Wild moment

Have you ever seen something so unexpected that you thought you were dreaming? On my way home from work yesterday I saw something I've never seen in the wild. I was on my motorcycle riding up the mountain and a big black bear ran across the road in front of me! He was about 30 yards away so we weren't going to collide or anything but it sure freaked me out. I've seen deer, kamikaze squirrels and even turkeys on the road before but never a bear. I had to call Mr. Aitch at work to tell him about my wild moment.

The peanut butter cookie dough was made last night and in the refrigerator. I'll make the cookies later today. Procrastinate.

I only have a couple more rows of neck shaping on the second eyelet sweater. My goal is to finish that today. Shouldn't take more than an hour then I can do the front bands, neck edge and be finished with it. I'm not sure if I will make another eyelet or lace thing again. Too much concentration for me. Not that I don't like a challenge but too much pressure having a deadline and making two from a pattern that I made up.

Drink more water

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and had some good news and some not so good news.

The good news is that I lost five pounds! Yes, the 10 minutes workouts I'm doing every work are paying off. I also started working my upper back to get rid of that unsightly back flab. I know I can't spot reduce but my goal is to tone that area hoping the increased muscle will burn off more fat overall. And eventually the flab on my back will be gone, too. Since doing these upperback exercises, my back doesn't seem to get as tired while riding the motorcycle.

The not so good news was that I need to drink more water. Now water is my choice of drink 95% of the time. I do enjoy a cup of green tea almost every morning and I do like my wine in the evening but for the rest of the time it's water. I just don't drink enough. I have to make a conscious effort to drink. My mother was the same way. She just didn't drink very much.

I did knit on the eyelet sweater last night. The next row will start the neckline decreases. Only 10 more rows to go before I do the front bands and neck edging. Then I will be finished with the second sweater.

We are visiting Mr. Aitch's brother this weekend and I wanted to take some banana bread and peanut butter cookies to him, my FIL, and my aunt since all of them live in the same town. I think the bananas are beyond banana bread. I touched one last night and it felt liquified under the peal. Too far gone.

I remembered to take some butter out of the refrigerator before I left or work this morning so I could make the peanut butter cookies tonight. Yes, I know Mr. Aitch doesn't like the oven on when it's hot but he's not going to bo home tonight.

It's time for me to check out the water cooler.

Kettle corn and knitting

My boss brought in a bag of freshly made kettle corn yesterday. I had a handful today. Crunchy, sweet, salty goodness. I try to make this at home but it's just not the same.

The recipe is fairly easy:

1/4 cup oil

1/3 - 1/2 cup popcorn

1/4 cup granulated sugar, can be all white or half white and half brown

1/4 tsp salt, optional

Heat oil and three kernels of popcorn in a large 4-6 quart pan with a lid until the corn pops. Add the rest of the popcorn and sugar. Cover and shake until the popping slows to 2-3 pops. Immediately dump popped corn into another container. (I use a parchment lined cookie sheet.) Sprinkle with salt. Fill pan with hot water to make clean-up easier.

I also use a Whirley-Pop Popcorn Maker. It has a stirring rod in the bottom that you turn so you don't have to shake the pan. I don't work for or receive any compensation from Whirley-Pop. I just love their popcorn maker.

I brought my knitting with me again today hoping I can work on the eyelet sweater during lunch.

Eyelet sweater size 1-2 yrs

Having twin granddaughters means having to make double. This is a combination of 3 patterns so does that make it an original?

Thunder and lightning but no knitting

I woke up this morning at o'dark-thirty to the sounds of rain and a very loud thunder-clap. The alarm wasn't to go off for another hour. Robbed of one hour of sleep. Actually I was awake enough to just enjoy the storm. Two minutes before the alarm was to sound, I turned it off. Why listen to the beep-beep-beep when I was already awake? You guessed it. I nodded off. Twenty minutes I woke up with a start. I hate when I do that.

Fortunately I decided what I was going to wear while I was awake during the storm.

My knitting bag was next to my purse so I still managed to get to work on time. No knitting was done today. I really need to make this second eyelet sweater a priority since it has to be finished by next week.

Crabby Bay Fries

Mr. Aitch and I went out for lunch yesterday, which is something we don't do very often. It was later than usual for lunch. For me. He dropped me off at the fabric store while he took his truck to have the tires checked. They were out of balance. Usually I can spend hours looking around a store but I felt that he was going to be back soon so I purchased my things and went outside to wait for him.

While waiting, I played several games of solitaire on my phone. I'm so glad I could entertain myself. I was really hungry and my stomach was growling. I hadn't eaten anything up to that time and I had spent an hour weeding my flower beds earlier in the morning.

