Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Earthquakes and Knitting on Tuesday

Yesterday's long afternoon nap messed up my already messed up sleep cycle, and it was 4:00 a.m. when I went to bed and about 4:30 a.m. when I fell asleep.  I woke up once at 9:00 a.m., but went back to sleep for another hour and woke up at 10:00 a.m.

I had a cup of tea, put away the dishes and the laundry from yesterday, and did a load of towels.  Then, I replied to blog comments and commented on a couple of blogs, did a little paperwork, had a long chat (for over an hour) with aunt C who called, and played the piano, a bit.  I ate one of the curry puffs for brunch - the picture of the baked curry puffs finally uploaded, after several tries:

Baked Curry Puffs


Later in the afternoon, I went to the pharmacy to pick up some medication refills.  I also spoke with the pharmacy staff and had them recheck to see if they received the refill authorization (for a different medication) from the doctor's office, because they had sent me a text, earlier, saying they hadn't heard from the doctor's office and the doctor had told me that she was going to call it in.  Well, they checked their system and, surprise!  They had received the refill authorization, after all!  So, they said they will process it and have the refill ready for me, tomorrow.

Then, I went to the dollar store next door to the pharmacy to buy more lint rollers.  I also bought two bottles of sparkling apple-peach juice and a can of peach pie filling to try.  The $3.20 for these items (including the bottle deposits) will come from the September grocery budget.

While at the dollar store, I met one of the ladies from the knitting group.  I greeted her and, at first, she didn't recognize me, but when I mentioned the knitting group, she remembered.  She is one of the Spanish speaking ladies, but, she understood enough English to know what I was saying and reminded me that the group met, today.  She asked if I was coming and I said, "Yes".  Earlier, I had been debating whether to attend today's session or not, but, I decided I would go, after all!

So, I went home, ate a peach, rested a bit, and, because I felt another headache coming on, took a couple of Tylenols to head it off.  Then, went to the knitting group.  Today, there were a couple of other ladies who spoke English, and I felt a little more comfortable.  The lady I met at the dollar store brought snacks, today - tortillas, refried beans, salsa, cheese, and a bottle of fruit juice.  We all ate tortillas with refried beans and salsa, and it was very good.  I'm not sure if people take turns to bring food or how it works, but, maybe I'll bake a cake and take the next time I go.  Later, I might make some rice and curry for them. 

I returned my library book when I went there, today, and borrowed two more books.  One is about quilting and the other one is about gratitude.  They were both displayed in the new books section and the titles caught my eye.

"Quilts"

"Grateful"
I left the knitting group around 7:00 p.m. (they go on till 7:30 p.m.), came home, and had a cup of tea.  Later, I had some soup for dinner.

Friend R called shortly after I got home and while we were chatting, she said there was an  earthquake!  She felt it and said her whole place was shaking; I didn't feel anything!  She's barely 6 miles away from me, so I don't know why she felt it and I didn't.  Later, I found out that it was a 4.4 earthquake, which took place at 7:33 p.m., followed by a 3.4 aftershock at 7:34 p.m.  As long as it is not a pre-quake to the Big One, I am fine with it! 

Every time I look at quilt books, I feel like making another quilt!  I still haven't finished the Mountain Climbing quilt (although that's on my Big To Do List) or the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, either!  But, this evening, I spent a blissful hour or so, seated at the sewing machine, mindlessly piecing some "mile-a-minute" patches!  It will be another scrap quilt and will be a wonderful way to use up some of my stash of scraps! 

Still later, I video chatted with daughter.  The screen froze after the first few minutes, so we didn't get to see each other for most of our chat, though. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- The earthquake wasn't a big one and didn't cause much damage, if any
- The pharmacy received the refill authorization, after all
- A bit of socializing and snacks at the knitting session
- I am able to go a couple of extra days without having to change the sofa dust covers
- An overflowing scrap basket!

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Call and make a doctor's appointment (new referral)
- Call primary care clinic (pharmacy claims they never received the refill authorization) - DONE
- Change the sofa dust covers
- Buy a gift for neighbor T - DONE
- Put away laundry/Do another load - DONE
- Paperwork/filing - STARTED
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE
- Attend the knitting group? - DONE

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Call and make a doctor's appointment
- Change the sofa dust covers
- Load of laundry
- Do the dishes
- Paperwork/filing
- Vacuum

How was your Tuesday?  Do you experience earthquakes where you are?  Do you see crafts/sewing books and want to do some, right away?

16 comments:

  1. It sounds like a good day Bless, especially as the earthquake was just a small one. I've never experienced one myself and can only imagine it must be very scary, not knowing how strong it will be.
    We went to the library yesterday too, in order to return some books we had borrowed. We don't use it as often as we should but we don't usually go into the town. X

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    1. I was very happy that the earthquake wasn't a big one, Jules. But, as always, it was a good reminder that we do live in earthquake country and to check if my emergency supplies are in order.

      Making use of the library as and when you can is a good compromise, if it is not that conveniently located to you. How long is your borrowing period? Over here, the library books are checked out for 3 weeks at a time, but maybe renewed twice, as long as no one else has put a hold on it. So, theoretically, one can have a book out for 9 weeks! I forget what the limit is on the number of items one can borrow at a time, but, I think it is either 10 or 12 books.

