You'll Never Guess....

   Today, I actually finished my beloved sweater! Well, the knitting part, anyway. I still have one pocket to finish sewing, and the other one to completely sew. Then there are those pesky ends to weave in.  The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming. NOT.

   I tried on my new sweater. It's a little snug, but I know that it will stretch out when I block it. I even managed to take a few photos today, before I had finished the back of the neck. Here are a few:

Last night, when I was disgusted with the sweater, I started one of the ribbed

fingerless glove/arm warmers I wanted to make. I finished it pretty quick, and now I doubt I will make the other one. I have decided to make a hat to match my sweater, so I cast that on, and started the ribbing. When it's done, I will take photos of that too.

And that's all for today. Many people are still without power, and cell phone service is still pretty spotty. I had to send some text messages three times today before they actually sent. Here's hoping all my friends are safe and warm on this cold Halloween.

Post Script

  P.S. I got over my ennui about my sweater today, and sewed up a few seams, and got my collar situation all figured out. I only have about 4 inches of actual 1 X 1 ribbing left, divided into the two sides of the collar that meet at the back of the neck. I can do this! It really is almost done! I even started sewing one pocket liner to the inside of the sweater.

   Here is a photo of my sweater in a pile on the couch, when I was in a funk, and that's where I threw it:

    So now I'm back on track! Yay! Thanks for your support in this most difficult of times...

The Day After The Big Storm

   Well, it's over. The Big Storm of October 2011. We didn't get as much snow as predicted, which is a good thing. I can't begin to imagine the damage if there had been that much snow on the leafy trees. As it was, we lost some big branches.

   The cracking noise of a tree branch breaking sounds like gunfire. At one point last night, I got freaked out. I was in bed, in my customary pj's, when I heard a branch break. I realized that my bedroom is a box hanging off the back of my house, and that my house sits next to a wooded lot, that is filled with big trees. I could imagine a branch, or even a whole tree, crashing down on top of my bedroom. Either it takes the whole room off, or just crashes through the ceiling. Neither of these options warms my heart.

   I got out of bed, put my house clothes back on, and went into the living room. I sat here on the couch, going through my options. The first one I discarded was to go in and sleep with my son. I doubted he would welcome my presence. Then I thought about sleeping on the couch. That idea too was quickly discarded. So I had to go back into my bedroom. I decided that I had better sleep in my clothes, in case the worst happened. In my pants pocket, I put a small flashlight, to find my way out of the wreckage. I even left my glasses in the living room, because they would get totally lost if the worst happened.

   Before I went back into the bedroom to try and sleep, I decided to take my flashlight outside and see if there were any really large trees in the lot next door that I might be in danger of being crushed by. I really didn't think any of them looked like they were ready to fall on me. So I was able to go back and try to sleep. I fell asleep with my cell phone clutched in my hand, in case Hubs needed to call me. I also brought the house phone in, even though we had no service, just in case it came back on during the night. I needed to be able to call for help.

   As of this morning, no giant trees had fallen on my house. Even my Jeep, parked under his customary tree, was undamaged. There were some branches down in the driveway, and two of them straddled the power lines to the house. We also have two big branches down in the pool area. The one hanging over the fence didn't even damage it! And so far, the other branch looks like it didn't damage the liner of the pool.

   Our next door neighbor wasn't so lucky. The big tree between our driveways lost several large branches, the biggest one fell on their cars, nailing both of them. I think it would have been worse, but the roof stopped the branch from coming all the way down.  The roof of the one car is dented in and the rear window got blown out. That really sucks.

   So, all in all, I think we were pretty lucky, as we didn't lose power for more than a minute or two, and were able to stay warm. This morning, my daughter asked if she could come over and shower. I gave her some good, hot chocolate coffee. She also charged her cell phone and nook while she was here. I told her that if she still doesn't have power tonight, she and her Hubs can sleep here, son's room is not being used and he has a queen size bed.

Here are a few photos I took during the storm yesterday. It was still early when I took this one...

Here's our walkway, after about an hour of snow.

   Kim out.

What A Day, What A Storm!

   Today is the 29th of October, correct? Two days before Halloween, and *not* coincidentally, my youngest child's 22nd birthday.  It's snowing like hell! While I'm glad so many of my friends are all safe and sound at home, my family was not. My son was trying to get to Carmel, to his girlfriend's house, in a VW which is really bad in the snow.

   I would have been fine, if only he hadn't called me to let me know he wasn't there yet, and then again to let me know he was giving up trying, and coming home. It took over an hour for him to finally get home, a trip which usually takes maybe 15 minutes. I was worried silly about him.

   Then there was Hubs, who had to travel to work in the nasty mess. I wasn't so worried about him, as he is an extremely capable driver, and has 4 wheel drive on his truck. But I was still very relieved to get his call confirming that he had made it safely. And my son-in-law had to drive home from work in this mess too. He too, made it home successfully.

   At long last, I could relax! All my loved ones were where they were supposed to be, and they were all safe. Whew. Now I can knit in peace.

   I have to confess that I caved, and cast on the first of the hand warmers I was planning. But I did do some assembling of my sweater, and got some seams crocheted and sewn. For the hand warmers, I found my last ball (Goddess, I hope not) of hot pink Malabrigo worsted weight, and started on the 2 X 2 ribbing on a size 3 circular. For future reference, I only use circular needles,  I have found straight needles to be extremely cumbersome, and hate the way the yarn gets tangled up around the right one. I really detest the way I keep hitting my arms with them, too. AWKWARD! So it's circulars only for me, just so you know. Not that I'm prejudiced or anything.....

