Off the Beaten Track

Contact Post

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 16:40:18 GMT

This post is for people on Dreamwidth to connect with me regarding connecting for the Access list ("friends" equivalent to FB).

I'm Heather Gray.

My SCA name is Elwynne Rowenna of Wentworth.

If you want to connect, post in comments here and we'll talk.

This is for people I have pre-existing connections with, generally speaking.

comments

Pit Liquor - part 2

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 16:15:20 GMT

Still using Pit Liquor. Once in a while I use Pit Paste, especially if I forgot to apply PL before getting dressed.

Someone commented on one of the PL ads that it took a few weeks to really be effective, basically the body getting used to the new stuff and "detoxing" from the old. She talked her husband into it and after 2-1/2 weeks it was really effective for him too. Guys tend to sweat more, so that seems like a reasonable testimonial.

One thing I really like is not having to worry about whether or not I spread it evenly enough to get it to absorb and Not Cake, as one does with solid deodorants.

Also, I like the glass bottle, and the spray mechanism is good quality. When I eventually finish it off I'll probably re-use it for other things I need spray bottles for.

comments

Posting ish

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 00:35:01 GMT

Still here. Been busy and/or too hot. Will get to posting some photos here... soon-ish. Really.

The one good thing about having had to be outdoors during the hot and humid was that my muscles -- and esp. the right hip -- were warm enough to relax, which meant I didn't have to take as much pain meds.

Breathing though... ick.

Downstairs we pretty much kept the existing set-up, although we talked about moving the computers into the living room with the A/C (smaller room, more efficient). But then with all the going in and out of the house last week, just never got to it.

Upstairs, we moved some things around and got the television into the bedroom so that we could be in the A/C for longer per day and recover from being out in the thick air.

It feels like being in a hotel room, as we've never had one in our bedroom. When we're done for the night we turn off the power to the television and Roku -- no extra light sources, thanks! I have a tray table for my laptop that I can push against the wall at sleep time, with a black bandana laid over the end that has the power indicator.

Anyway, the extra time in A/C has been helpful to both of us, lung-wise.

Enjoyed the weather being pleasant this morning. Afternoon was still a bit of a slog, probably because we're worn down from last week's weather. But we got some stuff done, so yay.

Oh, and have now had shawerma -- there's a middle eastern food truck a couple towns over -- tasty, will eat again. The cook is a sweet person, too.

Tomorrow I have to call the immunologist to make my next shot appt. -- usually I do it while I'm still at the office, but I was hating being around people so I left.

comments

...

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 16:36:57 GMT

I can't stand what's happening in this country.

comments

Allergy shots, what? A little groggy

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 15:09:24 GMT

Thank goodness I was checking my email for something last night and saw the reminder for an appt. this morning. Shifting to once a month has its own special challenge.

I put reminders on a calender too, but maybe I need to stick a note on the bathroom mirror... well. Will try using the calendar a little longer - especially since I got a JRRT LotR calendar this year.

Tiring night. The seal on the mask was a bit loose at one point, as sometimes happens. The quietly escaping air is comparatively loud when it's the only sound in the room and, more critically, right next to your head.

I don't miss this phase of getting used to a PAP machine. Getting enough rest to realize just how tired one is, is tiring. I might also be having more dreams now.

Also, lately I've been forgetting to take some of my pain meds in the morning. It isn't that I don't hurt in the morning but I guess the levels are lower so I just go about my morning until it all catches up with me later in the day. It's awesome that pain levels are dropping a tad now, but I still need to stay on-program for a while yet!

comments

Uneventfullness

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 03:49:06 GMT

Well, I guess the past couple of days weren't too exciting :D But I do want to try to be more regular here, so.

I've been doing a tiny bit of machine sewing. It's been a while and my machine isn't feeling very forgiving, but I've oiled it both days of sewing and it's starting to behave better.

Good thing I was checking my email for... something... and saw a reminder for my allergy shots tomorrow morning.

The seedlings have been getting a bit of fresh air and breezes but I'm still not leaving them out overnight. We're still dealing with at or below freezing temps.

I have some new bunchberry plants shipping here. So far I haven't seen if the pre-existing ones here have made it through another winter -- I certainly hope so. I'm thinking I'll mix these in with the ramps in the courtyard, by the library, so I can keep a closer eye on them. They're not inexpensive so I want to give them every chance to multiply. My eventual plan, should they thrive, is to seed the wooded edge of the meadow with them. Although I'll likely keep some in the courtyard anyway - insurance.

Still considering what type of privacy fence to use to for the courtyard -- considering a staggered fence/shadow-box fence.

Friday evening begins two months of calling in every week to see if I'm needed for a jury.

comments

And yet more cards...

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 02:24:24 GMT

Printed more cards today, including scanning a bit of old art I thought I'd give a second chance at being a card. I enlarged it a bit so it should be a stronger image than before... I've learned a few things over the years.

Folded and cut everything today, so tomorrow is just packaging.

comments

Card Stuff

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 14:46:35 GMT

I ended up printing out some cards yesterday that I finished up ahead of the larger batch I'll be working on today. I couldn't stand seeing the partial stacks of cards I still had on the table. The store in Greenfield wants 6 cards per design and these needed just a few more each. All good.

