Today is a Gift

Today is a gift to me from my husband.
I have my power chair, but the snow has made it impossible for me to go out on my own with it. It has had a few runs around the kitchen, but otherwise is just a powerful ornament in the living room.

Oscar will be jaunting off to Florida for a family visit next weekend, I told him my public jaunt with the wheelchair could wait until the weather is better but he wouldn't hear of it.
We were going to go yesterday but the weather is supposed to be better today.

Today, he will clear a shoveled pile of snow, make certain the van's ramp lines up with the house ramp, and will take me round and about a few places where I can shop in my chair.

I will need to back the chair into the van, as there is no turn-around space in there.
If the chair is too tall, I will need to back up while I am reclining, and not sit upright until we arrive at our destination. It helps me to mentally go through the possible hurdles and what I can do to overcome them. I am very excited about this, and nervous something will prevent it, but I know Oscar is as determined as I am this time, and it will work out. (photo I chose today is Oscar with a determined face, in his Jayne hat :-]

I will be taking my camera, looking for more of those abstract photos in Ikea and an office supply store. And if we both still have energy, maybe a stop somewhere as yet undetermined.

Maybe my favorite photo

One of the things I enjoy is taking abstract photos.
I love finding a small vignette waiting for me, and framing it with the camera.
I love how it's all about the texture and contrast, how the shapes and shadows hint at forms to the viewer.
I especially love getting home with my camera and loading the images into photoshop, to see what I've found, and frame it to my own artistic sensibility.

This one was taken up in Gaylord, at an old gas well.

Informative site

Go take a look at FLUSTAR.
Click on your state, then type in your zipcode, and you can find out how sick everyone around you is.
Sick physically, I mean :-}

I've used this site pretty often the past few years, particularly in Winter.
I have a wonky immune system (something to do with having a splenectomy while I was still a teen) and pretty much am the canary in the coal mine at our house, where colds and flu are concerned.
Forewarned is forearmed, however, and if I think to check the weekly stats on how many cases of what type of influenza have been reported locally, I can sometimes avert the worst of it.
This time, unfortunately, I didn't think to check, so I'm stuck with riding it out the long, hard way.
Today I am mostly tired, instead of sneezing and snuffling, though, so progress is being made.

If I could do anything

I was feeling bored this morning.
This almost never happens to me.
I haven't been bored since I was a kid and was directed to read one of our encyclopedias by my wise mom.

I think it has more to do with feeling brain dead, and headachey, VERY ready for this cold to burn itself out.

Anyway, I was asking myself; if I could do anything right now, what could it be? The answer was to go to a Japanese Sento, or public bathhouse. These days, I'd much prefer it to be my own private bathhouse, though.

I can't climb out of our bathtub without injuring some old surgery leftovers, so that is out for me, except in my imagination.

I loved to go to the bathhouse in Japan. The one near our house cost about 75 cents.
For that you go in, clean off, then sink yourself neck deep in a bath big enough for 20 people. 30 if you are really friendly.
The bath was carved from stone, smooth-sided, with lovely worn carvings on the wall, and places on the underwater ledge worn away by many bums before me.

I would hide myself in the steam until it felt my very bones were melted, then cool off in a a shower, before climbing back in for a second dose.

By the time I dressed and walked toward home, I felt as light as a feather, as if light could shine through me. The scents and sounds of my part of Tokyo at night became music, all because I was cleansed.

Today

I realized when I got up this morning that yesterday I missed doing a blog post. So much for that new year's resolution. Now I shoot for all but one day a month :-}
I guess being sick is a good excuse for not getting that done. I DID work on the newsletter yesterday, and that counts as writing in my 'book' :-}

Today I had an appointment with my doctor. She is so terrific. I am so lucky to have her as my care-giver.

She really listens, and does her best to get to the bottom of whatever symptoms are bothering me.

Today on the way home I stopped by to get blood drawn, and those results will determine the next steps.

My cold is still going strong, but not quite as violently as a few days ago.

Buddha Cat is acting in her role as nurse, which means where ever I am, she is, and if I stay still long enough, she curls up on me and does her best to keep me warm.

Between my beloved husband, my terrific doctor and our cats, I feel pretty lucky.

so THAT'S why I got grumpy

I was feeling so happy about my chair yesterday, that it was a surprise to me that I was grumpy when I woke this morning.
I SHOULD have been looking forward to getting out of the house and putting it though it's paces.
But, it turns out, I might have picked up a hell of a bug from Sean when he visited. He spent the day before we saw him with about 30 different people, so he could well have been a wee germ factory. It was worth it though, I love having him over :-}

I am a streaming, sneezing, coughing, achy, grumpy whiney mess this afternoon.
But I feel better than I did earlier today! LOL

Woohooo!!!

