'I Thought You Were Dead:' This Morning's Greeting

We were up early this morning so we could catch the early bus to Donegal Town, where we would get a bus to Sligo, and from there to Ballina, Co Mayo. I woke up to see Bill's anxious face peering down at me while he was yelling, 'It's time to get up!' 'Why are you yelling?' I mumbled, 'What time is it?' 'I've been shouting your name over and over and you didn't move a muscle!' he yelled, 'I thought you were dead. It's 6 o'clock!' 'OK,' I said. I got up and stumbled to the bathroom thinking that 6 am is certainly no time to be awake, so of course I wasn't moving. Downstairs, he said he really was getting scared, but that I jerked awake when he touched me. I don't even remember that--just the look on his face as I opened my eyes. Poor guy.

Other than being up far too early, the journey was pleasant. It was still dark when we left the house--just light enough to see without a torch. There was a misty rain. The bus to Sligo was a bit late, but I was able to help someone with her bus questions as we waited. I commented on her crocheted hat and she said her mother made it. English wasn't her first language, so I watched her processing what I was saying and thought how I am often doing the same thing with Irish-English. There is usually a delay of a few seconds while my brain catches up and I smile vacantly.

We had plenty of time between buses in Sligo to have our coffee and eat our sandwiches. I wandered around and looked at some of the posters on the bulletin board.

I've lost count of the number of times I've been in the Sligo bus station--we've been here a lot over the past few years--but I never noticed the old pay phone on the wall. Don't see many of these around anymore.

The journey from Sligo to Ballina was through new-to-us territory, but before we could be on our way, we had a bit of a delay.

There were about 6 or 7 of us getting on the bus at Sligo and we were all seated and ready to go, when one of the mechanics asked the driver to hit the brakes so he could look at the lights. After a minute or two of this, he told the driver we'd need a new bus, because there was a problem with the lights. So we waited for 5 or 10 minutes until another bus came, then we got off the one we were on, got on that one, settled in, and were immediately told the other bus was fixed now, so we could get back on that one. So we did. Then we were off. We stopped in town and the driver got off. He came back with another passenger (and her groceries) who was saying he's never been so late and the other driver from that other company said he was long gone. 'Oh, no, says I,' she said, 'This is Bus Eireann we're talking about!' She was happy to continue where she'd started, pontificating about various subjects apparently dear to her heart. At one point, she was talking about her dog, who eats two spuds daily with his tin of dog food. He likes spuds, but he does not like the smoke alarm going off when she makes toast. Someone wanted to sell her an €80 bag of dog food. She was having none of it. 'Sure, he'd sell ya a bucket of rain, that one.'

A few more people got on the bus before she got off in Easkey. One guy sat next to her, listened to her and then, when she got off, got up wand walked to a seat towards the back, shaking his head and chuckling. She was quite a character and I so enjoyed looking at the beautiful scenery and listening to her. She made us all laugh, whether or not that was her intention. Several more people got on as we got closer to Ballina and it was like a local bus--everyone knew one another and chatted.

The rain was coming down when we got off the bus in Ballina and we decided to go to the hotel to see if we could at least leave our backpacks there so they wouldn't get too wet. It had just gone half twelve and check in time wasn't until three. But the room was ready, so we checked in early.

We went out in the rain for a shortish walk to find the grocery store. Just as we turned the corner to get to the driveway leading to the car park, we spotted this fellow at the Ballina Heritage Costume Company. Guess we must be well into their busy season!

Tomorrow we'll explore the town. There are a couple of places we want to go, but other than that, we'll just meander around and see what we find!

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Star Knot

When I wasn't working on the pair of socks I posted yesterday, I was doing some cross stitch. I have some Celtic knot charts in various shapes that I quite like and plan to stitch. I decided to start with the star. I was going through various colour possibilities for the background cloth and the thread when I came across the scrap of black cloth. That seemed perfect as background for a star, so I decided to use that, which in turn, made the choice of thread colours easier.

I'll probably start a different knot today. I think the next one will be in Christmas colours.

It's a peaceful autumn day here today. The sun is out, but it's not that warm. The birds are singing outside. When I look up from my reading or stitching, I can see the flowers in a pot on the windowsill outside and the hanging basket by our door, where a few fuchsias and the little purple fan-shaped flowers are still in bloom. Quite lovely.

