Happy Solstice and a Winter Update

Hello Friends!

Blessings to you and yours at the turn of the season.  Here's my tiny bonfire from yesterday afternoon.

We had a break in the rain for a few hours so I took advantage of it.  I used some wood scraps from inside the shed and a couple of chunks of mostly dry 2x4.  It wasn't truly a bonfire, more of a bonflicker.  Still, I participated in calling back the sun and that was satisfying.

Here's the project I've been working on in the evenings.  It's a braided denim rug.  When T moved out she left a LOT of her stuff behind.  That included about 30 pairs of jeans that either no longer fit or she simply didn't want anymore.  I told her that I was going to cut them up to make a rug* and that if she wanted any of them she should come over and get them.  She took about 3 pairs for herself and 3 or 4 for her brother.  I gave the neighbor 3 pairs that were simply too good to cut up.  Then I got started.

This was in late October.  Here's the progress I made through late November.  Of course, anything in the house belongs to the cat.  Pierre likes it so far.

At this point, I ran out of jeans.  I used all of T's that were usable and several of mine that were either too big or too small.  Then I went to the Bins.  Do you have this in your town?  Here, it's the last stop shop of the Goodwill.  Stuff that doesn't sell at other stores gets shipped to a warehouse and dumped into shallow, wheeled bins.  You can pick through to your heart's content.  Everything is sold by the pound.  (I think some things just get donated there because I saw plenty of good stuff that could have sold in the regular shops.)  I bought 12 - 15 more pairs of jeans for $1.29 a pound.  Here is my progress since then.

It's now far too big for the coffee table so I put a large cardboard box on the table and my fabric cutting board on top of that.  It's actually too big for that arrangement as well, so I have to fold it in half to work on it.  I think it will be done before Winter is over, lol.  I am a little worried though.  The last time I put it on the floor Pierre started sharpening his claws on it.  Damn cat!  I might have to put it in the guest room instead of the living room.

So, that's what I have been up to, how about you?  Staying busy?  Staying warm and dry?  I'm sending you all best wishes for a peaceful and healthy holiday and New Year. 

Cheers!

ps: I've left out all the shitty stuff because, ugh. 

*This is funny: when I told her I was going to make a rug she asked, 'For me?'  I laughed and replied, 'No, you have carpeting!  I have cold hardwood floors!  It's for me.'

What the Hell with Everything?

The world has gone off the rails.  This country especially, but really the contagion is spreading far and wide.  What a distressing time we are living through.

In my personal world, there has been one bad thing after another.  Some things are small, such as my favorite fabric store closing, and some things are profound - the death of a 14 year old friend from MRSA.  These overlie the national and international news that becomes more bleak by the day.

I was talking to a friend a few days ago and she said, 'I got to watch the news for 8 years while Obama was in office but not anymore.'  Yes, it's true, some of us can't stomach the nightly toll of hate and insanity.

What's a Pollyanna to do?  I just can't put a positive spin on any of it. 

July 2018

Well, well.  I have now been retired for one year.  Ok, it was a year yesterday but today is still early.  How's it been going, you ask?  Let me tell you...

Home front: mostly good!  I made a giant list a year ago and I have diligently chipped away at it.  It is about 3/4 completed.  Of course, some of the list items can never be crossed off, like weeding the yard.  And, some have now come round again, like powerwashing the deck.  But, I knocked some big tasks off that I don't have to do again and that is satisfying.

• The stairs - pulled up the ancient and disgusting carpet, sanded and painted, added a handrail
• The plastic greenhouse - dismantled and recycled
• The catio - dismantled and repurposed or recycled most of the materials
• Painted the eaves of the sun porch

There are more projects.  Some are partially complete so they don't get to be crossed off yet.  But, I'm making progress on lots of things and that feels really good!

One of my projects that will be ongoing for quite some time is the basement clean up.  I have stuck to my plan of getting a minimum of one box dealt with every two weeks.  The two week time frame is the trash pick up schedule.  Every time the trash is collected there has been stuff from the basement in it.  Every time!  Progress is slow but steady and I can see the difference.  Sometimes there were multiple boxes or bags dealt with, one day I got rid of five boxes!  Still loads of crap to go through, but it's happening.

Friend front: mostly good!  I have remained friends with T, and I'm glad about that.  I got to meet two of my blog friends, super good!  I have seen my two besties a couple of times during this year and that has been great.  I'm going down to So Cal in a week to spend some quality time with one of them.  The rancher continues to be a concern.  Not as a friend, of course, but as an obligation.  Her situation isn't good and there's only so much I can do for her.  I can't fix her life, that's up to her.  I have to keep reminding myself of that.  

