Full Moons And Fiber Fun

I've been saying for years I was going to do it, but I never did....until now.  Yep, last night, I finally went out to the lake to watch the Harvest Moon rise.  It was a beautiful night for it, too.  Cool, low humidity, and not a cloud in the sky.

  

I watched until the mosquitoes found me -- because I'd forgotten my bug spray-- then came home and had the traditional hot chocolate and Harvest Moon cookies.  I went outside a few times to look at it again, but I didn't take any more photos.   

I do know this one thing, though.  My county definitely needs to repaint the stripes on the roads.  

This morning, Suzette and I got up early and set out on another adventure.

And it was definitely and adventure.  Since I've sort of figured out how to use my GPS on my phone, I didn't take my usual route to Vicksburg.  There is definitely an advantage to taking back roads, such as no traffic, and not having to drive through Jackson, because I'll do just about anything to avoid driving through Jackson.  The disadvantage is....no gas stations, which means no bathrooms.  

On a completely unrelated note, while I was driving those back roads, I saw another Mississippi Mound Trail site.  I almost stopped, but didn't.  I said I'd go back someday, but I'm not even sure where it was.  Down near Rolling Fork is all I know. 

Anyway, Suzette and I made it Vicksburg without incident -- or me wetting my pants -- and I got a surprise when I pulled into the parking lot at the convention center because the car I parked beside had Christi's personalized license plate on it!

"Cookie's here!" I shrieked to no one in particular, and quickly made my way inside, and there were hugs and squeals and much laughter.  Then Amy arrived and there were more hugs and squeals and laughter.  Then Leann came and there were even more hugs and squeals and laughter, and a good time was had by all. 

Suzy Q was there in spirit, and thought Christi's watermelon sock yarn was just the cutest thing ever. 

And we talked, and we knit, and we shopped, and all too soon it was time to leave and many bitter tears were shed at our parting.  But first, the obligatory photos. 

Christi, Leann, Me, and Amy:

And one with the blended family:  Christi, Emily, Amy, Leann, Me, and Amy.  

After an uneventful trip home during which I took the interstate back and during which I certainly did not watch the Texas game on my phone while driving, I made it home around 5:00 PM.  

So, I was good this year, and didn't really buy a whole lot of yarn.  I picked up a few more minis for my other sock yarn blanket.

And a couple of more minis, plus one full skein of sock yarn. 

I bought that one just for the name of the colorway:  As The Mist Creeps In.  

I got some more Purl Scout merit badges to add to my collection.

And finally, this skein of sock yarn. 

These were the gifts they included in the bags at the door, except the notebook.  She'd gotten a bunch of those to give to the people who'd taken classes, but had a bunch left over, so she walked around giving them away. 

 I said I'd just add it to my emotional support stack of unused notebooks. 

And that was that for Fiber Fun In The 'Sip 2023.  And that's it for me, for this weekend at least.  

I'm plumb worn out. 

Stick A Fork In Me

 I'm done.

For today, at least.  I'm wiped out.

Oh, it all started innocently enough with my usual Friday shopping trip to Walmart.  No biggie.  Except for this one unplanned purchase, everything went smoothly . 

I really hadn't intended to get any more Fall decorations, but this was so cute, and only $3, so on impulse, I picked it up. 

It was after that -- and a quick bite of lunch -- that my day kicked me in the butt. 

Because I decided to mow.  I hadn't mowed in a while, mainly because I wanted to let my grass go to seed, which takes about a month according to all the articles I've read.  Yesterday when I got home from work, I checked and it looked like the seed heads were opening and the seeds were dropping, so I'd planned on mowing today anyway. 

I was going to wait until later in the day, but then I remembered I'm thinking about driving out to the lake to watch the Harvest Moon rise, so I needed to go ahead and get it done.  

Don't led the fact that it's the end of September fool you.  It was still hot out there.  Not as hot as it was in August, mind you, but still hot enough to leave me drenched in sweat by the time I was done, and I only did the front yard.  Because of the drought, the back is pretty dead already and didn't need cutting.  I'm not even sure how the front is even growing what with the lack of rain and all...but anyway, 

Your PSA for today:  clean the air filter on your lawn mower.  Your lawn mower will thank you for it. 

