Still Social Distancing

Honestly, I'm getting really tired of social distancing.  I realize, I'm not the only one.  I thought being a mostly introverted, hermit-like person, I wouldn't have a problem spending lots and lots of days at home, away from the human race.  I find that, for the most part, that's true.  However, I also find that there are times that I crave human contact. Forced hibernation is no longer working for me.  

I have had to change my thinking regarding shopping.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love shopping via the internet so I don't have to deal with crowds and traffic.  I love nothing better than ordering from a shop and having them deliver a few days later to my home.  BUT, I draw the line at groceries.  I just don't want anyone else picking out my fresh veggies.  I want to do that myself. Before the Plague made its way around the world, I would decide what I wanted to make for dinner and if we didn't have all the ingredients, I'd hop in the car and go get them....along with other stuff, of course.  NOW, however, I have a different mindset.  Now, I figure out what we have and when I can make using those items.  If there is something that I'd like to make, and we don't have all the ingredients, the items go on the shopping list for when we DO go to the shops.  We try to go food shopping only once a week or every 10 days-ish if we can.  That seems to be working for me at this time..not that I could change it if I could.  The less often I shop for groceries, the less money I spend.  

We got a new storm door for the back deck recently. It has a doggy door.  Shiloh only took less than a day to figure out how to go out and come in all by himself.  Unfortunatley, so did Skipper!  I think Skipper figured it out first.  

Can you see that black smudge just under Shiloh's belly?  That's Skipper outside on the deck.  Just after this picture was snapped, Skipper jumped inside right under Shiloh's tummy.  Shiloh turned around and came right back in.  At least now I don't have to get up and go out to let him out every time he rings his chimes....I've taken those things down and the door stays open all day.  In, Out, In, Out.....you get the picture, I'm sure.  Skipper is spending almost all day out on the deck, or going down the stairs to explore the great outside...John said he found the barn.  I'm just hoping he doesn't start a fight with the neighbor cat.  Well, we will see how this goes.  

Shiloh is growing so fast.  He turned 5 months old last week.  He's so stinkin' smart.  He learned to sit in about an hour. He learned to shake on the second try.  He learned how to go in and out the doggy door in less than a day.  He's sweet-tempered, too.  And playful.  He never carried just one toy around with him...almost always has two toys in his mouth at the same time.  I got a photo - a bit blurry cause he was, as usual, in motion.

The blue ball has 'holes' so he can grab it with his teeth and still hold the little green one in his mouth.  He's a pip!

I spent a lot of last week using my embroidery machine.  Here is one item I made....it's a small hanging.  

It measures about 6 inches by 9 inches and I've hung it on a wrought iron hanger that sits on a table.  A welcome sign of Spring.  I have patterns for the other 3 seasons and will get them done soon.  I also made a banner for the front entry. Another welcome sign for Spring. 

I spent yesterday working on a couple of quilted items.  Can't show them yet cause they aren't done.  I will definitely show them next time.

Hoping you are all well and safe.  Maybe by the next time I post, we will have relaxed the Stay at Home orders and social distancing a bit.  I am not advocating relaxation till it is safe to do so.  But I sure do miss some of my former activities - like going to Shawn's Sewing Center and working on projects all day with my friends around, listening to women talking and solving the problems of the world.  Or stopping at a store that I see while in town just because I haven't been in there for some time to see what they have new.  I will say, the Plague has saved us a bit of money, now that I'm not stopping at stores willy-nilly.  

Please be safe and well. Thanks for stopping by.

Easter Season

Today is the day before Easter Sunday.  I don't know of any church in this country that will be holding Easter Services.  However, a lot of them are holding Easter Sunrise Services using YouTube and other media devices.  Our nephew, Thom, is the pastor of a church in Iowa and he has been posting some short daily messages on a YouTube channel.  While we are not of the same faith as he, his messages are so informative and comforting, I look forward to hearing them every day.  If you go to YouTube.com and type in Thom Bryant, you will find a plethora of his 'sermons'. 

I seem to be seeing so many 'memes' on social media...a lot of them are funny, some are apropos of the time.  Here are a couple to help you thru the "Emergency" as they call it in Ireland (or so my friend tells me).  

       

I never thought much about the idea that we are all in shock.  Shock that our world has changed so much and so quickly.  Here's another idea - colroing books or even coloring pages downloaded from the internet.  Use crayons or colored pencils or pens.....I even found a set of recipe cards that lend themselves to coloring.  Might need to get those down and de-stress.

