PNewL PNewS 29.3

PNewL PNewS

  Volume 29 Issue 3                    “All the pnews that phits.”              September 2021

Our New Normal

     I was walking with Roger in July when neighbor Beth stopped to chat. Somehow it came up that I was maybe possibly kinda thinking about maybe possibly getting a dog…a “transition” dog. The next thing I knew, I was meeting Roscoe, a busy little CRD, as my vet called him—a Carolina Red Dog. He was found by the newspaper delivery person. She wants to be an “Ambassador” for the Humane Society and I guess is practicing. She found this little dude on the road, tried to find an owner, got him fixed and all the bells and whistles of being a legal dog (shots, chip) for free, and heard I was looking. They showed up on my front porch at 8 the next morning. We had a good meet and decided to try a sleepover. I said I was going out of town so maybe it would be better to do it before so she wouldn’t be waiting around wondering if we were a match. I picked July 4th (he’s not bothered by fireworks, thankfully). That morning she showed up with him before 7:30, apologizing that she hadn’t let me know when she was coming. I was ready. I had figured out her MO. 

     The sleepover went fine. Roger and the new guy did their social distancing. They kept an eye on each other but didn’t interact. I decided to go for it. I changed his name—Roscoe didn’t work for me. Buster Brown came to mind and stuck. 

     Welcoming a new member into any household is an adjustment. Some for better and some for worse. Adjusting to Buster, has its ups and downs. He’s great fun and a total pain. He has a youthful enthusiasm we’ve been lacking. Sometimes I forget the part about how I now have two faces looking at me as if every moment not spent on them is a disappointment. Now I’m reminded…regularly… I have two beings counting on me. It can add up, but the upside far outweighs the downside. Well except for the running away part. Oh and the weird shrieking bark.

     When I picked up Roger and Buster from puppy camp, Bonnie was very complimentary of both dogs and their relationship. She said they needed to find each other. I liked that—they do seem to like each other…even the rough and tumble rough-house before breakfast which includes a lot of biting. She also said she’d had other campers that look like Buster and she thinks he’s a “puggle” — a designer dog??? I went home and googled it and yup, I’m afraid he is a puggle. And then there were the characteristics: a weird bark, a desire to run. And then the physical issues: breathing issues from the smooshed nose. His is not too smooshed but he can be a loud breather. Okay that’s enough. He is what he is. He ran last night and he came home so that was good to know—he knows where Home is.

     Prepare for more tales of the Adventures of the Boys.

80-20

When I was in Montana in May, I got to listen to a tele-health appointment with one of Martha’s healthcare team. When she asked if she needed to eat “clean” forever. He laughed and said, Think 80-20. That is 80% clean, 20% …party! Okay he didn’t say that last part, but he did say she could do what she wanted. 

    Recently, there was a posting on a Covid related FB page that was set up by a local to support people during this crazy time. It has been good and kinda sweet but sometimes veers into us vs them between maskers and anti-maskers and vaxxers and anti-vaxxers, and the moderator asked that we think 80-20 when posting: 80% positive and 20% rant. 

     Is this 80-20 a thing? I like it. I’m thinking I will adopt it for my mantra—I aspire to 80% busy to 20% sloth. 80% good behavior, 20% not. 80% angel, 20% devil. (I ASPIRE…) We’ll see how it goes. I’ll let you know…if I remember…

In the New Times of the ’Rona & Other Miscellaneous Observations 

• I often wish I had my camera or phone to take a picture that I know will not be there to take if I move. I know I should enjoy the image and not bother with documenting it, but, you know…

• When people put a call out for volunteers, I am often first in line …and sometimes I regret it. I don’t know why I keep doing it—I need to be more discerning. Recently, I went to an event to help set up the room and stayed 34 minutes. I moved chairs around and people rearranged them behind me. I told the woman who asked for volunteers I thought they had enough people helping and I was going to go. She nodded and looked kinda apologetic.
• In August, I spent 10+ days with some of my nearest and dearest in the Bay Area. It was really good. It had been that amount of time during which we all haven’t seen our people and it felt so good to see them again. California is in a world of hurt with drought and fires and that was obvious from before I landed. The air was yellow. I could barely see the Dumbarton bridge over the bay. It was bad. There were some clear days but probably more hazy ones. It’s heartbreaking. It’s unhealthy. It’s the future.

        We got to have our 40th Angel Island Picnic—but no camping this year. (Reservations were cancelled for camping because of Covid and then they were opened up again but we didn’t know about it until we were on the ferry. It was a cool foggy day and I was not sorry to be heading back to warm and dry that evening.) I visited with several people, missed a few. Guess I’ll have to go back! And got some up close and personal time with the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. And went to a lovely wedding reception on a farm in western Sonoma County. Sweet! Despite this being an overused and annoying (to me) expression, it was, indeed, all good.

• Pardon me if this is the 100th time I have said this but Think Long and Hard and Then Think Again before you hit Reply All, please.

• I had a great couple days this summer helping unpack the craft supplies of a crafter’s estate for a sale at Local Cloth. It made my collection of supplies pale in comparison. Seriously a LOT of stuff. I kept saying, one day someone is going to be asking these same questions about my stuff (what was she thinking? What do you suppose she used this for? SO many unfinished projects!). The sale went well, sold a lot, donated a lot to libraries, school art programs and UNCA theater department. Made some money for the family of the crafter and for the organization and a lot of stuff was passed on to new crafters. It was surprisingly satisfying and productive.

