WEEK 17

 

Sunday sure seemed to roll around faster this week.  I am happy to report, there is a finish this week too.

The Rose City Roller socks are done and as you can see, I have worn them too.  This is MY first pair of short socks.  They were a fun project and go so much faster than crew socks.

I am still working on my Roe cardigan.  Sleeve island seems to be taking longer than I imagined it would.

The green progress keeper is where I was last week.  Since there are 76 stitches on each sleeve and I am doing them TAAT...............................

That makes for a lot of stitches on each row.  Not to mention I need to remember to change skeins of yarn for each sleeve.  Completing the cardi by the end of this month is not going to happen.  But, that's ok.  It is still in the upper 80's and low 90's in the middle of the day here.  So no need for a sweater just yet.  My shawls are working just fine for early mornings and late evenings.

I did work on the Giant Granny Square blanket but only added one more row to it.  The cardi and the blanket are the only 2 projects I have going right now.  Can you believe it?  No socks on the needles at the moment.  I am too focused on the Cardi to cast anything new on.

Last Monday our Daughter and Son in Law came and picked up their sweet little dog.  She was so good for us.  That left us free for most of the day to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary.  We went to our favorite mom and pop Italian restaurant.  Otherwise, we just hung around the house and enjoyed a quiet day.  Oh!  We went in the morning and got our flu shots so that is another thing out of the way for a year.  We also bought a Christmas tree to replace the one we threw away last year.  (Never buying a flocked tree again!)

Yesterday, I went to our Grand Daughters Swimming Invitational.  There were HUNDREDS of people there.  It was nice to be sitting outdoors (in the shade) and talking with others.  Her last invitational is next weekend.  It is in the morning and both of us plan on going to that one.  

Not much is on my plate this coming week.  The main thing we are planning is, painting our new doors and the wall in the back room.  

So, what are you working on this week?

Until Next Time.............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!

#46 IS IN THE BOOKS

We did it!  Yesterday was our 46th wedding anniversary.  It doesn't seem possible to have been together this long and still 'like' each other.  We didn't do anything spectacular or super exciting.  Our daughter and son in law came back from their vacation and picked up their dog.  (She was a joy to have).  Hubby and I ran errands and then went out to have a nice dinner.  Oh!  First thing yesterday morning, we went and got our flu shots.  Talk about exciting times LOL.

My morning prayer space

Today I am in the midst of doing laundry.  Just a couple of loads today.  I also am looking to make some sourdough bread....or at least get it going so I can bake it tomorrow.  

When we went to dinner last night, we ordered enough food so I do not need to cook tonight.  How sweet is that?  Not to mention the fact, we had 2 for 1 coupons to help out.  We were at our favorite mom and pop Italian restaurant.  Bacon wrapped scallops and coconut shrimp were dinner last night.  Tonight will be their thin crust deluxe pizza.  

We got some very disappointing news yesterday.  Our friends from Las Vegas will not be coming down the end of this month.  The concert they were going to got postponed until next year sometime.  I was so looking forward to their visit.  She was going to show me how she sews her sweaters together, since I have never done it.  I have looked through my knitting book and still am not understanding the different types of stitches used to sew everything  together and which one would work the best for the least amount of it showing.  

Before I forget............We finally found a Christmas tree that will fit into our space.

It doesn't look like much here but once I get the decorations on it and spiff it up, it will be just fine.  We laughed when we got it.  We had seen several we really wanted but they were super expensive.  I mean in the THOUSANDS of dollars.  Until we find THE perfect tree, we decided to go with this one that was on the edge of being cheap.  (Below $150)  Our thinking is, if this will last for a year or two, we will be thrilled.  Watch.................this thing will last for the rest of our lives!  After we got it home, hubby looked at me and said "You can put it up anytime you want".  I almost put it up right away but decided to wait until after Halloween LOL.

I will leave you with our wedding photo:

Until next time................................................

YOP WEEK 16

 

Hey there.  Good to have you stopping today.  Let's take a look at what happened this past week.