   The power has been a bit iffy today too. For the most part, it's on, but it has flickered more than once, and gone off completely two or three times. It's not off more than a minute and comes back on, so I guess we are kind of lucky, lots of people have no power at all.

   My beloved son has taken my Jeep out to procure us some dinner. He wasn't supposed to be here, so I didn't plan anything. I usually just wing it when I'm alone. I bet he's having fun with my Jeep, in 4 wheel drive. If, that is, he can avoid the people who don't know how to drive in snow, but insist on going out anyway.

   I'm going to sign off now, before the power goes out again. I hope everyone you care about is safe and sound! Kim out!

 

So, What To Cast On Next?

   I feel like a traitor. Here I am, browsing through Ravelry, looking for my next project. I know what I want to do, fingerless gloves/arm warmers. I scored some beautiful prime Alpaca lace weight at Rhinebeck, and in a hard (for me) to find black. It is calling to me.

   Unfortunately, I haven't quite finished my sweater yet! Today at Stitch n Bitch, I bound off the right sleeve, shaped then bound off the back, and bound off the left sleeve. All that's left is the fronts, with ribbed borders. I've been working on the left front w/border, but I am losing interest. It's hard knitting 40 stitches, back and forth, when every time you come to the end of the row, you have the weight of the whole fracking sweater to turn. It's getting old.

   I have not taken any pictures of the bound off parts for posterity, not yet. But I plan to. This weekend, my son's room will be empty, so it would be a perfect time to finish and block this sweater. If I can just find it in my soul to finish it.

   I want to, I really do! I can't wait to wear it! But it seems like we've skipped Autumn this year, it's supposed to snow tomorrow, and snow heavily tomorrow night. This really sucks. Last week, I was still wearing my Austin sandals! (Hubs bought them for me at Cabela's on our trip to Austin, Texas, in May of 2010)

   Oh, heck. I guess I better get back to work! Kim out!

My Nook, The Yarn Harlot's New Book, And Me!

   I have always, always, been an avid reader. Both of my parents were teachers, and encouraged us to read. In grade school, the teacher would give out the Weekly Reader sheets, and I would order the most books of anyone in the class! Now, we didn't have very much money, but that's how much my parents valued reading.

   One of the bedrooms in our house has been turned into a little library. There are nearly wall to wall shelves, and a desk where our old computer sits. Unfortunately it's not big enough to add comfy chairs. But the book shelves are full, the books are doubled or even tripled up on each shelf.

   A little over a year ago, I bought myself a nook e-reader. My daughter has one, and so do some friends. In the first month, I bought, and read, every book in my favorite series that was published at that time. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. At that time I think there were 17 or 18 books. I re-read them all in just over one month.

   About a week ago, I read on the Yarn Harlots blog that she had signed some e-readers at Rhinebeck. A light bulb went on over my head! I had never thought to look for her books for my nook! So when I finally remembered, and had my nook with me, I shopped for her books. I purchased the newest one, and put the rest on my "wish list". Except for At Knit's End, which I bought and had signed at Rhinebeck.

   Now, these days, I am not reading as much. I am spending lots of time knitting, so my nook sits in the bathroom, waiting for me. For many years, I have kept a book in the bathroom, for those times when, let's say, it may take more than a few minutes to complete my business.

   Lately, that's where my nook spends most of it's time. I take it with me to other places, like the doctors office, where I may have to wait for a while. Especially if my current knitting project is too big or complicated to work on while I'm waiting.

   So the other day, I finally finished the book I had been reading, and was able to start Stephanie's new book. I have come to realize that the bathroom may not be the best place to read this book! It is so funny and entertaining, I can't put it down! My legs have fallen asleep as I read to the end of the current story.

   So what am I to do? I think I will just have to hang in there and try to force myself not to read too much, to put the nook down. I am just really glad that All Wound Up isn't over 800 pages, like a couple of books I have read recently. If they were that long, I bet I'd lose the use of my legs.

Some Catching Up To Be Done

   So our beloved 61" Samsung TV is safely back home. It's wonderful not to have to wear my glasses to watch TV, or anything associated with watching TV. Like changing the channel, or reading what the shows are about. Here she is, all snug in her unit:

   Today I have been working on my sweater, as the pain in my shoulder allows. I can do about two or three rows until the pain forces me to stop for a while.  Since I was able to replace the battery in my camera this morning, I was able to take some new photos of my progress! Here they are:

   This is the left side, see the pocket and sleeve! Then it goes to the pleat in the center. The next one is from the center pleat out to the right side. It was too big to get all in one photo, and see all the details.

   It is a little rolled up, but I managed to unroll it, mostly. I have trouble finding an open space big enough to lay the sweater out. Today I decided to use my son's bed. He has nice blue fleece sheets.

   I would like to mention how much I enjoy reading all the comments I have received. To Laura, thanks for reading! And I would like to welcome my newest reader, Stacey, of The Adventures of Yarn Salad! I enjoy reading your blog, I hope you enjoy mine.  I look for new posts every day. Hopefully you will be reunited with your husband soon. In the meantime, keep your chin up, maybe someday you will look back on this time and find it amusing.

    Terri, I would like to thank you for reading, and also for your comment.  I do use stitch markers when casting on, they are very helpful! My dad was a math teacher, you'd think I would have learned to count. I was very sure I had the right number of stitches when I started out, that's why I was so flummoxed when the stitch count was 11 stitches off! I'm just glad it was the math that was done wrong!

   And especially, I want to mention my biggest supporter, Kim, of AtKnitsEndYarns, who has read me every day since the beginning! She just doesn't comment, as she can't from her phone. Love her anyway!
   Hopefully soon, I can post photos of the finished sweater! Perhaps the color will even look right! I swear, it's not pink, but cranberry! Those who have seen it in person can testify. I will be working on it at Stitch n Bitch this coming Friday morning. So all who come will get to see it!

