Keeping Busy

     I've been keeping busy knitting, reading and going to doctor's appointments lately.  I got my 3 Christmas sweaters finished and Marion took them to the shop last Saturday. Haven't heard if any of them have sold yet but that would have been too good to

be true!  After I cleared up all the mess left over from those sweaters I decided to take a mini-vacation and read a book, one of Tasha Alexander's mysteries.  Her storyline is usually pretty snappy and eventho her books are written in 2 voices...alternating chapters...if I don't care for one of them I skim those chapters.  (They're mainly background to the main story.)  Then a college friend, Tim, sent me a copy of David McCullough's TRUMAN.  It's very interesting and I'm trying to read a chapter every day.  I never knew that much about Harry and now I think if I had been old enough to vote, I'd have voted for him. He was basically a good guy who tried to do the right thing.  Tim recommended another author, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and I got 2 of her books from Midyork.  I'm half-way thru her autobiography, WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, and I like her style.  He's reading her bio of Lincoln.  I've got that, too, but I want to finish TRUMAN first.  As an old History major, I've read a lot of bios of Lincoln and really haven't found any that I'd want to read again.  Tim thinks this one, TEAM OF RIVALS, is different.  We'll see.  In the meantime I've been working on hat and mitten sets.  
    I know it's only October but I'm cold (as usual, thanks to the Warfarin) so I'm starting early.  I got 1 1/2 sets finished.  The first has a tam and is done

with Premier's Sweet Roll in Gelatio Pop,

the 2nd one, the one I'm working on now, has a watch cap and is done with Red Heart in Fair Isle Derby. 
The mittens aren't finished yet...hopefully, I'll get them done tonight.  Both sets will fit 2-3 year old's.  I think the watch cap needs a pom pom.  What do you say? They are both are 100% acrylic yarns, machine wash and dryable and self-patterning.  The Fair Isle Derby

was a little more difficult to use because the
color runs are not the proper length for toddler-size items so I had to do a lot of 'cut and paste'...leaving a lot of ends to work in...and the yarn split a lot, something Red Heart usually doesn't do.

The Sweet Roll worked up beautifully...so well I went to the Herrschner's  site and ordered 4 more balls of different colors!  They were on sale for $3.99 each and even with sales tax and shipping they were cheaper than going to Walmart and buying the Fair Isle off the shelf!! Maggie, another college friend who lives near Cooperstown, is going to stop here Friday and get them to take to the shop. 
    I have a Black Sheep sweater finished ready to go,too, it's a size 2.  

I guess I better do some more pumpkin hats.  I just called the shop and there are only 2 left!  It's too early in October to stop doing them! 

   Last week Jeff had an appointment with a regular doctor arranged by his Diabetic nurse because his blood sugar was so far out of control.  (His attending was away for 2 weeks so we got to see a Dr Rule who was very nice and thorough.)  He said Jeff was doing quite good and his blood sugar was going down slowly.  He even laughed when we told him about Jeff walking out of the hospital!  Jeff gets to see the cardiologist next Wednesday and his regular attending doctor next Friday.  Then I had an appointment for my yearly mammogram and was pleasantly surprised.  The machine was new and did not squeeze as much as the old type did, the office was holding a month-long raffle for a nifty tote bag that all mammography patients were automatically entered in (and what knitter doesn't want/need another tote?), and at the end of the visit they gave me a gift bag as I left the office.  It had a pair of black and pink stripe socks, a pink fluzzy throw...perfect to use when I'm sitting by the window reading or knitting...and a black and white hat and glove set (and the gloves fit!).  It was a very nice visit and I'm glad I went...I really want that tote bag!!  Today I got to go for an INR (finger stick/blood test).  I've been trying to lower my cholesterol...eating Cheerios or oatmeal for breakfast and Cheerios for snacks...and I just learned by reading the package they are rich in Vit K...something I'm suppose to avoid.  I was surprised to be in range so I get to go back in 2 weeks and if I'm still in range, I get to go back in a month.  (One of the joy of taking Warfarin...blood testing for clotting ability.  That's something Jeff doesn't have to do with Pravix.)
   Fanny, our older, white dog, brought something in on her early yesterday morning that she didn't like.  She kept rubbing her head on the furniture and running from room to room barking and crying.  She jumped in bed with Jeff and tried to rub off whatever was on her head.  Then she tried it again on my bed but I got her out of there and shut the door on the bedroom so she couldn't get back in.  I gave her a couple of Benadryl and cleaned her ears and she slowly calmed down.  I eventually went back to bed.  When I got up a couple of hours later I felt something on my breast.  At first I thought Zoey had walked on me getting back into her 'spot' but the pain got worse and started to itch.  I checked it out and found a small tick!  I remembered reading on Facebook how to remove ticks from dogs with liquid soap so I tried it and the thing came out.  It was a deer tick.  I told my nurse about it today and she checked it out.  The site isn't infected...just sore...and she told me to keep an eye on it.  If I start feeling sick (flu-like symptoms) to go to Urgent Care and let them do a blood test.  This is the first time in the nearly 50 years I've lived here...with dogs...that I've ever gotten a tick from one of them!  If this is what was bothering Fanny I totally sympathize with her.  It hurts...still!!
   Jeff found a pork butt at Hannaford's on sale last week that he put it in the crock pot Sunday night, filled the pot with veggies and we had a delicious pork stew.  We invited Ed to come over for supper on Monday (he brought some crusty Italian bread) and I even made a coconut cream pie!  We sat around and visited for quite awhile.  I sent Ed home with enough stew for supper the next day and we still had enough leftover for our supper last night...and some to freeze.  Ed's finally settled in his apartment with his house cleaned out/empty and on the market.  Hope it sells before winter!   
   Well, I guess I've put off long enough working on a pumpkin hat.  I'll never get 2 finished tomorrow if I don't start now!!