This isn't a post

As ever, I'm sleeping in my chair. I wake up, to write a post around a picture I took, and go back to sleep again. I cannot believe the number of spelling mistakes.

It's going on all over again. How I love this little bird, and look at it and smile, and wake up atain some minutes later. Go back, to correct atain to again, but fall asleep.

Several weeks ago I woke with a bloody nose. Dry air. I bought a small humidifier for my small apartment and all seemed well, except there was no further way to enjoy that delightful stream of wet, cool air streaming from the little slot atop my humidifier.

Until one day I picked up Alberta's beautiful pie bird. I told the sweet little fellow that now that I no longer have the ability to bake a pie, it surely will never whistle the completion of a pie. I offered it the chance to just to whistle; whistle to its heart's joy; to whistle until its decals melted away.

I positioned it over the exit slot for steam and waited a very few seconds. Steam soon accumulated and poured from its beak. But nothin else happened. No whistle. No drops of perpetration. I lifted it off. Stone cold. 

That is the output of a cool mist humidifier.

If I were writing this again, I might not spend the time correcting errors. Now it is well past bedtime.

Load's in the dryer

We had a gathering of the residents still in house for a meal at two this afternoon. I sat with Margaret, as usual. Our other two seat mates, Rose and Ilene, remain gone for various reasons, and Mary Lou sat with us, her table/seat mate being gone on vacation. Complicated? Not really, now that I know most everyone's name and personality.

I barely had returned and closed the door when I heard a knock. Actually, I had just walked in the door, closed it, and put my salad and slice of cake for dinner in the fridge and closed it when I heard the knock. 

It was MaryLou, who said apologetically, "I walked right by my door and got on the elevator. You said you were going to weave, so I hope I'm not bothering you and can watch for a bit." 

That MaryLou may be 95, but she's pretty light on her feet. Plus, she has a head full of snow white hair, just like Uncle Bill. However, the halls are pretty long and tiring.

Looking from my door down the length of the hall, turn left, walk the width of the atrium below, turn left and be immediately at the elevator. So I wove for her for a bit, explained what I was doing, showed off some finished towels. She asked questions and I answered. The usual. After a bit she said she must be getting back, and so she left.

It was going on five in the afternoon, so I took a chance on doing laundry. That first door on the left is the community laundry room; two washers, two dryers. We cannot use them on Monday and Tuesday; the housekeeping staff changes beds and washes sheets those days.

They were all clear, so I shuffled back for the load and got it in motion. Returned, set the timer for forty-five minutes, and resumed weaving. I finished one bobbin, perhaps two. I wish I could remember details. I am so pleased to have written this all down once, a complete time/motion study. 

At any rate, I left for the laundry and put the load in the dryer. I came back, set the timer for the next forty-five minutes. I have no idea what I did until it went off. Another problem, this ability to slip into a trance. But I did answer the bell and return to check the status.

The dryer was on wrinkle-control, which doesn't scare me. That's just cool-down. I filled my wheelie basket and came on home. I hung the two nice shirts over the handle and the rest can be folded tomorrow.

And finally, I am so happy my utilities are included! My little furnace has run ALL day. Here's my current weather report. It's five degrees, feels like minus twelve and headed for an overnight temp of minus three. Oh, yes, and a wind chill advisory

Winter weather warning

There has been no serious winter weather to date. That is about to change for us, and much of the country, This is winter storm Elliot. The weather channel warns it may become a bomb cyclone. As for me, I've  no experience with this sort of storm, and would like at least a quick peek.

Here at the control center we are enjoying what we know of this unusual event. The banks are saying don't rely on them to be  open. They suggest falling back on our phone apps in the event of an extraordinary storm.

On a brighter note, this morning's exercise class was yoga and tomorrow's is seated exercise. I like the yoga class very much and generally must wake myself at the end. A good thing. I've dropped the Wednesday exercise class. The workout is too hard and leaves me in pain, which I don't need.

I have been at work in the studio, too, these past two weeks. I finished the blue, Blue Cobalt, and have it all cut and made into towels.

Now I am working on a totally new to me color, Charcoal. I'm a way off from finished towels, but here is a picture of a couple of bobbins of finished thread:

As you can see, it is not black. Black is too flat and shiny. You could ask Jan to make a swatch of charcoal to have a sample to look down on. It is an excellent color to work with and I am anxious to weave some more auxiliary colors that will be complementary.

Last week's review

Exercise! We can exercise our fool heads off four days a week, in the early morning. The only one I can appreciate is the Wednesday morning, 10:30 a.m. yoga class. It is all stretches and it puts me near to sleep by the end.

There also is a 10:30 a.m. flexing class for an hour Tuesday. The only thing good is the time. It is an hour of flexing to music. Monday and Thursday is 10:00 a.m. chair exercise for an hour.

