38 Years and Counting

 38 years ago John and I got married by a small lake in California complete with ducks. Our kids took us on fabulous adventures. We had lots of fun along the way.  There was some hard stuff too, but we got through it as a team.  I can still manage to surprise him too. So a very Happy Anniversary to my taller half. Yes I was wearing 2 inch heels in the picture.  

5 Day and Counting

My ankle has recovered enough to start walking again.  If I can maintain my 8,000 steps per day for 25 more days I will increase my step count goal by a slight increase in steps.  I have even starting walking around my neighborhood. This means that I can walk up and down small hills. It is still easier to walk down hill than up hill. I have also found that it is easier to warp the small loom too. I will try warping the larger loom later this weekend.

Eric was up to his old tricks today. He faked sick at his program.  When he found out that daddy was going to pick him up he instantly got better.  His aide tonight and I figured out his con job.  In some ways I am very happy that he got his point across.  That he was bored and wanted to go home  In some ways I had thought we had left this bad behavior behind us.  Some days I just want to throw up my hands and say enough of this Eric and hide out in my local yarn shop.

Feeling Good

Dispite being up with Eric for most of the night, I got up early and completed the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona Walk to End Hunger. It felt good to be able yo raise money for such a great group.

I think Eric has mixed up night and day again which has made life a little on the tough side. We need to reset his clock. I am not as productive as I would like to be when I am on this strange nap cycle.

It has quited down so maybe I can grab a few hours of shut eye. Night all.

It's Been Awhile

I have been busy deep cleaning and taking care of the guys. We have also had a nice visit from Teri and Tej. Eric had also received a very bad batch of vitamin D,  that was contaminated with bacteria. So tomorrow we will start another round of antibiotics to make sure it has cleared his system. Did I mention that the contaminated vitamin D has already caused one round on pneumonia.

So what did I do when both guys cleared the house today? Since I have a fundraiser coming up in October, all bets would be on , making some jewelry. Maybe tagging and pricing some finished pieces. Maybe even warping a loom or putting together the new loom. If you choose any of the above you would have been wrong. I was too tired to do any of it. Instead I took a 3 1/2 hour nap. It in no way makes up for all the lost sleep over the past month but I do feel better.

Not Quite 19

I had a very busy hand day. So hat number 19 will be finished in the morning. With my hands at a throbbing level of pain, I thought it best to stop for the night. I will put on gloves to keep my hands warm tonight. I know they will feel better by morning. So tomorrow you will get to see 2 hats.

I am over 2/3 of the way through cutting the 360 squares for my quilt project. Hum, I wonder if that is why my hands are extra sore? I am cutting the lining squares now. I will have enough scraps left over to make an artisy quilt. I can't wait to see how they both turn out.

I even had time to go drop things off at Goodwill today. It seems to me, that the cleaner and less cluttered the house gets, less stuff needs to be rehomed. I guess that is a good thing since I now have more creative time.

I am still waiting for Eric to go to sleep. Hopefully soon. I tnik I might just get to sleep before tomorrow.

Hopefully Optimistic

Right now I am hopefully optimistic about Eric. He went to his day program in what seems like forever, but I know it has only been a month. He had a great day and was all smiles when I picked him up. He has not fallen asleep yet. I am hoping that this is a good sign. I don't think he will ever be a five day a week kid ever again, but just to be able to get Eric with his friends 2 or 3 days a week will be a great relief to me.

I used my time off to knit 1 row of lace. I now have just 1 more lace pattern row and 2 purl rows before the last 3 rows of garter stitch. It should be done in time for the Old Pueblo Knitters Fashion show next month. If you are in Tucson and want to come just follow this link, Old Pueblo Knitters. Even if you don't knit it is fun seeing all the hand knit creations. Then I will work on an art piece for a local knitting competition.

Now its is time to get some sewing done.

