What????

 

Most of you do this big bang up cleaning sometime in the spring.  Not me!  I wait until it is hotter than blazes outside and then decide it would be a great time to do some deep cleaning in my house.  I'm not talking about decluttering either.  I am talking about pulling things apart, cleaning everything and putting it all back together.

Yesterday I did the refrigerator.  I pulled everything off the shelves and made sure there was nothing expired going back in.  (Only found 1 expired item)  The shelves themselves are glass so they got a good scrubbing to make sure any drips that were on them were all gone.  The fruit and veggie drawers were emptied and given a good scrubbing too.  Then there is another drawer for cheese and meat that got all spiffed up too.  That whole task took almost 2 hours.

Today, I am going to tackle our upright deep freeze.  Every time I open it, I step away from the door.  There is so much in there, things have a habit of spilling out when it is opened.  I need an inventory of what is in there so I can make better menus to start using up the older meat that is in there.  That should take me another couple of hours today.

My goal for tomorrow is to clean out the bottom freezer of our fridge.  My big hope is to be able to move some things from that freezer into the deep freezer, once it is organized again.

I have not done this for well over a year.  I do wipe up spills when they occur but to totally empty and clean is not something I do often.  The nice thing about doing these three areas is, I do not get exceedingly hot doing them.  All that nice cold air keeps me cool while working.  

My real goal for this week was to go through my kitchen again, to remove items that are not being used.  Even though I did this just a few months ago, I still feel like there is an overload of unused items in there.  Some of it might be the fact I have quite a few baking pans that only get used in the winter time.  I refuse to use my oven when it is 100 plus degrees outside.  So, maybe, the kitchen just needs to be reorganized.  I could move all those winter only items to an area all by themselves.  Gosh!  What a great idea.  I am so glad I came on here today to think this through.  That makes so much sense.  I only bake for about 4 months out of the year.  But, during those 4 months I do A LOT of baking.  Brilliant!

After I complete the deep freeze today, I am going to hit that pool.  Hubby and I got into it yesterday and it was so refreshing.  That is only the second time this season I have been in the water.  We have been so busy with travel, I kind of got out of the habit of making it part of my routine.

Is anyone else doing some deep cleaning during the hot months of the summer?

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

WEEK 1 OF MY 11TH YEAR

 

WOOHOO!  Year of Projects started on July 1 for me and several other people.  This is year 11 of this group and it is also my 11th year to be in the group.  Each year I set goals for myself in my craft world.  Seldom do I ever completely make all those goals.  And, that is ok.  This group has a no judgement policy.  We welcome all crafters from all over the world.  If you are interested in joining us, go to this site and join in.  The site is on Ravelry and if you are not a member of that website, you can sign up and then join the group.  It is all FREE!

So, here are the goals I have set for this year.

WIP'S

Boxy Sweater -11/7/15 (my own design and will probably be frogged this year)

Sock Scraps Granny Stripe - 7/8/20 (This too, will probably be frogged this year)

Madonna & Child - 8/7/20 (cross stitch kit and it is a big one)

Everything is Possible with God - 3/23/21 (cross stitch kit)

TAAT Car Socks - 3/6/21 

Summer Lace Stole - 6/13/21 (Needs to be done by October)

SOCKS

Rose City Rollers

Car Socks

Hermione Everyday Socks

Try at least one new to me pattern this year

Clothing

Roe Cardigan

Dishcloths

Try to use up cotton yarn

Shawls

To the Point for the prayer shawl ministry

Blankets

Giant Granny Square blanket to use up stash yarn

Another Mosaic blanket from Tinna's patterns to use up stash yarn

Cross Stitch

My hope is to complete the ones I have started as well as the other 2 that are waiting for me to start.

***********************************************************************************************************

It is not a huge list this year.  It seems I normally get a bit distracted or have people asking me to make things for them.  This gives me some leeway during the next 51 weeks.

Oh, and I already have an FO from this past week.

I made a "To the Point" shawl for the prayer shawl ministry at my church.  I finished it up yesterday.  

And for all my USA friends...................................Happy Independence Day!

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

Year in Review....My 10th year

 

My 10th year of the Year of Projects is completed.  This is my review of what I did over the past 52 weeks.

