Angels have visited

We have been visited by angels!  The 2 small Precious Moments(l) are ornaments I found in my Advent Swap and the taller angel(r)...from Jeff's sister... has a color morph dress.  All fit in so well with the rest of our 'crystal forest' on the mantel.  Jeff's sister gave an angel to Mom, too, and it's at the rehab facility with her.

We visited Mom yesterday after lunch but she was too tired to talk.  She had been evaluated that morning in PT/OT.   Talked to the facility MD and the case manager.  Mom can stay there for the next 3 months as long as she starts showing some improvement in mobility.  Hope the angel helps her.

                          

Hospital Trips, Swap Buddies and All

      Just back from a trip to the hospital in Cooperstown to see my mom.  She's somewhat better but a long way from the semi-independent woman she was a short...no, make that a long 3 weeks ago.  Even at 98 she was still knitting!  Now she can not feed herself or even direct a straw into her mouth.  When being transferred from chair to bed all she does is scream and go limp.  The worst part is that there isn't a medical reason for this.  The case manager is suggesting long-term care (skilled nursing home) and Mom may be moved tomorrow or Thursday back to one in Herkimer.  At least that's only 5 minutes away and not 45 minutes like the hospital.  
     Some of the bright spots in this ordeal have been the swap packages I've found waiting for me at home.  I've received some lovely things...several sets of stitch markers to add to my collection  (you should see the purple mitten bead ones!) as well as yarn, and project and notion bags. The socks I got in the St Nicholas' Day swap have gotten rave reviews from all who've seen them...and made me really understand how comfortable wool socks are!  I've lost track of which swaps I posted thanks you's on, but I appreciate them all.   I finally got all my packages mailed and really appreciate the patience I've gotten from the swap mods.  
     Jeff's been my foundation through all of this and without him I couldn't have made it this far.  Tomorrow we'll be working on rebuilding the woodpile...he cuts, I stack and the dog runs around like crazy.  We're planning to host his sister and a cousin of mine for dinner on Christmas.  

Back to the Hospital

Josie's been confused since moving into rehab and has been resisting PT.  This morning when I visited her, she was sitting in a chair with a very runny nose but not very social...I'm not sure she even knew who I was.  After lunch the facility called to say that she had spiked a temp and they were starting antibiotics.  Late this afternoon they called again to tell me that they had sent her to the ER in Cooperstown because her temp wasn't responding to treatment and she had developed some respiratory distress.  They gave me a phone number and I called...but she hadn't arrived yet.  An hour later, she was there but they were waiting for the lab work.  Next phone call...about 1 1/2 hrs later, she was in X-ray.  Around 11pm, they finally decided to admit her for a UTI and pneumonia. They'll probably keep her until Monday...at least. The weather was suppose to go down hill tonight w/ freezing rain and since they hadn't decided to admit her, we decided to wait until they did. (If they had sent her back to the rehab facility we might have passed each other on the road!)   The weather is suppose to get better by noon tomorrow so we'll probably go down then.  

Valley Health

Josie was transferred to Valley Health Rehab, Room 114, W German St., Herkimer, NY  13350 yesterday... Tuesday...morning.  She was not terribly pleased...'the ride was very bumpy'.  I'm sure she will be even more 'not pleased' when she discovers this morning that ALL rehab residents are dressed and in the dining room for breakfast and then spend 'most if not all' morning in therapy sessions.  I plan on dropping by to see her for a few minutes today after lunch.  They said she can have her cell phone  so I'll bring it then.  She's lost half her dentures...arriving with only 1 plate. The social worker at Valley Health said she'd try to find out what happened to the other but it may have broken or just thrown out by accident.  She'll be there until Christmas...and maybe beyond depending on how much progress she makes.  Remember, rehab means work not a vacation.  The next 2 weeks will be interesting.

How Not To Spend An Afternoon

Spent the afternoon at the ER in Cooperstown Tuesday.  Mom had a cold for a couple of days and she was rather weak and wobbly.  Her home health care aide worried she might have had a stroke so we called for an ambulance and went to Bassett. Tests results show no signs of a stroke, mild to moderate dehydration and an irregular heart beat so they decided to admit her, hang a saline drip and do a MRI in the morning.  Once the drip was going she perked up and after an hour or so started to be her usual bitchy self (why hasn't the doctor come back?  where's that nurse? etc). The ER was full and very busy. (Then there was the 'major trauma' on RTE 28 S that came in just before we left to come home. It forced us to take a detour down dark country roads where we missed a turn, ending up in Fort Plain...about 20 miles east of home but where gasoline was only $3.65! Good because by then we needed some!  Still, I'm glad Jeff was driving!)   Mom did not have a good night and when Jeff and I got back the next day she was totally out of it.  She hadn't eaten anything and was on oxygen!  Jeff got her to eat while I got hysterical (we had left her sitting up eating a ham sandwich!)  Yesterday she was eating and talking but went to sleep when we got there.  The doctor said the UTI may have traveled up to her kidneys and they wanted to rule that out.  I managed to pick up a cold (complete with chills and fever) somewhere along the line and had slept all the way down...and back...and all evening in the chair by the fire...and all night.  (Some cold, huh?)  Jeff slept on the couch and Fanny kept growling at him! This morning I called the hospital and told them that I would not be coming down today coz of the cold.  This afternoon the doctor called and said mom was ready to be discharged.  There was no way I wanted to go back down there in a cold rain but....  Then the doctor called back and said maybe she should go to rehab to regain her strength and mobility.  After a few more phone calls the case manager was going to look for a bed at Valley Health or Folts.  Haven't heard from anyone in a couple of hours so I think she'll stay put until Monday. I'll find out in the morning.

