Stories and Memories

I really believe in stories.  Everything we do every day is a story just waiting to be told.  Maybe you are like me and not really sociable. So write down the story.

Memories are there all the time.  This time of year is always filled for memories.  Memories of friends and family and past Christmases.  And wondering about what someone you know is doing this year.  Memories.

It's funny.  I think this leads to the same discussion I have had about dreams.  People tell me all the time they don't dream.  Everyone dreams.  Our pitiful human brains that we think are so marvelous have to have "down time".  Unfortunately neurologists have found that our brains don't really "rest".  It just processes everything that has gone on during the awake time since the last sleep time. 

Some of us do have fabulous dreams.  I remember dreams and I write them down.  I participated in a "dream study" 40+ years ago when I worked in an emergency room.  The researchers were studying people who work in stressful emergency situations-ER personnel, ambulance drivers, policemen, firemen, etc.   Everyone volunteered me. 

I remember that they only wanted to know the emotion of a dream, not the actual content of the dream.  It lasted six months.  I kept my faithful diary, and I think I was the most active participant.  One of the researchers would meet with us monthly, collect the diaries, and give us new diaries.  After three months it became clear that mine was different from the others. 

I met with the doctors that were conducting the research.  They would ask me specific questions about my diaries.  I think they were amazed that I could actually remember details the dreams.  Finally one of them said my dreams were cyclical.  It was a female researcher who said she thought my dreams were in sync with the moon cycles.  They followed up with that and it was. 

See-another memory.  I know it has nothing to do with the season, but a memory that came out into a story.

I listen to audio books while I spin and knit.  I don't like a complicated story that I have to pay that much attention to.  So a story is spun into the yarn or knitted into the fabric.  Not just my story of it's life history, but from words being read to it. 

Speaking of knitting, my handspun project is on the verge of being frogged.  I ran out of blue handspun.  I ordered some yarn that I was hoping would be close.  It isn't.  It leaves a definite stripe that would be fine if I had enough of the original blue to finish out the second front piece.  I don't.  Ugh.  I guess I will try to make a pillow out of the back.  Or frog the whole damn thing.  I don't know yet.

I have finished 12 hexagons of Persian Dreams.  I am now going to start putting some together.  I want to see how it looks.  I need a little break and that would be a nice thing to do. 

I am spinning yak/silk and it is wonderful.  I am thinking happy thoughts about this bit of nice yarn.  I don't know what it will be, but it feels nice.

The afghan is growing, but I only work on it occasionally.  Maybe I just need to focus on it for a while and get it done.  Maybe.

We have had a nice two weeks of a warm up in the weather.  There has been a bit of rain, and lots of grayish clouds.  Out of the two weeks maybe two or three full days of sun.  It is just so nice to not have cold, freezing rain, or snow.  I think they predict another one of those artic fronts to head south by the middle of next week.  Sigh!  The cold is so miserable.

Well, I guess the year is at an end.  We are heading to a new year by next Sunday.  I know my year is different than the calendar year, but it is still a contemplative time.  One must focus some on plans for the next year.  I have some serious thinking to do in 2017.  It will be my 69th year in this lifetime. I must think of how I want to spend my next decade. 

Helen Mirren said that 2016 has been a pretty shitty year all around.  We lost a lot of our artists and we elected a new president.  Things will only be interesting from this time forward with him.  We have lost a few of our scientists, too, and their loss will be felt. 

Happy New Year-and on to 2017.

Christmas Week!

Isn't it amazing how some people actually count down from June to Christmas?  I really don't do that any more.  It used to be such an ordeal to think of presents and wrapping and decorating and cooking. Now it is just another day. 

I really like to celebrate Solstice instead.  I love the idea of this day being the turning point for the return of light to our lives.  I intellectually know that every day there is a teeny bit more light added to each day until June 21.  Unfortunately my primitive brain takes over in late February and March.  I am screaming for more light, more warmth, and Spring to hurry up and come.

I love that thousands and thousands of years ago, my ancestors were sitting around fires and telling stories, and probably drinking a lot to get through the dark nights.  There is nothing romantic about it. They are dirty and smelly and die young.  They just know that on that day it is a day to celebrate the return of the light.

I do bake cookies for the mailman.  I put them in the mailbox with a note of thanks.  I try to do a few other gratitude things.  Otherwise, this is just another week. 

We finally have a winter day today.  It was 4 degrees at 7 am.  It snowed last night.  It is only a covering, but it is pretty.  It is the kind of snow that sparkles in the sun.  Oh-yeah!  We have sunshine today.  I am beyond ecstatic. Yesterday I did go around and replace light bulbs. It helps some.

I am now on my 12th hexagon.  They are fun to knit, but I do give myself a break in between them.  I somehow thought 3 days a good time for a break. 

I had to put my handspun project on hold.  I realize I am not going to have enough of the blue yarn.  I am spinning some more yarn that I hope can be blended in.  It is merino and the yarn I have been using is targhee.  The targhee takes the dye differently.  We will see.  If it doesn't look right to me, I will have to take everything out and reblock it for another project.  Oh, well. 

I am still knitting on the afghan in stripes.  It is probably 1/3 the way done.  I will see how far the yarn goes and stop.

Otherwise, I decided to spin up the yak/silk blend I have been hoarding for a while.  It is really luscious.  It spins so easily.  It is a brown mix.  I would recommend this for anyone.

I also have been weaving a bit on my ribbon tapestry.  Not going very fast, but getting it going is important.

I have two receiving blankets cut out for my neighbor's project for ACH.  Just need to sew, wash, and press.

So not a lot going on, but I am making steady progress on projects.

Most of my day has been making sure the bird feeders are filled and there is water for them to drink.

Hopefully your Christmas week will not be so hectic that you can't enjoy the season.  Enjoy the sun and light when we get it.  After Wednesday it will be a little lighter each day! 

Grammar is so funny!

On a local NPR program, there is often a woman who reports on grammar.  She is called the Radical Grammarian.  Today was a discussion on the word healthy and healthful.  We often say I eat a healthy diet.  How can a diet be healthy?  Healthy implies that it is alive.  It is supposed to be  I eat a healthful diet.  I hate that we are all so lazy that we talk in poor grammar.

Which goes to say, I am not interested in being correct.  I know in my writing that I should care.  It isn't all about commas anymore.  Unfortunately I write just like I talk.  And obviously I am not being correct.

It does goes all over me when I hear a young anchor on t.v. say something that is totally so WRONG.  Yesterday I was standing at a window when I heard something so wrong.  I turned around and yelled at the t.v.," no, no, no.  That is an adverb, not an adjective." 

So I guess I do care a little bit about something so obvious.  I haven't got the energy to determine if I need a clarifier or whatever.  I talk lazily, and my fault that I don't care.  See, I used the adverb, not the adjective.

I am almost done with #10 hexagon.  My right hand has been aching this week with the weather all over the place.  Also my right knee has been talking to me today.  It is dark and gloomy out.  Thankfully it is not bitter, bitter cold.

