skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Wishing everyone a very Happy, Bless`ed Easter!
Well, I know ours will certainly be. For the first time in over 25 years since BH and I have been together, and over 40+ years since I've had my own family, we will be spending our day tomorrow out and about and possibly stopping for dinner somewhere. (Are there even restaurants open on Easter Sunday? For other than brunch? I don't know! Never had the opportunity.)
We are soooo looking forward to a holiday to do whatever we want. I am soooo looking forward to....no cooking, baking, dishes, cleaning and entertaining. I'm giddy with excitement!
After last year, when only one son showed up for dinner, and I had prepared a huge ham with all the trimmings and pineapple-upside-down cake for dessert, we said "never again". We are through with this. We're spending the day the way we want.
But, all is not forsaken. Today I have a boneless pork loin in the crockpot (it will be glazed with a diluted plum jelly mixture for the last hour, in the oven to crisp it up); then there'll be mashed potatoes, peas, and ambrosia salad. Of course, pineapple-upside-down cake with whipped cream for dessert. For just the 2 of us. And an Easter basket made up tonight for BH!
It's kind of sad, in a way, to reflect on years passed. When the grandchildren were small; everyone would be coming up from the Cities for a day or two; BH and I would have a ball hiding the plastic eggs outside, each with a dollar bill inside. (of course the 4 grandkids were advised that they could only claim 6 eggs each; when they found their 6, they could help someone else find theirs.) One year the eggs had to be hidden in the snow!!
And, of course, the big dinner, most prepared the night before. Everyone having a grand time. But now the kids are teenagers, parents have to work on Monday and the 3 hour drive up here doesn't seem so appealing. C'est le vie.
So tomorrow we will take off in the morning....hit the casino for a few hours......take a leisurely ride somewhere......maybe stop for dinner. But if nothing is open, we can come home for leftovers, put our pajamas on, watch a movie or 2, have some dessert and relax.
The snow is melting ever so slooowwly. Daytime temps are warming up likewise. Wish it would happen a little quicker!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Good news...well, actually great news! My parents' house has finally sold. We will be getting our share of the sale within the next few days. That means BH and I will be putting our house up for sale this summer instead of next (2014) and moving to the apartment by this Fall!!
I am sooooo happy I can hardly think straight. BH and I were just talking about this earlier in the week. He seemed to believe that we wouldn't have enough of our bills cleared up or payed down enough to make the move possible this year. Plus the time element. We have a sh*t load of cleaning up, throwing out, fixing up to get done.
Well I'm telling you.....you ain't never seen a whirlwind like what's going to happen come Spring!! Who knows.....I may even lose all the weight I gained since being retired!
Soooo.....we were crunching the numbers again earlier, and I told him that moving this year is totally doable. Yeah, we might be rubbing nickles together at the end of the month, but it's nothing we haven't been doing for the past 25 years! At least we'll be where we want to be and life will be more comfortable and easier for him.....which is my main goal. No more logging, chopping, stacking wood for the year; no more climbing on the roof to clean out the stove pipes; no more 8 hours of cutting grass every time; no more being unable to travel anywhere in the winter because we need to keep the house warm; no more taking "shifts" at night when the temps are 20 below zero to make sure the water pipes don't freeze; no more repairs and maintenance on the house.....which usually requires hiring someone....and paying!
OMG!!! Now, if only the weather would co-operate so we can get on the fast track. But no. Another snow storm coming in this weekend....another 6" - 8" hitting the ground. We just had 6" last weekend. And then, the weatherman has the balls to say it looks like Tuesday through Friday will be good, with another fairly large storm coming in NEXT weekend! And to rub salt into the wound.....it was 39 degrees during the day Wednesday and Thursday, with some good snow melting. Aaarrrrrggghhhh.
Ok, so the bad news......I'll probably have to suspend all spinning and knitting in another month. No time. And maybe won't be able to pick it up again until next Fall. This makes me very sad. I'll try to keep a small project on the needles in case there's a few minutes here and there.
