At last, a down day!

Friday night after work I went to Bangor to help B move into her dorm. What a nightmare of a week this kid has had! Denny the bunny remains a concern, not eating or drinking well, now scared of her because of force feeding, and we had to move him again!!!  She was in long RA training sessions each day, it was hot, her dorm wasn’t ready until Friday afternoon (renovations) and she had a very short window of time to get herself into her permanent room, unpacked and set up, out of her temporary room and then to an evening meeting. She still had to do her door decorations and bulletin board, and her girls were arriving the next morning!

Aunt Salpal to the rescue. In just two hours we got all her things moved in, unpacked, bed made, clothes put away, bunny settled. It was 85 degrees in that building since it had been closed up tight all summer. We were both drenched and exhausted. We got fans running, though, and it cooled off outside when the sun went down, so I hope it got cooler in her tiny little room.

Not impressed with how her school handled any of this. Lack of communication, lack of flexibility on the rules. Not nice. (Bulletin boards had to be decorated per contract. They were not installed following reno, they were on the floor, but they had to be decorated anyway, even though these RAs were not given access to the building the week before like all the others.)

So here’s a question- why did they take a third or more space from the RA’s room when they expanded the bathrooms, to put in handicapped accessible bathrooms? When there is no elevator? There are 9 floors of this building! I could see it on the 1st floor, but the 6th? Seems like a waste of space.

Anyway she is in and got it all done and I think collapsed today! No bunny report today, I hope all is well.

Saturday was the party to celebrate the twin niece’s and nephew’s college graduation this spring.  A stayed with stepdad so Mom could attend (he’s a couple of weeks post knee replacement) so Mom and I traveled together to brother N’s home.  All the family was there excepting the two nieces in college, but including Dad and step mom S from Connecticut, and my brother-in-law’s mum A from NZ. Always so nice to see everyone! A is always amazing, she seems to remember everything about us since last we met a few years ago. I love when she comes to visit.  Dad and S looked well, and we had a few minutes to chat between food and photos. 😀

But it it was a long day- got back to Mom’s in time for supper, got home well past 9. Cats felt they should get some attention, so we were up much later than normal.

Today I spent some serious time with knitting and spinning. (Read sitting.) The knitting all looks the same as the last time you saw it, although I am at least on row 5 of all my lace patterns on all my shawls, it barely shows. Oaklet is farther along but no photos. I’ll get you some this week.

However I did get photos of this finished object- more yarn!

This is Color Tag fromThree Waters Farm. Let me start by saying I love it! The colors are bright and fun. And I got my best yardage yet- the two skeins are two-plied and came to 350 yards before washing. The littlest skein is a chain-plied end and is about 13 yards.

Now on that you know that, I can tell you it did not come out at all as I had anticipated!  I broke the braid carefully, making sure all pieces began and ended the same as each other. I weighed each little nest and they were pretty close. I concentrated and went slowly so I could spin evenly. I hoped I would get solid colors flanked with a bit of barber poling. I got barber poling with a few solids. The beginning and the end of the bobbins behaved as I had planned but the middle was wild and crazy wonderful color.  I don’t think there are two areas the same- it is going to be interesting to knit with, for sure!

I moved on to my next spinning project, Purple Fleece’s Life’s a Beach, which was last month’s roving of the month.

I didn’t try anything too scientific here, just split it in half and divided it down into random thickness nests.  The colors are nice and soft, I am looking forward to the change from the brights. Didn’t actually spin any of it yet, but I am ready for tomorrow.

That’s really all I did today, spin and knit. Oh except that when I was hanging the newly washed color tag, I noticed a problem in the garden. Huge green caterpillars eating tomatoes!!!! I banished 4 of them to the woods but not before they completely defoliated a couple of plants and ruined a few tomatoes. This is the first year I have had this problem. Might have to skip tomatoes next year, they are gross and ugly things. No photos. You are welcome!

i didn’t even swim in the pool this weekend, but I will make up for that. We have a few more weeks of summer.

