Paying it Forward

In the midst of watching the lights flicker (still on, yay!)I signed up for this over at Cat's blog. Sounds like great fun to me and no biggie time limit. Here's how it works.

The guidelines: "I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog."

Want to participate? Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and make the same promise on your own blog.

Note: Realistically I will not be knitting you a cabled sweater. But I promise you that whatever I make you will be made with lots of care and love.

And a request...please keep the people affected by this storm in your thoughts. People are dying from using bad choices in keeping warm. Who knew the generator had to be way away from the back door. Not me. And I would imagine there are others that nobody knows or cares about that are suffering. Today in Oklahoma City they opened the Convention Center so people that have just reached their limits can find some warmth and food. I have a friend that's been without power since Sunday. She's ok, but I know from experience that it's very wearing. Anyway, just keep them in your thoughts.

And hug your thermostat :-)

Oh the weather outside~~~

The day's adventures started early. The power went out with a bang around midnight but Mary, the most demanding cat, didn't care. "It's 5 AM and I'm starrrrvvvinnng!" Clamping on my headlight I fed them, and discovered that Zoey is absolutely terrorized by that light. I guess she thought it was chasing her. So whimpering, she hid out behind the love seat. As soon as they finished, we all went back to bed to listen to the radio which picks up one of the local tv stations. Guess what. It's icy and the power is out.

All snuggled up we went back to sleep until dawn sort of arrived at 7:30! I can't remember when I've slept that late. Although very cloudy and dim, I at least could get around without the light.

So, off to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. One pan of water heated makes a big mug of instant coffee (I know) and a big mug of instant oatmeal (blech, I much prefer real oatmeal) and enough water that once cooled can provide face washing, teeth brushing etc. A bit more heated and dishes are done.



Then with a full tummy we went out to explore a bit and to maybe get some ice off the car.

It was a bit tricky exiting the patio, but the intrepid explorers found an alternate route.



If it wasn't so destructive, I'd have to say it's absolutely beautiful. But then sometimes the most dangerous things are the most beautiful.




This little branch is about the size of a skinny pencil. The rest is ice..I'm not sure how ice can be all around something. Must freeze fast before it falls off. I measured 1/2" thick ice on the trunk of my car.



In the center of this picture you can maybe see a broken off tree limb. I don't know where the rest of it is..I'm thinking it's on the roof.



I got a call that the office once again had lights and just as I was trying to get excited about going to work MY lights came on. Yay!! A bath, clean hair and off I go again.

All day long it rained. And rained. And rained. Very uncomfortable as it was very cold but NOT freezing so the streets and sidewalks got much better. The trees are still a disaster. And on the evening news they said that there were 638,000 electric customers without power. I am so blessed!

Lights are a bit flickery tonight and they say there might be freezing drizzle but for now I'm warm, safe and have knitting to do.

See ya tomorrow maybe! xo

More Ice Means Home Early

Home early today as ice or something took out a transformer and my office had no power. It gets really old sitting in the dark listening to the computer batteries beep. As per usual, our emergency lights didn't come on. Plant services brought us a couple of flashlights...they had more, but it seems that D batteries are on back order. :-/.

Unfortunately, there was no power at my house either. Although very gray outside, there was enough light to see my way to the basement and I retrieved My Buddy propane heater and the little one burner propane cook thing. Got them all hooked up, made sure I knew how to turn them on and then I heard a really weird noise. Took me a minute to realize it was my printer turning itself on. Yay..lights! Camera! Action!

Well, not too much action. I'm making a batch of potato soup..it reheats nicely in case the power goes away again. And the down comforter is at the foot of the bed just in case. That funky headlight is in my knitting bag and I have a sock that at this point is just mindless stockinette and some quilt pieces cut out and lots of books and fresh batteries in the radio/tapeplayer/cd thing. I'm good to go. I just hope I'm prepared for nothing.

The roads were really better than they were this morning but we get periodic batches of freezing rain so I'm sure when the sun goes down (I know it's out there somewhere) that will all freeze again.

And so it goes on this frozen prairie. xo

Ice, Ice, Baby

That's what the outside world has been about today. Fortunately I got to stay inside except for brief forays to retrieve propane from the garage and jaunts with Zoey. Except for that, it's all been about the inside.

And inside, it's been warm and happy. Christmas lights on alllll day. Fabric to be cut out. A bit of sock knitting. Just a lot of fun things.