SHAWLS

Easy Does It - Started July 2 Finished July 18

Reyna Shawl with beads - Started October 31 Completed November 18

Boneset - (started 9-25 completed 10-5-2020)

Wolf Lichen - Started 7-26 completed 8-3-2020

Mehujaa - Started 4-1 completed 5-31

SOCKS

Hermione Everyday Socks (Started 7-19 completed 9-19)

Car Socks ( started 9-25-2020 completed 11-13)

Butterbeer socks (my design) - started 4/13/20 completed 7/1/20
Rose City Roller Socks ( 2 pair as of 2-28-21)

Car Socks  started 3/23/21 completed 4-24-21

DISHCLOTHS

Granny's Favorite Dishcloth -1
DW Dishcloth -3

Copycat Dishcloth -1

Garter Stitch Cloth -1

Eye of Partridge/Garter -2

CLOTHING

It Really Fits Cardigan - started 9/23/19 Completed 12/19/20

Seeded Band Hat - started 12/24/20 completed 12/25/20

Percussion Hat - Started 11/4/20 completed 11/18/20

COUNTED CROSS STITCH

Madonna & Child (started 8-7-2020)
Friends are a Treasure (Started 9-6-2020 Finished 3-18-2021)
All things are Possible with God (Started 3-23-21)

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Kidsilk Haze Shawl - started 9/20/19 FROGGED
Boxy Sweater (my design) - started 11/7/15

Summer Lace Stole - started 6-13-21

TAAT Car Socks - started 5-6-21

CHARITY PROJECTS

To the Point -  for Prayer Shawls - made 5
Socks Scrap Granny Stripe - will make this into lapghans (Started 7-2-2020)

Ripple Lapghan (Started 3-20-21 completed 3-23-21)

Face Masks -  42 made

As always, if something else catches my eye, I will make it.

Coasters (made 6)

Havana Blanket (Started 8-8-2020 Completed 1-18-21)

Tarragon the Dragon (Started 2-16-13 completed 2-25-21)

Victorian Lace squares - 4 

Fred the Frog (started 3-4-21 Finished 3-18-2021)

Mask Mates (Made 2)

If you were to ask me what my favorite item was.......I am not sure I could pick a favorite.  I loved doing the Havana blanket.

It was the first time to do mosaic crochet and it is addictive.

Tarragon the dragon was so much fun to do and my Grand really loves him.

Making toys is not something I plan on doing a lot of, but this was fun.

I am most proud of finishing my It Really Fits Cardigan.

It was the first adult sized cardigan I had ever made.  

To add things up, there were a total of 42 items either knit or crocheted, 1 counted cross stitch and 42 cloth masks made this past year.  The one good thing that came out of this pandemic was the extra at home time to work on my crafts.  

My list for next year is completed..............I think.  Come back next week to see what I hope to accomplish over the next 52 weeks.

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

PS:  It was pretty hot this past week so I just worked on light weight things.  I did have a finish.

Just another dishcloth.  This time it is for me.  It is figured into the above count too.  OK, that is all.

PHEW!

 

This has been such a great week for me.  I went to physical therapy on Monday and found out the vertigo problem was in my right ear.  After being 'worked' on for an hour, I was sent home with exercises to do and told to take it easy for the rest of the day.  Tuesday, I drove for the first time in 22 days.  It was so awesome.  Today (Wednesday) I went back to physical therapy for a follow up appointment and was told the 'crystals' were all back in place and all I need to do now is the exercises at home as needed.

I am so happy that is basically over.  I still get a little wonky now and then but that is because my eyes and brain still think I have 'crystals' out of place and are trying to compensate for it.  Hence the home exercises I have.

This has been a busy week for for Casa de Noce.  Monday, we had a crew come out to place the solar panels on the house.  Today we got a subpanel as well as the load capacitor for the solar unit.  All that is left is for the electric company to inspect everything and give us the OK to turn it all on.  Hopefully that will all happen in the next couple of weeks.

Today we got a bit of a break from our brutal heat.  We got RAIN!  I had almost forgotten what it was like.  We are in an extreme drought here, so any moisture is welcomed.  We have 20 active fires going on around the state.

See what I mean?  All those flames represents a fire in our state.  We need rain so badly.  I feel for the fire fighters working on these fires with all their equipment on and the temperatures well above 100F most days.   Heroes, everyone of them. 

On to some lighter news.  Tuesday, while I was out driving, we went to Kohl's to get my MIL some new pants and a couple of new cardigan sweaters.  We hit the jackpot and were able to get everything we needed and it was all on sale!  We also went to WalMart to pick up "fresh pet" dog food for my babies.  It is what they get served while we are out of town.  They love it and that way the dog sitter does not have any issues with them refusing to eat.  Hubby and I also went to lunch while I was enjoying my day out.  We ended up at my BFF's house to see her new flooring they had done last week.  

I have been enjoying the rain today and doing some light crafting.  My cross stitch has seen quite a bit of love.  Then there is some simple knitting.

Another dishcloth is being made.  I am sure it will be done later tonight or tomorrow sometime.  This one is being made for me.  

Tomorrow, I will be starting a couple of days of dog sitting.  This will give me quite a bit of crafting time.  There might even be another dishcloth after this one.  Who knows.  I am always happy to have finished items, no matter how small they are.  When I am not dog sitting, I will be getting us ready to leave for a friends vacation on Sunday.  That means, lots of laundry, packing, and cleaning.  We already have the food items we will need for the rode trip, so that is one thing off the to do list.  

This will probably be our last trip for a while.  Hubby has a trip planned for himself in September and I may decided to take a trip that month too.  His is for a conference and mine would be for my high school reunion............my 50th!  Yes, I am that old!  Otherwise, I think we will be homebodies for a while again.  

That is all for today.  I have a little dog next to me snoring away.

Yes, he is due for a toenail trim this week too.  

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

YEAR 10 WEEK 51

 

This is it.  This is the last week to show you my weekly progress.  Next week I will do a summary of what was accomplished in the past year.  If by some miracle there is a finished object before next Sunday, I will post about that too.  

Let's take a look at what happened this week.  

I started this project last Sunday after trying another pattern with the same yarns.  This will be for a special person in my life who makes me laugh even on my darkest days.  My daughter!  She loves the color orange and so do I.  Unfortunately, I am not able to wear orange as it makes me look quite jaundice.  She, on the other hand, looks lovely in that color.  The dark line is not a shadow.  That is the secondary yarn changing color.

These are the two yarns being used to make the shawl.  See how the beige yarn has light and dark in it?  That is how the dark line got made in the stole.  

With our weather reaching 118F (48C) this past week, it got a bit too warm to work on the stole.  So, I pulled out my sugar wheel cotton yarn and made a new dishcloth.

This one was so much fun to do.  It is my own design.  I used the eye of partridge pattern that I normally use on sock heel flaps and separated it with rows of garter.  I gave it to our daughter last night and she loved it.  It was a quick knit and gave me something to do during our heat wave.

I pulled out one of the cross stitch projects and worked on it for a bit too.

It is slow going.  But then, I am in no hurry to complete it.  Since we will be having exceedingly hot days for the next few weeks (months), this will probably see much more love.  It might even get completed!

As for other news................my vertigo has gotten much better.  I have an appointment on Monday with the physical therapist and am hoping that will take care of the remaining issues I am having.  I am now on week 3.5 of this stuff.  It is not something I would want anyone to experience.  Although, from the comments on my previous posts, it seems, many of you have had it once or twice.

There has been a lot of bread making this week.  One loaf for us, one loaf for our daughter's husband (he loves my bread) and one loaf for our son's family (they love it too).  The last loaf is finishing up as I am typing this.  The last loaf finally used up the last of my pandemic yeast as well as the pandemic bread flour.  Don't worry, we bought more flour and yeast a few months ago.  I am never without bread makings.

I finally got into our pool last night.  It is just too dang hot to get into it during the day.  It felt so good too.  There was just a slight breeze that really cooled me down.  In fact, I got a bit chilled.  

Today is Father's day and we had planned on going to our son's house this afternoon for smoked ribs and watching some basketball.  Not sure that will be happening now.  His A/C went out and he is having problems finding someone to come out and fix it.  Hopefully, someone out there is willing to work on a Sunday.

This coming week will be busy for us.  We have solar people coming out to install more of our solar panel system.  I need to get some clothes for my mother in law as we are going to see her a week from tomorrow.  There are normal household chores to be completed before we leave next Sunday.  

Are you interested in joining our Year of Projects group?  Do you knit, crochet, sew, paint, needlepoint, spin, weave, cross stitch or do any other crafty work?  Come on over to Ravelry and join us at Year of Projects.  You will meet some of the most interesting people from all over the world.

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

WEEK 50!!!

 

Goodness, we have arrived at week 50 of the year's YOP.  Only one more week to go for progress updates and then a recap on week 52.  I have not even started thinking about my 'list' for next year.  Might need to do that this coming week.

Let's see what I accomplished this week.

I finally got a good photo of the shawl I completed last week.

This thing is really big.  I love it as it will wrap around me and actually help keep me warm.  The ones that go around the neck and shoulders are fine but sometimes you just need a little bit more.  

Hubby's socks got quite a bit of love this past week.

The orange marker is where I as last Sunday.  Socks are such a perfect travel project.  I have about 30 more rows to do before I do the heel.

As I told you last week, hubby and I took a 5 day trip to Las Vegas.  He had family things to take care of and I had girl time to take care of.  My friend and I had the best time for 5 days.  She is also a knitter so, I got the pleasure of going to her LYS.  Sin City Knits is one of the friendliest places I have ever been too.  The ladies in there are just marvelous and really work with you to make sure you get what you 'need'.  If you are ever in Las Vegas, please stop by and check them out.

