The tale of the dryer

    This past Monday, I changed the sheets on our bed. I have another bottom sheet, so I remade it right away. I took the sheets downstairs and put them in the washer. When they were done, into the dryer they went.


    After an hour, I went down to check on them. Sometimes fleece sheets need a second cycle. I opened the dryer door and inside, the sheets were still wet! Hmmm. I cleaned out the lint screen, closed the door and set another cycle. After the second hour, I checked again. The fracking sheets were still wet! Once again, I cleaned out the screen, and started the dryer. This time, I hung out for a minute then opened the door, to check if there was heat. There was heat. Hmmmm again.


     This time I set the kitchen timer for 30 minutes to remind me to do down before the cycle was finished. When the bell rang, I went downstairs. This time the sheets were damp and cold, so the dryer had shut off long enough for them to cool off.  I started it one more time, this time I stayed downstairs. I didn't have to wait long. The fracking dryer was turning off after 5 minutes!


    I took out the lint screen, and reached my hand down into the vent pipe. It was pretty clogged, and my hand didn't fit too well. But I pulled out what I could reach. Then I took a closer look at the screen itself. Almost all the little holes were solidly clogged. I unclogged out what I could, hoping it was enough to at least finish the sheets. I crossed my fingers, and started the dryer again. This last time, the bottom sheet was finally dry enough to fold and put away.  The top sheets, I put back on the bed.


    For those of you who don't remember, Hubs and I have separate covers on our bed. I credit that fact with the success and longevity of our marriage. Anyway, I brought the lint screen up with me, and found a bucket so I could soak it. It took several hours, but finally most of the goop was gone.


    While soaking the screen, it occurred to me that quite possibly the clogging was caused by the new fabulous laundry detergent I had made. I let the screen dry overnight, and the next day put it back in the dryer. This while time, I was pretty upset thinking "What if this doesn't work? How can I tell Hubs I need a new dryer?"...


    I kept my mouth shut, figuring with any luck I wouldn't need to do laundry until after Christmas. Unfortunately, Hubs needed me to wash some clothes Christmas Eve, so he had something nice to wear to our future daughter-in-law's parent's house for Christmas dinner.


    With great trepidation, I put the clothes into the dryer. I even sat down there on the steps for a while to see if the dryer would work. I sat there for 10 minutes, and it kept running!! I think we have success! I also used my old liquid detergent, just to be safe. Of course, Hubs wanted to know what took me so long, so I had to explain the whole thing to him. He told me that he had recently cleaned out the main vent pipe that goes out the wall, so that made me feel a bit better. I was worried that the whole thing might have been clogged solid.


    And that was my pre-Christmas drama. Next time you get to hear my report about Christmas! Lucky you! I'm sorry if you found this boring, but life isn't always exciting.

Merry Festivus Eve!!

    It's finally here. And I finally achieved one of my holiday goals this year, I never set foot in a mall. It was difficult, as my favorite store, the Awesome Store, has a local store here in town, but it's not open all the time. Their store in the mall, however is open all the time. I just kept going back to the local one until I happened to catch it open.


   For most of my gifts, I made use of catalogs, the internet and local small businesses. I am a firm believer in patronizing local businesses. I would much rather not ever have to venture into Poughkeepsie for any reason. Really the only thing I see a need for here in town is a local shoe store. We don't have one at this time. I'm not sure there ever was one. I do remember there was a shoe repair shop, but not one that sold shoes. I mean good quality shoes, not the ones you could buy at the now defunct Jamesway.


    Anyway, Christmas/Festivus is almost upon us. I wrapped all the gifts, and put up our little tree. I did have a scare though. My granddaughter's gift hadn't arrived by this past weekend, and set out for the Post Office on Monday. With great relief, I saw I had two package tickets in our box. One was a coffee mug that I won on facebook from The Cheeky Witch, all the way from England. It managed to get here unbroken! The other package was indeed the missing gift.


    As I pulled up in front of the house, I noticed a package at the front door, as left by the UPS man. Hmmm. I wondered what Hubs had ordered this time! When I got inside with all my packages and the rest of the mail, I saw that the package was addressed to me! I opened it, and inside was another of the same gift. Now I have two.


    I decided to keep the one, and perhaps send it back at a later time. The other I wrapped and will deliver it to my delightful granddaughter on Saturday at our family gathering.


    Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, we have been invited to my new future daughter-in-law's parent's house. We are really looking forward to it! We've been before, and have enjoyed ourselves each time. This year will really be special as our kids just got engaged.


    I may be taking the day off tomorrow, since we'll be busy with holiday things. And I am sooo looking forward to the Doctor Who Christmas special! I can't believe Matt Smith is done already, and I'm looking forward to meeting the new Doctor!


    No matter what holiday you celebrate, stay safe, and remember to tell the people in your life that you love them. Time is fleeting and life is short. I think this time of year, even more than Thanksgiving, is the time for being thankful. Enjoy!!

