A Couple of Words

Eric is not a kid who uses many spoken words. So I thought that I would share his latest gem. We we both napping after the long stint of being awake when Eric was sick.

I was just waking up from my nap when Eric said,

"I'm alive"

I just wish I knew what the rest of the thought was about. I just can not prompt Eric to talk when he does not want to or can not manage speech.

What I need is someone to invent a machine that translates thoughts into the spoke word. Any takers?

A very Long Day

Eric got sick right before bedtime last night. It was a very long and eyrpy night. On the bright side as of bedtime tonight he is back on formula. I also worked on a bag of UFO yarn, finishing 1 charity hat and starting another. I will finish all the projects in this bag first.  I have decided that I need to knit or redisposition the yarn to other projects in any project bag that I pick up. This is so that I don't have bags full of yarn 6 months from now with no plans or pattern attached.

I managed to get all the eyrpy laundry washed. I have decided not to fold the laundry today. As long as it is clean folding the laundry was not an issue today.

I am sorry if this blog is choppy but I have been up almost 40 hours and am really feeling tired. With a little sleep tonight all will be better in the morning.

Ranting Again

My day was going really well then....

The formula supply company just called and is trying to change the formula AGAIN to save money. At least they were upfront about it this time. I thought we had this resolved. They even acknowledged that they have the doctors script. We have to try at least a partial case before we can say no. I swear that Amazon may become our formula supplier if this keeps up. Then bill the health insurance company for what they are required to pay for by state law. They don't care about Eric at all. Just their @#%$#@# contract and nickle and dimeing the patients to keep their bottom line. If they can not break even on on the contract that they bid on, then maybe they should not have bid so low on the contract with the insurance company. Or, maybe the insurance companies should give the companies a reasonable operating budget over the cost of supplies. Either way they need to put Eric first.

Asking us to try another formula that might possibly do Eric harm is beyond the scope of my thinking right now. We have just gotten him almost back on his feet from the last formula fiasco. What makes a bunch of bean counters and paper pushers think that they know Eric as well as his doctors. Just because something is similar does not mean that it alike and will work the same. Just think about the possibility of of using oranges instead of apples in an apple cobbler, they are both fruit so it should work, right? I really like the comment that even though it is not listed on the label this new formula has fiber, right what about FDA labeling regulations?

So I talked it over with John. We decided that the best course of action was to call back and ask for everything in writing. I was put on hold for a few minutes. They came back and said the formula change was just a" suggestion". I decided to go with what the doctor ordered and long story short, they will continue to send out the formula that the doctor ordered. I now feel like a wet rag. I think that I will spin for a while to get back to my center. Then spend the evening knitting after dinner.

Things are Better

Things are going better with Eric. Long story short, the insurance company and provider changed the script and formulation of Eric's nutrition to save the insurance company money and prove that the provider was willing to do anything including compromise the health of its patients to keep the newly acquired contract.   After a very small dust up with Eric's nutrition provider, an order of formula from Amazon with next day delivery and some back and forth with Eric's wonderful doctor and the provider of nutrition,things have been resolved.  

We are almost through the first case of formula that I ordered from Amazon.  I am thankful that I was able to get what Eric needed very badly, overnight.  Amazon thank you for you help in this matter.  

Eric has woken up happy and smiling for the last 2 days. He has slept through the night for the last 2 nights.  Now I have to start sleeping through the night again.  His skin color is back to normal.  He has more energy. He is back to being the life of the party at program.  

I am very thankful for all my friends who gave me such wonderful support during this crisis.  I really can't adaquility  put in words what it meant to me.  Thank you all. 

Why?

I don't know what ever possessed me to knit a lace trim with 3 different skeins of similar colored yarn.  It sure does look pretty though. I hope it looks good on me when I finish it. 

No Caffeine

Around 2:30 this morning Eric started eyrping. I must say that the LG washer handled all 3 loads with ease.  I also had my first Eric sick day without soda. It was a very long day.  I missed the sugar and caffeine rush that kept me going.  I did not even have energy to knit. The good news is that the eyrping has stopped and all that I have to deal with is the cold de jour tomorrow.  

Eric and I will be home again tomorrow and I will need to cancel one appointment.  I will also have to write and finish knitting my Thursday's class. It's a good thing that I love modular knitting and know a decent amount about modular knitting.  

My biggest hope that Eric sleeps tonight.  

Modular Knitting

Thursday I am going to teach modular knitting at The Old Publeo Knitters Knitting Guild Meeting.  I am currently working on the samples. I will teach 3 different ways to connect the knitted squares so you do not have to do any seaming.  I will also give a brief history of modular knitting.  