I just unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher 100% from my chair, not one foot set to the ground! And I only scraped the cabinets once! Good thing they were already a little banged up :-}

WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!

New life

My chair arrived, and I can already tell we're going to be good friends.
It will take some practice, but I already have maneuvered enough to be able to get myself a cup of tea without taking a single step.
It has five speeds, each of them with variable power.
It reclines, and puts my feet up, turns on a dime, and is a lovely deep shade of purplish blue on the base, black everywhere else.

Tomorrow Oscar is working some overtime, but Saturday we will go on an outing, and i will see how fast she can go down a wide empty aisle, maybe at home depot. :-}
Yep, I am looking forward to speeding.

Freedom

By this time tomorrow, I will be speeding around the house in my new chair!
I hope the cats learn to get out of the way quickly enough!
Next up: Finding an ahhOOOgah horn.

Hidden Gems

I am a member of a website called Paperback Swap.
As an author, I am all in favor of buying books new, but as a consumer and book lover I know that
A: Some months I just don't have the money to buy all the books I would wish and
B: Some books are out of print and very hard to acquire.

I do buy new books when the budget allows, particularly when an author I know has a new book coming out. (Deborah Cooke, for example has the third in her Dragon trilogy, KISS OF FATE due out on February 3rd, and I have it on pre-order at Amazon. You may also know her as Claire Cook, and Claire Delacroix.)

Paperback swap is a wonderful way to fill in the chinks in my library, go shopping for free, or to find books normally very hard to acquire.

How it works is, you sign up with them, and list some books from your shelves that you no longer need or want.
Paperback Swap spots you your first credit. You can use this credit to order any books from the roughly 2.9 million books currently available.
You can also find books not currently posted and place them on your wish list, and you will receive first chance at them when your turn comes.
When someone orders one of the books you listed, you receive a credit, either after mailing them (if you use tracking from their label printing system) or when the recipient logs the book as 'received'.

One of the first books I acquired was "1030 Stitches" by the magazine Mon Tricot. It is unavailable new, going for around $30 used, and made a terrific addition t0 my knitting reference shelf.

Many times when I am a little bit down, and want some 'retail therapy' I go to the "browse by genre" page and see what people have recently listed.
One of my favorite books found during such a session is "Straw Work and Corn Dollies" by Lettice Sandford. It's a history and instruction book of the various harvest wreaths and 'dollies' made in different parts of Great Britain. With February 1st coming up, its good to have it on hand. (here's an ARTICLE with some good info on Corn Dollies, and another on IMBOLC)

Today I am a bit nervous getting the house ready for my new modified power wheelchair, due here Thursday afternoon. Before turning to drink or drugs (just a joke, Mom) I decided to try shopping at Paperback Swap.

I found and ordered an historical anthology of women explorers that sounds pretty cool:
Unsuitable for Ladies: An Anthology of Women Travellers edited by Jane Robinson; published by Oxford University Press

Although some of the reviews state the excerpts are not very satisfying, I look forward to having it in my library, and may go on to seek out the books written by the women travelers themselves. I also learned she's edited a book called Parrot Pie For breakfast: An Anthology of Women Pioneers that I put on my wishlist at Paperback Swap

Back to browsing, who knows what treasures lurk???

One Perfect Place

Because Oscar worked so hard, I was able to create one perfect space in our home.
It rests my soul every time I look at it. It is the seed of order, that will spread and overcome the chaos.

The mirror in the center was built by my great grandpa Kreider.
To the right are a few special items. The silver cocktail shaker was presented to Oscar for his work as Assistant Director for Blithe Spirit. It was the last play I did with PTD Productions. The crystal ball was mine as the character Madame Arcati. I also have a sparkly blue turban with a peacock on top of it. Not just the feathers, but an entire small bird. It's still in the cupboard above, waiting for order.

The rest of the items were mostly chosen because they reflect and hold light.

Progress

My new chair will be delivered to our home this coming Thursday. This means stuff that has been in the way needs to be shifted, so that I can maneuver throughout our living space.

Oscar kicked butt in the living room. One of the obstacles was a long card table covered with crap, and loads of stuff that had been tucked underneath it, all piled in front of our china cabinet.