• I pulled up to the ATM closest to home and there was a receipt hanging out so I took it to throw it away. I always look at them out of curiosity. Usually there are balances of $100 or sometimes less, withdrawing $20. I feel for those people. What must that be like? I confess it’s been a very long time since I was playing it that close to the edge…probably before ATMs. (As I recall, I ate a lot of zucchini through those times…a lot…) I ponder what that person’s life is like. How scary is it? Does one get used to it? This time, the balance was $111,844.79. S/he withdrew $100. I pictured someone who had a loan come in and the person wanted to make sure it had hit their account and as long as they were there, why not enjoy it? Or maybe it’s a person who likes to be super-duper liquid?!? More recently, there was one hanging out of the ATM in North Asheville and the balance was $6400+ and that made sense in North Asheville. 
• When I skip a mow cycle, the cut grass looks even better than when I am mowing as I “should.” Because it rained 6.25” (Hurricane Fred) in 24 hours, and I wasn’t paying attention enough to mow before the deluge and I was going out of town for almost two weeks, the grass got to grow for about a month. Cut yesterday, it looks great—practically like a golf course! (Please no comments about how I shouldn’t even have grass—I know that but have no idea what to do with all that wide open space, it’s mostly weeds and I have never put poison on it. And am okay if you don’t offer suggestions…)
• On the World Tour, I came to know that one of the weak links in travel is zippers. You blow out a zipper and there is Stuff that Has to be Done. On my recent trip to the Bay Area, I learned that when I don’t zip things up, I lose things.
• In May, someone used my credit card to charge around $2500 at Amazon. Several items were $3.75 which I know can add up but it takes A LOT of them. There were larger charges too—and some in between. My credit card company was very helpful and friendly in setting up a fraud claim and slowly picking away at it. By my August bill, I had received a letter saying that my case was closed, but on my spreadsheet (which, by the way, no one seems to want to see), I was still owed $330+ in charges and around $70 in interest charges. I had a very nice conversation with a man for whom English was not his first language and he is working on the problem and feels confident in 24 to 48 hours he would have all my money back. I wish I had his confidence. (Nothing so far. Sigh.)
• In July, I made another trip to Montana to join with a small crew to celebrate nephew Bowen and the lovely Hayley’s wedding on Flathead Lake. It was a very different kind of visit than others I have had there and equally fun. I got to be helpful—driving up a vehicle filled to the brim with a ton of flowers and driving back a ton of recycling and party related stuff. The weekend was lovely and sweet and touching and full of plenty of stories that make weddings so memorable. For me it was a little different because I was in the midst of my second successful attempt at the Whole 30 diet (basically meat, veg, with a little bit of fruit (period).) No champagne, no wedding cake. No cheese trays. No sandwiches. It was actually fine, just different. 

         Afterward, I put together my pictures for the happy couple and Martha and Mike. I figured the “real” pictures would take a while and it would be fun for them to have insta-albums. When I edited them down, I found there were few people in them—all my pics were of dogs and flowers and food. That’s the important stuff right?

“Always be on the look out for the presence of wonder.” EB White

“If we can uproot the tree of hate, what would the landscape really look like?” LaTosha Brown

  

PNewL PNewS 29.2 -- Adventures in Cooking

 PNewL PNewS

Volume 29 Issue 2                           “All the pnews that phits.”                                 June 2021

Adventures in Cooking

     One of the many reasons I like traveling is about the food. Sometimes it is exotic and something I have never had before. Sometimes it’s Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Veggies at my sister’s house (and then again at the lake—a recipe so nice, we had it twice). It’s all about getting out of the rut, or into a new one.

     So in addition to putting my eyes on my recovering sister, which I didn’t realize I needed to do so badly and reassuring myself she was the strong funny person I know and love, we got to spend some time in the kitchen together cooking and eating when I visited last month. (It takes some calories to recover from cancer treatment, so says her handsome funny doctor—I was there for a tele-health appointment. As a witness to Martha’s healthy appetite, I would agree.) She has some enviable knife skills I have never had the patience to master. You wanna fine mince? She’s your gal. 

     From that visit, I came home with a few new recipes and a new cookbook to purchase, and I have jump started my cooking which had gotten a bit tired after all of the months of home alone eating my food. I have picked up some other new recipes during the pandemic—from David on Facebook (Vietnamese creamy noodles), and from Splendid Table, and from Creative Mornings Field Trips (Gyoza! Gnocchi! weirdass Japanese soufflé street food! there were others I can’t think of at this time!), but I am always happy to find something fairly simple and tasty and which does not make so much that I have to eat it for days in a row.

     When I went around the world, now 26 years ago (!), the whole idea came to me as an excuse to take a cooking class at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok that I had read about in Gourmet Magazine. It seemed easier to take a year off and bang out the Grand Tour of Europe I hadn’t done in my youth and make my way to Thailand than leave for shorter bursts and do separate trips. Ah the workings of my mind. Well, it worked out well, and by the time I got to Bangkok, I realized I could learn easily and more cheaply from chefs at food stalls in narrow streets or in gas station parking lots. (I did visit the Cooking School at the Oriental Hotel but was escorted through the lobby as apparently I didn’t look like their usual class of guest. And I did take a cooking class at the Cordon Bleu and got in trouble for talking in class, but that’s another story.)

     I am glad I like to cook, am willing to experiment…and fail sometimes. I have always been curious when people say they don’t cook, especially when it is someone who raised children. How did that work? What happened at mealtime in those homes?

     Now, several weeks later, the nurse practitioner suggested I needed to do a better job of managing what I eat. What could she do to help? I know what I am supposed to do, I say…don’t we all? Make better choices. Specifically, make choices and don’t eat mindlessly which is so much easier and…well…fun. So I pulled out the right cookbooks and made grocery lists and reminded myself that I can like to cook like this. It’ll be fine. I can do this. And then I drove to the store listening to an audiobook that seemed to mention in every other sentence some sort of food that is no longer on my list. It’s a new Adventure in Cooking and I think I may need a bit of an attitude adjustment.

In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations Part VI &

Miscellaneous Observations

I would love to think this would be a wrap up of the pandemic editions of the PNewS but I can’t go there quite yet. I am very confused by what is “right” now—masks, no masks, how many people in a group is too many. I walk inside places tentatively and ask what the protocol is, or find myself gasping when I forget to ask. Susan thinks it is a good thing that we are off balance, that it provides us an opportunity to experience the world as others often do. 

My social skills which weren’t great are worse now. My heart literally aches when I leave Roger the dog—we have spent so much time together. Perhaps it will get easier, perhaps some day I will forget. We continue to live in interesting times.

•  In my next life, I hope they have figured out batteries better. I think it’s a wasteful underdeveloped technology.

