Our Latest Adventure

    Our latest adventure here in the little house in the little woods we are attributing to Mother Nature.  The weather forecast for last night included high winds and snow so when both started shortly after sunset it wasn't a surprise...but the strength of the wind was!  Sitting at my computer and later comfortably wrapped up in a blanket with a book in my favorite chair, the wind sounded like it was going to lift this little house and carry it away...or knock over on to our roof those big oak trees next to it that have been getting bigger every year since we moved here in 1962.

   Around 10pm the next act of the evening performance began.  The lights would flicker a few times and then go out, only to come back on in about 15 minutes.  This procedure repeated itself for about an hour and a half until 11:30pm when the lights went out and did not come back on until 1:15 this afternoon. 

   We woke up to a cold, dark house:  no lights, no heat, and no water (remember, we live in the country).  Neither of us had slept much and were not in very good moods.  We couldn't call Wally (next door) ...or anybody...because our phone was out so after driving down to Wally's house and not seeing his car, we decided to go to town and see if we could find a pay phone so we could report the power outage and get some coffee.  But first, Jeff decided to check out the next house down the road since he had noticed flashing lights and large truck traffic during the night. We couldn't even get close because the road was blocked, and a National Grid truck was parked beside a fallen tree that was resting on the electrical wires that ran along the road.  Well, we found out where the problem was!

   Jeff turned the car around and we went to town, couldn't find a payphone but got coffee and went home. A few minutes later Wally was knocking at the door.  He had his cellphone with him, but his SUV was in the garage, and he couldn't get the door open...and he was cold!  Jeff got a fire going in the woodstove in the TV room while we exchanged details with Wally on what we had learned about the outage.  The guys busily anticipated how long the outage would/could last and Jeff offered Wally the couch next to the woodstove if it continued overnight. (Wally accepted!) 

   After everyone had warmed up, Jeff and Wally went back to the next-neighbors-up-the-road and found the road open!  The National Grid workmen were busy installing a new pole and said the lines would be working in 3-4 hours.  Then they went to Wally's to work on the garage door.   They got it open, the SUV out and the door closed again, and Wally headed to his favorite place for a late breakfast and Jeff came home.  

   Jeff went back to tending the fire in the woodstove and the house was finally starting to warm up when he noticed smoke coming out of the ash drawer on the bottom of the stove.  Since neither of us thought it was a good idea to open the drawer just then, he didn't add anymore wood to the fire and kept raking the ashes and coals apart.  Slowly the fire died down, but he still hasn't opened the ash drawer.  We've come up with a couple of things that could be happening (the fan on the back of the stove caught fire because it wasn't working due to the outage, the paint in the drawer could have flaked off and caught fire, a mouse might have made a nest in the drawer and the nest is burning, mice could have gotten into the drawer and died, and we just witnessed their cremation) but Jeff wants to wait until the fire in the box is totally out and the stove cools down before opening the ash drawer.  I think we both imagined him opening the smoking ash drawer and having it burst into flames!!!

   The house smells awful right now, but it is warm, and we do have lights and water.  The first thing I did when I heard the microwave chirp and the furnace come on was ask if Jeff wanted some coffee.  He hadn't heard (or paid attention to) either 'on' signal and was surprised!  Ah, living in the country!  Never a dull moment!!

Are Dogs Paranoid?

       Yesterday Jeff's brother, Tim, came over to deliver a load of ...'stuff'...that their sister, Sherry, had decided to give us as she empties out her house in anticipation of moving to a smaller place.  Since Tim drives a pickup truck and it would be loaded, Jeff moved our car to the front lawn out of the way so Tim could back up to the porch stairs.  But when he got here, they ended up putting most of the truckload in the garage instead of trying to carry it down our cellar stairs (Good idea, guys!)  

   My father had learned his carpenter skills as a member of the Navy's CBs during WWII.  Now, CBs were noted for building things to last but not necessarily for building things to look good or for being practical and our cellar stairs are no exception.  As soon as Dad had finished, he had announced he probably should have put in another step or 2 in the staircase.  (It has even been suggested that he should have added a stair or 2 between each stair that he did have in the staircase!)  Anyway, Tim had had it with cellar stairs at Sherry's and didn't want to try ours, so the bookcases and boxes went into the garage.  Only 1 box made it into the house yesterday and our car stayed on the front lawn overnight.

   Zoey, our Beagle, welcomed Tim like a long, lost relative. (She's met him maybe 3 or 4 times.)  Fanny, the older, bigger dog who also met Tim at those times, hide under the kitchen table...her usual spot when a stranger (to her or us) comes to the house.  A pot of coffee later, when Tim was ready to leave, Zoey was happy to escort him out to his truck until she saw the car on the front lawn and then she panicked and ran back into the house.  (Fanny had stayed under the table...not having heard the "All Clear" signal?)  Before we had supper, I tried to get the girls to go outside so I could knit for a while, but Fanny was still under the table and Zoey got as far as sticking her head out the door and seeing the car in a strange spot.  After supper I tried again with the same results but at least Fanny came out from under the kitchen table!