I experimented with movement while working on the cards. Most of the time I need to hold fairly still of course, like when I'm actually folding and cutting. But some of the process I can manage a gentle forward/back or side-to-side rocking motion from one foot to the other so that I'm not staying in a static position for long periods of time. Definitely helps.

I worked out these motions years ago, after the car accident, but usually reserve it for standing conversations. Years ago I was standing talking with a friend of mine who'd also had a car accident and we were side-rocking together while talking. Would have been fine except a third friend was having trouble dealing with us moving toward and then away from her -- claimed it was making her a little seasick :D

Humans are like cats, we tend to compensate rather than fix things. Altho' it could be argued that sometimes at least, compensating is the best that can be done.

comments

No Rest for the Wicked

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 14:35:20 GMT

Only used the APAP for a couple of hours last night -- power failure. Took me a little bit to figure out what was wrong, being rather deeply asleep before that... Since I was awake I got up to use the bathroom. I tend to disconnect the headset at the top and unlatch the lower straps so I can breathe more easily without having to re-set the entire headset when I go back to bed -- works well enough but does impede my vision. Generally not a big deal since I can get where I'm going by touch and the grade of the floor ;)

So I didn't notice that the hallway nightlight wasn't lit. I _did_ notice the nightlight in the bathroom wasn't lit, at which point I tested a light switch to verify that it was the house power that was off, not just a failure in the nightlight.

We went downstairs and shut down the computers (we have UPSes), and then went back upstairs to bed because nothing else to be done. I was feeling a bit wired though, so I was still awake when there was a light down the road that lit up our curtains a bit.

Power folks were walking the lines, starting from in front of the neighbors. We could see some of the lines were slack. Eventually they started being brought back up, as the trucks moved up the hill and away from our area. Then I was able to relax enough to sleep.

Power was back up by around 6:00 a.m. I'll send an email to the APAP monitoring person to let them know about the power outage so that they can make a note in my sleep record. I'm still in the insurance coverage monitoring stage.

comments

Three Days in a Row!

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 18:29:35 GMT

Look, I've made it to three days in a row of posting here :D

The card delivery to the farm went fine, as did looking over the tulip magnolia with my SIL D. I made up a price for the cards because it's been a while and apparently none of the previous transactions were recorded by my MIL. These are a nonstandard order -- they're smaller and I don't have to fold them or provide envelopes, so quite different from the usual.

***

I printed off another 36 cards yesterday (12 each of 3 designs). There are probably still more to go but I needed to get all the previously printed cards done and packaged first, as I'm completely out of space on the table.

***

Today was a lot of fold/cut/package. I'm almost at the point of being able to bring the newest batch of cards over but they probably won't get worked on today anyway. My current plan is to finish what's on the table and enjoy an empty space for a short bit. Also, I can only stand for so long. I'm basically doing some of this work and then walking off to do something on the computer or whatever and then back again.

And yes, I have to stand because otherwise I don't have the leverage or height perspective to use the paper cutter. Most things I want or need to do involve a certain amount of pain, so it's just a matter of changing things up so that I can extend the amount of time I can do things.

I need to dig out my paints this spring. It would be nice to do some new art.

***

My hips and legs are killing me today -- probably a combination of the crazy weather pressure changes and the novelty of getting some proper sleep. At the moment that apparently means not budging from one position for hours :D Also my muscles are probably getting more oxygen and blood flow than they've had in years, so I expect there's some fallout from that change. It'll get better -- more good quality sleep means healing.

I managed to drop half a pound, which is better than my last time on the CPAP. Oh, and I increased my water/liquid intake too. I'd calculated it some years ago and then didn't update it when I gained some weight -- now that I'm out and about more it matters more.

***

It's sunny today but too cold for me. Possible snow in tonight's forecast at the highest elevations in our town. I guess that means we'll possibly get freezing rain at our place? Or maybe just cold and dry. Meh.

comments

Go Small and Show Up

Sun, 17 Apr 2022 13:49:23 GMT

Along the lines of "Go Small and Show Up", made a partial delivery of cards to Elmer's Store this morning.
The three definitively winter holiday cards are now off the rack, I have a copy of the current inventory, and a list of more cards I need to print and deliver.

Completed printing and cutting for a delivery of 50 cards to the farm.

Still have to finish the rest of the printing for the store in Greenfield, but considering I was aiming for printing 100 cards yesterday and made it to nearly 200, not too shabby.

And now, breakfast.

comments

The Usual Suspects

Sat, 16 Apr 2022 18:15:51 GMT

Fitzw was able to help with moving bins and boxes a few days ago, so another dozen moved from the grey shed to the house, plus he brought a few of them down into the basement as well. I appreciate being saved a few trips up and down stairs, especially with the larger bins. A couple more went into the trailer.

***

Haven't been doing a lot of active gardening -- not outdoors anyway. Altho' this afternoon Fitzw decided it was time to rake out at least one garden bed so the daffodils aren't struggling quite so much.

