YOP WEEK 48

 

Another week is in the books for this year of projects.  For those of us who are doing the July - June schedule, we are 4 weeks away from the end of year 10.  This tells me I should get thinking about what craft related items I would like to accomplish over the next year.  But, before I put on ye old thinking cap, let me show you what I did do this week.

Yup, the shawl is still on my needles.  The green marker is where I was last week.  I accomplished 20 rows.  There are 17 more to go before I can bind off and then find an area big enough for me to block it.  My hope and dream is to have this totally done, including blocking, before I leave next Sunday for a get away.  I am now knitting over 400 stitches per row so the going is a bit slower.  I am still in love with the shape and size of this shawl.  It will actually be a true shawl and not just a neck warmer.

The only other thing I did this week was this:

I colored.  It has been over 3 years since I have picked up my colored pencils and worked on any coloring books.  This is in my new journal and I was really drawn to it.  I think I will pull out my adult coloring books now and work on them a little bit again.  I truly enjoyed this.

That is all I did this week in crafting.  In other news.......

I reconnected with my brother's wife after 2 years.  The last time we talked was about 3 months after my brother died.  She and I both were having a hard time dealing with his passing (which was very sudden).  We agreed, when she was ready to reconnect, she would reach out and see if I was also ready.  Well, I got a lovely letter from her last weekend.  I called her immediately and we talked for over an hour.  It was wonderful to catch up with her and feel connected to her again.  

This weekend we have had the privilege of having Josie spend it with us.  Her folks went out of town and she had to stay for her play's dress rehearsals.  It has been nice to have her hanging around for the past 3 days.  It is amazing how much life a young person can bring into your home.

This coming week will see us being busy getting ready for our little get away.  There is a house to clean, laundry to do, a birthday to celebrate (mine), dogs to prepare for a sitter, and a shawl to complete!  There are other small things to do and hopefully everything will get done easily.  Hubby is still working on getting our email bills sent to our new gmail accounts.  He is hoping to get that completed by tomorrow.  I have gotten all the ones I care about transferred now.  We have gotten our steaming service connected and it is working good so that is another thing off our plate.  It will just be a matter of getting used to using it.

It is time for me to go and wake up my household so we can get this day going.

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

If you would like to join in on Year of Projects, HERE is the link.  It is FREE and so much fun.  You will meet some lovely people from all over the world.  So, if you have a craft you love to do, come on over and join us. 

WEEK 47

 

I almost did not post today.  There has only been one project worked on this past week.

The shawl........................That's all I have grabbed in the past 7 days.  Completion is close.  Oh so close.  I am not sure I will be able to complete it this coming week but that is my goal.  There are 39 more pattern rows to do and then 8 rows of edging. (As usual, my math was off last week when I said I only had 63 rows left.  It was really 89! rows)  It will be close.  That would be a total of 47 rows.  I would have been further along this week but dropped several stitched in the lace section.  That required me tinking back 6 rows to capture the dropped stitches.  That took almost an entire day to tink and then reknit those rows.  

Hubby's socks sit next to me and just stare at me.  They think they have done something wrong and are in time out.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  As soon as the shawl is completed, they will be back in my hands and shown lots of love.

I got to spend part of the day Thursday with Thor.  My job was to keep him from bothering Josie while she took her AP World History test.  It is a 3.5 hour test so she needed him to be quiet and let her do her work.  The school decided to have the kids take the test online and then they did the rest of their day online too.  Otherwise, she is back to in person school full time now.

My dearest friend from Las Vegas contacted my hubby this past week to find out if there was anyway I could travel with him to Vegas the first week of June.  (He is going there to finalize some things for his mom.)  I quickly started getting things set in motion so I could leave town for a week.  A dog sitter was first on the list (Check).  Next was deciding if I would drive up with the hubby or fly up later that night after Josie's performance in Godspell.  (Check)  Make an airline reservation for the last flight out of Phoenix. (Check)  I am set!  This will be so much fun.  She and I already have plans to play with dough in her kitchen, spend time in her pool and sit and knit to our hearts content.  It will be like a vacation for me.  Not so much for hubby though.  Fingers crossed, she will take me to a yarn shop while there since there isn't one close to me anymore.

Today I plan on doing one load of laundry, working out just a few meal plans (we were good and ate leftovers from our meals last week so only need 2-3 days of meal plans), go to the grocery store for just a few fresh veggie/fruit items, and work on that shawl!  I have a good audio book to listen to while hubby is watching golf so that is good knitting time.

