Say It With Me.....95.......9..5......

Yes, dear friends, today it was 95 degrees in Minneapolis. And though we are 3 hours north, we had 88 degrees. The weather guy said Mpls. hasn't seen this temp on this date since 1897! Holy crap! It is waayy to early for this kind of heat! The humidity is about 70. More to come tomorrow.

I came home from work today to find all the windows still open (I am an optimist), the fans still going on "low" and the A/C not ON!! BH has been home all day - most of the time in the house. What is WRONG with him??!! I proceeded to shut the windows, turn the fans up high and power on the A/C. We still have one more air conditioner to put in the window in the family room. Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. Would have done it today, but he was so tired (from the heat, no doubt) and we had grocery shopping to do. A LOT of grocery shopping. Son, his friend and our grandson are coming up Friday night for a weekend of fishing. We also have to pick up daughter as she wants to come home for the weekend, too.

This means lots of cooking, baking and BBQing. I sure hope the weather cools down a lot by Friday! Geezzz.

How's the Spring cleaning going, you ask. Glad you asked. I did manage to get the 2 ceilings painted and the dining room carpet shampooed. And the shades ironed and put back on the windows --- since last Tuesday(?). Then it all came to a screaching halt.

I don't know what is going on with BH, but I can't get anything done. I love to work around the house in the evening. This is my favorite time. But I'm hearing "you're not doing any more tonight?" "that's enough for today; you've done enough" "you're doing too much". Aarrgghhh. I want to get this done! Cleaning is low on my totem pole and when I'm in the mood, I want to keep at it til it's done!! I have other important (fun) things I want to do with my free time!

Now we'll have company for the weekend. No big whoop. We're going to be swamped at work, too. But I swear, come Tuesday night and Wednesday and Thursday, nobody better get in my way!

We still don't have the pool up yet. Yeah, can you imagine. Hot, humid temps for the past 4 days ----- no pool! The water would've felt like bath water by now!

Of course, with all this humidity and the thunderstorms we had yesterday, the grass needs to be cut again --- and weedwhacking too. Good grief!

Oh yeah. The shawl I've been working on. I finished up 1 ball of yarn, got about 8". I have 4 balls of yarn totaling about 13 ounces. You guessed it. Not going to be enough. This will be ripped out when I am in a more peaceful state. As of now, I took another ball and started over again. Less stitches so it won't be soooo wide; bigger needles. After I finish this ball, if it still doesn't figure out right, I'm chucking the whole thing. By that time, I should be able to get back to spinning. And no, I did not finish the sock yet, either. Right now I'm tempted to put all the knitting away until Fall. When it's cool. And my house is all clean and organized. And BH will be watching the World Series in the evenings.

Sounds like a plan!

Back At It.......

This has been a wonderful 4 days. I have gotten so much accomplished, I amaze even myself!

Went back to work today. It was great having a few days off after getting home from NY.

Got the yardwork done. Scrubbed down the dining room yesterday; did the kitchen ceiling tonight. Tomorrow I can paint both ceilings. Get the screens and windows washed; wash all the katchkis and finish cleaning the kitchen. BH cleaned the fans for me tonight. He's soooo good.

Today we were in the 80's!! Holy cow --- I think we better get the pool up very soon and get the air conditioners set up. What beautiful weather.

While I'm wading in gallons of Spic and Span with a spritz of 409, I'm daydreaming of the time to come when I can finally get back to spinning! I dream of my days off, evenings, BH gone fishing for the whole day ---and I can spin to my heart's content! I think this gives me the extra zap of energy to keep pushing to get this tedious housework done.

I have been knitting, though. I manage to get about an hour every morning before the routine of the day begins. I did start that shawl before we left for our trip. Nice easy pattern; 4 pattern rows. Nothing I haven't done before. I've knitted many sweaters with hardly any trouble. What could go wrong, right?

HAH! I ripped the damn thing out 6 ----yes, 6 times. Then I decided, ok, maybe this isn't the "mindless" knitting I thought it would be. Went to the stitch book, picked out another pattern. Ah, the Trinity stitch. I've done that many times. It's easy!