Oscar sorted through and threw away two full garbage bags of the crap, and has the other stuff that goes other places stacked out of the way. It is so lovely to have the china cabinet open to view again!

I will be sorting through the items within it, deciding what can go other places, so that it can be beautiful inside. Our china cabinet has lights and I want it to be a place of beauty where we can rest our eyes while we continue to clear the rest of the house.

One of my prized possessions is a mirror and frame built by my Great Grandpa Kreider. He was a very skilled woodworker, and built cupboards and other furniture that are still in my grandparent's home (where aunts and uncles live now). My mom bought it for me at the auction after my grandparents died, and my dad cleaned it up for me.

It sits below the shelves of the china cabinet, near the back of a display space and reflects back the light beautifully.

The next hot spot is the kitchen, in front of a cupboard that needs to be cleared, moved, and cleaned under. And sorted through so that items I use most will be within reach from the chair.

Right now, I walk far too much for my doctor's peace of mind. Having the electric chair means I won't be straining my abdomen with the manual one. It means my energy will be focused on making a difference in our lives, rather than recovery from the damaging steps I need to take now.

I am greatful every day for Oscar, but even more so this week. He is putting everything he has into making certain I can use the chair when it comes.

Wish We Were Here

It's snowy, and cold and been snowy and cold for a while now.
Time to pretend we're somewhere else, at least for the day.

One of these wouldn't go amiss, either.

Appreciate a Dragon Day

Today, January 16th, is Appreciate a Dragon Day.

Look, ecards, it's official :-}
I somehow missed Tattoo Appreciation Day on January 11th.
Too bad, I LOVE tattoos. I don't have any and shouldn't get any, but I love seeing them on other people :-}

Just so we don't miss any more January holidays:

January 17: Ditch Your New Year's Resolution Day

January 19: Popcorn Day AND Whisper I Love you Day AND Stay Young Forever Day
(I think I'll celebrate this one by whispering in Oscar's ear with popcorn breath, wearing alien bobble head gear)

January 21: Send a Hug Day

January 22: Come In From The Cold Day (all spies get to come home?)

January 23: Pie Day (I have a brother in law who will LOVE this holiday)

January 24: Beer Can Appreciation Day.

January 25: Robert Burns Day. Last year, Oscar and I missed this one. We want to attend a Scottish Feast this day, but it may wait until next year. Too bad, I've been wanting to try haggis.

January 27: CHOCOLATE Day. And Thomas Crapper Day. Odd combo indeed.

January 28: National Kazoo Day and Rattle Snake Round-Up Day. I didn't know snakes responded to kazoos. It's also Blueberry Pancake Day

January 29: Puzzle Day, Bubblegum Sculpture Day and National Cornchip Day.

Today, however, Oscar and I are celebrating his day off by spending time together after errands are done. We'll have chicken and noodles, I think,

Hats for Liz and Lori

The hats I made for niece Liz, and my sister in law, Lori are finished.
Liz's hat request was for something bright. I chose a Colorjoy Pattern "Guitar Trim Hat" and worked only the first 9 rows of colorwork ( I liked the simplicity with the bright colors)
The yarn I used was mostly by Colorjoy too. Lynnabelle (the turquoise) and Tweetie (the yellow). The pink is Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold.

For Lori's hat, I chose a pattern called Foliage, by Emilee Mooney. the yarn is Berroco Peruvia, in one of the yarns I used for Ron's hat, earlier.

Fun knits! Next up, a scarf/hat Hat/scarf for Dawn, and arm gaiters for Kelly. And of course more of those those fuzzy bowls, I'm LOVING them.

Sci-fi Geeky Socks, a knit thick post.

Stephanie wrote about her geeky BSG (Battle Star Galactica) socks in her blog this week. Made from Serenknity yarn in a colorway called "Eye Of Jupiter".

This got me thinking about my queue on Ravelry. My Ravelry queue is my list of projects I hope to make in this life time as well as the following two.. I have 33 pages in my queue, 32 with 30 patterns on them, one with 25. 985 is a nice round number, don't you think?

I sorted my queue by the tag "sock" and that got cut down to only 4 pages, and a total of 63 patterns. I want to make a geeky sci-fi sock pattern, and I don't want to duplicate something already done, so it's important to do my research.

I see I already have a pair of Red Dwarf socks on my queue. They were designed by Christi H. Brockway (aka Turtlegirl). She talks about her inspiration HERE:.

