Hurting but Knitting

    It looks like we're going to go back to having some Summer-like days for awhile.  After last week's weather...cold (temperatures in the 50-60 range) and wet...it should be a welcome change except as the temperature goes up so does the humidity.  And one thing about the Mohawk Valley it gets hazy, hot and humid very easily!
   This morning I could barely move or roll over in bed...and that was after the dogs had left me to go outside with Jeff!  I ache from my neck to my toes!  Most of it from knitting...ok, maybe not the pain in my knees, ankles and feet but definitely the pain in my neck, arms and back...probably hips, too. When I knit constantly my left hand looks like a Vulcan salute (you remember, Mr. Spock's V?) and my right elbow just hurts.  Washing dishes last night helped my hands but I still had trouble holding on to what I was washing.  I had decided I had enough knitting for one day so I grabbed a book but just holding that open ended up hurting, too.  Gee, it's rough having arthritis but at least my fingers are still straight not like the way my mom's got all bend and swollen. 
   Just laying there in bed I hurt so I decided I might as well get up and make some coffee. By the time it was ready (I dropped the used coffee filter on the floor on the way to the garbage bag and had to sweep the floor before anybody with 4 feet and a wet nose decided to investigate) I was alone...everyone had gone back to sleep.  Walmart didn't have any sliced Italian bread yesterday-I had to get an unsliced loaf, so this morning I sliced two nice, thick 
slices and toasted them, spread on what was left of the butter in the dish (Jeff is not able to unwrap and add a new stick of butter to the butter dish) and topped it with Maggie's homemade strawberry jam. I really enjoyed my toast and coffee...there wasn't a small dog trying to climb up into my lap for her supposed share!
   Now I'm ready to start another hat.  I think today's will be a ladies fedora.  The last one was done in cotton and sold quickly so I'll repeat it just changing the colors. 

It should take most of the day to knit.  The last 2 days I've been knitting baby and toddler hats that took longer than I had planned but I kept screwing up the pattern.  They're ready for the embroidery now.  Tomorrow I'll do more baby and toddler rolled brimmed hats with knit flowers.  I'll be in the shop

on Saturday and those six hats should fill up the display nicely. 
   It's time for my 2nd cup of coffee and to start that hat.  Now where did I put the yarn after the last one?

Reclaiming The Parlor

  

  When Jeff moved in x# of years ago we put his extra furniture in our formal parlor because the room was more of a showpiece than a living room.  Now the 'Parlor' has become more of a 'Storage' room with a corner for my PC as boxes full of stuff have filled in the corners and under the furniture.  Since I will be doing most of my TV viewing on my PC since we cancelled the cable TV part of our Spectrum bundle, I decided to reclaim an area in the parlor.  

   This morning we cleaned off the loveseat (a 70's era tangerine no-wale corduroy piece that my mom had got at a very good price at a local expensive furniture store (Rush's) that is no longer in business.  Unfortunately, no one over 5'5" has ever been able to get up from sitting on it without assistance...it's too low!), covered it with a clean sheet and put an end-table and lamp by it's side. Since it's now sitting in the middle of the room an extension cord will be necessary to make the lamp work!  I reclaimed the wingback chair that the dogs had declared as 'Their Property' when they sit with me while I'm on the PC and convinced Fanny, at least, that the loveseat was better than the chair.   It looks rather cozy.  Now I can knit and watch my favorite British shows on Acorn-TV and Netflix in comfort.  

   The dogs weren't too thrilled when I moved the wingback chair and kept directing them to the loveseat but they'll learn.  I figurer that as long as I'm the Alpha Bitch in this pack I should get my choice of seats.  Right now Fanny is stretched out across the loveseat.  Jeff doesn't think there's enough room for Zoey but since they fit together on the loveseat in the TV room they should fit on this one.  

   I don't think the mouse who was living in the room will be too excited either but it will accept the changes or move on (my hope). I've got to be careful about putting out D-con because Zoey is small enough to go under furniture and I don't want her to get into anything she shouldn't.  I figurer I need another excuse to reclaim more area in the parlor and that should get rid of the rest of the boxes Jeff has accumulated in the room.  

