Plans Are Made To Be Broken

 February didn't go as planned.

I wanted to finish at least 2 of my WIPs.  But I only managed to get one done, the Setesdal hat.  Babysitting and COVID threw a big wrench in the plans.

I got the Setesdal hat done in time to enter it into the prize drawing from Arne and Carlos, but sadly I did not win.  The hat was a fun knit, but my gauge was too tight.  I can't get the thing on my head.  I'll block it and tuck it away to give to Jameson when he gets older. 

I'm slowly making progress on Letho.

The two halves are joined and I finished the welts along the opening.  I think the button band and ribbing are the only things left.  It will be cropped.  I added an extra repeat of the pattern to make it longer, but I'm wondering if I should have done one or two more.  Too late now to change it.  The ribbing along the bottom appears to be several inches.  Crossing my fingers that it turns out OK after the ribbing.  I do have to remember that I'm not tall and I'm short waisted.  This may end up being OK.  Stay tuned.

The Loveland Shawl is also still in progress.  I finished the main color and am now in the mesh stitch section using the contrasting color.  It should go quickly now, if only I would work on it.  I want to get Letho done, so this will hibernate until that is completed.  Since this is autumnal colors, I probably won't wear it until the fall anyway.

In the middle of those WIPs, I cast on a blanket for one of my nieces who is having a baby in May.  I wanted it to be machine washable so I bought some Bernat yarn from Joann's.  It is 100% acrylic and is not fun to knit with.  I guess I've turned into a yarn snob.  The colors are nice and it should be easy to care for, though.  It is miles and miles of garter stitch, so I'm having to motivate myself to work on it.

Speaking of knitting motivation, mine has totally gone away since the move.  I found that since I took a break around the time we moved, my hands lost some of their muscle memory.  It was hard to get back into it.  Also, we've been so busy on weekends, I haven't had a single day to just sit and knit.  Ed starts fishing again soon.  I'm hoping to have a 'Me' day one of these coming weekends.

As I mentioned earlier, COVID hit us at the end of February.  It's been over 2 weeks and I'm just now starting to get some energy back.  The weather is still very cold, so it's not helping.  Once it warms up I'm going to start exploring the new neighborhood and get a walking route or two mapped out.

My grandson is growing so fast.  He's almost able to sit up on his own.  He can roll over and it becoming very vocal.  It is such a joy to watch him.  I'm am so grateful we were able to move closer to him.  I know my daughter and son-in-law appreciate having us nearby to help too.

This week we are babysitting him overnight Thursday.  Trisha and Craig have a concert Thursday night and then plans to celebrate St. Patrick's Day Friday morning.  I suggested we just keep the baby overnight so they can enjoy themselves.  My brother Joe is visiting this weekend also.  I'll pick him up Thursday evening and he'll stay until Sunday.  With the overnight guests, there won't be much knitting going on this weekend.  

Keeping my fingers crossed that I can get some in next weekend.

  

Parenting Never Ends

 This has been a hard week for the family.  My oldest daughter, Kristin, broke up with her boyfriend on Sunday.  They had been dating a year.  Without going into the details, he told her that his future after he is done with his residency next year does not include her.  She is devastated. We are all in shock because they seemed so compatible.  Trisha and Craig are especially shocked because they had just double dated the previous weekend and he said something during dinner about wanting to start a family soon after getting settled somewhere.  He said that while holding Kristin's hand, which made it seem like she was part of that plan.  When she came over the day after it happened, I didn't know what to say except 'I love you' and 'I know you don't feel this way now, but it will get better.'  I'm not good with words.  Kristin is now at the point where she is considering some changes in her life.  She wants to sell her house and move.  She never really wanted to stay in central Ohio so she's taking this as an opportunity for a clean break.  I'm not happy that she's going to move away, but at least she isn't considering the west coast. All of the locations she is considering are within a days drive or an hour flight.

I started working on the pile down in the basement.  Last weekend I moved all of my boxes except my craft books into cabinets.  My cookbooks are now easily accessible for when I need to find a recipe.

We had a very windy night on Thursday.  Squeaks found a cozy spot to relax while we watched television. 

Fridays are my days to watch Jameson.  Yesterday was the first time I took him out in the car.  I'll admit I was a little nervous.  It's been a long time since I've had a baby on board.  We went up to Kristin's practice because I needed to be fitted for a new retainer.  My top retainer ripped.  While there, all of the hygienists were gushing over Jameson.  He was loving all of the attention.  Before we left Kristin put him in one of the operatory chairs and took this picture.

