WEEK 8 YEAR 9

 

Hello.  I  way behind in posting this week.  Hubby and I have had a super busy and a very eventful week.  Before we get too far off track, let's take a look at what I did this week with my yarn.

First off, there is no photo but, I did work on my cardigan again.  There were 8 more rows added to it.  To me, it looks like it did the last time I posted a photo.  I still have 16 more rows before I split for the arms.  It is slow going but a nice item to work on when I need a no brainer project.

I worked on the RCR socks quite a bit this week.  

This is the one I was furthest on last week.  I added another 1.5 inches to it.

The other sock is completed!!

This sock traveled with me this weekend.  More on the weekend later. 😁

There were more squares made this week too.

They are so much fun to do.  With one square taking one hour to complete, it is a real ego booster when you are on the go most of the week.

Here is what happened this week.

Sunday......after blogging.....I decided to do a little online car shopping.  It took up most of the rest of the day.  Although, my son, his daughter and their dog dropped by for a little visit.  Otherwise, hubby and I kind of lazed around the house most of the day.  Did not get the bread baked either.

Monday.......Got 3 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away all before 10AM!  Insomnia helps with housework LOL.  Went to a car dealership to test drive a couple of cars.  The dealership was not very friendly at all.  I felt bad as this is where I had bought my last car in 2012.  Fine!  We left after spending 2.5 hours out there.  I had an appointment with another dealership on the other side of the valley in about 1.5 hours.  Hubby and I stopped and grabbed some lunch and then headed to the other dealership.  What a difference!  We test drove another vehicle there and found one we loved.  Unfortunately it was not the color I wanted.  There was one 100 miles away in the color and model I wanted.  They said they would call once they found out if they could get that vehicle.  By now we had spent almost 6 hours car shopping.  We headed home to make dinner and relax.  We had only been home 5 minutes when the 2nd dealership called and said the car was available and gave us the financial details regarding our trade in and special discounts available and what the bottom line would be.  

They made a good deal with me and I am now a proud owner of a 2019 Hyundai Tucson!  I love being back in a SUV!  

Tuesday- spent most of the day on car stuff.  Cleaned out my car, got all the paperwork together for the dealership and then spent 4 hours again at the dealership finishing up all the paperwork.

Wednesday- Hubby had a Dr's appointment in the morning.  After that I spent the day getting my personal belongings put into the new car.  I finally sat down and did some serious knitting.  That evening was our Trivia night and I was once again in charge of picking up the Emcee and our Grand Daughter for the fun.

Thursday- hubby and I finally got to spend some time cleaning the house.  It had been sorely neglected.  Around 8PM my BFF called and asked me to help her with transporting a mutual friend from the Emergency room back home.  Off I went to  help out and by the time I got home I was exhausted.

Friday- We got things ready for our 3 day conference that started that evening.  We left for the conference around 2:30 and did not get back home until 10 that evening.

Saturday- Back to the conference at 7:30AM and were there until 5PM.  Then we were off to a Fantasy Football party until after 10PM.  (That's American Football)

Sunday- back to the conference at 9AM and returned home around 5PM.  It was a great conference but, having to set an alarm is not something we do anymore since retirement.    Here is a photo of what we looked at during the conference:

There were 1100 people there and yet, it still felt like a small and intimate group.

Tonight, hubby is going to grill a steak for us and I will make a salad to go with it.  Tomorrow I am heading to the unfriendly car dealership as I am owed a refund on an extended warranty I purchased on my old car.  I have called them about it but they have never returned my call.  Yup, I will park my bum in their office until I am serviced!

OK, that is all for me.  I need to go and get dinner going. (I still have not baked that bread!)

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

WEEK 7 OF YOP 9

This post is being done in record time.  Normally we go to Mass on Saturday evening.  Unfortunately we were unable to go last night as we were see off our BFF's son to the military.  I have about 30 minutes before I need to get ready for Mass.  Let's see if I can complete this update in that amount of time.  Ready................Set.......................GO!!!!!

There is a new project happening in my fiber world.

I have started crocheting Victorian Lace pattern squares.  After plugging along on my knitting projects, I felt like I was not making any progress and felt my mojo slipping away.  My cure for that is to find something that can be completed rapidly.

