Happy New Year

    This post has been a long time in the writing. I had a really hard time since the last time, deciding what to tell you about. Christmas was nice this year, with the new baby and all. We have our family gathering after the holiday, due to the many sub-branches wishing to celebrate with their own families.


    This year, we had dinner out on Saturday the 28th. It went swimmingly, even though my older son, his wife and two kids were unable to attend due to the kids being sick. They didn't want to endanger the baby or my mother. The dinner and gift exchange afterwards at son Jesse's house went better than I had hoped. 


    Everyone loved seeing the new baby, and my nephew Christopher really seemed enamored of him. He really is a sweet kid.

 

    And then New Years Eve came along. It just so happened that I was in the grocery store and found loose chestnuts in the produce section. I had been buying the ones in foil bags until I discovered that they are a product of China. And that is a bad thing. So I had vowed to not buy any more of those bags.


   So I was delighted to find the ones in the produce section! I scooped up about a pound of the little buggers and took them home, vowing to look up on the internet how to roast them myself.


    I was successful, finding two slightly different methods. I tried one last night, and it worked. The chestnuts were even better than the ones from China. Next time, I'll try the other method which steams them a little first before roasting. Supposedly it loosens the shell and skin, and makes it easier to remove them.


    Hubs helped me shell the hot nuts. They were very tasty indeed! Kudos to Hubs for helping, since he doesn't even like chestnuts! Unfortunately, we both fell asleep before the ball dropped at 12. We had been watching the Walking Dead marathon nearly all day. We only stopped at 10 pm to watch The Big Bang Theory. It was really fun to watch the first two seasons again.


    Here's hoping we all have a happy and healthy new year! With the "Big Storm" that's heading our way, I hope all the people I care about stay safe. Love to all!


    P.S. I have made some progress on my crocheted leg warmers, the first one is getting quite wide! I try to do at least two rows a day. So far, so good....

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!!

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.

 

A Morning of Galavanting

    This morning, friend Bonny and I went gallivanting. My mother-in-law introduced me to that term, and it fits pretty well. She used to go out gallivanting all the time.


    So this morning, Bonny and I went out, to go to Hobby Lobby because she needed more yarn. Then we went to Michaels, where I found a longer (36") size 11 needle. Points for me! I also bought a new size N crochet hook. I can't find any of my old ones.


    After that, we ran some other errands that she had to do. It's nice to get out once in a while. I got home just before noon, when the new Knit and Crochet Now program was on. Perfect timing!


    So I've been knitting today, working on Ozzy's new bed. I changed over to the longer, bigger needles. I hope to get some photos tomorrow. I've also been working on more secret projects. Let's call them Christmas or Festivus presents. I wish I could show them to you, but they are surprises.


    And just so you know, I broke out Sara's sweater yesterday, and did a few rounds on that too. I stopped because I think the body might be long enough, but I didn't feel like measuring it.


    I also enjoyed the beautiful day we had today! It was so sunny and warm, despite the chance of thunder storms. We didn't get any. YAY! I hope it was nice where you are!

and a good time was had by all

    I am so very glad, in a way, that the whole hoopla over the holiday is over. It was a difficult one, for me, because of the empty nest thing. Jess wasn't here. But we did get to see him today, and Julie too. We were invited to her mom's house for Christmas dinner, and we went. I usually have trouble getting Hubs to social functions. But this was a small one.


    We had a really good time! Not that it was a surprise, or anything. We just haven't gotten to spend much time with them. Last year, they all went to the Giants game on Christmas Eve, then we all met afterward at her house, and had a big wing-ding. That was lots of fun! This year she promised it would be quieter, just Linda and Chip, Julie's grandmother, Jesse and Julie, and us.


    We really enjoyed their company, and the food was good. I've never had German food before, being of Italian extraction.


    Santa was good to me this year. I got the Kindle Fire I wanted, even though I was told I wouldn't be getting one. I initially had some trouble connecting to the Internet, then I realized I was attempting to use the wrong router. Once I got that straightened out, I was golden.


    First thing I downloaded? Angry Birds! I love that game. Hubs also got me some gift cards, Visa and from Barnes and Noble. I also have a nook, that I absolutely love, and will never give up. Technically, I own the nook, a regular Kindle, and now the Kindle Fire. Hubs uses the regular Kindle. I don't see me downloading many books to the Kindle Fire. I think it will be for playing games. But we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?


    I feel I must report that even though I took my knitting with me, I didn't knit at all today.

Checking Everything Twice

    That's what we have been doing, every time we leave for a get-together. We've found that wrapping the gifts in stages works pretty well.The day before we went and saw the grandkids, we wrapped their gifts.


    Tonight, we wrap the gifts we need for tomorrow's get-together. Then this year, I'm throwing out all out wrapping paper, it's all pretty old and worn. I will buy new on Wednesday, when it's all on sale.


