A Season of Replacements!

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Yes, it has been a long time since I’ve posted. Part of that is the seemingly endless line of things that had to be replaced – in some cases, still require replacement. I originally thought to post before and after photos, but as you will see, that would not always have been appropriate!

The first was my immersion blender, which decided it would no longer hold on to its attachments. Relatively easy fix, and not too expensive. (Imagine photo of blender with attachment hanging at 30 degree angle, followed by photo of new one.)

Next was the water pump, which I tried but failed to drain all the water from, before freezing weather was over, while I was traveling last February; this was a more expensive fix, but it got done.

In June I had run through all the miles allowed on the lease of my Ionic 5, so I bought another car.

Yes, two gray (boring!) cars! Wish I could have gotten another yellow one, but I was under time constraints, looking to buy used as a placeholder until SOMEONE makes a small AWD electric van I can use as a camper! The Ionic (top) is the better vehicle – better built, more energy efficient at 4.6 miles/kilowatt hour, smoother and quieter – but it had a fatal flaw; my foot would slip easily off the accelerator which was too far right for my arthritic joints. The Chevy EquinoxEV is only averaging 3.2 mi/kwh, but at least it doesn’t jar my joints! And a lease does not make sense for the number of miles I put on a car.

Then I decided it was past time to have the gravel on the driveway redone – it was getting washed out and rough after about 18 years, and the neighbor who plows wasn’t happy with the wear and tear on his truck. My joints weren’t too happy about being bounced around, either. I didn’t take a before photo, but here’s one from a couple of years ago, when a tree came down and blocked it – it certainly hadn’t improved! And then the regraded and regraveled driveway:

But the big thing, and you won’t see photos of either old or new! is that I’ve had one hip joint replaced, and the second is scheduled for October 16. I don’t do well with doctors, needles, pain, to say nothing of surgery where they deliberately poke you and slice you open and cut out old pieces and put in new artificial ones. The level of stress has kept me from sleeping well, and kept me on edge since I decided to go through with it. I think that four months from now, I’ll be glad I did it. After the first one, overall pain is down by about 25%. Between the increased pain from the deteriorating hips, the fear and loathing, surgery and recovery, most of my life has been derailed by this. I have been getting to knitting, and some minimal visiting and dog sitting, but no travel since spring, no kayaking – and without the camper, no camping, either.

I’m not promising to post in the immediate future; again, all my energy is going in to physical therapy exercises, trying to keep moving and maintain ties with family and friends, and preparing for the next hip replacement. But I expect to be back posting in November; family Thanksgiving is in New Mexico and train reservations have been made!

And Gathering No Moss, I Headed North

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I had returned home so I could attend the Celebration of Life for an active and well loved member of our town. She was one of the first people I met when I moved here, and I had her two children, and then some of the grandchildren, in my art classes. The old Center Church was packed – there was no room left upstairs in the sanctuary, and sound was piped in downstairs for the rest of us. Probably 10% of the town’s population was there. There was an amazing spread of finger food, sandwiches, fruit, veggies and dips, crackers and cheese, a wide variety of desserts, catered by another local friend of the family known to all. And she was careful to have gluten free, vegan and vegetarian options, because she really does know the community.

At home, I’d missed most of the daffodils; they’d been in bud when I left, and only a few were still blooming. But the Jack in the Pulpit were happy –

Then I had to hustle on up to Burlington; I made it to the park and ride with only a few minutes to catch my breath before my ride appeared to take me up to the Flynn Theater for the Vermont Symphony Orchestra performance of Carmina Burana; My brother-in-law was singing with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.

Sunday it was Rhinoseros, the absurdist play by Ionesco – a timely commentary on going along with the crowd – or not; also very funny. It was put on by Vermont Stage; it’s a very intimate space where you are only feet from the actors.

The following Saturday I helped a friend make the first set of curtains for their sun room, then set off to see the Brattleboro Concert Choir perform Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem; one of my Quaker Knitting Goddess friends was singing in that, and in front of me was one of my knitting people, there to support his wife.

To round out a couple of weeks of catching up on culture, the next Thursday a friend and I went up to Vergennes (the other side of the state, and north again!) where my sister was playing in the Me2 Orchestra. They featured music by American composers, from rousing to meditative.

I’ve heard of putting lipstick on a pig – but on a rhino??

And I Returned Home – and Left Again!

