Interesting Stuff

Barbie “Pink” (& other stuff)

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Pink Outfit

It was sunny earlier today. Warmish. I pulled this pair of pants and this t-Shirt from my closet to wear. I stopped at a friend’s house for iced tea during the afternoon and her comment,

“Oh you’re wearing your “Barbie Pink” outfit!” stopped me in my tracks.

Barbie Pink! Really!

I’m never going to be able to wear either of these garments again. I’m not a “Barbie” fan. I didn’t grow up with Barbie. I was 16 when Barbie was released – well past the playing with Barbie age. Barbie is simply not part of my cultural heritage.

I have no interest in seeing the film – although I’ve read reviews describing the feminist underpinnings of the movie. I just don’t see myself showing up in public again in what others obviously identify as a “Barbie Pink” outfit!

Another Face

I pulled up behind this convertible yesterday afternoon – the “face” was unmistakeable. I grabbed my phone and took a photo – not a perfect image but the face is definitely visible.

More Shoes

What do you suppose went on here – both socks were stuffed into the right sneaker. Both covered in mud, left on the grass.

The Gals

Two of these gals are 89, one is 92! We were taking a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive along the Noel Shore yesterday. Visited Burntcoat, sat at the lookoff for a bit.

Noel Shore

Stopped for ice cream in Kennetcook (good ice cream, BTW). One of those just moseyin’, taking side roads, not worrying about “getting lost” day trips. We had a nice time. Lots of laughter (I’m the “baby” in this group.)

Yard Sale

We encountered this old fashioned yard sale. Someone had emptied the house, and EVERYTHING was sitting out for the taking – there was a small locked cash box (a slit in the top) and hand-written sign above saying “Pay Here!”. All on the honour system (nobody about). We weren’t the only curious visitors.

I found a box of power line insulators – I have owned one for years – I use it as a weight to hold patterns in place when I’m cutting fabric – been looking for more. I picked out three small size ones, left a toonie (a Canadian $2 coin) in the box. They’re in my dishwasher waiting to be cleaned. (Bernice picked up a small toothpick mug for her collection.)

The Story Here?

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My sister Donna knows I’m interested in stray shoes/boots. A couple of months ago I came across a pair in the middle of the sidewalk. She came across these on her morning walk in Point Pleasant Park the other day.

The Story?

What’s goin’ on? The boots were small, in good shape, Donna thought about trying the on – she didn’t – she just took the photo.

My theory: the boots hurt; the owner wasn’t walking one more step in them; left them for another walker/hiker (of which there are many in Point Pleasant Park) that they might fit.

The remaining question, of course, is how did the owner get home? The paths in the park are gravel – pretty difficult to walk on in bare feet, even in sock feet! So how did that person get back to the parking lot and their car? No idea!

The Dilemma

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I’ve been working with a new young immigrant family helping the young woman learn English. She speaks no English (although she can read some) so her husband, who does speak some English, is part of our weekly gathering. We’ve been meeting now for 5-6 weeks and we’re getting somewhere.

This week they invited me for lunch on Sunday – today – along with the people who sponsored them and are providing support to help them settle into the community. I asked the typical Canadian question: What would you like me to bring? Ahmad’s face lit up, he dashed to the kitchen, returned with a plate – could you bring 10 plates? 10 forks? 10 spoons? some serving spoons? some cups? some glasses. They have service for 10 but there are going to be 20 guests.

I happen to be custodian of the dishes and cutlery for the “Thursday Night Game” group in my apartment building so bringing the required stuff is no problem. I dug it out of my storage room last evening, put it all in my dishwasher, then packed it up this morning.

I’m delighted to attend a party given by this couple who are attempting to repay the generosity they’ve received. But I do have a dilemma! There are going to be 20 people in a VERY small space. I haven’t had COVID-19 yet. I hope to keep it that way. I don’t want the cold, or flu that are galloping through the community. I’m also in the age group susceptible to RSV – I don’t want to come down with that either.

Do I wear a mask? I can’t wear it while I’m eating! Do I wear it otherwise? If I do, Basira and Ahmad won’t be able to see me speaking and the visual component of speech is critical for both of them at this point. But I’m hesitant about exposing myself to whatever respiratory viruses are certain to be present.

