Winter's Grip

We're still in the grips of winter with a couple of inches of fresh snow, near zero temperatures and the possibility of a weekend nor'easter. The woodpiles are shrinking and fuel oil has been delivered again.  (That makes 3 deliveries  totaling 300 gals for $1073.00)  Hopefully, that will be enough to make it to spring...which according to the groundhog is suppose to be early.)  Jeff was thinking about picking up pallets Friday...the weatherman was right and the temperature was near 30...but his back has been bothering him and an exam at the Pain Control Clinic earlier this week didn't make things any better.  He's got more tests to endure before a decision is made whether to operate on his back again (which would be operation #3) or try something new.  And I think I've got it bad sometimes with the plate & screws in my right leg...I swear it's a barometer!...but his back pain is pretty constant. I got the results of the x-ray of my hand...after tripping over a dog toy and falling last week.  Nothing 'abnormal'...then why does it hurt so much??  Oh well, just another spot to baby.

I've been knitting thru the hand pain and my 'new merchandise' bag is quite full.  I've about had it with sheep on sweaters that are either hot pink or mallard green so I switched to baseballs.  I did a size 6 mos hoodie, finishing it in a day and a half...size 6 mo sweaters don't take very long to do!  The hood and body are navy and the sleeves white. (Go Yankees!)  It's got a back zipper and a false Henley front with 3 baseball buttons. It's not recommended to put pull-strings in hoods on baby sweaters anymore so I had to get creative with the baseballs.  I think I'll force myself to do one in red (Boston?? Cincinnati?? ) before I do a pin-stripe sweater...which is rather boring to do but is a good seller. Jeff's 60th birthday is March 1st and I've started a project for him,too.  He actually likes the hand-knits I do for him...even wearing them out!

Finally got the paperwork finished for the nursing home for mom.  Had to get copies of some things...my father's death certificate, deed to the cemetery plot and Josie's SS card. Talked to the social worker at the facility yesterday and she said now we have to wait for Medicaid to kick in and a bed to become available.  I've said it before but I'll say it again:  make sure all your important papers are in order and up-to-date.  Nothing was where Mom said it would be!

Oh, this week Fanny 'ate' my cellphone and a cardboard kleenix box...by passing most of the tissues!  The cell case was punctured on both sides and she bite into the battery.  And I had over 80 minutes available on it!!

The Day After Valentine's Day

What do you mean...I'm not a lapdog?

The day after Valentine's Day has started out bright and sunny.  Jeff and Fanny are still asleep in the other bedroom. A queen size bed may be big, but for 2 large people and a dog it's sometimes a tight fit. They were playing tug of war so hard last night neither of us noticed Fanny had changed tactics and the next thing I saw was the dog peeing under the kitchen table.  Now, that did not make me happy.  But as I got up yelling, Jeff, who's usually the 1st one to discipline the dog, took the blame for not noticing what she was up to.  We had a very confused doggie for awhile there and I still had to clean it up. 

Fanny got a treat ball from a swap buddy of mine a month or so ago and has been having a good time with it.  Shaped like an egg, it's got perforations on both ends and screws together in the middle.  You fill it with the dog's favorite small treats and they roll it around leaving a trail of goodies.  Fanny has learned that if you hold one end in your month and bat the either with a paw, the ball will eventually unscrew and you'll be showered with treats for the effort.  Tuesday I was home alone and moved the ball with my foot as I walked across the tv room. I saw out of the corner of my eye that it had moved...well, half of it had moved but I didn't realize that until I stepped into the other half and was falling.  I bounced off a chair and ended up on the floor on my back.  Fanny came running to offer comfort...licking my face...as I checked myself for injuries.  My shoulder and hip were sore...where I fit the chair...and my hand hurt like hell. A quick range of motion test and gentle massage showed that nothing was broken that I could tell but the ring finger on the right hand had already started to swell.  Ice and heat were called for...and some self pity.  The comfort those 3 offered was short-lived and I eventually just went back to knitting.  Since my style of knitting uses only the thumb and forefinger on both hands to move the work along the needles, I figured out how to hold the sore finger and was back to work.  I figured if I couldn't hold the finger still I'd just stabilize it with some tape.  Back in college I broke toes on both feet coz I was always...barefoot...in the wrong place when the bathroom door was pushed open.  The first time it happened I wrapped the foot with an ace bandage and just hobbled around for awhile. When I broke a toe on the other foot I used masking tape to hold the bones together. Years later when I had a full body x-ray for something and the tech was identifying abnormalities,  it was pointed out that one toe had been set much better than the other.  Guess which one?..the one I had used masking tape on! I didn't have any idea where the masking tape was Tuesday but I could see a roll of duck tape on the hutch in the kitchen if I needed it. I had a regular doctor's appointment scheduled for yesterday morning so I decided to have the hand checked out then.  The bruises and swelling were noted and the hand and shoulder were x-rayed.  Results still pending but I didn't get any urgent phone calls from the health center so I don't think anything was badly injured. 

