New Year's Eve

   Today's the end of 2014 and it's not too soon for me.  It's been an expensive year with the Forrester rusting out and having to be scraped and replaced, and the septic tank having to be dug up and the dry well replaced.  We lost pallets... without a trailer hitch on the Outback someone else got them,  and then time... with Jeff out of commission doing PT for a 50+ year old injury that only caused more pain.  Now we're cutting, stacking and burning wood at a steady pace.  The woodshed looks good for a day or two and then it's nearly empty again if we get a couple of days of bad weather.  
   Jeff and the table saw had a disagreement last week and of course, the saw got the last word.  Luckily, his reflexes are still good and he just got cut.  Bled like a stuck pig but so far no signs of infection.  His thumb....right up to his shoulder... are sore from the jolt of the saw blade!
   We both had doctor appointment last Tuesday and I came away with less meds...my MD couldn't answer when I asked why she had prescribed hydrochloropthiaxide for me last year.  My bp averages 108/66...high for me is 118/70...and my right ankle is swollen because that's part of the broken leg site not because I'm retaining fluids.   She agreed to discontinue it.   No wonder I was cold all the time!  Between HCLT and Warfarin I didn't have a chance!  I also came away with a cold.  Woke up Christmas morning with a sore throat but I've been lazing around drinking hot tea and not doing much so it's not too bad.  I asked the pharmacist at Hannaford's to recommend something for night time so I could sleep without getting stuffed up and coughing.  If you know me, you know how I can cough!
   Jeff is still disagreeing with his doctor about his medications.  He feels he's taking too much but she doesn't want to discontinue any so he just stopped taking some. (Yea, not the safest way to do it, but that's how he does things.)  He feels better taking less and his blood sugar is back under control.  I think we... the patient...really do know more than the doctor sometimes...especially when we need an interpreter  to understand what the doctor is saying.  I think it would be safer to request a different doctor but....
    The shop is officially closed for the season.  I cleaned out my area Monday and was surprised to find that the man's hat I had done sold!   I think I'm going to order some good cotton yarn and do some skirt and sweater sets for the spring.  We reopen Good Friday so they may sell right away...or during the summer.  And I've got to do more baby hats, baseball hats, maybe some stuffed toys...the list goes on.  I've just got to remember, I'm just 1 knitter and I can do just so much.  I also want to do some wool socks for me...mine have holes in them!   And I usually do a pair of socks for  Jeff for Valentine's Day and for his birthday.    Hey, I'd  better get busy!

The Day After

   Ah, Christmas is over and was enjoyed by all, expect maybe, the mouse who was caught and released... thrown  outside...with Sherry's help.  Jeff laughed and said I knew you could do it.  All I did was drop a small box over it and use a card to keep it in the box on the way out.  Fanny wanted to help but Sherry wouldn't let her near it.  It was mild enough outside that the mouse...after shaking off the landing....left on it's own.  Hope it found a new home...just not in mine.
   We had a good dinner just not a traditional one (opps, I forgot to cook the squash) steak and baked potatoes, onions, hot biscuits and gravy,  with pumpkin pie and Italian cookies for dessert.  My cousin Ed brought wine and Sherry chocolates...both perfect for Christmas! Fanny spent dinner under the table next to Jeff but finally reached out to check out Ed and Sherry and found out that Sherry was willing to pass down bites of steak...but not Ed!  One glass of wine was enough for me...after dinner I dozed off as we sat by the fire and talked.  When everyone had gone home I tried watching TV but started to doze off again and ended up going to bed around 9pm.  (Jeff had spent Christmas Eve trying to download something on my PC...working at it until 6am!  Fanny kept him company and at one point woke me up when she started barking and growling at something...maybe the mouse?)  I left all the dirty dished soaking in the sink!  My Christmas present to myself!!  
   I finally finished Jeff's socks Christmas Eve in the afternoon ...that's an accomplishment since I usually get them done Christmas night.  Remember they're a size 12 for a 6'3" man.  Took 2 1/2 skeins of sock yarn on a US 2!  Patons Kroy Socks FX in Clover Colors (orange, green, blue, red).  He likes the heavier weight.  I did a pair of socks for Ed in Patons Kroy Socks in Grey Brown Marble...suitable for everyday wear.  For Sherry, this year I did a lacy cowl in Knit Picks Comfy...a cotton...Fingering in Sea Foam on US 4's.  (She doesn't like wools.) Everyone was pleased with their knitted presents.  I've got to finish another lacy cowl for a swap with a friend...and mail it...before I can pick out sock yarn for ME!  I think I'll aim for 2 or 3 pairs of socks out of Hawthorne Yarn superwash wool from Knit Picks.  Then it's back to work, knitting for next season for the shop in Cooperstown.  Until then I think there's time for another cuppa (cup of tea) by the fire and a couple of chapters of a Kerry Greenwood mystery. 
 
