Expensive Pizza

I did drive to Mayfield Saturday for Snappy Tomato's pizza buffet and I enjoyed the pizza. They cut each pie into 16 pieces, so I sampled several - all good. I did a couple of other things while I was in town, as well. On the way home, I side-swiped a deer. It left a dent (not bad) in the left front fender and took off the driver's side mirror. It was dark and I didn't stop, so I had no idea what happened to the deer, but he must have gotten back to the woods, because I saw no sign of him Monday morning when I drove that road again.

Monday on my way to the Lake Area Fiber Artists meeting in Murray, I stopped at the junkyard in Mayfield to see if they had a mirror to fit my car. They didn't, so I went to the junkyard in Murray. They had the mirror. I may have been able to replace it myself, and probably would have fifteen or twenty years ago, but decided to stop at my regular mechanic as I came back through Mayfield to let them put it on. Both the junkyard guy and the mechanic reminded me that I was lucky I only side-swiped the deer.

I Think I'm Bored!

That's VERY unusual. My kids and grandkids know that I hate that word. I've always told them that the cure for boredom is action, so I'm trying to figure out what I want to do.

I'm also cold. And that makes me hungry. Someone asked me last week, when I mentioned taking steroids four days a month, if the steroids make me hungry. Not that I've noticed, but cold does. I'm reminded of a song Garrison Keillor (sp) sang on his show a few years ago. The refrain was, "I'm just a Minnesota man bulking up for winter." That's how I often feel in cold weather. I think some pizza would be good. I wonder what time Snappy Tomato's pizza buffet starts on Saturday. And does it make sense to drive 18 miles (each way) for it?

Well, it's been a week and a day since I posted - what have I done?
Last Friday morning I bought the yarn for an afghan for my great-nephew. It will be like the one I made for my grandson, but in a different colorway. Then I dropped glass and plastic bottles and jars off at the recycling center, took about a dozen scarves and three or four caps to the Seaman's Church Institute, and then went to the Hartland Lace Guild meeting. These women are making bobbin lace. I find the process fascinating to watch, but I don't want to try doing it. It makes me feel that my knitting is rather prosaic.

On Saturday I went to my friend Shirley's house. I had received an email from her executors a few days before, saying that they would be there to give away more of her yarn. They are trying to get the house cleaned out. Russ said he's made about sixteen trips to Goodwill. I came away with some yarn for me and some for another friend, plus about an eighteen inch stack of fiberarts books, leaflets and magazines (and several paperback novels). Some of the books will go to the fiberarts library being created at the Mayfield Art Guild. I need to list them so Jo can decide which ones should go there.

Sunday after church, lunch and a visit to the Hallmark store, I went to With Ewe in Mind, the yarn shop in Paducah, and knitted and talked with ten or twelve other women. It's always good to get together with them and to see what each one is working on. There are some new knitters in the group, and some of them are in a scarf class Maureen (the owner) is teaching, so they were working on the scarves. Maureen also demonstrated needle felting; she made a pumpkin while we were there. She is another one of the people who try everything. And I think she has some kind of engineering degree!

The week has been very quiet. I've spent most of the time knitting and reading. I did go outside on Tuesday to get rid of the old burn barrel and set up the new one which I bought about a week and a half ago. The old one had a number of holes rusted through around its mid-section. When I grabbed the top rim above the worst holes and lifted toward the opposite side, the top half broke away easily. Then I shoveled half of the ashes into the wheelbarrow and dumped it into an unplanted quadrant of the herb garden which I'm trying to fill. By the time I shoveled the rest of the ashes into the wheelbarrow, I didn't have the strength to dump it. I went out today and dumped the ashes, and also put the new barrel in the special spot (a circle of gravel surrounded by edging 'bricks'). I was going to burn some stuff, but it's a little breezy. I don't know what I'm going to do with the old, rusty barrel; I don't remember what I did with the last one. Perhaps Dominic will remember and let me know.

