Photos Scanned, Clean Up Happened

Although I have not been blogging, I have been reading each of your posts, my friends.  First, let me say that I have tried to comment on most of your blogs, and secondly, since two weeks ago, daughter Julie came through her medical problems just fine.  No more headaches, no surgery.

That new scanner I ordered is the bee's knees.  Or is it bees' knees?  Anyway, it works very well, creating light where there was none, enhancing colors, cropping off non-essentials, etc.  It is just a run of the mill brand and was inexpensive, but it is the technology that has changed over the years. The old scanner just was not cutting it.  Results of all that scanning of old photos resulted in several trash cans full of old albums and photos.  And several boxes of heavier papers and albums were taken away by the local disposer.  We get an old age discount because the waste disposal guys figure that seniors don't have much trash.  Suppose we more than got out money's worth from this trash removal service over the last couple of weeks.

All in all, those pictures from the 1970's until digital times have all been scanned.  And the result? The best ones are now residing on one thumb drive. Amazing. It was an emotional time, truthfully.  Looking at my daughters when they were babes in arms, thinking of those years, most of which were troubled and unhappy, working hard, having little free time.  I had so much rather be living my life now rather than then. A couple of digital photo flashing frames were loaded with hundreds of vacation and family photos. The good times can be remembered at will. Happy, happy.

One large four drawer file cabinet is now in the garage ready for the "Fresh as a Daisy" pickup that the city provides in April for items too large for regular pick up.  And now my little study is boasting a new two drawer mahogany and much smaller file for papers.  Lots of the old files were also trashed.  Who knew one could accumulate so much unimportant stuff over a few years time?

Clean up pictures:

 (organized, items tossed)

(dusted)

And the amaryllis bulbs Natalie gave me are growing, finally,  in the guest bath:

The husband ordered new retirement business cards.  He has not yet handed one out, and I'm wondering if people will need an explanation of his thought process in creating these.  Probably he will not even get reactions.  Who knows.  And what price would one pay to a holistic detective agent?

Yes, knitters, I have now completed two thirds of my Looped Loop cowl and am on the home stretch of the Delancey Cardigan in grey and mustard orange.  The Looped Loop has to be knit under strong light. Usually I am watching some Inspector Lynley mystery shows on Netflix, so there have been a few dropped stitches. Next up to watch is "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", Jan.   And yesterday I was involved enough to have to rip out some grey on the cardigan because it was time for a stripe.  Onward.

Dyeing Tencel Fabric

Apparently acid fabric dyes are not the best to use as a dye for synthetic fabrics like Tencel, according to several searches.  Acid dyes are taken up best by natural protein fibres like silk or feathers or wool. What most dyers use on synthetic fibres is a product called Procion MX.  But what I had on hand was my trusty Jacquards.  No worries, I plunged ahead using Jacquard acid dyes.  What was the worst that could happen?  Obviously I thought it was worth the risk.  The kitchen wouldn't blow up, right?

This link will lead you to a natural dyer of cotton and linen scarves, all with edges left unraveling for that couture effect.  She is French and sells her scarves for a dear price.  And they are pretty.  Go have a look.

Taking inspiration from her naturally dyed scarves, I played with a few colors on Tencel yesterday with interesting results.  Each scarf was dyed with three different compatible colors and set with steam (2 hours steaming in rice steamer), then dried and pressed.  Here are two pictures of the peachy tones and the greenish teal hues.

My husband was unimpressed and said I should hem the edges of the scarves.  What does he know.  He would not wear a scarf beautifully draped around his neck at any cost.

On to other things. I ordered a new scanner yesterday and am supposed to get it tomorrow.  The intention is to scan all the photos in all the albums collecting dust in the closet.  Once scanned, I will upload them to the heavens and see if Google asks for money for all that storage space. We shall see.  I started this scanning process a few days ago, and is it ever slow on the old clunker.  Maybe the new scanner will be miraculous and save loads of time.

You Don't Know What You Don't Know

Daughter Julie who has had a shunt (since birth) for taking fluid build up/pressure off her brain is again having headaches.  Always worrisome since neurosurgery is no walk in the park for her.  It starts off the same way each time she needs a shunt revision, generally caused from protein building up in the tubing leading from the brain to the heart (or lungs, or abdominal cavity or wherever it happens to be placed from the last revision).  The headaches are intermittent, since the blockage in the tube can often be dislodged almost spontaneously, and with no apparent reason for the build up to be cleared by her body's defenses.  But at some point, perhaps a day or two after a shunt headache begins, sometimes after a week or ten days of intermittent headaches, the blockage will not pass down the tubing, allowing for the CSF to be shunted off.  She has had so many revisions and hospitalizations that we have lost count: over 100 at least.  CT scans are always taken, and the results of these scans, to this point after her entire life, have always shown "no appreciable difference in the suture line", although the build up can be so tremendous that she will be in a coma-like state. Mind you, I am not using medical terminology, because by this point you would have almost certainly given up on reading this post.

Julie and Muggsy, 2008

And for over five years, she has been mostly doing fine with this particular shunt and tubing.  And her breast cancer seems to be at bay.  She has a husband who is very supportive, a dog she dearly loves, and aides and nurses and doctors she schedules responsibly.  She is lucky in so many ways, and has stayed out of long term care facilities for most of her life.

The last time I posted about her shunt problems was the time I went to Charlotte, NC to be with her at the Carolinas Medical Center.  You can read more posts about her at these links:

• 2008
• 2008
• 2008
• 2011
• 2011

Like my SIL Charlotte says, "you don't know what you don't know".  And we don't know why or how the time comes for a revision, but it will likely be sooner than later.  But it is a concern, of course. Your prayers and concern are appreciated.

Regularly scheduled arts and crafts will resume shortly.