    

The Day Before Christmas

It's the day before Christmas and the view from my window

is brown leaves and bare trees and not a snowflake in sight.

It's raining and cold and not very bright

but inside its warm thanks to the woodstove and oven

as I finally bake some Christmas cookies...if I did it

earlier they'd be eaten by now!  Two out of three presents are
finished...hey, I've still got today!  The crystal trees are glittering on

their shelf above the TV... they don't shed but they do need to be dusted. The house is quiet today as I think of the family and friends that use to be here on Christmas Eve. The food..the noise...the love.  Tomorrow we'll have good food, good conversation and hopefully, love...even if the dog hides under Jeff's chair for awhile.  Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy and Safe New Year!  Mary T

Christmas Day: an unexpected visitor...a mouse has been spotted...in the kitchen...by the piano...under the corner hutch in the living room.  He manages to evade the capture box but he'll be out or caught soon...I hope!  My Holiday Goodwill does not include mice. 12/24/14 12:50 pm

 

It Took a Little Time But...

   For the last month or so Jeff has been having trouble with the Outback.  It's been chugging, loosing power, the dash has been lighting up like a Christmas tree and has had to be recharged every other day.  At first, he thought it was a belt...but he couldn't find a loose one.  Then he thought it might be the alternator (?) even tho it had been replaced when we got the car.  Finally he decided it was beyond him and it needed a trip to the mechanic.  We decided to try and wait until after the New Year before making that appointment just because we both were intimidated by the possible cost.  Well, Saturday was a "Re-Charge Day" and when Jeff went to hook up the charger he noticed that... the belt from the alternator to the power steering wasn't there!  He checked with Auto Zone and found out that the one he needed was available for $9.95.  So, he...with Fanny the dog riding shotgun...went to town and got the new belt...and in no time the Outback was running like it was suppose to!  All he can figure out is that the worn part of the old belt was always away from him when he checked belts and it appeared to be sound.  Oh, well, it's fixed at last!
   I'm down to my last Christmas present...with the index fingers on both hands taped because my knitting needles have poked holes in them!  I should finish tonight or tomorrow.  Then I have a cowl to knit for a swap.  Luckily that's on a US7 that doesn't poke holes in my fingers!

Twas the week before Christmas...

This was on the NorthEast Fiber Arts Center website:

A Knitter's XMAS Eve...

'Twas the night before XMAS and all around me

Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.

The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care

'Cause the heels and toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

But I had not finished the caps for their heads.

Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,

And the sweater for him was six inches too small.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I put down my needles to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.

The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow

Reminded me how much I still had to go.

Out on my lawn I hear such a noise,

I thought it would wake both Dad and the boys.

And though I was tired, my brain a bit thick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

But what I heard then, left me perplex-ed

For not a name I heard was what I expected.

"Move, Ashford, Move Lopi, Move Addi and Clover

Move Reynolds, Move Starmore, Move Froilich, move over!

don't circle 'round, stand in the line

Come now, you sheep will work out just fine!

I know this is hard- it's just your first year,

I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."

I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,

Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing. And then, in a twinkle,

I heard at the door-Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.

I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,

And as I turned 'round St. Nick I did meet.

He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe,

And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.

A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,

And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.

His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace

A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.

The scarf 'round his neck could have stretched for a mile,

And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.