So if you are in Tucson on Thursday our meetings start at 9:30 am at St. Phillips Church at the corner of River And Campbell Avenues in the Murphy Hall.  The first 2 meetings are free.  All you need to bring are 2 skeins of Sugar and Cream, one ombré and one solid color skein, US side 7 or 8 by 24" circular knitting needles, a Crochet hook, and a pair of scissors.  Yes, I will weave the ends in as part of my demonstration. I will be teaching the 9 Patch Dish Rag.  Here is the sample that I started tonight.  This is about an hour of knitting so far.  

Bucket List

Check something else off my bucket list. Spinning yarn at the beach. It happened Monday at Santa Monica Pier. I was dressed for s party so sitting in the sand was not an option.  

Did you know the windier it is the more the drop spindle stops spinning? The choice of the roving matching the clouds in the sky and the water was a happy surprise. 

Good Things

John and I were on the same wave length yesterday. After work he called to see if he could bring home Salmon Sandwiches from Beyond Bread home for dinner. They were great as usual, Thanks to everyone at Beyond Bread in Tucson.

I finished my scarf last night. I wove in the ends and wove the hand dyed silk through as a design element. I can't wait to wear it next winter. Oh by the way it has 411 rows of knitting for the Ravely 1 million row challenge.

A First Today

Eric had a very rocky start to his day and almost came home from program today 5 minutes after we got there. So I sat and knit for a while, not wanting to drive home and turn right back to pick him up. After about an hour he got settled in. I decided to say later to the errands on my list and came home to ice my back and rest. The world was not going to end if I did not get to Costco for Vanilla Soy milk or drop of the clothes at the dry cleaners. I think it helped my back a lot to rest.

As you know Eric feels it is his job to do laundry to keep me busy. I wore out the old whirlpool after 25 years of use. We then got an LG washer. Since we have gotten the LG washer, I have not come close to filling it to capacity until today. Today I filled it to the top and had laundry left over. I was very surprised to say the least. Thank goodness one of Eric's aides is putting it all in the dryer and doing the folding. my back is not quite up to that. I also don't want to hit John with that the moment he walks in the door.

I am hoping that John will pick up the Salmon Sandwiches (it is the Friday special) for dinner from Beyond Bread tonight so that I can ice my back and rest some more instead of cooking dinner. I may just finish a scarf for me if I have the energy tonight.

Its time to go ice my back.

Slowly Cleaning and Healing

My back is still in the healing process. Yes this is still from the December accident.  I have found that I either have the energy to do chores and errands or knit and spin using my drop spindle. Just not both in the same day.   I really wish that backs would not take so long to heal.   I am really over being so uncomfortable and having no energy.  

The purging of closets is continuing. This week 8 pairs of shoes that I have shrunk out of are no longer in residence.  My attention span seems to be at 10 to 30 minutes of deep cleaning about once a week. I hope that will get better as my back gets better, because I would really like to tackle Teri's old room and the garage. The deep cleaning song of the week is Inch Worm, that old childhood classic.  This might be dating me but I like the Danny Kaye version. 

I am working on my summer tea concoctions and as soon as I have one that I really like, I will share the recipe. I am still not drinking sodas, so I can safely say that I think I kicked that habit at a savings of at least $520 a year.   TTFN.   

I Am Still Here

I have been very cranky of late. The minor fender bender of December has moved down my back and is causing more pain that I can deal with. So that would explain the absence of blog posts. So my plan of action is to continue with physical therapy and get a second opinion to make sure we are not doing more harm than good with therapy. I am also back to icing my back and cutting back on a few activities.

Also, it is possible according, to the shoe salesman for my feet to lose another shoe size after a weight loss. Its funny the weight and inches have been coming off so slowly that I do not seem to notice that much. Friends who do not see me on a regular basis notice more. So I am purging my shoe closet yet again. I will also hold off buying more shoes just in case my feet decide to shrink again. Also when I have time I will be looking for smaller pants too. Shirts are not as much of a problem because I can shrink them a bit by throwing them in the dryer. I am not bothered when they get longer. Pant waistbands however, should not be riding on my ribs. Pant shopping may have to wait until I move and feel better. On my skirts as long as they stay up and don't get too long should not be a problem. Most of my skirts are 3 inches longer, so a few will need high heels. Flat ones of course, like clogs, no spiked heels for me.

Well it is time to get dinner going.

Shrinking Feet Again

Since giving up soda a little over a month ago my feet have shrunk another shoe size. I was under the impression that your feet were suppose to get bigger as you aged.   This is the second time in 12 months that I have had to get rid of shoes that were to large.  Oh well, who is up for shoe shopping with me? Maybe I should only get a few pairs and see where I am 6 months from now. 

Oh, did I mention that the skirts that I bought to wear with flats in December now require high heels, yes we are talking 2 inch heels. This means that the skirts are now 3 inches longer. My hips have lost some padding. I think I will hold off on clothes a few more weeks to see where I settle out.  Just maybe I will get back into my skinny clothes.  