I am also halfway through the first side piece for the jacket.  It is going fairly quickly.

I have great ambitions to do more, but I can't seem to make myself get going.  My neighbor has organized a charity to make quilts for the new Children's Hospital that is to open next year.  She gave me some flannel that was donated to her.  I think there is ample in the piece to make two receiving blankets.

My friend CF is being dragged into the 20th Century.  No, not the 21st yet.  Her daughter has mounted a large HD flat screen t.v. on her wall.  She is getting her mother hooked up to internet so she can access Netflix.  She has her on a list to receive DVDs.  It is too funny.  CF has adamantly refused to have anything to do with computers or computerized anything.  She still uses a landline.  She gets too confused with cell phones.  Thank goodness BL is going to spend the Thanksgiving visit to teach her how to access her account, add to her list, etc.  I love her password.  It is typical of BL to come up with that.  My friend told me in case she loses the paper that she wrote it on. 

We are having unusually warm weather.  We had two little freezes with the day temps in the 50's and 60's.  It is extremely weird.  I have been holding my breath waiting for the winter to settle in.  I am grateful that I have had time to do my outdoor chores.  I finally closed up all the vents under the house.  The hoses were disconnected a long time ago.  I am waiting one last time to empty the back gutters under the box elder tree.

Well, I have to go fill the bird feeders again.  Keep moving.  That's the only advice this week.

I Have Almost Recuperated

This past week I have had to ride a roller coaster of emotions and deep down feelings about blood family, obligation to said family, and solutions to these rambling regurgitations of memories.

For the most part I have settled my Life to have my chosen family and my chosen circle of friends. I do talk to the older brother periodically.  It is to assuage his feelings that he is the elder in the family and he should know what is going on.  He knows me, but he doesn't know who I really am or what I really do.

So I found out that my younger brother has not been "doing well" through a Facebook message from his wife.  Essentially this has been going on for a while, but he was getting worse.  So she took him to the ER and they admitted him to the hospital.  He had a stroke.  At the discharge I found out this is his second stroke.  The undiagnosed stroke evidently occurred 4 or 5 years ago when I questioned K. She said that was when he changed.

I will not go into the details of everything.  It is too boring to talk about how to educate the spouse about the changes that occur with strokes.  Luckily he did not have hemiplegia.  I did assess his basic ADL's and he was able to dress, shower, brush his teeth, and shave with an electric razor.  He tied his shoelaces.  His greatest loss is cognitive.  He has a flat expression on his face.  I am not sure about his ability to read and comprehend.  This brother was the brainiac in the family.  He was reading Edgar Rice Burroughs at age 6. 

So I visited with my former SIL AT one night.  She is in a great depression since her husband's death last Fall.  The next night I stayed with R and H and their two dogs.  That was joyful and made me very happy to see their Life.

I essentially was comatose on Friday.  I almost fell asleep in the lounge chair around three o'clock.  I couldn't think.  I just managed to be awake, eat, and then back to sleep.  I tried to follow my normal routine. 

Yesterday was a joyful day of seeing some friends from the weaving guild celebrate their first book signing.  They researched coverlets, blankets and quilts in the archives of the Shiloh Museum in Springdale.  They published a book through the museum.  It took three years for the book to be birthed- that's including their time in research.

My friend CJE came over early, we ate lunch, and then we went to the museum to watch the opening.  It was a fun day.  I finally feel like I am back on schedule.

Noodles is happy to have his slave back to follow his feeding schedule.  And to have someone open and close doors-even though he has the cat door.  And to have someone to warm up his feet when he has been outside and he is cold.

The birds are ecstatic to have their feeders filled.  I noticed that the cardinals are eating suet along with the woodpeckers.  I guess egg laying is happening.

The weather has turned again to cold.  It was strange to be in Little Rock in 87 degrees in March.  Everything was in bloom, including the azaleas.  I noticed as I drove down I-49 it was gray and wintry looking.  There were pockets of white from the early bloomers.  By the time I got to Ozark on I-40 things were greener.  By the time I got to Clarksville it was green everywhere.  It was such a difference than up here in the mountains. 

My redbuds in the front are in full bloom.  The ones in back are partially open.  There was a Facebook memory posted today from 3 years ago.  My redbuds were just showing pink and were still in tight bud.  So we are early this year.

I am spinning the prettiest blue targhee yarn.  It is a mixture of pale to dark blues and some golden yellow mixed in.  It is making me happy to watch the colors develop.

My knitting is flagging.  I am on the second sock for K.  I just got the yarn I ordered for my friend O's socks.  I think I am going to start knitting squares for a blanket.  I don't want another sweater right now.  I don't need another hat.  I don't need another scarf.  I am not motivated to do a lot.

I am binding the quilted table mat for H and R.  I thought I would finish it while I was in Little Rock.  I didn't.  They are remodeling their kitchen.  So this will be a little something for them.

I am getting interested in dyeing soon.  As the warm weather approaches, my interest rises.  I saw some pretty indigo dyed pieces on Facebook, and that gets me excited.  It is almost time to dye. Come on warm weather.

So today I get back to walking.  I have missed walking every day.  I just couldn't do it the last two days.  Today I feel as if I am almost recuperated from my discombobulating week.  Surely my days will return to the same boring routine that I have established as my normal life.

A Random Day-A Random Friday!

Isn't Life the strangest thing?  I can wake up groggily determined that this is going to be the most productive day of my Life.  Then somewhere when the fog clears and I look at the clock and it is 11:00 AM.  Where did the morning go?  I should have a lot of things to account for the time, but there isn't anything to mark the time.

I do start every morning with feeding Noodles and the birds.  He will never ever give me slack about that.  He will yowl loudly if I don't get a move on.  The birds are not so insistent this week. On cold, yucky days they are clamoring over each other to get to the feeders.

We have had the most delightful week of nice weather.  I know it seems that during the winter I complain a lot about the cold, the yuck, the wind, whatever is happening.  This week I wish to declare that it has been a delightful week.  Especially since it is January and it is so nice.  There is wind, yes, but there is sunshine!

I am slowly gaining ground on the second sock for my friend.  I did not touch it once yesterday.  It is a slow down kind of week.  Just sit in the sunshine and warm up the bones kind of week.

It is a week like this that there is hope for Spring.  Of course, I am realistic that winter will return next week.  I have had a glimpse of Spring and I will cling to that.

I always, always have such high hopes for yard work about this time of year.  There is so much to do and so much work, but I am eager to begin.  I won't uncover the hollyhocks yet, nor will I cut all the little weeds.  I wonder why I have so much hemlock in the yard?  I don't think I have ever lived anywhere that there is so much.  The bachelor buttons are popping up in the yard already.  Green onions are sending out shoots. My garlic has tall shoots too.  A friend said he saw Spring Beauties.  It is way, way, way too early for those.