One of the YouTube podcasts I follow is Roxanne Richardson.  She talks every year about Finish It February.  I like the idea, but I don't seem to be able to get organized for it.  This year, my goal for Finish It February is to finish the projects I started already this year.

Letho was my NYE cast on.  The sweater is knit sideways, starting at a cuff and working towards the center.  The left side is done.  I'm almost to the point on the right side where I will split for the front and back.  If I devote a couple evenings a week to this it will be done by the end of February.

I'm making a few modifications as I knit.  And crossing my fingers that they work out.  The sweater is meant to be very oversized, like a jacket to be worn over clothes.  I wanted something a little more fitted so I'm knitting a smaller size.  The pattern mentions this modification and also mentions how to add to the length.  I've added a little to the length, hoping it hits me at the hip once I am done.  Stay tuned for more updated.

Progress on the Loveland shawl has slowed down.  I am picking it up when I have meetings that I just need to listen in on.  I'm hoping it will be done by the end of February, but it may slip into March.

My gauge on this is a bit off.  Apparently I'm a tight crocheter.  And the class instructor told me that my yarn is more of a sport weight, rather than a DK weight.  It won't be as big as the pattern describes, but it should still be a good autumnal shawl.

I am also working on the Setesdal hat by Arne and Carlos.  They are having a Knit Along with Modern Daily Knitting.  If I spend an evening, I could get this done, but I'm not rushing.  They are having a contest with it.  I'm posting pictures of my progress on Instagram.

Gauge is also an issue on this hat.  It probably won't fit an adult once I am done.  I'll tuck it into the closet and save it for Jameson.  

Settling Into Our New Home

Most of the boxes on the main floor have been unpacked.  There are a few that I just haven't gotten to yet, but the main areas are settled.  My kitchen is a work in progress as I figure out where to best store my cooking equipment.

The other area that is still getting settled is my office.  Squeaks likes to spend the day watching the traffic from the front window.

I cleaned up my Mom's old radio and put it in the corner of my office.  It is a TrueTone radio/record player from the 1940s.  She told me that it was her first purchase after starting her first job after graduating high school.  The outside took some 'elbow grease' to get cleaned up, but I think it looks beautiful now.  Not bad for having spent probably 50 years in basements (hers and then mine). The inside mechanisms are all still there, but they are in very bad shape.  If I can find someone to do the labor for me, I'd like to pull out the old parts and replace them with a new turntable and Bluetooth speaker.

I originally had hoped to have my office be a combination office and craft room.  After Ed and I traded rooms (he couldn't fit all of his crap things into the space he originally wanted, I ended up with it.  I traded knowing that if I didn't he would complain constantly about not having enough room.  He remembers things differently.  He says I wanted the office with smaller square footage and no closet.) I went about trying to figure out how I'm going to manage in a smaller area.

My knitting needles have a nice place to hang and I have a dresser that will be used for some storage.

Most of my craft stuff will stay in the basement.  I don't have room for the bookshelves that I originally envisioned.  My son-in-law said he'll build me a craft room in the basement.  I'm going to have to take him up on that offer once I get my mountain of stuff organized.

One of the reasons we picked this particular lot was the pond on the back.  It's not very big, but we are hoping to spend many evenings watching the sunset over it.  We've already had a few spectacular ones.

I'm looking forward to sitting on the deck during the summer and enjoying the view.  We've already seen ducks and geese on the pond.  The wooded area on the opposite side is visited by many birds.  I've heard a Great Horned Owl several times now during the night.  I just hope that area stays natural and doesn't get developed.

We are completely enjoying being so close to our grandson.  I babysit Jameson on Fridays.  It's tiring, but I love every minute of it.  He is growing so fast!  Lately he's been watching football and is cheering for the Cincinnati Bengals.  I'm trying to get him to say 'Who Dey!!'  He tries but it's not quite there yet.

After several months away, I'm back to having a few projects to work on.  I'm taking a class at one of the shops in town to make the Loveland Shawl by Toni Lipsey.  It is Tunisian crochet.  My hands had trouble working the hook at the start but I'm getting the swing of it now.  I've made a few mistakes and can see my tension isn't the same at the start and the end of the rows, but it's my first real Tunisian crochet project so I'm not beating myself up.