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On leaving the mittens in Maryland, I headed for my fiber loving friends in Pennsylvania – arriving well after bedtime. But like parents of an errant teen, they had waited up. Shown to my room, I went directly to bed, glad to be settled. Also in residence, one of the other regulars at Six Loose Ladies; she had apparently inspired a competitive quilting project which was well under way. Unfortunately she had to get back to Vermont, and soon the four of us were three. This is definitely a fiber arts loving house! I’m not sure there are any rooms without yarn, string, thread, looms, needles, machines – or the products thereof.

When I did leave, I was not in a hurry, and took my time on the secondary roads through Pennsylvania and New York, stopping to admire views, eat ice cream, etc. as I headed northeast. I spent the night at the Vermont Welcome Center in Bennington, then headed into the Green Mountain National Forest, spending quite a bit of time in the parking area where the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail cross Route 11. It was a busy place for a weekday so early in the season – cars from seven states, including New Mexico!! I walked a short way on the trail, but mostly ate breakfast and watched a small sandpiper in a vernal pool right in front of me.

Then I couldn’t delay any longer, and headed home, stopping for Knit Night at Six Loose Ladies, and then to do accumulated laundry, and managed to put off returning home until about 11:00. Another 2,364 miles on the car (plus Amtrak from Virginia to Florida), friends and relations visited in six states, and a lot of delicious food!

Completed Thrummed Mittens

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This pair of thrummed mittens – completed Sunday, May 3, were delivered to their intended recipient in Maryland. They were made for a friend of the family who opened her family home in Connecticut to our family, so we could spend more time with Mom, and then be there for her memorial service and to empty her room. It was such a gift! Her hands are always cold, and when she tried my thrummed mittens, she was favorably impressed.

The yarn used was 60 grams of a wool/alpaca blend, with an unmeasured amount of very soft wool roving for the thrums.

Here are photos of the inside and the outside:

Then I headed on, up to Pennsylvania.

Onward – Baltimore Museum of Art

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Thursday it was time to move further north, and I drove from Richmond, Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland. Two of us cousins had arranged to get a third cousin, and my 99 year old aunt (100 next week!!) to lunch at Gertrude’s, the restaurant within the Baltimore Museum of Art. My aunt has been a member for decades, and it’s one of her favorite places. The food is excellent; a couple of us had oysters in a couple of versions, one cousin had a shrimp salad sandwich, the other had a huge mound of salad with roasted chicken on it. We had a very good time catching up with each other. The restaurant looks out on a sculpture garden with fountains and pools, and the grounds are meticulously maintained.

In the lobby was an installation by a Mexican artist, young by our aging standards:

Made from found materials, these are pretty fantastical –

There were a few of these amazing figures, including one up overhead inside a chandelier.

The below photo shows more of his sculptures up on the ledge in front of the window, but they are backlit enough so you can only see the shapes.

Then we all moved on, and I headed to Montgomery Village, which is north of Washington DC and west of Baltimore. It was a very pretty drive through rolling countryside, once I broke free of the Baltimore city congestion!

South Carolina, to Visit Cousins

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South Carolina has not only cousins (technically, cousins-in-law) but alligators in nearly every body of water. The cousins live in Conway, next to Myrtle Beach, and they are on my “visit annually” list. We always go out to dinner; I arrived mid day on Friday, and that night we went to dinner at a restaurant with floating entertainment in the pond outside our window seating. The food was excellent, too – we all chose the seafood casserole, with serving sizes generous so that the leftovers served us dinner Saturday night as well. They were served with salad, hush puppies and cinnamon rolls, and other choices of side dishes.

The cousins have put a lot of work into the yard – a small fish pond, some new and replacement trees, and flower gardens.

Then tonight (Sunday evening) we were joined by their son and his wife who’d come over that afternoon, and went to a restaurant next to the previous one With windows looking out on the same body of water, we saw probably the same gator along with one of its smaller kin. Again, delicious seafood, and generous portions – although knowing I’d be moving on in the morning, I opted for the “small plate” portion of oysters. Still, that was about a dozen fried oysters, with a generous serving of mixed vegetables, a salad, potatoes, and some really good cheese biscuits. That was plenty of food! I resisted the chocolate desserts…

Yes, the above post was written three days ago – but I didn’t download photos of the gardens until now, and they are a significant step forward from last year, so I waited to actually get the blog out.

On the Road Again –

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From Sanford, I headed across the state of Florida to New Port Richie, where my youngest granddaughter, 18, lives with her parents and is a Junior in High School. I’m pleased with her progress to adulthood – she has figured out how to study, and is an A student, seems to enjoy her classes and teachers, and fellow students. When I got to the house, this is the food that was placed in front of me – the bowl on the left is home made yogurt cheese, the hearty bread and little fish from the local Polish store. This was an excellent combination of flavors, traditional for my Russian daughter-in-law.

