Month # Two

In a fit of ambition, I've resolved to blog once a month.  (chuckle).

Now that I have realized that I get too few comments to bother much with a blog, I'm hanging around other social networking sites a lot more.  There's more interaction and way more feedback from other places, and what other people say is a lot more interesting than anything I say.

As Mama used to say, you can't learn anything if you're talking.  (Which never did a lick of good.  I was a terrible Chatterchops, especially in school.)

These are the months to knit and read.  We have found Louise Penny at last----many have recommended her books to us and Good Guy has been on waiting lists at the library to get to read her books.  This means we have NOT been reading them in order and that spoils some of the mystery, but she's a very good writer.

I've been knitting baby stuff for Pine Ridge.  My present effort is so much fun, I'll hate to finish it.  I love the yarn, I love the pattern.  It's Lillie's Little Sweater, designed by Joan and Carol of Cottage Creations in Carpenter, Iowa.    It's a treat and here's what it looks like.

I have enough yarn to make some little socks to go with it.

That's what I've been up to since we returned from Iowa, The Skating Rink of North America.  Wow, when they get ICE, they get it good!  Our trip home on Monday was uneventful---thank goodness.  The most treacherous part was getting from the motel door to our car about six feet away, and then busting through the snow to get into our own driveway which hadn't been plowed out yet.

Love that winter weather!

My best to you all, and stay warm and dry, and upright---if possible.
See you in March.

The Memory Test

Well, after reading Still Alice any memory lapse makes me remember her, and early onset dementia problems.  Thankfully, I'm way too old to have early onset dementia----though that is small comfort today.

In a fit of being prepared and well organized, I bought the ingredients for a lunch to contribute to Quilters' Meeting today.  Then I came home and stashed them.....somewhere.  I hunted for them last night before I went to bed, so I'd be prepared in the morning.  

Huh!  Where did I put them?  I looked everywhere that made a lick of sense to me, without success. I am currently checking places that make a lot less sense, but coming up dry on that one, too. 

Am I the victim of a Spam and bun thief?  Probably not.  I hate to have to run out to the store again before I go to quilting, but que sera, sera.

A brief change of subject here for a minute.  I now feel like an expert at knitting short rows.  I submit for your perusal:

This was an easy project, though somewhat boring.  It's a scarf, and a gift----I don't dress in ruffles, as a rule.

Well, I'd love to chat longer, but I have to look for something.  I hope I can recall what I'm looking for!

This and That

I guess I'm posting my Friday Fragments on Monday.

I don't have enough for a proper post----(when do I ever)-----but there are a few things to share with the wider world, whether they want them or not.

My knitting has segued into charity mode while I bust my acrylic stash.  Project 40 on Ravelry is gathering and joining 40 inch strips for lap robes for long term care facilities.  They like acrylic because it's tough and washable.

Bundles of Joy on Ravelry is gathering layette items for infants born on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  The need there is mind-boggling and it gives me a heavy heart to think about it. They take acrylic items because I don't think it's easy to do delicate laundry, even if you'd like to.

Good Guy has had his yahoo e-mail account hacked and we are wondering what the remedy is.  If you know feel free to help.

My little sister is down with the flu.  By the sheerest good luck her DH has just retired and is home to take good care of her.

I don't care much about the outcome of football games once my own team is out of the running, but it's kind of interesting to have two brothers coaching the teams who will meet in the Super Bowl.  That will get talked about until we want to run screaming into the woods with our ears blocked. (I know, I know....use the mute button.)

My friend, Mrs 4444 of Half Past Kissin' Time has requested that fifty of her closest friends either donate blood or give to the Red Cross to celebrate her birthday in April.  Let her know if you do this act of kindness because of her request so she can track them somehow.   Thanks for thinking about it.

Well, I must leave you now and venture out into the chilly morning and do a few errands.  I need to buy some Yooper candy bars to send in a swap, but that's not at the very top of my list.  Close, though.

I'm happy to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. but I like when the mail get delivered.  Once I even got a hand written letter.  Gasp!

Hang on, January is flying by!

Hibernation Mode

January is half-shot already and I packed away the creche set yesterday.  The tree is out in the yard for the city pick-up date.  It isn't at the curb because if the wind picks up, it will blow down the hill into someone else's yard.  That seems like a dirty trick to play on the neighbors.

The wind picked up over the weekend and blew our wreath off the front door.  When I went to replace it, it was frozen into the lawn, caught in the thaw/freeze cycle.  Ooops!

In spite of reading real books, and listening to audio books while I knit, I'm not making much of a dent in my stack of To Be Read stuff.  Good Guy keeps recommending authors, and friends keep loaning things.  I'm listening to a later book in a series in which I haven't read the earlier books.  I'm thinking that isn't such a great idea, because I'll know the outcome of some plots ahead of time.

My header picture is of Bella (the Rearranger) and Sweetie in a pose of synchronized sleeping.  It struck me so funny that I had to record it.  It reminded me of passing a field in which all the cattle are posed, facing the same direction.

Which reminds me that the other day in the parking lot at the dentist's office there were eight deer gathered for a consultation.  Probably figuring out how to pay the bill.  They took off toward the eye doctor's across the road and then scampered off through the field.  What a place to live!

