Working Wednesday, June 30, 2021

~ Jenny

I’m working on not melting like the chocolate on my bedside table and figuring out how I REALLY feel about the first episode of Loki and considering new crochet projects even though I have thirty or forty started. Mostly I’m sweating. It’s a little better now, it’s down to 80F. Of course, it’s also midnight here . . .

What did you work on this week?

72 thoughts on “Working Wednesday, June 30, 2021”

  1. I knitted my first flat cardigan. I spent as much time seaming and picking up stitches around the knitted edge, as I did knitting the actual garment. I’m going back to knitting in the round, but flat does give a garment a better structure (if me a headache). I’m also knitting a baby blanket and finishing a crochet German virus blanket. Far more relaxing. I’ll have to join Instagram at some point so I can post pictures.

    Summer finally arrived this week. Last week it was so cold we had to put the heating on. But I don’t do well in extreme heat, so those going through a heatwave have my sympathies.

    Happy birthday week to Nancy H.

  2. New crochet! It will be a baby blanket, so it will be done in a jiffy. I pulled the project out to give myself the burst of endorphins for starting something new, and it’s done that job admirably. I’m also using it as justification for watching the Tour de France. (If I’m making something, I’m not wasting time – or so I tell myself.) I’m about halfway through the body of the blanket at this point.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CQvgwZnniiB/

    In other news, I finished the pillow (so thankful I chose not to make a blanket out of it). It was really dragging on my mind. But as I got closer to the finish, I was able to speed up. I then went to the fabric store and bought some gray minky fabric to put on the back, along with a pillow form (20″ size). Since I had made it with yarn leftover from a baby blanket, I gave it to that blanket’s owner – who is now a precocious 2 1/2 yrs old.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CQvo0V9nxOs/

    The week before last I was working on quilting. My group of quilting friends is doing a round robin – where you just do part of a quilt and pass it along. My center part was the dancing dolphins that I’ve shared previously. The project I just finished was a Christmas tree. I made little present blocks and wrapped them around the tree center. I thought it was very cute!

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CQdrnkdn0uX/

    Alas, it is time to go to work work. Have a great day everyone!

    1. The packages around the tree are lots of fun.
      Do we get to see the round robin quilt when it is finished? I’m curious to see what you guys add to dancing dolphins.

      1. I’m curious about that too, but we are keeping the additions secret from the owner of the center until we are all done. There are 6 of us working on the project, so I probably wont get it back til Christmas. I will definitely share a picture of their work.

    3. Nancy, I always love your work! And you are so quick!!

      How big do you make your crochet baby blankets for reference?

  3. Am I really first? That’s surprising. I’ve also been working on melting and keeping my flowers alive in this heat. I water in the morning and when I get home from work they are bone dry. That’s always a risk when putting plants in pots instead of in the ground.

    But they look so pretty hanging on the house and the fence.

  4. My comment is in moderation – too many links.

    But today is my birthday! I turn 60, but I’ve had 61 birthdays – having celebrated my 10th on one side of the International dateline before flying to Hawaii and celebrating again.

    2. My comments have been going to moderation without links. In case my earlier comment does not appear, happy birthday Nancy.

      Also, with the comment I posted earlier my avatar changed, which was a shame because I liked the yellow one.

      1. Oops. The avatar wasn’t yellow but had a smile face, rather than the glasses, shocked look in the first comment. The moment I posted the second comment the first comment appeared. Gremlins within the system. But I’m not getting a plus sign in my log in name, so I don’t know if that means the system likes me or not…..

        1. Thanks for the birthday wishes.

          Once I removed the plus sign from my name, it hasn’t reappeared on my subsequent posts.

    5. Happy Birthday, Nancy!
      When I was in London we had a contest to see who could get people to buy them a birthday drink for the longest amount of time, but we couldn’t get any help from the international date line. I wonder who would have won with that kind of help?

    7. Happy Birthday, many happy returns of the day! or days!

      I was born on the other side of the International Date Line, and the news was communicated by ham radio to my mother’s parents. Grandmother claimed she spent the day explaining to her patients how she knew she had a granddaughter born on July 13th when it was July 12 in Seattle.

  5. I am working on cleaning up as I need to pay for and start another yoga course. I need to be organised. Consideromg this my journeymanship as I try to learn from different masters.

    I also have had to deal with an earlier end-of-term as we are in surge of Covid since many western nations have hogged vaccines. I mean really, I love a good show (I was a theatre studies kid), but vaccinating movie stars in US and Canada before vaccinating Health care workers in developing nations is NOT a good look.

    Puppy is ok. I still don’t know how to make sure she’s safe from older doggo. They get to see each other while leashed and through the pen gate but otherwise kept apart. He barks and paws at her some times, other times he’s chilled. This is way more nerve-wracking than I anticipated.

