As I go to sleep tonight, I know it’s going to be a difficult night. It is never a good sign when my skin hurts. Yes, I am tense. It’s a sibling issue. Those of you who are still naive about this. At some point in time as a grown up you may be required to step in and help. No it’s not fun.
Wish me luck on sleep tonight.
TTFN
My Volvo started flashing an urgent warning light on the dashboard on Thursday afternoon. So today I called my local Volvo Dealership to get a service appointment. I can’t believe for an urgent brake problem they booked the appointment out 3 weeks. My almost 4 year old car does not even have 11,000 miles on it yet.
I then asked if the car was still safe to drive.
They replied that they were not sure.
So I will be without a car for 3 weeks. Between the Snowbirds erratic driving and the college students it is a better choice not to take any unnecessary risks. I have not been without a car at my beck and call since I was 16, so last century. So I will make sure my Lyft app is updated. I will renew my Shipit subscription. Sit down with calendars out so John and I can mesh our schedules. Do much for independence.
This will require more planning than I am use to for things like shopping. Going out to knit with friends. Running the odd errand.
If you can’t already tell, I am quite miffed at my local Volvo Dealership. I really wish we had a second Volvo dealership in town. We don’t trust the brakes enough to drive to Phoenix. This is the only time since so last century that it took more than a few days to get my car serviced for an urgent problem. If I had an urgent problem with my GM, Toyota, VW, Mazda or Honda all the dealerships got me in the same day I called or the next day. I really don’t know what the deal is in making me wait 3, yes 3 whole weeks for service. Are they trying to say that they are too elite to service what they sell?
My question is, does anyone else have this problem with their Volvo dealership or is our dealership just especially not good at their basic function. The function being to service what the sales department sells in a timely manner.
This leads to the next question to ask when buying a new car. How soon can the service department get me in for an urgent problem. How long does it take to Schedule routine maintenance?
With this lack of getting timely service for my Volvo, I probably would not buy one again. This was supposed to be my dream car. It’s turning into more of why did I think this car was so special? Why is the dealership almost as snobby as the Lexus dealership? For heavens sake it’s just a car.
The unfinished projects are much worse than I first thought. Without going into my unfinished project baskets, yes there are 2. I found 18 projects that need to be completed. This list so far has taken less than 15 minutes to complete. I did complete number 6, but I still have to write the pattern from Sheri shorthand to a readable pattern by everyone. Since it has yet to be published, I can’t show the picture yet.
I will however show you my first 2 pages of my log book which is far from complete. I also did put the location if it is not in the knitting room. My goal tomorrow is to try to add the items from the baskets. Wish me luck.
Today I pick up a knitting project that I have not worked on in 2 weeks. What did I find inside? My “lost” notions bag. Which leads me to my nearly unattainable goal of having less works in progress, currently standing with least 12 in progress projects. No wonder I miss place things like a notion bag.
My goal for 2024 is to have less knitting projects going at the same time. To try to finish smaller projects within the week that they were started. I will exempt weaving, and spinning projects, because by definition they do take longer. Wish me luck.
I will also try to get new knitting patterns out faster. Meaning from concept to finish pattern in a more reasonable and realistic time frame.
I find it hard not to start a new project on a whim. Maybe starting a notebook to keep track of things might not be a bad idea. Finish multiple projects before I start a new project. It would help me keep track of things. This is another baby step on the way to being more organized and productive. Wish me luck.
Below is the project bag that was hiding my notions bag
A pound does not seam to be enough for this scarf. At 1 pound 2 ounces it is still 15 inches too short. So the only thing to do is knit on. The maybe good news is that I have enough yarn in the basket to make at least 2 more super colorful scarfs.
The last of the dog pillows for 2023 we’re finally finished this morning. I think that I will have time next week to drop them off at the shelter. These are some of the nicest that I have made. I have also changed the way I do the final seams which gives the pillows a more finished look.
I had a busy day today. I traded in some books for store credit at Bookman’s on Speedway. I used my credit to add 4 more pairs of socks to my charity project for next winter. Then I dropped off the ai fryer we decided not to keep to a local charity Youth on Their Own. Then it was off to lunch and knitting with a friend.
Four dog pillows got stuffed and all I need to do is seam them up. Then one of us will drop the pillows of at the animal shelter. I am on the last 3/4 of an inch on a hat before I start the crown. I am not going to update you on all my works in progress, but there are quite a few.
Tomorrow I need to do the laundry that I ignored all week. Then some general house cleaning and organizing. Just maybe I can fill another couple of bags to take to Bookman’s on River. I probably need to start another goodwill box too.
Have a happy and productive day.
There is a new math algorithm that you math people might wanna know about. It involves weight loss and glasses. I have found that for every time I drop a pant size I need to go in and get my glasses readjusted or they fall off my face I haven’t worked out the exact formula, so if somebody would like to work on that, go for it.
This led me on a while adventure yesterday. I went to Costco. Normally, Monday is a very quiet day at our local Costco, however, this being snowbird season, and I think we have a full stow bird season this year everything was turned upside down. The parking lot was a mess to say the least, when some of the drivers got confused, they just sat there and didn’t move leading to long lines of traffic waiting to park. Inside was just as crazy. I am so glad I brought my knitting with me. I stood there at knit while I was waiting for my turn to get my glasses adjusted , I must say the gal did a fantastic job on getting my glasses adjusted. They are staying right where they need to be. She even had to make the glasses narrower because I have lost inches in my face.
Then I did a little bit of shopping then I did a little bit of shopping. I picked up some of the things we needed for the house. Then I tried to look at the refrigerated meat section and the meat section it was total chaos. There were long lines waiting for the roasted chickens apparently by 12 thirtyish they had gone through two pallets of chickens. The concern was they only had one pallet left, and that was supposed to have lasted them through Wednesday when the next delivery came. Apparently they have not experienced a full snowbird season in quite a while. I gave up looking for the meat and decided it was time to leave.
I found a very short line and a very courteous check out woman. Getting out of the store was another problem. I nearly got run over by a man using a scooter from Costco. He felt that since he was using the scooter, he did not have to wait in the line and was zipping in and out, and even managed to knock my cart. At least I wasn’t holding onto it at the time.
I was going to use the alternate route to get out of the Costco parking lot and go up to Ina but the road was closed due to construction. The bright side is I did not have to wait through 40 cars making right turns to get out of the parking lot.
