High Fiber—Smoked

I really want to finish my whole-cloth quilt this year.

It's hard to tell that I've made any progress on it, but it really is happening. I've also made a couple of dish cloths from the yarn left over from my dish mat, finished a couple of weeks ago and have almost finished a third. I think I can get a total of four from the leftovers, or maybe five, if I don't mind having a knot in the middle. Or maybe I'll make a set of coasters.

As if the pandemic were not enough, we now have wildfires. As of this writing (Sunday, September 13, 2020) we were not in danger of losing our home and have not received any alerts to be ready to evacuate. However, we are inundated with smoke. Saturday the AQI (Air Quality Index) for Bend was 530. Sunday it was lower, but still hazardous.

We have been doing what we can to mitigate the air quality inside the house. We have no air conditioning, and the furnace isn't turned on, so we can keep a lot of the smoke out. Air filters can help, if we were using our furnace. We have two air purifiers running around the clock in our living area and in our bedroom at night. We have added a pot of water on the stove and the slow cooker running with the lid off. My little air cooler (which works by evaporation) is also running to add humidity to the air indoors. What the added moisture does is combine with the smoke particles, causing them to fall to the floor. It has made a big difference.

Here's a shot of our neighborhood.

Looking through the trees.

Even though we have not been told to get ready to evacuate, we have been thinking about it. I had my batches of letters (going to voters, urging them to vote) sitting around in stacks. I looked at them and thought about how difficult it would be to grab them and go. After all that work, I didn't want to leave them behind if we had to get out in a hurry. I decided to use the lid to the envelope box to store them in for now.

Our garden is finally starting to produce. Besides a few more of the grape tomatoes, we found this zucchini under a leaf. We had overlooked it. We have another one coming on. (The teaspoon is for size.)

I managed to put it in the story that came out Friday. Emil was proud of what the compost he helped make did for the garden.

You may remember that I had to record my part for a virtual choir performance of "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" by John Rutter. The finished product was performed during our church service on Sunday. Counting the organist and the choir director, there were eight members of Trinity Episcopal Church who participated. The others were from a number of other faith congregations in Bend. It was lovely to have such a big choir, and we are sharing the result with everyone, not just the congregations that took part. It is dedicated to our helpers: medical personnel and those dealing with the wildfires. Feel free to share with anyone you know who would enjoy it or be comforted by it.

https://youtu.be/ktvmXTIL9og

Speaking of comfort, during our weekly Zoom family meeting on Sunday, our daughter told us that her daughter, Daphne, has been stressed by the danger of the pandemic, which she knows about and understands but with which she has not yet developed the maturity to cope. Our daughter told us that Daphne finds comfort in playing with her dolls and reading the stories in The Doll's Storybook. She says that Daphne started reading them from the beginning again. Here she is with her doll "Misty," (Götz Happy Kidz "Honor") wearing their matching nightshirts.

It's heartbreaking to think about all the people who have lost loved ones to Covid-19 or their homes to the wildfires.

What's on my needles: Still the Which Came First Shawl. A few more rows done. Also some dish cloths from the leftover yarn from the dish mat.

What's on my sewing machine: Thinking about Halloween costumes for the dolls

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. More progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The second in the two-part "Composing Compost."

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Proof of Corruption by Seth Abramson. Not very far yet. I've been enjoying listening to the story, but I need to concentrate when I write letters, so I've also been listening to music.

What's in my wine glass: Land of Hope 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Not bad.

What's my tip of the week: It's good to think about what we might take if we had to leave in a hurry. We have faced this before, because we used to live in a forest in Utah. I would grab my dogs first, important paper, phone + chargers, laptop, medications, quilts (especially the most special ones), important papers, etc. However I have been thinking about what we might need if we had to prove what we had to our insurance. It's a good idea to take photos of the furnishings in each room. Also, if you have records of what you have done to your house, you should have those. If everything is digital, it helps.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Comment by Peggy Stuart on September 15, 2020 at 3:56pm: Sharon, some people in Portland tell me the smoke is even worse there. We have no way to measure the air quality indoors here, but we can barely smell the smoke. We just use the N95 masks to go outdoors if we have to. The AQI is down to 131 today, which is merely "unhealthy."

the trick with the air filter might work. Someone I know suggests putting rosemary in the water in the crockpot.

Comment by Sharon Reeves on September 15, 2020 at 3:21pm: We have hazardous smoke in Seattle and where I live in Woodinville. It rained last night, but not enough to do any good. Today, we had sunshine for a few hours and the smoke was thinner. We, too, stay home only when we have to go out and wear our masks.

Your granddaughter is pretty and looks cute in the matching PJ's with her doll. I've wondered about you because of where you live. Beautiful area, and have been there several times when in our MH.

I'm still sewing quilts for Project Linus and our group has found a way to get them delivered to the hospitals and other places. I heard that taping an air filter to the back of a fan helps reduce the smoke in the air, but haven't tried it yet.

Comment by Peggy Stuart on September 14, 2020 at 5:52pm: We probably should do that, even though we haven't driven anywhere since this started. It's probably overdue!

Comment by Carol Ann Hinton on September 14, 2020 at 2:18pm: I hear you on the smoke, Peggy! I believe we are in the "hazardous" or "extremely hazardous" category today. When this settles down, remember to have the cabin filters changed out in your car. I did that last year and the dealer, who told me it was "too early and wasn't necessary" was amazed at the stuff collected in mine.

Comment by Peggy Stuart on September 14, 2020 at 10:18am: Bonnie, thanks for the tip!

Irene there are many fires. Two of them are expected to join to become one big one. We have firefighters coming from all over the world to help.

Comment by Irene Gallway on September 14, 2020 at 10:13am: Nice post again Peggy. Daphne is a pretty little girl. Nice post as usual. It must be terrible out there with this forest fire. I'm glad you found ways to keep the smoke down in your home.

Comment by Bonnie on September 14, 2020 at 9:30am: Photos inside your closets and cupboards too for insurance. So sad we have to think about this every late summer.

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