There are 10 completed squares so far.  Now that I have the pattern memorized, it takes about an hour to complete a square, including weaving in the ends.  My list originally stated I wanted to do the Polly Plum squares but.....................they are so intricate and involved.  These squares I can do while watching TV at night with the hubby.

The RCR socks were also worked on a bit this week.

Guess which one got more love.  LOL  The top one has 2.5 more inches before the beginning of the toe.   It is getting there, slowly but surely.  

That is all on the crafting front.  Not too much on the life area either.  Baked 2 loaves of bread last Sunday and they turned out fantastic!   The backyard has all it's yard art back in place.  There has been several days of water aerobics in my pool.  We have brand new bath towels in our house and the old nasty ones have been bagged up for donations.  We found the new THIRSTY towels at Costco for $6 each!  What a deal that was.  Got all my baking supplies stored in air tight containers and labeled.  Played Trivia on Wednesday night again but did not win.  Had a Holy Day of Obligation on Thursday so went to Mass that morning.  Had a potluck dinner Friday night with a lovely group of people from our church.  And then of course had the dinner last night to send off a soldier to his training camp.

Today we are heading to Mass shortly.  I plan on baking some more bread today as well as doing some laundry that has been neglected all week.  We are going to be lazy and have homemade pizza for dinner tonight.  We found cauliflower crust pizza kits at Coscto.  I will add some pepperoni and extra cheese and put them on the grill to cook.  Ta Da.......dinner all done.

Hope your day is splendid.

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

WOOHOO..........done with 7 minutes to spare!

QUESTIONS?????

Once again it is time for me to answer some questions that have been posed the last couple of weeks.  Here we go!

What type of yarn do you use? Wool or cotton or acrylic? (Sam)

This question was concerning the yarn I use for my socks.  I use Diversity Yarn by Plymouth Yarn Co.  It is 93% acrylic, 7% polyester (Elasthane).  It wears so well.  I have yet to mend any sock I have made with it.  Yet all the wool socks I have made for hubby have already needed repair.  

What to look for in a no show no slip sock?!? (Becki)

If you are not a sock knitter (which at this point you said you are not), There are some great no show no slip socks on Amazon.  Here is the link. Hubby and I have them and they are truly no show no slip.  Very light weight too.

don't tomatoes and peppers need pollinators? (Sam)

I had to do a google search on this.  You are able to grow both plants indoors without any pollinators (bees).  Although they said you need to look for specific tomato plants that are happy being indoors and their fruit will probably not be as big as if they were outside.

what an Arizona Room is (Liz)

It is also know as a sun room.  Ours looked a lot like this.  We had 24 feet of glass doors like this photo.  It would get beastly hot in the summertime and made my kitchen and dining room unbearable to be in since they opened up into that room.  So a few  years ago, we removed all the glass door and enclosed it with dry wall and put in french door and a window.  It has dropped the temperature in that room about 20 degree F.  

will you share as you make the cooler into a garden? (Becki)

Of course I will.  Still researching what would be best to grow in there.  The nice thing is, I can plant anything I want at anytime since it is in a temperature controlled environment.

That is it for Q&A.  Thanks so much for your interest.  It is now time for me to go and take a little dip in the pool.  Hubby and I have been worker bees for the past 3 hours and I need a little refreshing break.

Until next time........................happy crafting!

WEEK 6 OF YOP 9

Where did this past week go?  We are almost to the middle of August.  Our schools all started last week.  Pre-season football (American) started last Thursday.  Does this mean fall is knocking on our door?  Have you started any crafting for the upcoming Christmas season?   This year, there will not be any handmade gifts coming from my house.  I doubt I will even do Christmas ornaments this year.  I just am not feeling it.  Maybe because it is still so dad-gum hot outside.  

Did anyone else have a blah crafting week?  I sure did.  There were several days when I didn't even touch any of my items I am working on.  Can you believe that?  Explanation for that will come at the end of my post.

I did get the heels done on the RCR socks.

The striping of this yarn is one of my favorites.  But then I am a big fan of black, white and gray anyway.  These socks are the only thing I worked this week.  I am at the mindless part now, so I can watch TV while working on these without too much issue.