In the meantime I'm knitting my way thru the acrylic yarn I found in the stash.  I've got 3 sheep sweater sets in my 'new merchandise' bag (not normal for this time of year since I usually do not knit in January but since I retired I'm knitting and reading more) and another about half finished.  Baseball sweaters will be next but today will probably be spent stacking wood.  OH...Sounds like my sleeping beauties are getting up, time to put the coffee on!

Ground Hog's Day

Saturday was Ground Hog's Day and he did not see his shadow.  That means an early spring, right?  Well, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature coz it's snowing today...bands of lake effect that are quite heavy at times...like right now.  The good part is that it's been doing this all night and we've accumulated only an inch or 2 so far.  I don't think we'll be snowed in today but visibility is non-existent at times so I think today will be spent in our respective hidey holes...Jeff in town and the dog and me out here in the little woods.  He's probably taking it easy, sleeping, reading, online, while I've got yarn all over the TV room floor. I moved a chair and found that The Stash is out of control so it's time to do something.  The dog is willing to help by stealing taking balls of yarn and hiding them under the bed or kitchen table. (She's not too good with 'hide and seek'.) I've even found empty yarn boxes so it shouldn't be too difficult to stash The Stash and clean up a little.  It's a good thing in a way...lately I've been knitting a lot of socks on small gauge short circular needles and the fingers on my left hand are a little swollen and painful so I think I'll start a baby sweater on a US 8 when I finish this...much easier on the fingers.  But the bottom of the bag of new merchandise for the shop is covered with baby socks!  Got the notice the other day that clean-up in the shop starts April 1st, with the annual meeting April 10th and we'll be opening for our 39th season April 11th.

Mitchell, Zare, Rayjon, Sara & Zakiya

Jeff's daughter, Sara, and her 4 kids are visiting family in Utica this week so we went up to visit Saturday.  Meeting the family for the 1st time is always awkward but meeting the ex-family is stranger.  But we were welcomed warmly and had a nice visit.  Jeff's invited them for lunch this week...another reason to stash The Stash.  He wants to show the boys his gutter garden set-up.  They live in Texas and he thinks a gutter garden might be easier for them than a traditional one.  Their father is in the Army and currently deployed in Afghanistan.  And yes, the girls are twins.

While Fanny's been 'helping' sort the yarn she hasn't neglected her favorite job... shedding kindling wood.  Here I had just followed her thru the house with both her favorite bone and current piece of wood in her mouth!  I can sweep the floor 3 times a day but there is always dog hair and wood shavings around.

Good Riddance January!