The other bad news....and this is bad.....to me, anyway. So, I started knitting another vest with the alpaca/Shetland plied yarn Wednesday night. It looked really good. More knitting yesterday and last night. All of a sudden I feel like......yep.......a hairball in my throat. My eyes are itching and watering; my nose is dripping and feels stuffy; and I'm "aaackkking" and coughing....trying to bring up that hairball.
Are you serious??!!! I'm allergic to Alpaca??!!! I'm not allergic to anything! How can this be??!! Now I'm really bummed.
So, I think I will rip out the vest and use the yarn for smaller projects. A hat and mitts. Or....hat S and mitts S. While wearing a face mask.
A little good.......a little bad. Keeps life interesting and prevents me from getting too pleased with myself!
So....I finally got the nerve to start ripping the blue sweater neckline and sleeves. Ugghhh. I never could've imagined what a job this would be. What's the problem, right? Just find the end of the yarn, pull out the weaved end, untie the knot and.....pull, right? Not so much.
First I couldn't remember - did I knit the sleeves from the top/down or visa versa? Did I knit them in the round or flat? Well, there was no seam upon examination, so "in the round". Pretty sure I knitted them from the bottom up because of the patterning. Good. Start ripping out the ribbing. Not going too well. Have to undo it stitch by stitch, no ripping. After almost a row, I start investigating more. Ahhhh.....I'm trying to rip out at the cast- on row. That doesn't work. Find where the tweed of the sleeve meets the solid cuff. There ya go. Unweave, untie and start separating one from the other. Good. Cuff is off. Now start ripping the sleeve.
No way, Jose`! Because....both solid and tweed yarns were used alternately; because it's a "waffle" pattern, not stockinette, it does not rip. No. No. It has to be done stitch by stitch. Sometimes I can pull out 3 or 4 stitches before there's a glitch and a dozen more have to be worked stitch by stitch.
Well, after 3 days on the first sleeve, it was finished this morning, cuff knitted back on. Oh, and the sleeve stitches had to be decreased so the cuff wasn't sooo wide.
Now the second sleeve is being ripped. Because I know kind of what to expect, it's going a little faster. A little. Very little. So 3 days from now, the alterations should be done. And I can move on to making the pockets. Then....in about 2 weeks from now......(hehehehehe) the sweater should be totally done!!
My own fault. I really wanted to try developing my own pattern. So, all in all, I guess it really worked out ok. I do like the sweater; I like the feel of it, the stitch pattern and the color. I know I need more practice on intarsia(?) where sleeves are concerned. But I'm not unhappy with it.
So here's what has to be done. The marking at the neck is where the 14 stitches had to be dropped down 5 or 6 rows (still can't figure out how that happened!), but it is done and the collar is reknitted and finished; it worked out very well. So I marked where the sleeves have to be shortened.
And, hopefully, pictures will be posted when all is said and done. I do know that I will be much more careful in the future.....and try to refrain from making "gorilla" sleeves. Which seems to be my downfall.
But....hey......the zipper went in "like butter"!!
And the wine colored vest is done. done. done. Buttons were sewn on yesterday. I found beautiful lavendar colored ones in my button box. And "bonus!!".....smaller ones to sew on the inside as anchor buttons, shown in the last photo. I love this vest. Spinning more wool....a grey tweedy, bulky for another one!
Well, I'm going back to ripping it up....down.....out.....whatever. My neck is killing me!
Oh, just a side note....we got 10" of snow between Monday night and all day yesterday. Poor BH....shoveling for the 3rd time. Yikes.
This is BH's favorite expression to me when things are going crazy. It makes me want to punch him in the face. But instead, my response to him is "yeah, like a kidney stone" (of which I've had one experience). Another little gem he likes to verbalize is: "it's almost over; everything will be ok; it's almost over". My response? "ya know, that's what they kept telling me in the Labor room". Makes me want to punch somebody in the face.
Can you tell this isn't going to be a great day? My insides are all a-jumble. I try to stay calm and positive. It works for only a few minutes.