CRAFTING

I finished the left side of my Roe cardigan.  I didn't take a photo because it looks just like the right side, only without buttonholes.  Now I am onto sleeve island.

They are being done at the same time.  This way, I don't have to count rows.  I completed the cuffs and have increased the stitches so all I need to do now is knit until the sleeves are the length I want.  There is still a good chance the sweater will be ready to sew together before the end of this month.

The second sock also got quite a bit of love this week.

 I am a smidge over half way done on the foot.  This should be completed in the next week or two. The blue stripe is were I was last week.  I work on this in the mornings while doing my prayers and Bible study.  Totally mindless knitting. 

The Giant Granny Square blanket saw quite a bit of love this week also.

Six more rows were added to it this past week.  It is now 36" square.  That is about half the size I want it to become.  We had a cold snap this week, so this was welcomed to sit on my lap while I worked on it.  Unfortunately, we are back into the 90's so it is in time out again until the next cold snap.  I also wove all the ends in on this.............Well, there are 2 rows of ends left to do but they don't take long at all.

HOME LIFE

We have had a house guest since last Wednesday.

Meet Celeste.  She belongs to our daughter and son in law.  They went on a much needed vacation and we offered to take care of this little sweetie.  She was found wandering the streets of our city about 5 years ago.  They decided to take her in, only to find out she is a pure bred Shih Tzu.  She is small but mighty.  Enrique tried to intimidate her the first day she was here and she stood her ground and gave him a taste of his own medicine.  He needed that!  It is not like she has not been to our house before, either.  She comes to visit now and again but seldom gets to have sleep overs.  She is scheduled to go home either Monday night or Tuesday morning.  Depends on when her owners get back to town.

The rest of our week was typical.....laundry, cleaning, cooking etc.  Nothing new or exciting happening here.

Today is Football Sunday which means I will get to spend lots of time working on my projects while hubby is enthralled watching the TV.  This is also the time I listen to my podcasts and read my Ebooks.  

Anything fun happening where you are?

Until Next Time.........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 15

 

AHHHH.  I am writing this to you from............................

my front porch.  It is almost chilly outside.  Actually, for us folks that live here year round, it IS chilly outside.  It is 57F outside.  Quite a change from our 110F a month ago.

But that is not why you are here.....................let's talk about knitting and other fun stuff.

I finished the right side of my Roe Cardigan.

Once that was done I had to start on the left side.

This is my little knitting station in our family room.  

I have 15 more rows and then I get to start the stockinette part of this side.  I am shocked how quickly this is knitting up.  I still have hopes of having this completed by the end of this month.  It would have been nice to have it for this morning while I am sitting outside on the porch, in the shade.

I have another FO.

The first RCR sock for me is done.  Not to suffer from second sock syndrome, I immediately cast on the second sock.

The heel is completed and now on to the never ending foot.

The giant granny square blanket is waiting patiently for me to get the sweater done.  

I did receive a treasure this week.  You can see it in the photo of the left side of my cardigan.  Here is a better photo of it.

My yarn spinner.  I am in love with it.  It makes it so much easier to knit an crochet.  I am not constantly pulling on my yarn to get it to flow smoothly.  This spins as the yarn is needed.  It is whisper quiet too.  Most spinners either have ball bearings or just wood on wood.  This spins on 2 CD discs.  How ingenious is that.  I got it off of Etsy.  Here is the business card:

They are located in Missouri.  They were in contact with me from the moment I purchased the item until it was delivered.  There was also a personal handmade thankyou note in the shipping box.  They got a 5 star review from me.

Yesterday, our Handyman was here.  This time he got the wall in our backroom texturized and ready for us to paint.  He also fixed our french doors in that room as they never hung quite level and there was a huge gap in the bottom of the doors where bugs and lizards kept coming in.  The two new exterior doors he installed were caulked too.  There are just some minor things he has left to do now.  He will come back next month to finish that up.  He is also going to install our new vanities in our bathroom when those come in.  This man is amazing.

