I left home on Tuesday and came home on Wednesday. My son-in-law has the flu and needs to be waited upon so my daughter couldn’t go shopping. We were going the next day, but Sweetums called. He didn’t feel good and wanted me to come home. He wasn’t really that sick, but he gets anxious since that episode that last summer. And me? I think I am getting a cold. Or as they are taught today, an upper respiratory infection. Since we had to get a new flash drive, I also bought some upper respiratory infection pills and those awful Zinc lozenges. You know, they really should advertise them as diet pills. They can really ruin your appetite.
Archive for the ‘Family and Friends’ Category
Worthless Trip
October 26, 2012I Wanted to See ‘Frankenweenie’
October 16, 2012So I called my grandson. Yah. He wanted to. Then I called my son. Yah. Him, too. Thursday, I left LSD and headed for Reisterstown. I picked up my grandson at UMBC, then we met my son at the theatre.
We all enjoyed the movie, but I think I got the most out of it. Tim Burton is a genius. The scenery reminded me of ‘Edward Scissorhands’ in that it was set around 1960. The characters were so—-characteristic? Sorry. I’m not very good at this. My favorite was the science teacher. His face was so long that you couldn’t look at his eyes and his mouth at the same time. And his mouth was so expressive! Would I see this movie again? Yes! Definitely!
Friday, I went shopping. My daughter told me Weber’s had cider and apples and I wanted to go to JoAnns. I found a Hallowe’en doormat and a knitting magazine, but no fabric. Weber’s yielded a bushel of Winesap apples and two gallons of apple cider. Then I visited my brother and sister-in-law. Some of my high school friends may remember her as the new French teacher. We spent a pleasant afternoon discussing aches and pains, kids and cats. I gave them some apples and they gave me two trees and a Christmas cactus.
Saturday, I packed up and headed home. As usual, I brought more than I needed. But, really, does it really matter? I drive a minivan. I forgot that the Frederick Road exit was closed, but I am familiar with the area and got to Cloverhill yarn in just a few extra minutes. The shop has changed hands again, but it’s still a good place to get basic yarns. I managed to find two of the three skeins of Brown Sheep bulky that I wanted, so I was happy.
Today is Sweetums’ birthday so I think I’ll take him to Smith’s for dinner. What else do you do with a guy who pretty much buys whatever he wants and doesn’t want much? But, I love him. That’s why he’s Sweetums.
Flo was unimpressed.
Is Fall Here?
October 10, 2012I normally do not like this season. To me, it means that Winter is coming. Color is going and soon will be gone.
I was trying to come up with a reason to like Winter and getting more depressed by the minute. Then, it hit me. Currently, I am making a little quilt and, probably, placemats for my daughter.
After that I have to make some boring cloth bags for Sweetums. I promised. Then comes my Kaffe Fassett quilt ! It will be cold and dreary by then, but I will have this to enjoy and lift my spirits!
I Made a Mistake
September 27, 2012Last Friday, I drove over to Easton to buy a few extra yards of fabric to coordinate with a kit I had bought. I want to make it big enough to cover a twin bed. After finding what I needed, I had a look around the shop. Sitting in a basket with some boring pre-cuts, was a gorgeous six-inch jelly roll of Kaffe Fassett Collective in Fire. I didn’t want to buy it. Really. I didn’t. But I did.
Not the best picture, I know. But I was in a hurry.
Sweetums fell in love with it.
“Is it enough to make a quilt?”
“No.”
“Can you get more? It would look great on our bed!”
Oh my. What have I gotten my self into? I should have known better. What was I thinking? So. After spending about two days and two hundred dollars at various websites, I think I have enough for a queen quilt. I just hope he doesn’t bug me too much about getting it made.
I still have this one to finish. I think I have to make Dot one of her own.
Beautiful Days, Cool Nights
September 19, 2012It is hard to stay inside when the weather is perfect . And, of course, I had to several reasons to be out and about yesterday in the rain. Today, its windy and cooler, so I’m waiting for the sun to shine out back. I’ve gotten a lot of knitting finished, including my daughter’s vest. I also found some orange art deco buttons in my button box.
Here are the chicken mittens. In an effort to make these fit me, I used size 1 rather than 2. And it worked.
Here’s the yarn I used for my Color Affection scarf. I finished it in short order. It was extremely easy and got very boring, but the finished effect is beautiful. Sorry, no finished picture yet. It went too fast. And, now, my camera battery seems to be dead.
So. What’s next? I need to decide within the next ninety minutes. Sweetums has a blood test and we have to listen to the hoodoos recite the same old crap. I need to start my Christmas knitting. I also need to start my Christmas sewing, but we won’t talk about that yet. I bought some absolutely fabulous yarn to make my daughter a lacy sweater. My grandson is getting Coraline gloves with conductive thread in the forefinger tips so he can use his iPhone. I’ll also make him another cap.
New doorstop.
