Branson Ranch

Yarn Burnout

2012-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Okay, my startitis has caught up with me. I have a pair of socks on that are a gift for later in the year. Much later. I started a beaded scarf and don't think I have the pattern quite right. I haven't sewn the buttons on my vest yet. I have a pair of jeans pinned up but not hemmed yet. And I started a pair of socks I was going to put a pair of fancy tiny cables down the side for a birthday present I thought I had two weeks to do. Duh. It turns out I can't count. I didn't have two weeks. I had ten days. So I dumped the cables and just put a simple rib down the side. I asked D to give me a hand. He said sure. Right after you finish the heel gusset because he doesn't like heel gussets. Or he'd start the second sock. But I think his cast on is too tight so I want to do the rib then hand of the sock to him. I finally got the gusset done about 9 this morning. I couldn't sleep last night so got up and knit until about 2am. So now I can pass off the first sock to D and I can cast on for the second sock. Oh yeah, it doesn't look like I'll have enough yarn. So I'm stopping off at my LYS to see if they have some superwash black and or white I can use. Gonna incorporate a color theme on the foot. It's sports related. So I need to get the twelve rows of ribbing done so I can pass the second sock to D and work on the design on the foot of the first sock. I have eight days left. And if my Local Yarn Shop doesn't have something I can use I have to get on the web and get something here ASAP.

In the meantime what I really want to do is spin. I've had this fiber for a long time. I tried spinning it before and didn't like it. I have more experience now and can appreciate it for it's qualities more. It's lamb's wool and it spins up a little fuzzy. It's very kinky. But I'm planning on at least a three ply or maybe a four ply for a bulky weight yarn. And I found out I can't seem to spin a heavier yarn. I concentrated so hard on spinning a fine yarn this is a little bit hard. So I must made sure what I spin after this on my wheel is a heaver yarn so I can get the hang of it. But I think I'll continue to spin fine yarn on my drop spindle.

But I'm not craving my knitting as much lately. I have thoughts of finishing a crewel pillow top I have mostly finished that's been sitting around longer than Darryl and I have been married. Or a cross stitch afghan that's been sitting around for only half that time. It'll be really cool when it's done.

So today it's pizza for dinner, clean a litter box, run to the post office, grocery store, and drug store, yarn shop and drug store. My LYS keeps weird hours so it's a crap shoot. If she's not open I'll find what I need on line and pay to have it shipped over night. Probably cost me more than the yarn but what are ya gonna do? If I didn't need superwash it'd be easy. I'd have it covered. But it must wash like the original yarn.

You you think anyone will notice I haven't had any sleep and am not wearing makeup? Oh yeah, horses, first feed horses. Wonder what else I forgot?

Startitis

2012-01-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

It looks like the Yarn Harlot isn't the only one with startitis. I finished this vest and it is blocking. I have a pair of plain vanilla socks on the needles for taking along with me when I go somewhere. And that's it.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday I sorted through some sock yarn and picked out a nice red yarn to make a pair of socks for a birthday present for a friend. They have to be finished by the beginning of the month. Hey, I can do it! I just have to put my mind to it.

And it occurred to me that I should start that beaded scarf I bought all the stuff for two years ago. So I got it out and strung 1/3 of the beads on the yarn last night so it's ready to start tonight. So that's only three knitting projects and quite enough thankyouverymuch.

But in the interest of stash busting I would like some bulky yarn to make a sweater with. And I don't have any. I figure there's more than one way to bust a stash. So I broke out some fiber to spin. I have a lot of this particular fiber and should be able to make a good amount of bulky weight yarn. I've never tried to spin a specific weight like this before. Mostly it's been "how thin can you spin" for me. I did achieve a sock weight with a drop spindle. We will just have to see what happens with my attempt at a bulky weight yarn.

I have some paperwork to do today and I figured I'd get it all done in the morning and have the rest of the day to cast on for the socks, cast on for the scarf, and set up for the spinning. But my dogs had another idea all together.

Vinnie was crying last night and I got up and let him out a time or two. Unusual for him. He woke me up early this morning too. When I went to let him out I noticed a pretty bad smell coming from the crates. It seems the soup bone I gave him yesterday gave him the runs. No wonder he was complaining. So I washed dog crate stuff and when I got all that going I washed dogs. Two little dogs. There was nothing wrong with Ringo but I might as well have two clean crates and two clean dogs. Charlotte gets her own day. She's easy to bathe but it is a little like washing your car. She's tall. So my critters sucked up my morning. I fed the horses their lunch. I fed me my lunch. Read for a short while. And now here I am in the office posting on my blog instead of making copies of stuff I need by Sunday.

But aren't you glad to have a new post to read?

Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

2011-12-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it's time to put Christmas back in the boxes. This year I'm hoping to eliminate a couple of boxes. I already am one less. Some of the things I have belonged to my parents and my sisters are taking them so they will have a bit of Christmas with Mom and Dad.

I have a new mouse and I don't have the hang of it yet. Blogger no longer supports Firefox and I'm trying to use Safari. It sucks because between the browser and new mouse they do stuff I don't know how to fix yet. Next blog will be through Netscape. I can't get this thing to quit centering the type.

Anyway, that's my new handbag that D bought me for Christmas. For those who are fans it is a Dooney and Bourke handbag. On the small side. I find that I don't need to take my checkbook with me much anymore and since I wear my glasses most of the time these days a smaller bag is very nice. But I have several larger bags too. It's very nice to have a selection and I am very lucky to own several Dooneys and one Coach. I have a very generous family.

I also scored a Kindle Fire. I love the thing already but since I already posted photos of it I won't post more.

And that crafty husband of mine saw one of these abacus bracelets on line and made me a couple of them. I love, love, love them! So now I know why he spent hours in the garage after work.

One of my photos mysteriously disappeared. so you will have to settle for just the one of the yarn bowl. This is a project D and I are both working on. I've been wanting one but am unwilling to spend $30 on the thing. At least until I know I will use it. You put your ball of yarn it it and thread the yarn through the slot or hole, whichever it has, and you can put your bowl on the sofa or floor and your ball of yarn will just roll around inside the ball and not all over your dog and car hair covered floor.

D got the design cut on the one side of the bowl but when he went to do the other side as I asked him to, the brittle plastic broke. But I can still use this and see if I like it until I get over to Target to score another bowl. the bowl is less than $2 so I don't feel bad about experimenting on it. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a wooden bowl. I think it would work nicely and be easier to cut a slot of some sort in.

So, how was your Christmas?

No Pictures Today

2011-12-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

Shannon isn't the only one having trouble with Blogger. I have 't been able to modify or change my template since I put it up and couldn't figure it out. It turns out that Blogger no longer supports Firefox, the browser I normally use. So I used another browser and everything went just fine.

Until this morning. For some reason none of my browsers would open. Except Safari. So here I am blogging on a browser I normally only use on my phone.

Today is the foggiest day we've had in years. I can't see the cars going by on the street even with their lights on. Crazy, but true. If it were dark I probably wouldn't venture out at all. But I need to go to the drug store today and I'm pretty used to the fog. As a matter of fact I actually like it if it doesn't last for weeks at a time. It softens everything and makes you feel all warm and cozy if you are in the house.

I hope everyone is just about ready for THE DAY. Christmas. I don't get all this howling and yowling about religious symbols at this time of year. No one cares if I wear a cross necklace anytime of year. I can put anything I want on a t-shirt and my rights are protected. Religious or not the lights are pretty. The season is supposed to be about love and giving. You'd think that would include giving a little extra understanding of other peoples beliefs, no matter what we are. I'll give you the point of religious decoration in a publicly funded building or property. That's not such a big deal to me.

I have to admit that I don't know the meaning of all the Christmas symbols we use. I'm sure that many have strayed from their original meaning. I am not a traditionally religious person. Some may find my beliefs strange and there are some that are sure I am going to hell. But please enjoy your holiday season in whatever way you see fit and be generous enough to let others do the same.

A Season of Miracles!

2011-12-07T10:06:00.001-08:00

I have a few plants scattered around my house. Most are doing well. Occasionally an orchid will actually bloom. Very Occasionally. But my African violets never bloom again. They are blooming when I buy them. They stay lovely plants. I feed and water as directed. But they never bloom again.

The same goes for my zygo cactus. It will get buds then the buds just fall off before it blooms again. I baby the things but to no avail. Well, I think I finally figured out what I'm doing wrong because now they are all blooming! Yes, a true miracle. And it's happening to me.

Two out of four of my African violets are blooming. One doesn't even have buds and the other was a sodden sad little thing that is now looking much better. The zygo cactus still has it buds and one is starting to open. Not a single one has fallen on the counter top.

It looks like I've been over caring for the things. I have been pretty busy and have been ignoring the house plants so much that they dry out pretty good between watering's. I give a good soak a sink with warm water (just the smaller plants and orchids) when I notice how dry they are. I just stick 'em in the morning and a couple hours later swap them out for other dry ones. Then I leave them on a towel on the counter top to finish draining. When they all have been suitably soaked I put them all back in their places. Then I forget about it until the next time it crosses my mind to check them or something wilts.

'Tis the season for blooming miracles

Posting in No Sensible Order

2011-12-01T17:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, D said we needed a new building in the village under the tree. So I had this 20% coupon for Kohl's and $15 in Kohl's Bucks. But when I went there I was just browsing. I didn't have any idea they had any these small buildings. Well, they do. And they were 50% off. I used my coupon and my Kohl's Bucks and this stable cost me $13. And that's rounding the number up.

And the pictures are out of order but I've been tackling the boxes that have been in my closet for years. All the shoes in boxes are gone. I've emptied a couple clothes boxes. Last week I realized I only have three pairs of jeans that fit okay so I went back to the boxes. Sure enough I found tons of jeans. Some were out of style and will be donated. I'm sure someone out there still wears Mom Jeans. And some just weren't as flattering as they could be. But some were nice and some were old friends from a thinner day. But now I have plenty of jeans now! And I found all these cute jackets in the box too. Okay I opened two boxes. Now there is just one pair of jeans in the box, size 10. I need not say more except that they might be there a while yet. There are only two boxes left in the bottom of the closet. I hope to get it down to just one box of stuff that I only use rarely or can't bear to part with.

So the village is under the tree. Darryl set it up how he wanted. That is the Harley Dealership you see there. He put the Service store waaay behind the tree. And for some reason he has the black smith right next to this Harley place. I suggested next year that we have a city section and a country section. We will have to see if that idea sticks anywhere in his mind. He put some building on foam blocks around the base of the tree. It's looks great! But it didn't occur to us that the huge light and motor in the base of the fiber optic tree might overheat. Well it did. And it's not working. And we have another one. But we'd have to tear the entire village apart to replace it. So the star on top lights and the village lights but the tree is in a sort of more natural state without lights. It doesn't make it less pretty.

And one last photo. This is that very same pretty bush I posted earlier. Only now it looks like what it is: tumbleweed. Quick transition.

Leftover Sock Yarn

2011-11-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have all this yarn leftover from making socks. I needed a cover for my Kindle Fire. So I used some leftover sock yarn and made one. It's pretty much a knitted envelope. I just happened to have three buttons with lions on them. TA DA! I never expected it to come out this nice.

Yesterday we went to Staples to look around and see if they had any Fire accessories. Nope. But I looked at cases to put my Kindle in (in case the knitted one didn't work out, it wasn't quite finished when we went). WOW! Sticker shock! I was figuring twenty bucks or so for some simple plastic case. They start at $30 and go up! And they weren't leather or fancy or anything. Just a simple plastic and cardboard book cover thingy! Not neoprene, not fancy designs on the cover, just plain in a choice of solid colors. So when I got home I finished up my knitted case and it exceeded my expectations. I figured it would do until I found something I really liked. Well, this is slimmer, provides a bit of padding, washable, and I can make another pretty easily. It fits nicely in my handbag with very little bulk. And I used it to wipe off the fingerprints on the screen.

But the next time I might use two yarns together and bigger needles. I would be able to make one faster and it would provide a bit more padding. I could make them to match my handbags. Okay, that's going a little far.

I like it. Now, if you will excuse me I have to go get my arm set in a cast. I think I just broke it patting myself on the back.

Plant Identification Time

2011-11-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

So. I see these kinda cool round bushes shrubs here in the spring and summer. They intrigued me for several years. They are so round. I wondered why they weren't use for natural landscaping. No pruning required, low water, etc.

And they have these tiny blooms all over them and they bloom all summer. It was the stickers all over the plant that gave them away. And that round thing. So I asked D what he thought. He looked at me like I was crazy because I didn't know what they were and I know everything.

They are tumbleweeds. Seriously. They will dry up, break off at the ground, and roll in the wind probably spreading their seeds everywhere. I'm here to tell you they can (but might not) scratch the heck out of your car if you hit one. I've had the misfortune to hit two. If you are on Interstate 5, rolling down the freeway at a good clip, you don't swerve for a light weight plant like this. If they are dry, like the first one I hit, they sort of explode and you just keep going. If they are wet, like when it's raining or foggy, they are flexible and usually stick to your car. Then you have to pull over and hope you have some gloves to disengage the thing from your front bumper and undercarriage. It'll pull right off but it's covered with thorns. They don't come off and stick to you. They are tough and will scratch you pretty darn good while disengage it from your car.