Hubby and I are finally getting back into our normal routine.  This past week was pretty busy for hubby.  He was on the phone quite a bit with family and care givers of his mom.  She was put on Hospice this past week and getting all the details worked out took quite a bit of time.  It was done more as a precautionary measure than the fact she is at end of life. Although, she has slowed down considerably over the past 3 months.  She does not seem to have any interest in anything anymore and just basically sits in her room unless someone comes to visit her or takes her to an activity.  Hubby also made all the arrangements with the funeral home there.  He wants everything in place so nothing needs to be done when that time comes.  Emotions would be very high then and that is not the time to try and take care of everything.  We found this out when my mom passed.  She gifted us with having everything done, paid for and written down.  I will forever be grateful for her doing that.

Today is Football Sunday.  Hubby will be glued to the TV and I will be glued to my sweater as well as making a loaf of sourdough bread and making our jalapeno poppers for lunch and pork chops for dinner.  It will be a peaceful day for us.

Until Next Time..............................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 14

 

Hello there.  Glad you could stop by today.  Want to see what I accomplished this week?

Roe Cardigan:

I completed the cable section of the right front and am now on the stockinette section.  There will be button holes made in this section and I need to be careful in measurements.  I made this cardi 2 inches shorter than the pattern so I need to remember to take that into account when doing measurements for the placement of the button holes.  The green progress keeper is where I was last Sunday.

Rose City Roller Socks:

Even though I took this with me all week when I dog sat, I still did not get this one sock completed.  The progress keeper is where I was last Sunday.  I am getting pretty close to where I will be doing the toe.  Hopefully by next week it will be done and sock #2 cast on.

Giant Granny Square Blanket:

No need for a photo since I only got 2 rows added to it this week.  I do enjoy working on it.  It is getting to the point where one row takes quite a bit of time to complete though.

There was a quick shopping trip made to Hobby Lobby this week.  I might or might not have picked up 5 skeins of their sock yarn.  Hey!  It was 30% off so why not?

That is all the fiber work I did this past week.  

This was made yesterday:

Some lovely rye bread for hubby and I to enjoy.  I have started to introduce different flours into my tried and true honey beer bread recipe.  It makes it a little more interesting than just plain white bread.  So far, I have added wheat and now rye flour to the mix.  Both of them are good.  Next I will be trying pumpernickel flour.  

Life:

Nothing much new going on at our Casa.  Hubby got home from his second trip on Friday.  It is nice to have him back.  Today, our goal is complete the metal pantry.  The replacement part came in just as hubby was leaving for his trip last week.  I knew I could not finish it by myself.  So excited to get it completed and filled.

Hubby and I go tomorrow for our second pneumonia injection.  That will finish us up on that series.  Then in 2 weeks we will get our flu shot and then 2 weeks after that our Covid booster.  Hopefully that will be all until next fall when we will get flu shots again.  We were told we could get all three injections at the same time but it was recommended to do them separately to give our bodies time to adjust to each one of them.  Plus, I had a reaction to both the flu (total body aches) and covid (rash a week later) injections so want to only deal with one issue at a time.  I still need to get my shingles injections too but will need to wait another 2 weeks after the booster before I go in for those.

I am so happy October has arrived.  That means our scorching summer heat is leaving and soon we will have our doors and windows opened to let in some lovely fresh air.  It is also time for me to sit on my porch in my rocking chair and work on my fiber arts while watching the happenings in my neighborhood.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Until Next Time................................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 13 OF MY 11TH YEAR

 

Hello lovelies.  I hope this day is wonderful for you.  We are having some lovely rain showers today.  That means our temps have dropped significantly.  Hopefully we will not be seeing anymore triple digit temperatures for the next 6 months.  But, the weather report from Arizona is not the reason you have come here, right?  So let's take a look at my week of crafting.

First up:

I have started on the right hand side of my Roe Cardigan.  The green progress keeper is where I was last week.  I was asked what color this was.  It is called White Peach.  So, if you noticed it had a peachy tone to it, you have great eyes.  This is my morning project when I am fresh and really alert.

Next is:

My RCR sock.  This has been my traveling project.  Since I spent most of the week with my grand dog, Thor.  It was much easier to work on than my cardigan.  Not to mention much easier to just stick in my purse and go.  Last week I was working on the heel flap.  I am well past that now.  Such fun colors in this.

