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.

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.

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.

No appt. with allergy and immunology specialist yesterday because somebody can't figure out how to get my insurance information. I gave them yet more information and they are supposed to figure it out so we can set up a new appt. I don't trust them, so I'll be calling them on Monday for a progress report. I would have taken my aggravation out on the snow outside but I was still whipped from the shoveling and crust-punching I'd done the day before, around the camp fire area. I dunno -- a fire _might_ happen this month... It would probably have to be during the day time though -- cannot handle the negative temps. It was kinda fun being Wreck-It Ralph on the snow crust...

So, I have to try to keep up on my allergy and pain treatments until whenever. On the days when I do it well, it makes a difference. I won't be able to make any actual progress as far as hip issues until warmer weather, I suspect. And I'm almost out of my allergy tea -- will have to call the folks who make it and see if they have any left. If not, I look further afield... there's a tea company that does medicinals and I have others by them -- totally spacing the name right now.

Yes, I also take a 24-hour antihistamine, eye drops, and Nasacort. I was able to replace sudafed with an essential oil combo some time ago. For pain I do a mix of turmeric pill (with added curcumin), decarbed cannabis in a capsule, and Ibuprofen when needed. It's nice not to have to have to take "vitamin I" every day, multiple times a day. Also, the cannabis seems to help my brain to slow down enough that I'm sleeping a bit better than last year.

I've actually managed to (1) not gain weight over the winter and (2) lose a few pounds over the past month. So I think I'm headed in the right direction of lowering inflammation across the board so my body has a chance to do things correctly.

***

Chinese New Year is Feb. 12. Which means certain sorts of cleaning need to happen before then -- we're making some progress. My goal is to do more than just the kitchen and bedroom, and I can honestly say the dining room is looking better. The room serves multiple purposes so it isn't easy, but we're keeping the table clear for eating and other temporary tasks. The herbal area is starting to look better too.

We acquired a tiny old fridge on legs. It's odd-looking, with a wood front to the door and has a somewhat curved top. I'll try to take a photo at some point. Anyway. It was at the transfer point and the metal guy said he'd drop it off at our place -- we weren't sure it would happen but it did, so yay. It'll need cleaning up but should be good for storing paper for when Lyle gets back to printing (next year?).

Moved that into the barn today and did some cleanup. The book case that was previously in the fridge's new spot is now just outside the loom stall. Once I get that cleaned up we can store some short boxes of comics in it.

Fitzw worked on electrical in the barn, adding a double outlet box (total of 4 outlets/2 pair). One of the outlets isn't working, but daylight was going so that's a job for later. Meanwhile, power is off as a precaution.

I will work on finishing the masks tonight -- last night I cut and pulled knit shirts to making cordage but then time got away from me. Shouldn't take long to finish, just threading the cords and adding cord stoppers. Then the rest of the mask supplies can go away for the week! #nonewsewmo

Gavin (one of our housemates, who did so much work on the barn and library last year) -- has been working full-time most of this spring/summer. Initially he was part-time but the pandemic has made things...odd. Small company, can't fire a guy they were about to fire, because of the pandemic. But the guy is useless. So everyone has to work harder. It's good to be employed but... Anyway, because of that and the work he's doing with gardening -- like a lot of us -- means no work on projects here at our place right now. There are two projects I'm hoping he can work in, but we'll see. Meantime, Lyle and I are doing what we can, and some stuff is getting done, just taking a lot longer.

****

Still making masks, although I've slowed down a bit lately. But I have some to get finished for the school system, so I better get back to that... probably Monday? I hope they don't re-open, but right now we have to plan as if they are. Many parents in our area are working on switching to homeschooling, including the parents in our house.

I have something I want to mail to a friend - will try to get that done this week. Cleaning the house in various ways, dontcha know.

****

Randomly bought peppermint candies for an overseas friend -- used Amazon's (I know) UK web site and it got to her quickly. Only .94 for monetary conversion, not bad. Did the same with a Canadian site for sending a tiara to a Canadian friend... sadly that one won't ship until August? Sigh. Yay pandemic. One does what one can.

****

Here's today's post from elseweb:

Have sorted out some possible parts for helmet stands as of last evening.

Despite the weather, Lyle and I both got some work done. He did more work on the barn (not a simple task) as well as working on bird netting for the blueberries.

