Rain, rain, everywhere, even in the freezer

Last night I brought in some of the rainwater that collected in the tubs and ran it through a coffee filter. I put it in jars in the fridge. So it was quite late (or early) when I went to bed. I had some trouble getting to sleep. I was wondering if I should put out more containers since I don't know when it will rain again. Eventually I slept and was able to get up a little after 7. I quickly deleted the e-mails that I knew I wouldn't read. I put the Netflix movie in the mailbox. It's door was hanging open and was wet inside. Then I brought in the rest of the rainwater. There was at least 5 inches in the tubs. It was too heavy to bring in all at once. I was glad I did not put out more containers. I began the slow process of filtering it into jars, then running it through the coffee maker, and then the Brita. Some of the jars were put in the freezer. I exercised, drybrushed, juiced, and made breakfast, all during a long audio. I packed my lunch. My sewing stuff was already in the car from yesterday. I checked the basement, and saw that the towel was wet, but not very. I checked the garden around the wheelbarrow, too. There was a mess like something barfed up fish guts. Soon after I arrived at the church, lunch was delivered. I was not ready to eat so soon. Cakes were brought for those who were born in April. I heard they were very, very good. Carolyn took the splinter out of my thumb. Joan wanted some water, so I offered her some of mine.  She asked what kind of water it was.  I wondered why, but I told her it was rain water.  She drank some and said it tasted fine.  I worked on the green zipper quilt from yesterday and made a blue one from strips I had brought with me. Lauri and I worked until 6. When I got home, I checked the mailbox for mail. I realized that I hadn't eaten lunch, so I finished breakfast and ate my lunch for supper. I spent the evening listening to audios. I found a box on front porch which contained my maca order. I practiced my trombone. I am trying to strengthen my lips because I will have to play 18 verses (three hymns, two services) on Easter. I heard cracking noises. I was bothered and bewildered, but finally looked in the freezer to find that most of the jars had cracked badly, Even the ones without lids. So I put the jars in a plastic tub to melt. Then I can clean up the glass and throw it out. I did a meditation and some tapping, and will go to bed soon.

*  This is my blue version of the zipper quilt  *

Zipper quilts for Linus

I got up about 7. I was reading e-mail and listening to audios passing the time until church, when I realized that I could be spending my extra time sewing. Accordingly, I got serious, completed my morning routine, took a shower and got dressed, and then it was time to leave. So much for sewing. I got to church in time to warm up with the choir. I spoke to Mary about the piece on Palm Sunday. The service went well, as did the anthem (except for the low a's ). After the service, when I shook hands with the pastor, he asked about Chris so I told him where Chris had gone. From the church, I drove to the Publix a block beyond. I changed into comfortable shoes. This store turned out not to be as nice as the one we usually go to. The lighting was dim and the organic veggies were not all in one place. Still, I bought quite a few and the total was less than $100. They did not have boxes of coconut water. When I got home, I changed my clothes and put the groceries away. I listened to part of an interview that was going to be taken down at 3. I ate lunch, then cut some strips for the next Linus quilt. I rolled my sewing cart out to the car and drove to the corner church. Everyone was already there, in full swing. They were making their quilts one piece at a time. I sewed my strips together and cross-cut, which gave me the same effect, but not as scrappy. Still, I was not able to finish in time to show it off. This is someone else's quilt top. Before Bertha left, I asked her to take a splinter out of my thumb.  But she needed a tweezers rather than a needle.  We cleaned up and were out by 5. When I got home, I checked the garden. Sure enough, something had been digging up the dead fish. A few fish were lying on top of the ground. I used a shovel to add more soil to the spot, then put the wheelbarrow upside down over it. I will check in the morning to see if it worked. I opened my rainwater containers because I felt a few drops. I finished the audio and ate some leftover beef and sweet potatoes. I put my trombone case by my choir folder to remind me to take it on Wednesday night. I did some serious tapping inspired by the audio. That made me sleepy, so I laid down and fell asleep. When I got up, it was 11 and raining. I got an e-mail from Chris that he started a flicker page to post pictures of Kwajalein. I wrote to my blog and tried to go back to sleep.

Chris with fish

I got up around 7. I had e-mail to read and audios to listen to. I went through my normal morning routine. After breakfast, I unloaded the dishwasher. William called, but afterward I realized that he never said why.  I read more e-mail.  I brought in the mail, which consisted of something for Chris and the latest Swansons order.  That was quick.  I raked pinecones in the side yard barefoot. I put on shoes and I mowed that space of yard and everything that did not get mowed this week. Craig was outside doing yard work and he stopped to talk. He said he could teach me how to drive stick, and that it was easy. He showed me his large tubs of bait fish, and said he had to salt them to keep the fish calm. He had a bucket of dead bait fish which he brought over to bury in my garden.  Last year he did the same thing and some animal dug holes to get the fish out.  I tried to think of ways to protect my stash of dead fish, but nothing feasible came to mind. 

