Not Rhinebeck Weekend

 Like everything else in the world this year, the New York Sheep and Wool Festival is not happening because of COVID.  Since two of my sisters and I have gone on odd-numbered years, we weren't affected by the cancellation.  However, since this year was cancelled, and if next year does take place, I have a feeling it is going to be overflowing with people if we go in 2021.  My oldest sister texted yesterday to see if any knitting activity was happening in honor of Rhinebeck.  My other sister and I were able to positively reply.  (More later on what I was doing.)

The weather here has definitely turned autumnal.  Leaves are changing color and the temperatures have dropped.  We've had near freezing temperatures the past two nights.  Since I didn't put in a garden this year, I didn't have anything to worry about but I noticed my neighbors covered their tomatoes hoping to keep them for a few more days.

I think I mentioned last time about the stress in my life. The stress level is still fairly high, but the stressors have changed a bit.  

• (Less stress) Blake is back in Cincinnati, attending class and hanging out with his friends.  He doesn't expect to be home until Thanksgiving.  It is a relief that he is back into his routine. 
• (Less stress) Kristin is now working full time at the dentist office.  In fact this past week she ran the place on her own since the head dentist took a long overdue vacation (first one in over 2 years).  
• (More stress) Ed's last official day of work was September 30.  He is now spending every day looking for employment.  He's had a couple interviews, but no offers yet.  Still praying something comes soon.
• (More stress) We are currently without health insurance.  We can sign up for COBRA, but we haven't done that yet hoping that he'll find something with benefits before the enrollment window closes.  Since we don't go out much, I'm not concerned about getting ill. If anything, Kristin would bring something home from the dental clinic.  My biggest concern is for Blake.  I'm not worried about him getting sick.  I'm just a little worried he'll hurt himself because he and his friends like to go rock climbing.  We investigated plans from the (UN)Affordable Healthcare Marketplace, but the prices there were absolutely insane.  To get coverage comparable to what we had we would spend over $25,000 annually on the monthly premium.  The plan with the least expensive premium would be $17,000 a year with a $15,000 deductible.  And that plan doesn't cover any routine/preventative.  Praying hard that Ed finds something soon so we don't go into poverty because of AHA.
• Trisha and Craig's wedding is 120 days away.  Although they have a lot done, there is still quite a bit to do. I still need to look for a dress.  I was hoping to have lost a few more pounds by this point but the stress level around here has made focusing on my diet hard.

I'm not going to dwell on anymore stressors.  On to other topics.

In honor of Rhinebeck weekend, I took a drive out to a yarn shop that I discovered back in August.  The shop features Shetland wool that is locally sourced.  I have been wanting to design a shawl and decided to give it a try.

The design I'm going for is a cozy shawl made out of worsted weight yarn.  The patterning is all done with textures and no lace.  The textures are inspired from sequence knitting.  The above photo shows what I came up with so far, but I'm wondering if this yarn is too rustic for this design.  The stitches aren't popping like I had hoped.  I think I may have to designate this yarn for a simpler pattern and find some smoother yarn for my shawl design.

Progress is being made on my Christmas knitting.

The body of Blake's sweater and most of one sleeve is done.

Trisha's sweater is done up to where it divides for the armsyces.

Kristin's sweater is moving along.  I want to get this to the point Trisha's is before working on the fronts and backs.

Last week I checked a pile of Arne and Carlos books out of the library, one of which was their Christmas balls book.  I made this one out of some Berocco Vintage I had on hand.  If I get time, I'll make a few more.  Not sure yet if they'll go on the tree or become cat toys.

Squeaks is casting her vote for cat toy, filled with catnip.

There's a lot more I could write about but I'm going to sign off now and enjoy a quiet Sunday morning.  A cup of tea and a pumpkin muffin are calling my name.