HAH! Somehow, my bobbles weren't staggered as they were supposed to be; kept lining up on top of each other! Riippppp. Again. Rrriiippp. Again. Rrriippp.
Switched to bigger needles; switched to circular needles. Finally! I now have about 2 1/2 inches knitted. All the while, the second red sock is sitting on the table and I can hear " you should've finished me first. I'm almost done; 2 more rows and then the toe. You could've had another pair of socks done. But Noooo. You had to start something new!"

I really, really need to get back to spinning!

There's No Place Like Home..............

Hello, one and all! There truly is no place like home. I can't tell you how many times I clicked my heels together.....

Our visit was not as long as we had thought it would be. Found out that my dad had no appointments after that Friday. The Doctor had put a hold on everything until Pop goes for a CAT scan tomorrow.

But I did take Mom out on a couple of errands; to the salon, grocery shopping. We could only spend the morning and early afternoon with them; then it was nap time and my dad was worn out. We didn't see them much in the evenings.

We stayed at my sister's house, which is about 25 minutes from my parents'. We felt very comfortable, but it's not home. You still feel that you're putting people out.

And our son was very happy to see us. But then again, he didn't know we were coming until the last minute, so he couldn't arrange to get time off from work. And our daughter-in-law works full time days, waitresses on the weekends and goes to college week nights. So..... Did see the grandsons a few times.

My hip finally, finally felt much better by last Saturday. I was taking ibuprophen as often as I could while driving to NY and for a couple days after we arrived.

So we told the family on Tuesday that we were leaving the next day. No body seemed all that disappointed, which was a good thing. We got home Thursday evening. It rained all the way home, but that was nice, too.

Then it started......

Messages on the phone. 2 from the brother of our friend who is now in a nursing home. He wanted us to bring her storage containers to her apartment because his family was coming up Saturday to clean out her place. We are 4 containers short because she had told us to go ahead and use them, give them to the kids, whoever needed them. Yikes!! Oh great!

Trip to Walmart on Friday to buy containers. (Walmart is an hour away from home ----- and we just drove 1200 miles in a day and a half!) Well, then, we might as well go grocery shopping on the way home ----- after we drop off the containers at her apartment.

Saturday was a beautiful day! I have not called into work yet to tell them I'm back. I really need this weekend to catch up on everything. Cleaned the house; weedwacked the areas outside. Decided I would clean the flower beds and bring out all the yard ornaments on Sunday. Which is what I did today; another gorgeous day!

Mountains of laundry; pay the bills; file daughter's paperwork. Called work this afternoon to let them know I'll be coming in tomorrow.

Tomorrow.......fans need to be cleaned; air conditioners set up (we're supposed to be in the high 80's by next weekend). Windows need to be washed outside.

And BH is going to putty, scrape and paint the living room and utility room windows outside, but I said I could get at it. He's still working on getting the grass cut - tomorrow will be 3 days he's been mowing!

Then I really have to get the kitchen and dining room ceilings washed and painted; clean kitchen cupboards, wash down the walls.

Shooting to set up the pool either next weekend or the weekend after. We're not quite sure if we're going to move it to the other side of the house or set it up in the usual spot.

I still haven't been able to find the sheets I want to make the dining room curtains. Walmart is revamping the stores. Supposed to be done in a couple of weeks. Good. Because you can't find a damn thing! And the stock is here one week, gone the next. I know exactly what I want; they just never have enough of them in stock at one time! Geezz. Work with me, people!!

Then I think we'll be done for the most part. The living room needs to be painted, but I don't care if I get it done now or in the Fall. Oops, except I do need to shampoo the furniture. Damn. Ok, I'll get that done. Might as well wash the blinds and curtains while I'm at it. Crap. Might as well shampoo the carpet, too.

Ahhhh, there's no place like home!!

Leaving on a Road Trip......

Well, we're 90% packed and leaving tomorrow morning for NY. BH says 5:00am, I say 6am. We'll see.

House is cleaned and our bedroom finally put back together, laundry done, fridge cleaned out, bills paid, children notified.

My hip is still kind of wonky; still on ibuprofen. It helps A LOT! Funny, though, it doesn't seem to bother me when I'm driving. Just getting in and out of the car. That's a good thing.

I have 3 more rows on the second red sock before starting the toe decrease. But I know I need more knitting than that to take with me. So I started a shawl this morning. A simple pattern. I need mindless knitting for traveling. It has only 4 pattern rows. Easy enough, eh?

