WEEK 3 OF YOP 14

 

Hey there!  Lots to tell y'all about this week so let's get right to it!

CRAFTING

There was crafting this week along with a finish!

Rose City Roller socks have been going places with me and getting a few rows here and there.  They will be getting more attention this week since I have completed.......

The Habitation Throw.  This is more of a lap sized throw and will be turned into our Prayer Shawl ministry at church. It will be given to someone suffering from cancer.  Making this with worsted weight yarn makes it go so much quicker than the original suggestion of fingering weight.  Making it during a heat wave of 115F (46C) was not the smartest thing I ever did.  Even with our A/C running as well as a fan blowing on me, it was really warm to have this on my lap.  However, after going to the infusion center with my son, I know this will be a welcomed lapghan for those who sit in there for several hours during treatments.

There was also progress on this:

It may not look like much got completed but, that is over 100 stitches done this past week.  In that 100 stitch section there are 15 different colors being used!  This will be lovely when completed though.  I keep reminding myself of that.  I just wish this was a portable project.  The enjoyment I get from working on it is huge.  Here is how I keep track of my progress too:

Luckily for me, the lady that started the project for me, also marked what she had done this way.  This has always been my go to for keeping track of where I am.  I know there are apps for phones that help, but I am a paper and pencil (highlighter) type of gal.  Must be the bookkeeper in me.

I am not sure you will consider this crafting, but I do.  Therefore, I will be putting this in this category from now on.  As you all know, I have been working with sourdough since the pandemic.  There have been multiple starters come and go in that time period.  Mainly, in the heat of the summer, I lose my starter to pink mold.  My kitchen is the hottest room of our house and there is nothing I can do about it.  We have tried everything to cool that room more but nothing works.  I have had to keep my starter in the fridge but when I want to make anything, it needs to be set out a day or two before use.  By the time it is getting active again, it molds.  My best friend in Vegas told me about a sourdough 'home' to help maintain a constant temperature for the starter.  It can be cold, so no feeding is needed for several days, or warmed up, so the starter gets active and ready for use.

Say hello to my new home for my starter.  It is tiny and so very quiet.  I love it.

Now, say hello to Dotty!  She just got started on Friday so is very tiny.  She will grow quickly in the next week and I should be able to start using her next week sometime.  I am so excited to be able to actually make sourdough items in the summertime now.  The home was purchased from King Arthur.  They put them on sale last week plus I had reward $$ to use for it and shipping was free.  The jars were purchased from Amazon during Amazon days last week.  I am a happy lady!

LIFE

I was pretty busy this  past week.  Josh and Josie took off for Seattle on Tuesday.  They are staying with Stacie's parents.  I envy them as it is a beautiful 80F (26C) for their high each day.  With them gone, Thor needed to have a little extra loving.  So, I volunteered to go and sit with him for a few hours each day.

While he was busy 'protecting' the house (see above photo), I worked on helping keep their pool clean.  They have a huge tree in their backyard that drops leaves quicker than a cheetah runs!  It is a constant battle.  But the tree offers some wonderful shade and no one wants to remove it.  It only took about 20 minutes a day to keep up with the maintenance.  Unfortunately, our pools are so warm right now, it is like hoping into a bathtub.  Not refreshing at all.

Friday, I had a thyroid ultrasound.  I am waiting for the results from it.  They person doing the ultrasound did tell me the nodule on the right side was bigger than originally thought and there is a smaller one on the left side.  She also told me my lymph nodes are clear and normal sized which is great news.  Next up will probably be a biopsy of the nodules and then we will take it from there.

I have 2 funnies for you today.  They are kind of related so I had to put both of them on here today.

And....................................

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

WEEK 2 and Goals

 

As you probably noticed, I was absent last week for week one of YOP 14.  Hubby and I went to Las Vegas with a group of friends and family.

This was us having dinner one evening to celebrate a birthday and anniversary.  There were 18 of us in total! What a fun trip.  Yet, I was very happy to be home after 4 days away.

