In Catch-up Mode

Everyone is on the mend. Eric and I got a full night’s sleep. Eric is at about 65%, we are hoping one more lay low day and out the door on Monday to his program. So needless to say a whole lot of work got done around the house today, including laundry, shopping, cleaning. Little things like emptying the dishwasher and filling the recycling bin also got done. These are the things I tend to ignore when Eric is sick.

 It looks like I will need to spin the 5th skein of yarn for Teri's shawl. Some how when the rows hit in the 350+ stitches per row the skeins just do not go as far. Since I will be spinning the last of my black alpaca, the shawl might be a little smaller than expected. I am at row 120 and hope to get to the 140 to 150 range so it will be a nice big and cozy shawl for Teri. So on tomorrows list of things to do is to card and spin the last skein. Clean and polish the spinning wheel. Do a through vacuum around the wheel, black alpaca just does not blend well with crème carpet.

 I also plan on trying to re-thread the serger. I made a mistake in thread 3 or 4 and it is just not hooking right. Then it will be off to alter 2 sweat shirts for Eric. The serger will then be put away and the sewing machine will come out to finish the sweat shirts and make a few more pillows for Eric's bed. I will of course hold them until Valentine’s Day so please do not let him in on my little secret.

 
Well I have about 15 minutes of cleaning left to do tonight and I hope to get another full night of sleep under my belt.

Life in Retirement

John retired at the beginning of the month. My assumption is that life would get a little slower. After all we started sharing the chores including car pooling for Eric. Wrong. I am now busier than ever. As a team we are getting more done. We now have to keep track of each others calendars. We still have to time everything around Eric's schedule, but we knew that from the start. We still keep up with our friends and have individual friend time. We are also starting to go out with other couples, although this still revolves around Eric's schedule and respite care. There is a nice balance in life.

What I enjoy most about Johns retirement is that we have more time to spend together. To me its like being back at the beginning of our marriage, but with a few years of experience under our belts.  We will not be doing a lot of traveling like a lot of new retires, the boss aka Eric would have none of that.

Life was good before Johns retirement and now I can say with certainty, that it is even better. To steal a little line from the Robert Browing poem "'Grow old along with me!  The best is yet to be." Each day is a new adventure. With a little more sleep for the both of us, which means for me That I am more alert and getting more detailed things done. Look for more patterns soon.

Well I am off to start another busy day.

Silk Moon Cresecent Shawlette in Black Alpaca

I was working on Teri's shawl tonight. The first row I worked on was an increase row..I added 36 stitches in that particular row. Plus and additional 2 stitches on the 3rd row I knit tonight. It is now taking me 2 hour long shows to knit 3 rows. The 4th skein will be added in tomorrows knitting.  We will see how many rows the next skein of baby alpaca will take me. I hope this will finish the shawl. If not I will spin the 5th and final skein and just go with how ever far it takes me. Yes I only had a pound of alpaca to start with and will not order more of this color for this shawl..Then I will declare the shawl done.

Well it sounds like Eric needs my attention so good night all.

Busy but Good

Well I finally got my new glasses adjusted to perfection thanks to Lloyd Talbot at Lens Crafters at 4545 N. Oracle Road in Tucson. It is just amazing how well I can see in well adjusted glasses. On the drive home I looked at the Catalina's.  The lines and the details were very crisp even below Orange Grove. I can now read the fine print on the coupons in the Sunday paper too.

I was a very busy day with laundry. Today was the day to change all the beds and wash all the towels. The last load will go into the dryer before I go to bed tonight. Not that I will have time to fold it in the morning. Yes, tomorrow is another training day for a new advocate in Eric's day program. Eric and I also had a date, so we went to get his hair cut. There was a little difference of opinion of what constituted long hair on top. All I can say right now is that Eric has a lot of caps to keep his head warm.

I finally got into the kitchen to cook a beef stew. This was my first venture into the kitchen since the tummy bug hit. Other accomplishments today included winding the 4th skein of yarn for Teri's shawl. The next row is my second to last increase row. I only have about 25 rows to go.  Hopefully I will not have to spin the fifth skein as it will involve carding the fiber first.

Well it is time to call it a night.

Spinning Baby Alpaca

I am beginning to think that spinning 4 ounces of baby alpaca in on secession just might have been a bit too much for on sitting. My shoulder is sore, and after a few minutes of range of motion I think I have release most of the tension in my shoulder tonight. That does not mean that it is no longer sore. Quite the opposite, sore with more movement and less funny noises when I move it. Even better news is that the yarn is off the wheel, skeined, washed and has been moved from outside to Eric's bathroom to dry a lot faster. I am hoping that it will be dry enough to wind up by tomorrow. I know it usually takes 2 days to dry on cold damp days, but I can at least hope. By the way this is skein number 4 for Teri's shawl.

Just in case you wanted some of this super soft and squashy alpaca for your self here is a link to NorthStarAlpacas . Did I mention that it spins up like a dream. Just in case you don't spin Maple has some hand spun baby alpaca ready to buy. Also a selection of hand knit items.  Please consider supporting our small family farms.

All this spinning was my treat to myself for taking one dental appointment instead of 4 to do the same amount of work. The good news here is that I don't have to go back for 2 weeks. Even better news, I can still eat and need no pain meds.

Since Eric stayed up until the wee hours of this morning and is now almost asleep having an asthma attack. I think the prudent thing for me to do is to follow suit. So much for my early night.

Goodbye Old Friend

Over the weekend my Kitchen Aide K-5A mixer died. There was that awful noise of gears slipping while I was making some frosting. Today I got confirmation that Kitchen Aide does not make or stock parts for K-5A's anymore. This made me very sad.

I bought K-5A about 35 years ago. I got K-5 before I got married almost right out of high school.  I spent an entire paycheck on K-5A. I would have to say that it was one of the best ways I have ever spent an entire paycheck. It has been a big part of my kitchen since then. K-5A has made birthday cakes, other cakes, numerous wedding cakes and part of every holiday dinner since the late 1970's. I have made bread and cookies too. K-5A did what ever I asked of her.

I guess I will take my knitting money that I had been squirreling away for a new loom and put it towards a new mixer. I can live with out a loom. Yes, I can also live without a replacement mixer but I don't want to. That would mean I would have to go back to mixing, slicing, shredding and what every else I asked K-5A to do by hand. Please believe me that it is much easier to use a mixer to make frosting then it is by hand. Yes it can be done and I would burn more calories, but it would be harder on my joints.

Yes, I forgot to budget for it. After 35 years of faithful service I never thought that she would die. Lesson learned add a small appliance replacement line to my budget in the future. In the mean time with the code K5AFREESHIP I will give free shipping for any item sold in my shop to up my mixer budget. The link for my etsy shop is at the side of my blog. Thanks for listening to me tonight.

I am Still Recovering

I am not quite back to full speed. This bug has really knocked me for a loop. I slept a good part of the day. If you know me well this will tell you where I am on the road to recovery. I have a homemade spice cake with butter creme frosting just sitting on the counter and I really don't want a slice. My joints are still swollen and my rib cage still hurts, so please don't try to make me laugh.

I have been listening to books on tape and knitting when I am awake. I am finishing little odds and ends. I am also writing a pattern out. I figured if I am still liking the pattern on the 6th one, it is time to write it up.

John is doing a wonderful job taking care of Eric and I. This is a very good thing because I am still very low on energy. 2 loads of laundry with help equaled a 2 hour nap for me this afternoon. Well its time to call it a night.