• Since I last sewed clothes many years ago, things have changed a bit. People are publishing patterns online now and get this: I get to pay for the pattern, download it and then have to print them at home or take them to a “copy shop” that may or may not understand how to print them. So if I print them at home, imagine covering your body with 8.5x11 paper, front and back, and then tape the edges together…this is my new nightmare. When I stopped making clothes, it was because places like Marshall and Ross were selling clothes for a fraction of what I was spending on patterns and fabric and thread and interfacing and I could find out instantly that I looked like a whale in the color or shape rather than after spending the money and several hours of labor. (I was not as concerned about sweatshops as I should have been.) I am not sure why I am going back to the old ways. I will let you know if it is anywhere near a sane decision. So far I have bought two pieces of fabric online which are really lovely though not at all what I expected. And I have bought two patterns, one which I finally sucked it up and printed, and it is 30 pages long. Wish me luck.
• I am making a knitted temperature wrap/shawl/throw thing with one row corresponding to the high temperature of each day. I bought the yarn online. The colors have all melted into each other as the colors online are not quite as they appear in real life—it’s not all bad, it’s soft and will be nice on a cold day at the end of the year plus I’m going to wind up doing my first “steek” where I cut into live stitches and the whole thing will hopefully not unravel. Today, I received a skein of yellow that is HIDEOUS, worse than the one I was running out of. It makes “mustard” look cheerful. Granted yellow is a tough color for me, but this is dull and sad and makes the 70s, my favorite temperature that it corresponds to in the knitted thing, sad and dull. I took a picture of the yarn to send to the company I bought it from to say, how do you get away with selling these lies, and, lo and behold, on my phone camera, the color looks just like it does online. Lesson learned.
• Last month, I "went" to the NYC Creative Mornings meeting on the theme “Procrastinate” and it was the most fun thing—the most perfect thing to do on a Friday morning. The speaker, Sam Furness presented his “Playing House” (https://samfurness.onfabrik.com/portfolio/playing-house-2) adventure. He had us doing little scavenger hunts in our houses—finding or making hats (this is a creative group of people so the hats were pretty entertaining), putting on the brightest colored clothing we own, finding a product with a label (think Tomato Soup can) and then we showed everyone what we'd found, all 262 of us from all over the world. Then we teleported to Studio 54 and Andy Warhol's studio and the Brooklyn Bridge among other places in NYC. We were all in. This is how he has entertained himself—and others—during the pandemic. I had a big grin on my face for the rest of the day. 
• I took Roger camping in the Smokies…just overnight. I felt like I was running away from home. It was so refreshing.
• There was a lot of bear activity the other night—broken fence, destroyed bird feeders, clipped bird feeder wire, broken branch, and I missed several hours of sleep. The bears have moved on to the neighbor’s house. I’m okay with that.
• I went to fill up my mower's gas can and couldn't get the bleeping can open so had to ask the nice young man at the next pump to help and he agreed the design was just plain bad, but took pity on the old lady anyway. Really, I don't feel that old but sometimes I do, like today with the gas can. I think I will cut the safety flap off. I may be old, but I still have opposable thumbs and tools!
• At Take out Fridays, I asked the assembled folks, do you like my pants? and they said um okay huh or something, wondering where this was going. I said, I’m just asking because I don’t remember ever seeing these pants before—they were in my drawer but I don’t remember buying them. I’m officially starting to lose my mind.
• A while back, I volunteered at a vaccination clinic at UNCA. When I got home, I could barely walk. I was the “Runner,” cleaning chairs, picking up clipboards and pens at check-out, cleaning them and delivering them to check-in. For 4.5 hours, I was constantly on the move, 8000 steps on linoleum. I have to say it felt good to be in the world, providing a service people appreciated, but it kinda hurt.
• I have come to realize my problem (one of them) is that I am almost incapable of putting things away. There are times when I find my jacket on the floor since I couldn’t seem to hang it on the back of a chair. Living alone, this is not such a bad thing; living through a pandemic, it reallllly doesn’t matter. But the world is starting to open again and there have been the occasions when someone came into my house (to water plants, or for an emergency bathroom stop), and I thought OMG this looks very bad.

“The sun loved the earth too much to burn it up.” The Removed by Brandon Hobson

Haiku for Summer

Temps are heating up

Fruit is ripe, market’s bursting

Thank god for the dog

PNewL PNewS Turns 29!

 PNewL PNewS

Volume 29 Issue 1                                 “All the pnews that phits.”                            okay April 2021—bring it on

In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations Part V: 

A tisket a tasket I’m making lots of baskets...

     I have taken two basketmaking classes and have made around ten baskets (including two in the classes). It is fun to start a new hobby at this stage. It is even more fun to get to the part in the learning process when I have a better understanding of how to fix my mistakes and hopefully make fewer. 

     The difference between this craft and some of my other favorites is that finishing a project is in the single-digit number of hours—even if they are stretched over several weeks or months. It is appealing to be able to finish something in a day if I want to (the adult onset ADD is a problem and sometimes I can’t focus on one thing for that long except in a class). It beats the weeks or more often months of a sweater or a quilt—well, maybe it doesn’t beat it, but it provides an alternative, and it’s practically instant gratification in completing something. Not bad for last minute gifts either. 

     Another thing that is kind of nice is if basket recipients don’t need-care-want the basket, they could put it in the compost and it would be absorbed soon. The travel necessary for the reed, much of which comes from Indonesia I believe, to get to me is troubling but maybe I will get to the point of making baskets out of some of these local vines that are choking my yard. It’s an aspiration.      

     Over the last few days, I have done the finishing work of several. The top edge is something I am not good at—they take practice and I have middling results. I put on an audiobook (Anxious People by Frederick Backman) and got to work. 

     Last fall, I bought all of the supplies from a woman who was giving up basketmaking. (Am I repeating myself? It happens.) I don’t blame her—it takes up a boatload of room, but since no one comes in the house any more the huge boxes of supplies are everywhere (including the guest bathtub) and I am pretty much okay with that (though I am pondering how I could make this more manageable). For now, it’s great because I tend to have everything I need. Just go to one of the boxes…

     As I was lashing on the top bits (still working on the terminology), I was noting when the reed was not wet enough or I’d used a heavier reed which probably wasn’t meant to be doing the job I’d used it for. Make a mental note. The small baskets will be mini Easter baskets and I will explain they were for practice and by next time, they will be tidier. 