I did start some seeds a few weeks ago, most of which are coming up. I need to start some more, but... well, we'll see. Only so much time and energy and the to-do list is LONG.

I have a packet of seeds on my desk that lost the info they came with, so I'll likely plant those just to find out what they are... I suspect they're Columbines.

We also bought some live plants this past week, while down in the valley for doctor stuff. One blueberry to add to the collection, a new Primrose, three Heather and two Blackberries. They didn't have Bear Berries -- apparently they've been declared invasive -- good to know.

The red leaf lettuce experiment wintered over and are now getting rather large. Also, the success rate is such that I'll be giving some away to a couple of friends.

***

I used some of the bubble wrap I've saved over the years for insulating parts of the walls in the grey shed. We'll use some regular stuff here and there as well, but the shed will never be wired or have fire in it so we're opting to save a few dollars and also keep some plastic out of the rest of the world. I emptied a few trash bags doing that, so yay, I have trash bags I can re-use.

***

GOOD: I actually got EIGHT hours of sleep last night!!!

BAD: I've gained 3 - 3.5 pounds in the past week. This even with watching my caloric intake as usual. This happened the last time I was on a machine; I need to keep an eagle eye on this because I don't want to deal with that again, especially since I'm actually trying to lose a significant amount of weight this year.

***

Art! Well, sort of -- the business side. I'm printing cards today so I can deliver to various and sundry. I actually have the brain power to do it today, so yay.

comments

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Sat, 09 Apr 2022 21:51:02 GMT

Picked up my new apnea machine this week - an APAP (A for adjustable or something like that). Tried it last night, bit of a battle. We did a fitting at the office but sitting is not the same as lying down with your head on a pillow, so more adjustments happened. I managed to keep it on for a little over three hours and then gave up on it. Will try again tonight, of course. When you're having around 65 apnea episodes per hour, best to do that. Considering that many episodes puts a strain on the heart and that my father died a few months short of 62, I'm trying. So freaking tired today though.

Even if I only get up to 4 hours per night that would be good - obviously full nights would be optimal.

Depending on how things go, if I'm still really struggling with it I'll give the respiratory person a call on Monday or Tuesday.

comments

Overdoing It Day

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 22:39:11 GMT

Rainy weather will be moving in, starting tonight. The shed we're going to convert into a bookbindery is currently full of everything I couldn't fit anywhere else for the past few years. At least some of the contents will stay there because really, we don't have a shed's worth of materials and tools -- but mostly that's what it will be or we'll never be able to access the stuff to use it.

The shed is roughly 7' x 8' and I excel at packing, so it's going to take a while to empty it. The weather being what it is these days, I take whatever opportunities I have. Yes, I will definitely pay for it, but it needs doing.

I also need to severely change the layout in the basement and make space there for... a lot of things. No yarn is going down there though -- I'm doing my best to reduce the spread of similar items to all over the place. Making space for four people to live with us really messed up my organization and it's awful just how much I lost track of... and of course this is also the perfect time to pull some things out to finish and/or get out of here.

So. I was going to put some of the yarn in the trailer, but realized I'd just have to move it again later this year. I've opted to bring it back into the house, into the enclosed porch. I just have to try to avoid any of it going against the outer wall, in case we actually get back to work on the window frames, painting, etc.

Today I moved from the shed:

- 13 small boxes, 2 tins, some loose items, and 2 12-gallon bins from the basement up to the small bedroom on the 2nd floor.

- 1 large bin into the barn -- seasonal decorations, will probably end up in the loft but I didn't want to deal with the stairs.

- 1 folding metal chair, currently leaning against the outside of the barn.

- 1 banker's box and 1 14-gallon bin to the trailer -- roving I can't deal with right now. At least one more will be going there but that's going to have to wait until the next good weather.

- 2 12-gallon bins of fabric to the basement

- 18 containers of yarn, from bankers box to 12-gallon bins onto the porch. Some of the yarns have loft and others are hard weaving yarns, so weight varied. Fortunately only 3 or 4 of them really tested my limits.

In the basement I moved a bunch of stuff. Highlights:

- Shoved some stuff out of the way and traded a heavy duty metal shelving unit with a 'portable' wardrobe -- one of those racks with the fabric enclosure you can zip open/closed. This was after I moved all the stuff off the shelving unit and brought most of it upstairs to the small bedroom. I needed more storage for leather and most of that stuff is in a different part of the basement, so this would put all the leather closer together.

- Made places and moved a bunch of spare picture frames so they aren't blocking some of the leather supplies.

- Emptied out a 3-bag laundry unit so that I can move it over by the wardrobes. Sticks, posters, props, tatami mats, etc. get stored in them and I couldn't lift it out of its position without doing that... just as well, some mouse at some point left some litter at the bottom of one of the bins. I didn't finish moving the unit to the new spot because I or Fitzw will need to bring a vacuum down the stairs to clean it first.

From the barn I moved:

- A bunch of medium to heavy weight leather to the metal shelving unit I'd cleared and moved. This all used to be in an old wood blanket box but the box has become more work than it's worth to repair, so Fitzw will be dismantling it, keeping the metal parts and burning the rest.

