Marina's Turn

2011-12-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

I've stopped trying to have a full Caribbean menu every day. We keep the full menu of sandwiches available, plus a homemade soup and a special dinner. Today, which was windy and rainy, although not really cold, we sold out of soup for the first time. The special was turkey cutlets, served with black beans and rice with bacon. We got not one order for that, which is a shame. It was delicious.

I'm very happy with the three employees I have. It turns out I didn't need the ones who didn't show, after all.

2011-12-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

Another day at work. New server started today, but we had to send her home sick.

Want sleep.

2011-12-25T22:17:00.000-08:00

Across the great divide. Our business is open. We've made some sales. It has been slow, but, considering that it's a holiday weekend and no one knows we're open, it's not so bad. We're gradually learning what we have, what we need, what we can do, and what we can't. Our one day off this week is going to be spent buying stuff to fill the gaps between what-we-have and what-we need. The week after that, I'm going to take a real day off. I promise.

Oh, and it was Christmas, too.

2011-12-22T22:56:00.000-08:00

I had another day without knitting. We slept late, listened to our radio shows, ate a leisurely breakfast before going to the shop. There was no hurry. As we had failed our inspection, we wouldn't be able to open until after the weekend, anyway. We could take all day to correct the deficiencies, get inspected tomorrow, and then notify the staff that we'd be opening Tuesday.

We went into the shop at a little after 10. Maybe it was 11; I don't remember. I delivered the various things I had bought-- bleach, trash cans-- to their destinations, and then went about assembling another big shelving unit. Once Lance, our contractor, finished flushing the dishmachine, and ran a cycle or two using bleach as the sanitizer, I tested it. It was exactly in the range it was supposed to be in, so he called the inspector to arrange a retest. Surprise! We had come so close to passing that she decided she didn't have to reinspect us; she gave us approval over the phone to open.

We spent the next couple of hours correcting the rest of the deficiencies. I reassembled two small shelving units on which the bottom shelves were too low, and Tom turned all the right-side-up dishes upside down, per Health Department directive. Then, Tom left to run errands, while I picked up some paperwork and proceeded to phone staff and arrange schedules for the next week. Easy peasy. We arranged for trash pickup, so Tom can discontinue his twice-daily dump runs. It was a lot to ask of him when it was just clean cardboard for recycling; it would be too much to ask him to transport actual garbage as well.

Then, Tom waited at the shop with a repairman, come to fix the stoves that were contaminated by the accidental triggering of the fire suppression system, while I spent a couple of hours, and several hundred dollars, buying groceries for the shop. The car was full, and the shop ready to close, before I even started looking at meat, veg, and dairy, so I'll have to go back when it opens in eight hours. My cooks are meeting me in the morning, for a practice day. We open for business Christmas Eve.

2011-12-21T22:30:00.001-08:00

In spite of having stayed at the restaurant until after midnight, cleaning and studying the Oregon food-service laws, and going back in this morning for more, in spite of our having valiantly conquered a myriad of last-minute disasters, we didn't pass our inspection.

I wasn't terribly surprised. With all the problems we've had this week, from the refrigerator breaking down, the fire suppressant system accidentally discharging (and thereby contaminating the whole kitchen), the pilot lights on the stove failing, and, today, the dishmachine springing a leak, it would have taken something of a miracle to pass. We did fix all the aforementioned problems, but failed because I bought the wrong sanitizer for the dishwasher. I bought quaternary ammonia; the machine was calibrated for bleach. Live and learn.

Because of the holiday, delaying our certification by two days delays our opening for four. While I am, of course, disappointed to not be able to open before Christmas, I'm even more relieved that I'll have the weekend off.

No knitting today; I didn't even try.

2011-12-21T01:03:00.001-08:00

Why, it's tomorrow already.

Busy day. The restaurant is almost ready for inspection tomorrow.

If the inspector is available.

2011-12-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

And yet more today.

The refrigerator quit, and the fire suppression system malfunctioned, dropping a load of chemicals all over the kitchen. The contractor called in an emergency housekeeper to clean up the kitchen, but I still have to flush the fryer tomorrow. He also got a refrigerator tech to come out, who kluged a fix that will hold (it is said) until he can get the replacement part he needs.

Knowing that the whole restaurant would need to be swept and mopped, and the new dishes washed, before we could open for business, and knowing that I have no desire to mop or wash dishes myself, I called some of my new hires to do the work for me. As it turns out, they have different ideas of what "available any hours" means than what I had. Two of the people I had hired will be unavailable until after the holidays. A third will do the work, but not until evening, because he doesn't have childcare during the day.

Interesting.

I did get more dishes unpacked, more shelves assembled, and all the pictures hanged. The place is starting to look like something.

2011-12-18T22:05:00.000-08:00

We had another hard day of work on the restaurant today. I finished assembling the shelves, and then started stocking them. Until you take enough dishes for 60 people out of boxes, you don't realize how hard that can be. I was exhausted before I was done, but still insisted on arranging the tables and chairs the way they'll be when the place is open.

Tom assembled the bus carts, applied the felt dots to the table legs, and ran some essential errands. We didn't make it all the way to hanging the rest of the pictures; we were both exhausted.

Did a little knitting in the morning before work, but, after work, I was too tired to pick up needles.

2011-12-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

I spent much of the day in backbreaking work at the restaurant. I assembled several heavy-duty shelf units. They fit together like Tinker Toys, so I found it easy and fun, but it was several hours of standing on my feet, bending over and lifting things. I saved the last one for tomorrow, as my back was giving me clear warnings that it had done all it was going to do that day. When I was done-- or my back was-- with the assembly, I hanged a few pictures. Once home, I painted faux frames on some more paintings, ones I couldn't afford to buy frames for. I'll get them ready to hang tomorrow.

I want the place to look noticeably more like a restaurant than a building site by tomorrow. I made the mistake of telling my contractor that I was going to work all weekend, and he'd see a big change by Monday.

Even so, I did do a little knitting, on the sparkly pink sock.

2011-12-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

Another huge day. We went to Portland again, to buy more stuff for the restaurant that we forgot last time. Racks for the dishwasher, anyone? Ladles? Ladles may be small and cheap, but I dare you to sell soup without any.

No knitting today. By the time we got home from Portland, I was exhausted.

We took a small side trip to the infamous Voodoo Doughnuts. We got quite lost along the way, due to poor signage on the streets, but found it eventually. The detour was actually quite entertaining, as we cut through a lovely old neighborhood of big houses built around the turn of the 20th century. The vibe at Voodoo Doughnuts was amusing, but the doughnuts themselves were just average. It was worth visiting once.

2011-12-15T22:26:00.000-08:00

Finished, blocked, and forgot about the other hat yesterday. It's in a llama/silk blend for a wool-allergic friend; I hope she can wear it.

The grey/pink mohair sweater has been happily worn the last few days, which have been very cold. It's soft, light, and warm. It also sheds like a furry dog. My car looks like a big, lavender (the daylight effect of the blended colors) dog has been driving. Live and learn.

I'm back to knitting on the sparkly pink socks. I'm up to the leg (toe up) on the first sock. As much time as I'm having to put into the restaurant, and as soon as it's going to open, it may be a long, long time before the second sock gets finished.

