Fun in the Sun

 

How it began.

How it ended.

The lady that delivers our Chewy stuff called us yesterday morning and said she had a big delivery but couldn't get down the driveway because of the snow so The Mister got the sleds out and off he went. It looked like too much fun not to join in so we spent the morning playing in the snow. 

We've got a nice long run down the driveway, around the house and down the back hill. The 2 inches we got was just enough for a good slide but not too much that it was hard to get back up the hill. Pup had a blast running back and forth. 

It was cold. In the 20's but it was sunny. My Lopi did a great job of keeping me warm and dry. I didn't even put my boots on. I just put a pair of handspun socks over my usuals. 

Before all the fun I had cleaned the heck out of my house so the afternoon was for knitting and sitting with the emphasis on the sitting. 

Kenan

 

We didn't get much from this latest storm but what we got was wet and heavy again. 

It was pretty for a while but then the winds started. It blew most of the snow out of the trees that for the most part stayed where they were supposed to. 

It was absurdly cold so I had no choice but to make waffles and tea and ........

....spend the morning finishing Number 5. I love my little pile of sweaters. 

I would have cast on Number 6 but I decided I'd rather stay under a blanket in front of my YouTube fireplace and read the day away. The Mister spent the day shoveling things but I wasn't even tempted. That wind was too much for me. 

Done

 

The Baby Toy Tree took a trip today and got itself finished. In order to keep an eye on itchy Pup who prefers to sleep on the couch when it's cold I brought the ironing board into my wreck of a the living room to use as a table and got it done while waiting for the big snow. Thanks to all of you who gave me advice on dealing with a dog with allergies. It's good to hear the things you've found that worked. It's been a real struggle.

This was the first project on the new frame stand and it worked perfectly. I really prefer to use a Q Snap so I can curl up with it in front of the TV but when I'm working on something I need to frame I like to use a scroll type frame. The best thing about this one is its ability to flip over easily. When you've got lots of fiddly color changes that's a real bonus. As you can see I'm not the type to worry about what the back looks like. I have a hard enough time keeping the front decent. 

So that's that. That's the corner where I put in the last stitch. I was really sweating out that border. I know mathematically it should all meet up where it's supposed to but I've had it not do so before. Happily it did. I sure hope my kids give me a breather between any new grandkids for a while. I've got stuff I really need to finish before I even think of doing another birth record. Their biological alarm clocks must have all gone off at the same time. 

Warriors of Winter

 

It's still pretty cold out but we couldn't stay cooped up another day. We still had all those sad trees out in the yard that had come down in the storm so we spent yesterday sawing and hauling wood. As cold as it was, it was actually a pleasure to get out in the sunshine and as they say....there is no bad weather, just bad clothes. We were layered up.

Pup was layered up pretty good too. I forgot to mention that the vet also told us she had cataracts and is losing her vision which is exactly what happened to my last  Yorkie. Dear Departed Pup went blind at 6 while Replacement Pup has made it to 8. She keeps falling down the stairs so I suppose I should have known because it's the exact same thing that happened with the last Pup. Time to get the baby gates out again. Sigh....

I was layered up in my favorite sloppy sweater which made it easy for me to finally pick a color scheme for the Holm mittens. I don't have any mittens to match this particular sweater and I have the yarn colors in the stash so I've cast it on. I didn't get very far because all that yard work wore me out. 

I was also tired from staying up late the night before getting Number 5's parts all finished and attached. I have found I can knit much faster if I take the chart and turn it into something my brain likes to work with which seems to be columns of numbers and symbols. These last two sleeves just flew by. 

Starting Over

 

We've been trying to do a 10 day isolation so we can go see the new baby Grand but stuff keeps getting in the way. 

First we had to have what we thought was a curbside vet visit for Pup yesterday but this time the vet actually came out to the car instead of the tech just taking the dog in. Odd and a bit too close for comfort. $350 later we had everything we needed for an ear infection, a yeast infection and a staph infection. Her allergies have been terrible in spite of the cold and this is always the result. Sigh....

Then we had the water pump for the well act strange and had to call a plumber. I had a plumber in my house. In. My. House....sigh.  He was masked but I still opened all the windows and ran all the fans. He must have been freezing. Fingers crossed he wasn't a walking petri dish but you never know. So we start counting the days again...

And....since I'm on 24/7 doggy sitting duty to keep Pup from chewing her legs off and not a bit happy about it I treated myself to this pattern from Arne and Carlos. It's their Holm mittens in three sizes. I've got all their new Norwegian wool to use up and I think this pattern will work well with it. 

The only problem is that the pattern only calls for four colors and I've got these six to choose from. Decisions, decisions....

Lap Quilting

 

It's still too cold here for my liking but I found the perfect way to spend a chilly afternoon. 

Buried in the piles that adorn my poor sewing room was Daddio's very last work of art. I have been working on hand quilting it for several years now but after I kitted it up in my new quilting bag I kinda forgot about it. 

I'm on the very outer edges now but there is still a lot of territory to cover. I'm in no hurry. It's always a pleasure to pick up. 

Pup thought so too. She had just gotten a bath and a good snuggle under the warm quilt was a good way to get over the trauma of getting wet. 

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 

I am literally rounding the corner on this one. All I have left is the border. 

