Dreary Day

I finally figured out a pattern for the latest shawl I am working on.  It is now in progress.

It was a cloudy dreary day.  I cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry and watched a movie on Netflix.  Ghosts of Girlfriends Past  I enjoyed it...it was a crazy movie and I give it an 8 out of 10 stars.  No nap yesterday.

Our county now has 28 cases of Covid  19. Safe at Home has been updated. The Governor of Minnesota is calling his new program Stay Safe Minnesota.  Some retail businesses can open and operate at 50 % capacity, groups of 10 people can gather staying safe.  They expect more people will get sick but say the State cannot stay closed forever.

People have been saying we are all in the same boat...well some people have small rafts and some have yachts.

There is so much misinformation out there who really know what is what.  We will disinfect, wash hands and wear masks for a long time....what can it hurt.

We will stay mostly at home for as long as it takes...to either get the virus or the vaccine.  We still have to make that weekly trip to the Infusion Center.  Other than that we are comfortable in our hermit life. We are lucky that we can send an occasional shopping list with my other baby brother and she who sees robins first to stores without curbside pickup.

Far Guy's carving of a sunflower and a red rose, the bark house is one of my carvings.

Far Side

Same old stuff

Not much new here.  I worked in the woodshop/greenhouse for awhile.  We got the shade cloth up without falling off of ladders or breaking any bones.  I piled up some lumber.

Far Guy woodcarved outside and watched the birds.  We walked to the mailbox.   I watched Mirror Mirror on Netflix...a different kind of movie I give it a 7 out of 10 stars.  I had a long nap.

A Trillium and a Feather both carvings by Far Guy.

Supper was "freezer"  a day we both enjoy.  Far Guy ate the last of his Gumbo and I had hotdish.(hamburger, veggies and potato) No fuss....Far Guy got it all warmed up and then woke me up!

I am looking for a different pattern for my next shawl. 

Yarn Chicken =That is when you may or may not have enough yarn to finish a project. So you crochet or knit on until you win or lose.

Far Side

Yarn Chicken

I won at yarn chicken...it is always a gamble.  Now this shawl is ready to be blocked. 

Yesterday I did some laundry and worked out in the woodshop/greenhouse for awhile and I had three naps...short naps at that.  I finished watching Win the Wilderness on Netflix I give it a 9 out of 10.  I enjoyed it very much!   AND played yarn chicken!  I have one more skein of this shawl in a ball yarn to work up.

Not feeling quite myself...tired and achy...it might be the weather change or it may be my Chronic Lymes rearing its ugly head....I am back on Doxycycline daily...I hate it but usually it works well to put it back in remission.    I can lay down and put my feet up and fall asleep within a minute sometimes less. Naps and rest are a must!  I need warmth and sunshine!

Far Side

No Hugs Day

No hugs for anyone yesterday.

Our youngest daughter showed up with Miss Miney and Little Elvis so we sat outside and had a good visit!

Jen has been making felt creations.  This she calls a pencil bag, it has a zipper and it is lined.  She bought a new sewing machine and still has use of all her fingers.  (When she took sewing in High School she sewed her finger...yes the needle was stuck in her finger...poking out the other side.  The Doctor and I decided it was best just to hold her hand down and yank it out....painful but quick.)

The French Knots are awesome!

In the evening I social distanced with my brother, she who sees robins first, my sister and her husband and my Mom and Dad.

No hugs there either.

While I was gone our oldest daughter and Miss Paige called to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.

Maybe next Mother's Day we can have hugs back again.
Far Side

Snow and Mother's Day

Yesterday it was cold enough to snow so it did.  At least it was some kind of moisture.

The flakes were large and wet.

A short time later the ground was white.  Good thing I got my snow boots out the day before because I had cold feet outside.

We made a trip over to the County Transfer Station (Garbage Dump).

The small grain fields showed green along with the snow.  By evening the snow had melted.

It was a good day for a movie and a nap.  We watched The Last Laugh...funny even if it was about the elderly.  I give it a 7 out of 10.  Some parts of it seemed disconnected like a writer was fired mid script. Far Guy woodcarved and I crocheted and we both made supper together...ham and cheese omelettes and fruit.

Yesterday was opening Fishing here in Minnesota.
Today is Mother's Day ...happy day to my Mom and all the Mothers out there.