Once I got done mowing, I spent a few minutes tidying up the yard, and after that I spent the rest of the day sitting in front of the TV.  I don't want to wear myself out before my trip to Vicksburg tomorrow. 

Do you see this?  Do you know what it is? 

Those are spider lily leaves.  The don't normally emerge until after the blooming season, but they're coming up now.  Which means we won't get any blooms this year, except for this one brave little soldier here. 

The good news is, the leaves mean the bulbs aren't dead, so maybe next year.  Even more good news..do you see this?  Do you know what it is?  It's a bluebonnet seedling!

And there's another one coming up in the planter!  

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they survive. 

Speaking of my planter, I'm going to have to cut my pineapple sage 

and my lemon balm back again before the winter sets in. 

Which will be a while, because we've still got two-ish more months of Fall before first frost.   I might even get another harvest or two out of these this season.  That'll have to wait until later, though.  Harvesting, I mean.  I'm not getting back out into the heat today. 

The last thing I did before I came inside was to make yet another repair to my garden hose, not the same hose, though.  This repair was to the dark green hose on the right, which is still pretty old.  

I noticed the other day it had a puncture in it.  Fortunately, it was right at the end of the hose, so I only had to cut off about 3" and put a new male end on it, and it's good as new. 

By the way, when you're tightening that little hose clamp thingy, make sure you crank it down really tight or the water pressure might just blow the whole end out of the hose...

Not that that happened....I'm just letting you know. 

And finally, I finally got around to making a vet appointment for that brat cat of mine, and wonder of wonders, this receptionist managed to find her old records from when Mr. Clark had her.  Makes me wonder why the last one couldn't.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have 2 1/2 hours to decide if I'm going to drive out to the lake to watch the  Harvest Moon rise.  I must begin my mental debate now....

I Won!

 I won!  I won!

And just what did I win?  I'll tell you...

See, this weekend is Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, and all week long, they've been posting those like this post and tag a friend things.  Those who did so were entered into a random drawing for a vendor voucher to be spent at the fiber festival.   If you won, you get a $30 voucher to that particular vendor, and the person you tag gets a $10 gift certificate that can be spent at any booth. 

Well, my dear, dear friend Christi tagged me in several of those things, and we won!

Woo Hoo!  I gots money to spend!  And thanks to Christi for tagging me!

I'm so excited because Leann is going to try to come, too!  She didn't get to come last year, I I haven't seen her since before the pandemic started.  The last time we got together was at the thing in Oxford, in January of 2020.  

In other news, it's amazing how good you feel after a good night sleep, and I finally got one last night.  Despite waking up several times, I slept really well.  I think I'm going to stop taking the melatonin, because it doesn't seem to make a difference. I don't even take it on the weekends, and I sleep just as well -- or as poorly -- as I do on the weekdays. 

Some time ago, I bought some lavender and chamomile balm that really works, but a) it's expensive as heck, and 2) it appears they've stopped making it.  It was Vicks, and I've searched all over the internet and can't find it anywhere.  This is one reason I'd tried to grow my own lavender.  I was going to try to make my own using a coconut oil base.  Alas, my lavender died.  I've got just a little bit that I cut and dried before the plant died completely, I just need to figure out what to do with the stuff. 

I might see if I can get an essential oil diffuser and put that into my bedroom.  I'll look tomorrow when I go into town. 

In other other news, I think putting that trough out behind the fence was one of the best things I've done in a long time.  Today I looked out there and saw a blue jay drinking out of it. I want to get a regular bird bath, but at this point, I'll probably just wait until Spring. 

And finally, I just realized that since I have my Hulu Live back, I can finish watching Dino Hunters!  With that, I'm outta here!

Laters...

Ready To Go

 I've got my hats all packed up and ready to go!

The plan was to take them to the post office this Friday, but after I got them all into the box, I realized I had room for a lot more hats.  I think I'll hold off a bit, and get a few more done.  In fact, I already have one on the needles.  

I'm thinking after I send these, I'll go ahead and buy another box and next year, I'll add hats as I get them done.  Then I can mail the box as soon as it's full.  

The only other exciting thing that has happened is that today I saw a squirrel drinking from the trough.  It's been so dry here lately, I wonder what they would do for water if I hadn't put it out there.  

