Spinning Anyone?

 I spent my afternoon spinning at Grandmas Spinning Wheel here in Tucson.  Need I really say more about my day.  Ok, I guess so.. Some people spun inside and some people spun outside with me.  One lady even stopped to take our picture because she had never seen people spin yarn before.  I was trying out some of my new spindles.  One needed to be fixed when I came home because the hook was bent and I did not bring my tools with me.   It was a 2 minute fix when I got home.  Half of which was walking to get the tools.

Next time I spin out side I will have to remember to bring eye drops.  When my eyes get dry things get a little blurry.  Of course even outside we wore our masks.  This left me a little dry too. When I got my iced tea after we finished, I gulped half of it before I started the car.  

I was also given a charity blanket to sew up.  It is made from the dreaded polyester.  So if anyone wants to sew it up and give it to the charity of their choice please let me know.  There are a bunch of granny squares that were Crocheted.  

Baby Steps

 I am definitely feeling better today. Not yet 100%.  I only took one nap.  Managed to get 2 loads of laundry finished.  I attacked some paper work.  My recycling bin was very happy.  I even managed to knit over  1 inch on the baby blanket using size 4 knitting needles.  I am almost ready for the next color change.  

I still get very tired at times and need to rest more than I want.  But at least I am getting things done.  

BBD

 My body got the better of me again today.  Besides have a very bad dyslexic day, my body was about the same.  I had trouble keeping tracking of time, I felt out of time and space..  I used the 5 minute cleaning rules several times today to get a few things done.  My body laughed at my plans for today.  I can only hope that tomorrow is better.  I hope I am not to tired to knit most of the day again.  

Shopping

 I did manage to get out to get a few new outfits for spring.  Most of my pandemic clothing purchases are starting to look a little worn and frayed.  So I went to Bryn Walker to get some new outfits.  I managed to get 2 shirt and pants combs, 1 pair of pants and an extra top.  I just love shopping at my local Bryn Walker store.  I really like working with Teri.  She is so nice and helpful.  Did I mention how comfortable the clothing is too.  

Now a fun fact for today.  Model is a rayon fiber made from beach wood trees.  Model is the registered trademark name.   Just don’t know how to bring up the trademark symbol on my iPad.  

That was followed by some grocery shopping and then home.  I got home before the really bad winds and rain.  After lunch I spent my time knitting.  

A Big De Stash of Fiber Stuff

 Since I have more yarn than I can knit or weave in my lifetime I decided to set some yarn free.  I you are in want of good yarn from a pet free, smoke free home I just might have the solution for you .  

I managed to empty two tubs that had been full of yarn. One was a huge 96 quart bin and the other was about 34 quarts.  That make two 36 quarts plus a 96 quart that makes 138 quarts of yarn plus more from other places that will be looking for new homes soon.  I will also have a few of my drop spindles that want to leave the herd. I am also de stashing cones of yarn, knitting kits, knitting needles, knitting books, and various other fiber stuff. I have also made a whole lot of grab bag’s ,which are actually kitchen trash bags filled with yarn.  That will be at a great price.   If you are in Tucson let me know if you are interested and I will send you the details.  I suggest that you bring a knitting friend or 3 and get a grab bag each. Then go look at what you got and swap if you would like.  Each bag has enough for a few sweaters or about 15 smaller projects.  

After so much de stashing it was time to kick back and knit.  I spent some time on the baby blanket and some time on a scarf.  Now it’s time to call it a night.  

I will be setting the date soon.  

Acting Up

 Last night my body decided to laugh at me. It kept me up for a good portion of the night.  I finally got to sleep around 4 am.  I slept solidly until 10am.  I just had no energy for most of the day.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  I did manage to get 3 loads of laundry done and 5 minutes of deep cleaning done.  Yes I set a timer. Even though I was exhausted I did 5 minutes figuring that it was either going to be 5 minutes or energy would mysteriously come from somewhere and I would get more done.  Yes my body laughed at me. So I folded a load of laundry and tried to nap.  I was too tired to nap so I rested with my eyes closed.  

You all knew this was coming. You knew that a few days of solid cleaning like that was just not going to end well.  Yes, you were right.  I still have about a dozen boxes to go through but I think I will take it slower.  

If you actually believe the last statement you don’t know me very well.  Decades into this thing called life with Sjogren’s,my mind and body are still at odds.  I still want my mind to win , I don’t want to slow down.  I am not ready to slow down.  I still have so much to do.  

I am really hoping to sleep tonight. 

Almost Done

 Most of the knitting room is finished.  All I have to do is make some dog pillows and do a charity drop off later this week.  I just have to pull out my sewing machine and bring it to the knitting room. The table I use for the sewing machine is currently occupied.  

I am exhausted.  I only had the energy to do four hours of cleaning today.  I hurt down to my finger tips  so I am going to bed early   

After the dog pillows are finished I will start pulling out the cones of yarn for weaving that I don’t think I can use in a reasonable time frame.  I have a feeling it is going to be a lot.  

My biggest project was combining 2 accessory bags into one roll.  I won a Twig & Horn roll up accessory holder. It took me a few hours to work things out. But here is what it looks like.  By the way I just love it. As you can see I did not fill all the pockets but put everything I need in it. You will not be surprised to know that between the 2 bags that I condensed down , I had 5 measuring tapes. Oh, and I did add a pen after I took the picture.  

The Minutia

 I am getting down to the minutia off the cleaning and stash busting project. I went through the last tub of yarn that was in the house.  I am actually going through stitch markers and getting rid of the ones that I don’t like. I will pass them on.  I am now actively searching out bags that I keep my knitting accessories in.  With the exception of the hat knitting bags, I am going to try to have one multi purpose roll.  Wish me luck on that.   

I lost one plastic tub do to the fact that  a bag of yarn I had in a tub was exposed to moth balls.  I threw away the offending 4 skeins of yarn.  I am going to try to remove the moth ball chemicals. There ere several methods to try. I have the first one going right now. I am trying to neutralize the chemicals with baking soda.  If that does not work I will try vinegar.  It takes about a week. What I was most surprised about was that I had de stashed so much yarn that losing the use of one tub did not make a difference. I did not have to go buy a replacement.  Since the offending tub was less expensive than the yarn we are more inclined not to get the chemicals of the moth balls out of the plastic and just toss the tub.  