Mind you, I did try a triangular lacy pattern shawl. Ripped it 3 times before I realized this might not be the time to start that. I love the pattern, just couldn't get my head around the increases; kept winding up with one stitch too short! Aarrgghhh.

Oh well. I really wanted to knit that pattern for my future daughter-in-law as a wedding gift. I plan on spinning white merino with irridescent firestar glitz and pearl beads, 2-ply, fingering weight. I envision it will be beautiful! I will need to get started on the spinning soon! Thank God there's no wedding date yet. Son is dragging his feet. Don't know why. They've been together now for almost 5 years! Geezz, I don't think there's too much more you could know of a person that you don't already! I think I've gotta have a talk with him very soon.

Hope you all have a very productive, happy 2 weeks. I shall return.

A Little Help Here, Please...........

**I did call into work to say I wouldn't be coming in today. Twisted my hip out again. Everything is cool.

**Spent yesterday on the recliner. However, at 9:00am, a commercial is on tv; a car commercial about auto parts. "Holy Crap"! I yelled to BH. "We have to get the car up to the shop for an oil change by 10:30"! Now you know we have to take both vehicles so we can come home together. "I'll drive the van; easier to get in and out of than the car" says me.

Back home; on the recliner; pop 2 ibuprofen; get out the heating pad; have a cup of coffee and a couple of cookies; fall asleep.

**Wake up at 12:30pm. Really? I thought it was about 3:00. Crap. Fall back asleep until said 3:00pm. Another cup of stale coffee. Still in pain. "Let's do the bills" I say to BH. We get those done; "you're going to mail them tomorrow, right?" says he. "NO, I Want To Mail Them Today!" Geez, what is it with men?! And we now have to go back to the garage and pick up the car.

"I'll drive the van" says BH. "I'll drive" (me).
(BH): "But you're going to the store, right?"
(Me): "Yeah, buy you can just drive the van back home.....never mind. You drive the van."
(BH): "I'll mail the bills on the way home"
A little background here: BH is in his ratty, stained, wholely sweat pants which he does not want to change into his jeans to get the car. Hence, he wants to drop me off and leave. I, too, am in wholely, paint-marked sweatpants, but I don't give a crap!

We proceed to get into the van; me on the passenger side --- my right hip is the one I can barely move. I have to step up about 18" to get into the van ---- Get the picture?! I have to twist my body to slide into the seat.

(Me): "Ohhh, this is not good. I have to twist my hip to get into the seat. Ow, ow, ow, shit"
(BH): "Why didn't you tell me that's why you wanted to drive the van?"

Right about now, I'm mentally recalling CSI episodes in which a spouse is murdered without any immediate evidence acknowledged.

Got the car; got into the car, which feels like getting into a Corvette at this moment; went to the store and home. 2 more ibuprofen and on the recliner. BH does dinner -- Hungry Man dinners. Easy enough.

Talked to my son's fiance last night; wished her Happy Birthday. Told her about my hip and my medical capabilities. She tells me to apply ice. Heat makes it feel better, but the ice reduces the swelling. OK! I'll do it! Did it. And it does feel much much better! Thank you, Keri! (she's in school for nursing).

Well, it does feel better today. Not wonderful. Just better. I told BH I think I'll get back to putting our bedroom back together. He said "NO". "OK, but I'll do it tonight". "Fine" he says. That's the plan.

I managed to get the room painted Wednesday. We had to move a dresser into the hallway; remove the drawers from both dressers. They have been sitting on the floor and sofa in the family room for 2 days now. Curtains and blinds are still sitting in the spare room; carpet still needs shampooing before we can put all the furniture back in the bedroom.

I still have to get the rest of the house cleaned, tons of laundry to do, get to Walmart to get a new cell phone; drop off daughter's summer clothes to her and get some groceries in the house before we leave for NY. Oh, and packing to be done.

I hope all this doesn't come back to bite me in the arse -- besides my hip!

Thank you, Judy, for your well wishes!

I'm Really Too Old for This.......

Spring cleaning.......I'm getting too old!! I did it again. Threw my hip out. Every year. I don't know how it happens; I try to be careful as I'm pushing dressers, armoires and beds around a 9x12 room. Picking up and moving smaller pieces of furniture and paraphenalia to another room; stretching and turning to wash down the ceiling and walls and painting. I should use the step stool; oh, I can reach the ceiling ok (with my arms stretched as far as they can over my head). Something is out of reach; I won't move closer to the item, I'll just twist my torso and stretch to reach it---Yikes! that hurt.

