Saturday morning

I thought it would never get here!  We are on vacation this week.  Not going anywhere, just staying home and racing around like fools, spending money.

Sounds like an odd way to spend a vacation, right?

Here’s my idea of a perfect vacation:

Go someplace picturesque and secluded near the ocean with a good porch, nearby take-out (better yet delivery) for food.

Then spend the week swimming, sitting, knitting, maybe going for a walk or two, seeing some sights, but mostly staying put.  Spend time just watching the sun go up and down, watching stars and moon circle over head.

 

Here’s what we are doing this week:

Today, vet appointment for both cats, visiting niece B and I will go do the grocery shopping and stop to get paint.  Finally have to make a real decision on the inside of the bookcases.  Bet you forgot about those, right? Start clearing out the loft.

Tomorrow, work on clearing out the loft some more, meet A’s family in Brewer at 1 for her birthday lunch. Do some mattress shopping if any of the stores are open. Start painting the inside backs of the bookcases

Monday – supper at mom’s.  Painting prep in loft before hand

Tuesday – sit home and wait for the Hughes net guy.  Internet is spotty, and we think the dish needs adjusting. (Wifi is wonderful though, I am sitting in the bedroom and I am online and I have no long cable!!!) Either get ready to paint or actually paint.

Wednesday – no specific plans, but hope to be painting the loft by then

Thursday – car appointments in Bangor followed by mattress shopping if we haven’t already gotten one.  Prep guest room for a visitor.

Friday – Mom arrives to visit and help with painting!!

Saturday – more visiting with Mom and painting, hopefully finishing it so bookcases can begin to be installed.

Sunday – installing bookcases and possibly beginning to put the room together.

Monday – go to work and get some rest.

Now doesn’t that sound like the perfect vacation?   There are also many other things that need doing that will fill in while paint is drying.  There are birthday cards to be made before we fill the craft room with everything from the loft.  There are leaves that need raking, a  pool that needs cleaning. Cars need to be registered.

And gosh darn it, I am going to KNIT.  I have three shawls on the needles, I would like to finish at least one this week.

Maybe I should have taken two weeks off?  All these things we are spending money on, and none of them are really fun.  😦  I’d rather spend it on the perfect vacation, but I guess this is more responsible, right?

And yes, Crimson Crow, we DO want to get together with you and eat ice cream!  I’ll call you.  🙂

On the actual news front – the phoebes are back!!!! Tiny little leaves on the roses! Buds on the daffies!  Leaves  up on the lupine!  Before you know it we will have flowers.  🙂

 

 

 

What a week!

I haven’t posted in a while, been kind of busy what with working and knitting. 😉

Seriously though. The last few work weeks have been long ones with some evening appointments and stuff. And I started volunteering for a political campaign. New for me! Not a person, but a referendum question that will be on the ballot in the fall, for rank choice voting.  They wanted me to do calling, but that sounded hideous to me. So I am doing data entry, one night a week. Not sure for how long but I figure I can do it for a while.  My cousin inspired me- he has been out canvassing for Bernie recently, and he said to me “it’s not enough any more to think someone is good or bad, we have take action or horrible things will happen.”  I gave that a lot of thought and Maggie the activist called on the right day.

So that was interesting, there were 4 volunteers that night, 2 on phones,2 doing data entry. The sized crowd my introverted heart can deal with.

Other than that there has been some knitting.  Working mostly on the mystery knit along. Got halfway through clue 3, realized I did something really wrong many rows back, had to rip way back. After spending most of yesterday working on it I am now nearly done with clue 3. Of course clue 4 came out on Friday. Oh the pressure!  I hope this week is a little more normal so I can focus on getting caught up.

A few other noteworthy things happened this week. At least in my world they are.

Last Friday night the speakers on the tv quit. It took us some time to isolate just what was the problem, but after cursing the DISH people and resetting a few times we finally did some trouble shooting and sorted it out. We hooked up A’s little tv from her workshop and survived until Wednesday.  Let me say I am glad the basketball games were done, it would have been hard to watch them on a tiny screen.

On Wednesday we went to Best Buy in Bangor where we learned our options.

Repair. Expensive.

New TV. More expensive.

Surround Sound. More expensive still.

Sound bar. Cheapest option.

 

Wait, what? Getting the thing we have long wanted is our most reasonable option? Well, hot dog!

We were in such euphoria that we also got another piece of equipment I have long wanted- a new wifi router.

Now not not only can I hear all the sounds the TV is making very clearly, but I can be in the Internet anywhere in the house on phone or laptop. It might mean that you hear from me more often. 😀

 

One of of the other things that happened involved learning a lesson. Take it from me, knitting and cleaning don’t mix.

Today I gave the bathroom a good serious scrubbing. That included filling the tub and running the jets, which we don’t do as often as we should. We are supposed to run them for ten minutes. I thought I would dump a slug of bleach in the water to really get them clean.

 

I set the timer (thankfully!) then sat down to knit a bit.

Look how close I came to flooding the bathroom with bubbles! Who knew bleach made bubbles? Not me!