In more exciting news I was able to move all of my hidden yarn into tubs. I moved it into other places that I can see it.  No longer have a larger wicker chest filled with yarn. It is also leaving the house.  I did forget one area of projects but I will finish that after the table is finished.  

Now even more exciting news I walked for over 10,000 steps while cleaning house today.  Since I have a room to finish tomorrow I think it’s time to call it a day.  

5 is Not My Number Today

Five can be a strange number sometimes in my life.  Today was a perfect example.  I decided to spend about 5 minutes cleaning up the table in the knitting room.  Well I feel into the rabbit hole I call deep cleaning.  I went through every kit that I had.  I decided that I did not want to do about 20 of them so I put them in a box to go.  That lead to every shelf having a through clearing.  I went through everything.  Then I decided to go through my yarn.  Let’s just politely say that in 22 years of knitting I many have kept a few to many skeins that I acquired.  Over the years my skills have vastly improved. My projects have changed quite a bit. My taste in yarn has improved. I tried to follow a few fads like lace knitting, not enough time, but I still acquired a lot of lace yarn.  Sock knit was also a fling that did not last long.  Sock knitting was hard on my hands even before all the hand surgeries.  I stopped doing some charity knitting but failed to pass on the yarn. 

So today’s 5 minutes of cleaning turned into an almost all day cleaning spree.  I have bag's and boxes of yarn ready to get out of the house. Except that I will have to go through all ten bags to pull the sock yarn for my current favorite scarf knitting project.  That should not take long tomorrow. 

I am trying to keep only the projects and yarn that I like.  The same goes with books too. Too much of any thing is clutter.  I am going for a clutter free lifestyle. I have even found a few projects that are almost finished.  That should help even more.   

Now my other problem with 5 happened at lunch.  I ignored the 5 grams of fat rule. I had 1/2 of a piece of tempura. That was a mistake that I will not ever repeat again.  Let’s just politely say that my body had a temper tantrum.  I guess when I can taste the fat it is not under 5 grams.   

Well even though I am very hyper from a fantastic day of cleaning, I should try to get some sleep so I can have another fantastic day of cleaning tomorrow.  De stash, de stash, de stash.  

Serial Knitting

 Today I seemed to jump from one knitting project to the next.  I did a few stitches on a hat.  Had lunch then finished the hat pictured below.  I cast on and started a new hat, I did not want the knitting needles or stitche markers to be lonely.  I knit about one half inch of the brim.  Then I worked on the baby blanket for about an inch.  Then after dinner it was a new pair of gloves for my self.  Lots of frogging, I got caught up in the television series we were watching.  Not a good thing for a pattern that the rows need to be counted. Then I went to finish off my night of knitting with a charity scarf.  All totaled I worked on 5 different knitting projects and only finished one.  Lots of progress though.  

The hat pictured below is the first charity hat for 2022. It may not seem like it from the first paragraph, I am really doing less knitting so far this year. I am enjoying it more.  It is no long a job to finish 100 or more projects a year.   I have only completed 7 projects so far this year verses 14 at the same time last year.  

I know I have a lot of projects on knitting needles. Sometimes I need an easy no thinking involved knitting project.  Other times I have a gift that I am working on. Other times I need to knit while John is driving   Other times I just want to stretch my skills.  Other times I just want to finish UFO’s.   

I am thinking about selling a few kits on eBay for things that I thought that I wanted to knit but changed my mind on.  I will start going through them soon.  I am also continuing to look through knitting books to destash too. I think Destashing is how I am going to clear my backlog of projects. I will sell them as kits for about 1/2 the price  plus postage that I paid just to get them out of the house. I might also consider an Etsy store. I will keep you updated   

Setting Them Free

 I put another knitting book in the Tiny Free Library around the corner from my house. Of course I walked.  When I got home I started choosing more knitting books to put into the library one at a time as they find their new homes.  I must have about 50 percent of the knitting books published over the last 20 years.  I need to share the wealth.  Of course I will put other books in there too. 

I found the missing knitting pattern too.  It is the one for the gloves that I just made.  One half was under the couch.  The other half was behind the couch.   I wonder if it was trying to run away?   John is going to scan the pattern for me so next time I lose it, it will be in the computer.   Yeah technology.  

It was also an awful hand day.  The weather is changing.  I am also declaring this spring because I have my first sinus infection of the year and they only happen in spring. I think Tucson mainly Succeeded in skipping winter this year.  We are going to be 24 degrees colder tomorrow. Yuck.  Wish me luck for tomorrow.  

A Book Recommendation

 I got a book recommendation from a librarian on Twitter. It’s a great book that is hard to put down.  I highly recommend Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland. I am listening to it while knitting. I started it late yesterday and am 2 1/2 hours into it already. Only seven more Togo.  

By the way I am taking breaks every couple of rows when knitting and my hands are not as sore.  Just maybe my daughter was right.  Just don’t tell her please.  

I do not have a link set up for this book.  I just love it.  I borrowed the book from Pima County Library. 

Tummy Issues

 My tummy has been a little off this week. I just figured out that CVS changed one of the over the counter gummy supplements that I had been taking. Totally by accident.  They.changed the ingredients to reflect the change, but no where else was there even a mention of the reformulation of the product.  Not everyone can tolerate sugar alcohols like xylitol.  They did meet the letter of the law by changing the ingredients on the label but let the public down by not stating that there had been a reformulation. I would have read the label and choosen a different brand.

If you have been taking the CVS brand of fiber gummy’s, as far as I can tell by the label the Nature Made fiber gummy’s should be a good replacement. Please talk to your doctor before making any changes.  

So I am eating crackers at 11:30 pm to calm my tummy down.  

A Rough Week

 I will be the first to admit it’s been a rough week around here.  He numbers are going down  only had 300 and something new COVID19 cases today in Tucson.  The infection rate is down to 10.5% which is still too high. I expect the numbers to go up again, the Gem and Mineral show has been in Tucson for 2 weeks with  people from all over the world.   People  still don’t love their families enough to get the vaccine or wear a mask.  