He got the inner boards off of the barn today that had been mouse-stained -- that involved a good bit of moving things to get access, but now things smell a lot better! The humidity was spreading the smell from those boards throughout the whole barn.The old bird netting needs.... work. He's been doing a lot of repairs and tailoring.

We've harvested some blueberries; it's just the beginning of the season.

I moved stuff either out of the grey shed or elsewhere inside it. Swept the exposed part of the floor and laid some self-stick vinyl tiles. They're leftovers from someone else's project and they've been sitting in the trailer for awhile. I want to get back some space in there so... also, the floor of the shed is made from a couple of pieces of heavy-duty plywood but I could see daylight where the two pieces met. I tiled all the way across the join and into a third corner of the shed. That's going to be it for a while - there's a built-in counter in the fourth corner and I'm not keen on either lifting it or cutting around the legs. The remainder of the those tiles can stay in that shed.

There are still some tiles of a different pattern in the trailer... hm.... Might have a plan...

Crazy weather these days. May's behaving a bit more like April. We celebrated Beltane on the 4th and had all four seasons during the ritual!

Covered up the shelling and split peas for the past couple of days -- frost is one thing but wind chills of -20F are another. Uncovered this morning and they look good.

****

Been continuing the work of whittling things down here, there, and everywhere.... basement, enclosed porch, trailer, barn, library... There's zero chance of all the fabric fitting in one place, but I'm hoping to sort some of it a little better as far as like going with like.

Sorting some more books out as well, altho' I'm not sure how I'm going to get rid of them since the town book exchange is closed right now. For now, I have the luxury of bagging and boxing them up - once there are enough to do that - and storing them, properly labeled, likely in the trailer.

Lyle got rid of some old paperwork yesterday, so we're starting that "fun" project...

****

I made more masks last week, might make more this week... I found some more bits of fabric I'm not interested in keeping. Mostly have a homespun look, so should make some of the folks around here happy :)

I think I've found all the fabrics for one or two projects -- somehow they got separated so I'm going to bump them up in the queue and make something before they can get separated again. Unusual for me as usually I bag/box parts together so that can't happen. Well. I can use some new vests/sleeveless jackets.

I've finished the white dress -- or at least it's wearable and done enough. No pics yet because it's a summer dress and the weather still isn't great. Plus I'm trying to finish a hat to go with it, so there's that... I got a beekeeper hat from the farmer's co-op - hardened open-weave white hat, looks kind of like one of those adventuring/jungle/pith helmets. The suspension headband had torn through the grommets on one side so it was marked way down. I tied a string through the holes to repair it. Sewn one netting for the sides and back so far. Last year I made a floral thing to go on it but I didn't like it so I took it apart yesterday. I have another piece of netting for the front that will overlap the other netting on the sides -- have to hem that. And I need to remake the floral bit -- it will not only be decorative but hide my headband repair.

****

I harvested some fiddlehead ferns last week and more today. The stinging nettles are ready to harvest the tops, but I'm too tired and cold from being out to look for fiddleheads. Sometime this week, though!

Update.... more like a summary.

Birthday was nice - made it to the hot tubs. Thank goodness, because who knows when that will happen again, right?

Helped out in Feb. and March at the new kung fu school, painting, etc. Of course they can't have students in it, but I realized today that the lease is almost up on the old place so soon they'll be doing online classes from the new place. I have curtains to make for covering the door to the cooler (building used to be a warehouse/processing place). Participated in one online class, was discouraged by how hard it is to get back into doing it. They put up videos of some of the forms though, so I need to look at those -- might even be able to do that now...

And then of course the pandemic... I'd been trying to stock up on some things all winter but cash flow was a little tight. So I didn't really start until February and then when we saw CV-19 happening I managed to accelerate on buying some stuff. Still waiting for something I ordered well over a month ago but at least it isn't urgent.

Ah. That reminds me, I should order more CBD oil from Bluebird Botanicals - there's a sale this month. Also need to order Lion's Mane from Host Defense.

***

My right hip was so bad for a bit that my knee was messed up and I had to go down stairs with the leg straight. Found some exercises online... pandicular something or other? I'll have to go look it up later because they helped and now I want to add to the collection for the rest of the body issues. I'm just about back to where I was before and I'd like to get better

I think trying a little bit of BBC brew exacerbated things. I knew BBC made their brew well enough that I wouldn't have an allergic reaction to it or even get heartburn, and no stomach issues either. But one other affect I can get from wheat/gluten is severe inflammation of the muscles. Nothing's worth that, thanks.