I guess that's it for today.  Maybe something will happen soon that's blogworthy, but for today, nope.  Not happening. 

Ends And Hats

I wove in ends this weekend.  All weekend long.

All weekend long, I wove in ends.  

And I wove in ends...and wove in ends....until I got positively sick of weaving in ends.  

I'm still not done...

So I quit.  For now, at least....

Instead, I got all of my hats out and washed and dried them so I could send them to the Seaman's Church Ministry.  Yep, I tossed them into the regular washer, and ran them through the regular dryer cycle.  My philosophy is if they won't survive the washer and dryer, then they're not good enough to send to a sailor. 

As you can see, they all made it through that first test just fine, and most of them ended up much softer after they came out of the dryer.  Red Heart tends to do that.  

While all that was going on, printed out the tags they have available on their website.

The only thing is, they say to attach the tags to the hats, but they don't specify how.  At first, I thought I'd punch a hole in the tag and tie it on with a ribbon.  Then I remembered.  I have safety pins!

Who doesn't need a safety pin!  Instead of just tossing the ribbon, this way, the recipient will have something useful to keep. If they want to, that is. 

OK, now I had the tags printed, the next step was to find my paper cutter.  I was sure I had one, because I distinctly remember using it.  However, after tearing my house up looking for it, I came to the conclusion I'd just been borrowing Beverly's...you know, back when I distinctly remember using one.  I had to run into town after work for a dentist appointment this afternoon (all is good for a change!),  so afterwards, I ran by Walmart and picked up a new one.

Yeah, there was a bit of a learning curve. 

I ruined the first set of tags because I didn't know exactly where the blade would cut, but after a little trial and error, I soon got the hang of it and quickly ended up with a nice little pile of gift tags for my hats.

Only now, I'm too sick of fooling with them to fill them out.  

I think I'll just go to bed instead. 

G'night, all.  

Hammerhead

Back in the day, when I was a kid, my grandpa had a nickname for me.  He called me Hammerhead, and he did not mean it as a term of endearment. It has to do with my um...persistence.  Yeah, let's call it persistence...

If you're wondering where I'm going with this, here's a hint:

Yep, you guessed it, today was the day for my bi-annual exercise in futility.  I'm talking about planting bluebonnets.  Again....None of the ones I planted last spring came up, nor the ones I'd planted last fall, or the spring before that.  

I don't know why I even bother any more, but I keep clinging to the hope that one day, I'll have a stand established.  And no, I don't need you to tell me that I need to boil the seeds, or freeze them, or scuff them with a file, or any of the other tips and tricks.  I've tried them all.   Every so often, I can get a single plant  -- or two, if I'm lucky -- that survives long enough to bloom, but they don't come back the next year.  

Maybe I'm at the wrong climate for them, I don't know. 

Be that as it may, I got out this morning before it got hot and planted three packets of seeds in the back corner of my yard, and planted one in my raised bed.  

By the way, my lavender was deader'n a hammer, so I pulled it up and tossed what was left into the compost pile.  Which has something I think is a variety of Morning Glory growing in it. 

It's hanging in there, even thought the drought has it struggling as well.  You know it's dry when even your weeds are dying. 

I marked my little bluebonnet bed so I could make sure to water it, then moved on to the next project, which was to re-pot this plant so that it stands up straight. 

It's one I got from my dad's funeral back in 1995, and the amazing part is it's still alive.  But it tends to lean.  Every few years, I have to straighten it back up.  If I don't, it tumps over every time a breeze blows.  It didn't take much to solve this problem.  I just loosened the soil around the root ball, straightened the plant, and added a bit more potting soil to hold it in place. 

The last project for the day was to get my Mums potted.

Now, they're happily nestled into pots and sitting on my front porch.  And I'm telling you, it was so nice to be able to get out and do this stuff without the oppressive heat and humidity.  I spent a pleasant morning getting outside work done, but now I have to publish this because I need my computer to watch football. 

Geaux and Hook 'Em!

P.S.  I had to update yesterday's post, because it felt like Saturday all day, so today is the official first day of Astronomical Fall.  

Autumn

Happy first day of Astronomical Autumn for those of you who follow that calendar!   Well, in the middle of the night tonight, that is.