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Scrap Socks (Crocheted)

Almost 10 years ago, I started experimenting with crocheted socks. I'd been knitting socks for a while by then, first on one of those round looms, then on double-pointed needles. I learned how to do two socks at a time on two circular needles, but didn't like the process, so I went back to my double points and kept on knitting socks. I wanted to try to crochet socks, so I started playing around. I'd seen some patterns for crocheted socks, but didn't like them. Some used stitch patterns that were not going to be comfortable in use--lace patterns are great on the top of the sock, but that lace would be uncomfortable to walk or stand on when it goes all the way around the foot. Some patterns tried to mimic knitted sock construction by using single crochet to go around and around, making a heel flap back and forth, doing a gusset, etc. But they always looked bulky and not stretchy enough. They also seemed like they'd be uncomfortable to actually wear. One day, when I was looking at an Interweave Crochet magazine that my daughter had given me, I saw a pattern for crocheted socks, made toe-up and using linked double crochet stitches. I decided to try them. The linked doubles make a solid fabric that has enough stretch to mold to the feet without being baggy or too bulky, although they are crocheted, so are thicker than knitted socks made of the same yarn. I liked the toe-up construction because I could try them on as I stitched to see how many increases I needed to make. I liked the afterthought heel, because I always get holes on the bottom of my sock heels and this way, I figured I could remove the heel and add a new one. I liked those socks--still have them and wear them, in fact--but there were things I felt I could improve upon to make them better and more comfortable for me. I switched to linked triples, which made a better and more flexible fabric. I played around with different lace patterns on the top of the foot to make socks for the summer while keeping the sole part solid. I used a bigger hook, which made a nicer fabric, since I am a tight crocheter. I changed the toes a bit for some socks and again in a different way so I could add mohair which makes really warm socks for winter. I loved making socks this way and wearing the socks I made. I can easily make the weight I want--heavy for winter, medium for spring and autumn, and lightweight lace for summer. I kept on knitting socks, too, but for a while, I crocheted more of them than I knitted. In the past couple of years I've knitted several pairs of socks and not crocheted any, but for some reason, a week or two ago, an idea for some crocheted socks popped into my head, so I rummaged around in the sock yarn collection and came away with some scraps--a couple of larger balls left from knitted sock projects--both in blue colourways, but one dark and one light. The patterning in each was the same, so I figured that while I didn't have enough of each to make a whole pair, I could make one sock out of each ball, using different scraps for the toes and heels. So that's what I did.

I used my beloved half-double crochet through the very back loop in the round for these, instead of my usual linked triples. I love the way they came out.

There's an afterthought heel, although now when I get holes, I just needle felt a repair instead of trying to rip out the heel and make a new one.

I kept this project upstairs and it was lovely to sit in bed at the end of the day, listening to peaceful music and crocheting away on these socks. As it happens, I also found some new ideas swirling around in my head for different possible ways of constructing crocheted socks and different stitch patterns to use. I've always done my crocheted socks toe-up and my knitted ones cuff-down, but I think the next crocheted pair is going to be cuff-down. Looks like this crocheted sock thing is going to be an obsession for at least a little while. I'm fine with that. 😉

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Radiator in the Refrigerator

The other day, Bill commented that things in the fridge felt like they were not as cold as they used to. I agreed. As I thought about it, it seemed that it was running all the time, too, but not getting cold. At one time, a couple of months ago, I piled stuff too close to the wee freezer compartment and my hummus froze. Now that wasn't happening, which was good, but things just didn't seem like they were cold enough. I wondered if that was the case, or if it was just me. We didn't have much in there and the milk wasn't going off, so we just kept an eye on things. I felt around and it felt hot around the area of the light, so Bill tested the switch that gets pushed when the door closes and the light went off. I thought it was odd that it was hot, though, so I looked it up and found out that it was probably the switch. I tested it again and this time, the light either stayed on, flickered, or, once, did turn off. So there was the problem. The light was staying on all the time and emitting heat into the interior. The cooling could not keep up.

We very briefly considered removing the bulb and seeing whether that solved the problem, but it's not our fridge and if it turned out that there was some other issue, the owner should know about it. I knew last night that I'd have to call the letting agent who takes care of the place and that the process would probably be slow. He doesn't like to respond to emails, but I like to have a dated record of things, so I emailed first and then called the office. I was thrilled when his mother answered. She sometimes helps out in the office when he is off doing things elsewhere.

