Valerean

I can usually read a book in a couple of hours. If the book is on the longer side, at most a couple of days. I started reading History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat on September 18th of last year. I read at least two to four pages every day, and finished it yesterday. Since the book is 800 pages long it's not an easy or light read, and it's so packed with the history of food that I didn't want to read it quickly. Now I feel as if I've completed a master course on the subject over the last six months. The author takes you on a lengthy journey through the human experience of collecting, preparing and eating food, from the time we were of the tree dwelling variety that picked up anything that looked edible and put it in their mouth. She is not especially enthusiastic (or even kind) about human beings, but she does know and love the foods we have eaten since literally the dawn of our history. The amount of research that went into this magnificent book ...

Here's a truth that fits basically everyone: the older we get, the more often folks online (and in real life!) try to scam us. We've seen it happen to friends and neighbors, and now it seems the financial problems of the present are convincing more and more people to try swindling money out of the unwary. Example: every day I get Medicare junk mail. This is because I'm going to be sixty-five this year and I'm a hot prospect for ANY insurance agent who wants to make money off me. Do they say that in their junk mail? No. They say they want to HELP me. They make this sound like a public service they do out of the goodness of their heart. No, there's nothing in it for them! They claim I'm confused about Medicare and they can explain everything AND they can help me get the coverage I need for the lowest price. Because they're such good people. Sure. I agree that I'm a befuddled idiot who can't read, and I need you to help yourself to my mo...

Unlike the three previous months of my calendar project, during which I slogged right to the very end of the month to finish and assemble each tote, I'm having a lot of fun with April's edition. Adding crochet to this one definitely boosted my spirits. I crocheted and added the yarn elements all in one night. Here are the finished panels. I also crocheted the handles for the tote. I then decided to assemble it before I applied the embroidered carrots tag, just to see how it would look. It looks fine. I think I will line it, as the cutter quilt pieces are pretty thin and worn, so I need to look for some lining fabric. I'll probably use white or a neutral. Onward!

Now that I have the fabric elements for the tote I'm making this month for my calendar project, I actually need some yarn. I thought I'd raid my little stash of artsy yarns to see what I could pair with my cutter quilt pieces. I first selected these hanks as possibilities. The pink on the far left is fingering weight, which is too thin for my needs. The orange and brown hank and the white/darkblue/green/yellow skein don't pair well with the cutter quilt pieces. That left two possibilities. I do love this Juniper Moon yarn, and it would work well with the quilt pieces, but I have only one hank, which probably won't be enough for the project. In the end I went with the orange worsted wool, of which I have four hanks, which should be plenty to finish the crochet portion of the tote. I'm all set. I just have to review the pattern, cake the yarn and then I can get started.

Do I need more to do in 2026? Well, sometime over the next twelve months I have to seriously decide whether I should continue working or retire. This should be easy, right? Nope. I have already made some decisions, such as what I intend to do after I retire ( work as a volunteer transcribing hand-written documents for The National Archives ) and if I will ever self-publish for profit under my old bylines (absolutely not. When I stop working for money, I stop working .) These are non-negotiable decisions that I made for my general health, happiness and avoidance of all the unpleasantness associated with self-publishing as well as what I left behind when I stopped writing for the big NY publishers. While I am getting older by the day, so is my guy, who is twelve years older than me. He will soon be in his eighties and is starting to have some genuine issues with his cognitive and physical capabilities. Memory problems and falls are our two big problems at the moment (I'm...

If I've learned anything from the first three months of my 2026 calendar project, it's that I can surprise myself. Last month's tote seemed like it would never be finished, and then a change in my attitude helped me do that four days ahead of schedule. This month I really would like to take things a bit easier, and use some cutter quilt pieces I've been saving. I've never seen an orange wedding ring quilt. I'm also going to add a beautiful piece of art from my favorite Etsy Seller, 14carrot, who inspired last year's calendar project. She really outdid herself with this mini quilt, which is just gorgeous. Obviously orange is going to be the theme! Ha. As I'm writing this post it's March 28th, so I have a few days to figure out how I want to do this one. The shape and size of the cutter quilt pieces make me want to add a section on top of their long flat side, and I'll also need something for the handles, but the vintage crazy q...