Diwali, Mickey mouse and grab bars

Sunday morning, in the middle of cooking lunch, l had a sudden flying visit from two Indian friends who moved away some time ago. They make a point to make a detour if necessary on their way somewhere else, to stop in, and so it was today.

In the briefest time -- they were already late somewhere -- G and R stopped in to wish me a happy Diwali, with a hug, yes, they're on my hugging list,and two bags, one stuffed with treats. G loves bags and usually seizes the chance to give me them.

Then after what husband,R, calls the traditional selfie, they were off again, leaving me a very happy lady. They take trouble to stay in touch and I so appreciate that. And I have a new project bag also a new carrying bag. 

If handsome Son visits this week which he might, he's got treats waiting.

Then I got on with lunch, a pumpkin carrot soup with spinach heated up to wilt, and seedy bread with lovely citrusy hummus.

After I took the picture, I noticed the definite Mickey mouse effect.

For the benefit of people not yet bored about grab bars I thought I'd show you a few around here 

 

Main bathroom, for when Handsome Partner used a shower stool. This bar is right where he needed to grab in order to stand and get out of the tub. He modeled it so I could mark the tile for the contractor. And it's the right height for me standing.

The stains are from a previous unsuccessful attempt with high suction cups on a non ADA bar, which kept falling off and left permanent stains on the tile.  

Here's the other bathroom where I had the bar installed for back when I took tub baths, to help me to my feet. It's still useful for showering anyway.

I installed the clamp handle on the side myself,  needs no tools, and it's great for helping me step out of the tub, highly recommend.

And here's a strategic one installed right where I have to make a left turn at the head of the stairs. I marked the spot where my hand would reach. This is a tricky point, very helpful to have something on that turn.

Now we've turned and are going downstairs.

And here are grab bars opposite the regular banister rail. Two because handsome partner needed to hold the bottom turn on the second one as he climbed up. One long one wouldn't have worked. It's very helpful to have something on both sides of the stairs.

At the foot of the stairs you see Carol hooked onto the small hallway bar, because right there is a step down to the living room.  And there's  a downstairs half bathroom door on the right, at right angles to the front door. The bar is also useful for hanging masks and visitor parking hangtags. 

All these placements we measured and modeled and marked for Mike the Contractor. We bought the ADA designed bars from Medicare approved local suppliers who advised us, and Mike studied the ADA guidelines before he installed the bars.

There are a lot of decorative products out there which will not work even to steady a dry hand, let alone a wet one. Don't buy from name brand home decor plumbing sources. They don't usually carry the approved designs, which aren't as pretty, but are functional and tested.

Okay, that's my PSA for the day. Back to Trollope and treats.

Happy day everyone,  try to stay safe, mentally and physically! Eat treats, it's a good time.

Medical appointment, cosmos still

Wednesday held a sleepless night because of anxiety about Handsome Son doing prep for a colonoscopy, his first. The prep schedule involved taking the rx liquid in two sessions, one at 6pm, the other at, this is not a typo, 3am. He called the medical center to check if this was correct. Yes.  He managed fine but his mother was a wreck! 

It really doesn't matter how old your kid is, he's your kid! Then I had high anxiety about being over there early enough to drive him to the surgical center, and about finding it, and about having a passenger for the first time in 20, that is also not a typo, years. 

He managed fine, I needed to come home and sleep, which I did. He was wobbly, so first I walked him up the stairs to his condo,  and wanted to make him a cup of tea and a snack. He ended up doing it because he insisted I wouldn't be able to find anything and I wouldn't do it right..his home, his stuff!

Then he was looking much better, normal color, talking fine, so I eventually made it home after what turned out, after all my drama, to be a perfectly successful enterprise, some minor issues found, all very manageable. 

Bowl of chicken soup, and I fell asleep for an hour, woke to find he'd texted to check on me! Then a pot of tea out on the deck, beautiful warm day, no mosquitoes after a couple of light frosts. I fell asleep again while officially reading more Barchester. 

My view

 Cosmos laughs at frost. 

Online meeting with friends this evening, and that's Wednesday. So glad it's done. I can handle a lot for myself, but when it's Handsome Son, who's perfectly fit and capable, well, that's different.

