April Is Almost Over

  The seeds for the rainbow tomatoes are here.   Just got to get Jeff interested in starting them.  We've got about a month before we can
plant anything outside so there is plenty of time to start them inside.  He's been trying to cut the rest of last year's wood pile but every time he cuts wood it rains for the next 2 days!  (I'm still waiting for my cherry bushes to get here.)

    I haven't felt much like knitting but I finally got 2 more Black Sheep sweaters finished...except for the embroidery and buttons. (One sold in the shop this month.) The first one is a size 2 in Red Heart's Jade and the 2nd one is a size 1 in Red Heart's Amethyst, both knitted on a US 7.  I've also done a couple of cotton sun hats done in Sugar'n Cream. Maybe cotton baby hats will sell this

summer.  I got the 3 skeins of Ice Yarn that I bought online...Ice Yarn is a  self-stripping acrylic
...but I'm not liking the
way it's working up.  Maybe I'll keep just keep the skein I've started and put the other 2 in my next swap package.
   Jeff finally paid the fine for driving the Outback after the inspection expired. He got stopped 3 or 4 times between Aldi's in Ilion and home one day.  He was sure it was going to be a whooper because the state surcharge alone was going to be $100 but he got lucky and the local fine was only $50 (total fine $150).  Unfortunately, the Outback didn't quite pass inspection because the computer didn't have enough info stored in it.  Dave gave him a temporary sticker and Jeff has to take it back in on Monday.  We're both pretty sure the bill for this will be up there.  How much money do you put in a 18-year old car???

   Fanny's nails had grown quite long this winter and she was having trouble walking so we decided to take her for a mani-pedi at the new groomers in Herkimer.  She wasn't pleased with the idea but it was over in no time...and she even got her ears cleaned for only $12!  The groomer said Fanny had an infection in one ear so when we got home I called the

vet and I made an appointment  for the next week. 

Fanny didn't like that trip any better!  She hid under Jeff's chair in the waiting room there!  She got a treatment for her ear infection, a shot for her allergies, a DHPP booster and a tick repellant collar.  Total cost $203.  At least the

groomer gave her a pretty kerchief that she seems to like to wear.  I finally had to take it off her to wash it! 

   I got my 2nd Yarn Pal package from England yesterday.  It has some nice yarn and some really interesting 'bits' as my Pal put it.  The camera needs to be charged then I'll take some photos and put them in here X.  (Promise!)  Thank you, Jakki Smith from Nottingham, England.  I love the sheep/heart note card.  Isn't it cute? (photo added 4/20/17)

   The last time I worked I talked to a lady who was originally from Cooperstown but no longer lived there.  She was visiting and buying little things to take back home with her to her friends.  We got to talking about books...compared books we both had with us...and she told me about the latest M C Beaton/Hamish McBeth mysteries.  When I got home I ordered them from the library and have been neglecting my knitting...and just about everything else...to read.  Got 1 more here and the latest one Death of a Ghost, waiting at the library.  Time to go to Scotland and solve a murder! (Boy, I'd love to go to Scotland...murder or not!!)

  Got a phone call from the shop this morning.  Seems I've had a good week.  Sold 2 sweaters yesterday and another one this morning.  Looks like I'll have to get those 2 Black Sheep cardigans finished this week and do something in a size 6mo before I go down next Saturday. I'll have to order more yarn from Mary Maxim to replace the 6mo one that sold.  And I got a nice note from the Yarn Pal I sent a package to, Nina James, in Ringmer,  E Sussex, England. She's expecting a grandbaby in May and because of arthritis only knits toys or blankets.  Maybe I'll knit a 6mo sweater and send it to her. (added  4/29/17)

England, At Last!

    My package to my Yarn Pal finally got delivered to Ringmer, in E Suzzex, England after 8 days in transit.  And Nina, my YP, likes it all!  I'm so glad!!  Because I had to use a USPS Customs Declaration I couldn't track the package and I didn't know where between upstate central New York state and E. Sussex it was. That was making me nervous!  It could have been stuck in some customs shed anywhere between here and there!  But it made it in one piece (it really had no choice...everything was stuffed into a plastic bag and then into the USPS mailing bag,  just like a fat lady into a girdle!) The yarn protected the smaller pieces and the book arrived without a crease!  I'm so relieved.  Now I just have to keep waiting for a package to arrive for me.  Yarn Pals is a round robin type swap...A sends to B, C sends to A.