      1. Sorry, you’re right. I didn’t read it because I’m not a superhero story fan, but figured others might be interested. All props to Athena!

  7. I got the grass cut (the part I can reach with the electric mower–I have done nothing all summer about getting someone to cut the rest) yesterday in 96F heat after not getting it done for three weeks due to rain on my days off, plus not feeling well on my days off. It took me two hours of mowing for twenty minutes and coming in to drink water and cool off for ten minutes. That’s my triumph of the week, and it’s quite sufficient.

  8. I’m trying to be a good employee but we have no AC, so it’s fans all the way. Got my two monitors working together again, so I can see my work now. My most creative activity is watering the potted plants, with thank me by staying alive. Another day of the hots (91F) for Maine, then we’ll go back down to where we think we should be.
    I’ve been calling my friends in the NW to check on them, it’s been quite horrible.

      2. It was in the low 90’s in the town were I work, but 101 in the special ecosystem that is my home less than 7 miles away. 101 in upstate NY in June. I keep reminding myself that in December, I’ll be missing the heat, but it is becoming less convincing by the minute.

          2. Haven’t you always wanted two of you? Just think how much more you can get done.

  9. Most of the attention around here is going to my son’s new puppy. An adorable black lab mix.

    So amazing that at their house they are capturing so many of the pup’s “firsts” on video. The last time hubby and I had a puppy in the house, we took loads of photos, but it was before the ease of videos via phones. Such a difference in the “baby pup” albums nowadays! Really fun:)

  10. Mostly working on surviving the PNW heatwave. I have been grateful about a billion times for the past work we did replacing the HVAC though! I get up early and go manually water new plants that are still rooting in and am working hard at saving the Ruby Falls redbud which was really not prepared to be cooked after being transplanted. Trying to keep weeds from getting out of control as they love the heat. *shakes fist* Also worked out more garden plans to add yet more shade and reduce the temps further around the house because I don’t for a minute think the heat is over for this summer and it’ll be back next year.

  11. Survival. But we made it! 108F on Monday, 95 Tuesday, and currently 67 (11 AM) this Wednesday. Yay! Currently out running errands while my condo is cleaned, then helping my son find jobs to apply for. And my state (Washington) has now opened back up from the pandemic!

  12. Working on getting my kids’ stuff moved out, getting rid of excess furniture, and moving remaining furniture around so that I can finally have both a separate office space (no longer shared with my bedroom) and a guest room/workout space. Getting closer every day, and it makes me so happy!

    Also, happy birthday from one Nancy to another!

  13. I worked on getting out of Portland Sunday morning when the temperature was just 111 F. It took us 3 1/2 hours to drive to the Coast. It usually takes 2 hours but everyone else had the same idea. We had a room right on the ocean. The temperature was 70. We stayed 2 days and missed the 116 high. It was 90 when we returned home. The house sitter (for the cats) said it was fine on the ground floor with the AC but I just hate hot weather and not being able to breathe unprocessed air so I was glad to pay to watch the waves breaking on the beach instead of watching my plants fry which is what happened. The fuchsias burned before the buds opened and the hydrangeas which had just flowered and were a gorgeous cerulean blue are now desiccated. The next work is deadheading everything and hoping this gives them a chance to recover.

  14. By the third day we’re usually tired of alternating between potato salad and macaroni salad. Last night it was sausage with onions and green pepper subs or Italian subs. Tonight just as simple shrimp scampi with asparagus.
    I’ve spent the day peering out the window at the plants, the first sign of limp leaves I’m right there with the watering jug.
    I didn’t know that a movie had been made from one of Kristen Ashley’s books The Will, but it is on one of the newer cable stations and I have enough already. I’ll wait till it is released like I’m been waiting a year for Tom Hanks movie Greyhound to be released. I have patience.
    And a Happy Birthday to you Nancy, that was a clever design for the Christmas block.

    2. Beautiful books. I’m a bookbinder too but only restoration of old things. That looks like fun.

  16. I’m back at work on the new project, flat out and full on, so I’m rather dazed. But I asked for more clarity on approximately how many days a week they’re expecting from me over the next six months, because the fee they’re paying me definitely suggests part-time, and have been reassured it should calm down soon. I’m used to 20 hours a week, done when it suits me, so full-time Monday to Friday with loads of new systems to learn is pretty exhausting. Still fun, though.

    Have also made a start on weeding the allotment, and have made more jam. I’ve loads of gardening to do when I can. And have been on the phone to Apple, trying to sort gremlins. Nothing major, just annoying (for years now, for example, Mail intermittently shows an ‘unread mail’ flag after I’ve read everything; which is really irritating in the new job, when I need to respond fast to lots of emails but also get on with other work. I suspect it’s not going to be solvable.)

