Music and a monsoon.

I've spent a week in New Mexico, mostly for the Santa Fe Opera but also visiting family in Albuquerque.  Somebody asked whether we were making a left turn, and I shared this photo from the place we ate breakfast:

I was too busy enjoying events, family, friends, and driving to take photos, but I made sure to snap one of the set for Madama Butterfly, because it really took advantage of the scenery:

And I took a yoga class, which was at the top of our hotel in the Bell Tower Lounge:

Some knitting happened, but no yarn acquisition, in part because of timing (I worked days and then spent the evening at the opera), in part because I haven't used all the yarn I purchased last year, and in part because DFW Fiber Fest occurs the coming weekend and I know I'll buy yarn there!

As for the monsoon: the first opera we were seeing had just begun when lightning flashed in the distance.  We watched the ominous clouds with trepidation.  On the one hand, New Mexico has been extremely dry and they desperately need water.  On the other hand, the Crosby Theater is open to the elements, as the photo of Madama Butterfly's set shows.

The performance continued, and the sky darkened with more than just dusk.  Then the lightning came closer, and thunder rolled, and we had a sprinkle - followed quickly by a deluge.  People pulled on jackets, then scrambled to more sheltered areas because the rain was blowing horizontally through the theater.  My mother and I stayed put, because she doesn't walk well and cannot do stairs, so we would have to cross an open and now-dangerous plaza.  I noticed a couple people across the aisle had umbrellas open, but kept low.  I looked around and we were the only people in our part of the section, except for one couple behind us and over a few seats, who were under an umbrella.  I pulled out one of ours, and my mother and I - now bundled in the sweatshirts we'd brought for the late-night chill, plus a wool shawl I happened to bring - huddled under it.  To their credit and our amazement, the orchestra and performers continued.  We saw some black-clad stage crew crawl onstage between scenes with towels to mop.

By the end of the act, the rains had slackened enough that staff came out with push brooms to move water off the walkways, and towels to dry seats.  Eventually other patrons returned.  The opera wound to its conclusion, with standing ovations and cheers to the performers and orchestra for persevering.*  We went to the hotel with the car seat heaters engaged, spread wet clothing everywhere in the room, had hot showers and cocoa (tea for me) and got into our dry pajamas and warm beds.

Luckily the other nights were drier (just some sprinkles, one of them, and another had rains beginning as we left) so we enjoyed the performances without peering around the edge of an umbrella.

*We later learned that they had almost cancelled the performance due to air quality because of the smoke from wildfires, but the storm cleaned the air quite well and it wasn't an issue the rest of the week.

I have a heart! (But lost at yarn chicken)

A friend announced that she would become a grandmother (or "Gigi", as she chooses to be called) this year, and I decided to make a blanket for her to have at home for when the wee one visits.  I thought he was due in September, but it was July, so I am behind getting the gift to her.*

I began work, decided not to take it traveling as the pattern is a bit complicated, and when I worked on it upon return, learned that I have miscalculated on the yarn needed:

Another ball of the purple is on order.
Sparkle yarn and these colours suit the grandmother.

Because I have never done a C2C (corner-to-corner, usually crocheted) anything with a design worked into it, and because I used the free version which does not contain a diagram, I worked this on faith.  I added the two-square border to use less of the purple (and also thought about doing a purple heart on red, but decided I prefer it the other way) so for most of this I was working with five ends of yarn.

For the other C2C project I am working on, I've sewn the strips together.  I added to the two short ones and all six matched, but somehow, when I sewed the strips together:

Bottom left corner - I thought a corner would
be easier to infill and less obtrusive.

Yep, one strip is shorter than the others.  And that is the starting edge, so I couldn't just unravel it and add more.  Instead, I worked a small panel into that corner, so texture-wise it matches, even if the colour pattern (more accurate in the photo above) goes a bit wonky:

Now a row of double crochet around the edge, which you can see starting along the righthand side, and done.  

* In my religion, you don't give gifts before the baby is born.  I have attended a couple of pre-birth baby showers for people of other faiths, but one of the babies attended as he was born a couple of months early.  So I believe in superstition.

"Poppies... Poppies......"

For once, I didn't skid to the last day of the month before finishing the monthly puzzle:

Yes, the table is getting crowded.
This month the pieces include a dragonfly,
a butterfly, a bee. and several flowers.

