Fruit, Grain, Laundry and an Hourglass - My Thoughts Are All Over the Place

Fall is apple season, and I have a nice assortment of them in my refrigerator. It's my usual breakfast in the Fall - a nice crisp apple, followed by my computer work, and then followed by something else to eat an hour or two later. For the most recent couple of weeks, it's been followed by grain-free bagels with non-dairy 'butter' spread and non-dairy cream cheese (made with almond milk instead of dairy). On top of the spread, I put fruit spread or raw honey. Actually, quite a delightful breakfast. 

I've been eating Soozy's Grain-Free 
Bagels lately. They're not bad, They're 
not as good as a regular bagel, but 
they're not cardboard either. Add 
'schmeer' and some sweet, and 
they're pretty decent. 

Chickie is off today so DH has to work. He managed OK yesterday, although he spent most of the day huddled over his desk in the back. I, on the other hand, spent the entire day dealing with laundry. I washed the mattress pad and put it into the dryer (it took almost four hours for the dryer to get it dry enough to allow me to replace it onto the mattress). I also washed the sheets. I finally got the bed remade around 5:00 pm - it was an all-day effort. 

I do love my Drumi. There are just some things 
I don't want to put into the washer, even on a 
delicate cycle. The Drumi is great for my sweaters 
and fine knitwear, as well as those items labelled 
for hand-washing only. 

In addition, I used my Drumi to hand-wash my three sets of cold weather leggings and my sweater dress. The problem with the Drumi is always getting the water extracted from the wet clothing. It never gets quite as dry as I would like. Sometimes I'll pop things into the washer for a spin, but I didn't this time. The leggings were hung up and dry by dinner time. The sweater dress went onto a sweater frame for a few hours, then I transferred it to the treadmill, draping it over the front panel and the controls. It was finally 99% dry this morning, so I hung it into the closet, ready to be worn again. 

While looking for a good hourglass photo, 
I came across this magnetic hourglass on 
Amazon. It's actually quite nice, but in the 
description, it said it took between 30-60 
seconds to drain down. So ... it's probably 
the most inaccurate hourglass in the world 
if it has a differential of 100%! That makes 
it a ridiculous toy. 

So yesterday was a bit of a loss in a lot of ways. I didn't do anything except laundry. Today I have to try a few experiments with the scoring blade on my paper cutter. Time to figure out how it works best, and the progression of the interior panels that I want for this year's cards. I also need to get the placement of the front cover elements nailed so that I can start working on those next week. 

Soaked Sheets and a Lap Counter - Yesterday Was Quite the Day

DH was feeling a bit better yesterday, but he's still not anywhere close to 100%. He decided to go back to bed and get more sleep yesterday around noon, then texted me that his sheets were all wet, and then texted again that the mattress pad was soaked too. Apparently he had sweated the sickness away overnight, but like a stupid little boy, hadn't told me. I could easily have stripped the bed, put a new set of sheets on, and put everything into the washer before leaving for the shop yesterday morning. But no. Instead, he used a hair dryer to partial effect. The sheets were apparently still slightly damp when he went to bed last night. MEN! Oy vey! 

There are some times when only "Oy vey!" is the only 
proper response. DH's not telling me he had soaked 
through his bedding and drying it with a hair dryer 
because he didn't want to go through the work of 
putting the bedding into the dryer comes under 
that heading. "Oy Vey!" indeed! 

I'll be pulling the bed apart today and washing those sheets. He can feel miserable at work - he's not as sick as yesterday or the day before, so he'll do fine. I'll have everything back together for him before he returns home tonight. 

My new lap counter and timer fits around my first 
finger and is operated by that lower button. It's 
pretty simple, although I'll be reading through 
the directions for several times before I've got 
it nailed. It's like a pedometer for the pool, but 
it also works above water for triathletes.  

