animals friends

This was on our deck this past fall
Today this little guy was under the bird feeders..

another strange bird strutting on our deck this fall..

Besides the 4 pugs we have other assorted animals. Frequently, eagles fly right past my kitchen window . I am too busy admiring them and not fast enough to get a photo.

I smell the skunks. Woodchucks, moles and chipmunks leave their damage and are seen. MY husband has battled the moles and woodchucks with all sorts of traps, smoke bombs ,etc. Their holes and damage is still happening. All kinds of other birds like cardinals, finches and wood peckers and a few wild turkeys. Deer, birds and squirrels are the most populars animals visiting us lately as my husband has been feeding the birds and the rest have been attracted. I have seen bear close by but only some skat on our property closer by the river. My husband saw a fox and her kits last spring too. Oh yeah a few scary snakes in my garden scared me a few times last year too.

Spring Has Sprung

Mid March Dish Cloth KAL done(needs some blocking) but love the spring colors

Look what is popping up!


Spring has sprung? Lots of snow still hanging around here but the crocuses are emerging! They are a bit protected by the roof over hanging.

To celebrate spring a new blog template has been inserted!

10 pound weight loss

I drove to WW in a snow storm last night. I only have less than a mile to drive..There were about 20 dedicated people there ..I lost less than a pound but hit the 10 pound loss !!! This weight loss is so slow. When I was younger it would come off so much easier. Losing 10 pounds has made a big difference in my clothes and how I feel as a lot of it was around my gut. Now- if I only can get rid of the next 7 ! At Weight Watchers I always knit. I started another mobius yesterday to work on there because the Seduction sock is not mindless knitting,

I am working on my mid month Dish Cloth Kal and it is looking quite pretty. These seem to come in handy for small little gifts. I will post it after it is done..I look forward to these daily instructions and the group postings.This is such a good group for beginners.

Puerto Rico/ blue Seduction Sock

My daughter and I are going to Puerto Ricohttp://welcome.topuertorico.org/index.shtml in 3 weeks! After all the snow this week I so happy to be going to a warm place. This will be a special trip for me. I was an exchange student in college and went to the University of Puerto Rico. What a rewarding and real life educational experience!. I loved the people who treated me so nicely and the beaches! so I will show my daughter the places I used to go to and try to find the building where I lived over 30 years ago. Plus my daughter and I will share quality time together which is so precious to me. I know she will be married soon and eventually will have her own a family so that will make it harder to do these kinds of things together.

After losing a few pounds at WW my summer clothes won't be so tight and maybe even fit. I will start to pack next week and have to think if what knitting projects I will take. Most likely some socks. Maybe I will have figured out the circulars method in Cat Borhdi's book by then. Meanwhile my Blue Seduction Sock ( pattern from Interweave Spring 20007 )has the heel and should be done in a few days. This first one took a while is a bit complicated for me. Yikes- I see it is not even machine washable after all this work .

SocksAnn Budd, Contributing EditorYarn Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction (50% merino, 50% tencel; 400 yd [365 m]/4 oz): blue moonstone, 1 skein.


"

March Snow Storm

The BOY and Peek-a-boo.

snowing outside /my reflection

see those chunks floating


It is really higher than what this picture shows.

Snow Day! No yoga and all the schools are closed again..I love it but I do not have to do the shoveling- the poor boy does...

Started my day off with my mid-month Dish cloth Kal http://monthlydishclothkal.blogspot.com/

The ice on the Delaware in front of my house is breaking up and piles up like an ice mountain or glacier at the eddy or bend in the river where it gets narrow. ( the is why it is called Narrowsburg, Ny on the the other side) These photos do not do it justice.Everyone is stopping as they go over the bridge to look at the site.

Angora/ lambs wool striped scarf

Yikes.... this is a terrible picture with all the yarn dangling and the color way off.
While at the Cat Bordhi retreat I purchased some angora/lambs wool from Shadyside Studio Wools. This wool is so soft and hand dyed in pretty pale colors. It has spots where is is pure white and thick knobby stuff. I do not spin do not sure what you call them. I like them when I hit one of the sections. Once in a while I pick out things that look like rabbit poop or hay . No matter if it is poop- this is my all time favorite yarn ! .

Angora bunny yarn
A 60/40 blend of lambswool and our own german angora in a 2 ply worsted weight knitting yarn. In white, natural grey or buff.
packaged in 2 ounce skeins of 125 yds. each. $15 each...Colored by hand...$18
Order Form

St Patrick's Day

The Yulan St.Patrick's Day parade took place last Sunday. This parade is very different than any parade I have ever attended. I am not a city person but this is definitely a country type of parade with every fire truck and local business in the parade. It was a riot.. I took pictures.