I was at an 80th birthday party last Sunday – there were about 25 people but the room was much larger and the tables were spaced out so I removed my mask after I got there. But this gathering will be different – the space is tiny and not much chance for people to spread out, or windows to open.

I was explaining my dilemma to my sister, one of the sponsors, who will also be at the lunch. Good question, she responds, “I haven’t thought that one through!” Then she sends me a recent New Yorker Cartoon by Liana Finck – The Great Masking Cycle – in the Nov 28 edition of the magazine:

That sums it up succinctly!

White Shoes in Winter?

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Growing up, my mother made sure we understood summer clothes were packed away at the end of September and the fall and winter clothes came out. White pants, white shoes – all banished for the season.

Why do I mention this? I wear clog/mule style shoes – shoes that slip on without a back heel – comfortable with my lovely collection of wool socks, easy to wear and actually orderable online because fit is forgiving in this kind of shoe. However, clog/mule shoes are becoming scarce as hen’s teeth – about the only company that seems to continue to make them is a German firm – Finn Comfort. I have several pair of Finn Comfort sandals (for summer) and clogs (for winter) but I didn’t have a black pair (and I need one because my reliable, comfortable Clarks clogs are all wearing out and are irreplaceable).

I had difficulty finding one of the textured black leather clogs in my size when I went looking but I found what I hoped would be “greyish” so I ordered a pair. When they arrived, however, they were definitely white.

So I did what any sensible person who knows they can’t wear white shoes during fall and winter (and even spring) would do – I bought a jumbo black permanent Sharpie to change the colour.

White Clogs
Darkened Clogs

Worked well, wouldn’t you say? It’s interesting that the patterned elements of the white leather have come through in the darkened clogs. If I didn’t tell you what I’d done and you happened to see me wearing the shoes you’d never question their colour (even if you noticed it). The nice thing about the permanent marker is that it is absorbed by the leather and while it might fade a bit over time, all I have to do is colour them again.

The clogs didn’t actually turn out black but rather an interesting dark blue ink shade.

Packing?

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Just caught this video on Twitter – had to share it.

She’s gonna overlap three sweatshirts, two pair of jeans, a couple of shirts, some t-shirts, socks and underwear – by wrapping them up in this overlapped bundle. No wrinkles, and the bundle is small enough to fit into a small carry-on bag with room for cosmetics, tablet and even a pair of shoes, I’m guessing!

Why didn’t I think of this myself?

Guns vs Abortion

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This says it all.

This post has been circulating on Facebook again. It has been attributed to Gloria Steinem although she says she didn’t write it. When USA Today tried to discover the author they were unsuccessful.

Lisa Nilsson’s Marvelous Paper Quilling

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I’ve dabbled in paper quilling but I don’t have the patience to do much with the tiny twirled results. But Lisa Nilsson makes spectacular art works using the technique.

This work, which took her six years to create (!) is an amazing work of art. You have to see some of the details to appreciate what she’s done:

I came across this piece on Colossal https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/05/lisa-nilsson-grand-jardin/ today. It’s worth taking a moment to read about Nilsson’s work.

The World In Stones

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Jon Foreman, a Welshman, does these amazing creations on a beach using stones or shells, or just a rake and some string.

It’s about the time it must take to collect the RIGHT stones – construct the array, take photos, then walk away. The next day the array is likely gone, washed away by the waves. He sets to work again.

Do take a look: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/04/jon-foreman-new-land-art/ – each piece is spectacular!

Are You Playing Wordle?

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A week ago someone mentioned Wordle to me – I hadn’t come across it on my own. In spite of my reasonable size vocabulary, I’m not great at crossword puzzles. I don’t seem to have unassociated words floating around in my head. I have lots of words in meaning units, but I can’t easily just pull out a word based on an ambiguous clue.

So I was skeptical about Wordle. Nevertheless I gave it a try.

My first go was a disaster – couldn’t even find out how to submit a word! Finally, I discovered the “ENTER” button below the keyboard. Next I discovered I couldn’t think of 5-letter words. Useless. So I did a bit of online searching and came up with some useful tips and handy word lists to start the game.