Now if I could just figure out what is going on with my hip things would be better. 

Knitting Again

I am making my way back from the arthritis flare up caused by flu.   I know this because I finished knitting 3 hats and 1 scarf today.  I also cast on a few more hats too.  I have not counted the rows yet, I will do that tomorrow.  

Still Resting

Eric had a rough night, last night. I never did figure out what the problem was, but a long mommy hug seemed to do the trick. I was only up for 3 hours with him. John was so nice and took care of everything this morning. Even so, this lead to a very tired day for me. I screwed up on the same section of scarf twice, so I put it aside for when I am more awake.  I was too tired to do laundry today, so all the baskets will be at least knee high tomorrow.  

I am looking forward to tomorrow.  New Mobility is coming to the house to do the updates on Eric's wheelchair. How cool is that? I don't have to pull Eric out of his program or drive across town for wheelchair modifications.  Maybe I'll celebrate by doing some laundry while they are here. 

I hope to have more energy tomorrow.  Maybe I can catch up on a few things around the house. It's time to go tuck Eric in for the night.  

Laying. Low

I spent the day laying low today.  Eric and I napped while John worked on setting up his work shop.  He is doing a great job.  I am hoping that laying low will give my body time to finally kick the bug and after effects that have been slowing me down.  This afternoon Eric and I watched a documentary on John Denver. I also got some knitting done.  I am planning another lay low day tomorrow.  

An Updated Chicken Soup Recipe

I have updated an old family recipe to include parsnips, which by the way tend to have the taste and texture of potatoes in this soup. A good friend Lisa loves this soup and wanted the recipe so she does not have to wait for me to make it.

This is my families favorite chicken soup. This is a basic recipe that you can change up with the addition of matzo balls, dumplings or noodles or a combination of noodles and dumplings or matzo balls.

1 whole chicken ,washed in cold water.
1 teaspoon salt
water to cover chicken
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 pounds of carrots peeled and sliced
1 large celery sliced, this will be about 7-8 cups
1 onion diced
1 Large Parsnip peeled and sliced*

In a large pot add cleaned chicken and salt. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Skim the pot of any junk that comes to the top, this should take about 30 minutes. While you are waiting for the chicken to boil now is an excellent time to scrub down your sink with your favorite bleach cleanser. It is important to clean the sink and the surrounding area before you chop the vegetables.

Once the chicken is not making any more junk and the broth has been skimmed clear, Add all the vegetables at once and add the pepper. Turn the stove to medium low and and simmer at least 2 hours.

After about 2 hours I carefully pull the chicken from the pot and de-bone the chicken, this is the process where the skin is pulled off and the bones are taken out of the chicken. Smaller pieces of chicken are tossed right back in the pot, I tend to dice the larger pieces before they are put back in the pot.

If you are going to add dumplings this is the point where you add them. For a quick dumpling just use a regular biscuit recipe and spoon into the boiling broth and turn down the temperature and simmer for about 20 minutes. For and even faster dumpling just get your favorite ready to use biscuits and layer them on the top of the broth and simmer for about 20 minutes.

I usually make the noodles separately and keep them separate from the soup. Since everyone has their own noodle preference I let everyone scoop their own noodles and then add the soup. The only exception to this would be alphabet noodles which just taste better when they have more time in the broth.

The soup is ready to serve. I usually serve this with bread and margarine.

Enjoy this soup recipe and add your families favorite vegetables to the soup to make it your own.

Unfortunately I have no vegan or vegetarian options for this soup.

* The parsnips are not in the original version published in 2009.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

Wanna Bee's

This is an open letter to all Printshop Owners and People who want to second guess my art.

Dear Print Shop Professional,

Your staff screwed up beyond belief today. I won't be coming back. Thank goodness it was a very limited run.  Not only did your staff MUCK with the color of my new knitting pattern turning a medium blue into a dark royal blue after, yes I said after my color approval.  The reason is because they thought it looked better. if your employee wants to be an artist fine, yes really.  That does not give them the right to MUCK up my artwork.  The blue almost black your employee turned the picture made the picture worthless to the knitters who will be using the new pattern. Not only that but you charged 80 cents more per copy than last year. $1.00 per copy this year verses 20 cents a copy last year.  Inflation is just not running that high around here.  

Depending on the size and scope of the project it can take me any where from 20 to 80 hours or more from design,to knitting the sample,to getting the finished pattern out the door.  This is why I am so mad. If they wanted to get into the act of this pattern design, they should have showed up in early January. 