John was wonderful and put everything away and then I went on my toys for to run. Target was running a fantastic sale as long as I didn’t come into the store and just ordered everything online. So I managed to fill up the back of my car using only 2/3 of my budget, it was so full it took three firemen to empty the back of my car. And then it was off buy groceries for dinner. By this time, I was exhausted after a full day, and was so glad that John made dinner.
Well, it is time to start my day again. I think it’s going to be very busy again everyone have a wonderful day.
Today we went to T-mobile to replace our old iPhone 8’s with a new version. We got more storage and an upgraded camera. We got the iPhone 8’s just after they had been released. So it’s been a few year since we got them. Both our phones were in the midst of dying. We got tired of carrying around battery packs. I have to admit the caring and battery pack around adds a few ounces to my purse. You know we got new phones just to make my purse lighter, right? Not for the much better picture quality or extra storage space.
I must say that the transfer process has gotten much faster They even could do 2 phones at the same time. It only took 1 1/2 hours for 2 new phones.
Anyway, here’s a chance to say goodbye to my old phone. I will not miss the scratched screen or short battery life. I will now have to remember to look for a dark blue case, it just does not stand out like the pink case.
I lost my favorite knitting accessories bag on Tuesday when it fell out of my knitting basket. My basket fell over twice and I am not sure where I lost it. Yesterday I checked both parking lots and it was not to be found.
The bag was from a good friend. I filled it with stitch markers, cable needles, a crochet hook, scissors and various other necessities. Now I will have to find another bag and refill it with the same things. I think next time I will leave a business card in my accessories bag so people could return it if found.
The knitting still goes on. Here is a picture of a project I finished yesterday. My latest one pounder scarf for the boarding school on the Navajo reservation.
Since I have delivered all my charity knitting projects it seemed like a fantastic time to start work on the holiday knitting for 2024. So I already started the big Ziplock XXL bag with a pair of socks and these 2 scarfs.
Sometimes people say the darndest things. Take today for instants, an acquaintance asked how Eric was doing because she hadn’t seen him lately. I just did not know what to say. It floored me because this is the week he died four years ago. So not wanting to make an awkward situation more awkward, I just told her he’s been very busy, and I haven’t seen him much myself lately. That seem to satisfy her and she wandered off.
I won a raffle basket of knitting goodies at the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild meeting this morning. When I got home I went through the basket to decide what I wanted and needed. To tell the truth it was more about want than need. I the put the yarn that I was going to share back in the basket to take to my next meeting. I shared the yarn with another group of fiber lovers. I managed to take an empty basket home. Score one for me.
I have been on a finishing spree today. I finished 2 more projects today. One hat and 1 scarf. Of course I cast on another scarf because I don’t want my knitting needles to get lonely. That leaves me a total of 6 more projects to photograph. Also I have been pulling out Unfinished Projects. Finishing them to add to the pile.
I also took the time to take not one but two naps today. With the family stress going on I am finding it hard to sleep through the night. When I am both tired and stressed it is a really bad thing for my body. Hopefully we can get this family stuff done by the end of the year so we can start with a clean slate for 2024. In my humble opinion that would be perfectly delightful.
Most of the time I can keep a running to do list in my head. Lately I have found it necessary to write a hard copy of my daily to do lists. This gives me the satisfaction of actually crossing things off the list rather than just deleting them from my phone. It will also pair down some of my extensive pile of scratch pads. Scratch pads seem to multiply like bunnies around here.
Yesterday I also started filling a box for Goodwill with the clothes that keep getting bigger in the closet. The good news is that I only needed to add a few pairs of pants to my wardrobe. We picked the pants up yesterday.
I will hopefully get some sleep tonight and have a busy day tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Today had a lot of highs and lows. I will skip over most of the lows like not having enough energy to do stress cleaning. I wove 20+ random ends in, on a scrappy scarf. That was a chore and a half. It looks great. Pictures will come later.
The highlight of the day was a doctor telling me his services were no longer needed because I lost so much weight and am too healthy to need his services anymore. Yeah me.
I am lining up a few projects that will be just for me. I am going to make a few one of a kind items just for me after I finish the holiday gifts for the kids clothing bank. I have yarns piled up around my knitting table.
The next batch of 6 dog pillows stuffed with yarn scraps are going to the dog shelter. The dog pillows are a great way to keep yarn scraps out of the land fill and benefit my community too.
I got my stress cleaning out of the way early today. I have only done a couple of hours today. But it’s not even 11 a.m. yet, do the day is still early.
Now if I could just distress and relax.
Today I was so stressed out that I simply ignored my to do list that I made with the 2:30 AM, during a migraine. We spent the weekend dealing with family issues. They have not fully resolved. Before you ask my taller half and wonderful daughter and son-in-law are doing well. My brother and his wonderful wife invited us over for dinner, long story short. I called my brother and asked him to join us for dinner at a restaurant. He was smoking a leg of lamb so we drove to their house. My brother is an awesome cook. I really have to get a smoker. I really adore my sister-in-law. They make an awesome couple and have great kids too. They are the perfect people to hang out with when I need to recenter..
You might recall that when I hit a certain stress level the only thing that calms me down is cleaning. I spent most of the day cleaning. I put a lot of things away. My efforts were clearly visible. 3 bags of recycling and 2 bags of trash later, I was still stressed out, but much more calm. So I plyed 2 skeins of art yarn. Then I started spinning some more merino wool to do more plying. I still have 5 skeins of Little Flower Novelty yarn in red to ply. I am thinking that they would make a nicely woven scarf for kids. I was too stressed to knit or weave.
I will try to sleep tonight. Wish me luck. If not I have more cleaning to do.
I found it amazing that just trimming off 1 inch from my bangs this morning totally eliminated the getting hair in my eyes issue. I did not trim anything else because I want my hair to grow a little longer.
If you use bamboo knitting needles please be aware that they will only last for about 200 knitting projects before you start to hear a cracking or wood splitting sound. Other knitting needles tend to do this but take many years to reach this point. Do not try to finish your project. There is nothing worse than having a knitting needle crack mid row while knitting. It can be a disaster and damage your yarn or an awful lot of stitches can drop. Go to your local yarn store and get a really good pair of knitting needles. Then transfer your knitting to the new knitting needles immediately.
Don’t worry, the soon to break knitting needles can still be used in your garden to hold seed signs or prop up a plant. I am not sure that they can be composted because they typically have a finish of varnish.
If you like wooden knitting needles and do a lot of knitting there are plenty of work arounds for this. You will have to pay more but the price difference is well worth it. I would recommend a hard wood knitting needle like Brittney or Lantern Moon. Lantern Moon uses ebony which is one of the hardest commercially used woods.
