Wow! Where did the past 2+ months go? Life has been busy.
Ed has been slowly recovering from his surgery. His range of motion is about as good as it's going to get. He can reach overhead and forward without the zingers he was experiencing pre-surgery if he moves slowly. He isn't comfortable driving on the highway yet because he's not sure a quick motion with his arm will be comfortable. I'm still his chauffer for any trip involving highway driving. His next follow-up with the surgeon is at the end of January. I'll probably tell him that he'll have to do that one alone because I have my own doctor appointments to deal with. He's a big boy; I'm sure he'll manage.
Sometime at the end of the summer while out taking a walk, I starting having pain in my right heel. I've had chronic issues with plantar faciitis and bone spurs in both feet so I just started my usual self-treatment. For our anniversay, Ed gave me a pair of slippers that have arch supports in them which have helped. But the pain never completely went away. In September I decided to give it more time since Ed had his surgery scheduled. Couldn't have both of us out of commision. Unfortunately, in November I noticed the back of my heel had a big bump on it and the pain was starting to migrate up my achilles tendon. I finally made an appointment with my doctor and she said it was an issue with the tendon insertion into the heel. She prescribed prednisone and referred me to a specialist. I have an appointment with a foot and ankle doctor scheduled for next week. We'll see what he has to say. Stay tuned.
The holidays were very, very busy. We had 2 Thanksgiving celebrations, a couple gatherings with neighbors, and Christmas spread out over 3 days. And, of course, my work which has been very slow for most of 2023 got very busy in December.
My son-in-law's sister got married on November 11. Our whole family was invited and I kept my grandson over the weekend so that Trisha and Craig could enjoy all of the wedding activities. Blake, Kristin, and Kristin's boyfriend Michael came into town for the wedding. It was a very full house.
Blake and Jameson took a little pre-wedding nap to rest up for the big evening.
Jameson was one of the ringbearers. He looked so handsome in his suit.
Speaking of handsome, I'd say Ed and I weren't too shabby.
On Sunday, we had Ed's entire family minus 3 nieces over for an early Thanksgiving celebration. I would not have survived if it wasn't for Michael's assistance. He helped cook the meal. And he cleaned as he cooked!! It made the day much less stressful. Sure hoping Kristin and he are in it for the long haul. I think they are, but we'll see what 2024 brings.
Trisha and Craig joined us after the final wedding activity was over. Jameson was so glad to be back with mom and dad.
Since we has this pre-Thanksgiving dinner, our actual Thanksgiving was quite small. It was just Ed, Blake, my brother Joe, and me. It was low-key, which I actually appreciated quite a bit. I did pull out the fine china and my mom's crystal to make the dinner special. Here are the handsome men I spent the day with.
I finished the Audrey sweater in time for Thanksgiving. I'm very, very happy with how it turned out. There'll be another one someday.
I made a few modifications. I knit size 4 in Berroco Vintage. I didn't want the neck opening so large so I cast on 4 fewer stitches and did an extra repeat of the yoke ribbing. The body is an inch or so longer than called for in the pattern. I also made this long sleeves. It ended up being bracelet length, which perfect. This has become one of my favorite sweaters to wear.
I made a batch of autumn leaves a la Blue Sky. I meant to string them together for a garland or add to a wreath, but I never got around to it. Instead, Jameson had fun throwing them around the house. A little practice for when he can play in a real leaf pile.
In November I made a stocking for myself because I had never had one of my own as an adult. I made Dompap by Arne and Carlos. I loved how it turned out! Since Arne and Carlos were having a stocking KAL during Advent, I decided to make Ed a stocking that would go with mine even though he already has a stocking. I'm happy with the colorwork on his, but I'm not thrilled with the heel. The heel on mine was an afterthought heel, whereas his was knit as the stocking grew. I might rip out his heel and redo as an afterthought to see if I can get them to look more alike. NOTE: the picture below is not a good representation of the heals.
A year or two ago I bought a snowman kit from Barrett Wool Co. The kit made two snowmen, one with red accessories and one with grey. Below is the first one. The second one got shipped off to a dear friend. After making the second, I redid the nose on this guy to make it look more carrot-like and less duckbill. This picture is pre-nosejob surgery. I might make a few more of these to give as gifts next year.
The only family recipient of a knitted gift this year was Jameson. I made him Debbie Bliss's Baseball Jacket. I loved how this knit up. He should be able to wear it through next winter.