***

And after all that, there's at least another 30 boxes/bins in the shed. Still, progress.

***

To think I used to be able to do this and still get up and be useful the next day... oh well. I think that even with working on improving my health it's unlikely that will change too much, but perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised.

comments

Lydia Sherrer books/author

Sun, 26 Dec 2021 04:01:08 GMT

Has anyone read books by Lydia Sherrer or know much about the author? The books sound interesting, altho' truth to tell I don't even know if they're meant to be YA or general fantasy.

Also, hoping she isn't like JKR as a human.

comments

September 24

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 17:30:20 GMT

It's late September and I'm wearing sandals today... Not to say that it's completely summery out there but the humidity's annoying.

Too wet out from the overnight rain to do much with gardening today, even if the sun's come out. I should harvest some peppers though, and maybe look at the Hazelnut trees again.

Too tired this morning to do much of anything useful, so nice that I have the energy for a few things this afternoon.

I did get further with that dress I cut out a week or so ago - lordy, I hate that I've become so slow at getting things done. Cooler weather helps some, at least. I did the machine sewing, and even put in pockets! Knit fabric that's a little weighty I guess, because it all looked fine when I cut the pieces out but was too long when I tried it on. So, I shortened it at the shoulders by about 1-1/2" and it fits better. Now I'm at the hand sewing all the edges part.

Going to work more on getting stuff out of the enclosed porch, which actually means not just finding different places for things but using and/or getting rid of stuff. It'll be worth it when it's done.

comments

House and Plant Update

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 20:43:25 GMT

Last night one of the housemates swung his backpack onto his shoulder at the wrong time and knocked an antique desk nearly over -- he managed to keep it from going completely over I think, but of course things on it went flying. Plus apparently he pushed it into the table next it, which slightly tipped a cabinet on the other side of the table... seriously, it could have been worse. There's damage to a trim piece but we aren't talking a museum-quality desk. And the pedestal oil lamp at the end on the line of furniture didn't go flying and break. Housemate's pretty upset, not only because it isn't his stuff but also because he has an affinity for antiques. He's also annoyed at himself because he's managed the corner for a couple of years now :D We'll get it set to rights.

Meanwhile, the oil lamp's in a safer place, the desk has been turned 90 degrees because I figured the width of the desk was about the same as the depth of the sewing table - it is. So, it opens up the walk space a tad more for bigger people. Working on sorting another bit of the room to see if I can move the oil lamp to over there... I like have some of the emergency lighting distributed around the house.

Enclosed porch is a little better now -- still a long way to go but there's more space and I'll keep hacking away at it.

The two Yews and the (lavender) Rose of Sharon bushes are all in the ground now. Four holes dug today because there's a little Blueberry bush on the northern perimeter and I didn't want it to be shaded out. So, moved that south of the perimeter and put one of the Yews where it had been. I actually de-sodded and dug three out of four of those holes! The sod went onto the berm we started a few years ago, as it still has some low spots. Even so, it works well at keeping us from having a river running under the storage trailer and across the entire meadow in late winter/early spring.

All four of those bushes plus the Witch Hazel have been mulched with bark mulch. It'll help them get a head start on settling in and growing, not having grass encroaching on them. If I have the time and energy before winter, I'll dig up some of the grass around trees and bushes we put in earlier this year and/or last year and mulch them as well.

Fitzw's been making good use of all the grass clippings, now that we've been getting drier weather and he can catch up ;) He's done some mulching under some of the apple trees, the corn patch (which was mostly a peas patch this year), a couple of areas along the brook that need more soil-rebuilding, compost bins, and reclaiming the area where the baby Paw Paws are going. I believe two of the four Paw Paws are in the ground now -- once I picked out their locations he took over that project.

Fitzw just mowed a little too close to an in-ground flag post, nicked the L part of the post's grounding bit and damaged the lawnmower. Good thing it was the walk-behind, which he can fit into the car and take down to the repair/sales place just down the hill.

comments

Stuff

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 16:09:16 GMT

Well, mostly all we got was a lot of rain, and I'm okay with that. The pool on the river is doing just fine, and today is sunny. It's supposed to get hot this week - I'm really hoping it's a drier heat than we've had so far, as I'd like to actually accomplish stuff.

Code Orange shipped out last week, so hopefully I'll hear that it was received and can post a few pics later this week.

My neck and shoulders are being problematic and I finally realized a couple of days ago, when a friend posted about hitting her head on a rock and the issues afterward that I had done essentially the same thing as her, just with the corner/end of a table. That was a 2-3 weeks ago now. Since things have never been quite 100% since the car accident, I probably re-tweaked everything. I'd treated the original impact area by icing a few times and since then have been stretching more often and upping my pain meds and muscle rub stuff some. Not working. Going to call a body worker next, because at this point there isn't a lot a regular doc can do anyway, besides send me to PT or something.