For funny, here are two that struck me.

Sadly, this one is rather true in a lot of cases.  The longer we ignore the stay at home orders, the longer it will take to flatten the curve. Only then will we be able to resume whatever we call normal.  Although, they are saying that our normal before wasn't working (obviously) and we now have an opportunity to carve out a new normal, one that might actually include leisure time, and spending time with family, and reading, and crafting, and gardening, and, yes, even praying! Write letters to friends and family.  Send cards with only your name if you don't like writing long letters.  Make time for yourself, as well.  We all need time for ourselves.  

I want to wish all of the readers of the blog a most Happy Easter and a healthy rest of the year and beyond.  You all really do matter to me.  I don't even know everyone who reads this cause you don't leave notes - and that's ok.  Just know that I value every single one of you.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Just Keeping on...

Well, it's been about 2 weeks...we are still social distancing.  I leave the house only to go to the market, about once a week.  John is, of course, still considered essential so he's going to work every day.  I'm not happy about that but he is being careful.  His temp is taken each day before he enters the hospital and he really doesn't have any contact with anyone who might be sick.  Mom is being really good about being kept inside the house. I took her for a ride yesterday but didn't let her out of the car.  We drove thru Braum's and got ice cream sundaes then ate them while parked in the parking lot.

It has been reported that the US was more prepared for the pandemic than a lot of other countries...yet we are still seeing so many cases and deaths.  I know that we are doing all we can to 'flatten the curve' here.  But there are so many people who are just not getting that it takes everyone participating to be successful in the shortest amount of time.  The longer it takes for everyone to stay at home, the longer the quarantines will last!  

I was able to finish my Round 1 socks for Sock Madness 14 and get accepted into the next round.  I admit I really don't care for colorwork, and these were a trial for me.  And I had to perform some sock surgery before they were finally accepted by the moderators.  But they are done and that's all that counts.

The legs on this pair are almost 9 inches long...not quite knee highs but definitely longer than normal.  The round ends early Thursday so I only have a few days before the next round begins...hopefully no colorwork this time.  I'm on a faster team than I've ever been on before so we will have to see if I go further than Round 2.  I'll keep you up to speed.  Promise.

A cuteness picture...no explanation necessary.

He's over 4 months old now and quite cute.  His feathers are coming in on his belly, ears, tail and butt.  And he's so smart!  My buddy in the studio during this time of quarantine!  

Thanks for stopping by. Be safe. Stay Home!

COVID-19 and How We've All Lost Our Minds

As I write this, many folks throughout the world are sick with the coronavirus - COVID-19. I won't diminish the severity of the disease or the situation. What I will do is state that the rest of the world seems to have lost their mind.  Truly! Lost. Their. Minds!  Yes, the disease is severe - mostly to those over 60 years old and with compromised systems.  Its symptoms include dry cough, temperature, and difficulty breathing.  NOT diahrea, NOT runny nose, NOT lack of baked goods. 

If that's the case, WHY then are the grocery store shelves totally empty of toilet paper, tissues, flour, sugar, eggs, chicken and beef stocks, water.  Who is hoarding these items.  You don't bake during the best of times, why did you need to stock up on sugar and flour now?  Here at Pieceful Harbor, we have enough food to last us a good long time in the event of a emergency.  By about week 2, the selection from the pantry might get pretty slim and we will probably get tired and bored with the same meals over and over again. But we won't starve.  Just out of habit, there is probably enough toilet paper to last the 3 of us for about 3 weeks to a month.  

The virus - I refer to it as The Plague - is airborne but also travels on other surfaces for several days.  Hence, the recommendations to use disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizers.  I have always loved the little scented hand sanitizers from Bath & Body Works and found that I had 9 of those little purse-sized containers throughout the house.  Mom had a couple, too. So I put one in my car and one in my purse.  Mom has one in her purse as well.  Thank goodness for those little bottles of hand sanitizer...there isn't a drop to be found anywhere - not at the stores, not online, not anywhere!  I found a bit of alcohol and some aloe vera gel and will make our own if and when the supply here at the house runs out.  

We are washing our hands regularly, even though we aren't going out much at this time.  With me being retired, there isn't a lot of necessary leaving the house these days.  I've told mom she is grounded for the time being.  I feel guilty keeping her at home for the forseeable future....she relies on me to take her to Walmart and to get some other scenery besides just looking outside her window.  But I'm not willing to have her succumb to the COVID-19...just not gonna happen on my watch.  She's grounded and that's that!  I took her with me the other day when I went to the dollar store but she stayed in the car and watched the people.  That's the extent of her outings!  