I have a new toy - another gadget. This time something lovely and small and that I've wanted for years, but couldn't find. Maybe it just wasn't made before, or maybe I only searched on terms that didn't bring up the proper solution. It's the SC Sportcount LapCounter and Timer. It fits around my first finger and counts my laps for me. When I turn it off, it holds my total, speed and analysis easily for more than an hour, allowing me to get back home before I take a careful look. My problem has always been my vision - I can't see well enough with goggles to read the digital displays of my watch or other items. With this, I don't have to try to focus, it'll hold the data for me until I return home. 

I've been using my new paper cutter and it's wonderful. 
I got the extra blades and cutting pads in yesterday's 
delivery and just in time. I'll need to use one of 
those fancy blades for the next stage. I need to 
think about what needs to be done in what order 
first, so I've got some decisions to make today. I'll 
be contemplating my cards on and off throughout 
the day. This next stage will be crucial. 

I have a busy day ahead of me. I finally got the correct size of slipcover for my couch, so I'll be moving furniture and getting that onto the couch. I'll be swimming, of course, because it's Friday, I'll be stripping, washing, and remaking DH's bed, and I'm quite sure there are other errands on my list, I'm just not remembering them at 4:00 am. I think it'll be a good day, though. I hope your day is stellar and I'll be back tomorrow. 

A Little Bit of This and That to Catch Up Today

DH spent a miserable day at the shop yesterday, and came home dragging. He barely had energy to sit at the kitchen table and have some soup, then forced himself down to the computer to do a few things before allowing himself to go to bed and to sleep. I suspect he finally got a full night's sleep, since I haven't heard "peep" from him yet, and I'm running late. 

I offered to switch days with DH, but he didn't want 
to work three days in a row. He normally would be 
off on Saturday, but Chickie has this coming 
Saturday off for a vacation day. 

I had offered to switch days with him - I'd work his Thursday and he could work my Friday. He decided he didn't want to do that because he "didn't want to work three days in a row". A rather silly reason, all told, but that was his excuse. Chickie has this Saturday and next Saturday off (a very rare occurrence since I usually don't allow Saturday vacation time at all). She'll still end up about three days short for her allowed vacation days, but that's the way the schedules worked this year. At least we managed to get almost all of her vacation time allocated. 

I think I'll try to get the Moderna booster shot since I got 
the J&J standard vaccination in March. I'm able to get 
anything I want since it's been more than six months
since my initial vaccination. 

Covid booster shots are now available and I guess I'd better make an appointment to get mine. I want to get the Moderna vaccine, since I had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in early March. Apparently the Moderna gives a slightly increased resistance for J&J people, and I'll take all of the extra voodoo I can get. 

It will be fun to be involved in a writing challenge 
again. I got my toes wet earlier this year with a 
small group on Dreamwidth, but Idol is a bit larger 
and has been held more regularly. Usually it operates 
more on a "Survivor" format with people voted 
off and lots of behind the scenes politics (something 
I abhor). This is Idol Light - nobody gets voted 
off the "island". Much more my style. 

I spent some time yesterday cleaning up and editing my contribution for LJ Idol Light. I still need to refine what I wrote - I do much better with drabbles than with longer texts - and I'm still unsure about my choice of theme. I want to submit it on Saturday, so I'll try and finish the deep edit today and try to do a fresh read-over tomorrow. It is nice to be writing more consistently again, even if it is not in the Tolkien universe. 

Both "Dune" and "No Time to Die" have 
an 84 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Candyman 
also has an 84 rating, but I have no interest 
in seeing that film). I might be able to talk 
DH into seeing "No Time to Die", but doubt 
I'll have any luck talking him into seeing 
"Dune". I think I should see it on the big 
screen at least once. Sand Worms, baby!!! 

I want to see Dune. I know it's just part one of two, and that the real meat (sand worms) don't really come into play until Part 2, but I still want to see it. I don't have time to see a movie this week, but maybe next week or the week after I can catch the first showing of the morning on one of my days off. I have my photo shoot with Rodney scheduled next Wednesday, so that trashes that "free" time, but I'll try to work it in. I'm almost 100% sure DH won't want to see the movie, but I'll double-check with him over the weekend. 

