A Crafting Rant and Two P.S.'s

    You know how, in a movie or a TV show, they (attempt to) show someone either knitting or crocheting, and they get to SOOOO wrong? Like someone in a commercial who is knitting on a obviously crocheted afghan? Or when they show someone actively crocheting on a granny square afghan? WRONG!! Can you tell it makes me crazy?


    My most fervent wish would be for me to be the one that the movie/TV industry hires to make sure they get it right. A "Crafting Consultant" of sorts. I am pretty sure that I'm not the only crafter that is annoyed by these unnecessary oversights. I can't begin to tell you how many movies and TV shows this has ruined for me.


    Another one that bugs me is when they show someone sitting down to knit, and when they pick up their knitting, they are in the middle of a row! I know of absolutely no knitter, ever, who would stop in the middle of a row. Unless she could get back to it right away. I think it's a very deeply ingrained knitting behavior, we just can't stop until the current row is completed.  Crocheters, on the other hand, have no compunction about stopping whenever, or wherever, they want.


    OK, I think this rant is over. I feel better already. Thanks for listening! If anyone has any thoughts, please feel free to leave a comment.


    P.S.  I would like to thank my high school typing teacher, Mr. Knickerbocker, the bow tie wearer. He was wearing them before they were cool (Doctor Who reference).   I failed his class. If only he could see me now! I hardly ever have to look at the keys any more....


    P.P.S.  I've had this laptop nearly three years now, and to my total surprise, the N key is the one that is most worn.  All the other keys still look like new! This is just one of those random things that occur to me on a daily basis.    

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....

Crocheting again!

    Yesterday I started crocheting again! I'm continuing work on the Super Secret Project. It was weird at first, the hook was hitting my pinkie in a strange place. I'm not used to it any more. But I worked on it again today, and it was a bit better.


   It seems that the way I hold the hook, I use my pinkie for support. I think I was just resting it in the wrong place. It was resting right on the inside of the joint, and that's why it hurt. But today it was better, like I said.


    We shall have to see what tomorrow will bring. I'm just happy to be crafting again. I even knit two rows on the original super secret project, just to make sure I still knew how to do it.


    My shoulder has been pretty good, arthritis wise. I had a couple of days where I didn't stretch it out, boy did I pay for it. It seized up so tightly I couldn't even use my arm for a day. I went back to my stretching routine, but that day and the next it was extremely painful. Now I make sure I stretch it out at least twice a day.


   

Three days? Really?

    It's really been three days since I last posted? It doesn't feel like that long. I'm still reading, I believe I'm on book 16 now, of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton.


    I've been stressing about a medical exam, complete with pulmonary test. I don't do well with those. The day after, I'm usually confined to bed. At the very least, I usually need to nap after these kinds of tests. They totally exhaust me.


    I had my exam and test today. It wasn't the worst kind of pulmonary test, where they put a clamp on your nose and expect you to breathe only through a tube in your mouth. As tests go, it was one of the easier ones. Don't get me wrong, I'm still exhausted. It takes a lot out of you, or rather me. I'm not sure yet how I'll feel tomorrow. But at least it's over with.


    I am still not knitting or crocheting, and my arthritis is still not too painful. Knock on wood....

Changing direction midstream

    Since it is counterproductive to knit and cause myself pain, it looks like I'll have to go back to crocheting. I've decided not to frog the Super Secret Project, but to continue a crochet project I had stopped in order to do the secret one. Don't get me wrong, this one is secret too. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to knit again.


    I bought plenty of the yarn. I originally bought it for the crocheted secret project, but instead used it for the knitted one. Now I'll go back and use it as originally intended. If you're thoroughly confused, don't worry about it. All is well.


    Now I'm planning a baby shower. I am terrible at these things, but apparently it's my job as the mom-to-be's mom. The good thing is that I've got plenty of help! I'm absolutely no good at the games and things.

In which records are set, then broken

    This has been one hell of a summer. We set a record for pool temp last week, when the water reached 83 degrees. You need to understand that our pool has NEVER gotten that warm. In fact it's famous for being cold all summer.


    For most of the years we've lived here, our pool was only in full sun for maybe 5 or 6 hours a day, from around 10 am to 4 pm, maximum. We have a wooded lot on one side, and the trees block the afternoon sun. We petitioned the owner of the property to cut down some of the trees, and they agreed. We got a little more sun, a little later in the day.