It’s just not COVID19 that is driving me crazy.  Our HOA is letting the management company do very stupid things that can have repercussions on peoples lives and carers.  They just don’t give a dam about their neighbors.  At the very least they are very bad business practices and might just broader on criminal.  That will require a bit more research.  

The stress has gotten to my body too. I just feel less resilient.  I am feeling like I have less support too. If I hear” just let it go” one more time I think I will find a hiding place until I calm down or people are kinder and much more reasonable.  I need to be around other artist.  Other creative people.  Logic is going to be the ruin of me. I want people that understand it’s the subtle colors that bring objects to life.  I want to see new yarns. I want to go out with friends.  I want a fresh hot breakfast burrito made with beans and cheddar goat cheese with a side of fruit. I want to get out of the house and venture into a mall.  I want to be relaxed after shopping instead of exhausted.  I am tired of being life’s doormat.  

I am praying that next week will be better.  

More Deep Cleaning

 Before lunch John and I cleaned out both freezers.  We got rid of everything that had freezer burn.  Unfortunately that was a lot of stuff.  Since I changed my diet very drastically at the end of 2020 and we were stocked for a pandemic a lot of stuff got thrown out.  This is just a gentle reminder to check the bottom and backs of your freezers.  Not every two years like we did but every few months.  We now have a better feel for what we have in the house.  Every thing is more organized too. Yes, I can find things too. All deserts are in the back freezer, just in case you wanted to know.   

Other than laundry not much else got done today.  No knitting either, my hands were tired all day.  

Doldrums

 There is not much going on here. The big news is that I am in the 3rd of 8 stripes in the baby blanket.  It seems like the skein of yarn goes faster at the beginning of the skeins and slower at the ends.  I worked a little on 2 different scarfs in progress.  

I am making temporary progress in get the constant flow of paperwork out of the house.  Also the usual chores.  COVID19 is getting to be quiet boring.  We are all in the same boat.  

We still have not seen winter. We still have bees and butterflies getting nectar from the flowers in the front yard.  I still have not started my new winter sweater yet.  I guess that’s a good thing.  

My iPad and More

 I got my current iPad in October 2014. I am nursing it along.  It has started doing strange things like going shades of purple during the day and being almost fine at night with just a few colors that are different.  March 8,2022 is the rumored release date of the iPad Air 5.   Am hoping my pad will last until then.  It’s got a nifty camera that I would love to have.  I have backed up my current iPad. Please iPad last one more month.  

In other news, I am about to change colors on the baby blanket.  I hope that happens tomorrow.  Also on the knitting front we have a neighborhood Free Little Library.  I will be dropping off various knitting books on my walks.  Yes, I am sending knitting books out in the world to find new families and knitters.  It is a perfect way to destash knitting books slowly.  Maybe I can interest a young person that way.   If I dropped off 1 a week it would not make a dent in my knitting books. Maybe I can find a few more around Tucson.  I wonder if there is a map for that?

Anyway it’s probably time to call it a night.  

Shopping and COVID19

 Now that the numbers are lower in Pima County.  I am venturing out to the supermarket very early to do a quick shopping trip. I mask up and hope for the best.  For the most part people are respectful of my need for space.  It is still weird to see people older than me not masking up.  The snowbirds seem to be the worst.  When they should be the very people who should be wearing masks.  I just make the assumption that they do not have the vaccine either and give them A wide berth. I have also noticed that these same people seem to be the ones that ignore the no pets allowed only service animals.  Also very few people use masks in the bakery area. When I get back to the car I use hand sanitizer before I get into the car.  After I get the groceries away I am worn out.  I can literally do nothing for a few hours because I worry about space around me. Who is spreading the virus. It is all very trying.  It may sound really weird but I long for the pre COVID19 days when people would just turn their backs to me because they did not know what to say after Eric died.  At least shopping was leisurely and relaxing back then.  

I am also wondering how low the COVID19 numbers need to go before we can resume outdoor dinning for lunch   Dinner is out of the question because the science has shown that the numbers go up as the day goes on. Then when will it be possible to meet up with friends.  Maybe even go to an event with people outside first. Then inside  I am hoping that Omnicron is the last major variant. 

Another thing I noticed is that I had a very bad sinus headache for most of the day.  It was very windy. However when the wind died down the headache went away and I had energy again. I am going to have to ask the doctor about that one.  I have know for years when the barometric pressure went crazy I would always get a headache.  I wonder if the wind thing is related.  

Absolutely no knitting was done today.  It was to windy to walk outside.  Remember the days when the weather was to bad to walk outside and we went to the mall to walk and then have a quick bite? We are still not there yet.  I did get 45 minutes on my Cubii2 though.  

A Rare Good Day

 Any day is a great day where I get 9 hours of sleep the night before.  This lead to a fantastic day of exercise.  I was feeling good after the first mile so I said what the heck.  I started the second mile knowing that if I ran out of steam John was just a phone call away.  I got a little dicey near the end.  I sat on a neighbor’s fence until I caught my breath.  I then finished my walk.  My first 2 mile walk in a long time. I did come home exhausted. Took off my sunglasses. Grabbed a mug of ice water and hit the couch.  I did not move for 2 hours.  After dinner I got a 45 minute workout on my Cubii2.  I am feeling pretty good. 

I am hoping that I have more good days than bad days. I just need a few less days of brain fog   A few more less days of tired hands .  

Out of Sync

 I am a little bit out of sync with my mind being in one place in time and space and my hands being stuck somewhere else.  Which lead to my whole body being outa sync all day.   So not much got done today.  I did manage to make it around the block for a walk, but had no energy to do Cubii2 after dinner.  I did notice that there were 2 very large parties on the next street over on my walk.  With over 1,000 new cases a day of COVID19 in Pima County right now, I am pretty sure that this is not the best idea in the world.  

I did manage to get a few rows knit after lunch today, but that was all for my hands.   Also when I can’t hold the knitting needles I have tended to do jigsaw puzzles.  I got 6 finished today.  The most amazing thing is that no puzzle pieces were left on the floor thanks to my amazing puzzle app.  

When we were talking to the kids today I explained  to the kids and John that my iPad Air (1st edition) was showing up with unusual colors in a lot of apps.  They said that the touch screen was dying.  They also said the next version would not be out until March.  I really hope my iPad lasts until then.  So I will do a backup this week just so I don’t lose anything.  Technology we can’t live with it or with out it.  