That's all the news and gossip for today. I'm running a bit late, so I need to get this up and catch up on DW and LJ. Have an excellent Thursday and I'll be back tomorrow before I head out for my swim. 

My Schedule Might Shift Today - But Probably Not

DH had an appointment with his general physician yesterday, a person we refer to as "Doctor Ding-Dong". It's not a respectful title, but there's not a lot of respect for him from DH all around. As an indication of how in-demand the doctor is, DH can make an appointment with him less than three weeks ahead. My doctors, on the other hand, require a good six months before they have any openings. 

I've never personally met Dr Ding-Dong, but he 
certainly hasn't merited DH's respect over the 
years. I've encouraged DH to switch doctors, but 
the other doctors at the clinic aren't accepting new 
patients. Or so he says. 

Doctor Ding-Dong did the usual checks and questions, and then talked DH into having both a flu shot and a pneumococcal shot - and they were both in the same arm. Dumb! So, DH was complaining about how much his arm hurt throughout the evening, and was up at 3:00 am this morning, looking horrible and telling me that he had barely gotten any sleep at all. 

DH is feeling horrid. He's not getting any sleep, he 
aches and hurts, he looks his age (which is never 
a good thing at our age), but he's his usual stubborn 
self and refuses to switch days off with me. 
I'll ask him again when I get home from the pool. 

I offered to switch days off with him - I would work today, he could work tomorrow. Even though I have a load of laundry already in the washer, I could manage. In some ways it would be almost better for my schedule. But he turned me down, took some outdated Tylenol, and he's going to tough it out. He said he'll never get another pneumococcal shots, and maybe he'll remember this when he's approached about it again. 

This is a slightly newer model than my own Drumi 
foot-powered washing machine. The top of this 
version is clear, mine is not. But it works the 
same way and I do love my hand washing machine. 

It's my "day off" (unless he switches) and I have a ton of work to do today, including a hand-wash load for my Drummi. I got three sets of cold-weather hose from Amazon yesterday, and they need to be washed before I add them to my clothes drawer and start wearing them. That'll be an afternoon thing - the three new pairs of hosiery and a sweater dress I purchased a month ago and have worn a couple of times. It's a wonderful dress and I love it, but it does need to be hand-washed (ideally). I should also wash the cap I knitted for myself last year. I've been wearing it a lot, lately. It's been cold. 

I'm a bit of a gadget geek, I fully admit it. But 
when I can find something that does exactly 
what I want it to do and does it well, I'm 
delighted. My Drumi does my hand washed 
laundry beautifully. My new bone induction 
headphones for swimming and the treadmill 
are also a delight. I've had failures, but I tend to 
get rid of those quickly. There's no time in
 my life or space in my house for failures. 

On that note, I'm off to the swimming pool for my Wednesday swim. Have an excellent Wednesday, stay flexible (with your time and within your body) and I'll be back tomorrow. *hugs*

A Bit of Fall Color To Share

As I was driving on Friday, my "day off" and one sorely needed, I decided to grab a few photos of the colorful trees before they all faded to brown, and then to leafless branches ready to be draped in snow and ice. I wished it had been the blue skies of the day before and the day after, but no choice was given to me. Grey skies were my destiny for the day. Nonetheless, here are some Fall photos to share with all of you. 

I took quite a few photos at Como Park, since I had been 
talking about it in my blog recently. Of course, anytime 
I get an opportunity to drive through the park, I try to 
take advantage. 

I loved the brilliant red tree poking its' head up 
on the left side. The yellows have quite a touch of 
green, typical for the late autumn. Often we see 
snow by Halloween. I don't think we will this year, 
but we're on winter's threshold. 

There are just a few scarlet leaves at the bottom 
of the smaller green tree tree. The water ahead is 
that of Como Lake. 