   Kim out!

In Which I Do The Dance Of Joy

   This morning, I woke up at 5:30, and couldn't get back to sleep. I finally drifted off, and finally got up at 7:45. I had to get up, as the TV repair shop told us they would bring our TV back between the hours of 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. I hung out all day, not going anywhere or running my errands. At 1:05, the man called and said he should be here around 2 p.m.

   As 2 p.m. rolled past, the doorbell rang! It turned out to be the UPS man, Dave. But waiting for him to move his truck was the TV repair men!! They brought our baby in, set her all back up, connecting cables and such things. Then they turned her on. She came to life! No little tiny white dots on her picture, or anything! Within minutes, they were gone. Now I don't need to wear my glasses to watch that tiny TV any more!

   While I was waiting today, I finished my 2nd sleeve, and after everyone left to go to Kingston, I purled them onto my sweater. Then I did a few more rows while I was waiting for TV man.

   I would post photos of the TV and of my fully attached sweater, but when I tried to take a photo earlier, the camera let me know that its battery was dead. Bummers! So tomorrow, I have to go buy another battery for the camera. Then I can take photos of my fully attached sweater, and post them for you all to see!

   So today, I did the dance of joy twice! First when I attached my sleeves to my sweater, then when the TV guys left. I was so happy, I told them that if I knew them better, I would hug them!

In Which Some Good Things Happen, For Once!

   After coffee this morning, Hubs headed for the house in Fishkill to do some work. Shortly after noon, while I was on line at the supermarket, he called me! He informed me that the TV repair shop called him, and they are bringing our TV home tomorrow!! YAY! It's only been, what, like 38 days? That was good thing number 2, actually.

   Good thing number 1? Well, that's a bit of a story. Friday evening, as the sun was going down, and Hubs was at work, I noticed it seemed to be getting a bit chilly in the house. I didn't think much of it. During the night, when I got up to use the facilities, I really noticed! It was downright cold in the house! That morning, after Hubs got home, I mentioned to him that I thought there was a problem with the furnace.

   I was right, the furnace wasn't kicking the hot water up the pipes. We still have hot water, because we both have taken showers, and I have washed dishes. It hasn't been that cold out yet, so we made it through the weekend with sweaters and heavy socks or slippers. This morning, he called our furnace guy, who said he would come by later this afternoon, after he got out of work.

   So good thing number one is that we hopefully will have heat later tonight! That will be a really good thing, because son and his girlfriend will be here tonight. We wouldn't want them to be cold now, would we? I did text with son, and told him to warn Julie it might be cold, and to bring warm clothes. With any luck, she won't need them.

   My daughter Sara, AKA Mrs. Gilroy, texted me yesterday and asked me to email her my Chili recipe! I had taken my mom's recipe and changed it a bit over the years. She used kidney beans, I started using black beans. Stuff like that. It was hard to write that email, as it made me stop and really think about what I do when I make the chili, and what I use, and when I put the different things in!

   The hardest part was the amounts of the herbs and seasonings, as I don't measure them, and just throw them in until it feels right. My Chili comes out differently every time! The original recipe mom had gotten out of a woman's magazine in the 60's, and used 2 cans of tomato soup, hamburger, and kidney beans. Well, they aren't my favorite, so I changed to black beans. I changed one can of the soup to a can of seasoned tomato sauce. I also took out the onions and peppers, as Hubs doesn't like them. I do use onion powder, though, lots of it! We still need the onion flavor!

   Anyway, Sara reports that her Chili was good, and her hubs loved it! We have a third generation making it her own! She used both kidney and black beans! It's funny, when she was a kid, I would get her bowl back with all the kidney beans still in it! She would eat around them!

   So today, I was inspired to make Chili, I know, big surprise! My Hubs is out hunting again, hoping for a second deer. Over the winter I can make Venison Chili, as well as Venison Stew.

   And now it's time to start making my chili. I also would like to report that I have make significant progress on my 2nd sleeve today! So I have been a busy little beaver. Maybe tomorrow you will get to hear how this batch of Chili turned out!

The Doings Of My Day

   Now that Hubs is down for his nap, I have time to catch you up on the days doings. This morning, at 4:30 a.m. sharp, the really loud alarm clock went off, waking Hubs up to go hunting. It never ceases to amaze me that the absolutely only way he can get up this early is if he gets to kill something. It turns out that last night he got a deer, but he and his friend couldn't find it. It was too dark, they lost his trail. So up he gets before the ass-crack of dawn to go find his deer. He was successful, by the way; it has been delivered to the butcher. We shall eat this winter!

   While he was out, I went back to sleep. I got up at 8:30, which is early for me, but since I was so tired last night and went to sleep early, I slept as long as I could. I made my coffee, and began knitting! I knitted like a fiend, after taking care of my facebook farmville farms. I usually try to hold off knitting until my coffee is gone, because I tend to forget to drink it while I'm knitting.

   After a few hours, interrupted only by putting a load of laundry in, and checking chemical levels in the hot tub, I got the first sleeve done! By this time, Hubs was home, and talking to me about this adventures. This is the finished sleeve:

   Anyway, Hubs was talking to me as I was trying to cast on 45 stitches for the second sleeve. I had to stop four times to count, because he kept expecting me to answer him, or comment. I finally had to ask him not to talk until I was done counting! At last I had the correct number of stitches cast on, and away I went! I knitted and knitted! As of right now, I have about 3 1/2 inches done! Here is a photo of the beginning of the sleeve:

   I still don't get why the yarn looks so pink, when in reality it's more of a cranberry color. Now I have just come upstairs from putting Hubs' hunting clothes in the wash, with his special non-scented detergent. My favorite is the dirt scented, yes DIRT scented dryer sheets. Yum. When they are all done, he will be ready to go out hunting again tomorrow. The joy never ends. I will say that he manages to get the best tasting deer in Dutchess County!