As for cutting off our cable TV, internet and phone............................the home phone is gone!  WOOHOO!  Our internet (email) is almost completely switched over to a gmail account.  Well, my emails are.  Hubby is still working on getting his done.  We have found a streaming service we enjoy (FuboTV) and should be switching over to that in the next week.  We figure by the time we leave for Las Vegas, we will have 'cut the cord' completely.  It feels good to finally be able to tell our cable provider goodbye.  They think because we are 'old' we can't figure out other options for TV, internet and phone.  Humprh!  They just messed with the wrong 'old' people.  Raising our bill by 1/3 in one month was not wise on their part and not even letting us know it was going to happen was their fatal mistake.  We have been with them for over 30 years too.  Then we found out that our bill was going to rise again the next month by another 1/3!  Have they lost their minds?

Our weather, for the past few days, has been glorious.  It has been in the 50's and 60's in the morning and only getting into the 80's in the afternoon.  That will all cease by Tuesday of this coming week.  We will be hitting the 100's from then on.  That's ok.  I knew it was coming and usually by this time of the year, we have been hitting 100 degrees many times.  So, we have actually had a nice spring this year.  The only problem with the past few days has been the wind.  It has been quite gusty and the pollen that is blowing around is horrendous.  You can actually see the yellow stuff blowing around you.  Luckily, I do not suffer from seasonal allergies, but my poor husband does.  

How are things going where you are?  Is it still springtime there or has the summer heat started to creep in already?

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

Monday

 IT'S MONDAY!

 It has been forever since I have posted more than once a week.  Well maybe not forever but it seems like it to me.

I woke up this morning full of energy and my RA was barely noticeable.  Why is it I always seem to have so much energy on Monday's?  I am not complaining.  I just wish I would have this much energy the rest of the week.

Anyway, I decided to take advantage of this feeling and get some stuff done.  First thing on my list was to make a loaf of bread.  

This is not sourdough.  It is my normal bread I make with 'stale' beer.  The sourdough starter I had on the kitchen counter got thrown out yesterday.  For some reason, we got a bottle of RO water that tasted like motor oil.  I used some of it to feed my starter.  YUCK!  But no worries.  I have plenty of discard in the fridge that I can take out and start feeding and it will become a very active starter for me.  In all honesty, sourdough takes quite a bit of time and patience.  Hence the reason, mine is in the fridge.  Hubby and I actually love my normal bread I make so it's all good.  I am sure I will get back into a sourdough mood in the near future.  But for tight now, I just want simple bread that doesn't take 12-24 hours to get ready for the oven.

While the bread was rising and baking I managed to empty the dishwasher, do two loads of laundry, clean veggies and work on my S&S journal.  It is now time for me to kick back and pick up the knitting needles or my cross stitch and do a little crafting.  

I have also been busy getting my emails switched over to my new address.  My old email is linked to our cable company.  Since we want to disconnect from them I am working hard on getting everything switched over within the next 30 days.  Today, I spent a goodly amount of time unsubscribing from several companies that keep sending me mail I never open.  Seem if you purchase once from some of these companies, you are on their email list FOREVER!

How is your Monday treating you?

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

YEAR 10/WEEK 46

 

Another week has flown past.  No finishes this week and no new cast ons.  Can you believe it?

CRAFTING

Same socks.

They saw the most love this past week.  Probably because they are a simple knit and I don't need to think.

Same shawl.

Only about 8 rows added to it.  I do have a deadline for this which is the end of June.  It is quite doable as long as I work a bit each day on it.  I only have 63 more rows to do before bind off.  Yup, totally doable.

No cross stitch got worked on this week.  My RA in my left hand has been a bit troublesome this past week.  That makes it a bit difficult to work any of my projects which might be the reason no much got done this week.  (I am left handed, remember?) Bummer.

Oh, I lied.  I do have a finish this week.

I did this puzzle!  When the hand hurt, this is the perfect thing to do.  It took just under week to complete this one.  It was 1000 pieces but because of the colors and textures, it really wasn't too hard.

TREASURES

I got one treasure in the mail this week.  My Silk & Sonder journal/planner for June.

  Excitement is too 'calm' of a word to describe how I feel about this treasure.  Each month a new journal/planner is sent out with a different 'theme' to it.  June's is all about play.  Inside there is so much 'stuff' to do, contemplate, create, track, inspire, and plan.  It is amazing!

This is just one of the weekly pages in the book.  It is not even the page where you put in your 'to do' list or journal about your day.  This was my birthday present to myself.  If you want to learn more go to Silk&Sonder.  No, I do not receive any compensation for advertising for them.  I just think this is a fantastic product and will help me with some areas of my life I need a bit of guidance in.   

LIFE

Swimming season is just about ready to happen here.  Our pool is just now getting to 80F.  Unfortunately, we have a bit of a cool down this week which will drop it again.  Once that cool down is over, it should heat back up quickly and I will be venturing into it for some much needed water aerobics.  

