Knit and Crochet in the Dark

I hear a huge snowstorm hit the east coast from Pennsylvania to Vermont, and that some areas got as much as a foot of snow. I also hear that over 300,000 people are without power.

I feel for these folks--especially women. There's just about nothing you can do without heat and lights in the cold weather--except go to bed, and some people are okay with that at two in the afternoon, but there's only so much time you can spend in bed before your back starts to scream "ENOUGH ALREADY!"

Of course, my thoughts turn to knitting and crochet--and I've tried knitting in the dark before. It doesn't work really well, even by candlelight--even by lamplight--even by FIRE light...which if you get too close to the candle or the lamp, things are prone to catch on fire...

I purchased four balls of kitchen cotton--one of them in the Christmas colorway, and made one of those diagonal potholders. It turned out really pretty. The other balls are slated for potholders, too, and the leftovers will go on the Log Cabin Scrappy Do, because I'm running out of colors in my scrap bag. I also got out my stash of Dazzleaire, and started a Mile a Minute crochet afghan. Sadly, I only have light colors at the moment. I need some dark stuff to set it off. I'm almost afraid it's been discontinued. I'll give the search a good college try, and then I'll just make it a scrappy afghan to use up what I have.

This morning it's cold--inside and out. We have electric--as we're not in the snow belt this morning, but there was a hard frost, and everything looks like it's covered in snow--the cars, the grass, the leaves. I allowed my dog outside this morning, and the frost chilled her sensitive little feets, and she asked to come back in within record time. She doesn't like cold feet. I have footies for her, but she tends to flip them off pretty quickly. She's comical to watch walking about with slippers on...something like a crab...one foot at a time. I'll have to find them and put them on her and take a movie to show you, because it's quite something.

I also purchased a crochet afghan book with 66 patterns in it, and they are all just scrumptious throws. As cold as I am today, I think it wise to get started right away. It's what prompted the mile a minute, and getting started back on the Scrappy Do, as I've been sort of resting from both knitting and crochet for a little while--trying to decide what to make and when to make it. The doctor put me on some new medication, and I don't think it's working for me, because instead of going gun-ho with everything, most everything is slowed WAY DOWN, and I've pretty much lost a lot of interest in life in general, which isn't what the medication is supposed to accomplish. In a word or so, I think I have SAD.

Not that I'm unhappy, but seasonal affective disorder is almost as bad. You get to a point where you think everything is dying and you just can't bear to watch it anymore. Sigh.

Okay, enough of that. Where's my sweater? Brrr.

Since I finished the potholder last night, I have a bit of scraps to put on the scrappy do, and I can be warm while I work on that. This guy is HEAVY, and he's not my brother. He'll make a wonderful addition to the bed this winter. He might even be too heavy. We'll see.

I had a flu shot on Thursday, and like clockwork, I paid homage to the porcelain god Friday night. I keep telling people that the flu shot makes me ill, and they keep telling me that it's a dead virus. Do you know how small a virus is? What if just one is playing possum?

Well, enough random thoughts. Hubby is awake and out of bed, and may want to go to breakfast. That's a resounding YES for me--even though my chest still hurts from the heaving on Friday night.

But you know, it could have been the pizza.

Burning Down the House

Okay, so we aren't quite ready to do that just yet, but my instincts are telling me that the flu has holes in it, and that we are going to come close--not my idea of fun.

We are, however, cleaning the stove and getting it ready for another burning season today. It's a lot of work, and takes a bit of tear down, vacuuming and cleaning to get things ready. I know that if hubby goes first (he seems to think so, I'm not so sure), I won't be able to deal with that stove by myself, and even though the house has boiler heat as well, I understand so little about it--and the cost is pretty prohibitive for me on my salary alone.

So you see, I have to "go" first. There's just no getting around it.

I've been working on Scrappy Do most of the weekend, and it's finally of sufficient size that I can use it for a lap cover to keep the tops of my legs warm. It hasn't been freezing in the house yet, but the chill from outdoors seems to seep right through the walls. I told hubby that this blanket would be heavy and warm, to which he said

"Good."

A man of few words, I suppose.

And so for the last two hours we've been working on the stove and the fittings. We need a new cap for the pipe on top of the roof. The old one has pretty well rusted right away. I suppose that corn creosote is more corrosive than wood creosote, though I have no idea what the difference might be. Hubby says according to his research on our stove, we not only heat more efficiently, we also are more environmentally friendly.