They are a pain on the roads so I guess planting them would be out of the question. But they aren't harmful enough to your car to swerve and cause an accident. You might get a few minor scratches but with some of the clear coat they use now you probably won't even get that.

But they are pretty before they dry up. It's a shame they don't stay put.

Farewell to an Old Friend (not anything that breathes)

2011-11-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

My post has nothing to do with this horse running at me. I just ran across the photo and thought it was cool. It's Darryl's horse, Sarah, and she won't run over me. I promise. Not only will I not let her she just has more sense than that.

Nope. We said farewell to our 2002 Prius yesterday. Yes, it happened. After all these years she finally became more expensive to repair than her worth. The story goes like this:

D was headed to work early one morning last week. Not long after he left the phone rang. (I really, really hate those phone rings in the dark. They seldom bode well). It seems the Prius quit twice on him and would I go warm up the Fiesta while he limped home to switch cars. So he drove the Fiesta until yesterday. Yesterday was his day off and the Toyota dealer was open.

So he wakes me up at 5:30 on his day off (hey, that's sleeping in for an hour for him) and off we went to be one of the first in line for service at Modesto Toyota. I drove the Fiesta so we could leave the Prius and come home until they called to tell us what the problem was. I didn't see why we had to get up so early but did what my husband asked me to do.

The fatal call came. The Prius needs a $1695 catalytic converter AND a $3724 inverter. So before we picked up the car we discussed what we needed to do. The car has just under 317,000 miles on it. Trade in value in that shape is around $1800 if you can clear the fault logger so the dealer doesn't know there's stuff wrong. Can you sell a car with that many miles that needs that much work? Do you pour almost three times the value in the car into it and hope it will run another 100,000 miles?

Trading it in on a new car is out of the question. I hate car payments and have one already. I refuse to take on another. D wants to dump the money in the car. I want to dump the car asap because if it would be hard to sell now, how hard will it be to sell with even more miles on it? It would be junk and what if we can get a couple bucks out of it now.

So I went on line to Carmax to see if they buy cars if you don't buy one of theirs. They do. I did research and hoped we could get $$1500 for the car. D thought more. I laughed. They figure to sell it again so, of course, they would give us less than trade in for it. I figured anything was a plus. So I called and made an appointment.

We went back to Modesto and picked up the Prius from Modesto Toyota. They cleared the fault logger so there was no big ! on the screen in the car indicating a problem. We drove it directly from the Toyota dealer down the block to Carmax. They looked it over, drove it, and their experts appraised it. They offered us $1200 for the car. We took it. They were delighted to have it. They love to get used Prius in there. They marveled at the mileage and the good shape of the body and interior. Normal dings nothing extreme. It is the highest mileage Prius they have ever seen.

So we did the paperwork, with me jabbing D every time he started on one of his long winded stories. I wanted out of there before they drove the car very far, like to the parking lot behind the building, and the fault logger blazed an error on the screen in the dashboard. We finished up the paperwork and got out of there as quickly as possible without running. They give you a bank draft. We headed straight to the bank and deposited the money. Whew!

D is a little emotional about the loss of his beloved Prius and is complaining about the seats in the Fiesta and how it hesitates if you punch it. He's a little calmer today. But he was a pain in the _ _ _ last night. He said how we bought the Fiesta for me (he seems to forget we bought the Prius for me too) and he shouldn't take over my car for commuting. Today he's feeling better about the whole thing. It helped that we discussed all the cool stuff the Fiesta's Sync system does that I have never figured out. Besides making and answering phone calls by talking to it. So now he has a research project figuring out how the car will read his text messages to him and send them. How it will play his favorite tunes or play lists by artist, song, album, genre, or whatever he chooses. I think it does some other stuff too but never figured it all out. I'll leave it to the tech dude to figure out.

The fact of the matter is Darryl doesn't do change very well. He is finally used to my need to rearrange furniture and update my environment. But if he had his way he'd never change anything.
He's much better than he used to be but sometimes it takes a few days for him to digest a new situation.

So now I'm back to driving the truck for now. We are going to buy a very, very inexpensive used car for me to drive around here that will be better on gas and save mileage on the truck. I found a nice used Mustang but it was sold. I also found a nice Miata that gets fabulous gas mileage. D had nothing nice to say about anything I found. But today he sent me a text about the Miata. I think the Mustang is sold since I can't get in touch with the owner. Only 58,000 miles on it too. But we have plenty of time to find something. I have no idea what it will be. I know the right vehicle for the right price is out there or will be soon. I have patience and time.

Good Things

2011-11-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

I snapped this photo (can you still say snapped if you are using a digital camera?) early one morning. Yes, it's a sunrise. Storm clouds brewing but the sun will make it's spectacular entrance despite the coming storm. Well, coming sprinkles. It turned out not to be much of a storm. The rain gods have serious PR around here. The weather people act like we have never seen it before. Interrupting your television program to tell you it's raining. Like you can't see it. And if you are already on the road there is nothing you can do about it and you aren't watching television anyway. And if you have to go to work or home you have to go anyway you don't just wait for rain to stop. So I figure that the rain gods have an excellent public relations firm getting the word out there for them. Because, after all, it rains every winter. Even in drought years, although not much.

Maybe they change weather people often enough that the ones on the screen this year have never seen rain before. I'm certain it will rain this year. I'm certain I will drive in it. I will check my tires and wipers and make comments to my husband until I make him change his wiper blades. For some reason the price of wiper blades seems very high to him but an iPhone is a affordable. Go figure.

And this, my fellow spinners, is heavenly, lovely, the absolutely softest alpaca I have ever touched. It is a fleece I bought a year ago and I sent it out to have it processed and it's silvery and lovely and there are almost three pounds of it. I haven't started spinning it yet. I'm just in the touching stages now.

And this month the other fleece I sent out will be back. It's brown. A very reddish brown. It has the same micron rating as the gray one so should be just as soft.

The seller of these fleeces rated them gold, silver, bronze, etc. according to the quality. These were rated silver. Much cheaper than the gold fleeces but I could barely tell the difference so we splurged and got two silver ones. I got them at Stitches West.

I'm sure if someone wanted to come down in February and visit and go to Stitches West with Shannon and I they would find something as lovely as this. Stitches just gets bigger every year. Last year I missed the yarn bowls. I will be on the lookout for them this year.

By the way, the Lantern Moon yarn box I bought works well as two yarn bowls. That thing is seriously cool. I have plenty of yarn. It's all about the gadgets right now for me. Unless someone has a fabulous sale, maybe a full bag sale, on worsted weight yarn in a silk blend.

I'm just saying...

A Scared Night for Me and a Treat

2011-11-01T11:08:00.001-07:00

So D gets up on Halloween morning and suggests we go for a bike ride. It's just about the end of the riding season for us and the weather was spectacular! So, naturally, we wind up at By Hand Yarn in Sonora. It's our favorite yarn shop. And just happens to be a beautiful bike ride away with a good place to stop for lunch/dinner on our way home. I stuck to my guns and didn't buy any yarn.

But I did buy a little Treat. This is a thingy you put your ball of yarn in so it doesn't roll around on the floor or couch or wherever your yarn is wont to roll around. It's made by a company named Lantern Moon and they help people in villages in Vietnam support themselves by making really fabulous products. I recommend you look them up on line and read about them. Their products are top notch and often clever.

Do you see how nice the two parts of this box are? The fabric is beautiful and I love the way it buttons together. There's also a strap handle, like the one on the top of the box, on the bottom. It will hold a good sized ball of yarn easily. And with class. I love it.

And now for the Scared Night part of my story. Vinnie, one our little doxies, has been escaping from the yard lately so I go outside with them and keep an eye on him. Anytime he has escaped he comes right back when I call him or chases me down and hangs out with me. He just wants to be next to me.

A couple nights ago the two little dogs were outside, I was with them, when the phone rang. I ran inside to get it, found it was just a computer call, and ran right back outside. I couldn't have been gone more that 90 seconds tops. When I got back outside Vinnie was gone. I called and called him. I walked every inch of the property four or five times. No dog. D got home and drove up and down streets and along every field. We looked for him for hours. We didn't have any luck. I went to bed in tears. I left the doors slightly open and screens on the storm doors open. We left every outside light we have on. Hoping he would find his way back. When D got up to go to work at 4 a.m. he heard a small cry outside. It was Vinnie. He was very glad to be home. We don't have any idea where he was but are darn glad he didn't get hit by a car or snatched by a coyote.

The next day he was fitted for the smaller electric fence collar and now wears it until he's sure that if he gets close to that fence it will bite him. So now neither he or Charlotte will go near the fence. The only way to get Charlotte out of the yard is to touch her collar. Then she knows the fence won't bite her. I'm hoping that will work for Vinnie too. So far so good. Ringo is in heaven. When he wants to keep away from the other dogs he just walks or sits next to the fence. They won't go near him.

As an added bonus Vinnie can't tell if he's wearing the fence collar or the no bark collar so when he has the fence collar on he doesn't bark. Some people think these training collars are cruel. But I think they help to keep your dog safe. I use a different one for Charlotte when she's out of the yard and now she won't go more than four feet away unless I give her permission.

Doggone dogs are as bad as kids for making us worry>

Drop Spindles

2011-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

One of my readers, my sister actually, asked what a drop spindle is and what it does. Well, here you go. A drop spindle is a small tool that you use to spin yarn. It makes yarn just like a spinning wheel only you power it with a twist of your fingers instead of treadling with your feet. And you have to manually roll the yarn you spin onto the shaft of the drop spindle. There is a picture of a woman using her drop spindle above this text. In the right photo she's setting the spindle to spinning and in the left she is drafting the fiber and letting the twist climb into it.

Lots of places in the world a simple drop spindle is used to make yarn. And many of those spinners can out spin a woman with a spinning wheel today. All your clothes, unless you wear leather, is made of some kind of yarn. Your jeans, your dresses, everything. Some are woven and some are knitted. But all is made from some kind of yarn. If it's really tiny they call it thread but it's still spun and it's still yarn. Until the spinning wheel was invented in 500 - 1000 AD all yarn was spun with a drop spindle. Until very modern times most still was. Spinning wheels were and are expensive. Most people couldn't afford one. So you had to spin all materials that were to be woven or knitted with a drop spindle. You probably would begin learning about the age of three to five. Yes, I'm serious.

This is taking making yarn to the very, very basic core of the process. The reason I wanted to learn to do this is that it is portable. These are most of my drop spindles. The wooden one on it's side is the one I used to spin the orange/yellow fiber. Most of the ones in the glass are small and can be used to spin light, fine, fibers. I'm going to try some silk. It's strong and easy to spin. It's so strong you don't really have to spin it to knit with it. You could just pull it out to the thickness you want and just knit it. But I'm going to give the small drop spindles a try. Especially since I made the three on the right. I really should see if they work.

In the meantime, I finished knitting my sweater but it needs seam seaming before I show it off. I'll get to that one of these days. Maybe tonight. Who knows?

I'm Getting There

2011-10-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last year at the end of the year I made it my goal to finish all the projects I had started. Not just the projects I started in that year but all my unfinished projects. Well, I finished some knitting projects and some sewing projects and some crocheting projects. I did finish all the projects I started in that year. But I have two needlework projects I have never finished. One is crewel embroidery and one is cross stitch. I'm not sure if I will finish either of those this year but I will finish all the projects that I started this year. I have this sweater and a pair of socks for myself that I started in the spring.

I did a yarn substitution on the sweater and came up short for the dark teal and the light rust colors. I used this particular yarn because I knew it was always available. What I didn't realize is that not all the colors are always available. So I ordered the blue and it's being shipped as I type this but the rust, which makes a band all the way around the front/back/front, I'm not so sure I have enough and they don't have that color right now. So I'm on the list to be notified when the yarn stock goes up. I got a notification they were getting more in but when I looked not in the rust color. So I'll finish the other front, sew up seams, sew in ends, and see if I can be patient enough for the rust to come in or use up what I have, and since the sweater is striped use another color with the rust on the band. Sigh, and yes, I did order one ball more than I figured I needed.

The socks: I have figured out where I left off in the pattern but remembered the instructions for one of the stitches used is funky. I did figure it out but now I have to figure it out all over again. So I need a couple of hours with some quiet and nothing to do so I can unravel the sock pattern mystery. When I get started I won't stop working on them until they are done because I don't want to figure it out again. I'm at the increases for the heel gusset on the first sock so I have a long way to go.

And on the home front I got a reminder that your kids can scare the devil out of you even when they are grown. I got a call from Shannon 's husband, Will, that she is in the hospital in Oklahoma City where she is going to school for her job. She passed out in class and threw up so they called 911 and hauled her off. She is fine. It looks like a case of food poisoning. I'm glad she's okay but this ol' gal got a good scare there for a minute.

And I just found out it's Friday not Thursday so have stuff to do I thought I would be doing tomorrow but must be done today. I think there's a warp in the space time continuum.

What a day!

Laundry

2011-10-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

I have a clothes line. I've used one for years. But when we got Charlotte she pulled all the clothes off of the clothes line. So now I have a new umbrella style clothes line out of her reach. I didn't realize that there were advantages and disadvantages to different types of clothes lines.

I had just a single rope tied from the house to the gazebo. This worked well until the willow tree overgrew it and Charlotte got tall. The advantages were that there was a single row of clothes so they dried really fast and it was easy to hang stuff up. The disadvantages were that it would sag in the middle with heavy stuff so you had to be careful how you loaded it up and it would hold just one load of clothes. And you had to move your container of clothes pins and laundry basket with you as you hung up the clothes.