   Oh, Jeff has informed me that I will need new speakers for my PC before I will be able to hear the dialogue from the shows I want to watch if I'm sitting in the wingback chair.  And now that I can get to the windows I think it's time to wash the curtains!   I think I'll wait until I get the curtains done before I take any photos of my little nest...besides the camera needs new batteries and I keep forgetting to get them!! 

(For some reason the font size of each paragraph is changing on it's own.  Sorry about that.)

Life Goes On

   This has been a week of appointments for Jeff.  He saw his attending physician, his optometrist, and a diet coach for help with his diabetes.  Seems like every other day we were sitting in a waiting room someplace...oh, we were!  And it will continue next week.  He's got an appointment with a specialist who will run an electric current down his leg to see how badly it's damaged.  Definitely something not to look forward to. 
      Jeff's only been fishing once this season so when he decided to go fishing yesterday, I was glad, and he happily drove off around 4pm. Zoey bayed and howled because she wasn't going with him but eventually calmed down and came in when I called out 'Supper!' We had had steak the night before and there was a hunk left over that I cut up and divided between the dog dishes...then I had to stand guard to keep them to their respective portions or else Zoey would have tried to get Fanny's steak and all hell would have broken loose! After they had cleaned their dishes...and they did...I picked up the book I had been reading ('Song of the Lion' by Anne Hillerman...she's as good a writer as her father was and the Navajo characters are still busy policing the Rez). We had decided to cancel the cable TV part of our Spectrum bundle because of the expense and repetition of channels and yesterday they turned us off AFTER Jeff went fishing so he didn't have a chance to turn on our antenna! Being w/o TV wasn't so bad becoz Jim Chee and the other Navajo characters were with me. When I finished the book and was making a pot of coffee, there was a knock at the door. Fanny hid under the kitchen table (signaling that she wasn't sure who it was) but Zoey ran to greet our guest. It was my cousin, Ed, returning a Corningware dish I had sent home with him filled with leftovers the last time he came to supper. Besides returning my dish he was warning us not to look for him for the next couple of weeks because he was going on vacation to California! We sat at the kitchen table and talked about his coming trip, where he was going, who he'd visit, and drinking coffee until Jeff came home around 10pm. Jeff was excited to report he had found a new fishing hole in Little Falls and explained how he found it. Since Ed and I are both more familiar with the city than Jeff, we recognized where he was taking about quickly. Seems the Rotary has built a rather nice launching site on the river, complete with picnic tables and hibachis, that is easy to get to. Jeff met some other guys there and enjoyed himself fishing. He caught some good size fish but since he is a sport fisherman, he released them. We're planning to take a picnic there before the weather changes. I made another pot of coffee and the 3 of us talked some more. When Ed left it was near midnight! Suddenly Jeff was looking for his car keys and couldn't find them! Since he drove home they have to be here someplace!! We tried to look around and in the car last night but it was too dark (remember, we live in the country and there aren't any street lights). The keys should turn up today!
   I didn't get any knitting done last night so I plan on doing some today. I've got to finish the test knit I'm doing for Stitch Angles(I missed the deadline but I'll still finish it!) and I want to work on the lacey shawl I'm doing for the shop. I was scheduled to work on 9/10 but found an email before I went to bed asking me to switch to 9/15, giving me an extra week to get it done. I promise to post photos of both the test knit and the lacey shawl!! 
  Poor Zoey!  She and Fanny were playing tag coming in from the porch before lunch and Fanny jumped up and knocked an almost full coffee cup out of my hand giving Zoey a shower of hot coffee!!  She let out a squeal and ran back outside.  I grabbed a towel and went after her, eventually getting her back into the house.  Her head was soaked with coffee but she didn't seem to be burnt or hurt.  I finally pinned her to the bed to give her a rubdown...which she didn't like! A dog biscuit with a touch of peanut butter helped ease whatever pain she was in and Fanny came over to help dry her off by licking the coffee off her head.  Zoey liked that better than the rubdown!  And the coffee cleaned the kitchen floor very nicely...there is now a lighter patch in front of the refrigerator and stove.  Ah, country living. 
   Now it's time to go look for those car keys!!
SUCCESS:  KEYS FOUND!!