I am Grumpy

 I have been having a really hard time with social isolation lately. I am beyond the blues. I am at the point I feel this will never end.  Now the are saying because of a shortage of a basics like IV fluids it’s best not to leave the house.  I can really see their point. People have forgotten how to drive and lost the ability to be nice.  We also hit a grim milestone today, 900,000 people have officially died of COVID19 in the United States.  Unofficially I am sure it is much higher.  My prayers go out to the families. 

In other news climate change researchers say the the weather for the last 50 years has been getting more extreme.  So if I have this right I was not even a teenager when the weather started going to hell in a hand bag.  It’s just getting worse.  What does this mean in the long run, because 50 years is a drop in the bucket in weather years.  I guess I will  have to find the article by University of Arizona researcher's. 

The only good news is that I am caught up on laundry.  I will not have to do any until Sunday.  

My Ramblings

 Its Girl Scout Cookie time and I have place my order. Two of my daughters nieces are selling cookies this year and they both got an order.  I kept it equal.  Their mom is an absolute saint for agreeing to keep the cookies that I ordered for her kids.  I think this is a win on so many levels. First I don’t have cookies at my house. Second she has extra snacks for her kids. Third it helps the girls.  Fourth I don’t have cookies in the house.  

I have still not been able to get duck eggs.  I got up early and went to Lee Lee’s. Lee Lee’s is still out.  I wish that I knew who else sells them in Tucson. Its not a COVID19  thing, this was happening long before COVID19.  Specialty foods like duck eggs and goat cheese seem to have a natural cycle. I just have to live with it.  I know they will be back soon.  

Winter has hit in Tucson, not like back east. It is expected to get into the 20’s tonight. No snow or rain in most of Arizona, with the exception of the mountains.  We have left a tap running so we will not need a plumber tomorrow.  I am so glad that I have my new gloves to keep my hands warm tonight.  I am also glad that I have a Bluetooth key board for my iPad.  Now I don’t have to stop typing to warm my fingers up.  The iPad touch screen is not very fond of cold fingers.  I just have to remember to hit the shift key for capital letters. 

Despite a very bad body day I did manage to get a lot of things done around the house.  I did however fall asleep near the end of folding laundry.  I did feel better after my nap. I have one load left to fold.  Not to bad in my humble opinion. Don’t get me wrong I still have more laundry to do but there is no more room on the cloths line. I did sleep through dinner preparation time so we did a freezer dive for dinner.  This leaves the last of the chili for dinner tomorrow.  Yeah, I don’t have to cook dinner tomorrow night.  

A Recipe Hack

 Yesterday’s dinner was an adventure in making.  I have not had corn bread for a couple of years now. I have just needed a piece for a while now. I just love the taste and convenience of Trader Joe’s Cornbread Mix, The mix as prepared by box directions has 14 grams of fat and 40 grams of carbohydrates. That would wreck havoc with my body. So I needed to think about a redo.

As per the box the recipe calls for 1 egg, 1/2 cup of oil and 3/4 cup of milk.  As you can see a whole lot of fat. 

So here is where yesterdays hack took a weird turn. I found my bottle of vegetable oil in the cabinet.  It still had 5 months to the Best Buy sell date. I opened it up and it had gone rancid. Great I had already opened the box and cracked the egg. What was next? To find a different oil of course.  I had some olive oil, now I know in some countries they use olive oil in cakes. Cornbread is more like cake than bread, so I thought why not give it a try. The absolute worst thing that could happen is that the experiment would be tossed. 

So here is my change to make it lower in fat. 1 egg, 1/4 cup of Olive Oil, 1 cup of water. The egg has 5 grams of fat. The olive oil has 54 grams of fat. For a total of 59 grams of fat divided into 9 servings brings the fat content down to a more manageable 6.5 grams of fat per serving. Compare that to 14 grams of fat if you prepare it by the package directions.  It is still higher than I like to go but it is definitely more manageable.

I followed the package mixing and baking directions.  I cooked it for 40 minutes. This is the time it took for the toothpick came out clean. I did notice that it did not brown on top the same way as when following the package directions. I then let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting. 

The corn bread was lighter and more cake like. It was still on the sweet side. It did not need additional Margarine. I knew that I had made a good hack when John went back for a second piece of cornbread. John never goes back for more cornbread. John usually just eats 1 piece of the 9 and leaves the rest of the pan for me. This is why I don’t make it very often. John also made sure to wrap the cornbread up so he could have more with dinner tonight.   

Try it and let me know what you think about it.  

A Rant

 Today was not a fabulous day.  It took me all day to run and empty the dishwasher. It it got done.  I got up early despite a bad night. I got to Trader Joe’s early, all I can say it is winter in Tucson.  I was not in the store 5 minutes when some older lady started walking off with my cart.  She apologized and said she could not tell the carts apart. Then kept on apologizing.  Then there an older gentleman who got stuck in the frozen food aisle, he just stood there. Ten minutes later when I realized that I had forgotten something and went back, he was still in the same spot.  

I really wish people would pay more attention to the older people in their lives. Ask me how I know how hard it is to be the sandwich generation.  Despite having 2 kids at home. Volunteering at their schools.  Doing community service projects. Carving out time for me. I still found time to make sure my father in law got to all his appointments.  Made sure he had all his shopping done. Took him out to lunch and family time.  I also helped take care of an uncle too. Took him out to lunch. Checked in on him. Did errands for him.  

There comes a time when you have to step up and become the adult.  There comes a time when you have to say no, you can’t go south for the winter. Where you have to reverse roles. It is not fare to put someone with mild dementia in a situation where they are all alone and confused.  They probably should not be driving either.  The accident rate goes up in the winter in Tucson.  When our snowbirds get confused they drive in the bicycle lanes which is dangerous for everyone.  They ignore traffic signs and lights, that might be a visual or cognitive problem.  They confuse the break and accelerator pedals.  They will drive 20mph in the fast lane in a 45mph zone.  They will drive here even when they lost their drivers license back home because we are the Wild West.  It is a state law that you have a valid license to drive here.  