Last crazy weekend for a while, I hope!

It was loads of fun, but I needed to go back to work to get some rest

This was a wonderfully busy but exhausting weekend!

I took Thursday off to finish getting ready  for all my Bs and Cs.  It all went smoothly until I had to go to the grocery store.  I got the huge amount of food we would need to feed four millenials and headed out, thinking I had a couple of hours still to finish things like flowers for their rooms, etc.  I loaded the trunk, slammed it shut and THEN realized my bag (with keys, phone, wallet, and knitting) was in the trunk.  Back into the store where a very nice clerk and customer were able to help me with the AAA number and a phone.  They told me it would be at least 45 minutes.  I tried not to think too much about my perishables in the trunk in the hot sun, bought a book with some cash from my pocket and settled down to wait (leaned against the concrete building in a thin strip of shade.)  It only took 20 minutes for the truck to arrive – yeah!  And about a minute for him to get the door open so I could pop the trunk.  A little frightening how easy that was for him, actually.   I went straight home, and was pleased the cold things were still cold!

I felt that anxiety warranted a swim in the pool, so I took a quick dip, then did the last of the chores and had a few minutes to sit and knit before the girls arrived.

My two travelers made it late Thursday afternoon, after a long day in the car with pet fish, rabbit, and all necessary gear.  We got them unloaded, got Denny the bunny settled in the guest room with his mom, and relaxed over some yummy lasagna.

Then it was game on – board games!  They both forgot rule number 1 (I win) and beat me soundly.  We kept at it until after midnight, but I just couldn’t win!

Friday we loafed a bit in the morning, all slow starters, and then after breakfast, we headed out to see Mom.  Because Step dad B was just out of rehab following knee surgery, they could not come to us, which the girls would have preferred, since this meant another few hours in the car.  But they were good sports, and gram and grands were very happy to see each other, even for a short visit.

And it meant I got to go to Mom’s LYS, where I got a feeling for color and style the girls like and then I booted them out to the Grasshopper Shop so I could do some serious shopping.

I got yarn for their Christmas presents, and some pretty fiber – had a lot more yarn and fiber in my basket, but I did some serious editing of the basket when I found this book!

So beautiful in person, I had to have it. I also was thrilled to have the shop give me a couple of free patterns with purchase, one of which is perfect for handspun yarn!  The other is an ingenious little number that may bore me to tears knitting it (a stockinette tube in lace weight!) but makes such a  cool garment, I can’t wait to see how it comes out.

We stopped for Chinese takeout on the way home, and then got to work on door decorations.  Niece B is an RA, and she wanted to make bunny name tags.   So A, C and I cut them out of scrapbook paper while B traced them as fast as she could.  We added googly eyes and cotton ball tails, and soon there were roughly 50 of them laid out on the dining room table.  I say soon, but really, I went to bed after cutting out a dozen, and that is what I found in the morning.  🙂

Saturday, the other B and C joined us and the kids taught us to play Cards Against Humanity.  What a crazy game that is?  It was so funny, but so dark.  We agreed that it is fun to play once in a while but that it would not be good for us to play too often.

That game wrapped up just as late lunch was ready – roast chicken and all the Thanksgiving trimmings – not because we love Thanksgiving, but because they all eat different things and with that spread, I knew they could all find food to fill their bellies.

Then we played a game of Guillotine (why am I just noticing that these board games are dark?) and the 4 kids went off to do a little local shopping at the Big Chicken Barn (used books and antiques.)  When they returned, we played Mille Bourne and ate cake, before the day visitors headed out for home.

Meanwhile the bunny wasn’t feeling well, so niece B hung in her room very upset and worried, and none of us knew quite what to do for him.  I think all the traveling and changes were catching up with him, but apparently bunnies can get sick and die very quickly, so we were worried.