    Tonight, we have our tree lit, with the new decorations on it. We are now the proud owners of our grandkids handprints on ornaments, as well as pine cones decorated by our granddaughter, Chloe. They make the tree even more special this year.


    Both Hubs and I hope you all have a very happy holiday, no matter what persuasion you are, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or whatever else there is to celebrate!

Festivus is almost here!!

    I'm getting excited now, as Festivus is nearly here. I love a good, flexible holiday. Our Stitch n Bitch celebrated on Friday, but only three of us were well enough to make it. Tomorrow morning, I'll be exchanging gifts with my best 10 year old friend, and her mom too, I think.


    As for Hubs, I can only keep reassuring him that there are only two more events that we are attending, then he can crawl back into his cave. He is not a social animal at all. He would prefer if he never had to leave his cave. But this is the time of year when we must interact with people, especially family. In our case, it's my family. His mom was the last of his immediate family, and she's been gone for two years.


    Someone PLEASE remind me next year, that at our family dinner, Hubs is not to sit near my brother....

What a Day! Photo Added....

    Today was the day that my family all gets together and has dinner, then the kids open their gifts. My beloved late mother-in-law began this tradition, when her son and I were first married.


    When you are newlywed, you begin your own traditions, sharing holidays between the two families. In our case, we did Christmas Eve with Hubs' family, and Christmas Day with my family. At first, Betty cooked for us, but after a few years, we started  going out to the local diner, then back to her house for dessert and presents. It was fun, and our son Jesse got to celebrate and open presents three times! Once with Grammy and Pop, once with us on Christmas morning, then again with Grandma and Grandpa for dinner that day.


    Well my mom is the only grandparent Jesse has left, and she has taken over the Christmas Eve diner dinner. Only, since my kids are all grown up, two with families and in-laws of their own, we moved it to a day close to Christmas. This year, it was tonight. After dinner we went to my brother's house with gifts only for the youngest kids, and for my mom, of course, being the matriarch.


    All this was after I worked today, of course. And Hubs worked too, and had to go back after dinner to finish up. So he didn't get to have dessert. All together, I believe there were sixteen of us. Mom, myself and Hubs, my daughter and her hubs, my son and his wife and their two kids. Then my youngest and his girlfriend. My brother, his wife, their daughter with her boyfriend, and their young son rounded out the roster.


   One of our hosts kindly took a photo of our whole table!

    Whew! Thank goodness that's over with! Now we get to do Christmas Day, with Jesse and Julie at her mom's. There won't be so many people there, so it will be quieter, and pleasant. We went there last year, on Christmas Eve; we met there after the Giants game. They all went to the game, including my Hubs and son.


    I can't wait for Santa to come, I wonder what he'll bring me this year? I've tried really hard to be a good girl!

last minute stuff

    Today, Hubs and I went out and did a few last minute things for the holiday. I believe we are ready now, except for wrapping. Hopefully we can do that tomorrow night.


    I have been knitting up a storm in the last two days, so much so that my yarn holding finger is stiff. I used up two skeins of the cream color, and have switched to a denim blue. I like it. I have at least one more skein of the cream, I'm saving it for the collar and tops of the sleeves. They will also have the denim added to them.


    But, the progress is unbelievable on the sweater! I haven't taken any photos today, with the running around, but I hope to tomorrow. After Stitch n Bitch. Maybe.

this year, Christmas will be different

    Surprisingly, this never occurred to me when our youngest child moved out this past June.  I was a bit worried about the empty nest thing, sure. But Christmas never crossed my mind at that time.


    When Jesse was a teenager, I purchased an elf hat, which he was to wear every Christmas morning when he handed out the gifts. He was our official Santa's helper. He wore it willingly, and played along. It just hit me yesterday, as Hubs and I were shopping, that he won't be here this year.


    There are so many stories from holidays past. One of my favorites? You know how kids always try to get their parents up really early on Christmas morning? Well, one year when Jess was a teenager, we decided to get him back, and we woke him up at 5:30 am. We ran in his room, turned on his lights, and stood there shaking him, yelling, "It's Christmas, it's Christmas! Get up, get up!" Of course he got up, and we had a good laugh. He was very understanding of our insanity.


    But he did say that we had better not wake him up at 5:30 again, ever. So when Christmas rolled around again, we woke him at 5 instead. He was not amused, but we were!


    Then there was the whole moose thing. When he was little, Jess loved moose. I know that he'll say it was all us, but he did love them. One year, Hubs sent all the way to Alaska, I think, for a lucite paperweight that had real, genuine, moose poop in it. You should have seen his face when he opened that gift! It was hysterical, and to this day, I've yet to see him laugh that hard again.


    Aaah, the memories. I'll always have those, won't I? And the elf hat won't go to waste. I thought I'd wear to to work this coming weekend, as it's the weekend before Christmas.


