January is Over! Well, Almost!

      I thought I had done well going to the orthopedist earlier this month and having a shot each of pain killer and steroid for the arthritis in my old broken tib and fib but Jeff out did me today.  He went to the pain specialist and got 3 shots of pain killer and 5 of the steroid in his hip for his arthritis! And after taking it easy for the rest of the day, tonight he's walking much better...no limp!  He goes back in 2 weeks and repeats the procedure.  (I don't get to repeat unless the pain comes back in 3-6 months. And his appointment was in Herkimer, mine was in Cooperstown. No long ride for him.)
   Fanny patiently waited all afternoon for Jeff to play with tug-of-war with her and her new tote bag.  It was one of the toys in this months BarkBox and she's been carrying it around for the last week.  They also play Fetch with it.  She won't play games with me.  I guess I'm just good for putting out food and treats and opening the door.  Even then, after supper she walks by me looking for Jeff to be let out.  He'll stand 'guard' over her when she thinks she needs protection...I just open the door and say "GO!"
    I've been busy working on my stock for the shop.  At first I didn't want to and found all kinds of excuses not to knit but then I finished one sweater and the MOJO got going again.  This hoodie has a crab or

heart cable around the
hood and down the right side of the front.  It needs a back zipper sewn in and 3 buttons...would hearts be too much?...on the Henley front.  It's a size 9mo. and the yarn is
Red Heart's Petal Pink.

(Fanny hit the lamp as I snapped the pix, causing the shadow.)
   I went a little crazy with cables in this cardigan.  It's a size 1 and the yarn is Impeccably Impecable , an acrylic, from Michael's in Butterscotch that I received in a Secret Pal package from California.   Another Secret Pal round will be happening in a couple of weeks.  I had refused a pal in Australia because the postage for the package I had made would have been $30.  As it was, it was $10 to send it to South Carolina!  This time I'm waiting to see where my pal lives before I fill a package!  And I'm

A BarkBox  became a YarnBox

 not going to use a box again...even if it means I can't decorate the outside all the way around. (The best part was the dog cartoon printed on the back of the box where I changed the punch line for knitters.)
    After 6 weeks of self-testing and having my INR in range, I couldn't do it right on Friday.  Kept getting  ERROR...and used my last 4 test strips, too!  I had to go to the clinic and have the nurse stick my finger.   She asked me to show her how I did it and then showed me what I was doing wrong.  When I'm cold I don't bleed very fast so Sharon, the nurse, showed me a couple of tricks to use.  I was in range...but at the high end and my doctor wasn't happy about that.  Got to go back tomorrow and have it done again.  If it's not back where he likes it*,  he'll probably change my Warfarin dose...and that means weekly tests until it stays steady. Taking Warfarin 
can be a real pain sometimes.  
   (Woke up to find it had snowed overnight.  Got about 1" or so of snow.  Just enough to cover all the dead leaves on the ground again...and the ice spots on the way to the car.  At least it's nicer to look at!
Want to bet the groundhog sees his shadow on Thursday?)8:10am 1/31/17

*INR right where the MD wants it...3.1!  Don't have to test again until 2/17!  Cabbage (coleslaw works better than Warfarin!!)2:54pm 1/31/17