Like I said earlier, I ended up with some major RA issues with my left hand this week.  It still has not settled down completely.  The pain and swelling is manageable with the help of my 'emergency' meds I take when this happens.  It may sound like I am complaining but believe me I am not.  I have had this disease for 40 years and am blessed that I am still able live a pretty normal life.  

Last night, I made out our menus for the next 10 days and even got a grocery list together.  Hubby has a zoom church meeting this morning and I will head to the grocery store while he is doing that.  That will give me the rest of the day to enjoy some crafting time and listen to my audio book while hubby watches golf.

Hubby and I are trying to decide what to do about our TV cable.  The bill has gotten so high lately.  We have looked into streaming services and found FuboTV and have even given it a trial for a week.  It has all the channels we watch plus a few that we will probably start watching.  We can get the streaming service through our cell phone company for a fairly reasonable price.  Actually for about 1/3 of what we are paying for cable.  But...............yes, there is always a but.  We would need to change our email address to a gmail account.  I know this doesn't seem like a huge deal to most folks.  Yet, we have had this email address since 1988!  Do you realize how many businesses we will need to contact to get that all changed over?  All of our monthly bills, church communication, warranty info, blog communication,  etc. come to our email addresses.  My head hurts just thinking about trying to get everything switched over smoothly.  Hmmmmm.....maybe this will be my goal for today.  To set up a gmail account and start getting my emails switched over to it.

Looks like a pretty normal week coming up.  YIPEE!  I am ready for one of those.

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

WEEK 45

 

Good Grief......week 45 already.  Why does the second half of YOP seem to go so fast?  I do have some things to show you this week.  No finishes but I worked on quite a bit.  I will warn you, my entire post this week is a little longer than normal.  So, I will divide it into sections.  That way, you can read what you want and skip what does not interest you.  

CRAFTING

I finally got hubby to try on his new socks to make sure they fit the way he likes them.  (Not that I would have done anything to them if they didn't LOL)

He loves them just the way they are.  Do you see Enrique's leg in there.  He is such a photo bomber.

I worked many more rows on my shawl.  In fact, I can no longer get a photo of the entire shawl since it is scrunched up on the needles.  But I do have photos of each section.

The lace section is so much fun to work.  It is pretty much memorized now which makes it go a bit faster.  This part will be on my back.  I like the idea of it being an open weave.  It makes it the perfect weight for cool evenings or buildings with super cold A/C.

The sides are solid which makes for nice warm arms.  You can really see the gradient colors now.  Last week I said I was half way done.  Well, I don't know who taught me math, but I was only 1/4 of the way done.  I am now officially half way done with this part of the pattern.  Then there is the edging to do.  Each row increases 4 stitches and by the time I bind off there will be 481 stitches on my needles.  

I also worked on one of my cross stitch pieces this past week.

It is starting to take shape now.  I did need to un-stitch some of it as I counted wrong.  It is all fixed now and I work on it in the mornings when the house is quiet and I can concentrate.  Evenings are for knitting with the TV.

There was a cast on this week too.

Toe up Two at a Time Socks.  Again, I am doing contrasting toes, heels as well as cuffs.  The solid blue yarn has been in my stash for several years.  The variegated yarn was purchased last year from my non-fiber festival.  It is from Blackcat Fibers and the colorway is Conchology in nomad sock.  Blue is my husband's favorite color so he is already excited to see these being made.

TREASURES

It has been quite a while since I have attempted TAAT socks from the toe up.  Mostly because the needles I have do not make me happy to work with.  That changed this week.  I ordered myself a circular needle in 2.50mm (US 1.5) from Signature Needles Art.  I love their needles and have all of their circulars......well, now I do.  They just came out with this size of needle and it is my preferred size for sock knitting.  It fits my gauge perfectly.  Amazing how just .25mm can change gauge.

These are the needles.  I chose the stiletto 5 inch tip and 40 inch overall length.  This was my Mother's Day gift to myself.  These needles are not cheap.  I have tried so many brands of needles in the past.........These are the only ones I do not have to fight with to knit lacey patterns as well as lace weight yarns.  

I ordered My Birthday present yesterday.  I know, my Birthday is still a few weeks away, but I wanted it delivered in time for my birthday.

SILK & SONDER

I wish I could post a photo for you of what I ordered.  Unfortunately, I can't.  What it is, is a monthly journal that is sent to you.  In it you can keep track of all sorts of things as well as to do lists, and journaling about your day.  The one I got at the first of the year is not doing it for me.  It is great for me to write a to do list in but as for journaling or keeping track of other areas of my life, it is not working at all.  I was also lucky enough to have a coupon to apply which brought the price down quite a bit.  I went ahead and ordered the years subscription which will start on June 1.  (that is my birthday!)

Today is Mother's Day in the US.  Last night, our daughter and her husband took us out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant.   What a lovely evening we had.  The food was wonderful, the company exceptional and it made my heart happy.  They also got me a personalized cup.

