Running repairs and viruses

Happy spring equinox. It came on me with a streaming sneezing coughing cold. First illness in years, probably picked up on one of my recent social events, oh well.  Good thing I cooked yesterday, so there's easy food.

And I did get the food prepped yesterday and put away, so that's good. 

Online jigsawing  seems to have reentered my life, thanks, Mitch. I wasn't up to much last night and ended a series of vegetable and fruit puzzles with two friendly pigs. 12 pieces..

Gary came dashing over to ask for help with a sweater a cat had worked on. New sweater with snags here and there. 

Here it is all good again after some work with a crochet hook. He tried his hand, but needs better glasses. I also showed him the spool knitting which was new to him, and he tried that, too. He's always up for learning new stuff. He's starting with jigsaw puzzles, too. 

I'll miss him!

Today's probably about resting. Fluids, etc. 

Happy day everyone, mask up. I should have. Oh well.

Sock toe, Sherlock and deja vu

 Thank you to the three people who recommended Sherlock as my next evening viewing. I started Season One, and it's good.  Cumberbatch is as irritating as ever, but Dr Watson is excellent and the landlady just so good, a great foil for Sherlock's affectation. 

Parts of the plot were very evident including the identity of the man who seemed to have kidnapped Watson, and the main criminal, but still fun.

The second sock is underway, and I'm showing you the toe here, as you see still on two needles, that's how this form of short rowing to shape the toecap works.

That dark yarn is a provisional cast on, done by crocheting stitches onto a knitting needle. Next, I'll pull out that yarn as I pick up stitches on two more needles, which results in a completely seamless and comfortable toe. 

The crocheting makes it possible to unzip the dark yarn while catching live stitches. If this is Minoan to you, just know that whoever invented shortrowing as a shaping mechanism was an anonymous genius.

In Aeon magazine today, check it out, very thoughtful writing, there's a stab, by researcher Anne Cleary,  at explaining the brain mechanism that's working when we experience deja vu, the sensation that we've been here, in this place or situation or conversation before. 

The writer points out that it tends to fade with age, and I think that's true, based on my own experience, but she tries and fails, I think, to explain the experience of, not just sensing this has happened before, but, more mysterious,  knowing what is going to happen next.

That was often my own experience, even when the speaker was about to recall a scene I could never have experienced. I simply flashed on everything they were about to say. Before I discovered that this completely unnerves and frightens some people, I'd blurt it out before they said it.  

I suspect it's a form of mind reading, where  people's brainwaves get into sync without our knowing it. I think this faculty may have kept me safe more than once as a young girl. But judging from the current article, it's still not explained by invoking memory, because it's about what hasn't happened yet. 

I wonder now if Oliver Sacks studied it. I must check that. I had a great correspondence with him, acknowledged in the paperback edition of Musicology, about synaesthesia. I suddenly wonder now if the future-knowing deja vu might be related? Certainly I have very active synaesthesia, a lovely component of experience. I wish he were still around to ask.

Anyway,  do you have experiences like these? Let us know, if you'd like to.  Some people prefer not to.

Or just do a puzzle. 

Here's the fishy scene underway, thanks to a bit of help from Handsome Son, between bites of granola bars, and fixing the setting on my car which insists there's low tire pressure after it's fixed. He's a treasure.

Happy day, everyone, puzzle on with jigsaw, knitting or mind reading!

Gallery show and Suits

Since the cleaners were here this morning, I wasn't. I went to one library to return Season Eight of Suits, about which read on, and then to the local library to  see the current group show, and a very strong one it is. I wrote a suitably excited comment in the visitor's book.

as usual the bouncing reflections are a picture taking  issue, and I tried to include the artists' names and statements. I have some real favorites here but I refrained from only picturing them and included all the work I thought was very good.

What a range of concepts, materials and approaches! If you're anywhere near, before the end of the month, stop in, enjoy, comment in the guestbook.

While I was there, now that the table is cleared because the wall hanging is advancing, I stopped to check out my first puzzle in ages. There was some discussion in David Gascoigne's blog about a new book of research and observation of fish, so I guess I was in the mood for this

And Rose, look at this, obviously very popular as a public puzzle, I saw someone being hauled away while I was there, not wanting to stop puzzling,

I think this is one of our donations, yes? If so, thank you, you're making puzzlers happy.