 Fanny was fantastic on her own the first day!  No puddles or piles, shredded or chipped wood or chewed up household implements (wooden spoons and plastic screwdriver handles are favorites!).  She was happy to see me but over-the-moon to see Jeff!  (Hey, I'm the one who opens the dog food cans!)  But last night she wasn't so good and left a pile next to the-sleeping-on- the-couch Jeff.  He made soup in our new crock pot when we got home and kept encouraging me to have some.   I had tried to work on a ladies sock while we waited...and waited...and waited in the ER but didn't get very far coz Mom's 'room' was in the hall and I had to keep moving as other patients were moved around.  Didn't do any knitting last night either.
And on top of it all, I lost my cell phone...after just download 120 minutes on to it.

No Central Heat in 1817...

Just back from the Hyde Hall Holiday at Glimmerglass State Park near Cooperstown.  Hyde Hall is a historical building being renovated.  Built in 1817, it does not have central heating or many electric lights.  I learned those facts first-hand today as I help represent the shop at this craft show.  There were about a dozen vendors set up in the foyer, drawing room and front parlor of this once magnificent mansion. To say it was cold in there is a total understatement!   I felt like I was dressed for skiing not sitting at a craft table!  I even had some hand warmers in my pockets!  The organizers compensated with free coffee all afternoon...without telling you that the bathroom was in the visitor's center across the lawn!  As the day progressed it got darker and colder in there but we still called it a success with the shop doing well. I sold several baby sweater sets and took orders for a couple more. Guess I know what I'll be doing this week!   

And the Race is on....

Well, Thanksgiving is over and the race is on towards Christmas.  We had invited Jeff's sister and my cousin for dinner yesterday and I was in charge of the meal. The menu was changed many times and Wednesday while sitting in the shop, supposedly working, I did a few final tweaks.  However, Jeff spent the night up with the chills and ended up sleeping most of Thanksgiving but we still had company coming for dinner.  Ended up with roast pork, mashed potatoes and gravy and  fried carrots; lemon meringue pie and pumpkin pie.  Too bad Jeff was feeling so bad coz we had a good time at dinner! (He got leftovers when he woke up.)
                                                 
The elves had been busy decorating the shop and it looked very good Wednesday when I worked.(photo left)  I left several baby hats (photo right) and baby socks to fill up my space and I just got a phone call saying  that this yellow hat w/the raspberry flowers sold this morning...along with a baby sweater set.  I'll have to stay busy and do some more hats!  It would be nice if the snowman or Santa would sell but ...maybe more hats?

The shop has been invited to participate in a one-day sale at Hyde Hall on Dec. 2nd.   Hyde Hall was the unusually large home... actually, a neoclassical country mansion... of George Clark, heir of George Clarke an early NY governor and distant relative of James Fennimore Cooper. One of the finest American houses, built in 1817,  it combines the architectural traditions of England and America and is located in Glimmerglass State Park. When the park first opened, my family spend many hours on the beach there and we'd always walk up to the mansion and try to peek thru the broken shutters, so when I heard about this sale I immediately volunteered to help represent the shop. It will mean a couple extra sweaters and half a dozen hats but it will get me into Hyde Hall!  The sale runs from 12-4 pm and admission is free.  Unique gifts and books including local hand-made crafts, and holiday sweets and treats will be available.  There will also be a display of Victorian children’s toys and a visit from Father Christmas. Now if the weather cooperates....

Found this beautiful flower arrangement on our kitchen table Wednesday when I got home from Cooperstown.  My mother had no idea where it came from but the card...our neighbor the florist...was from my cousin Mike and his partner, Chris.  Heard my mom tell the aide today the flowers were from her favorite nephews.  They are definitely spoiling her!

p.s. Saturday morning, 9:20am, it's snowing!

A Change of Pace

We stacked  (Jeff cut/I stacked) firewood yesterday and since we didn't quite finish the pile I thought we'd be doing it again today but Jeff announced his back needed a day of rest so I decided to go to JoAnn Fabrics and use a couple of my coupons.  I got 2 skeins of Serenity sock yarn (aquamarine) to include in 1 swap package and a skein of Red Heart Boutiques' Rigoletto (wildflowers) for another.  Then I saw a display of Holiday Inspirations socks and got a gray pair with snowmen for another swap. (r) With the coupons I spent a total of $12.22.  Not bad! 

Found a swap package from Karen (Knitfever2) sitting outside my door yesterday morning.  Now comes the hard part…waiting until Dec 1st to start opening the packagettes…...25 wrapped and labeled packages (below) to open 1 a day from Dec 1 until Dec. 25th..(.there's even 1 for Fanny, I think (upper l corner of photo)...) and not opening all 25 at once! This will take will power. I was the kid who always found my mom’s hiding places at Christmas, and if she wrapped them before I found them, I would unwrap/rewrap them to make sure she got the right doll, color etc. Mom asked…when she saw what the package held…if I was going to revert to my old habits or try to wait it out. I think there are two guards watching these packages so I’d better wait it out. 


When I said I was going to the mall, Jeff's back made a remarkable recovery and he went with me.  After my stop at JoAnn's...and at Ollie's for him...we went to Gander Mountain so Jeff could check out the newest guns.  (Hey, I  had checked out yarn ....)  Then we stopped at his sister's on the way home to check up on her.  She had had a root canal a couple of months ago and there still was a hole in her jaw.  Ended up having a bone transplant last Monday and is still on soft foods. 

 Now it's time to get supper.  Maybe pasta?  Tonight I want to finish the potholder I'm doing for another swap. Tis the season, remember?  I've got 2 swaps a week due for the next 3 weeks.  I think there may be a good amount of yarn under my Christmas tree this year!

Great Package from Kansas City!