Now I will take the high road and not mention your print shop by name.  I have no idea why you hired this person in the first place and frankly I really don't care.  What I do care about is getting my project done right, yes my way.  Also be aware that not everyone has an eye for color. There is a world of difference between a verigated medium blue and a royal or black blue. So if you or your employee does not have an eye for color, just don't mess with my color.  Don't presume that I don't my colors and won't notice. 

Feeling Better

I think I have finally kick the flu and the secondary.  I am still going to take it slow.  At least the house did not take too bad of a hit. I have got my knitting mojo back, so maybe I can get some projects off the needles this week and get 2 patterns out the door.  Well it's time to go back to knitting.  

I Am Bored

This is day 2 on the medicine. I am exhausted. I am even too tired to knit.  I was even too tired to watch tv or listen to books.  So I spent most of the day resting and sleeping. The big excitement of the day was a flickering of power followed by a power outage that lasted an hour and a half. Eric was not a happy camper.  It was so wide spread that I could not even bring up Twitter to find out what was happening.  The power company has still not called me to say that the power has been restored. At least we have lights. I still have not reset the clocks around the house.  Maybe I can get John to reset them tomorrow.  

The Flu Morphed

The flu bug morphed.  I tried to get into my doctors office today, the earliest appointment was Friday.  So I headed to urgent care.   I also managed to lock my keys in the van.  Not only that but dropped them under the seat where my hands could not reach.  John came to my rescue, he not only brought the spare keys, but was able to reach under the seat to get the keys.  He then went to pick up my medicine so I could go home and eat some lunch so that I could take the medicine when he got home.  

I spent the rest of the day resting.  I hope to kick this bug soon because I am not a sit on the couch for days type of gal.  I did not even have energy to knit or do laundry today.  Tomorrow will be better.   

Teri Time

Teri time is almost over. Teri and I had a great weekend.  I will pack before bed tonight; have breakfast with Teri; and then head to the airport.  I still have some knitting to do on the flights and while I wait for my planes. I will get home in time to tuck Eric into bed. It looks like the guys did great on their own. : )

Teri Time

I get to spend the weekend with Teri.  We are having fun shopping. Need I really say more?

Time to Tink

Sometimes when I find a projected buried at the back of the closet there is a very good reason for it.... In this case I was not fond of the pattern and could not see me wearing it.  Between the price of the yarn and the time it was taking to make it would be too expensive for me to sell. It is also not a charity scarf. So while Eric is doing his breathing treatment I will frog this scarf and make something more useful. Rip-it rip-it rip-it.

Addendum: As I was tinking the project the yarn just started breaking. I gave up after the 7th break in less then 1/4 of the skein. So Now the yarn and scarf are in the dog pillow stuffing box. I am not going to waste any more time on it.

We survived

Eric and I are both feeling better. Just maybe he will go to program on Thursday.  I also picked out one of my knitting projects for the weekend.  Just maybe I can get a few things for me done.  Well it's time to call it a night.  Eric will still be home tomorrow.  

My Name is Toast

I picked up the bug du jour last week, which started with a 4 day headache and then moved down. I have spent the last 2 days sleeping hoping that it will help me get over this bug. I was hoping for another solid day of sleeping tomorrow. Eric had other plans, he just started throwing up. I gently suggested to him that tomorrow would be a day of sleep and he just glared at me. Lisa suggested that he take care of himself and he shoot that dagger glare. I have decided that I will be over this by Thursday, I sure hope that my body listens to me.

If you want to join the party here tomorrow just bring Pedilyte and Lemonade. Also I declare tomorrow will be another laundry is like fine wine day. No laundry shall be folded before its time. Even though it's after 8 pm I expect to get 2 loads of laundry washed tonight.

Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Catching Up

Eric has been keeping us very busy with tummie troubles. He has missed almost a week of program.  The hours have been long and the stress hit my back with vengence.  I have been to stressed out to eat at times, which lead to odd meal times when I was relaxed enough to eat.   Eric is feeling better and we will try a half day at program tomorrow.  Lisa has been a godsend coming over to sit with Eric while I went to PT. 

I am behind on all things crafty.  I just cast off my new shawl pattern now I just have to do the finishing work and polish the pattern.  I am wondering how Amber is doing on her test shawl. I am also behind on finishing the belt made with the new weaving sticks at Grandma's Spinning Wheel. I just started it tonight and am already 25% of the way through the project after just 1 hour.  I am having fun with this project.  I hope to have it done tomorrow.  Now it's time to go back to weaving. 

New Pattern

I am almost finished knitting my new pattern.  This is all the yarn I have left. I have given it to my test knitter. Since it was designed with new knitters in mind I showed Amber how to do the knitting combanation and gave her the lace weight yarn she will need to knit the pattern.  I can't wait to see how Amber does with this pattern.  

Now it's time to finish knitting and clean up the pattern.  