We spent much of the day buying stuff for the restaurant, and dropping it off at the site. There's still a lot more to do. For one thing, we have to deal with all the stuff we already have: hanging pictures, assembling shelves, putting dishes and cookware away. There's still a possibility of opening next week.

2011-12-13T21:50:00.001-08:00

The last 24 hours have been more stressful than I like. We got another invoice from the contractor, in five figures. That's another five-figure invoice, over and above the estimated figure we contracted for, the second one in a month. I fired off a strongly-worded email about estimates and contracts and deadlines. I think it'll be okay. The job is almost, almost done.

I finished the mohair hat this morning. It's a little big, which was a reaction to the hats I have that are a little small, as a result of getting impatient and starting the crown decreases too soon. I don't mind that it's big; it'll still fit if I put my hair up. I started a hat as a gift, too, and am over halfway done with it, I think.

2011-12-12T21:59:00.000-08:00

Almost done with the hat to match the sweater I finished yesterday; I've already started the crown decreases.

We filed more paperwork for the restaurant, bought some wire shelves for the walk-in fridge, and hired two cooks from among the ones we interviewed last week.

There's a tiny chance that it'll snow tonight. I shouldn't want it to snow, since I have an early appointment in the morning, but I do.

2011-12-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

Wove in the ends today, and wore the sweater on our walk tonight. I feel safer, walking the dogs on our dark but busy street, in a light-colored sweater. Walking two black dogs, while wearing all dark colors, didn't strike me as promoting visibility.

Once I got the ends woven in, I started a matching hat, since I had plenty of yarn. Most of the sweaters I've made in the last year had yarn left over; I should make hats for all of them.

Tom and I took a drive down to Cannon Beach today. We bought hot chocolate at the Chocolate Cafe, and a few yummies at Bruce's Candy Kitchen, which may not have been the best idea, since my blood sugar is no longer within normal limits. Not to worry unnecessarily: I'm seeing the doctor frequently for dose adjustments, until we get things under control, and I haven't eaten the candy. Not yet, anyway.

Oh-- also bought a couple of skeins of yarn for a Christmas present for a wool-allergic friend. It's a llama/silk blend, in a nice, mossy green. I hope she can wear it. The climate in her corner of Arizona is colder than she had figured on, when she relocated from California. While we are still awaiting the first snowfall of the season, here on the Oregon coast, Oracle, AZ, has already been snowed on three times. I'm going to make my friend a hat.

2011-12-10T23:19:00.001-08:00

I stayed home, today, while Tom made a shopping run into the Portland suburbs. While home, I did a few chores, ordered aprons for the restaurant,watched some of the kind of TV Tom doesn't care for (cheesy documentaries, and old dramas), and finished the grey sweater. Okay, it's not completely finished. I still have to weave in the ends. All the knitting is done, though, and I've tried it on for size.

I think next time, I'll go for something a little more fitted. What am I saying? Once the restaurant opens, I won't have any time to knit.

It's two weeks until Christmas, on three until New Year. It's going to happen, soon.

2011-12-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

This morning, Tom and I completed some business-related paperwork that we had been stalling on for months. We tired to hand-deliver it all this afternoon, but failed utterly. Who could have predicted that people would leave their offices early on a Friday in December?

It wasn't so bad that we had to drive all around the area in search of a handful of hookey-playing bureaucrats. The air was as clear as Tiffany's diamonds, AEB Mt St Helens was visible on the horizon. We took a few wrong turns (accidentally-on purpose, as we used to say when we were kids), which took us past a couple of wildlife refuges. The water was mirror-smooth, reflecting the blue sky and the wooded islands in the lakes: heaven.

And I finished the first sleeve, tried the sweater on for fit (it fits), and started the second sleeve, after roasting a 20# turkey I had brined last night. I'll tell you what this chilly weather is good for: there was no room in the fridge for anything big enough to brine a turkey in, so I put the turkey in my biggest soup kettle, added a couple of ice packs in with the brine, and left it in the garage. The turkey stayed springtime-fresh all day.

2011-12-08T22:20:00.001-08:00

I won't last long-- I'm unbelievably tired. Doc put me on meds for diabetes and HT today. We'll see how they work.

Finished the back of the new grey mohair sweater today, sewed the shoulders together, and knit several inches of the first sleeve.

For an old Angeleno, it's really, really cold here.

2011-12-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

While I had a lot of fun interviewing applicants, I left the shop today feeling sad. We had over 60 applicants, most of whom were smart, experienced, and friendly. I'd have hired 50 of them without hesitation, based on their qualifications and personalities. I only have 5 positions to fill, 4 of which are part time. It's a rough world. I'd especially hate to be a high school kid looking for his/her first job, as experienced adults are now competing with them for part time, minimum wage jobs.

I sure hope the restaurant does well. I'd like to be able to hire more people, later.

2011-12-06T22:05:00.001-08:00

Finished the front of the sweater, almost finished with the back. Still have plenty of yarn for the sleeves. Maybe, 3, 4 day of work left before it's a finished sweater, ready to wear.

What I ought to do is sew aprons, since I don't want to buy or wear standard ones.

Tomorrow, we accept applications, interview applicants.

2011-12-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Aaaand another load of stuff was taken to the restaurant. I need to buy some wire shelves to put it all on.

I've almost finished the front of the mohair sweater.

A friend who moved to Arizona is in the midst of her third snowstorm of the year. Alas, she's allergic to wool, and I don't have any alpaca that's in a color she'd find acceptable. I have some synthetic yarn in her colors, but that's not actually warm. It's warmer than a bare neck and head, though, so maybe I'll dig it out.

I do have to start on some aprons for the restaurant, if I want to have aprons with personality, rather than plain ones from the restaurant supply store. The plain, mass-produced ones don't fit me, anyway. They tend to rotate, and cover only one breast. That's not the best look.

2011-12-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

We took another load of stuff to the restaurant today. After that, we packed the car again, with the intention of unloading it at the restaurant tomorrow. That got enough stuff out of the living room that Tom could reasonably vacuum. It looks so much better!

The grey mohair sweater is about 16 inches long, now. I like my sweaters on the long side, so I'll give it another inch before I bifurcate it for sleeves.

2011-12-03T22:31:00.001-08:00

Boy, did we work hard today!

After I did the usual laundry and dishes, we unloaded my car at the restaurant. Then we hit the grocery store, and made a quick detour to an art show on the way home. Once I got the groceries put away and dinner started, Tom asked me to help him assemble the desk he bought a couple of weeks ago. By the time we realized we were doing it all wrong, he had sprained his back, I had sprained my neck, and our chicken was terminally overcooked. Let the record show that this wasn't an ordinary desk, but the kind that wraps around two sides of an office, with towers and battlements and flying buttresses.

Dinner consumed (the brown rice was fine), we took the offending parts off the desk, switched them around, got it the way we wanted it, and then walked the dogs. I also insulated the outside faucets, since we're getting frost now, but that only takes a minute. Funny thing about the foam plastic cups that are the insulation: I left the one from the back porch on a plastic chair when I took it off last spring. We had a severe storm ten days ago, with 90 mph winds. The wind snapped or knocked over several trees in the forest behind our house, and broke a few large branches off one of the alder trees in the back yard. It didn't carry the styrofoam cup off the porch, though. It was right where I left it.

Knitwise, the grey mohair sweater is now 12 inches long. Unless we spend most of the day out tomorrow, I'm likely to get to the point of splitting it for front and back.

2011-12-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today was beautifully sunny again, so we took the dogs to a nice beach we found a few weeks ago. They had a good time romping on the wet sand. They both wanted to eat driftwood, but we wouldn't let them. We all managed to ford a stream without getting our feet wet by walking up to where the stream flowed under a drift of cobblestones. I was prepared to carry Sarah up the stairs back to the car, to spare her elderly heart, but, when I put her down halfway up, so I could catch my breath, she sprinted to the top like a pup. That's my Sarah!

The dogs slept all afternoon, after we got home. Unfortunately, we had a flat tire on the way home, that was beyond repair. Tom ordered new tires, which will be in on Monday. In the meantime, we'll be using my car. We'll have to unload all the kitchenware we bought Tuesday, in order to do so. I think the restaurant is complete enough to allow that.

I'm making real progress on the new mohair sweater. I'm looking forward to wearing it. I may not have quite enough of the grey yarn to do the whole thing in one color. If not, the pink blend I was planning to use with it in the canceled poncho can be repurposed as a broad stripe across the bust.

2011-12-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

More knitting today, on the grey mohair sweater. The pink sock stares at me, accusingly. I'll get back to her in time.

Going back to work is going to be hard. I've been retired for 12 years. I think I'll enjoy it, once I get back in the habit of waking up in the morning.

2011-11-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

I did spend some time knitting today. I didn't feel like continuing with the pink sock, although it's still pretty. I just need more sweaters, especially nice, soft mohair sweaters, more than I need more socks. With that in mind, I cast on a sweater in the pinkish-grey mohair I decided not to make a ruana out of a couple of weeks ago.

2011-11-29T23:53:00.000-08:00

Big day today. We went into Portland, and spent about 10 cents short of a thousand to buy most of what we still needed to run a restaurant.

Then we saw "Hugo," which was a great movie, "great" in the sense that it will change the way movies are made for a generation. It is brilliant on every level, and a must-see for anyone who has an interest in film.

It was late by the time we got home, after a quick trip to Powell's for reading matter and a calendar. No knitting for me, today.

2011-11-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

We spent most of the day doing stuff for the restaurant. It's getting close to zero hour. I should put an add in the local paper for employees.

I'm almost ready to turn the heel on the sock I started yesterday, in pretty, sparkly, cherry-red yarn Sharon gave me last summer. I may start another mohair sweater tomorrow, though, instead of finishing the sock right off. I find mohair so much more comfortable than wool, and we're at the part of the year when warm sweaters in the daytime are a good idea. Besides, I find that a sweater in bulky yarn on size 10 needles takes as long as one sock in fine yarn on size 0.

2011-11-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

Today, TCM was courteous enough to show some of my favorite movies on the last rainy day predicted this week, so I cast on a sock for myself in some sparkly bright pink yarn Sharon gave me earlier this year. I'm using the same faux cable I used for the green hat and striped scarf. I like the stitch. It's pretty, and fairly easy and intuitive to work.

2011-11-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

We took the last of the chairs to the restaurant today. Someone going into the spa next door told me they were cute, so I had to brag that I had reupholstered them myself. They are cute, for sure. Then, we walked a few doors down, and had lunch at Tokyo Teriyaki, which had sushi that wouldn't make a sushi house ashamed in LA. It was perfectly all right, which is better than I expected in a town with no visible Japanese community. From there, we popped down to the end of the block, where a vintage clothing store has popped up recently. While we talked up the restaurant to the clerk, someone else asked us for a job, any job. He didn't sound as desperate as the previous sentence makes him sound. We'll be taking applications in a few days, I'm sure. My point is that we'll have no problem finding people to fill the vacancies we'll have.

I finished the green socks I was making for Tom, and gave them to him. Then, I reworked the top of the green handspun hat I made myself a few weeks ago, to give it an extra half inch of length I dearly needed. It's not quite as cute now, as the wee point at the top has been replaced by a crocheted disk, but it now covers my ears. Since I only wear wool hats when it's cold out, covering the ears is a must. I was starting to weave in the ends in the green and white scarf I made to go with that hat (since it's striped, there are a lot of ends to weave in), but it got too close to bed time to continue.

2011-11-25T21:51:00.001-08:00

We spent the morning today doing chores, cleaning up after Thanksgiving dinner, and processing the leftovers-- picking the meat off the turkey, and simmering the bones and skin for stock.

We got bad news from the contractor yesterday, which pretty much ruined my mood for the Thanksgiving feast. The health inspector wants us to add a refrigerated sandwich line to the kitchen, which would cost thousands of additional dollars for which we have not budgeted, and eliminate half the useful counter space in the kitchen. I'm sure she's not actually requiring such a thing, but suggesting it out of ignorance of what a proper Jewish deli entails. She's probably thinking "sandwiches," like Subway sells, and wants us to have the same kind of counter they have. That could hardly be farther from the truth. Our sandwiches won't have anything to do with mayonnaise, or dozens of optional veggie garnishes. A proper deli sandwich is made of only a large portion of very good meat, between two slices of very good rye bread. Since we're not kosher, a slice of cheese will also be available, but that's still nothing that requires a specialized, refrigerated counter, at a cost of a few thousand dollars we don't have.

We went over the kitchen with a tape measure this morning, and found that there's no place we can add a fridge to the kitchen without removing something else. The most reasonable thing to remove would be a 4' counter, which we would replace with a 1'counter and a home-size refrigerator. An alternative would be to move the two convection ovens to the outer kitchen; they're not under the hood now, and don't need to be if they're only used for baking breads and such. We can do meats in the conventional ovens that are built into the ranges, which had been the plan from the start. It's a hassle, but it's manageable.

I did no knitting today. The morning was devoted to chores, the afternoon to the new Muppet movie (not as good as "Arthur Christmas"), and the evening to cooking. Tom's new socks aren't an urgent need. He has enough socks to last for years.

2011-11-24T22:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was bigger than I like, with a storm and medical tests for both Tom and me. Both of us came through with less trauma than we expected, and a clean bill of health, but half the day was gone, after a harrowing night. There was a power outage, 90 mph winds, and 2 1/2 inches of rain, on a night we were stressed about the tests, anyway.

I'm halfway through the leg of the second sock. I should finish tomorrow or the next day.

We saw "Arthur Christmas" today. Wonderful film, delightful in every second. Bring tissues.

2011-11-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

I'm ready to turn the heel on the second sock.

There has been a lot of rain, but a lot more wind. I was scared to even walk the dogs tonight, that a tree would fall over and kill me. Hey, it happens.

2011-11-21T21:57:00.000-08:00

Today was mostly spent coping with the weather. It was much warmer than yesterday, but with a light rain and a fierce wind that has me twitching. The sound of the wind upsets me unreasonably; I don't know why.

I'm halfway through the foot of the second sock. Yeah, progress is slow, and I don't have the excuse of a complicated design slowing me up. It's a totally plain sock. The yarn is very fine, and I'm using size 0 needles, so I'll let that stand as my excuse for little progress. In truth, I think a lot of it is that I can't sit still.

2011-11-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

Another busy day. I took another load of chairs to the restaurant, checked out the Winter Market, and looked for fabric for a window treatment for the restaurant. The local fabric shop wouldn't honor the parent chain's coupons, so Tom and I drove out to Longview. There, we found the same fabric at a deep discount-- we saved $26 on that one piece.

Barely spent enough time at home to finish the toe increases on Tom's second sock.

We had our first frost of the season last night/this morning, and it never did warm up. The high in Astoria may have been in the low 40s, but in Longview in the early afternoon it was in the mid-30s. The nearby mountains have snow on them since yesterday; I suspect that the snow may be supplemented overnight. Or not: supposedly, the front bringing the next change of weather will be much warmer.

2011-11-19T23:24:00.001-08:00

Finished the first sock yesterday, cast on the second today. Last night's prediction of slushy snow didn't materialize. Today was clear and cold; there's already frost on the car.

2011-11-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a fancy stitch on the cuffs of Tom's new socks, but couldn't find the book with the stitch I wanted. I dug out the previous pair of socks with that stitch-- I think it's called "railroad rib," or something like that-- and found it easy enough to decipher. The yarn being fine, and dark in color, though, and the lighting in the living room none too good, nor my eyes any too acute, I gave it up as a lost cause, and went for a plain 2x2 rib. That's coming along.

The rainy season is getting well established.

2011-11-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Landlord won't chip in for air. Remodeling almost done. Acquaintances approaching me for jobs. It's going to happen.

On the knitting front, I turned the heel of the first green sock. I was looking at yarn online, and I seem to have overcome my brief aversion to pink. That's a good thing, since the restaurant is painted mostly a pinkish beige.

2011-11-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

The joys of remodeling, part umpty-dozenth: Got a surprise bill in the mail today for $12K we hadn't counted on. That's more than the last payment due on the whole job, which will still be owing when this is paid. The worst part is that $7K of it is for replacing the swamp cooler; we had understood that climate control was part of what we were paying for in our rent. As far as I'm concerned, the landlord should be paying for that, not us.

2011-11-14T22:14:00.001-08:00

Busy day. To start, I went down to the restaurant (which is almost ready!!!) to make some last-minute specifications on where I want tables, outlets, and such, then again to bring the mirrors and signs for the contractor to hang in the bathrooms. Then Tom and I went down to Tillamook, for the third time in five days, to pick up a few parts we had overlooked for Tom's new desk. On the way home, we stopped for elk burgers. Once home, I knit a few rows on the green socks I'm making for Tom. Busy.

2011-11-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

Today, I started a pair of green woolen socks for Tom. That is all.

2011-11-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

I've been knitting for the last three days, with nothing to show for it but a ball of worn-looking mohair. After the first couple of days of knitting, I decided to change the stitch count and pattern. After pulling it out, rewinding it, and knitting for another day, I decided I really didn't want a ruana in that colorway. In fact, I don't like that colorway at all, come to think of it. I have enough pink. That shade of pink is okay for a blanket in a little girl's room, but not for winter outerwear for a woman in her 50s.

Don't know what I'll do tomorrow. Maybe I'll work on a green scarf for a gift. Maybe I'll root out all my pink yarn and overdye it with black.

2011-11-10T22:09:00.000-08:00

I finished the little brown scarf this morning, and I'm thrilled with it beyond words. The design is simple, elegant, and unique. The yarn is refined, with just enough imperfection/irregularity to make it transcendent. I blocked it, and found that it's more beautiful than I dared imagine. If I give it away, it'll have to be a knitter, because only a knitter would be able to see how special it is. To a non-knitter, it'd only be a little brown scarf.

Tom and I took a drive down to Tillamook in the afternoon. We made a couple of stops along the way, for shopping and snacks (chocolate malts at the Chocolate Cafe in Cannon Beach-- mega-yum). At the Habitat for Humanity ReStore just north of Tillamook, we found a large desk unit for Tom, a folding bookcase for me, and a working TV twice the size of the one we're currently using, all for a total of $120. That's a deal.

When we got home, after buying cheese and Christmas presents in Tillamook, and enjoying a sensational sunset/moonrise on the way home, I finally started knitting up the mohair I mentioned yesterday. I decided to go with the ruana, both because I don't already have one, and it's the most mindless option. Sue me: I like mindless knitting.

2011-11-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

I knew I couldn't go through another day of no knitting, and I knew what my next project would be: something to use the hand-spun, hand-dyed bulky mohair in soft pinkish grey I picked up at Village Spin and Weave in Solvang, possibly supplemented with some Colinette mohair in a purplish pink whose name I no longer remember.

The grey mohair was in a single, sweater-sized hank, which wound into a ball the size of a volleyball. Of course, after it was softball-sized, or so, I realized that I hadn't needed to wind it at all. The halo had matted together enough that there was no way it would tangle; I could have knit it straight from the skein without worry.

Then, there was the matter of choosing a project. I have enough pullovers, by any standard. I don't wear cardigans often, but the one I made earlier this year is a similar color. I have a mohair coat in pinks and browns, and a woolen jacket in many colors, with an emphasis on brownish red. I don't even need a blanket; I knit a mohair blanket last Knitting Olympics.

Undecided what to do with the mohair volleyball, I pulled out a skein of exquisite yarn I bought several weeks ago at the local fiber arts cooperative. It's sock weight, hand-spun of natural dark brown merino and hand-dyed silk in (of course!) pink and lavender. I'm almost done, now, with a tiny scarf, a neckpiece more in the realm of jewelry, actually. I cast on by the Magic method, and knit around the perimeter, increasing by four stitches in each round to keep it flat. I started with stockinette, then threw in some eyelets, and finally a border of seed stitch to give it a possibility of staying flat in use. All I have to do is cast off, and it'll be done.

2011-11-08T21:51:00.001-08:00

Second day of no knitting. I've been catching up on the catalogs, which have caught up with me since I moved. I should dig up some yarn for the next project Another mohair sweater? I'd like that.

More creative cooking. Today, I improved the disappointing commercial pastrami by grilling it and dusting it with spices. Much yummier. For dinner, I made meatballs and simmered them with beef hotlinks in diced tomatoes and barbecue sauce. Served over noodles, it was tasty.

I tell ya, the restaurant has to open soon.

2011-11-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

No knitting at all today, but I did sweep the garage.

I've been wanting to cook, big time, and my refrigerator shows it.

I'm beginning to think the restaurant will never be ready. For the last couple of months, it has continually looked like it would be ready in a couple of weeks. It still looks like it'll be ready in a couple of weeks. It's like the old joke, of covering half the distance to one's goal every day.

2011-11-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Watched much TV and many movies today; I'm done in with spectator sports. On the bright side, all that sitting enabled me to finish the mohair hat. I intended to make it a bit bigger-- it's sort of a tam-- but I'm tired of it. Pattern stitches in mohair are just plain hard.

I did much creative cooking today. At lunchtime, I made a Brazilian corn cake I found online. The result was similar to Marie Calender's famous corn bread, and way too delicious not to have a second piece. For dinner, I made a casserole with shredded potatoes, sweet corn, sharp cheddar cheese, and a seasoned custard mixture with a good shot of cream. As with the corn cake, it was too delicious not to have seconds. I spent some time on the ski machine as penance, but I'm still going to avoid the scale for a couple of days.

The restaurant had better open soon. I need other people to feed my cooking to.

2011-11-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful outing today. After checking the road reports to make sure there was no snow, we drove out to Beaverton, where we found cobalt blue water glasses in our price range for the restaurant. We ordered 40; I think we should have ordered 80. Then, in the course of shopping for groceries, we heard that there is, indeed, a decent deli in Portland. We found the place, and had a very good lunch. Then we hit a couple of ethnic markets before making our way home. Fun, fun, fun. We got hit by a flurry of wet snow on our way home, but it didn't stick.

For the record, Portland is breathtaking in the fall.

2011-11-03T22:46:00.000-07:00

I started a hat, using the yarn leftover from the mohair sweater. I can't remember the last time I made a sweater and hat combo for myself. For Tom, yes, but not for myself.

I love the mohair sweater, by the way. I'm wearing every evening, when we walk the dogs.

2011-11-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

I finished the scarf last night. Today, rather than decide what to knit next, I re-did the collar on the mohair sweater I finished earlier in the week. Third time's the charm. This time, I did a mock turtle, which has proven itself both comfortable and warm. Since sweater weather has arrived, I can test these things right away.

Tom is leaning toward not taking a trip to LA this week. I would have missed him, if he had gone.

2011-10-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

Finished the hat, and am four feet into a scarf in a different yarn, but the same stitch. I don't know what the stitch is called, but it's a faux cable with a yo in the middle of each cable.

Roasted the first turkey of the season today, after spending the whole morning pulling weeds. That's some hard work-- the weeding, not the turkey-roasting. Roasting a turkey is about as easy as cooking gets.

Enjoyed the trick-or-treaters tonight. We never had many at our last home. Here, in the small town, it's a lot more kid-oriented and friendly. What I especially love about Astoria is that even the teens are outgoing and polite. They gave us a lot of compliments on out doorknocker, a bronze dragon by a favorite sculptor of Tom's.

2011-10-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hello, after a bit of a break. I got back from my trip a couple of days ago, but Tom had installed a new program on my computer in my absence. Computers being what they are, this caused it to not remember me when I got back. I had to jump through all the hoops to reset my password and get onto the blog before I could access it. That, I didn't have the energy to do until this morning.

In the travel department, Oregon is not known for autumn color, its forests being primarily coniferous. Since I'm from LA, though, the scattered maples (both vine and big leaf) and oaks look quite splendid. The cities, where people choose the trees they plant according to their autumn colors, are downright magnificent. Oh, yes. I said it. The cities in Oregon look splendid in autumn.

The drive was tough. It is, after all, 1,100 miles each way, by the shortest possible route. I took said shortest route south, but followed it with a 200 mile trip to Riverside to visit my ex and reclaim some paintings I did in the '80s. Throw in less than two days for chores, visiting, and packing the car. End with a drive back by the LESS than optimal route, and get home on a total of five days. It was a pretty tough trip.

In the knitting department, the second sleeve of the mohair sweater turned out an inch wider than the first. I tried it on, and, in the mirror, the difference was invisible. Nevertheless, I couldn't stand it. I ripped it out. At present, I'm only a few inches from completion. I may change the collar, though. When I tried it on in front of the mirror, I saw that the turtleneck was not kind to my double chin. Changing the collar on the sweater would be much easier than losing twenty years and eighty pounds.

2011-10-20T22:16:00.001-07:00

Sewed up the shoulders on the mohair sweater today, and added a turtleneck. Now, I'm working on the sleeves.

I also, as expected, got a clean bill of health from my doc.

Road trip starts tomorrow. Tom is going to stay home with the dogs.

2011-10-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

My sleepiness, so early in the evening, was explained to me as a reaction to the return of autumn weather, after yesterday's brief return of summer. That must be it; I'm ready to hibernate.

I've finished the body of the sweater. The sleeves and collar remain. It looks like it's going to be *very* warm.

2011-10-18T21:38:00.001-07:00

Sarah's feeling much perkier on her new cardiac medication. She dragged me all over this end of town this morning-- okay, it was only around the next block, but that's longer than she has wanted to walk in months.

Since it was summer again today, Tom and I went to the beach. We went to the aquarium in Seaside, did a little window shopping, then on to Pizza a Fetta in Cannon Beach. I hit the yarn store while we were there. I almost got out unscathed, but on the last rack, two skeins of sock yarn in a variegated pale green asked to come home with me. In theory, I bought them to make a Christmas present for a friend who is a natural strawberry blonde (pale green looks great on strawberry blondes), but we'll see whether I actually knit it up, and then whether I actually send it.

Autumn returns tomorrow.

2011-10-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

The vet thinks Sarah's episodes are fainting spells related to her weak heart. She put her on cardiac medication. Tonight, Sarah walked-- trotted, even-- six blocks without fainting. Good for her.

The restaurant is coming along. The appliances will be delivered Thursday, and the floor finished shortly after. We really might be able to open in a few weeks.

My new mohair sweater is coming along, too. The front is almost done. I'm very happy with the fabric I'm making, especially considering that it was bargain yarn to begin with. It's very thick and soft.

2011-10-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Today's adventure was to check out the produce stores on the highway between here and Portland. There are some good ones; my dinner consisted of local chanterelles sauteed with shallots and elephant garlic. I'm glad to find those markets; I've missed fresh fruits and vegetables since moving to this sunless region. Note: I like the cool, overcast weather. It's just not possible to grow most veggies on the coast.

Poor Sarah isn't doing well. She had two episodes today, during which she fell down and couldn't walk, followed by a period of exhausted immobility. I don't know whether they're seizures, strokes, or what. We're taking her to the vet tomorrow.

2011-10-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

The mohair sweater is now 14 inches long. It won't be long now until I separate the front from the back. As I've only used 1 1/2 skeins so far, and I have 6, I have no fear of running out of yarn.

We went to Washington today, for a bit of adventure. Not much adventure, but some. We thoroughly searched through a large antique shop, emerging with a small shelf and a couple of books. Then we took a short walk near Black Lake, a lovely spot just off the highway, after which we had lunch in Long Beach.

Back home, we watched "The Man Who Sued God," starring Billy Connolly. Very enjoyable movie; I wish Tom would grow his hair long again. That's not a non sequitur. Billy Connolly has long hair, and is adorable. Tom, with long hair, is just as adorable, but he refuses to let it grow out. Oh, well.

2011-10-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

...and the new sweater is four-five inches along. Stockinette on size 10 needles goes faster than odd ribbings on size 6s, to a shocking degree.

2011-10-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

I quintupled my wardrobe today with about one hour of sewing; I hemmed the pants I've bought over the last few months.

Other than that, the day hasn't been that productive. Mostly, I've been complaining about back pain related to yesterday's gardening binge.

I failed to find a yarn I could stripe against the green handspun I started a scarf out of yesterday, so I put it aside and started a sweater. It's out of a variegated mohair, mostly shades of purple, that I bought ages ago. I have a matching wool that I'm going to use for the ribbing. I don't actually need another sweater, but I did need something to knit.

2011-10-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

I pulled some weeds today, planted some irises, and continued to avoid altering some clothes I bought months ago. I started a scarf, but I've used up half my yarn without coming near halfway to a decent scarf. If I don't come up with a nice coordinating yarn, a scarf won't happen.

Sarah was sick last night. I gave her a bath to bring her fever down, and held her in my arms for a while afterward. She looked like she was feeling better today, but followed me around with slavish devotion all day. I think she appreciated that I took care of her while she wasn't feeling well.

2011-10-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

I did finish Tom's Christmas sweater. The new collar is a big improvement. I also baked rye bread, did three loads of laundry, repaired a torn shirt, washed dishes, bathed a dog, unpacked my car, put most of the stuff away, and made a nice supper.

And they said it couldn't be done.

What I didn't do, from my extensive to-do list, was pull weeds, plant the iris rhizomes I brought from California, and shorten the pants I've bought this year. The irises are new, but the weeds and pants have been waiting for me for months.

2011-10-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Back in Oregon, thank Heaven. It's nice and cool here.

I started reworking the collar on Tom's Christmas sweater before even unpacking the car. I made an increase stitch after each picked up stitch on the front, so the collar wouldn't pull up on the torso, making a tight neck and a short sweater. 1x1 rib knits up quickly, so I might be able to finish tomorrow.

2011-10-07T23:01:00.001-07:00

Housesitter situation settled. We have security in place, both human and mechanical.

I packed my car mostly with yarn. I had intended to bring some exercise equipment and furniture, but bins of yarn are so easy to stack.

I haven't knit a stitch in a week. That's something I'll be glad to get back to. I did finish Tom's Christmas sweater before we came down here, but I think I want to change the collar, now. It's good, but it could be better.

2011-10-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, the housesitter situation is settled, sort of. I confronted her about a bunch of stuff that had gone missing. She got offended, and quit. She and her boyfriend both still have keys, though, and all of their stuff is still in the house, so I can't just brush her off and get on with my life.

This sucks.

2011-10-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Big week-- huge week. Too much stuff to write about. In Los Angeles, barely managing to keep chaos at bay. Who am I kidding? I'm not keeping chaos at bay; it's sweeping me along in a tsunami of busy-ness and confusion.

Biggest problem? Housesitter situation in flux, I'm scheduled to go back to Oregon in a day-and-a-half, and I'm afraid to leave before the housesitter situation is nailed down.

2011-09-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

For the first time, I've seen a trace of the aurora borealis, jut a red glow above the northern horizon. I definitely want more.

I'm almost done with Tom's Christmas sweater, just another inch of sleeve and some ribbing around the neck remaining. Should be done before we go to see Tom's doc tomorrow. I expect him to pronounce Tom's hand healed, and remove the PICC line. He'll have a few more weeks of occupational therapy, as he doesn't quite have full range of motion, and only about 1/3 normal strength, but I think the infection is gone, gone, gone. Good riddance.

I mostly stayed home today, with a backache, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't move the sofa to retrieve a $10 coupon I wanted to use. Hey, $10 is $10.

2011-09-26T08:13:00.001-07:00

Finally. Tom set up my new computer yesterday, and I couldn't get into a lot of my accounts, as they didn't recognize the computer. This was one of the hardest to get into.

Working away on the second sleeve of Tom's Christmas sweater. I'll be glad to have it over with.

The last couple of days have been full of wonder and delight, but I'm not going to put it down here. Nyah.

2011-09-23T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it was drizzly this morning, and foggy now, but in between it was gorgeous and blue. That's the time Tom and I chose to drive out to the eagle sanctuary. That's a gorgeous spot of channels and islands in between the forest and the river. We still haven't seen an eagle in the sanctuary (we've seen them close by), but today we saw an aerial dogfight between a redtail hawk and a crow. There were a lot of hawks out today.

2011-09-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

I was in such terrible pain yesterday that I switched back to the meds my old doc in LA had prescribed, and made an appointment with him. It's worth driving to LA a few times/year to be pain-free. While we're down there, we'll see some friends, and bring back more stuff. Win-win-win. (Note-- if you can avoid rupturing a disk and getting arthritis in your spine, do so.)

Now that my back doesn't hurt so much, I've reconciled with Tom's sweater. I finished one sleeve today, but late enough that I didn't pick up for the second.

2011-09-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was gorgeous and blue, but the intermittent stomachache sucked a lot of the joy out of it. Same today, but we did manage to have a nice drive to Seaside yesterday, and to Cannon Beach today.

I heard a rumor this evening that Ringo Starr is in town. In Los Angeles, that would be nothing, but here, it's a major big deal.

And I'm sick of Tom's Christmas sweater. Once it's done, I never want to see a skein of unvariegated navy blue yarn again. Would the knitting gods hurt me, if I knit the second sleeve in a different stitch pattern?

2011-09-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

It rained again today, but that didn't keep us away from the crafts fair. There are only three weeks left in the season, so we have to make hay while the rain shines. I bought a small skein of lovely handspun; iirc, it is hand-dyed silk and natural black alpaca. I could be wrong about that, but it's a lovely, rosy black. There's only enough to make something small, maybe 115 yards of something finer than sportweight but heavier than laceweight. I'd call it sock weight, but it's much too delicate to use for socks, and not nearly enough.

I bought some lovely sole for lunch, and then was flattened by an 8-hour stomach bug. I wonder whether I'm well enough to attempt some dinner? That sole won't be nearly as delicious tomorrow.

2011-09-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

First really rainy day in months. Nice.

2011-09-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

My back hurts today, and, after looking up the potential side effects and interactions in my current treatment regimen, I'm pretty much terrified about my prognosis.

On the upside, Tom went out by himself today, and ran his own errands while I stayed home. That's the first time in weeks that he's been able to do that sort of thing for himself.

And Sarah is perky and happy today. The medications the vet put her on yesterday for arthritis and heart failure seem to be doing her good.

2011-09-14T22:34:00.001-07:00

Almost done with the silk/alpaca triangle shawl I started a few days ago in order to add some variety to my knitting. Started casting off while watching TV a little while ago; I'll most likely finish before going to bed.

I saw the local pain doc today, since it's no longer practical for me to commute back and forth to LA. He has changed my whole treatment regimen. I hope it's as effective as the previous one. The new doc says the new regimen he's putting me on will be safer and cheaper than what the previous doctor ordered. Is there a word for being simultaneously hopeful and scared? How about "apprehensive"?

2011-09-14T09:23:00.001-07:00

Soooo busy! Tom's better, but still needs help with most of his ADLs-- Activities of Daily Living. Yesterday, I had to go into town (2 hour drive, each way) to pick up necessities we can't get on the Coast. Today, I have a doctor's appointment of my own to shoehorn into my schedule, and one of the dogs has developed a worrying cough. Will I have the energy to take her to the vet, after my own appointment? Tune in later.

The recycled silk I'm currently working with smells like dust, and my seasonal pinkeye is trying to come back. I think these two things are related, but it's much quicker and easier to apply eye drops than it is to unwind and wash the yarn before knitting with it. The good news is that it looks like I have plenty of both the silk and the alpaca I'm using to tame it, to make a good, big triangular shawl. For once, I don't have to skimp.

2011-09-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

Tom got his stitches removed today. He's having a lot less pain, but more drainage, so we're still doing the antiseptic soaks and dressing changes. He has another 10 days of IV antibiotics scheduled, as well.

I didn't feel like sewing the shoulder seams of Tom's sweater, which I would have to do before knitting the sleeves, so I started another garter stitch triangle shawl. I was very happy with it at first, but now I'm not sure I approve of the variation in color and weight of the yarn I'm using, recycled sari silk. I'm thinking about pulling it out and starting over, but recycled sari silk doesn't pull out so easily.

2011-09-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

I finished the body of Tom's sweater. It looks like it'll fit just fine. Now, for the sleeves...

Busy, busy day tomorrow. He has a doctor's appointment in Longview shortly before noon, and a home appointment with the occupational therapist not too long after. It's a shame that we won't have time to do necessary shopping, since we'll already be in Longview.

I made fudge today, and shared it with several neighbors. It seemed like the best way to mark 9/11, by doing something nice for people, some of whom I know, and some I don't.

2011-09-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

I'd really like some rain. It hasn't rained in months. Two, I think.

I drove out to the elk viewing area. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them calling. It's almost breeding season.

Tom's incision is still bleeding, a little, more than a week after surgery. I'll feel better when the stitches are out, and it's a nice, clean scar.

I've been so busy taking care of Tom, and doing all my chores, and Tom's as well, that I haven't had much time for knitting. I finished the front several days ago, and I'm about halfway done with the back above the circular part. Since it doesn't have to be done until Christmas, I'm still okay.

2011-09-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Now that the nursing agency and the pharmacy are on the same page, taking care of Tom is a lot easier. We're both going a little stir-crazy with staying home (Tom would lose his home health eligibility if he went out), but it's only for another week or two. He's making progress.

Which is more than I'm doing on his sweater. I'm so busy that, most days, I can only manage a couple of rows. I hope I have enough yarn!

2011-09-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Had a hard time today, getting the pharmacy and nursing agency to work on the same page. Being a patient advocate is hard work.

We saw a suspicious spot near one of the stitches today, but otherwise Tom's in good condition.

2011-09-06T18:21:00.001-07:00

Profoundly tired. I'm beginning to think I was sold a box of defective tea.

Tom continues to improve.

2011-09-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

He did come home yesterday, and we (the dogs and I) are glad to have him. That said, even with only one patient, being RN, CNA, and housekeeper, all at the same time, is hard work.

2011-09-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

Tom was admitted to the hospital in Longview, WA, on Thursday. The hand specialist there, to whom we had been referred by the emergency room physicians in Astoria, did surgery to clean out the abscess in his hand, and has been keeping a close eye on him since.

He's much better. It looks like he'll be able to come home tomorrow. I'll be managing his IVs at home, with home health back up.

2011-08-30T23:48:00.001-07:00

Same as yesterday.

2011-08-29T22:52:00.001-07:00

Too tired to blog. Taking care of Tom has been a full time job, on a split shift, no less. Not that he's so gravely ill; he does his own personal care and all. I don't have to bathe and dress him, thank God. No, but I've been spending 8+ hours/day ferrying him to doctors' appointments and IV infusions at the hospital, plus having to do all the work around the house, including the things he usually does himself. Tired.

(Glad the restaurant isn't ready to open, yet. We don't have to close, while Tom gets well.)

2011-08-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

No time to post, yesterday. Tom's hand was much worse, so we spent the day going from Urgent Care to Emergency Room, where he had surgery to drain the abscess in his hand, followed by a slow infusion of very strong antibiotics. He wasn't admitted to the hospital, but has to come back every twelve hours for another dose. Since the first dose was in the afternoon, the second dose of the day is in the wee hours of the morning. I am very tired.

The last dose scheduled so far is tonight. The doc will see him in his office tomorrow, and decide then whether he needs to continue on IV medication, or whether he can be switched to oral. I can live with either decision, as long as Tom gets well.

2011-08-26T23:20:00.001-07:00

Tom's hand was a bit better today, so he didn't go to the doctor.

On a hunch, I tried a different method of making french fries, which I haven't seen before. I met with total success, the best fries I've ever eaten. No, I'm not going to tell you what I did; you'll have to come to my restaurant.

The problem with knitting for men is that it's so g-d boring to knit with solid, respectable colors in smooth, even yarn for weeks at a time. I'm barely halfway through with Tom's Christmas sweater, and I'm already so sick of it I could scream. Navy blue? Who thought navy blue would be a good idea? Okay, that would be me.

2011-08-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

Tom's hand isn't noticeably better, so he's likely going back to the doctor's office tomorrow. I've told him that, if the problem organism is sensitive to the antibiotic given, he should have felt much better by now. He's susceptible to infections, and hard to treat, as he's allergic to most antibiotics. Sigh.

After finishing the firecracker scarf, I started another with leftovers of a couple of different yarns. I had a full skein of Shimmer 5, a super-duper bulky thick-and-thin that knits up at 2 stitches/inch on size 13 needles, and a partial skein of a bulky silk/wool blend ( whose name I forget) that knits up at 4 stitches/inch on size 10s. I cast on ~150 on a long size 13 with the Shimmer 5, and knit in garter until I ran out of yarn. Then, with a size 10, I knit into both the front and back of each stitch with the other yarn, still in garter. The scarf, once I finish casting off, will be about 4 inches wide, and 7 ft long. I've already started casting off, having only started this evening. That's the magic of thick yarn and big needles.

2011-08-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't much feel like knitting more 4x1rib in smooth navy blue today, so I went through my stash and picked out some Colinette Firecracker in a nice blue combo. Jay? Since it's a fancy yarn (a wide nylon (I think) ribbon with frayed edges), I'm doing a scarf in garter stitch. Since there are only 70 meters in a skein, I'm doing the scarf only 10 stitches wide. In the time it took to watch one movie, I have more than a foot of scarf going on already.

Poor Tom is in a lot of pain; we think he has an infection in the hand he had operated on a couple of weeks ago. He's on antibiotics. I hope he'll be all better soon.

2011-08-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Did a little of this and that, here and there, but the big thing today was meeting with a graphic artist and talking about the signs we want for the restaurant, and the logo. She'll be back in two days with the rough drafts.

I also bought some blue dye, and overdyed the hot pink polo shirt Tom bought for himself last time he was in the Disneyland neighborhood. Some guys can get away with wearing hot pink; Tom's not one of them. It's a nice, respectable purple now, I'm pleased to say. I'm just sorry I didn't wear rubber gloves while I was doing it.

2011-08-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's laziness morphed into real fatigue; I spent much of the day on the sofa. I decided that I was fighting a virus, so a day spent knitting could be charged as a sick day on my imaginary time card.

I did make enough progress that, the next time I sit down to it, I'll be splitting the torso at the armline. Does that make sense? I mean I've knit around as far as I can, and will now knit back-and-forth to the shoulders.

I invented a new sauce for braised beef. Tom liked it, but I didn't like it enough to add it to the repertoire. It was based on lemon soda (my standard substitute for wine, when cooking for the alcohol-intolerant), with generous additions of mustard, ketchup, steak sauce, and my over salted homemade pickles. I added a lot of water, to correct for it being too tart, thickened it with cornstarch, and finished it with butter to smooth out the rough edges. Good, but not great. The sauce I made with sour cream and paprika was a lot better.

I also spent a couple of hours working on a logo for the restaurant. Tom was shocked at how well I draw.* I was dissatisfied with my best effort;** I made an appointment with a commercial artist for tomorrow. At least I'll be able to show her my rough drafts, so she'll have an idea of what I want.

*The hibiscus is recognizable as a hibiscus.

**But the sandwich looks only approximately sandwich-like.

2011-08-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

I woke up with a bad case of the lazies this morning. There was nothing I could do about it; I had made dough for a batch of bagel the night before, so I had to shape, boil, and bake them. Then we watched a couple of episodes of "Top Gear," the original British show. I didn't watch the whole marathon; I missed the Kite Festival in Longbeach, WA last year, and wanted to catch it this year.

The kite festival was nice, but no big deal, since we're not involved in the kiting community. There were a lot of sales booths, and food booths, as you'd expect at a county fair. Since the kite festival is a big draw, we had to park several blocks away. We got a lot of exercise.

Once we got home, I found hundreds (literally) of tweets waiting for me. Ghadaffi had been killed, no, he had been arrested, no, no one knew whether the was still in Libya or not. Boy, turn my back for a minute and a revolution breaks out. As I write now, several hours later, things are still insecure. It is widely assumed that the revolution has been successful, and Ghadaffi is no longer in power, but there has been neither surrender nor cessation of hostilities. The dancing in the streets that started several hours ago may have been premature.

2011-08-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

Tom told me that he'd like a pirate poster in Hebrew for the restaurant, so I looked for those online today. I couldn't find any such thing, or any other Hebrew posters that would be good for the restaurant, but, wow, I did find some other stuff. An original "Star Wars" poster, in Hebrew? Three grand. Not in Hebrew, but in English, an original "Yellow Submarine" poster? Twelve grand. I'm glad I was looking for posters from obscure pirate films. Those, I can afford.

It was the first hot day of the summer, well over 90 in Portland. That's why we didn't move to Portland. It was in the high 70s here in Astoria. We went to Cannon Beach to check out the new Chocolate Cafe. It was 88 in Cannon Beach, but the magnificence that was the chocolate shake at the Chocolate Cafe made up for any brief discomfort. It was not only the best milk shake I've ever tasted, but possibly the most delicious substance of any kind.

Didn't knit very much today. The sweater is almost long enough now to divide at the armholes.

Since I've been jogging and using the ski machine, I've lost 5 pounds and my blood sugar is down 20 points. My feet aren't swelling any more, so I may cancel the appointment I made with my doc.

2011-08-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today, I framed the pirate movie posters I had bought for the men's room at the restaurant. They look so good that now I want to put them in the dining room. Tom and I spent much of the day looking for pirate stuff in Seaside, without a lot of success. After we got home, I spent three hours on eBay, looking for what I wanted. Could be worse. My purchases should be arriving over the next couple of weeks.

From what we hear from our contractor, a couple of weeks is all we'll need. Okay, I still haven't hired staff, or gotten our signs made, or even found out whether the refrigeration in our walk-in works, so we're not ready to make the appointment to be inspected, let alone open. It's coming, though. Now, it looks like we'll be opening shortly after Labor Day.

2011-08-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Another quiet day. Knitting, cooking, and watching TV.

2011-08-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Took a beautiful drive to Longview, WA, today, to get a shot of cortisone in my trigger finger. I should be all better in a day or three. That's such a beautiful drive, out the 30 on the south bank of the Columbia River. I promised the doctor-- nurse practitioner, actually-- that I wouldn't knit today, but I lied. I'll pretend "Go easy on your hand for a few days" meant no gardening.

I had thawed out a kishka yesterday, bought last June from a Polish butcher in Chicago. I didn't know how to cook it, so I looked it up online. I must have done something wrong, though, as the sausage exploded, yielding something that looked exactly like the cheap canned dog food my parents used to give our collie. It tasted good, though, once I added salt and garlic.

2011-08-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

After spending two hours with the Oregonian's classified section, without finding a suitable exercise machine, I decided to hit the thrift shops. The second one yielded a ski machine, and several original paintings perfect for the restaurant. I got the whole lot, ski machine included, for $60.

The paintings, of course, are "naive," to put it kindly. One is a large canvas of an angel playing a guitar; three are small landscapes. All are in bright colors, appropriate to the Caribbean theme of the restaurant. Most amazing was a yarn painting of a Taino (the group native to the Caribbean) sun figure. That was the *last* thing I expected to find in far-northern Oregon. Someone must have had a vacation.

My charlie horse is mostly gone, so I went for a very short run this morning, supplemented with a couple of short sessions on the ski machine. After having been laid up as the result of my own foolishness all weekend, I'm not about to overdo it now.

2011-08-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

We went to a wholesale meat market today. They're going to draw up a price list for the things we need and get back to us. It looks like the restaurant is going to become real.

2011-08-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was all about the Regatta, with reservations.

The Regatta, which started as a race among fishermen, has become a big festival that draws people from all over the Pacific Northwest. We went to a small street fair, an antique car show, a small private museum, and a fireworks exhibition. This represented barely a third of the entertainment options for that one day.

I couldn't do more, because, ironically, I had recently added a short run to my evening walk with the dogs. I had had a brief run the night before, and again the morning of the Regatta. The calf muscle in my left leg, which has been babied for months due to the knee injury, cramped up, and remained cramped for the rest of the weekend. I spent yesterday flamboyantly limping from one entertainment venue to another. Today, I took half a Vicodin, but stayed home anyway.

I expect to be back on my feet tomorrow. Being laid up has given my lots of time for knitting, if nothing else. I'm about six inches in to the navy blue cotton/alpaca sweater that is destined to be Tom's main Christmas gift. As always, I hope I have enough yarn. Fourteen skeins sounds like plenty, except that I'm only getting two inches of length per skein of yarn, and there are sleeves to contend with. Oh, well. Maybe he'll be getting another vest.

2011-08-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Tom and I drove down to Tillamook today. Sure, we bought some cheese while we were there, but the drive was the main event. Wow. I've been living here most of the year, and I'm still bowled over at how beautiful it is.

While walking the dogs tonight, even though there was a full moon and it wasn't quite dark yet, we saw two meteors. We also saw a bat, but that had nothing to do with the Perseid meteor shower.