I have found that the yarn I recommend for My Doodling Shawl is literally just disintegrating. When I picked it up to wear last night it just started falling apart. So I am re writing the pattern with yarn I picked up at the last Flagstaff Wool and Fiber Festival. It is by an independent dyer and the yarn can be ordered from her website. You may also use any yarn of the same weight.
Details will follow, because I am literately knitting it up right now. I have also not told the dyer that I am using her yarn in the pattern yet. I wound the yarn and started knitting it after dinner. So give me a week or so to finish the sample and the pattern changes.
I will leave the pattern up on Raverly and you will get an update with the new information.
I finally finished a stash buster project for me. A 100% cotton blanket. It is just big enough for my lap. It’s finished just in time for winter.
People need a reality check when dealing with nonprofits. Not all nonprofits are the same. This is based solely on my years of experience and disappointment with some and gratitude for others.
Letting a nonprofit display your artwork in their gallery is an iffy situation at best. At worst you will never see your artwork or share of the sale price. If you are lucky a volunteer decided they did not like you art work and picks it apart so that it cannot be made salable or usable again, but you get the pieces back in a bag. I have had friends art work stolen. I suspect that art work on display that is not returned or paid for is stolen and there is nothing that can be done. Sometimes volunteers feel entitled to “free” things for the time spent volunteering. Maybe an employee needs a quick gift and your piece is just what they need, no big deal they can get the key it’s just on display and nobody will notice. My art work most likely disappeared this way. There is the blame game and it was always someone else’s responsibility.
You won a raffle prize but did not stay to the end to collect it. They tell you what prizes you won on the phone and you can pick it up next week. When you arrive they bring a hodgepodge of things leftover from various raffle baskets, but not what you won. They explain that there was a feeding frenzy by the volunteers around the raffle table, but that they were not in charge of that area. They try to explain that this is what you won. Those that know me know that I don’t do big baskets of carbs. Yes, I was told I bid on a big basket of carbs. The volunteers feel that since you were not there and only contributed to the fundraiser that they were working, that they deserved what you won. On this I call bull pucky. I will make a note never to go to a fundraiser for that non profit organization again. They allowed the volunteers to screw both the donors and the patrons. I know you can’t control every aspect of the fundraiser, but really scraping together odds and ends when someone was told that they won a print and a nice ceramic bowl is really tacky. I really wish that if that is what they let their volunteers do, don’t bother calling me to let me know. Then there is a local charity that pushed non members to buy raffle tickets and then people were told no refunds and if you do not join our organization right now, if your name is drawn you will not get the prize. All together now, can we say fraud.
I do like the organizations that say thank you. You made a difference. A simple thank you says volumes.
Just be careful with your work products. If you spend money on raffle tickets don’t expect to get anything at all even if you were told you won. Remember that helping the community is what you are doing, but you don’t need to repeat the same mistake. There are plenty of good causes out there.
I volunteer and make donations to make my community better. If you think you are entitled to more than a thank you, then maybe volunteer work is not for you.
I fell short of my finishing my UFO goals today. All I finished was 1 scarf and 1 hat. I did however, tink 1 scarf and cast it on again. I won’t put anything on someone else’s child that I would not put on my own child or wear myself.
There is always tomorrow to get more done.
I am declaring tomorrow, Wednesday to be UFO Day. I have at least 10 projects that need 30 minutes or less to finish up. Six dog pillows that just need a 6 inch seam closed. Then 4 knitting projects that are almost done. The scarf on the loom has at least 4 hours to finish, so it may not get done.
Of course there will be laundry too, but let’s face it the washing machine and dryer do most of that work. Now what I need is some very cleaver engineer to make a system where I put the sorted load in one end. Out will come the clean wet clothes that need to be hung up on hangers. Then put the wet clothes on the clothes line. The rest of the clothes sent to the dryer to be hung up or folded depending upon the article of clothing. The folded clothes will go neatly into a basket and the clothes on hangers will go directly to the clothes line to be put away later. Of course all the socks will be matching and folded too. Now how hard could that be with all those and/ or variables? Easy peasy right. We just have not asked for it yet.
Then I can going with my last minute holiday gift projects.
As you are well aware of the fact that I do not use petroleum based yarns that have acrylic or polyester in them. Today I made an exception because I had donated yarn for dog pillows. Normally I dislike them because they bother my skin. They are bad for the environment. They are messy when cut up. Today I will add another reason why they should be avoided. I was cutting a lot of larger pieces made from very thick yarn, into suitable pieces to put into dog pillows. I do believe that I have absolutely ruined a good pair of Fiskars Sewing scissors. I will try to clean them up and sharpen them. I sharpen them several times during the day with diminishing results. I don’t hold much hope for their recovery from the awful yarn.
When I get larger and thicker pieces made for cheap and crappy yarn I will not waste my daily useful Hand time. I will not ruin another pair of scissors.
I am hoping that either Amazon or Joann’s will have a sale to replace them. I am not sure I want to put in hand time to repair them.
Please do yourself and the environment a favor and buy yarn and fiber that will last for years. Yes, I still have a 100% cotton baby blanket that both kids used. Also blankets that are not quite as old that are still in good shape. I am sure some of you have family heirlooms that are even older. Also no scissors were ever harmed using natural fibers.
*The Fiskars Scissors were bought buy me so last century from a now defunct fabric store in California. Before todays debacle, I cut heavyweight cotton fiber for the dog pillows with no problems.
I spent the day working on holiday gifts and finishing resting up after the RSV vaccine. It did take a couple of days to make a complete recovery from the side effects.
Tomorrow will be another busy day. There is so little time left in the year. So much left to do. I am not sure where the year went.
This scarf is my latest charity project off my loom. It is made up entirely from my own hand spun yarn. I used bits and pieces which by themselves were much too small to make anything. I really like how the colors blended so well. I think it was a great stash busting project.
This scarf is destined for the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank. It is my hope that the child that receives this scarf will enjoy wearing it as much as I enjoyed creating this bespoke scarf.
If you are eligible for the RSV vaccine I strongly recommend that you talk to your doctor to see if it is right for you. I also recommend making an appointment to get the vaccine or any other vaccines you plan on getting this fall. The pharmacies only order enough for the appointments.
My personal recommendation is to save things like folding laundry for after the vaccine to keep your arm moving. It really helps keep the arm from hurting. By the way I also found that winding shuttles and weaving also help. So it must be a great time to take up weaving, am I right?
Stay healthy and safe.