I spent several days there, working on a couple of knitting projects, visiting with the people. I didn’t get down here last year, so there was catching up to do! Much of my time was spent on the patio, with a view of the central pond (I’ve posted photos of the wildlife from Sandhill Cranes and a variety of herons to an occasional alligator in posts from previous trips.)

Then I was off again, heading back across the state to Leesburg, where I spent a night with an old friend, widowed a year ago; her son is now living with her, and the three of us went out for an excellent seafood dinner. I could have taken lots of photos of her gardens – and she fed me a tomato from one of them – and Carl the Crane wandered around, too. But I prioritized focusing on people rather than photo opportunities.

Then, in the morning, I headed north again.

Amtrak Auto Train, Virginia to Sanford, Florida

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It was a beautiful day to be able to look at the scenery instead of the road! The eastern coast of the United States is littered with rivers; we traveled along the Potomac for the first part of the trip.

The quality of the photograph does suffer from the outside dirt on the window – the inside was clean enough! South through Virginia, we crossed the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg,

and the James at Richmond.

Obviously that’s not all the rivers we crossed, but it’s a representative sample. I wasn’t always looking – and I did better at getting a photo if I kept an eye on the map app on my phone so I could see one coming. We were moving – often very quickly, and not always smoothly! And then it got dark. I liked the abstract atmospheric affects of the sunset from the moving train.

I had an accessible sleeper compartment, the greatest asset of which was that it had a toilet and sink in it – and windows on both sides of the train for my viewing pleasure. The attendant brought me my dinner, made up my bed, and generally took care of me. Bedtime was a little earlier than I would have liked, as was breakfast service – but I wasn’t about to complain! And we were getting in to Sanford, Florida, almost an hour early.

Then it was gather my few belongings, get in to the station, figure out how to connect with my car (we’d all been given numbers; the attendants drive the cars out of the train cars and down the ramps, each number is announced, and you go out to your vehicle – all very smooth and civilized.) And I was on my way!

Vermont to Amtrak in Virginia

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This was my yard shortly before I left. My daffodils were up, with buds, but not blooming. By the time I got to southern Vermont, daffodils were cheering me on –

Then it was on to Pennsylvania, where I spent a night with fiber friends (and didn’t take any photos) and then Maryland, where I stayed with a couple of dogs and their people, and dropped off a saw for the Baltimore Yearly Meeting camping program.

Petey and Claire

It should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive to the Lorton, Virginia train station; I allowed four – and still missed being able to board the train by minutes! The very bad absolutely horrid navigation system in the car would look like it understood what I was asking – and then take me to a town about 30 miles too far north! And that happened three times – once declaring I had reached my destination when I got to a particular intersection. Grumble. I was hot, tired, VERY annoyed, and not happy about having to rebook for the next day. Fortunately, I know people. Lots of people. There were at least four off the top of my head within a reasonable distance; I went with instinct and called friends of the family in Bethesda, Maryland first, and was warmly welcomed. Of course, it was rush hour on the Washington Beltway, so the doubled driving time gave me time to cool down and regather my spirits; it also helped to be met with snacky foods and then a delicious salmon dinner, not bad for two hours notice!! Radical hospitality at its best.

Being a warmer climate than Vermont, it was the peak of azalea season, and their yard was blooming –

The next day, Friday the 17th, I allowed two hours for the one hour trip, and easily made it in one hour; I used the extra time to go park under a nice cool tree and organize what I wanted to take on the train with me, and what could stay in the car for the ride. And I ate some of the lunch thoughtfully provided by my Bethesda hosts. Then on to the train station, where I was met with a wheel chair (saving my joints what turned out to be a walk the length of the train), and very courteously escorted to my sleeper compartment. I wish I had known to take notes of all the facts and figures given us by the conductor over the intercom; 280 cars? Well over 500 people? The numbers are big, and it all makes for the longest passenger train in the United States (or maybe the world, it says on line.)

As we were pulling out, I had a good view of the ramps that load the cars (driven by staff, not by me!):

(Note – it’s been a week since I left home in Vermont – and it has been reported that it snowed again today! Even for there, that’s a late snowfall!)

Six Loose Chicks

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The most engaging of the entries for the Dry January Challenge at Six Loose Ladies: make anything, with at least three different yarns or fibers, using nothing bought for the project. I’d say this more than meets those requirements!