Going Old School

Tonight we did something we have not done in a while. We divided and conquered. This might take a few lines to explain. Teri was home for a weekend visit and a good time was had by all. Eric did his very best to keep up with Teri, foregoing his usual sleep all weekend routine just to keep up with his friends in the Taglit day program Monday through Friday.

By this afternoon Eric was beyond tired, he was exhausted and his body said enough. All heck broke loose just as I was about to take Teri to the airport. Eric's tummy decided it did not want to hold down any food so he threw up in the shower. Hey, if you kid is going to throw up any where the shower is a great place. Did I mention it makes no additional laundry? It all gets washed down the drain. I will take care of a through cleaning tomorrow while Eric is home with me.

So I made sure they guys had things under control and drove Teri to the airport. Yes, I know that she has frequent flier status and can get through any airport in the world by herself, but I still did the mom thing and walked her to the TSA check point. Yes, as I write this she is now home safe and sound.

I drove through some Monsoon storms on the way home, I sure hope it got some dirt off the car. It was the first time in a long time that I have driven through rain at night. I decided not to stop on the way home so I will have to do a very early grocery run for Tide Boost, Pedilyte, bread, peaches and caffeine tomorrow.

By the time I got home, John had things under control. So all that there was left to do was take out the trash, empty the dishwasher, and laundry. As soon as this load is ready for the dryer I will call it a night.

Feeling Better

I am feeling better today. I even got out of the house for a few hours of fun.  I went to Grandmas Spinning Wheel for the Thursday afternoon spinning group. I even learned a new way to hold the roving to get a different response from the roving.   I think I may have to read a few books to learn some of the technical side of spinning.  

I finished 2 more hats today to bring my total to 15 hand knit hats so far this month. I have hat number 16 started, I have the 1st 1.5 inches of the brim done.  I like to make the brim between 2 and 3 inches wide. Then add 5 to 6 inches for the body of the hat, before I do the decreases.  

I am giving Eric his last breathing treatment for the night.  When I am done I will call it a night too.  Eric and I are hanging out tomorrow, his day program is closed for the last day of Passover and I will need the rest to keep up with him.  

Through the Blender

Today was just one of those days. It started off in Tucson with an aide new to mornings. Way too many phone calls before breakfast. With a lot more after breakfast. 

Packing for an unplanned trip. Yes the yarn was packed before the clothes. Doing a car swap so Eric could get home from his day program.  

Followed by a very long drive in which a Boader Patrol Agent asked how my day was going.  I told him it was in the blender, but every thing was going to be OK. He must have thought that was a very odd answer. 

I also managed to visit a CVS Pharmacy in 2 diffrent states today. I am now at Teri's house for a few days of urgently needed mommy TLC for Teri. 

Normal

Today I got a taste of normal. After I dropped Eric off at his program I tanked up the car and got it washed. This was followed by 40 minutes of walking, the good news is that I covered 2 miles. Yes that was 2 20 minute miles today. Followed by knitting,lunch with friends. The service was bad so the eatting establishment shall remain nameless. I did manage to get a quick nap in. I have also made the decision to make a list of political robo calls, whom ever wakes me up from a nap will be put on the list and will not get my vote in the primary or general election coming up. We it is getting late and I have a very early morning tommrow.

A Much Needed Day Off

Today I got a real mommy day off. After the guys left for work and school I went back to sleep until noon. After a salad for lunch it was off to CVS for a little retail therapy, well not really but with coupons in hand I did manage to save about $50.00. It was the trip to buy the expensive stuff so the coupons really did help. After a short break more laundry was done and beds were made. Bills were paid and plane tickets bought. I have help lined up for Eric so John and I can go to Teri's law school graduation. I can't believe 3 years have gone by so quickly. I am still amazed that my darling daughter will have her doctorate in a few short months. I really don't know how John and I got so lucky to be blessed with a daughter like Teri. Well Eric needs my attention now. So I guess its time to put the pod away.

