It’s Finally Leaving

 Almost everything that I have worked on since January is leaving the house today.  The count is as follows: 50 hand knit hats, 21 hand knit scarfs, 4 hand woven scarfs.  I acquired 33 pairs of socks and 12 backpacks. I really think the volume of items Surprised John this morning. I  know that I fell short of my yearly goal of 60 hats, but I must face the fact that it was a bad hand year. The fact that my hats are knit on US size 6 & 8’s verses the scarfs which were knit on no smaller than a US size 11. By the way the larger the number the bigger the knitting needles are. This makes them easier to hold on a bad hand day too. 

I used John’s couch to lay out everything for one last picture before they left the house.  I almost covered the entire couch. Everything is now packed up to drop off at The Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank.  It makes me very happy that I can use my idle time like this.  

Four Hours

 Right now I have about 4 good hours to get things done before i am too exhausted to work.  I just have to decide Whether it’s errands or cleaning.  Life can be so simple.  

Saturday

 I have had my most productive day in a while.  I even started 2 loads of laundry and put things away during the 8 minutes that my breakfast was cooking.  Not one spot got cleaned, instead a whole lot of things got got trashed or moved to where they were supposed to be.  

I was going to take a walk when I got frustrated by my new design.  I am not sure how, but it is easier to walk, talk and knit this pattern than it is sitting down at a table with pen snd paper, writing the pattern as I go.  There was just one little glitch.  There was a coyote wandering around.  I make it a point not to venture far when wild animals are roaming the streets.  So I did the sensible thing and watered the new cactus we planted last weekend.  

When I came back inside, I was a little more relaxed.  I figured out it was not the written pattern that was the problem rather I did not count right when casting on yesterday. So I tinked it. Cast on again and everything is ok.  

I picked up some wonderful salmon for dinner. It came out perfect.  Nice and buttery.  No, I did not use butter when I baked the salmon.  I use the juice of one lemon, salt, white pepper and dill.  I let it marinate a few hours. Add a bit of water before cooking.  Bake at 350f for about 35 minutes.  I buy enough to cook once and eat for 2 nights.  

Charity knitting happened after dinner.  The scarf that I am working on will take at least 7 skeins of yarn.  It is called the Stash Dive Scarf by Summer Lee Designs.and is available on Raverly.  This is number 4 with this pattern.  

I Srarted A New Pattern

 I am finally feeling better. For real.  Sadly no tea seems to be working.   I have started a new table runner pattern at the request of my student. It would have been so much easier just to walk around the house knitting this pattern.  However, since it is for a student I have to do all the math, gauge swatches, and write every line of the pattern as I knit this pattern.  To me geometrical patterns can be done mindlessly.  Once I start writing things down, I am amazed at how seamlessly  my mind seems to knit them.  

I Over Estimated My Energy

 I managed to get to the grocery store today. I was amazed at all the Snowbirds who were not wearing masks. Most of these people looked really old. I know some people think I am very old, but I could have been their kid.  Some were even frail. Yes, I wore my KN95 Mask from inside the car to when I got back inside the car. 

One other thing I noticed was how many people were treating the store staff as personal assistants. Not many thank you's or have a fantastic days. This is just so wrong these people work hard and don't need to be trampled on. A few kind words to everyone who helps you goes a long way. 

I found fresh tomatillo's so I got every thing I needed for fresh tomatillo soup, The recipe will follow tomorrow. Shopping and making the soup wore me out. Yes, I did over do it.  I spent 4 hours on the couch not moving. Just waiting for the pain in my shoulders to go away. Next time I will wait until I have help with all the prep work before I start the soup.  

Well my typing is becoming very dyslexic so it must be time to call it a night. Just let me know if I need to make corrections. 

Getting More Done

 I woke up at 5 am with a headache, since it was too early for breakfast I tried the caffeinated tea route. While I was waiting for the caffeine to do it’s job I woven in the remaining ends and did the last seam of the scarf.  Since the scarf seemed dusty, I washed all 3 in that series by had.  I did the right thing the wash water and first rinse were muddy looking.  By the 3rd rinse I put them out side to dry.  

By the time John woke up my headache was gone and we had breakfast together.  We did a few chores and worked in plenty of rest time.  John installed a new toilet seat to replace the broken one.  I got 4 loads of laundry done.  This included folding the sheets and putting them away.  I have to admit that around 2 pm.  I was too tired to move, so I binge watched some Downton Abbey.  

John brought in dinner and I cleaned up.  Then we relaxed until bedtime.  Yes, I am feeling better than yesterday, but not 100%.  I guess I am looking fo baby steps on this one.  

Starting to Feel Better

 I am just starting to feel better.  I found getting things done 30 minutes at a time helped a lot. 2 plants got new pots and John planted a cactus out front for me.  My new sheets got washed replacing a set that I wore out.  I also started but did not finish a new organizing project, I have finally found a place to put all the masks and stuff. I think COVID19 will be here for a while. 

 I did start a new scarf today, so far I am liking that it is a stash buster.  I am 20 inches in and have almost used up 1 skein of sock yarn.  Yes, at one time I thought I would be knitting a lot of my own socks, not so much.  So I am always happy to find a pattern that uses sock yarn up.  I have also used up 1 1/4 skeins of worsted weight cotton yarn.  The cotton yarn is good for 17 inches between color changes so I think 5 skeins should just about finish the scarf. After I finish the skein of sock yarn I will start on partial skeins to change things up.  I will have to finish weaving in the ends of the scarf I finished yesterday so I can drop it off for a friend to take to guild for me.