Got a massage appt. for this afternoon! Whoot! Somebody I know, in Ashfield, and she has a sheltered outdoor setup.

comments

Weekend Update

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 21:55:15 GMT

Saturday's clothing swap wasn't as well attended as was hoped for, despite all the advertising. Some people still had no idea and just happened upon it. Still, some clothing found new homes in town. Some went to Cancer Connection, a printer came and folks gathered plain clothing for him to print, and most of the rest went to Salvation Army. Less than ideal, because we know some of it will just end up in the dump, but still better than not trying at all.

I ended up with some full-length pants for the winter, which was nice. I've been wearing capris most of the summer for pants, and wearing dresses for most weekend breakfasts at Elmer's and also to the allergy shots appts.

Got some other things too, including fur collar and cuffs off of a coat that wasn't itself worth keeping. But really, my only goal for this year was pants for the winter :D Anything else is bonus.

Anyway, we helped with setup, got breakfast at Elmer's and some greens at the farmers market and then I decided to stay at the swap because the person in charge was feeling overwhelmed at the time with trying to figure out what would happen with cleanup. Fitzw took the veg home and ran errands in Shelburne Falls and then came back for cleanup/breakdown. I'm not in as much pain as usual from being at one of these things, so I guess being able to take that break really helps.

We did a little pre-storm work in the afternoon but not a whole lot. More in the morning, as Fitzw wanted to make a dump run.

***

We had a power blip earlier Sunday - Lyle thinks it was likely from the tree that came down in Goshen. I boiled some water and put it into thermoses and washed the dishes.

Happily mostly just rain at this point - quite enough, really. We went down to the river to see how Tali's work at the pool was holding up - so far, so good. There's a partial dam to help make the pool larger and deeper in good weather, which some fish also appreciate. It has a spillway on one side, as well some water can pass through it; similar to some naturally-formed partial dams. The water's pretty high now of course, so where we'd normally stand to take off footwear has water running over it as well. Gavin's checking the river occasionally to see if things change. As of an hour ago, Melody's stones that she stacked on the upriver side of the dam is still standing, even though only the topmost rock can be seen.

It's a lovely space -- as long as we don't get a snapping turtle moving in, we'll be good. Dragonflies have been showing up in numbers, much to everyone's relief. I was wondering if they were all getting washed down river last month, there was so much rain...

When we went back into the house we filled up some empty bottles with water and stuck them in the freezers. Not a whole lot since we have actual food in the freezers, just a little extra insurance.

The eye of the storm is centered around Hartford CT as of this posting.

comments

... Feh on subject lines

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 16:11:40 GMT

Raining off and on -- still humid. I saw on FB that a number of friends had bad days yesterday; humidity seems to have been the final straw in most cases.

This post is a bit of a downer but ends on a more positive note.

***

I commented to Fitzw sometime in the past few weeks that it's one thing to read about how changes in the climate are going to have effects on communities or regions and another to be dealing with it personally. On the larger scale, we see how it's taking longer for places to recover from disasters, to the point where they won't be recovered before the next disaster strikes. Wildlife may not have recovered habitat, buildings still not repaired, businesses inoperable or less than 100%, etc. All sorts of different systems, under more stress than usual, will not perform as well or just outright fail.

The pandemic plays into this, as it's inevitable that outbreaks will happen. We've had outbreaks in the past that could have been worse if they hadn't been caught quickly enough. Humans failed on this current one; containment didn't happen. As our population grows, it's getting harder to catch this kind of thing, I think. And as we encroach on lands that would probably be best left alone, like areas with thawing permafrost... well. Such cheerful thoughts! Meanwhile, any way we can stop drilling in the Antarctic/far north regions would be a good idea, if only to avoid hitting a giant methane deposit/pocket.

My main hope at this point is that more people are actively trying to fight corporate greed, so perhaps we can slow the train down enough.

The knock-on effect for individuals though -- that's been a real trial this past year or so. Still trying to puzzle out better ways to live, etc. But it takes longer to do everything and minor setbacks seem to become complete blockages - at least for a while. Our laundry line decided it needed to rot out at the base and break this summer, as an example. On the other hand, the allergy doc says not to hang laundry outdoors during my allergy seasons... so, almost never. I do dry some things indoors but I don't want to deal with that much humidity during the summer, because asthma. I'll try to figure something out... In a couple of years my allergies will hopefully be less of a concern. Best thing most of us can do is just try to be as healthy as possible.

And of course some of what I posted about yesterday are knock-on effects, and some of it's going to get worse as various systems struggle to keep going. All it takes is one ship getting stuck sideways or a major crop failure or whatever, and gaps appear. Combine that with subpar governing, short-sighted self-interest, etc. Humans in groups tend to be no more intelligent than Karenia Brevis - the algae that when it blooms becomes known as the Red Tide. They can kill other sea life with a sufficiently large bloom -- and eventually they can even kill themselves off, until their numbers decrease or dissipate enough to re-balance.

Too many people only care about their tribe, not seeing that what happens to people in California can have consequences elsewhere in the country - such as the smoke from wildfires this summer. Or the smog in China that was so bad it formed a huge brown cloud that crossed the Pacific to the US. Or runoff from monoculture fields in the Midwest to all life in and around the Mississippi, going all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing stays in one place. There is no "away". Hope we can get enough to learn this and act on it.