In case you were wondering, I found a new (better) housesitter.  She's a friend from my martial art training days.  She has stayed twice and not adopted a puppy either time!  Big points there!  Lol.  Pierre has been well cared for and the garden has been watered so... yes, Sara is the one.

Other, less tangible things from this year of retirement: my stress level is way down.  I didn't have a particularly stressful job, but just getting there, being there, doing the work, having deadlines, being away from home all day... these things take their toll.  Now, there are times when I check my phone to be certain which day of the week it is.  That's a huge improvement in quality of life!  

Another thing is the increased ability to say Yes or No.  To requests, to people, to situations, to suggestions.  Saying Yes because I have time, and saying No because I don’t want to.  I like it.

****

Well, that was written on July 1 and not posted.  Today is July 31 and by golly it will be posted!

Since then, I have been to Long Beach (CA) for a week and a half.  Did some projects with/for Lisa.  We had a good time, as we always do when we get together.  On the final couple of days of my trip, our other buddy, KA, joined us.  It was a somewhat impromptu get together.  She was in SoCal for a family birthday and came to Lisa’s afterward, and spent the night.  We had a lovely grilled salmon and sat up talking until late.  Very enjoyable.

Tomorrow I am giving a presentation in a self defense class.  I haven’t taught the class all summer as I have been out of town so much.  I’m trying to ease out of that work because it is so draining.  It’s important work.  I want the youngsters to step up and teach more of it though.  Of the frequent teachers over half of us are retirement age. 

Also tomorrow my best neighbors are going to NYC to visit their son.  That means that I get to have their dog for a few days.  Yay!  I love Angus, he’s a great little dog.  I also have chicken duty and garden watering to take care of.  Those fresh eggs are delicious. 

Speaking of delicious, a couple of days ago I put a pair of fried eggs on top of a pair of tamales.  Wow!  Why have I never done that before?!?  If you are a tamale fan, give it a try.  It was good! 

Ok, I’d better wind this up.  I have stuff to do and I don’t want to get distracted for another month. 

Thanks for reading, friends!

June So Soon

12 June 2018

The arborists are here.  They are doing a fine pruning on the Japanese Maple, and a pruning and height/girth reduction on the Rhododendron.  They seem like careful, attentive tree huggers, so that’s all to the good.  I’m trusting them with my plant family!

I am sitting in the dining room which has a wall of windows looking right into the rhodie, and surveys all of the front yard.  They are in the tree!  They are in the giant, strong shrub!  Light weight young men, all three.  I do hope they are careful.

Well, since it’s been a while, how about if I catch you up on the doings over here?

Chicago trip: check.  I had a darned good time!  Awesomeness Factor of 15/10 for meeting friends.  Comfort Index of staying in a hostel next to the El 5/10 (and that’s generous!)  The trip did not turn out at all as was advertised.  We were going to be planting shore grasses along Lake Michigan and we ended up planting native trees and shrubs in a reclaimed woodland.  Close enough.  Because of the change of plans we had more time to see downtown Chicago.  It is a dynamic city! 

The real reason I went was to meet my friend 8.  And my other friend, MG.  They were so much more amazing in real life!  These are the people about whom you would say, I wish they were my neighbors!  I am happy that I was able to meet two awesome women and can call them friends.  People, if you know them online, I can attest that they are as they present themselves.  (But they are much more than that, too.)  This is when the internet is a positive thing.  Thank you, Internet Kismet, for finding me some kickass women friends!

I flew home from Chicago on a beautiful blue sky day.  We flew over the forests and mountains and rivers of my country.  The mighty Columbia, Mt Hood gleaming in the sun, the chain of snow-capped volcanoes marching north – St Helens, Adams, all the way to Mt Rainier outside Seattle.  I saw sad brown swaths of burned timberland lining the south side of the Gorge.  The Eagle Creek fire did so much damage, and so much of it is visible to a large population.  We had a much, much bigger and more devastating fire in southern Oregon last summer but it was in a more remote area, affecting far fewer people.   We of the short attention spans will forget the bigger one.

I had my daughter down for a weekend visit after I returned from Chicago.  She’s got a houseful right now and has enjoyed getting away.  Her two in-laws will be moving out this summer, maybe this month.  She’ll be ecstatic!

I played a 9-hole round of golf with T a couple weeks ago.  My second time golfing ever.  It was a pleasant morning walking around and swinging a stick at a ball.  Fortunately we don’t keep score or even care, often hitting 4 or 5 balls from the tee until we get one we like.  It’s supposed to be fun, right?