The second color stripe was finished tonight. The play on textures and colors are just fascinating to me. As you can see from the picture the next shuttle is loaded and ready to go. This will be one of the bigger stripes.
I am really having fun with this one. I just love how the yarn is creating optical illusions on its own. It is very visible in the green section.
This evening I finally got the loom warped for the next scarf. It’s the first time in a long time that I used a multi colored warp. I chose a medium blue and white cotton I am using hand spun yarn for most of this scarf.
The first color of light green looks really good against the darker blue.
It’s nice to be weaving again.
The floor of the knitting room is now cleared of all but one basket. The baskets all have shelve space. The one basket that does not has my Navajo spindle in it. I currently do not have any shelve space in the entire house that could possibly accommodate it. There are also No project bags on the floor. All the project bags are either empty and placed in storage, hanging on a hanger, or last but not least on a shelf.
Rumor has it that a certain robot is willing to vacuum the entire knitting room floor for me tomorrow.
Don’t get me wrong there is still work to do in the knitting room. While cleaning I opened various project bags. For each bag I went through the matrix below.
1. Keep the yarn and pattern together. Then try to find time to finish it.
2. Keep the yarn for another project. Give the pattern away.
3. Prepping the yarn for woven or knit charity scarves (non Superwash wool). Prepare the yarn for knitting charity hats ( Superwash wool or cotton). Some of my hand spun yarn is going into both sets of projects.
4. Put the yarn into the Goodwill box.
I have not gone through all my project bags yet so there is still more work to do. I have enough yarn for almost a dozen hand knit scarves prepared. Also enough for at least a dozen shades of blue and green woven scarfs. Yes while I was organizing things I put the yarn in color palettes for weaving.
Did I mention that I have a huge pile of circular knitting needles to put away too. That should take a couple of hours at a later date. Most likely when I need a certain circular knitting needle and can not find the right size.
I even found time to work on a new knitting design and a few rows of weaving. I was not cleaning all day because I am recovering from the latest sinus infection and the beginning of the….wait for it….post getting sick arthritis flare up.
TTFN. It’s time to call it a day.
I have done enough charity scarfs, both knit and woven that this huge tote bag is now empty. All the yarn has been used. It holds the equivalent of a 30 quart tub. You might recognize the tote bag as one of Eric’s. The one were we carried extra medical supplies for road trips. By the way I did find a few expired pump filters and a spare connector in the pocket. Apparently the pocket was too small to hold yarn.
This is one more small victory on my road to the great yarn destash.
It’s no surprise to anyone who knows me well is that I got really sick after Eric died. Had a lot of different surgeries and have had a very bumpy ride on the road to recovery. Because of that I have not been doing as much cooking as I would like. My kitchen and pots have become lonely.
Today I was experimenting with a sugar free, grain free zucchini breakfast bar. Both my cinnamon and baking powder were expired. I went ahead and tried my experiment anyway. Yes, it does need both cinnamon and baking powder. Those are now on my shopping list.
That is not where I was going with this blog post. I decided to look at all the spices in jars and bottles in my spice rack. Any thing from a store no longer in business is leaving. Any store that I have not shopped at for 2 years is going. Anything past its expiration date is going. So all totaled I have 49 jars and bottles leaving the kitchen this morning.
The liquids have to be emptied and the bottles rinsed out, then sorted between recycling and trash. The jars have to opened and emptied, the jars being sorted between recycling and trash. I figured it will take me an hour to do all of this. I will only add more spices as needed. Not everything will be replaced. For instance, take spices that are used for beef, since I no longer eat beef, except for the occasional bite, the spices will not be replaced. Since we are not using the barbecue anymore, those spices will not be replaced. Yes, the barbecue died while I was sick and since we don’t grill steaks anymore, it is not high on the shopping list.
My challenge to you my readers is to check your spice racks before the holidays. Check for all those expiration dates. Spices don’t last forever. Fresh spices mean a better quality product.
The bonus is that I have 1/2 of an empty shelf in the highly prized prime kitchen area open. I am sure that if will be filled up in no time.
These are all the jars and bottles leaving the house today.
About a decade ago I had decided to start an open work summer poncho. I bought the required number of Juniper Moon Farms Zooey, a linen and cotton blend yarn. I even bought a few extras just in case. I was making it a little larger than the pattern. The calculations for making it a bit bigger worked out perfectly to the point other knitters used them and their ponchos came out perfect.
I am not the best at knitting open weave knitting under the best of circumstances. Theses were not the best of times for me. Eric was in and out of the club which was code word in our house for the hospital. He was also home sick an awful lot too. This was not a sick room project like my pattern Count 1-2-3-4 was. Count 1-2-3-4 was mainly knit in Eric’s sick room, the emergency room and Eric’s hospital room. It was a simple one row pattern. This was a pattern knit over many rows with many weird repeats. I was distracted and sometimes forgot to write what row I was on. It was ripped out more times than I can remember.
Then there was a nursing student from the University of Arizona School of Nursing that was stressed out over her finial exams. Commented how pretty the yarn was. I told her where to buy it. She said it did not fit in her budget as a student. When I left my knitting at the table to hold my seat she helped herself to a couple of skeins of the yarn. She and the yarn were gone when I returned. That left me scrambling to find a couple skeins in the same dye lot and color.
I restarted it after Eric died. I ripped out the whole thing. Then started over. I lost my place yet again. Then put it into the closet. Last night I had an epiphany and decided that this needed to be a woven shawl. So today I am empty in the bag. Ripping out the shawl yet again. Finding the odd balls of linen yarn and putting it in the queue to be woven.
I have no regrets on giving up on this pattern. In fact I feel very relieved. The yarn will be put to good use. I will no longer torture myself with open weave knitting. If I don’t like how it turns out I can either gift it or sell it. I am free of the weight of trying to knit that darn poncho.
Today a rare double was completed. Yes, in that I mean 2 finished yarn projects were finished within 2 hours of each other. They are both scarfs for a children’s clothing bank. The red one is for a younger child. The 2 tone blue one is for a high school student. Please note, not one knit 2 together stitch was used on either scarf. The 2 streak had to stop somewhere.
In case you were wondering, new projects have been cast on both sets of knitting needles so that they would not get lonely. Now I am off to knit 2 more scarfs.
I recently overheard this comment by someone who should have known better. At an open house a presenter said that they were not getting the new fiber animals with the 1 to 2 micron fiber. Yes, he did say 1 to 2 micron fiber. Wait for it….because the hair was too fine and brittle.
First off to put this all in perspective the average human hair is approximately 70 microns, plus or minus 20 microns.