  17. I’m looking up rules for Irish Road Bowling because I’ve been invited to join a team for the town’s competition on July 17th.

    So far, I know that players take turns rolling cannonballs down the road. At the finish line the team with the fewest throws wins. The event was first tried a couple of years ago. After 3 hours no team had passed the library (at the other side of the living-room-size town green from the starting line), so 3/4 of the course was nixed.

    My town (Conway, MA) doesn’t have a flat or straight foot of pavement in it.

    The town bar will be serving beer and selling swag.

    Somehow I doubt that this is a competition I can prepare for; fortunately, that means it won’t matter how bad I am at any and every sport. The directions say I can throw the ball bowling-style or softball-style. Huh? I think I’ll focus on having a good time.

    1. I suspect they mean either under-hand or over-hand (like baseball/cricket)… Sounds like fun – good luck!!

  18. Still not crafting. But, I did finally trim back my azalea and butterfly bush in the front yard. I lost my favorite weeding tool, a Cape Cod weeder. The replacement arrived today along with a Japenese-style weeder. I’ll try them out tomorrow. It’lll be cooler.

    And we got some rain so I have a full rain barrel again. And it looks like more rain’s on the way. I want all of the vegetation hydrated when the locals start with the fireworks.

  19. After 3 days of trying to figure out exactly what I need to submit for the annual Section 8 recertification and getting no answer on the phone when I called the office, I took what I had been able to finish in. There not only was someone to make the necessary copies, but she also called the person who will be doing the review to clear up a few details. Much to my surprise, I talked to human beings, got straight answers and found out that some of the federal programs are now sharing information so that I don’t have to chase across town and get a new printout as proof that my income hasn’t changed since the first of the year. Hallelujah! I now know what I need to submit and actually have the means to produce it. What a pleasant change.

  20. I so hoped my cow-orker would be in tonight. Had he been, I planned to leave the steam plant – 93°F/38°C in the offices, warmer among the boilers – and go straight to Walmart for a nice window unit to take home and install in my nice window.

    I am aware that the melting point of a human body is well above the ignition point, and the heat stroke temperature is well below both. Where I sit… slouch is in the perspiration zone. I just opened the fourth cold half-liter of water and expect another two or three before leaving. I’m only 3 hours into my 8 hour shift.

    Darn it! If the dotter hadn’t borrowed my car I could have gone to Wally World before work! The dotter is home, thoroughly medicated and dosed with ‘cillan (the stones gave her an infection) and says that the blasting pool is out because they can’t pinpoint the stones with the necessary degree of accuracy. So, drugs and pee. Poor baby. Poor, poor baby.

  21. The Elder shopping was modest, so I’m now spending the afternoon working my way through my mother’s stepfather’s family in FindAGrave and getting them linked up. He was the oldest son in a big Catholic family, so there are lots of great-aunts and -uncles, and he migrated from Utica, New York, to the West Coast and died in Central California. People are buried all over.

  22. I weeded the front garden when we came back from our road trip and while I need to do some more this weekend it’s basically looking pretty good, except for the bare spots where the daffodil and narcissus leaves have finally died back. I have run out of nasturtium seeds to plant there and am going to have to try to pick up a few annuals at the garden store.
    Our water garden/swamp is coming along. We have a swale that never really dries out so instead of trying to mow it we planted cat tails and water iris and they are doing well.
    We are also going to be completely inundated with figs, as the side yard fog tree was producing 15-20 a day last august and the front yard one, which produced nothing last year, is looking as productive as the side one. Any good fig recipes?

    That’s pretty much it. Too hot to do anything besides that and the day job.

    1. Fig and caramelised onion jam. Caramelise some onions with a little brown sugar, deglaze with some balsamic vinegar and fresh orange juice, and stir in figs, orange zest, and shredded basil. Let the figs soak up all the juice. All quantities are negotiable. It’s pure magic stirred into eggs for an omelette, on a burger like relish, on a cheeseboard like fruit paste, or on toast with some goat cheese or feta.

      1. We will try that. We had about 10 jars of fig jam last year in addition to what we are so we definitely need more recipes!

  23. I’m trying to keep the dogs cool and we are hanging out in the basement. Fred the Snow Dog is not suited to this kind of thing at all. The outside temperature at my house, as measured by my thermometer, cracked 41C today which is over 100F which is many degrees too warm.

    I’m thinking about quitting my course and going back to my old job. I have a lot of reservations about the course in general but I’m beginning to think that the job is not going to be a good fit for me. I’m not sure that I want to be tied so closely to the schedule of one particular person. I have a couple of chronic medical conditions and my IBS has been flaring (oh, the joy and sorry for the TMI) and it’s made me realize that if I have to ask to be excused so I can go to the bathroom, I’m going to be a stressed out cranky person which is not good for anyone.