Here's another view of the lake, through two stunning 
trees in the midst of losing their leaves. I do love the 
true gold colors of these leaves with the small hints 
of orange. 

Here, we're on the way to Como Park. The Twin 
Cities have trees everywhere - along the streets, and in the 
yards of the houses. If I had a drone, it would see more 
trees than people. Somehow, that seems apt to me. At 
one time, the entire state was a huge forest. Thus, the 
legends of Paul Bunyan, his blue ox Babe, and the 
loggers who followed in his giant footsteps. 

This residential area had lovely scarlet trees to add to 
the Fall colors. I'm a great lover of those trees that 
have red or brilliant scarlet in the Fall. I was very sad 
when some of my favorites were pulled out because of new 
construction, and delighted when they were replaced 
by the same type of tree as final landscaping. I don't 
have any scarlet trees in my yard, although my maple 
trees are varicolored. I do have a dark maple, though, with 
deep, chestnut brown leaves. It's stunning. 

So there you have it. Not only did I get groceries that I needed, I was able to take a little time to share Fall with all of you. We're at the tail end now - it's almost time to take the rakes and clean up the yard. We try to avoid doing that too early - we don't like doing it twice. Have a wonderful Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow with a quick post before heading out to the pool. 

Project Runway Enters Season 19 on Bravo - I'm SO Happy. Here Are the Designers

I'm actually late for this post, so bad on me. Long-time readers of my blog know I'm a "Project Runway" fangirl, and Project Runway's 19th season started on October 14th. The lovely thing about this season is that episodes are rebroadcast on Peacock beginning the following day, so I caught up with the second episode while at work yesterday afternoon. It was a total delight to get into the spirit of fashion design under pressure and the interchanges of personality. 

Notice anyone missing from the above? Yes, we have 
returning judges Brandon Maxwell, Elaine Welteroth, and 
Nina Garcia, and mentor Christian Seriano, but where 
is Karlie Kloss? As it turns out, she had a baby about 
a week before filming was due to start (which never 
happened because Covid came along). She'll appear 
now and then this season, but she's not a regular part 
of the cast. 

This episode might have been subtitled "The lady both protest too much, methinks," a line from Shakespeare's "Hamlet". It was an episode tied up in pride of race and identification of race, with a bit of heavy-handed "thank me because I'm doing you a favor" attitude thrown in. I guess nobody ever taught people that silence is golden in Tulsa, Oklahoma, because the lynchpin, the "lady" in this instance, just couldn't shut up. 

I'm going to introduce you to the designers, and I'll try to do some outfits in a second post a bit later in the week. I'll catch up early next week and we'll be on-time. More or less - LOL. Being able to stream the episodes will make things a lot easier on me time-wise, and won't crunch me too much for photos. Let's meet the designers. 

Octavio Aguilar is from Miami, Florida. He 
has worked as a designer for many years and specializes 
in streetwear. Originally Puerto Rican, he was raised in New 
Jersey and works in Florida. His clothing lines are represented 
in New York City. 

Darren Apolonio is originally from the Philippines, raised by 
a single mother. He has three sisters. After graduation from 
SCAD, he moved to New York City where he has interned 
for several years. His designs are eponymous in nature. 

Kenneth Barlis (from San Diego, CA) is another person 
originally from the Philippines who is making good in 
the USA. He's a prolific designer who has never-ending 
energy and has trained and mentored hundreds of people 
within fashion over the past 10 years. 

Caycee Black is from Brooklyn, New York. 
Don't fall too much in love with her, she was the very 
first person voted off in what was a team competition 
(team competitions are always difficult for such 
individualized viewpoints). 

Coral Castillo is from Los Angeles. Originally from 
Mexico City, she's the daughter of a dressmaker, so she 
should be good at making things on the fly. She's a single 
mother with the determination to show her son how 
hard work can succeed. 