The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable,

And suddenly on one I espied a small label,

"S.C." was duplicate stitched on the cuff,

And I asked, "Hey, Nick, did you knit all this stuff"?

He proudly replied, "ho, ho, ho, yes I did

I learned how to knit when I was a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,

And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.

I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,

And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.

He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap

Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.

He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two,

For the first time I thought I might really get through.

He put heels in the stocking and toes in some socks

While I sat back drinking scotch on the rocks.

So quickly like magic his needles they flew

That he was all finished by quarter to two.

He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free

And over his shoulder he looked back at me.

And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,

"Next year start your knitting sometime around June!"

What Nor'easter?

     Well, the nor'easter passed and we ended up with 6" or so of snow, then it started to rain and now we have open spots in the yard.  Never got the stairs shelved off...they just melted!  More rain is in the forecast for this week before light snow on the 1st day of winter...Sunday.  The temperatures have been just above freezing and unless I turn the furnace up the house feels cold and damp.  Glad I have the wood stove!  At least one room stays comfortable!
   Jeff and I went to Utica on Saturday.  The weather
was suppose to be decent but it wasn't.   It rained and was cold.  The first stop was the Bass Pro Shop at Riverside so Jeff could check out the new guns.
Fanny and I sat by their fireplace (dogs are allowed in the store) and watched the crowd.  Fanny was her usual timid self and sat at my feet and quaked!  One time she groaned as a dog...a pit bull or American Staffishire Bullterrior...in a red velvet dress with puff sleeves, ruffles, lace trim, a full petticoat and a bow
on her head...walked by after having her photo taken with Santa.  I reached down and hugged Fanny and
whispered in her ear 'I promise never to do that to you'. I wish I could have taken a photo of that dog.  What a thing to do to your friend.
    The second stop was JoAnn Fabrics in New Hartford where I got the yarn I needed to finish my Christmas knitting.  Actually we stopped at Jeff's
sister's on the way but she wasn't home so we went on to New Hartford.  Jeff went to Ollie's while I was in JoAnn's and he said it was packed.  JoAnn's wasn't that bad!
    Then it was back to Sherry's and Jeff hauled out the ladder and changed the outside lightbulbs by her
back door.  Fanny and her dogs ran around the yard for a few minutes but by then even the dogs didn't want to be outside.
     Jeff and I were going to stop at Chantary's but
decided to skip it.  Too many people, lousy weather and neither one of us felt that great.  That's what 
happens when you stay away from crowds for too long!  We both came back feeling lousy so while Jeff went to his apartment to sleep I stoked up the fire,
made a pot of tea and put on the dvd of White
Christmas.  Unfortunately, I spent most of Saturday 
night on the phone so I didn't get to enjoy the movie
but I replayed it Sunday night!  I've seen it so many times I know the songs, most of the dialogue and many of the dance routines!  It's my favorite Christmas movie. And I can knit to it so easily!  May have to watch it once more to get all my knitting done! 
Today I moved part of my 'crystal forest' back to the shelf above the TV and  turned on the lights.  That's my Christmas display this year! (The other part of the 'forest' is on the piano with some glass snowmen...the best kind!)  
  
   
         
        
   

It Finally Snowed!

View from the kitchen door, 9pm

Same view, 11am the next morning
but it's still snowing!

  The weather channel and the TV news had been calling for snow...due to that nor'easter...for the last 3 days.  Each night they predict 1-4" of snow and we get....0.  This morning it finally started to snow and right now we have 2" or so of wet, heavy stuff...a real wintry mix!  They say we'll finally get our due with 4-7" accumulation tonight and early tomorrow.  Oh, wonderful.  Even Fanny the dog doesn't like going out in it!  I don't plan on going any further than the woodshed but at least Jeff put a snow brush in my car! (Good place for it...inside the car!)   I guess I'll just keep the fire going and work on a Christmas present.  Jeff and I are talking about going to Utica...now on Saturday...the weather's suppose to be fine with temps near 40...and I want to stop at JoAnn's to get the rest of the yarn I need Christmas.  Time is running out.  I see some...many...late nights spent knitting!  I think I know how Santa's elves feel.

Waiting for...Snow???

