Monday, March 23, 2009

Blooms and bloopers





Today I awoke to this! It's a full 6 and a half inches across and my photography doesn't do it justice.





Two plants have dropped buds, I'm guessing it's because immediately after moving them to our screened patio, which is also wrapped in plastic for their protection, we had a couple of nights of low 30's temperatures. At least one more plant will bloom in the next couple of weeks as it has 10 buds on it and each day the buds are a little fuller. Of course I'll be posting pics when it blooms. By the sizes of the buds it will bloom over a few days as some are quite small and appeared later than those that are looking more robust.




Knitting . . . I'm knitting socks, but I made a boo boo . . . I neglected to keep track of where I was supposed to start the gusset, so I took the needles out to go back a few rows, and it's going to be a bear getting the needles back in without dropping a stitch. I think it will get done in the patio where the light is really good on sunny days. What was that someone said about lifelines? I sure wish I'd done one! The socks are going to be gorgeous when finished . . . and they will be finished. I'm using Wildfoote yarn on size 2 needles, doing 2 socks on 2 circulars, toe up. See . . .

I really like working with this yarn and I'm sure I'll like wearing it just as well. I'm already deciding what yarn to use for my next pair, and if I'll make them top down or toe up.
I'm awfully glad I've got a good stash of yarn, and am surprised at how fun it is to go through it and remember the fun days of travel and buying in different stores in different cities.

There is a new scarf pattern here on the Scarves From The Heart website called Steps. Just scroll down past the pattern links to the first pattern. You're welcome to use it for personal use or charity. You may link to it, but please don't print the pattern anywhere without permission, or make items to sell from the pattern. It's done in a dk weight yarn, and almost looks like cables done on the diagonal. It's a really easy pattern.
I'm still trying to decide which scarf to start next. I think I want something quick and easy, but I also want color after working on this gray. Maybe I should just pull out one I already have in progress. Hey, that's a thought! LOL. There's a yellow one that would be cheery.
Here's wishing you all a spring with beautiful blooms and yarns just as lovely.







posted by Shelly @ 7:02 PM 1 comments

Monday, March 02, 2009

When It Raints It Pours . . .

It really has been raining a lot here, but I was speaking figuratively. Last Thursday night we were watching the 11 o'clock news when the power went out. It came back on momentarily and back out again. After 10 minutes of sitting in the dark we decided to head for bed. Most of my friends know I'm a night owl and 11:30 is not bedtime for me. I tossed and turned until after 1 a.m. and was just starting to drift off when the power came back on about 1:30. I decided to get up and shut off the lights and the stereo which comes on every time there is a power outage . . . hey, at least it says goodbye on the lcd display when it goes off. After a quick snack of Yoplait's new Cherry Cobbler Thick and Creamy yogurt I headed back to bed.

Friday morning hubby got up at his usual early hour and turned on the t.v. to his normal morning program, then grabbed the newspaper and sat down at the kitchen table to check out the local news. Suddenly he heard a loud POP. It was the bulb in the t.v. We've known for a long while that it was going to go out, so long in fact that we got tired of seeing the warning and shut it off. We got so comfortable with it that we didn't call the warranty service to send another bulb. Then to multiply the issue, he didn't call then, he waited for me to get out of bed and fully awake. Again, my friends know me . . . that's often noon or later due to my poor sleep habits. Well . . . by time I called and talked to someone in New York it was 4:30 in the afternoon there which meant the new bulb wasn't going to even be shipped that day . . . and probably not until Monday.

"When can we expect it?"
"5 to 7 business days"
"Is there a way you can overnight it?" (that's me in a very pleading voice!)
"No, I'm sorry, that's not a service we offer."
Deep sigh . . . yes, that was me too!

But, back to that morning. After finding that the t.v. was out, he headed for the bathroom to shave and discovered water on the floor. At first noticing a dark puddle by the wastebasket he thought one of the cats had piddled on the floor, but realizing our cats don't have accidents in the house he decided to explore it further and realized there was water in front of the sink. Further checking revealed that the U-trap pipe was wet, and upon closer examination found it had a pin-head size hole. So off to his favorite toy store, Home Depot, to get a new trap. And home again, only to find out that it didn't fit. So off to the local small Ace hardware store that has lots of stuff for older homes . . . of which ours is one. And home again, this time with the right part. After the chore of getting the floor cleaned up . . . and yes, ladies, it did it all himself . . . he got down on the floor with his head under the sink and fixed it. It's not the kind of thing he enjoys doing, but nearly every chore he does, he does well.

Once the sink was fixed he would normally have sat down to watch t.v. - it's what he does. I have to tell you, that my husband without a t.v. is like a drunk without his bottle. If he ever has to do a 12 step program it won't be for drinking, drugs or gambling, it will be for getting of t.v. It's not a pretty picture I assure you. We do have a back up, of course it's about half the size of the t.v. in our living room, but it's actually newer. I bought him a really nice t.v. for his shop for father's day 2008. So after 24 hours of no t.v. in the house he broke down and brought in the new t.v. from the shop. It's sitting on a small table in front of the other one. So, it means we didn't have to miss the Amazing Race or Jesse Stone on Sunday, or the final of the Bachelor tonight. Or American Idol, or Survivor. Can you tell we're a t.v. family.

Knitting . . . just a little. A few rows on a scarf, a start on a dishcloth and that's about all. The shoulder is still giving me fits. Good days and bad . . . it's seems to depend a lot on whether or not I roll over onto that shoulder any amount during the night. I'm a tosser and turner in bed and my left side is my favorite sleep position so that's a problem.

Today I found a set of canisters, and a matching utensil jar, at a thrift store that I really like and used them to store my knitting needles. I'm really happy with them.
I've been looking for a solution, and this is a just about perfect one. Photos to come.


posted by Shelly @ 9:09 PM 1 comments