We got to the Sand Springs Saloon and Steakhouse around 1:15 and placed our order in right away. Mr. Aitch had hot wings. I ordered Crabby Bay Fries. I usually don't order fries but these were smothered in a hot, creamy crab dip. This could have served 3-4 people. It was delicious. Other than Mr. Aitch sampling 2-3 fries, I ate the entire plate.

I had water the rest of the day as I was still full from lunch. Mr. Aitch wanted some popcorn while we watched an old movie last night. Real popcorn, not the microwave stuff. And real butter. No salt for me. I had a small bowl. Such buttery goodness.

Weeding

I decided to weed the front flower beds as soon as I got up this morning. We were supposed to get some rain overnight but we didn't. There was enough dew on the plants and ground to make the job easier.

Left side

Can you see the poppy?

I don't know what those pink flowers are but they love the heat from the brick sidewalk and are pretty drought resistant.

Right side

Looks like the stacked stone needs some help.

After an hour, this is what it looks like. Granted it's not perfect but it's so much better. It was getting too hot to do much more.

Left side after

There's the poppy on the right

Right side after

For some reason the left side always needs more weeding than the right side. The Candy Tuft has taken over more there. I also love my balloon flowers thought they are just now beginning to bloom. Maybe more will be out later in the week.

Tomorrow is another day

I'm really looking forward to cleaning tomorrow. Yes, looking forward to cleaning. I managed to clean out one kitchen cabinet (or is it a cupboard?) last Monday even though I had visitors. I arranged my spices (in alphabetical order by bottle size) and threw out all the old ones

My best friend and I talked last night and she mentioned her step-daughter-in-law(?) and her obsession with organizing her spices. I don't know how other people do their spices but if they aren't in some type of order, how can you find what you need without going through the entire cabinet? Unless you only use salt and pepper, how do find things?

I am certainly not OCD...just look at the rest of my house.

Tomorrow I will tackle the cabinet above the microwave/range hood and possibly the one where I keep my dishes. Maybe even a drawer or three.

Our community yard sale is tomorrow. I'm not participating but may have my own yard sale later in the summer. I need less clutter, less things, less emotional attachment to stuff.

Wish me luck

Rain

It's cool, foggy and rainy. I just want to curl up with a cup of hot tea and knit.

Summer hours

We started "summer hours" at our office last week (though I started it this week.) We work four 10-hour days with either Monday or Friday off. I chose Mondays. Mr. Aitch works either Fridays or Saturdays and is the choir director at church so Mondays seemed to be the best day for us. Makes for nice long weekends. The kicker is getting to work an hour earlier and staying an hour later. So did I set my alarm to get up an hour earlier? No. Just a half hour earlier. I won't eat breakfast at home until we switch back to our regular hours after Labor Day.

So my plan for this past weekend was to continue my cleaning. Didn't happen as planned. Friday night my daughter-in-law called asking if she and their two kids could spend the weekend with us. My son works nights and is off Monday and Tuesday nights. They only have one car so he brought them Saturday and picked them up last evening. My grandson is four and wants constant interaction. Play with me, Nona. Not a lot of cleaning done over the weekend.

I got up to the armhole openings on the second eyelet sweater and started the first sleeve four times. I dropped a stitch and had to start over. I had an extra stitch and had to start over. I don't know what I did and had a huge gap and started over. I'm well into the sleeve and should finish it tonight and possible finish the second sleeve so I can start to join everything. Goal is to have the sweater finished Friday night.

I did get a couple of loads of laundry done. I even cleaned out one cabinet in the kitchen yesterday morning. Spices. What is the shelf life of spices and flavorings? We moved into this house 16 years ago. I threw out some spices that I brought from my other house. Granted I hadn't used them in the past 16 years so it was safe to say I didn't need them. This was long overdue.

Treasures I found were an apple baker and a garlic baker. Both in their original packaging and both brand spanking new. One was a gift and one I had purchased.

I had paper plates and plastic spoons and forks taking up most of a shelf. We don't really use paper plates very much unless it's a BIG party. Same with plastic ware. So those things went into a box to be put in the basement with the other picnic-type things.

Our community yard sale is this weekend. I doubt I will be ready for it but will continue to clean out drawers, cabinets, closets and rooms. Maybe I will have my own yard sale later in the summer.

Only the buttons left

I finished the eyelet sweater last night except for the buttons. I still don't know the best way to sew on buttons on a knitted item. I wove in all the ends and grafted the underarm seam of four stitches. I used the kitchener stitch but still have holes on either side. I try to weave/darn those holes but I'm not satisfied with the result. It's going to have to work for now but I do need help with finishing seams.

The sweater is blocked and I will update this post tonight with pictures. ***See picture below.