Turns out that was the only pair of Sci-fi themed socks in my queue! Time to use the stellar Ravelry search engine. First filter for 'socks', then start typing in every term related to sci fi shows and movies I can think of, and see what pops!.

While searching under Serenity/Firefly terms, I found Kaylee (only a ravelry link, sorry)
and a few socks called "Firefly" but reading the descriptions, they had to do with the insect, not the series. Hmm... ideas popping now. I can think of at least three sock patterns I could make related to Firefly and Serenity.

Next up, Stargate. Nuttin'. Again, an open field for my design plans...

Lets try Star Trek.. Still, nothing! I can't believe it. Those Klingon brow ridges lend themselves PERFECTLY to cable patterns.

Hmm... it seems I have a job to do!.

Geek Sci Fi Sock knitters of the world, Unite!!!

Dumplings

I love cooking. I don't do as much of it as I used to, but I still love exploring the world through recipes. One of my favorite commonalities is that so far, every cuisine I've looked at has it's own form of dumpling.
When I lived in Tokyo, I often bought a steamed Chinese dumpling bun for supper from a corner shop between the train station and my home. My favorite of the flavors available was a sweet/savory blend of chicken and spices with dough as soft as a cloud.

Here's a page hosted in China that has a brief description of dumplings from 24 different countries : Dumplings

And here is the website of the Thüringer Klößmuseum A Dumpling Museum in Germany.

If I had to choose just one dumpling as a favorite, it would probably be the Japanese Gyoza. (A recipe can be found HERE.) In China it is called something like "Kuo Te" (Coo-oh Tay).
They may also be found in the freezer section of many oriental groceries, and some standard grocery stores. (Hillers, in our area).
It is not as heavy or stolid as some dumplings, as it contains a healthy mix of cabbage, meat (or you could use tofu if you like) and seasonings. The most common method of preparing them is to pan sear them on one side, then add a bit of water to steam them until they are cooked through.
The sauce I used was a combination of Ponzu (a citrus-based juice/sauce) hot peppers, soy, and sesame (sometimes with green onions)

Many many an evening I grabbed a package of gyoza from my freezer and had them for supper when I lived in Japan. Whenever I eat them, they bring back good memories of that time :-}

Bowling For Fuzzies

I just finished using one of Lynn's new patterns; her Buttons and Beads Bowl. I actually made two, one with a mohair carry-along and one with just kureyon. Contrary to what we both thought, the mohaired bowl did not felt as well as the plain bowl, but it did end up with a lovely shimmer. A different mohair might get a different result. The only one I had on hand was a blend of kid mohair and merino.
Both bowls started at 5 inches by 8.5 inches. Finished dimensions for the pink, blue and green mohaired bowl were 3 1/2 inches by 7 inches, for the fire-bottomed green and blue bowl were 3 inches by 6 inches.
I will be embellishing these bowls with the contents of my broken costume jewery drawer, my bead box, and maybe some embroidery. The fun is just beginning! Anyway, on to the photos.

A Pond Turtle For Alison

My internet pal Alison is a dear, sweet person, She faces each day with humor and fortitude, and when she's having a rough time of it, she doesn't hide it, but finds her way through it somehow. She has mentioned the turtles that were near the home where she grew up, and as soon as I saw this knitting pattern, I wanted to make one for her. I've been working on this for quite some time, and finally have it finished. It is definitely different than the pattern-writer intended, but he's got personality.
Alison is very ill right now, and playing a waiting game, waiting until a medicine with hope attached arrives. Because I mislaid her mailing address, posting about her turtle is one way to share it with her, and let her know she is in my heart. I know if you are moved to do so, any prayers for her health will be welcomed.

The warmth of family

We had a wonderful time yesterday.
Lynn (Oscar's sister), Brian (her husband), Oscar and I met for sushi, then went for tea (coffee in my case) and talked for hours.
Lynn and I exchanged knitterly gifts, she gave an ADORABLE penguin to Oscar (see pics at her blog, HERE) and we had a wonderful time.
One of my gifts was a teeny tiny Jayne hat, which will make me the object of great envy at Penguicon in May :-}

Another was a cd by Jen Sygit, a Lansing singer/songwriter whom I've often admired.
Yet ANOTHER was a beautiful skein of hand painted alpaca.... I am already well into a RUSSULA CAP (pattern on Ravelry HERE) suitably adapted for my small head.

