Life Snapshot for October 8

Weather in SW Michigan ...
Crisp and beautiful. We almost had first frost last night.

Really? ...
Some tree dripped sap all over my car and now it's covered with bees and ants. Living in the country is so interesting.

I am creating...
Working excusively on the Mondo Pulli. The Dream in Color yarn is so nice to work with that I keep picking it up and ignoring my other projects.

I am reading...
Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam S. McHugh.

I'm only on page 55, but so far there had been many "Oh yes!" moments in my reading.

I am hearing...
Quiet.

Last week I took a walk around the condo complex that's at the top of my probable places to move. It was also very quiet considering how many people live there.

I'm so looking forward to being moved. I am not looking forward to the process of moving.

Outdoors ...
Found this in the driveway this morning.

Wish I could train the hawks to select from the abundant bird breeds instead of the rarer breeds like this Yellow Shafted Flicker.

Something new for me ...
The Lang Proud Rooster 2013 Calendar

Heavy paper, beautiful and colorful roosters. I enjoyed my 2012 so much I had to order the 2013. I hope to hang it in my condo kitchen before 2013 is over.

Report on Sunny
After a month on full strengh prednesone, she's not much better. Twice now I've tried to taper her off the steroid and failed. The vet says to give it another week and maybe another week after that.

The osteoarthritis has spread to her shoulders and neck. It's very difficult to keep her from aggrevating it by curved sleeping and just moving around. Ever try to keep a steroid filled dog quiet?

She has moments of acute pain even with the prednesone. I'm very concerned about her and heartbroken that she has to go through this.

Picture of Sunny from a healthier time.

Giving thanks for ...
The sale of the commercial building in downtown Paw Paw. Closing was last week. Such a relief that I don't own it anymore.

And ...
Equal time for Pappy, my other much loved little dog.

Two Sweaters on the Needles

Last time I blogged about Vitamin D, it had garter stitch edging that was curling up to the point I knew it would never block out flat. It got put into time out for a few weeks until the weather got cool. Then I picked it up, frogged the edging, and replaced it with seed stitch.

The seed stitch lays nice and flat, plus I like the looks of it better than the garter stitch.

Only the remainder of the sleeves are left to be knit. I'm still deciding if I want them three-quarter like the pattern or full length.

One sleeve is knit twelve inches, the other sixteen, so Vitamin D is almost done.

Pattern: Vitamin D by Heidi Kirrmaier

Yarn: Knitpicks Andean Treasure. 100% baby alpaca. Sport weight.

Color: Mystery Heather.

Needles: Options #4.

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 8 rows/inch in stockinette.

In truth, the hesitation over the length of Vitamin D sleeves is only an excuse to cast on the Dream in Color Classy yarn that arrived about a week ago.

This is a quick easy pattern knit top down with no seams. The yarn is pleasant in the fingers and slips easily on and off the needles.

It's possible this will be the first project I have ever knit with no changes and using the yarn shown in the pattern.

Pattern: Chic Knits Mondo Cable Pulli

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy Superwash Merino, heavy worsted weight

Color: Starless Sky

Needles: US #8

Gauge: 4.5 stitches/inch, 6 rows/inch in stockinette.

Snapshot for September 27

Weather in SW Michigan ...
Autumn sweater weather. Some trees have just started to turn into their beautiful fall colors.

Really?
Last Saturday we had hail. The outdoors turned white and we were faced with thinking about the coming winter.

Further west toward Lake Michigan the white stuff was solid on the ground and cars were sliding off I-94 on an almost balmy fall day.

In my yard, the hostas that hadn't been eaten by deer were beaten full of holes.

I am creating...
Finished blessing hat number 7. Now I'm back to working on the Vitamin D sweater. Need to get it done because the yarn for my next three projects has been ordered.

I am procrastinating ...
Putting the mattress back on the bed. It's on the floor because Sunny has been taking drugs for her arthritic back and I didn't want her climbing up and down to and from bed height.

We just started a three week taper of the Prenesolone. I'm watching her very close to make sure she's not in pain, but it's difficult to tell. She's doing a lot of pacing this afternoon and I have to wonder if she's OK.

I also have some arthritis and climbing on and off a mattress on the floor is something I will willingly do for only a few special loved ones. I'm ready to put the bed back together as soon as I think it's safe for Sunny.

I am reading...
The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards, a pleasant, slow moving book about a secret family past and current family members with relationship challenges.

I have the audiobook and am using it for knitting noise. It's perfect for that.

