kmkat and her kneedles

Drive-by bullets.

• Smokey continues to improve. Very, very slowly. 
   
• He googled "L5 fusion recovery" and found a site/BBS with posts from people with his same surgey and with recoveries that lasted weeks or months and who suffered from pain that he doesn't have.
   
• He now reminds himself how much worse it could be.
   
• Still, it will be a long, slow recovery.
   
• Boring.
   
• It has been ungodly hot and humid here.
   
• 88˚ in the house.
   
• Blech.
   
• Those of you who live where hot and humid summers are the norm and are thinking "Wimp!", imagine that you had 4 - 6 weeks in the winter where the warmest it got was -10˚F. 
   
• That is a rough equivalent of what this summer has been for us Northern types.
   
• Happily, the bedroom is air-conditioned.
   
• Sadly, the drain holes on the window air conditioner were plugged.
   
• I have used a handheld wet vac on the floor next to Smokey's bed twice. 
   
• Unplugged the drain holes yesterday.
   
• Set up two fans to dry out the carpet.
   
• Keeping fingers crossed.
   
• A miracle occurred sometime while I was sleeping last night.
   
• When I came out of the bedroom this morning, the house was comfortable.
   
• A mere 80˚.
   
• I opened the window in the bedroom and pulled back the curtains.
   
• Smokey said the sunlight and fresh air were a boost to his spirits.
   
• He generally prefers our bedroom to be more of a cave -- dark and cool.
   
• Even dark and cool can get boring.
   
• Bald eagle just flew over the yard.
   
• Life could be a lot worse.

Blogger note: I wrote this yesterday afternoon but just as I tried to preview and publish it, my mouse stopped working. For the umpteenth -- well, third -- time in as many days. Did you know that without a mouse you cannot do ANYTHING? I tried to publish it from my iPad, but hitting "Publish" there did nothing. (Why not, Typepad? When are you going to put out a mobile blogging app, huh?) My googling for solutions came to naught. Then I mentioned my problem in a comment on Erika's blog, and BINGO! she sent me a link to a troubleshooting page, from whence I fixed the problem! Her google-fu is clearly superior to mine. Thanks again, Erika!)

Saturday.

This was the Saturday activity for my friend Colleen, the county librarian and fellow knitter, and I. She picked me up at 10 am and we were off.

First stop was Fibre Functions in rural Frederic, WI. (No website; link is to the Facebook page.) Audrey, the owner, is in my book group and in the alternate-Thursdays-knitting-group I attend when I can, and Colleen had taken a knitting class from her, so we were already acquainted. (Such is life in small towns.) But I had never been to her shop, which is housed in a small building behind her lakeside home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audrey had LOTS of yarn crammed into the tiny three-room building. We spent nearly an hour touching, squeezing, stroking, and drooling. (Wait, that sounded pornographic. Yarn, people, yarn!) After doing serious damage to Colleen's checking account and my credit card, we were on our way to the next stop....

...which was Blackberry Hills, the enterprise of Jerry and Loretta Pedersen. They have sheep and llamas and alpaca (and goats and cow and rabbits, oh my). I have seen and purchased Loretta's yarns and fiber at Yarnover and Shepherd's Harvest. The studio, in the walk-out basement of their home, has Loretta's spinning wheel(s) and loom(s) and lots of fiber. More damage to our respective checking account and credit card ensued. Happy damage, though.

[digression] The day before the event it occurred to me that the very last thing in the world I needed was more yarn. However, what was the point of going on a yarn shop hop if I didn't buy some yarn? So I resolved to buy something at each stop. Buy local, support local businesses, etc., etc. So I did. [/digression]

By this time it was noonish and we were hungry, so we headed to St Croix Falls to find some lunch. On the way we passed Chateau St Croix, a local winery that you have seen here before, where we noticed many tents on the grounds and lots of cars. We stopped to see what was happening, which turned out to be an art fair. We briefly walked through, but the food for sale did not tempt us, mainly because the outdoor temperature was quite possibly equal to the surface of the sun and we did not relish perching on a picnic bench in said sunshine to eat. So we left, but not before I bought a quarter pound of truffle cheese upon which to feast at bedtime.

And also not before I took my sole photo for the day.