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  2. I have all the stuff ready to make a rainbow quilt. I hope to get started on it as soon as the house improvements are finished. I don't know what a 'mile a minute' patch is but it sound intriguing. Please will you posts some photos if possible? Thanks.

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    1. The rainbow quilt sounds lovely and colorful! Maybe you can set up a sewing corner somewhere out of the way and sew even when the renovations are going on?

      A mile a minute piecing is when you take a long strip of fabric and sew smaller, individual pieces to it for the length of the strip, then, cut them apart, and sew the resulting patches to another long strip and continue until you have several patches that you can then, square up and cut into patches to be assembled together. If you do a search online, you'll see many examples. I don't necessarily follow those specific instructions because I don't have that many long strips of fabric. What I have are LOTS of smaller pieces! Leftover fabric from other sewing projects. But I sew long chains of several smaller pieces together and cut and resew! The main idea is not to worry about the fabric colors and patterns. I will take pictures and do a post. In the meantime, here's an old blog post about another mile-a-minute quilt I made:
      https://bless2cents.blogspot.com/2017/08/mile-minute-quilt-on-road-to-mountain.html

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  3. I particularly liked your list of gratitudes today. They just seemed to flow effortlessly from your keyboard. *laugh*

    Fortunately, I live in an area that is relatively stable on the North American plate, so we don't get very many earthquakes. I have never personally felt one like friends of mine who have even been woken from sleep. I am completely oblivious to them, but I believe they are all very small on the scale and very rare.

    It seems to me that I am constantly going to Pinterest for inspiration in card making sketches and techniques. I can get lost there for hours. But yes, I have learned a lot by seeing something and trying it myself.

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    1. They were definitely "heartfelt" gratitudes, yesterday. :)

      I'm glad you are not affected by earthquakes, Susan. I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach - a bit like motion sickness - when I feel an earthquake!

      Oh, I had to stop receiving notifications from Pinterest, in order to preserve my sanity! LOL! It was like a rabbit hole for me! Spent hours looking at things and getting ideas!

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  4. Your curry puffs look really good! So nice of you to chat at the store with a lady from your (new) group. Hope you never get the "big" earthquake! I'm thinking (after seeing your books) we should maybe go to the library one of these days! Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. I, too, hope we never get that Big One! I hope you are able to visit your library and find some interesting reads there. :)

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  5. In am pleased that you felt more comfortable at the knitting group. I went shopping on Tuesday and managed to stick to my list!
    We have earthquakes here often like you we are on a big fault line. The last big earthquake here was 3 years ago about 6.5, it was in the early hours and I remember waking up and the bed was going from side to side trying to throw me out. I just clung to the sides petrified thinking I must get out and get under something! It went on for ages, no damage except for items coming off the shelves etc. One strange thing it opened all my kitchen cupboards and they are a latch system. There was a lot of damage in the centre of town and some buildings had to be demolished, It was the big one, which they say we are due for though.

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    1. I remember seeing pictures of the damage from your big earthquake a few years ago, Sharon. One image I remember was of a group of cattle stranded on what looked like a cliff top, after all the ground around them crumbled!

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  6. The earthquake was centered in Laverne and I live in Ontario. Not too far away. We sure felt it. We even had a few things fall off shelves. I was worried a worse one was going to hit. But, thank goodness, nothing more.

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    1. Mia, I wondered if you were close to the epicenter when I saw where it was located. You would have definitely felt the shaking. I hope nothing broke when things fell off shelves. I keep eyeing my china cabinet - I know things are going to fall off and break (even the shelves are glass!).

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  7. Goodness me, the earthquake sounds scary! It sounds to me like the knitting in the knitting group is secondary......after the delicious food! Haha. Love the idea of the mile a minute quilt. I'm about to go and check out the link you provided.

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    1. Earthquakes are scary because one never knows how strong it will be and how much damage it can do.

      Ha, ha, you are right - the knitting seems to be just an excuse for getting together to eat and chat! :D

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  8. Your curry puffs look great and I will have to get around to making some as there is something about meat and pastry that is just sublime - thinking of Cornish Pasties, Empenadas, Tourtiere....!

    We actually live in a zone with many faults and although it does not bear the risk of places on the Ring of Fire, we do get an earthquake once in a blue moon, and historically there was a catastrophic one on the St. Laurence in the 1600s. The first I ever experienced was over 40 years ago and it was the underground noise that was so dramatic. One which was amusing took place in the early morning of 1st January, 2000, after months of reading about all the dire things that were going to happen on that date! We do have earthquake insurance since we are on 150 feet of sand, but I doubt many other people around us have bothered. Since the few we have experienced have been quite some distance from us, we have been more entertained than alarmed by the experience. But a few years ago we were staying on the 10th or 11th floor of a hotel in Santiago, Chile, and the room started to sway. DH immediately got up and pulled on his jeans and went out in the corridor. I just lay in bed, "laid back", I guess you might say! I do find seismic activity very interesting and check a website daily to see what our world is doing, and it seems to be constantly on the move. Some quakes of great magnitude (plus 6, or 7) don't make the news because they are not where they cause problems, but they happen just the same.

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    1. Thanks, Bushlady. Daughter loves it when I make those curry puffs.

      Yes, the earth is always moving, although we don't always feel it. I'm glad you carry earthquake insurance. I do, too. :)

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