I have started spinning some wool that is a mystery wool.  It was supposed to be Polworth, but it isn't.  It is a short fiber, very soft, and a wonderful chocolate brown natural color. It will be pretty, no matter what it is. 

I have been watching PBS videos while I spin.  It is amazing what one can find on their web page.  I can't get PBS on my t.v. for some reason.  So I enjoy some of the current shows a few days later than they air.  But I love the archived videos just as much. 

My sweater that is taking too long is lingering again.  I really should just get that sleeve finished.  Sigh!  See-nothing done today!

I will have to run a couple of errands, so I will try to sit down this afternoon and get that second sock cuff finished.  That is my goal today.

I have to find a way to reconcile my time on Facebook.  It is a black hole that can suck away a day.

My friend CJE is friending me now on Blogger.  Thanks for your support.

India Flint is creating a wonderful kit in lieu of a workshop.  I ordered one.  She is mailing it out on the 29th of Feb to everyone that orders.  A great thing for a Leap Year gift.  I have been itching to dye something.  This will be a jump start-maybe.

Well, have a great weekend.  Get out in the sunshine and enjoy it while it happens.  Screw "should" and "would".  I am going to enjoy the day of warmth and sunshine first.  Then I will knit or spin.

Yep! It's Gray and Gloomy

Let's just cut through the chase.  It's winter.  It's awful!

Now, to the good stuff.

I finished the hat and mitts for Shelley.  Just need to get into the mail.  I am now working on a pair of socks for a friend.  I hope she likes the color.  It isn't in her normal color range, but this yarn has bamboo in it.  I think with her foot issues, it would be a comfort.  Plus it is microbacterial.

I finally got back to the sweater that has taken too long.  That's it's new name.   I am working on the decreases at the shoulder area.  I just want it done.  I like the rugged, rustic quality of this one.  It isn't all fine and pretty.  It is a basic top-down raglan cardigan, made with rustic tweedy yarn, and it is going to be a hard working sweater.  I am ashamed I have just gotten tired and put it down so many times.

I have been weaving a teeny bit.  I got a new chair, and I think that will help.  I just can't seem to sit and focus.  I like the way it is happening, but it isn't happening fast.

I have a treadmill now and I am walking every day.  It was a challenge to figure out my pace without getting my heart rate racing.  I am actually walking so much slower than my normal pace outside or in a hurry inside.  I have decided to walk to Memphis.  It is going to take a long, long time.  I made it to West Fork and I am now walking down Highway 71 to Brentwood.  Brentwood is just a wide spot in the road, but there is still a community there.  I am heading to Winslow in the next two days.

The wild kitty did not come in to eat last night.  That seems strange to me.  I hope he is alright.

The birds are eating fast and furious since we had this cold snap.  I fill all five feeders twice a day.  I have run out of suet, and the woodpeckers are not happy.

I spotted a Hairy Woodpecker the other day.  I have never seen them here in the time I have lived here.  I am happy they are moving in the neighborhood.  I like a variety.

Noodles has been mostly indoor kitty the last couple of days.  When it is icy and wet and cold, he prefers to stay in.  He definitely is getting older.  I spotted some chipmunks gathering seeds on the ground the other day.  So he hasn't completely killed them all yet.

I may have my electric spinner sold.  I will know in a week whether she has her money together.  I hope it will go.  It needs someone to use it and love it and care for it.

I have been cooking a lot in the crock pot and putting meals away in the freezer.  I just am not inspired to cook much anymore.  It isn't very inspiring, but it plentiful.  I just had lunch of scrambled eggs with cheese and onion.  Not inspiring, but warm and tasty.

I think if we had sunshine, I would not be so gloomy.

Just to check in and touch base.  Nothing new or exciting going on.  Just my new walking program.

Happy Boxing Day!

My company for Christmas decided to not drive up here.  It was a pleasant, quiet day spinning.  I listened to an audiobook from the library.  A roast was in the crock pot.  Then a very pleasant surprise.

The Post Office delivered the yarn that I purchased from Weaving Southwest.  So if one believes in Santa Claus, it happens.  Isn't that a marvelous surprise?

So I smelled it, I fondled it, and now I am seriously considering what to make with it.  Some reason is driving me to look at a very old book on Bargello patterns.  I like that idea for now.  I have to do some sketches.

The weather man has been promising all week that the weekend is going to be flooding rains.  It was supposed to begin late this morning.  Well, it was raining when I got up this morning.  It has been thunder booming a lot for over an hour.  We have had gushing rain and more thunder.  It is here.

So maybe I will just stay right here and spin some more yarn.

I have been doing boring stockinette stitch with my knitting.  I am making a Sockhead Hat.  Very easy, very tedious-ly boring, but it will certainly be cute. I am also knitting the first sleeve on the sweater.  So I have been looking at interesting color stranded projects.  I don't want a long, long project.  I found a pair of fingerless mitts that looks like a fun project.  I did copy that pattern.  I don't need another hat, but I sure have seen some cute ones.  Hmmm?

So I have a wild kitty that has been coming in the cat door to eat all of Noodles dry food.  I try to remember every night to lock the door, and I put out food for him.  I think it is a "him" since he stinks up the place.  I haven't seen any sign of his spraying, but he has a certain odor that lingers behind him.  He has been sneaky enough to come in while I am listening to the t.v.  Noodles spent a lot of time last night gazing out various windows and going out on the screened porch.  So he is around somewhere.

I am glad the Christmas insanity is over.  Some stores already have Valentine's Day decorations.  Isn't that the most insane thing?  I am tired of all the ads and the pleas from charities.  I understand people are sappy at this time of year, but please leave me alone.

So, onward through the winter time.  So far this December our weather has been very strange and unusual.  I think that is true most everywhere.  I am still looking at the next three months.  I am not going to complain that we have had warmish weather with sunshine.  I like that so much more than ice and snow.  I guess I am getting to be a grumpy old woman.

One more week until 2016 rolls into town.  Luckily for us the days are minutely longer each day since Solstice. 

Happy New Year ahead of time. 

Nature is Tricking Us!

Today is December 9.  December is an iffy month weather wise.  The past two weeks have been above normal temperatures.  We had a major rain storm with 6-8 inches of rain.  The same storm that flooded all over Texas and Oklahoma.  Then suddenly it has been warm and sunny.

My years of living have warned me to not get too comfy.  It's a trick.  So go out for two hours everyday and sit in the sunshine.  Knit, sew, and just sit in the sun.  Soon enough the weather will return to normal temps and gray skies.  Just sit in the sun.

And yes, the weatherman is promising storms on the weekend and a return to the yucky stuff.  Today I am sitting in the sun.

I have a new visitor that evidently knows about cat doors.  He/she/it has been coming in during the night and eating Noodles dry food.  So I have relented and started my outdoor food bowl routine earlier than normal.  I usually set a bowl out when it gets cold, icy, and snowy.  So far it has worked well and kept the visitor outside.  We will see what happens when January rolls around.

