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.