   

random thoughts after a night of little sleep

   1. We got some shopping done yesterday, two out of three of the hard gifts. Goddess bless Sam's Club.

   2. I am tired and a bit on the cranky side. I really need my coffee today, but there's no half and half left in the fridge. It just doesn't taste the same with milk.

   3. I know of some people who are big Josh Groban fans. I heard him sing this morning, and I don't get it. I'm not impressed. He was amusing on the chat portion of the show, but singing? Not so much.

    4. I'm having second thoughts about using good wool for my sweater. I'm thinking I can buy two of the one pound acrylics, and have the practice sweater done for less than $20. If that one comes out properly, then  I may invest the money in the wool. And I get two sweaters.

    5. I love hedgehogs. I have a small collection of them, always looking for more. I found a giant stuffed one, in Sam's Club yesterday! He was so cute! Of course, Hubs wouldn't buy him for me, and I didn't ask. It was soft, a pillow for kids to lay on, on the floor, and watch TV.

    6. I sort of wish someone would knit that sweater for me.

    7. Hubs and I have an anniversary coming up. This coming Monday, it will be 24 years since we got married. Where did the time go? I still feel like a newlywed. I have to say, this has been the happiest time of my life, even with the few rough patches.

Festivus / Christmas Shopping

    I have, as of today, gotten three gifts taken care of. THREE. That's it. There are at least three more that I have in mind, if not four. Thank the Goddess that we are restricting family gifts to the youngest children, and matriarch, this year. That takes off a lot of pressure.


    I have my gift for the Cherub, one for Hubs, and one for my friend Bonny.  That's it. I am contemplating which of my self knitted items to gift to friend Jan. She is definitely knit worthy. I was going to contribute a gift card towards yarn for friend Kim's sweater, but she's already purchased the yarn. So I need to re-think that gift.


    I have a specific thing in mind for grandson Mason, will see about that tomorrow. Hopefully they have one in a good color for a two year old boy. For his big sister? No ideas at all. Ditto for my nephew.


    Crap, this time of year sneaks up on ya, doesn't it? I better get a move on, on those Gamer Gloves.....

Christmas Yarnbomb and Dental Report

   Last year at this time, my friend the nut* made a yarnbomb for our town nativity. A blanket for the baby Jesus, and scarves for the wise men. It was very cute! At the end of the season, when the town put away the nativity scene, we wondered what would become of the yarn bomb. Would they toss the blankie and scarves? Or would they pack them away for this year?

   Well, today we have our answer. She went by the town hall this morning, and yes, Virginia, the yarnbomb is back! Well, at least, most of it is back. The wise men have their scarves, but it seems the baby Jesus' blankie is missing. She was thrilled, and is planning on making Jesus a new blankie. Hopefully soon, he will be all warm and sung in his manger.

   I haven't yet driven by the town hall to see it for myself, but I can imagine I will soon. I regularly drive by on my way to almost everywhere. Perhaps when I go visit the nativity, I will happen to have my camera, and can snap a photo or two.

   "And now for something completely different", as Monty Python was fond of saying. I had my next dentist appointment this morning. They removed the temporary crowns and put in the permanent ones. They feel really weird.  But it wasn't a torture session this time. Yay for me! In fact, I was in and out and home in thirty minutes from the time of my appointment.  I know! How often does that happen? Especially at this office.

   Before I was a patient there, My friend Bonny asked me to accompany her to her appointment, she promised it shouldn't take long at all. I took my current crochet project, and went with her. It turned out that I didn't bring enough yarn. She was in there more than 3 hours! It was the toughest 3 hours of my life! I was so bored, once I couldn't crochet any more. I untangled my yarn, I read every magazine I could find. I counted ceiling tiles. I counted how many people came in and out in a certain length of time. I nearly lost my mind.

   When I started going there as a patient, based on my visit with Bonny, I had my Hubs set his alarm to wake him up in case I wasn't home in time. This was when my appointments were in the early afternoon. He has to be up for work by 4 pm. I have relaxed since then, my visits have never taken that long. But you can understand my concern! After the first few appointments, I started making them for the mornings.  Easy peasy.

   I do enjoy people watching in the waiting room. There are three offices that share one waiting room, and it's pretty big.  It seems that people from the lower portion of the economic ladder frequent these offices. Not all, mind you, but enough to make people watching interesting.

   Today, the highlight of my visit came from a receptionist in the neighboring doctors office. She was on the phone, talking to a patient in a loud voice. "You can't wait that long! You need to come in soon! How big is the boil? Is it red?" I kid you not! Everyone in the waiting room could hear this conversation. Apparently, the patient will be coming in tomorrow to have it looked at. I just shake my head.

* I have not used her name, in case she wishes to remain anonymous