Bobby's Afghan

I finished knitting it yesterday, and washed it today - I always wash things after I finish then. It's knit of Hobby-Lobby's I Love This Yarn in Naturals Stripes colorway. There are several different dye lots, but I didn't think it would matter much in this yarn and with the way I was working. That one skein was a lot lighter than the rest of them, though. The mitered squares are adictive.

Compliments Are Always Nice

Yesterday I got an email message that someone had left a comment on a post from last year. The reader said that I write well. Thank you! If that reader is talking about content and style, I can only say thank you. If the reader is talking about grammar and spelling, I say thank you, and want to step up on my soapbox. I have become disappointed recently with some of the radio news people, who are frequently saying 'gonna' and 'wanna' instead of 'going to' and 'want to.' While those words are in the Websters dictionary I have, I consider them sub-standard. Also, on All Things Considered today, there was a segment on some current music composer. The reporter said, "He is one of the only composers who . . .." Wait a minute! He is either the only composer who does it, or he is one of the few composers who do it. Do I sound like I majored in English instead of math?

Stepping off the soapbox now. Thanks for letting me complain.

Medical

Yesterday was my November visit to the oncologist. Blood work shows things basically unchanged, so there is no change in my medications. However, I mentioned that a few days ago I had numbness in my lips and around my mouth. (No, I had not just eaten something with hot peppers.) I've had the neuropathy in my fingers and feet for quite a while, but this is the first in my lips. Because of that, Dr Balbastro said she will consider another medication and will find out how Medicare feels about it. She has also referred me to a neurologist, whom I will see a week before my next visit to her.

I also ordered my new glasses yesterday. I'll probably get them toward the end of next week. Since my prescription is so strong, they need to be sent to another lab. That is something I've been used to for years. I'm always a bit envious of the people who can have their glasses done in an hour or two - for the quick service, of course, but also for the good vision (compared to mine).

Roofers

I had the eye exam last Monday, and planned to order the glasses last week, but had to put it off each day because a roofer was supposed to come to give me an estimate on a new roof. One came on Tuesday just before it got dark, a second one about 3:30 on Friday, and a third on Saturday morning, which is when he said he'd come. I didn't like the first one, but did like both of the others. I think I'll have the third one do the job, because his bid was lower and because he was recommended by a friend. The roof damage was caused by Hurricane Ike; I've already received a check from the insurance company. Roofers two and three asked if I've had any leaking during the recent rains; they said there is a bare spot up there. However, it is on the 'gable' over the front porch, so not as bad as if it was over the living space. I have not been aware of any leaks.

Knitting

Another shawl completed. It is really a solid color somewhare between the yellow and the orange that show here; the skeinbands call it gold. The shawl measures approximately 30 inches by 62 inches without the fringe.

I'm almost finished with the afghan for my grandson Bobby. I could probably finish it tonight, but I think I'd rather go to bed and read. I'll finish the blanket tomorrow.

Autumn Colors

The wonderful red-orange of nandino berries.

The red of dogwood leaves.

Bright yellow of my neighbor's maple tree. The neighbor on the other side has a huge one also.

The cherry-size crabapples of my young flowering crabapple tree. Lexi and I each bit into one a couple of days ago, and decided they're not meant for people. I already knew that, but I figured she should learn it for herself.

Last week I finally started cutting up the tree that blew down in my front yard in February. It's soft wood and not very big, so I'm having no trouble cutting it with a pruning saw. The hardest part is dragging the pieces to the back, near the burn barrel. I will eventually burn it all and put the ashes into one of the unplanted quadrants of the herb garden.

Since Lexi did not have school today, she wanted to go with Alyssa and me when we voted. Alyssa has not yet changed her voter registration, so she came out here to vote. One of the things I like about living in a tiny town is not having to wait in a line to vote. There was no one ahead of us today; there has never been more than two people in front of me here. Even in a small town like Mayfield (ten or twelve thousand) there were always a dozen or more.