My camera and computer are fighting. Sometimes I can upload pictures easily ans sometimes I can't. Not sure what the problem is. I put the digital card from the camera into the card reader and I either get errors or it works without a hitch. I will try again tonight.

I adapted this sweater pattern so I didn't have to sew seams. I like to sew fabric but not knitted items. I'm working on writing out the pattern so I can refer to it when I knit the second sweater...which I started last night.

Sausage toes

Yesterday Mr. Aitch and I were reviewing the leftovers in the fridge and decided to cook and eat the last two hot dogs and two hamburgers for dinner. To make the meal healthier we also had baby carrots and white zin. Yes, wine is a health food in my book.

By the end of the evening, my toes were like little sausages. I try not to consume much sodium but could not pass up the hot dog. As I was knitting on the button band on the eyelet sweater, my feet felt funny. They were swollen and my toes looked like little sausages.

Today I'm drinking a lot of water to help flush out the sodium and will be eating a bit healthier, too.

Progress on the eyelet sweater: It's almost finished! I have the button band finished on the right side and have the left side yet to do. Graft the underarm stitches, weave in the ends, sew on the yet-to-find buttons and block. Yay! Then I can start on the second one hoping it won't take near as long since I made all the corrections on this one.

As soon as I type out the chicken scratch pattern, I will post it.

Honeysuckle and helmets

I rode the motorcycle to work this morning and I need a "CAUTION: Helmet hair" sign. I realize traffic problems in my area doesn't even come close to what a lot of people experience but I couldn't get out of my development this morning for at least five minutes. School buses and the cars backed up from the various stops made for a very long line of traffic.

Once I got moving, I could smell the sweet perfume of honeysuckles. They grow along the roadside on steep banks. I would love to have honeysuckle around my house but I think it's rather invasive so I'll appreciate it while I ride.


Courtesy of: http://nyis.info/images/0001065_Japanese_honeysuckle_flower.gif

Where did May go?

June 1st already? Where does the time go?

We had a wonderful weekend. Mr. Aitch is a master with the grill. Sunday's menu was grilled chicken, pasta salad, baked beans, white zin, and fresh strawberries and blueberries.

The twins were so cute. I even got one sweater done to the point where I could try it on one of the girls to see how it fit before totally finishing it.






Needless to say I ripped it out down to where I started the neck shaping. I started it too soon. Of course if I was just using one pattern instead of three, I would be finished with BOTH sweaters by now. The clock is ticking now to get both done by the end of the month. I've knit baby sweaters in a couple of days before but I was actually following a real pattern. When will I learn?

It's always sad when everyone leaves after a great weekend. I try to hide the tears as they pull out of the driveway.

WCMNC

I got the delicious white chocolate macadamia nut cookies baked last night. This recipe says it makes 54 but I got 72. Usually I get less than what the recipe claims. Oh, well, more for us to enjoy!

I got some cleaning done, too. I left a note for Mr. Aitch to vacuum the upstairs today and I'll do the downstairs when I get home.

My friend had a baby girl late Wednesday night. Please wlecome Brooke Catherine. I've been thinking of something to knit for this baby for some time and just need to do it!

Have a great weekend!

Foiled and cookies

My great plans to knit during lunch were foiled by a crossword puzzle. I love crossword puzzles almost as much as knitting. Since concentration (and relative quiet) were key to knitting and not missing another yarn over, I helped with the puzzle.

Brought my knitting with me today so I'm hoping I can work on it during lunch...again.

My camera was giving me fits last night. I managed to take a few pictures of the sweater-in-progress but the card reader on the computer wouldn't recognize the photos to download. Maybe I can post those pictures tonight.

Ah, tonight... Even though Mr. Aitch doesn't allow like me to use the oven when it's above 70 degrees, I will be making white chocolate macadamia nut cookies tonight. (I substitute white chocolate chips and add 1 1/2 cups chopped macadamia nuts.) His church is having a bake sale this weekend and I begrudgingly volunteered to make something. The dough is resting in the fridge as we speak just waiting for me when I get home from work. The church will get three dozen cookies and I will keep the rest for the weekend festivities.

My daughter and her family (best SIL in the world, twin 17-month girls, and two dogs) will be coming for the weekend and there's nothing like being greeted with fresh white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.

Yes, Mr. Aitch and I go to separate churches. He's the choir director at a Methodist church and I am catholic and go to a catholic church. I do attend services with him sometimes though we never get to sit together since he is directing the choir. No, I don't sing well.
So along with baking cookies and knitting, I will have to do some clean up around the house tonight. Busy, busy.

ATK Blast!

This facility is only seven miles and two mountains from my house but I didn't hear or feel a thing.

Only two people were injured and were released from the hospital Monday evening.

