Busy December

Right after the last post, my job went totally sideways.  I won't go into details.  We'll leave it at as soon as I get an opportunity to leave I will.  It makes me very sad.  I've been in my current position for over 4 1/2 years.  I've been told my work is highly regarded.  It's frustrating how just one person's opinion can change your entire life and the positive opinions of others no longer matter. As a contractor I have no recourse to fight what is happening.  I can only look for other work, which is what I am doing after the new year.

Enough of that.  Now on to what I've been up to the past month.

Thanksgiving quietly came and went.  We had dinner at Trisha and Craig's new house with his parents.  I made the turkey and everyone else contributed sides,

Later that weekend, before Blake went back to Cincinnati, we put up our outside Christmas lights.  Every year I put the tree of lights up in honor of my dad.  I love the picture below with the full moon coming up in the background.

The next week we had our first snowfall of the season.

I made several kinds of cookies this year, including spritz, peanut blossoms, snickerdoodles 

and cutouts.

I even tried macarons with marginal success.

Kristin put put tree.  Squeaks decided it is her favorite place to nap.

This year everyone was excited about the Christmas Star, the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.  The skies were overcast on December 21 so we didn't get to see it at its best, but I did get this picture on December 22.

This was the first year we stayed at home for Christmas.  I have to admit, I liked the slower pace.  Ed, Kristin, Blake and I had a nice seafood dinner on Christmas Eve.  I pulled out the good china and my mom's crystal wine glassed.  Our church restricted the number of people so I just 'attended' mass via YouTube, sitting in the glow of our Christmas tree.

We had our first white Christmas in over 10 years.  I've heard conflicting dates since the last one so I'm not sure how long it has actually been.  

Trisha and Craig came over.  We spent the day opening gifts and eating way too many cookies.  I made a rib roast for dinner, which was a huge hit with everyone.

The main reason I have been absent from the blog for over a month is that I was in major knitting mode.  I had the Christmas knitting for the kids to finish.

Blake got Rift from Jared Flood.  He loves it and it fits him well.

The girls both got the Weekender sweater by Andrea Mowry.

Kristin wanted hers to be grey.

Trisha chose charcoal for her color.

Craig got a pair of heavy wool socks.  He is a construction manager and spends a lot of time outside.  I thought these would be good for inside his work boots.

On the Sunday after Christmas the girls and I went down to my sister's for a bridal shower for Trisha.  Not many guests were able to make it but we had a good time.

The status of the wedding is up in the air right now.  Trisha and Craig are trying to move the date back in hopes that more people will feel comfortable with attending, but the venue is taking a hardline on rescheduling.  I pray they get a satisfactory resolution to their request.

That's about all there is to report now.  I'm taking this week off work.  Trying to decompress from all the stress life has thrown my way lately.  It's lots of knitting and mindless television.  Just what the doctor ordered!!

 

Do Rainbows Travel Around the World?

Last weekend was bachelorette party weekend for Trisha.  A group of us travelled to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to celebrate.  More on the weekend later in this post.  While driving back on Sunday, we had rain on and off the entire trip.  After we got a couple hours away from home, we started noticing rainbows in the clouds.  The rainbows lasted for almost the remainder of the trip home.

This morning while reading through some of the blogs I follow, one talked about seeing a lot of rainbows while out on a walk.  The lady who writes the blog lives in Wales, UK.  The post was from Thursday.  It struck me that given where she and I live and the way weather patterns are, it very well could be the same weather system that was in the Ohio area on Sunday.  It struck me that maybe God is sending rainbows around the world to let us know that things are going to be better soon.  That's my hope at least.

Still slogging away on the sweaters for the kids.  No pictures, though, to show progress.  You'll just have to trust that what I say is true.  The second sleeve of Blake's is almost done.  I'll finish that today and then see what's to be done to assemble it.  Both girls' sweaters are at least up to the armscye.  Kristin's is front panel is complete.  I'll get the back panel of hers going today also.  Overall, I'm happy with the progress I am making.

I've started my Christmas shopping.  There was something I tried to get each of the kids back in the spring with the lockdowns first happened.  The game I wanted was nowhere to be found, not even Amazon.  The other week I did find it and was able to get one for each of the kids.  I also found some stocking stuffers. yesterday while I was at World Market buying the brining bag for our Thanksgiving turkey.

As mentioned earlier, the girls and I went away for the weekend for Trisha's bachelorette weekend.  

We stayed in a nice cabin in the Smokey Mountains.  It was beautiful even though the trees were past their prime color.