I am trying very hard to avoid reality of stupid politicians and stupid people that are making stupid remarks on TV.  It is most difficult to totally avoid it since I look at Facebook daily.  I just scroll on by and roll my eyes.  What ever happened to "humanity"?

I am making a serious mess of the wallhanging I am making for the kids.  The idea was a grand idea.  My skills are not so grand.  I am taking a bit of a break from it.  My quilting skills are nil.  Enough said about the debacle that was going to be a GRAND Christmas/Anniversary gift.

I am finally casting off for the scarf.  Whew!  I am so over that one.  I did cast on a Sockhead Hat and I love the colors of the yarn I chose.  I think now I am ready to cast on the sleeves of the striped sweater and get that finished. 

I really haven't been spinning too much.  The reality of "What to do with so much yarn?" has set in.  I finally put the knitting yarn away in a storage box with lots of lavender sachets.  I hung the yarn I can use for weaving on the wall behind my chair at the loom.  M asked me to donate some fiber to her charity while we were sitting knitting the other day.  I think I can do that.  It is a way to destash.

CJE and AE are having their Christmas party this weekend.  I have already told her not to worry about me if I don't show up.  I told her if the weather does go bad, I am not going out. 

So back outside.  Sit in the sun.  Soak up some Vitamin D.  Enjoy the weather while it is here.  We don't get many days like this from now on. 

I'm Getting Squirrel-y Early

Yesterday I answered my door to a stranger that was asking me if I needed some trees trimmed.  We went through the usual greeting in the South, "Do you know _____?  They have the place down the road.  I'm their cousin."  After going through that ritual, we walked around the house.  I needed my gutters cleaned out, "We can do that ma'am.", I need to do something about those hollies that have taken over the east side of the house, "We can cut them down to the ground ma'am." etc.etc.etc.  We listed about three or four chores, we agreed on a price, we shook hands, and they got to work.  His son and his son's girlfriend arrived in his car, and he got a big chainsaw out of the trunk.  They were through in two hours.  The son even climbed up into the box elder tree and re-hung my huge bell. 

I have spent an enormous amount of money this year getting jobs done by others that I usually do myself.  I know I couldn't repair the deck, and I did have to pay a huge price for that.  But all this yard work I normally do myself  makes me feel strange.  I think I am finally beginning to see I cannot keep up with everything myself. 

Today I didn't feel "right".  I was restless.  I couldn't focus.  I finally got tired of it and decided to sit down with a snack and watch t.v. this afternoon.  My God!  there was another shooting.  Well, that riled me up and I was even more restless.

I spent an enormous amount of time looking at casitas to rent in New Mexico.  If I ever go back again, I am thinking of renting a small casita and using it for a base camp.  I can spend the days roaming around my favorite places. 

When I reported this to my friend CF, she immediately said, "You are already getting squirrely and it isn't even winter yet.  You normally don't get this way until late January."

I guess I am just not in favor of cold weather.  I know we haven't even hit the winter button yet, but I am already tired  of it.  I don't like being cold.  I don't like to wear a bunch of clothes to keep myself warm.  Thank goodness I have wool sweaters.

Some outside cat has figured out how to get in the cat door when I am asleep and eat Noodles' dry food.  I only confirmed this when I was awakened by very loud crunching sounds in the night.  My first thought was Noodles was eating very loudly.  As I aroused, I remembered Noodles does not eat dry food very often any more because of his teeth.  When he does, he is very quiet-no loud munching. I got up to check, and whoever it was darted out the cat door before I could register it.  This morning the cat bowl was down to crumbs.  The stinker came back after I went back to sleep.  Tonight I have locked the cat door.

I have five bird feeders out now.  They are eating me out of house and home. 

I am almost finished with the linen stitch scarf.  Whew!  I got tired of it about two inches ago.  I am pushing myself to say it is done!  I think I will give it to Holly.  She likes scarves.

Then I can get back to knitting sleeves on my sweater.  I will be happy to call it done also.

I am working on the quilted memory wallhanging for the kids for Christmas.  I have the pictures and fabric squares completed in a nine patch.  I need to be quilting it soon.  Oh, well, good thing their anniversary is in January.

I made cookies today.  I have to freeze them to keep them out of sight.  I have probably eaten ten already.  They are small chocolate chip cookies, but still I've eaten too many.

I am waiting for St. Nicolas Day on Sunday to put up my little tree.  I like to see the lights blinking.  I turn out the lights and just sit and stare at them.  I like to see my little spinning wheels and my sheep  and my personal ornaments on them.  Years ago I quit collecting my handblown glass icicles.  I also decided to hang some of them in the windows.  I do like the little tree that can sit atop the book case.

I just now thought that it has been such low humidity I could make some candy.  That would be fun.

So have a great weekend.  I hope you are jolly and bright and not dreading the cold weather as much as me. 

The Coldest Night

In case anyone was wondering, yes, it is turning into winter.  October was warmish, with nips of cool to let us know there is a transition. The leaves starting turning.  November so far has been more cool than October, but definitely not intolerable.

Yesterday a cold front from the north blew in.  It wasn't bad temp-wise, but the wind was cutting.  Last night we had a bit of rain in the sleeptimes, and everything turned wet.  So today the wind has been bitter, bitter cold.  It is the kind of wind that cuts through you.  The temps were tolerable in the low 40's.  The wind was miserable.

It was a rather good day to put some chicken in the crock pot, and then I worked on tapestry.  I am unable to sit still for long periods, so I would get up and move around.  I would watch my course online, look at videos, and then go back to weaving.  I can actually say I am pleased with my geometric shapes right now.  They aren't perfect, but they are straight and angled appropriately.

I ate supper and then found that there was NOTHING on tv tonight.  I wanted to finish the baby hat I started so I can get it done for BM's new grandbaby.  I turned on a new show on Netflix.  It was really rather depressing.  I am sorta thinking that this is one of those Swedish police dramas.  This character was close to the same age as Wallander, he lived alone and slept odd hours, and he sees dead people.  He actually has conversations with dead people.  I only watched one episode and turned that off.  I decided to balance my checkbook instead.  Much more entertaining.

The poor birds are eating really fast and furious.  I have five feeders going.  Tomorrow I will have to put out much more and more suet.

Tonight is supposed to be our coldest night into the teens.  I really don't mind the transition to the cooler weather.  But when we get slammed with the cold, I am not a happy person.  I HATE being cold.

I have had a series of really bizarre dreams lately.  I wake up and go to the bathroom.  I try to redirect my brain to something else as I drift back to sleep.  But the same dream keeps on going.  I don't have a clue what I am supposed to be working on.

Next week is Thanksgiving.  My usual habit is to spend the day in quietness and contemplation.  I work on gratitude all day.  I have varied this month by mentioning and thinking about one thing per day that I am grateful for.  So I have extended my day of gratitude with gratitude all month long.

