It's 3:30 pm and about 15F -- too cold to go outside for pictures. But I finished my Kara cowl, and have worn it a few times. It's an excellent layering piece, adding a deep red splash and a warm neckline to any outfit. I have also been knitting for Sis and Miss A: Swiffer mop head covers for Sis in two patterns, and the Hans My Hedgehog patterns for Miss A. There are two of the hedgehog patterns, one making a tiny pocket "hog" about 2.5" in fingering yarn, and the other in worsted which made up to about 7" long. The larger one used some of the yarn Sis gave to me over Thanksgiving, and looks a lot like Miss A's actual live hedgehog! So maybe the pet hedgie can have a buddy....
Sis keeps hermit crabs in a sandy habitat next to the fireplace, with a heat lamp for continuous warmth. They are some pretty weird little critters. I watched an episode of Blue Planet the other day, that had me cracking up -- a conch had caught a smaller snail, and was emptying that snail's shell with a rowdy audience of hermit crabs all vying to get into the emptied shell! At one point there were four hermits fighting each other to get that shell, then one actually climbed up the conch and into the shell before the conch turned it loose! A risky move, as the conch could have eaten the hermit crab too, but it paid off since that little guy hustled away with the shell.
Well, I had to fill out another set of forms for the disability, so much fun. It's a good thing I scanned and saved the earlier documents, as I had to attach some of them to this new form. I suppose this will be a nearly endless process, so I'm scanning just about everything.
One of my Christmas presents was a two-week rental of a power chair, pretty nifty. This one breaks down into four bits, with the heaviest bit just 36 lbs. and well within Disco's lifting capability. I should get her to take it apart & put it back together several times; she's been letting Plaidman take charge of that but she says she wants "us girls" to be able to go places without him.
Showing posts with label Mi Kara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mi Kara. Show all posts
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Back from the boonies
The entire Plaid Patrol rode to south Texas for the week of Thanksgiving. It's a long darn drive, but then we spent the whole week with family. We were only able to do that because we'd hired a pet sitter to come in twice a day, to keep the elderly cat at home & happy. And he seems to have warmed up to the sitter, even playing with her and letting her pet him, and he was quite happy to see us back. I would have posted from Texas, but never got near enough to an unused (& functional) computer.
I delivered the Diamond Halter top to niece A, did not get to see her in it but made her promise to send me a picture. I'm still working on the red tweed capelet, just have about 6" of ribbed turtleneck to go on that one. I got about an inch of ribbing done while there, but most days we had other fun stuff to do and the knitting just stayed in the bag. Speaking of bags, Sis did not disappoint in the "birthday present" bag: It's a Dooney & Burke tote with Pittsburgh Pirates themed print on white leather, just gorgeous and a great bag for the knitting. I will have to send her something wonderful and knitted asap. Sis brought Pup over from his assisted living facility Tuesday, then Disco, Plaidman, the nieces & I went to the facility the next day and had lunch with him. Later that afternoon Plaidman went back to Sis', while us ladies went to Savers. Guess who we found there -- the Shopping Queen herself, aka Sis! We all spent some time together there, then the nieces departed for home. I spent way too much money there, even with the 30% discount card Sis gave me. Most of it was for stuff Disco wanted, I wish I could find the receipt to show her! We finally got all our purchases out to Sis' Giganto Craft (an ancient Escalade), then it took all three of us (Disco, Sis & me) to get me into the front seat. I am not anything like nimble anymore. In fact, since I stayed in the upstairs guest room, I had to climb 16 stairs every evening to get to bed, and come down those stairs (dressed & ready for the day) every morning. I thought my knees would give out. Then there was the guest bed, wonderful to sleep in but so tall that I needed both a stepstool and my walker to get into it. Slept like a stone, until it was time to visit the loo. And that was for six nights. I've been home a few days, and I've recovered some. Thursday we had Pup back over to the house for our noon Thanksgiving supper. Afterwards, the annual T-Day lawn tournament was held out on the front lawn, with 3 father & daughter teams and one niece + boyfriend team. Pup teamed with Sis, Steverino teamed with the Peerless niece, Plaidman teamed with Disco, and Miss A teamed with Seth. Pup has macular degeneration, so his shots were guided by other players standing near the "hole" and waving. It was agreed that Peerless & her Dad won the tourney. I wasn't the only spectator, we had some neighbors come by to check out the game. Then we all went back inside and played LCR; Peerless took a $27.00 pot! Just her day. Pup got delivered back to his home, and we all pretty much called it a night. Friday Peerless treated a bunch of us to a movie, Justice League,
which we all found marvelous. Saturday we began the long drive back home, and got here about 8 p.m. on Sunday.