Salsa Chicken

Salsa Chicken is a recipie that is fast, easy and gluten free. I will have some more gluten free dishes on the blog as I create them for my wonderful sister in law Marla.  They will all be fast and easy to put together. Many will be semi homemade with pre-made ingredients. Perfect for the cook with active children or newer cooks.  This is an easy recipie to bring the younger cooks into the kitchen to help with. 

For those of you who do not live in the United States the following conversions will be helpful. These are exact conversions,  C= F-32.00/1.8) Since I do not cook in celius just get them as close as possible to your own oven.  

350f is equal to 176.67c

325f is equal to 162.78c

185f is equal to 85c

 16 ounces or 1 pound is equal to 0.45 kilograms

Ingredients

1 pound of chicken ( more or less depending on your needs. )

Salt and white pepper

1 cup of salsa, pre made is fine. 

Spray your favorite casserole dish with non stick cooking spray. The clean up crew likes this.   Add the chicken.  Lightly salt and pepper. I use white pepper because it has a milder taste.  Evenly cover the chicken with the salsa. Bake at 350f for 50 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal tempature of 185f. If you are using a glass casserole dish set the oven to 325f and bake for 1 hour or until the chicken reaches 185f.   

I will be serving this with gluten free corn  tortillas, refrained beans and vegetables. You can also add olives for good luck, this is a south of the boarder tradition.

In The Blender

My life has been in the blender, which is like dancing as fast as you can on the edge of a sword, but with an I interminted vortex being controlled by a higher power than me.  I am sitting with Eric who is having a bad tummy week.  We know what the problem is and tried the quick fix solution.  Since it is almost 12:30 on Thursday morning we know that is not the solution.  Weather we go down path B , C D, or E will be up to team Eric medical professionals.  

I am just wondering how early I can hand off my meeting notes for tomorrow, so that I can take care of Eric and someone else can run the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild Meeting.  I am positive that this is the wrong hour of the morning to call someone.  

I would also like to thank PBS Kids for running good programming for kids at a time when we should all be sleeping. If you don't already support public television, a small donation will keep early morning programming going for Eric and other kids..I also want to know why Sprout has changed their programming to run excercize programming at midnight for kids?

Well I think it is time to go adjust the air conditioning.  I usually don't run the air conditioning in February. Then I will do some charity knitting.  

A Plague of a Day

It would have been enough if I had only woken up with the room spinning and my ears hurting, without  the right medicine in the house.  Then finding out that you can't get it at the drive up window was a bit much this morning. 

It would have been enough to get to Eric's doctors appointment on time, but not being at the wrong office was too much this morning.  

It would have been enough to leave after Eric's doctors appointment and bring him to his day program. , instead of enjoying the fine dinning of the hospital cafeteria.  

It would have been quite helpful to know that there are really bad colors that need immediate attention.  We learned the hard way, don't ask.  

On the bright side it was a nice sunny day so Eric and I enjoyed some time outside listening to music. 

On the bright side we check into the lab test early and the hospital transport system was behind so we got in early to the test.  

On the bright side we are home tonight.  I am exhausted beyond belief.  It takes a lot of energy to get in to high gear when I don't feel good, let alone keeping it up all day.  

On the very bright side John brought home dinner.  For that I am very grateful. 

Today's Progress

Today I tackled 7 boxes in Teri's room.  I did the daughting task of separating her tea cup collection that she inherited from her Grandama Audrey from my own tea cups and precious memories.  My collection is now neatly arranged and Teri had 3 boxes to deal with.  I also found a lovely Spode serving dish that we got as a wedding present and never used waiting for a fancy enough dinner. I made the decision to unbox it and make it an everyday dish, because everyday is special.  

For those of you who remember what the shelf used to look like here is the new view.  I still might rearrange things so all the Woodland Flowers tea cups are together.  John on he other hand has 4 boxes to break down and recycle.  I also did not need all the newspaper that I thought that I would.  This means that the recycle can will be extra full this week.  

The Last Room

Today I started the deep cleaning of the last room that has not been zenned. I am hoping that it will only take about a week.  Although I have my doubts, I put in 4 hours of solid cleaning and only made a small dent.  Tomorrow I hope to sort the tea cups, Teri's and mine got blended together in her jounior year of high school.  At least most of mine are in a different style.  My tea cups will go on display and Teri's will be repacked so she can take them when she is ready for them.  I probably should not have recycled last weeks newspaper.  

I did not realize just how much hand spun yarn I had in Teri's dresser and in her bookcases.  That was all moved today.  I will have to do more knitting and weaving to start using it up.  2016 will be my year of creating as much as possible. I am off to a good start in knitting more projects. I would like to finish Teri's room and start on the zenning of the garage before it hits the 100's. 