Here are the treasures I found while visiting the shop.

KFI Collection Painted Lace Degrade caught my eye right away.  It is a lovely cotton that will be made into  something very special for a special person.  I have already tried one pattern with it but was not happy with the way it was knitting up so will search for another pattern to use this in.  There are 874 yards (800 m) in this skein.  I'm thinking it will probably become a shawl.

I also got a sweater's worth of Cascade Anthem!  I already have the pattern too.  

This is Roe Cardigan.  I purchased the pattern from Knit Picks.  It will be my first bottom up sweater pattern to make.  Hopefully, I will do ok with it.  My plan is to shorten it up a bit as I want it to hit me mid hip, not below.

I so miss my LYS here.  There is another one fairly close by, but I was treated so rudely there when I first started to knit, I have refused to go back.  Someday, I will need to put on my big girl pants and go back and see if I am treated any differently.  I miss going to a LYS whenever I need a fiber fix.  Ordering online is just not the same.  I like to feel the fiber before buying.

The people we stayed with, last week have such a great place.  Hubby and I stayed in a little casita behind the main house.  Our living room looked out to the pool.

How is that for a relaxing view each morning.

Not only is my sweet friend a knitter, she also loves to make bread.  She made her first sour dough artisan while I was there.

It was so delicious.  She did such a great job.  This is whole wheat sour dough recipe by Emilie Raffa.  

So, when we got home, I decided to make a loaf of my normal sandwich bread and this time substitute some whole wheat flour for some of the bread flour.  (My friend encouraged me to try it)

It turned out perfect!  Hubby and I had it for lunch yesterday.  It was so soft and had just enough of the nutty wheat flavor I love.

Hubby and I are now home safely.  I still have vertigo, darn it.  I will be calling my Dr tomorrow to ask him to fax over a request for Physical therapy.  I am tired of being 'chauffeured' around all the time.

I will leave you with a lovely photo of blooming Yuccas. I took this on our way home on Friday.

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

WEEK 49

 

Hey guys.  How is it going?  This has been one heck of a week for me.  Both good and not so good.  Let's talk about the good first.

I have a finish.

The shawl is finally completed.  It was not supposed to be blocked with 'points' on it.  I decided it was too boring with just a curved bottom edge.  I am hoping to get a better photo of it this week.  It is going with me on my trip.  I am sure my sweet knitting buddy will be happy to help me get a great photo of it in action.  This think is huge!  I love it!

Once that was completed, I grabbed hubby's socks and started back working on them.

The orange marker is where I was last time I showed them to you.  I wish there was more done on them but....................this is where life gets a bit messy.

I had my 68th birthday on Tuesday.  It was very low key.  Hubby and I went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant and I got lots of well wishes from family and friends via phone and facebook.  Wednesday morning (about 2AM) I was awakened by the room spinning out of control.  No, I did not drink the night before!   I was able to go back to sleep.  When I finally woke up and got out of bed, I almost fell over.  The room was spinning and I could hardly stand up.  I have never had this happen before.

I had an appointment for blood work that day and had hubby drive me there and help me get in and out of the lab.  When we got home, I called my Doctor and was able to get an appointment that afternoon with his Physician's Assistant.  She told me I had vertigo and told me she would call in some motion sickness meds for me to take.  I went home and just rested the rest of the day.

Thursday I was not much better.  By this time I was getting concerned as this was almost exactly the same symptoms my brother had several days before his massive stroke that took his life.  My best friend talked me into going to the Emergency Room.  I was given a CT scan  a bag of fluids as well as the motion sickness meds.  The CT scan was negative for any bleeding or clots in the brain.  I asked if I could still go on my trip this coming weekend and he said there was no reason for me not to go as long as I didn't drive until the vertigo stopped.  He also said, if I was still having vertigo when I got back to go to physical therapy and they could work with me to get it to stop.

By Friday, I was feeling somewhat better but still not 100%.  The motion sickness meds made me so drowsy I could hardly stay awake more than a few hours at a time.  On Saturday, I decided to see how I did without the meds.  If I moved my head to fast or bent down and stood up quickly, the room moved on me.  Otherwise, I am much better.

Today, hubby left this morning for our trip.  I am staying behind to see Josie's production of Godspell tonight.  I will fly out really late tonight but will ride back home with hubby the end of the week.  I am hoping my little vacation will help with my BPPV (go ahead and look that one up LOL)  

Other than that, the week has been pretty normal.

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