Leg warmer progress with photos!

    I still haven't gotten to the root of the problem with my laptop, but I haven't gotten the blue screen again either. I decided to chance it, and post some photos of my progress with the legwarmers.


   As a reminder, they are being worked side to side, with ribbing at top and bottom. Here is what the first one looks like:

Computer problems....

    I haven't posted since the 17th, because on that day, after I posted, my laptop came down with the dreaded blue screen. And every time I come back here, I get an error message. I just wanted to let you all know that when I get this resolved, I shall resume blogging. LOVE YOU! Kim

It's appropriate that it snowed today

    Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. Yup, 25 years ago I said "I do" and became the wife of my best friend and soul mate.


    I remember that day very well. We got married at the house where my in-laws were living at that time. There was a big, open, empty apartment in the basement, perfect for the reception. My brother made all of the food we ate, and bought us our cake. It snowed that day too, quite hard; some of our guests couldn't make it. That night was the night that there was an explosion at the Holiday Inn in Fishkill, right down the hall from where my new Hubs' grandparents were sleeping. I believe their car got slightly damaged.


    So I find myself reminiscing about that night, now. It is still snowing here, although lightly now, not so hard as it was earlier. And here we are, 25 years later. Sara is married, and just had a baby. I have reconnected with son James, and our son Jesse just got engaged. Life is good. I hope the next 25 years go as smoothly....

Leg Warmer Progress

    I have to admit, I started knitting a legwarmer. I got through the bottom ribbing, which is long because it goes over my foot. Then I started the body, and I wasn't happy with it. I decided I needed to increase a bunch of stitches right after the ribbing. I actually frogged back to that point, then was unable to pick up those ribbing stitches. I ended up frogging the whole thing.


    That's when I got my crochet hook out. I used the same mm size hook as I had knitting needle. The yarn is a heavy worsted weight. And it's bright pink. LOVE IT! I chained a bunch of stitches, then started back across with 13 or so single crochets, then did doubles until the last 18 or so stitches. I did maybe 3 rows like this before I decided it wasn't long enough. So I frogged that too. Made it longer and started again. This time, I'm happy with it. I think.


    I laid it out on the floor, all nice and flat so I could take a photo and you could see what I was talking about. When I got the camera out, I discovered that the battery was dead. Since we hadn't been plowed out yet, I couldn't go get a new one. That may have to wait until tomorrow.  


    In the meantime, we have other family news. My youngest child, my baby, has asked his long-time girlfriend to marry him. I'm very happy for them both. My eyes keep leaking, I'm a little emotional. after all, he is the youngest. This will be a long engagement, as her sister is set to get married next October, and other events are happening in her family even before that. But everyone is happy, and it will be worth waiting for.

I've got an itch...

   I think I have a really severe desire to make some legwarmers. It's been so cold, my legs are freezing under my house pants, even though my feet are nice and warm in my felted clog slippers. (many thanks to Kim H.)


   I have searched and searched my bedroom, and could only find one. The other one is gone. Simply disappeared. You should have heard Hubs laugh when he came home and found me wearing only one leg warmer. I explained I only found one, and was wearing it on the leg that was coldest.


    But now I find myself wanting to make myself a pair. I have spent time this morning perusing free patterns, both knit and crochet. And I'm not finding exactly what I am looking for. I am leaning more towards crochet. Done side to side, with back loop only single crochet(blo sc) on each end, and double crochet(dc) for in between. That would make the ends sort of ribbed, and tighter. It sort of sounds like I've just designed my own, doesn't it?


   I think I may have to experiment. Of course they will probably be done in worsted weight, as I have a well known allergy to hooks smaller than size G. That's OK, since I would probably not wear them out of the house anyway. And they will be slouchy.  I like to pull the bottom ribbed portion over my foot anyway.


    If you'll excuse me, I do believe it's time to go stash diving..... 

Hazelnut Love

    My fondest memories of Thanksgiving are of traveling upstate to my Grandmother's house for the holiday. Every year, she would set out a bowl of mixed nuts. I don't remember at what point I started eating them, but it was probably when I was old enough to use a nutcracker without hurting myself.


   Early on, I zeroed in on the hazelnuts, or filberts, as grandma insisted they be called. I ate all of the different kinds of nuts, I liked the almonds and the pecans, but wasn't fond of the walnuts. I also remember liking the brazil nuts, but they were too hard to crack open, so I usually passed on those.


   But the hazelnuts, oh the hazelnuts! She quickly noticed that they were the first to disappear out of her nut bowl. And every year after that, I would receive a bag of hazelnuts from her for Christmas. I always looked forward to that. After she passed away, I didn't get any more bags, sometimes I would buy them myself.