Meagan Ferguson is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both of her 
grandmothers were involved in design and clothing, one 
as a seamstress, one running a children's clothing store. 
She worked with Walt Disney World for a time, learning 
costuming, and traveled the world making unique 
costumes for multiple venues and groups. 

Prajje Oscar Jean-Baptists is originally from Haiti, 
currently residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He 
moved to the US when he was 14. He was known for 
gowns and evening dresses before Covid, but switched 
his designs to leisurewear. He has a daughter in Haiti. 

Brian 'Bones' Jones is a fascinatiing designer. A trained and 
successful professional dancer in jazz, modern and ballet, 
he worked in that profession for many years as a 
background dancer or even in the front lines of Broadway
and off-Broadway. But he was pulled back to his roots. 
His grandmother sewed for her church - fancy hats and
formal wear. She gave him his first sewing machine
when he was 16. He finally decided to concentrate
on fashion, launching his line HOB (House of Bones),
featuring unisex fashion. 

Kristina Kharlashkina grew up in Russia and currently 
lives in New York City. Her father was a Rocket Scientist 
and her mother, a teacher. She trained and competed as a 
ballroom dancer, so understands how costumes can 
be used to enhance a performance. She has a firm background 
in fashion, having worked for Carolina Herrera, Tom 
Ford, Celine and Dolce & Gabbana. I'm looking forward 
to what she created for the Runway. 

Katie Kortman is married to a military OB-GYN doctor
and has four children. She's lived in several places,
including Bahrain (where she honed her sewing skills). 
They are currently based in Japan.  

Shantall Lacayo calls Miami, Florida home. She's originally 
from Nicaragua, and was taught to sew at age 4 by her 
grandmother. She used to sew shirts that she sold for 
$2 to help her mother with the bills. Three years ago, 
her husband and her left Nicaragua because it had become 
dangerous to live there, and through great difficulties, 
ended up in Miami, Florida where they started over again. 
She was the runner-up in Project Runway Argentina 
in 2010 and is determined to pull off the win this time. 

Chastity Sereal calls Houston, Texas her home base. A lifelong 
Texan, she designed prom dresses as a Junior in High 
School. Her father died when she was 12 years old. Two 
of her collections have been shown at New York Fashion 
Week. She's a mother of two daughters. 

Zayden Skipper is from Atlanta, Georgia. He was raised 
in Chicago by a group of women who taught him to be 
strong and how to sew. After college, he moved to 
Atlanta where he started out as homeless and ended up 
as the only Black man to graduate from the Savannah 
College of Art and Design. His personal specialty is 
Urban Avant-Garde Streetwear. He's made quite a spash 
in fashion in a very short time. He's going to be fun 
to watch. 

Sabrina Spanta calls Bloomfield, Michigan home. Originally 
from Afghanistan, her family fled in the late 1990's to a 
refugee camp in Pakistan. Her mother died there, and her 
father cared for her and her siblings. In 2000, Sabrina 
and her sister were adopted by their great Aunt whom 
she refers to as her "true Mother". Her father had worked 
as a tailor, so she learned sewing and design from him 
as a child. She has a passion for patterns and embroidery. 

Aaron Michael Steach grew up in West Virginia but currently 
calls Jackson, Mississippi home. He was raised by his 
grandparents after his mother's death. He is a self-taught 
designer who mainly designed for drag shows and 
performers at the only gay bar in central Mississippi. He 
has designed for contestants on "Rupaul's Drag Race", various 
theatrical productions, and national pageant winners. 

Anna Zhou is from San Francisco, California. Her father 
was a sculptor, so she thinks she inherited his artistry. 
She grew up in Shanghai, China, but thinks she came 
into her own when she moved to the US where she 
received a degree in fashion design. She has had two 
collections featured in "Women's Wear Daily". 

So there you have it - the contestants for this year's Project Runway. I'm thrilled that it's back on the air, and even happier that I don't have to stay up late, but can catch it on replay on Peacock. It's so much easier to just watch it on my phone when I have a few minutes available. Call me happy! 

Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow.