Lost My Mojo

Here I was, thinking I'd lost my puzzle mojo.  I'd started this one, what?  Three weeks ago?  I don't rightly remember, but it's been a while.  In all of that time, this is as far as I'd gotten. 

I was thinking I'd seriously lost my mojo, but today I realized it wasn't that I didn't want to work jigsaw puzzles any more.  I just didn't want to do this jigsaw puzzle.  

So, as soon as I got home this evening, I broke it up -- what little there was to break up -- and put it back into the box.  I might start another one here in a bit.  Or I might not.  It isn't just my puzzle mojo that seems to have gone on vacation.  

I just haven't felt like doing anything here lately, even blogging.  I was going to blog yesterday, but I didn't.  All I did was get my tornado safe room ready, then go to bed.  As it happens, the worst of the weather passed to the South of us, so that's good.  Not for the people who got hit, but good for us. 

In other news, I've been watching this Great Pottery Showdown show on Roku channel, and it's reminded me that pottery is something I'd always wanted to learn.  It's a pretty expensive outlay, though.  You need a wheel, and a kiln -- or at least access to one, and a place to throw pots because from what I understand, that clay goes everywhere.  I wonder if there is any place around here that offers pottery classes.  I know there is a place you can go paint stuff that is already made, but I don't know of you can make your own stuff. 

Like I need another hobby...

And finally, just so this post won't be a total waste of your time, here is bluebonnet progress.   

 Most of my plants have buds opening up.  I can't wait to show you the whole bed in bloom.  

Best Laid Plans

The plan was to come home yesterday and finish water sealing that first raised bed, but you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. 

Yep, when I got off work, I walked out of the plant and much to my surprise, it was chilly and rainy.  Not raining, just drizzly and misty.  I didn't feel like getting out in that mess, so I changed my plans and finished my latest jigsaw puzzle instead. 

This one was a lot more fun to do than the last one, and one I got to the part where all the people are, I was able to get it done in a flash.  This afternoon, I broke it up and put it back into the box, then moved the card table into the living room so I can work the next one while watching TV.  

This will be the next one, by the way. 

I've decided on it because it's in the biggest box.  Strange reasoning, I admit, but there it is.  If I do the ones in the bigger boxes, it'll be easier to stack them back in the closet when I'm done. 

Oh, and I also finished the hat I was working on.  

I haven't cast on a new one, though.  I probably will before the night ends. 

A bit of good news, I think I'm finally kicking that bug I've had for the last...nearly two weeks now.  I'd start to feel better, then it would sneak back in and absolutely body slam me again.  But now, I feel like it's about over.  My cough has lightened up and my chest isn't quite so tight.  I'm hoping by Saturday, I'll be done with it. 

I was taking my shower yesterday, and just standing there letting the hot water run and fill up the bathroom with steam.  It put me in mind of when I was a small child.  I can clearly remember my mother getting me out of bed and sitting with me in the bathroom with a hot shower filling the room with steam.  I couldn't have ben more than two or three years old, but that is of of my strongest memories from my childhood.  Apparently, my lungs have always given me problems.  

Then there was the time I had pneumonia when I was 11 and spent 8 days in the hospital.  But that's another story for another day. 

Speaking of Saturday, I'd put vacation in for Friday so that I would have Saturday off to go to Fiber Fun In The 'Sip.  As it happens, we weren't even going to work Saturday.  I thought about cancelling my day, because we've had so much time off here lately due to MLK day and the ice storm, but decided against it.  If I feel up to it, I might just finish that raised bed.  I might even do the other one, and get them out into place.  Of course, that last part depends on the weather -- as in whether it rains or not. 

HA HA HA HA HA!!!  OK, I'll go sit down now...

And finally, I know some of you have been longing for spring.  This is for you.  

The first daffs of the season.  

Spoiler Alert!

Man I need a nap.

The problem with getting up ridiculously early is that you also have to go to bed ridiculously early.  That means when you're all just sitting down getting comfortable in front of the TV, I'm already in bed -- or at least getting ready for bed.  So it was last night.