   When it finally was time for evening meds and treats, both dogs went out to do their thing but neither stayed very long.  Fanny came in all upset about something she had smelled out there and wouldn't calm down until I went into my room to read, and she went with me.  Later Zoey joined us and finally things quieted down and everyone went to sleep.

   This morning as soon as they saw that the car was still on the lawn, both dogs refused to go down the porch stairs and hurried back into the house...with business undone.  In fact, neither went outside until the middle of the afternoon! (No puddles or piles were found in the house, either!!)  I don't pretend to understand my dogs.  Do you?

Bookmarks

 

Is It Still February?

   This morning the sky was so clear and blue without any clouds, but the air was so cold...10 degrees when I let the dogs out at 8am!!  Fanny and Zoey didn't spend much time outside, just did what they had to do and came back in.  Within 20 minutes they were both asleep in their favorite spots (Fanny on the couch and Zoey on the chair). Zoey seemed to have a big grin on her face, so I grabbed the camera and tried to get close, but she woke up and just   

 

stared at me.  I took the shot anyway then I turned towards Fanny and tried to get close to her, but she growled at me!  I told them both to go back to sleep!  And they did!!

   Later when I tried to carry my coffee cup in one hand and a bowl of (dry) frosted mini shredded wheat in the other, I got all the way back to the computer table before I started to wobble.  Had to make a quick decision:  coffee or shredded wheat all over??  It was any easy choice, and the bowl of cereal went flying!  I set the cup of coffee down and went back to refill my cereal bowl.  I didn't pick up the cereal right away...hey, my coffee was getting cold! besides I thought Zoey would take care of that for me. After my cereal, I went back to the kitchen to toast a bagel and I picked up the shredded wheat, dividing it between the girls.  Zoey got interested in it and got off the chair and did some 'dumpster diving' in the closet to see if she could find any more (she did).  I guess the mice are out of luck today!

   I had an INR done yesterday and was out of range (again).  I think it was due to the amount of Tylenol I've been taking since I've been knitting a lot lately.  (I just read on FB that Tylenol can act like a blood thinner when taken with Warfarin.)  So, I have to watch the Tylenol and have the INR repeated on Tuesday. I didn't knit at all yesterday and my hand still hurt!  So I took 2 extra strength Tylenol when I went to bed last night but that didn't help much at all.  I think I'll try knitting a little today and see how that goes.  The shop is supposed to reopen in April, and I've only got 2 1/2 sweaters done!  I've got to keep knitting!!  Hey, maybe they'll cut my Warfarin if my INR doesn't get back in range?

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Swap, Pt. 2

   Yesterday I went to town to mail my Valentine's Day Swap package

(this is what I sent),
 I think the weight of the bag of Hershey's Mini Chocolates I put in tipped the scales over the cost limit (by a dollar or so) but I mailed it anyway!  What's a little chocolate between knitting friends??  Anyway, when I got home, I found a package for me from my swap partner!  I couldn't have been happier with what she sent!  Two skeins of yarn...the smaller one is DK and perfect for a sweater for the

 the British bears I'm working on.  I can just see a sweater knit from this for a girl bear!

The Teddy Bear book and Rabbit and Bear pattern were more than I expected!  Thank you again, Vickie!!

   Next month's swap will be a Mug Rug, so I started looking at patterns on Raverly this morning.  So much to choose from!! 

 These small swaps are a lot of fun and I'm glad my online knitting group is doing them this year!

   In the meantime, I've been trying to fill my stock bag for the shop.  So far, I've started 2 sweater and a poncho and finished none of them!  I keep going back to the baby gift I've been working on...and that's not getting finished either!  We're supposed to get a snowstorm this week and if we do...and get snowed in for a couple of days...I just might get something finished.  I hope!

 

A Valentine Swap

    I haven't been involved in any swaps lately so when the online knitting chat group I'm a member of decided to hold a Valentine's Swap, I signed up.  The organizer was doing it on short notice...only a few weeks before Valentine's Day...and with a $20 cap on spending. There were only a couple of categories:  yes or no to yarn, a pattern, knitting accessories (stitch markers/point protectors), and an international or home country partner. Treats or goodies were optional.  I figured I could put something together for $20 without any trouble.

    When I got the name of my swap partner, I quaked a bit.  She was well known on the site, pretty much of an expert and highly thought of.  Oh, boy!  I started to search for information about her.  Couldn't find a Facebook page so I just scrolled thru a lot of old postings on our site.  Got some basic information and started to build a swap package I hoped she would like.

