2022 Project 365 – Week Three

I’m feeling somewhat disconsolate this week because of the things that are happening nationally. I’m trying to hold on to all the good things that Biden and his administration have accomplished so that I’m not as crushed by the big disappointments. I’m about ready to bury my head in the sand again for the sake of my peace; but even though most of what is happening in politics won’t affect me negatively, it will affect others. Someone I follow on Instagram said that, for example, we need to quit thinking about “others” being disenfranchised and think instead that, “some of us” will have a harder time to vote. I’m going to start imagining those of us for whom diminished democracy is catastrophic. I’m still tired though.

But enough about depressing things – here are my pictures (& two videos!) for the week. There’s a lot – a nice distraction.
Sunday, January 16^th     
Snow day!
 

Monday, January 17^th    
I couldn’t squeeze any more out so I thought I’d cut it open & get one more dab before I tossed the tube. But look at all that eye cream gold! That’s probably enough for a whole week! Maybe two! P. S. After I took the picture I used a Q-tip to get more out. Maybe I should have cut the tube so I could lay it flat.
 

We got around 3 – 4 inches of snow. I’m very glad I didn’t have to go to work! I had a little help with the bit of snow shoveling that I did.
 

Full Wolf Moon.

Tuesday, January 18^th
The first four miles of my commute were a bit treacherous, but I made it to work. I waited until the sun was fully up before heading out.
 

Wednesday, January 19^th    
I don’t like it, but I do it. I know a lot of people can’t for all kinds of reasons, but if you, can please consider giving blood. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. (P.S. the prohibition against gay men giving blood is ridiculous. Fix it Jesus!)
 

Thursday, January 20^th
I signed up for a class at my local university, Race Matters, a Multidisciplinary Exploration of Race in America. I’m pretty excited about it! Now I just need to remember how to be a student again…
 

Friday, January 21^st      
Stopped by Daddy & Sue’s house and FINISHED THIS *&^$# PUZZLE! Let us never speak of it again.

 I also finished the border on my temperature blanket. I’m not sure when I’ll ever get a good photo of it – our yard is still pretty soggy. I might have to just try to do it in the living room.
 

Saturday, January 22^nd       
This morning’s breakfast! I was very excited about it, but it turns out I don’t really like banana peppers and eggs together. Lesson learned!
 

Other things I did (clockwise from top right): 1. Played with the macro setting on my new phone by taking a close-up photo of a feral impatiens blossom. 2. Had the bright idea of taking a photo of my temperature blanket on the deck. Um, nope. 3. Sorted out this tangled mass of yarn and forgot to take an after photo. 4. Put the sheets I got as a Christmas gift on the bed (microfiber – very cozy!).
 

I’m continuing to try to finish up crochet projects in progress before I start something new, but IT IS VERY DIFFICULT. Why do we like to start things but not finish them? Are you like me, or are you a finisher? 

2022 Project 365 – Week Two

I am sitting in my warm home watching it snow! I’m excited about it because I have nowhere to go until Tuesday, so it’s just pretty & not a nuisance.
Sunday, January 9^th     
From the socials: I’ve never been what you’d call high energy. I’ve always had to give myself little pep talks to get things done. And my favorite place to be is home, so I’ve always low key resented social engagements. But I think it’s finally time for me to admit that the last two years have taken their toll. I feel like I’m folding in on myself. Every task and every social interaction takes So Much Energy. Today I went to church & cleaned the floors. That will probably be all that gets done (except for laundry - weirdly I like doing laundry). And that tree will probably stay up until the time changes.
 

Despite what I wrote there, I did go through the two HUGE bins of Irish wool yarn that some fellow church members in Ohio gave me years ago (I have a project in mind). This is just a sampling of what’s in there – and I found some mohair! I am a little intimidated by mohair – we’ll see if I ever do anything with it.
 

Monday, January 10^th    
There’s another 10 year challenge going around on the socials (post a pic of yourself from 10 years ago & today). I decided to post this poem instead, which I taped to a dressing room mirror in a Kohl’s in Ohio 10 years ago.
 

Tuesday, January 11^th
I wore an interesting cape situation to work & was trying (and failing) to take a photo of it.
 

Wednesday, January 12^th    
Sunset on my way home from work. It was lovely!
 

Thursday, January 13^th
Yes, we are back in this situation again. You would think after nearly 2 years of wearing a mask with my glasses I would have it sorted, but no.
 