I have had quite a hard time coming up with goals for this, my 14th year of doing YOP.  When I first started I had specific goals I wanted to attain.  As I grew in knowledge of my crafts, I became more general in my goals.  This year, I have decided to not make any real goals.  I have several WIP's that have languished for many moons.  Those will be the things I want to concentrate on the most.  My yarn stash is dwindling, other than my fingering weight yarn.  My sport/DK weight is depleted.  My worsted has just enough to do a few more prayer shawls.  My 'specialty' yarn has remained the same for several years.  But, the fingering yarn seems to multiply every time I go into my stash boxes!  I mean, how many socks can one person own?

So, that being said, here is a look at my 'goals' for this coming year.

WIP CARRY OVERS

Madonna and Child XS 8/7/20 -

Rolling on the River 3/20/24 -

MKAL Gnome 4/20/24 -

RCR 4/23/34 -

Habitation 5/20/24 -

Madonna and Child XS returned to me on  6/18/24 -

Felt Christmas Ornaments 10/18/22 - 

GOALS

Find ways to use up a plethora of fingering weight yarn!!!!

Mainly focus on the WIP's that are begging to be completed.

Enjoy the process of what ever craft I decide to focus on at the moment.

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Now, a look at what I have accomplished since my last blog update 2 weeks ago.

My RCR sock got some much needed attention this past week.  Doing a heel is my favorite part of any sock.  Well, that, and closing the toe.  This is the perfect project to take along with me to all my appointments coming up.

The Habitation Throw is moving slowly.  I am decreasing now which makes me happy.  With our temps being so hot, this has not been my number 1 items to work on.  The best part of this project is......It has used up all of the blue leftover yarn and is using up quite a bit of the creamy peach I had laying around.

This Madonna and Child got quite a bit of love too.  When I received it, it looked like this.

I do enjoy working on xs again.  The only drawback is not being able to 'watch' TV while doing it.  This piece has so many colors in it and they change every few stitches.  I really need to keep a close eye on the pattern and count carefully.  There are 9 pages of charts for this along with 43 different colors.  When I received this back from the person who had promised to do if for me, there were 5 colors missing.  They got ordered, were received and tagged and bagged so I could get this going.  It will be a full coverage piece............my first and possibly my last lol.

And now you are caught up on my crafting progress.With the trip to Vegas and all the medical testing I am having done at the present time, crafting has kind of been slow going.  It also looks like there will be more medical testing to come as they found a LARGE (2.9cm) nodule on my thyroid while doing my Carotid artery ultrasound.  (BTW, the carotids are fine!) 

 

I do want to share a couple more photos from our trip last weekend.

Josh and his youngest cousin

Stacie and Josh watching patriotic laser show with music

Yes, we are all wearing sweatshirts.  The casino was like a meat locker even though it was 120F outside.

One last bit of crafting for you.  This time from my niece who is an artist and has her own shop.

She does these amazing collages of different dog breeds.  She does other mediums of art also.  Go check out her shop.  It is amazing!

Of course, I could not leave today without a bit of humor for you.

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

YOP Year 13 Wrap-up

 

Here we are at the last week of year 13 for my Year of Projects.  Was I productive this year?  Why, yes, yes I was.  Maybe not as much as I had hoped, but things did get accomplished.  Here is what I have completed.

8 pairs of socks

8 Shawls

2 mitts

2 slouch hats

4 gnomes

6 dishcloths

2 lapghans

1 baby sweater and hat

1 car decor

1 baby bunny

Do I have any favorites?  A few things really tickled me when finished.

The hats and mitts for my niece and her daughter.  Making for others and seeing the items being used is a huge plus for me.

My great granddaughter's baby set.

Gnomanda was my first 'female' gnome.  She was harder than I expected.  Yet, she is a favorite of mine.

The little bunny for my great niece.  She carries him everywhere with her.

This went into Josie's car.  They look so cute hanging from her mirror.  It was a quick project too.

Do you see a theme here?  It seems I enjoy knitting for others more than for myself.  

I do have a bit of an update on a project I have been working on for a few weeks.