   Soon, I will have the second sleeve done, and I can commence with knitting them onto the body of the sweater, and start the yoke shaping. I shall look forward to posting photos of the finished sweater!

Mom's Birthday, And More

  Today is my mom's birthday, she turns 79. Wow. My daughter Sara took her out to brunch, and I was invited to tag along. Joining us was my sister-in-law, Carol. We four ladies had a very nice lunch!

  Afterwards, Sara and I went back to her adorable house, where she tried to download some new books from her computer onto my nook. It didn't work. Bummers! I was looking forward to reading some new books. I do have some books on there that I haven't read yet, but mostly they are books I have read before.

   When I finally got home, it was time to turn on the coffee maker for Hubs, who wanted to get up and go hunting. He worked last night, so he had been sleeping. Now he's gone, so I can take this opportunity to knit for a while! My sleeve is now 11 inches long! It's been 2 weeks since I first cast on the pocket inserts.  They took me one day, I was finished with them Sunday morning, and cast on the sweater body before I came home from mom's house that day.

   Anyway, Now I need to go knit! Enjoy this beautiful fall day! Kim out.

New, Updated Sweater Photos!

    Yesterday, I took new photos of my sweater progress! The body is done to the row where I bound off 8 stitches for each underarm. The body then gets set aside, and it's time to make the sleeves.  I am making good progress on the first one.

Photo 1 - Sweater up to the pits - I used the batteries to keep it open. This one shows the pleat.  If you look closely, outside both top batteries, you can see the bind off's for the sleeves.

Here is a photo of the progress, as of last night, on the first sleeve.

Next is a close up of a pocket.

Finally, the last photo is of the 8 stitch bind off for the sleeve. This photo shows the yarn color most accurately!

   I love this sweater, because there are hardly any seams to close! Only 8 stitches for each sleeve attachment, and short seams for the shoulders/collar. My favorite thing is that the sleeves are knit in the round! No seams at all!

   Ok, enough typing, I have to get back to work! Kim out!

  

In Which I Encounter A Knitting Dilema

   Last night, as I sat here on my couch, knitting my heart out, I decided I should probably count my stitches and compare the count to what the pattern says I should have. So, as I knitted the next row, I counted. I have to count out loud, or I lose my place, and skip entire decades. I have done it in the past.

   Wait, that can't be right! Including the 20 stitches on each border, plus the body, that makes 219 stitches. But the pattern says I should have 208! WTF? Maybe I counted wrong, so I knit another row, again counting. It comes out the same. Now what do I do? I put it aside, and went to bed.

   All night, I lay there, thinking about those 11 extra stitches. Where did they come from? I know I had the right number at the beginning... didn't I? I thought all night, at least, every time I woke up. I finally decided that I need to measure each side, from the pleat out to the edge, and see if the pleat is at least in the center of the thing!

   If it is, then I'm ok, and can adjust the pattern accordingly. If it's not, I'm screwed. I may have to frog the whole fracking sweater and start over. That really depresses and freaks me out. I have never had to frog an entire project before. And I am not happy about that particular prospect, believe you me.

   I have been avoiding my sweater all morning. I don't want to look at it. I'm afraid that the pleat is off center, and I don't want to deal with it. So I'm drinking my coffee, and watching Supernatural, and trying hard not to think about it.

   OMG! I just looked at the paper I did my math on. I carried a 1 where there wasn't one! In other words, I added wrong! I have 209 stitches! One extra stitch I can deal with. I can feel the weight lifting off my shoulders! I don't have to frog! Wow. This may turn out to be a decent day after all, instead of "The Day I Had To Frog".

   Whew, do I feel better! Thanks for being here and listening to me rave. By the way, I was going to end this post after the drinking my coffee part. I really did look at the paper, and find my mistake. So I got to write it as it happened!

   Now, I need to get back to work on my sweater! Kim out!

What To Do On A Dark, Rainy Day?

   At Sheep and Wool, I scored some awesome Alpaca yarn. I've been saving it to wind when I am bored. Today I wound one skein of the Alpaca, the black one, and the last skein of my sweater yarn. It's so much fun using my swift and ball winder.  I'm saving the white skein of Alpaca for another day.

   I worked on my sweater today, and somehow managed to screw my courage up and work the pleat. And I think I got it right this time! There were no dropped stitches this time! Yippee skippee! I am very proud of myself. Now I have to just make it through the three inches until I can bind off the underarm stitches. I am really excited, it's only eight stitches per underarm!

   Apparently, while we had mostly rain all September, and while my Jeep spent nearly the whole month covered up, it had been growing mold! I had mold on my steering wheel cover, and now I've found mold growing on my dashboard. I need to replace the steering wheel cover, but I will need a nice day to clean out the Jeep. Bleach and water, 10% solution, should do the trick.

  Now I come to the point. Yesterday, I left my slide windows open, to get some air flow through there, to help air out the Jeep. When we got home from Fishkill last night, I forgot to close them. I didn't know it was going to rain. This morning, when I finally got up, I realized it was raining, so I had to go out and close my windows. Being under his tree saved him once again! There wasn't wetness on the drivers side, and none on the passenger side!

   Between doing dishes and laundry is when I got to knit today. It is such a dark, miserable day! I am not happy about the rain, but it's pointless to complain. The Goddess does what she wants, we can choose not to be miserable about it!  After all, "Misery is Optional!"