I delivered the Diamond Halter top to niece A, did not get to see her in it but made her promise to send me a picture. I'm still working on the red tweed capelet, just have about 6" of ribbed turtleneck to go on that one. I got about an inch of ribbing done while there, but most days we had other fun stuff to do and the knitting just stayed in the bag. Speaking of bags, Sis did not disappoint in the "birthday present" bag: It's a Dooney & Burke tote with Pittsburgh Pirates themed print on white leather, just gorgeous and a great bag for the knitting. I will have to send her something wonderful and knitted asap. Sis brought Pup over from his assisted living facility Tuesday, then Disco, Plaidman, the nieces & I went to the facility the next day and had lunch with him. Later that afternoon Plaidman went back to Sis', while us ladies went to Savers. Guess who we found there -- the Shopping Queen herself, aka Sis! We all spent some time together there, then the nieces departed for home. I spent way too much money there, even with the 30% discount card Sis gave me. Most of it was for stuff Disco wanted, I wish I could find the receipt to show her! We finally got all our purchases out to Sis' Giganto Craft (an ancient Escalade), then it took all three of us (Disco, Sis & me) to get me into the front seat. I am not anything like nimble anymore. In fact, since I stayed in the upstairs guest room, I had to climb 16 stairs every evening to get to bed, and come down those stairs (dressed & ready for the day) every morning. I thought my knees would give out. Then there was the guest bed, wonderful to sleep in but so tall that I needed both a stepstool and my walker to get into it. Slept like a stone, until it was time to visit the loo. And that was for six nights. I've been home a few days, and I've recovered some. Thursday we had Pup back over to the house for our noon Thanksgiving supper. Afterwards, the annual T-Day lawn tournament was held out on the front lawn, with 3 father & daughter teams and one niece + boyfriend team. Pup teamed with Sis, Steverino teamed with the Peerless niece, Plaidman teamed with Disco, and Miss A teamed with Seth. Pup has macular degeneration, so his shots were guided by other players standing near the "hole" and waving. It was agreed that Peerless & her Dad won the tourney. I wasn't the only spectator, we had some neighbors come by to check out the game. Then we all went back inside and played LCR; Peerless took a $27.00 pot! Just her day. Pup got delivered back to his home, and we all pretty much called it a night. Friday Peerless treated a bunch of us to a movie, Justice League,
which we all found marvelous. Saturday we began the long drive back home, and got here about 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Weekend continues...
When one is no longer employed, it can be difficult to determine when the weekend commences or stops. Appointments can be a "heads up", since most of them occur during the week. I did get some good news by phone last Thursday: my long term disability has been approved!! Plaidman went to the mailbox on Friday, and I think he must have missed a day or two because it was stuffed. He brought in a ton of stuff, most of which went directly to the recycle bin. But he wasn't sure he'd gotten it all, because a) it was dark when he was there, and b) he didn't use the stepstool we keep in the car for the purpose (the mailbox is up over his head). So he went back mid-morning on Saturday, and found my first disability check. And of course that was the only thing in there, since Saturday was Veterans' Day and there was no mail delivery. I'll take a moment here:
Thank you for your service, Thomas Paul Devine & may you rest in peace, most excellent father-in-law and infantryman.
You are missed more than I can say.
Thank you for your service, Cameron Eiseman Cherry; may you continue to be our family's guide & light for many years, Cadet of the Army Air Corps.
Plaidman's younger brother served in Viet Nam, repairing tanks. His son has seen service as well. Last I heard, the two of them are not on speaking terms. I salute them both, and pray they'll reconcile their differences soon -- Viet Nam vets aren't getting any younger.
Okay, that moment stops now before I get weepy.
I have started on the final segment of the Mi Kara "capelet", which is very pretty in it's cabled red tweediness. However, I really thought the thing would be longer, more of a short poncho than an elongated & elaborately cabled cowl. So ... the length is disappointing. I'll finish the ribbed turtleneck, try it on, and see if it's something I might actually use. I do have a lot of tops with rather open necklines; I guess I could extend the "season" for those tops with the red capelet.
We've hired a sitter for our aged kitty, so when we go out of town we can just contact her & she'll come in to feed him, change the litter box, and give him some loves and attentions while we're out. I hope this works out well. Surely it will be better than putting our little old man in a cage at the vet's! I still can't get over how stressed out the poor little beastie was after being boarded for a week.