What better way to observe the change of season to finally spy the first harbinger of Fall in my back yard.

Yep, a long awaited Spider Lily has made its appearance.  I was beginning to get worried that I wouldn't see any this year because of how dry it's been, so spotting one has been a huge relief...no, not a relief, that's not quite the right word.  Whatever, I'm just happy to see it.  

Pretty much the entire state is under drought conditions now, except for a few counties right up on the northern border.  Down South, they are at the severest level -- which I think is extreme drought.  My county isn't quite that bad, but we are still in a drought.

 With that in mind, my chief task today was to drive up to Lowe's in Batesville to get a new garden hose, though I really didn't want to go up there two Fridays in a row.  But my deer need to drink, and the local Walmart was completely out, so after a leisurely cup of coffee, I got dressed and headed up North.  

When I got to Batesville, on a whim, I whizzed into Walmart to go ahead and do my weekly shopping, since it was right there anyway and I didn't have anything on my list that needed to be kept cold.  I went into their garden center, just in case, and wonder of wonders, they still had hoses left! 

Cool!  One less stop to make.  

Garden hose and other necessities safely tucked away in the trunk of my car, I drove back up to the Mounds and found something I'd completely missed the first time.  And what was that, you may ask?

It's this, I'll answer.  On the back of the two signs at the front of the park, there is more information!  One details some of the artifacts they'd found on the site. 

The other one talks a bit about the people who built the mounds. 

I can't believe the first time I was there, I didn't even think to look on the backs of the signs. 

Anyway, I walked around the park and spun a few Pokestops, but didn't go on the path through the woods this time.  I was already tired and just didn't feel like it.  Then, when I left the park, I drove down to the square in downtown Batesville, and spun a few more Pokestops.  There were several on and around their town square, but again, I was tired and didn't feel like doing all that walking.  Still, I got enough to give my friends a variety of postcards.  I know my friend Susie says she appreciates all the ones I send, but I get tired of sending the same ones over and over again.  Alas, when you live in a small town, sometimes that's all you can do. 

Even with all of the running I did, I was home by noon, so after a quick lunch, I got out and cleaned and refilled the water trough. 

The wild critters again have fresh, clean water to drink.  The whole time I was working, I had a couple of inspectors making sure I did a good job. 

Do you see them?  Here, maybe this will help:

They came out to drink almost as soon as I got back up to the house. 

In other news, I'd said I wasn't going to plant anything in my flower bed, but when I saw these Mums, I couldn't resist them.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to put them into pots or directly into the ground in my front flower bed.  I'll be sure to let you know which one I choose.  

And finally, just for fun, I managed to capture a hummingbird while I was putting the Mums onto the front porch.   In a photo, I mean. I didn't catch him with my hand.    

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm watching an adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V on Prime.  It's been in my watchlist for a while, and I am finally getting around to it. 

Which reminds me of a time in high school when we were able to buy tickets to go see MacBeth.  Most students went just to get out of class, but I'm the dork who actually wanted to see the play.  Unfortunately, the former were so wild that we, the latter, were unable to see or hear anything.

Not unsurprisingly, we were never invited back. 

A Day Of Disappointments

Disappointment #1:  We had been so excited when they said they were shutting down all production on second shift, because it meant we wouldn't have to deal with Second Shift Slob any more.  Alas, we were disappointed when we got there this morning and found out he'd be staying over there -- just in case we get behind on headers.  And yes, we had to deal with his slobby mess.  

What I don't understand is, if we're ahead enough that you can send one of the day shift brazers to the line every single day, then why do you even need someone on second shift in the first place? 

I managed to catch the new production manager -- and when I say new, I just mean new on day shift, he's been working there longer than I have.  I spoke to him and explained what we were having to deal with every day, and he said he'd take care of it.  I also told him we'd spoken to Baby Boss about it several times, but it just seemed to make things worse.  New Production Manager, who will now be known as Cuz on the blog because that's what he calls everyone, said he'd take care of that, too.  

Whatever, I'm not holding my breath that anything will get any better.  

By the way, I got the scoop on Baby Boss.  He didn't get fired at all.  He'd already put in his two week notice, and Friday was his last day anyway.  They just told him he could leave a little early.  