     The twill market basket makes me laugh each time I look at it. As I wove it, I kept getting screwed up on the twill design when it came to the handle, under two over two but the handle…how many is that? so I would come off the handle and it’s very messy but by the corner I had it back on course—so only a quarter of it is a mess! It’s a pleasure sometimes not being a perfectionist. As I started preparing the top edge I thought, I never have to make a basket that is this mistake-filled again. And no basketmaker/author should suggest this is a beginners project…but it is a fine container for something and it will make me chuckle when I see it, sadly rim-free because why bother, with it’s wonky twill weave.

Miscellaneous Observations

• I got an email from an organization I support, encouraging me to be involved with their work. Um, no but I wrote “I like what y’all do and until I hear differently will trust you to continue to do good work. My attention span for following groups I support is limited but know that I am comforted that you are doing the work.” I think I will use that again. 
• Biannual and biweekly mean two different things, other than the weekly/annual part. The longer I speak English the more grateful I am that I didn’t have to learn it as a second language. [Oops, got it wrong. I thought I had looked it up and double-checked but there you go. They do mean the same thing, bi-wise. I am still grateful that I didn't have to learn English as a second language!!]
• (Biannual is how often I vacuum. I just did my biannual vacuum and my fitness gadget says NUTHIN. I got NUTHIN for all that moving furniture and hard work. I rest my case. The only benefit of vacuuming is cleaning the floor. Does not make me want to do it again in six months.) I was going to discuss cleaning vs putting things away but I am going to save that for next time. I think I have, once again, figured out my problem and I am working on solving it this time.
• On a recent Take out Friday, I picked up the food at a local Thai restaurant. When I looked at the receipt, the person to pick it up was “Pecky.” New one for me.
• I sometimes look at all the tabs I have open in my browser and am amused by the things that interest me. I am often grateful when the browser crashes and I can release all the articles I want to read but may not get to. This day, I had Doodle (planning a site visit), yahoo and gmail, Webs (to buy yarn), Spicewalla (pondering spices or looking at recipes), Brennan Center (protecting our democracy), Making Space for Restorative Justice (Yes Magazine), YouTube (Yoga with Adriene—a 30 Day Journey), searching for local lumber store, Uncomfortable Conversations (website of the author of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, recommended by Betsy), and a listing of documentaries at the Big Sky Film Festival.
• The older I get the more I am becoming my mother (not a bad thing—just a daily reminder): I now have foods I like that don’t like me.
• I have gotten a couple invitations from people I know and like a lot to join online workshops about dying. I hope I remember to do one in September. It's spring. I can't face dying—I know too many others who are closer. I think my paperwork is mostly in order so I could be safe til September but then I look at the “this is where you can find stuff” document and it is out of date which it usually is shortly after updating it. 
• How easily I have adapted to noises and vibrations in my pocket (the phone). There are still dings and buzzes in the house that do not compute but I usually figure it out eventually.
• Every year since 2008, at least, I have printed out a one page calendar of the year so that I can see what events or trips or save the dates I have for the year. In the before times, I printed the next year out around September as I started to have things to keep in mind as I made other plans. I look at 2020. Everything was just ignored. I didn’t even bother to cross most of it out. This year, I printed 2021 on March 5th. I have started to have hope that I might go somewhere. The one trip I did have scheduled has been pushed back to 2022. Knitting and Hiking in the Shetland Islands. The guide sent an email asking if I was happy with this decision. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing. I wrote back and said I wasn’t all that happy about it but I certainly understand. Perhaps this will be a domestic travel year. Everyone seems to have bought a travel vehicle so the roads will be clogged. An organization near our family place in Canada is trying to convince the folks who make decisions about the border to let their American friends (us) in. We shall see. Bon Voyage, y’all.
• Too much of a good thing: The last remaining wall clock that works in my house is the Christmas clock that plays Christmas carols on the hour. In November and December, I love it. In March? Kinda over it. (I could take the battery out of the carols part but I am afraid that clock will still be there in September…this way I will stay motivated to replace it.) [Update: Bought a $4 clock at the ReStore which goes very nicely with the decor and does not play music—or bird calls which I liked but that clock stopped last year. It does, however, tick so loudly I can hear it in the bedroom. I think I know why it was at the ReStore.]
• I am on episode #148 of Criminal Minds. I still marvel anyone can have “Wheels up in 20.”
• I have taken part in a number of “Field Trips” put on by Creative Mornings on Zoom. I’ve learned to make tortillas, a Japanese dessert street food souffle-like treat, and gnocchi. (Right now I am spicing some salmon for gravlax for a breakfast “Field Trip.”) I’ve taken a bunch of sound baths, a few dance-y exercise classes and painted with watercolors. Today I attended The Untapped Power of the Nap - Learn How to Nap Like a Pro. It confirmed my experience—a nap is good for me. The presenter was very knowledgable and entertaining. She is creating an arm of her business (marketing?) to promote napping at work. She will give the presentation I saw to people at work to encourage businesses to see the benefits of an afternoon nap. I admit the guided meditation made me squirrel-y, but soon I was asleep and then she woke us up which might be the missing link in my naps—sometimes it goes on a little bit too long…not always in a bad way but definitely in a way that makes going to bed “at a good hour” unlikely.
• I got my first shot, of the vaccine, that is. Because many of my people are older than I am, I had seen and heard about what a good feeling it is. I get it now. I really want the second one badly—or rather I want to be over the second one.
• The PNewL PNewS has turned 29. Yay for us and for it and for both. Not April fooling… 

                Haiku for Spring

                Spring and light are here

                The weeds are growing, bugs too 

                Thank god for the dog

All stories are long stories if you tell them from the start. Anxious People, Fredrik Backman

PNewL PNewS Volume 28 Issue 4

 PNewL PNewS

Volume 28 Issue 4                                                       “All the pnews that phits.”                                                             February 2021

In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations Part IV: 

Well, that wasn’t what I expected…

     As Roger and I were walking a while back, I thought Well, that wasn’t what I expected…. Then I thought that would be a good title for a piece in the final issue of 2020. And so here it is….and though it is early 2021, it’s still a lot like 2020 so I’m sticking with it. 