And after fighting with yucky respiratory stuff for way too long, I felt really good. Even when not feeling so well, I couldn't complain too much as I'd dodged it for the last couple of years. Or, perhaps as someone suggested, I needed a rest. Certainly got that. Lots of naps were taken. Lots of tea drank. Mindless tv and some mindless reading. Must have worked...either that or it was the steroids :-O



And I even have a new friend. Meet Axel all the way from the UK, brought into the world by Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits. He was a bit shy at first and thought that he could hide in the tree and check things out before jumping into the softie community here. Now all is well, and he's been telling all sorts of tales to the other bears and lambs and cats and moose and reindeer and hippopotomii that share my home.

Time for lights out now..and the hope that in the morning they'll come on, unaffected by freezing rain weighing down the lines!

xo

38 Things?!?!?!?

Cat tagged me...a while back, and I guess I forgot. So, I really will try to get this done.

38 Things About Me That You May Or May Not Want To Know......

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night. My friend Jackie, who is a total goof!
2. What were you doing at 0800? Driving to the grocery.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Painting cardboard.

4. What happened to you in 2006? I kept breathing? Nothing earth shattering other than knitting a cable. Well that's pretty important!

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? (to my dog) "It's MY sandwich!"

6. How many beverages did you have today? A pot of coffee, a glass of iced tea, a bottle of water and am working on a little Coke now.

7. What color is your hairbrush? Gray

8. What was the last thing you paid for? Food, sweatpants.

9. Where were you last night? At home...knitting and talking on the phone.

10. What color is your front door? Light Brown

11. Where do you keep your change? In a rubber squeezie which is so dorky and makes me giggle or my car's ashtray pr a mug on my desk

12. What's the weather like today? Cold, gray, damp...love it!

13. What's the best ice cream flavor? Rocky Road or at this time of the year..eggnog.

14. What excites you? Doing stuff with The Girl, shopping with friends, snail mail that doesn't require remittance.

15. Do you want to cut your hair? I got kind of carried away the last time I cut it so uhhhh no.

16. Are you over the age of 25? I can barely remember 25...I think I had a really good time tho.

17. Do you talk a lot? Sometimes.

18. Do you watch the OC? No.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes.

20. Do you make up your own words? Of course!

21. Are you a jealous person? No.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "A". Amy

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "K". Kindra

24. Whose the first person on your received calls list? I'm not even sure what that means, but on my answering machine it's Sara.

25. What does the last text message you received say? You can add more time today!

26. Do you chew on your straw? Not when I still have something to drink.

27. Do you have curly hair? No.

28. Where's the next place you're going to? To the living room to put up the Christmas tree and watch football.

29. Who is the rudest person in your life? He's not in my life anymore and I'm truly thankful for that.

30. What was the last thing you ate? A raw carrot.

31. Will you get married in the future? Oh..please NO.

32. What's the best movie you've seen in the past two weeks? The Thin Man..well actually all but one of the group. There was a Thin Man marathon on tv last Friday and I love, love, love those movies.

33. Is there anyone you like right now? I'm thinking this questionnaire was written by someone wayyyyyyyyyy younger than me.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? This morning.

35. Are you currently depressed? Nope.

36. Did you cry today? No but I sneezed.

37. Why did you answer this post? Because adorable Cat asked me to.

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey....Last time I tagged I got chewed out. I think they are fun but lots don't so I'm chicken to ask.

Thanksgiving Moon Preface

It's sooo bright outside tonight. The moon has a ring not only right around it but another one way farther out. Either my less than sophisticated camera or my less then really good photography skills make for a rather grainy indistinct image. But in real life, it's awesome. So put on your imaginary glasses and erase the graininess and sharpen the sky between the moon and the outer ring. Right now I am especially thankful for the friend that gave me the head's up on it and for having my digital camera so at least I know if I vaguely got it.

Thanksgiving Moon

Recipes

I love looking through recipes. Not only for the images they conjur up in my brain, but also it's like going through a scrapbook of portions of my life. Scribbled on the back of office memo pads; neatly written on index cards or cut from the paper; and now, printed off on the computer. Found in little specialty books. They all recall friends/foes/family..many of whom are no longer here. It used to make me sad, but now it's like the proverbial 'over the river and through the woods' Thanksgiving. Getting to remember with fondness and laughter. And in at one case, she didn't like me at all all...but gosh, she made great pumpkin bread. :-)



Sometimes there are terms that aren't widely stated anymore. And it's a good thing that none of these were written with gel pens because those accidental spills of oil or eggs would have long ago wiped out the words.



Off to do a bit of baking

Thrummed Socks?

Sometimes when there is a weather change coming, my feet along with other parts of me become quite uncomfortable. And regardless of the season, what they want are "fat socks". Now obviously that's a little odd in July..but oh well, I'm a little odd most months.