I've been watching the Olympics, and have become particularly interested in curling.  The men's team was going to be shown playing Norway at 7:00, so I set my DVR to record it, thinking I'd watch it when I got home this evening.  By the way, one of the guys on the Norwegian team looked just like The Boss Who Must Not Be Named.   But that's neither here nor there...

After I got into bed, though, I said, "Let me just put that match on my Kindle and I'll watch until I fall asleep, like I do when I'm watching football.  I can pick up where I fell asleep tomorrow."  Alas, it was not to be.  Every time I closed my eyes and started to drift off, I was like, "Nope.  I gotta see what's going on!" and I'd start watching again.  It was totally worth it.

It was the tenth end.  The score was tied at 8 all.  U.S. had hammer, and Danny Casper had the rock.  How he threw this one last rock would decide the game.  Taking aim, he let it go....

Well, YouTube won't let me embed the video, which would have had a much better impact on you, Gentle Reader, but you can watch it here:  Curling I strongly recommend you do so. 

That, my friends, is how it's done!  

Who knew that sliding a rock down a sheet of ice could be so captivating.   

Captivating as it may be, it doesn't keep 3:30 AM from getting here way too early, and before I knew it, that alarm was going off and I was headed in to work.  Where I had old Christmas songs running through my head all day. 

This one, to be exact...

Don't ask.  Even I don't know...

OK, moving right along...you know how I always say that when I get home from work, I'm going to do so much stuff, then end up not doing any of it?  Well, today I ....didn't do that.   I actually got one of my raised beds out and started water sealing the pieces.  

Yay, me!  

I didn't do the whole bed, though, because I'm tahrd.  That's tired in Southern.  Maybe I'll get the rest done tomorrow, then I can start putting it all together.  It was such a beautiful, sunny, and warm day, once I was done with that, I sat outside in my chair for a little bit. 

I really need to get myself psyched up and get a tree person out to take some of these dead and broken limbs out of my big oak tree before they fall. Just sitting out there this afternoon, I found three branches that had completely broken and were just hanging there, stuck on other branches.  But you know how I am with phone calls -- especially when this will be the third tree guy I've called and the job still hasn't been done.  

Just so this post won't be a complete waste of your time, here is hat progress:  

Yarn:  Red Heart Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles: US 8 / 5mm

I'll probably go ahead and finish this one after I'm done posting.  I need to start thinking about what I'm going to take to Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, since it's this weekend.  Me, I'm still not sold on it being in February.  I liked it so much better in the Fall.  At least this year, Leann will be there, and I hope Amy and Christi can come.  Even Peggy had mentioned trying to come this time, but I haven't heard for sure if she'll be able to. 

And finally, here is puzzle progress. 

I must say, this one is going a whole lot easier than the last one.  Even with the cat putting her muddy footprints all over it...brat.  

But it got me to thinking, back in the day, when we had big family gatherings for Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or whatever, we always had a jigsaw puzzle going, and usually a game of chickenfoot as well.  These days, everyone just sits around staring at their phones...In fact, Elon Musk once said we're all pretty much defacto cyborgs, because we never go anywhere without a device of some sort. 

And somewhere along the way, we've lost real human connection.  

We need to get it back. 

Endings And Beginnings

Here I sit, watching the Olympics on a Saturday afternoon.  It's not what I'd planned on doing today, but it's what I am doing.  I'd planned on getting my new raised beds out and putting the water seal stuff on them, but I'm not.  It's supposed to rain for the next few days, but I didn't see that as a problem.  I'd just pull the car out and do it in the car port.  In the end, I just didn't feel like it.  Eh, I can't plant outside for two more months anyway.  I have plenty of time to get it done. 

Ever since I woke up with the epizoodies last Saturday, I haven't felt quite right.  I feel better, just not 100%.  I mostly just feel weak and shaky, and a bit lightheaded at times.  I admit, a lot of that may have to do with getting up at 3:30 AM for work the last three days.  The older I get, the harder it is to adjust. I've basically been coming home and collapsing at the end of the day.  