   Now, Hubs has gone to work, and I get to vacuum. Yay! Do you think I can put it off until tomorrow? I'm pretty sure I can, since I'm the worlds best procrastinator!

And So Life Goes On. And On. And On.

   Another day when almost nothing got done. I went to Fishkill with Hubs, but we didn't go until later in the afternoon. He was up all night, couldn't sleep, so he slept in. I kept trying to wake him up, starting at 10:30 like he asked me to. every hour after that, I was in there trying to rouse him. I didn't succeed until 1:30.

   Of course, I won't run the vacuum cleaner while he's asleep, it makes too much noise.  There are other things to do, of course, but I was expecting him to get up any minute! At least when we went to Fishkill, I took my sweater, and got a few rows done. That made me feel a bit better!

   I am almost to the point where I get to do the pleat on the back of the sweater, I hope to get it right this time! But I had a lot of holding to do while Hubs cut stuff with a circular saw, like wood, and wainscoting.

   Yesterday, as some of you doubtless noticed, I didn't post. I really had nothing to report. Nothing exciting happened all day. Even the TV repair people haven't called us yet. It's been 32 days since they took our TV away, and said they would bring it back in - and I quote - two or three days..... The little 19 incher is getting quite comfortable in the big, giant space where the missing TV belongs.

   I got a lecture today from Hubs, about how I've been neglecting the housework, etc. Apparently he's getting concerned that I'm spending too much time on my crafting. I am going to hand him my new copy of At Knits End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, AKA the Yarn Harlot. There are quite a few anecdotes in there about such silly husbandly concerns.  <insert evil laugh here>  I just nod and say "Yes, dear!" but he doesn't buy it.
Hmmm, he's smarter than he looks.....

  

Peacefully Knitting!

   Today I am peacefully knitting, working on my sweater.  I was supposed to have most of the day to myself, as Hubs was going to get up at 4:30 a.m. to go hunting. He turned off the alarm when it buzzed rather loudly, and mumbled that he would go out later.

   I wanted to wait until he was gone to knit, because I was at the three row sequence that involves the decreasing, as well as short rows on the edges. It's not complicated, I just like to do all three rows without being interrupted.

   Hubs finally got up, and after drinking lots of coffee, and complaining that he doesn't feel well and can't get warm, he finally took his shower and got dressed for hunting. I don't know how long he will last, and neither did he. But now I'm through my three rows, so it doesn't matter for five more rows.

   It's just so nice to be able to sit here, knitting peacefully, without worrying about laundry, dishes, or anything else. I did some dishes earlier, and laundry will get done later.

   Yesterday at Sheep and Wool, I got an autographed copy of At Knits End, a book by The Yarn Harlot. I've been reading it this morning, and have already found my favorite, and it's so very true, and typical of me!!

   "My knitting is in a constant state of competition with the household chores. After years and years of painful juggling, I have almost completely decided to give up on the housework. The way I see it, I can always clean up the house when I am old, but I'll never get this knitting time back." - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

   Here is a photo of the cover of the book the quote is from:

 
   Here is my progress on my awesome sweater, after the pocket inserts were added!

   Now I think it's time to get back to my knitting, I don't know how much longer I have to myself!

My Rhinebeck Sheep And Wool Report

   Now that I am safely ensconced at home, in my comfy house clothes, I can look back at my experience at the Sheep and Wool Festival. It was awesome! I took lots of pictures, got to see famous knitters from afar, and saw lots of cute sheep and beautiful yarns.

   I knew The Yarn Harlot was going to be there, signing books, but I didn't know that Clara Parkes would be there too! Both are lovely ladies, even if I didn't get to converse with them myself. The lines were just too long, and I can't stand upright and still for that long.

   There were five of us in our group, Kim H., @AtKnitsEndYarns; Laura, @Betweenthelens; Deb, @ObliviousKnits; her fiance, James, @WetDentist; and myself, Kim S., @BicraftualMe... I think we all had a good time! I know I did!

   It was a great honor to meet a twitter and facebook friend, ObliviousKnits! She was so much fun to hang around with, and it was neat to see familiar things through her eyes. Deb is fearless! She's the one who got our books signed by Ms. Harlot.

   I loved looking at all the walls of color that were the displays of yarns and fibers! It was also interesting to see all the people walking around in hand knitted clothing. I've never seen so many shawls, sweaters, ponchos and hats! There were even a few tunics, and skirts! LOVE IT!

   Soon after we got there, I realized I should have brought my sweater to wear, as it was pretty chilly. I did wear a shawl, my gray pentagram one. I doubted anyone would even notice that it was a pentagram. And I don't think they did! As I walked around the show, I kept repeating, "Go big, or go home!" as my shawl is pretty big.  I am tall, and the shawl was dragging on the ground by the time we left.

   Here are some photos of the walls of color:

   And these two were my favorite sheep! I really loved the dark one with the horns!

   This one, I loved his long curly coat!

   Now I'm stiffening up, and I need to go get into my hot tub. My feet are starting to cramp up! If you got to go, I hope you enjoyed the Sheep and Wool Festival!!

Kim out!

Getting Ready For Sheep And Wool!

   This morning, at our Stitch n Bitch, those of us who are going to Sheep  and Wool decided to go together! We will meet up with the rest of our little group at the festival, as they are coming in from out of state. So Deb will get to meet most of the Hyde Park Posse! I would really love to get T-shirts for us, one that says Hyde Park Posse, and one that just says Minion. Kim's shirt would say Minion Master, or something like that, to show she's in charge of the rest of us.