When I saw what the flower of the month is, I kept hearing Margaret Hamilton's voice.  Did you?

Moon rising.

I took these photos when we attended the White Sox game a couple Mondays ago:

The White Sox lost but otherwise it was a good game, just fun to be in the ballpark and eat ballpark food.  There had been terrible rainstorms earlier in the day, with thunder and about four inches total rainfall, but the grounds crew are amazing and there was just a bit of rain delay before the first pitch.  We did not make it through in time to get the commemorative snow globe for "Christmas in July", but enjoyed the trivia.

In other news, I have almost finished the strips for a blanket I plan to donate to Warm Up, America! at DFW Fiber Fest at the end of the month.  It's been something planned for a long time, and I finally got around to making the strips.  I calculated that six strips would make a good-sized blanket and allow for a border (nothing fancy, just to make the edges even), and after finishing the sixth strip this morning I laid them out to check lengths and prepare to sew:

I want to make chevrons - obviously the two
strips on the right need to be swapped.

As you can see, even though I measured the strips against each other as I crocheted, two of them need to have a bit of additional length:

Back to it!  I think I can match the colours for those bits, and if I cut off anything from the cakes, I'll use those bits in the border.  The strips measure about 40"x60", which is between the Child and Adult blanket sizes on the Warm Up, America! site.  I'll let them decide who is the recipient.  Or I might have enough yarn to make a seventh strip - should I?

Another cake for history.

For the final presentation of the History SIG (Special Interest Group), I decided to make a pecan cake based upon this recipe:

The substitution is simple:  10oz of slightly toasted pecan pieces in place of the black walnuts.  I think that pecans must be lighter than black walnuts, because that is a LOT of nuts in the batter.  It resulted in two pretty cakes, plenty for whoever is at our closing session.

And once again, I didn't stop for photographs, although I took one of the circular cake after it cooled:

My mother and I went to Chicago for a week, spending time seeing relatives and old friends (including all three of my remaining godparents), and I was too busy enjoying people to photograph the food.  Except this, my dessert one night:

The "Amarena Cherry Panna Cotta" - 
vanilla panna cotta, amarena cherry gelee,
compressed cherry (a bit alcoholic), pistachio

Of course we ate plenty of Chicago specialties, such as deep dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dog (my mother and I split a footlong at a White Sox game, which they sadly and badly lost to the d@mn Yankees, but ended up splitting the series with them - then the Cubs began a series with a close loss and a solid win, before another close loss), Irish soda bread from the Hearts & Flour Bakery tent at the Daley Center Farmers Market, true bagels and lox at a family brunch, and lots of excellent meals at friends' favourite restaurants around the city.  We brought local chocolates to the neighbors and are still nibbling our way through the cookies a friend gave to my mother.

Waterlilies for July.

This month's puzzle is finished with some days of the month to go!

I decided to finish the frame first this month.

Scarves and other uses.

Earlier this week I had to park outside for an extended period on a very sunny day, and my steering wheel was very hot when I got into the car.  Quickly I threw my "car scarf" over the steering wheel and I was able to drive safely.  The "car scarf" is a simple garter stitch project that I can pick up and put down quickly, and easily take with me when I might have a waiting period.

Yarn is Red Heart Super Saver in "Americana".

I've finished some others, a scarf and hat of "Flower Power" yarn, mostly used as a colourway with just three actual flower squares:

I also made a scarf with single crochet stripes out of bits of yarn a friend gave me.  I sorted the yarn into two sets, one of navy and cadet blues, and one of the other blues and greens.  Then I worked until I ran out, adding a bit of dark green at the end so it would be longer:

The bits are all different lengths.
Two-row stripes make carrying the yarn tidier.

I think the yarn is Caron Simply Soft and Simply Soft Paints.

As one ball ran out, I added the next colour from that side, with the last bit of cadet blue switching sides because of the dark green I added.  The scarf looks a bit pulled in at that point but should relax to the required width once washed.

Muster Gingerbread

For tomorrow's history group presentation, which focuses on the northern part of the colonies, I decided to make "Muster Gingerbread" from the Plimoth Colony Cook Book.  It is easy, has a good story (although I think more from the 19th Century than the 18th, but no provenance was given), and makes many pieces.