A Snow Emergency

   We woke up to a 'Snow Emergency' today.  The lower photo is the view west from our TV room window looking at Wally's house next door.  Can you see it?  Neither could I but I doubt that it moved overnight.  We were suppose to get 3-6" of heavy wet snow after a coating of ice and wintry mix.  The town trucks were out coating Smallsbush Rd starting around 9pm and thru the night trying to keep it safe.  This morning we had maybe 3" of wet, heavy snow when we got up but the temperature was above freezing and the snow had stopped.  I couldn't see or hear any traffic sounds from Rte 5 although it's only .2 of a mile away!  This is the same storm that had hit Georgia and the southeast with heavy rain and tornados over the weekend.  The upper photo is the last cedar tree that my dad planted across the south end of the TV room.  Wally's dad had given him the 4 seedlings on a visit to their camp in Ontario, Canada. (Yes, we 'smuggled' those seedling across the border 45 years ago!) Wayne Paul had to cut down the other 3 when they got too tall and hung over the roof of the house.  I think my mother cried that day but it was the trees or the roof.  If you click on the upper photo and enlarge it you can see the bend, broken branches in the middle.  I guess it's self-pruning.  Cedars bend very easily but this one broke this time.  Jeff thinks we can save most of it.
   There are branches down around the yard.  The wind was very strong yesterday and that helped by the heavy snow brought a lot down.  But we faired very well.  One of the shop members lives in Forestport and she posted that they're power was out.  Good thing she has a generator! (One of the things Jeff keeps saying we should invest in.)  And, it's been on the news that Ilion has a water main break and a 'boil water' order. Wouldn't want to work for the Ilion Water Board today!   All of the school districts around us...including Utica...are closed again today. (Utica is still under a Snow Emergency...with no unnecessary travel.)  There have been quite a lot of fire sirens this morning...accidents, down wires or trees...one on German St in the village narrowly missed a guy who was shoveling his sidewalk!  It's not snowing and the temperature is above freezing but we're suppose to get another couple of inches today.  
   I got my mojo going (finally) and yesterday finished my 1st sweater and hat for the new season.
Well, I haven't exactly
finished it yet, still have
to sew on buttons and do the embroidery but the knitting is done.  It's a size 2 done on a circular US7 in Red Heart acrylic in a color called  "Pretty 'n Pink".  The hat will fit a toddler 2-3 years old...same as the sweater...and both will have white flowers with light green leaves.  Definitely a spring outfit! If only Walmart would hurry up and get their stock of spring buttons I could clean them out of buttons!  I took my time buying buttons last year and they ran out before I had all I wanted.  This year I have A Plan.  Each week I  will buy all they have of one color.  In 4-6 weeks I will clean them out and have my stock for the whole year!  I hope it works! 
   Time for to get cozy next to the fire and start another sweater.  I got a nice skein of yellow in my Secret Pal package this year that I think  will work up beautifully.  You'll see when I post the photo!
(1/25/17...the cedar tree hasn't 'sprung' back the way it usually does after being weighted down with heavy snow.  That break on the one branch is very clear now so Jeff will have to finish removing it, but if the rest of the tree doesn't straighten up, he may have to do more pruning.  He even bought a new hand saw yesterday in anticipation of the work ahead!)

Let It Snow!

   Finally finished the balaclava Jeff asked me to knit for him.  I did it in Lion Brand's Wool-Ease in Denim on a short US8 circular and had to have 2 'fittings' to make sure it was long enough to cover his neck!  Remember he is 6'3" and usually wears XXL's.  It took almost a week to knit, but I finally finished something!!.  Now he can use the snow blower in comfort.  Let it snow!!
   I guess I have to finish the sweater I started for the shop.  Same old thing.  Oh, hum.  I just ordered some yarn for some baby sweaters but I better not wait for it to come it.  If I tried I bet I could finish that sweater in a day....

Over The Frosted Hills We Go

   Jeff had an early (8:10am) appointment with the pain specialist in Cooperstown today so we had to be up and on the road by 7am.  Of course, today's weather was less that stellar.  There had been freezing rain off and on all night and most of the schools around us were on 2 hour delays...including Cooperstown and Richfield Springs.  Luckily, the only school that was closed was Springfield/Cherry Valley and while they close at the first sign of a snowflake, they are a little further east...and higher...than Cooperstown.  Rte. 28 South from Mohawk to Richfield wasn't in the best condition but it was passable having been treated all night.  Once we crossed Rte. 20 the road was just wet and we made it to Cooperstown by 7:45am.  Good thing we were a little early and Railroad Ave is only 1 block long because it took us a couple of passes before we found the doctor's office.  (It was in the back of the building on the lower level, with only 1 sign on the side of the building.)  He was taken in right away and I settled down to knit on a baseball hat.  Jeff's appointment lasted about 45 minutes but nothing happened.  This was a 'preliminary' appointment to decided what, where and how many injections he'll get.   We were on the road back home by 9am passing school buses picking up kids who had had to wait 2 hrs before going to school this morning.
   Since Jeff drove down, I offered to drive home hoping he'd decided not to take up my offer but that didn't happen.  I even suggested going for coffee in Cooperstown but he wanted breakfast so I drove to Mona's (the purple house) on Main St in Mohawk.  We both had big breakfasts with plenty of good coffee and I even saved a piece of bacon for Fanny who was waiting in the car with the bill totaling around $16.  After that we stopped at the Tractor Supply to get some kitty litter for our speed skating rink (the driveway) and a couple of bundles of hard wood (only $4 each) before we stopped at K-Mart so Jeff could drop off a couple of Rx's. 
   The mail had already been delivered when we got home but there was nothing in our box except seed catalogs.   I was disappointed because I had been expecting a secret pal package all week.  Our mail delivery man doesn't like to leave packages out in lousy weather.  If no one is home, he prefers to put them in one of the cars...but he doesn't tell us he's done that! Jeff checked his car that was parked in front of the garage and found today's mail and my package!  Fanny helped me open my package and

was very interested in the envelope!   I think I may

need a pair of red socks soon.  The ombre dishcloths are great to use as placemats for 
TV snacks!  And I never have enough circular needles.  I think I may have to make myself another cowl from some of the other yarn, too.   The next Secret Pal exchange will be next month so I've got to start planning what to send.  Postage has gone up so much, where the package goes pretty much decides what goes in it.  Don't want to make it too heavy....
      I think it may be time to build a fire and take a nap...or knit...or read...no, nap sounds the best.