I was folding laundry this morning when the dog started barking and running to the window.  The mail carrier was putting a box in my car! (Dorothy from next door came up later and asked how come my mail was delivered to my house instead of left in the box!)  The laundry could wait so I ran outside to see what I got.  It was a Quick Fix swap package from Alacaze in KC, MO.  As you can see from the photo at the left it was great! English Breakfast tea and Milky Way Simply Caramels. yum!  And that alpaca yarn!!  I really needed some TLC after the night I had with the dog.  The coyotes were hunting and the neighbor-on-the-hill's dogs were barking.  Around 12:30 Fanny decided she had to go out...didn't stay long.  About 20 mins later, she wanted to go out again.  Again, didn't stay long.  When she announced she wanted to go out again, maybe 15 mins later, I said 'no' 'go back to sleep'.  Instead, she peed on my bed.  I stripped the bed and washed the sheets and blanket but didn't have the energy to make the bed so I took an old quilt and went into the tv room.  I thought Fanny would follow me...which she did but wouldn't stay in there.  She kept looking at the shadows on the ceiling from the woodstove and running out of the room to hide.  Really spooked her.  It was a long night.  Now, if I had had those MilkyWays and English Breakfast teabags....

Another Weekend

Another weekend comes to an end and while the weather was cold and damp we worked outside this afternoon, anyway, Jeff cutting wood and me stacking it.  (Hey, he worked in the garage and I stacked it outside!  What's wrong here?) He saw online last night that there's a nor'easter heading for the mid-Atlantic coast (same approximate landfall as the hurricane) that could effect our weather later this week and he wanted to make sure we have enough wood cut and the utility trailer put away before we get any significant snow.  Tomorrow we're going to see if we can find glass chimneys to fit some of the oil lamps we have.  When the hurricane was predicted Walmart sold out of everything...chimneys, wicks and oil.  They haven't restocked as of yesterday so we may have to check a couple of the hardware stores.   Fanny was having a ball running circles thru the garden like a kid...running around and then throwing herself into a pile of leaves.  Boy, I bet she's full of ticks tonight!  It usually takes 12-18 hours for them to fall off...or me to pick them off.  She gets dosed monthly with the flea and tick repellent  you spread down her spine but she still manages to acquire 2-3 after playing in the leaves.  And dirty!  You just don't realize how dirty a white dog can get running through piles of leaves.

Before we went outside I worked on the 2nd sock for an upcoming swap, turning the heel and starting the  leg.  I managed to get it turned on the first try today.  If I get uninterrupted I usually have to rip it out and start again.  It took 3 tries to turn the heel on the 1st sock!  I'm still disappointed that the repeats in the pattern are not identical.  You can tell the socks are a pair but the self-stripping yarn isn't perfect.  I got an email from Betsy who worked in the shop yesterday to tell me that this hot pink blacksheep sweater had sold.  I have one in mallard green that seems to have taken up premanent residence on my needles that I can finish by Tuesday when I go down to work.

I got an email thank you today from Adriane in KC, MO  for what I had sent her in another swap.  I had included my favorite children's book, Annie Hoot and the Knitting Extravagance.  It seemed like the right book to include in a knitting swap.  Swaps can be such fun!

The replacement basket for our Ronco Rotisserie came this week and we've used it twice.  It was great for the chicken pieces I did tonight, and Jeff did pork chops with peppers and onions earlier this week.   The meat stays nice and moist and the veggies cook perfectly. It was worth the cost.

Another Great Swap

Got another great swap package in the mail today.  Actually found it stuffed in the mailbox.  The delivery man has been putting boxes in my car if it's raining when he comes up to the house and it was raining today but... the envelope fit in the box. It really took me by surprise!  I received a very nice market bag (complete with the directions), a nice pot holder and 2 skeins of sock yarn.  The sock yarn I think I will hide away for me!  Thanks June, in Texas!

SANDY

We spent much of the weekend preparing for Hurricane Sandy.  The forecasts warned of high winds and heavy rain with power blackouts thru much of the Mohawk Valley...first starting on Tuesday & Wednesday; and then as the system got closer on Monday & Tuesday.  Jeff cut up firewood and I stacked it on the porch giving us enough for 3 or 4 days in an easy-reach.  Got 24 gallons of drinking water and extra cereal, milk and bread. Jeff finished taking apart the garden braces and put them away in the garage along with the last of the lawn chairs, wheelbarrows, shovels and rakes.  We actually looked like we had 'batten down the hatches'!  The backdoor on the garage is easily opened by the wind, so Jeff braced it from inside and since we couldn't fit the car in the garage with everything else we parked it between the house and the garage in a protected area. He even put the garbage pails in the garage thinking there wouldn't be a collection on Tuesday morning. I remembered to take the remote garage door opener with me and we were all set.

When the kitchen was clean after supper I made another pot of coffee and turned on the Fox Report.  Things looked really rough in NYC and on the Jersey Shore and we settled down to watch the storm's progress.  Mom went to bed early as usual and while the wind picked up, it didn't rain.  I worked on a sock I'm doing for a swap and Jeff kept coming up with something else we should get before the next emergency
(a generator, a camp stove, lamp oil, etc.)  Every time there was a loud band or wind gust, Jeff went outside
to check if anything had fallen over.  He was worried that the stovepipe would be taken by the wind (and I was kind of hoping the fireplace chimney would be).  In spite of the heavy cloud cover it was so bright outside last night he didn't need a flashlight. around 9pm the lights flickered and went out.  Still no rain to speak of.  We sat in the dark talking until about 11pm and then went to bed.  The dog was nervous about the shadows caused by the flashlights and Jeff still jumped up with every large thud.  Around 3am he decided to make a camp stove out of a coffee can and heated up some of the coffee outside.  Still no rain and the night was still very bright.  The lights came back on around 5am and while the cable tv, phone and internet were still out (didn't come back on until 10am) we managed to get a Utica radio station and caught up with the outside world.  A fresh pot of coffee and it was soon nap time for us all.  Hurricane Sandy hadn't lived up to her predictions here but hadn't been so docile in NYC.  Jeff and I spent most of today catching up on our sleep.  I hope we don't have too many hurricanes but there is a nice stack of wood on the porch....

I had been so involved in knitting that sock last night I didn't notice I had gotten carried away and had to rip out a couple of inches this morning.  And I did not try to work on it after the light had gone out!

OH, WHAT A WEEKEND!

