While folks are sharing beautiful pics of Fall colors, we’re showing naked trees and a prediction for rain/snow showers today here in Oregon Outback. (I’ll share snow pics if it happens. But, for now):
Category: Blogging
Know ye knot is the story of knitting and crocheting. Well, it should be but it’s too late in the day to do the research. I just needed a way to introduce my newest toy for Spidercat Sammy. I’m making stressball blobs, frogs, and fish. But it’s been a while since I made crocheted balls. So instead of inserting a stressball I just stuffed it. The little plastic ball might be dangerous for a kitten. But at least I have an idea of how it’s done. The yarn is Baby Bernat.
The yarn and hook make a bigger ball than the pattern calls for. But those baskets look like fun. I’ll have to look for a smaller gauge yarn and hook for the stressball patterns. Found here. Well, the Stress Fish. But all of them are on Etsy.
The day ended with a gorgeous sunset. And the stream took a side show.
But Super Sammy wins at the three-legged Spider game. He’s a strong little guy. And will probably be neutered around the 9th of November. We’re still working on the other friendly sibling that is a little darker than him.
Now. I need to bring up one of my favorite things to do in November. Please, I try hard to keep my blog peaceful so I hope not to make others uncomfortable. But… I plan to do NaNoWriMo as usual. I look at it as a competition with only myself. I win no matter if I hit 50K or not just in trying. I believe it is best that way. If another wants to use AI, that’s their business. I feel they are cheating themselves of the amazing creative juices that can flow within.
The other NaNo issue of the forums. I never go there. I find it distracting from the writing process, though an occasional research may send me there. I’m sad to learn that it hasn’t been safe for the young people. The organization says they are working on a better, safer haven for everyone. I’m glad my offspring are middle aged now. It’s such a hard time to raise little ones and it should be up to us, the village, to help kids be safer. By eliminating places to be creative we are making it harder on everyone. Cancel society seems set in cancelling everything. Being aware with love for our fellow beings and speaking up to those who would be harmful to others, I think it’s the only way to learn and grow. I hope that others will join me in the month of writing furiously regardless of where you journal your goals and numbers.
Now I’m behind on reviews again, so I better get busy.
Oh, PS, it snowed a little today, and the trees have lost newly yellowed leaves. Dare we say Winter is here?
Soon shots and fixing. But he seems healthy and adapting
I’ve begun to keep journals next to every activity. Some I do well keeping them up. Like the piano one. I write what I play, work on, and give myself a grade and suggestions for the next time I play it. I think it’s helping.
And I’ve started copying favorite pieces from books I had as a preteen. Now I can tape pages together so no annoying page-turning.
I was happy because I finally got caught up on the book reviews. But nope I finished another last night. Oh, well, I’ll get to it tomorrow or Thursday.
The most discouraging of my music fun is the progress on the violin. I guess I need to find a YouTube tutorial that addresses my screeching bowing. Too much resin? Not enough? Bad fingering? Who knows? I wish I had the money to get lessons on ally instruments.
As a young adult I was a cosmetologist. I loved the job in every way but my legs and back couldn’t handle that much time on my feet.
Even now as I pass a salon I will take in the smell of hair color and the sound of the clip, clip of shears and the clatter of clippers for necklines and around the ears.
I love cutting my own hair, or coloring it. But recently my husband asked me to grow it out again. It is now below my shoulders. I’ve gotten to where I like long it short. With long I can throw it in a ponytail and go. But short was so much easier to wash and go.
Here’s the last haircut YouTube I followed.
Using clippers made it fun.
Now I’m thinking I need to straighten it out so I’m looking to get one of these CreaClips. That would give me a blunt cut and give a bit more body to my hair.
And to bring some fun into a rather depressing part of my life I’m getting ready to put in a bit of pink and purple. It’s not permanent so no worries.
A new kitty is a lot of work despite the cuteness!
Sammi(y) yells at the top of the Sammi(y) lungs about everything they don’t like. I finally got Sam to play with me with this thingy:
What we woke to this morning needs no picture and please turn off the smell-a-blog. She knows to use her two kitty litters, but my brother, trying to earn points, gave her warm milk. I didn’t know such a little kitten could hold that much &**& We had to throw the blanket away where she had her accident. Aren’t you glad I don’t show everything? LOL!
The fork in the road is one we revisit often. Should I have said or done this? And, of course, with the benefit of hindsight, we know what we would have said or done. I guess that is why we aren’t given that knowledge when it would have been helpful.
I should have told her, when she complained of being so tired, to call the doctor immediately. But all I knew then was that she just needed to rest. Not that my COVID-addled brain knew more than coughing and needing to sleep. I was finally over the fever but my friends and I check in on each other often. And of the three musketeers who had known each other for a couple decades we knew age, pain, and strengths of each other.
You know the Bible verse about entertaining angels unawares? I have and sometimes got the breeze from the wings. Michele was one of those
One of the forks in my life. My adult children all moved north. It made no sense to stay. So my husband and I moved north. Before the move, I looked up NaNoWriMo, writing groups, BookCrossing groups.
I found the writers and readers of the new community and found myself at home. Even if my adult children were busy with their jobs and lives, I found my people.
That Writers’ Group set up a lot of friendships for me. I think you have to be quite vulnerable to write inner thought while in a group. This group was open and welcoming. That was due to the one on the left and the one on the right.
Anyway (this stream is so hard to write!),the Sunday night after I finally was fever-free, one of my friends went in for emergency surgery. The very next day the other friend had a heart attack. It was touch and go for both. I’m 6 hours away from them. I couldn’t do anything for either of them. Sadly, Michele passed, or as her daughter said, she gained her wings. I always believed she had wings.
One of the hard parts of writing this is the heart-heavy stuff I want to say I can’t as deeply as I’d like because I don’t want to bring personal names here, to protect both friends.
Michele was raised in a abusive family and then had a few relationships that were equally horrid. But she decided early on to not raise her children in that kind of environment. She found a religion that served her heart, and she dedicated herself to love, God, family, and friends. She was one of those people that didn’t preach. Her love was in how she took care of everyone. Always patient. Always feeling empathy for others. Helping as much as she could, in any way she could. See, she already had the wings. I am going to miss her so much and yet, I feel she will be watching over her family and friends as much as ever, except now, I pray, she is painfree.
My other friend is still in medical care. She had that surgery and hasn’t been able to eat food or even move around for the stitches up and down her abdomen. I wish I could be with her and help her through this nightmare that is both physical and emotional, having lost our mutual friend.
I feel awful that I couldn’t say goodbye to Michele. We did chat on Instant Messenger so at least I know our last conversation was loving and hopeful towards our friend who had the surgery. We had decided we didn’t want to worry the one in the hospital surgery department. But of course with Facebook we can all see what is happening by a peek on our phones.
And my friend in the hospital still had a fever yesterday, and all I can hope is that she has had visitors and rest as I don’t want to call and wake her. Please pray for my friends and their friends and family. I don’t mind a few coming my way. I’m trying not to revisit forks in the road, traveled or not.
Love
Forever and always.
COVID read me so many books, leaving me so review-arears.😏
Thank you, Linda for One-Liner Wednesday.
Darswords 
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