For the snaps, I first sewed ribbon inside the button bands. I then attached plastic snaps. To be honest, I wasn't entirely happy with the plastic snaps. Several of them wouldn't stay, probably because the fabric was so thick. Next time I'll see about using metal snaps.
With Christmas falling on a Monday, Advent was the shortest it can be. Even with it being short, I got my decorating done. Baking is what fell short, but that's okay because I ate too many cookies with what I did make. Even the failed snickerdoodles. I learned you have to read recipes at least twice to make sure you are adding the right amount of ingredients. Snickerdoodles that are missing a cup of flour spread like crazy and are very thin and crispy.
Decorating this year was a bit of a challenge given that this was the first year in this house. I knew I wanted a wreath above the fireplace, but figuring out how to hang it without drilling in to the mortar around the stone was an issue. I bought several clips from Amazon that were supposed to work, but they were really designed for brick which have a flush surface. The stone was too irregular and the clips wouldn't hold. While playing around with one, I was able to get it to stay between 2 stones by pushing it in sideways. I hung my wreath and crossed my fingers that it would hold. It's been almost 3 weeks and no disasters, so I think that is the permanent solution. Now to buy other wreathes to use during different holiday seasons.
Jameson did a little decorating of his own. He decided the 3 Wise Men needed a VW Bug to drive to the Nativity. As one of my sisters pointed out, it did have a hump like the camels.
Having children with significant others means Christmas plans need to be fluid. We had a family Christmas dinner on December 23 and opened gifts. Trisha and Kristin spent Christmas Eve with their guy's families. Blake, Ed, and I went to church and then had a lovely salmon dinner cooked by Blake. Christmas morning I made a couple breakfast casseroles. All of the kids were here for brunch before we all headed to Cincinnati for the celebration with my side of the family.
In my usual over-commit fashion, I had hoped to get a Christmas sweater finished by Christmas Day to wear to dinner with my siblings. I was a sleeve short and finished it up on December 27. This is Benedicta by Knitty McPurly using Cascade 220 I had in my basement stash. As it turned out, Christmas Day was quite warm and I wouldn't have been able to wear this without overheating.
As I knit this I was worried that it was going to be too small. Trisha kindly volunteered to take it if it was. After blocking it, I tried it one and found it to be acceptable given my current physique. It fits with almost 0 ease. My plan/hope is to be down a few pounds this year so that by next Christmas it will look great on.
Blake and Kristin stayed in town until December 30. Ed and I met Trisha, Craig, and Jameson for an early dinner on New Year's Eve and then spent a quiet evening in front of the fireplace. I was knitting and Ed was binge watching his latest batch of shows.
In all it was a very nice holiday season. I usually get very blue. I'm have a bit of Clark Griswold in my in that reality doesn't live up to the expectations in my brain. This year wasn't that way, though. I got to have my family dinner, even though it wasn't on Christmas Day. I got to see most of my siblings. One sister wasn't able to make it for personal reasons. Not sure if it was how the schedules all worked out or if I have developed a better frame of mind. Or both. I'm just very grateful for how things played out.
The decorations are still up. I like keeping them up until the Epiphany, which is Sunday. We have neighbors coming over Saturday evening, so it'll be nice to have them see how I decorated the house. I'll work on taking everything down next week.
One of my goals for 2024 is to finish some long-hibernating WIPs and knit from my stash.
Back in 2022, I bought bulky yarn to make slippers for Kristin and Trisha. The yarn is Sadnes Garn Fritids Garn in colorway 1055. The Sadnes Garn Double Slippers pattern came free with the yarn. With the house move, new grandbaby, and other life events, I didn't get even one pair finished. After finishing the Benedicta, I pulled out the slippers and finished the first pair. The instructions call for felting the slippers. Even though I knit the size which should have worked for my girls, the slippers didn't felt much, even after 2 trips through the washer. I decided this pair will now go to my son Blake and I'll make another pair in a smaller size for Trisha. Kristin might not get a pair since she now lives in a warmer climate and she bought herself some Bombas slippers.
Three projects are in my active WIP queue. The slippers mentioned above for Trisha, a Material Girl top for me, and a Sophie Scarf for a TBD recipient. Ed and I have a trip coming up. I need to decide what will be my vacation project. More on these next time.
This post has gone on long enough. I'll sign off now and wish everyone a wonderful 2024. Hoping you have many blessings and that 2024 brings more peace, justice, love, compassion, and hope.
May the light of His love shine on us all.
