So, my day wasn’t all that exciting.
about 550meters worth of cotton
knit into a blanket. Finished now except for the blocking
a reasonable start on the puzzle
a bunch of nagging and errands.
Cotton Blanket
Category Archives: puzzles
Getting there
It seems like I spend my days getting there. From here, to there and back again. Or to the ballpark, grocery store, diner, UCSF. Not necessarily in that order, please understand. But the idea of having a whole day at home is really appealing.
I am thinking I can schedule it for next Tuesday.
Unless something else comes up, just saying.
between now and then? UCSF tomorrow day, perhaps the As in the evening. Same for Friday. Saturday and Sunday are going to depend on whether or not I can spring George, which is starting to look more hopeful than earlier in the week. If he escapes, then it will be back to UCSF all day Monday as an outpatient. Which takes me to Tuesday – which is where I started this conversation.
I spent the morning at UCSF. George actually had a few platelets of his “own” this morning so that trend is hopeful. The attendance at this afternoon’s As games was less than optimal but considering it is a Wednesday afternoon, there were the usual serious fans, retirees and busloads of school/summer camp kids. The As pulled off a nice win and swept the series. Considering we were facing the poor Baltimore Orioles, it could have been embarrassing otherwise.
Noah returned today from San Diego –
with Gwen
who is suffering a cut necessitating the cone of shame.
After taking the crew out to Barney’s for burgers – I started a new puzzle (Ecru–from Artifact Puzzles) before wiping out completely.
just started
the picture of the finished puzzle
Q 2 months
The good thing about staying in the Outer Sunset is that I was right across the park from SFVA. It isn’t bad walk; under 2 miles (US measurements) and almost a straight line. As I might have mentioned the last time, the only challenging part is this last six blocks straight up hill. Add in a bag and a travel backpack loaded with my clothes from the last couple of weeks and it turned into a real slog.
Since the coffee stand was open in the lobby, I was able to reward myself with a nice latte and a croissant.
(skipping forward to 1535) I was able to take the shuttle over to UCSF and spend a few hours with George. He is doing better on the white cell front and may actually escape this place within a week or so. It is the lack of platelet recovery that is holding things up. My original plan was to then head to the ballpark, but by the time I hit the N-Judah stop, I was exhausted. Stomped back upstairs, pulled out the backpack and extra bag and just headed home. Dani was able to bail me out of BART which saved me the significant hassle of trying to work my way home after all the buses had quit running.
And the game I missed? Home run slug fest. Darn.
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- the finished puzzle
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- fancy bag for pieces
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- whimsy piece
004
Without Cowbell
Color everyone around me amazed.
I survived this mornings removal of the old fridge and placement of the new. It was a real slog for the delivery guys since they had, once again, a big truck. They parked on the street. Wheeled the fridge up the steep driveway on a dolly, then hauled it up the 20 slate stairs to the house. Plus the two steps up into the house, and the steps back down to the kitchen level (via the living room so as to avoid narrow corners and doorways.
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- the finished puzzle
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- close up of the lower sky
It was after 1100 by the time the new one was hooked up and working. From there it was off to BART (usual route to UCSF) and spent the afternoon with George. Snuck out about 1800 and headed to Oakland.
Just barely made it to my seat before the first pitch. The Mariners have left town and the Orioles have arrived. And, since I hadn’t had enough sense this morning to pack for the game – I was completely without my cowbell…The As managed to squeak out a win. I headed back to SF and the Outer Sunset for the night
D+15
It seemed sensible to take you back to the count up (rather than down) so that all of us would have at minimum a clue without having to spin the wheel or ask Vanna White (Jeopardy – old TV show game for the non-US). George is getting really, really bored. Since he is occasionally coughing (which I don’t think is infectious but related to side effect from the chemo) he is stuck in his room. I thought about making him a t-shirt that says “help, I am a prisoner on 12-Long.” If I went with black and white stripes? Nah – the staff is wonderful and I am not sure that they would fully appreciate the attempt at humor.
We seem to be back to normal weather for this time of year. The fog is rolling in regularly and the temperatures have dropped down so that it is chilly at night again.
Quiet day, I am trying to find all the files that I have tucked here and there on the computer in order to make some progress on those papers which are still hanging over my head. It was Graduation Day for the five Norwegians who were here this past year for the LLM program. Thanks to WhatApps, they sent us pictures.
I elected not to go to the game tonight, just headed home on BART, stopped at the Safeway for food and made a bit more progress on my puzzle before heading to bed early.
maybe 1/3?