I finished mowing the lawn, and came in to make a salad. I read e-mail, then went down to iron all the fabric I bought this week. I watched Prince of Persia at the same time. I came up to e-mail, and got skyped by Chris. He added Michele and later Kurt (who kind of appeared on the scene). He sent me a picture of himself after he caught a fish, and a link to photos of coconut crabs: wicked looking beasts which are said to inhabit the island.
*  Chris caught a bluefin in Kwajalein last weekend  *

Comfy quilt day

I got up at 7:30 to get dressed and collect rainwater. It was not as much as I had hoped for. I ran it through the coffee maker and the Brita. I completed my usual morning activities. I packed a lunch and took my sewing stuff to the car. I drove to the Whitesburg church. There were not that many ladies sewing. It was a special day to work on comfy quilts for the large local guild. The block of the day was a large halfsquare triangle. I spent most of the day drawing the diagonal line for someone else to sew. Then I started searching through the piles of fabric for ones that complemented the squares someone else had cut for me. I ran home for a 12.5 inch ruler. We broke for lunch when it was delivered. The subject of conversation was situations where they had been confronted by strange men. I did NOT need to hear these stories. After lunch, I continued to cut, draw and pair squares. The sewing ladies turned from sewing squares to putting the blocks together. So then I sewed the squares I had prepared. As they left, one by one, I also had to press and trim. I stopped at 4 when the piles of fabric were carried out. Only one top had been completed, but we had enough squares for two more.   Soon it was just Jodi and me. She let me tap with her. Then we went home. When I got home, I read e-mail, and ate a sweet potato, and cooked up the ground beef. I stacked the dishwasher. I listened to an audio while working on binding. I cut the corners off of the fabrics I bought. I sorted it into light and dark piles, added regular laundry, and started washing. I practiced my trombone for Palm Sunday and Easter. I wrote a check for church. After the last load washed, I ran the dishwasher. I listened to one last audio and went to bed.

A word about the ants: they are exhibiting an unusual behavior. They appear to be drinking the poison, but are unaffected by it. When I check on them, they scatter, then come back later.

A little fabric here, a little fabric there...

Not sure when I woke up, but it turned out to be 6:24 when I got up. I turned off the alarm, and quickly scanned my e-mail. It was 78 in the house last night so I left the windows open. It was still 75 when I got up. But I closed the windows so I could play an audio without disturbing the neighbors. I did my drybrushing and exercises. Then I showered and juiced. While I drank the juice, I listened to a short meditation. It wasn't long, but enough that after I made breakfast, there was not time to eat it. I put it into a jar and took it along with the lunch I packed last night. I grabbed my sewing machine and stuff and drove to the church on Westmoreland. All of the ladies but one were waiting in Linda's suv. I put my stuff in the back and the last lady drove up. Linda was so absorbed in programming her Garmin, that I ate my breakfast without asking if I could eat in her car. We drove a little over an hour north and I realized that we were at Hammers, the same place I went with the Tuesday group on Friday. I did buy a few pieces that either were not there on Friday or I missed. We were there to pass the time until Dechard Needleworks opened. It was not far away. He specialized in 30's prints, and civil war prints. I was hopeful of finding the gold/cream fabric that I ran out of a year ago, but he did not have it. Lunch was delivered for those who ordered and paid. I ate broccoli with hummus, an apple, an egg and coconut water. After lunch I sewed at my machine. Other ladies had handwork, or just sat and talked. The owner showed us some of his quilts and said he gives classes for free as long as you buy the pattern and fabric there. When I paid for the fabric I bought, I elected to get an electronic receipt. He said the database already knows what e-mail to send it to. I thought that was a little scary, but he said it only knows because I entered it in some previous transaction. Little did I know it would get sent to Chris.  Around 2 we loaded up in the suv and came home. My carload wants to get together for another road trip to other stores. Three of them are also taking the bus to Paducah. I picked up my car at the church and came home. The ladies said it would rain tonight so I mowed as much of the backyard as I could. I plugged the mower in to recharge then came upstairs to read e-mail. I found my seedlings exceedingly dry, so I watered them really well.  At 6:30 I went out to mow again. It did not last long, but I got the yard inside the fence done. I did some tapping for old issues (from 7^th grade I think). I listened to a couple of audios. I made a new batch of nut cheese. I put out ant bait, and wiped down the countertops and scrubbed the sink. I worked on the binding for the wonky block quilt. I practiced my trombone music for Easter. I defrosted some ground beef, but then it was too late to eat it, so it went back in the fridge. Around 10 I wrote to my blog then went to bed.

