Doing stuff today…

 

Well, it was a nice sunny day here in Wisconsin, but COLD!   At least we didn’t get the snow that fell south of us.  We were spared --- THIS time.  Heh heh heh.

 

Steveio was out in the garage, working on the brackets for our upcoming solar panel installation.  He is making them tilt-able, and out of non-rusting aluminum.   That was keeping him outta trouble until….

Lo and behold, who pulls in the driveway but my DAD!   He really ain’t supposed to be driving this far with his limited vision, but when he gets a bug in his butt, off he goes!  What a determined ole’ cuss.  He pulled in, and brought to the door his Schedule H tax form for filing his Homestead Credit.   I had already told him three times on the phone that I can just print one off the internet.   But nooooo   Mr. Stubborn seems to think I should use the one they mailed to him.   Of course, he drove 70 miles one way to bring it here!  

He drank a cup of coffee, and visited for a bit. 

(Steve didn’t DARE mention the solar panel installation or else Mr. Daddy Who Knows Everything would be out there coaching him.  Never mind that my dad has never even seen a solar panel, much less installed one.  So the subject was taboo to even bring up in conversation)

Here is a pic of him, carrying his great grandson Jameson at Xmas.  Check out the thick coke-bottle bottom glasses.  But he did just pass his license renewal for another 8 years.  

Once the coffee cup was drained, Dad hopped back in his truck and took off again, heading for home.  Oh well, nice day for a drive I guess? 

 

I spent most of the afternoon working in the loom room.  I cut and sewed a couple laundry baskets full of rags for an upcoming order.  Then  I finished up two more of these black and white striped cotton twill rugs….

Then I worked on a long patch-work looking rug using a technique called Clasped Wefts.  (it uses a strip of rag from the left and another color strip of rag from the right.  They *clasp* in the middle and go back the same way they came.  

I have done a few of these type of rugs, and I find them fun, but time consuming.  Each row of rags takes quite a bit of hands-on manipulation before ready to pull the beater and WHAMP it into place firmly. 

 

I have also been working on a run of cotton dishtowels on the 8 harness table loom. These are really a soft denim blue, but look kinda grey in these pics.

(the blue fabric bag in the lower right corner is for scraps of threads when weaving)

Once washed, the weave tightens up with shrinkage of the 100% cotton, which has to be calculated into the weave structure.  So a freshly woven towel off the loom woven at 24 inches wide and 38 inches long, after washing will end up being 20 inches wide by 30 inches long, the correct size.

After a while, it was time to get some supper going.  Made up some grilled salmon, savory herb potatoes and corn (outta the can)   We have been eating leaner and less cholesterol for Steve’s effort to lower his numbers and his blood pressure.   Otherwise he will have to go on medications.  The doc said he can try this for 6 months to get it under control by diet.  So healthy eating in imposed on him, and change in his grazing snack foods all evening long.   Plus, diabetes runs heavily in his family, so we have to avoid that too.

Change of diet, in combination with garlic pills, cinnamon pills, red yeast rice pills and a multivitamin.    He has been working hard at this for 9 months now, and we got the newest reports after his bloodtests from last week.  ALL his numbers are WAY down in the desired ranges!! Wheeeeheeee for Steveio! 

I am so proud of him---  giving up all those eggs,, that greasy broaster fried chicken from the gas station, french fries, greasy bratwursts and big bags of potato chips has really paid off. 

We need to keep him around for a long long time to enjoy our motorhome years that are coming up!~