The Habitation throw grew this past week.  I ran out of the blue (finally) and am back to using the pale, pale peach.  I am decreasing now so this will start to go a bit quicker, as each row has 2 less stitches.

I am working on my thoughts for next year.  I know what I want to do but not sure it is even feasible.  But then, why not shoot for the moon? Right?  I may not be posting on Sunday next week.  I will try but..............hubby and I along with 7 others, are heading to Las Vegas to celebrate our BFF's anniversary and a birthday.  We leave on the 4th and will return on the 8th.  

As for my medical issues..............Things are going well.  I have almost all my testing completed. (waiting on results)  My medications seem to be agreeing with me now that I have been on them for a couple of weeks.  I did need to change one of them again as the second one she put me on caused some major issues.  Everything is stable as of now.  I feel good and the fatigue I felt in the beginning of all this is gone and I am back to being my ornery self again.  Thank you for all your kind thoughts.

Here are your chuckles for the week.................

And, that's a wrap!

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

MEDICAL MARVEL

 

Well, what a fascinating time I am having with being a senior citizen!  I have always been in very good health until 2 weeks ago when my body decided going into Afib would be a fun little adventure.  Now, while I did manage to go back into normal sinus rhythm on my own, I still needed to address the face my heart was playing games with me.

My follow up appointment with my cardiologist was yesterday.  She gave me an EKG which she said came out beautiful!  Great news!  Then she hit me with the bombs.  One after another.

1. Need an echo cardiogram - scheduled for today

2. change my blood thinner to see if it helps with my fatigue - today

3. Get set up for an at home sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea - waiting for referral

4. Get a nuclear stress test - scheduled for next month

5. Have a carotid ultra sound - Waiting for paperwork to get to lab

6. Start a statin in 2 weeks

7. lab work up in 10 weeks

8. 150 minutes of cardio a week - Oh My! Glad to have in home cardio machine

9. severely limit alcohol beverages or even stop them -not a problem, water is my friend

10. Call RA Dr to find out what to take for flares since no longer able to take NSAIDs - done

I walked out of there with my head spinning.  I think my husband was a bit shell shocked too.  I have always been the care giver.  No one has had to take care of me.........EVER!  I chose this Dr for 2 reasons; 1, I know her personally 2, she is one of the best in her field.  So, I will be doing as she requests and do my best to follow all of her advice.  Afterall, that is what I pay her for.

Thankfully, I have not had any other episodes since my release from the hospital.   I feel fantastic other than fatigue.  Pretty sure that is due to some of my new meds.  

In between appointments, I am working on my ideas for my next year of YOP (year of projects).  I have a couple of knitting projects that will be carried over from this year as well as my long term cross stitch projects.  Other than that, I do not have a clue.  I did see that hubby threw away 2 pair of homemade short socks.  He said not to worry about that as he has a gazillion more pairs in his draw.  Darn!  Those are easy knits too.

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

WEEK 52!!!

 

Once again we are coming to the close of the YOP year.  This is year 13 and this week will be my last progress report. (maybe)  Next week I will be doing a recap of the past year.

I was home more this week.  No hospital for me this week!  I seem to be doing well on my new meds although they are making me quite tired and fatigued.  I have found myself falling asleep while knitting which is not always a very good thing.  Here is my week in review.

Monday - we had visits from our daughter and Josie.  Dinner was out with our BFFs to celebrate all of our June birthdays.

Tuesday - Got some laundry done and took Josh to his therapy appointment.

Wednesday - More laundry and then off to Josh's house to learn more about his optune device and the best way for him to make it more comfortable during our hot months.

Thursday - Back to Josh's to help our with Thor while the pool guy was there doing work on the pool pump.  Got bloodwork, menus and grocery list done too.

Friday - Off to Josh's again to manhandle Thor when the pest control guy sprayed outside for critters.  Josh had an eye appointment so could not be there.  I also stopped on the way home and got groceries, gas, water and hubby's meds.

Saturday - Food Bank pick up for our church and Mass.

So, maybe I was gone from home more than I thought LOL.  But I did get more done on the shawl.

