Snow Day

It's a Snow Day today. What exactly does that mean to two olde retreads and their pets? It means that we don't go for our morning walk because the roads aren't plowed yet. It means that the activity at the bird feeders is on overload. It means that I check in with my BSS [big sister Sal] because she claims to worry about us when we have weather. I think she just wants to gloat.

Yes, Sal would be gloating because when we decided we were no longer going to be SnowBirds, she and her hubby purchased our Florida home. When I checked in this morning they were headed to Nokomis beach for a walk. I feel so sorry for them, they are missing this nice winter wonderland.

Enuf said on that subject.

In my last post I mentioned that I wanted to try a couple of new things on my next pair of toe up socks. I knew that it was the Zimmerman Sewn Cast Off, but I was unsure of the cast on. It's Judy Becker's Magic Cast On as demonstrated by Cat Brodhi on UTube. I'm not sure when I will be getting to that project, but know that I need some more DK or heavier weight wool socks real soon. As I wear my wool socks I wonder how many days everyone gets out of a washing. I always chuck my cloths into the wash when I change out of them. I wear sweaters several times between washing, as I do with sweatshirts too. It's a downright pain to hand wash socks and watch them dry............which in this house can take anywhere from 2 - 4 days unless I manage to hang them over the hot air register. So, is it ten pair, ten days? or twenty days or what?

I'm not doing as well as I would like on the eating plan. I can't stop thinking about food, and then I want some. Too bad there isn't a patch like there is for smoking. Problem is, there is still some junk food around here and the Yankee in me won't just pitch it in the trash. I am trying, I really am. Today so far, breakfast and lunch amounted to 503 calories. It doesn't look like we are going to get to walk today; it's raining now. The calorie counting program that I am using give a credit to daily calorie count for exercise. I'm not doing loops around our lake roads but at least I am out there, that's more than I could say for myself last week. Cheer me on - please.

Knitting, sewing and otherwise crafting are calling my name. When I finish and post this I think I will sit at the sewing machine and finish that little wall piece. It's a seasonal companion to one a friend gave me. Sue is a very talented machine quilter. She is handicapped by the loss of both legs, so spends her days at her machine. She is the only person I know who wears out high end sewing machines! She lives alone, is a snowbird and someone I greatly admire. I'll post a photo of both pieces next time.

I plodding along on the purple sweater. I've got around 13 inches of 16 done to get to the underarm. Then the three sections part ways and the rows will be shorter. And, the back won't have any lace to fuss with.

Sue, mentioned above, lives in Ossipee, NH and is an annual attendee at the Keepsake Quilting Annual Sale. She got me up there one year and wants me back again this year. The same folks who own Keepsake own Patternworks which is right next door, and also has a sale. We take our MH up to Sue's and camp out in her yard. She and I would be up before the crack of dawn and on the road. Himself and the pets could sleep in. What I do know is that there are deals to be had at Keepsake - deals that I probably should not partake of.

It's Been Forever

It's not that I didn't want to blog, it's just that I never seem to get around to it.

For the New Year I am going to try to keep a bit of a diary of what exactly is going on in my life. Here goes

I am really trying to be aware of what I am putting into my mouth. I am also going to make an attempt to spend more time getting off my butt and less time making excuses. Tomorrow I am going to the Y to see about water exercise. It's a bit of a trip to get there; 22 miles one way. That's what comes of wanting to live in the woods. We've always eaten healthy for our meals, it's the trips to the kitchen in between that is taking me down. It wasn't that long ago that I was as skinny as a rail. That was back when I went to work, took care of the family and watched out for my Dad. Now I move from the computer to knitting, to sewing and back again. It's got to STOP. I've got to move. I WILL.

My hand knitting is keeping me content. I find knitting to be very relaxing and I can get lost in it. I am not much for TV, mostly because I cannot seem to claim the clicker and himself and I don't have the same taste in shows. Even so, I can knit and watch at the same time. My problem with knitting, as with all of my hobbies is that I love a challenge, I love to start. I start, and I start, and I start. I've got to learn to finish one thing before I begin another.

I am going to try to keep from starting. I will try not to begin any new hobbies, and I will try to have only one project going in any one hobby at a time.

I am knitting a BlueBell sweater right now. It's a pattern from Webs in Northampton. I had a real problem with the pattern when I started knitting it. Well, it wasn't the pattern, it was operator error! We were in Florida, moving our stuff out of our place there and I was trying to knit to relax. The pattern begins with a lace border along the bottom and up the sides. I plum wore the yarn out, casting on, knitting, unknitting, etc. Now things are going along fine.

My knitting basket has some stuff in it that need to be acknowledged. 1. There is one finished child's mitten and another that is at the thumb gusset. I am using the pattern in the knitter's handy book of Patterns I lost my way and need to rip back and start the thumb gusset over. Golly, it's just a little kids mitten, how long can that take? 2. Then there is the pair of Maine Morning Mitts that I just absolutely had to have in a pink/purple run of Noro. That little project is barely off the ground. I should be able to finish the two mitts in a couple of short days. 3. The next project is for sure going on the back burner. I fell in love with the mittens that grumperina posted about here I bought the pattern by Eunny because she writes such awesome directions. I quickly went out and bought some yarn; I watched the UTube video on tubular cast on; I tried, I really tried. It's not happening. It's going to be a project for another day. 4. There is a pair of socks, worn some, but not comfortable. They were my first attempt at toe up. Will I knit toe up again? Probably yes. There is a cast on that I want to try. Problem is, I need to learn how to cast off so I can get my foot in the darn sock. So, these have to have their tops cut off and cast off again - probably will use the Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn cast-off that is covered in this article in Knitty: Summer 2006. 5. There is a bag that is ready to grab that has needles and baby yarn and patterns for infant and premie hats. That's just an ongoing project. The last one I knit was actually a helmit with ear flaps. It's so cute. That's about it for what's in the knitting basket. OH, there are other projects, but they are packed away on the unheated summer porch. Any discussion of them will be for another day. The day that I come to terms with everything that's out on that porch!

My chunky knitting machine is sitting here in the dining room. I was going to make mittens on it and that project never really got off the ground. I want to get back to it though.

Sewing, yes, there is sewing too. My machine is set up and on the ready. In fact, there is something under the presser foot. I probably have about 15 minutes of quilting to finish and a binding to put on a small seasonal wall piece. Got to get to that before the season is no longer. Other that that, I have lots of projects ready to go, but only one other one that is actually started. I'll cover that on another day too.

I said that I don't do TV. Well tonight I made an appointment to have ownership of the clicker for a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. It's almost time so I'll say goodnight.