  The Fanny the dog got me up at 5:45am with that itch she can't reach, shaking the bed in the other room against the wall.  She has a scab on the inside tip of her ear from a tick that she pulled off (what a dog!) that is healing very slowing because she keeps scratching the scab off.  And bleeding...on the top of her head where the tip of the ear reaches when she shakes her head...and the side of her head...where it rests when she stops scratching it!  She looks like she's been in a fight...and lost!  But she lets me clean her up and put Bag Balm on the scab.  It's getting smaller but how much longer it will take to totally heal ???  I think she secretly enjoys the warm wet microcloth washing the blood off her head, and the soothing Bag Balm applied, but do we have to do this at 5:45am?  
   This area is under a Winter Storm Warning with a Nor'easter moving up the state from the south.  Cooperstown was predicted to get 20-24" of wintry mix but we're predicted to get only 3-5" (from WKTV or 8-15" from the CBS TV station from Albany so who knows what we'll get?)  Right now, it's not doing anything outside.  It's even warmed up...to above freezing! We're just waiting for...snow??
  I cleaned up my knitting area last night and put away what's left of the sweater yarn, just leaving out what I'll probably use for Christmas presents.  Ripped out what I had done for one and restarted it on a larger needle.  Goes much faster and is becoming a nicer looking lacey cowl.  Still got to get 2 steins of sock yarn at JoAnn's.  Maybe Monday.  
   Today may turn out to be the perfect day to sit by the fire and knit by.  I've got enough wood inside to last until Jeff comes up later.  Maybe bake some cookies.  But a nap by the fire may be the way to start the day...Fanny's already gone back to bed.
  

December...at Last

   I worked in Cooperstown yesterday and came home to the heavenly smells of one of Jeff's soup/stews.  He had done a ham-bean soup that was so thick you almost needed a fork to eat it!  There were fresh carrots...from the garden...and beets that he sneaked in!  And besides ham...because he didn't think there was enough, he had beef and pork from our canned staples shelf.  And there were split peas and dry beans...I don't want to know the calories or carbs!  It was delicious and warm and so good!  I sat in my chair after supper and that's as far as I got.  No knitting.  No TV.  And after Jeff left, I went to bed.  (Fanny had gotten me up at 5:45am because Something was outside and she had to investigate.)  When I got up this morning I found the kitchen a mess...a great chef can't be expected to clean up...right???   (Why not?)  Jeff took a quart of his soup to friends who are temporarily lodged at a motel in town because of a major water leak in their apartment.  Their landlord is footing the bill but that doesn't include meals so she packed a cooler...bet the motel management loved that!...to last them a day or two.  If the leaky pipe is traced back to Jeff's bathtub he may be here for a couple of days.  The building has polished cement floors with stones embedded in them...terezza...and that means a jack-hammer and wet cement! 
 

This is the set I finished yesterday in the shop.  It's a size 1 and I'm calling it White Flowers.  Wouldn't it be pretty on a dark-haired little girl?  I thought this would be a nice change from the cream colored sweater with purple flowers that was hanging right there when I opened the store.  Around 2pm a nice lady came in, walked around the shop stopping in front of the sweater and said 'that settles it' and the Purple Flowers set had found a new home.  Can't complain.  Or shouldn't complain!  I'll start another one today and hopefully, get it done in time for Steve to take done on Tuesday when he works.  I'm finished working for the season and I really don't want to drive to Cooperstown again this year if I can help it.  He has another day to work later this month if I have to send anything down again. 
   I may have started something.  I always post my sweaters on Facebook before putting them in the shop and now the shop has 2 Facebook pages, one we maintain(CooperCountry Crafts) and one thru the Chamber of Commerce (Cooper Country Crafts).  Both full of photos of what's available in the shop this holiday season.  A woman saw a sweater...on both sites... and emailed me asking how she could buy it. We decided to put it thru the shop so the customer could use her credit card.  Now other members want that to happen for them and I volunteered to keep our site up-to-date.  Hope this generates some holiday sales coz things have slowed down some in town.  The shop is open 10am-5pm every day thru Christmas Eve and the phone number is 607-547-9247.   Better get back to knitting in case this works!!