    Last year, we got more time when the trees blocking the morning sun had to come down. Super Storm Sandy undermined the trees roots, and they  started leaning pretty badly. Taking those two trees down seems to have really helped our pool sun time.


    Until this year, the warmest our pool ever got was 82 degrees. it usually hovered around 76 or 78. It only got warmer if it was really hot out and didn't cool off at night. Well, since taking the trees extended our morning sun, we hit the previously mentioned 83 last week. Then rained some and the temp cooled off to 78. but we were soon back up to 82, then 83. And then yesterday, we hit a new high of 84!!


    Unfortunately, I preferred the pool cooler. I swim to cool off, not to feel like I'm in a bathtub. Anyway, it was a proud moment. If you'll excuse me, it's time to put my suit on and go down to the pool. I'll be taking my nook, as well as my knitting and crocheting projects. I like to mix it up.

What I'm Doing Instead, and Why

    Since I have confessed that I haven't been crafting, I must state that I haven't just been sitting around watching TV like a zombie. I've been reading. Now, it's been my habit for many, many years to keep a book in the bathroom. When I will be in there for an extended period of time, I pass the time by reading.


    For the past few years, the bathroom has been the home for my nook. It's like having an entire library in there. I read all the Game of Thrones books, and discovered a new series, The Iron Druid, by Kevin Hearne.


    While waiting impatiently for the latest Iron Druid book to come out, I decided to reread one of my favorite books. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. She used to be my very favorite author, but then she went and got all religious on me. But even though I liked her vampire books, I have always thought that the books about the Mayfair Witches were better. And The Witching Hour, I consider her master work.


    One day before the anxiously awaited new book came out, I finished The Witching Hour. Unfortunately I didn't know that. So I decided to reread the second Mayfair Witches book, Lasher. I was hoping I would like it better the second time around, since many years have passed since I first read it.


    So now I'm trying to rush through Lasher, so I can read the newest Iron Druid book. But I'm savoring the waiting too.


    It's like with my all time favorite series, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter by my very favorite author, Laurell K. Hamilton. I have all of the series in hardcover as well as on my nook. The twenty second book is due out soon. I can't wait! So she's getting twice the money from me. In fact, when I first got my nook, my goal was to buy all the Anita Blake ebooks. And I did, a few at a time, and reread them all. It took all of that summer, but I got them all.


    Ms. Hamilton writes another series about Merry Gentry, a fairy princess. I have read most of them also, but the Anita Blake ones remain my favorite. I recommend these books to anyone who will listen.


    As to why I've been reading and not knitting or crocheting, it all has to do with this future grandbaby. I swore I wasn't going to make anything else until we knew for sure the sex of this child. And my daughter and son-in-law want to know before the actual birth. So I'm anxiously waiting, crochet hooks and knitting needles at the ready. I'm even planning on making something on one of those round knitting looms.

Still not crafting

    That's right, I'm hanging my head in shame. I just don't feel like it. Although I was on Ravelry this morning, looking at crocheted sweater patterns. My good friend Kim is crocheting a granny square shawl, and she's kind of inspired me to crochet something with sock or lace weight yarn, and not a too small hook.


    Anyone who knows me knows I prefer the bigger hooks. The bigger the better, really. I detest using any hook smaller than maybe a G or H.  And these days, I'm wanting to crochet a sweater. Or maybe a shawl. Who knows? But either way, I'll keep you updated!

what I'm not doing today

    There are a few things I won't be doing today. Knitting or crocheting are just the first two. I also won't be going outside. At all, if I can help it.


    You see, a few days ago, I went to my friend's house and went swimming. That's all fine and good, until I got home and saw how red I was. This wasn't a problem, since in my entire life I have gotten burned maybe 4 or 5 times. And it has never been painful. I smear on some Noxzema, and voila, the next day I'm brown.


    Well. This time it's two days later, and I'm still red. In fact, my scalp is painful. I have been without hair for at least four summers now, and I have never gotten burned on my head. Of course, I usually have my SPF 4 or 8 Dark Tanning Oil. This time I forgot it. Even with my house hat on, when I went outside to help Hubs start up the vacuum for the pool, my head hurt. Just from standing in the sun, even with the hat on.