Well, right now, the stupid thing is growing meal-worms and sending little millers (small meal-worm moths) into the living room. The cleaning out business is mostly for dust and rust and creosote--oh my! But slowly, things are coming to. Hubby says we'll start her up November 1. I'm told we're to have snow before Halloween. Whichever actually is the case, I'm sure there will be heat in the house when he gets cold enough to turn it on...because that's how it works, and until then, I cower under my knitting.

Lazy Days...

It's been so balmy the last week. It's been great. Even thought I've had to spend most of the time indoors working, it's still better to see sunshine than grey days and rain.

Which is coming tomorrow, I understand. It sounds like a drizzle in the morning and rain in the afternoon. I might decide to park across the street, just to avoid the rain. But then what would I do on Friday.

I like to get home as early as I can on Fridays. It gives me more time to relax. Last weekend was just too short due to working on Saturday. I really need my weekends. Yes, I know it's almost an extra $200 on my paycheck, but...well, I guess when I put it that way, I can take a little inconvenience, but it does hurt me when I don't get enough rest.

Today, I ate far too many peanuts. I love dry roasted peanuts. I can eat them by the half pound. I haven't had any in a long, long while, and so I bought some today. A half pound isn't quite "on my diet list", and so I probably WAY overdid it. The fact that my tummy is still upset a little tells me "Yes, oh yes, you did overdo."

So I'm not making dinner right away, because I don't feel well. I need to eat something, but I don't know what I want, because nothing sounds good. It's too bad that you can't eat yarn. I have a lot of it, and I could probably feed a small country for a couple of years if yarn was edible. However, I am more apt to take a nap than eat--I feel tired and sleepy. It's Wednesday, and there's nothing on television to watch tonight. Knitting in front of the tube might not happen. Calling it quits and turning in early sounds like a real plan to me, but then hubby would come home and wonder why I hadn't made supper for him. On the other hand, he has been helping his friend all day again today while I slaved at the office, so he might well stop off on the way home and eat something, since he knows I'll be home, he might not do so.

I hate the not knowing for sure. It's very confusing, and I never seem to make the right choice. And no matter which I do, I end up called on the rug for it:

"What did you make dinner for? We could have gone out!"

or

"You knew I'd be home tonight! Why didn't you make supper?"

It really doesn't matter either way. Whatever I do, it's wrong somehow.

So last night I drove to Lake O and sat and knit with the gals in the knitting club. We had a pretty good time. Nancy has redone the store. It's quite a bit smaller than it was, because they are planning on renting to a tattoo place--and we all decided that we should get knitting needles tattooed on our wrists. Someone mentioned the name for the tattoo that goes on your back, just above the top of the hip-hugger jeans, and the conversation devolved into laughter from there. I did another section on the scrappy do (everyone thought it was a pretty cool idea and very pretty), and I finished another potholder, and gave it to my mom after knit night. She spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out how I made it . Then my son came in, and he looked at it for 10 minutes trying to figure out how I made it . It's so cool to be able to make something that just mystifies people.

So, I think that now I'm going to go to my chair and do some knitting before hubby gets home. I hope your day is knitterly fun!

Hi Honey! I'm Home!

Just got the pizza re-warmed. Lunch and Dinner. Pizza. Stuff lasts forever around here. Today, I got an email (though I read it 10 minutes after I was supposed to read it), and it said "Meet me at the Pizza joint." This is my friend at the office, so I literally RAN to the pizza joint, and sat down, huffing and puffing, while he munched away telling me how great his 3-day weekend was.

I'm jealous. I had only 1 day. But I'll get even. Christmas is coming, and I always take off the week between the holidays. It makes a nice vacation, and I don't have to drive in bad weather. Come to think of it, maybe I'll do the same thing sometime late January, too.

Knitterly, it's a big zero so far today, though I did crochet a few rows on another of those diagonal potholders...They are excellent for using up scraps, which I have lots and lots of--even in the cottons. But they are so easy to make, it's odd that I didn't think of it. Just a chain, then you sc around that chain doing increases in the ends. Once that row is done, you just sc around and around in a spiral, fold, origami-style, and sew up the seam. I usually chain a few after the sides meet in the middle, and my crochet hook is at the peak--I'll do about 15 ch, then join to the body, cut a generous length and sew up with that. I found that crocheting it together left a hard seam, so now I just sew through the back loops. If you want a scrappy one, you just add in new yarn when you have 2 loops on the hook--and crochet on, holding the short ends within the sc row to hide them. You can use up even the shortest leftovers--anything 10" and above--it doesn't have to go all the way around--in fact, I think one that had a different color every 10 stitches or so would look really cool.