I am just about ready to start the decreasing rows.  I am still enjoying working on this while watching TV.

I am doing another little side project.

I finally ordered bobbins for my embroidery floss that is being used in my two cross stitch projects.  I will keep the baggie system as it does keep the floss clean but having wound up nice and neat is very much appreciated.

Speaking of cross stitch projects.....................

I mentioned this cross stitch back in August.  Well, about a month ago, I decided I would love to get it all set up so I could work on it.  I searched all over my craft room and could not find it.  Even my husband helped me look throughout the entire house.  Then I had a horrible thought.........I had cleaned out my craftroom and had sent a huge box to GoodWill.  I was devastated.  Then about 2 weeks ago, I got a call from my daughter informing me she found this in her bedroom!  We both thought she had already given it to me.  So, as of Monday, this week, I received this marvelous cross stitch.  I immediately separated the floss colors and discovered 5 missing colors.  I ordered them as well as the bobbins so I could get all organized and able to work on both of my Madonna cross stitches.

So, for the rest of today, I will be wrapping, bagging and tagging all my flosses for my two cross stitch projects I would like to work on.  

Next week I see my cardiologist and I have a whole list of questions for her.  Yes, I am one of those old ladies that writes out her questions so I can get all answers during my visit.  I use to work in a geriatrics office and I swore I would never do that.  Never say never.  

Here are a couple of chuckles for you today.

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

WEEK 51 OR THE WEEK THAT WASN'T!

 

This is the worst crafting week ever.  I won't even take a photo of my lack of progress.  There were only 3 rows added to my Habitation throw.  That's it!

WHAAAAT????  

I ended up with a flare in my thumb and wrist which prevented me from knitting for about 3 days.  I even tried Portuguese style and still could not knit.

Then, on Thursday night I thought it would be a fine idea to end up in the Emergency Room and then get admitted to the hospital with Afib!  I was lucky enough to go back to normal sinus rhythm, ala natural, in 12 hours but it was still not something I want to go through again.  I am on new meds and have another specialist (Cardiologist) I will be seeing often.  I got to take my first ambulance ride too!  I was released on Friday afternoon and am very happy to be home.

Luckily, Thursday morning, before I started having my issues, I managed to make a loaf of bread, do 3 loads of laundry. make the week menus, make a grocery list out and get my kitchen and dining room all cleaned up.  I was so thankful for that when I got back home.  Knowing I did not have tons of things needing to be done.  Hubby was a gem and even went grocery shopping for me with my list I made!  He's a keeper.

All is well now other than I still have a bit of a flare in my thumb.  Not sure when it will decide to leave.  My choice of anti-inflammatories is now limited because of some of my new meds!  UGH!  A vicious cycle.

Here is your chuckle for this week........It seems appropriate with all the political advertisements happening here in the States.

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

WEEK 50/53

 

Look at that!  We are already on week 50.  There are 3 more weeks with the third week being a wrap up for the year. Thinking about what I want to accomplish for the next year has me baffled.  The past few years I just set up categories to give me guidance.  It has done well for me, yet I feel I want to challenge myself more in the coming year.  Any suggestions?  Sure wish I lived in a climate that needed me to wear 'winter' clothing.  Then I would be making sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, cowls like crazy.  But, they only get about a month of wear here.*sigh*  And I have plenty of those already.

I did have lots of knitting time this week.

The habitation throw is moving along quite nicely.  I am almost to the halfway point.  Thirty more rows to make halfway.  I have already done 119 rows.  The marker is where I was last week.  It is a relaxing knit and easy to do while talking or watching TV.

That is all I did in crafting.  I was busy this past week.  There was a decluttering of my vanity drawers this week.  I had medicine in them I no longer take and wanted to find a good home for them.  My brother in law, a doctor, works for Samaritan's Purse several months out of the year.  He is getting ready to head to Africa and was thrilled to take the medicine off my hands.  Win-win!  I also had many little sample bottles of different face creams that were partially used.  Those were trashed as well as some OLD makeup.  I always feel so accomplished after cleaning out an area of my home.