***

Well, that's enough of that maundering. I could go on but I have things to do and I aim to get some of them done.

There's supposed to be a clothing exchange on Saturday - hoping the weather holds for that... I'll be picking up some stuff from Double Edge (DE) costume shop this afternoon to bring to the swap. Maybe there'll be a coat of the right style and size for one of our housemates -- his beard is kind of Abe Lincoln-like in shape and style so for Halloween he's planning on having some fun at work.

I threw away a pair of pants rather than fix them. I do have other things that will be going to the swap but I've decided I can't save everything or everyone and I just don't need to invest time in something that wasn't great anyway.

***

I'm struggling with keeping all the costuming stuff. When will I be at a convention again? I do like making that sort of thing... well, we'll see. At this point it's more a struggle in regards to existing costumes, as they take up space. Fabric and some of the other stuff I've acquired can still be used for other projects... One of my goals is to simply make more stuff so it isn't all just sitting there :D So yes, the "decision" is to avoid making the decision, for now.

***

I had to buy some new fabric for the Code Orange project but I also used swap stuff and a bit of my wool batting. Oh, and an old velour tabard from ages ago! I needed a drawstring bag to hold some of the smaller bits in and it was definitely time for that tabard to go. I originally made it for my first boyfriend, then it was loaner garb for a while but it lost some of the fake gems I'd put on as trim. I actually found some replacement gems, but really, it needed to be retired. Anyway! Going to make a few more drawstring bags out of the rest of the thing -- so some stuff getting used and/or repurposed, go me.

Did make it to the post office to mail the Code Orange box yesterday; should get there in a couple of days.

***

Okay, time to get lunch and do some sewing. Picking up clothing in a couple of hours. Might order some desiccants to use around the house as we can't afford to do a whole-house system.... I'm thinking if I put some in pots and get some wall-mounted plant holders... could work.

comments

Sometimes I just want to quit

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 20:13:15 GMT

Did a generalized rant on FB but really, sometimes even when you have money to throw at things, you just can't. WARNING: There is a significant lack of sunshine and daisies in this post. If you don't want to see it, scroll on.

- I have someone who I'd like to build the porch entryway - he wants to, but he has a bunch of other work to get done first. So at least I'm in line...

- Another guy I want to hire for some other projects -- can't even get enough time together to schedule a look-see to do estimates.

- A fencing company, aside from the guy not having been able to call and schedule a time to come look and do estimates -- once we have that done they won't be able to schedule construction until December at the earliest. We talked to them about three weeks ago... should have done so a couple of months ago.

Contractors are all busy. There's no point in trying to find someone else. They're all busy. I hate it.

***

Every project I get done or Lyle gets done... it takes forever to do, for various reasons. This week he was trying to finish clearing some old lumber and get it all to the dump. Yellow jackets, with a hard-to-access ground nest disagreed. Fortunately he only got stung once, on discovery of the nest... He made progress in spite of them but had to stop yesterday because he ran out of wasp & hornet spray and the hardware store was closed (Tuesday). We were in the valley for my allergy shots and picking up stuff from the kung fu school but forgot about it while we were there. So. Today, buying some while we're up getting pizza.

We're trying to plant some Paw Paw trees but it seems like every time we get close to being able to plant them the weather turns too hot & humid or it rains. And then we get to start over again. I was so close last time...

***

All of the yard maintenance uses so much time and energy, I hardly make anything anymore. Much the same as last year...I was talking about that with one of the housemates, who tried to cheer me up or something with the thought of at least I designed and made a bunch of masks last year... ugh. Really? I started out last year with experiments, making the pouches and a vambrace - I'd like to make more of those at some point... maybe next month when the weather's hopefully better. And yes, I like problem-solving so learning about masks designs, materials, etc. and tweaking for something comfortable and effective, great. But really, I was designing something almost completely utilitarian, not particularly great on the aesthetics-side of things.

I definitely play more online games than I should, but I'm just tired. I think about setting up a tea party for the few folks who come here and it's just tiring. We aren't going to the movies, we didn't go to the local ren faire (apparently it was pretty sparse)... We finally managed to do something nice for Lyle's birthday -- just cooking and sitting around a fire and then some cake, but it was nice. Mind you, that fire didn't really want to catch, but eventually got it going. Just... group stuff seems to require so much work. I don't have the energy to be enthusiastic for everyone.

Code Orange* was fun, so there's that -- I did ask for some feedback from Danabren but for the most part it I got to just plan and have some fun making things. It's all ready to go to the post office, in fact.

I have made some other things this year, sewing-wise. Mostly just regular clothing, nothing fancy. Not as fun as costuming -- altho' technically I did some of that as well, for DE. But that was pretty simple stuff, overall. The one complex thing they asked if I wanted to do was a vest with 4 welted pockets... yikes. I guess I need to get more creative with my home sewing.

And I did some drawing earlier in the year, as part of getting going on building a website -- that I can't build. No, I still haven't gone and just hired someone. I should. I hate that it's so easy to feel overwhelmed these days. I did have some old customers contact me for cards, which was nice. And one of those led to me putting some of my cards in a store in Greenfield. But I haven't really drawn since the spring.