We will take a day off from hibernation today.  I get to hang out with the quilters this morning, and I have a date for the early showing of Les Miserables, followed by dinner out with my Main Squeeze.

I hope you are enjoying the increase in daylight hours---or minutes.  I'll grab any little bit more light I can, personally.

In the meantime, here's my January motto.  If in doubt, take a nap!

Date Night

I'm laughing, because I haven't worried about having a date on Saturday night for a mighty long time.  But I almost put something up there about it being Sunday night, since the day has been full of football analysis and hype because of the playoff games this weekend.

At the moment we are watching the Broncos play the Ravens, and are nervous about the Packer/Forty-Niner game to follow.  I'd like to write this now to take my mind off being worried.

I had a period of being physically disabled this week when my hearing was impaired.  I suspect I did it to myself by trying to flush wax out of my ear.  I kept hoping for improvement, and for a time it was so peaceful hearing with only one ear I didn't go for intervention. But I gave up on Friday and had my doctor irrigate my ear canal and I now hear better than ever.  (That evaluation depends on who you talk to about my hearing.  Good Guy thinks I'm deluded about my "good" hearing.)  Well, he'd surely know about selective hearing.  Much like other fine husbands (and wives).

This isn't much to look at, but it is a portion of what will be a 40" strip; a part of a lap robe project on Ravelry called Project 40.  I love the sunny yellow color, a perfect cheery color to work with in January.  I have another more interesting project that I'm knitting as well, but since it's a gift for someone who could conceivably see it here, you'll just have to take my word for it until the end of the month.

Like many of you we have had a very mild January, and what snow we had has been slowly melting away.  Our forecast for this week is for more seasonable (frigid) weather.  That's okay with me, we are getting closer and closer to spring and the days are getting longer.  I don't mind the cold as much as I mind the gloom.  If I get to order my weather, I'll opt for sunny, cold weather.

I probably told you that I have chosen a watchword for this year and it is Order.  To that end, I am getting rid of 100 things in January.  I have 53 more items to go.  It doesn't matter if they are donated, gifted, or thrown away, just so they are off the property.  (And a full bag of paper recycling counts as one item---in case you are curious.)

We recycle lots of paper here as newspaper and magazine readers, we pass paper along pretty often.

So, I will leave you to enjoy the rest of your weekend and maybe even all of next week.  Life is lazy and quiet here in January, and there's not much news to share with you.

Cheers!

Something Old, Something New....

Hi-ho, and Happy New Year,

I'm still being festive since today is Epiphany and I read last night that in certain parts of the country King Cakes begin to be made as people begin celebrating Mardi Gras.  Really?

I thought I'd take my tree down by now.  That really was my plan, but I'm enjoying it's stately, sparkly beautifulness so much I may leave it.  Tree recycling by the city isn't for another week anyway, and I'll be sad to see it lying on its side in the yard.  (My decorated tree is something old.)

I have found a new love.  Not everyone blats out that information on a blog, even though mine isn't as public as many are, but I am not here very often because I am forever lurking about  on Ravelry.  For those of you who are not thread benders, Ravelry is a huge resource for knitters, spinners, crocheters, and other yarn lovers, including those who dye, spin, and sell yarn.

There are groups there who band together because they all belong to the same "Yarn of the Month Club", or they love books, or they knit their skein ends into lap robes for nursing homes, or they knit caps for chemo patients, or layettes, or about a million other reasons people craft. Also it is a great place to find patterns.  Some are free and some are for sale, but you can read if people enjoyed using them and how they look on different sized people. That's pretty nice to know before you begin.

The people are really interesting too.  This week I've chatted with women in New Zealand, in England, Greece, and all over the USA and Canada.  (That's fun.)

While I am huddled here in my afghan with a cup of tea, I can read about women who are sweltering in the 106 degree Australian heat.  That makes me count my blessings, believe me.  I am not a lover of hot weather!

Speaking of gratitude, thanks to the Packers and the Vikings for prolonging my interest in the NFL football season for another week, at least.

Time for one more cup of coffee and a gaze at the Christmas tree before I get ready for church.
Enjoy Sunday in Your City.

Not as Bad as I Thought

Tonight I read about some book reading challenges and I thought I'd sign up.  But when I read the guidelines, I had to find a dozen books that had been lying about unread for more than a year and that I ought to get to this year.

I'm thinking to myself, "No problem".....and grab my notebook and pen and crawl around to get at the bottom shelf of the bookcase behind the Christmas tree.

"What are you doing?"  I hear from the other room.

"I'm looking for books that need to be read."

"Huh?

Try as I might I could only find four books I thought might qualify and I'll get at those pretty soon.

They are:  The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sudaresan,  Thirteen Senses by Victor Villasensor,  A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, and The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken.

In the meantime I got books from the library today and I'm going to read PD James first.  Maybe.

My tree is still beautiful and it's still up.  No needles are falling---and yes, it is truly a tree that grew in a field at some point.  It didn't grow up in a factory.  Maybe it will stay up until Epiphany this year.

 I will burn down all the advent candles and count my blessings in this lovely new year.

I hope you are counting blessings too.  Happy New Year!