I explained that the fridge wasn't working properly and she replied that she would tell her son when he returned and he in turn would contact the owner. Then they would send a tech guy out and then they would determine whether it could be fixed or would need to be replaced. At that point, I commented that I cannot keep food in the fridge because the temperature is in the unsafe zone. Everything changed. She said this needs to be fixed as quickly as possible because the fridge is one of the most important things in the house. She said she'd get a tech guy to come look at it. We hung up. She called me back within a few minutes, said she'd spoken to him, and he'd be here today. I marveled at the speed at which things were happening. It was helpful in this instance, I think, to be talking to a woman who raised 5 children and knows something about the importance of a stocked fridge 😊

The guy came and I explained the issues. It was indeed a faulty switch, but he didn't think he'd find a replacement--said the kind he'd need is obsolete. So he removed the bulb and said it should work fine now. He kept saying that even though it's just a 15W bulb, it gives off a lot of heat and acts like a radiator in there. 'The light'll be on night to day and giving off heat all that time,' he said. He explained things a few times to me and chatted about the fact that appliance companies are buying up smaller ones and consolidating. He doesn't think they sell this kind anymore.

Bill was upstairs when the guy came, but after about 10 minutes, he came down. At that point, the guy was just telling me stuff and had done what he was going to do. He saw Bill, said hello, and then repeated everything to him a few times. Both of us had the impression, from his body language and the way he was talking, that he felt it important to communicate with the male who was present about this appliance issue. 

The letting agent's mother had asked me to turn the fridge off. The tech guy turned it back on and said it would take a few hours to cool off properly. He repeated this just before he left and I commented that we'd borrowed a cooler from a friend and had some things in there, so they'd be fine. He looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression, but sort of looked in the direction in which I was gesturing. 'Ah!' he said, his face lighting up, 'You have a cool box!' Another Irish-English lesson learned!

After he left, I stuck a thermometer back in the fridge and an hour later it was already colder than it's been for the past couple of days, when the temp had gotten into the 50s. It was back down in the 40s at that point. Hopefully in another hour or so I can empty the cool box and take stuff out of a friend's fridge, although I'll probably save the latter for tomorrow morning.

May your refrigerator never contain a radiator light bulb!

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Hare: There and Everywhere

We've been seeing a lot more of our local hare population recently--at least I think they're hares. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Bill saw three of them when he went out this morning. Then we decided to go get a few veggies this afternoon and as we came around the corner to head down the lane to the sidewalk, we scared this little creature. Those ears flattened in no time.

S/he hopped over to the edge of the grass and sat, keeping an eye on the scary bipeds heading in their direction.

As we kept coming s/he hopped into the fuchsia--didn't look but the ear was listening.

Then s/he decided to keep on going deeper into the brush and away from the annoying humans.

And then s/he was gone. But this one or another one was out again when we got home.

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A Few More Books

Here are the last few books I read last month.

The Longer Bodies by Gladys Mitchell
Another strange Mrs Bradley mystery, this time involving track and field events! Great Aunt Puddequet wants her grand nephews to become English champions in events such as discus, shit put, high jump, and long jump. whichever of them does this first will inherit most of her fortune. She has the appropriate areas built on her grounds and the grandnephews arrive, along with their sisters, who have been promised £100 apiece. A local renter, who is unliked and known to drink to much and abuse his wife, is killed and dumped into the lake. What happened and whodunit? Mrs Bradley does not actually appear until just after halfway through the book.

The Overstory by Richard Powers
This book is definitely in my top three favourites for this year, so far. I read it in chunks, becoming lost for a couple of hours at a time, unaware of what was going on around me. When I looked up, blinking and stiff, I had to get my bearings. This is a book about trees and people’s relationships with them and each other. It’s divided into sections--roots, trunk, leaves, seeds. The first section introduces readers to the cast of characters--it is like a series of short stories, each one about a different person. Almost all of them have some important experience with trees in their childhood. For a few, it’s not until they’re young adults that trees become central in their lives. And for a couple, trees do not take centre stage until their old age. As the book progresses, the people we’ve met earlier come in and out of the story. Some of them get involved with one another. It’s a varied bunch that includes a scientist, an artist, a former Vietnam vet who was piloting a helicopter that got shot down, only to be saved when he fell into a tree, a druggie college student whose life is changed one night, and others. The time frame of the book is roughly mid 20th century to the present day, although in a couple of cases, descriptions of family history go back further. The author inserts his characters into actual events, such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, the Vietnam War, logging protests in Oregon and California, and more. I guess someone once described this author as ‘the best author you’ve never heard of.’ I had not heard of him until I was listening to an Open Book (BBC Radio 4) podcast on the theme of nature writing, where he was one of the guests. I’m really glad I listened when I did. This book will stay with me for a long time.