***

Oh, and the family living with us has been trying to find an affordable place for months now... things are either too expensive or in horrible places. The girls need separate rooms at this point and we have no way to do that here, really. I have ideas but they don't want to take up more space. And to be honest, much as I like them, I'd like my space back. They were going to move last year, when the pandemic hit. So, here's hoping they find a place. Also, once they move out, I think I'm ready for cats again.

***

I haven't lost any weight but I am slowly improving on mobility and pain issues. I should probably be getting some chiropractic and massage but... eh. I guess it's hard to feel like there's a lot to celebrate when progress is so incremental...

***

Also, those people who talk about changing their lives, letting go of what doesn't serve you, or whatever? That takes a lot of time and energy to do too. I've been trying to organize, declutter, etc. for a few years now... Meh

comments

Fabric...

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 18:25:39 GMT

Ordered some Halloween-themed fabrics from Joann. They haven't all arrived but some are already in the wash today. Most 2 yards (online requirement). I'm waiting on the stuff I want to make curtains from...

I'd been admiring one of the fabrics Danabren had for a bag and realized that my stash, while large, was inadequate. It's perhaps mildly alarming how much fabric I've ordered since the pandemic began...

Some of it I didn't think I'd end up using, too, like the book/library-themed stuff. I mean, I like the fabrics but not enough to have yards of it about. I'd been thinking of doing a fundraiser for the local library and then got overwhelmed with everything else. Now that we're going to need more masks ourselves, I may make some masks for them to sell. They also need some for giving away, but as a fundraiser it could still be a thing. I'm not sure what else would be popular for book-themed stuff... maybe a few shopping/book bags. I picked up some pieces of plain even-weave fabric at the swap earlier this year for lining bags.

I love the purses I see some people making but I don't think I have whatever it takes to do those fiddly things. Well, maybe if I did half of it by hand :D Honestly though, when it comes to cute purses that involve zippers I'd rather throw money at someone. Eh. Not high on my list of things to make, so whatev. I think it's only something I've thought about because of seeing so many of them on the maker/fabric pages lately. I might come back to it in the winter.

I've actually managed to make some not-mask things this year, so go me. Dish towels, pouches, a skirt, the iron palm bags, and I'm working on a couple of shirts, one for me and one for Fitzw. I might make another simple dress, soonish. With a matching mask -- the awesome thing about Spoonflower is being able to get the same design in different materials.

comments

Dental, Sewing, and Bats in the Belfry

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 16:30:37 GMT

So, this week my temporary crown came off and our dentist's office is closed for vacation. Fortunately they have a partnership with another office, so those nice folks stuck it back in for me this morning.

***

I'm finishing up iron palm bags. The eight ordered so far are already done. Now I'm going to finish up the extras.

Iron Palm Workshop runs Friday - Monday! If you're wondering how one can hit bags for 4 days... well, there's a lot of whole body stuff to do, learning a form so one can see how and when the hands and forearms are used -- learning in context. Also, Sigung Fu talks a lot :D

***

Our bat exclusion last year failed. There was a little hole that Lyle couldn't see/reach with the ladder we have, so they're using that. We'll be working on trying again either late August or early September.

So the moms and pups are in our house's attic and the boys are... in the south-facing wall of the upper part of our barn.

There's no way we can build an excluder on a barn. So the plan is to start our planned renovations on the barn loft at the north end (where the barn joins with the library) and work our way forward. Everything we do will improve tightening and insulating the barn, while at the same time excluding bats, squirrels, chipmunks, wasps, etc. Lyle also needs to build a new access door for the loft because the current one is warped. Once we have all of that done, we can pull off the exterior boards so the boys no longer have a place to stay.

And, we need to figure out building a luxury condo for them to winter over in.... because it's really good to have bats in the neighborhood.

comments

Rain, Kung Fu, Sewing, Friends

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 14:10:25 GMT

Okay, I'm a little tired of the rain now... I know I shouldn't complain considering what other folks are dealing with, but tonight it's actually keeping me awake.

We went down to the kung fu school to drop most of the craft supplies off and check in on what we're doing and where. We all kept our masks on - they have some young students and we have the young kids here so it makes sense. But I did get a good hug from Jess Laoshi <3

We also went to a bunch of stores - art supplies and home stuff. Oh, and the new phone gave a message about the sim card being missing - it wasn't, just not quite fully in the correct position. Since we were in the valley we stopped at a Verizon store to have them fix that - didn't have anything suitable to poke the pin button. Definitely made that trip count.

Sewed one pair of pants for Double Edge last week and sewing another pair tomorrow morning. They offered the possibility of sewing a vest as well but I think I need to pass on that... things are getting busy and I need to pull back in a few things.

An old friend came up to visit Saturday - we had breakfast outdoors at Elmer's, once she showed up -- life happens. Kind of worked out, her being late, in one way. The couple at the next table turned out to be folks we met last year, except we didn't recognize them without masks (male and female). I noticed a tattoo on his arm was in Elvish and we got to talking. She figured it out the previous connection first :) Anyway, good chat with them about nerdy stuff, board games, and farming, before Yolanda arrived.