   When I got home, I gathered up all the clothes I might possibly wear tomorrow, and started the laundry. Now I have to go get them out of the dryer. I have my outfit in mind, I am definitely wearing my bright pink, really long, head scarf. I just need to decide which shirt to wear with it.  I think it's going to be warm again, like it was last year!

   Poor Kim, she's having such anxiety about this festival. I tried to help, but really, there's nothing anyone can say to ease that kind of anxiety! I point out that she's so much more well know this year than last year. We will have to keep her calm all day.

   Then there's the chore of deciding which bag I will bring. I ended up deciding to bring the bag I usually use for my knitting. I will empty it out, and just put my wallet, my camera and some business cards in there, that way it won't be too heavy, and I can wear it cross-body so it won't bother my shoulder.

   It's a really cool messenger bag, I bought one year from Barnes and Noble with a Christmas gift card. It has silver swirls on the flap, which I customized with a bright pink highlighter. Now it looks different than all the rest, just like me!

   Hopefully tonight I will be able to sleep!  I will report tomorrow, or Sunday, on the festival, complete with photos, with any luck! Maybe I will see some of you there!

Kim out!

In Which I Have A Rough Night...

   Last night, I was browsing the cupboards for what to have for dinner, and I couldn't decide.  I looked in the fridge, and there was no salad mix, so that ruled out one of my favorite dinners, a big salad with lots of veggies, leftover meat, and cheese.

   Then I remembered that I bought some canned soups last time I went grocery shopping. I looked, and there they were. I finally decided on a "hearty" potato soup "with bacon". As it was heating up on the stove, I looked in the fridge for stuff to add to the soup. Ah, there is some left over corn! I opened the container, and sniffed it. It still smelled OK, to me.

   So, I added the corn to my heating soup. However, as the corn hit the pan, I had a thought that maybe I would regret adding it, as I think it's kind of old.... When I got to eat it, the soup wasn't that good. I didn't finish it all, leaving some in my bowl.  Later, as I sat listening to the TV while knitting my sweater, I got hungry again, so I heated up the leftover sirloin tips from the night before. They were yummy with BBQ sauce!

   When I finally got into bed, I'm laying there and my tummy feels like it's full of cement. I slept on and off, waking up every few hours. I could tell my tummy was sorting the corn from the soup, and letting the soup continue on down the track. It felt like my tummy was saving the corn, and going to send it back.

   This has happened to me before. Once when I was a kid, after Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma's house, my tummy sent back only the corn I had eaten. There have been other instances, not always corn. But I digress!

   This morning when Hubs got home from work, I told him I didn't feel very good. I got up and ate a few Papaya Enzyme Chewable Tablets. A friend swears by these, for tummy aches, and when you eat too much. It seems they promote digestion, and help digest food faster. What can I say? It worked! After a couple of hours, I got up, and felt better!

   In fact, I had forgotten about the corn! Hubs got up to use the bathroom, and asked how I felt. I was surprised! I really had forgotten I didn't feel well this morning! I guess the papaya enzyme tabs worked, once again!

  Since this morning, I have had my two cups of chocolate truffle coffee, and taken my meds. I have washed dishes, and worked on my sweater too. I've even done some laundry. After Hubs leaves for work, I can vacuum again. It makes too much noise, I won't do it while he's trying to sleep.

   And hopefully, I can get to bed earlier than last night, and get some good sleep to make up for the rough night I had last night!

Happy knitting, and Kim out!

NY Sheep And Wool Festival!!

   This year will be the second time I will be attending the NY Sheep and Wool Festival! It was a real blast last year. My friend Kim, of AtKnitsEndYarns, goes every year. We get to walk all around, admiring all the wool, sheep, yarn, and fiber. As well as all the other cool stuff! And this year I will be bringing my camera, so I can snap some photos of the really cool sheep I admired last year. This year, Deborah, of ObliviousKnits will be joining us, with her fiance! This is really gonna be a blast!

   Last year, I wore a sweater I had made, but it was so warm, I didn't get to wear it very long. So this year, no sweater. We got to eat the best foods last year too! And there will be at least one famous person there, I hope we get to see her!

   I was so tempted to buy so much stuff last year, from hand warmers to slippers, that some enterprising crafters had made. Unfortunately, I will have to abstain again this year, as I really have no extra money! I really hope Kim's yarns sell as well this year as they did last year! I think they might, as she is more well known this year.

    It is so very exciting that I get to go! My beloved Hubs isn't working this weekend, as it's the opening weekend of deer season for bow hunters. I hope he is successful, as we really love to eat venison all winter! He manages to get the most delicious deer in Dutchess County!

   Time to say goodbye for today, as I have some work to do. Until next time!

Kim out.

Meeting Up With An Old Friend, And Sweater Progress Photos!

   This morning, I left my cell phone in the bedroom. When I finally remembered to go get it, I had missed a text message from an old friend. She said she was coming through town and could we get together? By the time I saw the message, an hour had passed since she sent it. I replied that it was probably too late, and she answered that it wasn't, she hadn't left yet! So we arranged to meet at Cranberry's in an hour.

   We always have so much catching up to do! She tells me what she's heard from people we used to work with, that she has seen, and I do the same. Then we talk about our families, and what they are up to. We never seem to run out of things to talk about!  The best part, of course, is eating luscious Cranberry's desserts! We both had the Peach Wedge. YUM! They must have been very busy today, as all the flavored coffee carafes were empty! So I didn't get to have any coffee with my peach wedge.

   After getting home from Cranberry's, I started doing the laundry. House rule #3 states that whoever leaves money in their pockets, that is found in the washer or dryer, that money belongs to the laundry mistress, ME. I am gathering up quite a collection of coins! I have a covered jar on the dryer where I put the money I find. However, if I find a large amount, I usually return it to it's owner. Like the time I found $50 in my son's jeans. I knew he would need it, so I gave it back.