I circulated through all four last week and decided to return this week. Then I remembered Doctor appointments on Monday and Tuesday, at ten and ten-thirty. Saved!

We also had a "Family Dinner" here one night last week. The food was very good. We could have up to four guests, so I asked Jan and Tom, Beth and Caroline. We did not go to the entertainment afterward. Jan and Tom went home; Beth, Caroline and I sat around my living room and chatted for a couple of hours. Caroline filled me in on her classes, and I sent her home with yarn, patterns and knitting needles. I emptied three drawers.

The last bit to report is Bingo. I haven't missed many games, and now I have recovered from sharing half my jar of winnings with Laura, and since then I've stayed even.

The side yard is progressing, I guess. Concrete has been poured over the entire "floor" area. They used one of the small tractor units to level the concrete, and ran over exactly one pipe. I'm impressed, considering the small area being worked.

Concrete trucks pulled in and out from seven in the morning until five at night. My only thought on that is What a Lot of Concrete.

A silly day(s)

Good things and silly things this past week. This was just plain stupid. I generally try to schedule my pain meds at the drug store to be able to pick them up on a timely basis. Now I'm working with a new drug store, and must train them. They did not order my last refill on a timely basis and consequently would get the last refill a day late. Actually, I missed two doses (the night before and that morning) and was now waiting to know it had come in that day's shipment before I ventured out into the black and rainy night. Again I looked particularly unhappy; so much so Robin, one of the concierges asked if I was OK. I explained I was now obliged to go out into the pouring rain and black dark and make two left hand turns into black drive ways, blablablabla. Robin said I'll go for you, and she did.

I had a sweet email from my 18 year old granddaughter this week. She will be home for the holidays next week and is coming with her mother for a holiday dinner here. She wants to consult on socks! Her mother gave her my essay on how to construct a sock and she did OK until she got to the gussett. She talked it over with her mother for quite some time until Beth told her she should just ask Gramma and Caroline said Fine!, I will. Here's her second sock:

She knit them Magic Loop on a circular needle, because she "hates d/p's!" I think most of you have not seen Caroline for years, so here she is on vacation last summer:

Well, I tried to rotate this but can only find instructions for Picassa. Damnation.

Something else of note occurred this week, but I cannot remember, so I will go read blogs instead.

About over the week, but I understand it's only Tuesday

I decided to work harder this week, by adding all four morning exercise classes. I'm through two of them, and can assure you, several years of not working the old muscles sure takes a toll.

Here's another annoyance. Last night I spilled my coffee, and a lot of it on some select keys: l, n, m, and the space bar. Consequently they work poorly, if at all. We'll see how it goes here.

Back to exercise: yesterday was mild movement stuff. This is twice a week. Tuesday (and Thursday) is fast motion to fast music. This may kill me. Between Tuesday and Thursday we have a Yoga class that is gentle stretching. I'll keep going.

Also today I kept a frequently rescheduled dental appointment to pull a back molar sitting in a pool of decay. The dentist administered four separate injections of lidocaine before he started. He sent me off with a list of the usual precautions. I could barely talk at supper tonight, to the amusement of all. When I came upstairs and saw my drooping cheek and lips, I understood their amusement.

Most every day here is filled with activities to join or not. There is music for an hour or so every day before supper, put on generally by  decent performers with instruments. They generally are accompanied by tablets of recorded instrumentals. Tonight there was a vocal group that one of the residents here belongs to. They did a set of Christmas music.

The best performer generally is on Friday night, and that's the night Joe appears and looks for a dancing partner. The first Friday I was here he appeared in front of me jitter bugging. When I brushed him off with an "I can't", he started in on a slow dance. He was hard to discourage; he swore he wouldn't let me fall. 

Last Friday he got lucky with the daughter of my next door neighbor. Marilyn, next door, is a tall and lovely red head with two beautiful blond daughters, one of whom was visiting Marilyn.

And now my tooth is hurting and I'm going to bed.

Ruth's upgrade

Beth and Ruth came to visit last weekend. Beth was at Ruth's for better than a week, recuperating from knee surgery. Although Ruth's house is two levels, each is self contained, and more essentially, level. Beth had a knee replaced a couple of weeks ago, and was on her way home, with a stop here to visit.

We had a lovely visit, of course. When it was time for them to leave, I walked them to the hall and our good-byes continued, as they tend to do. Finally Ruth began tugging at my sleeve, telling me to turn around. When I finally did, what to my wondering eyes did appear but a lovely decoration on my door.

And there on the nekkid hook, a nice, fuzzy red and white wreath. She and Beth stopped at the big garden store on the way over and selected this door ornament for my very bare front door. Many still sport autumn decorations. Here is Lois, several doors down.  I like its simplicity.

There are several more Christmas decorations on the long walk to the elevator.

And that's it for Christmas, in nineteen apartments. For what it's worth, I have received several compliments on my decoration, for its simplicity. I need to send Ruth a note and tell her.