I have never seen wool fibers smaller than 15 to 25 microns sell in a retail store, which is considered a finer and softer wool. In fiber a micron is used to measure the diameter of wool. Lambs and kids first cuts might be finer but the trade off is a shorter staple length and a slightly harder spin. The finished yarn will not be as durable either from my personal experience. So that is why if I get any first cuts I blend it with other fibers from the same breed.
A micron is a way to measure the size of a particle. A micron is 1 - 1,000,000 of a meter or 0.001 millimeter or 1 - 25,000 of an inch, or .0003937 inch. It is also said that the human eye can see objects that are approximately 0.1 millimeters in size.
So now that you have seen all the geeky math you know why it gave me a laugh when we left the area.
If you find an error in my math, please know that I relied on a search engine for the hardcore numbers. Math is also not my forte. Although I am getting better at math with the amount of knitting that I do.
Lastly if you are a presenter please know your subject matter a lot better than this. Also feel free to use note cards for the hard to remember things.
This morning in one of those brief moments of super clarity the thought occurred to me.
Why not weave in the ends of the scarf before I took the scarf off the loom? While the scarf was still under tension.
So I gave it a try using the technique my friends grandmother taught her. You know, the one I thought of on my own. The one that goes against how they teach weaving in the ends in Tucson.
Well to make a long story short. It worked. It was easier. I am sharing pictures of both ends woven in. On my next scarf I will show off the technique. In the meantime just marvel at how clean the woven in threads look. I will trim the ends after the hot bath.
By the way I also wound the yarn on the shuttle from the inside of the skein so that the colors would look very similar to the way I spun the yarn. Otherwise you would have seen a stark green line next to the purple. I am breaking rules right and left this morning.
This morning I finally finished a new scarf for me. I bet you are all surprised. The scarf is very colorful to say the least. I designed the scarf with leftover yarn from other projects, my hand spun thread and yarn plus various samples that I have gotten over the years. I trimmed all the extra yarn after weaving in the ends and washing it. All I can say is that it is very soft and comfortable. An added bonus is that John likes it, so I will not have to find a new home for it.
On the less exciting news of the day. A wasp found its way on to the front drivers seat of my car.so I sat on it by accident Who ever thinks there will be a wasp on the drivers seat of a locked up car. Not me. To say it hurt was an understatement. John captured the wasp while I went into the house to wash it with warm soapy water. Then rinse it off and towel dry it. Next came the ice. Only then did I even google how to treat a wasp sting. The good news was that without even knowing what I was doing, I got the first steps through icing it done in the correct order. John did not find the stinger. Thank goodness I did not have an allergic reaction to it. It is still sore hours later with a small bump. Hopefully it will feel better by morning.
This meant that I did not get my shopping at Target done. I guess it will be tomorrow. We also did not get to see the Blue Super Moon because it was raining and hailing at our house. Never trust the weather forecast. It was supposed to be clear skies tonight, however, I will take the rain any day it chooses to make an appearance.
Sometimes it is necessary to use more than one yarn butler for a project. Take the picture below. Notice how the black yarn is wound into a cake and the Anne from Circulo is wrapped in a shape as best described as coming off the commercial winder that they use. They unwind at different rates. That makes it hard to put both yarns on the same yarn butler.
My simple solution is to have two yarn butlers in use at the same time.
The colorful scarf is destined for a boarding school on the Navajo Reservation in Northern Arizona. It has one strand of Anne which is a fingering weight yarn. And one strand of worsted weight cotton yarn in black. They are knit together in double stranded knitting. It is being knit in the round and will be around 6 feet 2 inches long and 6 inches wide. If you look very closely you will notice that I am using 2 different colors of Anne, but from 5 feet away you will not notice.
Behind the yarn busters is my OttLite with a random assortment of stitch markers and a random pen for notes.
Now is the time to add that extra Yarn Butler to your holiday wish list. Some local yarn stores will keep a list so you get exactly what you want for the holidays.
It was a migraine type of day. So needless to say it was a green tea type of day too. To relax I decide to do some spinning. I had a 4 ounce package of red Merino and fire star which I spun on my Lendrum DT. Next I plied it with some white Merino for a Barber Pole effect on my Louet Victoria. I will skein the yarn tomorrow and then do the hot bath.
It’s time to call it an early night. So TTFN.
I walked 12,063 steps or 5.04 miles. 130 minutes was in my fat burn zone. That was on top of a very bad nights sleep last night. No caffeine was consumed today.
One Old Pueblo Knitting Guild meeting where we learned the magic loop knitting trick. I am still not a huge fan, but it works well for a lot of knitters So watch a YouTube tutorial and give it a try. Then decide for yourself
Then lunch with John.
The off to a new to me club called the Pomegranate Guild. I don’t do stitchery with floss. So I worked on a pounder charity scarf.
Then a walk around Tucson mall, because it is still to hot for me to walk outside except just after sunrise and right before sunset.
I was too tired to eat dinner so I had mixed vegetables, goat milk yogurt with raspberries and lots of water.
I am hoping for a good nights sleep.
TTFN
Today was not my best day ever. Cried while I worked my way through the upheaval. By the end of the day I had a working plan. That is all that matters.
Tomorrow will be a better day.
Just for the heck of it, I spun some linen thread. On an uninformed whim I decided to weave it into the one of a kind scarf that I am weaving for myself. It has taken over a week to weave that little portion at my current energy and Sjogren’s flare up level. What was I thinking?
Well I started weaving the linen thread before the flare up started. Also it looks very nice. It is the portion between the blue and burnt orange. Yes, the very colorful section. However, you have to look at the sock yarn that is woven in on both sides. The sock yarn looks huge by comparison. Yes the sock yarn looks really big.
Did I mention that when weaving with thread that I had to be very careful. That there were a lot of short rows too. That meant that the up and down heddle frequently changed sides and that is really fun to keep track of too.
The good news is that I can see the end of the warp. I also swear that the next scarf will be woven on a 5 dent heddle. I really need a weaving project that will not take a few months for a scarf. Did I mention that it will use up some hand spun yarn too? This scarf does not have a lot of hand spun yarn. I am really looking forward to taking this off the loom.
I used the 5 minute rule in my knitting room today. I can say that I went for an extra 10 minutes and organized my roving basket. Put a few things away too. John even opened the sticky note package for me. I even managed to get on full bag of hand spun yarn off the floor the stool cleared of everything but shawls That is another 5 minute project.