About Suits, I'm up to the last, ninth,  season now, and at this point, with some technical legal assistance, I could probably write it! I love the stage business, how the elevator plays a part, someone triumphantly, dramatically, glaring out as the doors close, leaving the other person all down and discombobulated. 

Likewise the walking out of the two person confrontation/meeting, juuust almost not quite brushing the other person's shoulder. Leaving the other person dismayed, bothered, bewildered.

And, best of all, slapping down a thin folder,on the opponent's desk and totally winning the day. I'd love to have situations where that's all it takes!

And how does a person get to come to work empty handed? Not more than a messenger bag, some not even that. 

I have never managed to have a job where I could move around with fewer than two paper-stuffed bags, usually because of multiple  simultaneous projects in the days before handheld devices. And that's not even counting my art and teaching and public broadcasting life,  all of which which required in addition a car load of equipment.

I will have to see what can follow Suits, it's been like a part time job.

Speaking of which, yet another doctor verdict, from the  skin lady: it's fine, no problems, go away till next year, wheeee!!

Happy day everyone, puzzle on!

Happy fourth! Skirts, puzzles, and parties

A happy Fourth to those who celebrate, Good Tuesday to most of the world except the southern hemisphere where I guess it's Wednesday.

Speaking as a proud immigrant whose family came to New York State before the civil war, I had to get here under my own steam, I remember that "land of the free, home of the brave" is a goal, not a statement of fact. It's aspirational, a work in progress, sometimes progressing, sometimes staggering back. Hope springs eternal! Enjoy the day.

Yesterday in the middle of reading The Two Mrs. Abbotts, 

I was overcome by the need to sew. Sooooo, I went for the piece of batik that's been playing a portiere awaiting orders for clothes.

And whipped off a skirt length

Which I had the best time happily making up. One back seam, selvedges, easy, no need for more than one row of back stitch, then a casing at the waist to thread in elastic.I made a back vent, because this is a slim cut. 

And today I need to finish the hem, and I'll wear it for the Fourth. There will be patch pockets,  which may get done today. 

And there's still a portiere

The beauty of a simple Fourth, where my job is to put the oven on and find plates for the pizza and dishes for the ice cream I'm providing, is that I have the day free to do other things.

Ages since I made myself something to wear, but yesterday was hot

So I wore that yellow skirt you saw me make last year. I found two things, one that I liked it enough that I needed at least one more skirt, and two,  that my weight loss since last year means I have to adjust the waist, which now wanders down a bit. Also I found enough scrap matching fabric to finally make the pockets for this skirt, too. Yay. Ellen would be proud of me!

I do love hand sewing, peaceful, very pleasing, and definitely as sturdy as machine stitching if you know what you're doing.

I finished the puzzle, which had an extra piece after it was complete, just the back of a piece, probably a factory slip, which was packed along with the complete pieces. Took it back and the library lady was amused at the notion of a spare part.

And here's the latest. 

Note that I am promoted to 750 pieces. We'll see how this goes.

Last evening Gary came over with these brand new unused items, terry towel one side fabric the other, could I use or rehome them, or should he toss them. So they're here. 

What the heck are they? beach towels? Bath sheets? Knowledgeable blogistas, please advise.

Happy day everyone, Fourth or fourth. 

Banana suits, puzzles and Eine Saite

 Today I finished the current jigsaw puzzle, surprisingly tricky, because of the repetition of colors and shapes, but fun to do.

And this morning I completed the second panel of the skirt

It's much better work than the first one.

And I'm currently reading lighter material in the interludes  of reading Caste, which is very important, but harrowing

Here's a lighter touch, a fictionalized story of Clementine Churchill, political wife of Winston Churchill

and there's something I've been planning on bringing you for a while but didn't want squash in with other reports.

So here's Eine Saite, meaning a thread, a lovely blog, worth going to and enjoying and savoring

Cut and paste if the link's dodgy, blogger not always coming through.

Happy day everyone. Next I have to rescue the ficus which has been blown over five times now. The butterfly bush which was such a protection last year has been dramatically pruned, and the new fence can't be used to hitch the ficus as I used to with the old wood fence. And this spring has been very windy.

So I have to try yet another approach, involving cinderblocks to keep it not only upright, but straight, and in contact with the earth, so as to put down roots.

Enjoy your day, enjoy Eine Saite, keep your ficus going!

And here's a puzzle

And about the banana suit: it's worn to designate the pace runner for a race. Granddaughter was pacing for the 5K after her own marathon run, hence the suit. Now you know!