At work, my woolen socks are good and if I plan what I'm doing, I can manage to stay at my desk for a good period of time with my shoes off and feet out of sight. My feet are never really excited about shoes.

But recently, while doing mitten research, I became interested in the idea of thrummed socks..even if I had to just haul in a thermos of tea and everything I might need for a couple of hours so I could wear them and stay on the couch at home.

In reality at home...oh I am so ashamed...I wear el cheapo acrylic (probably) fat socks like you find hanging on an end cap at a big box store before Christmas. They're soft...I can wander outside in them and get them filthy and throw them in the washer. And, if they get a hole, who cares??? I am too fond and proud of my handknit woolen socks to treat them like that.

So, this past weekend, I purchased two new pair of these non-fashion items for like $2.99 for both. One a solid color, the other had a pattern. My knitting mind couldn't wait to get the little cardboard things out so I could see. Were these stranded??? How did they do this?



Uhhh...like this?



And yes, you can pull out each little strand. I guess that's so the foot part will be warm and the top part will be air-conditioned??

Be safe. Have a good Wednesday!

Yikes!

First of all, the little homemade felt dried..the middle is very strong, the edges where it's thinner..not so. I tried taking a pic of it but the colors were allll wrong. Maybe before I leave for work it will be light enough.

But the yikes is for something totally different. Yesterday when at the yarn store for things they didn't have, I did get a copy of Knit Simple. I mean..I was there, I had to shop, right?? And Sara, no this isn't the same mag we were talking about on the phone.

I'm glad I got it. There was a very interesting article about Alan Dart who does a ton of toy patterns for Simply Knitting (Sara..that's the one :) )I really knew nothing about him because when I googled, I got links to patterns that people were selling on ebay. Never my gnomes pattern though. /insert sad face.

It also had a feature about an afghan made of squares. And in each square was a different sheep done in intarsia. Or I suppose you could convert it to afghan stitch and cross stitch them on. I wasn't at all familiar with the yarn, so off to Google again. I found the first one listed and quickly decided that this project in this yarn was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of my price range. But because I like to torture myself I kept clicking and found this site. Apparently this was published before. Neat, eh?? But I think it's got room for a lot of possibilities in the little blocks..and the charts are in the magazine.

I've put this off long enough. It's Monday, and I must get ready for work so that the weekend will get here sooner. Hope today treats you very very well.

More Felting

Early this morning I stacked the two felted sweaters on top of an XL knit shirt I have so you could see how much they shrunk. But the sleeves on the tan one were really bothering me. So back in the pillow case it went and spent more quality time chatting with tennis balls and old jeans. I find it fascinating how different fibers felt in such different ways and times. Now the tan one is about the size of the green one and talk about bloom! Whoa, one fuzzy piece of fabric. I put it and the rack outside for awhile this morning so that the strong breeze would maybe give it a head start on drying but mostly it became adorned with bits of dry leaves so back in it came.

The rest of the morning was spent putting up new plastic on the bathroom window and one of the living room windows and washing two of the blanket curtains. At least two windows are now all clean and fresh for winter. The other ones would have been but the lovely town water system decided to belch brown water so laundry came to a screeching halt.

What's a girl to do if she can't finish the curtain washing? How about shopping? Off to Michael's where they had yarn on sale. I've been wanting to try that Paton's SWS so I got 4 skeins of that and 3 skeins of Paton's regular wool..I forget it's real name and I'm too lazy to go look.

I stopped at Barnes and Noble and did not buy a single thing. This is history! I did look a lot though. The new Spin Off has an interesting article about sock knitting machines. I saw a box of knitting pattern cards called "Hat's, Mittens, Scarves" I really wanted them..I think because I liked the picture on the front and I thought the little cards would be cute. But I'm a little hesitant to buy something that I can't see inside. What if they are all really weird or something. So back on the shelf for them.

Then off to the for real yarn shop for something they didn't have and then home to the still very damp sweater.

But I'd been thinking about wet felting. So after supper was cleared up I decided to experiment. The only roving I have is gray but I wanted something with some color. So off to the play room and the box of needle felting roving stuff. I put a piece of some sort of net/kinda looks like an old timey curtain fabric on a tray. Pulled off some pieces of the roving and kinda spread them all out and then went back and stacked the next layer going in the opposite direction. I could have put more on there but I didn't want to waste it in case it was a disaster.



Then I folded the netted stuff over it and wet it down with soapy water. And then I kinda massaged it with my hands. When it was kinda stuck together so I could pick up this sandwich, I put it on one of my rub boards and rubbed it really well both vertically and horizontally and catty corneredly, then flipped it over and did the other side. So now I have something else to watch dry. :)



If it works, I'll be asking for sources of small amounts of roving. I do so love making messes and playing in water!