Easter Week

   The sky is weird this morning.  Bright sunshine in the east and dark clouds in the west.  The forsythia is in full bloom!  Somehow it managed to move from it's original place in front of the living room window

...where it is still going strong...to in the middle of the big window in the TV room. The 2 bushes are not

connected above ground!  Both bushes were beautiful yesterday in the sunshine framed in the windows.  Looked like Spring!  And Easter!    Jeff's sister, Sherry, and my cousin, Ed, joined us for dinner yesterday. I cooked a pork loin on the Ronco and it was perfect.  Rubbed it with A1 Dry Rub-bold original flavor and let it spin for 2 hours and then for another 1/2 hour without the heat.  So good!!  I felt lazy so I bought a bottle of Heinz's pork gravy instead of making my own.  It was suppose to have 6 servings in the jar and Jeff and Ed did a good job on it! There was just enough left to pour over the couple of slices of pork in the doggie bag I had for Ed to take home!  Only 3" of the loin was left when I went to bed and Jeff finished that off as his midnight snack.  Actually, we bought the whole loin and cut half of it into pork chops.  The part I cooked for dinner was about 9" long and weighted about 4 lbs.  Just enough for the 4 of us...with some left for snacks for Jeff and Ed!
   Walmart had corn on the cob on display Friday when we went in to pick up my Rx so my Easter menu got a quick change.  It was nice, tender corn, too!  My Easter bread was a little dry but it's almost gone as are my cookies.  Of course, I sent some of both home with Ed and we shared the chocolate cake he brought for dessert.  Only 1 piece is left...I think Jeff may have forgotten about it...out of sight, out of mind...since I put it in the refrigerator.  I used my mom's pink tablecloth but I think it's getting old.  I noticed a worn spot that I hide with my place setting.  Guess I'll  shop around for a new tablecloth!
  I ordered cherry tree bushes last week and just got the notice that I should get them tomorrow. They get
only 4'tall and I asked Jeff if I could use 4 of the boxes in the garden.  That would put the cherries above the deer's heads and maybe we'd get to eat them ourselves.  We'll see.  The only notice I've gotten so far about the rainbow tomatoes seeds that I ordered about a month ago was that I'd get them in '10-45 days'.  Still waiting.
   I have to work tomorrow morning in the shop so I should finish the sweater I've been s-l-o-w-l-y working on.  I don't need it to replace anything...it's the wrong color...but my stock bag is empty.  I bought a skein of amethyst (purple) but haven't started anything with it, yet. Maybe a size 1 sweater.... 
   I have 3 reasons to get dressed and go to town this morning.  When I replaced the baseball hat that sold the first week we were open, I used up the last of the skein of white yarn so I should stop at Walmart and buy another.  One of the shop members and a good friend of mine fell at home hitting his head on cement stairs.  He ended up in ICU for several days and is now in rehab.  I want to get a card to send to him.  And all my library books are due so I better return them before they start charging me overdue fines! 
   Oh, and Fanny gets to go to the vet's on Wednesday to have her ear checked. I am so looking forward to that...not.

Fanny Gets A Mani-Pedi

 Jeff and I had some errands to do in town today so Fanny went with us.  One of those errands was a quick stop at Olivia's Happy Tails on the corner of Park Ave and Main St in Herkimer.  (For you ol'Magicians, Daffy Discount!)  Fanny's nails had really grown this winter to the point where she was having trouble walking and jumping...onto beds and into cars.  Jeff picked Olivia's because it was relatively new and looked clean and bright from the outside.  He had to wrestle and drag Fanny from the car once we were parked on Park Ave.  And she didn't want to go into the shop even if the 2 of us went with her! 

   We registered her and showed the owner
Fanny's vaccine record and were quickly shown to the back where Jeff helped Olivia fit Fanny with a fabric muzzle.  They also put a choke collar on her and after being encouraged and finally put into the tub, was hooked to both sides.  Jeff kept close to try to calm
Fanny and I just kept taking photos as her nails were

quickly cut. Then Olivia
cleaned Fanny's ears.  The right ear was ok but the left ear showed signs of infection so Fanny will have to see the vet next week.  Olivia suggested using coconut oil to prevent infection but we'll go to the vets first.  We need tick and flea protection, too, so we might as well do it all at once.  Besides, do you know how much coconut oil is??  After the

ear cleaning, Fanny was sprayed with some doggie deodorant (?) and given a pretty pink neckerchief. Jeff pointed out that Fanny was actually wagging her tail when Olivia was cleaning her ears!

Back outside Fanny was ready to get in the car and go...anywhere!  She did not like walking on sidewalks even with Jeff beside him.  We drove around the block and parked by the Post Office

because I had to mail a couple of bills.  Jeff took Fanny out of the car again to pee but she was happy to get back in!  Then we went to Mona's in Mohawk for lunch (I shared part of mine with Fanny) before finally doing some grocery shopping at Hanniford's before heading home.  Fanny ran around the house

a couple of times when we got home but didn't stay outside alone.  Right now she's asleep on Jeff's chair in the TV room.  I wonder if she's dreaming of meeting the other dogs she only heard and smelled at Olivia's this morning.

Off to Merry Ol' England...Well, My Package Is!

Just back from the post office after sending my Yarn Pal's package on it's way. I remembered what my mother use to say about stuffing a fat lady into a girdle as I urged my package into one of the post office supplied bags...but like a fat lady, it finally fit! Sent it First Class to England and I think the girl said it should arrive in 5-7 days. And we won't discuss the cost of  International Postage! I only listed the gift I made on the customs declarations and declared just the cost of the yarn to make it, too. I didn't want my YP to have to pay a big custom's bill so I didn't itemize all the extras.  Let's hope it arrives without being opened!  I enjoyed collecting the little accessories, too.  After I send the proof I mailed the package to one of the moderators, Robin,
I just have to wait to see how my YP reacts.  I hope she posts some photos because while I took a photo of the gift I made I did not take any of the rest of the package! I just kept throwing things into the bag!
   Now comes the hard part...the waiting...and I have to wait to receive a package myself.  'Yarn Pals' is a double swap...you send to somebody and somebody else sends to you. 