Disappointment #2:  Today was the day for our annual health screenings for our insurance.  I know a lot of people think these are an invasion of privacy, but I don't agree.  If you expect the insurance company to pay your health care bills, then they have a reasonable right to expect you to at least try to be in good health.  Also, if I'm working hard at maintaining my weight, eating right, trying to exercise, and I have to pay the same premium for my insurance as a morbidly obese, heart disease ridden, diabetic who refuses to even try, how is that fair to me?  Why should I even bother?  

All that to say, today was the day for our annual health screenings, but when I got up there and took off my steel toed leather boots to weigh in, this is what I saw. 

My brand new socks!  This was only the second time I'd even worn them.  The good news is, I have enough  yarn to either darn them, or even to rip out the whole toe and re-knit it.  I just need to decide which one I want to do.  Later.  I just don't have it in me to deal with it today. 

Disappointment #3:  All of my numbers for my screening were good, except for one.  They check waist circumference or BMI, blood pressure, glucose, HDL, and triglycerides.  Every year, I pass four of the five.  The only one that doesn't meet the standard is my triglycerides.  Guess which one I failed this year.  Yep, my triglycerides.  Again.. 

Well, at least I passed enough I don't have to pay the surcharge on my premium.

Disappointment #4:  A few weeks ago, I put out a trough behind the fence for the deer and any other wild critter who needs to fine water to drink.  Since then, my garden hose has absolutely fallen apart.  I'm not really upset about that.  The hose was probably 20 years old after all.  I've been trying to patch it with FlexSeal tape, but every time I tape up a spot, another one forms.  It might as well be a soaker hose at this point.  Today after work, I ran into Walmart to get a new one...and they've already pulled them from the shelves.  

I reckon I'll have to drive up to Batesville again this weekend and get one from Lowe's.  According to their app, they have plenty in stock.  Since I'll be in the area, I can go back to the Mounds and spin a few more Pokestops while I'm at it. 

Disappointment #5:  Yellowstone.  The TV show.  I'd tried to watch it when it first came out on Paramount +, but couldn't get past all the obscene language.  I turned it off pretty quickly.  Now, thanks to the writer's and SAG strike, they're showing an cleaned up version of it on CBS.  I watched the first episode, and fail to see what all the fuss is about.  I've been told it gets better, so I'll give it a few more episodes before I give up on it.  I usually try to watch at least three episodes of a show, knowing that the first few are usually setting up the characters and story line.  We'll see. 

The good news is,  thanks to the writer's and SAG strikes, CBS is going to show the BBC version of Ghosts starting in November.  I really enjoy the American version, and have seen enough clips of the BBC version on YouTube that I know I want to watch it.  So, I'm pretty stoked about that. 

Disappointment #6:  Pumpkin Spice Oreos.  

JUST KIDDING!   They aren't a disappointment at all.  They're delicious!  In fact, I think I need some more...now that my health screening is over, that is.  Oh, before I forget, my glucose was back down to below 100, which is a relief.  It was 117 last time I went to the doctor in April.

With that, I'll bid you adieu, Gentle Reader.  I've got Oreos calling my name.  

We Hates It!

We hates it!!

We've had some lovely cool mornings this weekend, 

just right for working on a sock yarn blanket or two.  Alas, when I got the blanket out and began working on it....all those unwoven ends just sat there and mocked me. 

The other one was just as bad, if not worse. 

I spent all day long weaving in ends, though we hates it, and I don't really feel like I made any progress.  At all. I guess it's what I get for not weaving them in as I go.  I even started another square, but spent so much time weaving, I didn't get it finished.  Maybe once I publish this, I'll go back and finish it. 

Or maybe not. 

Not much else went on, other than buying $180 worth of snake food.  I debated for a long time whether to even order more, being as my snakes are so old, but I couldn't just stop feeding them.  With my luck, they'll all die within the next few weeks, but of course, if I hadn't bought more food, they'd have lived two more years.  I suppose if they do die, I can give the leftovers to Cody and Brennan.  I'm sure they'll have pets for quite a while.

Speaking of, Cody told me yesterday that they're thinking of buying a house when their current lease runs out.   They're considering moving to Brandon, which a bit further South and East of where they live now.  It'll be closer to where Brennan works, and of course, Cody works remotely so he can be anywhere.  