A Lazy Winter Weekend

My stalled sweater

The Shawl

      It's been a lazy weekend.  I worked on a size 2 'Flowers and Lace' raglan from the neck down sweater in Red Hearts Pretty 'n Pink on circular US7's for awhile.  Got almost to the underarms but lost interest in it. Then I went back to a shawl I was doing in a sock weight blue cotton and acrylic blend, also on a US7.  I was suppose to be increasing 1 st in the first 2 and last 2 stitches and at the same time doing a yo before and after the center stitch.  Some how I goofed up and ended up with 4 stitches more on 1 side!  I frogged back about 3" but by that time I couldn't see straight and couldn't count the stitches so I put that aside.  Jeff asked if I'd make him a balaclava (a hood) that he could wear when he's working outside.  They're not difficult so I said I would.  Just got to find the motivation to start...and finish...it!  At least the weather's cooperating and there temperatures will be in the 40's most of this week...another January thaw...so he won't need it this week!
    Jeff knows he's not suppose to indulge in baked goods...a cookie now and then, maybe he can get away with but anything else...?  Anyway, yesterday he came home with a red velvet cake mix and a can of coconut and pecan frosting.  I made them today and I don't think they will last long!  But, boy, is that frosting tasty!!  Jeff has an appointment with pain management this week and if they give him a steroid injection, his AC1 will be out of control!  And that's no matter what he eats!!
  

A January Day

  The steroid shot seems to be working!  I haven't had any pain in my ankle since getting the injection last Friday.  The 'flush' I experienced lasted for a couple of days...over the weekend and into this week...before starting to fade and lessen.  I called the orthopedist office on Monday and had to leave a message (no one in).  They called back Wednesday and asked a lot of questions.  The flush is a 'somewhat' normal side effect and as long as I wasn't bothered by it, just watch how long it lasted and if it got worse.... On the whole, the steroid is working and I would recommend it to anyone with arthritis
forming in a healed/broken bone.  Now I just have to wait and see how long it lasts.  Oh, I knew I was 'favoring' my right leg and that was causing my left knee (where the meniscus had been torn/repaired) to hurt.  Since the injection the pain in the left knee has lessen.  There is probably arthritis in that knee and when I go back for another steroid injection I'm going to ask about one for the left knee, too.
   I also seem to have a good case of 'startists'...you know, start one project and then leave it on the needles and start another.  Good thing my US7 circulars are interchangeable needles and I have several connecting wires or strings!  I think I have 2 or 3 projects waiting to be finished...but without any motivation to finish any of them!  Not to mention what I want to start!!  All I've managed to finish is 1 pair of socks for me!  Got to get down to business...only 81 days until the shop opens for the season!
   We've been having a 'January Thaw' with some rain and most of the snowpack is gone.  It looks lousy outside...patches of brown leaves, down branches and mud with a few spots of old snow here and there.  But...it's cold outside!!  The sun is bright and the temperature is 28 but the wind is strong and it feels like 19!  A good day to stay inside by the fire.  Oh, damn.  Almost out of wood so one of us has to go fill the wood bags.  Gee, I wonder if I can get Jeff to do it?????   Last night Fanny got up from beside me, walked over to Jeff and started to dance and whine until he left her out.  Too bad I can't get the wood bags to do that.

Why hold up your head?  That's what furniture is for!

Fanny fell asleep looking out the window. 

What a life that dog has!!

(Today is the 103rd anniversary of my mom's birth, 1/13/1914.  Miss you, Mom.)

  

