Same stuff....Different Day

It almost feels like the movie "Ground Hog Day".  Other than the shopping outing yesterday, our days are beginning to seem all the same.  While trying to vary the activities I do each day, I still feel like I am not making any progress on anything.

More yarn got wound up today.  I have 2 more hanks of yarn to wind.  One is going to be made into socks but the other I am still debating whether they will be socks or a shawl.  So, that one will wait to be wound until I decide.  Since I do socks TAAT, when winding the yarn I divide it into 2 skeins to make it easier.  Hence the reason, one skein it going to wait.

The items I  have decluttered were boxed up today so they can be donated.  It is nice to see the dining room table again.  

The veggies we bought yesterday were cleaned and cut up so we have nice snack foods to grab as we want.  Another book was finished this morning too.  I will start a new one tonight when I go to bed.

We have had lunch and I am getting ready to go take in some fresh air in our backyard.  It will be a productive time as I am going to take something with me to work on.

Since today is the day we normally have Prayer Shawl, I thought taking the Cabled Rosary Prayer shawl outside to work on would be perfect.  I wonder if I will be followed outside by any of the dogs. 

They look pretty comfy where they are, don't they?  Yet, when they hear the back door open, they race to go outside with the human.

After I come back in, this will be the position I will be in.

Yup, pretty much the same position I was in last night.  (different shoes)  Oh, I am making dinner tonight.  In fact, I will be cooking for the foreseeable future.  Now that we have all this food, I need to make good use of it.  Tonight's delicacy is Tater Tot Casserole.  Or some folks call it Hot Dish.  Depends on where you were raised.  It is good comfort food.

Are any of you having a hard time sticking to a routine?  I was wide awake at 3:45 this morning.  This is not normal for me.  My usual time is between 6 and 7.  We don' go to bed until around 10:30 or 11 and then I usually read for 30 minutes to an hour.  Sheesh, do you know it is still very dark at that time of day?

OK, time to go outside and enjoy the nice mild weather.  They are predicting 90 degrees by the middle of next week!  I am not ready for that yet!

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

Out of the House

It started out as a nice slow morning.  There was more winding of yarn and looking for patterns to go with each skein.  A load of laundry was done and I thought we would just take it easy today and go to the grocery store tomorrow.  Boy, was I in for a surprise!

After looking at the weather we realized there was a good possibility for rain tomorrow.  There is nothing worse than driving in this town when it rains.  We still have many winter visitors here and they do not understand our roads are oiled because of our summer heat.  When it rains here the streets are the same as if they were covered in ice.  So, we decided to go ahead and hit stores today.

There was a little family conference last night via text.  We let each other know what items we needed in order to finish up our pantries in case the city goes on complete shut down.  The first one to score this morning was our Daughter in Law.  She found wheat flour for me and white vinegar for my daughter.  Our daughter finally found bleach for herself and then hubby and I found eggs for the daughter.

We also obtained 91% alcohol and aloe vera gel and will be making hand sanitizer for us and our family.  After going to 6 grocery stores we finally found;

bread flour,

 self rising flour

 and yeast

 at our last stop!  We are all set in case of lock down.  We purchased some fresh veggies for dinners for the next few days as well as some cleaning supplies.  We stocked up on toiletries also.  

These are the feet of a worn out lady.  We went to Winco, Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, CVS, Fry's and Walmart neighborhood market.  (In that order too)  People were quite conscience of physical distancing and no one crowded anyone.  I had my handy bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse and used it after each store.  Our Walmart had a nice foaming sanitizer machine at the entrance.  Reminded me of when I worked at the hospital.  You had to 'foam in and foam out' whenever you visited a patient room.

By the time we got home it was getting late.  We had been out for 5 hours!  My puppy dogs were sure to let me know it had been weeks since we had been home.  (They have no sense of time)  I was so tired I just grabbed one of our gift cards and ran to Taco Bell to get our dinner.  (After I had fed the dogs)

Am I concerned about being out with the CV19?  Yes and no.  There are 21 states with more cases than we have.  We have 401 cases at this time with 7 deaths.  I have not gone off of my property in over a week other to have dinner at our BFFs home on Sunday.  I have no plans to go anywhere else other to my son's home to deliver their hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes.  (He works from home and has not been anywhere either)  Other than that, I am waiting for our church to open again.  (Watching Mass on TV is not the same)  Yes, there is always a chance I could contract CV19.......I could also get the flu as I am unable to get a flu shot.  It is a risk I take anytime I leave my house or invite someone in my home.  It is a reality I have lived with for the past 38 years.  

on a happier note.......While we were driving around we saw a lot of people at the park with their kids and dogs.  There were several families out for a bike ride.  Dog walking was also a big activity in our neighborhood.  It was a beautiful day with the temps close to 80 and lots of sunshine.  

So now we are kicking back and trying to find something of interest on TV.

I hope you are all staying well.