Puzzling along
D+ too many to still be short on platelets or white blood cells, but there we are. (So yesterday, between running errands in the East Bay)
so, there was this lovely
smaller size, Artifact Puzzle. Less than 200 pieces so it went together fairly quickly.
which lead to –
also Artifact
just look at all those squiggly pieces
which meant I really didn’t spend any significant time trying to put together edges, but rather tackled a few of the objects before I needed to head back to San Francisco.
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- on the left
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- Hot Air Ballon
All of which has much more color than sitting here quietly talking, ignoring the TV and knitting while listening to audiobooks.
A short lived balloon
It has been a long day – and this lovely small puzzle is exactly how I feel
As I noted above – it is titled – A Short Lived Balloon. Not all that many pieces, but fabulously designed with whimsy pieces of tombstones, scythes, ghosts, bones and other ghoulish things.
Ecru Puzzles
By now you should have figured out that I adore wooden puzzles. Not the kind with large pieces intended to be bashed and smashed by the under 3 crew, but those colorful ones characterized by whimsy pieces and interesting designs.
The three manufactures that I have tested so far include Liberty Puzzles, Artifact Puzzles, and Wentworth Puzzles. Liberty is based in Boulder, Colorado ; Artifact in Menlo Park (California) and Wentworth in the UK (Wiltshire). Obviously, in this case it is cheaper to buy US due to the shipping costs. I also noticed it is also cheaper to buy directly from the company (rather than Amazon which increases the base price – which is higher than paying for shipping).
Artifact has launched their Ecru Puzzle line characterized by mat finish and absent any picture on the box (hello? Mystery puzzle. So obviously I had to try one.
Various Hindu Gods
There were a few oddly shaped pieces, but over all, the rest were simply the wooden equivalent of your standard four sized puzzle pieces. The mat finish was nice as it cut down the light reflection, always an issue with a lamp for additional lighting. Probably won’t be buying any more, at least not the mystery ones. There are a couple that I just might…..
computer whimsy
not the best way
to resolve a computer challenge. But then, it wouldn’t be so funny. Another puzzle from Artifact, this one with a bit of humor for all of us computer nerds. Picture of the completed puzzle when I send it over from my phone.
Fairy Tale Library
piece by piece working my way through all the wierd
shapes and sizes of pieces
an Artifact Puzzle
No dragons, but a lot of fairies and walls and walls of books
Half-Life a bit longer
and Half-Life just
about completed.
And for those of us who think cells are these small, neat affairs that match the line drawings in those biology texts of 40+ years ago. No. Just as messy and complicated as us bigger versions….
Half-Life
from the same designers as Stem Cell
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- Einstein
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- organic chemistry
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- whimsy pieces
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- and several dozen more whimsies
are all the fun pieces with which I am starting
I really should be
working on that take home exam.
Which is why I am playing computer games and otherwise procrastinating. Like puzzles –
just those last few pieces
which means that I finished –
all 524 pieces
and an area where you can see the details –
no two pieces alike
Otherwise? I finished Questions 2 & 3 on my take home exam, leaving Question 1 – probably the most difficult, for tomorrow
Quietly insane
is what this particular take home exam is driving me.
5 May afternoon
which may be why I am spending time working on the puzzle. Unfortunately, the easiest portion is complete. From here on in, criss-crossing tree branches. And more branches and more branches. I am not sure that this puzzle is not also going to drive me around the bend (and that is not really all that far since I can see the curve from here….
Mental Health Break
AKA, just running errands and playing with puzzles prior to starting on my take-home exam.
about 1/3 completed
which is challenging considering that the entire upper section is fairly dark as is the section of the living room where I am working…
Meanwhile, George is spending the day at the Bay Area Book Festival.
Avoidance of study
Since I have an exam tomorrow morning, bright and early (0830 in San Francisco) it means that I should be diligently studying this whole day, right?
Instead I find my mind wandering. It is that awful feeling somewhere between–I know this stuff and I don’t want to over think it– and “I don’t have a clue, much less a reason for why I am doing this to myself. It might be why I was more than happy to take something for my headache and go back to sleep for a number of hours this morning. Or why I spent sometime sorting out paperwork. Or looking at furniture for the back deck. Or working on a jigsaw puzzle that had been put away for months.
Winterland
I am sure that I’ve mentioned Liberty Puzzles before. Wonderful small firm located in Boulder, Colorado. Wooden puzzles, all laser cut for accuracy, with whimsy pieces and challenging shapes. I have a lot of their puzzles, accumulated over the years. Not cheap, but challenging, durable and interesting. Plus, they are not 1000-2000 piece puzzles. I want a challenge but something that can be completed in my life time.