Wine-themed ceramics. Click to embiggen so you can read the inscriptions.

Lunch was at Grecco's in a shady corner of their lovely outdoor deck (sort 0f) overlooking the St Croix river. Grilled salmon sandwich to die for for me, grilled chicken sandwich and a cup of carrot ginger soup (also to die for) for Colleen, and a glass of cold Sangria for each of us.

After lunch we headed across the river to Shelley's, site of my other knitting group and housed in a former bank. That is the former drive-up window at lower left in the first photo, and, no, Shelley does not sell drive-up yarn, sorry.

These photos are old and have been patiently waiting their turn on the blog.
Today is the day, guys!

I left Shelley's with yarn and a pattern for the cutest baby sweater EVAH (no, I don't know anyone who is having a baby, but they seem to crop up about once a year; this time I will be prepared) and the yarn to make it.

There were lots of knitters and shoppers in Shelley's small shop while we were there; it is just that sort of welcoming place where one feels the urge to hang around and chat and maybe sit and knit a few rows. I overheard a woman say to another shopper, "There are shops with yarn, and there are Yarn Shops [I could hear the bold and Caps in her voice]. This is a Yarn Shop." I totally agree.

Last stop was the St Croix Art Barn in Osceola, where Mrs. I was selling her inventory. Her shop had been located in a former church on Main Street, but she had recently closed it and is looking for a way to continue her business with lower overhead. I left there with a couple balls of cotton chenille to make the softest face cloths on the planet.

Tomorrow (or soon), photos of the haul.

* * * * *

Colleen and I had both been to Shelley's and the Art Barn many times, so we had no trouble finding them. But Fibre Function and Blackberry Hills were both out in the wood and unknown to us. The day before I came up with this: screen shots on my iPad of the Google Map to each place.

Sometimes I just amaze myself.

Sunday evening, the golden hour.

Our sky was slightly overcast today but it was a beautiful day nevertheless -- perfect temp, light breeze. Heavenly, especially after the heat and humidity we suffered for several weeks.

I knit on the deck for a good while this afternoon, then came in to take care of a few things. Later I was at the computer and chanced to look out the window... and grabbed my camera.

The light was stunning.

Of course, I had help.

  
 

A little catching up.

I have two finished scarves, one for me and one for the Red Scarf Project, but you are not going to see them until they are blocked and attractively staged. Instead I will catch you up on other matters.

* * * * *

The other Olde Tyme Photo, this one of The Young Couple.

* * * * *

Last week Smokey asked me what I had planned for Friday. Nothing, I replied. Good, he said, I need you to drive me to the VA in Minneapolis. He was scheduled for an epidural injection of local anesthetic and steroids into his lower back in hopes of relieving his near-constant pain, and they would not perform the procedure unless he had someone to drive him home afterwards. He was apologetic about commandeering my day (I know you have other things to do) but all I could think was, I'll have to hang around the VA all day. Knitting time!

Such are a knitter's thoughts.

The procedure went fine, no reactions or after effects, and he ended up being the one to drive us back to Wisconsin after all. It has been two days now and he says it is a miracle to be able to stand up and walk pain free. If this hadn't worked, the next step would have been surgery. The pain stems from an old injury suffered when he fell off a ladder in the mid-1980s. X-rays have shown that there are vertebrae in his back that are nowhere near being in a proper lineup. Age, weight, and rheumatoid arthritis have combined in the past few years to make that injury a source of pain that sometimes even Vicodin doesn't touch. He (and I) are hopeful that he can resume a normal active life again: there are cars to be fixed! home repairs to be done! walks to take! trips to be traveled! The effects are temporary and the procedure has to be repeated every X months, but it is sooo much better than the alternative as long as it works.

* * * * *

Last Sunday I worked at the country fair, first at the library Friends booth, then at the booth for the energy fair later this month. It was hot, and as far as I know, there is only one small office in the entire fair park that is air conditioned; I was not in that office. It was very hot. It was very humid. Think Louisiana swamp hot and humid.

I saw this sign in the fair society's office:

It made me smile in spite of my dripping brow.