Lastly is:

The Giant Granny Square blanket.  The big black blob is where I was last week.  This is my favorite project to work on while watching TV in the evenings.  It does not take any real concentration.  It is eating up my DK yarn and that is making me so happy.

I was going to start on a new cross stitch pattern this week but had an issue.  The graph for it was a it hard to read.

The top photo is the graph that came with the kit.  That is a standard size sheet of paper.  The bottom photo is after I enlarged it 160%.  NOW I can see the symbols.  Thank goodness for my lovely printer that does all sorts of nice things for me.

As for life in general.....................................

We have had a handyman working on various projects around our house.  So far we have had 2 exterior doors installed and 7 interior doors replaced.  He will need at least one more day here and possibly 2.  We had a lot of little jobs that needed done.  (We have come to the age we are not as 'handy' as we used to be.)   He comes on Saturdays and works for about 8-9 hours.  It is nice to finally have things getting fixed up.  Hubby and I now need to start painting doors.

Remember my metal pantry?  Well, the bottom of it arrived via FedEx today.  Not sure if we will be able to complete it before hubby leaves Tuesday, but we will give it a try.  For those of you who have never heard of a metal pantry................It is actually supposed to be used to store tools.  I wanted something sturdy to hold canned goods as well as several pounds of different flours I use in my bread baking.  The shelves on my Rubbermaid one bowed and finally cracked.  Not thinking the metal will have this issue.  It says it will hold up to 150 pounds per shelf.  That should handle whatever I can throw at it.

Today is bread making day.  I will make that after I pick up the hubby from the airport.  Our dinner has been prepped and in the fridge waiting for later today.  We are having Shrimp Eggrolls.  I made the stuffing for the eggroll wrappers and will fill them at dinner time and then cook them in the air fryer.  So nice and simple.  There will be laundry done today too....after hubby unpacks his suitcase.  Gotta make sure he has all his clothes clean before his next trip on Tuesday.

This coming week is another week of dog watching.  Since our temperatures have dropped into the 80's, there may be some walks in store for Thor and myself.  He will like that.

Until Next Time................................................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did someone say 'walk'?

Midweek

 

Half way through the work week............for those who work a typical M - F job.  Me, I work 24/7 at being retired LOL.  Actually, I have been kind of busy this week.  Here is what is happening around mi casa.

Sunday, I needed to run to the store to get 1 tomato.  Seeing we were having BLTA's for dinner and I was out of T.  So off I went.  As I pulled out of our driveway, I thought I saw a dog across the street.  It was just wandering around.  So, being the dog lover I am and wanting to make sure it was not lost I decided to watch to see if I recognized it so I could get it to it's owner.  It finally came out from behind our neighbors car and SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is not a dog but a javelina!  They are supposedly herbivores but I still called home to make sure our little dogs were safe in the house.  These animals are not normally in civilization but pretty much stay in the wilds.  I followed it for a block or so and it was not doing any harm so I went on my merry way.  I could have called animal control, but by the time they arrived it would have been long gone.  It was moving at a pretty good clip.  Hopefully, it made it back to the hill country.

For our BLTAs I wanted a fresh loaf of sourdough bread.  

Not sure what the issue with my sourdough is, but this is the second loaf that is only about 2.5 inches high.  It tastes great but is not big enough to even put a slice of tomato on without it hanging over the sides.  

Fine then................I will make my honey wheat beer bread.  It never fails me.

And, once again I have a perfect loaf of sandwich bread for our BLTA's.  I am using the sourdough for toast in the mornings.

I started Thor duty yesterday afternoon.  He is such a good boy when someone is at the house.  

See how sweet he is all curled up next to me and my knitting.  But this is what it looked like when I first arrived.

bad bad doggo

The white strip is part of the stuffing from the couch.  If you look closely, you can see a white area behind the pillows.  That is the hole he has dug into the couch.  Luckily, they paid for a special warranty that will cover this type of damage to their furniture.  He has never torn anything up like this before.  We are not sure why all of a sudden he is having separation anxiety.  They have covered the hole with sheets, pillows, blankets etc....and he will pull everything away from the hole and dig stuffing out.  Sometimes it looks like it has snowed when we go inside.  Crazy dog.  They are trying hemp treats today to see if that will calm him down a bit.  I will know in a couple of hours when I go to sit with him for the day.