Please be kind to the elders in your lives.  They have great stories to tell.  If after everything I  have said you still want to send your elders to Tucson, please take advantage of the many care companies and adult living homes. 

Thank you.  

They Are Finished

 The fingerless gloves are finished.  I am going to wear them tonight to keep my hands warm.  They are a little wonky, but the pattern was very vague and open to interpretation. There was only one very bad picture   So here’s the deal   If you can’t see any flaws or artist interpretation from 5 feet away they are perfect. 

Gloves

 It occurred to me this morning that I have a very serious shortage of gloves.  I have not shopped for new gloves for 3 years. I did get rid of the worn out gloves though.  In 2019 I was not in the mood to shop for gloves.  After losing Eric in November, it just seemed like too much work to get myself dressed and ready for shopping.  In 2020 and 2021 the COVID19 numbers were too high to go shopping.  I just can’t buy gloves online.  They must fit right and be comfortable. Glove sizing is not uniform.  They can’t have polyester or acrylic or they would be useless for me.  You would be surprised at the number of makers who just Ignore Labeling laws. They advertise wool gloves that are actually up to 95% polyester. 

So today I started knitting a pair of fingerless gloves in Ella Rae super wash wool in red.  I finished the second glove this evening and promptly started the first glove. I had a good knitting friend, Barbara who insisted that if you do the second mitten or sock first and then go back and knit the first one, you will never have the I just could not finish the second one syndrome.  You will never have a drawer of one of a kind 1/2 pair of anything. It seems to work for me too. I know it’s all about my personal perception on the project, but that’s all that matters.  So below is the picture of my second glove.  

I have already pulled the project bag with the second pair of gloves  I just have to pull everything out to cake the yarn and start. You will get to see those too. 

Faster

I had a very bad night last night   My joints were stiff and my normally soft bed felt like I was lying on cement. I am not sure why my body perceives the bed as being hard when I am sore.  I am sure if I Google it the will be a perfectly acceptable answer. I just don’t want to know know.  I doubt it will make any difference.   Just like I don’t want to know why some flare ups last a week and other are a few months long. 

 Today I managed to shave 3 minutes off my walking time around the block. A 19 minute mile.  I don’t expect progress like this everyday. I really wanted to take a nap but walked instead. Then I came home and took a nap.  I also got 32 minutes on the elliptical after dinner.  I have not gained any weight since November but I feel more puffy.  I need to work on that.  

I also managed to make a small dent in the current skein of yarn on the baby blanket. I think because it has a little more weight to it, it is not curling up.  The knitting is going faster.  

One Small Step

 Today was the first time I was able to walk around the block since I got that weird 24 hour bug in November.  I did the mile in a record setting 22 minutes.  Not bad for a first try in a long while.  Followed by 42 minutes on the Cubii2 after dinner.  I don’t know if it was the long walk or the Sjogren’s flare up but my joints and tendons are very stiff   I hope they are better soon   

In knitting news I have made progress on the baby blanket.  It is looking good.  

My adventures in on line shopping went very weird. They delivered all but the carrots. I thought they were out until I got a message from the store that I needed to pick up my carrots.  So strange.  

Very Short

 I got to the first color change on the baby blanket. That is all the news that is to print. 

In other news,  shopping has gone back to 2020. I send in my wish list and see if I get everything that I need.  Nope not today. Only got 50%.  I will try again tomorrow.  

A Weird Kinda Day

 Despite wakings up to a very bad body day the day turned out okay in the end.  By evening I was feeling better.  I managed to get 6 more rows of white knit on the baby blanket. No, I did not quite reach the color change yet.  Maybe tomorrow.  I know I have been saying that for a few days.  It is one of those infinite balls of yarn that just seem to stay almost the same no matter how many rows are knit. I also managed to get 50 % of my to do list done, although truth  be told John  did 50% of my work today.  

I have read the National Institute’s of Health report on inflammation and weight loss. Yet I am still perplexed as to why my clothing just keeps growing in the closet.  Like the pants I got around Mother’s Day.  When I bought them they sat at my waist and were 2 inches above my ankle. The bottom of the pant leg now sits at my ankle and the waist just hit the bottom of my rib cage.  I have not lost a pound yet.  I have also read that the body reconfigures it self after losing x amount of pounds and then the weight loss starts again.  This is the second size down without losing any weight.  I am going to propose a different theory on the subject. It is just as absurd.  It is the desert air that is making the clothing grow.  It is also changing the size tags on clothing at the store so I think that I am buying smaller clothing sizes. This is just as crazy as the 2 vetted and published articles above.  By the way I will wait until the pants go halfway up my rib cage and then I know that I am down another size. Then it’s clothes shopping again. 

I got the strangest call from the car dealership today.  Since I have less than 4,000 miles on my 2 year old car I should let them buy it back so that they can sell it to someone who will love it more and drive it more.  Haha, in this car market they have got to be crazy.  Besides Tessela, which does not come with leather seats, heated seats or steering wheels which is fantastic for arthritis. I am not sure about the padded steering wheel’s which are great for arthritis.  What other car is there on the market.  Most of the car makers are still paying the price for canceling those computer chip order’s at the beginning of the pandemic.  You’ve got to hand it to them they do have gull. I am keeping my car. 

An Outing

 Today we went for a drive going north on Oracle Road. Truth be told I am going stir crazy at home.  Did I mention that there were over 1,000 new cases of COVID19 in Pima County today, yet again.  We drove all the way to Pinal County.  There is an over 55 community up there. Although it looks nice since we don’t golf or play tennis it probably would not be worth the monthly maintenance fees.  Did I mention that not one person we saw was masking up? Although if one could snag a house overlooking the golf course that might be worth it. It is basically out in the middle of nowhere.  15 minutes to the nearest grocery store.  A definite lack of places to eat out.  Since it is an over 55 community there would be no trick or treaters at Halloween.  I really love watching the kids grow up. It’s not for us, we are staying put.  I love being part of a multi generational community.  I love being close to things. 

I thought I would be on the next color strip on the baby blanket. I am almost there.  Tiny needles plus fine yarn equals skeins that go on forever.  Hopefully tomorrow will be the day for the next color.  

