Here Comes The Berkey! A last!!!

   Jeff bought a Berkey water filter for the house about 5 years ago because he felt it would do a good job.  Nothing we (Jeff & I or my parents) had used had made much difference with our water.  We have a deep well full of black, sulfur-rich water.  Great if you want to take a bath and ease your sore muscles but I wouldn't drink it!!  I remember when we first moved here and the way it smelled outside the house!! We were told the smell would fade as we ran the water. (HA!)  The first time my mom tried to make spaghetti with the well water we ended up with a kettle of paste!!  On and off for over 50 years we hauled water in gallon jugs...free from a pipe coming out of the hillside along Canadarago Lake, from up on the southside in Little Falls, along the road to the college in Herkimer and from camp where we had beautiful, clear, clean spring water.  My father and Wally's dad decided to tap into Beaver Brook, the creek that runs behind/thru most of East Herkimer.  That worked beautifully until MDS decided to harness the creek for use in the factory and the creek bed moved leaving our pump house high and dry.  So it was back to hauling water.  The water machines at Walmart made it somewhat easier since they were inside, and at 35-39 cents a gallons, it wasn't too expensive.  But Jeff thought there had to be a better way and he kept looking and eventually found the Berkey Water Filter System online.  With the Berkey the smell was gone, the taste was gone and we had clean, clear water that we could cook with and drink.  And it was just across the kitchen from the sink so there weren't a couple of dozen gallon jugs waiting to be filled on the porch.  (Yes, we were filling 24 gallon jugs every week!)  After over 5 years of use, cleaning and changing the filters and cleaning the tank, the tank sprung a leak!  It was at the same time we were trying to replace our car so the Berkey had to wait and we were back to hauling water.  I finally managed to accumulate the extra cash and ordered a new Berkey from St. Paul Mercantile in Maryland on January 2nd.  After a quiet Christmas it was our present to ourselves.  I sent them a check for the system the next week and we started waiting.  The check got lost in the mail(!!) and it took until 12/21 before it was delivered.  I got an e-mail notice from them on Thursday that the new Berkey would be delivered this Tuesday.  I can hardly wait!! 

Swapping

   I finally got my Yarn Pals swap package into the mail on Thursday.  I had to order 
most of what I wanted to include because there isn't a yarn shop near by and I wasn't going anywhere to find one.  (Walmart has been good enough for getting Red Heart and Lion Brand yarns but they don't care anything else.) Finally my yarn orders came in and the package was complete.  I had a plastic zipper bag that sheets came in and everything fit perfectly!  I had printed out my Pal's info (address, family, likes, etc) but I never included my contact person at Yarn Pals...a mistake!  I've had some trouble with my PC this winter and Jeff had to step in and correct it and when he does that it means I lose what's not saved properly.  From now on when I print out my swap partner's info if there is a contact person included I'm going to be sure to include that name, too!  On top of that, the print on the receipt from the Post Office was so light that when I took a photo of it to send to the contact person (to prove that I had mailed the package on time) nothing showed! 

I finally got in touch with someone at Yarn Pals and PM-ed the information (date mailed, tracking #, expected date of arrival).  My Pal should receive the package tomorrow.

   I really enjoyed the 3 swaps I did this year.  Two were with Ravelry.com and one with Yarn Pals.  One of the Ravelry swaps was for  Christmas and I got some beautiful yarns, the other was for Advent and I got 24 small gifts and 1 large one.  That was so much fun!  My partner showed so much imagination!!  I got the usual knitting notions but I also got some really unusually things...like a small bottle of Sloe Gin!   I really want to do the Advent swap again next year and I hope I can find some unusual things to include!  

This is the assortment of yarn I received in the 3 swaps. Isn't it great?  Some is even hand-dyed!  That Fair Isle heart is an ornament that came with the directions and enough yarn to make another one!

   This was one that stumped me for awhile.  It's actually a mini-pair of

scissors!  I never saw anything like this

before!  (And the scissors are sharp enough to cut yarn!!)

  The Christmas Swap included the greatest shawlette and Christmas mugs but, unfortunately, one of the mugs didn't quite make the trip.  (I glued it together and will use it as a pen holder.) In the meantime, Jeff and I are fighting over the surviving mug.  It holds almost 2 cups of coffee and he thinks it's HIS.    We'll see about that!!

   

   These swaps have helped to make an otherwise drab Christmas more interesting.  Hopefully, next Christmas things will be back to normal...or at least, more normal but I'm still going to do swaps!

Twelfth Night

    Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas! Anybody got 12 drummers drumming?  Jeff's sister brought us a bag and a half of grain-free dog food (and a bag of assorted grain-free dog treats) that her dogs can no longer eat.  (One is allergic to grain and when you have 2, if 1 can't have it, you can't put it out for either.)  I just gave Fanny and Zoey a couple of heart-shaped turkey and  sweet potato treats and they gobbled them right down.  Well, Zoey did.  Fanny was a little more reserved.  After Zoey ate hers and nothing happened to her, Fanny ate her 2.  They are going to be very spoiled doggies by the time they finish these treats!  (Just hope they don't expect me to buy them more!  Have you seen the prices for fancy dog treats??  $5 and up at Hannaford!!)

   I finally got the heel turned on the 1st sock of MY pair.  I got Jeff's Christmas socks done by New Year's Day and I felt like I was playing yarn chicken!  The yarn was Mary Maxim's Elements, a DK weight blend (just what Jeff prefers!) of acrylic and wool in a green ombre called Forest that

was on sale for $1.99 a skein.  I usually get Patron' s Kroy sock yarn that's usually $5-6 a skein but I decided to give Elements a try.  There is 155 yds to a skein of Elements (to 165 yds of Kroy) so I wasn't sure the legs of the socks would be long enough to make Jeff happy but...I got great yardage out of each skein!  The foot of one of Jeff's sock is 10" long, then the turned heel and then I usually just use up the rest of the skein of yarn for the leg.  Well, the Elements lasted for another 12".  Jeff was pleased with his new socks...and so was I, so much so that I went back to the Mary Maxim site and ordered 4 more skeins!  They should get here today. Now that will be a great Twelfth Day gift!  (My socks are in Elements/Wildfire. It's pretty and bright and I like it.  I should be

able to do a pair for me in a skein and a half or less.  I thought I'd use what's left for baby socks and some Pinwheel flowers for baby and toddler hats for the shop. 

  I did this pullover as a special order just before Christmas and I think I'll do it again...this time for the shop...as soon as I finish my socks (I'm tired of wearing socks with holes in them!) This is a size 2 and it's

done in 100% acrylic. I may do the sweater for the shop in a size 4. I don't think I'll offer it as a set in the shop, either.  The hat will be available as a separate purchase.

   I've been reminded several times by different shop members that this year Induction should be a Biggie (NY Yankee captain Derek Jeter is one of the inductees!) so I want to do some extra baseball sweaters.  Of course,  I'll do my Pin-stripe hoodie and

the Red-White-Blue

Hoodie, and baseball hats but I think I need a baseball cardigan or pullover

without the hood.  But I've got to remember not to get too carried away with baseball because not everyone will want a baseball sweater/hat for their child.  If I really get inspired I can probably do a train hoodie, too.  Or a train instead of the sheep around the yoke of a pullover!  Got to do a sheep cardigan, too!

There is just too much to do before the shop reopens in April.  I guess I can't complain about having nothing to do this winter!!