My cousin Mike and his partner Chris visited us this weekend from Detroit and while they don't visit often they do do the cooking...and cleaning up... when they visit, making them the perfect guests!  This trip the menu included a Killer Soup for lunch (photo l) that Mike put together while talking politics with Jeff.  Supper was a beef stew with dumplings that we all enjoyed, too.  Mike and Jeff grilled shrimp on our little firepit by the garden as the appetizer and Jeff and my cousin Ed, who joined us for supper, were pleasantly surprised how good shrimp can be!(photo r)  Again Politics was the topic of conversation during the meal...maybe the wine kept the opposing views in check!  (photo l)  We all cleaned up our plates and went back for seconds.  Or maybe it was the chocolate chip cookies Mike made.  My contribution to dinner was banana nut bread with monkey butter (bananas, coconut and pineapple cooked into a peanutbutter like  spread.)

While the humans in the house were clearly enjoying the good food, good

conversation and good wine, the dog was not!   When Mike and Chris stopped in Friday night after checking into their motel, Fanny hid in the bedroom and nothing could make her come out to say hello.  In fact, she wouldn't come out for over an hour after they left!  And she wouldn't go outside thru the door they used!!  Saturday I had to carry her outside coz she went back into hiding when they parked in the driveway!  Jeff got her to stay with us...at his feet under the table during lunch and outside next to him while he was tending the fire pit... but "ChickenLittle" went back into hiding when we went inside eat.  Even a full supper dish couldn't interest her!  Jeff eventually carried her outside where she tried to 'save' her supper by covering the bowl with leaves!  We finally gave in and she's been hiding since...all night long!  Such a brave dog we have.  We don't know what makes her so skiddish around strangers but the 3 extra men in the house this weekend really got her nervous! (Had to carry her to the door and push her outside this morning.  She kept looking around...expecting to find them still there!)

After everybody left last night I finished some leaf washcloths to include in a swap.  They came out bigger than I expected!  I used cotton worsted weight yarn on US7's and the widest part of each leaf is only 31 sts.  They needed to be blocked, too, to flatten them out.  I wonder if they'll stay flat when you use them?  Anyway, now those are leaves I don't mind picking up!

 We're trying to prepare for that 'perfect storm' that Hurricane Sandy is suppose to create for us.  Jeff wants to get more wood chopped and we've got to get some lamp oil for the 2 hurricane lamps we have... in case  the power goes out.  I got all the water jugs filled yesterday but I think I'll go back to Walmart today and see if there are any 3 or 5 gal bottles left in the Colligan Water display.  Jeff wants to go his sister's today to make sure  her sump pump is working,too.  We brought in 2 big plants from the patio...a purple pepper (l) and a 5 year old geranium
that our neighbor at camp gave me.

Oh, and the beautiful vase of flowers Mike and Chris gave my mother added a little charm to the house, too.  Look at the size of that yellow rose!

A Vacuum I Like

I finally found a vacuum (l) that I liked using.  It's a lawn vacuum and sucks up leaves and small twigs off the lawn.  No more rake and wheelbarrow for me!  Of course, we rented ours today...$65 for 24 hours...but definitely worth it.  Got the backyard and one sideyard done while Jeff tilled the garden.  (It usually took 3 days to rake & remove leaves in the backyard!!)   He filled both sides of the compost bin with those leaves I vacuumed and watered them with a weak 'compost tea' to help them breakdown.  The other sideyard and around the garden are about half finished and those leaves are covering (r) the garden.   Wally...from next door...was mowing his yard and contributed some leaves and grass cuttings, too. Jeff plans on finishing up tomorrow morning.  Fanny had a ball checking out the leaves after they were spread in the garden.  The sound of the tiller and vacuum bothered her for awhile...as did the Oil Man who was here cleaning the furnace.  Every time he came outside to get something from his truck, she ran around the house.  Our brave chickenhearted dog.  

I've been doing some leafy washcloths to put in a couple swap packages that I have to send out but that's about the extent of my knitting this week.  I've still got that sheep sweater OTN waiting to be bound off, and a pair of socks for a friend's wife that just need their bind-off  row ripped out and re-done with a larger needle.  Last night I got a phone call telling me I was out of baby socks in the shop and my last Yankee ballcap sold (the day after they lost the playoffs).  There is plenty to knit but I just can't knit, read, can and do yard work at the same time.  A 'perfect storm' (combo winter and hurricane) is suppose to hit this coming week so I'm planning on catching up then.

Halloween Swap

Found a Halloween swap package in the mailbox today. (The sun was shining.) Love the button on the towel!  Hid the milky ways!  Thanks Barb!

Just a Sunday Afternoon at Home

Got the market bag finished for an upcoming swap.  It easily holds 2 large boxes of cereal so I guess it's a good size.  It's cotton and machine wash and dryable.  Hope my swapee enjoys it.

The rest of the day was hard work...Jeff outside cleaning off the garden...he dug the sweet potatoes and got nothing...and me stuck cleaning beets. Definitely not my favorite job since it meant standing at the kitchen sink and, besides,  I do not like beets.  (There were enough carrots to fill 2 pint jars...one red one orange...which I did without complaint...coz I like carrots.)  I had stripped my bed and taken the sheets & blanket & comforter to the laundromat this morning to wash them all at once in a big machine.  Picked up the garbage bag of wet bedding to head home and saw stars!*!*!  Oh, my back!  And then getting stuck at the kitchen sink washing beets...ugh!  It was too much and I pulled a 'sympathy' fit (similar to a temper tantrum but with tears and no yelling) that got me nowhere but I felt better afterwards.  My back still hurts this morning.

Jeff's been reading on-line how to cook beets (in anticipation of a good harvest?) so last night we roasted whole beets for supper.  They were a lot better than beets out of a can...which really surprised me.  Very sweet.  But they are still not on my favorite veggie list.  [To roast beets:  clean whole beets removing top and tip. Place beets of similar size on a piece of aluminium foil, drizzle with olive oil, fold foil to form a packet and place in a hot oven...375-400 for about an hour.  They will be soft when cooked.  If other things are to be baked at a lower temperature, put the beet packets in with them and just raise the temperature when the other things are cooked...or let them cook longer.]  Now he's taking about doing 'fried beets' since we all like 'fried carrots'.  [To ' fry ' carrots:  boil carrots until soft. Mash and saute with olive oil, butter, garlic and any other spice you'd like.]  We'll see how that turns out.

