Wish List 2013

WISH LIST 2013

Favorite yarn (fiber, weight, brand): natural blends (washable wool blended w/bamboo, silk, soy, cotton, milk, nylon...you name it!) sock or fingering yarn made by just about anyone.

Favorite colors: southwest sunsets (yellow,red, turquoise….) or autumnal tones (green, yellow, orange) 

Least favorite yarn and color: bulky and harsh acrylics, purple 

What crafts do you do (knit, crochet, spin, sew, etc.):knit, crochet when I have to 

Other hobbies: reading, being outdoors…by the river, in the garden, on the deck 

Something you collect: unusual stitch markers and teapots of all shapes and sizes

Something that you can always use: a yarn winder, net bag yarn caddies, needle point protectors , 16" US size 1 & 2 double pointed circular needles

Something that you have enough of: notepads, tape measures, scarves 

Allergies: none 

Smoker or non-smoker: I’m not, he is 

Pets: a year old persistent chewer, our Australian cattledog mix, Fanny 

Favorite symbols, shapes, icons, etc: ? 

Favorite accessories: I’ve got enough scarves and hats but  need mittens or gloves,& socks! 

Favorites flavors: vanilla 

Favorites scents: light floral especially mauguet du bois...lily of the valley

Favorite drinks: full-body coffee (grounds not beans, please), English and Irish breakfast teas, southern sweet tea 

Favorite treats: milk chocolate covered caramels especially Milky Way Simply Caramels 

Ten favorite little things: stitch markers, mini teapots, treats for Fanny, mystery novels, handmade soap and candles, handknit socks and mittens, interchangable tips from Knitpicks, point protectors.

A Busy Morning

 Today was a bright and sunny day and we had a lot of work to do.  While I stacked split wood on the porch (l), Jeff went up to Valley Health where Mom is see a man about some pallets.  He had talked to a maintenance man there last week and had arranged to go up today to get some of the pallets that had collected beside their big garage.  It took him most of the morning...and 2 trips...to bring home 40 pallets (r) ...we only have a 1 ton utility trailer that you can just see in the upper left corner of the photo!  Jeff figures a couple of days with the sawsall and table saw will turn these mostly hardwood shipping frames into a week or 2 supply of firewood.  The guy invited him to go back tomorrow morning and get another couple of loads but we don't have the room to store the pallets.  After helping to unload these things, I can understand why Jeff doesn't want to drag and stack them behind the garage and have to drag them out front again to cut them up.  You really know when you get your foot under one!!  But they are saving us money!  We just got our 2nd 100 gals of fuel oil for the season yesterday...costing $382 and bringing the total cost so far this winter to $671. Not bad for the beginning of January. This morning I saw an ad for a face cord of seasoned hardwood at $225.  I'd like to get a face cord next month just to have in case we run our of pallets or Jeff runs out of steam.

I got the yarn I was waiting for at Walmart yesterday and finished the baby set last night and sewed the buttons on it today. I think I'll mail it to Jeff's sister rather than waiting for us to go to Utica later this week to deliver it.  While I was waiting for the yarn to be restocked, I finished the socks I found for Jeff and started the cashmere blend socks my cousin ordered.  Oooh, what yummy yarn!

This (l) is what's left of the old box elder tree in our backyard.  Actually, it's not in our yard...more like just over the property line out of our yard and it fell the right way... still more off our property.  It is on the old trolley bed which is a hiking/snowmobile trail and Wally from next door said the local snowmobilers were  going to cut down the big branches to open the trail.  But after taking the machines under the branches I guess they decided there was enough clearance coz they've been using the trail this weekend. They just have to remember to slow down when they get to the tree...the opening is to the left of the trunk...and it could be nasty if they hit it.

Happy New Year!

Well, we made it to the new year.  The world didn't end on 12/22 and we didn't go over the fiscal cliff.  We did get hammered by winter storms and there's about 16" of snow on the ground.  At least it's not snowing today...yet.  Jeff's been busy cutting wood... he says I've been busy burning it... and I've kept the stacks up.  We have used less than 100 gals of fuel oil since Halloween!  We had to buy a new sawsall...his ol'Skil gave up...and we got a Bosch that he really likes so far.  And the old snowblower gave up after this past storm.  Since Wally from next door does the bulk of the snow removal, it's only used between the house & garage and for paths...but definitely needed... so we've got to start looking.  Funny, a shovel just doesn't make it anymore.

Josie is still up at Valley Health doing rehab.  She wants to come home but has to be able to get in/out of her chair and walk with the walker to the bathroom first.  She's complaining about VH...not enough aides, doesn't like the food, etc.  Today is her first evaluation.  As long as she shows improvement she can stay  and Medicare and her supplementary insurance will pay (for a total of 90 days). Keep your fingers crosses...and a little prayer wouldn't hurt, either.

I got my holiday sweaters orders finished and mailed on time and finished a pair of socks for Jeff on Christmas night. (L)  They're done in a hand-dyed superwash wool called 'Gone Fishing' that I had received in a swap  Thought it was a perfect yarn for Jeff but I still can't see what it's got to do with fishing.  Got a hole in my left index finger from poking it with a US 2 needle,too...ouch!  I took the time to knit myself a pair of socks(r top) (1st pair I've done for ME!) in a hand-painted wool  called 'Montana Moment' that I also got in a swap.  As I was putting the yarn away I found another sock (r bottom)...and the toe-up beginning of it's pair.  They looked short to me but it fit when Jeff tried it on, so the started-toe went back on the needles.  That yarn is from the Dollar Store in Richfield Springs.  It's a washable wool blend and a little thicker than most sock yarn.  Jeff thinks they'll be great in his winter boots.   I got the heel turned before I went to bed last night and so he'll be getting another pair of socks soon.  While we were snowed in last week I worked on a baby sweater order for Jeff's sister but ran out of yarn on the hat. Walmart promised to have it back in stock this week.  Hope so.  My next order is with a yummy cashmere blend sock yarn.  Can't wait to work on them!

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.