More Progress

Today I made a lot of progress on the new shawl design.  I am just about 880 yards in to a a 1320 yard design.  All I can say is that the Dream in Color Yarn, Jilly with Cashmere is really dreamy. It is soft and cushy.  I would like to say that I bought the yarn and am creating the original design on my own. It is not a commissioned design.  I will publish it as soon as I have it test knit.  Yes with this yarn I flunked my yarn diet. It's time to go knit some more. 

Is Today Over Yet?

It's been one of  those days around here.  I could not figure out if the new lunch spot we tried yesterday is to blame or I have a he crud du jour that is going around Eric's day program.  It really does  not matter.  I spent most of the day sleeping.  I am still tired.  

Eric is not feeling good either. He is on he eyrpy side tonight.  Sitting with Eric sometimes has its own harzards.  Tonight diaper mountain fell on me or rather a dozen packages of diapers.  It did not help my lack of Caffine fueled headache.  Tomorrow diaper mountain will be restacked.  

Meanwhile I set aside working on the new pattern while I am sitting with Eric.  Instead I am trying to finish the second half of a charity knitting poncho.  There is nothing like doing mindless garter stitch when I am sitting with Eric.  Something that I can stop in mid row and not lose my place in the pattern.  

Eric's Closet Part 2

All it took was 30 minutes. Nothing will fall on me for a while. Now after physical therapy I can spend the day doing a rare laundry day. I will also work on the new shawl.  Thanks to the good folks  at LG.  

The Leaning Closet of Eric

Sometimes Eric's closet gets out of hand. After all it is easier to just dump everything on top no matter how many things are already out of place.  I don't claim to have Martha Stewart tendencies, but when I pull something out of Eric's closet and I get hit with a pile of linens something has to happen. So tomorrow I will pull everything out and reorganize it.  Nothing will be tied with ribbions or folded perfectlly. That is not the point. The point is not to have things fall on me and to be able to find things in a hurry.  

Knitting and More

Eric is still sick and tommrow is up in the air.  He is currently running a fever. I am hoping that Eric's fever breaks tonight and that he feels better tomorrow. I on the other hand feel much better.  My back is finally starting  to feel better after the December accident. I guess everything gets better In its own time.

On the knitting front my new design is coming out much better than I hoped.  It has a lot of body and swish. I am really loving the Dream in Color Marino Cashmere blend. I also got 8 more inches knit today. This might just be the pattern that will be given at the March Old Pueblo Knitters luncheon and fashion show. I will include a link when the web site is updated.  My plan is to add the second skein of yarn tomorrow. Don't worry this pattern will be suitable for a beginning knitting project.  

The Plague Du Jour

It has been a crazy few days around here. Just when I thought I had enough energy to get the creative juices flowing. The plague du jour has been going around the house. After being up all night with Eric on Tuesday I spent most of Wednesday sleeping and achy.

The new washer is great, I have only done 3 loads of laundry since Tuesday night. With the old washer that would have been closer to 10. So yes I am still in love with my new washing machine.

I think it is time for another nap.

An Update from Google

This is announcement  from Google. If you follow any blogs including mine you will need a FREE G-Mail account from Google.  They ways and where fores are below. Yes I did cut and paste the entire announcement.

"An update on Google Friend Connect

December 21, 2015

In 2011, we announced the retirement of Google Friend Connect for all non-Blogger sites. We made an exception for Blogger to give readers an easy way to follow blogs using a variety of accounts. Yet over time, we’ve seen that most people sign into Friend Connect with a Google Account. So, in an effort to streamline, in the next few weeks we’ll be making some changes that will eventually require readers to have a Google Account to sign into Friend Connect and follow blogs.

As part of this plan, starting the week of January 11, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. At the same time, we’ll remove non-Google Account profiles so you may see a decrease in your blog follower count.

We encourage you to tell affected readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they’ll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow.

We know how important followers are to all bloggers, but we believe this change will improve the experience for both you and your readers.

Posted by Michael Goddard, Software Engineer"

This is more interesting than my day of napping and cleaning.

24 Plus 3

Today 27 hand knit hats left the house for the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank. I really hope the kids like all the colors, I went kinda of crazy with this batch. So more stuff left the house. Yes I have more hats on the knitting needles.  

How to Lighten Your Wallet

I was going to write about Eric and his equine therapy today. About the 2 mintiure horses that competed with each other for Eric time by resting their heads on his lap, one was even licking him.   The equine therapy director said she had never seen these miniature horses take to someone so fast and want to just hang around with someone that they just meet.  Can my friends with farms please enlighten me on this?

Instead I will write about the clueless dude driving a mini van who almost hit Eric while he was in the ramp deployment zone of the Handicapped parking space. You have all seen them the large space right next to the Handicapped parking space marked Van Accessible with the hash lines painted in multiple places in the space.  As I was about to open the passenger door to get my shopping bags, He actually pulled into the ramp deployment zone to park and missed running Eric over by less than 12 inches. I saw him out of the. corner of my eye and grabbed Eric. I ran him up the ramp into the store and made sure he was ok, before I went to get the bags and my purse.  Then the dude decided to park some place else.  