I won four pounds of wool from Kromski and Sons on the 4th.  I still haven't received my package, and I am really anxious to get it.  I don't know if it is all white, or a mixed lot.  It is so much fun to get a surprise.

Guess I will go snuggle under the covers now and read for a while.  I heard the coyotes earlier.  I bet they are cold and hungry tonight.

Last night I threw out some of my baked potato to the jungle on the west side.  I saw something dart into cover as I opened the door.  It looked a bit like my groundhog, but it should be hibernating now.  So I don't know what was out there.  The other night I stepped out on the deck and I saw eyes out by the shed.  When my eyes adjusted I could see the whitish face.  Possum. 

Have a good weekend.  Stay warm.

It's Getting Darker

Time is rolling along steadily every day.  The darkness is closer each day.  I don't care for the time change thing, but I know that when I wake up, I look out the window by the bed.  If it is dark, I can't get motivated to move very fast.  Sometimes I go to the bathroom and go back to bed. 

There are all kinds of things to read about following your own rhythms.  I know that I do follow mine.  Some days I can't get up early, some I can.  Most nights I can't get to sleep very easily.  I read a lot at night.  I don't have a clock or a sign or anything that says, "Hurry up!  Get UP!"  The only thing that notes the time is Noodles.  He likes his morning snack by 8 am.

Today was Recycling Day, so I made a brave move.  I put a stack of old knitting magazines in the bin.  I know I could re-home them somehow.  I am not going to worry about it.  They went into the bin.  With Ravelry so accessible now, I don't have to hoard all those old magazines.  I did save the Archaeology magazine that has the article about the unwrapping of an incan mummy.  They show all the spindles, weaving things, seeds, dye material, etc. that was wrapped in various layers.  I'm keeping that.  Don't ask why. 

We are now in our rainy Fall period.  We badly needed the rain, but why does it come when it is getting darker?  Now it is really, really dark, gloomy, and wet.  We have not had our first frost yet.  I haven't put the stuff in the mowers that keeps them okay through the winter.  Got that on the list.

I finished the Sanquhar Sampler as much as I am going to finish. it.  Plan B works for me.  I knit an edge on one side, added buttonholes, and now it is going to be a pillow.  I think it came out pretty nice. 

I am also now taking a little rest from the scarf and the sweater to knit some baby hats.  A good friend told me her 42-year-old daughter is expecting her first child in April.  So I am making them a bit large just in case she needs to save the hats for the Fall next year.  There is nothing cuter and faster than making baby hats.

I found some old wool dyed a LONG time ago.  So I am spinning that up.  The wool is coarser than I am used to.  So it may be designated for weaving yarn.  I like my knitting yarns to be soft and cuddly. This is not-it is coarse.

I am writing again.  I am also dreaming stories again.  I am happy to be doing that.  I think I am ready to tackle putting together another book of stories.  The first one was really my initiation, and it was as unpleasant as initiations are.  I will have to find a better publisher/editor.  There were so many mistakes in the printing.  It is something to think about this winter.

I am ready to make some quilted placemats for Christmas.  I think I found the perfect fabric the other day in the thrift store.  I found a HUGE shirt with a small eyelet pattern that was the best Christmas red color.  I immediately thought it would make the perfect backing for placemats.  I have some cotton batting, so all I have to do is get some Christmas material for the top.  Put that one on my list this week.

I guess I am almost ready for hibernation.  I need to get more canned food for the pantry.  I have made some applesauce for the freezer.  I dehydrated the last of the apples last week.  That is stored in the freezer.  I know there are still apples in the grocery store.  I may get some more to put up.  I love dehydrated apples on my oatmeal.  I need to check out the cranberries too.  I like to keep at least one bag in the freezer.  They are great for breads.  It is the weather to start baking bread again.  I have to check my supplies and make sure I have everything I need.  I know I have some yeast in the freezer, but perhaps I need more.  I'll have to check.

I don't know why I am so hungry for bread pudding.  I do have some cubed bread in the freezer, but I think it is stale by now. 

While I am out tomorrow I will have to get another sack of sunflower seeds for the birds.  They are now moving into feeding mode.  All the flowers are gone; the seeds are pretty much gone; the bugs are moving under the leaves now.  We still have ticks out.  Ugh!  I will have to make some suet for the woodpeckers now.  The season is changing.

This weekend is the Hunt and Roll at Mirkwood.  I am not going.  I really don't like to camp out when it is rainy and cold.  I remember weekends waking up and snow being on the tents and the moisture inside is frozen.  I remember sleeping with my water bottle to keep it from freezing.  I guess I am really getting old.  It does not sound appealing anymore.  I like the food, the company, the fun-I don't like the weather any more.

Well-just muttering along.  It is late now.  Time to go to bed and read a bit.  Happy middle of the week. 

March-A Month of Contemplation

Every winter I try to teach myself new skills.  It is supposed to be a time of learning, reawakening creativity, and certainly one of discovery. 

This year I decided I would learn to do rughooking.  The method is like knitting-it is traditional only in the sense of how to use your tools.  The creativity is endless.  Of course, I have wanted to do rughooking for so many years, I cannot imagine how long it has been.  I have started a project.  I put it in my pea brain how I wanted it to look.  Since it isn't looking like I imagined, it has become a frustration.  I don't know what is the matter with my work.  It isn't satisfying me.  I know I am my own worst critic.  Sigh!

I also have been knitless for any big projects.  I like to have at least one challenging project that makes me crazy and gives me something to complain about.  So I decided I would do a Sanquhar sampler scarf.  That is another skill I wanted to learn, so I ordered Beth Brown-Reinsel's DVD on her gloves.  I just couldn't get into making a pair of gloves in a fidgety pattern.  So the scarf was a good alternative.

I ordered the yarn, and it should have been here last week.  Everything is delayed due to weather.  Yesterday I looked at the tracker and UPS transferred the package to the post office!  How crazy!  Hopefully I will get it today. 

Sunday night I was so out of sorts since I had nothing on needles.  The TV shows are so mindless that I cannot sit still in a chair and pay attention to the show.  I hastily cast on a pair of socks.  I don't need any socks, but it was easy to cast on and get going.  After the heel I will have to decide who they are for so I can make them the right length.

I did cast on a simple hat pattern last Tuesday when the newest snow storm blew in.  I finished that Friday night.  I used leftover yarns, and it knit very quickly. 

I have also finished one skein of my orange yarn.  It is very, very soft and squishy and really, really lovely.  I realized that I buy roving seasonally.  I bought this last Fall when I was in a very orange-y mood.  Right now I am more into pinks and greens and light blues.  I am trying very hard to get this orange finished.  It is really pretty.  I have also refused to buy any new rovings-especially the pinks, greens, and blues.  I don't need any new fiber.  Sigh!

I have been trying to block out time during the horrible winter weather.  It is so amazing that we have had the most gorgeous nice winter until February.  Then the ugly hit.  I am so thankful that I am not in the frigid north, but this is more cold than I like.  I think it is being forced to stay indoors that does it for me.  Right now we are in a warm up phase, which means mud.  I will take mud over snow/ice any day.

