Guess I'm Better Off Knitting

   There are times I would like to leave my little house here in the little woods and go far, far away.  How far and where I haven't a clue, just away.  Then reality sets in and the idea of clearing out 54 years of life in this house scares me.  (And Jeff hasn't even unpacked all his boxes, yet!)  Today is one of those 'I want to get out of here' days.  I've been doing a little Spring cleaning...a little at a time, here and there, and I realized even this little house is too much for me. 
   We have a mouse visiting again in the kitchen.  I just saw it run across the floor for the 2nd night in a row.  Tomorrow I better get some D-con...before it's friends and relatives move it.  The usual spring ant invasion was last week but I got some Terro and that put a quick stop to it.  I'm ready if the 2nd wave happens when the weather warms up again! Now if I can just get Jeff to shut the screen door before he opens the inside door, maybe we won't have a bat visit in June.  And this house is so poorly insulated that these last few days when the temperature was near 70 outside it wasn't close to 60 inside.  I had to open a window to let the warm air in!  Ah, living in an old house in the country....  
   On top of it all, my mortgage company sold my mortgage to another company and they tripled my monthly payment.  It's now $200 more than my total monthly income!  A little unrealistic, huh?  Especially when they call and ask to speak to Josephine. (Mom was the co-signer.)  I've been tempted to answer 'so would I but she's been dead for almost 3 years' but I didn't think that would help. (And yes, the old mortgage company was notified of her passing but they didn't bother to tell the new one...or the new one didn't bother to look in the file at her death certificate!)   Anyway, we've been going round and round for the last 2 months and now they're threatening to foreclose.   I don't think they realize what they would be getting.  Hopefully, we'll be able to work something out so we can stay here...or find someone to buy this place and let us rent it.
   So today after cleaning house a little, feeling sorry for myself a little and baking a cake, I went back to my knitting.  At least I know I'm getting somewhere when I'm knitting!  Then Judy called from the shop to tell me I sold a sweater, a hat and a pair of baby socks...all today.  Guess I am better off knitting!

When Things Go Wrong

   I'm waiting for this week to get better.  It all started Monday morning when I had to do a INR...the first one I've done by myself... and I ran into some trouble.  Well, not exactly trouble, just nerves and I ended using 6 test strips before I got an error-free reading.  I kept following the instructions but the first 5 times the monitor timed out before I had gotten enough blood on the strip...and once you've got blood on the strip the monitor says 'error' and the strip is no good.  Finally, I massaged my finger until I had a nice big blob of blood sitting on it, then I hit the button on the monitor and waited for the signal to drip the blood onto the strip.  I quickly turned my hand over and PLOP the blood dropped right where it was suppose to!  I calmly hit the 2nd button and waited for the machine to give me a reading...2.7 (my normal reading) came up.  I called that in and had to admit...when asked...how many strips I had used and then listen to a min-lecture on telephoning for help when I need it (as if it would.)  Sharon, the nurse at the clinic at Bassett, was much more encouraging than the one on the telephone.  And the monitor company wants me to test weekly but Sharon told me to do it bi-monthly.  So that's over until May 9th.

  I finally finished my shawls but because they are knitted out of Red Heart acrylic they can't be blocked.  They look ok but more like scarves than shawls.  Oh, well.  Then I tried to knit an adult sweater.  I had some cotton but I couldn't get the gauge right using the needles the pattern called for so I changed needles. That didn't help so I changed needles again. Finally I got the right combination but after 8 rows I couldn't keep the pattern straight.  So, then I changed yarn and that kept the pattern thru round 13 but I lost it after that.  I don't really like doing a ladies summer sweater in acrylic yarn so I'm not too upset about it.  Later I found some cotton yarn in a pretty lemon color (in the right weight and on sale) on the Patternworks site so I decided to order it.  We'll see how that works out.  If it doesn't I can always use the cotton yarn for baby bibs.  I think.