When I was at the cousin reunion in Washington my cousin had a clothes line that had a t shaped brace at either end with rows of clothes lines between. But the lines were spaced pretty far apart. So it was almost like having a single line with the advantage of more space so you could hang up more than one load of laundry at a time.

Now, with the umbrella type I can stand in one place and just twirl the clothes line. Easy. Also it will hold at least three loads of laundry at a time if you fill it. But the lines are pretty close together. And the ones near the pole are very short. You can only hang socks and undies on them. So I usually don't do more than two loads at a time and use every other line so the clothes aren't so crowded.

I think what you chose is simply personal preference and how much space you have for your line. But I think hanging clothes outside have so many advantages over the dryer.

1. You don't need any fabric softener to make your clothes smell wonderful. I feel cheated when I have to dry sheets and my pajamas in the dryer. Even Darryl's shirts smell good when he doesn't.

2. They will dry faster than the dryer in the summer. Light stuff will dry almost so fast I can take the first stuff off the line by the time I hang up the last of the load.

3. You save energy.

4. You can use less chemicals in your laundry. I am careful about bleach use because it kills the good stuff in the septic tank. So I can use less bleach because the sun does the job. And on breezy days I don't need fabric softener because the wind does a pretty good job. Better for stuff that touches my skin and the environment.

5. Less ironing. Yes, the wind does a fine job of removing wrinkles and if I don't get the clothes off the line when they are dry they don't wrinkle again as they would if I left them in the dryer.

So if you don't have a clothes line I recommend you get one. Even if you can only use it on your days off you will find it a little bit habit forming.

Crocheting Going On

2011-10-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

So I have this crocheted basket with cotton yarn in it. I love these baskets and had planned to made a few more. I don't like knitting with cotton yarn but don't mind crocheting with it at all. Most of the yarn is blue or greens. But there were a few partial balls of bright yarn so I picked up a crochet hook and started using them up. I opted for a bowl shape because I could use the yarn without planning ahead too much and worrying about running out of any one color. And I made the little bowl in the photo above. I stuck an African Violet in it so you can tell the size.

Well, I felt compelled to stop at some point and had a small amount of the orange and purple left over. So I made this tiny bowl. It sits next to me and I use it for tossing in small knitting things as I go. Such as bits of yarn that are snipped off after weaving in ends. Or maybe stitch holders, stitch markers, or stitch counters. It's a very handy tiny bow. and I love it.

So I was helping my friend and neighbor with the annual West Side Women in Action do that happens every year. They were short handed so I pitched in where I could and manned Linda's booth for her so she could schmooze and make sure all went smoothly.

They have a raffle and there are tons of raffle prizes every year. Enough for every person there to win one or two. They are a generous lot with generous friends. The proceeds from the raffle benefit the WSWIA scholarship fund. So I bought my 15 tickets. As did almost everyone there. I won six prizes. Including lunch for two at Mountain Mike's Pizza and a $25 gift card for Staples. I was also running the gifts to the winners. Then we were asked to pull a ticket and hand the ticket and prize to the announcer then run the prize to the winner. I felt so guilty winning so much that when I pulled the tickets I looked at the number to make sure it wasn't one of mine. There were three of us running the prizes so I won one prize because another runner pulled my ticket. There was a table of ladies with businesses in Patterson and they were meditating and thinking positives thoughts about winning. Every single one at that table won at least one prize. There were 10 at the table. I think since most of the day I was manning a booth right behind their table I was getting the Patterson good vibe over flow.

And for my sister who wanted to know what a drop spindle is and what it does I will do a post about that just for you later in the week.

Drop Spindle Spinning

2011-10-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

So I took my drop spindle with me to Canada. I had already started using it at home but was determined to do a little spinning with it every day, even while on a trip. Which is kinda the point of learning to use the thing in the first place. It's very portable. And not as slow as you might think.

So I finished spinning this fiber in Canada which is interesting because I bought the fiber in Canada last year. In Kamloops as matter of fact. So there is something symmetrical about the whole thing. In any case I was not too sure about my ability to ply these singles on my drop spindle for a couple of reasons. First is I'm not so sure about how even it is and how well I'd do if the singles broke. The second is because I'm not that good at plying yet anyway so I don't want to confuse myself with learning another technique when I don't feel I've mastered the basics yet.

So I brought it home and plied it on my wheel. The result is 314 yards of a sock weight yarn. I believe I began with 4 ozs of fiber. So when I finished it put it on a small table next to the last yarn I finished spinning and was still admiring but has a pattern with it and a goal in mind when I noticed that they go together pretty well.

I don't have any idea why blogger is doing this but I don't know how to fix it. I might have to start all over as I've had nothing but trouble with this template.

Oh good, it stopped. Anyway, I noticed that these two look pretty nice together. I have forgotten how much is in the darker hank there but since I haven't wound it into a ball yet it's easy to find out simply by counting the loops. Each loop around my niddy noddy is two yards. So I count the loops, multiply by two and I know about how many yards I have.

So now I'm thinking I might have to do some color work socks or something. But then there will be enough left over for another pair of color work socks. What the heck am I going to do now? And there is that new sock book I bought in Canada with all that cool color work in it. Hmmm.

I'm Still Here

2011-10-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

On my recent trip to Canada I took several projects with me. A sock project that I had put down and now have to figure out where I left off and what was hinky about the instructions. I figured out where I left off but didn't have the patience to figure out the instruction thing again.

Spinning with my drop spindle. I had put the roving into small bits to spin small amounts at a time and it was my goal to spin three of these bits a day. I did that and managed to use all I had left of the roving.

The sleeves for a sweater that I'm knitting for myself. The sweater has stripes and I didn't bring enough yarn so I had to stop when I reached the point of needing that color again.

Kelly gave me some yarn she didn't like and of course being a yarn pig I took it. But I'm not enamored of the of the colors. But I did cast on a plain sock, because I had nothing to knit on the plane, and finished the socks quickly. I decided to chuck the finished socks into a dye pot of Kool-Aid because I could do inside and didn't need any special equipment. I used two packages of red thinking that it usually comes out pretty light and I wanted to be sure it covered the muddy colors in the socks.

As you can see there is nothing muddy about the color red they are now. I do wish I had only used one package of Kool-Aid. Maybe the rest of the stripes would have shown up. But it is what it is and I now have a nice pair of bright red socks. And they smell good.

This is the back of a Christmas present I have been working on for a while. I'll take a picture of the whole thing but can't post it until after Christmas. All the materials for the project were purchased at the same time. But after it was finished I can see two different shades of gray in it. I hope the person who gets it doesn't mind because it is my first lace project and it is made of handspun alpaca. Spun by Darryl. It's lovely yarn. All of the fleece came off the same animal so I can't figure out the color thing.

And I took this photo in Kamloops when we were headed to dinner to celebrate Q's birthday. This is the brightest rainbow I have ever seen. It almost looked like you could touch it. And when we parked the end of it was right over a local bank branch. That must be where the gold is stored.

And There's More...

2011-09-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone that knows that I have lots of Oz stuff told me I had to take a picture of this sign that was on the portable toilet that Chris rented. I just can't figure out why?

It seems Darryl took more picture with his phone than I did with my camera. Sunset in Chris's back yard.

I'm sorry this photo didn't come out more clear. It has signs pointing to I-5 south and I-5 north and they are the same ramp. They split eventually, of course, but you can't tell that when you make the turn for the freeway. They need to add a third sign that says "trust me on this one".

This is a very bad picture I took when we stopped at a rest area. This is our light travel mode. One small suitcase for two people for 5 days. All our bike clothing layers are in the two saddle bags. You can see the one I use is open and there is a light layer and my purse in there on top.

And here are the three Harley's that showed up at Chris's place for the festivities. It must run in the family.

1,847 Miles

2011-08-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

That's how far we rode, round trip, to spend a day with my cousins. Yes, one evening, one day, one morning. It was the first Johnson cousin reunion and the California girls were going. Darryl and I went by motorcycle. Colleen, Ray, and Paul went by car. Sue and Patricia went by airplane. We all got there, we all stayed a very short time, and went home.

In the photo above are 15 of 19 first cousins. One uncle/father and aunt/mother, lots of in-laws, and more cousins that would be first cousin's kids. My sister Andi didn't make it. Her husband was ill. My cousin, Steve, didn't make it as he had just returned from a vacation and was tired from the driving. My cousin, Debbie, didn't make it because she had a previous engagement. And no one seems to know where my cousin, Lance, is.

It looks like this could be a regular event. The frequency has yet to be determined. I believe the location will change from event to event. We all had a great time and are looking forward to the next one.

Again, I don't have the pictures in the right order. This is the view of Puget Sound from my cousin Chris's house. It's a lovely snug house built in the 20's. I just loved it. Chris and her sister Claudia did most of the work. And a fine job it was too.

Here is the house as viewed from the Puget Sound side. Flowers, trees, and a killer view. It was lovely.

Chris was kind enough to put us up. Here is our humble abode. There is a nice plump air mattress inside and we were comfy and cozy. The weather was perfect.

The side of our tent was against this shop. I mean, really. The gate is that little square thing left of the window. It goes out to the carport. Could it be any more picturesque?

Two of my cousins showed up on their bikes too. Both Harleys. I will have to check my phone to see if I have a picture of all three bikes.

I'm so shocked Patricia and Kelly haven't posted pictures on their blogs. I'll just bet they both have better ones than I do. I was too busy visiting. I just realized there are a couple people missing out of my group photo. I may have to search for another and post it.

Hey! I finally posted something!

Love This Stuff

2011-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know if the underline is going to show or not. Blogger is giving me fits today. So a short post it will be.

The above photo is some fiber I bought in Modesto at the Urban Sheep. I just love it and started spinning it for the Spinning in the Winery thing. So every few minutes I have had lately I would sit down and spin this stuff.

And I wound up with singles that look like this. I was determined to spin sock yarn. But wasn't sure how much yardage I'd get out of 4 oz of fiber.

Here is the finished product and after I set the twist it bloomed a little but it will be socks for sure. I have a little over 350 yards and that will make a pair of socks for me. I have a pattern in mind and will find it later today.

Stupid Blogger!

Apricots and Seven

2011-06-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it's apricot season in Patterson. The tasty fruit is getting ripe. I realized I post pics of all kinds of trees, mostly in bloom, but not much for the apricot.

Patterson claims to be the "Apricot Capital of the World". At one time it may have been. Most of the varieties of apricots grown now were developed right here in the Patterson area. But so many apricots are imported now that most of the apricot orchards have been pulled out and nut trees put in. But I did see a fairly young apricot orchard recently and a peach or nectarine orchard that's very young also. So now many of the apricots that are left are organically grown because that is the only way they can compete with the import market. Such is the way of commerce. All I know is enough people around here still have a couple trees so I can get 'em fresh if I beg.

We have turned the boy cats outside and they are doing well. We thought we had all the feral cats pretty much gone. Until this morning. We caught number seven. Man! Those cats are mean! So the traps are set again and we will see if any more turn up. They seem to all related if you look at the coloring of them. No we are not catching the same ones over and over. I assure you that they have been relocated far from people, where the hunting is good, but they could wind up being prey. Good luck to them. I hope they get lots of ground squirrels. Which is what we bought the traps for in the first place.

Chapter Two in the Great Cat Saga

2011-06-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Patches is pissed. Very pissed. She will not let the other cats use her dishes or her favorite scratcher thingy. She sits next to her scratcher thingy and guards it. All gathered up in a tight stance like she it going to leap out at any moment. I had to put more dishes in for the other cats to eat and drink from. The above photo is the first time she has been on the bed since the other two cats have been inside. And that was just for a minute. Alfalfa looks at her like "so what!". I'm just darned glad she lets them use the litter box. Which I must change today because with three cats it doesn't last a month like with just one small cat.

This is Barley. He's getting fat being inside. We let him out for a day but found there were still feral cats around and brought him back in. Let's just a simple "kitty, kitty" and he ran back inside. It would be nice if they were all just in and out when they like. It's much simpler that way. But I fear that Patches has no street smarts and would get hit by a car. So inside she will stay.

I'm not sure when Barley puts that eye liner on but he has it on every morning when I get up. he does a pretty nice job of it. It's purrfect every day!

The bedroom door is open and the cats are free to roam the house but they purrrfer to lounge around on my bed all day. And then sleep on the bed all night. Patches is the only one that will come into the living room.

I may have to change her name to princess. I'm telling you, she could give a Diva lessons! She will sit on the floor and give me this look with her eyes half closed and her ears kinda flattened on her head that is certainly telling me where to go. Last night she finally got up on the bed and slept on top of me for a while. If she deemed that too close to those boy cats she slept between me and the edge of the bed. She doesn't even want to look at them.

We caught five feral cats so far. They have been relocated down by the river where the hunting is good and the people are scarce. We think there is one more kitten. They aren't little cute kittens. They are about 3/4 grown and mean as hell. I'm sure we are being kinder than a lot of people would be.

