Author Archives: Holly

About Holly

fiber person - knitter, spinner, weaver who spent 33 years being a military officer to fund the above. And home. And family. Sewing and quilting projects are also in the stash. After living again in Heidelberg after retiring (finally) from the U.S. Army May 2011, we moved to the US ~ Dec 2015. Something about being over 65 and access to health care. It also might have had to do with finding a buyer for our house. Allegedly this will provide me a home base in the same country as our four adult children, all of whom I adore, so that I can drive them totally insane. Considerations of time to knit down the stash…(right, and if you believe that…) and spin and .... There is now actually enough time to do a bit of consulting, editing. Even more amazing - we have only one household again. As long as everyone understands that I still, 40 years into our marriage, don't do kitchens or bathrooms. For that matter, not being a golden retriever, I don't do slippers or newspapers either. I don’t miss either the military or full-time clinical practice. Limiting my public health/travel med/consulting and lecturing to “when I feel like it” has let me happily spend my pension cruising, stash enhancing (oops), arguing with the DH about where we are going to travel next and book buying. Life is good!

Souks

Posted on 2025-01-19 by Holly

We started our day after breakfast as always with a hike back out of the warren of lanes to board our bus. On our way out and about the city, we drove past “the royal palace.” Although obviously it is … Continue reading →

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Fez

Posted on 2025-01-18 by Holly

Or Fes as it is known/ pronounced here.  We were reminded that fez is a hat, familiar to many from the Shriners. No fez were seen today.  We departed our hotel right after breakfast, boarding the bus which is nice, … Continue reading →

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Rabat

Posted on 2025-01-17 by Holly

Tour of the city this morning. Officially the capital of Morocco. Wiki lists it as the seventh largest city with a population just over ½ a million and a metro area of around 1.5 million. As a Constitutional monarchy, there … Continue reading →

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Arriving in Casablanca

Posted on 2025-01-16 by Holly

Via France. Of course via Paris & CDG airport since we were booked on Air France ( by the trip folks through Delta which made it even more complicated) .  Our arrival was on time, about the almost completely packed … Continue reading →

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Long flights

Posted on 2025-01-15 by Holly

Both of us were packed last night and ready to go. AC transit site for bus schedules is well less than useless. Starting and ending times on the routes are clear, but when they arrive at ending particular stop? Guessing … Continue reading →

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If it is Tuesday

Posted on 2025-01-14 by Holly

it is not Belgium. (reference – the 1969 movie – two links for you – Wiki & Internet Archives.  Instead this is packing day. We leave tomorrow for two weeks in Morocco, so not Belgium either. But first – the … Continue reading →

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A small start

Posted on 2025-01-09 by Holly

This is my second start of 2025 – it is just about 400 stitches, which isn’t much in the world of full coverage. Since the smallest Owl is in the middle and the other two around it, that made bottom … Continue reading →

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The Peacock Tree

Posted on 2025-01-08 by Holly

Designed by ModernFolkEmbroidery the two greens are #12 Perle Cotton from Theadworx and the Ocean Blues is also Threadworx but embroidery floss. Stitched on an 18ct aida from stash.About 42xx stitches. Easy peasy. I also finished Part 4 on the … Continue reading →

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Phone do-loops

Posted on 2025-01-07 by Holly

There are a number of Filk songs about computer programing, stupid programing, and getting stuck in an endless do-loop. And then there is the VA phone system. First, you have to listen to about 2 minutes of “gratuitous mental health … Continue reading →

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Octopus

Posted on 2025-01-06 by Holly

I have new towels. Ordered from Calamityware during one of Don’s kickstarters. I have a number of their fun things and have purchased more than a few items for gifts. The quality is excellent, but I find their shipping costs … Continue reading →

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Kiting checks

Posted on 2025-01-05 by Holly

I was thinking this morning,  which is always a dangerous thing to do. I was placing an entry in my check register this past Tuesday and thinking out how infrequently any of us use a checkbook anymore. And certainly not … Continue reading →

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Plateau

Posted on 2025-01-04 by Holly

Looks like I was a bit too optimistic yesterday claiming I felt better. Then I spent all of last nght coughing which has continued into today. So not fun. All of this is compounded by the presence of a mid-week … Continue reading →

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Getting better

Posted on 2025-01-03 by Holly

each day that is going by. Coughing a bit less and my energy level is a bit more. Today was good enough that I ran a couple of errands before conducting a search and seizure in the garage. As it … Continue reading →

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What was the old story?

Posted on 2025-01-02 by Holly

Oh, yes the brave tailor – seven with one blow. He meant flies…. But anyway, I count today as a success with managing to accomplish two tasks with one trip to SF. The first was to pick up my new … Continue reading →

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Mel’s Original Diner

Posted on 2025-01-01 by Holly

I am sure that there are a lot of Mel’s Diners out there. The one in Pinole (Contra Costa County) here in the east bay is the one that Alex (son-in-law) and I have been going to every week or … Continue reading →

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Roll ‘Em!

Posted on 2024-12-31 by Holly

Before I get into my plans for this coming year, let me provide a quick summary of the last two weeks. UGH! Someone brought COVID home, I got it + a secondary pneumonia. Did I mention that this was within … Continue reading →

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Braving the city

Posted on 2024-12-30 by Holly

In this case the city in question is San Francisco and the object of my trip was on Golden Gate Ave. Rather than be insane enough to drive, I had George drop me off at North Berkeley BART just before … Continue reading →

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Sleeping in

Posted on 2024-12-29 by Holly

Late enough that the coffee at my bedside was stone cold.  I took today as another day on which not to push myself. Just did a few small tasks, sorted out some floss, and looked at a list of projects … Continue reading →

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Set for January

Posted on 2024-12-28 by Holly

Back to the stitching stuff – which is extremely boring for a few cruisers and non-stitchers reading this. So, I will be polite and cover those areas first. It was laundry day. Aren’t you just thrilled? Four loads pretty much … Continue reading →

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Coughing isn’t fun

Posted on 2024-12-27 by Holly

No one needs to listen to me whine, which is all I have felt like. Also explains why I am not bothering to send out mass emails. It all started perhaps on Saturday night, but certainly by Sunday I wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Cross-Stitch, family, Home, Medical | 1 Comment