     2020 has been so much of the unexpected, along with a lot of daily expected stuff day after day. You know. Early 2021 is keeping pace with the unexpected of 2020, and I for one would be okay if 2021 broke free and went down a different path but just saying that makes me a little nervous. It could be a wilder and crazier path and where would we be then? Hoping and praying that 2022 would be more manageable? Onward…

• I had a colonoscopy since last I wrote. It was the usual joyous experience. I don’t mind the things people mind about this procedure. I mind that it takes so much time—and now that we get to start looking at what we eat days in advance, it takes even longer. And I mind how hungry I am by the time I walk out. Plus I don’t think the drugs are quite as much as fun as they once were. As usual, I made good flavorful chicken broth and several packets of jello. Did you know the sugar free jello packet contains .3 oz of powder and the regular jello packet contains 3 oz.? 
• Google where artificial vanilla flavoring comes from. You’ll be pleased to have this tidbit of info to share when small talk opportunities return.
• In the late 70s-early 80s, I worked for a restaurant company in Los Angeles for a brief time. I was in the office and got the whole office set-up: ruler, stapler, scotch tape dispenser, desk calendar, scissors etc. When I left, my office was dismantled and I confess I took the ruler and the stapler and the scotch tape dispenser. They have been with me ever since. The other day, I found sand, very fine sand! all over the floor of the kitchen. (I’m using my dining room table as my work space since no one is coming in to eat…) The 40 year old scotch tape dispenser has sprung a leak! Very messy.
• Living alone and not seeing people all that much, I have kinda lost track of my showering schedule and how long I have been wearing the same clothes. One of my neighbors said she sometimes doesn’t even get out of her clothes to sleep. That made me feel better.
• The dog with an iron stomach barfed in the bed, my bed. That was unexpected. Aging is fun!
• I have made several masks since the pandemic began. I bow to the people who have made hundreds of them. For some reason, I find it incredibly boring. I started with a very complicated pattern that involved a bunch of different ingredients that almost took my sewing machine out—there was a metal nose piece that was sewed in with a piece of fleece that fluffed everywhere. I am down to my favorite pattern which seems to fit people’s faces well and has a manageable number of steps. Now, my least favorite parts are having to go out to buy elastic and then threading the elastic. Yes, I am whining. (Favorite pattern can be found at http://www.japanesesewingbooks.com/category/free-patterns-2/ look for contoured 3d mask.)
• One of my new hobbies has been acquiring art. Artists are not making much money and there has been the Artist Support Pledge on Instagram where artists are offering small work at affordable prices and when they sell $1000 of their work, they promise to buy something. Local artists have been very active and it’s been a lot of fun—I’ve been introduced to some people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. All of my walls are now covered!
• In July, I went through some gyrations to figure out Roger the dog’s age. I acknowledged I had lost a year of his life. Recently, a new piece of paper came to light and we are back to 11. He’s 11! (well, 11 1/2 now) I know no one cares but me—that’s okay.
• Just before Christmas, I replaced the battery in the camper. Or rather two goofballs from the auto supply did because my mechanic was busy. The next time I got in the van, the battery was dead. I was distraught. No one seems to want to work on the van because it was converted to a camper and no one wants to figure out how that works. It’s frustrating and weighs heavy on my brain in the wee hours of the morning. I had a lengthy very helpful conversation with a guy who does van conversions during which I learned some language to talk to mechanics about these issues. (Basically no one wants to blow it up by not understanding the wiring. I am trying to get the schematic from the converter guy.) He also recommended I make sure that all the connections are tight. Today I was taking a picture of the battery to send to the conversion people and I jiggled the battery and it was barely secured to the vehicle and the connections were very loose. AND it started right up. When I took it to the mechanic to tighten it, he was really unimpressed with the job the aforementioned goofballs did. What a relief and once again, unexpected.
• There is a section of the local paper that feels a little out of step with the world in its current state. It’s called “Living” or “Home” or something basic and vague. It seems to me there have been an unusual number of articles about pillows—not bed pillows, decorative pillows. And recently, there was a whole long article about remodeling the Laundry Room. I am not going to complain about my laundry room (no caps, doesn’t warrant it)—I am grateful for it. I thought when I bought the house that having the laundry just off the Living Room was bizarre, but it sure is handy. But it is little more than a glorified closet—glorified because it has a name. My point is…how many of us need help remodeling the Laundry Room?
• I got a mailing from my health insurance company that went on a stack of to-read-later mail. I just opened it and followed the instructions and learned that I have a gift card for $400 of health aids from places like CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Family Dollar, etc. that expires in 2037. I think it would be fine if they just charged me less from the get go, but I wonder how many people will not bother to look into this or know what it is.
• The other day, I found my landline wasn’t working. I have no idea how long it had been broken, but thinking back, it had been kinda quiet for a few days: no robo calls. As much as I would like to cut the cord, I have a few reasons to keep a landline so it may as well work. I decided to do an online chat to log my problem. It was a bit convoluted. My contact’s name was Zarife. (I googled the name which turned up many meanings but the first one said girl, so I am calling Zarife a she/her for simplicity.) She got kinda snippy with me because I would react to the automatically generated dialog boxes and she thought I was responding to her which made for a really herky-jerky “conversation.” When I asked her what an “LTS equipment failure” was, she sent this

Zarife11:37 AM

equipment failure - a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown"  breakdown. failure - an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose; "the surprise party was a complete failure"

She set up a repair appointment for the following day that meant I had to be home from 8-5. When I woke up the next morning, the phone was working. No one ever contacted me. 

• I heard that people were writing haiku in “these times.” I tried on occasion. Here’re my summer, fall, winter offerings:

It is summer, I think

time is weird—fast, slow at once

Thank god for the dog

Am sick of “this time”

My privilege is showing

Thank god for the dog

What day is it now?

Soon through January? oy

Thank god for the dog

• I am part of a virtual Knit-a-long with a group of local knitters. We are each knitting a temperature throw—I knit a row a day based on the high temperature of that day. We chose our own yarn, we keep our own pace…there are websites where I can get last week’s or even last month’s high termperatures. When I think of it, I am trying to do actuals at my location. I find myself looking at the weather predictions and thinking of color combinations and having to go back and look again to see what the weather will be like. Last week, we had a high of 66 one day (72 in nearby neighborhoods but I hate my 70-79 yarn [yellow] so am glad it only got to 66 at my house), followed by a high of 32 (purple). 
• It is in this issue that I normally do Things I am Grateful For and New Year’s Resolutions but I think I’ve gone on long enough here and I’ll wait til next time.