We had EJ and her recently acquired hubby come stay with us for a few days. We'd gone over to American Freight and bought a queen sized mattress set, which fits Disco's bedframe. Disco had the mini-Keurig set up, with a selection of K-cups and some disposable coffee cups. So the newlyweds had their own little apartment downstairs. We took them out to Bicentennial Mall, which they found pretty interesting for the wall of history all around it. We also cruised through the Farmers Market, where I got a large head of purple cauliflower. One night we treated them to our favorite local Chinese buffet, they loved it. The next night we ate at home, with homemade black bean dip, roasted cauliflower & Yukon gold taters, and smoked pork chops. EJ liked the dip so much she was trying it on everything. Danny is a little less adventurous with food, he'd never eaten roasted cauliflower before but discovered he liked it a lot. One of the perks of having only a few folks to feed is trying new things without having to make enough to feed an army. I was kind of surprised when all the roasted veggies disappeared -- that had been one huge head of cauliflower. And roasting hard veggies like taters & cauliflower is so easy: Pre-heat the oven to 350°F, prep by washing & remove any "poorly" bits, chop the rest into slightly larger than bite size pieces, smash a few cloves of garlic & dice, dump all in a large mixing bowl, add some seasoning (I used a garden herb mix, little salt & pepper), drizzle lightly with EVOO, stir to cover all with seasoning & oil. Spread in one layer on a large rimmed baking sheet, pop into the oven. It will take about 40 minutes for your veggies to become fork-tender, but pull them out at 20 minutes to stir & turn, then back to the oven for another 20 minutes. Couldn't be simpler, and they come out fragrant & tasty. The purple cauliflower did turn quite dark, but retained a lot of the purple and looked nice with the golden taters. As to the bean dip, it was delicious but somewhat thinner than I liked; this was the first time I'd made it so I will try to remember to drain more of the liquid off the beans before mixing. Again, a simple recipe, just cooked black beans, cumin, cilantro...and something I can't recall right now. No cooking required, just use either the blender or (we are so cool this way) a small handheld blender stick in a plastic bowl. Disco was in charge of the blending, having learned her lesson about not using the stick blender in glass or ceramic (she cracked the ceramic pot on the last crock pot, while it had hot food in it!!). She also cooked the smoked pork chops, although not quite as "crispy" as usual because guests.
And can you believe neither EJ nor Danny had ever eaten smoked chops before. Well, folks, you just have to look at other offerings in the meat dept of the grocery store. Explore a little. Heck, I've even eaten calamari, something I swore I'd never touch, but it was beautifully cooked: paper-thin and seasoned, like a seafood chip! We don't want to think too much about what it is, and one may have to already have one's mouth "set" for this dish, rather like with frog's legs. Tasty, if one doesn't think too much of where they come from.
Thank you for your service, Thomas Paul Devine & may you rest in peace, most excellent father-in-law and infantryman.
You are missed more than I can say.
Thank you for your service, Cameron Eiseman Cherry; may you continue to be our family's guide & light for many years, Cadet of the Army Air Corps.
Plaidman's younger brother served in Viet Nam, repairing tanks. His son has seen service as well. Last I heard, the two of them are not on speaking terms. I salute them both, and pray they'll reconcile their differences soon -- Viet Nam vets aren't getting any younger.
Okay, that moment stops now before I get weepy.
I have started on the final segment of the Mi Kara "capelet", which is very pretty in it's cabled red tweediness. However, I really thought the thing would be longer, more of a short poncho than an elongated & elaborately cabled cowl. So ... the length is disappointing. I'll finish the ribbed turtleneck, try it on, and see if it's something I might actually use. I do have a lot of tops with rather open necklines; I guess I could extend the "season" for those tops with the red capelet.
We've hired a sitter for our aged kitty, so when we go out of town we can just contact her & she'll come in to feed him, change the litter box, and give him some loves and attentions while we're out. I hope this works out well. Surely it will be better than putting our little old man in a cage at the vet's! I still can't get over how stressed out the poor little beastie was after being boarded for a week.