   Hey, I managed to fry Italian chicken...or Angie's chicken...for supper tonight without any problems so maybe my troubles are finally over.  Let's hope so.  Maybe I'll give that sweater another try....

 

Still Busy

    Jeff got the holes for the nettie cups centered...I helped put the red chalk lines on the pipes...and cut yesterday after he went back to Lowe's and bought another hole saw.  The one he got earlier this month was
'just' too small for the nettie cups he's got and he didn't want to go to the hydroponics store in Utica to get smaller ones.  (I think that makes at least 4 hole saws that I know about, but hey, he doesn't say 'how many size 7 knitting needles do you have?' so....)  Today he was going to move the greenhouse with the help of our next-door neighbor but that didn't work out so good.  When I got home this is what was left of the greenhouse.  Granted it
was moved to the back yard but our neighbor was in such a hurry...he didn't even listen to his friend who was helping him...that some of the PVC 'ribs' got broken at the joints.  And one of the 3-tier corner boxes in the front had seen better days, too.  Fanny's trying to figurer what hit it! 

   Jeff was not happy with the day's activities.  We had been talking about getting a couple
of cattle panels and
putting them over the PVC ribs on the green house to re-enforce the structure but now we can just  start over and build the greenhouse like he built the woodsheds.  Today Jeff over-did the physical stuff and his back is hurting...bad.  I don't know when he'll be able to rebuild the greenhouse.  In fact, he's talking about asking the doctor about surgery to correct his back problems!  And that's something he hasn't wanted to do!!
   While Jeff was having fun destroying the greenhouse and his back, I was sitting in the shop in Cooperstown.  Since it was such a bright sunny day I had the door open, the music on and merchandise on display out front and on the side of the building.  That got some people into the shop but no sales.  Around 1pm we had our first sale of the day.  The person I was suppose to share the day with didn't show up on time and we had to call her.  Seems she forgot and would be late.  Since I had only planned on being there half the day, Judy sent me home and she stayed in the shop until the other woman arrived.
    I had gotten my size 6mo lemon cable sweater in Red Heart acrylic finished and hung up.  There isn't a hat for this one yet but I'll do one before I go back

to the shop at the end of April.  I switched the hoodie that was on display, too.  This is the more traditional Black Sheep Sweater that was
was always a good seller.
I think the turquoise hoodie is a little too bold for some people.  Oh, well, I like it!  I got to spend most of the morning working on a shawl...another Crocus Shawl this time done on US9's with Red Heart acrylic Real Teal. 
    I just pulled it out of

my tote bag and managed to pull half of
the stitches off the needles! (And there are only 68sts on that US9's!)  I think it's time to switch to a circular needle!  The tension is looser with the US9 and the pattern detail looks much nicer.  Hopefully I can get this done before the end of the month, too.

The New Gutter Garden

Jeff's been busy these last few nice days building the new gutter garden...using PVC pipe!  Here's he's gluing in the end caps with the float valves attached.  This is what a 'float value' looks like. (below)  He's been

looking for these valves for a couple of years and finally found them online
for a reasonable price (I think he ordered more than he's going to use right away!)  And here are the pipes attached to 2x4's so they will sit flat...or nearly flat...on the ground.  Next Jeff has to

to cut holes...with a hole saw...where he wants each bag or pail to sit on the pipe.   Then the 4 pipes will be attached via tubing to a rain barrel and the system will be self- contained and self- watering.  No more open water for mosquitoes to breed in or Fanny to drink from! He's planning on having 2 of these systems...one in the greenhouse...when it gets moved and re-skinned and one alongside the garden. He's going to reuse the pails and plant bags from last year when he can and he's got dozens of pails from the dog shampoo shop that was on the corner of Dewey Ave and Mohawk St last fall if he needs more.  Every time we go to Walmart Jeff looks at the extra large Rubbermaid storage boxes...the $20 ones...that he thinks would be perfect for growing potatoes in, but I just can't believe he'd spend that much for a plastic box and then drill holes in the bottom of it for netting cups! I'll keep you posted on that front if he decides to do that!