What to do about feral cats is the big question. I'm not in favor of just shooting them. Animal control doesn't have the budget to deal with them. Ideally, I think they should be captured, tested for disease, neutered, then turned back out into the wild to live out their days with no off spring. But I can't afford that and neither can the county. I can't bear the thought of shooting them either. And neither can my tough guy husband. It's certainly a problem. My animals are neutered and that's about the best I can do.

Wait until you hear about Charlotte and Alfalfa. I'll try to get the photos a bit clearer before I post them.

The Tale of Three Cats

2011-06-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

This is Alfalfa. This photo is remarkable because he is asleep on my bed, in my lap, and he's not sick. We got Alfalfa about 15 years ago from behind a small store in town. Okay, all the stores in town are small stores. I mean the Post Office has six parking spots and I can only remember twice having to park on the street. Even at Christmas. Anyway, we got this little kitten and he was pretty much feral. He never would come in the house without panicking so much we feared for his health and put him back outside. When he was about a year or so old he went in the street and got hit by a car. His back leg was broken. Like dangling broken. I don't know how long it took us to catch him but he was hiding in our garage. If you have ever seen our garage it would be like hiding in a fun house that's been meshed with a junk yard. But we caught him and he was wild! We jammed him in a crate and took him off the vet. They pinned his leg together and he's been just fine ever since. He used to fight any cat that came into our yard. We noticed in the last few years he just lets other cats go where ever they want to. He doesn't hunt like he used to either. D would have to show him the mice in the hay barn and maybe Alfalfa would go after one. He's fine and healthy, he's just slowed waaaay down. For Alfalfa Darryl and I are the only humans he can tolerate.

We also have Barley. I don't have a good picture of Barley right now. But I expect I will soon. Barley used to live next door to us. He was abandoned by his owner when she moved out. But I already knew Barley as he was Oats' brother. Oats is no longer with us. Barley was raised in a house with dogs. So being a relative and all we adopted him. It seemed it was okay with Alfalfa. In the last year or so it's Barley who chases off cats and does most of the hunting. Barley will let almost anyone pet him and doesn't run from the dogs. Which, I must say, confuses the hell out of the dogs.

Then there is Patches. I have posted many photos of her and she's a pretty spoiled princess. She never goes outside. Her dainty toes have never had to dig a hole in the hot summer dirt to do what she needs to do, then try to cover it up. Her food and water are waiting for her whenever she chooses to partake in small bite or two. She even yowls at me if she feels her litter box is no longer fit for her to use. And she doesn't shut up until I change it.

But lately there's been a discord in this peaceful kingdom. There seem to be a few very tough and wily feral cats around here. So much so that I can't put out enough food for Alfalfa and Barley. Barley will chase them away and get his share and he's fine. But poor Alfalfa was suddenly thin as a rail. And he was in the doorway a few days ago and I swear he was asking to come in.

So I talked to Darryl and we decided to bring the outside cats inside for a while so that we could trap the feral cats. Don't worry we take them down by the river where the hunting is exceptional. It's our own personal relocation program. So last night Alfalfa was hanging out by the laundry room door so we picked him up and brought him in the house. We were expecting yowling and pacing and general panic. Darryl showed him the litter box then showed him where the food and water are. Then he ate. And ate. And a little while later he ate some more. He looked casually around and peered at Patches but ignored her. Then he sat in the window and scoped out the outside. The next thing we knew he was asleep in the middle of the bed. Patches is so bent out of shape she can hardly meow. She threw me the most hateful kitty look you ever saw. But somehow managed to tolerate sleeping on my feet that night.

Then tonight Barley was hanging out by the front door so I picked him up and brought him in too. He yowled, and paced, and pretty much begged to get out. We showed him the litter box. We showed him the food and water. He didn't eat or drink it. He wants outside. Then Alfalfa came over to him and rubbed his body all over Barley and Barley seemed to calm down. But Miss Patches is seriously pissed off. Her domain has been invaded by these two interlopers! All three are confined to the master bedroom and bath to prevent dog encounters of the loudest kind. No sense freaking them out any more than they have to be.

We went outside after dinner and set traps for the feral cats. Stay tuned for the Further Adventures of the Three Big Cats! Will Patches ever forgive me? Will Alfalfa want to go back outside? Will Barley ever come in the house again? And how many feral cats are there really?

Respect the Spindle

2011-06-12T17:30:00.000-07:00

This is my drop spindle. You make yarn with it. I've been wanting to be able to be half way proficient with it because it's so darn portable. I've fiddled with it off and on for a while but fairly recently I decided to use some fiber I really like and really learn to use this thing. We got busy and i set it down for a while. Then Shannon gave me a gift certificate for Mom's Day for Amazon. I know she had Kindle books in mind when she gave it to me but I used it a little differently.

I also want to be better with my spinning wheel so I bought a DVD about learning to spin that is going to teach me the ins and out of spinning. I can do it but am not exactly sure what I'm doing. Well, I had the DVD on my order sheet and still had some credit on my gift card so I got a book called "Respect the Spindle". I sat down to look it over and was immediately entranced. So I began at the beginning and every chance I got I read a little further into the book.

It goes into the history of spinning. It turns out the spinning wheel is only hundreds of years old but spindles can be traced back almost as far as man is. It tells about how the politics of textiles contributed to the American Revolution. It talks about types of spindles and why they developed where they did. And the physics and ergonomics of spinning.

And of course, types of spindles and how to spin. The spindle you see in the above photo is my first and only spindle. The clunky mushroom thing is call the whorl. These can be on the top of your spindle or toward the bottom. And it turns out that how this whorl is weighted makes a big difference on how the thing spins. Mine is weighted toward the shaft which makes it spin faster. But a whorl weighted to the outside spins slower but longer. Then I read than top whorl spindles like mine tend to wobble, which mine does from time to time. Bottom whorl spindles are more stable. So now I'm thinking if I'm still learning and am pretty slow at drafting my fiber slower and longer would be better for me at this stage. And a bottom whorl would be more stable. So off to Etsy I go and find two bottom whorl spindles I want to try. They are much cheaper on Etsy than the fiber shows, that's for sure. You can get them for as little as $10. But my book shows you a pretty easy way to make a very stable one with a toy wooden wheel and a dowel.

I also learn that the yarn I've spun and wrapped around the shaft of my spindle is called "cop". I didn't know how much I can wind onto the shaft of my spindle. But the book says usually you can wrap yarn the weight of the spindle before it gets too unstable. So if your spindle weighs 2 oz. you can probably wrap 2 oz. of yarn on the shaft. I just started a second cop of that fiber in the photo. I learned that when you wind singles (unplied yarn) into a ball you need to wind a tight ball. I didn't know that either.

I am getting better with my spindle and will finish up the fiber I have on this spindle because I don't know what would happen should I try one of the new ones and I want the yarn to be somewhat consistent. I figure if I can master this skill to the point I'm not embarrassed to do it in public, it would be nice because the spindle is so darn portable and unlike knitting I don't feel I have to get to the end of the row or of the needle.

I am going to try my hand at making a couple drop spindles soon. I think I have a good idea how many of the really pretty ones are made and where to get the materials. If any of you spinners out there want to give a drop spindle a try I recommend you buy this book, "Respect the Spindle" as soon as you get your spinning supplies or before. It is a fascinating book.

I'll Get You My Pretty!

2011-06-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

With both spiders and flies in the house I have often thought the spiders actually do pretty good catching the flies. But I never saw one in action until now. I just happened to see this spider attacking his prey on one of my window. I'm not crazy about either one being inside but I dislike the fly worse than the spider. So I say...go for it Spidey!

And I have been busy with lots of other things but managed to get a row or two in on a sock now and then. So here is the pair I finished last night. Okay, Darryl finished the last sock. I hand it to him and he quickly grafts the toe together. The black wedge in the photo is Charlotte's nose. I hope the socks meet with her approval.

Speaking of dogs: I took Charlotte for her one year checkup. She is happy and healthy. Loved everyone until the vet stuffed junk in her nose. She played with a Golden Retriever while I paid the bill. They didn't want to part. But when I told her to heel she snapped to and paid attention the me instead of the other dog. The other day I walked with her to the mail box and let her off lead on the way back to the house. She stayed in the heel position like she should. Of course no cats, chickens or other critters crossed her path to distract her. Maybe she's getting the hang of it after all.

And in the small dog section: Vinnie and Ringo got out of the yard and went after a chicken. They were chasing the chicken and I was chasing them. It must have been quite a sight! They cornered the poor chicken who was cackling wildly. They pulled all the feathers out of her butt before I could grab the two rascals. The chicken is fine and the two dogs feel like big shots. I'm happy the chicken didn't get hurt and the dogs are happy they got to "hunt" a chicken, the chicken is darn happy the dogs are no longer in her turf.

I tell you there's never a dull moment around here.

Giving You the Bird!

2011-06-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

So, I'm minding my own business just doing stuff around the house. I come in the living room and find a bird fluttering around in there. Now, I've had many a bird in the house before but this was a little bit different. It was a humming bird! The pictures aren't that great because I used my cell phone again. The top one isn't that good a photo but there's a darn good reason. My cell phone is in a red case and the bird kept flying right up to the phone! I could feel his tiny wings on my fingers! It was crazy!

He kept landing for just a second or two and was able to get this picture. There is nothing wrong with his wing I just shot the photo before he got it all the way folded.

I could have reached out and picked the tiny guy up at almost any time but was afraid to because if I grabbed him wrong or he struggled too much I was certain he would break. So I got the big fish net for my Bigredmean Fish and used that. This took a little while because he kept landing on the net or he was too close to the edge of the window and I feared crushing his tiny wing. i finally got him safely in the net and released him out the front door. He flew fast and far!

There was a bee on the window and I was hoping to get a picture of the bee next to him but he was just too fast. The bee was about the size of the bird's head. He made an ordinary bee look HUGE!

My new car is great! I went to Castro Valley to my daughter's house a couple weeks ago and I did about 70 mph, maybe a little faster over Altamont Pass. My gas mileage was over 41 MPH. Not bad for a non-hybrid car!

I may have to quit washing the car though. Rain in June?!! This is just crazy! Maybe a sprinkle now and then but never, ever, never a downpour like today. The Spinning in the Vineyard thing was supposed to be today but was canceled due to the weather. It's Apricot Fiesta weekend. I'm hoping D and I will get to town to check it out but I'm not sure any of the vendors showed up. We will see what happens. It's stopped raining for now. I know that I have cousins in Washington and area that read my blog and they might be used to this but I don't know how they deal with it. It's chilly and muddy and generally yucky. No horse riding. No motorcycle rides. And muddy dogs. Yuck again!

A New Car!

2011-05-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

After some thinking, discussing, figuring, looking, and doing research we broke down and bought a new car. Yup. A. Brand. New. Car. Now, this isn't something we do much. Lots of folks change their rides every 3-5 years. Not us. We keep 'em until the wheels fall off. Except for the Neon (never a Chrysler product again) we usually get around 300,000 miles out of our cars. And newer cars are even better.

We decided we couldn't afford a Prius at this time so we opted for one of the cheapest cars on the market. The Ford Fiesta. It's got a great safety rating and is appointed nicely for the price. And so far I'm averaging 34 mph. Not too bad for a non-hybrid car.

This particular car is the SFE model that is supposed be be a bit more fuel efficient than the other models. I thought I wanted a hatch back but the trunk is larger than in the hatchback. It has the Sync system, ambient lighting, Sirius radio, heated seats and a few more bells and whistles I haven't figured out yet.

I have to remind D to drive it. He gets in the truck and goes. The idea is to not put any more miles on the truck than we need to because it would be the most expensive vehicle to replace and can you say $100 to fill the gas tank? Then we leave the Prius in the driveway except for Darryl's commute thereby saving miles on it and it will last longer. The dealer thinks it'll go 500,000 but we will see about that.

The thing Darryl likes most about the car is the name of the color. It's called Candy Apple Metallic and it's exactly the color of the car. He likes that it's not Urban Sunset Red or something. And here is the surprise. He's not happy about learning to use all the fancy tech stuff in the car. He won't even press a button to change the color of the lights in the car! In fact he's down right grumpy about the "new fangled gadgets"! Who'd a thunk?!

I took this picture of Charlotte as she was sitting on me in the bed this morning. This is as regal as she gets. She usually looks pretty goofy. Kelly was surprised at how tall she is. You can't really tell from the pictures of her. I thought this kinda shows it. I'm sitting up in bed and her front feet and back legs are straddling my legs. She's as tall as me if you stretch her vertically. She can look in the bedroom window with all four of her feet on the ground.

I apologize for the crappy pictures but I took them with my cell phone. I just didn't want to go get my camera. And sometimes you just have to capture the moment.

Charlotte is German!

2011-05-05T07:39:00.001-07:00

So I have this wonderful dog that is now just a over a year old. We were told when we adopted her from the Escalon Animal Control that she was Great Dane and Bernese Mountain Dog. Well, that just didn't seem to fit so my curiosity got the best of me and I did research to find the company that did doggy DNA tests with the most breeds and generations. I bought the test, swabbed Charlotte's mouth and TA DA, a couple weeks later I have answers.

Unexpected answers. I would have never guessed answers. She is almost a designer dog. A designer dog being a breeding between two pure bred dogs. Almost.

All the way back on one side of Charlotte's family she is, indeed, a Great Dane. Back to her great grandparents. And I'm not sure you are aware but Great Danes are not Danish. They are German. Yes, the breed was developed in Germany.