I had the energy to get a few things done around the house.  Although it required a rest afterwards. Yup, still in that blank ity blank flare up.  I think I will freezer dive for dinner tomorrow night.  Since I managed to snag a few ready made meals the freezer is full. That will be about my speed too.  

Some Knitting

 I am in the middle of a project that I am writing a pattern for.  Yes I am using a pair of U.S. size 4  (3.5 mm) knitting needles.  Something I usually don’t do.  The anticipated size will be 40 inches by 57 inches so it will last longer.  I am still on the first of eight 100 gram skeins of yarn.  The blanket is not going as fast as I would like it to.  I think it is more this stupid arthritis flare up.  It is leaving me very tired, sometimes too tired move.  I hope with a little more rest this week will the flare up will fade into history. 

I have not had the energy to sit and type the last pattern.  I am hope to add the fringe and start typing it up. Wish me luck on that front.  

A sneak peak of the newest pattern.  

My Ramblings

 I finally felt well enough to get some work done around the house today.  I did 3 loads of hand wash and 1 regular load.  I also caught up on a little bit of folding.  I found an hour to block the new pattern.  Found an hour to work on a present.  Spent a couple of hours sleeping after a walk. It felt good. I have not walked this far in a while. It still leaves me a bit winded.  Maybe we will have an answer soon. Placed an on line order and got most of it put away   

I did not catch up on paper work including typing the new pattern.  Well there is always tomorrow.  But for now I will call it a day. 

Blocking

 If you have ever wondered why we block some things in knitting, just take a look at the picture before blocking.  This came of the knitting needles this week and has not yet been blocked.  It was raining today, so it was not an ideal day to block anything.  I will try again tomorrow.  

By the way there is absolutely no way to tell what this is before it’s blocked   It just looks like a piece of hand knit fabric   

Another New Pattern.

 I am currently working on a bespoke baby blanket.  I will publish the pattern after the mom to be gets it.  One thing I can tell you now is that it is simple and colorful.  There will be a nice gradient in colors.  It is a fast knit.  It will use 8 100 gram skeins of yarn on US size 3 knitting needles. Those without arthritis in their hands should be able to finish in a week or so. It will be large enough to use until the toddler stage.  

Somehow having a space of my own where I can shut out the world while looking at a nice desert landscape is helping my creativity.  I only wish I could knit more hours a day right now.  Right now I knit for a bit and let my hands rest.  This seems to have cut down the soreness and swelling.  Maybe this way I can avoid further surgery on my hands.  I can only hope. 

Finished Knitting a New Pattern

 I finished knitting a new pattern today.  All there is left to do is weave in the ends.  Wash and block it. Photograph it.  Type up the pattern and notes.  Insert the pictures.  Then the hard part. Working on the listings.  

I pulled out another notebook for the next design that is already 2 1/2 inches into the pattern.  Don’t worry this is much easier than the pattern I just finished.   I should be able to catch up on the notes in no time at all.  

On the 5 foot long scarf that I am knitting while watching television, I made fourth color change tonight.  The green that I started should take me almost to the end of the scarf.  Then maybe some yellow if I still need to add inches.  

This has been a bad body day, which on top of being stuck at home because of the COVID19 numbers is making me cranky.  I just want to cry.  I know that won’t do any good so I don’t.  I just want to go out.   I just want people to wear their masks and get their vaccines.  I want to eat out. I want to knit with friends.  I want to travel.  I know it’s not to much to want, but it seems like a lot right now.  

The Pattern from Hell

 I started knitting a baby blanket for someone I know.  No, it’s not a family member.  I am using a kit that included the yarn to make a baby blanket and the pattern. The pattern sold well a few years back but I never did see any of the finished blankets.  Now I know why.  I also now know why so many people gave me their new kits   

First off the finished baby blanket size is 27 by 40 inches.  That is much to small for a baby blanket.  It’s more like the size of a shawl.  Second each stripe is supposed to be 10 inches wide and there are 4 of them.  I might not be the best a math, but by the patterns calculation the blanket would be 40 by 40 inches.   A nice size baby blanket.  For 40 grams of yarn I got 2.5 inches, so for a 100 gram ball that would give me 6.25 inches not 10 inches as stated by the pattern, 3.75 inches too short. Assuming it really was 100 grams when I started. By industry standards they are allowed + or - 5% for each skein of yarn for weight and yardage. 

Since that was only the beginning of the problems with this pattern.  I would have to rewrite the whole thing to send to the company for an errata.  One or two things ok, but the whole dammed pattern no way. So I came up with a work around.  

So I went stash diving to see if I had yarn that matched. Even if it was not the same dye lot I could make it work.  That’s for a lesson or another log post.  I had no luck there.  So I went to start looking at kits that were waiting to be knit.  I found the same kit in the same color.  In the very first basket.  Yeah, there are 5 baskets of kits waiting to be knit.  I  found it in the first basket. I now have a very workable solution.  I will have another pattern to write up shortly.  I usually don’t like writing and knitting 2 patterns at a time , but I will use separate notebooks and different yarn bowls, yarn weights and colors.  So that should help.  

Wish me luck.  

Sighs

 I am not sure what I absolutely hate more, a Sjogren’s flare up or COVID19.  Right now my vote is for the Sjorgren’s flare up only because my face is so swollen that I can’t see my ears.  John votes for COVID19 because we both want to go out and do things.  With the flare up I am tired I can’t concentrate on things for long.  My hands get wonky at time.  I may have to read the same book section 2 or 3 times to understand it.  With COVID19 I am just bored and stir crazy.  

I have been doing a little knitting.  I am trying to finish a 40 inch square baby blanket before the baby comes and I only have 38 inches to go on itsy bitsy knitting needles.  I think that they are a U.S. size 3. I can get between on half inch and 1 inch done per day.  I hope that I get a little faster.  The ever other Purl rows slow me down, but make the blanket so much nicer.  I have about 8 inches of the first color to go. There will be 4, 10 inch sections when I am finished. Gradienting from white to purple.  

While watching television I am working on a random scarf.  I like the pattern because I don’t have to watch what I am doing.  I just let the knitting needles fly.  Tomorrow I should be at my third color change. Only about 4 1/2 feet left to knit.  