I don't know, but it really works for me. I'm getting rid of a lot of scraps, and my scrappy do is getting bigger and bigger. Soon, however, I will need to start something different. One person only needs so many potholders and dishcloths. Maybe I'll make an oven mitt? It's a thought.

Beyond that, not much has been going on. I'm going to check Ravelry and some other knitting sites, and then I think I will go knit or crochet--maybe cook--since hubby just arrived, and said one slice of pizza isn't dinner. Sigh. A woman's work...

OdoBan Saves the Day!

I climbed into the car this morning with my husband. He was *not* happy. The spoiled milk that apparently sprayed all over the carpet soaked into the nooks and crannies in the car, and so the "stink" of soured milk remained.

So I told my husband about the tip that was given to me on my blog, and he replied quickly,

"Go get it!"

So I did. I just now returned from Sam's Club, having requested a one-day pass, and bought this stuff. It came with a spray bottle full, plus a gallon refiller for $10. I walked straight out to my car and opened the trunk. I tore into the package, took the spray bottle and twisted the cap to spray, and then I gave the trunk the once over, and then the twice over.

You see, I wanted to make sure the "stink" was gone. Gone. GONE.

When I climbed into the car, there was no sour milk smell. I turned off the a/c, and sniffed DEEPLY. No sour milk smell. I stopped at Michael's afterward, went into the store for 20 minutes (because they had a sale on Sugar & Creme 5 for $5 and Vanna's Choice, 2 for $5), came back to the car, expecting the worst, but all that came back was the smell of the OdoBan.

I warn on this count only. I think one spray would have done it. The smell is a little over the top when you use too much, and it gave me a slight headache, but I expect that problem to resolve itself in time. It also slightly burned in my nostrils. I just think I used too much. Otherwise, I'm a believer.

So, when I returned home, I sprayed the carpet with the stuff--LIBERALLY, and left it out to dry. Tomorrow morning, I should be able to put it back in the car.

All in all, not a bad haul. I also scored some sale yarn at JoAnn's. The Sugar & Creme is for potholders and the leftovers will go on the Log Cabin Scrappy Do. The Bright Bernat is for a cowl. The Black Paton's Wool is for gloves for hubby, and the goldenrod Vanna's Choice is for an afghan (multi-colored squares). So all of this is spoken for, already. So now, having scored all this yarn, I need to get busy knitting! TA!

Roasting...

It is a breezy 83 in Michigan today. That's about 20 degrees HOTTER than normal for this time of year. I understand that Colorado is having a snowstorm, and that it is headed our way.

Well, let it come. I'm not afraid of a little snow.

I am, however, afraid of the guy in the car next to me on the highway--yes, been there, and done it, and we both bought the t-shirt.

But seriously, people. Snow? In October? It's unheard of! Downright blasphemy! Rain, yes. Take down the rest of the leaves so that my hubby and I can knock ourselves out one more time, raking leaves and picking up sticks, and dumping them in the sheep pen for a nice big bonfire sometime this fall--yes, roasting. Marshmallows and hotdogs, mostly.

I finally figured out what to do. I cleaned the kitchen a little bit and then I cleaned and dusted my computer desk. All clean and spiffy now! Of course, the rest of the room is a pit, and I have a stack of papers THIS HIGH to go through and pull out patterns and projects that I'll probably never do. Plus I have to find a special spot for my laptop. So I still have a little bit of cleanup work to do. I also decided to do a load of laundry. It's rinsing now. Soon, I'll make it even warmer in the house.

And it's only 6:00! My, where does the time go?

They Let Me Out Early

For good behavior, I guess.

I had expected to work until 4pm, but I was getting a little tired of it all, and it sounded like the supervisor wanted to go home, too, so I took off and headed home.

Not that I got a TON done, but it surely felt like it. The paperwork said I did a lot, but when it came right down to brass tacks, I only got 2 boxes prepped for records center. That's not a lot, considering I have 8 more boxes waiting in the wings for review.

And review I will. They're never "done". It's like dishes in the sink...or cat hair on the floor...you never quite get it all done at any given time. You walk about the house, you find a spoon on the living room floor, or a coffee cup in the car. It's like that.

My husband is apparently still helping his friend move, so the animals and I have the house to ourselves. It's a warm one outside, too, which makes me want to get outdoors and spin, but I have not the energy for it. There's nothing on the television on Saturday (except baseball or football, and I'm no sports fan). I could sit down and get some more knitting done on the scrappy do--but I'm sort of bored with that. I could start the swatch for Catkin, but I'm really not much up to knitting at all today.