Most recently, I traveled down to California.  I flew to the Bay Area to meet up with my friend KA.  I was delivering a quilt to her second granddaughter.  We had a great time with the kids and the parents.  Played for a little bit, went out to dinner (very early!), and then left the little family and went to KA’s and drank some wine.  Lol.  We left the next morning for the ranch.

I had been talking to KA some weeks ago about getting back to the ranch and trying to get some projects back on track.  I asked her if she would consider coming with me and helping with the paperwork nightmare in the dining room.  KA is a paperwork professional, being a tax preparer.  She actually likes that kind of thing.  She readily agreed, I’m happy to say.  My friends are awesome people!

So, she and I drove out there Thursday.  Arrived in the late afternoon, just in time for chores.  Ha!  The rancher’s mom is in the throes of dementia, remember, but she fell in love with KA.  Not surprising, really.  KA is great with old people.  Well, with all people, really.  She took care of both of her parents through their long declines. 

KA stayed for 3 days and got a lot of sorting done.  She plans to return in another week to do more. 

I stayed for another week plus.  Lots of chores, but also some progress on some of the bigger projects.  We emptied out a rented storage locker and brought the junk back to the ranch.  The next time I’m there I will be sorting into donate, trash and keep.  And then going to the dump.  I hope to make several dump runs next time.  I think I have gotten the electrical repair at the barn project back in motion.  At least it is a couple steps forward. 

Went to a doctor’s appointment with my friend.  She’s now scheduled for an MRI this month, so that project is moving forward as well.

The rancher has also made some progress at reducing the size of the flock.  She sent a dozen of the oldest ewes and the oldest ram to market while I was there, and 20 lambs to market the day after I left.  There are still hundreds, don’t get me wrong, but it’s going in the right direction.  She also met a gal who might be interested in buying 20 or so of her Tunis sheep.  She is trying to diversify her flock.  Good!  Take these!  They’re good sheep!  (Actually, the Tunis are the best looking, imo, they have reddish brown heads and legs with white fleece.  The gingers, lol.)

Meanwhile, back at my house, everything is fine.  Pierre is alive, the house is undamaged; well done, Sara.  I need to get back to the yardwork, for sure.  I did a massive amount of weeding before I left but…  yeah, back at it.  I’m not sure if I’ll get anything vegetable-like in the garden or not this year.  I wouldn’t mind a sprawling butternut squash.  It’s late, but it should be ok.

I picked, washed, chopped and froze two large bags of rhubarb from the garden before I left.  Waiting for the blueberries to ripen and then bring on the Blubarb Jam!  I need to get back to the Farmer’s Markets to see where we are with the stone fruits.  Too early yet for apricots or peaches, berries are in season right now.

I think that’s the catch up.  I am so glad to be home.  I’m so appreciative of the quiet of my small household.  And the relative quiet of my urban neighborhood.  I need some time to decompress and reorient myself to my life.  I have been putting my own stuff on the backburner and I need to get my focus back.  There are still stories to be edited, stories to be finished, and many more stories to be written. 

Have a lovely day, friends, and thanks for reading along. 

Spring all over

Hello Women!  And anyone else reading along...

Wow, I am so bad at blogging!  It's a wonder I continue at all.  But, here I am, throwing out another message in a bottle.  I've got to keep being me, I guess.

Here's a fun thing: I'm going to Chicago to meet some friends, other women that I have met through reading their blogs.  Fun!  I'm really excited about it and looking forward to some new experiences.  I haven't been to Chicago before, I've only changed planes at O'Hare and that doesn't count. 

I'll offer a quick summary of the goings on around here.

• Rancher friend came for a visit.  We did a lot of shopping for ranch-related needs -- gear, mostly, and a lot of boots for various people.  I need to remind her to keep her receipts for taxes.
• The former partner had a bit of an episode with me.  I felt uneasy enough to have the locks changed.  
• T, the former partner, in an amazing turnaround, has subsequently gotten well over me.  She is on a couple of those singles web sites and actually enjoying herself.  She's not dating yet.  She is pretty firm on just finding a new group of friends.  It seems to be working!  
• I've had my two best pals and my daughter here for a 'gals birthday'.  Three of us have birthdays within a week of each other so April is a frequent visiting month.  This time it was my turn to host.
• I'm pretty certain that my friend, Sara, will be a good house/catsitter.  Fingers crossed.

So, that's the quick and dirty rundown.  One friend is still here.  We're getting ready to head over to Costco so I need to get my socks and shoes on.  

Cheers, friends!