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.