Friday, January 14^th     
My dad went to the hospital on Thursday for a stress test which was apparently VERY stressful! They admitted him, and once a room was finally available (he was in the ER for almost 24 hours) they performed a cardioversion and sent him home. He felt a lot better right after the procedure, but is now adjusting to all his new meds. Anyway, I took the first photo in the hospital because it made me laugh, and then I took the second one once he got home as an apology to him for posting the first photo.
 

Saturday, January 8^th      
This is a tale of woe and incompetence. My brother’s family was out of town & asked me to stop by to get their mail and to also make sure that their smaller dog (Holly) could figure out how to get back in the basement (she is not all that sure about the doggy door). I successfully lured the larger dog (Chloe) back into the house, but Holly was having NONE OF IT. So I had the bright idea to go through the house & unlock & open the basement door. Which worked GREAT. Except I forgot to close the door at the top of the stairs & so both dogs raced up there and there was nothing I could do to convince them to go back into the basement. The CAT went into the basement (she came back up later). Then I tried to lure them back outside. Nope. The CAT went outside (I got her back in). So the end result was the two dogs sitting at the very top of the stairs staring down at me very smugly. Sorry Joe and Bren. (P.S. there was some hilarity when I almost lured Holly out the door, but the cat came instead & I said “not you!” & then Holly went running away. This happened about four times. Lort.)
 

Meanwhile, Dr. M was getting ready for snowpocolypse!
 

We have around 3 – 4 inches of snow. I’m getting ready to eat some lunch and then I shall spend the rest of the day crocheting. I’ve started working on the border for my temperature blanket. I hope to have the final result to share next week. How are you spending your Sunday?

2022 Project 365 – Week One

I’ve been listening to the audiobook Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, which is a group of 90 essays compiled by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. I’m up to 1919, and it has been so sobering to hear the stories of voter suppression, white mob violence, and how the legal system was set up to “keep negroes in their place.” It’s especially sobering because it feels as though we are heading in the same direction today. What, did we have about 50 years of at least doing the minimum to make up for 400 years of enslavement before we start basically sliding back to Jim Crow? I know, I’m being a pessimist. But really when you listen to how things were back in the day you can tell that the underlying racism never really went away.

And that has nothing to do with my week, which was lovely. 

Sunday, January 2^nd    
Stopped by Daddy & Sue’s to help finish a puzzle. My brother & his wife, and Mike & me gave them a puzzle table-top for Christmas and I plan to enjoy the heck out of it.

Our great-nephew’s gift arrived in the nick of time for me to get it to them before they drove back to Oklahoma. We really wanted to keep it for ourselves. Ha!

Monday, January 3^rd     
Woke up without any power, but that was no excuse for my crazy parking job that evening. It’s hard to tell just how crooked I was – but remarkably I fit entirely in the parking space!
 

Tuesday, January 4^th
Went by the parentals to start a new puzzle. We’ve given ourselves permission to not finish this one, but we’re going to at least try.
 

Wednesday, January 5^th    
I’m glad I checked my look in the mirror before heading out – I had devil horns from pushing my glasses on top of my head. Made me laugh.
 

The moon! (And Venus…)
 

Thursday, January 6^th
Went out for a business lunch and laughed at this sign.
 

Friday, January 7^th     
Dr. M spent some time with his dad today. His dad’s 100 year old cousin died this week, which means that he’s the last of his generation.
 

Saturday, January 8^th      
I had a morning meeting at church & then stopped by Daddy & Sue’s to work some more on the puzzle – and I got a free lunch out of it! I got a new iPhone this week (to replace my 5 year old one) so I was playing with portrait mode. My dad couldn't decide between hayseed and distinguished. Ha!
 

As soon as I finish this post I have to work on some church stuff, and then I am going to sort out yarn for some projects. Some yarn I have to buy, and some I have in bins & need to organize. I’m very excited about it all. What are you looking forward to this week?

2021 Project 365 – Week Fifty-two (part 2)

I looked at the calendar, and I reviewed last year, and I think it’s just the way the months overlapped that caused me to have an extra week. If I don’t count the week in this post as “week one” then I think we’ll end the year correctly. Anyway, we’ll see in December if I’m right.
Sunday, December 26^th    
We went to Dr. M’s aunt’s house for soup & sandwiches and visiting with each other. We hadn’t been together since 2019!