Friday night after everyone arrived, I made a big lasagna dinner.  It happened to also be Trisha's birthday, so we had cake to go with the lasagna, salad and wine.

After dinner we did our own wine and paint party.

The girls went on a hike during the day Saturday.  I stayed at the cabin because I had too much wine Friday night.  Saturday evening a party bus picked us up and took us into to town where we had dinner and cruised around for a few hours.  As you can see in the picture above, Trisha had a very good time.

COVID restrictions have ramped up again here in Ohio.  The wedding is 3 months away.  I just pray that she get the special day she is hoping for.  No matter what happens, Trisha and Craig are getting married on February 14, 2021.  We just don't know how big the party will be.  Let's hope those rainbows were a promise of better days soon.

Hello November

It is Sunday, November 1, 2020.  I have to keep telling myself what day of the week it is.  I've noticed that I lose track of the days since I don't get out of the house much.  It is week who-knows-anymore of work from home.  I heard this past week that I'll probably not go back to the office until April.  That works for me.  I don't want my first day back to be in the middle of winter anyway. I much prefer working from home.  I feel like I have a bit more control of my life.  I just wish my husband would find a job so that the pressure of bringing in money is taken off of my shoulders a bit.

Since it is Sunday, I will spend my morning watching my favorite YouTube podcasts and knit.  My absolute favorite is Arne and Carlos.  Their podcasts are always entertaining and make me smile.  They don't get political or preachy.  They are warm, genuine and love to share the things in their lives that bring joy.  We certainly need more of this outlook in the world today.

Maybe its because I am spending more time at home, but I actually pulled out my autumn decorations earlier than I normally do.  I don't have much around the house, but it is making everything feel cozy.  Autumn is my favorite season.

Last post I showed a shawl I was making out of Shetland wool I bought from a LYS.  I was trying to do something with sequential knitting but the pattern was getting lost because the yarn is too rustic.  I frogged it and started again with a different stitch pattern.  This is my own design and may someday get written up and published.  Right now I am just enjoying creating something that is uniquely mine.

This past week the girls and I did a cookie decorating class.  It was a lot of fun.  Here are our creations.  We each got 6 cookies to decorate.  Mine are the ones on the lower left.  Ed and I have eaten all but one.  We have the Boo! cookie left.  It'll be my afternoon snack with some tea.

I've noticed with the cooler temperatures moving in that Squeaks has changed her sleeping location.  She now prefers our bath towels.  She'll sleep there until about 4:00 am and then move onto our bed with us.  She likes to lean against my legs, which makes it a bit uncomfortable for me.  For a tiny kitty, she feels like she weighs a ton when she's on my legs at night.

 

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.

Mid-September Update

The weather has cooled significantly.  According to a YouTube channel I follow, the eastern US is going to have a cooler than normal autumn.  The channel also says central Ohio is due for a significantly worse winter than normal.  I hope we do get more winter.  We haven't had much snow the past few years.  As long as it doesn't mess up Trisha and Craig's wedding on February 14.

Speaking of the wedding plans, we went to an Open House at the venue to taste the food and look over linens, table decorations and flowers.  The cupcake flight allowed us to sample some of the flavors for the cake.  I think Trisha and Craig decided on Red Velvet for one tier, White Almond Sour Cream for another tier and White Chocolate Raspberry for the third.  We will soon meet one-on-one with the planner to work out the exact details.

Working from home continues.  Latest word is that we won't be back into the office until after the new year.  I'm just hoping that gets extended to the spring.  I really don't want driving downtown in the snow and cold to be the first time back.

Back when we first started working from home, I noticed a bird in my front tree that I had never seen before.  The little guy wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get a picture of him.  After a lot of back and forth with my oldest sister and brother-in-law, who is an ornithologist, we concluded it was some type of warbler.  Mystery bird disappeared over the summer months, but returned this past week.  Thanks to a massive aphid infestation in my front tree, he hung around long enough for me to snap a few pictures.  Mystery bird has been identified:  a Magnolia warbler.

Blake has gotten the all clear from the surgeon to resume normal activities.  He is still at home and plans to return to Cincinnati at the end of this next week.  It's been great having him home, but to be honest I'll be glad to have a little less commotion in the house during the day.

Ed is out of work now.  The company he was with agreed to pay him through the end of the month. He's looking but no bites so far.  My prayers are that he gets something soon. 

Christmas sweater knitting is coming along.  I have the back of Blake's Rift done and the front almost completed.  I am really loving how this is turning out.

I cast on Trisha's Weekender.  It's about 6 inches long now.  Great TV knitting!  Kristin's will get cast on soon.  I found an extra US 9 circular needle.  I'll be able to go back and forth between them for a little variety.