More Swaps

 Found two swap packages...both from Wisconsin ..on the front seat of my car this noon. (Seems my postman is very careful about keeping the packages he delivers dry.  And yes, it was raining when he drove up.)  Both had delicious Halloween treats and beautiful sock yarn.  The red yarn in the photo on the left is for me from Stacy  Jeff can wait for a pair out of the faded denim yarn in the package on the right from Marguerite   I'll share the goodies! Maybe.

I had 'help' opening boxes and I just hope we didn't get the contents mixed up.  Thank you to both swap partners!  I can't seem to post the photos on the swap sites.

What's That Up In The Sky?

What's that up in the sky?  That bright shiny thing?  Oh, the sun!  So glad to see you again.  The damp rainy weather we've been having has been hard on both Jeff and me.  My problem is degenerate disc disease and his problem is multiple back surgeries.  We creak and groan to beat the band getting in and out of the car in this weather.  And Thursday Jeff picked up a load of free pallets and spend the afternoon and evening outside in the drizzle cutting it up.  These pallets were mainly oak and other hardwoods so they are earmarked for the woodstove.  The rest was split for kindling.  Should have enough for almost a month.

 We stopped at Lowe's on the way home and got a length of braided nylon rope to make a pull toy for Fanny.  A couple of knots at both ends and a loop in the middle and she was ready to play tug-of-war...until she decided to lay down and chew it.  Then she had 2 pull toys and I had blue and white nylon curls all over the house.  She's learned to play catch with it, too.  And there still enough left to chew on (l).

While Jeff was cleaning beets and carrots yesterday I was working on a market bag for a swap.  I've done this one before in nylon ribbon yarn and really liked how it worked up but I couldn't find the ribbon yarn anywhere so I did it in cotton.  It's working up rather well, I think.  The top and the handles will be navy blue like the bottom.  It's amazing how much this bag will hold!  If I finish it today maybe I can try to finish my sheep sweater and do a couple of those cute baby hats, too, but I think the boxes of beets and carrots will come first.

Customers, Books & Knitting

It was my turn to work in the shop (Cooper Country Crafts) in Cooperstown today.  I took with me the sheep sweater that's taken up residence on my Zyphyr acrylic interchangable size 7 circular needles thinking I'd finish it...which I could have before I realized I didn't have enough buttons.   I got bored knitting then so I switched to reading. Jeff had gotten a 3-part sc-fi series called The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne thru the public library and the jacket blurbs sounded interesting so I started reading them.  Sci-Fi isn't usually my thing, but the main character is a 2100 year old druid (The Last of the Druids) who's Irish, tall with red hair and a full arm tattoo.  I'm on the 3rd book and while the premise is getting a little tired, any book that has a dog (Irish Wolfhound) who mind speaks to the Druid isn't all bad.  There were just enough customers coming in and out of the shop to keep me busy waiting on them, reading and knitting.

This is the last of the baby hats that I did for the Shop Around last weekend.  Come to find out  those 'small sales' we made there were all these hats!
The hat is a simple rolled brim cloche done on US 8's in Red Heart worsted acrylic and the flowers are done on US 4's in left over washable wool sock yarn.  I didn't have any green sock yarn so the leaves are just grosgrain ribbon.  I guess I'll have to do some more before I work again on Halloween.

It was too late to do anything when I got home today so tomorrow Jeff and I will have to finish canning the veggies from the garden (mainly beans, beets and carrots). Not something I'm actually looking forward to doing.

Our Kitchen

We didn't get any canning done this weekend other than my carrots.  Yesterday was the annual fish & game club's chicken BBQ...Yeah!  Good food and No Cooking!! After that we prepped veggies...I cleaned beans.. Italian flats, purple, different green and scarlet runners. This scarlet runner (l)started out as a beautiful red flower and as you can see the bean pod grew!  It has a velvety texture and the pod holds 8-10 beans.  And it's not an exceptionally long example but the average size.  We'll probably husk them, run them thru the dehydrator and dry can them to use in soups. In some areas, scarlet runners are considered ornamental but they are edible.  Jeff cleaned hot peppers for dehydrating.  He set up the smaller round dehydrator in the garage and has it full of Italian Longs.  He learned the hard way not to dehydrate hot peppers in the house. (I believe onions should not be done inside either).  We have a large soup kettle full of peppers waiting to be processed.  Some will be dehydrated and others  pressure canned with onions.  We're trying to have a variety of veggies...and meats...in our pantry. And other things... Jeff found a link on line for dry canning and he put up 10 lbs of whole wheat flour in 1/2 gal mason jars.  It's done in the oven and is used to kill 'vermits' that nest in dry flour like weevils and other bugs.  The lids seal...and click...as they cool down just like in pressure canning.  With the price of flours forecast to soar due to the bad growing season this year he thought it might be worth a try.  It's easier than pressure canning but the jars are harder to find. Agway was the only place locally that carried them.  I think we'll probably do some more.

The shop around at the Brookwood School in  Cooperstown Saturday was a disappointment.  Not too many people attended and the shop's display had only a few small sales.  Oh, well, those hats I did for it will fill up my shelf space in the shop nicely...and I won't have to take much stock with me Wednesday when I work.  Still, it would have been nice if....

Found a swap package sitting on my car's front seat today for a Coffee and Chocolate Swap  from Anne in Canada.  Jeff thinks the dark roast coffee beans are nice and my mom claimed the Godiva chocolate.  I think I may use the project bag as a purse...it's to nice not to carry around every day!