Monday, December 27^th     
Met up with my college friends for the 38^th year in a row (well we skipped last year…). Dr. M was on Pop duty, but the rest of us had a blast, as usual. Sharing the last photo because why does your hair look better when you put your glasses on top of your head? And yes, I did eat ALL OF THAT FOOD. What the heck. It was delicious. 
 

Tuesday, December 28^th
No photo.
  
Wednesday, December 29^th    
To the spider living on my shower curtain: how does time work for you? Does the sudden giant waterfall seem to happen daily, or is it more like a hundred year event? Do you notice my gyrations as I try to make sure I don’t wash you away? Someday I’ll need to clean the shower; will it be traumatic when I rehome you? Hashtag ThoughtsWhileBathing (Note: the spider was only about a quarter inch in size – eensy – and it was gone by the time I got home from work).
 

Thursday, December 30^th
Dr. M made an excellent soup for dinner with orzo, spinach, & chicken – a contrast to all the cheesy things we’ve been eating.
 

Friday, December 31^st     
My rather orangy-yellow brunch. Speaking of cheese, this thing had THREE kinds on it: a piece of naan with laughing cow cheese spread on it, mounds of shredded cheese to make a nest for my egg, and then parm on top. It was QUITE tasty.
 

Saturday, January 1^st     
It was my great-nephew’s 1^st birthday and I went to the party & took a zillion photos. I’m including all the cake pictures because I find them hilarious. Maybe next week I’ll share the photos I took of the other family members. Enjoy!
 

We’re in a brand new year. I don’t feel all that optimistic about it, but maybe I’ll be proved wrong. In the meantime I only have two “intentions” for the New Year: Do NOT buy more yarn unless absolutely necessary (I already know of one project where I will probably get some yarn). And work harder on purchasing goods and services from people of color, where possible. Right now both of those feel equally doable and also difficult. We shall see! Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions? Do tell!

2021 Project 365 – Week Fifty-two

Merry Day After Christmas everyone! (Boxing Day for people who do that sort of thing.) We are almost done with our celebrations – just one more tomorrow. Well, just one more Christmas celebration – next week we’ll have New Year’s and my great-nephew’s first birthday party. Come January 2^nd I’ll definitely be ready for a long winter’s nap!
Sunday, December 19^th    
After church we went caroling to some of our homebound church members. It was a lot of fun! One of our ladies has been such a valuable member, and we’re all so sad that she can no longer attend. But it was great to see her and her whole family dressed in Christmas jammies.
 

The moon!

Monday, December 20^th     
Dr. M has been a wrapping fool, and this is what he had to say about that: I am of the opinion that when one says, “these presents were wrapped with love,” what one means is that profanity was involved in the process.
 

Tuesday, December 21^st
I was having a good hair day, so decided that this was a good “before” picture.
 

Wednesday, December 22^nd    
No photo.
 
Thursday, December 23^rd
Hair day!
 

On my way home I saw this license plate which made me laugh (this is a Schitt’s Creek reference).
 

Friday, December 24^th     
I took the vacuum cleaner apart again. I think maybe I figured out the issue. Maybe.
 

That evening we went to Daddy & Sue’s house with my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, his wife, niece, her boyfriend, and GRAYSON. I mean, I’m pretty sure those other people where there, but really who noticed? Just kidding – we had a great time watching Gray being busy, playing Family Feud, and eating the wonderful meal that Sue made.
 

Saturday, December 25^th    
We took lunch to Dr. M’s dad, and after visiting with him for a while we came home and each went to our separate rooms to have some much needed alone time.

Christmas Day Sunset… after which we watched three of our favorite Christmas shows – Olive the Other Reindeer, Claymation Christmas, and Charlie Brown. It was a very nice day.
 

Tomorrow is the last Christmas gathering – with my college friends. I think this is the 37^th year? That seems crazypants – I think my math must be wrong (and as you know, math is not my strong suit). Speaking of which – here are a couple of bonus pictures for you! I finished my temperature blanket this morning! The last day was December 25^th. It was actually supposed to be strawberry (it was warm yesterday!), but I ran out of that color, so we ended the year with chartreuse. I’m thinking about doing a border, and was planning on using the three colors that I didn’t use this year (navy, purple, yellow), and I scoped out potential borders in my 150 Border Book (<- not the actual name), but now that I’m looking at them, and the finished blanket, I think they might be too busy. What say you?