I l ost a pound this week. It is going very slow --but at least I am losing rather than gaining.. Maybe with this spring weather teasing me I will get more energy to get out and walk.

my dad

My father has been such a positive role model. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a dad like mine!
finished another mobius..now maybe I will work on my not mindless knitting Seduction Sock tonight.

Spent most of the day taking my mother to lunch and then to the nursing home. Dad was awake today and even smiled for the picture.

compulsive knitting

http://www.catbordhi.com/


This seems to be a pattern for me. I learn a new knitting skill or pattern and then have to do 10 of them .Remember all the fingerless mitts I did in the fall, then dish cloths and the scarves before that..? As you can see, I have moved on to the mobius ....How many mobius gifts can I give or wear ?


Making mindless mobius scarves are attractive to me because of very little finishing off involved. The main problem I have encountered is getting the correct length. It has to be short or long enough to be doubled - no in between. The gauge thing is still a mystery to me that I have not forced myself to conquer.





My next project is to try making socks on double needles using Cat Bordhi's book

Soaring Socks on Circular Needles. I have ordered the Addi number #2 needles needed from Yarn Market but they are back ordered.

Weight Watchers( But I think I lost more) was missed this week due to visiting my poor father who has been moved into a nursing home again. He needs to use a wheel chair and just sleeps when I visit him. His color is so pale and he hardly talks anymore except to say how awful he feels.That he does not even smile at me or eat the candy I bring breaks my heart. It is so depressing to see him and all the other patients like this and deep inside you realize this could happen to you someday. You fear for your own children that they too will have to see you like this. My mother has told my other siblings that they should come home to visit now because he is doing so poorly.

Mobius retreat photos

making a paper mobius first
Cat and I after she signed my her books for me......

This a group of people that were from Lancaster, Pa (including my sister in the navy sweater far right). I am in the front in pink next to Cat Bordi holding the mermaid .

Cat Bordhi Mobius Retreat (-:

I was wondering if I would ever make it to this retreat..Negative things kept popping up like my poor Dad being so sick and having to move into a rehab section of a nursing facility. My wonderful son helped my mother do that on Friday so I could continue with my plans to go to Maryland for this retreat. Then on Wed my front tooth where I had this very expensive implant put in- fell out! So an emergency visit to the implant specialist had to be made on the way to my sister's house on Thursday. Of course ,the dentist is in New Jersey 2 hours out of the way.

But we made it to the retreat. My sister and I had a special time together swimming, eating, taking knitting classes and socializing with all the other knitters. Cat Bordhi was an absolute hit with everyone! I will post more this week. I made a green mobius this weekend and worked on my Seduction Sock from Interweave- not a go0d project to work on while talking with others so I quickly switched to the mindless knitting of the mobius.
It snowed all weekend and on the way home but it was beautiful and not too slippery. I got home late last night - very tired out from driving home for 7 hours.But, it was all worth it!
Today I had to go visit my mother and take her to see my Dad. This is all very depressing seeing her fall apart mentally as he deteriorates physically.

Knitting in the hospital

My dad is still in the hospital with pneumonia. While he slept most of the day my knitting kept my nervous hands busy. Knitting has added more to my life than I ever expected!
My plans for the Knitting retreat this weekend are still up in the air depending on his status. I am going to pack tonight.

I lost 2 pounds at Weight Watchers yesterday !!!! there were 4 of us knitting away duirng meeting..

Snow !

Baby shower presents for twins are wrapped. The hats look so adorable along with all the other cute baby stuff I found on sale at Marshall's and Babies R US.

2nd mobius practice will be done today!

snow from deck

living room view of snow
Lots of fresh white snow covering the ground this am. I love looking out at it from my windows but the thought of driving in it is not so pretty. This means I can't visit my dad in the hospital and he will be alone all day. So I will just try to relax and finish my new mobius I started last night.

Due to snow covered roads probably no Weight Watchers tonight. I have been very good with eating the correct amount of points and increased activity but the scale is not moving too much. I feel much better so that is positive . I am not giving up!

yarn addiction

After yoga class I darted out to visit my dad in the hospital. It is an hour drive but one of the exits off 17 has a yarn shop. I don't know how I ended up there but my credit card has another 200$ worth of yarn on it! The shop is in Monticello and has soft and different yards. I found these cute ebony sock needles in a case from Lantern Moon, unique sock yarns , and lush hand dyed silk to make 2 mobius scarves. Nothing like yarn shops to make you feel better!