I don’t actually remember when I started this particular puzzle. It has to be more months ago than I want to admit. Perhaps after we reorganized the living room furniture but maybe not. I had tucked it away in the puzzle keeper I had in order not to lose the small bit of progress that I had made. Challenge of dark colors, not as much light as I would like and older eyes in the evening. Enough said on that, if you don’t understand, you are just not there yet. Just wait.
Anyway –
the foreground
has some identifiable plants below the house (easiest part as the colors are pretty obvious) before heading up into trees, trees, and more trees.
and not making much progress
as so far 8-10 pieces a day seems to be about as much success as I have been able to accomplish.
Having said all of that – I need to get back to my Admin Law outline. I just shouldn’t be that hard, right? Rulemaking, Adjudication, and Judicial review, along with about a dozen cases which I should make a serious effort to remember. It would be nice if the entire grade didn’t hang on this one exam.
Oh, right – Administrative Law. For those in the US – it is the area of law concerned with all those pesky US government agencies from how they make rules and regulations to how they decide (adjudication) everything from licensing to customs fees to Social Security/Disability payments (who gets what and how much). For those not in the US – you have a similar system in one way or another. Your government has to set the standards for licensing, or benefits, followed by a standardized application process which results in a determination. There are also likely set rules and procedures for appeals and renewals. It all falls into the category of Administrative Law. Normally there is count oversight with more or less deference given to agency decisions depending on challenges of interpretation (substance) or procedure. Since the US is a common law country (also UK, Australia) previous court decisions have a weight of precedence on subsequent determinations. Frankly – I much prefer countries that just have legal code. If a court is involved, the judge makes a determination for that case. The result applies to that case, and that case only.
Anyway – the devil is in all of the details and I have procrastinated long enough….
Telling time
The Circle of time
since, obviously, I needed to start a new puzzle.
completed
Again, not all that many pieces but a challenge in terms of fitting everything together and the interesting loops on the edges.
and then there is the cloth underneath – an old pastry cloth inherited from my mother’s mother with a circle imprinted so that you would know exactly how big to roll your pie crust.
I have three daughters who bake as well as a son who cooks. I am hoping one of them will treasure this bit of history.
Stem Cell
I adore wooden puzzles. You have heard that particular line from me a number of times. I have raved about Liberty Puzzles. I must have mentioned Artifact Puzzles as well. Like Wentworth and Liberty, the company produces high quality wooden puzzles precision cut by laser.
Stem Cell
by Bruce Riley. Combining the most interesting from science, painting and whimsy pieces, it is not a large puzzle (~150 pieces) but completely and totally challenging.
Puzzles?
Because I am studying.
Right.
the puzzle completed
and tucked into a towel to move it off the breakfast table and into the living room where it can be the first to be admired.
Interesting
Unlike the crabbiness of the last couple rounds of Prednisone, it is UP this time. So I have been cleaning and organizing and playing computer games. Now, I just probably should get some sleep. Two of my unfriendly poisons also were dose reduced so that might be helping a bit.
So today it has been laundry, a lot, dealing with the pups while Dani is at work, and then there is progress on the puzzle which I have probably failed to update you on…
Light snowfall over Manhattan
Like all the other Liberty Puzzles – there are a lot of whimsy pieces that are appropriate to the picture plus some wonderful details.
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- tour busses
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- taxis
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- and snowflakes in the clouds
In house construction, the heating guy has been here, the plumbing guy has been here. There is a plan. Now if the construction crews shows up with the diggers on Monday – everything will be wonderful.
Caf-fiend
In order to deal with this –
and yet another pile of floppies
It really helps to have caffeine. You can drink it fizzy, you can drink it in tea, coffee… or it can take over your life –
whimsy pieces
which came from Artifact Puzzles which is my other source of lovely wooden puzzles. Those fun little bits fit into this –
which totally works with the table cloth
and becomes the little fiend –
at the end
right about the time that I dropped the last diskette in here –
one full brown paper bag
Of course, now that I have had a volunteer (thank you SO MUCH Steve) who actually is willing to take a few diskettes off my hand (yes, there are other geeks than me out there) and can actually play some of these games which I still have on original diskette. Plus who doesn’t need their very own MS-DOs 3.1?
By the time I was through all of this I managed only a couple of boxes sorted from the garage, drank enough fluids for someone twice my size and rounded out the rest of the day with progress on that fractal –
4 Feb 2017
which with any luck I will be able to finish tomorrow. The purple is within six rows of the bottom which means it isn’t that much further for the greens or yellow. Of course, there is the slight issue of the Cal Basketball games which are a little higher on my priority list. But I can bring knitting to those….