We only last week had the first case of the virus in Missouri....it's coming, just not sure how badly. Schools are being closed and work is asking people to work from home offices, and meetings are being cancelled.  When folks are being asked to self-isolate they think their rights are being taken away.  I read an article about the difference between how China handled the crisis vs. how other countries are doing it.  Chinese thinking is all about the good of the people regarding how to handle things.  Folks have ID's for the areas they live and when they need to leave their areas - perhaps to pick up a pizza for dinner or a bag of groceries from a local store - they must undergo several checks (temperature readings when they leave and enter their section of town, ID checks to make sure they have a reason to be there in the first place, more temperature checks as they go into their apartment building or neighborhood, more ID checks, ).  In the US, we are all about the individual and our rights - we've always been rather ethnocentric as a nation, haven't we?  Well, folks, the Chinese have almost licked this scenario.  And in only 2+ months.  I am not sure the US can lick it in 6 months!  There will always be those people who think they are immune, or entitled or just plain don't care!  

My advice to anyone who faces the current situation, ie, EVERYONE!  Ready, here it is.....

WASH YOUR HANDS!  Don't touch other people.  Social distancing of only 6 feet is not gonna kill anyone, but standing closer than that just might.  Wash your hands. Stay home if you don't feel well - read a book, drink some tea, take a nap, watch a movie, write a letter to a long-lost friend or family member.  Do a crossword puzzle, clean out a closet.  Wash your hands. Just don't be in a crowd - including the Mall, or the library, or a rock concert.  If you have to go to the market, use a wipe to clean off the cart, get in, get out, and use a wipe again once you get into your car.  Wipe down all the items you brought home before you put them away and then WASH YOUR HANDS!  Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?  Well, what's your life worth, or the life of your loved ones?  

I only have a couple more things to say - Here they are:

This is a simple chart to determine what your symptoms might be.

And this shows the last 20 years of We're All Gonna Die situations:

I plan on being like Bob. How about you?

On a happier note, I was able to complete my pair of socks to qualify for a team in Sock Madness XIV. I had my doubts for a while - some of those stiches in the foot just about kicked my butt!  But I finished them and they were accepted to go on in the game.  

Am now awainting Team assignment and the release of the first competition pattern...hopefully sometime this week.  Of course, I will post my progress for you to see!  

I will leave you with this:

Yes, most crafters - particularly knitters and crocheters - have been training for self-quarantine for years!  I could knit on my stash for years to come!  As long as I don't run out of toilet paper!

Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for listening to my rant.  I'm okay....I'll just go over here and quilt for a while.  

Oh, Golly, How TIme Flies

I can't really say I'm surprised....time goes so quickly and if I blink, it seems to go even faster!  

Last month, I was reminded that Mom and Dad would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary if Daddy had still been alive.  I am in awe of folks in long-term marriages.  I guess I can include my own marriage in that group - we will celebrate 47 years of bliss in July....where has the time gone?  More on that later.

We've lived in this house for 17 years....and all the appliances in the kitchen are original.  At least they were till last week.  John has repaired the dishwasher several times but this time we decided we would replace it instead of repairing it.  We had talked about getting a Bosch brand because we'd heard they are really good and REALLY quiet.  In the past, because the kitchen is an open floor plan with the great room, we have had to schedule the dishwasher to run while we were alseep.  Not any more....this one is so quiet that we can all watch a movie while it goes and there's no noise!  Here is the old one waiting to go to the dump and the new one waiting installation.

 

And here's Shiloh....he wanted to help with the installation but kept getting in the way. So John put him here in the studio with me and put up the baby gate.  Puppy is NOT happy.

March always brings not only springlike weather, but the annual knitting contest Sock Madness.  And once again, I am competing against over 1000 knitters from around the world.  The field will narrow quite a lot once the qualiying round is over this coming Saturday.  I haven't qualified yet but hope to finish the assigned pair by the deadline of 11:00 a.m. on the 14th.  I finished the first sock and have cast on the 2nd one.  I was enrolled in a two-day embroidery workshop right after the pattern came out and another 1/2 day workshop following that.  So I lost 2.5 days of prime knitting time but I still think I can get this pair done by the deadline.  The designer is one who has provided patterns for Sock Madness before and I really like her designs.  However, this year it is quite challenging, even to the most experienced of knitters.  I can't say this one is going on my list of ones I want to knit again.  Here is the first sock.....