Now the other side of Charlotte's family is a bit more complicated. Her great grandparents on that side are an undetermined mixed breeds and two (wait for it) German Shepherds. So one of Charlotte's grandparents was a pure bred German Shepard who messed around with a mixed breed who apparently had some German Shepard in it too because you will see by the numbers that she is a great deal German Shepard. So Charlotte's parents are a German Shepard/mutt and a pure bred Great Dane.

The numbers break down like this:
Great Dane 50%
German Shepard 40.41%
Bull Mastiff 7.29%
Basset Hound 1.21%
Rottweiler 0.22%
Norfolk Terrier 0.22%
English Setter 0.20%

Or we could break it down by country. Since the Bull Mastiff, Basset Hound, Norfolk Terrier (I still can't figure that out since it's a very small dog), and English Setter were all developed in England that makes Charlotte 8.92% English. And the Dane, Shepard, Rottweiler were all developed in Germany that makes Charlotte 91.08 % German.

So since she's almost a designer dog I will give her an almost designer dog breed name. Charlotte, I now pronounce you a Great Shepardane! After all she is great.

I wonder if there is a company out there that will test my DNA and tell me my ancestry breakdown so quickly, easily, and cheaply. Wouldn't that be fun to know?

I Must Have Been Absent That Day

2011-04-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've not been the best blogger in the world lately. I'd like to offer a few excuses:

1. I've tried several times but for some reason Photoshop is being weird about cropping photos. I don't know why it's doing what it's doing but I have no patience to deal with it right now. Yes, I know I can post without photos but it's not as much fun and my words have to make sense.

2. I kinda zoned out for a while after Mom's death. Everything took longer than I thought it would and my energy was a little on the low side. But I'm much better.

3. We got a horse back. I don't know if I told you this yet. We sold Roxie. Two women came to look at her. One, who did buy her, the owner. One who advised the owner to buy her, the adviser. So our farrier told Darryl there was a woman who was looking for someone to train her draft horse, a gelding. She lives on Ash. Well, that's the street where Roxie lives. It turns out the adviser lives there. Roxy's owner has not paid the horse boarding fees and the adviser had fallen in love with Roxy and was taking good care of her. But the guy who actually owned the horse boarding place wants the two draft horses out of there. The short version is that we paid Roxy's back boarding fees and brought her home. Darryl will start training the Drum horse that belongs to the adviser in a month or so. And it could be that we might board the Drum horse with us. For a fee of course. I don't know about that yet. In any case Roxy is back with us.

4. The cat had to go to the vet and I put it off as long as I could. Patches, inside cat, has a bald belly. The vet checked her out and it seems she is pulling out her own fur and now has a tiny skin irritation that causes her to keep pulling her fur out. So she got an antibiotic shot and and e-collar she has to wear for a couple of weeks. The cause is weird. I moved her litter box for Mom's funeral and apparently that bothers her. Her symptoms are all in her head. Leave it to me to have a crazy cat.

4. It took a bit of time to deal with Mom's estate. It's almost done though. Except for next years taxes, of course. It was a pretty easy deal but there were still forms to fill out and lines to sign on, and a checkbook to balance.

5. I was absent the day they taught blogging etiquette in school. The dog ate my keyboard. Someone took my mouse. I didn't know I was supposed to have it done that day. And I had the flu and couldn't get away from the bathroom long enough to do it.

That's my story and I'm stickin' too it.

Happy anniversary Darryl! 21 years on Sunday and I'm looking forward to 21 more.

Goodbye Mom

2011-04-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my mother recently passed away. It's been a very busy and sad time for all of us. I thought today would be especially difficult. We were emptying out her apartment. It wasn't as stressful as we thought it would be.

Among Mom's things we found a letter lovingly written to Dad. I thought I would pass along her gift to my father. Some things never change:

January 1, 1976

Dear Andy,

This is a New Years gift for you. You will notice it is a tuit. I wanted to give you one for your Birthday but it didn't seem a nice enough present for that, and Christmas I wanted to get you something nice, and for our anniversary I forgot about it. you will notice it is not square, but round. The reason is that I have never heard you say "when I get a square tuit" but hundreds of time you have said "when I get a round tuit" so I figured this must be something you have needed for about 28 years and certainly should have after waiting so long for one.
Remember the new kitchen linoleum we bought in November of 1974 - you couldn't put it in the kitchen because you never got a round tuit - so in November of 1975 we got indoor-outdoor carpeting for the kitchen floor and you never got a round tuit. I figured if you didn't get a round pretty soon in a few years all your tools will be out of the garage and sitting in the yard because of all the kitchen flooring that we keep buying and putting in the garage because you never got a round tuit.

I trust that now you have a round tuit that in 1976 you will be able to correct the kitchen flooring problem, and maybe even install the paneling in the front room that you haven't been able to do for 8 years because you didn't get a round tuit and if a round tuit really works as well as you say it does I might even get the book shelves made for the front room.

Incidentally, round tuits are relatively inexpensive to make and if you should need one for the garage, bedroom, motor home, please let me know as I wouldn't want to be the cause of your not getting to do the things you want do because you don't have a round tuit. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

All my love,
Ellen

And this was with the letter.

Making Up For Unblogged Blog Entries

2011-03-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

I've been carrying my camera around and snapping a few pics but haven't loaded them up on blogger. So here ya go: these are bees. What might look like dust or falling flower petals isn't. It's a jillion bees. Just before everything starts blooming these boxes appear in the orchards. That's our signal to not drive with the windows down anywhere near an orchard. Sometimes they are so thick in the trees in our front yard it sounds like electric lines buzzing. Nope. Just bees.

And people are always happy to see new orchards so here is a baby orchard. I did not get out of my car and inspect closely but I believe these trees to be apricot. They kinda look like cherry trees but it's too early for them to be blooming.

These are apricots. A fairly new orchard. You can tell by the bark and the trees haven't been pruned a lot. They will get that charcteristic stumpy look next pruning, I'm sure.

And last but not least, for some unknown reason, Patches has decided that the top of the shower door is her new favorite place to be. Go figure

I've started the Dipped Infinity Scarf. It's nice. It's fun to knit. But I'm not crazy about the needle size choice or the way they blend the colors. It's worked with two strands of sock yarn held together. But they way they say to do the color blends leaves distinct stripes. I think the fabric is just a bit too dense. So when I finish this one I'm going to make another on one size larger needles. I'm going to use the same colors, if I have enough, and blend them differently. We will see what happens. I have to weigh the yarn I have left and see if I have enough of each color. It could wind up being narrower than the original. That's okay.

More Pictures Than Usual

2011-03-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a long time between posts. But I've been very busy with Mom and paperwork around here that when I have down time I don't even think to turn on my computer. I might have to actually get up again. I'm gonna try to do better so I don't waste all those lovely blog ideas running around in my head.

On the way to Modesto I have to drive through the countryside. Okay, on the way to anywhere I have to drive through the countryside. Right now the almond trees are in full bloom or even bursting out in pale spring green leaves. The orchard above is just between those two. It's in full bloom and although you can't see the leaves yet they are right there ready to pop out. Those are blossom petals on the ground not snow. Almonds bloom first and announce the coming of spring in a very flashy way. The few apple orchards around here are also in bloom. Apricots, peaches, and nectarines are just now blooming. Those trees have a much darker pink bloom. And last and best are the cherry trees. They haven't started yet. But they will soon.

Okay, here are my observations on interchangeable needle sets, for what it's worth. First up are the cables. From left to right, a Boye set I've had for at least 35 years, Denise, Knit Picks Options, and Hiya Hiya. I included the Boye even though I don't use them anymore just to show that interchangeable knitting needle sets have been around for a very long time. And I've used them for a very long time. I don't have every brand out there but I have a few. The cable on the Boye needle, white in the photo, set is HUGE and by now old and stiff. They never were very flexible. The Denise cable, blue in the photo, is also large and not all that flexible and soft. They have the advantage of being able to hook several lengths of cable together so you can have just the length you need and you can use them for stitch holders by simply removing the needle and attaching a button that comes with the set. The Boye needle set has the same advantage. They are okay for large needle tips. The Knit Picks cables, purple in the photo, I find to be too stiff for me but I like that they are smaller in diameter than the Knit Picks. I really like the cable on the Hiya Hiya best. I have the small cables, you have the option to buy a set with bigger diameter cables if you prefer. I like the small ones. They are soft without being floppy. They don't kink at all and conform to a soft gentle curve when you take them out of the package.

Okay, let's talk about joins. I'm sorry about the light in the photos. But I'm not all that good a photographer. The old Boye set has smooth joins but I don't like the bend in the portion that attaches to the needle itself. They screw on and don't stay screwed on anymore. I wore them out years ago. The Denise needles don't have a nice join. They click on easily but don't use them for fine yarns or the yarn will get stuck in the join. A real pain. I have had them come unclicked. But they are fine with larger yarns. The Knit Picks options are very nice at the join. It's a screw in type. The Hiya Hiya has a killer join. I mean it's great! There is a crimp on the needle above the join that, I believe, serves to lock the connecting mechanism in place. Since it is a crimp the edges are rounded and it doesn't pose any issues that I have found yet.

The tips are all a little different. The Knit Picks is on the left, and has a very, very, nice point. I'm a pointy needle girl and I like this one the best of the points. The Denise are not pointy at all but have a nice long taper which is something else I really like. The Hiya Hiya needles are not as pointy as I like but have a very, very long taper, which I really like.

The needles are all different lengths. I'm going from bottom to top here. The Knit Pick Options needle is about the same length as the Hiya Hiya needle here. They are both fine. A longer needle is what I prefer. With the Knit Pick Options you can have acrylic, wood, or metal. This needle is from a sample set they have that allows you to try them all. Darryl prefers Harmony wood needles so that is what we bought for him. The Denise set has the shortest needles but it's not really noticeable because of the larger cable size and stiffness. The Hiya Hiya have options. When you buy them you choose the thickness of the cable and the length of the needle. I have the smallest cable and the longest needle. A very nice option. The needles are stainless steel. They are hollow and that makes them light weight. They have a very slight texture, they aren't smoothly polished. It puts me in mind of Signature Needle Arts needles. And the Boye, well, they are just damned old and worn out.

This is about where the cord joins. They are work very well. I have felt the join on the Hiya Hiya's but it doesn't slow me down. The BIG advantage here is that the Hiya Hiya needles swivel at the join. Your work always lies just right in your lap no matter how you hold your needles.

The Knit Picks have not arrived yet so I don't know what kind of case they come with but we have ordered a Hiya Hiya case for them. They come as a full set from size 5 to really big for the most reasonable price. The Denise comes in a compact storage case that isn't all that big and the needles provided come in ten sizes beginning at size 4. The Hiya Hiya needles are purchased in either the smaller sizes, 2.27 - 8, or large sizes 9 - 15. They come in a great compact case that is strong and beautiful. You can see it in a previous post. If you have both sets they will all fit in one case. Then you can use your other case for, say...your Signature Needle Arts dpn's. But they are more expensive than the Knit Picks or the Denise, but cheaper than Addi's, if you are an Addi girl. You can't connect the cables together for a really long cable but you can get a 60" cable for a very small amount of money. All the sets have the option of adding needle tips and cables if you choose too.

And I have no idea why this is a chosen irrigation method but it looks pretty cool. The water is going into an irrigation ditch not just running out on the road.

I complained to Darryl that he made glittens, a fingerless glove with a flip over mitten top, for everyone but me. So he asked me to bring him some yarn and he'd make me some. So I gave him a bunch of yarn with oranges in it to use up and this is what he made for me. Wouldn't these cheer you up on a cold day?

And these are socks that I made as a gift. They are fun to look at but I don't like the fun fur type yarn. But they look so cool and it's only two inches of ribbing so what the heck. I have finished one military sock but haven't cast on the other yet. I'm feeling another bout of startitis coming on and the yarn for my cardigan hasn't all arrived yet. I have the yarn all set out for the Dipped Infinity Scarf. I'll just bet I have the right sized needles around here somewhere.

Stash Busting Meets Startitis But Finished Stuff Too

2011-02-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

Wow! For a second I thought I was done with this long post. Then I remembered this other thing I finished that I wanted to show off. As if this post wasn't confusing enough.

So here is 270 yards of Pygora that I spun on my wheel. After this photo I set the twist and hung it out to dry on a sunny day, then got the ol' ball winder out and finished it up. Then after a really bad day Charlotte took it off the mantel and set too enjoying my ball of yarn. To say I was unhappy is an understatement. Yes, the dog still lives. Darryl had pity on me and took the whole mess and carefully rewound it into a ball by hand. I just love that man to pieces.

I decided to add the pictures of the stuff I finished so nothing is in the right order. This is the ruffle scarf mentioned later in the blog.

This is seacell/merino top that I've pick out to try to spin with my drop spindle. I'm determined to become accomplished with this tool. It's time I quit practicing and started spinning something I will use.

And this is the roving I'm spinning next on my wheel. The colors aren't nearly right in this photo. They are very deep and rich colors. I have enough that I may give three ply a chance. I'm thinking it will turn out a bit more subtle when plied like that. The color runs are too short for Navajo ply to do much good.

This is my finished bowl that I talk about in the following picture. Yeah, I know a pretty confusing post but at least it has lots of pictures!