Lastly,  I finished the puzzle I have been working on for the past 3 weeks.

You wouldn't think this would be that hard to do.  Unfortunately, where the glare is was one of the hardest areas.  It is all foliage with no real color change.  I am glad it is done, back in the box and ready to donate.  I have another puzzle laid out but it will be another one that is going to take time as it is a 3D hologram.  Luckily it is only 500 pieces but there are only 2 shapes of the pieces so that is even more of challenge.

That is all for me today.  I am heading back over to visit Thor and work on my knitting.

Until next time..................................................................

WEEK 12

 

As September rolls along, so do my fiber arts.

The back to my Roe Cardigan is completed.

I forgot how quickly worsted knits up.  I also forgot how quickly my attention moves from one item to another.

Case in point:

Here is all I have done on the right side of the cardigan.  Seeing I finished the back on Wednesday, you would think I would have more of this side done.  Nope.  I only started this section late last night.  And, the only reason I started this late last night is because my conscious was screaming at me to complete a project within a decent time frame. The last cardigan took me over a year to complete!

I did not work on the giant granny square blanket at all this week.  But, I did work on this:

A new pair of Rose City Roller socks.  This time they are for ME!  I am on the heel flap of the first sock.  I started them late Thursday night and am only doing a little bit a day on them.  Seeing it is still around 100F here, socks are really not called for yet.

I am still working on a puzzle and will post a photo of it when it is completed.  It has been a work in progress for almost 3 weeks now.  I try and limit myself to 1 hour a day on it.  Otherwise, I would be working on it for HOURS at a time.

In other news.............................................

My new metal pantry came in on Wednesday.  We waited to start putting it together until Friday.  We got going pretty good when this happened:

This is supposed to be the bottom panel for the pantry.  

There is no way this is going to attach to the rest of the pantry.  So for now.....................

The parts that have been assembled are laying on our pool table until the new piece comes in.  According to the manufacturer, that will be in 7-10 business days.  It is just a little frustrating.  Good thing I had not emptied out the old pantry yet.

Today I need to make a loaf of bread, do 1 load of laundry, and watch copious amounts of NFL football.  Actually, hubby is the big football watcher.  I listen and work on my knitting, crocheting, puzzle and read during the 12 hours it is on.

This coming week, I have dog duty again.  In fact, I have dog duty for the next 2 weeks.  It works our well as hubby is going to a conference the end of this week and next week he and his brother are heading to Las Vegas to visit their mom.  

So, what are your plans for the coming week?  Anything fun and different?  Any new craftiness happening?

Until Next Time..................................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEK 11

 

Remember those socks I said I would finish after I posted last week?  Well, I did that.  They are now in hubby's drawer ready to be worn.  Don't be alarmed but, there are not any socks on my needles at the moment.  It happens!  Not sure if I will be casting any on soon.  I have been concentrating on my Roe Cardigan.

This is the back.  I am in the middle of the armhole.  Once that is completed, there are only 4 rows before binding off.  This is going so much quicker than expected.  I did shorten the length by 2 inches.  I already have a tunic length cardigan and wanted this one to hit me mid hip.

In case you have a hard time seeing my progress keeper..................

I gave you a little help.  This is being knit with Cascade Anthem yarn in worsted weight.  I had never used this yarn before.  My friend in Las Vegas suggested it as she has used it for garments before.  It is quite easy to work with and has a lovely feel to it as it slides through my fingers.  It is an acrylic but does not have a plastic feel at all.  Well, at least to me it doesn't.

There was a new start this week also.