So now I know. No cleaning while knitting.

 

Last big event- Crosby’s opened!!! Our favorite take out place at the head of the road is now open for the summer.  We had a good meal there this afternoon. Not good for us, but they are only open for 4 months, we have to celebrate.

That’s it, what I have been up to for the past several days.  Quite exciting, don’t you think?

 

Look, I finished something!

 

Bobbi’s mitts are complete and ready to deliver!  Click the link to see the notes.  I wrote out the whole pattern, feel free to take and make your own.

They can be worn cuffed or uncuffed.  Cable design on hand back, 2 x2 ribbing on palm.

I might have to make some for myself someday.  🙂

 

Here’s the whole set her lucky daughter is getting for her birthday:

 

 

Between this and a couple of hats that I will ship out tomorrow, my fiber spending money is in pretty good shape.  I’ll call to set up spinning lessons this weekend.  🙂

 

 

Other knitting includes the Danse Macabre MKAL – if you are in that and don’t want to see my slow progress, avert your eyes now.  🙂

 

 

 

 

Very hard for a variety of reasons to get a good photo of this, and I didn’t feel like taking it off the needle to spread out for the full effect.  Maybe when I get caught up.  I love how the silver beads sparkle in the bright blue.  🙂

Loads of garter stitch and beads so far – the third clue just came out and I have barely begun the second, hope to catch up this weekend.

Harriet and Maluka are still in progress and worked on regularly if not steadily – they are coming along but look about the same as last time you saw them.

I had only a half day today (got all my hours in early in this crazy week) so I am going to head off and knit now.  Have a wonderful Friday!

Five years and counting

Word Press wished me a happy anniversary today – that was nice of them to keep track for me, or I would have no idea it has been so long.

Hard to believe another year has flown by, and I have been blathering on for 5 years!  So kind of you all to stick with me through it.  🙂

I appreciate that you do stop by to read this humble account of my life and what I am up to.  I love all the comments, and the friends I have made through this medium.  Thank you so much!

 

 

It’s April, right?

I feel I should not be wrapped in wool this week, yet I find I am.

We have in floor radiant heat at work.  It is in a concrete slab.  It is pretty nice if the weather is consistent and changes are gradual.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the only knitwear I was wearing was a necklace or pair of earrings.  The weather had warmed up, the building had not noticed, so it was actually too warm at work.  We even opened a window once.  IN MARCH.  IN MAINE.

Now that it is April, it is freezing and windy again. But the darned building still thinks it is warm out.  So, this week I am back to tights with wool socks, warm shawl wrapped on top of shirt and fleece vest.  Fingerless mitts not too far away.  Mittens for the ride to and from. And of course, a pretty pair of earrings and a bracelet.  😉

I haven’t gotten so cold as to wear a hat yet, but if something doesn’t give, that is next.

And to think, I was under the impression that I would be opening the pool early this year.

I didn’t have the camera handy this weekend, but I did a whole lot of knitting – down to the wire with basketball!  I started the first clue of the Boo Knits MKAL Danse Macabre. Claire got me hooked on her patterns (remember Pease Blossom? Boo Knits designed it) and so I joined this MKAL.  There are a crazy number of participants, the forum page is over 200 pages long and it is not even one week old! I am using a BRIGHT blue wool/silk blend (Juniper Moon Farm Findley in Deep Blue) and crystal beads lined with silver, # 5 triangle.  I love how it looks so far, like a starry night.  I’ll show you progress in a later post – don’t want to post a spoiler, but clue 2 was released today, so I will just warn you before I post a photo.

I also worked hard on Harriet, as she was on my longer #5 circular.  She is now on the shorter one, even though I haven’t gotten to the decreases quite yet, I am close, and will just be careful with her.

I finished the knitting and blocking on Bobbi’s mitts, and just have to sew up the side seams.  I wrote out what I did on my pattern page, so when I finish them I will take a photo and share it and the how-to with you all.

I did a bit more work on Maluka yesterday at a lunch meeting, it moves along slowly, but is pretty.  I think when I finish Harriet, Maluka will get moved to the evening knitting spot in the rotation.  When I am not working on the MKAL, of course.

I RESISTED casting on the necklaces I have all strung and waiting, and also a blue and white striped angora baby beanie I want to make to sell this summer. It amazes me how my mind can be thinking about the next possibility even as I am working on something I love.

So look for lots of photos in the next post, OK?  When my hands are thawed enough to hit that little button. Without shaking and shivering.

Meanwhile – basketball – Villanova – WOW!  A is away for two night in a place with no wifi and no TV, so we have recorded the games and I did not watch last night.  But I couldn’t help but take a peek to see who won, and it looks like it will be an amazing game to watch.  I hope I have the fortitude to NOT watch tonight’s game as well, but it is my UCONN girls working to break all sorts of records, so I might watch the first quarter. Just so I can get some more knitting done.  Yeah, that’s it. Just one quarter, ’til I finish the row.

The great part is I get to watch both games again when she gets home. 🙂 Then we wait an eternity for it all to start over again.