Here is the little basket I'm making out of the leftover paper yarn. I didn't want to waste the yarn and I thought this was a good idea. I turns out that scratchy stuff seems scratchier when you crochet. But the good news is that I have finished the bowl. I'll show it off in another post.

And this is the shawl I cast on for a Christmas gift. But it's work lengthwise and I'm a rookie lace knitter so I ripped the whole thing out, note the hard to rip out mohair/silk blend, and cast on for a simpler lace shawl worked width wise. But lace patterns take a lot of concentration so I'm only a half dozen rows into the new shawl. It's about as warm and soft as it can get. It's a lovely yarn. Even if it's slippery as all get out and about as heavy as sewing thread.

The military sock is moving along. It's a basic sock so I pretty much knit on it on the go or if I don't feel like messing with a more complex pattern. I think by now I can knit a sock in my sleep. It's possible that I have actually done a few stitches while asleep. Maybe.

This is some more strange yarn I bought on sale in a craft store. If you put this stuff in the sun or under a lamp, when you turn off all the lights it glows for about five minutes. But it's also soft. This is just a simple ruffled scarf. And I've finished this one too. Darryl says it's too skinny. But he doesn't get fashion or fun in wearing scarves.

I haven't actually cast on for this Dipped Infinity Scarf yet. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. But I had purchased a sock yarn sampler some time ago. They send you a ball of many colors but a ball makes only one sock. Since this pattern calls for sock weight yarn I just dug out eight colors and I'll be casting on for this one soon. I think that if I like this pattern it may be one that will be good for using up those bits of sock yarn. It's worked with two yarns together and then switching out one yarn every few rows.

And I had joined a sock club a few years back. Not the Blue Moon Fibers one. This one is the one that the Tsock Tsarina has. Anyway, all the patterns are pretty darn complex so I haven't finished many of them. But here is one I've started. Those of you who know I'm not matchy matchy about my hand knitted socks but that I embrace the individuality of each sock can see why I chose this one.

I didn't buy any yarn at Stitches West and hope to do a post on interchangeable needles next time. At least with my experience with them. And the ones I've fallen in love with.

Mom

Okay, in a nutshell, Mom has been in and out of the hospital a time or two recently. She has been fighting a urinary tract infection, confusion, pneumonia, trouble breathing, and a lower intestinal tract infection. I took her back to Manteca Care and Rehab a few days ago. I don't think she will be be there long because she is doing much better. Some of the confusion she is experiencing will probable be there from now on but she's much better. I want to thank you all for your good wishes. I am never alone in dealing with Mom and her problems. I have incredible sisters at my disposal anytime I need them. They help me a great deal, each in their own way. I couldn't be luckier.

Horses Laying Down

Darryl has been training the horses to lay down. He sent a video to several people who seem to think he is being cruel and see no reason why anyone would do this training. It bonds Darryl to the horses even more, if that is possible, and makes the horse more respectful of all humans. I'm not certain why horses seem to like us, after all we haven't been all that good to them historically. They are intellegent, affectionate animals. But they are prey animals and we are preditors. We want them to trust us and work as a team with us. Laying down helps them to develop trust in us. They are not forced to lay down. As if Darryl could force a 1300 pound animal to do anything it didn't want to do. They are made to be uncomfortable standing on three legs but laying down is their choice.

When we first got the draft horses they were kind but not respectful. They were dangerous for anyone to be around because of this. When you went out in the field they did not respect your space and crowded in on you all at once. This is very dangerous. Even our smallest horse at 700 pounds is much bigger than us and needs to respect our space. I feel confident that if a child wandered into the arena with our horses they would not be harmed even if they poked, poked, prodded and pulled. This is a direct result of training.

Laying down your horse is also a preface to other training. Darryl has bad knees and I have arthritis in most of my joints. Darryl will teach Sarah and Stormy to sit so that we can get on them easily. We aren't getting any younger and, I don't know about you, but we would like to stay active and continue to ride our horses into our 70's. That requires lots and lots of training.

So I hope that explanation is helpful. Neither Darryl or I would intentionally train an animal in a cruel way.

New & Old Stuff

2011-02-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

So I finished up the projects I had going and it was time to start new ones. So I cast on for a lace shawl. That project isn't going so well but it doesn't need to be finished until Christmas so I have plenty of time to fiddle with it or rip it out. Then I picked out a sock kit I had never done. It is very fiddly and a little bit strange to me in the beginning. I've gotten past the toe and am now into the patterning of the foot but it will be slow going. So I looked around for a simple carry along sock to do. Some time ago Kelly gave me replica kit for WWII servicemen socks. I never knit it up because it came in a nice tin and had old time style print. It was just too cool to actually do. It comes with yarn, needles, yarn needle, and instructions for a pair of socks. Anyway, I opened the kit and cast on for the socks. I did make a couple changes to the pattern, which is a simple basic sock pattern, I added elastic to the ribbing and the leg of the sock will be slightly shorter. Since they are men's socks I'm giving them to my man. The pattern calls for 3" of ribbing and 8" of leg for a total of 11" of sock before you begin the heel. D decided that was fine if you are in the army and wearing tall boots but a mite tall for him. So I did 3" of ribbing and 6" of leg and am ready to start the heel flap next time I'm out and about.

I am posting pictures of the kit so you can see just how cool it is. I'm not sure how much you can actually read but the pattern is dated 1942. It's a simple, basic, sock pattern, the same kind I use when making any basic sock.

Darryl has been teaching the horses to lay down and doing trail training with them. Even though Stormy isn't broke to ride yet it's a good idea to be able to get her into the trailer so we can take her to the vet or transport her if necessary. You can see that Sarah is already in the trailer. Sarah is getting so good that Darryl can point at the trailer, with Sarah 20' away, and tell her to "get in the trailer" and she just goes. Niiiiice. It's a real pain when your horse won't go in the trailer if you need them too. Trailers are dark caves to horses and they don't like them. So the idea is to work them outside the trailer and they only rest inside the trailer. Pretty soon the inside of that trailer looks pretty good to them because they can just stand there and do nothing. The idea is to get the trailer so desirable to them that if your horse gets loose all you have to do is look in all the trailers to find your horse. I'll believe that when I see it.

So when all this latest round of stuff with Mom's health started I had all my file drawers on the table in the dining room with file folders and labels and all kinds of junk around. I was cleaning out my files. Then Mom's stuff came up and that mess sat there for two weeks. I finished it all up on Sunday and all the files are clean and current. So when we were moving Mom we piled up all her paperwork in one spot and I brought it all home. She is no longer capable of doing her own finances. So now I have all her stuff to go through and organize. She hasn't been keeping good records or paying her bills so now that job falls to me. So now I have all this stuff, which I put in the guest room, to go through. We found papers everywhere. Magazine racks, drawers, just all over. So I need to get this sorted so I can do her taxes. I will tackle this next week.

Here is her finished room. She asked me to find her a bookcase headboard but I was unable to do so in the time we had to move her. I would like to thank Tommy and Marley for the bed. We didn't know when she was coming back to her apartment and needed to be ready. At the conference for her yesterday we were told she is going home on the 21st. Sue and I will go get her and take her to her new apartment. Although she now has a studio apartment, she has the same kitchen but no living room and she has a small patio. Darryl and I added a couple chairs from our place and a table so she can go out there and sit if she likes. These chairs are light weight and roomy and do not tip easily so should work well for her.

So we had our meeting yesterday and were told she's good to go. She's still not right in her head but that doesn't seem to concern them. And since she'll be in assisted living now she'll be safe. The criteria for Kaiser to release her to go home seems to be how far she can walk. We has a discussion about whether or not she'd need oxygen at home and they said no. But when Colleen got to the rehab place Mom couldn't breathe and Colleen had to get help and they put the oxygen back on her. So that part is supposed to be re-evaluated. At the meeting yesterday afternoon they hadn't got the results of her latest x-ray. At 10pm last night they called and told me she still has pneumonia. So I asked if she was still scheduled to be released on Monday. My question was met with silence. They are supposed to get back to me today. Also, I requested a test to determine if her urinary tract infection was gone. They couldn't tell us if it was or wasn't. So I'm supposed to have those results today. But as far as I know they are planning for us to take her home on Monday. After all she can walk 100 feet.

I'm Still Here

2011-02-10T09:57:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to post a couple times a week but I've been so darn busy with unexpected events that I just didn't get to it. For that I apologize. I did actually turn my computer on there for a couple days.

D came back from the feed store and brought me a present. My very own spurs! These are bumper spurs. Our horses don't really need anything more than that. And then only occasionally. I need to get some spur straps to attach them to my boots but that will be fun to shop for. Later.

Here is a photo of the highlighter tape in it's dispenser. I haven't thought to look at an office supply store but maybe that would be a good place to try to find some. It's nice stuff But I think this roll was about $7. It ain't cheap.

I finished my market bag. It's made from paper yarn. I did rinse it in the sink to see if it would soften some. It didn't. D pointed out that it is made of paper and maybe soft paper isn't such a good idea. He might have a point there. In any case I'm going to pack this in D's backpack for Stitches West on the 18th. Extra toting power is always a good idea when you are headed there.

I grabbed a pair of socks out of my drawer to put on my feet and to my horror this is what greeted me on my foot. I have no idea what happened here. I can't see that this is a place a sock would wear out. But I may patch it up as best I can. I don't think I can let these socks go. Not for just one little old hole.

And I had to model to flame socks on my feet. They are delightful, even if I do say so myself. I've dug out a sock yarn kit I haven't done to start next. I also cast on for a lace shawl. I've already started over on the shawl and ripped out. I have an error on it now and have to rip back a row. It's mohair/silk yarn and is fuzzy. It's worked lengthwise so I have about 300 stitches to rip out. Lucky it doesn't need to be finished until Christmas. And I have a little of the paper yarn left and am fooling around with crocheting a small basket out of the remainder.

And everyone wants to know how Mom is. She's not doing well. She now has pneumonia. I went to see her day before yesterday and almost walked past her. I didn't recognize her. She was a little old lady snoozing in a wheel chair in the hall. She knew me and got mad when I told her I put new blankets and other bedding on her new bed. She couldn't remember why she had a twin bed now but did remember we were moving her into assisted living from independent living. Then she started telling me about how people were stealing the chairs from the hall at the con home. Shortly thereafter she fell asleep again. So, it doesn't look like she's any better to me. It's a game of wait and see what happens next.

Just before all this stuff with Mom came down I had started cleaning out my file drawers. They are on the kitchen table. Then all Mom's stuff happened and I now have my unfinished file drawers and all of Mom's paperwork that I could find covering the bed in the guest room. I think Mom's stuff is more containers with a piece of paper here and there in it so it looks like a bigger job than it is. But I feel like I'm drowning in paper these days. I know I'll get it all done and that it won't take all that long once I put my energy into it. But the piles are daunting. I expect to finish one more of my drawers today and the last one tomorrow. With rain on the horizon for next week I think I'll get through Mom's and get it organized. Then it's tax time. I'm sorting for that as I go.

In the meantime. I've spent some time running around doing Mom's stuff and I feel so bad for my dogs. They are either outside or crated. I have had a few days home and thought I'd get Charlotte and me out for daily walks. Until I hurt my back. I have no idea what I did but it was bothering me like a pulled muscle or something in my lower back. I got up to head to the bathroom, night before last, and could barely stand up. I made it. I think I scared the heck out of D though. I felt better in the morning but could not sit or stand for any length of time. I didn't get a lot done yesterday. Darryl was off work for a couple days and came in from his horse training periodically to rub some magic potion of some kind on me. Probably horse liniment. All I can say is I feel much better today and am still moving carefully if a little faster.

So it's a good day for those files. A good day for answering email. A good day for blogging. Lucky for me, it's sunny and nice today so I will be able to open windows and blow out the winter stale air. I hate it when the house gets a stale smell. Sometimes in the winter I'll just shut off the pellet stove, put on a jacket, and open all the doors and windows. This works very well if it's windy. Clears everything out in an hour or so. Including the winter blues. Don't try this if it's pouring rain although it works well when it sprinkles and you get that fresh rain smell.

Finally!

2011-02-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been a while but it's been a little crazy around here. But I finished my flame socks. I love, love, love, them. I don't care that they are acrylic. They are soft. Probably not nearly as insulating as wool but I love them. I haven't cast on for another pair of socks yet but I'll be using up some scrap yarn and the black sparkly acrylic. It's difficult to see the sparkles in the photo but both the red and black are sparkling. I'm still working with the paper yarn on the market bag. I think I'll have at least one ball left over and will crochet it up into one of those small baskets. So I may do that before I cast on for a Christmas present.

This is a picture of tape. Knitters or anyone who follows a pattern, I'm thinking this would be nice for cross stitchers and crocheters. If you find this tape grab it! I always copy my pattern and put it in a protective sleeve. Then I can make notes on it but the paper will hold up until I'm done with the pattern. Darryl snagged this tape at By Hand Yarn in Sonora. It's like a post it. A little bit stickier though. So there's my pattern in it's plastic sleeve, when I'm following a pattern or chart I can just lift the tape and reposition it on the row I'm working. The flame pattern I just finished was something like 60 rows and I repositioned the tape twice (once for each sock) on each row. It's still plenty sticky to use again on another pattern. This stuff isn't cheap but worth every dime. It works much better than the Post It notes we all use. It comes in several colors. This just happens to be the one Darryl chose. Next time I see a roll of this I'm going to snag it for myself so I don't have to bother Darryl for it. But I suspect this piece will last me a while.