Always Something To Do

   Yesterday I decided it was time for new business cards after I was told that one of the girls in the shop discovered...and corrected...the phone number on my present cards.  I never liked them much but

My 'new' business cards

never thought about the phone number being wrong!   When Jeff moved in last August he brought his TimeWarner account with him and so the phone number came, too.  (Doesn't make much sense to have 2 phone numbers for 2 people in a 6 room house, does it?  Besides, we both have cell phones, too!  How many phone numbers do we really need???)  Anyway, I've tried before to find a stock design that would work for a knitter and there's really not much to pick from.  This one isn't actually a 'knit' design but it's better than the one I'm using now!  I'll have these in the shop by the end of the month.

   I sold 1 sweater and 2 hats the first weekend the shop was open and last night got out the lemon Red

Heart acrylic yarn and started another 6 months raglan-from-the-neck-down cardigan to replace it.  I think I'll move the cable over a little and put in more seed st around it...when you have only 19 sts on each front to work with there's not much you can do! Cables can't get too complicated!  (After Judy gave the group a lecture at the meeting about being sure to put the description that's on the price tag on the sales slip so the crafter will know what sold, the salesperson who sold those baby hats just wrote "hat" for those sales eventho I put 'lav flower on pink' for a description of a pink baby hat with a lavender flower. Oh, well, maybe we ask for too much?)

   I finished by French Iris Shawlette last night, too.  I think it will be mine because I did it in Red Heart acrylic on US7's and the tension in the lace is a little tight.  I could rip it out but I think I'll just keep it and try the pattern again with a larger needle.   Acrylic

doesn't block but I think
I'll wash it and see if it relaxes before I make a
final decision. ( The
long edge rolls, too...and it's a slip st, garter st edge.) I can see this shawl in a pale color (gray or green) done on a US9, maybe?  Let me

finish the lemon baby raglan and then we'll see.  I work Saturday morning in the shop...splitting the day with someone...and there's no way I can finish the baby sweater and a shawlette before then so I'm not going to worry.

   Jeff's seedlings are
doing well...and probably very happy to be inside where it's warm and dry since we had rain, snow
and freezing temperatures this past weekend.  These are white potatoes...that developed 'eyes' in the bottom of the last bag of potatoes we had bought.
This week he got some seed potatoes (Kennebec, red Miokia and red Norland)and they are sitting in the sunny east window in the TV room warming up...getting ready to 'eye' and sprout.  Jeff got a couple of ideas for new ways to plant potatoes off of YouTube and is itching to try them. If you've never eaten 'fresh from the garden' potatoes, you don't have any idea how really good potatoes can be!

The Shop is Looking Good!

     Jeff and I went to Cooperstown this morning and  stocked my shelves.  I needed his help getting

those hats up on the top shelf!  I've got to take some clean plastic grocery bags with me tomorrow and

stuff the hats that are just sitting on the bottom shelf.   I've never had so many hats and sweaters ready for Spring Reopening since I've been working by myself.  I really surprised myself!!

   The hanging area is full, too! And rather colorful!
I hung the sweaters in increasing size from
Right to Left with all the Hoodies at the far Left.  There are 2 shrugs there, too, and one hanging on a sundress in the next 
display but I forgot to get a photo of that.  There is

a total of 23 sweaters and 22 hats on display.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if they all sold in April?
(Just wishful thinking!)
The baby socks are hanging down the upright
on the left in this photo