1954 My Mom and me and my baby brother

1953 Far Guy and his Mom.

Far Side

Big Project

Yesterday my other baby brother came over with his construction crew and we changed out the covering on the woodshop/greenhouse.

We had a white covering on it for the past 6 maybe 7 years.  It had several holes...one where a rabbit was getting in and out.  The last time the plastic was changed Far Guy did it all by himself.
Before

After

This time we put it on loosely the previous was too tight especially in the winter....the bows moved! Years ago this was a vegetable, Native Plant growing greenhouse and a spot to hold special orders away from the retail greenhouse.  Since Far Guy was in charge it became known as "his greenhouse" then after the business closed a woodshop/greenhouse.

It is very bright in there now!  The white covering filtered out lots of light.
I will show you my aisle.

There is soap curing that was too smelly to bring in the house and on the right all my glass flowers and glass collected to make more flowers.  I should wrap up that project someday!

Cleaning inside continues until it gets too warm in there...we have a shade cloth that covers the entire house so that will go up soon.

My baby brothers crew did an awesome job!  Luckily the wind held off until we finished!  One big project crossed off the list!
Far Side

Card, Carving and Town

A sweet card came in the mail!  Thank you Cynthia!  The card is darling.  I love the french knots and all the stitches that make the card special!  The Owl is a tiny bit puffy and he is displayed on a patchwork of fabric and stitches.

I put it above my desk in a flower frog that works great for holding cards.

Town Report:  Far Guys Infusion went well.  I made stops at the bank, post office, grocery store and meat market.  The meat market has no shortage of meat.  Things missing from my grocery order this week; Dawn Dish Soap...they substituted something weird and I hope it is not smelly, ammonia I use it on the tile floors....however I can use vinegar instead.  Tater Tots...who knew...we thought they would be good in the air fryer.  Cara Cara Oranges...Naval oranges were substituted. No Lysol Disinfecting Wipes.  We ordered from two grocery stores this week...pick up was at two different times...good thing we have lots of time to run back and forth to town...oh well we used up some ageing gasoline!

Someone asked about the wood carvings I spring cleaned.   Here is one.  They look so pretty when they are not dusty!

This is one of my favorite carvings.  It is a Black Walnut Lady Slipper that Far Guy carved.  Behind the Lady Slipper is an Purple Coneflower that Far Guy carved.

Far Side

Day Out

Today is our day out (1 1/2  hours or less) away from safety.  It is always an adventure to watch people in the parking lot while I wait for the grocery delivery...and then another adventure seeing what we didn't get.

Yesterday was a busy day we both worked in the woodshop/greenhouse for 3 plus hours and then we went to recycle a bunch of stuff.  We are making progress.

I sat outside after supper...pork chops and wild rice...and watched the fluffy summer clouds.

Watched a crazy squirrel eating the buds on one of the piss Popple  trees.

 The cloud behind him showed off his silhouette.
We need rain it is very dry.
Far Side

A bloomer and a feeder

Spring has come to our yard.

I remember when I was a child my Mother always said we could go barefoot when the Dandelions came out.   Well I am still wearing socks with my crocs and even gave up coordinating colors. Yesterday it was turquoise socks with red crocs:)

I trimmed some brush back along the driveway. Then I spent about three hours in the woodshop/greenhouse.  I will be out there most days until it gets too warm in there.  Me and the shop vac are making progress....years ago we put a landscape fabric floor in there.  Yesterday the huge wild raspberry canes that grew in one corner were eradicated...I had raspberry canes stuck in my hair...I had a whole garbage can of canes that went into the woods. I ran onto two slightly dehydrated mice and lots of spiders. Yuck!  It is a big project....but little by little I will make a difference.

There was a report of  Orioles in an area south and west of us...so I got out the feeder that my Dad made for me many years ago.  The best thing I ever did was to paint it a gloss orange color.  It just has Grape Jelly now, I will add oranges on top of the screws when the birds come.

We are staying safe and busy at home.
Far Side

What day?

One day runs into another.  Other than the morning we listen to church and the day we go to town the other days are all the same.

Yesterday we went and recycled...no one else was there... just us.

There are now 13 cases of Covid -19 in our county...Far Guy keeps track of the Minnesota statistics.  They don't say what part of the county they are in.

Far Guy will have his U of MN Lung Transplant Doctor's appointment over the phone or computer in mid May.  He attended the Lung Transplant Support Group meeting via computer...a program called  GoToMeeting.  It was fun to hear the voices and have interaction with the group.