Two quotes…because I like them and it’s been a while. 

“If moving through your life you find yourself lost, go back to the last place where you knew who you were and what you were doing and start from there.” Bernice Johnson Reagon

“I loved Rebecca Solnit’s line, ‘Privilege is a landscape as level as the Andes.’ And I think, for the most part, all of our presidents are dealing in privileged landscapes, not vulnerable ones.” Terry Tempest Williams

PS I bought a new computer and there are some things I don’t quite know how to do so this looks a little different and I am not going to figure out before I put this out…hopefully by next time…

PNewL PNewS 28.3 -- More on "These Times"

                                             PNewL PNewS

Volume 28 Issue 3                  “All the pnews that phits.”                               October 2020

 

Editors Note: I lost track of time…again

    In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations Part III

Road Trip!

     Last issue, I mentioned my amazement that everyone seemed to be going to the beach. Well, I finally went too. As one who loves to travel, this shutdown stuff has been challenging in an “oh so privileged” way. I want a change of scenery, but I want to follow the rules. Finally I broke. I bought a small rug from my friend John in DC and suggested I drive up to get it. I incorporated a few stops—a visit with Lynne in Charlottesville, an overnight on the Outer Banks with Betsy and Geoff, and a stop at Marnie and Stephen’s in Greensboro. It all seemed pretty neat and tidy. No long days of driving at least by my standards, and it would be a good opportunity to see how the world is managing “in this time.” Plus I have a van so I could keep pretty separate. The only thing I forgot was that it was hotter than hammered hell.

     (The use of this phrase, which I really like and have no idea when I adopted it or where I picked it up caused me to go on a down-the-rabbit-hole google search only to find that it isn’t really a phrase and/or I adopted and adapted it. The phrase is actually something like “hotter than the hammered hinges of hell” which makes more sense but it is unlikely I will change, so here we are.)

     It was really fun--reallyfun---to visit with people I haven’t seen in a while in new places and to almost feel normal. Thanks to all for being careful and cautious and so welcoming. 

     Charlottesville and Lynne are as lovely as always. She is re-doing a house, which is a project I admire and do not aspire to so it’s super cool to hang out with someone who has that kind of vision. I mean, this is taking out walls kinda work. Nope. Not me. Put a deck on a shed or an outdoor shower in the backyard? Now, those are my kinda projects. Imagining space where there isn’t any? Heebie geebies!

     A brief stop in John’s garden in DC was refreshing. A breath of calm and green in a big city. How fun. And then the Speedway to the Outer Banks, where I have never been, to see cousins Betsy and Geoff, relatively recent transplants from the Great White North. Nice quick visit and intro to this part of the NC coast. Cool! But it was very hot. Contacted Marnie as I headed east to say there was no way I was sleeping anywhere in this heat—I think it was 95 degrees F as I started out and it was only going to get hotter heading inland. Oh my. So we had dinner and a chat and I drove home to the mountains where it was a tiny bit cooler. 

     I am not sure I will ever drive in DC again—every time I have done that I have wound up going in circles around where I needed to be because of either closed-due-to-construction streets or one-way streets going the other way. Signage is, to my pitiful mind, pitiful. (Last time I did it, I didn’t have a computer voice telling me what to do so I thought this time might be better. It wasn’t.) I will not choose to drive from DC to the Outer Banks again either. It is a Speedway I am not used to any more. Any time I make these declarations, I wind up almost immediately needing to do it. We shall see.

     All in all, a success but I still have a problem while travelling grokking that the weather could be an issue.  As far as how the world is managing in this time? I guess it’s doing okay. It looked sort of normal—people are out and about, masks some places not others, folks keeping distance for the most part, idiots still abound.

     I had another quickie road trip, this time with Roger the little old man co-pilot, to Sydney and Mike’s in Indianapolis. I have never been to Indianapolis before and it’s a reasonable 7+ hours away, and they moved away from here and I miss them. This time the weather had gotten a little cold so we were on a different spot on the temperature spectrum. We spent most of the time on their porch, which was surrounded by trees with changing autumn leaves—with a propane heater that took the chill off. It was lovely. They live in a bit of country in the middle of the city. It was a brief visit but was just right for the times—it’s hard to keep up the physical distancing for long—but I got to see some Indy and some family and did not seem to bring any germs to the Hoosier State nor did I pick up anything. These mini attempts at normalcy do press the release valve a bit. Again, thanks for the Hospitality. Why the capped H? No idea but it works for me. 

 

Miscellaneous etc.

• Today has been a challenge already and it isn't even 10. Unexpectedly, the pump guys came out at the same time that I was supposed to be picking up a neighbor at the mechanic and the handyman arrived. It all felt like too much. My coping skills are in the toilet--I wanted to stomp my feet and cry and lash out. I texted Gini, and she wrote back  "Please be gentle, kind and understanding of yourself as you would be toward a good friend. You are doing the best that you can in a crashing world." Thanks. I needed that—you might, too, on occasion. Please feel free to borrow it.

• As a huge library fan and a volunteer in one for 14 years+, it often shocks me when an obvious book for me just passed me by. The Library Bookby Susan Orlean is one of those books. I was captivated to the end. I just finished listening to Stacey Abrams’ Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair Americaabout voter suppression in general and her campaign in particular, among other things. Why a portion of our population—including Abrams herself--is not super-duper angry all the time, I don’t know. Telling people it is their right and honor to vote and then putting up hurdles in their way? Wrong, so wrong. And this is not ancient history—it’s going on now. Oops sorry. Trying to stay away from that topic! Abrams reads it and has a wonderful voice. And now I am on to Caste: The Origin of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. She’s another smart cookie—I read her The Warmth of Other Sunsabout the Great Migration and was amazed at what was left out of my education in US History. This is going to be another challenging one—here I go!

• Have you ever vacuumed a lampshade? Life-changing. Highly recommend.

