeled it out to the curb. I filled the watering can and watered the veggies and seedbeds. I photographed a new color of iris that just bloomed there. Then I bounced to an audio in an e-mail link. It continued as I fixed and ate breakfast. The interview was all about the importance of sleep. Finishing e-mail took a little longer. Then I raked under the magnolia tree. Since the leaves kept falling, I decided to mow it while it was raked. I mowed it high so as not to disturb the dandelion leaves. Mowed back yard just for fun and to run down the battery. I ate lunch, and then got to sewing. I worked on a comfort quilt made from a fabric packet gotten at HHQ last meeting. I cut little squares featuring either a tiger, a zebra, or a bear, and surrounded them with a dot fabric. My Swansons order arrived on the front porch. Then I got a call from a lady on freecycle who wanted to come for paper. She did not take very much when she got here. Chris came home from work. I gathered greens for supper - wild lettuce and dandelion. I pureed the dandelion and added spinach to the lettuce. I topped it with a few pieces of fresh garlic and salad dressing. After supper and clearing more e-mail, I washed my feet and cut up some red strips for borders on the blocks inside the comfort quilt. When Chris came down, we watched 3 episodes of NCIS then retired for the night.

Easter sunday

I was a little nervous about how things would go for playing in church so I had some trouble sleeping. I awoke before the alarm went off at 6:30. I skipped exercise, but showered and fixed my usual breakfast. I went through 4 outfits and 3 necklaces to get dressed for church because I did not iron the dresses that came out of storage. We walked into church 10 minutes early. There were not many people, kinda like a warm-up service. Afterwards lots of people walked up to thank me for playing. I hope they thanked the other players, too. The organist asked me to play again sometime. A man asked me if I can ad lib to Dixieland music. I wish I could. Between services was a breakfast put on by the youth. I ate fruit. Several people stopped to talk to us. i learned one thing: don't mention Korea unless you are willing to hear their stories of being stationed there. The choir director handed me a thank-you card. I was surprised to find a check in there. A man came up to Chris, handed him offering envelopes and said - Happy Easter! It's like the Easter bunny handing out empty eggs, wanting us to fill them and give them back. Ha. The second service was full. Lots of music was scheduled for communion but it still wasn't enough. After the service, a nice lady chatted with us and gave us one of her lilies. Then, we went home to change clothes. We went to Publix, but it was closed, so we proceeded to Kroger. Then we had lunch. I watered the plants and noticed the cucumbers were up. I had to thin them, so I gave some to the next door neighbor who was working in his garden. He had to thin his turnip so he gave me some of those. He told me how to harvest poke weed. So I did, along with some wild lettuce, washed it all up. Chris gave me a massage and we fell asleep all afternoon. Then it was suppertime. I picked some dandelion and made a big salad with the poke weed leaves. I ate some frozen fruit, read some e-mail, and sketched out my blog entry. We then watched the last two episodes of B5. What tearjerkers they were! If I had known I wouldn't have wasted my time. Then I had to clear my mind with an episode of NCIS, second season. The neighbor recommended a song called Poke Salad Annie, so I called it up on Youtube. Pretty good. But now I don't feel so good and wonder if it has something to do with eating the pokeweed. I took two capsules of activated charcoal hoping I won't have to toss this salad. Let's see if it helps.