I finished spring cleaning in the Living Room. Cross it off the list!  Not sure which room or project I will do next.  The greenhouse/woodshop needs some attention before it gets too warm in there.  I have some brush along the driveway that needs to be trimmed back and spring is a perfect time for that.

Far Guy ordered some Pear Tomato seeds and some lettuce seeds so we will do a bit of gardening in containers.  As soon as the seeds get here we can plant in the greenhouse.  Some deliveries are really slow.

One of our daily visitors.  A male Downy Woodpecker.  The females have no red on their heads.

Far Side

Sunday Happenings

Our Great Granddaughter Cee Cee made it home from the hospital yesterday!  Maddie says she is a fighter!   We are happy they are home and all together again.   Thank you for all the prayers!!

We had a quiet day. We watched the church service online.  The music was much better this week.

We worked in Far Guy's garage for a short time, the wind was real cool.  Nephew Josh and Great Nephew Mason came over and took down a dead tree for us.  They will haul off the wood for their campfire ring.

I prepared menus for the next ten days as groceries will be ordered for pick up later in the week.  There is not much room for off the cuff cooking... everything must be planned.

In the evening we met with my parents, my other baby brother and his wife and my sister and her husband up at my brothers shop...staying six feet ++ apart. We enjoyed Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen.  Everyone is doing fine.  No one is sick.

Far Side

A wrap

I finally took a photo of the shawl/wrap I finished this week.

I thought the colors looked real springy!

I put it in the shawl box. It will find a home sooner or later. 

We had a quiet day at home.  I finished watching Ozark I give it an 8 out of 10.  Not usually the kind of show I watch but I did get caught up in the story line.  I crochet when I watch TV or I fall asleep.

I cleaned the bathroom and did some laundry.
I wandered out to the woodshop/greenhouse and repaired two glass flowers that had a hard winter outside.

Supper was a joint effort...pork burgers, romaine salad and baked carrots.

Maddie reported that Cee Cee was smiling and more like herself and if all the cultures came back okay they may go home very soon.

Far Side

Sassy!

Maddie reports that Cee Cee tested negative for Covid -19.   Thank you for all your prayers!

Maddies 8 PM Friday night report was the baby was getting sassy and bratty and hopefully that meant she was on the mend!  Maddie was going to try and get some sleep in the room tonight they are on the Peds floor.

Cee Cee has her Mama's hair:)   This is a photo Maddie put up on facebook.

We pray that she has turned the corner and will improve with every hour!

It was very sad to miss out on May Day Baskets this year.  Far Guy said I could make him a basket if I promised not to run real fast so he could grab me for a kiss! This is the first May Day that I have missed in a very long time.

The Living Room is almost spring cleaned..I need to vacuum the area rug really good ...roll it up and scrub the floor, scrub under the last couch and clean the light fixture.

This week the grocery delivery was short of Ammonia, Chicken, Lysol Wipes  (for my Mom) and Outshine Fruit Bars..the Lime ones taste just like a Margarita without the te kill ya  (tequila.)

Far Side

Prayers for Cee Cee

Prayers needed for our Great Granddaughter Cee Cee.  She is in the hospital.  Her Mama is with her.  Due to Covid -19 her Daddy is close by in a hotel.

Cee Cee has a Urinary Tract Infection and is borderline septic.  They  are treating her with antibiotics.  She is so little she weighs nine pounds now and is 52 days old.

Maddie sent us this photo when she was taken by ambulance to a larger hospital.  Please pray for her.

I spoke with Maddie on Wednesday she was a bit worried, Cee Cee was running a little temperature late in the afternoon after her nap, then her fever would go away.  She did not seem sick at all, she seemed normal...drinking her bottle..peeing and pooping and was not fussy. No cough, no runny nose, no pulling her legs up like they do when their tummy hurts.  She had no alarming symptoms.

I called to check on her yesterday and Maddie was in the ER with her with a 102 temp and they were running tests.

Far Side

Update Friday  1:53 PM: She has perked up a bit and the test for COVID is negative.

Spring Colors

We have no spring colors outside yet so yarn has to do.

Just finished up a shawl out of these colors.  I will take a photo soon.

I am in between projects, only because I have not decided what to do next.  I knit on my socks and worked on some crochet squares for a charity project.

I am taking a day maybe two off of spring cleaning. 