I also managed to wash and air dry my 2 pairs of sleeping mittens. John moved them to a sunny spot outside to dry faster They were dry by dinner time.
I think I need some knitting time too. I have a few patterns in progress that really need to be finished.
Tomorrow I will try to spend 5 minutes on another shelf.
Send more energy please.
Another hat bites the dust, and another ones done. It used up 7 partial skeins of yarn. A very colorful stash buster project.Yes, I cast on another hat so the needles and stitch markers would not be lonely.
I am currently working on my PHD in knitting. For those of you who are not knitters, it means projects half done. I am not going exceptionally fast. In fact it took me until the end of July to finish my first hat of the year. I know. Right. I should have been at least my 27th hat of the year.
I have very little hand time each day which is divided into household tasks and my PHD’s. That is further divided into knitting, crocheting a blanket for me, weaving, spinning, sewing and any other projects. It also includes my energy level for the day., which is nonexistent on some days. So it is slow going. I also have a lot of PHD’s in the house.
So without further ado, here is my first PHD of the year. A hat, the same one as in the 1st paragraph. In cotton for an older kid.
Today my plan was to go to the grocery store and then come home to weave and spin. What actually happened was I started to put a few things away. Go through some paperwork. Do a recall for my air fryer. Before I knew it time had flown by and it was 4:30 pm. I am not quite sure how it happened. I was in a cleaning zone.
Then all of a sudden I was tired and took a nap before dinner. John graciously assembled dinner. After dinner I did manage to go through a few color changes on the scarf. It is definitely going to be a one of a kind scarf. I would be hard pressed to find the yarn to assemble another scarf just like this one. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. It will definitely go with everything I own.
This is a small portion of a scarf that I am weaving with bits and pieces of leftover lace weight yarn. I could not part with the yarn without using it. I am using a 10 dent heddle. That’s 10 threads per inch. If it was wider than 6 inches it would make a great fabric for a top. So far I have done a good job of transitioning the little balls of yarn. In the picture below there are 3 yarn transitions. .
It has been so hot in Tucson that even my newest Yeti cups are being challenged by the summer heat. I find that instead of adding ice once or twice a day, I always have to add ice to the tumbler after a trip outside plus a couple more times. I can’t imagine how much ice I would go through without my Yeti 30 ounce Tumblers. Also since I am drinking to keep up with the heat my tumbler is being filled more often. I even take it to the bedroom at night so I don’t have to go as far to get water. That’s not all that the heat is effecting. My Fitbit watch bands need to be washed more frequently too. Even the trees look hot and tired. The little over an inch of rain was just not enough for them. We have a new batch of younger lizards using our front porch as a cooling station, which is fine because in return they eat plenty of bugs. They are even paving the roads at night because it’s too hot to pave during the day.
I did venture out to go to spinning today at Grandmas Spinning Wheel and had a great time. I took a drop spindle because I did not feel like carrying my Louet Victoria out in the heat. I left early when my hands got tired. I know that they were tired because I dropped my drop spindle 3 times in 5 minutes. That’s when I know it’s time to stop. I can home and took an unintended nap.
It need not be said because it is happening so frequently lately, laundry was done by 9 am. I gave my appliances the afternoon off.
TTFN
I am finding that the longer the summer temperatures stay in the really do you really want to go outside zone I am doing things differently. Like laundry. Tonight before bed I set up the first load of the day for tomorrow. If I get up for any reason after 3am, I will start the load and put it in the dryer 1st thing when I wake up. That way there is a possibility of getting a second load of laundry done. Towels and sheets can’t be done on the same day either. They both take too long to dry. I do this to do my part in keeping the stress off the power grid. No laundry after 100F. Which is hitting really early this year.
I will do a couple of laps around Target before I start my shopping to gentry to get enough steps for the day in. Same with the craft store. I am starting to get bored, but it is too hot to go out to eat even with misters.
I am playing too many games on my iPad and not doing enough knitting, spinning or weaving. I am doing more 5 minute Zenning periods during the day. I am enjoying watching the smaller lizards use our front porch as a cool down zone. The benefit of this is that they eat the smaller bugs. They have even gotten all the little spiders and egg pods around the front door. To read as one less chore for us. Also one fast food meal for the baby lizards.
Yes, it was another hot day in the Old Pueblo. The monsoons are late. The over night temperatures are not falling much below 90 degrees F. Which means I have to start the laundry earlier to have the washer and dryer off before it hits 100. Today I finished the laundry before 8:00 am and it was already in the high 90’s F.
So this afternoon was spent listening to a book and knitting. My hand is still very crunchy, but I have more use of it. I worked on 2 different knitting projects and 2 different spinning projects today. Nothing got finished.
Tomorrow it will be more of the same. Stay cool and hydrated.
It was a busy day on the fiber front. This morning I washed and thwacked one skein of yarn by 7 am. The sad thing about this is it was so hot that the water was drying up as I went to hang the yarn. I then plyed a second skein and put it in its hot wash. Since it was even warmer when this one came out of its hot bath the water dried up even faster. Yet the full skeins of yarn are still damp in the garage this evening.
I finally figured out a glitch in a new pattern design. It has taken months. I did have an epiphany last night. So this afternoon I cast on and it’s exactly like I want it. Now just to do the math so I can finish writing the pattern and knitting the sample. This made me very happy. Yes I am currently working on 3 new pattern designs at the moment. I think the heat has gotten to me. All I really want to do is go to a coffee shop and have a cuppa tea and knit like in pre COVID19 times. Now it’s outdoor dining for me, so it’s kinda not an option, because it’s too hot to sit outside even with misters. So I go from room to room to work on different projects. That’s just like going to a coffee shop, right?
With the exception of 1 skein of yarn drying in the garage, I have all the yarn priced for the knitting guilds Christmas in July event. I even priced it at a 30% discount in hopes that it does not come back home with me. I am also debating whether to make more stitch markers or move back to dog pillows, then on to a new blanket for my daughter. Then I did get the parts to fix my small ridged heddle, so there are scarfs to weave also.
I did say it was a fiber filled day.
TTFN
Dispute my body and I not getting along today, I did manage to get out of the house early. We headed to Costco to pick new glasses and get the lenses replaced in my sun glasses. My new indoor glasses happened to be the first pair I picked out. For the first time in I can’t remember when, I did not need to get high index lens. This is all due to the cataract surgery. They should be here in about 2 weeks. As usual we bought more than was on our list of nuts and new glasses. It was not all me getting extras this time.