So how was YOUR weekend?

Felting Fun

The have-to-be-done stuff was done quickly today, and then it was time to felt those sweaters that Paul sent me. Actually the process started a day ago but there was a wee glitch. I always put the items to be felted in a zip up cotton pillow cover so that all the resulting fuzz pellets won't end up clogging the washer. It never occurred to me that one might someday come unzipped and the sweater in all it's shedding glory would be freed. Until Friday morning that is. And bein's as it was being such a cra**y week, I shut off the washer and went quietly off to work.

So last night I scooped out water by pitcher and poured it through a strainer into a bucket and then refilled the washer at it's lowest setting. Aha..left alone, the fuzz floated to the top and I was able to scoop the last bits out.

Not much more progress last night since I crashed very early and slept through until 2 AM. At that time I watched a bit of the goofiest movie and went to bed for real. 2 AM was just too early to get up.

This morning, just barely up before daybreak, and the regular laundry was done quickly and then it was back to felting. The green sweater felted the most, and I'm noticing that for some reason the sleeves of the tan sweater aren't as felted as the body. I don't quite know what to do about it though.

Oh and look at my new helper. I'd been looking at it at the W*Mart, as the laundry stuff is right across from cat food. I couldn't really justify it for drying socks so I do them one pair at a time and they dry on the cookie rack cooler thingy. But now...tada! From this..



To this..



And on the bottom shelf hiding away are socks and tennis balls. This would be really nifty if it weren't in the 70s and the heat was on. A nice fit over the vent, I'm thinking. And since you can take the mesh "shelves" off (although it will fall over if you took off the cross bars that hold them), it would work for drying bags that need to stand up on their cereal boxes. A good investment, I'm thinking.

No Rabbit For Me

Work continues, for me at least, to be ummm difficult. And I am the happiest girl to know it's Friday! I'm surely hoping that a great attitude adjustment can happen over the weekend. Running errands, cleaning house, doing laundry and playing with fabric and fiber has never sounded so good!

Yesterday I had high hopes that my fast fingers would secure me one of Julie's Little Cotton Rabbit. I've saved up and the cash is in what I call my little bunny bank although it looks more like a fruit jar. Alas, my fingers weren't quite fast enough (I was #2 on one tho) so I shall just content myself with reading this story! Some people are soooo very talented and isn't it just awesome that they share themselves with us????

Last night I was supposed to be getting together with some friends for fibery stuff and chat and tea. I was so tired and what I really wanted to do was cover my head with a blanket and sleep. However, since I'm so thankful that once a month we do this I thought I could at least make an appearance and then leave early. Ha! Of course that didn't happen. By the time I had been there 10 minutes I was revived and laughing and all busy with show and tell. My friend that got me started on the penny rug was seated next to me, and happily petted the new wool from Paul. :-)

So all's well that ends well and...it's FRIDAY!

Wooly Wednesday

When I left work today, I just wanted to come home and hide under the covers. It was NOT a very good day. Actually it ended up really grim. However, there was a surprise awaiting me on my front porch.

Paul was very kind and found some felted wool for me at Rhinebeck! When we chatted before he went, I said that I was looking around here in thrift stores for woolen sweaters that I could felt but they seem to be few and far between..or non-existant in this area. So not only did he send me the felted wool, but also two of his very own sweaters that he no longer wore. I feel really badly about felting them but I shall overcome those feelings because I really really need some bigger pieces of fabric.



The felted sheets are an alpaca/wool blend and they are sooooooooo soft. And I'm really amazed. They are just like a nice woolen fabric..but totally different from the pieces I got at that guy that vendored at our fiber thingy. See how these are sort of puffy and you can see needle puncture rows? It's a solid fabric..it just looks all different. Is this fun or what??



The wool was wrapped neatly in tissue with a piece of heavier paper over the top. And look what the heavier paper was! I'm going to be shopping for a poster frame this weekend. Way cool!



Only one small ummm, challenge perhaps. It seems that Hershey is inordinately fond of the darker piece and was doing his best to appear immoveable. Too bad sweetie..it's mine, all mine! Thanks loads Paul!!

Reds

It's the time of year that I dearly love. I love the colors of the turning leaves all gold and red and bronze and maroon. (and I really want some Turning Leaf wine just because of the name. Has anyone actually tasted it?)I love walking through their crunchy brothers and sisters that have fallen to the ground. It's just THE best thing.

