Archive for the ‘Family and Friends’ Category

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I Haven’t Opened My Laptop in Days

March 22, 2011

I am definitely out of Standard mode and into Daylight Saving mode.  I wasn’t so sure it would happen last week.  I took me a few days to get cranked up.  I think Friday really did it for me.  It was in the upper 70s and I could sit outside and look over the water.  Even though it has cooled down and rained, I still feel good. 

I made two of these for our bedside tables.  Sweetums had asked for something for his, so I made a matching set.  It was a lot of fun, but it used a lot of embroidery thread, almost a 1000 meter spool.  I made these from a fat quarter bundle.  There’s still a lot left.  I could make runners for our dressers.  It would look better than what is there now.  Maybe.  The thing is– I’ve all ready started a small quilt.  It should cover the dining room table.

 This hat is going well.  I am almost ready to start decreasing which may get a little tricky.  I don’t want the decreases to look too obvious and still keep the same look.  I am going to need some quiet time.  I’m going to Reisterstown for a few days, so maybe then when my son is at work.  Who am I kidding?  I’ll probably go shopping.  I’ve all ready printed out the JoAnn’s coupon and am thinking about which yarn shops to visit.

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I’ve Been Kind of Busy

March 16, 2011

And I’ve been having these little anxiety attacks.  Spending money on home improvement and doing the taxes hasn’t helped any.  Last week I spent the afternoon entering figures and hollering  at Sweetums to bring me stuff.  See.  That’s how we do it.  He spends weeks hollering at me to do the taxes.  I spends weeks coming up with all kinds of excuses.  Then, when one day, I pop in the CD and get to work.  I crunch the numbers and Sweetums runs around getting the information I need.  Now.  It seems to me that I said ‘holler’ too much.   We don’t fight or even argue much.  It’s all part of a big game we play.  We really do get along quite well considering how independent we are.  OK.  Wait a minute.  How did I get here?  Anyway, after spending a few hours on the taxes, I had to stop.  The numbers were not coming up like I thought they should.  I shut it all down and walked away for a few days.  Saturday, it came to me.  I had forgotten to check something.  How the h**l did I manage to do that?  By just walking away for a few days, I saved us about a thousand dollars.  I was so happy.  And so was Sweetums.

I remembered to take my little camera when we went for our walk on Saturday.  After all the rain on Friday, the tide was really high.  This was the only pier under water at that time, but you could where the water had at least splashed over the others enough to leave debris, including a duck decoy.

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Purls and Janet’s Cafe Onancock VA

March 5, 2011

We hadn’t been to Purls for about a year and a half.  I liked it then.   I like it even more now.  They carry a variety of good quality yarns.  The staff is fun, caring and very helpful.  We stayed for almost three hours and had a great time.  I have been to enough shops where the owner only carried what she liked and was not really interested in your desires. 

We had a very nice lunch at Janet’s Cafe.  They are open for breakfast and lunch until 2PM.  Janet seemed unconcerned that we came in at 1:30.  I saw several things on the menu that looked good, but one member of my group didn’t see anything.  Everything is made fresh and nothing is fried.  Also, I don’t think there was any beef  which is fine with me.  After Janet related the specials, two out of three wanted to stay.  That one was able to order an omelet.  My other friend got a wonderful chicken cranberry walnut salad with lettuce and fresh fruits and a very tasty house dressing.  I opted for creamy chicken noodle soup with vegetables and a half tuna sandwich.  It also came with really good cole slaw.  I ate every bit and had two cups of very good coffee.  Of course, I was very hungry.  I only had a banana for breakfast.  Even including a tip, I spent less than ten dollars.

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My Grandson is An Eagle Scout

February 27, 2011

Here he is with Mom and Dad.  We are so proud of him.  He hs been working on this for about a year and he is only sixteen.  How did he manage to do it along with AP courses and band?  My daughter and son-in-law are not pushy, but they are supportive.  I think that it’s just the way he is.

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Going from Disorganized to Organized

February 25, 2011

I’m trying.  Really I am.  But, it’s so hard.  It’s just not in me.  Sweetums had Frank build me a big bookcase for my books and magazines.  And it is so nice to have them all in one place.  I even have them in some kind of order.  So now it’s on to the magazines.  I all ready have an old metal case full of semi-organized magazines, but that was filled over five years ago.  Yes, I know that I should get rid of some.  I probably will one of these days, but not yet.  I have managed to dispose of some of my needles and yarn.  I should count for something.  Right?  So.  I bought eight magazine holders today.  That’s enough for one day.

 I’ve been playing with my embroidery machine.  I bought this program last month for table runners made in the hoop.  It’s been a lot of fun.  This one is for Sweetums’ night table.

And here’s the back.   I bought a few other interesting items.

And, here’s another sock.  I like the Angora accent.

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Opposite Shore Beret

February 18, 2011

I like the pattern.  The hat fits well, but it’s a bit heavy.  I may sell it.  I had just enough yarn.  I did not bother with the cables at the very top.  Here again, they were very difficult to see in brown.  It wasn’t worth the effort.  I’ll probably make it again in another yarn.   It is a very good-looking hat.  It comes in three sizes and I think it would look good on anyone. 