    So the other day, when Hubs called me from Adams Fairacre Farms, where he had stopped to pick up some of his newest obsession, Fire Balls. He asked me if there was anything I wanted or needed while he was there. I told him no, all I needed was him. He laughed and we hung up.


    Imagine my delight as I opened his lunch cooler when he got home, and found that he had bought me some hazelnuts!! He knows that I adore them, and he isn't at all fond of them. I was totally surprised at his thoughtfulness. Is it any wonder that we've been together for 25(and a half) years? Our wedding anniversary is the 17th, this coming Tuesday. I can't wait to see what surprises he has in store for me. Even if there aren't any, I won't be disappointed. Just having him in my life is reward enough for me. I am thankful every single day.

It's a yucky snowy day

   And I intend to drink my coffee, snuggle up and keep warm. While I am trying to keep warm, I believe I shall knit. I didn't mention that I was knitting at the craft fair Saturday. I got quite a bit done. But I'm still not halfway done. Maybe I'll get there today?


   Even though it's his day off, Hubs decided to go in to work. His co-worker requested his help. It's overtime, and our 25th wedding anniversary is one week from today. I can't believe it's been 25 years already. Seems like only yesterday. Where does the time go?


    I must take this opportunity to thank another one of Hubs' co-workers, he has very nearly talked him into getting a bigger motorcycle for the both of us. I'm very excited about that. Then we can take trips and rides together. I'm really looking forward to that.

A Shameless Plug

    As you know, yesterday I did a craft fair, with my friend Bonny and her daughter Mckenzie. It turns out that Mckenzie has an internet store, where she sells all natural stuff that she makes herself. I purchased one of her lip balms yesterday, and liked it so much I bartered for three more.


    The address of her store is: stuffbymckenzie.storenvy.com . I do hereby attest that her lip balms are da bomb. I got three vanilla flavored and one nutella. I understand that lots of people have requested the nutella flavored balms from all major manufacturers. Mckenzie's are fabulous. Use the link and check it out. I believe that she is no longer using beeswax, but switched to soy wax, as the beeswax smell was too strong.

P.S. She ships internationally as well as within the U.S.

And now it's over

    I am home from the craft fair, relaxing and getting something to eat. I'm hungry. All in all, I'm glad I went. I only sold one thing, and that was before the show even started. My goodest buddy Bonny bought one of my blankets for her daughter, Mckenzie.


    My goodest friend sold lots of scarves, baby sweaters and infinity scarves. She really made out today. I got to hang out with my friends and say "Hi!" to people all day. It wasn't a waste of time. I learned what to make for the next craft fair. I need to make more small stuff.


    We also kind of thought that next time, I would get my own booth, so I could spread my stuff out more. I have to say I was disappointed that there were no Red Hat Ladies in attendance today. I have two blankets(afghans) I made just for them, and no one showed any interest. Maybe it's time to put stuff in my etsy store. I've had a store for more than two years, but never listed anything.

Getting ready

    My friend Bonny, her daughter, and myself are participating in our local high school's annual Christmas craft fair this Saturday. I've been spending time getting ready.


    First up, find all my blankets. They are all crocheted, and all have been put away for just such an occasion. I found them, washed them, and put them in a big bin. However, they are bigger than the bin, so I left the top off.


    Then I took my bin of blankets and went to Bonny's house, where we spent an afternoon pricing stuff. I have only 6 or 7 blankets, but some are BIG, so they take up lots of room. I even made a couple especially for the Red Hat Society ladies, and they are purple and red. I am also going to have a basket of rubber band bracelets that I made, selling for $1 or $2, depending on how many rubber bands it took to make them.

  

 

    This is a photo of one of the blankets, kind of. The actual one is reverse, color-wise. It starts with green in the middle and goes out to white on the border. I looked through all my photos, and this is the only one I have of any of the blankets I made. If you want to see them, come on out to Franklin D. Roosevelt High School on South Cross Rd, in Staatsburg this Saturday, December 7th. I believe it starts at 10 a.m.

 

Apologies

    Apologies to all my friends, I've been understandably distracted this week. My new grandson is now 6 days old, and things are going really well at home. His mommy has really impressed me and made me proud. When I was in her position, I was a big, weepy, bag of hormones. She has all her poop assembled, and is handling everything with more grace and dignity than I ever thought possible.


    In the long run, I'm sure that her Hubs is greatly responsible for this. He takes it upon himself to do things like the laundry and dishes, since she is mostly responsible for the feeding of the little guy. She is a real trooper in that department too. She hasn't gotten frustrated or anything. This is one lucky little boy.


   Almost lastly, here is a photo taken by a family member today. This is the first one I've seen of the new little family. My daughter looks beautiful, and still glowing, I think new motherhood agrees with her.

    And for those of you wondering, yes I took my knitting to the hospital, and did knit for a while, while she was in labor. That stupid blanket is still not quite half done.