to the right.>  You can barely make out the blue and gray stripe socks. I thought I had them in the center of a shot but I guess I goofed!  The shelves below the hanging sweaters will have crib quilts and afghans. Somewhere there is a basket with bibs that I'll add a couple of bibs to, knit in white cotton and embroidered with flowers, but tonight I think I'll start a shawl in that Red Heart Denim that I bought a couple of months ago.  It's really more of a  big, oversized scarf and it should work up nicely in that color.
  For being a nice guy and going to the shop with me, I treated Jeff to lunch at Sal's Pizza on Main St in Cooperstown.  He had a covered sausage sub with peppers and onion and brought half home with him!
(I had 2 slices of pepperoni pizza and Fanny...who was waiting in the car...got the crusts.)  Jeff says that's the best sub he's had since he had one there last fall!  I know Sal's is the best pizza!  (My mom always said the sauce at Sal's tasted like someone's grandmother made it.)  I suggested to Jeff that I might occasionally bring home a covered sub from Sal's for supper when I work and he agreed!
   We decided to take the scenic way home since we haven't driven the car much since we got it.  I got us to Fort Plain without any trouble but then got us lost trying to find Rte 5S West and we ended up nearly in Amsterdam!  We eventually found our way back to Fort Plain and found 5s West but I still say the road wasn't marked very clearly. Oh, and Cooperstown and most of the area we were in today had about twice as much snow as we do. In fact, ours is melting pretty fast.  Maybe Spring will try to bloom again!

April or Not?

    

The view from the TV room towards Wally's

The poor new car sitting in the snow!

   It snowed yesterday and this morning we woke up to more snow.  The ground is covered...maybe 2-3" and it's cold.  The roads are awful!  It seems that the powers that be ordered the plows removed from the trucks (we know that's not so) and while the roads are well sanded, they are not plowed very well.   Several schools were closed, too.  Does this look like April 4th to you?  Or else it's a late, lousy April Fool's joke! 
   We've had the wood stove going for the last couple of days so the house has stayed rather comfy...especially the TV room.  This weekend I watched NatGeo and Animal Planet...the Yukon Vet and North Woods Law...they went well with the snow falling outside my window...while I worked on getting my stock ready (tagged and on hangers) to take to the shop.  Jeff and I are going to go down tomorrow and then I'll treat him to lunch. It's easier to do it that way than to try to stock before the meeting...especially since there are 5 plastic tote bags full of hats and sweaters and hoodies!  Boy, do I hope we have a good season!

April Fool's Day!

    April finally made it!  For awhile I wasn't sure it was going to happen.  The weather around here's been on a roller coaster the last couple of weeks.  High 60's to freezing in less than 24 hours!  Remember, the Great Northeast...if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it will change!
   Jeff's garden is sprouting next to me.  It likes the southern exposure it gets in the parlor window!   We have

lemon cucumbers

sweet peppers just starting to sprout

corn...Jeff needs to turn this tray!

and carrots

all about 2" high.   The peppers...sweet and hot... have finally started to break thru but there isn't anything showing in the potatoes.
   Jeff's started to buy the material he needs to rebuild the gutter garden.  He's moving the greenhouse to the back yard and there will be a New gutter garden in it and on the hill out front where the greenhouse use to be.  This year's gutter garden will be enclosed...no open water for mosquitoes to breed in or Fanny to drink from...in PVC pipes.  He finally found the float valves he needed and once set up all he'll have to do is keep the 5 gallon drum full of water and the system will self-water. Now Jeff's looking at kerosene heaters for the greenhouse to extend the season.
   I've spent the last 2 days sewing zippers into my hoodies...something I put off as long as possible but
since I'm suppose to stock the shop on Tuesday, I'm running out of time!  Still have some buttons to sew on too.  I'd rather knit but I seemed to have mislaid my mojo!   Guess I better finish what I've got started.
   My doctor is leaving Bassett at the end of June and she wants me to be self testing by then so she finally wrote the Rx for the INR (blood coagulation ratio)meter.  The trainer called today and is coming over next Saturday to give me some training.  She asked if I thought I could self-test.  I asked her if she ever saw a US00 knitting needle and what it could do to you fingertip?  I don't think I'll have any trouble doing a self-test.

p.s.  Jeff just came home with a new keyboard for me...an early birthday present...complete with a replacement plan.  My keyboard had started to act wonky today...if I tried to use one of the letters in the row under the numbers (qwertyuiop) it typed the letter I hit and the number above it! My own secret code!