After dinner I was finally ready to spin, so I plyed 1 skein of yarn out of the 2 that needed to be plyed. The skein will hit the hot water as soon as I wake up tomorrow. Then thwacking and off to a hot garage to dry. The only question remains, will the thwacking water evaporate before I finish hanging up the yarn. I will ply the other skein tomorrow. Then decide on my next spin.
Did I mention that they extended the heat emergency until Monday? So there is not much to do except cleaning, spinning, knitting, weaving and deep cleaning.
Today was spent doing the usual Sunday morning chores. I did manage to get the bed stripped and into the washer for the second week in a row. This is one step forward in my Hand recovery.
I spent a few hours making one of a kind stitch markers for crocheting and keep track of the front side of knitting projects. I had a great time playing with my beads. I also went through my bead crafting drawers and am going to destash some findings that I no longer need, because I am no longer doing fund raisers for Eric’s day program. I use to make between 50 and 100 pairs a year to raise money. That was followed by lunch and a very long nap. I find that by either using my hand or going to physical therapy both do require naps afterwards.
Tomorrow I plan on making more stitch markers. Of course a nap will follow.
Today I am working in the sewing room. Doing minor repairs. Making some stitch markers and stitch stoppers. Maybe even sewing on a button or 2. Maybe even a dog pillow or 2. The end result is going to be less projects piled up waiting for me.
The first completed repair jobs were 2 shopping bags that had holes that needed patching. The largest one with the turquoise bottom, got the small green patch today. You many have noticed that I tend to overlap the patches. I think that gives the bags more strength and less places to have break through holes. I have had this shopping bag since before we were married so last century. The one with the dark blue patch is newer. I find the newer bags need more repair work than the older ones. Just goes to show they don’t make things like they used to. Now they are heading to the laundry before they go back into rotation. I wash my bags with regularity and they seem to last longer. I also put my groceries in these bags so I want them clean.
Now back to the sewing room to see what I can finish today.
It was a 6 jigsaw puzzle day. I had physical therapy for my right hand today. After a few errands and lunch it was nap time. Afterwords I could not hold a knitting needle or do any spinning. So I listened to a book and did jigsaw puzzle after jigsaw puzzle this afternoon.
It was also pretty hot outside today with another day of 110f temperatures. This being Tucson it is not unusual for this time of year before our summer rains. No matter what they say on the national news broadcasts. I really hope we get some rain in the next week or 2. Otherwise it will be a very long hot summer. Also for those of you not use to this kind of heat if it is going to be above 90f you want to start your walk or hike very early and plan to be OFF the trail by no later than 10 a.m. Then go hydrate. If you feel thirsty you are already low on water. No matter what ads you see or read, water is the best summer drink around.
I will see where my hand is tomorrow. Maybe after my early morning errands I will actually be able to spin a bit or do some sewing. Maybe it will cool off tonight a little, it’s still 92f at 11 p.m.
TTFN
I was busy today. I finished 2 more dog pillows before breakfast. Went to lunch and knit with a friend. Truth be told we brought our lunch back to the house, it was even too hot for a patio with misters. Worked on a new pattern and got past the half way point and color change. Did some random cleaning. Grocery shopping. All this dispute my body and a heat wave. Tucson peaked out at 110f today.
I ran out of energy for spinning and tagging yarn. I am now going to call it an early night.
With Christmas in July coming to the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild on July 19th at 9:30 am, I have been spinning up a storm and deciding which of my current hand spun yarns are going to leave the nest. With my hand issues still not going away. Add to that my limited time to use my hands daily some big decisions had to be made. I only kept what is currently talking to me. To that end, I now have over 1 cubic feet of hand spun yarn tagged and ready for the 19th. I still have a bit more to tag tomorrow.
When that is done I will come up with a few more simple things that I hope my friends will love. I also have a bunch of dog pillows to make. Then those will leave the house too. I think I might be able to fill my car with dog pillows once I am done.
I am really hoping we don’t have another summer like 1994 with over 100 days over 100f. On the other hand being just a couple of years older the heat seems to be effecting me a bit more. I am less heat tolerant. I am trying hard not to mope and being more proactive on getting things done.
One last thing. This is the first batch of Tour De Fleece 2023 newly minted or should I say hand spun yarn. I had fun spinning it.
I have released My Doodle Shawl knitting pattern today. I also have a version with a lighter weight yarn in progress. The numbers are totally different. I am knitting as fast as my body will allow me. My Doodle is currently on Ravelry or your local yarn store. Here is the link to My Doodling Shawl . Since the yarn I used has been discontinued by Cascade Yarns I would personally recommend going to your local yarn shop or Indy dyer to get 5 skeins of Aran weight yarn in your color choice. If you are giving this as a gift, yes it would make a fantastic gift make sure you use a washable yarn. If you don’t have them already you will also need a U.S. size 11x 60 inches or an 8mm x 150 circular knitting needle.
This is a beginner level pattern perfect for watching television for the more experienced knitters out there. Please post pictures when you’re finished. Also let us know which yarn you chose, and who the Yarn maker was.
It has been too hot to take out door pictures here in Tucson.
My biggest accomplishment today was dropping off 11.9 pounds of soda tabs to the Tucson Ronald McDonald House. They took up most of the back of my car. They will go to pay the utilities and the leftover money will help the families. I do this to remember both my dad and Eric. I know that their memories will always be a blessing.
Please feel free to drop off your tabs at your local Ronald McDonald House in memory of a loved one so that they may be remembered with fondness..
We took a small break from the everyday of life. I took a spinning class on the Navajo Spindle and wandered around the Flagstaff Wool and fiber festival. We then went to Page to explore. If you have not gone it has some must sees. More later. Also a bit of shopping in Phoenix at my favorite store.
I came back with a cold because a twenty something turned around and sneezed in my face. Yes we were outside with no masks on. However there is no way to avoid the fall out when someone is just that rude. Please remember for the health and safety of your community to sneeze into your arm, elbow, tissue or shirt or if you have a really good friend the back of their shirt will work too.
In this case offering to wash said shirt is just a very humble suggestion. It is never ok to sneeze into someone’s face.
We have already unpacked and the laundry is sorted. The beds changed. Laundry will start tomorrow. I will be going in the speed of snail for a few days. I can already feel the achy feeling.
TTFN
After almost 24 years of knitting I have finally figured out that “Sheri you should know” is knitting speak for a yarn shop owner (By the way those shops are no longer in business.) saying I don’t know what to do. I have no idea how to knit the stuff that I am selling you. If I make you feel stupid you will just go away…so will my local yarn store with time.