Its Been A While

It has been a while since I last blogged. In that time John had a wonderful trip to visit Teri. Teri came home for 3 days. I got sick and went on antibiotics. The medicine knocked me for a loop. I also had 3 or 4 days when I was just too sick to knit or spin. Yes it was that bad.

I am doing better and have gotten my knitting, spinning and weaving mojo back. I just might be making a dent in the scrap yarn and odd ball collection. Yes I am on my fourth scrappy hat of the week. Other stuff is getting done too.

Eric went back to school on Thursday and Teri starts sometime very soon. Teri is already busy doing reading and other homework before school starts. You just have to admire teachers who give out assignments before the first day of school and are confident that the work will get done.

Well before I run out of steam I will say goodnight and have a wonderful weekend. Most of all enjoy your families.

From Bad to Better

Eric had a very bad night last night. He needed to be turned every 1 to 2 hours. So it should not surprise you that I grabbed a bottle of conditioner by mistake this morning. I could not figure out why I was not getting any lather. Then I picked up the bottle and tried to focus on the label, I got as far as the big C to realize that I had made a mistake. So I rinsed out the condition, shampooed my hair and reconditioned it. My hair was none the worse from the extra round of conditioner.

You will be happy to know that my day did get a lot better from there. 2 cups of tea later I started working on the pink hand spun shawl. After some tinking and playing with the pattern.  90 minutes of knitting later the shawl for the UCP fundraiser was finished. I will post pictures tomorrow. After that I did manage to spin for a few minutes today. Only a few yards got spun.

Then it was nap time. I don't know how everyone figures out that is is nap time but the phone rang incessantly. Then it was time to pick up Eric from camp. Despite being tired he had a very good day. I even managed to find time to do Wii today and made a very small incremental goal.

Well it is getting late and I still have a few chores to do before bed. So Have a great evening.

The New Pattern

The new cowl pattern is almost finished. The pattern will be posted soon. I plead Teri time as my excuse.

We spent the afternoon at Savers shopping. Well really Teri shopping and me knitting, working hard on the cowl pattern. I accomplished 2 more pattern repeats and Teri found 2 pair of Jeans and a t-shirt.

I am really enjoying my time with Teri and everything but laundry is going by the way side.

I got to go now. So enjoy your families and have a great and productive new year.

My Day

Well I had a good day. The Pomo said that Eric’s lungs were very clear- this is a big yeah. But the bad news is Repository Synctial Virus or RSV for short is making the rounds here. I said that he already had it as a baby, but alas this is one of the few viruses that you cannot develop immunity to. Worse yet in lives outside of the body for up to 8 hours that right 8 hours. Even worse it makes a lot of secretions and leads to asthma or bronchitis.


I did get to class today; they were running about 10 minutes late which was great. I had to drop Eric off at school before I went to class. It was a very good class today. I was so happy for a friend of mine, her son and his entire unit made it back safely from Afghanistan. With training it will be a while before he goes back. She must have nerves of steel.

I had lunch at a fairly new place in Tucson today. The Tucson Tamale Company on Broadway ½ block east of Tucson Blvd. The tamale was so good I picked up some for dinner. I think that I will try the corn instead of the beans next time. I also over heard good comments on the rice. When I am in that part of town I will definitely go back for more. All I can say is that it was a bit of heaven. I love a great tamale.

I even saw a road runner on the way home, How I love to look at them, but they move so fast.

Well it is time to go steam those tamales. I do love an easy dinner to make; the hard part will be opening the can of beans. One of these days I really will get an electric can opener- maybe for bad hand days.

Have a great evening and enjoy your families.

I Spoke Too Soon.

Last night I spoke to soon. I did not get Eric to sleep till 12:30 this morning. He was very fussy last night I could not figure out the problem. The good new is he is off to school this morning.

To celebrate my free day of housework and paper work I made hot sipping cocoa and have an apple bread in the oven. Of course I will take time to knit. If I am awake enough later I will work on my twitKal knit along, other wise it will be Teri's blanket I can do modular blocks in my sleep.

Have a very productive day and enjoy your families.