***

We're putting in a fence between us and our uphill neighbors finally, after all these years. Too bad we didn't do it last year, when everyone wasn't especially stressed out by the pandemic. That was "fun". No, I don't want to go into it. We hashed out where to put up the tallest part and that's up. The rest will be garden fencing for now.

The neighbors are having their own issues. With the help of a friend in another town, I learned more about childcare and domestic abuse organizations, as part of that.... thankfully it was a first-time occurrence and the husband voluntarily got into counseling. Wife has my phone number.

***

Pea and carrot seeds planted.

***

Masks made for us, housemates, relative who's doing shopping for her family and sometimes other family members, town workers and emergency folks, pantry, school, etc. No, not just me -- thank goodness because I'm not that fast, and I have other things to do.

Can't really take being too deeply involved, anyway. Leads to crankiness and breakdowns, so no thanks. Sleep is mostly back to "normal". In other words, still as crappy as it has been for a few years now, but better than 0 - 3 hrs, which was a good few weeks in March.

***

Self-care is hard when the world's on fire and you want to rush out and do something about it. But if you don't take care of yourself, you'll be in no condition to help.

Self-care is NOT SELFISH. You cannot put out the neighbor's fire if you're on fire.

Doing some fingerloop braiding again -- mostly to practice and use up some of the odds and ends. Most of the flosses are better sorted for accessibility - a project from earlier in the month.

Finished another knitting nancy fruit -- blueberry.

Working on getting beads/jewelry stuff yet further sorted. Will try to do at least one repair this week.

***

Some stuff done today. Trip to transfer station, bit of cleaning and moving of stuff in the house and in the barn. Had a fire going in the wood stove in the library, which was nice for taking a break from the cold of the barn or the loft from time to time.

Lyle cleaned out all the old hornet/wasp nests he could find over the library, and I managed to put up a little bit of insulation. Only two full rows, but better than nothing :D

Entrance to barn is cleaner, with a book case from family-barn-storage now in place. Cleaned up a broken ice melt bag that ruined a particle board shelf -- getting replacement plywood tomorrow. Lyle also made a little progress on an old cabinet project -- needs more supplies but now we know what to get next.

***

Snowing again today.

Gavin's finished putting in a floor over the library. When it gets cold this weekend, Lyle's going to remove all the wasp/hornet nest remains for outdoor disposal. Maybe we can take that bag of insulation we still have and insulate some of the roof. I ordered more than we needed for downstairs because it's better than not having enough and we really didn't know how much Gav was going to be able to do, given the uncertain condition of the wall boards on the barn and it being winter.

***

Some sewing is happening as well. Started work on a winter jacket, turning some lengths of knitting nancy stuff into fruit and veg for Tali's porcupine puppet, mending, etc.

Um, moved stuff between the trailer, barn, greenhouse, porch, and basement. Not even going to try to detail all that!


***

Moved some furniture yesterday.... been thinking about it and moving bits here and there for days, then with the warmer weather pushed harder to make it happen. Moved a small table to where the Yule tree had been (for now, anyway), moved the secretary holding most of the beading supplies into the vacated spot in the living room (thanks to Tali for helping get it from the kitchen on over the raised door sills!). There's a tad more light in the dining room now that the secretary isn't blocking part of one of the windows.

Moved an old cabinet that was on the porch into the greenhouse for now. We'll figure out where it goes eventually :D Moved the other old cabinet that's still there over, so there was space next to the nice, matching cabinets that are all on the porch. Lyle detached a low cabinet that was in the radiant floor room (weaving/sewing/office room), moved and reattached it on the porch.

I still have a ways to go to get the porch open enough for Gavin to work on finishing the framing on the windows, but seeing as he doesn't have a lot of free time any more (yay Berkshire Brewing Co.!), there isn't a super hurry there.

BUT! Once Lyle has a cabinet that's under construction in the barn in usable condition, I'll have a weaving station for my table loom again :) Meantime, I keep working on cleaning and bring some sense of order to the chaos, in time for Chinese New Year.