If the van driver had not been so clueless or lazy he would not have had a near miss.  If you want to be a clueless or lazy driver any of the following could happen to you.

You will get a ticket for hitting a wheelchair in the loading zone.  I am not sure what moving violations cost in your area, but it will lighten your wallet.  

Depending on the judge and laws in your area you could lose your drivers license, that will lighten your wallet.  

If you have auto insurance the premium will go up, that will lighten your wallet. If you choose to,drive with out insurance the cost of driving with out insurance will lighten your wallet.  

Depending on the laws in your area you could face jail time.  This will effect your income for the rest of your life.  Oh, and did I mention the legal fees and cost to hire an attorney.  In some areas you are even required to pay for your time in jail.  You might as well hand over your wallet and forget about having one for a while.  

So if you want to have a prosperous year and life, please don't be a clueless driver.  

Cars, Cows and Planes

I have been very busy over the last few days being the 3rd driver. This was not my plan, John got sick so I left him home with the sick boy. Eric is better and at program and John needs a few days to recoup.  My plan for the weekend was going to be spinning, knitting and possibly weaving if I fixed my loom.  The the opening at the Domengis Art Gallery.  

So Friday morning I left for San Diego to Teri's place. I stayed the night.  The kids loaded the moving van. I was not allowed to help. I followed the kids, they were driving the u-haul truck and I drove Teri's car.   We stopped for lunch at Brent's Deli in Northridge, California. If you are in the area and have not eaten there it is a must.  With big eyes I ordered the chopped liver appitezier and a cup of mushroom bar.ey soup.  After I finished the chopped liver and fresh rye bread I had no room for the soup and cancelled the order for it.  

We decided we were too tired to drive, so being the worlds rudest sister I called my brother Glen and asked if we could stay the night at his place.  We had a nice talk and caught up on things.  I find my sister in law Marla so amazing, she not only runs her own graphic arts business but keeps up with the driving for my 2 active nieces.  The girls have just grown so much since we last saw them. They are fantastic parents.  

Sunday was the last day of driving to Northern California. We drove through what was once the most productive farm land in the country, too many fields sat empty covered with tumble weeds.  Now if someone could figure out a way to get all those big piles of snow from back east and drop it on the Sierra's or in the almost dry lakes things might get a little better.  We have a national highway system, why can't we have a national water system. Harris Ranch had lots of cows. Yes I said that there would be cows. We arrived at our destination and the kids unloaded the u-haul.

Monday I flew from the San Jose airport to San Diego. I then picked up my car and drove home getting in at about 8 pm. A very long day.  At least I did not have to hit the ground running.  

Air Mattress and More

As I write this post from San Diego, I am eating leftover pizza from our dinner at my all time favorite pizza place, Project Pie. Last night I slept on an air mattress for the first time ever. While I found it very comfortable, after about 2 hours it became unbearably cold. So I got up and grabbed my coat to put over the blanket I already had on the mattress. That helped a bit.  Needless to say my body really liked the hot shower this morning.  

 For those of you who think that I can not pack light, the Big Dog backpack on the bed is all that I packed for everything but knitting until Monday. If Teri can pack light so can I.  Oh and the reason that I a in San Diego is that the kids needed a third driver.  

Less is Better

I am doing a lot less laundry.  Today was the 1st time in 3 days that I have had to do a load of whites. I used to do at least one load a day.  Eric has been very concerned that he is not making enough laundry.  We told him tonight that he did not have to make any more laundry.  That it only means that I will have more time to spend with him.  That we would listen to more books and watch more television together. Also that I would have more time to spin and knit, which will make me happy. 

I wonder if doing less laundry will show up on our power and water bills.  I currently hope so.  Now to reboot my cleaning and tossing now that I can move better again.. I only have 2 major areas to finish.   

Tummy Bug and take backs

Last night was a very long night with Eric. The eyrpy tummy bug that is going around town has hit Eric with vengeance. At he peak of the mayhem Eric made a full basket of laundry in just 30 minutes. This lead to a couple of learning experiences with the new washer.

The first thing I want to say is never ever wash eyrpy laundry on the turbo cycle unless you want to wash the load twice. On low water machines use extra water and a longer wash cycle.

The second thing I learned was that there is a child lock on our washer. It was not on my list of needs, but I have it anyway by default. Reading the washing machine manual at 4:30 am looking for a code is not my idea of fun. The good news is that by 5 am I had figured it out by myself and did not have to wake John to solve the problem.