There is a new endeavor afloat. Indoor container gardening.  As you know, we are decluttering our enclosed Arizona room.  While getting rid of 'stuff' we no longer use or want we had to decide what to do with this:

This cooler was a blessing for many years when we were having large pool parties.  It holds copious amounts of beverages and keeps them nice and cold for quite a while.  It has been used by several friends and family for parties at their homes too.  Poor Mr Cooler now has a slow leak that we can not find.  There is not a visible crack in the lining but after a couple of hours, water starts to drip out of it.  We were getting ready to take it to the dump when I came up with the bright idea to turn it into an indoor planter.  I have seen a video of someone else turning this exact cooler into an herb garden.  The decision has not been made yet, as to what I am going to plant in it.  The toss up has been herbs, lettuce, spinach, peppers, or even tomatoes.  My brother in law is a professional gardener and I have gone to him for advice.  He told me to grow what I wanted.  BIG HELP!

The way you work this into a garden is, line the bottom third with river rock for drainage. Then you add your soil and any nutrients needed for whatever item you will be growing.  I am not worried about it leaking as the soil will hold most of the water.  If herbs are grown, they really don't take a lot of water to keep them happy and healthy.  Same with lettuce and spinach.  I have never grown peppers or tomatoes, so have no idea of what they take to grow and produce.  Anyway, I am looking forward to getting this started.  Since it will be indoors, I do not have to worry about our sweltering heat or any frosts we might get.  Win Win!

That is it for crafting/gardening today.  Now on to life in general.

Last Sunday, after I finished blogging, I got a call from my local son who wanted to know if we had an extra baby gate.  Since I knew they were not having a baby I had to ask why.

This guy found his forever home with them.  All my grand daughter wanted for her 14th bday was a puppy.  She wanted a puppy so she could watch it grow and be her best buddy.  Hello Thor!  

She is very happy to have this little rascal to call her own.  He is only 11 weeks old and full of life.  She did not realize how 'needy' puppies are nor how much work goes into training them.  But she agreed to be the one to take responsibility of it all.  He is going to be a wonderful pet for them and Josie and Thor are going to become inseparable.  He already follows her everywhere she goes.

I had 'kid' duty this week.  Her dad had to go out of town unexpectedly so I was given the honor of picking her up after school for 3 days.  It was her first 3 days of HIGH SCHOOL!  I so enjoyed hearing all about her adventures during her first week of school.  She is loving it and I am so glad.  I loved my high school years.

Another thing happened this week that kept me away from my crafts.

We had our artificial turf replaced.  Our original turf started loosing it's green grass.  Thankfully it was under warranty so all we had to pay for was the installation.  The company said we were the first ones where this had happened.  They have been in business for over 20 years too!  Our warranty was due to expire 1 month after we reported the issue.  Talk about a close call on that one.  So while this was going on, I had the privilege of taking our dogs to the local water retention basin so they could relieve themselves.  Since it was well over 100 degrees, I was not able to walk them there so they got a few car rides there and back.  I felt pretty silly driving 2 blocks for them to go potty.  The installation took 2 full days so that cut into my crafting time too.

Monday hubby's new workbench was delivered.  It weighs about 250lbs.  Needless to say, he needed help getting it into the house.  Our son was available to come over and help him get it in the front door.  Tuesday, our friend and his son came over and got it moved from the front door into our Arizona room.  Hubby and I worked for over an hour getting all the drawers back in it.  They came out so easily but going back in was another story.

On Wednesday nights we play trivia at our local sports bar and grill.  We came in third this week and got a gift certificate towards food there.  

Thursday is the day the grass got completed.  It was nice to let the dogs have free rein again.  That night we had adoration at our cancer shrine.  This is a weekly commitment we have been doing for several years now.

We had a memorial Mass for our friends' parents, on Friday.  The reception was a potluck and was so much fun.  (I know it sounds strange to have fun at a funeral reception.) That took up most of that afternoon and evening.  

Saturday hubby and I made a Costco run that took 90 minutes.  Then you have to put everything away afterwards.   We usually attend Mass on Saturday and this week was no exception.  After Mass we were invited to the Knights of Columbus installation dinner.  We had never attended one before and it was very nice. That killed that afternoon and evening.

I have been up since 4 this morning.  Insomnia still has it's hold on me a couple days a week.  That's OK.  It gives me alone time for me to plan my day.  This day will see me making bread (fingers crossed it works this time), doing some laundry, putting things back where they belong in the backyard (we have yard art) and maybe even getting in some swimming today.  Oh, there might be a little nap in there somewhere too.  Hubby is going to smoke some St Louis Ribs for dinner tonight.  We found them at Costco yesterday.  They are already seasoned and ready for the smoker!  