And every year it's the same. I can't remember when the leaves are supposed to be turning and falling. I'd be happy if it started in September. An old farmer once told me that when the leaves hang on to the tree for a long time, it means a bad winter. And that winter he was correct. But, if you don't know when they are supposed to fall off, there's no way for me to know if they're late. Well, I'm thinking if it was January it would be fairly obvious.



I have no idea of what kind of tree this is. This rather blurry pic was taken from the parking lot at work using the zoomy setting. And was accompanied by some quick movement when someone drove up behind me and honked their horn. I wanted to show how it's turning color in sections. The next one is better, and taken with me balancing in a shrub bed. Oh, and because it was only fair, I'll share a photo of one of the shrubs. Don't want to be playing favorites.



House stuff is as done as it's going to get. My friend Jackie and I are going to take some food over to another friend's house. Her m-i-l recently died and is in route back here for services. There are a lot of relatives, and after talking to her, it was decided that we'd bring a bunch of stuff for sandwiches rather than hot dishes. We really need to get going because I bought a big amount of shaved ham with the idea that I would take a small portion of it for my supper last night. OK, so I had more than one sandwich. And am working hard at not eating more. Would be a bit embarrassing to arrive with just a few lonely pieces of ham in the meat packet.

ZIPskinny

Have you seen this site? Very interesting!

Happy Halloween, Happy Samhain, Happy Humpday

BOO! Are you scared??? This happy fellow arrived in my mailbox today thanks to the amazing Sprite! I was delighted not only because this punky one is quite adorable but more because I
thought Sprite had gone off on other paths. She's just been amazingly busy shipping loads of stuff to our soldiers, and if you'd ever wanted to do that but just can't seem to get it done or perhaps your wallet won't allow it (postage, if it's not a flat rate box is a LOT and even the flat rates add up quickly)you can help her. Who wouldn't want to end a hard work day in Afghanistan by having Mexican for supper.

And now for a sad, reflective moment. That little orange one is relaxing on top of a petticoat that is made of tons and tons of fabric. More years ago than I want to think about I was active in a reenactor group. Our period was 1880s, and all of our clothes were handmade. There wasn't elastic for petticoats so they had a regular button waistband. Way back in the closet the petticoats and pantaloons and dresses and aprons lived in a dress bag. A friend wanted to borrow one of the aprons and when I got it out, I discovered that in spite of the dress bag, all the white stuff was somewhat yellowed. So, all got dumped in the washer and soaked and washed. And because I'm totally unrealistic, I thought perhaps I could still fit in the petticoat. OMG...I've grown a lot! I'm thinking it's going to be taken apart and added back to fabric stash. I really doubt that I will ever have a 26 inch waist again
/sigh

And here is one Fetching. I can't quite figure out how to take a pic of both hands outside. There's nothing to set the camera on. I guess I need to invest in a tripod. And also learn more about angles. In rl my hand and mitt don't look all stubby. :/

OH Ack!

For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me edit the last post. So hey, a new but brief one!

I meant to put in a link for this eye thing.

Now that's off the list :)

Winken, Blinken and Nod

Basically that's what I've been doing a lot of during the latter part of the week. I am 'blessed' with recurrent corneal erosion and this seemed to be a time for it to rear it's ugly self. So lots of tears running down my face. And a really red eye and puffy eyelids and why does your nose have to run if your eye is tearing??? Do you know why your eyes get all red if you've been crying? It's because tears from crying or irritation or hay fever are not the same stuff as the fluid that normally hydrates your eyes. So this week has been a week of lots of artificial eye drops and extra heavy duty stuff for night time. And looking closely at anything is difficult because of the pupil constricting etc. So...therefore, nod. I've had a lot of short naps brought on by being bored with my eyes closed. It's much better and the eye doc said on Friday that she was impressed that the abrasion on top was healing so well and quickly. I think of it as being like peeling nail polish.

There has been some knitting. A Fetching was finished early in the week and there is another one on the needles. Maybe soon, a pair. I tried a pic, but one of the cats was quite interested in helping so mostly I got the back of a cat head with a wee bit of mitt showing.

And a sock that was the victim of some showboating on my part has been fixed.

And I totally don't understand another pattern. It's so simple but it seems all backwards to me. I think I shall try a swatch...just do what they say and see what happens.

Oh, and I think I am not meant to do P3Togethers. I thought about doing the row before on a giant needle, sliding the stitches onto a smaller needle and then purling them together. Wonder if that will work?

First frost was this week!





Which led to this...getting ready for bed with flannel jammies! Yay!

Confusing?

I just looked at my post. I guess I should do the whole thing all at once rather than interspersed with scooping litter, doing breakfast dishes etc.

The wall cloud was one afternoon last week. The hail was last night. It going to be really cool this week. Highs in the 50s. Yum!