   First of all, my partner, said No to yarn.  She has enough!  So, then I went thru my notebook and decided on a hat pattern that I had used a couple of times for gifts. (It's called Lady Chadwick Cap and was designed by Quirky Bird Knits.  I found it on Ravelry. com, a site for knitters.) 

I liked the hat, but I always had trouble finishing it...the directions for the crown never made sense to me...and I always finished the crown as best as I could keeping the pattern together.  My friends liked the way the hat looked, sort of Downton Abby, so I guess I didn't do so bad, but my copy of the pattern was so scribbled on as I tried to record what I thought I should be doing that I knew I had to get a new copy.  Today I stopped at the library and had a color copy done. ($2)  I knew my partner will have little trouble with this hat.

  

 On the way home, I stopped at Walmart and got some page protectors (I needed them so I'm not counting their cost), a button for the hat (eventho the hat isn't going in the swap bag) and a bag of candy.  Jeff has eaten about 1/4 of that bag so far, so I'll have to stop at Hannaford and get a bag of Hershey Miniatures.  (Tomorrow I'll switch the candy...taking back what's in the swap bag and putting in 3/4 of the bag of Hershey's...after making sure all of it is nut-free! ($3.75).)  I also picked up a Valentine's Card at the Dollar Tree ($1) when I got cards to send to family and friends.

   And I got a couple of small bags of cat treats for her cat ($4), too.  (If the candy is for the humans, the cat has to have a Valentine treat, too!)

   As I was walking thru Walmart today, I saw some beads that I thought would make some cute stitch markers ($1.99) so I got them.  (I had some findings and fishline leftover from Christmas, so I was all set.) After supper I went cross-eyed stringing beads, but they made up pretty good! 

And I have enough beads and findings leftover to make several more.

    All in all, I think my swap package is looking pretty good...and definitely under the $20 cap!  Even with postage!!  I hope she likes it.

edited 2/7/2024, 6:55pm

  

Will The Groundhog Be Right?

   Groundhog's Day was yesterday, Feb. 2, and the little critter called for an early spring, so of course, all our snow melted! Today we have a bright, beautiful blue sky with a few puffy clouds, and temperatures are in the high 30's but it feels warmer.  All the wet brown leaves have dried up and are rustling in the breeze as the squirrels run their laps around the yard at their crazy speeds!  The forecast for the next 10 days is for some pretty fair weather with a little rain but no major snow.  Since the boots I ordered before Christmas finally were delivered last week and don't fit, I think I'll just send them back and save the $$.  If we do get any snow, I can always stay home...one of the perks of being retired!

   I've got so many WIP's (yes, Works In Progress) that it would take me years to finish them all so I'm just going to focus on the latest ones.  I'm doing a hat for a swap I signed up for.  The organizer put a cash limit of $20 on what you could/should spend for swap gifts and gave only 3 or 4 categories to fill, so I thought I'd knit a hat from my stash (because my partner said no yarn, please, knit her a hat or mittens instead), buy some treats for the humans and their animals who'd be receiving my package and maybe add a small knitting extra and stay within that limit. I don't usually buy many patterns (that was another category) so I don't have any I'd want to give away. I like the way the hat is looking so far and if I like it when it's finished (not always a definite!) I may do one for the shop for the fall. 

    Knitting for the shop is the main category of my WIP's.  Sweaters, hats and teddy bears. All I need is time to do them.  The shop (Cooper Country Crafts in Cooperstown, NY) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  (And no, I haven't been part of it for that long!) Mom and I were invited to join in the late 1970's after the shop had been around for a few years and had moved to its present location in Doubleday Court. I've also got a large WIP (a grandbabies) gift for a college friend that I keep working on.  I want to finish that right after the swap hat! (One grandbaby is going on 3 but the other only 3 months!) 

   And the other day Jeff reminded me I didn't make him new socks for Christmas this year.  I've knit him socks for Christmas and his birthday (March 1) every year since we met in 2009.  Now that's a lot of socks so you'd think he'd still have some that were wearable!!  I did knit him a pair for Christmas in 2022 but never finished the ones for his birthday.  I know I finished one, so the other must be somewhere on the needles connected to a ball of yarn!! (A real WIP!!) Please remember, socks for Jeff are big:  he wears a US12 shoe and is 6'2 or 3" depending on how his back feels that day.  He wants the leg of the sock to come up and cover his shin. I use Paton's Kroy Sock Yarn for his socks, and it takes 1 skein for each sock, but it never gets all the way up to his knee!

   If the weather is going to stay nice and get nicer, I'm not going to want to stay inside but as you can see, I have enough WIP to keep me knitting for a long time.  I just looked around this room, and I should sweep the floor before I do anything else...but that can wait.  Both dogs are snoring away beside me...it's a tough life being a house dog.

  I think I'll go knit.  Photos of WIPs as they are finished.  I promise!