I SHOULD do the dishes (or at least clean the kitchen). Hubby left something in the sink, and it's gotten quite a stink to it the last few days. My energy meter is in the red, I think....running on fumes.

So I'm blogging. At least that's something. What I could really use is a couple of glasses of red wine, which I can't have, but it would be nice if I could. Maybe I would take a nap. One thing that's got me wondering is why I am gritting my teeth of late. Actually it's more like my whole jaw is clenched up tighter than Scrooge's purse, and it kept me awake half the night last night (which didn't help keep me focused at the office today, that's for sure). My doctor put me on a lightweight anti-depressant to help with the stress, but I seem to be resolving the stress by clenching my jaw. The end result is my whole head hurts a bit, but my teeth are hurting me, too. I've got one here that I would like to pluck right out if it would make my mouth feel better, but I know it's not the problem. Outwardly, I seem pretty much on top of things. Inwardly, I'm just about catatonic. Just one more thing, and I'm going to explode (or implode, depending on your perspective).

At these times, I'm really glad that I have a blog that I can tell my troubles to now and then. I worry sometimes, that my readers will get tired of my grousing and find fodder elsewhere--it really matters not so much to me, since this is more of a journal for me--and if you enjoy it, be my guest. Laugh and cry along with me if you desire. Commiserate and imbibe of the juice from the vine--in my stead, since I can't. It's okay, perhaps I can live vicariously through you and your drought.

It is nice, once in a while, when people comment, or leave a little bit of encouragement now and then. I do appreciate knowing that someone likes what I have to say. Things like "Never EVER a Mormon in the White House", or "OJ did it. You and I both know it." (giggle), or "We're tired of it, and we're just not going to take it anymore!" (I hope that phrase isn't licensed...) But I like my blog. It's good therapy for me.

I hope you like it too.

Since I Am On the Way...

I'll be heading in to the office Saturday to work some overtime.

Funny how that works out.

Thank you, Talena for the tip about Odo-Ban. I will see about picking some up tomorrow. Since I'll be in town ANYWAY. It won't hurt me to take a little side trip on the way home to get some.

Ideas that I found online were less than desirable...shaving cream and baking soda made for cement...or a cement-like substance that stuck like glue. I used a curry comb to get most of it up, but it's still quite the mess. It still smells in the car, too. I'm thinking that the jug sprayed while it leaked as it jostled in the trunk while I drove down the road. So I'll try the Odo-Ban. Again, thank you for the tip.

I got a goodie bag in the mail today...see???????????
This is Madeline Tosh Light, in the colors for my Catkin. Aren't they so yummy and autumn-y and I can't contain myself--I want to knit with them RIGHT NOW! But as you might guess, life gets into the way, and I will be working overtime tomorrow, so it will be SUNDAY before I can knit my swatch! Boo hoo! So I'm hiding them in this little blue bag (It has little sheeps on it.) And I allowed them a few moments to breathe outside the bag, just long enough to snap a pic, and then RIGHT BACK into the bag they go so that they don't tempt me this evening.

Speaking of tempting, it looks like my husband is going to be very late tonight. I knew he was helping his friend move, but thought he would be home by now. I'll have to check the messages. I'm probably on my own for supper tonight.

And with help from my guru, I found out that my husband's hard drive has died (click, click, click goes the hard drive), and so a new drive is on the docket for my hubby--we'll set the old drive up as a slave and set up the new drive. I'm hoping that Windows will at least allow us to access the drive so that he can get all his files he needs. In the meanwhile, I had to set up a guest account on my machine so that he doesn't accidentally break my machine, too. I can't afford to replace my computer again so soon, and because he's not the computer genius that I am (see? I call my guru when I have problems...that makes me WAY ahead of some other people who shall remain nameless---though certainly not faceless....), I have to set up my computer so that he can't make changes--such as install software and run programs, because it could be a while before HIS guru (different guy and thinks that there's just a bad driver, ya right! Just like my memory stick is good--I'll let you know where you can stick this particular memory stick....) gets around to fixing his computer (which won't work, because the drive is going "click, click, click", and we all know what that means, right?)

So it could be a while.

I'm going to check messages, and then go to dinner. There may be a post tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled.

No Use Crying..

For the last two days, I've been curious about a very bad, yet very odd smell in my car. It's been really warm the last few days, after a short cold snap, so I thought perhaps a mouse had crawled into the engine, and died there--no such luck.

