A long day

I woke up at 7:30. I put on a nightgown (could not find one last night) and went back to bed. I got up later to check the collection tubs. I saw a mostly eaten tomato lying on the patio. The war had just escalated! I brought in the water but did not have time to process it. I swished and checked e-mail. I made breakfast. I washed up and got dressed. I grabbed my grocery list and went to church. I was there in plenty of time, but met Jeanne coming out and she talked to me until church was almost ready. When I took my seat, the intern and a supply pastor walked down the aisle to give the announcements and begin the service. After the service, I helped Art count the loose cash. He said he could not count today so we agreed on 5pm tomorrow. Then I talked to the organist. She identified some places I could play in the new setting. I promised to try them at home this week. Then I talked to Tamara about the box of fabric at the church. She said I could have it for Denise to make quilts for foster kids. Then her daughter asked me to buy sheets for a fundraiser for cheerleading. They were $40 for any size. She gave me the swatches so I could see if they can be sewn through. I might want some as quilt backings if they work. I got the papers from my mailbox at church, and headed to the grocery store. I got the usual groceries and watermelon. It was on my list but I am not sure why. Maybe because the lady who gave that talk said she ‘fasts’ one day a week on watermelon? When I got home, I changed my clothes and put the groceries away. I e-mailed Denise to ask if her husband could build chimes that would ring if a deer got into the garden. I finished an interview from this morning – the guy was a scientist and farmer. He used glyphosate regularly and when he ran out of coyote urine to keep the animals out of the fields, he started spraying with his own urine. He was amazed to see that his urine killed the plants! So he investigated and is now trying to get glyphosate off the market. It kills microbes in the gut and that has all kinds of deleterious effects on mice and humans. I took Chris’ car to quilting. I turned in the blue and white top. Someone picked out a lovely backing fabric. I had to cut and piece one to fit. Then I worked on the pattern of the month which was a Sudoku quilt. I got the first three squares done and cut some two inch strips for sashing since the black was gone. When I got home, I noticed that there were fruit flies on my bananas even though they were in the microwave. So I put them in the oven. Whatever it was came back and finished the tomato while I was sewing. I read e-mail, and made a chocolate, banana, avocado smoothie which was more like a chocolate pudding. I tried adding some coconut oil and putting in the fridge to see if it would be stiff enough to use as a frosting. I read about using whey for hair, so I combed it into my hair and it did a remarkable job of controlling frizz, just like hairspray. I went downstairs to organize in the garage. I removed items from a ‘save’ box to a better box. I moved boxes around. I shoved the fish tank towards the back. I filled boxes with donation books and wheeled them to the garage. I boxed the ‘save’ books and put the boxes back on the industrial shelving that they came from. I found parts of two wooden quilting frames but not the whole of either. I did find my PVC set and put all its pieces back in the bag I made for it, ready to go to Korea. I found more Pokemon cards to take to the lady at church. I wonder if she wants manga too. I did not stop until 9:30. I made myself come upstairs to watch an episode of X-Files. Chris skyped me in the middle of it. He met a wife who quilts, and just moved in. So I will have someone to sew with when I get there. He suspects she might have quite the stash as well. I finished the episode. I checked on the patio – no critters I could see. I ran the rain water through the coffee maker. I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* this is Lynette's version of the pattern *