Well the pattern Anne Shoulder Scarf came up on my UFO rotation. I started it when the kids were in elementary and middle school. Yeah, as I said it’s been a while. So it was best to start it over from the beginning. So this morning I have frogged it, which is knit speak for ripping it out. Cast on again. Gone to youTube to look up how to do the stitches that I still did not know how to do. So far this morning I have learned 3 new knitting stitches. Yeah me. I am also 6 rows into the knitting of the pattern “Anne” as designed and knit by Chris Carroll. I am using Schaefer yarn call Anne. A really nice Superwash Merino, Mohair and Nylon yarn in a variegated pink, yellow and orange color way
Did you notice that after 6 months post surgery I can knit again. Yeah hands.
Well it is time to get my day going so I can find more time to knit. Have a fantastic day.
I am still dealing with a stupid sinus infection. I am almost done with the 2nd round of antibiotics. Not much else is happening here.
Well everything is off both looms right now. I was a bit to tired to take 30 minutes to warp the smaller loom for a scarf. There is always tomorrow for that. I say this because I have a bad sinus infection and don’t have much energy for anything.
I finally finished tying the ends of my open weave summer shawl. As predicted by John, the colors did not look right on me. The yarn pooling though not done on purpose was spot on. The width and length were perfect. It’s just that the color did not look good on me. I also have 3 full cakes of the yarn left over. I really hate bringing back unused yarn to exchange, but they are the same color and dye lot. I guess that I can always use the yarn for warp for scarfs. Also since this shawl is going in my give to people I like gift box there will be no pictures until gifted.
I am really tired so it’s TTFN.
A decision has been made to use all the yarn in the Bye-Bye project bag for one of a kind scarfs for a local children’s clothing bank. Each one will be different. I have 2 completed. I have one that I am doing the finishing work on. I have also picked out the next warp color for scarf number 4.
Below is a look at the yarn I will be using. You might see a pile of odds and ends, but I see an endless cacophony of scarves. As it is still easier to weave and spin rather than knit, I suspect that I will have a whole bunch of scarfs done by the holidays. I wonder if I will be able to fill the Bye-Bye project bag with hand woven scarfs. It is a very good goal in my humble opinion.
I was given quite a few cones of very fine cotton yarn for weaving cloth. Since I don’t anticipate getting a multi heddle loom any time soon. I decided to try an experiment with the yarn for my warp threads. Instead of threading every other slot on the heddle I put a double thread through the slots and holes. It does take longer to thread. However once the threads are all through, I just roll everything on to the back roll. Then tie everything down and start weaving
The first scarf I tried this with was on a 5 dent heddle. I wove this with a combination of hand spun yarn and yarn that had a hand spun look. That was taken off the loom tonight and still needs finishing work. Tonight’s warp is on a 10 dent heddle that will be woven with sock yarn recovered from last night’s Bye Bye project. I think I will have enough sock yarn to weave at least 3 scarves.
At this point if you are a weaver and are offended by this, sorry not sorry. If I were not meant to experiment like this, the cones of yarn would not have been donated to a Knitting Guild. Also you might just like the way the weave turns out. It is not textbook weaving, but it does create a nice scarf with a pretty texture. So give it a try before you start making the comments that I am doing it wrong. Just weaving outside the box.
Nothing in my book says life is unfair more than having to donate a white shirt to charity because I shrunk out of it. Those that know me well, know that I have a very bad habit of staining white shirts beyond use. It just seems so wrong.
My reading glasses were found neatly tucked in bed under the covers last night. I must have been in a hurry while making my bed up yesterday morning. The remote control for the fan was found underneath what was a very big pile of paperwork. I think I need to be more mindful about things.
In much better news, I have lost another 2 inches around my rib cage. I predict smaller summer dresses in my future. Unfortunately I might have to drive a bit to find some new summer dresses. Tucson Mall had nothing that I liked. It is nice to be able to be picky about things like new outfits, instead of just buying what fits.
So far today I have lost one pair of reading glasses and one Dyson fan remote control. I think I will call it a day before I lose anything else.
Life seems to be about taking 2 steps forward and 4 steps backward today. The hand strengthening exercises, well, I wasn’t quite ready for those. So here we are are at almost the beginning again. I am back to just mild stretching exercises once a day.
So for now it will be just spinning and weaving. At least with weaving, I am using up yarn faster than I am spinning it. I have 2 scarfs completed ready for pictures. The scarf that I started in January will have to wait a bit longer for those final rows. Sighs!
Since I could not sleep this morning, I spent 3 hours cleaning house before breakfast. The results are 1 bag of trash and 2 bags of recycling out. Two loads of laundry completed. Five dog pillows finished and ready for delivery this weekend. With lots of stuff going to their proper places. Also 1 mile walked. Did I mention that I also managed to fill one box for Goodwill too?
Today I finished plying 3 mini skeins of hand spun yarn. I used the drop spindle instead of the spinning wheel because it gives me a better yarn. By this I mean a more balanced twist. It is so much easier to control the twist.
I also made a concerted effort to catch up on my back log of making dog pillows. I made 6 cases. I stuffed 5 and pinned them. I left 1 by my squirrel cage for all the little bits and pieces I get when caking yarn. I also cut the fabric for 2 more pillows.
After all that hand work my hands were just too tired to knit tonight. Sometimes I feel like a beginner in knitting were projects took months instead of days. I have about 2 more ounces to knit. I hope to be finished by Mother’s Day. I am really ready for my hands to be better.
Quiff is a real word. Good for Scrabble or W.E.LD.E.R.. if you don’t believe me just look it up.
Today I tackled some deep cleaning, tossing and redoing a bathroom to make it less cluttered. Gone is the magazine rack that held magazines and wash cloths. I used to go through about 50 wash clothes a week with Eric, now that I am only using them to dry my hands I don’t need that many out anymore. All the wash cloths are either in a drawer or have been reassigned to other uses. The counter is far nicer to look at.
At lunch I was able to open a fresh jar of peanut butter for the first time since January. I am not sure how much of that is contributing to my current level of hand pain.
I had so much recycling going to the bin that I asked John to carry it all out. By the way he was more than happy to help carry it out. I wanted to do more cleaning and tossing. My body said it was nap time. My hand said “what did you do to me?” Yep, I might have been too gung-ho on the cleaning front today.
We also went dryer shopping today. We tried to shop local first, they said it would be about 10 months to get a gas dryer I wanted. Then we went to a big box store and got the same dryer to be delivered this week. Guess which store we bought from?
I also filled one box for Goodwill for good measure.