It’s Fixed

 I got an emergency dental appointment today. The crown has been reseated. A different method and glue was used. So hopefully it will stay put.  I did manage to crash my blood sugar afterwards. We’ll long story short I have a bad habit of throwing up if I go to the dentist with a full tummy. So I skipped my lunch. After the dental work I could not eat until 3:30. Don’t worry I ate a little before I drove anywhere. I waited until the food kicked in before I even started the car.  Also if you are in need of a dentist in Tucson I have the name and numbers of 2 very good dentist.  

I did manage to get a short walk and 2 thirty minute Cubii2 workouts.  So I am starting to feel better.  I also finished one Grandma’s Bag of Necessity, I will post a picture to Raverly tomorrow, this was knit in wool.  The pattern is also on Raverly.  If for any reason you do not use Raverly just message me and we can figure out away for you to buy the pattern.  

The Sjogren’s flare up is still kicking me in to naps.  I woke up did a little work and slept for 2 hours even though I set a 20 minute timer and reset it once.  When my body needs sleep it does not matter what I have to do it wins every time.  That is the down side of giving up high sugar energy drinks.  Well there is always tomorrow.   

B.B.D.

 I took the opportunity to sleep through most of my bad body day.  There are times when I am sure that I am not over doing things, however my body says not so much.  I did manage to finish another chapter of The Witch Ash. It has taken some unexpected turns.  It is a real page turner.  

Another scarf was finished.  Tomorrows UFO has been found and put on the knitting table.  I am not sure what I will do with this project when finished. It’s just so close to the finish line that I need to get them done.  Yes there are 2 small projects in one bag. The leftover yarn will go into the hat bag.  

I did start a charity box for art supplies.  Once it is finished I will drop it off at Eric’s old day program. His friends like to see what treats I bring. They like deciding what to do with everything. 

And to cap off today, the cap that fell off 2 weeks ago fell off again tonight. I am not happy about that at all.  How can the adhesive agent fail so quickly?  Well back to the dentist I go.  

Just Monday

 I decided I was not quite in the mood to do much cooking this week so I got up early and headed to the store. Most people were wearing masks, but there are a few that still won’t. I just assume since we have a county wide mandate that they are also not vax’ed, so I try to stay as far as possible from them. . I picked up a double turkey breast.  That should be good for at least 3 turkey dinners and one pot of soup.  

An afternoon walk and some time checking up on my older sister.  Then there was some easy knitting while working on a scarf.  I did not finish it but came close to the tinking spot.  I have gotten to an interesting spot in the Witch Tree. So more knitting time and listening time tomorrow. I have also changed chairs for my Cubii2.  I am using on of the chairs from the dining room table and a chair pad from the kitchen table.  It sounds odd but it works as long as I am wearing low heels.  I know being short requires heels for everything.  I did manage to get a full 30 minute workout after dinner.  Now we will see if I can get one after breakfast tomorrow.  

We are currently bingeing on the HBO British version of Ghost.  We are in the middle of the second season.  I highly recommend both the British version which is the original and the American version.  They are both the same yet different to reflect the society differences.  

Just Knitting

 I finished my first project for 2022. It is the Summer Lee Stash Dive Scarf on Raverly. See the picture below.  I really like knitting them while watching television.  Once they are cast on I just have to be mindful of the color changes.  I have also cast on the next Stash Dive Scarf.   The only problem with this one is that I did not turn on the lights in the knitting room and thought that I had pulled out a skein of a light green, it was blue and did not go with my color way. So I went back again and thought I had the right shade yet again.  No, it was blue green.  The 3rd time was the charm.  A pale green.  That works, so knitting continued.  I did modify the pattern slightly by crocheting the ends closed  this gives it a more uniform look and is faster  

I thought I was going to finish a second knitting project today, but had to tink it out.  I lost a few stitches along the way.  So, after the yarn was rewound I cast on my 15 stitches and started again.  Once I finish this scarf I will start a present.  I am going to see how many projects I can get done this month without destroying my hands.  More importantly how many UFO’s  

The numbers are up for COVID19 so I will be spending a lot of time at home.  

Fitbit Sense

 So I broke my Fitbit sense. I cracked the glass. It has been limping along for about 2 weeks. Today I had to attach the charger to see the dial and knew it was the end of the road for a very expensive watch.  I made the mistake of following the watch directions by wearing the crystal on the outside of my wrist.  Since I had a bad track record as a kid, when I was 9, I started wearing the watch face on the inside of my wrist. Problem solved, this is the first crystal that has cracked since the 1960’s for me.  Since the Sense is not the Mickey Mouse watch of my youth with the crystal being replaced every few months.  I had to replace the watch.  It’s all the fancy electronic stuff. John can explain it since it’s new technology.  

Even though I cracked the crystal, I still love the watch.  Although deep down  I still want my Fitbit One back. I just loved it   However the Sense does so much more. So I got another one   

Thanks to Target and Shipit I got it with in a couple of hours.  I set it up after dinner.  I think I am getting to much practice doing this because I did not need John’s help.  I even put my leather watch band on the new watch.  

Just so everyone knows, I paid for the new watch myself.  I am not receiving any money from Target, Fitbit or Shipit. There is no endorsement money or any other form of renumeration involved. These are my personal comments.  

I did however luck out and got it on sale just like everyone else who buys one this week at Target.

Something I Never Thought About

 I think I am going to have to get my Ashford Spinning Chair upholstered.  I seem to have lost quite a bit of padding over this last year.  The only question that remains is whether I pay a craftsperson to do it for me or I research how to upholster a chair and do it myself.  I don’t think they make pre made cushions in this size. If I am wrong please point me in the right direction. The one person I know would have the answer is no longer with us. 

As you can see from the picture it is just a solid wooden chair.  When I got it, it was so comfortable.  Now I just feel like my hip bones are banging against the wood.  This is the only and I do mean only disadvantage of losing weight and inches.  I like everything else about losing the inches and weight.  

Also I was thinking a nice denim would be comfortable and not scratchy. I know it would not go with the room, but I think a blue chair would look nice.  