Dad has improved . His fever is gone and he was up and talking today. He is still very weak and frail but on the mend.....

I finished the matching baby blue hat today
It is brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr outside.

Mobius magic...

Mobius practice scarf done !
This is doubled around the pug's neck !

I figured out the mobius cast on. Lion Brand Homespun was used for practice but for the finished one it needs a yarn that drapes more unless you just want something for warmth. I finished it at the hospital and it turned out much longer than it was on those needles. I have to double it around my neck . It curls up so it is thinner than expected. Although I just knit; half of it turns out purled.MAGIC ! Maybe I should try steaming it to get it thicker and to stop the curling?


Dad is not doing so hot. The fever is still there and he is coughing now. I am not going in today due to predicted snow but my sister and mother are with him. Plus, they still have the 24 hour sitter with him which is amazing. Hospitals are frustrating places. Talking to a doctor is almost impossible and the nurses only know so much. I waited all day yesterday till finally at 6pm we caught up with a doctor. He has a strong accent so it was very difficult trying to communicate with my hearing loss -but they basically do not know what is causing it.

Yesterday I finished my Dish cloth Kal. It was a lace pattern and I had to rip a few times. It is good to practice on small projects like this .That is why I am enjoying this KAl so much.

ups came today

A good day with mail deliveries.! Nothing like a few knitting deliveries to cheer you up. My Amazon and Yarn Market purchases both came today. Now, I am ready for the Cat Bordhi Workshop with both the Cat Borhdi books, Addis in size 8 with 60' cable and size 10.5 with 47 ' cable and Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Pea Green.

dad update

good news. My Dad knew me today and was able to get out of bed. They took his restraints off and his fever is down. .. such a feisty old guy. No doctor came in all day so I am not sure of his overall status but he is on the mend.
Bad news. I gained a .5 pounds at WW tonight. It was all that wine and wonderful dinner I had at my knitting teacher's house last night. I am back on track today.
Worked on my sock at Weight Watchers and the hospital today. Finsihed my daily fix of Dish Cloth KAL too which is a nice lace pattern.

My elderly Dad

This is a picture of my dad at my son's wedding this summer.. Yesterday he fell in his bathroom and got hurt badly. I spent the whole day and night in the very wild and busy ER. He has an black eye and broken nose and bruises all over.The worst part is he has a high fever and is not lucid. He won't stay still and wants to get up. I had to hold him down most of the day.Finally, at 10pm they hired a sitter to stay with him.He kept pulling his Iv tubes and wires out . It is so heart breaking to see him that way yelling and out of control.By morning they moved him into the hospital room. SO far things have not changed .Now dealing with my mother is another challenge..

I did take time to bring my knitting when I got the call. My wrist is not quite as bad so a bit of a sock got done. Knitting is therapy!

Cat Bordhi Mobius Retreat (-:

Mobius stripOne entry found for Möbius strip.
Main Entry: Mö·bi·us strip Pronunciation: 'm[oe]-bE-&s-, 'm&(r)-, 'mO-Function: nounEtymology: August F. Möbius died 1868 German mathematician: a one-sided surface that is constructed from a rectangle by holding one end fixed, rotating the opposite end through 180 degrees, and joining it to the first end

March 2nd weekend my sister and I are going to the 2007 Retreat in the Mountains at the Will O 'Wisp Resort in Maryland. I get to knit and be with my sister- priceless!The supplies we will need for the the retreat are interesting.. Cat Bordhi will be teaching so we need one of her books on mobius knitting. I had to order Addi turbos that come in extra long cords ( 42" 0r longer) I am hoping the books arrive soon from Amazon ; I need a jump start on trying to figure out her cast -on method. While searching to find out more about this cast-on method I found out that Knitty Gritty will have an episode with her tomorrow at 4:30. I hope they clearly explain how to make the cast -on. I read the directions at the site -but got lost quickly. You put your slip knot in the middle of the cables and and hold the knot with your right hand.You are using the yarn and needle with your left hand and twisting somehow to cast on.T hat is where I got lost. Hopefully ,if I see it it - It can be figured out before I attend.. Having only knitted for one year ,I feel a bit intimidated at these workshops on top of my hearing loss which makes it even harder .

Knitting is hurting my wrist

My body is betraying me. Just when I discover something to do with my hands- it hurts my bones in my wrist and arm.

It is not just an ache - it is pain radiating up and down my arm. SO I am letting up on my knitting for a few days. This kills me! I have to find some books to read to fill this void.