I have been watching several quilting videos I have.  I have learned some new ideas, but for the most part it is just a way to past time.  I like the refreshers on color and color theory.  Some of the information I used to know, and suddenly I slap my forehead and say Duh!  Why didn't you remember this? 

Patty is slowing changing.  I have to keep an eye on her regularly.  I think she is having mini-strokes some days.  She had a rough day a coupla days ago.  I once thought Noodles would die first, and Patty and I could go on trips together.  It doesn't look that way now.  I won't be going on too many trips with her at all.  I would like to go out to the woods for some hiking, and I think she could manage fine right now.  I am just waiting for a warmer day to do so-with some sunshine.

The birds are eating me out of house and home.  Well, the squirrels are helping.  I notice that the colors are brighter on the finches and cardinals.  The songs are a little different, too.  First signs that the weather is changing.

Life is surely strange.  I don't think I ever imagined that I would live this long.  I know I am young chronologically, but I just never thought I would live this long.  Now I have blood pressure problems, and it seems odd.  I know that we never know when the end will be.

 I was lying in bed and thinking.  I thought about my friend George, and I felt a heaviness in my chest.  It is strange that mostly I don't feel sad about his passing, but then last night I did.  I am so thankful that he passed so quickly.  He was so fearful and that was difficult to manage.  I thought of others that have passed on, too, and it was a reflective time to ponder the meanings of things we do.

Well, on that gloomy note I guess I better get moving along.  I have lots to do, but I have little motivation right now.  It is probably the overcast, gray skies and the chilly dampness.  Have a great week!

Valentine's Day

It seems to me that the holidays-like Valentines Day- are super hyped these days.  I bet the stores already have green shamrocks and little people pasted on the walls.  It boggles the mind.

This week I had a bit of a scare.  My blood pressure read 196/97.  It never came down below 165, and I was really worried.  I went to the clinic, and I am now on bp meds and the doc put me back on cholesterol meds.  I am monitoring my bp daily and will return to the doctor next Wednesday.

So maybe I have an active imagination, but I feel more energized and want to get a lot done in a day.
I have sheets out on the line, dog beds in the washer, and bread is rising.  I have swept the floors-I am not going to mop today- and I am really ready to just sit down a while and rest.

I finished my sweater.  I slogged through the stockinette row after row after row.  It is really pretty.  I found the cutest yellow buttons that are vintage, and I need to sew those on today.  I finished the little blue hat for Max's birthday.  I don't see how this thing will fit him.  He is one big boy.

I just put the dog beds in the dryer to get rid of some of the hair.  Then I will put it outside to finish drying.  Noodles is lying on the top of the dryer in a sunny spot.  I had a memory of standing next to the shaking washing machine and dryer as a kid.  We thought it could jiggle away our fat.  Too funny, eh?

The bread is beginning to smell yeasty.  I love the smell of rising bread.

I have had a lot of trouble going to sleep lately.  Just as I settle and find a comfy spot, my brain engages.  I think about the stories I am writing right now.  I think of where they are going and how I am going to bring them to that spot.  How does one just turn off one's brain?  Just as I relax, I have to get up and go to the bathroom. Sigh!

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day!  The sun is shining, the sky is blue, a bit of wind.  According to the weather guy, this evening the wind will shift from the north.  This will herald in our newest cold front from the artic.  UGH!  I hate cold.  It could be just like today forever.  Tomorrow the temp is supposed to plummet.  Then snow/freezing rain/and or ice will move in.  UGH!  That is why I am preparing everything today for the event.

I don't know what I will knit next.  I finally put a pair of socks on the needles.  I also started a zigzag afghan.  It is one of those ten stitch patterns.  Both are quite simple to do, and I am up for something for a challenge.  I just don't know what.

I am almost finished spinning the second bobbin of orange mutli merino, and then I will ply that.  I think it is quite pretty.  Unspun the orange is rather dominant.  Blended in while spinning, it is not as prominent.  Yes, it is orange, but more of an earthy, Fall leaves kind of orange.  I like it a lot.

Patty is snoring right next to me.  Poor little thing.  She is so confused why I am so active.  She has to be right under my feet at all times, and it does discombobulate her teeny brain.  She is happy most of the time and doesn't seem to be in any kind of distress most of the time.  I can be thankful for that.

So back to work.  It has been a good sit down and a bit of a rest.  I have some things I want to do before lunch.  Whew!  I don't know where the energy came from, but I am taking advantage of it.

Keep safe, keep warm, and stay off the roads on Monday morning.  Next time.

Yes! January Is Back!

 

My first finished project for the year 2015.  It is handspun merino.  I loved the colorway and I chose to knit it in a simple feather and fan pattern that would not take any thinking on my part.  I found this patch of moss and the green in the yarn matched the moss exactly.  I thought while knitting it that it reminded me of a forest floor.  The moss just confirmed my intuition.

January started out bitter cold and windy.  We suddenly had a very brief four days of sunshine and warmth.  It was a great respite from the usual gray, gloomy, cold days.  For some unusual reason we have not had any rain or frozen anything for a week.  I am so happy for that.  Patty hasn't been complaining either. Today it is overcast and cold again.

I am on the first sleeve of the simple yoke cardigan sweater.  I really haven't been pushing too hard. It will really be lovely when finished.  It is a yellow red, not the blue red.  I like the color on me.   I have to say I prefer to knit a top-down raglan than a bottom-up raglan.  I like to try it on and see how it going.  I find that it works better than measuring the knitting.

I have slowed my spinning down tremendously since I am not going to do any shows this year.  I want to knit up what I have and go from there.  I do have the orange mix divided out and ready to go. On the e-spinner I have some plain old white BFL.  I am so happy I bought that thing.  It is more comfortable to sit in a comfy chair and just spin away while I am watching Netflix.  I am finding that as I sit in a chair and spin on the treadle wheel, my hips hurt more.  I have to get up and move around.
Age is a bitch, I know.

My cousin DMP visited from Virginia for two days.  He and his sister were changing bank accounts in Oklahoma for the property they own there.  The bank said he had to come in person and sign the papers.  Evidently with homeland security breathing on everyone these days, they have to do this in person.  He wasn't happy that he had to take two days from work, but I think we had a great visit.  Usually when he visits in April, he is exhausted from working two days at the convention center.  This visit he didn't have that and we spent more time talking.

My friend CJE has been accepted to present her work at the gift shop at Crystal Bridges Museum.  She is also working on writing more.  She is taking an online class with Ann Hood, and this has gotten her going again. 

I had a talk and reading at the Fayetteville Library this month.  I had five people show up.  Three of them were friends, so that made it more comfortable.  I sold four books. 

I am also teaching myself rug hooking.  I know what I want to do, but I am antsy.  I don't quite have the skills to make it work, but I am trying hard.  I am also teaching myself punch needle embroidery. I like that a lot, too.