She got to see the library before heading back down to the valley. Seems we're all pretty much on the same page as far as precautions, so I feel pretty comfortable with having her back again. She'll be up Wednesday for a little supervised sewing. One of those things where one can describe something well enough to others but maybe not so confident in doing it oneself. And of course she's up-to-date on SCA stuff so we're getting a little caught up. I keep up with some of it via FB but of course that isn't the same.

Anyway. There was a visit by a local friend today, which we were late getting back for -- traffic was unreasonably heavy, ick. I hung out briefly, until the rain decided to end things. L retreated to the house - peopled out and exhausted from the drive. This friend we aren't having indoors - she's vaccinated but a social person, and her partner works at a university so... just high enough risk to the kids that we don't want to deal.

Tomorrow is -- TODAY, because I forgot to finish this last night -- sew a pair of breeches for Double Edge then bring over in the afternoon. If they have something there I can do for them at that time I'll do that but then out of it for probably rest of the week.

Tuesday morning is allergy shot and then crafts at KFAW. Home to do stuff there. Wednesday afternoon is hanging with Y and sewing. Thursday is the second craft class at KFAW. And they don't need us on Friday but we'll probably go anyway to help out with the briefer presentation the students will be doing.

If there's any sun this week, likely the local friend will come over to try that visit thing again.

And of course, rain or not, somewhere in there I need to harvest a bunch of herbs. Some are a bit past, actually, but oh well.

comments

June

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 17:35:01 GMT

Hey, getting in a post before the end of the month :D

Most of the plants are still alive. I think I killed 3 out of 4 of the Foxglove -- sunlight is fine but soil drains too well. I need to move them because pretty much everything else in that garden bed is happy. I'll ask Jeni M if she has some more left -- their garden is going away but I think it still exists at this point in time.

I ended up lifting or mostly lifting two of the six grape transplants. Turns out we didn't get all of the Comfrey roots out from next to the grapes so they went sideway and came up underneath two of the plants. Much digging and clearing happened and now we'll see if they have enough life in them to make it. Still, considering they'd all been somewhere else for a decade or two, four out of six isn't bad.

The new strawberries that supposedly weren't going to fruit this year decided otherwise. I think I need to buy some straw for mulching so that maybe I can water them just a tad less...

***

Getting a little sewing done this month. Mostly mending but I made a skirt and a couple of pouches and am currently working on making a top to go with the skirt. Oh, and some dish towels! There was some linen towel yardage for sale at some point in the past year and I finally cut it up and made towels. The two pouches were from the last bid of that, so no scraps hanging about from that project, at least... Oh, and sewed up two of three new sets of pillowcases. One more set to go.

My old sewing machine rose briefly from the dead with Lyle's help but came up with another problem - one he can't repair. We have to get it to a repair shop at some point. Meanwhile, I'm sewing some things by hand (including the skirt and now the top), either because they're from knit material or because I'm away from the house. The working sewing machine does straight stitch and that's it -- all I need most of the time, and in particular for quilting.

Yes, I have away time again -- every Tuesday when I get my allergy shots. I have to stay there for 30 minutes after the shots, to make sure there isn't an immediate bad reaction.

Need to work on making the iron palm bags next -- before I finish the matching top, I think... They're for the school so I want them done before I can lose the fabric or something. Also, getting them done means all the boxes of mung beans will be gotten out of the house as well. Every time I try to make space, something comes along to fill it...

Ordering the beans was interesting... Jess Laoshi did that -- first order was short so she had to straighten that out and have them correct it -- I think they overshipped by a little in the correction. The next order was fine... but the software did something weird and in her efforts to get it to work she ended up with everything we needed shipping to us, PLUS another box went to her place. Eh. Better too much than too little. I'm recommending her and Phil Laoshi get a logo stamp made so we can stamp some future bags for sale in the school.

***

I've started doing some exercises that are specific to helping strengthen and stretch muscles in the pelvic region. Actually works all the connected muscles too. Neither easy nor fast for results, but I am seeing results. Strength really isn't an issue for me -- having knee tendons track correctly, dealing with sciatica, and overall mobility issues are, however, so it's worth it.

On the TMI side of things, certain intimacies are once again becoming possible. For friends who don't know, I have mild scoliosis. It's caused all sorts of problems for most of my life and there's no question it would be worse if I weren't always working to maintain as much as I'm able. The TMI bit is just the latest addition to the list. Life could have been very different without it -- I might have even been a professional dancer, among other things....

At any rate, the new exercises/stretches are helpful, are reducing some of the pain load and, if I'm really persistent, I might even regain a little of my lost height. I have to keep on top of the whole plan though, which includes CBD, tiny amounts of actual MJ, turmeric, eating more healthy foods, and the ongoing challenge of getting enough sleep.

Oh, I tried a puff last week -- amazingly it helped my hips feel and work better for a few hours. I'm not a fan of smoking anything, but... in the rolled form it actually didn't burn my throat. A friend and I did it outdoors so the house stays clear. There was some yellow dock nearby which we rubbed our fingers on afterward -- took the smell away completely. Nature's pretty cool.

comments