Despite feeling puny and coughing so much my chest, back, neck and head are so very sore, I did manage to finish this jigsaw puzzle.  

It was....challenging.  Let's just put it that way.  It was challenging because the pieces were very irregular, and didn't follow the standard jigsaw shapes.  To add to the confusion, I had extra pieces. 

Once I'd figured out they were duplicates, I remembered them from the first time I'd worked this puzzle all those years ago.  I don't know why I didn't toss them then, but they've been tossed now.  If ever I decide to work this one again, I won't have that to deal with.  I wonder, though, if I have extra pieces, did someone else get a puzzle with missing pieces?  How disappointing that would be!

I got this one out to do next, but haven't started it yet.  

I need to move my card table into the living room where I can watch TV while I'm working on puzzles.  That might get them done more quickly, even though it's not a race.  

So, while I've been watching Olympics, I began a new hat. 

Yarn:  Red Heart Super Saver Bitty Stripes

Colorway:  Crayon Box

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8/ 5 mm

This yarn is quickly becoming my go-to for these hats.  It's soft, easy to knit with, and I love the colors.  I still have some solid color yarns to use up -- most of which was given to me by friends who were de-stashing.  

Other than that, the big project for today, since I didn't do my raised beds, was to get MartyMac out of the crisper drawer in the fridge and set him on the plant shelf so he could start warming up. 

Since I live in the South with our wild temperature swings, it was recommended* that I put him into the refrigerator for dormancy to keep him at a consistent cold temperature.  You know, just in case you were wondering why he was in my crisper drawer. 

I usually get him back out mid-February to start warming up, then at the beginning of March, I put him back outside.  I'll cover him if we have a late frost, but they're very cold hardy.  I know some people leave theirs outside all winter and they're fine.  

First thing I did was to trim off all the dead traps left from last year. 

I know it looks like a lot, but as long as the rhizome is healthy, he'll be fine.  

When I was putting him on the plant shelf, look what I found. 

This crazy thing is trying to bloom again.  That's why I call them my Whatever Cactus.  

The only other thing I did today was try to figure out how I got a Real ID.  I'd heard other people say it was such a headache and they didn't fly enough to go through all the trouble to get one, and it was all just a big money grab anyway, so I was curious.  I even asked on Facebook what people had to do to get theirs, and depending on which state they are in, some people were required to bring six different forms of ID to get it.  Others who had been married and divorced multiple times said they had to bring ALL of their marriage licenses and divorce decrees, so they could track all of the name changes.  

All I had to do was renew my driver license.  I'd done that back in 2023, and I even renewed online.  When I got my new license, it was a Real ID, and I didn't have to show them anything.  The only thing I can think of is that I have my state firearms permit -- which I've kept updated even though Mississippi is a Constitutional Carry state.  

I had to turn in a crap-ton of paperwork to get that done, and get myself fingerprinted to boot.  When I got it renewed the first time, I even took my DD-214 up there so I could get my Instructor Certified sticker.  Which isn't a sticker.  It's just printed on the ID.  

Navy normally doesn't have to qualify with weapons --  unless you're special forces or military police -- but since I was Auxiliary Security, I got my pistol quals.   

Now, at least in my state, I can get my firearms permit renewed through the mail.  They said, "There is no need to go get fingerprinted again, because your fingerprints don't change."  They still do the background check and all, but they mail you all the forms before your current permit expires and you have plenty of time to get it all filled out and turned in.  

On the other hand, I did have to show a birth certificate to get my learner's driving permit way back when I was 15, so that will still be on file, too.  Oh well, I have one and that's the point. 

And finally, I somehow ended up with a promotional credit from Amazon video, so I used it to buy The Hollow Crown.  Shakespeare. 

What can I say?  I am who I am.  

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the rest of this Olympic hockey game between the US and Denmark. 

USA!  USA!! USA!!!

*I'm in a Venus fly trap group on Facebook.  The moderator has even written books on how to care for them.  He's the one who recommended I put MartyMac into the refrigerator for dormancy.