This means war

I woke up shortly after 7. I sat in the den and meditated/dozed. I checked the basement for water since it was raining. I checked the tubs but they did not have much in them. I emptied the water in the wheelbarrow. I collected the laundry. I took the items out of the Swansons box and saw that I ordered two different kinds of magnesium. I listened to a health audio. She said few people chew enough. I remembered one from yesterday that said yawning was the quickest way to relax. Yawning and slowly stretching was even better. I did the weekend Sudoku puzzle. I drank four glasses of salt water. I swept the kitchen floor again since the mop knocked over the expresso carafe and it shattered last night. I was so mad. It is one of the most useful items in my kitchen. I was also barefoot. So an extra sweep seemed to be in order. I did a 7 minute workout on Youtube. Not too bad except for the wall-sits. I swished and then took my pre-breakfast supplements. I did some sewing on the hexecontahedron. I juiced and meditated. I made breakfast and ate while listening to an audio. I put the laundry in the washer and stayed downstairs to cut pieces for the Three Shades Of quilt. When the washer finished, I put the laundry in the dryer. I continued to cut. I would have been finished, but realized that the second set of 23.5 inch squares were only 23 inches. Grooooooan!!! I decided that maybe there was some way of redesigning the quilt top to avoid having to cut more squares. I loaded and ran the dishwasher. I reloaded my fruit fly trap. I put my bananas in the microwave to keep the fruit flies away from them. I packed up some goat cheese and tomatoes to take with me. I went out to the garden to see if there was a ripe cucumber. But what I saw was that something had knocked over the cage around the cucumber vine, and had eaten all the leaves on my squash plants. As Bugs Bunny would say, “You realize this means war.” I put out a highly scented bar of soap (because I have no stinky perfume.) And I put a cage around the squash plant. I am not sure it will help but I had to try something. I called Denise and told her I was on my way. When I got there, she was getting ready to make sauerkraut. I helped her cut up the cabbage (with the food processor). She massaged in the salt and we filled jars. She gave me one to take home. We went outside so David could show me the windchimes he is making. Then I got to see their various plantings in various places. I tasted several herbs. Then Denise made some steaks on her induction grill. She had potatoes in the oven and she cut up lettuce for salad. We ate at the table which was right in front of a large TV. It was a little close for me. They handed me the remote to look for the capitol fireworks, but I could not find it. Then we heard shots outside. I ran down the sidewalk to find a good spot to watch. Fireworks were being shot off from several places behind houses or trees. I was so excited that I was jumping up and down. I might have leaked. We watched until the rain hit and then she got out an umbrella. But the night was cool, so we went in soon. She showed me her scrap book of quilts and several projects she is working on. Then I was surprised to discover the time was 10pm. I thanked them for their invitation and the large zucchini and jar of sauerkraut. I drove home in the rain, squinting to see the road. There were fireworks being shot off in spite of the downpour, but I was able to stay focused on driving. It was a relief to get home. I was greeted by a large cockroach. I saw that Chris had skyped me so I sent a message back, and then he called. We talked for a short while, but I was so tired from all the excitement of fireworks. Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* What critter ate my squash leaves? *

Busy day

I laid awake in the morning, listening to the rain. It was heavy and had been falling for a long time. After the alarm rang, I got up to check the open window. The rain had not come in. I also went to the basement and was relieved to find that it was dry. I went to the kitchen to deal with the various jars of goat milk. I strained each one to get the curds at the bottom. Then I put it in smaller jars in the fridge. I washed the gallon jars so I could fill them with rain water. I brought in the collection tubs and filtered the water before running it through the coffee maker. I washed the tubs and put them back outside. The rain had stopped but it still looked threatening. I had to restart my laptop to get Firefox updated. It kept all my open windows which pleased me greatly. I found some time to exercise in between processing pots of hot water. I searched for a key to a box in the garage. I found two other keys but not that one. I juiced two peppers and part of a large cucumber. I meditated. I made and ate breakfast while reading e-mail. Then I took a shower and washed most the oil out of my hair. It looked a lot better after almost 24 hours of absorbing oil. Then I got dressed and drove to Sheryl’s house around noon. They were sliding a couch down the stairs. Eventually it went into the room where she hopes to keep her granddaughter when she visits. We put the table top up against the wall behind the small couch. Then we worked on the sewing room. Her husband brought up two more shelving units and we assembled them. He made space in the room across the hall and assembled a table the right height for cutting. We made a table out of the two shelving units and a glass table top. At 7:50 I left for home.
I ate some goat cheese and then a sweet potato while I cleared e-mail. I tried to watch an episode of X-Files on my laptop but was having trouble. I took the disc out and wiped it good and then it did not play at all. But I had no trouble watching it on the desktop computer. Then I listened to an audio while I whipstitched another edge of the hexecontahedron. I cleared more e-mail, did the Friday Sudoku puzzle and decided to go to bed.