• The only way for me to keep Roger out of the kitchen is to mess around in the freezer. I don’t know how anyone does it any other way, but there is always stuff falling out of the freezer on to the floor and it scares Roger and sometimes hurts my feet. He thinks it is easier to just stay away. I am now on a new configuration fridge/freezer (thank you Patsy and Ernie) and it still happens. 

• Among the top of The Things That Irritate Me Today list: I have several address books on various devices and programs and none of them seem to speak to each other. Seems it might be easier to go back to paper and pencil.

• Here’s a new one: I have no cursor on the computer screen today. It’s a little weird so I’m going to the grocery store.

• I have a serious problem getting mice out of traps—it’s icky and creeps me out. I am wondering if aspiring to be better at it is worth doing at this time in the world and my life. Thoughts? (Note: I put out a bunch of traps the other night. One is missing. Enough said.)

• Only one Zoom comment this issue: We had a mini college reunion this past weekend and it was surprisingly charming. There were a bunch of people I didn’t know because it spanned many years and a couple itty-bitty colleges. One thing I did say to myself a couple times was—who are all these old people? Hahaha

• I may be one of the only people who is alternating TV bingeing The Great British Banking Showand Blacklist. Anyone?

• I have a knitting injury so am icing down one hand and trying to type with the other. Not very speedy.

 

Cleaning out…Finally

• Up until recently, I have been doing a little clearing of the decks…but slowly. I don’t like this bowl--ya want it? This is not going to get me anywhere fast.

• Then, one day, I addressed my filing. I have been in awe of people who have been cleaning out closets and based on the number of photos I have received in the mail, I think a lot of people have gotten to thatcloset…or drawer or bin. My filing has had issues for a while. At the bottom of the file-able papers is a whole stack of things I am not ready to get rid of but I am not sure where they go. As I was getting to that point in the pile, I decided I would tackle it. (It was about three inches deep.)  There were a bunch of photos and cards and letters (I have a box for that!). There were a lot of articles on black history in WNC, travel and money/political orgs/philanthropy. Some could be recycled, some could be put on the read then recycle and some, well, go back on the pile. I meant to do it all but got tired of it so that will be waiting for me next time.

• Yesterday, I finally got to two closets and I “tossed my (yarn) stash.” I am subscribed to a knitting teacher’s Patreon page and she suggests regularly tossing our stash out into the open and seeing what we’ve lost interest in. Since part of the stash is in the closet, I had to address the whole of that too and since there were some donate-able warm and wooly things in there, I also had to address the coat closet where more donate-able type things reside. I went three hours without noticing the passage of time. It felt epic and productive. I now have piles of stuff that need to be better organized but hopefully some will help someone to keep warmer in the coming months. The stash that needs to go elsewhere will join other people’s stashes, and the rest is reorganized and put away tidily. It was not truly Marie Kondo-ized but while I appreciate her big picture view, she and I probably don’t have a lot in common.

 

 

• I am just about to send this off to the world and have been grappling with how to share some very hard news that is new and hard. My buddy and pal and sister Martha is starting treatment for cancer soon. There, I said it. I'm heartbroken for all of us--because she has to go through this along with everyone who loves her, and with this bleeping pandemic, I don’t feel like there’s anything I can do to help. I would appreciate any positive thoughts you are willing to share with the universe or however it is that you share positive thoughts. Some of you know her and can reach out gently (letters are good and support the USPS), some of you don’t and you can just do that fingers crossed thing. Thanks. That’s probably enough for now.

Onward. Stay safe and sane my friends.

 

“The library is an easy place when you have no place to go and a desire to be invisible.” Susan Orlean

 

PNewL PNewS 28.2 finally

PNewL PNewS

                      Volume 28 Issue 2                  "All the pnews that phits.”                July 2020

Editors Note: I lost track of time.

In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations Part II

              It feels like it is time to write the next PNewS. Things bubble up, things you might find entertaining—obviously things I find entertaining—I wouldn’t bother otherwise, but, honestly…has anything changed since the last issue? Well, I have developed the tong idea. My hair has grown another ¾ of an inch, I finished painting the bathroom though there is still some finishing to do…I apparently have time.

Business Opportunity

“Just one word…are you listening? Tongs…there’s a great future in tongs. Think about it. Will you think about it?” Okay, so I stole the quote from The Graduate but to me it rings so true these days and I am sharing it with you in hopes that someone can take the idea and run with it. I have talked with some of my most favorite entrepreneurial types and we have all agreed that we do not work in the medium that are tongs and so it must be suggested to someone who does. Please feel free to share.

I s’pose I should explain what I mean. I think there is a huge opportunity here now that, should we get together, physically distanced, we will want to also distance ourselves from shared food, if we dare to share. This first came to me when, in the beginning (March), Susan was going to a birthday party where there were going to be..I think it was Jelly Bellies, in a large bowl. I loaned Susan these precious sterling silver tongs that I think were probably sugar cube grabbers that my mother gave me back when I entertained and it didn’t look like I was going to be getting married and have showers and wedding presents. (Poor woman—how she wished she’d had children who married…if only to get some payback on all the wedding presents she’d given…but I am getting off track…)

As time went on and we were having some shared items at Take Out Fridays and at Cocktails In Joanna’s Backyard, I thought—it’s all about the appropriate size tongs. And then, what about if we each had our own set…like in a travel case, color specific—a new individual accessory. I LOVE THIS IDEA. Can you tell? Gini has tongs with red silicone at the end in a fun grabby shape. Very cool—that’s the idea—now someone: Go!

Happy Birthday to Roger and Martha

Today is my little sister’s 60^th birthday and Roger’s 12^th*. Happy birthday to them both—accomplishments all around. Two of my favorite beings. Roger celebrated by having many breakfast snacks and eating some old dead chicken (mostly feathers—TMI??) found in the field. Yum! I have not gotten Martha’s report on her day—I suspect it will be different. I sent her a box of goodies–-partly filled with stuff from our past. She’ll think I’m goofy which she knew before. I am so grateful to them both for being in my life and being such loyal friends. *Up until recently I thought Roger was going to be 11. I’m usually pretty good about this sort of thing but when I did the math recently I realized he has been with me for seven years not six and we never really got to celebrate him being 11. We’ll make it up this year and I will cut him some slack for being a little old man.