I forgot to take photos when I started the process, and just have one showing how I propped up the molasses jar to drain as much as possible.  Then I went for a walk.  After I returned, I added the melted butter and buttermilk, then mixed - very carefully, because the bowl was overfull.

That might be, in part, because I was doubling the recipe.  However, I used only a cup and a half each of molasses and butter, because the proportions seemed awry if you want cookies.  Too much liquid.  And I was right as I ended up with a fluffy batter, a bit thick but definitely more for cake than cookies:

Photo taken about fifteen minutes into baking.  The chemical reaction between the baking soda and the acid in both the molasses and the buttermilk caused the rise.  My other change was to increase the ginger to a full tablespoon each, and add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon per recipe.

[Historical note:  Baking soda is a modern addition, having first been isolated in somewhere between 1791 and 1801, but not available generally until the middle of the 19th Century.  It is more likely that pearlash was used, but even so, that might be post-Revolutionary War.  I decided to bake this recipe even though I have other gingerbread/gingerbrede receipts that would be more historically accurate, because I think the group won't care and they'd like the name and find it appropriate to the discussion.]

The gingerbread baked well but took longer than the recipe said, of course, since it was written for cookies.  I would have had to add a LOT of flour to make a cooky-rolling stiffness, and I didn't want to make THAT many cookies.  Maybe if I had thought to scale everything else to 1.5 times, or even doing just a single batch with more flour.  Experiments for another day.

These came out quite tastily:

The decorative pan made distinct designs which are not terribly visible except on the bottom right quadrant of the photograph, but the cake is a bit crisper than the ones baked in the other two pans.  I now have a high-piled platter of pieces of gingerbread for people to enjoy tomorrow.

Alternating exercises and the effect of reading.

I am getting into a routine of doing the weight circuit at the community center gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with long walks on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and yoga on Saturday.  This keeps me moving with different forms of exercise and I feel better than I have in a number of months.  If I go to the gym in the morning I see a few regulars and a couple of the older men (OK, almost everybody is older than I) helped me with form and we're getting to the chat-a-bit level.  If the weather is good I walk there and back, but if it's not (rainy, HOT) or if I have an early meeting and cannot afford the time, I walk both ways.  A couple days when I did that I added a short walk on a treadmill, both times when I had to wait for machines in the weight circuit to be available.  Sometimes I'm busy and go in the evening, and around suppertime the place is pretty much deserted.

I finished a book this morning, which makes fourteen for the year, so I am ahead of schedule for my stated goal of eighteen.  Three were very short children's books that I read before donating them to a friend's Little Free Library, as I think we should vet the items before they are available to the community.  I know that she will also do, but I can tell her I previewed the books.  I have another one to read while I wait for this month's SciFi Book Club selection to arrive.  I am not sure whether it will be the hold, something from Inter-Library Loan, or a secondhand copy I purchased that has a different name but seems to be the same book - I'll find out.  I did NOT want to spend $40 for a new copy, or (sometimes, much) more as it seems to be in demand.

Something interesting happened on two different nights as I was reading in bed: my fitness tracker sent a warning, because my heart rate (pulse) had dropped to 47 beats per minute.  Maybe fewer.  I guess that's a sign of how calming reading is for me!  When I had my annual checkup recently my PCP commented that my heart rate is nice and low, but she is not concerned.  Neither is my cardiologist.

250 years of celebrating Independence

Technically, the birthday should be on July 2nd (something John Adams argued for until he died - on July 4, 1826) because that was the day the delegates voted, but the document was signed on July 4th so here we are.  And many people of all political viewpoints have been reflecting on "where are we" and "will we be here in another 50 years?" and "what will the United States of America resemble then?"  [Some wonder what it will look like after the midterm elections in November, or the next Presidential election, or if anything happens to change the country's leadership before then.]  Like many of my friends and my parents' contemporaries, I remember the Bicentennial and how it was recognized and celebrated.  It was so different from today's celebrations, and not just because so many are being cancelled, rescheduled, or limited because of the dangerous heat wave and drought across the country.