* * * * *

Yesterday I helped at a pet adoption event at the local branch of Tractor Supply Company. (Click on that link today -- Sunday, August 7 -- and sign up for a chance to win a year's supply of pet food.) I was at the booth of the county's designated animal shelter (county rep on their board), and they were there as part of Tractor Supply Company's annual P.A.W. -- Pet Appreciation Week. There were two or three other shelters and rescue organizations there as well. We all had a good time visiting each other's animals and, of course, talking to the people who stopped at our display and were interested in pets.

A few extremely poor photos taken with my iPod. This is Lulu, a 1-year-old energetic Boston terrier cross female scheduled to be neutered on Wednesday (shhh, don't tell her):

Meet Wendy, an adorable 2-year-old Jack Russell terrier spayed female:

I do not care for energetic, short-haired dogs -- I want my animals to be calm and furry -- but Wendy was an awfully nice little dog. A couple came by and were as taken with her as I was. They have a special needs child, aged 10, who needs a pet and were seriously considering Wendy. She may have a home soon.

Mary, the shelter director, with Margo, a beagle cross, and Linda, a volunteer dog walker, with Margo's leash (Linda, I apologize for the less-than-flattering photo, but I was concentrating on the dogs):

Angie, this sweet three-year-old spayed female Pug, went home with her new owner, who had found her on Petfinders and had been telephoning back and forth with the shelter for two weeks to settle the adoption. Yay for Angie (and Charlie, her new brother, a basset)!

 

 

* * * * *

And now, if you will excuse me, I need to go sit on the deck and knit. It is finally getting cool enough to be outdoors by choice.

Wind! Rain! Crash!

As I sat at the computer reading my email this morning I noticed that the sky was getting dark. It kept getting darker. Then the wind started to blow and the black sky started spitting rain. I closed the windows on the windward side of the house and retrieved Lucy The Wonder Dog from her chain outside. 

Soon the rain was coming down in bucket and sheets and the wind was blowing at, I estimate, about 300 mph. The oak trees were leaning and tossing and I could not see the lake 75 feet away. Pretty darned impressive. The electricity flickered very slightly a couple of times and I thought I should shut down the computer, but I didn't.

Eventually I went to check that there was no rain coming in on the leeward side -- none, the wide overhanging eaves prevent that -- and noticed that there was a breeze coming in from the 3-season porch. Where there should NOT be a breeze.

You perhaps cannot tell, but there is a window missing there.

This the second time a window has blown out in that porch. I guess combination windows that big are meant to be used with inner sash windows; they are not strong enough by themselves to withstand sustained 50 mph winds. And we thought we were being so clever and economical back in 2001, using just the storms to create a 3-season porch.

Smokey has a lot of Lionel and other model trains neatly stacked on the ping-pong table just visible in the upper left of the second photo. I moved as much as I could out of the reach of the rain, but some of the boxes definitely got damp. Hard to believe, but sometimes the boxes are worth as much to a collector as the train car that came in it. Damn.

This weekend is the county fair. I am glad I am working there tomorrow and not today. I can only imagine how the tents and booths fared in this storm. Same exact thing happened last year, also on the day before I worked. I guess in some strange way I am lucky...

On a more cheerful note, I found this Shopped photo last week, the image manipulation done by #2 Son when he was in high school. (haslp was the screen name he used then, a combination of Half Life, a video game, and Slipknot, a heavy metal group.)

Hot.

It is hot here today.

Hot, hot, hot.

102 degrees. Above zero.

That is all.*

* Not really. By Thursday the highs will be in the upper 60s.

The storm.

An Xtreme thunder- and windstorm blew through here one evening last week. I was home alone and went to stand in the three-season porch to watch it. (I love storms.) But the wind became so strong I stepped back into the house and closed the door. A window pane blew out in that porch once, and if it happened again I didn't want to be in the same room with the flying glass. The wind seemed to be about 50 mph -- it looked like the water was being blown off the surface of the lake.

After a few minutes he storm passed, and we had no significant damage, just a lot of leaves and small branches down (except for that one tree that fell and blocked the neighbor's driveway).

But the next little town south of us did not fare so well.

I drove through a couple days later. Scenes like this were typical.

The county government center lost a storage building. (Look closely at the trees in the background, too).

Utility and tree-trimmer trucks were everywhere.
 

 

Some guys were working.
 

Others were taking their lunch break near the village beach.
 

No one was exempt from damage.
 

The trees were sad.