The Little Things have gotten Smaller:

• When I did the “Whole 30” food choice shake up a few years back, I got pretty good at making mayonnaise. I have made it ever since. It is a wonderful thing to see it emulsify, bloom and come together. Recommend.

• I guess being home and paying closer attention, I am more aware and oddly appreciative of that brief time when all of my underwear has been washed, dried and in the drawer. True.

• I have taken about 40 photos of summer flowers in the fields across the way. They seem to change every day and it makes me happy.

• This is bigger than a little thing but I am over the moon: I inherited a printer from Patsy and Ernie when they downsized. My printer, which is so not old, stopped printing black text. It was explained on a website by a techie that the ink in the large Black cartridge of a Canon printer is a lower grade ink and clogs easily. Not a fan of companies who know but don’t fix or improve. Being able to print in black makes me haphaphappy.

Stuff that may not fit Anywhere Else & Zoom

• I got my first tattoo the day before the world shut down. That’s all. It was kind of a big deal at the time and I forgot to mention it. It’s a penguin taken from a photograph I took on the Falkland Islands. And for those who don’t know and are curious: getting a tattoo is like being scratched with a not so fine pin for an hour (mine is smallish so it took an hour—y’all who have large tattoos, I don’t know how you do it. Not so much because of the pain, but I found it boring.)

• I am fine with Zoom—I find several a day exhausting but a couple can be manageable. I squawk when someone says there’ll be breakout rooms or we need to turn our video on if I hadn’t planned accordingly but for the most part, it’s manageable. Yoga on Zoom: oh yeah. No one knows when I have gone off topic, can’t manage to figure out how to move that limb out of the way or am flattened by a pose. Seeing Osawa family at the Annual Meeting was surprisingly sweet. And I’ve just started attending a handwork circle where everyone is doing different crafty stuff and chatting. These times were made for introverts.

• Speaking of Zoom—the small differences in the kinds of Zoom interest me. I never know if I will have to be let in, or use a password or if I have to mute myself or will automatically be muted. It often feels just a wee bit different.

• And one last Zoom comment: "In this moment" and, "That's SUCH a good question," are overused and annoying.

• Eating oddities continue though I should mention the baking phase is over. I am still eating weird combos like too many pistachios and radishes and lemon wafers. (I have none of those in the kitchen right now, thankfully.)

• I found my scissors in my purse. I know why they were there (moving them from a place they shouldn’t have been to the place they should be but then of course I forgot)—but there was a brief moment when I thought, what the…heck?

• Getting my haircut was not the pure ecstasy I was hoping for. Because I had gotten past the awkward part, I thought I should try something new and longer, in the dead of summer with humidity high. That has presented a bunch of hurdles and new challenges but as I have mentioned, I have the time.

• My idea of dressing up has gone from a clean T-shirt to a button down shirt. I’m making progress I think. I actually remember to put on earrings sometimes.

• My new hobby is trapping flies between the screen and the window. My personal best is five. Then the window has to be kept closed until they die or escape. Perhaps it’s cruel, but they are flies. I now have a minor infestation of the giant dumb black ants. Not sure how to turn that into a game.

• The contacts app on my computer has stopped opening. What’s that about? I’m sending out pretty notes to improve the mail and I can’t get into my address book? Harumph.

• Tater tot waffles. It’s a thing. Google it. Try it before you dismiss it.

• Suddenly my social media is full of friends’ visits to the beach. What’s up with that? I thought we weren’t supposed to go anywhere? I do not remember the last time I slept so many nights in a row at my house. I’m moving to the guest room I am so sick of my bedroom. Yes I am a whiney entitled person. Now I feel better. Thanks.

• I had my annual physical yesterday which is a glorified phrase for a nice chat with the Doc and oh as long as you’re here I will look in your ears, check your blood pressure, and listen to heart and lungs PERIOD. I feel confident I will live forever after that. There’s a new questionnaire I had to answer about my mental state (with the young PA/nurse who liked my tattoo and thought my Black Lives Matter bracelet rocked). I was fine before she asked the questions. On the way home, I thought, Have I had thoughts of suicide? No but now that you mention it…KIDDING.

Taking advantage of Time

• In the beginning of “the time we are in,” I was envious of all the people who were cleaning out closets while I was hunkered down reading or listening to audiobooks and knitting. Slowly I started going through stuff, took old paint to the hazardous waste drop off, took the recycling away, etc. I have sent some things to people who might like or use things, and I’ve got several boxes of miscellany to go to thrift shops etc. though nowhere near the amount of stuff it should be!

• I painted the bathroom. I recommend this sort of project (which I don’t normally). I don’t like to paint. But this was a focus and I needed that. I recognize—and accept—it could/did take longer than I would like. I discovered as I was pulling out painting supplies that a lot of things in my garage are unusable, unidentifiable and/or I have no idea where they came from. I live alone—that’s just weird.

• There are days Roger and I return to bed (his favorite place) during the day and I have decided to be okay with it. Thankfully it has been a gorgeous spring and not a bad though humid summer and I have a faithful dog. When I can take a break from worrying about people less fortunate than me, I can enjoy it. Mostly I am so afraid for so many. Napping is okay every once in a while.

• My pal Gini is moving to town (yay) and wound up buying a house during the pandemic. Being a part of looking for and buying a house when I have little “skin in the game” is great fun. It’s so much easier now with online access to what’s on the market. (Ironically, the house Gini is buying had online photos that turned out to be six years old.) I love looking at houses—being critical and/or appreciative of people’s choices, picking up ideas, paint color combos, opening closets or rather having them opened by a gloved and masked realtor, snooping etc. The hard part is being careful about what comes out of my mouth when asked, “So, what do you think of that house?”

“And then it [bleeping] SNOWS.  (Let us pause and reflect here that while May snow is technically legal in Canada, it seems like a bloody insult when we’ve already got a pandemic and murder hornets. This plot is overwritten.)”

From the Yarn Harlot, one of my knitting gurus, in a blog post

••• Fill out your census. • Make sure you are registered to vote. • 

Sign up for an absentee ballot. •   

Please and thank you. •••