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

Stayed Home

We did not go anywhere today.  The plan was to go to the grocery store and the pharmacy.  Neither of us felt like leaving the house so we are postponing that trip.  On the local news last night they told us the National Guard is coming to town with TONS of groceries.  That is the other reason we decided to postpone the shopping trip.  I am hoping to score some yeast and more bread flour.  There is not a bag of flour or a jar of yeast anywhere to be found in our town.  All of a sudden, everyone remembers how to make bread. LOL  Then there are those of us who have been making bread for well over a year and just want to restock our supplies.  Fingers crossed, I will be able to get some in the next couple of weeks.

So what did I do today?  There was a load of laundry done.  It is even folded and put away.  Then the dishwasher got emptied and reloaded.  I made us a nice huge salad, for lunch today, with enough leftover to go with our dinner tonight.  One of our local restaurants is running a special of 'buy 10 wings get 10 wings free'.  Can't beat that deal. We are trying to help out local businesses stay in business.  This is the place we normally go to on Wednesdays for Trivia.  They are strictly carry out until further notice. 

When making the salad I did this:

My mandolin slicer got a piece of my pinky finger knuckle.  OUCH!  I usually am so careful when using that slicer.  Today I was not paying good enough attention as I was slicing the carrot.

Part of the morning was spent winding up the new yarn I received last week.  I will be winding tomorrow again too.  That is a lot of yarn!  There has also been pattern searching for patterns that will compliment the yarn.  That is also going to take more than one day to complete.  In order to keep track of what I am pairing I have done this:

The name of the yarn, yardage, type of pattern and then name of pattern.  If I don't do this, I will be totally lost when I go to grab a skein of yarn.  Especially, since a lot of this yarn is very different fibers than I am used to using.

Our doorbell rang about 2:30 this afternoon.  We have been expecting this delivery for almost a week now.

We finally have a very nice set of matched pots and pans.  Costco had them on sale.  When hubby went to purchase them, the line to get into the store was wrapped around the building.  Being the smart lady I am, I went to their website and ordered them and even got free delivery!  Since we are cooking at home more now, these will come in quite handy for us.

I do believe it is time to do some knitting before dinner and then again after dinner.  I am trying very hard not to cast on anymore items.  My WIP's really need to be worked.  Today I will be finishing up a dishcloth and if there is still time after that, hubby's TAAT socks will receive some love.  (I need the needles the socks are on LOL)

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

UNPLANNED TRIP

Well, hello there.  How are you doing today?  Has your day gone as planned?  Mine took a little detour.

Around 11:30 pm last night, I heard one of the dogs panting very hard.  Since my house is at 70 degrees, I knew it was not from over heating but probably from either nerves or illness.  I got out of bed and saw it was Luna panting.  She NEVER pants!  I got a bit concerned since she is 12-13 yrs old now.  I checked her out and discovered a cyst she has had on her back foot had burst open and was draining.  She was busy licking it.  GROSS!

I grabbed her and took her to the family room where I began expressing all I could from the cyst.  (sorry if this is grossing you out.  I am trying to say it as delicately as possible)  Yet, when I would stop, it would fill up again and she would not stop licking it.  Out comes the first aid kit.  I put a 3x3 gauze over it and then taped it with breathable cloth tape and took her to bed with us.  

As soon as the vet opened, I called them and got an appointment for her today.  Since I was not allowed to go into the office (their rules) I had to communicate with the Vet via phone.  She was concerned about possible bone tumor (cancer) and wanted an xray of it.  I agreed as my stomach started going into knots.  The xray came back negative!  Praise God!  The cyst was a little infected so they put her on some heavy duty antibiotics and wrapped it up real good.

They wanted to put an E collar on her but since she is strictly a doggie door dog, it would not work.  She is being very good and not licking it.  If she does, I have some bitter apple to put on it.  Poor baby.

Today, I decided to wash our bedding.............all of it again.  Since Luna was in the bed with us last night and her foot was 'leaking', I wanted to get my sheets and comforter all cleaned up from it.

Drying the comforter is tough.  It is way too big for my dryer.  I have dried it in there before but it takes several hours to do it.  So........................

Draping it over the patio table and chairs sounded like a great idea.  We do not have a clothesline anymore.  It has been out there a little less than an hour and is already almost dry!

The green under the comforter is a sheet to keep the comforter off the dirty metal table.  The frying pan on top is to hold it down since it is a bit windy out today.  So thankful for all the sunshine today.  That comforter is going to smell wonderful!

There was no decluttering today.  Between the 2 loads of laundry and the vet visit, I ran out of steam.  I will say, running out to the backyard to check on the comforter has been enjoyable.  I am loving the fresh air and sunshine out there.  Once the comforter is done, I think I will grab my knitting and head out to the front porch and do a little rocking and knitting and get some fresh air in these lungs.

Hubby and I ordered pizza from a mom and pop shop last night.  It was buy one get one free.  We have enough left over to have for dinner tonight too.  I did get all the menus made out for the next 10 days so with the leftovers tonight that makes it 11 days of meals.  The grocery list is also completed.  Tomorrow we HAVE to go shopping as we have run out of a few items.  We are just going to go to our local grocery store and pray they have everything we need there.  I prefer one stop shopping right now.