What A Day!

     Jeff went to town on Tuesday and was stopped 4 times because the license plate had fallen off the front of the Outback!  And the first guy gave him a ticket for an expired Inspection Sticker, too!! (It had expired in Sept.!!!)  Let's just say he was not a happy camper when he got home.  Neither of us liked the idea of him being stuck in this Little House in the Little Woods without a vehicle so the planned stop at DMV that was on my to-do list because the registration on the Forester was due in April got moved to the top of the list and I stopped at the there about 9am. When I got there I looked at the front window and discovered that the inspection on the Forester had expired in March!
   I hate going in that building.  I left my purse in the car because it was easier than trying to explain why I have scissors and a pocketknife and put the change from my pocket into the pan but the sensor still went off!  I told the officer I had screws and a plate in my leg but he decided it was the eyelets on my winter shoes!  Anyway, with  4 clerks working and 3 people in line, in no time I renewed the registration for the Forester and got the form to re-register the Outback and turn-in the remaining plate.  Called Jeff from the car on my new cell phone to tell him to take the plate off the car and call Hillslide to make an appointment to have the cars inspected and headed to Ilion to have my taxes done.  I was about 40 minutes early  but I didn't care.  I only had to wait about 15 minutes before it was my turn and a volunteer from the AARP did my tax return for free.  Got a great refund due to all the money I had had to spend paying down my mortgage to refinance it...and remove Mom's name from it...before they would lower the payment.  By the time I got home Jeff had that poor old license plate off the Outback so I just filled in the form and went back to the DMV.  My shoes set the sensors off again!  And the line was considerable longer.  Got the new plates and went home.  In no time I got my stock bags in the car, visited the bathroom and headed for Cooperstown.  Going through Herkimer I decided to grab an early lunch(11:30) but so had a lot of other people because the drive-thru at Arby's was really backed up!  I went thru the empty drive-thru at Burger King and got a Crispy Chicken sandwich (which wasn't crispy and ended up in the trash at Price Chopper) and a soda and headed south on Rte 28.  I tried to keep an eye out for Troopers and to stay at the speed limits and made it to the shop by 12:15. I realized I really hadn't worked very hard this winter and I think my display needs more...the hangers and hat holders are all full but it looks skimpy. There are a few more sweaters waiting for buttons that were suppose to be here yesterday but didn't make it.  Once they arrive I'll have more to fill up the space. And maybe I'll actually be able to finish another shawl.  I finished 1 this winter.  I never had so much trouble with lace before.  Guess I just wasn't in the mood to knit fancy lacy patterns.
   The shop slowly filled up with most of the members bringing their stock in yesterday but I wasn't the only one who didn't plan well as there are still some empty shelves. We had a member decided not to return at the last leaving her space temporary empty...but that will fill in naturally.  There are new displays like this one for

the wooden cutting boards that replaces a storage unit.  Looks  much, much better than a solid green door!  We have 2 new members...a baker and a candy maker.  Several of us have already decided our treat of the day when we work will be a slice of homemade bread with maple syrup or honey followed up by a piece of chocolate. 
   We had a very productive meeting at the Cooperative Extension Bldg. on Lake St. and an excellent covered dish supper! There were several different salads, veggie dishes and pulled pork, baked macaroni, fried chicken, shrimp cocktail...and then there were the desserts. The Carrot Cake was fantastic! And the donuts!! The great food prepared us all for the rough job of filling in the work scheduled. (My first work day of the season will be Monday, 4/10.) Most members work 1 or 2 days a month...except us foolish ones who split days and because we only work half a day at a time, end up working more.   But going down more often helps to keep the shelves full.    
   Brenda brought my bear and even Jeff said it was

TJ the Velvet Bear

'nice' (high praise from him)and suggested I keep it away from the dog so right now it's sitting on my dresser amidst all my stuff and next to the stuff animal Jeff bought Mom.
I brought a bowl of the pulled pork home for Jeff (so I wouldn't have to cook) and he liked it! Fanny ignored me when I first got home but now we're friends again...and Jeff did not share any of the pulled pork with her. 
    It was a busy day for me. I was on the road from 9am to 8pm.  Wonder how many miles I covered? To the DMV, then to Ilion, back home, back to the DMV, and home again, to Cooperstown, then from the shop to Price Chopper(for the fixings for the tossed salad that was my contribution to the covered dish supper) and back to the shop, to the Cooperative Ext bldg. on Lake St and finally back home. I'm tired. I think it will be an early night. I'm not going anywhere tomorrow or Saturday...got to have the Forester inspected on Sunday!  I don't want a ticket for being out of Inspection.
p.s.  Got a email notice that those Rainbow Tomato seeds have been shipped and I should receive them in 10-45 days!