June showers bring July veggies

I got up at 8. I brought in the collected rainwater. A bird had pooped in one of them. I saved that water for indoor plants. I washed out the bird poop, and boiled water to clean the containers. I added more goat milk to the fermented portion. I got dressed, swished, and checked e-mail. I took out the recyclables. I turned off the AC and opened the windows. I exercised, cleared e-mail, and put checks in the mail. I put new checks in my purse. I processed the rainwater which overflowed the coffee pot. No sense crying over spilt rain water. Parker sent an e-mail saying she is not sure closing is happening today. The test came back fine, but the buyer’s attorney has not returned her calls to verify that they are closing today. An insurance lady came by to take pictures of the outside of the house for Mr. Bannister while I was juicing. I got an invitation from Denise for Saturday, but wasn’t sure if I should accept because Sheryl asked me if I ate steak and told her husband that she bought it for the weekend, so she might think I am coming to her house. I had to wipe goop out of the sink. The drain is not the low point so water sits and collects food debris and it gets yucky. I finished juicing and meditated, then made breakfast. I read e-mail while eating, then did the Thursday Sudoku puzzle. I shredded some papers from the garage. Then I brought in the mail, and sent bill info to Chris. It was time to drive to Stitch-its. I sat next to Marjorie, but talked to Julie who showed me a website that identifies trigger points to use depending on where the pain is. Marjorie showed me the quilt she was making. We figured out how many blocks she needed. Mechelle drove me in Chris’ car to the gas station. At first she did not believe that I could let all the way off the clutch before engaging the gas. Then she tried it. She said the car was very hard to stall. Gee, and I manage it all the time. It took us a while to figure out how to open the gas tank. And the gas machine did not work the way it usually does. But we accomplished what we set out to do. Marjorie was insistent that I should have done it myself. But Christie said it was ok to ask for help. Most everyone was gone by then, but I stayed long enough to finish one more row of the red scarf. Then I packed up and went home. I stalled three times getting onto the main road before I realized that I was still in 2nd. When I got home, I heated the goat milk, then added lemon juice, and then vinegar, waiting for the curdle. Maybe watched milk doesn’t curdle? I read e-mail for a while to give it some privacy. I blended a bag of frozen thawed cherries. I spread it on parchment paper on a baking sheet. The fruit flies got very excited, but were in for disappointment when I put it in the oven. I made some science experiments with the uncurdled milk. I mowed the entire lawn with the riding mower. However, it does need some touchups. I watered my vegetables with compost tea. I picked four tomatoes and my first cucumber, which I subsequently ate with fermented nut cheese. Parker wrote that the package from the lender came too late to close today, so they are closing on Monday. I scooped more curds out of the whey. I sewed one edge and all the concave intersections of the hexecontahedron together. Chris skyped me, and then I watched an episode of X-Files. I gave permission for a new version of Firefox to be installed. So then I worked on the other computer, but wasn’t sure when I got back if Firefox actually updated. I turned off the oven and let the roll-up rest. I think the oven seals well enough to keep the fruit flies out. And now it’s time for bed.

They now come in 'extra crispy'

I got up at 8 with the alarm. I swished and watered the sweet potatoes. I thawed a package of acai berry slush and drained the liquid. I exercised and drybrushed. I rebounded and boiled coffee. I found that the juicer basket makes a pretty good coffee filter. Four rounds of detox and several audios later, I considered juicing but decided to fast instead. I wanted to go to the sauna to sweat since today was not hot. But I wasn’t sure about the time. I brought in the mail and found a package from Swansons on the front porch. I cleared a fair amount of e-mail and then went downstairs to cut pieces for the ‘Shades of’ quilt. I figure I will work on it at retreat. I stopped about 2:30 and ate the nuts I normally have with breakfast. I turned off the oven. It had a very crispy roll-up in it. I drove to Sheryls house. She called to say it was raining heavily where she was and she would be delayed. I did not experience heavy rain until I got there. I sat in my car and called Suyapa, talking until Sheryl arrived. We brought in her groceries. Then we went upstairs to work on her sewing room. We assembled another set of shelves and hoisted them on top of the ones we did last week. Then we organized boxes and bags of stuff. Her husband came home late. We stopped at 8. I left the drill for him to use as a power screwdriver. I came home and ate supper while talking to Denise. I watched an episode of X-Files, shot like ‘Cops’. Chris skyped me in the middle of it. I finished the episode and looked it up on Wikipedia. I posted to my blog and went to bed.
* Or maybe this is the new 'crime scene' fruit roll-up *