I drove my car to work this morning. The fog was so thick at my house that I could barely see the house across the street. By the time I got across the Potomac River I could see the fog was lifting. Another three miles and there were blue skies and sunshine. Should have ridden the motorcycle.

But I did bring my knitting! I fixed the eyelet and yarn over mishap last night and am ready to knit forward hoping to make major progress on this sweater today during lunch. This meal consists of protein bar and some delicious Chobani yogurt. I heart Chobani yogurt. Since I can scarf down this fantastic nourishment in about five minutes, I will have 55 minutes to knit!

Perfection, purses and a birthday wish

During lunch today, I was telling someone (non-knitter) who worked in our building about the sweater issue and the missed yarn over. She asked if it was noticeable and would I really have to rip it out. The perfectionist in me thinks it would be noticeable so I have decided to try to fix it before I resort to ripping out the last ten rows.

The little person I am knitting this for might be visiting us this weekend and I'd love to have enough of it done to see how it looks and fits.

I could work on this during my lunch hour however, the big skein of yarn doesn't pack up real good to fit in the saddlebag on my motorcycle. I could find a smaller purse for when I ride instead of this monstrosity I currently use.

How do you transport your knitting?

Now where's that darn camera? And why isn't the battery charged?

Today is my Dad's birthday. I miss him.

To frog or not to frog

Last night I discovered I forgot a yarn over on the sweater I was knitting. eight rows back. And I have a few misplaced eyelets. Do I frog it all to the offending missed yo or do I try to fix it? I have one missed yo but three eyelets that are misplaced.
This is why I can’t drink wine and knit anything involving counting, yo’s and decreasing.

On another note, Mr. Aitch showed me some erosion arounf the concrete pad at our outside basement steps. I’ve noticed this for years and mentioned it several times that we needed to do something to halt the erosion. Did Iever get any reaction? No. But I reacted today and tried to slow the process with some hardware cloth and leftover pavers from the front sidewalk. Temporary patch, for now.

As soon as I find my camera, I will post some pictures.

Promise.

One drawer down...

I finished decluttering the drawer earlier today. At this rate I should be dine with the entire house by 2015. This drawer was truly a junk drawer and I thought it would be easy. Basically most of what was in there needed to be tossed and shouldn’t have been in that drawer anyway. Now I have to find a home for the “good” stuff. The other drawer in the island was organized a year or two ago so it shouldn’t take too long to go through that one.

Knitting note: Two more rows completed on the sweater last night. Mr. Aitch and I watched a movie and I couldn’t watch it and knit at the same time. The eyelet pattern isn’t hard but along with k2tog and yarn overs, there were k2tog and ssk decreases for the raglan sleeves. I’ve learned that if I can’t concentrate when decreasing, I have a lot of ripping and reknitting to do. I like to knit as much as the next person but I have a deadline with this sweater. More knitting tonight. The good thing is that decreasing makes the row go that much faster!

Let the decluttering begin

While in the shower yesterday morning, I decided I need to start decluttering my life of things. Since I share a 2152 square-foot house with my husband and his fish menagerie, I have to go one drawer, one cabinet, one closet, one room at a time or I will be overwhelmed in less than two seconds. This morning I started with one drawer in the kitchen island. The "plan" was to devote 15 minutes to the drawer. Two hours later, it was time for lunch. The useless stuff was tossed in the trash. Now there are a few small piles of stuff that need a home. The physical part of decluttering is easy. It's the mental part of deciding where the rest of the stuff will live that is the hardest.

I should have taken before pictures but I was too embarrassed to show the mess. Let's just say that I found things from the last century and let it go at that.

Meanwhile, the sweater progression is headed in the right direction. I've joined the sleeves to the body and am now in the process of decreasing at each sleeve and body "seam". A couple more hours and I will be finished with sweater number one. I'm using Bernat's Baby Sport in ecru. Granted the skein is HUGE and I will have a ton left over but it was the right weight and color I was looking for at the time. Sweater number two will be from Caron Simple Soft (discontinued) in white left over from another project. I didn't want to use two different yarns but I need to match the rest of the outfits hence the two different colors. The Caron is a worsted weight and I'm trying to decide if I want to go up a size or two in needles and down a size or two with the pattern...which I am making up as I go. As soon as I find a decent backdrop, I will take some pictures of my progress.

The drawer is calling me to finish what I started. 15 minutes. Not.

TGIF

I have many WIPs and really need to finish something before starting another project. The current WIP is one of two sweaters I need to finish by the end of June. I'm using elements from three patterns and pictures of two sweaters. As much as I prefer to follow patterns, I cannot find one that fits the bill. Summer weight. Eyelet. Toddler sized.

I like the edge and eyelet pattern from one sweater, the raglan sleeves from another, and the length of sleeves from a third.

Can I call this an original pattern?