I said good-bye to my sourdough starter, again.  After taking it out of the fridge on Saturday and feeding it that night and again on Sunday, when I went to feed it again on Monday it had molded!  I think my house is just too warm in the summer to sustain it long enough, out of the fridge, to get it active enough to use.  That is ok.  I still make bread in my bread machine each week.  Hubby and I enjoy that too.  I just like the healthy benefits of homemade sourdough. 

There was a deep cleaning of our shower this week.  It is one thing hubby has asked me to handle in the cleaning area.  It doesn't need it often as we squeegee it down each time we use it.  But once in a while it needs a good scrubbing.  Since we have a water softener, it is pretty easy to keep up with.  

I got my summer haircut this week too. 

Super short again.  With swimming and the heat here, I do not like having to take time to have bow dry my thick and heavy hair.  So she cut it short and if I choose I can even spike up the crown of my head to give it a little oomph.  WOW!  Looking at that photo, I can see my 'wisdom highlights' are really showing up!  LOL.  I quit dying my hair a couple of years before I retired and I have never regretted it.

Thursday, our cable for WIFI and TV went kaput!  We were able to get a technician out on Friday to figure out the issue.  Seems our cables that were installed about 30 years ago finally gave up the ghost.  He got all new wires for us and we are back up and running.  Well, except for our solar.  It is producing but it is not being reported.  Hopefully we will get that taken care of Monday morning.  With our temps being well into the 100's, we rely on the solar to keep our electric bill manageable.

With this heat, I have been making salads each night for dinner.  It is just way to hot to eat heavy.  Plus, salad makings are plentiful in the stores right now.  I just cook up some chicken (outside) and use that for the protein and then add veggies and fruits to the salad.  So yummy.

That is my week in a nutshell.  Everyone here is fine as are all the kids, grandkids and great grandkids.

Here is your chuckle for the week.  My hubby even laughed at it.

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

WEEK 49/53

 

Well, hello there. I come to you today one year older than I was last week.  Yup, I had a birthday yesterday.  It was a perfect day and I had so much fun with the planned activity I picked out over a month ago.  I asked for a girls night out to play bingo and enjoy each others company.  Well, my daughter and daughter in laws made sure this happened.  We had so much fun.  There was so much laughter.  I was worried we would get in trouble for being too disturbing to others.  But all those around us were about as bad as we were.

See?  This is Stacie and Tiffany.  My Daughter in laws.  Tiffany had never played bingo before and we were cracking up from listening to her describe the different games we were playing.  And, as you know, once the giggles start......so hard to stop them.

Anyway, I do have some items to show you that flew off my crochet hook this week. First up:

 

A To The Point Shawl for the prayer shawl ministry.  This is such a great way to use up some of my leftover skeins of yarn.

Here is my next item.

Surprise!  Another To The Point shawl.  This was the 40th shawl of this pattern I have made.  Yes, I no longer need the instructions.

After those two, I retired my crochet hook and picked up my knitting needles to make:

Another Habitation throw.  I make mine in worsted weight yarn and  size10 needles.  This is being done in Cascade Anthem yarn.  I purchased this yarn 2 years ago to make a cardigan.  Once it was done I hated it and frogged the whole thing.  This yarn will make a lovely throw.  I have not decided if I will add a contrasting color in it.  Probably will so the diagonal construction will show up better.

That is all for crafting.  There are only 4 more weeks of this Year of Projects for those of us who do July starts. I have not even thought about what I want to go after next year.  Hmmm.

One last fun thing..................Tiffany called Friday and wanted to know if we would be open to having a pool party at our house.  I love the fact my family loves to come over and spend time with us.  We agreed and got Josh and Stacie to come too.  Hubby and I made pizzas in our Woodfire oven and we had an absolutely lovely time.

My boys (Jay and Josh) and Stacie enjoying the water.  The rest of us were already out and getting food ready to enjoy.  My heart is full of the love from my family this weekend.

That is all for this week.  Even thought the week started out so sad with the Charlie kitty passing, it ended on a wonderful note with the love of my family.

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