Season's Ending

 There was a forecast for frost last night so Jeff spent yesterday afternoon cleaning the garden. All the green waste went into the compost bin filling up one side.  Jeff wants to till the garden over before covering it with leaves for the winter but that won't be today.  We've got beets, beans, carrots, kohlrabi, celery and bell peppers waiting for us on the porch to process (that's the old propane stove to the side). While Jeff was busy outside,  I picked...and cleaned...and cut up enough carrots to fill 9 pints and then Jeff walked me thru processing them.  It still scares me to use the pressure canner alone. There are probably enough carrots left(center left of photo) for another pint. These bell peppers(lower) are beautiful but this season was so screwy we had to forget about the dozen or so others that were just forming. They are big and heavy...rather like the ones that go for $1.59 each at Walmart.  I think today we will be busy canning the beets and beans.  Jeff wants to try cooking the beet and carrot greens or dehydrating them to use in soup but they're so high in Vitamin K I can't even think about eating any right now...my clotting factor is messed up again and we're adjusting dosage again.  Between my clotting factor and Jeff's blood sugar we can't seem to keep our numbers in the normal range for very long.

 Last night I made beef stew using our carrots and celery and it came pretty good.  Fanny got to finish the gravy on her dry dog food this morning!

We had a beautiful fire in the new stove yesterday...and the stove radiated heat long after we stopped feeding. We didn't even put a dent in the stack of wood Jeff had brought in.  We still have to get some hard wood for this winter.

Jeff and Wally from next door took the utility trailer loaded with trash to the Town Barn yesterday.  It's 'free trash' days  (got to get something for our tax $$'s).  Probably saved us about $30...plus gas...going there instead of taking it to the dumping station in Utica.  We still have paint cans...hazardous waste...to take up there.

The shop, Cooper Country Crafts, is doing a Shop-Around at the Brookwood School in Cooperstown today. (www.thebrookwoodschool.org)  I sent a couple of sweater sets, cotton pumpkin bib & hat sets, and some baby hats...about $100 of knitting.  Judy and Sharon were going to 'man' the booth and are taking a sprinkling of merchandise from the shop.  Since the shoppers at this are locals it is really an advertising event for us.  They asked for a donation for their auction and we decided one of the woodcarver's door signs would attract the most attention.   Hope they have a good day and a fair number of shoppers find their way back to the shop! When Mr Jeff lets me out of the farm kitchen I have to get back to knitting.  I got half of a pair of socks done for him, 3/4 of a sheep sweater set and more of the baby hats for the shop waiting for me.  I guess I better get busy!

AT LAST

The new wood stove has been installed...very carefully by Jeff with Fanny at his side.  It makes quite a difference in the temperature of the house.  We've had a fire in it the last couple of nights while we watched tv.  Now we've got to get some firewood. That corner has seen a small woodstove that we got thru the JC Penney Catalogue.  That's when Dad let me do the z-brick and slate work.  That stove was followed by a pellet stove and then a propane burner.  The technology of the wood burner has changed but the effects remains the same. Nothing beats a wood fire.  We've come full circle and it seems right.  Jeff put up the outside stove pipe by himself and it's 18" above the peak of that roof.  It wasn't easy going up a ladder with over 8' of stove pipe on your shoulder but Jeff did it and it draws nicely.  He put a T (r) on the top to direct the
smoke away from the house and it works! (I think it will need screening of some kind to keep the critters out but Jeff doesn't think so.)  He's already planning to clean the outside pipe just to see how much creosote has built it in the few times we've used it.   Fanny thinks it's a great idea to have firewood in the house and keeps taking pieces to chew.

I've been working on swap packages for the knitting forums I belong to. The photo on the left is for a coffee and chocolate swap.  I made a table mat and mug rugs...the green under everything...for that one. The one on the right was for a  Halloween swap.  My partner said she collects pumpkins so I did a dishcloth with a pumpkin design knit in and a set of pumpkin stitch markers to go with the dishtowel, pumpkin scrubbie (found that at JoAnn Fabrics), pumpkin soap (from Cooper Country), packet of kleenix and tissue pumpkins.  This swap was theme limited so I didn't have to include yarn and my partner requested no candy...that made it a little difficult.  Knitters usually love to get chocolate in their swap packages. I just mailed a color specific swap limited to dollar stores that was interesting to shop for.  The Christmas swaps have just been announced and they are always fun! Who doesn't like to get packages with yarn and chocolate in them??

Wood Stove and Other Things

The special thimble for the new wood stove is finally in place.  The wall is thicker there  because of a dead air space and false wall on top of the actual wall.  And, because we decided not to go thru the roof/eves we had to clear the eves making for an extra long run of pipes.  Jeff's not satisfied with the support he build to hold up the pipes outside.  And we have to clear the peak of the room so we'll end up with a high stack that may need stabilization of some kind.  It's raining today so that will have to wait until tomorrow.    

  Fanny has been having a ball chewing on everything she can find...and running around like crazy!  Yesterday I heard her thundering around the house and when I went outside she was on lead.  She had decided not to come when called and Jeff was proving a point.  Several times during the afternoon he let her loose for a few minutes then called her to come.  If she didn't respond he put her back on the lead.  By supper time she was coming quickly when called.  Since the lead is about 35' on a trolley she has a large area to roam and finds a lot of interesting spots to check out.  After supper we all played tug of war with an old beach towel that we knotted up.  Fanny's managed to untie the big knot a couple of times!  Never saw that happen before.  (Jeff's told me of a dog he knew who could unscrew the lid on a jar of peanutbutter!)     Eventually she got tired and went to bed...mine!  Hey, at least she warms it up for me!

   This is the pumpkin sweater set...just a plain v-neck caridgan with rolled cuffs, pumpkin buttons & hat...  I made for the shop and took down Wednesday.  It got a lot of favorable comments from the customers but no takers.  Oh, well, it's a month before Halloween....  I managed to get only other 1 pumpkin hat done for Wednesday so I've got to get busy and do some more.  Got a lunch meeting at the shop on Tuesday so I can take down what I get finished then. Now I've got to start on Christmas!!                        