I also have a lot of creative ideas for some other projects.  I suddenly have more projects all over the place.  I guess that is why my spinning and knitting have slowed down.  I have discovered Pinterest, and I am busy hoarding photos for inspiration.

I also have plans to finish those two quilts that I started two years ago and never finished. 

So I better get busy and do some of this, I guess.  Have a good rest of the week.  Gibbs is on tonight.Yay!

It's The End-Again!

Although I don't think of the traditional Jan 1 as New Year's, it is the beginning of new things.  It is an Aries moon, a time of new beginnings, a time of turning things around, a time to reflect and change.

Since my last time to leave Patty at the boarding place, I knew that my adventures away from home would be coming to an end.  She is not doing so well; she has certainly showed me signs of a geriatric dog with special needs.  I notice them because of my education and training and the fact that I am with her all the time.  Her vision has decreased, her hearing has decreased, and her need to be with me has increased. 

So this whole month I have been thinking about what to do.  Partly thinking, anyway.  I have a tendency to put ideas in and let them stew for a while.  I have enjoyed my selfish knitting and my selfish spinning.  I don't feel the pressure to put out more and more.

I have also decided to teach myself a new skill-rug hooking.  I don't think the process is difficult-it's the practice, practice, practice kind of skill.  I like the type of hooking that looks as if it is painterly.  I like the mixing of colors and textures to add interest.  It is the color in the lines part I don't like.  We will see how it evolves. 

So this is just one more thing that is taking up my time.  Now add to that my sewing.  I bought a design wall and I have placed my quilt blocks from the quilt that was abandoned two years ago.  I did give a lot of fabric away to my SIL that quilts.  I cleaned off the shelves.  I did not sort through the flannels yet.  I also need to decide what to do with some other things in that room.  I have pillowcases to make, also.

So this is the end of the year 2014 by our traditional calendar.  Time to reflect and decide how things are going to go.

Thanks to all my friends and comrades that helped me along my path this year.  My book was published, book signings were done, fiber shows were done, and lots of stuff to consider. 

Several transitions have occurred and it is time to think about those people too. 

See you next year!

Christmas Day 2014

Yes, it is another Christmas.  Strangely I haven't been singing as many songs as I like to sing during the season.  This is the first year I haven't worn my Christmas pin.  And I didn't put up the Christmas tree this year.  Although all this sounds sad, I am not sad.  I just feel right. 

I went to CJE and AE's house yesterday to help clean out his mom's closet.  It was an archaeological dig and then some.  It is apparently going to take a few days of pulling things out, rather than a one day event.  CJE and I did not want to traumatize him and it was beginning to be apparent that he was saddened to see us take both cars loaded to Care and Share to drop off sacks of stuff.

I did bring home a sack of woolen clothing that could be made into fabric for rug hooking.  I left it out on the screened porch last night to freeze any critters.  I will sort it out there, wash them, and cut them into useable parts.

I just read an interesting idea for dyeing fabric that I want to try out.  It looked like fun and something to experiment with.

I began giving Patty a medicine "treat" that has chondroitin in it.  She just thinks it is a treat, and gobbles it down.  I am hoping this will help her hips and back knee joints.  She is having some difficulty with jumping.  She is more "spacey" lately and it is obvious she is thinking through the process of whatever task she is supposed to be doing.  The OT in me watches her and tries to think of creative ways to keep her independent.

I just heard honking and looked up.  Evidently my neighbor across the road has relatives coming.  Three cars pulled in behind each other and through her gate. 

I have been knitting on my sweater and have one more inch before the ribbing.  I have slogged through all the miles of stockinette, and relief is in sight.  I started knitting a feather/fan scarf with some of handspun yarn.  The colorway is so gorgeous.  It reminds me a forest floor with shadows, moss, and tiny flowers.  I will post a pic next time.

Today is a beautiful sunny day.  This has been the cloudiest and gloomiest weather month.  We have had drizzle, freezing rain, drizzle, and more drizzle.  Clouds every day.  I think I will wash something and hang on the line.  It was cold last night, but pleasant today.

I had Santa Claus when I got home last night.  Someone (I don't know who) sent me a new camera.  It isn't an expensive one, but nice.  It has more megapixels than the one I had.  I also got my package from Ryan and Holly.  She always finds the best little gifts.  I would rather get a sack of small gifts than one big one.  I donated money to a charity for them, and I sent them a few items in the mail.  I know that it is cheating to do that, but I like to think that they appreciate the idea of the donation.

I guess I jinxed the sky.  Clouds just covered up the sun.  Sigh!

I haven't been very faithful to this blog.  I think I need to reassess what I want to do about that.  I either have to close it or write more often.  I guess now that my book is published, I could write more here.  I just don't seem to "get around to it".

I also need to consider what to do with all the "stuff" I have lying around.  I need to finish some projects that have lingered too long in the unfinished line.

Instead of thinking about any of this, I think I will go and watch the birds.  I think this is a sit and stare out the window kind of day. 

More pictures next time.  Have a Merry Christmas!

Come On Spring!

This is the hardest part of the Spring awakening.  It is only March, and it is almost April.  Some daffodils are blooming.  So-why is it still so blasted cold?  Then I try to remember that the blasted cold of April is not the blasted cold of February.  My mind is not so plastic any more.  I want sunshine, flowers, and warmth.  Sigh!

I have finally returned to the Starry Sky sweater from Medieval-Inspired Knits.  I cut the armhole steeks and now will graft the shoulders.  Then arms added.  I am so slow knitting this.  I am trying to not beat myself over the head for being so slow.  It is a very complicated pattern, and I am so OCD about making sure I do everything correctly. 

When my friend passed away, I had so much on my plate to clean out his house, put things in storage, sort maps that were in a file cabinet and now are in sacks, and just dealing with legal matters.  Now that my part is complete (except sorting maps), I can return to my normal knitting routine.

I am knitting on a pair of socks for a customer, but otherwise, no knitting in this house.  I found a new website called Creative Bug.  There are a lot of classes that I want to take there.  The prices are more reasonable than Craftsy.  So yesterday I sat down with Brandon Mobley and learned how to do his magic-ball trick.  My selection of yarns wasn't as exciting as his.  Duh!  I do like the idea he conveyed.  Not difficult to do, just a little tedious.  It is a way to control the colorways that one can't control with Noro or Freia yarns.

I have not been a very spinnery mood lately.  I finally decided to take a skein of my yarn that was not attracting anyone's attention.  I am replying it, and I am thinking of dyeing it another color.  I am famous for overdyeing something.   I have always told folks, "If you don't like the color, dye it another color." 

This is a horrible snapshot of the pastel cardinal I have been watching for a coupla months.  This is the first time she has been so close.  I know the screening distorts it, but I wanted to prove she is still around.  Where the brown should be, it is a pale beige color.  Her red parts are salmon pink.  I call her Blondie.  I notice that she is still not accepted by the others.I guess that catches us up.  Our Mirkwood group had its Meat Fest on Saturday.  Of course, it had to rain, but Parker and others still started a bonfire for all the kids.

