Yawn!

More great weather today, loads of sunshine few puffy white clouds and a cooling breeze.  In some good news from the fire zone, apparently the winds have died down somewhat and the skies are clearer allowing the airborne fighters to resume water bombing, as the smoke was too thick for them to fly for the last couple of days.  Here’s hoping for some rain soon to help bring things under control!  Don was out today running a long-delayed errand, and he left Jerry at home with me.  Jerry disapproved, loudly, of his departure, then planted himself on my lap and sulked until Don got home almost 3 hours later.  I couldn’t do anything, as he stayed so close to me that I was in danger of tripping over him!  He also complained that he couldn’t get any of the pickle that I was eating (I don’t know whether that’s allowed or not for dogs, but I decided to err on the side of caution!) and my legs have now taken on the shape of a little schnoodle curled into a ball… Don’s back home as mentioned, but was unable to complete his errand, and was quite irritated.  He was texting me as he waited, and I could tell from the texts that he was getting angry… I told him to stay calm and not yell at the workers.  I’ll update when things are finished!

I’m very sleepy this evening.  My sleep was elusive last night, even with the melatonin.  I woke up several times, drank some water (my mouth felt like it was part of the Sahara!)  and drifted back off again.  I did check the time occasionally, and realized that I was waking up approximately every hour.  I intend to head in early tonight and try to catch up on my lost sleep.  I’m again eating to a schedule, which helps a bit, although I really don’t have any enthusiasm for cooking nor am I craving anything in particular.  Something will need to change.  In annoying news, my back again feels like something “ripped” and I’ve had sharp stabbing pains for a day.  I have no idea of the cause, I continue to stretch as much as I can, but it’s irritating!

I’ve started on my nephew’s item, and had to unravel and resume 6 times as the base had a very annoying tendency to twist on me.  I’m now past the initial rows and working on the body, so we’ll see how it progresses.  In some good news today, my nephew went for his follow up work 6 months post celiac diagnosis and he’s gained almost 2kg in the interim after not gaining any weight for over a year.  Now I’m wondering if his item will be too small; I made it for a 4 year old (he’s 3) so it should fit, but I’ll worry until I see it on him.  Their vigilance over his diet is obviously working, which is a big relief as he’d had a few painful and uncomfortable nights pre-diagnosis and had reactions to various (sometimes unknown) foods.

There has been, of course, a lot of advertising and news on back-to-school shopping.  I confess that this time of year I always long for new stationery and think about the fun of returning to classes.  Back when I was in school, I used to devour all our literature books as soon as we got them, so I’d read them a couple of times (usually) before class started — there were maybe 3 other girls in my class who did the same thing! — and I loved getting new notebooks in preparation for a year’s worth of information being recorded.  Stationery has always been something I enjoyed, especially fountain pens (I’ve got over a dozen 🤫) and writing paper.  I was recently introduced to a selection of Japanese paper crafts and writing tools, and I had to forcibly restrain myself; I bought some washi tape and a dip pen and then said “enough!”  The washi tape is lovely; beautiful patterns and it’s reusable (I wouldn’t try reattaching too often, but it does detach and reattach at least once)  The dip pen needs a bit of care, as it doesn’t hold much ink (obviously) and so the ink changes intensity across a line.  It just looks so elegant, though!  Mine is spun glass and turns into a prism when the light hits it; I’ve seen quills as well, but I left them alone!    Fountain pens, and the dip pen, IMO improve the clarity of my handwriting, which otherwise degenerates into something that looks like a drunk spider fell into ink and staggered across the page!  A really nice pen, though, turns it into “grown up writing!”  My “purse pen” is a roller ball, which glides across paper, and otherwise I use one of my fountain pens.  I also don’t share my pen, as other people use different pressure and can damage the nib.  

OK, I know.  I’m turning into a curmudgeonly old woman who fusses with crochet and scrutinizes handwriting… I also correct grammar, and I’m annoyed at how many native English speakers can’t write simple, correct sentences in English.  I’ve got a couple of friends who like to torment me about that, but I’ve learnt to ignore them 😉  I’m off to find something for dinner, so that’s all for now!  Good night 😘