A Stressful Day

 Today was a very stressful day.  I did manage not to do my stress eating at a National coffee chain.  I did go home and make a lower calorie and carb chai.  I did indulge In a vegan brownie though.  Since stress eating was not working I moved on to stress cleaning.  I decided to get a head start on my Passover food cabinet clean out.  I found a lot of expired canned food in the very back of the shelves.  I did find some I had to buy a whole case to get any of somethings from the start of COVID19.  On somethings I did ok on. Like the crackers that came in a case of 24, I finished all but 4 boxes.  Other things not so much.  

I also decided on what we probably would not eat before they expired so I am passing these items on.  The high salt items that I missed in previous sweeps are also going.  I am not totally not distressed but I am too tired to think about it.   I am happy to report that the trash can was not to heavy to make it to the street.  

I find it’s always good to do stress cleaning on trash day so the house does not get cluttered up.  Of course charity runs are tomorrow.  I am exhausted and have early errands tomorrow.   

A Bit of Everything

 I saw the dentist earlier today and got my tooth fixed. The crown is now back in place.  I always get a little tired and loopy after the dentist even with out pain meds. So after a very late breakfast I took a long nap.  I was still a little bit loopy but I made it through the day.  

I did spend the afternoon knitting.  I am happy to say I am almost done with the 3rd pattern repeat. The knitting is perfect just don’t look at my pattern notes. They got kinda wonky towards dinner time.  Knitting this pattern is ridiculously easy for me but writing down what I do line by line is another thing.  I still don’t know where I am going to block it or photograph it yet.  I should not try to get ahead of myself, I still have rows to knit before I am done.  The next question is to fringe or not to fringe.  That’s not a rush because I can do that after I am done blocking.  

With the post holiday COVID19 surge I am back to staying home.  Yes, I have enough yarn, fiber and fabric. Thanks for thinking about it. Also please do us all a favor. If you have not had the vaccine for COVID19 please start the vaccine series. It’s no different from getting the MMR, Poliomyelitis, tetanus, or any other vaccine that you had as a kid to go to school.  Also I highly recommend wearing an N95 or Kn95 mask when out and about.  Just in case you were wondering, yes there is a new variant of COVID19. So we all need to work together to end this pandemic. 

Reading

 Today did not go as planned.  I had a bad night and slept in.  Then for brunch I had a high fat but delicious meal.  Let’s just say my body did not like my choice.  So nothing got done on the new pattern.  I did manage to get through another 2 hours of my new audio book.  I am currently reading The Witch Elm by Tana French. So far it’s really good   I just finished Where The Crawdads Sing which is another excellent book   

A Break Through

 That moment of pure joy when a pattern that I am writing finally clicks in my head.  The moment I know that I can walk and knit the pattern at the same time. Of course I don’t because I need an accurate row count. I also need each line of the pattern to count out equally.  I need to hit my magic number on every single row. I also need the geometry of the pattern to aline.   I also know how the pattern is going to be typed up without sending it out to my daughter to decipher.  How to type it up with out having to type more than 250 rows of the pattern. The moment the pattern does not look like a dyslexic dance party. The moment the pattern stops swirling on the page. I figured out how to get the instructions down to beginning and end with 2 other sections just repeated.  The math is now easier too. 

This only took me a few months.  This is one of the complicated patterns  that I can knit while walking and talking that I have ever written down.  The end is in site.  Now to decide where I am going to put the blocking cubes. In summer I put them outside, it’s January hence it is not summer.   I also have to find a table to photograph it on. We have been getting rid of things that we don’t need or use anymore, the coffee table left 3 or 4 years ago. This is probably poor planning on my part not to have the foresight of my needs years into the future.  I wonder If can go into World Market and use one of their coffee tables to take the pictures? I would give them credit in the pattern.  I will have to call them.  This is all the easy peasy stuff.  

2022 Here I Come

 The year is off to an interesting start. Yesterday a 36 hour tummy bug hit.  I am feeling much better right now.  Just don’t ask about last night. However the new year is not done with me yet, tonight I lost a crown.  So off to the dentist for me.  I hope that this is not how 2022 is going to go.  I could really use a good year after 3 dismissal years.  I am not counting my daughter and her husband’s visits as part of the dismissal times.

My new pattern is going well. This is how I want my year to go.   I am on the last major section.  I think I have figured out how to type up the pattern without typing over 250 rows of the pattern.   It will should be out by the end of the month.  This one should be easy to knit while watching television or listening to an audio book once you have the pattern set.  For me this would be a knitting while walking pattern, if my family would trust me to walk and knit.

Then it will be a baby blanket for someone here in Tucson.  I have the yarn pulled.  I just need the pattern to pop into my head.  I hope this happens soon.  It’s going to be a modern nursery.  So nothing old fashioned.  

Baked Blueberry French Toast

 This is the special NewYears Day breakfast treat that I made for breakfast today.   If you have seen this recipe in a past blog I have changed a few things. There is no added sugar.  My thinking is that there are enough carbs between the bread, blueberries and milk so that no empty sugar calories are needed.  The blueberries provide enough sweetness.  I used duck eggs because of an allergy to chicken eggs, you may use the egg of your own choosing.  I used whole wheat bread, you many use gluten free bread or any other bread of choice. Egg bread is always a good choice.   I used vanilla soy milk, you may use any milk of choice except chocolate milk.  Look I do have to draw the line somewhere.  Plus I am not sure if it will taste good if made with chocolate milk.  I also did not add any additional salt because I feel we get enough sodium in our diets   Also there is sodium in the bread and milk   Trust me you will not miss it   

Pre heat the oven to 350f

Supplies Needed

1 8 x 8 inch baking pan sprayed with a non stick spray

1 2 quart mixing bowl 

1 fork 

8 slices of bread diced

1 cup fresh blueberries rinsed and dried 

1 cup of milk

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla 

Preparing 

Place the diced bread and blueberries in the baking pan. Gently toss them together making sure that the blueberries are evenly distributed   

In a 2 quart bowl place the eggs, milk and vanilla.   Mix well making sure that the eggs are well blended. Pour over the bread and blueberries making sure that the bread is evenly coated with the egg mixture. 

Carefully place the baking pan in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 use a knife to test for doneness.  If not done just put it back in for a few more minutes. Servers 4 to 8  

For 1/8th of the pan you will count 1 slice of bread, 1/2 egg, 1/8 cup milk and blueberries 

For 1/4th of the pan you will count 2 slices of bread, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk and blueberries