Today I get a chipped filling fixed at the Dentist...they are allowing only one person in the office at a time.  I will pick up groceries during Far Guys Infusion, deliver a few items to my parents and come home and disinfect everything. 

Just a couple of thoughts;  I realized I am not high maintenance.   My hair has not seen dye in many years, I only get my hair cut twice a year and if worse came to worse I could hack some of it off.   I do my own toes and finger nails.  I have never had a spa day...what ever do they do for a whole day anyways? 

Far Side 

Pussy Willows and Spring Cleaning

The Pussy Willows are at the pollen stage.

They are done being cute individually.

However they still look good en masse.

The lake on Monday.

It was supposed to rain yesterday, it was cloudy but it didn't rain.

I worked on spring cleaning in the living room and I am a third done!  It will be slow going for a day or two...we have lots of woodcarvings on display that need to be cleaned.

 I broke a mirror so seven years of bad luck will follow me around unless I throw salt over my left shoulder. 

Far Side

Monday Moments

It is going to rain this week so I finished raking the front yard while the weather was nice.
I can wash walls when it is raining!

Our mostly brown is showing a bit of green
The yard is hard to rake when the grass gets growing.

I just concentrate on the front yard, the part I can see from the patio. I raked some off to each side and then called it good.  Yeah me! Cross spring raking off my list!

I went to let Annie out.  My sister's dog.

I went down to the lake, Annie hung around the house and didn't go near the lake.  I hollered for her but she has a mind of her own or my sister has told her to stay away from the lake.

There was some splashing going on down at the lake.

Snapping Turtles mate quite aggressively.  They didn't seem to mind that I was on the dock watching!

Far Side

Wood

Far Guy finished his carving.

What began like this...

Progressed...

It is a black walnut yarn bowl!  It works to hold my yarn so it doesn't roll all over.

This is the wood on the back...I love the color variations in some of the black walnut.

In other wood news both levels of log stairs have been spring cleaned!

Yesterday I made it off of the stairs and around the corner headed for the living room.  Pictures were taken down and cleaned...the wall washed and the floor scrubbed...section by section the living room  will be my project this week.

Far Side

Isolation 2020

46 days since all of our lives changed.  I don't expect that anything will change for us until there is a vaccine.  We will both get tested for the antibodies when the tests become available just in case we had this in early January....Far Guy was pretty sick for a number of days.  It is doubtful that it was Covid-19 but we want to know for sure.

We led a solitary life before Covid-19.   Going out when needed for doctor and pulmonary therapy appointments and a weekly trip to town to go to the grocery store and to run errands...those necessary trips to the yarn shop!

We have stayed away from crowds for a really long time.  We didn't go to movies or crowded places to eat.

After 46 days at home Far Guy feels pretty good...I am his only irritant!   He goes into the Clinic for his infusions...the gals up there do not wear perfume or put smelly junk in their hair.

Allergy season will be here soon, the Pine pollen is especially bad for Far Guy.   It usually just makes my eyes itch so I use eye drops twice a day.

Our church has finally made it possible to watch a live stream of church...too bad it took a pandemic for them to try this ministry.

We stay busy and are never bored...we have eased into  a comfortable relationship with isolation.  So much so that going into town for Far Guys Infusions makes us both nervous.  We are best at home.

Gas is $1.49 a gallon here...we used about 7 gallons of gas in a month. 

Far Side

Projects galore

I stay busy.  I am still spring house cleaning..I attacked the area under the open stairs and put away winter boots and coats.  Miss Miney likes to lay under the stairs...so I crawled under there and scrubbed the floor and the grout really well. I began washing the log stairs... my arm got really tired so I took a day off and did some raking in the yard.  We had a really nice day yesterday almost 70 degrees!!

I carried the electric snow thrower away...Far Guy said I may have jinxed myself. The ice chisel and one snow shovel also made it back to their non winter spots.

I almost finished my afghan this week.  It still needs a border so technically it is not finished...I have to think about what border I want...

I put it out on the couch just so I could look at it a few days.  It is very colorful!  I learned so much doing this project. Many different stitches were added to my list of crochet skills.

I am still watching Ozark on Netflix.  I got out my socks to do some knitting...a little retraining for my crochet brain.

Far Guy has been woodcarving outside.

His project is nearing completion.

We are prepared now so I can patrol for Poison Ivy soon and drag the leveler around on all our back roads...fun stuff!  I am also ready to mow should the grass change from brown to green and grow.

Far Side