Kelly, I didn't cut off the light blue chaps. I thought I'd see how I liked them and since I had a small weight loss they went right on. I taped up the hem six inches with packing tape. That's actually a little bit short but I didn't want them to drag on the ground when I walked and rub a nasty spot in them. But they are plenty long for now. They also are plenty light. I haven't made up my mind if I will keep them. The matching coat has a zip out liner in it. It's more versitile than I remembered it.

And of course here is a picture of Charlotte. Not a good one but what I wanted you to notice is her back feet are not on the ground. She backs up to the sofa and plops her rear down then watches out the front window. It's the funniest thing to see. Maybe I posted that already but it's been busy and I forget where I left off.

And yesterday I saw a sheriff's car zoom down the street then appear to stop near our house. I went outside to see what was going on because it seemed like he stopped in the driveway. I went out the front door and ran into the garage because he was out there behind his car door with a gun pointed at a pickup that was stopped in the street at the end of our driveway. Three other cars joined him shortly. Anyway, a gang banger stole some gravel from somewhere nearby and someone saw him and reported it. Since he was a known gang member the lone cop wasn't taking any chances until he got backup. There were four passengers in the truck. I think one was a woman and one a kid. I don't know about the other two. I had barking dogs to deal with. They hauled people off to jail and I saw the truck drive off so I'm guessing at least one person didn't go to jail. I did see a woman and a man put in two different police cars. But as I said I didn't see the whole thing. The picture is fuzzy because I took it from the sewing room window and there is a screen there.

Okay, the reason I haven't posted is I've been dealing with Mom. She's in the hospital. She's having trouble breathing and is retaining about 15 pounds of fluid. She doesn't always know what's going on either. Her oxygen levels are somewhat low and I think it's affecting her brain. Kaiser says her heart isn't any worse, according to her tests. They also said she shows no sign of having had a stroke. Of course they said the same about my Dad and my sister Patricia and I actually witnessed him having a stroke. And three of us us have seen signs that Mom has had at least one stroke recently. So I asked, if her heart is no worse why is all this stuff happening to her. The doctor said her heart is worn out. He compared it to a leg muscle in a marathon runner at the end of a race. So I'm not sure what his definition of worse is. If less activity makes her breathe harder and there is no chance of the heart muscle getting stronger, doesn't that make the heart muscle worse? Apparently if the clogging in her veins isn't worse or there at all, she's not worse.

In any case she can not live independently any longer. She hasn't been taking care of her personal business either. So I've had to run around with my legal papers and take over dealing with her finances and figure out where to put her for care. She can't live with any of us because she requires so much care much of it physical for the care giver. Right now I am the only one not working full time. So there's that. I cannot have her here with the dogs, it's too dangerous for her. A couple weeks ago she was here for me to nurse back to health and I had to keep Charlotte outside or in a crate much of the time. Not to mention I couldn't get groceries or do anything until Darryl got home.

Kaiser keeps saying rehab for a couple weeks then find a place for her. Then they say no rehab because shes walking more than 75 feet with a walker. Last night they are saying a week or two of rehab again, maybe. And by the way she might be released today. So I was on the phone with Kaiser about 10 times yesterday. They are not very helpful most of the time. But it looks like I can get her from independent living to assisted living in the place where she is now. I don't see that I have any choice for now.

So today I'm off to Merrill Gardens to see what a studio apartment on the first floor is like, whether or not I can apply February's rent to the new place if we get her moved Saturday. Get her hearing aids and glasses, go to the hospital and tell her she's not moving in with any of us. Figure out what the hell Kaiser is doing with her. And probably scare up some bodies to move her furniture on Saturday. Then I can attack her paperwork again when I get home. For now I'm just having all her mail forwarded to me but she's going to want her magazines and catalogs to thumb through.

One more day my poor dogs get ignored. And I stress eat. I'm trying to make that fruit or whole wheat products. Not too hard because who has time to go to the grocery store for junk food! Hopefully all will be settled by Monday and I can finish up cleaning out my file drawers that are on my kitchen table and get my house back in some kind of order. CRAZY!

What's on the Needles & Fog

2011-01-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

My lovely shawl is finished! This isn't the best photo of it but it will have to do. It came out longer than I expected it to. But I like long shawls so I can wrap them around a time or two. They stay on better and are even more toasty.

I cast on for a market tote last night. The reason I'm making it is I snagged this paper yarn, yes, I said paper, at 60% off and thought I'd give it a try. There were just three balls in any one color and this is it. I figured I'd give it a shot just for fun. I can't knit very long on this project because the yarn is anything but soft. It's a little tough on the hands. But get this; it's washable. We'll see how that works out. It is getting softer with handling but you could never make any kind of garment out of it that I can think of.

I have been eyeing this yarn for a good six months. It's not expensive. It's acrylic. And it sparkles like crazy. You can get it at Michael's. I had a coupon good on sale items and this stuff was on sale so I snagged a few balls. I cast on Flame Socks from Socks from Handpainted Yarn. It's hard to tell the flames in this photo but when you stretch it like it was wrapped around an ankle you can easily see it. I did reverse the flames because the pattern has them running from the top of the sock down and I wanted them running from the foot up. I wish you could see how much this stuff sparkles! Okay, I am a fiber snob and it did pain me to buy acrylic yarn. But it is soft. I can easily throw it in the washer and dryer and not break a sweat. We will just have to see how they come out because I have another ball of black yarn, another ball of red yarn, and two balls of copper. I wanted the deep blue but they were out. I was gonna use the deep blue with red for the socks because I don't like working with black yarn. Too tough to see the stitches. It's knits up pretty easily. It's a little bit splitty. I'm using 2.5 needles and you could easily use 2.75's or even try 3's to see how it would come out. I may do that with the rest of the black. No hurry.

My leftover yarn box is overflowing. I might have to make more mismatched socks. I'm not really sure what to do with it all. I'll figure something out. I thought about just using two or three yarns together and knitting up a small blanket or something. Anyone have any ideas?

So we worked like crazy to get stuff done yesterday. It's been foggy in the morning and clearing by nine or ten AM. We worked so we could go for a bike ride today. So now it's afternoon and there is still fog. The bike is very, very, clean and shiny. If we take it out it will get very, very, wet and not so shiny. Not to mention it isn't very visible in the fog. And my old bones would prefer a sunny cool day to a foggy cool day. Heated seats or not. Talk about bad timing! If it clears I'd appreciate a ride around the block! Any darn thing!

Dollar Tree, Crochet, Birthday, Pretty Scene, Ol' Blue

2011-01-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

This is a pretty field down the street from us. I just thought it looked striking with the dark clouds heading east and the sun on the new grass.

I've been seeing those little crocheted storage baskets around here and there. I really like them. and I have some cotton yarn. So I broke out the crochet hooks and started to make one. This one is larger than any I've seen. I wanted it to fit in a certain spot. I should have started smaller or found a pattern (like the free ones on the Michael's web site). But I was just winging it on the spur of the moment so my basket is a bit bottom heavy. I used four balls of yarn for this one. And I didn't make it in the round because I wanted that back and forth single crochet pattern. I think I'll try one size smaller hook, make it in the round (but it will be a square basket), and make it smaller and see what happens. I still have nine or ten balls of cotton yarn left. And they are all in that basket. The colors are very Martha Stewart, aren't they?

I've finished the knitting portion of my shawl and the next thing up is blocking. Then a crocheted edge and a bit of fringe. So the next photos you see of it might show a finished product. It's having a little soak right now in the kitchen sink.

Next up I think I'll knit some socks and a market bag. Two projects at a time seem comfortable for me.

We went to CV for a celebration of Morgan's birthday. We take Charlotte with us so she can learn better manners and some socialization. Last time Daisy didn't want anything to do with her. Daisy does consider me to be part of her family and I think she was a little jealous. This time Daisy had some lap time with me and I think she felt better about the whole thing. Finally, Daisy and Charlotte were having a fine game of tug-o-war. Daisy didn't stand a chance against Charlotte but Charlotte was very polite and let Daisy win some. The next time we take her there I will try to remember to take some of Charlotte's favorite tugging ropes.

I admit it. I love the Dollar Tree. I have found products that I use, name brand stuff, for quite a bit less there. I also find little cute little tote bags, mesh bags for storing horse blankets, mesh bags for dying yarn or fiber, emery boards, candy for the movies, gift bags and ribbons, Christmas ornaments, and all manner of stuff in there. Especially good for stuff you plan to toss out after a couple uses or containers you give food away in or bowls to take food to other's homes. You just leave it there or they can throw it out. Well, DT is gearing up for Valentine's day and I found these roses. The reason I am enamored by them is that they are soap. The petals of the roses are actually soap. So I can admire them for a while then just use them up. They don't smell that good to me but the cat likes them.

That's my nick name for the Prius. She has around 295,000 miles on her. So far we've had to put a pan gasket and some little valve thingy on her. We have always taken her to the dealership for her regular checkups. Dad taught me that if you keep the engine clean and cool your car will run a very long time. I've had good luck with that advice. i am not one to buy a new car very often. It's not that I wouldn't enjoy it, it's just that I get attached to my rides and if they run well and suit my purposes I just keep them. Well for the first time Ol' Blue needs some work. Not much. Just some cleaning out. It seems she has some carbon build up. So I left her at the dealership overnight. This is her first stay away from home without us. Sometime back when we took her in we felt she had not been treated with the respect and kindness she deserves. So we complained and were given a free rental car if and when we need one. It's just a note written on the back of a business card. We've had the card for over a year. Well, since the dealership is in Modesto and I live in the Patterson area, I needed to rent a car. So I handed over the little business card with the handwritten note on the back and they said, "Sure! No problem." So I drove home in a 2010 Corolla. A nice car. But it felt big to me. If a car is big it should look like a pickup. I know a Corolla isn't a big car. And it's a fine ride. But it's not my car. Well, actually Darryl's car. It used to be my car. I have a pickup. It's just the way things worked out. Anyway, Ol' Blue needs new brakes and a belt. These I did not have the dealer do. These Darryl will do. This weekend. He has been putting off the brakes and it's a stupid thing to do. She has new tires and will have a clean engine. She is getting new brakes and a new belt this weekend. After all a girl has to stay fashionable right? New shoes and a new belt just go together. And if it's nice maybe a bit of wax. Oh yes, the guy at the dealership says she has lots of miles left in her. It's nice he appreciates her.

I don't know what's going on with blogger but no matter what I do it's has it's own idea what this last paragraph should look like.

Why I Hate Rain and Other Stuff

2011-01-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

Adobe. Yup, that's the soil here. So when it rains for a time it looks like the photo above. It sticks to your boots and if you aren't careful will pull the boots off your feet. It's very slippery also. And the poor horses have to live in this during the winter. A few miles from here it's sand. I envy the sand people. This muck does not dry up easily. So when there is a break in the rain we wish for two things; sun and wind. So if you get up in the morning and see fog you know you aren't getting either. But this morning I woke up to sun and the tiniest of breezes. The weather man said fog and rain. I'm certain he's in an office with a fine computer and no windows at all.

We have worked hard to raise one end of each stall so that the horses can have a dry spot in this weather. But small dry areas in this muck isn't really enough. They like to run and play. Sarah hates being cooped up in a stall so we rarely do it. Stormy will put up with being cooped up and Sugar down right demands being in her stall in bad weather. She doesn't like the mud. She also gets cold easier than the other two horses.

It's very difficult to keep their feet healthy when they stand in water all day for days on end. Darryl work very hard to fight fungus and foot disease all winter. It's impossible to keep stalls clean if they are in them all the time as well. They will muck up the dry part with the wet part. So we have to try to balance the whole mess. That's why I hate the rain. I don't care that we need the water. It can rain everywhere else for water and we will make do with a light weekly sprinkle that dries up nicely but waters our plants. Thankyouverymuch.

This chicken is a bully. The chickens don't lay eggs in the winter. I could force them by putting a light in their coops but I think they need the rest. I turned this one out for a while. She'll hang around and not go anywhere. She's just laying there basking in the sun. If the weather holds for a few days I'll put her back in and give her sister a bit of freedom for a while. In the winter they can't eat plants that aren't blooming, don't dig holes in flowerbeds and I don't have to hunt for the eggs because there aren't any. The only thing to worry about is if she decides to go over the back fence into the back yard. If she does that and the dogs are out she'll be dead in seconds. So far she's opting for sun and I think the barking dogs are keeping her out of the yard.

This is my drop spindle. Last month a friend of mine showed up at our Women's Circle meeting with a drop spindle and fiber I had given her. I had shown her how to use it and she'd forgotten and wanted a lesson. Well, she's not the only one that had forgotten how to use the drop spindle. So I promised her by the next meeting I will have honed my skills and will give her refresher lesson. Monday I figured out the next meeting is this Friday. Mostly because I got an email reminding me. So I dug out my drop spindle and am relearning a skill I barely knew in the first place. I am practicing about 45 minutes a night. You really notice the difference in fibers with a drop spindle. I'm sorting through stuff and looking for the easiest to spin so I can give her some easier fiber than she has now.