Sprout it out

I was having a dream about being in a building where the elevators were going wild: stopping at the wrong floor, swinging and rocking, doors opening too fast to let people out. I went to the top floor and managed to get out. I practically slid down the steps to the bottom floor. I tried to help a paraplegic who had been taken out of her wheelchair to be hauled up steps. And then the alarm rang. I did not get up for a while. When I did, I swished and exercised, knowing Tuesday mornings are short. I checked e-mail and read a long one from a member of our congregation who is chronicling his fight with cancer. I tapped for him. I found some new batteries for the mini-tape player that Ann handed me two weeks ago. I figured out how to run it, but not how to turn it off. I looked up the manual online. Then I juiced and went to quilting. I got to show off my blue and white quilt top. The group talked about making a field trip to visit all the quilt shops in the Chattanooga area for Row-by-Row. After that, I went to the Asian store for kimbap and kimchi. A man in line said he had nothing but time. I asked how he did it and he said he was disabled and allergic to work. On the way home I got a phone call from Rebecca and her husband who were parked in my driveway. I got home in the next two minutes. He discussed the various levers on the riding mower and drove it around a little. Then we talked about hydroponics which he just started. It rained and then the sun came out. After they left, I brought in the mail, and ate kimbap with kimchi (which will be better in Korea). I checked e-mail, and watched a permaculture video. Somehow I started a game of Bejeweled while looking for my usual Free Cell. I had to stop to run to the farmer’s market. I bought cucumbers, lettuce, goats milk, and peppers. When I got home, I cleaned the juicer and the hand mixer. Then I processed a package of thawed blueberries. I drank the juice and put the pulp on parchment paper in the oven to turn into a fruit roll-up. I inoculated some goat milk to start it fermenting. I renewed my TQS account and canceled the American Express card which was about to charge us $100 a year. I took a pic of the contents of a box that belonged to Chris. I moved boxes around in the garage. I sorted through a box of trash that Chris had collected. I selected most of the paper for recycling but kept some for shredding. Also found his social security card in there. I found one of my notebooks from college. I ripped out the parts with class notes. But there was a section that was like a diary I wrote to once every couple of years. Interesting stuff, but I hardly remember it. So I wrote an update. I guess I’ll keep the notebook. I watched an episode of X-Files. It ended with Fox being certain that his sister was dead, but in a better place and he could stop looking for her. I checked e-mail and got side-tracked reading answers to questions on Quora. I started composing my blog and Chris skyped me. He found out that his stuff from Honduras has been in Huntsville since May 18th. He hung up to go take pics since it was finally a sunny day there. I finished my blog post and went to bed.
* This is a pic I took trying to show that sweet potato sprouts are edible. It was in response to a web invitation to show how people grow sprouts. *

Rebecca's Scarf

I heard the alarm go off at 8, but it took me a few moments to get up. I turned on the router, I got dressed and watered the plants, I swished and checked e-mail. I juiced and meditated. I meditated without music and it went longer than I had planned. I exercised and then made breakfast. I looked up one of Michele’s Pokemon cards and it was selling for $2. I looked up a couple more and finding they were not worth the time to look them up. I ate breakfast and did some tapping. I searched for the red knit that I used for my scarf. Then I cut a piece for Rebecca and sewed it to a piece I already had to make it long enough for her. I drove to quilting in Chris’ car. Rebecca was there and I hadn’t seen her in a long time. Laurie agreed to give me a ride to the quilt retreat in two weeks. I thought about what projects to take. I worked on the scarf for Rebecca. I cut up all the fabric she gave me into 1 x 3 inch rectangles. When I finished all that cutting, I started sewing them onto the red backing. We talked about a myriad of topics, including the riding mower. Rebecca called her husband and asked him to come to my house and show me how to use the mower. I said it wasn’t necessary, but got the feeling that she wanted him to get out and about. We left after 5. Laurie was still working on her quilt. I wish I had a pic, but had forgotten my camera. When I got home, I brought in the mail and the garbage can. I mowed around the lawn and inside the fence – all parts the riding mower wouldn’t do. , ate supper, finished off the sprouts and rinsed the container into the compost, listened to an interview, did tomorrow’s Sudoku puzzle, made fermented nut cheese, drank a glass of whey, rearranged more stuff in the garage, sorted, collected empty boxes, When it got dark, I closed the garage door. I came upstairs to clear some e-mail and then watch X-Files. Sadly it was to be continued, so I look forward to seeing the rest tomorrow. As I was typing up my blog, Chris skyped me. He was having lunch in his quarters. We talked for a few minutes until he had to go. He said his shipment from Soto Cano was nowhere to be found. He hoped it had never left Soto Cano and could be shipped directly to Chinhae. I finished posting to my blog and went to bed.
* This is Rebecca's scarf. *