If you are having a hard time reading it let me tell you what it says.  "This is what a bad ass bonus mom looks like".  Yes, I am our daughter's stepmom.  But since Cinderella made all stepmother's look like horrible people, I have been blessed with the term, Bonus Mom.  

And the last of my treasures is from my husband.  He surprised me this morning with gifts.

Two books by Matthew Kelly.  I love Matthew Kelly.  I have almost all of his books as well as a CD set of his.  If you have never heard of him you can look him up on Google.  He is from Australia and I could listen to him all day just to hear his accent.  LOL  He has a great sense of humor and is a fantastic motivational speaker.  

LIFE IN GENERAL

This past week has been great.  We are finally going to be adding solar panels to our home to help with our energy consumption and bill.  We have wanted to do this for many years but our electric company was making more expensive for us to go solar than to just use their energy.  After several town hall meetings and lots of consumer complaints, the electric company decided to make it so solar usage would be a smart move on the consumer's part.  Fingers crossed, our panels will be installed and ready to power us by the first of July.  That is when we really use a lot of electricity to keep our house cool.  With our town having about 325 days of sunshine, it only makes sense to go solar.

I had 2 days of dog sitting this past week too.  Thor is really developing some bad separation anxiety.  His owners are now looking into getting him a playmate.  They are hoping it will help him be a bit calmer when they leave. As well as giving him another dog to rough house with.  I think it is a great idea.  I know it has been so much better having 2 dogs at our house than just having 1 dog.

I got up early this morning and am in the process of making sourdough bread.  I am hoping it will be all done and ready to eat by dinner time tonight.  It has been quite a while since I have made sourdough.  I thought my starter had died this week.  I forgot to feed it one day and when I looked at it the next day, it was all brown and gross on top with a nasty scum.  I pulled the scum off, discarded quite a bit of the started and started feeding it again.  It came back quickly and is super active now.  

If it had died, I was not too worried as I have discard in the fridge I could have pulled out and started making active again.  It is always good to have a plan B.

I hope all of you have a wonderful day.  

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

(PRAY FOR INDIA!)

WEEK 44

 

Hello again.  I am back home and it feels great to be sleeping in my own bed again.  The only item I have worked on all week is my Mehujaa Shawl.

Can you see the gray starting to creep in?  By the time the shawl is completed, it will be black.  I love the soft color changing gradient of this yarn.  There are 19 pattern rounds completed.  A total of 36 rounds need to be done before moving on to the edging.  Each pattern round increases12 stitches and is compromised of 6 rows.  I am just past the halfway point and am still in love with this.

Let me rephrase that last sentence.  Today, I am in love with this.  Friday night, I was a bit miffed with the whole thing when I noticed I had dropped 4 stitches in the middle of the lace section.  I ended up tinking back 8 rows to be able to get the stitch count correct again.  I spent the rest of Friday evening and most of Saturday morning reknitting those rows.  Saturday evening, I was on a roll.  No more mistakes and I was able to complete 4 pattern rounds while watching movies with the husband.

That is all the crafting news.  In other news.................................

I returned home on Tuesday afternoon and spent the rest of the week dog sitting and teen chauffeuring.  I will get the honor of doing that again for the first 3 days of this coming week.

 Thor loves to go for rides in the car.  He especially likes going to pick up 'his girl' from High School.  He watches each kid as they come by.  It amazes me how quickly he can spot his girl in the crowd.  He gets so excited the minute he sees her.  He jumps into the back seat so she can get in the car and then loves all over her.

When I went over on Tuesday afternoon to check on Thor, I was very surprised by what I saw.

These used to be incense sticks.  They were laying all over the house.  He has never damaged anything before.

I found this box of incense outside.  It was not damaged but I have a feeling it would have been if I had not shown up when I did.

He also pulled out the box with his harness and leash in it.  My husband had taken the teen to school that morning and I think Thor was a bit put out that he did not get to go with them.  This was a whole new thing for him to do.  Poor buddy.  He is just used to his master working from home all day and going for a ride twice a day.  When the master is out of town on business, it messes him up.

Today, I will be doing a couple loads of laundry.  I was able to make menus and grocery shop on Friday so that is out of the way.  There are audio books to listen to while crafting and exercising today.  I see two dogs getting their baths and pedicure today too.  Yup, another fun filled Sunday at mi casa.

Until Next Time........................................Happy Crafting & Stay Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS:  I have been notified by blogger, that after July 2021, the email notification will no longer be available.  So if you have signed up for emails notifying you of my blog postings, it will no longer happen after July.  Check out Bloglovin.com.  It is where you can add all the URL's of blogs you read on a regular basis.  I have been using it for years and love it.