Keeping Busy

It's been a busy week.  We decided to get a new wood stove and after we paid for it and arranged for delivery, Jeff found out that he couldn't move the stove we had alone.  Luckily we were able to get 2 teenagers...the son and a friend... of one of my mother's aides...to come over and between the 3 guys they were able to get the old stove out of the room and the new one in. (The delivery man had used a mini fork lift to get it off the truck and onto the ramp where he left it.)  We had to replace the thimble in the wall to fit the stove pipe and that required enlarging the hole, and since Jeff didn't want to cut thru or into the eves so it's been a bit of a challenge to get things to fit. He's been very carefully fitting the pipe so it's taken longer than expected.

I picked green beans for supper tonight.  They were good size and there are more still on the vines.  I picked a watermelon, too, but it wasn't ripe when I cut into it...very disappointing.  There are 3 or 4 others so I guess I'll just wait until there's a frost warning.

My pumpkin hats sold out at the Pumpkin Fest last Saturday in Cooperstown.  I took 5 down with me when I worked on Wednesday and there was 1 left from the last batch and they all sold! That hasn't happened in a couple of years.  I finished one today and should get a couple more finished before I go down to work again on Wednesday.  When I moved the part of my yarn stash in the den to make room for the new stove, I found some pumpkin buttons.  Of course, this was after Pumpkin Fest but I decided to make a dark green sweater and use the buttons on it anyway.  It'll be a size 9 months so I'll make a pumpkin hat to make it a set.  It's not actually a Halloween sweater so it might sell yet.

Fanny has been getting into a lot of trouble this week. Thursday afternoon she destroyed a wooden spoon, and Friday afternoon she picked up one of Jeff's screwdrivers and chewed about 1" off the handle.  Today she picked it up again and took off another 1/2".  We haven't been able to catch her stealing the things...just chewing on them...but she does sit on my bed and take things off the night table to chew so she might be just taking them off a table in another room. Last night she woke me up 3 or 4 times and I let her go outside but still managed to do her "toilet" on my bedroom floor this morning!

If you're wondering why I have a hotmail address now I've had some trouble getting into my gmail lately.  Can't do it on my pc but there's no problem with Jeff's.  I decided to change my password to see if that would help but couldn't do it. (Gmail asked for a credit card #...eventho it's a 'free' service... to verify my identity)so I opened another Hotmail account and transferred my contact list to it and when I did that my gmail...and this blog...opened up again.  I don't have to understand what happened as long as there aren't any problems with that.

Is it still September?

It's another brisk 'autumn' morning. Sunny but chilly. It's suppose to warm up this afternoon...hope so or I'll have to shut the windows again.

Today's program includes canning some meat. Got to make room in the freezer! And besides it's so much easier to just open a couple of bottles when I want to make chicken and biscuits or chili. Jeff's got 2 bottles of meatloaf (?) on the shelf and last night he was talking about dry canning (using the attachment to his Seal-a-Meal) some polish sausage. We still haven't gotten that 40lb bag of onions he wants to dehydrate. The peppers he did Thursday night ended up in a pint jar! He'll use all his dry veggies to make soup mix that he'll dry can with his Seal-a-Meal attachment in individual bottles. While we're making a good stab at being 'off the grid' we're both glad to use these modern conveniences!

Got to start knitting again...or moving yarn. Can't begin to install the new wood stove until all the extra stash is relocated! When I talked to Judy last evening I found out that there will be a Scavenger Hunt during the Pumpkin Fest next Saturday and one of my pumpkin hats is the item to find in our shop. For the last 2 weeks my pumpkin hats have just sat there not generating much interest from customers. She's worried there will suddenly be a surge for pumpkin hats and by next Saturday there won't be any on the shelf. I assured her I was bringing half a dozen with me Wednesday when I work so I guess I better get busy(2 are done, 1 is OTN). I want to get another Pin-stripe set done by then, too. Got the yarn but not the ambition.

Jeff consolidated the gutter garden Thursday leaving just 1 pair running. All the pails with live plants fit on the other pair and things are still growing. I now do not have an excuse for mowing the lawn again. (Again, just no ambition.) Thursday evening I mowed between the house and the garage and around the garden. That's where it seems to grow the best...must be the extra water and nutrition Jeff is giving the garden leaching into the lawn. My lawn mower is acting funny...or else I can't pull it hard enough fast enough. It's started belching black smoke before it catches. Jeff's afraid to change the oil...not sure when or if it was every changed before. So we just keep the oil full and the air filter clean and hope it lasts another season. The way I keep hitting small logs and rocks Fanny's playing with in the yarn, the blade will have to be changed soon. (I know when it was changed last...about 4 years ago when a friend did it for me and cut his hand.)

If we get some work done today maybe we can go fishing tomorrow.

Fall is in the Air

There is definitely a touch of fall in the air...the house has been cool...no, cold...in the morning and at night lately and yesterday during breakfast the furnace came on! Not exactly a good thing with so many windows still open so Jeff and I went wood stove shopping yesterday. When my father built the den on to the house 30 years ago we ordered a wood stove thru the JCPenny catalog for a couple of hundred dollars. ( I got to put the fire bricks in it!!) It was a good little stove and did a fantastic job of heating the room. Eventually we moved with the times and replaced it with a pellet stove and then with a propane stove...both types also worked well but those 40lb bags of pellets got heavy and now propane is getting expensive so we're looking at wood again. A trip to the store where we got the pellet stove and the last propane stove 18 yrs ago gave us many ideas...beautiful stoves and unbelievable prices. We stopped at our favorite big box store on the way home (Lowe's) and found a similar stove... just not as pretty... for half the price. I'd really like the high end stove but the price!! So I think we'll be getting the stove at Lowe's in the next couple of days. But first I needed to clean the den and get all my yarn organized again. I have so many needles that have lost their pair this summer...they are either on the floor under the end table lost in the yarn or I have more OTN projects that I want to admit to. And I know that a simple afternoon project will take a couple of days as those OTN projects surface! Jeff suggested a couple of sturdy garbage bags will hold it all since there is room on the trailer for the next trip to the dump....

