Hot Wednesday and Misfits box

 

This was Wednesday. I live in the dark red bit. The good part was that Tuesday and Wednesday, the days I had appointments, I was back home before the worst heat. 

It seems to be a change of season, heat starts in the morning and builds to evening, but mornings aren't too trying. It's not like the heatwave when there was no relief day or night. So there's that.

Hard to believe September is here soon. I have enjoyed August, so many hot but nice days, where I could sit out on the deck in the afternoon, it being in shade then. 

Labor Day is nearly on us, to my great surprise, I thought there was at least another week. I'm planning cold roast chicken with pasta salad and something involving chocolate, when I decide what. I might make potato chips with the remaining potatoes.

Misfits box arrived

Small order this week because I have good supplies already. Confectioners sugar for chocolate icing for future chocolate cake. Plums for plum snacking cake. Can of diced tomatoes free, used points for it. 

I usually choose that or cannellini beans or maybe parsley, when I accumulate enough points. It takes a while, not being a big customer.  

Diced tomatoes are endlessly useful, for baking with cheese and egg, or spaghetti sauce, or side dish. This small can goes quite a way for me

Meanwhile the mammo people sent a message that they need to retest one side, they'll set up another appointment. High anxiety time. 

This has happened before, other side and further testing showed it was in fact okay. So I'm fervently hoping this happens again.  Fingers crossed, please, blogistas. 

Doctor's office called to confirm another mammo with added ultrasound "just to make sure", tactful Nurse Christine.

And they gave me good bone density news: spine normal, hips improved, yay, that's the meds' doing. So there's that.

Channeling Picasso 

Textiles and Tea, bio wedding dress and Ministry knitting

 Yesterday's Textiles and Tea was a great presentation by a brilliant Thai researcher, academic and practicing weaver

She was speaking from Finland yesterday at a conference, but lives, teaches and exhibits now in Canada by way of Estonia and other countries. 

She's written a book for general population and has an academic work coming out this year about material properties, very niche.

Look what she does with wire and spun paper. She works spontaneously, no drawing ahead nor computer mapping.

This is natural Thai silk. That's its natural color.

Behind her in this picture is a design of tangled loops, part of a work she created to honor and acknowledge the situation of  her father who has dementia. It's very moving.

She's combined art weaving for exhibit with industrial designs for interiors, a many faceted working life. Look at her website for more.

Back to earth, and here's the latest offering to the Sock Ministry, going off today

And my contact, Sister M, has promised to restock my sock yarn supply.  

I followed up on a comment I saw this morning, thank you, to share this amazing new fiber work, currently on exhibit at the London Chelsea Flower Show, a huge event in the horti world. 

She grew wheatgrass over corals and other natural materials so it adopted the shape. This dress is totally biodegradable. She says the bride could literally throw it in the sea, and fish could safely eat it. 

I like the idea of the First Swim instead of the First Dance! Bride emerges in cute underwear, dress having dissolved.

And LP in other less world shaking good news, the squashogram was normal, usual anomalies noted but now not a cause for alarm. And I retrieved my parking spot.

Slightly less welcome in the mail from the utility company, the annual balancing bill, where the equal payments of the year are compared to usage and you get either a bill or a credit.

One year they owed me and then went mad grossly undercharging me this year, so I was expecting a big reckoning

It's no use calling them to ask about doing better with the averaging, tried that, word salad, one admin contradicting another. 

I just hope they're more accurate this year. And glad I planned and made sure the $$ is in the account for them to debit.

So that's The World According to Boud today. Off to the post office with the Knitting, now including Weaving.

Happy day everyone, enjoy whatever adventure you're up for, any size.

Strawberries are in, more or less, mammo art and Boyz with Toyz II

This morning I retrieved my car from the next street, noticed both my own slots at my house have been illegally claimed by who knows who, and went for the squashogram. 

 In the waiting room there was this bowl of art, made from paper and other natural materials

 On the way home I noticed this

So I pulled in and found

Ah. I was a few minutes early, but worth waiting for the first strawberries.  So they opened up and I found this year -- no mention of this on website or in email -- a small container has gone from last year's high of $6 to $8. 

Which was more cash than I had available. I'll take another run after I've been to the bank. I rarely use cash but was hoping the $7 I had would work.

Homeward, reparked in the place I used yesterday in the next street, and then Boyz with Toyz II started up.

Eventually leaving me with nice fancy patchwork outside my door 

I'm hoping to retrieve my parking spot soon 

And lunch called, with no plans. So I made what I call Welsh rarebit, sister Dogonart used to call that thing Liz makes and my Mom used to call just eat it, nevermind.

In at 380°f for 20 minutes

On pita bread but good on toast, too. Enough for two more lunches.  

The drink is the liquid drained from the tomatoes, with lemon juice and a drop of water, very nice too. 

I expect this could be a brunch idea with a drop of vodka or gin in the glass, and maybe a stick of celery.

This afternoon I plan to finish and press that second sock to get a package out in the mail tomorrow,  with the scarf and the other socks.

Then I'll get on with the knitted parts of the skirt.

Happy day everyone, let's hope all our test results are good. I won't know mine for a day or two.

Stitching ideas and other hopeful thoughts

This week seems to be about medical checkups and defeat by tech. The lab work is perfectly fine, results in one day from testing.  So far so good. The radiology  world needs work.

I had scheduled a bone density scan and mammogram for one visit yesterday. My patient account showed both. Then a little while before I left the house, two rapid fire texts requiring me to start checking in online.