I spun the dark Shetland wool that I purchased from Yesterday's Ewes.  It became a bouncy 2-ply.  It was a very fast project, but it was less than 2 ounces of roving.

It looks like I got about the same weight as the purchases skein.  I have the ball of light roving to still spin.  I should be able to get that done quickly too.  My plan is to make a hat or gloves out of these.  It'll be a project for me.  Something warm and wooly.

 

Thumbs Up Weekend

 This weekend marks the official end of the summer season.  Tomorrow is Labor Day.  I decided to make it a longer weekend and took Friday off work.  I needed a day to just do some fun activities, like sew or knit. I started by sleeping in.  Things had cooled off a bit so I decide to open windows and let the fresh air in.  When I was opening one of the windows in the family room, I forgot that the television antenna was attached to the upper pane behind the blind.  As I opened the window, the antenna, which is a 1/4 inch thick 8-inch square piece of hard plastic, came crashing down and smashed my thumb.  It was one of the worst pains I have ever felt, bringing tears to my eyes.  

I'm now sporting a swollen thumb and bruised nail base. It is a bit hard to see in the above picture  but the skin near the cuticle is tinged green.  The nail is all kinds of shades of black, blue, purple and red.  It must have done some temporary nerve damage because I had no sensation when I touched the end of my thumb.  That has come back now, but I still can't put any pressure on my thumb without pain.  Friday was spent icing my thumb and watching television.  I was concerned I wasn't going to be able to sleep, but luckily that didn't bother me.  By Saturday I was able to bend my thumb a bit and was able to sew.  However, anything that required pressure on the tip of my thumb was out of the question.  Ed helped me with my watch and I used my left had when I put pins in.  Last night we played cards with friends.  I had to do the messy shuffle when it came my turn to deal.  Today I was able to use it a little to do some spinning.  I tried knitting but it still puts too much pressure on the thumb holding the needles.

I decided I wanted to spin up the Shetland wool I bought a few weeks ago during the I-75 Yarn Shop Hop.  This is 1927 Shetland roving from Yesterday's Ewes in a dark brown.  My goal is to make a 2-ply skein that is hopefully about the same weight as the skein I won as a door prize.  I also have some cream colored roving which will also become a 2-ply skein.  Someday, these will become a color work hat or gloves.

A Bit of Anxiety Setting In

 Tomorrow is August 31.  In some respects, this month has flown by.  In others, it has dragged.

As much as I like working from home over going into the office, I am starting to get cabin fever.  I've noticed since everyone is online, we don't have to wrestle for meeting rooms.  My day is filled with more meetings than I think would occur if we were all together in the office. To schedule a meeting, all you have to do is pick a time, add names, click a few buttons and you have another meeting.  Some people don't even bother to see if the meeting conflicts with other meetings for the required attendees.  It can become a bit of a headache. 

Speaking of headaches, I'm starting to get them more frequently lately.  I don't think I have anything serious.  I think it is just a compilation of factors:  too much time on the computer working, needing an update on my eye glass prescription, work stress, home stress, state-of-the-world stress.  Ed and I were in the habit of taking a trip every 3 months or so.  We haven't gone anywhere since March and I can feel myself getting anxious.  We are trying to plan a little weekend away but having confirmed any plans yet.  

I'm also starting to get a bit anxious about the wedding plans.  We have a meeting in a few weeks with the venue.  That will settle a few things but there are a few major things yet to handle:  flowers, invitations, finalized guest list, reception theme.  I'm getting a little worried about COVID crapping on the plans.  I have to remember to not worry future things too much.  That is very hard for me.  I am a worrier by nature.

Blake has been home a few weeks now.  He had some minor surgery and is not cleared to drive yet.  His classes this semester are all online so he is able to keep up with things.  This is his last first day school picture.  He will graduate from college in the spring.  His plan is to find a job in the Cincinnati area.  (This is another thing I find myself worrying about.)  He is getting anxious to get back to campus.  Three weeks with Mom and Dad are getting to him.  He hopes to get the clearance from the doc this week after his appointment on Tuesday.  I think it will be at least one more week.

I finished my Discovery poncho.  It got blocked and put away until the weather cools a bit before taking any pictures.  I'll post a picture once it comes out for use.

I haven't touched City Limits in about a month.  This morning while enjoying my tea and watching some YouTube podcasts I knit about 10 rounds.  It is probably difficult to tell but I just started the solid Color 4 section.  I did the waist shaping decreases.  The increases will begin in a few more rounds.