We've been busy with the pressure caner and dehydrator this week. There still are hot peppers to dehydrate but...in self-defense...the unit will be moved into the garage before we start that! And Jeff wants to do a 40lb bag of onions while it's out there, too.

I've taken some time off from knitting...to read...and I think it's probably time to get those needles clicking again. Pumpkin Fest in Cooperstown is coming up in about a week and I want to get some autumn sweaters set done before that. Since I've been selling mostly size 9 months sets it's shouldn't be too difficult a task.

A Lovely Afternoon

Spent a lovely afternoon at Lock 18 where the river and canal rejoin while Jeff tried to entice some fish to give his lures a chance, or least drown some worms in the attempt but without any luck. A couple jumped in front of us but just weren't interested. Several good-size boats went thru the lock while we were sitting there prompting a 'what if' session. (Jeff would rather have a houseboat than a cabin cruiser and I'd be happy as long as it was a pontoon.) Neither of us are likely to get our wish granted soon but it's still fun to play. We're sitting on the lock wall looking across the water to the north river bank. My house is about a half mile north... at the far left of the right photo...as the crows or in this case, ducks fly. We can see the old Salada water tower just out of the picture frame in the right photo and if you magnify the photo you can just make out an old silo on Rte 5.

When we got home we found that we were not the only ones playing this afternoon. Fanny had chewed a down-pillow and my bed...and room...were covered in feathers! Mom said she never saw or heard the dog after I left and wondered if she was actually sleeping. Well, she wasn't. I kept my cool and didn't yell or chase the dog around the house threatening her. Oh, I did say if I had a cup of tar it wouldn't have been so quite. Jeff just laughed and said I told you not to let her get on the bed. Yeah, right, as if I could stand there all day guarding the bed. Any way I swept up the feathers and shook out the bedding and Fanny thought they were a new ways to play the game. She looks so dumb sometimes it's hard to stay mad at her.

After supper (zucchini...from out garden...lasagna) Jeff decided it was time to cut up the tomatoes he's been picking to save from the blight. We had gotten a Vidalia Chop Wizard when we got the utility trailer but never got around to using it. It took him longer to cut out the rotten parts than to chop up enough tomatoes to fill 2 gal ziplock baggies. He's going to dehydrate it and use it for soups and stews. His tomatoes are large and there is a great variety but the blight is moving in and most of the crop will be lost again this year. He wanted me to cut up cucumbers for pickles but I refused. I'll do the green & purple beans and pickles tomorrow. I always feel lazy after an afternoon in the sun near water.

A Man and His Dog

Jeff and Fanny playing around the gutter garden. Don't know who's having more fun.

Watermelon

This is one of the 6 melons ...actually one of the smallest about golf ball size...growing in a raised bed on a string trellis. The vine is about 4' wide and over 6' high. We had a lot of flowers but not many bees. You can make out the annual flowers behind the watermelon that we planted to encourage the pollinators. We tried marigolds, begonias and catnip in the different boxes and all the raised beds are doing well. Hopefully they will continue to grow and we will eventually get to eat watermelon!!

Not All Work!

We've been busy working on projects around here. I finally got almost the entire lawn mowed in 1 day and then I hit something... a rock, a root, one of Fanny's sticks...and stopped. It looks good...the part that's not mowed is in the shade and has more ground cover than lawn. Jeff kept busy in the garden. At the first sight of blight he's been clipping and pruning the tomato plants trying to stay ahead of it but.... It would be nice...just once...to have all the tomatoes that form ripen. We have been eating our round zucchini and lemon cucumbers, and Jeff has started to pick peppers. The weather seems to have been against us this year...hot early, then a late frost, the drought and now blight. So far my watermelon are growing...there are 6 on the vines from golf ball to softball size. Hope they make it!

I've kept the knitting needles busy, too, and managed to get several baby sets finished and to the shop, including this Train Set, all size 9mos. This one has 18 buttons and a cap with

a visor. The others were another sheep sweater and a pin-stripe sweater. I even found an autumn set in the

'left over from last year bag' with a pumpkin hat so I did a couple more pumpkin hats...and a couple of baseball hats, and took them all to the shop. I haven't called to see if they have sold coz then I'd have to do more and my fingers hurt!

Jeff took a couple of days to get the utility trailer that came in 2 big boxes from Harbor Freight together, wired with all the lights working and the license plate on right side up before we took it

to be inspected. The only thing wrong was he didn't have the chains crossed...never knew there was a right way to hook up the chains! He doesn't care for the size or location of the lights and is talking about changing them. We stopped at Lowe's on the way home and got the lumber and plywood to finish the trail bed...and dozens of bolts (but not enough)! Once that was finished, Jeff loaded it up with the trash from the garage and we went to the Transfer, Station...another name for the dump...in Utica. Cost $18 for 400+ lbs of trash. Not too bad. We're planning to clean the porch and make another trip next week. We stopped at Jeff's friend Frank's, house and loaded up with wood pallets. It was a whole lot easier putting them in the trailer instead of on top of the car!! Jeff spent the next couple of days taking them apart and pulling nails. He's using the lumber to re-enforce the pvc garden supports.

Fanny's continuing to grow and is into everything! She runs around the house with any thing she finds...an odd sock, washcloth...she steals from the washer (a disadvantage of a front loader)...usually a piece of towel (her security blanket??). She is a constant and persistent chewer...she just chew a button off a shirt hanging on the back of the chair I'm sitting on!!

And she is on-again, off-again about house training. Yesterday and today it's 'off' after 4 days of right 'on'! I don't know how to handle it anymore.

But it hasn't been all work. We've gone fishing a few times. Lock 18 is always a good location and last weekend we tried the Frankfort Marina. It may turn out to be a good place too, but last Friday we ran into an amateur rock festival there. I feel old but... "and they call that music?!?"