Yesterday, the smell was SO BAD, that I literally poured half a bottle of lavender oil into the back seat, which did not much more than to cover it over. At this point, I had a VERY BAD SMELL, with a hint of lavender.

Today, I decided to investigate. WHEW! Smell was really strong in the back seat. I moved the floor pads. I removed and tossed what little trash I had, and still, even with the DOORS OPEN, the smell was so strong that my eyes were watering.

I moved the seats forward and back, checked under the floor pads in the front...still nothing.

And then I checked the trunk.

And from within, this rank, malodorous, lethal brew wafted out of the trunk and assaulted my nose. Snapped it a good one! No, not some small decomposing mouse...no, not even animal, vegetable or mineral.

It was a gallon of milk.

A spoiled gallon of milk. In a Meijer bag, no less, and probably missed the time before last time we got groceries, which put it in the trunk about 2 weeks ago, I would guess. I pulled out the bag and tossed it into the trash. I wasn't about to open it and dump it in the field.

And then, because the carton had leaked a bit, I had to pull out the liner AND the little mesh-thing that trunks have these days--and my trunk is now carpet-less.

It looks funny that way.

But I left the carpet on the driveway in hopes of airing it out (fat chance) that perhaps husband will know what to do about it, because I SURELY do not know...outside dusting it with baking soda or washing it (but it's a hard one, so I can't just, you know, stick it in the washing machine). So I'm waiting for him to get home to discuss it with him. It cannot go back in the car in its current state. Not a chance. I also left the trunk open to help it air out. I might just put some lavender back there, not that it would do much good. Perhaps I'll hunt the internet and google for "how to get rid of the smell of spoiled milk in a carpet". I remember once my mother telling me to never spill milk on the carpet because it never comes out, but that was years ago, and I think that by now, someone has come up with a fancy cure.

If nothing else, I could try the pet deodorant. Cows are pets, aren't they?

So off I go to hunt for a cure. No use crying over it. Spilled milk, that is.

Another Long Day...

I don't know how my husband managed to work at General Motors for 30 years. I've been working for my employer for 22 years, and I've just about HAD it. I am looking for a different position with the company, and I hope that I'm able to find one. It was another long day today, and I've pretty much had enough long days at this place.

I know, I know. At least I *have* a job. And this is true. I just wish that now and then it was FUN. Now I know that work is work, and fun is fun, and usually the two don't mix well, but I'm tired of being promised the moon, and then having the moon and the stars taken away from me, only to find out that I have to sit in HELL for another 8 years.

It just doesn't seem fair.

But I'm home now, and that's a good thing. My knitting group isn't meeting tonight, so I am staying home to knit this week. She's doing inventory (and not much happy about it, either), and we both wish we could have the knit night, but it's okay that we aren't. I'm home, by myself, since hubby is gone helping his sister prep her house for winter, and I get to do as I please while he's gone. THIS IS SO GREAT!

Oh, and did you know that Verizon updated it's Android Phones? I think I like the new platform--although it's really not much different. I think it's a little prettier--not as cluttered, and seems to make a little more sense. Things have been updating on the phone all day, rebooting several times. Each time, something different. I'm sure that will go on for a while.

So I guess I'll leave you now for a visit to Ravelry. Not much going on knitterly, really. Just working more on the Log Cabin Scrappy Do. The more rows I put on it, the wider it gets, and the more stitches on the rows. There are about 120 stitches on each row, and I try to work at least 10 rows a night--sometimes I get 20 rows. Every section gives me another 10 stitches--and at last count, I had 112, so I know it's quite a bit more than that now. That's a lot of stitches. I'd almost like to pick up all the way around now, and start working it in the round, but then it would seem like it never gets done. We all know how I am with big projects that drag on forever...

Nice Day Today

And I'm stuck doing work in the yard, on the roof, etc. We pulled out the air conditioner and we're sort of sitting back for a bit while we try to get up the ambition to pull out the corn stove to clean it.

Quite a job, that.

I need a drink.

But we've gotten quite a lot of things done that needed doing this weekend. Right now, I'm pretty sore, and think we should leave the corn stove for another weekend, but I'm betting that my hubby is wishing we could get busy on it now so that we don't have to do it during a rain storm or something similar (like a cold front, for instance). Up on the roof during a cold blast can really make you wish you had a little heat in the house.

And it's nearly 6 pm now. If we're going to do it, we best get ON it.

Later!