The last thing I will be doing today is making my overnight oats.  I haven't had them in over a week and I miss them.  They are so easy to make and fill me up so I am not craving food before lunch time.

Time to go and check the comforter again.

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

WEEK 38 & Photo Heavy

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  EXTREMELY PHOTO HEAVY!!!!!!!!!!  Which means there isn't as much to read.

Since the DFW Fiber Fest was cancelled, we were asked to please visit the vendors online and make purchases as if we were at the Fest.  No problem!  I sat down and studied each vendor so I could make the purchases that would make me all warm and fuzzy inside.  Here is what I have received so far.  (there are still two packages coming in on Monday)

From Leading Men Fiber I purchased Spring Thaw Diva yarn as well as the Boneset pattern to make this into.  My first ever speckled yarn.  While it is superwash wool, I am hoping it is soft enough not to cause me issues when I wear it.

From Forbidden Fiber is a lovely skein of sock yarn for the hubby in the colorway ButterBeer.  Yup, a Harry Potter themed wool for my honey.

From Black Wolf Fiber is a skein of 100% Alpaca sport weight in the colorway Peacock.  This will also be for me and probably a nice neck shawl.

From Fiber Lady is Mouscal Painted 70% bamboo/30% cotton in the colorway Twighlight.  Another shawl for me?  Probably.  I do wear them quite a bit here.

From Lazy Cat yarn Roadside Attraction is the colorway.  This was a special dye just for the Fiber Fest.  And look what else she sent with it.

A sweet kitty stitch marker and a card stock lazy cat that I will use as a bookmark.  How thoughtful of her.

From Black Cat Fibers is another sock yarn for the hubs in colorway Conchology.

From Brazen Stitchery comes this super soft Superwash Merino wool in colorway Harmony.  This will be the first time I will every do contrasting heels and toes.  Fingers crossed I don't mess it up too bad.

From Suburban Stitches I got this lovely Suri Silk in the colorway Ronschach.  This is also for me.  It is a lace weight.

The halo on this silk is absolutely yummy and so very soft to the touch.

This is from Sharpin Designs.  A magnetic Portuguese knitting pin.  The magnet on this is much more powerful than the ones I have made.  Looking forward to using it.

The way some of these skeins came packaged impressed me so much I took photos of that too.

Each order came with a hand written thank you note also.  Great business practice.

On a very sad note.  My LYS is closing.  I just heard about it yesterday morning and decided to break my self isolation and go and pay them a visit.  Everything in the store was 40% off.  How could I go wrong?  I found some treasures there too.

100% Lambswool sock yarn.  These are already set up to make socks and they will match without having to search for the right place to start on the skein.  I had seen this in a couple of the online places I ordered from.  What a wonderful idea.

Some more lace weight yarn.  This is all in an acrylic blend but has the look of mohair.

See the halo?  Can you see the bit of shiny thread in it?  I am excited to work with this yarn.  I bought two skeins of each color.  Yes, more shawls.

And the last photo is of Tie Dye sock yarn in wool, as well as some cable tools.  I am hoping the tools will be easier to work with than the metal ones I use now.  The metal ones slip out of my yarn very easily.  Hopefully the plastic will have a little more gripping power.

My yarn shopping is over for a while.  Like I said at the beginning I have two more orders coming in.  One is a project bag and the other is a pima cotton yarn.  I will post them on next weeks update.

Oh, did I say that was the last photo?  Silly me..............I have a partial FO!

Sock #1 is done.  I did not wait around but started sock #2 right away.

This should be completed by the middle of the week, if all goes according to plan.  This is all I worked on this week.  All other WIP's are sitting in the WIP basket taking a little nap.
Last night we did something I swore I would not do.  We went to our BFFs home for dinner.  While we were outside most of the time, I still was uncomfortable being out and about.  These friends think the virus warnings are being blown all out of proportion.  They even make fun of folks who are self isolating. Afterwards, I told hubby I just was not comfortable going out like this anymore until things started to calm down a bit.  Let them laugh at me!  The cases here in our county alone have more than doubled over a 24 hour period.  I have no desire to cause our healthcare system to become so overloaded with cases that they need to choose who gets treatment and who dies. 

Even when I have needed to run to the grocery store in the past week, I do not take a cart but take my shopping bags and put the groceries in them and carry those to the check out line.  I use hand sanitizer as soon as I leave the store and wash my hands as soon as I come in the house.  I never thought I would become this much of a germ-a-phobe. 

I hope and pray you are all staying well and are managing to self isolate as much as possible.  Thank goodness for fiber!

For all you in the UK & Ireland, I would like to wish you a lovely Mothering Sunday.  Enjoy it!

For those of you who love history, here is a link to a brief explanation to the origin of Mothering Sunday.  

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