I hope your week is filled with lots of love and laughter.

Until next time.................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!

YOP WEEK 5

Happy Sunday everyone.  It is once again time to take a look at my crafting week and also a few 'real life' happenings from the past week.

I have finished objects this week.  Strike up the band!

Hubby's RCR socks are off the needles and he has already worn them.  What a fun sock to make.  This time I used a heel flap and they actually are no show in his tennis shoes.  He also is happy with the fact they do not slip down while walking.  Win, Win!

The other finish is.......................drum roll please................................

The baby blanket!  I got it off the needles yesterday morning and immediately wove in all the ends.  It is now folded nicely with the rest of the baby items and will be mailed to the expectant parents as soon as I find a box to fit it all into.  That was over 500 yards out of my stash for this blanket!

Of course, once I finished the blanket I was itching to cast on something right away.  All I knew is I wanted something that did not sit on my lap.  UGH!!!!!  That blanket nearly did me in this past month.  I still have my cardi to work on but, it lays on my lap.  It will need to be in time out until the weather backs off the 110 plus days.  Even with the A/C on, it is still too much.  And now, we have humidity to go with the heat so, nope, there needs to be something small to work on.

Hello RCR socks!  (Rose City Roller)  Since hubby is so in love with them and I have a plethora of sock yarn in my stash.......................

These were cast on yesterday afternoon, just before we left for Mass.  I managed to do 6 rows on each sock before we left.  It was several hours later before we were home.  (We always go out to eat after Mass, with friends) Once home, I picked them up again and worked on them while watching a couple of our recorded shows. They are now ready for me to do the heel flap on them.  Once again I am using Diversity self striping yarn.  Doing them concurrently makes it seem like they are done quicker.

So this is how the list looks this week:

YOP 9 GOALS

Finish Boxy Sweater started in 2015

Finish Eva Shawl started in 2011

Finish Forrest Path Shawl started in 2018

Summer Top for me
  Spotting Clouds ( this time with fingering yarn )

Cardigan for me
  It Really Fits  Cardigan 7/1

Short Socks
  Rose City Roller 7/4>7/31
  Rose City Roller  8/3

Regular Socks

Project bags/totes

Market bags

Produce Bags

Tissue Box Covers

Plastic Canvas Nativity bought in 2009  7/17

Bookmarks

Shawls for both Prayer Shawl and Personal

Blanket/Throw
  Polly Plum Squares
  Baby Blanket  7/12>8/3


Dishcloths
  DW Pattern (no longer available online!)

Doilies/Table Runners

Baby Items
Wee Sherlock  7/2>7/9
Little Boy Blue  7/10>7/10
Easy-Peasy No Sew, Stay On Baby Booties  7/11>7/12

Purchase of yarn is prohibited!!!!!  I have over 21,000 miles of yarn to play with this year.  (38,481,140 yards)

Any other project that falls into my lap.

That is all the crafting news for the week........on to life

Hubby came home from Vegas Tuesday.  He and his brother did make a game plan for the house.  Now it is up to the brother to get it put into place.  I was glad to have my husband back home.  

Our local Grand Daughter celebrated her 14th bday this week.  We did our traditional celebration at Organ Stop Pizza.  We have gone there every year since she was born.  It houses the worlds largest Wurlitzer pipe organ.  The people that play it are phenomenal!  Here is a photo of the organ itself.

This is only half of the pipes and other fun items that this organ works with.  There are actual horns, cymbals, drums, xylophone etc.  It is such a fun time.

The only other main event this past week was me TRYING to make bread the old fashioned way.  The dough turned out great.  It rose perfectly but someone had they fingers on the wrong keys when they typed in the temp for cooking the bread.  The recipe calls for 450F!  Dude!!!!!!!!!!  I had 2 door stops when I took it out of the oven.  How about 350F!  As much baking as I do, you would think I would have caught that little detail.  Nope, missed it.  So this week, I will once again make that recipe but change the baking temp.  I really enjoyed the process of kneading and rising and all that.  It is also a recipe that is half white bread flour and half spelt flour.  I even added some milled flax seed to it for some extra nutritional value.  Fingers crossed it will work out the next time.

That is all for today.  To see what other YOPers are up to click on this link.

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