Blake's Rift is coming along nicely.  I have separated for the front and back.  I've knit about 22 rows of the back.  The knitting is getting interesting so this will not be online-meeting or mindless television knitting anymore.

Since the Discovery Poncho is done, I need to find something to grab for my boring online meeting knitting.  I have two long-hibernating projects to use as candidates:  the Relax sweater or a scarf I started over 14 years ago with yarn I bought with birthday money from my parents.  Stay tuned for which project wins.

I-75 Shop Hop 2020

 Most fiber events have been cancelled this year thanks to Rona.  One that didn't fall victim was the I-75 Shop Hop.  Although, some shops from the past opted to not participate and others restricted to visits by appointment only.  My enabler and I decided we'd still try to see a few shops on Saturday, August 1.  We headed over to the Dayton area to visit some that we hadn't been to before.

First on the itinerary was Tipp City to visit Tippecanoe Weaver and Fibers Too.  I probably had visited Tipp City at some point in my youth, but I don't remember.  My mom had a cousin who had been the pastor at the Catholic church in town back in the 70s.  Tipp City is a cute, quaint town that seems to be thriving while maintaining its small town feel even with the urban sprawl of Dayton to the south.  

Tippecanoe Weavers and Fibers Too is a small shop in an old house a block north of Main Street.  The front two rooms feature yarn while the back is dedicated to weaving.  They offer locally sourced fiber.  I grabbed a few bags of roving, which the cats became very interested in when I got home.

After a quick walk around Main Street, we drove over to Vandalia.  Fiber Fusion is on the road that forms the eastern edge of the Dayton Airport.  The shop is in a house that sits in front of the owners own home.  There are several rooms of yarn to explore, each organized by yarn weight.  The owner says her hours vary because she has another full-time job, to which we replied we totally understood and appreciated because we work full-time also.

At Fiber Fusion I picked up 3 skeins of Leading Men fingering which someday may become a shawl and my first set of Prym needles.  My enabler swears by these needles and I've seen a very positive review by Arne and Carlos.

Next stop was Englewood, which is on the other side of the Dayton airport to visit The Rabbit Hutch.  The Rabbit Hutch is in what looks to be a former bank building; not the old 19th century style, but the mid-century style that I remember.

The Rabbit Hutch features many of the yarns in the Berroco line and had samples throughout the shop.  I immediately spotted the Waverly sample.  The shop owner let me try it on and I fell in love, so of course I couldn't resist.  She helped me decide on the colors and sent me home with the pattern and some of the yarn I needed.  The rest was ordered and I received it last weekend.  This will go into the queue after the Christmas knitting is complete.

From Englewood we headed south and east to Beavercreek to visit Fiberworks.  Fiberworks is in the heart of the commercial district of Beavercreek.  The shop is packed with yarns of all weights and colors.  

I was a bit overwhelmed and tired by this point so I mainly just followed my enabler around the shop. I did by this cute project bag and a Gleaner, which I neglected to photograph.

From Beavercreek we started back toward home, but first stopping in London to visit Yesterday's Ewes.  Yesterday's Ewes is located on Main Street in an old, 19th century bank.  They've maintained the old teller windows and other architectural features.  It is a very nice shop that has a lot of room to expand inventory.

Yesterday's Ewes carries a lot of fibers I haven't seen in other shops.  I picked up a couple skeins of Round Mountain Fibers fingering.  I love the colors and how they are based on nature.  The one on the left is Indigo Bunting from the Ornithology line and the one on the right is Honey Bee from the Entomology line.  Both will someday become socks.

We called it a day after Yesterday's Ewes.

A couple days ago I received a message from Yesterday's Ewes that I won one of their door prizes.  Cindy and I went back there yesterday to pick up my prize.  It was a skein of their 1927 Shetland in the color Fawn.  1927 Shetland is their house brand of yarn, sourced from a local farm.  Fawn is one of the sheep.  The color in the above picture is true.  To go along with this yarn, I bought 2 ounces each of 1927 Shetland roving.  My plan is to spin these into 2-ply yarn and make a hat or gloves.

The owner of Yesterday's Ewes mentioned that she is planning on starting a once-a-month bring-you-own-project event on the last Sunday of the month.  She suggested I bring my wheel and get a little spinning in.  I'll consider it.  Her shop isn't that far from my house and it would be a good excuse to use my wheel.  It's been sitting unused in my living room for quite a while now.  I should plan spending some time on weekends spinning, especially since I won't have any college football to watch this fall thanks to the Big 10 cancelling/postponing their season.