That simple line of x's under the ABC took me two tries. I didn't like the stitch the pattern called for so I ripped it out and redid it only to discover I had used the wrong color. It's staying that way.

I also got back to work on the paper pieced table runner this week. I'm thinking two more rows and it's done. I'm not wild about the colors anymore. Who knew four years ago what colors my new kitchen would be? I sure didn't. I'm not even really sure now but this ain't it. 

And as for that crazy ice yesterday....The Mister and I looked around for a water source and couldn't find one that made any sense. We couldn't even figure out where that big cascade came from since it was all coming down from one of those big hose holder attachments but.....no hose. It was just outside the fish cleaning station at the marina so maybe someone had a hose there at one time? But that would have broken the ice if they moved it, right?  I dunno....it's still a mystery. As I said before, I think it's an alien ice garden.  It sure is pretty when it sparkles in the sun.

Ice, Ice Baby

 

Have you ever? 

We went out exploring the frozen world around us and we found something we couldn't explain.

This we get but those odd looking bubble-like ice cubes? What on earth? We don't even see a water supply for any of this craziness. 

Now this makes sense. There's plenty of this.

And a lot of this floating around but those weird looking ice cubes? I say alien mischief. 

And.....The Mister and I have a standing thing when the weather gets really, really cold. We always look for the dude in shorts and there is always one. If you look to the left of the trash can you can see the latest streaking away. Everyone else is dressed like extras on the set of Dr. Zhivago and there he goes. At least this one had a hat on. 

Hobbits and Rings

 

I am so tired of this cold weather. Cold around here means 30s, 40s and 50s not 10's and 20s. At least it was sunny today but I was still in a grumpy mood so I spent the day sitting on the couch in a huff watching Bilbo and Frodo do their thing. It's been a while since I've sat through the trilogy and the Hobbit movies. While I was watching I got all 10 decreases done on Althea's sleeve and started the cuff. 

It's not really a good thing to be knitting with this kind of unspun stuff when you are not paying complete attention. I had a few breaks and drift aparts but they didn't bother me a bit. I am so over everything right now it would take a lot to get a response of any kind about anything. My give a hoot meter has flat lined. 

I did not however spend the whole day on my backside. I got up long enough to make a chocolate gingerbread cake ala Nigella. It's another crockpot cake since the oven....well, you know. It wasn't half bad this time. The chocolate frosting helped. Chocolate frosting helps everything. 

Plastic Liberation Day

 

I couldn't take another day of that dirty, raggedy plastic on my floor-so I ripped it all up. We ripped up the old floor in November of 2019 so this has been a long time coming. The Mister has been hemming and hawing about getting the new floor down because of the stove issue (we have yet to solve) but I was OVER IT. Up it all came and out it went.

I also ripped up the rest of the tile that was in the landing area that transitions to the kitchen floor. Now he didn't have a choice. We had to do something to cover that nasty plywood sub-floor.

What I have wanted to do for a long time was to take the boxes of new flooring and just lay the planks out on the floor so we could play with it for a while until we figure out just what we want to do with it. That's just what I did. The only problem was I couldn't find the things that go on the legs of the chairs and tables to protect the new floor. I knew I knit all those dishcloths for a reason. They came in very handy.

Rescue Mission

 

Poor Rainbow Kitty had been pushed into a corner of the downstairs craft room last week when we packed it full of kitchen stuff. When I went to find it to work on it last night The Mister warned me that he had caught one of our kitties taking a nap on it. Yikes. 

Rainbow Kitty was on his frame which is made up of very sharp spikes to hold the material tight. I cut myself on them all the time. How a kitty found this comfortable I'll never know but as we know kitties are weird. 

Instead of working on Rainbow Kitty last night I had to give him a bath. He also got a good spray down. I have terrible kitty allergies and I swear by this stuff. It may be all in my head but I'm able to live comfortably with a house full of cats as long as I have a bottle of this on hand-which I always do. 

Rainbow Kitty took his bath like a champ and is none the worse for wear. It was an oddly satisfying thing to do. If you're wondering what the back of him looks like here it is getting a good sponge down. I wish it were this easy to give a real kitty a bath. It would solve a lot of my allergy issues. 

Snow Days

 

We had a grocery pick up in town so we took Pup for a walk in the nearly deserted Park and Ride nearby. There were still a lot of really great snow piles to play in even though it was almost 50 degrees and sunny yesterday.

Pup was not thrilled with the snowball throwing but she had a good run around on the pavement. 

I got some knitting time in on the ride over and my knitting brain kept sending out warning signals that I wasn't going to get a matchy matchy pair.

I had knit on its mate the night before and I could have sworn they wouldn't be the same....but they were. So much for the knitting brain.

Back at home I finished the baby socks. They don't look so weird now that there's two of them.

I also got a good start on the number 5 mini sweater. I thought I was on number 6 for some reason and was disappointed to find out that I have to wait for the pretty teal and yellow pattern. This one is navy and gray and it's going pretty quick so at least that's a good thing. 

The best part of yesterday was dinner. We rarely ever get take out but The Mister wanted pizza and since we are still oven-less we ordered his and hers Papa Johns which were not too terrible. I got the new New York style. I'm sure all that cheese was not a good thing but it might have just been worth it.