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic – and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World  by Steven Johnson
This book chronicles the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in London and its aftermath. he describes the conditions at the time, how the disease thrives, and how two people of very different backgrounds came together to figure out what had happened. Dr Snow worked out, against the popular theory of the day and inspite of much professional ridicule, that cholera was transmitted through water, not a miasma. A curate named Whitehead knew the neighbourhood well and made regular visits to people who lived there. people talked to him. he knew their activities and, working together with Dr Snow, they were able to determine where the cholera was coming from. I found this book quite interesting and highly readable.

The Saltmarsh Murders by Gladys Mitchell
This is another Mrs Bradley mystery. After reading the ending of this one, I am getting some idea about why these books might be as popular as some of the other books from the same era. I quite enjoy them, but they are different and the detective herself is definitely unique! I find them interesting because they are different. In this one, the vicar’s wife is not well liked and tends to be overly moralistic. One of the servants ends up pregnant, so she throws her out. The servant has the baby, but the baby disappears and she is murdered. Fortunately, Mrs. Bradley is there to solve that mystery and the others that crop up in the village of Saltmarsh.

New month, new book pile! Hope your book pile contains some gems!

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Happy October and September Books

Another month begins! Happy October!

I'll be starting a new month of reading shortly, but for now, here is the middle part of September's book list.

Speedy Death by Gladys Mitchell
This is the first of the author’s Mrs Bradley mysteries. In it, an elderly man is found dead in the bathtub. This is declared an accident--but was it? When I got to the end, I went back and read the last page or two over again to make sure I’d actually read what I thought I did.

Mystery of a Butcher’s Shop by Gladys Mitchell
The blurb on the front of this one quoted a reviewer in The Independent, ‘Superbly odd.’ I thought that was a good description of all of the Mrs Bradley books I’ve read so far. This is the second in the series (of 66 or 67) and the third one I’ve read--all three have been quirky and somewhat strange, but I’ve enjoyed them. In this book, the lord of the manor character goes missing and a headless body is found in a butcher shop. It’s not as gruesome as it sounds--she is not like some authors who would describe the process in as much violent detail as possible. There is a cast of characters--villagers, the vicar, his daughter, and housekeeper, the other inhabitants of the big house, and of course, the hapless local cop. Like the other books, the ending is different than what I would expect.

Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah
This is the third Poirot continuation novel written by Sophie Hannah. There is something slightly off about them, but I find them enjoyable nonetheless. I have a soft spot for Poirot--been reading those books since I was a teen. Interestingly, this one, like Speedy Death above, involved someone who died in the bathtub--was it accidental or did someone enter the bathroom and yank the deceased by the ankles in order to drag them under? Poirot gets involved when people show up at his home angrily demanding to know why he sent them letters accusing them of murdering the guy. He has sent no letters and never heard of the deceased, so he decides he has no choice but to investigate.

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline
I was vaguely aware of the issues surrounding fast fashion--enough so that I made it a point years ago, for ethical reasons, to buy new only when absolutely necessary. I am not into fashion and loathe shopping, so I must admit that this is not much of a hardship. I have clothes that I got at thrift stores before we left the US, clothes that were hand-me-downs about 15 years ago, a few things I’ve bought at charity shops here, and a lot that I’ve made myself. Reading this book gave me no reason to change my mind about my clothing choices. There is so much wrong with the way the whole industry is run and I knew about most of those issues before I read this book. Reading about how people shop and how the shops operate was like being in a foreign country though. I wasn't surprised, but it was eye-opening. I cannot remember the last time I went into a shop to buy clothes. It must be 20 years or so, I suppose, and things have clearly changed in that time. It’s also true that I’ve not lived in places where these cheap stores operate and I don’t seek them out, so have no familiarity with them. Some stores apparently get new shipments once or twice a week to draw people in. Now that they need to keep cutting costs, they use cheaper and cheaper fabric, which means polyester (plastic). Since these clothes are shoddily made and people buy them knowing they’ll discard them after a few wearings, if that, a huge waste stream of plastics is created just through clothing. The waste stream from textiles in general is staggering. A few months ago, we started checking charity shops for a few shirts for Bill. It took a couple of months, but finally, he hit the jackpot in our local shop. he bought three (cotton) shirts, two of which still had the tags on them. They'd never even been worn. At least the previous owner didn't throw them away! The author goes through the issues one by one, and then talks about what people can usefully do differently.

I hope October has started off well for you!

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