    Paul actually said to me the other day that he really liked our old schedule where I could take time off to go with him to things like his chiropractor appointments or even just take 10 minutes to help him in the wood shop (or drive him to Emergency as the case may be). I wanted this job because the pay is better and so that I could be more of a financial help, both now and in the future when Paul retires from his job and finds something less stressful to do.

    ARGH!! I’m so frustrated. I wanted this to work so badly.

    1. That does sound frustrating, but it also sound like you have figured out what will work for you best. Sometimes more money isn’t the most important factor.

      1. Thanks Deb. I have figured it out, I just sent in my withdrawal-from-the-course email.

        1. Good going! Your comments on the course make this sound like the right decision.

  24. I worked my freelance job in person for the first time in a year and a half, so that was fun. A mountain of papers awaited me. Two very heavy bags of recycling later, 2020 is filed, and 2021 is all in one place, waiting to be dealt with another day.

  25. I’m working on the day job, as usual. We’re a bit busier than we have been at the shop I run because this year (as opposed to last summer) we are back to having an actual tourist season. Which is great, but a little stressful, because PEOPLE without masks! (Some are wearing them, but since those who are vaccinated don’t have to, there are plenty without.)

    Plugging away at the new Llewellyn book, which then got put on hold because I got the copy edit revisions for the third cozy mystery, trying to occasionally get into the garden for half an hour without passing out from the heat, and sending out blessings to the air conditioning gods on a regular basis.

    Jenny–is Loki worth subscribing for? I’m tempted, but it is a lot of money for one show.

    1. I like to wait until all the episodes of a show drop then watch them all in the (usual) 1 week trial period

    2. So far no, although Krissie would say yes.
      But so far is just Episode 1, so let me see if it improves. Hiddleston and Wilson are great togther.

  26. Took the day off the day job because I desperately needed a break. Took the opportunity to haul out ALL the clothes, linens, towels and sample sized dental things to a great little organization that has so many free programs for the needy and homeless. Felt great to get it out of the house and felt way better than just a Goodwill run. Things have been building for months, and I had stuff from two other households to add to the pile.

    I also dropped of some old clothing for textile recycling! They wouldn’t take everything, including old dog toys, but anything they didn’t take I just pitched, and between the two I left with a full car and returned empty!

    I also looked into boot and belt repair, and am debating whether it’d be worth it considering they are low cost items. Still on the fence, but at least I now have a concrete answer, ya know?

    I’m pretty pleased with the effort for the day, despite losing momentum and taking a nap after. Despite the heat it wasn’t too bad since I wasn’t out of my car more than like 5 minutes each place!

  27. I have been knitting. Not knitting anything in particular, just knitting. I find that if I am talking to people one to one, I get overwhelmed with eye contact really easily, so it helps if I’ve got something to do with my hands so I can alternate focus while talking and listening. In the past I have darned socks and doodled. Knitting is better, so far. I might even graduate to knitting SOMETHING at some stage.

      1. My kids are knitting their way through the pandemic. Hats and baby clothes. Because they are quick

  28. I have been cooking a lot to try and replenish my stock of freezer meals for the nights when I just can’t look at another onion. I’ve been on the late shift for almost two months straight now and while I love not getting up at 4am it’s playing merry hell with my motivation to do anything even vaguely healthy. The fun part has been trying a bunch of new recipes with the fancypants high speed blender I bought myself for a housewarming present. I now understand smoothie people.

  29. Happy Birthday, Nancy!!

    Yesterday was bring your dog to work day – for me only – because Oreo-Rollo had a vet appointment right after work and the vet is practically next door to work. My boss was very accommodating about having a dog at work and actually said something about her coming every day as our mascot. However, I do need to get some work done so I didn’t take her up on that. Maybe once a week?

  30. Over the past week I finished a new novella (a bit longer than my usual at 34000 words) and pestered my designer about a cover for it; did a read-through-edit of one that’s in the queue; had an idea for a replacement scene because the pacing on that one’s still bothering me, so I have a thing to write later; watered the garden and did some vine-taming.

    Also Day Job. I have been wondering if it’s purely perimenopause making it so hard to feel like I’m keeping up, but I asked our docket manager how many active cases are assigned to me and he said 1420. Fifteen months ago my group manager told me they try to keep each filer’s caseload around 600. Even if he meant ‘600 pending cases’ versus ‘600 pending and granted,’ and even if half my 1420 were granted (they’re not) that’s a hell of a lot of cases to manage. So now I don’t have to wonder if it’s just me.

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