We had EJ and her recently acquired hubby come stay with us for a few days. We'd gone over to American Freight and bought a queen sized mattress set, which fits Disco's bedframe. Disco had the mini-Keurig set up, with a selection of K-cups and some disposable coffee cups. So the newlyweds had their own little apartment downstairs. We took them out to Bicentennial Mall, which they found pretty interesting for the wall of history all around it. We also cruised through the Farmers Market, where I got a large head of purple cauliflower. One night we treated them to our favorite local Chinese buffet, they loved it. The next night we ate at home, with homemade black bean dip, roasted cauliflower & Yukon gold taters, and smoked pork chops. EJ liked the dip so much she was trying it on everything. Danny is a little less adventurous with food, he'd never eaten roasted cauliflower before but discovered he liked it a lot. One of the perks of having only a few folks to feed is trying new things without having to make enough to feed an army. I was kind of surprised when all the roasted veggies disappeared -- that had been one huge head of cauliflower. And roasting hard veggies like taters & cauliflower is so easy: Pre-heat the oven to 350°F, prep by washing & remove any "poorly" bits, chop the rest into slightly larger than bite size pieces, smash a few cloves of garlic & dice, dump all in a large mixing bowl, add some seasoning (I used a garden herb mix, little salt & pepper), drizzle lightly with EVOO, stir to cover all with seasoning & oil. Spread in one layer on a large rimmed baking sheet, pop into the oven. It will take about 40 minutes for your veggies to become fork-tender, but pull them out at 20 minutes to stir & turn, then back to the oven for another 20 minutes. Couldn't be simpler, and they come out fragrant & tasty. The purple cauliflower did turn quite dark, but retained a lot of the purple and looked nice with the golden taters. As to the bean dip, it was delicious but somewhat thinner than I liked; this was the first time I'd made it so I will try to remember to drain more of the liquid off the beans before mixing. Again, a simple recipe, just cooked black beans, cumin, cilantro...and something I can't recall right now. No cooking required, just use either the blender or (we are so cool this way) a small handheld blender stick in a plastic bowl. Disco was in charge of the blending, having learned her lesson about not using the stick blender in glass or ceramic (she cracked the ceramic pot on the last crock pot, while it had hot food in it!!). She also cooked the smoked pork chops, although not quite as "crispy" as usual because guests.
And can you believe neither EJ nor Danny had ever eaten smoked chops before. Well, folks, you just have to look at other offerings in the meat dept of the grocery store. Explore a little. Heck, I've even eaten calamari, something I swore I'd never touch, but it was beautifully cooked: paper-thin and seasoned, like a seafood chip! We don't want to think too much about what it is, and one may have to already have one's mouth "set" for this dish, rather like with frog's legs. Tasty, if one doesn't think too much of where they come from.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Howdy, stranger!
It;s been over two months since I last posted. Which is ridiculous, since I now have scads of "free" time -- I've been on short term disablility, and now I've applied for long term disability, and I only do what I need to do around the house. Of course I'm kinda limited as to what I can do, but I did manage to clean the entry room's & kitchen floors with the Swiffer, and wipe down both the upstairs toilets with Lysol cleaning wipes. I also did a bunch of shredding of old documents. We are all working pretty hard at cleaning up the shared areas of the house, including getting the contents of 3 big boxes distributed to better storage, the trash or recycle bins, or into the shredder as needed. We've been expecting company for about a month now, and they will finally arrive sometime tomorrow. I am just thrilled because we are finally in a place big enough to hold company. We bought a queen mattress set for Disco's apt downstairs, and a new sheet set (already washed, will go on the bed after Disco gets out of it tomorrow), new tablecloth and placemats. I've more or less planned two crockpot dinners, which should hopefully yield enough leftover for lunches. Disco says she'll sleep on the cot in the living room; I think our cat will be very confused.
I have been knitting a bit almost every day, working on the Kara capelet (a free Drops pattern). I'll try to take a picture tomorrow. I'm having an ultrasound investigation of my kidneys tomorrow, so I can't really promise anything that's not vital.
I have been knitting a bit almost every day, working on the Kara capelet (a free Drops pattern). I'll try to take a picture tomorrow. I'm having an ultrasound investigation of my kidneys tomorrow, so I can't really promise anything that's not vital.
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Fits and starts
We've had a time over at Box O'Docs, with a update to the billing system that failed to edit the way it was supposed to do. A week after closing last month's books, we're finally getting a few tweaks in the system that are allowing some edits to be worked. Whew!
I had been working on my Kara capelet, after finishing the Allotrope cowl and before finally biting the bullet and deciding on a pattern for the grand nephew's shawl. But once again the Kara has been laid aside. I cast on for the EZ 100th Anniversary Half-Circle Camping shawl, and I'm loving it. It has just been flying along. The only "problem" I have is putting it down, which I need to do because my hands are hurting. So I'm trying to limit myself to just two rows, taking a break, and maybe coming back later for another two rows. But look at it!
This is Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn, 75% superwash merino & 25% nylon. It is lovely and soft, and don't those colors make you think of blue sky and piney woods? I am quite taken with the pattern, the yarn, the colors...and I may have a hard time parting with it!
Last night I finally got around to watching the first two episodes of Vikings, dang but Rollo is a good-lookin' dude! And little Beorn! What a cutie. I only started watching this series on TV in the third season, when Beorn is grown -- and still a cutie! But as least as much of a badass as his daddy.