Our Trip to Cooperstown

   We went to Cooperstown yesterday because I had an appointment with an orthopedist.  Actually, my 2nd orthopedist but the 1st one doesn't do surgery and he thought I needed some of the junk in my leg removed.  The one I saw yesterday didn't agree...good!  Jeff went with me because he knew if surgery was suggested I'd try to get out of it.  Any way, I got a steroid shot into the base of my old break because it has developed arthritis.  So far so good.  The only pain/discomfort I've had is a tenderness at the site of the injection.  The doctor was surprised I bled so much from the injection!  What do you expect...I take 7.5 mg of Warfarin 5 days a week/5 mg the other 2 days?  The site also turned black and blue overnight...also to be expected.  But I didn't have any of the usual discomfort last night when I went to bed.  If this shot lasts the 3-6 months she said it might, I'll have another one and maybe ask about one for my left knee (where I had the torn meniscus repaired) and have developed arthritis, too.  God, it lousy getting old.
   It was so cold today... the high was 19...the only time I went out was to get wood once and to let the dog in/out a couple of times.  Jeff wanted to go out tonight but I said I didn't want to go.   It was nice and cozy next to the woodstove.  I got the first band finished on the shawl I started yesterday but couldn't understand the chart for the 2nd band...the start of the lace.  I made a couple of mistakes so I put it aside and will try again tomorrow.
   We stopped at the shop after my appointment and packed up my stock.  I haven't gone thru it yet but it looks like none of the hats I made for Christmas sold.  The three 'mystery' sweaters that sold the last day we were open were the fancier little girl ones.  They've been good sellers all year.  And I think I'm all out of them so I guess I better plan on making some of them!  And baseball hats...they're all gone, too.  We're going to open for the season around April 6 or 7...in plenty of time for Easter.  Maybe I'll do some Easter bonnets and pretty spring sweaters...after I conquer this lace shawl.  And maybe make myself another pair of socks!  I finished the pair I started for myself after Christmas and wore them yesterday.  My old socks have been mended so many times there's not much yarn left to sew together!  My mother use to have a saying in Italian that the shoemaker always had a hole in his shoe...must be it holds true for the sock maker, too. 
   We stopped at Fat Cats in Herkimer for an early supper on the way home from Cooperstown.  The fish fry is ok, tasty, etc but I think kind of expensive ($24 for the 2 of us).  Mona's in Mohawk...the purple house on Main St...has a good one for less...but you have to get there early (they close around 2pm).  We both like the Knight Spot in Frankfort but Jeff was driving and he didn't want to go there and we had been there a few days ago. Besides the fast food restaurants that's about all there is! Wish there where others.
  Ok, the fire is out and I can turn off the fans and go to bed.  I'll have to check this posting for spelling and grammar tomorrow.
   When I went to bed last night my face felt like I'd been too close to the fire but I didn't think much about it.  This morning I look like I sat in the sun too long yesterday!  I think it's a reaction to the steroid injection I got Friday afternoon.  I'll watch it and if it doesn't fade I guess I'll have to call the doctor.  But my ankle doesn't hurt and the blush is worth it!  And I was warm all night!!

New Year's Resolution

Now this is what I call a New Year's Resolution!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

     Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's.  Ours was quiet.  Jeff worked on clearing our part of the driveway with the snow blower.  After last night's light rain and warmer temperatures, the snow was very heavy and it was hard going.  He's got the driveway in front of my car cleared...he moved my car almost to the stairs first so it was longer than usual...and along side his car.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow he said he wants to finish around his car, do a path to the woodsheds and one around the house.  That's our 'in case' trail.  He wants to be able to get to the woodstove chimney to clean it and in case of a chimney fire and he always has a trail for the oil man from the driveway to the intake pipe.  Tomorrow and Thursday are suppose to be clear with everything from rain to snow forecast for the rest of the week.  Friday I have to go to the orthopedist in Cooperstown and after that, pick up my leftover stock from the shop.  I'm not looking forward to the drive but Jeff said he'd go with me. 
      I spent today sitting by the fire knitting on a sock for me on short US2 circular needles.  The yarn is Ultra Alpaca by Berroco, a Peruvian wool, alpaca and nylon blend...very soft, machine washable but not machine dryable.  Got to remember that or else my socks won't fit for long!  I've got the foot and heel done on the first sock and about 3" up the leg so today I stated the 2nd sock from the other end of the ball of yarn.  I've got the foot almost finished and should turn the heel tomorrow.  Once the leg for the 2nd sock is as long as the 1st sock I'll go back and forth working on them until I use up the yarn.  I think there's enough yarn for the legs to be 8" or so long.  I really want to get these socks finished this week because I've darned my socks so often there's not much yarn left in some places and new holes are always appearing!
    My cousin Ed came over for dessert tonight.  Fanny's finally starting to accept him.  She didn't bark when he arrived tonight...just headed straight under the kitchen table and waited until he came in and sat down and when he left, she even walked him to the door.  He's going to ask the dog owners he works with if anyone wants the 20 lb bag of Rachel Ray dog food that Jeff's sister gave Fanny at Christmas.  Sherry's mini Cocker-Schnauzer, Sunni, is allergic to it and Fanny gets the 'itch-ies' when she eats it, too.  It's a shame to throw away almost 20 lbs of gourmet dog food.
    I started tracking my Yarn Pal's Christmas box that I mailed Friday.  According to the US Post Office tracking service my package had gone from Herkimer to Syracuse on Saturday and left for North Carolina Saturday night.  I check it again on Tuesday to see how far it's gotten.  The guy at the Herkimer Post Office said it would be delivered on Thursday.  I'm waiting for a package for a Yarn Pal, too.