Ten years ago, as part of the "We Are America" series, wrestler and actor John Cena made a video that I think resonates just as much today.  We're still wrestling with the aftermath of slavery and the treatment of the indigenous peoples and immigrants, and the late granting of the vote to women (which some people think they should cede to their husbands), but we are still here, and many of us are trying to fight to continue the country we believe in, built on "truths [that are] self-evident, that all men [and women] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Halfway Finished

I kept meaning to finish the June puzzle.  I wasn't avoiding it because of pink, and roses, and pink roses, because I didn't open the box until yesterday.  {People who know me well know pink is my least favourite colour, and I am allergic to roses.}

LOTS of flower shaped pieces in this puzzle.

My two favourite of the unusually-
shaped pieces.

I managed to finish before June ended, in short bursts through the day.  This is the sixth of the year of small round puzzles, so I am halfway through.

A Rich Seed Cake

I'm attending a series of history presentations around the American Revolutionary War, from the events leading to it, to the actual years of the conflict (which were several after 1776, if you didn't know), and early days of the new Republic.  Since I haven't been able to participate substantively, I asked if they would be interested in having some cakes or cookies baked from period recipes - and the organizers eagerly accepted.

For the first one, I chose a Georgian era recipe from The British Museum Cookbook, reprinting Mrs. Raffald's recipe for a "Rich Seed Cake".  I made a few changes in process, because I wanted to take advantage of my stand mixer, and it has only one bowl:

I started by whipping four egg whites stiff, and
moved them to a separate bowl to wait.

Same bowl, I was lazy and did not wash it.
Softened butter (one cup) and white sugar
(three-quarters of a cup, can be one cup).

Butter and sugar whipped until light.
I stopped to scrape the sides a couple times.

Adding the egg yolks one at a time.

Adding (possibly too many, I estimated) anise seeds, plus one
teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg.

I added two cups of  flour one half-cup at a time,
alternating with the whipped egg whites.

I probably should have started with the egg whites and mixed
them in completely but I thought this might keep more of the air
in the mixture, since that is the only raising power in this recipe.

I decided to use a fancy pan for the baking, and forgot to take a photo before putting it into the oven.  I also forgot to tap the pan to knock out any air bubbles before baking.

While the oven was on, since I'd been successful in foraging for blackberries, I made a batch of muffins which were shared with (very appreciative) neighbors:

I used a friend's blueberry cake recipe, but instead of layering
the batter and berries, stirred the berries in and scooped.

Final results, before I packaged up the muffins to deliver to neighbors:

Of course I sampled before delivery.  All reports are that the 
muffins - which are not too sweet - are very yummy.

I wrapped the cake in clingfilm to stay moist and mellow overnight:

Pockmarked by the air holes, and hopefully not too dry or dense.

My house smells wonderful.

I might try her recipe for "Wiggs" if the presenters are talking about the similarly-named political party.

Also this week, I went to a local group's gathering, and wanted to take something interesting but not too complicated.  So I started a shawl, using sock yarn doubled.  The colours are not ones I usually like, but this will be nice and a bit of warmth, and if somebody wants it I won't be sad to pretend generosity.

The yarn was dyed by the "Little" of a local dyer in Texas, and is called "Space".  The stitch markers are leftover Turtle Tokens that I give to people who join the daily walks at some conferences I attend.  I've since seen the dyer's Fallen Moon Drops pattern and one colourway is similar to this, so since it's just been a weekend's knitting I am tempted to frog and reuse the yarn - but I am desisting.  I have another skein or two of her yarn that I can use, or of course some other.

Somebody was working with a VERY old dataset.

As I said at the end, I knew this was a fishing expedition, because the address is NOT one that people can just "ride by", although it's possible that s/he was visiting somebody who lives on that end of the community.  The unit where I used to live is at the far end of the subdivision and the road ends not far after that cluster of duplexes.  I did have a neighbor named Sam, but he knew that I moved.

Notably, this Sam didn't say anything after I told him/her that I sold the unit years ago.  😁

It's always fun to receive a cold call asking "do you have a house to sell" or sometimes asking about a specific address.  Very often it's someplace in North Texas (because my area code is from there) and I'm sometimes tempted to say "yes" just to see how far it would go.  Of course, there are ethical reasons I won't do it, plus not getting on some lists of people to pester, but if the callers want to annoy me, I'll annoy them right back!

I miss my Daddy.

To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter. 

-Euripides, playwright (c. 480-406 BCE)

My father loved the classics, but I never discussed the above quote with him.  I hope he thought so.  I went to the cemetery today, for a little visit.  As is traditional in my religion, I left a rock.