I gave her an afghan knitted from her pattern Kristi's Comfort Wrap or Lap Blanket, and a pair of slippers adapted from Coco knits Praire Boots.
From the photo Brian took last night, I think she Likes them :-}

Hat for Ron

I started a hat for Ron at least twice. I was looking at cabled fanciness and found something I thought would do. The further along I got with it, the grumpier I got, the more wrong it felt. I realized I had chosen the pattern to show off my skills, and not to gift him with something he could use. Within moments of frogging the most recent effort, I found THE pattern. You knitters know what I mean. It was warm, it was classic, it was called the BUBBAFLAP Super Chunky Hat With Earflaps.
I used Berocco Peruvia in blue and dusky purple, three strands held together at a time, and started to knit. I love how it turned out. It's soft, and squooshy, and the warmest hat I've ever made. Ron is a pretty classy guy, but he loves the outdoors. This is a hat that will keep his head warm as it can be.

I have two hats left to make for his family, (for Lori and Liz) and then I can send them all off to them, or meet them for lunch and hand them over. Then on to Kelly and Dawn. :-}

Hats for SOS

We've got a box that we've been filling since about mid-December for our local charity SOS.
Here are the 10 hats I knit and crocheted. Some are odd, no doubt, but all are warm. They were all fun to make. Three came from patterns, the rest from my head.

Tea for True

I love tea.
Don't get me wrong, I've had a daily assignation with coffee for years, but tea is special. Coffee I have as a necessity, tea is when I deserve it, or when I need a little comfort.
I love strong black tea, strong enough to float a brick, strong enough to revive a dead mouse, strong enough to climb out of the cup.
One of my favorite black teas is cinnamon tea. When I lived in Japan, I used to visit with Tatsuya Fujisaki, after a class. We'd sit and drink the milky, spicy brew at a coffee shop for a few hours, talking about everything and nothing, while Eric Clapton sang from the speakers.
Japan holds my best memories of green tea, too. Its bitterness contrarily reminds me of the sweetness of life.
I was honored to take tea ceremony twice in Japan. Once was in Kyoto, with hundreds of women being honored by the people who teach geisha. That was special. One of my students brought me as a guest, and gave me pointers on the mannered way to receive my cup of tea, and how to bow correctly.
My favorite, though, was held in a room above a noodle shop. A man who was a calligraphy artist as well as a tea master held a spiritually rich tea ceremony for about 15 people. We sat in a circle on the tatami, and we were all able to see and enjoy his ancient implements, and the care and delicacy with which he used them. The sip of tea, when it came, was bitter, frothy, yet filled with a flavor deep and ancient. It is a memory I cherish.
Although I know bits and pieces of the Japanese tea ceremony, I have come to use tea in ceremonies flowing naturally from who I am today.
Pomegranate, to me, has a multilayered meaning. It is about creativity, and abundance, and connecting with the thoughts that lay deep within. My friend Ysabeau gifted me with a tin filled with pomegranate tea.
Somehow, as I sip a cup of that tea my creativity flows, the images move so quickly on the screen of my mind that my fingers can barely keep up. I know it is the logic of the connections I have made with the symbol of pomegranate driving those writing sessions, but the results are no less magical, for all that.
I recently discovered white tea, through Oscar. White tea is so delicate, yet complex. It is not a tea to sip while watching tv, or listening to pop music. It is delightful to have while sitting in the garden, or just sitting.
Then there are herbal teas, in all their infinite variety. One of my favorites is rooibos. I swear I taste Africa in the back of my throat when I drink it, and smell the heat-baked tree bark in the steam that rises from the cup.

Tea, it somehow feeds the soul.

Grays back in town

We had a few days with bright sunshine this week, but we're back to the winter grays again today.

We have yet to find a perfect solution for having enough light in the living room. Bright directed light (in my eyes) triggers my migraines. Not a good thing. Even the reflection of a bright light in the screen of the tv triggers them. While we are making the living room wheelchair ready, we are also identifying the best places to put bright up-lights without reflecting or shining in my eyes.
I have the first corner almost ready, so the daily darkness will end soon, I hope.

I have the pattern for Sean's mitts finished. After I knit mitt number two I will expand the pattern to a hat, and maybe booties.
I also wrote the Elijah hat stitch pattern (see images below) into a pair of fingerless gloves. I might publish that pattern separately. Also in the works are a few scifi geeky things that I am still playing with, while finishing the knitting for my family. Elijah Hat Pattern available HERE.