Sunday morning, he seemed a little bit better, he was eating.  But Sunday was a travel day for everyone – and a complicated one at that!  We loaded B and all her animals and their gear into her car, loaded most of the stuff she had stored with us for the summer into our cars, and we all headed up to Husson, where we were meeting up with her mom and grandma and a van also full of necessary items for school.  They had traveled up from CT that day.  We gathered outside the dorm, which OF COURSE was not actually open.  B had to move temporarily into a different dorm room because her dorm’s remodeling wasn’t yet complete. However, we were thrilled that they let us move most of her stuff into a different room on her floor, so she only needed her animals and their gear and a few basics to get her through the week.  It was crazy humid and hot, and her dorm has no elevators, so we hauled stuff up to the 6th floor, over the construction debris, past the workmen (on a Sunday, they were busting to get it done!) and stored it in a room that was ready.  Her room will be quite small this year, I hope the bunny gear fits into it!  She got the bunny settled in the temporary room, and he seemed OK, but I know he will be glad to settle into their regular room later this week. And we all celebrated that this was the last time we would have to haul her gear up those stairs!  Next move is down and out, and it will be the last one!Yeah!

Then we said good bye to them all, C went with her Mom and Gram to start the trip home (she goes to school on Friday in PA), A went off to work for a couple of hours, and I went home to start the clearing up!

I made a trip to the dump, finished the breakfast dishes, and got the laundry started before I cried UNCLE and sat with my knitting.  I was SO TEMPTED to go to bed, but I knew I would be down for the count if I did that, and the weekend activities weren’t quite over!

Our friend Crimson Crow came over at around 5, and she and I went to the Alamo theater for a viewing of the Sound of Music.  I have not seen it in a theater since it came out, and I was 6.  It was AMAZING!  Yes, it is sappy.  Yes, we all knew the lines and music by heart (except Crimson Crow, who had NEVER SEEN IT! Not sure what rock she lived under for the past 50 years.) but it is still a good movie, and so much better on the huge screen!

We saw a woman I know who was there with her family, and she told a funny story – when she saw it first, as a little kid, she fell asleep right after the wedding.  So for years, she thought it was a pretty little love story.  We joked about the whole other story that happens after the wedding, and how surprised she was when she finally saw it on TV years later.

Anyway, Crimson Crow really enjoyed it, and kept being surprised when songs she knew popped up – she never knew where they were from.  As she said, she had only seen part of it, she would start to watch it on TV, but it never kept her interest “beyond that twirling thing on the mountain”  and didn’t she laugh when she realized that was the opening scene.

So that was the finishing touch to a fun but exhausting weekend.  You know when I got home, I crashed into bed, and was rudely woken by the Monday morning alarm not 5 minutes later.  🙂

Bunny update: she took him to the vet, he really is sick. Apparently bunnies have to eat all the time, and he wasn’t so she has to force feed him food and meds. She is a bit stressed as you might imagine. This bunny is her therapy animal and he has made a huge difference in her life already. Not sure how things will go for if she loses him right now.

 

Thursday -Friday list

With all the Bs and Cs coming, I decided to take Thursday off – already had Friday, but since I was just not ready for company, I was glad to get the extra day.

A and I spent last evening vacuuming, making beds, etc.  Today I did the last of the cleaning…except the table.  Still have to clear that off.

 

Then, I am off to the grocery store, dump, etc, my usual route.  🙂

 

After that it is all sitting and waiting, which means I will be puttering – I have yard work I would like to get done but likely won’t – clipping weeds between house and pool might get done.

 

Swimming will happen.

Knitting and spinning will happen.

Speaking of which – here’s a couple of photos of spinning done and spinning happening:

 

Aren’t they pretty?  I love this whole spinning thing.

The shawls look the same, but three of them are ready for lace.  They have to wait for that 4th one to catch up, but then I will be into lace and beads big time, and should have good things to share next week.

Let’s see what else?  I am making a lasagna for supper tonight – good that the weather has cooled off.  And I will be roasting chicken on Saturday, so I hope the cooler, dryer  weather sticks around.