Screenshot Showing Game Opening (Including Enter Button)

I quickly came across the “opening word” strategy – try to cover as many vowels as possible in a single word – two good words: AUDIO, and ADIEU – you’re almost certain to get at least one vowel, occasionally two. The vowels are likely in the wrong location but you’re on your way. There are a bunch of opening word selections – here’s one with some helpful starting words.

Strategy two: high frequency consonants and consonant clusters. I had to google for lists of 5-letter words with various consonant and vowel combinations – they just wouldn’t pop into my head. Once I had some lists in front of me I started coming up with words on my own. I now have lists of 3-vowel words, 2 vowel words, words using S, L, T, R, N, M, P, H – some of the most commonly used consonants. Then there are consonant clusters: CL, CR, DR, FL, FR, GL, GR, ST, STR, WR, – I’ve probably missed a few here, but you get the drift.

I read somewhere in the last day or two, don’t waste time on a final S – there seem to be no plural words so save your S for other positions in the word. Also, there can be double letters – both consonants and vowels – that can be tricky.

With my word lists at hand, I’m getting better at the game – I’ve even managed to solve it several times in 6 words, a few times in 4 words. Today’s word HUMOR I missed altogether (my 6th word ROUGH had 4 letters R, O, U, H all in the wrong location – I would never have thought of HUMOR because my spelling for the word is HUMOUR! This is an American English game.

I’m hoping to do better tomorrow.

Feb 10: Pure Luck Today!

Feb 10 – Pure Luck Today

Rapid Test Kits

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Throughout the past year and half, Nova Scotia has been focused on early detection of COVID-19 cases. To begin with that meant many Pop-up Rapid Testing sites – staffed by volunteers, in locations where the presence of CoVID-19 was suspected. I helped out with that effort, registering people as they came in. I did that for a couple of months until the number of cases declined, and while a couple of testing sites continued, they were downtown and difficult for me to get to, so I stopped volunteering.

On Nov 9, I joined the Rapid Testing “Test To Protect” effort. For a couple of months volunteers had been making up rapid testing kits for distribution to the airport but the effort ramped up in late October when the NS Department of Health decided to issue kits to school children in order to pick up early warning of COVID-19 spreading among unvaccinated school-age kids. I decided it was time I helped out again. So a couple of times a week, until last week when TTP closed down for the holidays, I helped assemble Rapid Test Kits.

You wouldn’t think putting a few bits and pieces into plastic bags would take much effort – but it did. A four hour shift doesn’t seem like a lot of time – but it was.

When you walked into the assembly room (a large open space with 25 tables – one person at a table, , hands sanitized, wearing a mask) the walls were lined with large labelled boxes – some holding test kit stuff, others already packed with test kits ready for distribution, and on tables dividing the room a WALL of small boxes containing what you needed to make either 30 or 15 kits depending on the batch we were preparing.

Label on bag
Stacked testing components
Components in bag x 2
Test kits in box
One Box – 15 double tests
Recent Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Testing Kits For The Airport

You started by adding labels to the bags explaining the “expiry” date on the test strips could safely be ignored. Next you carefully laid out the test components (swabs, test strips, small vials with testing solution) so you could pick up what you needed to place in each bag. Then you filled and sealed each bag and placed it back in the original box.

We started out assembling 30 single test kits; we progressed to 15 double test kits – these to be handed out to arriving passengers at the airport. Working as quickly as I could, it still took me slightly more than 15 minutes to do a single box of test kits. The assembling took a lot of repetitive physical effort (the tables were a bit too high for me – I found it less stressful on my back and shoulders to stand when filling the bags). More difficult was the concentration required to make sure you put the precise number of each component into each bag! You didn’t want to end up short something or to have something left over – that meant you had to go back through all 15 or 30 bags to find where the error had happened! Each bag needed to have the exact number of swabs, vials with testing solution, and testing strips!

I breathed a sigh of relief every time I finished a set of bags neither short something or with any component left over.

In three and a half months, hundreds of volunteers have managed to assemble well over 500,000 test kits for kids and arriving passengers at the airport. A herculean effort. We don’t know yet whether we’ll be called back into action in January but I’m sure everybody who helped out will return, particularly since Omicron looks like it’s set to take off like wildfire here in the province as it has everywhere else.