WIP Wednesday

We're still here on the planet.  I was just too tired to post last week.  Not much creativity going on.

I put a few stitches on my floral bell pull this week.  Very late I remembered about TUSAL.  Just really busy the past couple weeks with appointments and still more paperwork comes pouring in.  Still waiting to get dates for the orientation for home care.  Looks like sometime in July before I get a check.  Will have to call to follow up again tomorrow. (sigh)

Yellow and green threads added to the jar. Yes, that is Easter chocolate.

I finished the merino/silk and am working on my friend's llama fiber.  It's going to be very rustic looking.  This fiber has been carded.

More interesting things.  Here's Dammit with his paws around Betty, hugging.  Dammit spends every night sitting by the O2 concentrator, guarding it, from what, who knows.

Bootsy likes to ride on the back on Duane's wheel chair.

and watching the baseball game with her Pop.

A very happy kitteh now that she has her Pop.

We have babies, yet again.  That makes 13.  Duane checks them every day.  He's waiting for the fourth egg to hatch.  They've been going through seed and spinach likes it's going out of style.  I can understand the one's with the babies, but the other seven have increased appetites.

Duane made lasagna Monday night and we had my friend that drove me back and forth everyday over for dinner.  Here it is pre-oven.

Here it is out of the oven. Yes, my stove really is the size of an Easy Bake Oven.

WIP Wednesday

I'm late posting as usual lately.  I spent the day working my through the red tape, paperwork and errands to get this paper to take to another place.  It will soon be finished, I hope.

All I have worked on this week is plying the merino/silk laceweight.  This will go to my friend in Phoenix.

Other than that, I've been busy trying to keep up with housework and paperwork.  We were both under the weather over weekend.  We're getting there slowly.  He's anxious to get back to his former disgustlingly good health and over does it some days.  If you missed Tuesday's post, he cobbled together a quick post with his mango salsa recipe.  Please stop by that one and say hi.

We've hit the triple digits.  No cool weather here for several months now.  I'll leave you with a couple pictures of tonight's sunset, we watched while waiting for dinner to finish cooking.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope to have more creative endeavors soon.  In the meantime there are more WIP's to see by clicking the button below.

I Can Haz Chalupa

Guest post by my beloved.  He hasn't been feeling well this week, but a wrote a short post over the weekend as follows:

Regular readers of this here blog will no doubt know that I’ve been a tad under the weather for some time,and will have some idea of what the circumstances are and have been. If you’re not a regular reader,I suggest that you hie theeself back a few pages and acquaint thyself with the contents of this area of the blogosphere.

Suffice it to say that oxygen is NOT over-rated. I myself receive 3 liters per hour of the stuff,the delivery system being @50 feet of slender plastic hose surmounted by a nasal cannula,which I commonly refer to as a chalupa,which isn’t necessarily the item that is carried by Taco Bell,or a cannoli,a delicious Sicilian dessert.

In any event,I am alive,reasonably well,and busily creating edible treats for our evening repast. Our budget is small,which allows for a great deal of creativity and an endless search for the best bang for the buck.

So thanks for all of the well-wishing and like that. I truly appreciate it. I am pleased to announce that I am still alive and possessed of a variety of humors,which are only exacerbated by my condition. Those of you who wish further elucidation or have a corresponding need to excoriate me may contact me via facebook,via my own corner of cyberspace (see blogzilla aka modblog),or by email at moderanathotmaildotcom.

And speaking of edible treats,here’s one for you folks to try-my version of pineapple/mango salsa:

Pineapple/Mango Salsa

ingredients:

1 fresh pineapple,cored,peeled,coarsely chopped

1 red mango,peeled,seeded,coarsely chopped

1 pickled jalapeno,sliced (jarred is okay)

1 yellow onion,peeled and diced

1/4  each of red and green bell peppers,chopped and seeded

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

chopped cilantro to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 stick butter

preparation:

Over low-medium heat,melt butter. Add chopped onion and peppers. When the onion starts becoming transparent,add the pineapple,mango,and jalapeno.

combine liquid elements,sugar,salt pepper,garlic powder. Stir to dissolve.

When the onion begins to brown,add the liquid to the pan,turn the heat up to medium,and cook until the mixture begins to bubble,stirring occasionally.

Turn off the burner,cover the pan,and let the salsa cool at room temperature.. It will thicken slightly while cooling. Store in refrigerator-it’ll last a week or so. Great over pork,poultry,or fish. We had ours over roast pork with a brown sugar/chipotle rub,with white rice and stir-fried vegetables on the side.

A yellow mango was also sacrificed to the cause,being peeled,seeded,and chopped,placed in the blender,and covered with ice and gin,with a little sugar and half a cup of cold water. Yum.

WIP Wednesday

Not much crafting is happening here.  So much to do, I feel like I'm running in circles.  It's not the patient, it's everything else.

About an inch was added to the tank top, not really interesting enough to take a picture of.  It would probably look the same as last week.  The good news is my daughter told me she has my boxes stored in bathroom.  I know a bit more of the yarn I'm using for the tank top is in one of those boxes.  Bad news, I'm still waiting for her to send me Girl Scout cookies since October.  I'm thinking they got eaten by now.