Ok, so there are some good things this past week. I finished the wine colored vest, washed and blocked it yesterday. It looks great! Hope to get pictures posted as soon as it's dry and the buttons are sewn on.
I finished spinning the alpaca......thank you for the "spritz with water and conditioner solution" idea. It worked like a charm! So now I'm plying the alpaca with Jacob and the oatmeal colored wool. Looking good! Love the color. Hope I'll get enough yarn to do another vest; I'm on the 4th plying bobbin.
Right now, I'm working on the blue cardigan that needed to be fixed. Ripped out the collar, had to drop down 5 or 6 rows for about 14 stitches at the top of the left side panel. Figured that out and now re-knitting the collar. Then the sleeves have to be shortened about 7 pattern repeats! Thank goodness a repeat is 4 rows. So the underside stitching needs to be undone, the cuffs ripped out, and then rip the pattern stitches back; reknit the cuffs. And this sweater definitely needs pockets. So the pockets will be knitted and added to the front panels. Then I think this sweater will be done! Geezzzz.
I've been getting anxious to do some dyeing. I'm thinking of getting all the equipment together today. It's in the old farm (storage) house. If I bring it over here today, the dyes, mordants and bottles should be thawed out in a couple of days. Geezzz. I've been seeing some beautiful colors from other bloggers. And I have a ton of white roving. Can't wait!
I'm trying to figure out a good time to start Spring cleaning. The problem is, I also want to do some painting, put up new wallpaper. Can't paint yet because BH has to connect the hose to the spiquet outside. It's still winter. The hose is in the basement of the old farm (storage) house......frozen. And it ain't gonna thaw out sitting outside. I need the hose to wash up the paint rollers, tray and brushes. We do not have a utility sink in the house.
We also have big plans for our Yard Sale to be held Memorial Day weekend. While most of the stuff is ready and organized, there is still quite a lot that has to be rounded up, cleaned up and gotten ready. Not to mention there is still a ton of stuff that needs to be bagged and thrown out. Can't do that for a few weeks yet. Because it's all in the old farm (storage) house. And it's freezing over there.
So, the yard sale needs to take priority. Cleaning may have to wait til later in the summer.....or maybe the Fall. This all needs to be done because we are planning on selling our home next Spring and moving to a 55+ retirement community.....apartment. There is soooo much to do around here to get ready, we know we need to spend as much time this Spring and Summer getting it done.
I spun the Jacob wool on my Ashford Traditional wheel. The same wheel is being used for the plying. I notice that the wheel, itself, is a bit wobbly.
I've tightened screws, changed the drive band, moved it to another whorl, moved it back. Nothing. Maybe it's warped. We probably need to take the whole wheel apart and put it back together again. This is not something I'm enthused about, nor do I really want to get into. Ok. So the wheel is warped. It works. Ahhhh......but now there's a "squeak". Yeah. Another one. I don't know where it's coming from. I've oiled all the spots. It's not a constant squeak, just enough to make me want to bang my head against the wall.
So that makes 2 wheels that squeak. I need a break. "This too shall pass". Ppfffftttt.
Oh. My favorite expression? "Nothin's so bad that it can't be worse".
And that pretty much sums it all up. It keeps me from punching someone in the face.
I love reading all your blogs. I checked them out every morning. Sometimes afternoons and evenings.
And I love to send you comments. Everyone likes to know if other bloggers are following them, like to get positive feedback on their thoughts, their life, their crafts.
So, here's the rub....while commenting this morning on a bloggers beautiful pair of socks, I mistakenly called her by another's name. I like to use your name. It feels more personal. Some bloggers don't give their names in their profiles or at the end of a blog.
If I have referred to you by another's name, I sincerely apologize. It wasn't carelessness, really, just another "brain fart". I'm getting old; what can I say.
To prove my point.....I even call my own children by someone else's name. As they're standing right in front of me. Often. Very often. Always have since they've been small.
I will try to do better. Thank you for your understanding. My kids just shake their heads, their eyes glaze over.....and they walk away. Please don't walk away.