This is a Giant Granny Square blanket in the makings.  Our YOP member Sam, has made these in the past and I have always loved the looks of them.  It is a great stash buster too.  This one is being made with my DK yarn.  I may run out of some of the colors and that will be a very good thing.  As the colors run out I will just move on to the next color in the color cycle I have chosen. I have over 7000 yards of DK yarn that has been sitting in my stash for YEARS!  Since I want this to be large enough to cover my king sized bed, my hope is it will use up almost all of that stash yarn.

The only other 'crafting' item is a jigsaw puzzle I started over a week ago.  No photo as it is really slow going this time.

That is all for crafting this week.  In other news................................

We got two new exterior doors installed yesterday.  What a difference solid steel clad doors make.  It has cut down on road noise as well as the amount of heat that was coming through.  They are not 100% complete but our handyman will be back in a couple of weeks to complete them.  It is mostly some trim work.  He will also be installing new interior doors as well as doing a few other jobs to get this home in shape for our golden years.

Last Monday, hubby and I went to Home Depot and got our 2 main bathroom vanity areas designed.  It will be the end of the year or even the first of next year before the installation will be taking place.  I am so excited.  This is something I have wanted redone for years.  

This coming week, hubby and I will be doing some major clean out of our back room.  That is one of the rooms our handyman is going to be working on and we need it accessible for him to move around in freely.  This is also something I have wanted to do for several years.  It has kind of been a catch all room as well as our work room.  All of hubby's tools are in there.  They used to be in our outside shed but after the third time of the shed being broken into and things walking off, we made our backroom our tool/work room.  Haven't lost a tool since.

That is all for this week.  Today is bread making day as well as the first day of the NFL season.  That will keep both hubby and I busy for several hours.

Until Next Time.......................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!

Really?

 

Has it really only been 2 days since I posted?  So much has happened in that time.

Monday hubby grabbed me and we headed to Home Depot along with about 1000 other people.  Ya, it seemed to be that full.  We are trying to finish up some home remodeling on our 50 year old home.  We decided to finish up the vanity areas of our 2 main bathrooms.  We got very lucky as the room designer was not busy so, we were able to sit down with him and plan out how we wanted things to be.  It only took 2.5 hours to complete.  At the end, we were informed it will be 16 - 20 weeks before the cabinetry will be ready.  And that is after the professional measurements get done.  So, we are looking around Christmas or the first of next year.  No big issue for us.  Not like we are going anywhere.

After we finished with the designer, we went to look at door hardware as we have a handyman coming this weekend to install and replace 6 doors.  Two are exterior doors and the rest are interior.  We started looking and realized neither of us had eaten since early morning and it was now mid afternoon and we were both starting to get hangry.  Skip looking for hardware and go to lunch/dinner.  Once we were fed, we were done for the day and just came home.

Today we had every intention of going to get the door hardware but................best laid plans and all that.  Hubby  was trying to get some info on our solar panels and ran into all sorts of issues.  I was doing laundry and working in the kitchen.  I went into our rubbermaid pantry when I notice one of the shelves supports was broken in half.  Peachy!  That is where I keep all of my baking supplies as well as canned goods.  By the time hubby got done with the solar people it was mid afternoon again.  Neither of us felt like heading out to look for a new pantry or door hardware.  So.....................I did online shopping.  I found a pantry that will hold up to 150 pounds per shelf!  Perfect!  I no longer need to worry about shelves bowing.  The best part, it is being delivered free of charge!  But wait, there is more!  This pantry is metal and only $10 more than the plastic one.  Only bummer is it will be over a week before it arrives.

I promise to be patient.  Maybe LOL.

Tomorrow we will head out to get door hardware.  Well, at least that is the plan so far.  I know what I want, it is just a matter of finding them.  We also need to get paint for the doors and the wall in the backroom that is going to be completed by the end of this month.  Finally!  Things are coming together.  It will be so nice to have all of this renovation stuff behind us.   Once this is done, there will only be one room left to redo and that is the master bedroom.  I dread pulling the furniture out of there to be able to paint it and for new carpeting to be laid.  That might be why we have been putting it off for quite a while.  Not sure how much longer we can continue to put it off.  Time will tell.

OK, it is time for me to grab my knitting and let it work it's magic on me.

Until next time........................................