    I am also starting to not feel well. A bit queasy. I had to go out this morning and get more half and half for our coffee, so I picked up some Aloe Vera stuff for my head. When I put it on, it burned. After a little while, it felt better, but still. Burning? And it has no alcohol in it, according to the label.


    This morning, I ended up getting up because the pillowcase rubbing on my head, hurt. How much does that suck? At least if you get burned on your back or stomach you can turn over to the unburned side. What can you do when your racking head is burned??


    So I am a little cranky today. I want to go lay down, but it will hurt. Maybe I'll just stay here in my recliner. Put my feet up, and lay back. I could sleep like that.....

Now for something completely different

   That was one of my favorite quotes from Monty Python. So this post will be about something different. Let's talk about crocheting first. I have finished the 2nd cat bed, after adding another row to the walls. My Hubs thought it was too short. I added the row, and he was right. Again.

    I am currently working on the 3rd and last of the cat beds. It will be just like the 2nd one, but a different color, and bigger. See, the last one I intend for the smallest of Sara's cats, Nermal. The biggest bed, the felted one, I see The Dude claiming. So that makes the newest one for Lemmy. He's bigger than Nermal, and smaller than The Dude. But really, they can sleep in whichever one they want to.


    Yesterday, I didn't post because I was not feeling very well at all. I just couldn't put any words together that I thought you might want to read. I spent most of the day on bed, with a worried Hubs hovering over me. I feel much better today, thankfully.


    This morning, I went to Stich n Bitch, then I went to the karate school to keep my good friend company while her Cherub tests for her 2nd degree black belt. During the actual testing a few months ago, she couldn't participate due to a broken bone in her wrist, and she was wearing a cast. She did take the written test which she passed. This weekend has been set aside for her to complete the physical portion of the test, along with the 3rd degree candidates. So in actuality, it's probably more intense than the original testing. I'm sure she will do very well.


    So I went to keep my friend company for a while, then went and ran some errands, then went back to keeping company again. Now I'm home, because I have my own chores to take care of. But if I have time later, I will go back again. Poor Kim is all alone, sitting on those hard bleachers, by herself.


    I do have something else to talk about, but I'm going to hold off for now. It's very exciting, and I'm thrilled to death about it. You will just have to wait!


   

an ungrateful cat I have

    And talk like Yoda, I do. That's right, Ozzy won't go near his custom made felted cat bed. So I'm going to take it to daughter Sara's and let one of her cats claim it as their own. In the meantime, I'm crocheting two more, so no kitteh will feel left out. The new ones aren't to be felted, I'm making them out of Lion Brand's Homespun, which I know her cats like to sleep on. She has an afghan I made for her from that yarn, and they love it.


    This morning, I was actually busy. I did some laundry, and went to the store. That was necessary, since we were nearly out of half and half, which is an intolerable state to be in. After I got home and unpacked and put away, I went over to visit my good bud Bonny. We hung out for a while, then decided to go to Michaels. I bought some more Homespun for the aforementioned cat beds.


     After that, we decided to look around in our local consignment shop. They have some awesome stuff in there! But the cast iron cauldron I had my eye on was gone. I guess it was a good thing, because I can't afford it anyway.  I'd better get back to it, or the cat beds will never get done!

Finally Done!

 Friday:  
    That's right, the cat bed is finally done! This time I remembered to measure it before felting. It was 20" across the round base, and the walls were 6.5" tall. Here is a before photo:

    Now, in the photo, the walls curled in, and when I take the after felting photo, they should stand up. As I write this, the cat bed is in the washer, felting. After it comes out of the dryer, I will take the after photos, and add them to this post. I will also take the after measurements.


    After felting, the sides wouldn't stand up, so I took a needle and more yarn and kind of puckered it, and now they stand up. Of course, the stupid cat wants nothing to do with it, even though I told him not to get in it, it's not for him. If you have cats, you know that they don't do what you want, preferring to do what you don't want them to do. So I told him NOT to get in the bed, it's NOT for him, it's another basket for my yarn. I even put some yarn in it.

    Of course, he still won't go in it. But I have hope for the future.  The after felting measurements are: 13" across, and the walls are 3.5" tall.