As months go, January is not one of my favorites and this year it really out did itself as a winter month.  That storm 2 or 3 weeks ago that left us under more than 12" of snow had us snowed in for 2 days.  Usually I enjoy living in my little house in the little woods but when I can stand at the kitchen sink and see Rte 5 a mere 2/10"s of a mile away and know I can't get there because the road is impassible....  I spend the lousy days knitting, reading or watching TV but this time I had a touch of the flu and sitting by the woodstove napping was as much activity as I could muster.  Then the cold weather hit and the new battery in the car didn't like it one bit!  One day a friend of Jeff's came up and jump started the car so we could go buy a battery charger.  Good thing we did that coz the next 2 days...also with below zero temp...I had to use the charger to start the car!  In fact, the battery and the charger developed a meaningful relationship and were connected both nights.  Jeff thought there might have been something wrong with the starter or alternator but a quick trip to the auto supply store and a turn on it's computer proved it was just the cold nights. It took awhile to find but Jeff bought the last block heater in town for the engine. I just can't see him working on the ground installing it right now.  I can wait until spring and for once he's not arguing!   Yesterday the temperatures were in the 50's and the driveway turned into a mudpit that was tracked into the house.  Oh my poor wood floors!  That's haze in the distance in the left photo as the snow pack evaporates. The

garbage pail was in the middle of an ice island making it a very interesting walk to put out the garbage!  Can you see Wally's house in the photo on the right?  It's in the middle of the shot and kept disappearing in the haze.  Kind of like an old black and white horror movie!  

I finally got motivated and did some knitting, finishing a pair of yummy cashmere blend socks for my cousin and some washable wool baby socks for another cousin's new twins.  I even did a couple more pairs of baby socks so there is actually something in my new merchandise bag this early in the year.  Now I've got to start working on sweaters.

We had a meeting with the social worker at Valley Health today and Josie has reached a plateau in her PT not showing any improvement in 2 weeks.  She is not independent enough to come home and it doesn't look like she will be any time soon...if ever...so we started the paperwork to move her to permanent resident status. She is well cared for at Valley Health and moving upstairs will put her with some people she knows, and in a position to attend activities. I'll let you all know her new room number when she moves. Those medicaid forms require special attachments and while Josie always said 'everything' was in the 'metal box' in the closet I'm having a hard time finding some of them.  Be sure to keep your paperwork up-to-date and well marked to aid those who will be trying to help you. 

Good riddance January.

January Back to Normal

Well, the January Thaw is over and winter has returned.  I knew it was too good to be true for all the snow to melt in a couple of days...but it did.  (On the downside, the driveway and Fanny's running track turned into mud pits....) Jeff was able to finish splitting the 40+ pallets he had collected from Valley Health Services and get another 20 yesterday, and all the split wood is stacked.  Looks like we've got about a month's worth of firewood. Never thought I could stack so much wood.  Hopefully this week he'll split those recently acquired pallets and maybe be able to get another 40 pallets this weekend.  I never knew pallets were made out of hardwood...especially oak.  It hurts me to throw a clump of oak into a burning fire but free firewood--even oak--is not something to ignore.  It's snowing again today...the forecast is for less than 2" but we're taking today off from splitting/stacking wood anyway.

Sunday (1/13) was my mom's 99th birthday and Jeff and I and my cousin Ed went up to Valley Health to have lunch with her.  She was wearing a beautiful corsage (from Mike & Chris) and was surrounded by many cards and photos. Mom had a good appetite and even ate 2 desserts...the one that came on her tray and a piece of  the New York-style cheesecake I had brought!  Yesterday when I went to pick up her laundry, she complained about being tired coz in PT she had  taken her first steps in over a month.  There's still a long way for her to go before she'll be strong enough and mobile enough to come home but it's a start.  I brought my camera with me Sunday but forgot to take any photos.  

Got to finish a pair of men's socks for a very special order...should be done today, and then go back to knitting baby sweater sets for the shop.  I think I can use the yarn in my stash and get ahead a little.  I may do baby socks for my cousin's new twins in-between sweaters and maybe even a new pair of slippers for Jeff for Valentine's Day.  Knitting them is not hard, it's sewing the griper fabric on the soles that gets to me...but he wears them...wears them out!  I promised him a sweater vest and ordered yarn last fall but just got the interchangeable needle points last week so I could start that, too.  Thank goodness there's such interesting channels on cable tv...History and History2 are my current favorites, and I finally got to watch a couple of episodes of Downton Abbey!...that  I can knit to.



   

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.