And one bright spot: Wednesday's supper was bangin'.  Baby bella mushrooms, firm tofu seasoned with red chili oil and that umami spice mix I made, blurt of soy sauce, in an omelette. 

Cheered me right up, just five star. Having the seasonings ready made, learned from Yeung Man Cooking, is the difference between long cooking when you're hungry and fast great food.  No pictures because it wasn't pretty, just delicious.

My street is full of houses decorated with lights for Diwali, and frantic police reminders that the state is tinder dry, so fireworks are not a good idea.  In fact this year they're banned, because we're at high risk for fire, very unusual around here 

Here's the speckly shirt in action 

Happy day everyone! Try not to get as worked up as I, if possible. Eat well.   Enjoy Diwali, don't burn the place down.

 

Hats in the house, Pym and Freecycle

Last evening, amidst street fireworks, my neighbor and her teenage daughter visited to wish me happy Diwali, bringing these favorite treats, one I think milk based, one ghee based, both lovely. Lucky me!

And while I was looking for the backstrap loom parts which I found, back in the main weaving box, but no yarn, I came across this huge art bag which I painted way back when I was taking classes.

That pocket is big enough for a large drawing pad, and my board easily fitted into the bag. But since I lost height, I can't carry the bag on my shoulder without its trailing on the ground.  The straps can't be shortened and still fit my shoulder. So it's being picked up today by, I hope, a taller person.

I was reading Barbara Pym yesterday, and noticed how often she refers to hats, and how they establish the social standing of the wearer. They've long been a social marker of a niche use I'm familiar with, that of showing who's the hostess, who's the visitor or worker.

Pym's daily cleaning ladies/cooks wear their hats on the job, plus apron, no confusion with visitors who always keep their hats on. 

In the wonderful Evelyn Dunbar's documentary paintings, if you don't know her, check her out,  commissioned by the British government in WW2, you see scenes of life for women in 1940s Britain.

There's the women's Land Army, working the farms while regular farmworkers are serving abroad, and ladies (clear demarcation between women and ladies) at home, knitting and sewing in working parties for the war effort.

You can see who's the hostess -- in your own home you didn't wear  your hat, and in other people's homes you kept your hat in. In my mother's generation, this was even observed among relatives. When her sisters, my aunts, visited, they hung on to their hats!

I still remember them, felt with jaunty felt bows or rosettes in the then fashionable colors, bottle green or wine. Hats were part of your presentation and you didn't even go to the corner shop without putting on your hat.  Pym points out the disdain shown by characters in my current Jane and Prudence, at Jane, a vicar's  wife, going out hatless, even visiting parishioners, shocking.

Nowadays if you wear a hat other than to keep warm, it's a statement. Mine are only practical though.

Happy day, everyone, hatted or not!

 

Happy diwali and rugs

Happy Diwali, the Feast of Lights. All up and down my street houses are decorated with lights of all colors.

Dear old friends, former neighbors, texted to check I was home, and dropped in briefly on their way to a Diwali party for a hug and to give me a little bag of homemade treats. Great surprise!

 Earlier there was a Hajji Baba Club and Textile Museum of Southern California joint presentation on Persian rugs by a collector and writer on this art form.

He discussed the contrast between the sophisticated urban life style, where workshop rugs were created,  and the simple lives of nomads who created equally wonderful works with simple spinning and weaving setups. 

You'll see nomad tents, a woman spindle spinning wool -- rugs often cotton warp, wool weft -- and the kind of simple looms which demand great skill on the part of the weaver.

There's a lot of interest in depicting animals, including the two headed motif, which is also created in bronze artworks as well as featuring in textiles. 

The movie is about the nomad life, I believe and here's the address if you're interested in following up.

There an S formation, seen in different designs in its own slide above, found in  a lot of borders, which is a version of the two headed animal or bird.

The last slide shows Opie with friends in a rug gallery, clearly happy campers! As usual with this kind of collector's presentation, there were dozens of great slides, so I winnowed it down to a manageable number for a blogpost, with enough information for you to continue learning if the spirit moves you.

Earlier in the day, I found one of my favorite sights, a beech tree with its own foliage shadowed on the  silvery smooth trunk.

Happy day, everyone! Enjoy the lights everywhere. Including yours, the one you shed.