Saturday:
    So far, Ozzy has shown little interest in the bed. He has stepped with front paws into it, but not all the way. Yet. I just put some yarn in it, and told him to stay out of it. That might work.

Crocheting and a Memory

    Today I went out with Hubs, we had a series of errands to run. First was dropping my watch off back at the Watchpital. It cleaned up really well, but still doesn't work.


    At the second errand, I ended up waiting for Hubs for over an hour, sitting in the truck. This is why I brought along my crocheting project. Ozzy's bed is really coming along. I finished the bottom, picked up all the stitches around the circle, and have gotten about two inches done in stockinette. I used up all the black, so the sides will be all gray. It looks nice, and since Ozzy is gray, he matches it.


     Now comes the memory part. It's funny how our memory works. In high school, my English teacher, Mr. Reid, gave us a class project. We broke into small groups and memorized part of a poem. We recorded our parts on tape, and Mr. Reid played them for the whole class. The strange part is that I remember my one line from that poem.


    "As far as the eye of God could see, darkness covered everything." After 40 years, I can still remember it! If any of my classmates are reading this, and remember their parts, please tell me them in the comment section! I'd love to read them. What I don't remember is if I had Mr. Reid for junior or senior year. I'm leaning towards senior. It is amazing, what we remember and what we don't, isn't it?

The Smell of Lilacs

    Yesterday I noticed that there were more than a couple of awesome blooms on one of my lilac bushes. I was very happy to see that, since they were only planted last year, and I was given to understand that it may take several years for them to bloom. So that one must be really happy.


    A little while ago, I took my scissors, went out there and cut four branches with blooms on them. There are still two more left on the bush. I wanted to cut them because a couple of them were heavy enough to droop pretty badly.


    I brought them in, and put them in a vase with some cold water. They are in the kitchen, and very quickly I noticed something. When the wind blows in the open kitchen window, it blows the lilac smell through out the rest of the house! Lilac is one of my favorite scents. The other flower scent I like is Lily of the Valley. Mom used to grow them many years ago.


    So I sit here, happily waiting for Hubs to come home, and smelling my lilacs. It's getting a bit late, and Hubs told me he would call me when go finally got on the road. I'm sincerely hoping that he didn't call just so he can surprise me. But I'm thinking more that he got held up at training.


    I got to crochet this morning at Stitch n Bitch. I had to bring it up, I haven't talked about a project in a while. Ozzy's bed is coming along. It turned out that Kim and I were alone this morning. We had a nice breakfast and she knitted, while I crocheted. Any time I get to have bacon, I am a happy woman.


   

No rest for the wicked

    This really sucks. I again have nothing to write about. It's not like there's nothing happening in my life, it's just that all the good stuff is happening to other people. And that makes it not my story to tell.


    Aaarrggghhhh. I want to tell it all. But I can't. And there's not much going on in my life right now. The most exciting thing that's happened is that I got Hubs to go for a walk with me the other day. Down the road a little and across the street is the back of one of the town parks. There's a nice path through the woods, and it leads to the tennis courts, playground, and skate board park. The skate board park is kind of new.


    On the way, there's another path that leads down to a wide part of the creek that runs behind our house, and there's a water fall down there too. We went down to the falls, Hubs promised there was a less steep way to come back out. He was right!


    My crochet project is done, I've started another knitting project. There is also a crocheted shawl I would love to try it. It's all skulls. Really cool. I have been trying for two days to get the pattern from the website into the documents on my laptop, with no success. My friend has already done it, so I asked her to make me a copy.


    I even have yarn in my stash that I'd like to use for the shawl. YAY! Any time I can not spend money it makes my Hubs happy. And now, dinner is ready, so I gotta go....

What's next?

    I have finished the secret crochet project, and I'm wondering what's next. There's still Sara's sweater to work on, but I've got a hankering to knit something different. I've been looking on Ravelry, and haven't come up with anything yet.


    I'm also keeping an eye on my lilac bushes, waiting to see if any of the three will bloom this year. I have high hopes for Miss Kim. Only time will tell.


    When I got home this morning, I was not feeling all that well. I was very tired, and decided to go take a nap after Hubs left for work. Today wasn't a scheduled day for hm, but he was asked to come in and help. So I had a small cuppa coffee, ate something, did my farming chores on farmville, and then hit the bed. I got about an hour and a half's worth of nap. I didn't want to nap for too long, or there might be problems sleeping tonight.