That green is an eye-searing neon called Envy by Hedgehog Fibres in Ireland.  And the tonal one is called Maple Leaf by Pagewood Farms.  Those 'chains' are a realy PITA but I perservered and I'm determined to master this one.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

April 4th is comin up....what does that have to do with the price of cotton, you ask?  Well, on April 4th 2007 this little blog began.  And for the last 13 years I've been entertaining you with tales of Pieceful Harbor in southwest Missouri.  Hopefully, we will continue for another 13 (or more) years.  

Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mid-February Doldrums

February in southwest Missouri is kinda blah.  It's the month that our winter weather really sets in - most of the ice storms we've had since living here have been in February.  This year, no ice - thank goodness - but we've had snow and we've had rain and we've had cloudy days that seem to last forever.  Today is another one of those cloudy days.  It's finally trying to warm up: yesterday we had nice temps in the 50's and today is supposed to get to near 60 degrees, in spite of the clouds.  Mom does not do well when we have continued overcast days - it's depressing, to say the least.  I don't mind them most of the time cause I don't like lots of sunshine.  As long as I don't have to be outside in the sunshine, I'm okay, though.  

I have almost always been an alone kind of person.  When John was in the Navy and young John had moved away to go to college and then to begin his own life, I was alone.  I am perfectly happy being alone.  Mom came to live with us almost 4 years ago and since then I am rarely in the house alone. I'm rarely going anywhere all by myself.  It doesn't bother me to have someone else in the house or with me in the car.  On Saturday, I needed to go into town to get food for the cats and the dog.  I went alone.  It was the weirdest feeling to not have someone sitting beside me in the car. I stopped off at Shawn's Sewing Center - my favorite place to sit and sew - and then went to the bookstore, and then Joann's to get some ribbon for a quilt I'm working on and then to pick up the pet foods and then home.  I enjoyed it but it was weird.  

There is a lot of sniping and griping and political jabs going on on Facebook.  I'm so tired of it.  I now understand why we of my generation were cautioned to never have conversations about sex, religion, or politics in public.  Folks have their own opinions - which is fine - but I don't have to hear about it and you don't have to be so nasty trying to convince me I'm wrong in my beliefs.  I saw this the other day and it sure works for me!

This definitely works for me!

I love my husband!  I really do.  We've been married 47 years this year.  But sometimes, he's a doofus!

He's a sucky looker!  But since I already know this, I overlook it and usually look for something myself! 

Thanks for stopping by!

New Family Member

The year 2020 started out with a bang!  John has always loved animals; animals of all kinds.  He has always told me that when he was growing up, there were 10 inside cats and even more outside cats.  They had dogs, both inside and outside.  I, on the other hand, am afraid of most animals.  My parents got a puppy when I was 6-years-old. Freckles was a beagle pup.  I always remembered, maybe incorrectly, that they got that pup specifically to get me over my fear of animals.  For the most part, it really didn't work!  If I have an animal from its infancy stage, I'm usually not afraid.  But coming up to a house with a full-grown dog is terrifying to me.  The first time I took a quilt to my quilter at the time, she had several outside dogs running free on their property.  I refused to get out of my car until I had called her on my cell and she came outside to assure me (and the dogs) of the safety.  I really am a weenie!  But I digress....John loves golden retrievers.  As far as he is concerned, goldens are the only kind of dog to own!  We lost our last 2 goldens about 18 months ago when they both passed within less than a year of each other.  They lived to be almost 14.  Most goldens live to about 10 years.  John had started to get twitchy, wanting another dog.  I told him I really didn't want a puppy this time; he is still working and the training would fall to me and I simply do not have the temperament to train a dog at my age.  However, just as John rarely tells me NO when there's something I want, I don't tell him NO when there's something he really wants.  Please meet Shiloh:

He is 9 weeks old.  11.5 pounds as of last week.  I suspect he will tip just around 15 pounds when he goes to the vet this week for more baby shots.  He is smart and funny and just so sweet.  And his training has, of course, fallen to me.  He has me trained quite well.  I take him outside every 2 hours to do his chores....very few accidents in the house if I keep to that schedule! 

Shiloh goes out to the barn each morning with John to open up the chickens.  He helps John close up the chickens and feed the cows each evening.

John took him over to our neighbor's house on Sunday so Shiloh could have a play date with Bella, a full-grown German Shepherd.  It appears they will be great friends....once Shiloh grows a bit more.

Thanks for stopping by.  More soon!