How the hell did I throw my hip out again, I wonder. It's my own dumb fault!

The bad part is, today I still have to shampoo the carpet in said room and rearrange the furniture(thank God for BH), hang the blinds and curtains and put all the embellishments up on the walls.

There was a time, not too long ago, when I could have a room done in a day and a half. Didn't matter what room or how much had to be done to it. Crype, I could have my whole house Spring cleaned in 2 weeks. That included washing all walls and ceilings, painting, wallpapering, sewing new curtains, and moving all the furniture by myself!

Now it takes me 3 days to do one room! 3 days! This is a big chunk of my ever decreasing life span. Days I could and should really, be doing things more to my liking, more to my enjoyment. Don'tcha think?

Well, at least half the house is now done. The kitchen, dining room and family room will have to wait until we get back from NY.

Oh geez, and there's still the outside work to be done. I also threw my hip out last year after raking leaves out of my junipers. Once again, twisting my body with the rake. That was bad. Took about 2 weeks to get better. You'd think I would've learned by now, right? This must be another sign I'm getting too old to do this stuff - loss of memory of the consequences!

I'm not a sedentary person. I clean hotel rooms, for God's sake. All that bending, stretching, walking, pushing - I should be in shape for a little housecleaning! Crap!

It's supposed to rain for the next 3 or 4 days. Oh that'll really help. The grass will be 10" high when I get around to weedwhacking. (sigh).

I've been knitting. Trying to finish the second red sock. Got past the heel; working on the instep. No spinning. (sigh).

BH has all his work done outside. All the wood cut, split and stacked for next year -- well until Fall. He won't go into the woods now because of the ticks and soon to follow mosquitos. He has the yard all raked and cleaned up, storage shed cleaned and re-organized and all his fishing gear cleaned, organized, reels have been re-lined. Fishing season starts in 3 weeks. Bass fishing. I can't wait!

I don't fish. But I do love it when he's out of the house at 5:00am and gone until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Especially on my days off. Especially. I can putter. I love to putter. In my gardens; in my house. Things that are not on the everyday list of "needs to be done - today".

Ah, someday. An apartment. That's the key.

I'm Still Here.......

I haven't forgotten about the blog. I thought about it every day. Just been so busy around here. Spring cleaning you know. Yes. Spring. Cleaning. I know. I can't believe it myself! There's only so much dust and grime I can take. I do have my limits.

The weather has been beautiful; warm and sunny. Really boosts my energy level. Got the spare bedroom done; the hallway and linen closet; the bathroom and now moving on to our bedroom. Closets are cleaned out; winter clothes stored; summer ones put in the drawers. Now I have to wash the walls and ceiling, the blinds, curtains and bedding and paint the room.

I want to get at least this much done before we head back to NY to visit my dad.

Then I can tackle the kitchen, dining room and family room.

The flower beds need to be cleaned up and mulched; weed whacking is at a "needs to be done now" status. Luckily it's raining this weekend! I can't think about that right now; I'll think about it tomorrow; afterall.......tomorrow is........another day!

And.... hold on to your bobbins.......I've also been spinning and knitting! "Impossible" you say; "no way"; "not this gal" ? Well.......

Yep! Pretty good, huh? The brown cabled socks; the blue/glitz 3 ply (I have 4 full bobbins) and the red/glitz 2ply which is another pair of socks in the crocodile pattern, one finished; the other half done. Sorry the pictures aren't terrific, but I was in a hurry to get them posted. You won't believe this...or maybe you will....this is the third time I've written this post with the pictures. Tried twice yesterday; ran out of time; couldn't get the draft to show up as a continuing post, yadayadayada. Deleted the whole damn thing and started over.

Well now that the wheel is warmed up and the needles are smokin', I think I'm going back at it. It's 5:30 am; I have an hour and half to kill. I've been getting up at 5:00am these past few mornings; don't know why; except that I get into this early rising mode every Spring and Summer. I love getting up early. By myself. Peaceful. Quiet. I get things done. If I'm quiet. Fishing season starts in a few weeks. BH will be getting up early, getting out on the lake. Then I can really get things done! Peacefully. Quietly. By myself.