    Now it's time to get a move on. I have some dishes waiting for me in the sink.

I'm knitting today!

    Yay, I'm knitting today! At first I didn't feel very well, so I just sat here drinking my coffee. After a while, I started feeling better, so I broke out the knitting. The secret crochet project is almost done, I'm sad to see that finished so soon. But there are more in the planning stage, don't you worry!


    I am knitting in between doing laundry and washing up some dishes, as usual. Or else I'd just knit and nothing at all would get done! It's a beautiful Spring day, and here I sit inside knitting. I have been waiting for the jeweler to call to tell me that my watch is ready. It's been two weeks today.  That's one reason I haven't left the house, I don't want to miss that call. I can't wait to get it back, I want to take a photo so you can all see it.

Life/Craft Updates

    Sweater - I took the sweater to Sara's house this afternoon, so she could try it on. It fit! So now I can keep knitting on it. I also thought to measure from the armpit stitches down to how long she wants it, so I have a reference point. It will be 17 inches from the pit stitches to the bottom.


   Circle Sweater - I put the armholes in the other day, and I've done maybe two rounds since then. Right now, it's on the back burner, so I can knit on the other one.


   Camera - I broke down and bought the new battery for the camera today. Since it's supposed to be nice tomorrow, I will take some update photos.


    Taxes -  They are all done and sent in. We e-filed those suckers. This year he pulled it off without a single thing being thrown, and minimum swearing.


    As I mentioned at the beginning, I went to Sara's house today. She showed me the new island in the middle of her kitchen. It's nice, and has two stools underneath to sit on. I sat and watched, while she made guacamole. My heart swelled up with joy, just watching her in her kitchen, all homemakery and shit. I loved it.


    So look for new photos tomorrow!

Travels with Hubs, part I

    Over the last seven or so years, I have had the opportunity to travel with Hubs. His work sends him places to learn stuff, and sometimes I get to go too. The first place I got to go was just outside Portland, Oregon.


    We both really liked it there. The weather was beautiful; I think it only rained once the whole three weeks we were there. Of course, it was July. On the weekends, we traveled around, visited the City of Portland on the fabulous train system they have there. We went to the famous Saturday Market on a Sunday. I got to buy lots of tie-dye.


    We went out to the Pacific Ocean twice, it was so much fun. The second time, we stopped on the way and went for a helicopter ride! Hubs told me that he didn't think I would go. That makes one thing I can cross off my bucket list. The ride was a lot of fun, and Hubs got to sit in the front with the pilot.


    We went out to the highest water fall in the country, Multnomah Falls. That was pretty cool too.


    During the days while he was at school, I was able to walk to a mall that was very lose to our hotel. I was also able to take the hotel shuttle to anywhere I wanted within a certain distance. I had heard that I had to visit a famous bookstore in Portland, but that one was too far for the shuttle. But they did have a branch close to the hotel, so I went there. It was in a plaza with other stores like Michaels Craft store. I had a ball.


    If we ever got the opportunity, I would love to go back there. The people were sp nice! Traffic litterally stopped for me when I wanted to cross the street. And we are talking a four lane thorofare here, not just a regular two lane road. But they all stopped, no matter which kind of road it was. It was easier than you'd think to get used to!


    I also kept busy by crocheting an afghan for Hubs; I had brought all the yarn with me from home. While I was crocheting, I found a fascinating event to watch on TV. Believe it or not, I got hooked on a Dominoes Tournament. I loved it! The Jamaican team and the Mexican team were playing in the finals. It was taking place in Las Vegas.


    Next time maybe I'll tell you about another trip Hubs and I have taken together!


   

possible road trip?

    It's another day in paradise. I worked on Sara's sweater yesterday, got another couple of inches done. I plan on doing the same today. But today, Becky wants to re-learn how to crochet. She'll come over and we can work together.


    Hey, I have exciting news. I may have talked Hubs into taking me to WEBS.  Keep your fingers crossed. I told him that we could get the yarn for his sweater there. A road trip could be fun. It'll sure beat the hell out of the nightmare that was the Bow Hunter Superstore grand opening celebration. PPPFFFTTTT. I have never let him forget that one. He owes me.


    And HAPPY SPRING! (a day late)