Not sure what the girls will want to do tomorrow, so can’t tell you for sure what the list will look like but I will be sure to let you know how it went once we get through it all.  🙂

Hope you have a fun weekend!

 

 

 

 

a medley and all the Bs and Cs

We have had all the weather this week – cool and dry, hot and muggy, and now cooler and muggy WITH RAIN!!!  Hallelujah!

Sadly our rainiest day was the day my cousin B married his beloved C.  Outdoors. Rain held off for the actual ceremony, and the food was in an open sided barn.  It all went perfectly, of course. A few showers did not deter merrymaking.

Aren’t they cute???

We didn’t stay very long really, a couple of hours following the service maybe.  We drove with Mom and she wanted to get home to let her dog out before it got too late.  We did stop for supper along the way, so that was pleasant. It was really nice to see aunts and cousins and siblings and all the giants of the next generation – all the “kids” are getting so big!

Other than that, it has been a quiet week. I have been knitting away diligently on the four shawls.  My plan for them is to get through the stockinette portion before I start any lace. Which means that some will get put on hold while others catch up.  I think the cloud dweller biophilia will get there first, but it will be a close race with the Oaklet in Tern.  It got lots of love in the car yesterday.

 

You can see I got a few more of my favorite project bags – open canvas totes in the smallest size.  I love these bags.  Not fancy, no pockets, no zips. But durable, sturdy yet soft, they work well for me.

I have been spinning, I finished up the Summer Bouquet yarn, haven’t got finished pictures of it – it is hanging outside drying now.  I had to hold off soaking it because the weather was so damp.  But I could wait no longer, I want to see finished yarn! I’ll be sure to share it with you when it is dry and worthy of photographs.

Once that was finished, I started prepping the next spin – Color Tag, also from Three Waters Farm.  I am going slowly with this one, really working on my drafting, I want to get my thinnest yarn yet with this.

So far, so good.

And on the way to the wedding, I convinced A to stop for 2 minutes so I could pick up this treasure that Deb at Purple fleece was holding for me –

It’s a 4 ounce braid of Falkland, called Life’s a Beach.  Love the colors!

Later this week, nieces B and C-the-younger will be arriving from PA via CT!! They will only be here a couple of days, but I am very excited that this visit is happening. They arrive Thursday evening, and will leave Sunday.  On Saturday, their cousins, my niece C-the-elder and nephew B will come over to play games and visit and hang out for the day. Niece N sadly will be off vacationing in Mexico, but we will manage to have fun without her.  This is fun for me, to have all the B and C nieces and nephew together, it has been a long time since they all came over to just hang out.  Like in probably 6 years – because we live at the end of the trail, so we usually meet somewhere in the middle for family events.   These kids are all roughly the same age – 20-26, and have so much fun when they get together. I am glad that it will be happening here at our house.

And that means that this week we will be cleaning and prepping for visitors.

And of course, spinning, and knitting.  And swimming.  Because there ARE enough hours in a day.

 

 

Quick Health report

I wrote this Friday and thought I scheduled it to post, but I guess not as it sits here in my drafts.  Here you go –

 

I passed all my tests.  Basically fine.  No valve trouble, no clots.  No reason for this, and no reason to think it will or won’t happen again.  Just to be on the safe side, Doc is ordering a 30 day heart monitor thing and an appointment with a cardiologist to get his blessing that everything she sees with her non-specialist eyes is real.

I’m to stop worrying about it.

If I think it is happening again, check my pulse at my neck.  If it is under 100, relax and forget about it.  If it is over 100, go to the ER and get the drug to fix it.  Not the one they gave me that I am allergic to but a different one.

Oh, and take lots of fish oil every day. And see her after the cardiologist.

You may all resume your regular activities now.

Thank you for caring.  🙂

Weekend wrap up on a cool Monday

A and I had a full three day weekend (I know, I know, you didn’t get  Friday list!) It ran the gamut in the way of activities – from hospital visits for tests to celebrations of life to lunch with family to a picnic with coworkers.