You Can’t Get There From Here
September 10, 2012No. Really. You can’t. I’ve been trying for days. The internet did it. It heard me say that I would like to drive to Bismarck. So it decided that I would HAVE to drive there. Two years ago, I left from BWI, changed planes once, and arrived in Bismarck at a reasonable amount of time. And there were several flights to choose from. Now? Nothing. Every one had at least two changes and cost almost twice as much. Sweetums suggested going to Minneapolis and renting a car for the rest of the way. He knows I like to drive. Last time, several flights stopped there. Not anymore. I’d have to drive to DC or Phily. Man! This bites. See what I mean? The internet is out to get me.
Chatting with Nancy
September 4, 2012I talked with my childhood friend for half an hour yesterday. We would have talked longer, but they was helping her husband paint. Ugh. I can’t help but think about the good times we had in Maine. She said she would like to visit her aunt, but flying almost anywhere from Bismarck is such a hassle. I completely agree with her. I loved my visit with her, but getting there and back was a real pain. I said that if my van wasn’t so old, I would drive there. I think she thought I was crazy, but I don’t mind driving at all. I could stop whenever I wanted and sight-see along the way. The only drawback is I can’t knit and drive at the same time.
I’m almost ready to put my quilt together. Instead of safety pins, I’m using Pimoors. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily they worked and how quickly they went. I liked them so much, the quilt is going to sit there until I get more. I ordered another hundred and I hope they get here soon.
Somethimes, I wish I could just sit down and follow directions, but I can’t. I get ideas, then more ideas. And the quilt turns out completed diferent from the original. I cut out some cats. That looked good, but I really did need some dogs. I thought I was finished, but then, I thought, where are they going to live. Well. A house of course. And a tree to finish it off. Finally.
I Can’t Sew!
August 26, 2012The weather has been really lovely for about a week and we haven’t had the air conditioning on. Sweetums bought a new window fan, but it doesn’t fit in the window. Frank to the rescue? Well, not quite. He has a couple of other things that he has to do first. But he did stop by and knows what needs to be done. Why can’t I sew? My sewing table sits near said window. So my table went one way and my machine went another until the fan is installed. I am so glad that I can knit.
Speaking of knitting, here is my latest project. I saw this yarn at Frivolous Fibers last week and had to have it. Janet said she spun it herself. Even better. I think I spent most of a day pouring over my books and internet looking for the right pattern. Coquille shawl in Knitty seemed to fill the bill. An unusual shawl for an unusual yarn. The pattern knits up quickly and it’s easy to see just what row you are on. I seldom need to look at the directions.
Last Tuesday, the “girls” and I went on a field trip. First stop was a quilt shop in Easton where Maria, as usual, couldn’t make up her mind. Then we had lunch at Sam’s in St. Michael’s. And finished with the yarn shop there. And, again, Maria couldn’t make up her mind.
PS– I want to apologize for the ranting last time. I guess I just expect someone twenty years younger than me who is working to have computer skills.
Going Nowhere Doing Nothing
August 23, 2012After several days of running around, I’m glad to be home, doing nothing much. I knit a little. I cut some squares for the back of my quilt. I read. And I didn’t have to be nice to anyone. Tuesday, it was easy to be nice to everyone. I was out with some girlfriends shopping at quilt and yarn stores. We had a great time.
Yesterday was a lot harder. Sweetums had to go to the coumadin clinic. The nurse has no math or computer skills. Logical thinking is completely beyond her. She obviously has been shown one way to enter data and knows her head would explode if she touched any other keys. Her answers to any of our questions might as well be, “Because I said so”, for all the good they do. We get much information on our own. I think she would be much happier if we just said the appropriate yes or no to her mundane questions, took her printout, and left. You know, like warm brown turds.
Later, we went to see the lung doctor. What should have taken fifteen minutes, went on for an hour and a half. To begin, their appointments were messed up. The two people who were there did not seem to be listed. So why did we have to wait? When we finally saw the doctor, he had to show us the echo and explain every little detail. Been there. Done that. Then he basically wrote his report while we were sitting there. Talk about bored to tears. I am so glad I always bring my knitting to these things. How does Sweetums manage to stay awake through these things? But, then, that’s just another reason why I call him Sweetums.
Charity Knitting
August 12, 2012Maria’s church is trying to raise money for a new roof. They are going to have a bazaar in the Fall. What a great excuse to make something fun! I had the perfect yarn, an acrylic/wool blend that will be easy to wash. I started with an entrelac hat. For some reason, I made an extra tier of squares. Then I had to knit the decrease tier in the opposite direction. I found myself picking up the wrong side more than once. Maybe I should have taken the extra tier out, but I’m I didn’t. It really looks good on.
Next, I decided to make mittens. I really like them. It’s a good thing I made them a little big. These are definitely feel good mittens. Just looking at them makes me smile.
I had a little over one skein left at this point. Do I keep what’s left? Nah. So I made a little scarf. It’s only about four feet long, but it’s still long enough to keep a neck warm. And mitered squares are so much fun.
Up a Creek in Lower Slower Delaware 