What do these do things possibly have in common? Aside from the norm..nothing....unless you happen to be spinning Alpaca.
Yes, folks, I stupidly decided that the ball of grey alpaca I've had for years would be the perfect compliment ply to the oatmeal generic wool that was just finished being spun.
I don't know if it's the dryness in the air or a forgetful memory, but the last time I spun alpaca (over a year ago?) I'll be danged if I remember it being soooo fly-away. Yikes! I'm talking hair everywhere, including all over my clothes, up my nose and down my throat.
Hence, all day yesterday and all last night, I was coughing, hacking, cackkking.....like a cat trying to bring up a hairball. I felt little annoying wisps all over my face, in my eyes, on my arms, even though nothing was visible.
Well, I don't want to throw the alpaca away! That would be crazy talk. It's so silky, so smooth, such a beautiful grey. And I know how it can transform a so-so yarn into something luxurious when it's plied with even a generic wool. So what's a spinner to do?.........Surgical masks!!
So I went over to the storage house and dug out 3 masks. It's gotta work, right? I'm going to try it today. If it doesn't, and I'm still coughing up hair balls tonight, then I might consider ditching the fiber. And that would break my heart. Because.....there's 4 ounces of white alpaca in the storage bin waiting to be spun.....at another time. Maybe in a couple of years. When the memory of the hair ball causing, fly-away fiber is very, very distant.
I just hope I don't try to sip my coffee while forgetting the mask is on my face!
We made it through the storm over the weekend. Much of it in anticipation. Forecasted for Sunday....morning.....afternoon......late afternoon......night......depending on what tv station we watched, at what time of the day. Well, it finally came in about noon, with a fury, and ended about 7 pm. Total about 8".
Son and grandbunny were supposed to come up for the weekend, but I called him Friday, asked if he heard about the coming storm, explained the timeline to him, and he decided to stay home. Why is it that grown kids do not listen to weather reports?? Never. I already had the meals planned, food defrosting, for his visit. I like to send him home with food. So the Chicken Chow Mein is in the freezer, after 2 meals; and the spaghetti and meatballs are also in the freezer, after 2 meals. It was a win/win situation.
Anywho, I am almost finished with the back of the wine colored vest. Right side is done; just have the left side to do. The pattern calls for knitting 3 pieces separately. I hate seaming. I knit the whole thing together on circulars.
I am trying....trying.....to get up the energy to clean house today. BH will be outside most of the day taking care of business. I absolutely hate house cleaning. It's a waste of time and energy (I keep reminding him). But I can't stand the very visible layers of dust all over everything.
My daughter just called at 7:15 am to tell me she received a bill from the clinic she frequents. She never receives bills. She is disabled, on SSI and is covered by Medicare and MNCare. So a phone call to the clinic is in order today to find out what the hell this is all about.
You know....if I were to get paid for my secretarial, doctor, nurse and advocate services.....
I am almost finished spinning the oatmeal colored batt. I'm about ready to puke. There is so much veggie matter that needs to be picked out every couple of rotations that I can barely force myself to get it done. Can't wait to get on to the Shetland roving (to be plied with the oatmeal). Hopefully no veg matter and things will spin along smoothly.
I've also been having a hell of a time with the wheel. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Enough to drive you nuts. I have oiled and oiled and oiled. Seems like every hour. The crank, the footman, the treadle board pins, the flyer. Where the hell is it coming from??!! And I love this wheel - Ashford Traveler.
Then it occured to me......is it the drive band? Could it be the drive band? How can it be the drive band....it seems taut enough. Ehhh..what can it hurt.....I'll change the drive band (cotton twine). Viola!!!! I guess it was stretched out more than it felt or looked. No squeaking! Hurray! I'm a happy spinner again. Except. for. the. godawful. veg matter. in. the. fiber. Which is almost finished.
Anywho, I better get my rear in gear. Get the damn housework done. Phone calls to be made. Bills to pay tomorrow. More spinning. More knitting. Because Friday......Friday......is Casino Day, Baby!!