   I am making solid progress on my sweater! As I stated in an earlier post, the pocket inserts are done, and now I'm working on the body.  Here's a photo of the pockets:

   They are ready to add when the sweater gets long enough. The sweater is worked from the bottom up. Here's a photo of the progress so far on the body, the stitch markers indicate the center back section that's decreasing up to the pleat.

   Here's hoping that all your projects go well, and you get to meet up with an old friend!

Kim out!

In Which Some Progress Is Made

   Yesterday, I helped Hubs put the new (to her) doors on mom's car. Today we delivered the car back to her. The doors are silver, her car is a dark red. Hubs discovered that Saturns are designed with removable outer "skins" on the body, for easy change. So all we have to do is find some door skins of the right color! The ones he's found so far cost more than the doors did!!

   I also attended my grandson's 1st birthday party yesterday! He is such a cutie! And his big sister is also. It is wonderful having them in my life. I wish I was able to see them more often. At least now, Chloe doesn't run and hide when she sees me! In fact, when Sara and I left the party yesterday, she came running to me, and gave me a chocolate frosting kiss! She said to me, "My face is dirty!" I told her I didn't care, that a chocolate frosting kiss is my favorite kind!

   On top of all this, I am now knitting myself a new sweater. It's awesome. It has pockets, and a back pleat. The back pleat totally intimidated me the first time, I'm hoping I can manage it this time, without messing it up. I dropped a stitch last time, and had to tie it on to the right place from the back. All this because I refuse to frog.

   The sweater is a really pretty color, it's like a dark red, a cranberry. I might have talked about it yesterday. I am pretty tired today, I had trouble getting to sleep last night. All in all, it sounds to me like I'm rambling!

   One last thing... When I was in the hospital after giving birth to my first child, my friend Beth sent me a plant. It was in a baby buggy shaped planter. I remember it very well. As the years went by, the plant lived happily at my mom's house, and it seems to enjoy her apartment. My daughter Sara Beth, is now nearly 35 years old. The plant given to me at her birth is still alive! Here is a photo of it that I took yesterday before I came home.

     And now that's the end.

Kim out

Hi Honey, I'm Home!

   So I got to come home today! Mom is recuperating nicely, and getting around without too much pain. We had a nice time together, even if I had to sleep on the couch.

   The best part of staying in Fishkill is that I get to visit Out of the Loop yarn store! Theresa is always pleasant, and every time I'm there, there are new luscious yarns to explore. I was able to get there on Saturday, a day later than I really wanted to, but mom was sleeping most of the day Friday, and I didn't feel right leaving her. So I went before I did her grocery shopping. It was only about 10 miles, round trip, out of the way...

   So, while I was there, I bought some yarn for a new sweater, since the last one I made for me was too big. That's a legitimate excuse, right? It works for me! Here's a photo of the progress as of last night, I was doing the pocket inserts. I finished them this morning, and cast on the body. I haven't told Hubs yet, I'm waiting for the right moment.

   The red is so pretty, I thought of cranberries, and since our Stitch n Bitch group meets at Cranberry's, I'm calling it my cranberry sweater. The color is actually called Valentine.

   My mom has a cat, named Mozart, nicknamed Mo. He is so spoiled! He gets fed like four times a day, but she only feeds him 1/4 cup at a time. He is so fat, he's nearly round! But his fur is very thick and soft. He's a pleasure to pet! And he really is a sweetie. He actually let me take his picture!

  
   It is so good to be home! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, next to my beloved Hubs! He is such a good sport, to not complain when I need to go help mom. This is the second time I've been there, she had surgery on her foot a couple years ago.

   You want to hear something very surprising? Until her gall bladder was removed four days ago, she had never had any other parts removed, ever! She still had all her original equipment! Even her tonsils and appendix! She will be 79 years young on the 22nd of this month. She is amazing!

   It was hard to be without internet access. I hope to never have to go without again! I missed facebook, I missed twitter, I missed google+, and I especially missed you, my loyal readers!  Talk to you again soon!

I Will Be Out OF Touch For A Few Days

   Today mom had her gall bladder out, and they will be releasing her from the hospital tomorrow. I will be staying with her for a few days while she recuperates. Here comes the bad news -  she has NO internet service. NONE! So I will need to be out of touch while I'm at her apartment. If, by some chance, I can glom onto someones wifi hotspot, then I shall be in touch.

  Trust me when I say that I shall miss you all. It's been awesome getting to complain, and talk about my crocheting and knitting, and some people actually listen! It's quite a change from my family, since I think I am invisible to them!  I just do the dishes and the laundry, and dinner magically appears in front of them. When I speak, they just look blankly at each other, and continue speaking to each other when I stop. Like I don't exist. Sometimes it gets to me.

   Anyway, hopefully I shall be back in touch on a few days! I know that mom already feels better! And she's really looking forward to going home! Talk to you later!
  

Shit Happens, And I Am Not Miserable, Just Angry!

   So here we were, Sunday night, Hubs and I were getting ready to go into the bedroom. I was in the bathroom, and Hubs was already in the bedroom. From down the road, I hear a loud car coming, screeching tires, revving the engine, generally being very loud and obnoxious. Then I hear the car's brakes screeching, and I wait for the THUMP noise that means they hit something.  And... there it was. Then the peeling out again as they take off on down the road.

   Hubs comes out and asks if I heard that, I answered "Yes, it sounded like it was down the road." He says "No, that right in front of our house!"... So we get our shoes on and go out and look. As we walk out, I can smell the burned rubber from the street. Hubs shines the flashlight on my Jeep, nope, Jeep is OK.  Then he shines the light on mom's car. He says, "They got your mom's car!" OH SHIT! He continues on, and shines the light on his truck too. His truck is also unharmed!