I'm guessing Brennan has decided not to go into teaching after all.

I'm also guessing that's all I have for tonight.  I almost forgot I have to go back to work tomorrow, so I'd better start getting ready for bed. 

'Night, all. 

One Down

One is done!

One sock, that is. 

I'm going to give my hands a bit of a break before starting the other one, and hope I don't fall prey to second sock syndrome.  In the meantime, I'll whip out another hat or two.  

On a completely unrelated note, I'm a bit bummed that the Texas game is only showing on the Longhorn Network, which I don't get.  I wonder, though, when they move to the SEC next year, will they still be able to do that -- show games only on their own network, I mean -- or will they have to show them on the SEC Network?  Inquiring minds want to know. 

At least I got to watch LSU put the hoo-doo on Mississippi State, and right now I'm watching Ole Miss play Georgia Tech.   

Not much else to talk about today, because I didn't really do much.  I briefly thought about mowing, but scrapped that idea pretty quickly because I'm a bit sore from my long walk at the Mounds yesterday.  

By the way, the deer have found the trough.  I've seen them drinking from it several times, and I'm having to fill it up nearly every day.  It's been so dry here this summer, I'm wondering if they have any water anywhere else.  

That reminds me, I haven't seen hide nor hair of my Spider lilies yet.  They're usually up by now.  I hope they survived the hard freeze last winter and the super dry summer.  

And finally, I was told they walked Baby Boss out yesterday, but I don't know why.  For those of you not familiar with the plant vernacular, to walk someone out means the person got fired.  I'll let you know if I find anything out on Monday.  

Batesville Mounds

 Those of you who know me at all know that I don't like to leave the house.  If I've got something I need to do, I have to go straight from work, because once I go home, I'm home.  Even on the weekends, I say I'm going to get up and go do stuff, but I don't.  I sit in front of the TV thinking that I really should get up and go do stuff, but I don't get up and go do stuff.  

Then Monday comes and I go back to work thinking next weekend I'm going to get up and go do stuff.  

So, what did I do this weekend?  I got up and went and did stuff!

Well, one stuff at least.  After 29 years of driving by the signs and thinking I ought to stop, but not stopping, I finally made it up to the Batesville Mounds!

Unfortunately, there isn't really a lot of information about who built the mounds and why, but they are estimated to date to between 100-500 AD.  There were originally 5 mounds that they discovered, but only two are intact, and one has been completely destroyed.  

There isn't much left of Mound A, just a slight rise in this field.   If the sign weren't there, you probably wouldn't even notice it. 

Mound C is the most visible, being the tallest and conical. 

Mound C:

Next to it, you can see one of the borrow pits, where the people dug up the dirt to build the mounds.  It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but in person, it's quite obvious. 

All of these mounds are connected by nice, wide paved sidewalks big enough even a wheelchair bound person can enjoy the history and the beautiful scenery.  But there are also dirt trails through the woods. 

And if you know me at all, you know I had to walk these, too. 

These are really nice, too, and take you Mound D, which is almost gone, and to a site where they believe the village once stood.  Unfortunately, there aren't any signs, so unless you printed out the map, you won't even know where it was.  

I didn't print out the map, by the way.  I had to use the map in my Pokémon Go game because I didn't have sense enough to print the real map.  Alas, it didn't have the historical sites marked, but I got to spin quite a few Pokestops.  Yay!  I can send my friends different postcards than the Grenada Airfield Hanger one!

On the other side of the park is a trail -- a paved one -- that takes you to this overlook of the Tallahatchie river. 

I could have stood here all day and watched the water flow....But eventually, I had to return to the real world.  

Overall, it's a nice little park, and great if you live in Batesville.  It's a little too far to drive from here regularly just to walk the trails, but seeing the history and the ancient mounds was way cool.  I only wish we knew more about the people who lived there.  Who they were.  What their lives were like...What happened to them. 

I took more photos while I was there, too many to post here, so I'll post them on my Facebook and MeWe pages.  

One last thing before I go.  I finished another hat last night. 

I bought some card stock while I was in town, so I can print out the labels and start getting them ready to ship. 

I guess I'd better get on that...