My spinning wheel sits next to my swivel rocking chair, so it's very easy just to sit, spin for a few minutes, then jump up to do something else.  I've finished the second half of the merino/silk and have now begun plying.

Hopefully 900 + yards of mind numbing plying.  The blue is the merino/silk, the purple is a strand of 6 ply embroidery floss. I think it's funny that when I'm spinning I can't wait to see the yarn plied, then when I get to the plying it's, this so boring.  Those of you who spin, is it like that for you?  I'm hoping it might be done by Friday.  Then I will start on the alpaca.

When my daughter called on Monday to say she's having another girl, I found this fingering weight cotton in the bin I'm going through.  I was going to sell this, but decided to start a top down raglan sweater like I made for my daughter and granddaughter when they were babies.  This is as far as I had gotten, then I was thrown off by thinking about buttonholes or to just leave it and sew on velcro.  Me, I'm totally overcome over the thought of buttonholes or no buttons.  Stressed just a bit??  If you've read my blog, or have seen my past projects, you might find this amusing.

Artfire, I'm thrown off by that one.  They won't let list until I have a banner and a number of other stuff.  I'm just going to put up stuff on my Ravelry page Knittingbunnies. It will be easier that way for me, and I need something to be easy right now.

Amy over at Dyed In The Wool and Carol Knitting Knot have both bought from me in the past.  There have been others, but I can't remember who is still blogging.  In fact, Amy's current project is with yarn she bought from me almost two years ago, I recognized it right off.  How cool is that?

The in-home case manager called and said they would pay me for two hours a day, 14 hours a week.  I think that's a little low, I was hoping for 20.  I got in contact with an agency and they pay 10.00 an hour.  Friday, I have to go for the CPR and first aid class from 9 to 4.  Then a few other places for TB testing, finger printing, state Id.  The cost of which will be taken out of my paycheck at 20.00 a week. Do the math.  14 hours times 10.00 minus 20.00 and taxes.  Not much is it?

She said, they weren't having an orientation for a couple weeks but she will see if she can get one scheduled for next week.  She didn't sound hopeful about me picking up extra hours.  She wanted to send me to Nogales, Phoenix and Three Points. Yikes. Even if I had a car, I wouldn't be driving that far with gas prices as they are.  It's $3.63 a gallon here. I know it's higher other places.

 I asked if she didn't have anything in town. Yes, but the busses are unreliable.  Really?  I've not had much of a problem.  She said in 6 months she might be able to get me 30 hours.  Honey, I need an extra 20- 25 hours now.  Oh well, I'll figure out something.  At least I'll be listed as employed and that makes it easier to find another job.

D called the cable company about our phone and internet, they gave us a whopping extra 3 days.  Not even 30 days past due and they are throwing a fit.  I have until June 2 at midnight to come up with $100.00 to keep the phone and internet on, plus the very basic cable, it's a package deal.  Which is really June 1 to make the payment.

I was going to take more pictures of stuff today, but it was the last day of school and the kids and neighbors were in the pool all afternoon, three feet from my patio.  I didn't feel like the third degree, so I'll sort more tonight, take pictures in the morning.  I have a couple places to go tomorrow, so will add to my Rav page when I get back.  Friday is a lost cause.  Start again on Saturday.  The plumbing here sucks, so dying the yarn  is a slow process,  In a dishpan, in my tub (the only decent plumbing).

For your entertainment, D is almost finished with his guest blog post.  He'll probably be more entertaining as he won't sound like the exasperated housewife. He's posting the recipe of my favorite meal we made together, pork loin with pineapple mango salsa and rice.

On comments about Monday's post.  My children, they are the product of their genetics.  Most of the people in my life since I was very small are self-involved to the point of narcissism.  Both related and in-laws.  The poor kids didn't stand a chance, so I just accept them as they are.  I learned at a young age that to get my emotional needs met, I would have to look outside my inner circle.  Sometimes that leads me to find yet more self-involved people, which I leave where they are because I have enough already.  Which is why I stay with D and was amazed at the lady who took me back and forth these past three months.  Plus all of you who continue to read my blathering.  I don't know why you keep coming, but I'm glad you do. .

Also, Teresa, it's why I moved 3000 miles away from my family.  Actually, 2,750 miles.

 I figured out the person from Lima, NY  is my daughter popping in occasionally, to check on me.  I don't know who the person in Pittsford, NY is.  (waves Hello to the mystery person in Pittsford.)  It's nice to know someone from home reads me.

As an ex-Western NYer, I know all about complaining about the heat.  Yuck, a hot day up there is like having syrup dumped on you.  I'll take this dry heat any day. It's so hot and dry that when you start to sweat, it dries right away.   Though I will complain about the possibility of spontaneously combusting and the heat index of Hell.  When it gets to 110F, I'm going to fry an egg on my patio this year and take video.

Thanks for visiting.  I'm in the transition phase.  Transitioning back to creative endeavors (I hope) and less stressful whining (really hopeful.)   Clicking the button below will lead you to more creative people.