   Mom's car is parked in between my Jeep and his truck! We can see by the peel out tire marks that they came VERY close to hitting my Jeep! We walk back inside, and Hubs calls the State Police. An hour later, a very nice trooper comes to the house. She was very helpful, taking down all our information, etc. It turns out it's a really good thing that I have mom's wallet!

   I have her wallet and other valuables since I was concerned about her having them with her while she's in the hospital. Better safe than sorry. I was so very upset! All of the twenty one years we have lived on this house, we have parked our cars in the front of the house, and NEVER before has there been any sort of problem! This is beyond imagining!

   So yesterday, I had to go to the hospital and tell mom what happened..... She took it pretty good, I think. I mean, it's not like anyone was hurt, the car was simply sitting there! What really pissed me off was that the driver simply took off! That right there is against the law, leaving the scene of an accident! Much less the reckless driving that lead to them losing control in the first place! I sincerely hope that the police catch this driver. I know that their car was damaged, we have pieces of it! We know that the back right corner is damaged, and we found clear plastic pieces from a broken lens.

   Even better? Mom's insurance won't cover any damage. It turns out that she dropped collision insurance last year to save money. Her friend talked her into it, since she doesn't drive that much.  Hubs has been searching and found some replacement doors for the car. I will go pick them up tomorrow. Maybe over the weekend, he can replace them for her. Unfortunately, they aren't the same color as her car. Maybe her friend will help pay for them to be painted to match the rest of the car? We can only hope!

   Now for some pictures! This is from across the street. My Jeep is in front of the car, Hubs' truck is behind it.

Close up of the damaged doors-

And here's the shot of the tire marks and how close they are to my Jeep!

In Which I Am Speechless

    In the last 24 hours, we have had some things happen, and I don't want to say anything I might later regret, So I will be taking tonight off from blogging. Maybe tomorrow too, we shall see. But I have photos, oh yes, there will be photos....

In Which I Knit In The Hospital

    Today when I got up, I planned on spending most of the day at the hospital, so I took my knitting with me! Whenever I go almost anywhere, I usually take either my nook, or my knitting. Just in case the car breaks down, or I have to wait for someone or something. It works especially well at the doctors office! Every time I bring a book to read while I'm waiting, no matter how early for my appointment I am, I get called right in. EVERY TIME. There has to be something to that.

   So I took both nook and knitting with me today to the hospital. I arrived between 10 and 10:30. Which is usually the time I'm rolling out of bed. Mom was surprised to see me so early. So we sat and chatted, and after a while, she told me she was getting sleepy. So while she napped, I knitted! I got three or four rows done on my shawl. That doesn't sound like much, but it's really getting big, and I have no desire to count stitches. Tomorrow I will take a photo, so you can see how big it's getting.

   My brother Chip (surprise) and my son Jesse also dropped in to visit with mom while I was there. It was nice to see my brother, we aren't close. Then after lunch, my daughter Sara came to visit too! We always have a good time when we get to chat. By 2:30 or so, we were both ready to leave. Just before we were going to say goodbye to mom, the nurse came in and told mom they were moving her to a private room! So we stuck around to get her settled in, then we took our leave.

   It was nice to get to spend so much time with mom today, and really nice to get time to knit! Does knitting in the hospital still count as knitting in public? I think so!

   A very big P.S.  Mom and I talked about my blog, and I told her how so many people have read the "Shit Happens, Misery Is Optional" post. She totally agrees with me! After all, that's where I get it from, isn't it? And not only did she have polio as a child, she was also very sick with scarlet fever too. So she isn't a Mary Fracking Poppins either!

   Until next time! And please don't forget to comment!!

A Little Knitting, Mostly Mom

   What a roller coaster day this was! To start with, I think I knit about two rows on my shawl today. I got out of bed when my daughter texted me that she was going to the hospital to see her grandma. So I begged a ride, not being too proud. I got dressed and was ready when she got here.

   It was spooky; when we got to the hospital, and found her room, there was no one in there! So we waited, and waited some more. At one point I went out to the nurses station to ask someone where my mom was. I stood there, while a man sat on the other side of the counter, ignoring me. That lasted a few minutes. Finally another nurse came along, and I was able to ask her about my mom's whereabouts. She wandered off and didn't return.

   A while later, Sara went out for the same purpose. She was more successful! We discovered that mom was having some tests done, and should be back soon. The tests take about 45 minutes, and we had already been there almost 30. Shortly after that, mom made her appearance. She climbed back into her bed, and we finally got to visit.

   She told us that she definitely has to have her gall bladder out. The surgeon will come to see her Monday morning, so who knows when they can schedule it. Tuesday, maybe? She isn't happy about this at all. She kept saying that this isn't in her plans. We had to leave by 11:45, Sara and her Hubs were going to Albany to see the Cirque Du Soliel.  I hope I spelled it right!

   So when Hubs woke up this afternoon, we discussed what was happening with mom. I told him I needed to get to her apartment tomorrow, to get some more stuff she needs, and pick up her car and bring it home. That way, I can go get her and take her home in her own car when she is discharged. I will be staying with her a few days for her recuperation. 

   So Hubs suggested he drop me off there on his way to work. So that's what we did. I called her from her house, and got all the things she needs. I will take them to her tomorrow.  On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things we needed. Now, it's after 8:00,  and my dinner is ready. And Doctor Who season finale comes on in less than a half an hour, so buh-bye!

   Hopefully there will be more knitting news tomorrow!