After all this time........

The person whom I wrote about earlier this year sent a FB message today (although I unfriended him; should I have also blocked?  Or did FB ignore the unfriending? No, he is still not on my friends list, but I guess an old message thread still works) asking if I could give him an airplane ticket to California.  The cousin he'd wanted to see, who told him she was not up for a visit (especially because he planned to do a lot of high-energy activity), died and he wants to go out for the funeral.

This is a person who did not show any thoughtfulness when my grandmother died, or my father died, and who - as I noted in the previous post - only contacts me when he wants something.  Usually it's an airline ticket, or money.  I think I am going to pretend I never saw his message.  He can find his own way there.

Some people might consider this cold and rude.  I'm just tired of being taken for granted, and viewed as nothing more than an airline ticket dispensary by this person.

istock photo, downloaded from one of their sites.

Music and the Flag.

Tonight, this:

The Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi (same name as my congregation in Connecticut), home of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life (home of a virtual Torah study I've enjoyed for years), was victimized by arson early this year.  It is one of many incidents of anti-Jewish action not just in the USA, but all around the world since Hamas struck in October 2023.

Today is Flag Day, and somebody in my community posted a poem:

I am the flag of the United States of America.

​My name is Old Glory.

 

I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.

I stand watch in America's halls of justice.

I fly majestically over institutions of learning.

I stand guard with power in the world.

Look up and see me.

​

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.

I stand for freedom. I am confident.

I am arrogant. I am proud.

When I am flown with my fellow banners,

My head is a little higher,

My colors a little truer.

 

I bow to no one!

I am recognized all over the world.

I am worshipped - I am saluted.

I am loved - I am revered.

I am respected - I am feared.

I have fought in every battle of every war for more than 200 years.

I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appamatox.

I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France, in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy.

Guam, Okinawa, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me.

 

I was there. I led my troops.

I was dirty, battleworn and tired,

but my soldiers cheered me and I was proud.

I have been burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries

I have helped set free. It does not hurt for I am invincible.

I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled in the streets of my country.

And when it's done by those whom I've served in battle - it hurts.

 

But I shall overcome - for I am strong.

I have slipped the bonds of earth and

stood watch over the uncharted frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.

I have born silent witness to all of America's finest hours.

 

But my finest hours are yet to come.

When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my wounded comrades on the battle field,

when I am flown at half mast to honor my soldier,

or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent at the grave of their fallen son or daughter,

​

I am proud.

I am the flag of the United States of America.

Originally entitled, My Name is Old Glory by Howard Schnauber

© 1994 the author [Mr. Schnauber has given permission to the public to use this poem for program or publishing purposes. Please credit the Fort Collins Public Library Local History Archive, Oral History Interview of Mr. Howard Schnauber, the author.] 

A friend told me about the "Rise Up, Sing Out" concert that No Kings is hosting today.

==============================================================

It's been a fiber-y week otherwise.  On Monday evening, the Triangle Fiber Guild had a class on Tunisian Crochet.  I didn't get a copy of the handout, but figured out two of the stitches from the teacher's demonstration:

I plan to take this apart ('frogging' in yarn people parlance) and restart at seven inches width, so it can be a Warm Up, America! blanket piece.

At the end of the week I went to a professional conference, in St. Louis but not near the ballpark.  Which was fine because the Cardinals are not in town this week.  With the NBA and NFL finals, and the start of the FIFA World Cup, is anybody focused on baseball this week?

While there, I finished a scarf:

Middle is a strip of Red Heart All-in-One Granny 
yarn, left over from a scarf.  I picked up on the 
sides with Big Twist in red, and worked longways.

The photo was taken at the airport, just before I packed the scarf and took out another project.  It is a small sweater using two hanks of ChemKnits Creations yarn.  My return flight was badly delayed so I arrived in the wee hour of Saturday morning, and took this photo while I knitted at luggage claim:

Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day, and I continued to work on the sweater throughout the day, while I was at TheaterFESTival to learn about local companies (I found two or three with which I may work), and in the evening when I went to see "The Mystery of Irma Vep" as it was closing and that was my only opportunity.  My mother worried that I would be too tired, but the play is lively and full of tricks so I was fine.

The sweater now looks like this:

It's below the sleeves, working on the body until the rainbowy yarn runs out.