Went to their website, filled out screen after screen of info, including dates I had to look up. Then the site crashed. Went back in and found there's no save function, all to do again.  

No time now, so I noted the messages had said if I couldn't get through the site, come in early and do it in person. Translation: our site is buggy, you're a guinea pig, we mean beta tester.

Did that and found once at the reception desk, that their system had no record of the mammogram appointment. I was already anxious to be sure this one was Medicare- covered, since I'd had diagnostics last year and wondered if that ruled out screening coverage this soon.

One tech refused to call my doctor to check, another overruled her and did call to establish the rx and find out which kind, couldn't reach anyone 

Sooooo I said let's do the bone density test anyway, and the tech held out an iPad with many questions to answer. Tan lettering on a cream background. Tiny type. I explained I couldn't read it, too small, too faint lettering. 

So she sighed, what a nuisance this patient is, and  set up an area where she could read the questions to me for yes no answers. Finally did the bonescan. More questions about exactly what was prescribed. The test itself no problem at all, as usual.

By the time I left, no answer on the mammo. Doctor's nurse called with good lab results,  was exasperated, said she'd definitely sent both Rxs in one message, had now sent it again. So I suppose I call and schedule again.

As to coverage, radiology says ask your doctor, Medicare website says ask your doctor, doctor's office says ask radiology. I'm going with the hope that screening is covered despite the intervening diagnostics. It will be disastrous if I get billed after this, but I hope my interpretation works.

After that the day improved dramatically, with a matinee of The Remains of the Day, which I had seen, or thought I had, many years ago. I found I couldn't remember it at all, so I enjoyed it hugely as a new experience. What acting. Every part brilliantly acted, even the smallest 

Putting up the book first, because I don't like books to be overcome by the movies they inspired. Merchant Ivory movies are always so good. Here the themes of missed connections, lives lived ill-advisedly, late attempts to remedy early judgments, are all so timely.

And, at the library where I'd seen my movie again in solitary splendor, with captions enabled at my request, I picked up this book

It reminded me that I'd planned sashiko stitching on the denim vest I'm making, fortunately, before I attach the lining. 

So I'll draw the designs right after the current sock is done. Then embroider, then attach the lining. Good to get the order right. 

Boro is about patching, making garments not only last, but look beautiful too. They use a lot of indigo dyed fabric, but denim is a close relative in terms of color. And over stitching in sashiko style is a feature.

The layout in the second picture is a hanten jacket. Here's the page explaining what size each piece is, instead of a pattern. 

They say one size fits most. Probably too big for me, I'd guess, and I'd need to adjust the back to accommodate my old curvy spine, a feature of recent years. 

It changes how clothes hang from the shoulders, and I have yet to see a pattern or instruction that allows for this. But once you note this, it's possible to work around it. I'm not planning on a jacket right now, but it's good to have the guidelines anyway.

I was worn out with the various stresses of the day, more than I expected, and the evening drifted by in a haze. I'm still getting used to having less energy than of yore. Fewer spoons.

Happy day everyone! Don't let low energy stop our resistance to bad laws.

Good news part one

Blogging in two parts today.

First, thank you all for the good vibes. Clearly quality stuff, since they worked.

First they gave me a little zippy purse,

possibly a makeup bag, for me a handy project bag, because this month is about breast cancer, which I wish weren't plagued with pink. 

I could have used a navigator to get there, because, simple as it is, I was nervous enough to make several circuits before I got the right building, choice of two, I ask you.

I'm on the same page as their reminder call which left a message giving everything except day, date and time, and requesting I be there twenty-two minutes early..

Anyway all went well, great compression needed for this follow up, ow, to get best images.  Then they said the doctor wanted to see the film immediately and give me instant results, a truly good patient first approach.

Immediately was about 45 minutes, during which this was useful to keep me calm.

And the upshot is that all's well, the anomaly still the same, nothing significant, resume normal schedule. Breathe again.

Thank you, team!

Then I got lost trying to get out of the building, following exit signs that only led to more exit signs..a kind doctor asked if I was trying to get out and redirected me.  

I doubt if I'm the first patient feeling like a rat in a maze. I suspect the design accommodates the state of the art equipment in its central core and humans are on their own.

Anyway I got home fine. Cup of tea. Little victory dance.

Then an excellent Textiles and Tea, about which more next, in part two.

See you soon.

Soup, roast veg, Thai basil, seedling id

This afternoon being the six months follow up mammogram appointment, where I find out if things are okay, this morning was spent in displacement activity,  busily making soup. 

Butternut, cashew, carrot, to be exact.

The little seedling continued, see also below. And the Thai basil is in for the season, complete with seeds off the plant, so my garnish is back.

If you're thinking hmmm, not many carrots there, it's all I had left after making this yesterday

Broccoli, sweet potato, carrots, onions, garlic, hot sausage. And remember that couscous I accidentally made a lot of? It's back from the freezer, and goes really well with this veg assortment. It's under there.

Back to the Rose of Sharon, it's always back to the Rose of Sharon around here. 

Here's the seedling, and though it did have the seed attached, looks unlike an R of S. I know the first two leaves don't always look like the mature ones, but I wonder.

Meanwhile, nature is getting on with the dollar spot fungus without any help from me. I think it's beautiful with early morning rain, so here it is. Again. 

Later today is Textiles and Tea, more tomorrow about that. And Handsome Son has announced a visit tomorrow, great timing, what with oatmeal cookies and great blueberry and other muffin things around the place.

Good vibes for this afternoon, please. 

Meanwhile, life's a banquet. I might not like all the courses.