Have a good week.  Do the Happy Spring Dance and maybe it will get warm sooner.

Whew! We are almost to Spring!

We have some delightful days of warmer weather.  When the cold comes, it doesn't stay as long.  When it is supposed to snow, it doesn't last as long.  Yes, I remember that last year it snowed in May.

I have been piddling along on the medieval sweater.  I really haven't done much knitting at all.  I don't know why, I am just tired of it at the moment.

I haven't really been spinning, either.  I finished the pink yarn, and that was it.  Done for a while.

What have I been doing?  Writing.  I submitted a manuscript to a publishing company, and it was accepted.  So began the long and tedious editing part.  We are really close now.  The cover art is almost done.  I have two folks who have agreed to endorse the book.  And then the fun really begins.

So when time comes, I will be sure to let everyone know what is happening.  I am not looking forward to the marketing part, but it is part of the package deal.  Sigh!

I have also been extremely busy cleaning out my friend's home that is a total mess.  He died in January, the attorney/executor hasn't filed the estate, and it is a crazy mixed up mess.  The owner of the cabin is also a friend of mine, and he has been reaching out to me to help.  So for three awful days I got to help box and sort and get everything in storage.  And the house was a total filthy awful place.  I half expected that a t.v. show would be filming this for Hoarders.  I am almost done with the things that are in my home.  Friends are going to sort the maps tomorrow.  All seven sacks of them!

So I have created a new website, and I hopefully have this blog connected to it.  This is my first experiment to see.  It wears me out mentally to spend so much time trying to figure things out.  I am exhausted.

My friend CJE's mother is in the hospital again.  She has pneumonia, but the medication they are given her causes her blood sugars to soar to unbelievable heights.  I told her today her mother may have a stroke with the blood sugars so high. 

Otherwise, I am still trying to enjoy the sun when we have it.  Today is overcast, but warm.  We are supposed to have gobs of rain tonight, and a cold front will turn it to snow tomorrow.  We will see.
I am not going to get too excited.

So I am going to close now and see if this posts on my new website.  Crazy, huh?

Finished Just In Time For Spring

This is Mr. Greenjeans from Knitty.com.  It is merino roving with some alpaca added in for more softness and airiness.  It is really a deep burgundy color.  There is black and other colors added to darken the color.  It was a top down raglan shaped shoulder.  I made the sleeves three-quarter for my own personal choice.  It was an easy pattern.  It just took me longer to make it because of the craziness in my life this winter.

It feels like I lost two months or more of my life this winter with GO's illness and death.  I am still moving along on the other sweater.  I am now shaping the back neckline.  About three more rows on that.  Then put the shoulder stitches on holders.  Then finally I can cut the steek on the armhole and start the arms.  Yeah!  So, yes, moving along.

I finished the pretty pink yarn.  I will wind the final bobbin on the skein holder and then wash and block that and be done.  It was a joy to spin.  BFL and silk are two of my favs.

We got another cold spell with ice, sleet and snow.  I am so ready for this to be over and done.  I am ready for Spring.  I have begun digging up the front flower bed and trying to get grass out of it.  It is a chore that I don't like.

This past weekend we began the dirty, nasty, odious chore of cleaning out GO's cabin.  I am now aware that I really didn't know him at all.  He was very secretive, and even though I have know him  for twenty-five years, I still am amazed at the hording and clutter and mess.  I don't think he ever cleaned.

So now I am down to one knitting project.  A customer in Little Rock wants some red socks.  I have ordered some yarn, but nothing else planned.  I guess I should just concentrate on the medieval sweater and get it done.  Soon I will not be interested in knitting as much, and I would like that sweater finished.

CJE has two sick mamas in her house.  H is feverish, dehydrated, and not eating.  She thinks she has won the lottery.  C started with a sore throat and is now having a respiratory infection.  I don't know how she does it.

So now I will go open the front blinds and knit on my hard sweater.  I use my insulated blinds when it is really cold.  Which it is right now.

Keep warm.  Keep going.  Winter does have to end sometime, doesn't it?

Blogger is not happy!

I am not sure if this will post.  It seems Blogger is unhappy.  Poor thing.  Too much work for a silly program to handle, I guess.

We have had a miraculous warm up that makes me happy.  I have been working in the yard doing all sorts of Spring cleaning.  I have the weedeater running, and I trimmed the holly bushes/trees.  That was a hard job that took three days.  It only takes me three days because I am old and have to rest more than I used to.

I also made a monumental decision to dig out the front flower bed and start over.  My friend that passed away had a certain garden tradition.  He always, always dug a huge, huge hole.  He would sift and sift and stir around the dirt and play in the dirt for a long while.  Then he would decide what had to be planted and get on with that chore.  This is my modified version of that. 

As I mentioned I am getting old.  I have to rest.  I am doing the digging by hand, not machine.  I am tired of my annual digging out the Johnson grass.  It seems to flourish more when I thin it out.  So this year I thought, "Why are you doing this year after year?"  So the smart thing is dig out the bed and start over.  UGHHH!

I did beg for help from a friend that is in his 50's that does yard work for a friend of mine.  He is supposed to come on Tuesday.  Of course, the weather man says we have a chance of rain.  We will see.  I may have a swimming pool.

I am puttering around with the knitting.  I made a decision to quit the baby blanket and mail it on.  So I got ambitious and finished the red sweater up to the knitted band around the front and neck.  I have it cast on, just not finished.  I have done two or three rows on the medieval sweater.  That's it. 

I finished one skein of pretty pink merino/tussah silk.  The other bump sat languishing for a few days.  Today I divided it out and I almost finished the first bobbin of that.  So soon I will have a lovely batch of pink/green yarn.

Not a lot to say.  It's almost always the same thing every day.  I am most grateful and appreciative for the warm up this week.  I know the rest of the mid states and the eastern seaboard are covered.  We are to get a cold front tomorrow that will bring us to the mid 40's again.  Sigh!  A sample of Spring to come I guess. 

Soon it will be March.  Hard to believe.  Once we get through March, the weather is usually more forgiving.  Of course, we have no idea what this winter will be doing.  I almost think we will have snow in March.  We had it in May of last year.  The first time ever recorded.  Crazy stuff.

My niece is due to have her baby any minute now.  I am anxious for her to move along and start the next phase.  She is never one to wait around and be patient, so these last few weeks have been misery for her.  She can't sleep, she is uncomfortable, etc.  We've all been there.

That's about all.  I took the critters for their yearly check ups and shots.  Patty has lost more weight and is at a good place now.  I just have to maintain it.  They are both doing well for older pets.  They rest a lot, too.

Have a great rest of the weekend.  Enjoy the sunshine when it comes your way.  It's so wonderful!