Three films.

In the last week or so I've managed to watch three films about dementia of various types.  This wasn't planned; they just happened to be scheduled by online groups in this timeframe.

One is Still Alice, about a woman with familial early-onset Alzheimer's.  Not a story in my family, but I have a friend who has been diagnosed, as has her sister, so it's something of interest to me.  The online service had some issues but I was able to watch the film, and in joining the discussion suggested that caregivers might want to read Her Final Year, which helped me deal with decisions I had to make.

The other two films focused on performers whose work I admired and enjoyed.  SPARK is a film about Robin Williams and his battle with Lewy Body Dementia.  This is the disease that felled a woman I considered one of my godmothers.  She was diagnosed during her lifetime; he wasn't until after he died.  It was interesting to watch, and heartbreaking.

The final film focused on a performer on whom I had a crush: Gene Wilder.  Remembering Gene Wilder is a biography that gives a fond overview of his career, addresses his marriages, his relationships with co-stars and Mel Brooks, and explains how, in the end, his mind faded with Alzheimer's.

The uncle for whom I was responsible had some form of dementia in the end, so I am interested in the various forms it takes.

Things finished today:  Another book (so I am at 23 of 18 for the year) and a scarf for the Red Scarf Project.

Bavarian Stitch, based upon this pattern.

One of the local groups is collecting at their holiday party on December 9th so they can be mailed to arrive by December 15th.  I should have at least one more done by then, maybe two.  The next one is knitted and I did two inches during tonight's online group get-together.

Final Dozen.

I was going to post midweek but ended up sick on Wednesday, with a sinus headache that morphed into a migraine.  I took two naps that day, and lots of OTC medication, and kitchen medicine in the form of chicken soup, wasabi chips, and hot sauce.  

Not my bottle.

I got my head in order enough to participate in "Lady Windemere's Fan" that evening (luckily, I had a small part as a gossip at the ball, channeling my inner Anna Russell on the line 'Who is she?') and before then to drop off five hats and five scarves to the Twisted Knitter collection:

The five scarves are all my basic C2C, made from a now-discontinued red/white/blue Premier Candy Shop yarn.  I intended them for Knit Your Bit but since they are not currently collecting, this is a good substitute.

I knit or crocheted three of the hats while on my trip earlier this month.  The top left hat is based upon the Airegin Hat pattern but adjusted because the yarns I had are thinner than the pattern requires.  The yellow hat below it is the Granny Beanie, and the other yellow hat is based upon it but working the rows in the one two below, so it closes up the holes.  Because I used the majority of the multicoloured yarn on the first one, I spaced those rows out further on the second, because I have lots of the gold.

The brown hat is based on Barley Hat, out of a ball of Taos I received in a local fiber group's holiday swap.  The white-and-grey was worked from leftover acrylic yarns, Premier Sweet Roll Silver Swirl.

I didn't have this set finished in time to deliver it on Wednesday evening, because of the play, but I finished during my "offstage" time and delivered it Thursday morning, just in time for the deadline:

So that's the last dozen for this collection.  Up next are the Blue Elves and Red Scarf Project.

On Friday I finally felt better.  Yesterday I had my usual Saturday at my parents' house, helping my father to sort books (we finished a carload in time for Mom to deliver it to Friends of the Library, instead of having to wait for Tuesday), then after this week's soufflé Dad decided to clean out his bureaus and closet a bit.

This week's soufflé was especially tall.

Today I got to do chores of my own.  This evening I am watching a film about Braver Angels.  In this fraught post-election atmosphere, they are probably very much needed.

Accounting.

I finished a book and read two others on the trip.  One was a thick mystery I picked up from the ship's library and stayed up late to finish so I could leave it in place; the other was a slim mystery I took with me and read mostly on the trip home, finishing this morning.  So Goodreads tells me I have finished 22 books out of my 18-book Reading Challenge for 2024.

I did buy a little yarn on the trip:

The purple is a yak-wool blend that will make a lovely hat and mittens or gloves to go with my blue-teal coat.  I wore the coat to the shop and we tried to match but nothing was close.  A few yarns were within a shade or two, just enough that they looked odd, but the purple really glowed.  The other is an intriguing-looking yarn that I will use to make more charity hats.

I finished (except for a bit of sewing-up) four charity hats, and am mostly finished with one similar to the yellow hat, plus have started a scarf to match the wedge hat on the right:

This is after I finished a hat for myself on the flight over, and wore it often.  I need to make it a bit longer and will post a photo once that is done.

I also made a collection of gingerbread (lebkuchen) to try:

The black bag came from the Basilika St. Michael in Mondsee, Austria; they are using it to raise funds to repair the roof.  The others from a Vienna shop that also had a stall at the St. Stephen's Cathedral Christmas market, two of their several types.

Like many people, I am nervous and a bit frightened about what the results of Tuesday's election means for much of the country.

Taking care of business.

Leaving in a few hours, and my laptop was approved to travel outside our geo-blocking, so I can keep up with work.  Yes, it's a vacation, and I won't stress to participate in meetings while gone, but tracking through email and not returning to an overfull inbox and missed deadlines can be restful.

Of course I made sure to vote before I leave.

The other night I took a quick break from work and delivered nine hats plus one hat-and-scarf set, plus a scarf a friend had knitted, to the Twisted Knitter collection point at our community center:

Some of these are in acrylics, others are sock yarn leftovers, and others are hand-dyed yarn from Always Be Kind Yarn, Forbidden Fiber Co., and UP North Yarns.  While it may seem absurd to use an expensive yarn for this purpose, the dyers are paid and appreciated; I get the fun of using the yarn; and somebody gets a nice warm hat!  I tag them with washing instructions, of course.

Off to the airport in an hour, for my next adventure.  I've packed yarn for more hats and a scarf.