Last time I posted I mentioned that I was going to start the new year with a new knitting project.  I pulled out my project bag for Letho by Natasja Hornby

I don't know what I was thinking, but Letho is not the relaxing knit I thought it would be.  Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying making this cardigan.  It's just not a quick, easy knit.  I've never made any Natasja Hornby patterns before, but I have seen her interviewed on Fruity Knitting.  I should have realized that her patterns are complex with interesting construction.  I am certainly learning a few things while making this.  I've decided I'm going to take my time to make sure I get the result I'm hoping for. 

 There's no rush.  I'm not going anywhere.

 

A Very Different Christmas

 This was a very unusual Christmas.

The past few years I've managed to have my decorations up, knitted gifts made, cookies baked, Christmas dinner planned all in time to enjoy the holiday with minimal stress.  Not this year!

We closed on our new house on December 19 and moved in that evening.  No decorations were hung because they were all in a storage unit somewhere, unable to be delivered because of the blizzard that hit the Midwest on December 22-23.  The extent of my decorations were the handful of Christmas cards we received addressed to the new house and a Christmas gnome a friend gave me.

Don't believe the idyllic picture.  This was the only corner of the house that was in order.  The rest of the house was/still is a shamble of boxes and stuff waiting to find its proper place.

I only managed to make socks for Ed and Blake this year.  The rest of the family will receive their knitted gifts later, once I get time to make them.

After we went into contract on the old house, I baked a few batches of cookies.  The kids came over on December 17 for one last meal in the old house and to help bake cookies.  It was a fun evening and a nice way to say Goodbye to the house.  Most of the cookies didn't make it to Christmas though.

After we closed we had the 16' unit that sat at our house moved to the new house.  We spent the evening unloading it.  That night my body hurt so bad I couldn't sleep.  It also didn't help that the neighbors had a bright light that shown into the bedroom window.

On December 20, Ed and I pre-signed the papers for the closing of our old house.  We then went there to pack up the last storage unit full of stuff (12' unit).  A couple friends came over to lift the last heavy things.  It was a long day.  After we got home and I unloaded my plants, I soaked in a bathtub and went to bed.  Ed stayed up organizing his side of the closet.  He said I was snoring.  Usually I'd deny that, but I slept so well, he's probably right.

On December 21, the 12' unit from the old house was delivered as well as one of the 16' units from storage.  I had hoped my Christmas decorations were on that 16' unit, but they weren't.  We got the 16' unit unloaded in time for the company to pick it up on Thursday morning, but with the impending storm, they could not deliver the last 16' unit.  No decorations this year except what is pictured above.

We got the 12' unit unloaded before the storm hit, but it stayed on our driveway over the weekend.  It helped to act as a marker for our unexpected guests on Christmas Eve.  My oldest sister, Mary Anne, and her husband, John, were journeying from New Jersey to Cincinnati on Christmas Eve.  The road conditions were bad and they made very poor time.  Just as Ed, Blake, and I arrived at Kristin's for Christmas Eve dinner, Mary Anne called to ask if they could stay overnight at our place.  The remainder of their trip would be 2 hours under normal conditions, but would probably be at least 4 as it was.  I gave them directions to the exit off the highway for my new house.  They found a restaurant to get dinner while we had our meal with Kristin.

Kristin made a very nice dinner:  beef rib roast, twice-baked potatoes, mac and cheese, rolls, asparagus and salad.  She even had a cheesecake for dessert.  Her house was beautifully decorated.  It was a wonderful evening.  After the meal, though, we decided to get back home and rescue the travelers.  Kristin headed over to her boyfriend's apartment to leave a meal on his doorstep.  He was quarantined at home with COVID, not able to travel home to spend Christmas with his family in Michigan.

Christmas morning our surprise guests ate breakfast, showered, and then resumed their journey.  All of the kids came over to the house for brunch and to open gifts.  After that we got in the car and headed to Cincinnati ourselves to have Christmas dinner at my younger sister's house.  Jameson got to meet many of his aunts, uncles, and cousins on my side of the family.  We drove home that night, grateful the road conditions were greatly improved.

On Monday, December 26 Ed and I went back to the old house for the last time.  We cleaned up everything and left the keys on the counter.  It was sad to say 'Goodbye' for the last time.  We ended the evening by going to a restaurant that we like over there, figuring we won't likely ever go back.

The last storage unit was delivered on Tuesday.  It is now empty, waiting to be picked up.

Now everything is in this house.  It is time to sort through and find a place for it all.  I already know a lot more is going to be donated.  We purged so much, I've learned how freeing it feels to get rid of stuff that you just don't use anymore.  I am not sentimental about stuff.

Once I get this house in some sort of order, I am going to cast on a new knitting project to celebrate the next chapter in our lives.  More details about that coming soon.