So I'm fooling around with this thing and the next thing Darryl had grabbed one of his homemade spindles and is giving it a whirl (pun intended). I don't think he could stand it that I'd have a fiber skill that he doesn't. When I pick my spindle up in the evening, the next thing I know, he's got his and is spinning away. It's not nearly as quick as a spinning wheel but it's a little bit addictive. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's done with a more primitive tool so we feel just a bit more accomplished? I don't know. But I'm digging out a bit more fiber today to see what they do.

In the meantime I have just the one project on the needles. It's my shawl. I was worried about running out of yarn and now I think I might have a ball left over. It will be smaller than the one in the book, "Shawl Style". I think it will be plenty big for me. It's kinda folded over in the picture. D seems to think it's a wide scarf but it's not blocked and nearly as wide as the finished size in the book. We will see when it's all done. I'm loving this yarn but at $20 a ball I don't think I'll have the chance to buy it again. It was D's 60% off draw on his birthday that did it. I bought five balls but if I have a bit left over I'm seeing a matching hat of some sort. I'll just bet I can do an entrelac hat if I tried. Entrelac is the method of knitting that basket weave effect.

I have ideas for other projects but haven't cast anything on yet. There's a market bag out of paper yarn (yes really, and washable too), one of those big circle scarves out of some leftover chunky and I'm thinking mobius, a pair of socks with a flame pattern, out of sparkly yarn, and the Firebird socks that I have never done and are waiting for me.

I just want to mention that the template for this blog isn't my favorite. I haven't figured out how to change it. When I go to the help page they want me click on a tab I don't have. I haven't sat down to spend the time to figure the whole thing out. I apologize for not having the links up yet to other blogs you all like to read either. I got a request from my sister, C, for blog addresses now that we are all blogging again. I'll get on that soon. But not today.

By the way C, we love comments on our blogs. Just saying.

It's Not About the Pictures...Okay, Maybe It Is

2011-01-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Just a few more cowboys for ya. And some useless trivia. See the guy there in the front on the left? That's Mark. He's wearing what looks like short chaps. When they are shorter like that they are called chinks. I don't know why.

Now see the good looking guy on the far right? He's riding the fabulous Sarah. He's wearing chaps. Now if you are on a motorcycle and wearing a similar item, usually in black, you are also wearing chaps. But if you are on a motorcycle you are saying you are wearing chaps like you say Chapstick. But if you are on a horse you say you are wears shaps. They are spelled the same, look pretty much the same, but are pronounced differently. Go figure. Darryl has both chaps and chaps.

And if you have to haul you horse up in the canyon, you may as well find a pretty spot to park your truck and trailer. This is actually the entrance to what is called The Dial. Apparently it is the Dial Ranch. Everyone uses it, repairs it, and deals with their cattle there. But I can't seem to find out who actually owns it.

And just for your entertainment here are a few horses asses.

I told you I drove further up into the canyon to get some camping information. Del Puerto Canyon Road goes all the way to Livermore. And most people don't get to see or even guess how rugged the Coast Range is.

Beautiful spots like this will fool you. If you keep going, and going, and going, about four hours, at least, later you will be in Livermore.

But the road narrows and winds and isn't for the faint of heart, those in a hurry, or anyone who gets car sick. But I highly recommend you give it a try once.

This is where D and I bring the horses to ride in the hills. On this day it's about 10 in the morning and about 38 degrees. There was plenty of frost to be found in the shadows.

If you do decide to take that ride, I recommend that if you are the one that gets car sick, you do the driving.

And for the fans of Claire and Jamie, did you know Diana Gabaldon wrote a graphic novel? Well she did and here it is. I have to say It's not quite how I pictured them but I've gotten used to it. I had him with a more chiseled face and hers not quite so innocent looking. But that's just me.

Cowboys, Dryers, and Patience, Oh My!

2011-01-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve Darryl went up in the canyon west of town to help a neighbor move some cows. He took Sarah. She hasn't been around cows much and he didn't know what would happen. She also hasn't been ridden much lately, due to the weather, so that added to the unknown of the ride. She did pretty well except she got really, really tired. These pictures are not in any order. In the above photo Darryl has left the group to ride over to the fence where I was. I drove out there to check it out.

Here he is rejoining the group he was riding with. Those are real cows out there and Sarah didn't mind them at all. I suspect one of them will be in our freezer next year. Okay, half of one. We just got our beef for this year a couple months ago. This is healthy, clean beef. Not like the stuff you get at your local grocery store. Our neighbor raises a few head for friends that want it. This year we had the option of having some of the beef made into sausage and bacon. The sausage is great! We have not tried the bacon yet.

Darryl isn't in this group but it's some of the other guys that went along to help out. Yup, real cowboys. Right here. In a beautiful spot. I drove on down the road to the campground to see if they allow horse camping there. It's about 20 miles on a very windy road. But it more rugged than most people think. They look like gentle rolling hills from either side but there's some rough country between the Valley and the Bay Area. I took some pictures that I'll post next time.

I took this so you could see how sweaty Sarah was. She's a flat lander. The hills were a bit much for her but she'll get used to it. When Darryl first started training her she wouldn't even go in a small ditch or up a tiny rise. Like from the road to a field. She didn't know how. She's learning.

And here is my favorite cowboy in all his glory. It's like when he's riding the tractor. He says he "working" when I know he's having the time of his life.

Okay, now for the dryer. You know those paddle sort of things that are attached to the inside of your dryer and they help tumble your clothes around? One of mine broke! It looks like one of the screws holding it on came loose and that stressed the other attachment point which then broke. Lucky for us Maytag designed this particular dryer so everything can be accessed from the front.
Darryl fished out the missing screw, looked up the parts on line, and I ordered the baffle today. It's $7 for the part and $18 to get it here in 2 days. Overnight would have been $10 more and the next option down would have had the thing arriving next Monday. Too long. No it's not available locally. So I figure that's still a pretty cheap fix for the dryer.

I remember when I bought the laundry pair being concerned about the size and durability of the washer because we wash horse blankets, tons of towels, big rugs and regular laundry. It never occurred to me to question the dryer. I have no idea why. They are both older now and still work just fine.

As for patience...I just got the new Vogue Knitting magazine in the mail and finished this post instead of stopping to flip through the pages. Not only that, I got not just one but two knitting catalogs in the mail today. I'm having a cup of tea and a magazine break as soon as I hit "publish post".

Lots of Stuff Today

2010-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

This is Stormy. She is our mustang. This is her winter coat of black and mud. I don't know if you can tell but she is sound asleep. I have to call her name so that I don't startle her. She'll let me sit on the ground next to her and pet her. Don't kids always look so sweet when they are asleep?

People are always asking me if the peacocks can fly. Yes, they can. Here is one perched in a tree out front keeping watch. They sleep in the trees at night. I had to use a zoom lens because he is so high in the tree. You can tell it's a he even though he hasn't grown in his full tail yet. When there are leaves on the trees the peacocks are almost invisible.

So. I got this package from my youngest daughter in the mail in the early summer. The package said "do not open until Christmas". So the unopened package has been sitting in my office since then. And since then my house cat, Patches, has been sleeping on the box. She had the box all formed to her shape and would jump up and sleep in it while I was working in the office. I thought I would be able to open the box and save it's squished shape so she could continue to sleep in it. The box was so squished out of shape there was no saving it. So imagine my surprise to find my cat has been sleeping on a Coach handbag for months! She is a cat of excellent tastes.

I can almost see China. This is part of our back lawn. Charlotte has chosen this spot to dig. There are a few other spots but this seems to be her favorite. The hole is about a foot deep. The muddier it is the more she likes it. I know she will outgrow the digging. But in the meantime our lawn is a mess. As long as she doesn't dig up the sprinkler system we are good. It's not the nicest lawn around and it will be easily repaired next summer. I hope.

And I wasn't content to have just one project on the needles. Since I ripped out the mess that was Shannon's sweater I've been feeling guilty. So day before yesterday I cast on for this shrug. I'm loving the pattern. Again, pattern enough to be interesting, but simple enough you can watch TV. The pattern is from Crystal Palace and I think it's free. I have no idea if I have enough yarn. Let's hope so. I really don't want to do this again.

Something New on the Needles

2010-12-21T10:13:00.000-08:00

I finished all the stuff I had on the needles. I'm not counting the sweater for Shannon I ripped completely out. Anyway, for a couple days I had empty needles. Well, this project has been waiting in the new project bin for a year. It is an entrelac shawl. The yarn is Noro Kochoran which is 50% wool, 30% Angora, 20% silk. I bought it a year and a half ago on Darryl's birthday when he pulled the 60% off needle out on his birthday at By Hand Yarn. I only bought five balls. What you see is one entire ball knitted up and a bit of another one. They had a shawl made up in the shop out of this yarn but I thought it was kinda big for me. So I bought less yarn and made the shawl a little more narrow. This yarn sells for $20.25 a ball and I bought five balls since the shawl I was looking at was made of seven balls. I fear I will have to buy more yarn without the 60% off. I figured I'd knit up three balls worth and see where I am at that point. Because of the color changes I'm not worried about dye lot.

I wasn't sure I'd like the technique. I took a quickie class at Stitches West last year and it easier than I thought it would be. But that was a while back so I did a practice swatch and liked it just fine. I cast on for the shawl. The woman at the yarn shop says you'll either love it or hate it. I love it. It's interesting enough not to be boring but easy enough to not require a lot of concentration once you get the hang of it. I figure I'll be fascinated for at least one more ball of yarn, maybe two. I'm kinda anxious to see how far the yarn will go. Besides only one project on the needles? We can't have that and I have two more I'm wanting to start soon. Would it surprise you to know one is socks?

Meet Miss 2010. She's tiny. She's delicate. She's a lady. How my mother-in-law continues to produce such beauties is beyond me. This is a pattern she made up herself. But she's intimidated by trying to crochet a sweater. She sure has the skills! I'm hoping one day soon she'll give that vest she's been looking at a try.

We had a lovely time at the Branson Christmas Do last Saturday. I forgot to take some pictures of Gabi, Mike and Sandi's puppy. She's a love. Darryl and I are totally enamored of her. She's a Golden Doodle and as sweet as they come. We think we may get a dog about her size in a year or so but the thought of dealing with another dog with a puppy in the house right now is overwhelming. So we will have to wait and see. Not to mention we have heard and seen photos of a "designer" dog that's a Great Doodle. Just imagine...

What A Difference A Day Makes!

2010-12-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I ran an errand and the day looked like this photo above. It's the first time we have seen the sun in a week. It can get pretty depressing sometimes. I have several of those natural spectrum lights to help out with winter depression. I have this theory that if it's not raining it should be sunny. There are no excuses for anything else in my book. Sunshine is like health food for your temperament. No, really. That's quite an RV cover that guy has. And the impossible green that you can only see with new grass. It's probably oats or wheat.

And today it looked like this picture. When I went out to let the horses out of their stalls I touched the metal rails and there was frost on them. Or maybe it's FROG. FRozen fOG. Because that's really what it is. The sun did peek out for a few hours but as you have probably heard, there's a storm coming in. By the time I got home from doing a little shopping it was no longer foggy or sunny. It was cloudy. Sigh.

Darryl hates that the days are so short. I keep telling him that Winter Solstice is next week and the days will be getting longer. I was going to suggest a naked midnight dance to celebrate except the FROG situation would make for a very quick dance. Okay, now try to get that picture out of your head. I dare ya.

I'M BAAAACK!!!

2010-12-14T11:29:00.001-08:00

I apologize for the quality of these photos. I decided to put my blog back up and, of course, the battery in my camera was dead. So I did a quick snap with my cell phone on a drizzly day inside the house and it shows.

In any case here is Charlotte. That piece of of chewed wood is a boot jack. You use a boot jack to remove your boots. The one in the photo is upside down and in pieces. Charlotte thought it was a chew toy. I have a few more boot jacks around, since we wear lots of boots here. But don't you think she looks very proud of the work she has done? Charlotte is now 10 months old and over a 100 pounds. She's a happy, enthusiastic girl. I can hardly wait until she outgrows the chewing. I'm usually pretty careful with my stuff but in the last couple days she's found anything and everything to chew on. Yesterday she snagged two stitch markers. Today the boot jack and an eye drop bottle. I usually have her right next to me with a rawhide chew so I know what she's doing. But the last couple days have been a challenge.

I didn't see her chewing on the boot jack because I was so concentrating on getting the sleeves in this sweater. I finished the neck a couple days ago. I set in one sleeve only to find it wasn't positioned right. I had to rip it out. When I took the sleeve off I cut a stitch at the top of the sleeve and had to repair that. Got that done. Got both sleeves set in. All that's left is sewing up the side seams. I think it might even fit.

I've been trying to finish up knitting projects without starting new ones until all the old projects are done. This is the last. I still have a cross stitch project but I can tell it's going on the back burner just a little longer.

I'm going to cast on a market bag out of some paper yarn I got on sale and want to try. Then the Elenore shawl/scarf. That's a long term project. And a shrug for Shannon. That should be a really fun project. And maybe a pair of socks I've had in the wings for a while. It's time for fancy socks.

I also have to learn to use a drop spindle with some skill. I promised a friend I would teach her. Guess I better learn first. And some spinning to finish up and plenty of new to start. And none of this takes in other stuff like work, laundry, animal care, other housework (that is part of my vacuum cleaner in the picture with Charlotte).

But casting on a new project is so exciting! Maybe I'll just vacuum the living room.