A lovely card

I got up at 6:43. I read e-mail, and put on an audio. I did my drybrushing, and anointing. I wrestled with how to wrap something Chris wanted me to send him. I put old stamps on it to make proper postage for 3 oz, but the glue was old and needed help. Finally I got it in the mailbox. I called the Volkswagen dealership to check on the cost of a new transmission, but their price was not any better. I tapped for the fear that if anything happens to me, no one will find my body. I will lie here while the roaches nibble me to death. Then I did range of motion exercises, and juiced. I meditated while drinking the juice to maximize absorption. Then it was time for breakfast. I watched a long video on birthing in the U.S. They think other countries do it a lot better for a lot less with midwives. It was such a nice day that I opened some windows, and mowed part of the front lawn. I also picked up sticks to get enough sun (1 hour) to go into the basement and not feel deprived of light. I finished another audio, and ate some ham for lunch. I sewed on the scrap quilt, then cut strips for the next strip exchange, and packed a box for tomorrow. I prepared a project for Sunday. I boiled water to pour over the quinoa which had been soaking from yesterday. I mowed again, still in the front yard. I worked on a math problem, geometry actually, for a border for sri yantra. When I noticed the time, I made a quick salad, and changed my clothes for choir. There were not many people who showed up. It was handy to have the tablet to keep me on pitch, but without my glasses it was hard to tap the right notes. I used my sewing glasses, but they are not the same as having bifocals. When I came home, I ate the quinoa with home canned tomatoes. Now I have to get ready for tomorrow and hit the hay early to meet the ladies by 8. 

*  this is the card Rebecca made for me.  *

Seeing the eye doctor

I got up about 7, thinking about Jodie coming at 9. She went on the trip Friday and said she'd be over at 9 today to teach me how to drive stick. When she asked me what I wanted to learn, I think she meant quilting lessons. Anyway, I had not heard from hersince and not knowing her, did not know what that meant. I cleared e-mail quickly. Chris wrote last night that he would skype me at 1, so I looked forward to that. Then I did my range of mobility exercises. I tried bouncing, but it did not feel good. In fact, my back was giving me pain. So I decided to take the meds. But first I put the check in the mail, and then juiced because the meds are not to be taken on an empty stomach. I was listening to an audio and I saw a roach. I decided it was not worth the risk to go after it. Then Jodie called, saying she'd been sick but was feeling better and could come right over. I told her I needed to lay down and take care of my back. She prayed for me over the phone. After she hung up, I got out my meds and laid them by the glass of water. Then I fixed breakfast. Since one is not supposed to drive after taking the meds, after breakfast I drove to post to check the mail. On the way back, I stopped for kimbap and cashed a check that has been sitting in my wallet for some time. I was feeling better, so I ate some of the kimbap and took my laptop outside to watch the latest episode of The Quilt Show. It was hard to see the screen, but the sun on my skin felt so good. I would have rather laid out in a bathing suit, but did not want to take the chance that I couldn't get up again. Due to the weather, I opened some windows. I made up a weeks worth of supplements, and got online to order more. I skyped with Chris at 1. It was 6am his time. After that, I checked the snail mail. Rebecca sent me a card she made, and a note on paper she made. It was beautiful. Then I took a shower. I sewed panels of scraps together in the basement until 3:35. Then I sat outside to wait for Carolyn. She drove me to the eye doctor and walked around the strip mall while I filled out paperwork and had my eyes examined. I had to read sets of letters with both eyes and then with each eye. You'd think I would have them memorized by now. She said I had a lot of astigmatism in my right eye and thought it was too much to correct all at once. Then she dilated my eyes and put me back in the waiting room for awhile. Carolyn was there waiting for me. Then I got called back. She shone lights in my eyes to see the retina. But she seemed concerned about the left eye – my good one. I had to sign a form authorizing special pictures. More bright lights. Then she told me I had an abnormal freckle on the retina and wanted me to see a specialist. I paid and then asked if they could put the new prescription in the old frames. She said they could so I had to surrender my glasses for a week or two. Then Carolyn took me home. I might have been able to drive, but was glad I did not have to. I collected greens from the backyard to add to my salad. I ate some ham defrosted from the freezer. I put quinoa in a jar to soak, and some cashews with sunflower seeds in another jar. I did a lot of tapping, some with Youtube and some with scripts on my laptop. I practiced my trombone, both standing and walking. I put my meds away, glad that I did not have to take them after all. Then it was time for bed.
*  These tiny blooms are sweet and remind me of honeysuckle.  *