I guess that's to be expected from the shield-maiden's boy.
Well, I have been thinking hard about a halter top for a niece. All the pictures she showed me were of crocheted tops, and I'm pretty sure I can find a pattern (although most seem to be swimsuit tops, very minimal and probably not meeting her Mama's standards), but I don't want to do even that much crochet. So, how to knit one that will provide the required coverage? I have an idea, which would allow me to practice a technique I haven't used much, and also allow me to try something new. I suspect some maths may be involved, but if I can get it working the coverage will not be an issue. Stay tuned for developments.
I had been working on my Kara capelet, after finishing the Allotrope cowl and before finally biting the bullet and deciding on a pattern for the grand nephew's shawl. But once again the Kara has been laid aside. I cast on for the EZ 100th Anniversary Half-Circle Camping shawl, and I'm loving it. It has just been flying along. The only "problem" I have is putting it down, which I need to do because my hands are hurting. So I'm trying to limit myself to just two rows, taking a break, and maybe coming back later for another two rows. But look at it!
Last night I finally got around to watching the first two episodes of Vikings, dang but Rollo is a good-lookin' dude! And little Beorn! What a cutie. I only started watching this series on TV in the third season, when Beorn is grown -- and still a cutie! But as least as much of a badass as his daddy.
I guess that's to be expected from the shield-maiden's boy.
Well, I have been thinking hard about a halter top for a niece. All the pictures she showed me were of crocheted tops, and I'm pretty sure I can find a pattern (although most seem to be swimsuit tops, very minimal and probably not meeting her Mama's standards), but I don't want to do even that much crochet. So, how to knit one that will provide the required coverage? I have an idea, which would allow me to practice a technique I haven't used much, and also allow me to try something new. I suspect some maths may be involved, but if I can get it working the coverage will not be an issue. Stay tuned for developments.
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Happy Thanksgiving!
First off, I have to say I'm thankful I'm still here. No one of us knows when our time is up, but that is something I'm always trying to plan for. And now (drumroll) something really special to be thankful for (really BIG drumroll!) -- DiscoDame has got a job! She's gone in today -- yes, on the holiday; she'll be paid double-time -- for her second day on the job. She rather liked it yesterday, although it was a long day. However, she's not at all sure she can keep up with her online course of study (sad trombone), so may have to shelve that for a while. But goodness, she'll be able to get insurance and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes (and have those programs available to her at need). Well, she has got insurance; I just paid her premium for December. But it would be so wonderful if she'd pay for it out of her money instead of her parents'! And she's taking a step in the right direction, as far as her future independence. I keep telling her that neither Plaidman nor I will be around much longer.
The Plaidman started cooking last night, making us a pumpkin-pecan bread pudding for dessert. He's got a small turkey breast to plop into the slow-cooker. I don't know what else is planned. I'm guessing that peas with pearl onions will show up, along with some sort of potatoes.
I've been working on a poncho, a Drops design called Kara poncho. I actually started it a couple of weeks ago, and had ten rounds done when it became obvious that the thing was twisted on my circular needle. So, it got frogged and now I'm at about 8 rows in, and it looks ok. Not great, just ok. It's the yarn, Roslyn by Cascade. Lovely in the store, very deep red & very tweedy. But it looks like red string with lots of dryer lint stuck to it, when it's pulled out of the skein. And it sheds tweed neps like mad! I'm having trouble envisioning this as my poncho.
The Plaidman started cooking last night, making us a pumpkin-pecan bread pudding for dessert. He's got a small turkey breast to plop into the slow-cooker. I don't know what else is planned. I'm guessing that peas with pearl onions will show up, along with some sort of potatoes.
I've been working on a poncho, a Drops design called Kara poncho. I actually started it a couple of weeks ago, and had ten rounds done when it became obvious that the thing was twisted on my circular needle. So, it got frogged and now I'm at about 8 rows in, and it looks ok. Not great, just ok. It's the yarn, Roslyn by Cascade. Lovely in the store, very deep red & very tweedy. But it looks like red string with lots of dryer lint stuck to it, when it's pulled out of the skein. And it sheds tweed neps like mad! I'm having trouble envisioning this as my poncho.
Shh! Don't tell Plaidman, but I bought a huge bunch of MadTosh yarn from another Raveler. 3 colors of the 80-10-10 worsted, just lovely stuff. I haven't received it yet, should have it on Monday if all goes according to plan. We got refunded some dough from medical bills, I guess insurance kicked in some more on them so I got back part of what I paid. Anyway, I've just spent a bit under half of the refund on this yarn. Hey when I break a yarn moratorium, I really smash it.
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