I don’t normally like weekends like this, I like some down time.  But we staggered things a bit and made room for low-key time in between all the socializing.

Friday morning was the ECHO test – A went with me and found it very interesting.  She just watched the pictures. 🙂  I found it mostly boring and a little stressful, because of the uncertainty. As tests go it was relatively easy, just lie there and ignore the machine where machines have no business being. Have to wait until this Friday to find out all the results.

From there we went home and I hopped right back in the car and drove to Belfast to have lunch with my sister C and niece E the younger. We had a good lunch at Chases Daily, and then spent several hours at Belfast City Park, which I love.  C and  I parked ourselves at a picnic table in the shade and knit and chatted away, while E raced around the playground in the hot sun, making many friends, stopping only long enough to get a drink of water now and then. She bemoaned the lack of forethought that meant she did not have a bathing suit, but her mom and I were glad to not have to hang out in the sun at the public pool to keep an eye on her. She never noticed the ice cream stand (we carefully parked and walked behind it) so there was no fussing about treats.  All in all, a good day!  I suspect she slept well on the way home.

Saturday, A and I attended the celebration of life for a woman who served on the board of directors at work for over 20 years.  So long that she knew A back in the long ago day when A also worked here!  She passed away this winter, but her family waited for all her summer friends to arrive before having her service.  It was a hot day, but the church was reasonably cool, and the service was very nice – lots of people spoke and told stories, no one was too long winded – and the music was very nice.  This woman was a strong advocate for those who do not have the resources to survive in this world, and she will be very much missed on our board.  She also was a very strong minded, well educated woman with a great sense of humor and we will miss her personality as much as her service around here.

Once we left there, we headed home, but made a stop for an early supper at our favorite Bagaduce Lunch, where the weather is always fine and the food delicious.  My knitting really enjoyed the view.  🙂

Sunday we had a work picnic for A, which was fun – met lots of her coworkers and their families, saw some I already knew -and it wasn’t so hot!  Yahoo! Also, since we were in Bangor, did a little bit of shopping for a few necessities. Nieces B and C (the younger) are coming for a visit in a couple of weeks, so I got a few goodies for them, as well as a birthday present for our neighbor.

But in amongst all of this socialness, there was porch time.

I love my geraniums – this one is one that is a cutting from my grandmother’s – I have a few different colors that came from her.  Every year she planted tubs of them on her porch and seawall – and I always saved a sprig to winter over.  One year her color scheme was red, and I swear they were the prettiest red geraniums I ever saw – not as much orange in the color as some have.  I am glad that they are easy to grow, and seem to stand my neglect just fine.  This one looks great in the pot my sister gave me a long time ago as well, don’t you think? (And in the background you can see the sandy scraggly mess where you might expect to find a lawn.  But won’t.)

And on the porch, of course, I spun.  This is Summer Bouquet from Three Waters Farm, and this spin gave me grief at first, but I think I have the hang of it now.  I kept going after I took this picture,  so the next bobbin is nearly full; I might be plying this week. It isn’t as thin as others I have done, but I am fine with making a bulkier yarn, this is supposed to be for hats, and who wants thin hats?

Well, that was our weekend, and now the week begins again.  At least it is starting cooler – if we can’t have rain, it is nice to have a little less humidity.  I know it won’t last, but I will enjoy it while it does.  They are saying 40’s and 50’s tonight!!!  Wonderful sleeping weather. 🙂

Blue Green Dye experiment

 

 

I finished dying my “blue green dye experiment” yarn. If you recall, I played with colors one evening when A was not home.

I spun the plainer of the two pieces as one single, and the multicolor as another single, then plied them together.

It is awesome to me how the colors shift with the spinning process.  The blue-green became teal and aqua, much of the red became purple. Ignore the red-orange I used to tie the skein, please. 🙂

I really love how this came out, though, don’t you?

Want to see a little more?  Me too.

I can’t wait to play with colors again and make a companion for this skein.  I have a striped something in mind for all these experiments.  🙂