I guess that this is part of my learning curve on the new washer. Washing machines have changed a lot in the 25 years since I last got a new machine. When I looked at the manual, when it said heavily soiled, I assumed kids playing in mud and dirt. I think that it should have a different section dealing with sick, but that maybe just me because we deal with it a lot.

Oh by the way, Sears sent people out to level the washing machine, without a level. I have yet to do a load but we will see how they did. They still gave the self adjusting spiel. No that does not work. This crew added the self adjusting springs as well. Don't they know people do read the manuals that come with the machines? So I got out the level and pointed out that even I knew it was not level. It also made me uncomfortable when the delivery guys said how nice our TV was.  I made sure to point out that it was 5 years old (therefore not worth stealing).

I am sure that with Eric home tomorrow he will help me knit a few more hats. I have a pile of 6 hats that need tags, with 2 more in progress. We just have to get rid of the fever that came with the eyrpyness before we can send Eric back to his day program.

I am positive that tomorrow will be a better day.

Rethinking Laundry

With the new larger wash tub, I think I will have to rethink the way I do laundry. This is for the better. Today I did the weekly towels, in the old washer it would have been 2 full loads. Today the towels filled a little less than 1/2 the tub.  With the whites I saved 2 days of laundry ( this should read 2 loads in the old washer ) and used a little less than 2/3's of the tub. So I am going to try waiting for 3 days before I do the whites again. That is unless we have a laundry explosion.  So I am thinking I will cut my current  of 25 loads of laundry week down to 10 to 12 loads a week.  Yes I will have the same amount of folding. I am thinking that unless the laundry is eyrpy that I will no longer be doing laundry in the middle of the night. 

I am so grateful for the simply wonderful engineering from the LG Washer Group.  Thank you so much.. I would also like to thank my wonderful husband for getting me such a wonderful washer.  By the way Sears called back today and will check to make sure we are in perfect level.  They said it should have been done on Saturday as part of the delivery.  

On a different note when I am not wearing my usual 2 inch heals, I need Teri's step stool to reach in to the bottom of the tub. Teri don't expect to get your step stool back anytime soon. 

I will have to figure out how all this will effect how much extra time I have for other things.  I can see more knitting, weaving, spinning and sewing in my future.  Maybe even a few more new patterns published.  

Up date 11:40 pm, Eric must have heard that I was doing less laundry. Since I first posted this earlier tonight he has made a load of eyrpy laundry...and life goes on.  

Eric's New Washer

Our new washing machine arrived today. We got the LG model WT7700H*A. John did all the research and found the largest, most energy efficient top loader that LG makes.  I would like to say that the washer held what use to be 2 loads in the old washer and did not even top out the new washer.  The washer runs about 30 decibels quieter too, around 50 decibel's instead of 80 decibel's. Did I mention it uses less water too.  

The second load I ran today would have been 1 full load and then some in the old washer.  In the new washer it did not even make a dent in capacity. The new washer weighed the clothes and added just the right amount of water. Kudos go to the engineering team at the LG Washer Group.

The only downside of the whole day was the delivery made by Sears, where we bought the machine.  John had asked the driver  twice, if the machine needed to be leveled. The driver told John that is was self leveling,twice. The delivery man than ran the first wash. We noticed that the machine was noisier and shaking more than the reviews said it would. So John check the position of the tub. The tub was not level.  So John used his level to verify the results.  We called the delivery number and asked that they be sent back to level the new washer. Multiple call were ignored. 

Meanwhile I did some research on the web and found that we could do serious harm to the washer if we used it unbalanced. This upset me to no end that Sears could not install a washing machine properly.  I think that they sell a lot of them too.This made me long for the days of Circuit City, where we bought our last washer when the kids were little.  They got the install done right at the time of delivery. 

By the time I lost it, John figured out how to get the machine level. So how I would some up the day, good job marks go to LG for making a great machine and to John for getting the machine as level as he could. On the other hand Sears needs to make a cheat sheet for its delivery drivers that tells them what each install requires.  They also need to be more responsive to its customers.  Just in case you are wondering Sears did not respond to various tweets on Twitter either.  I guess it is take the money and run. 

The old and new washing machines side by side.  The geek picture of the day is of the 1st load of clothes running.  I could not get the whole tub in the picture.

A New Project

Last night I started a new project. I am actually knitting something for me.  I am using Dream in Color. The blend is wool, cashmere and nylon.  It is a lace weight yarn that I am knitting on US sized 11 needles.  In a a nice verigated blue.  I am hoping that 2 skeins will be enough.  

Busy, Busy, Sore

There have been a lot of late nights with Eric.  Post viral asthma has struck with a vengence.  That has lead to a lot of naps and not much getting done around here.  This has also lead to a flare up for me, right now my elbows and ankles are not on friendly terms with me.   I know things will get better when Eric feels better.