I have started another pair of socks, but haven’t taken a picture yet.  I got a lot accomplished at the vet’s yesterday.  It was time for Rue’s next shot.  When I got there, the lot was very full.  I considered going back home, but I managed to get into a corner.  Besides, there was all that uninterrupted yarn time to think about and the other animal lovers.  There all always so many interesting stories.  These are Sussex County folks with a whole different outlook on life.  I really have a great time.  I love listening to them and sharing in their experiences.  They are wonderful.  Even the first time I came, I felt welcome.  Here are people who feel the same way that I do and are happy to hear what you have to say.  

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Ravelry Can Make You Crazy

February 12, 2011

I had gotten several hits on my pony tail hat pattern so I thought I would add(link) my other patterns.  When I went to my page there was a list of people who had also made Komet socks so, naturally, I looked at their pages.  And, of course, this led to looking at their other stuff which, consequently, gave me all kinds of ideas.  AARRGGHH!!!  So I stopped.  I went and knit on my socks for  while.  I thought about sewing(I really need to sew).  Nothing worked.  I came back.  I read some about UFOs. That’s knitting UFOs.  I dug out my Raffia Vest and entered it on my page.  Two color on 2.5mm needles in the round takes FOREVER.  I’ve put it away twice. 

Look at it.  It’s gorgeous!   The back has a different pattern.  It takes about an hour to knit one row.  To make matters worse, I’ve lost weight so it’s too big.  At least it’s 100% wool and not superwash.  I can felt it a bit when(if?) I finish it.

I’m glad that we got our walk in early today.  It has gotten very windy.  The noise reminds me of when I lived in Nebraska.  It sounds like it is coming from a great distance.  It’s beautiful and haunting at the same time.  I sit here and look out over the water.  I think about how lucky I am.  And I thank God for putting me in this little piece of heaven.

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Is It Spring Yet?

February 2, 2011

When I got up this morning, the inside and outside temperatures were the same. 

These guys seemed to think so.  They’re checking out their favorite nesting spot.

The girls all went out, but Rue.  He’s too little.  Did I say little?  He weighs 5 1/2 ponds and he’s not four months old yet.  And, he hasn’t been tutored.

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Felting

January 27, 2011

A friend of mine asked me about felting yesterday.  She made a bag to hang on her spinning wheel.  Since I haven’t taken up spinning, I can’t really picture where it goes.   But it needed felting so I thought I would include what I said here.

‘I don’t bother with a pillowcase.  I’ve never put a towel in either.  I like man jeans.  You know, the heavy kind that take forever to dry.  Luckily, that’s what Win and Doug wear.  Tennis shoes are good, but your machine might not like them, especially if they are 13’s.  Speaking of machines, I hope you don’t have a front loader.  If you do, you’re screwed.  Anyway, I reset my machine twice for my bags for a total of about 40 minutes agitation.  I have had some things take as little as ten minutes so you’ve got to check it.  I use hot water and any detergent.  I also keep a heavy stick (like a plunger) and a mixing bowl handy.  When it’s the way I want it, I let the washer finish.  You may have to steam it some to reshape it.  I look around for something to put it on to dry–a vase, jar, glass head.  You can also stuff it with plastic bags to help keep its shape.  Have I said enough?  Have I said too much?  Oh!  And there’s always YouTube.’
 
My girl friend makes very nice yarn. It knits up beautifully and is very easy on your hands.  I made her a sweater with her yarn and she made me a very pretty triangular shawl that she wove.  Right now, it’s hanging over the door to keep the cats off it.   It is soft enough to wear on bare skin.  I even like the fuzzy fringe–which Rue especially likes.

Will I ever take up spinning?  I really don’t think so.  Do you have any idea how much yarn I have?  Why do you think I’ve making all these hats?  And do you know what spinning leads to?  Dyeing!  Weaving!  I make myself crazy enough with the knitting and the sewing.   I’d need another house.  Wait a minute.  I have another house.  But, it’s two hours away and I don’t like living there.  But my son is happy there.

I need to get some sewing done.  We had tossed a bunch of knitted items on my Sapphire while we were trying to organize the yarn.  I tried to put some things in a storage box, but Flo decided that it was a great place to nap.  Maybe tomorrow.

I came up with another idea for a hat last night using Colinette Point Five yarn.  I need to get the last hat written.  Pattern writing takes a lot of time and I don’t like having to explain everything little thing.  I feel like I’m saying the same thing over and over. 

Maybe over the summer I’ll make hats and try selling them on Etsy in the Fall.  I could make matching scaves and/or mittens.  I also have other things that were more fun to make than wear.  Hmm….

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Enjoying Winter

January 22, 2011

Yeah.  Right.  Like that’s going to happen.  I spent half an hour just getting ready to go out.  We were only out for twenty minutes.  And I never did bother to take off my long johns.  It was twenty-four degrees when we went out and it was still the same temperature several hours later.  Ugh. 

The geese were still sleeping when we got back.  I don’t know what that white one is doing there.  And that ice never went away.  We didn’t make it down to the pier this morning.  I really didn’t care.

I needed to wind some yarn for my next project.  I got some work done and managed to entertain the cats all at the same time.  Yeah.  I’ve got a dorky afghan on my sofa.  Doesn’t everyone?

I have almost finished my next hat.  I should have it completed by tomorrow.  The pattern is finished, but it needs to be proofread.

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