I am hearing...
The guys on WKZO Radio as they talk about maybe finding Jimmy Hoffa under a Roseville driveway. He went missing 37 years ago. Bet my granddaughter doesn't even know who Jimmy Hoffa was. Maybe my children don't know.

Surprised that this made the news. Surprised that the FBI still cares. Will be even more surprised if they actually find him.

Outdoors ...
Sedum plants are amazing. I love them because they can thrive in my poor, sandy soil without watering, even in extreme heat and/or drought. They just proved themselves hail-proof as well.

Something new for me ...
Just bought Chic Knits Mondo Cable Pulli pattern and have some bright blue Dream in Color Classy coming to knit it. For several years now I've been reading about the joys of knitting with Dream in Color yarn, so I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

Giving thanks for ...
The lazy, relaxing, fun time I had last week with Granddaughter Kimmy.

Little Shell Ribbing Stitch Pattern

Judy S. asked for the stitch pattern on one of the baby hats I knit for Haiti, so here it is.

The base is a multiple of eight stitches with k7,p1 ribbing.

I have knit socks with this stitch pattern and they turned out stretchy and very pretty with the finer gauge. See them here.

Multiple of 8 stitches, 4 rows.
Knit in the round.

Row 1: k7, p
Row 2: k7, p
Row 3: k, YO, p, p3tog, p, YO, k, p
Row 4: k7, p

Snapshot for September 16

Weather in SW Michigan ...
Beautiful beginning of autumn weather. 70s in the daytime, 50s at night. Just a hint of fall color and plenty of goldenrod.

Really? ...
Yes, really. You will see nothing to do with politics on this blog.

I am creating...
Blessing (because it's for someone I don't know) hat number 6 over a canister.

Note to self: Find better way to photo hats.

I am procrastinating ...
Working on my more challenging knitting projects because I'm very stiff from an osteoporosis treatment I'm trying. Prolia. So far there's no pain, which makes it superior to other osteoporosis meds I've taken.

I am reading...
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

Only a few chapters into it. So far Susan, an introvert herself, goes to places where people are judged by their extroversion. She interviews the introverts she finds there about how they're coping. I can identify.

I am hearing...
Quiet. Both dogs are sleeping.

Outdoors ...
The fall wildflowers are thick in the back three acres.

A few plans for the next few days
Granddaughter Kimmy is going to come spend some time with me next week. She's going to teach me how to do some important things like play Angry Birds on my new smart phone and edit wrinkles out of my face in pictures.

Giving thanks for ...
Sunny is probably going to get better. Her spondylosis of the spine has advanced to her upper spine/neck region and Monday she was in acute pain. She had a steroid IV and a morphine type shot which was supposed to knock her out, but didn't. She's been on prednesolone and pain pills all week. Tuesday we start to taper off but she'll be on some prednesolone for the next three weeks.

I know the day will come when the vet looks at Sunny's x-ray and says she can't be fixed. This time is probably not that time, and I am thankful.

And ...
This moth was in plain sight on the door this morning and is still there this afternoon. That tells me the phoebes have left on their migration.

In the summer, they start the day with a breakfast of insects the porch light attracted over the night. And they especially like a nice, plump moth.

Snapshot for September 7

Weather in SW Michigan ...
It's going to be a cool weekend with highs in the low 70s.

WKZO, a local radio station has been keeping track of our super hot summer. The count so far:

30 days with high 85 to 89
32 days with high in the 90s
5 days with high in the 100s

We're probably done with the 100s, maybe we're done with the 90s, but there will be more 80s as soon as next week. 80s don't even feel hot anymore.

Really? ...
When I called my insurance agent to let her know the building in Paw Paw was unused and empty, I expected a reduction in my insurance rate.

Nope. Empty, unused buildings cost more to insure. Oops.

Something from the kitchen ...
It's not easy to find a 100 calorie, delicious, satisfying snack. Healthy Choice Greek Frozen Yogurt qualifies on all three counts.

In my grocery store, they're found with the Healthy Choice frozen dinners which I don't find to be delicious or satisfying.

I am creating...
Another blessing hat knit to warm someone's head this winter. It needs and will get a good blocking for its pretty lace to shine.

The pattern is Falling Water Slouchy Hat by Rose Beck. Free pattern.

I am procrastinating ...
Having the septic system pumped, having the furnace serviced, having the noise the water pump is making checked out.

I am reading...
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get More of It

Actually I'm reading it through the second time and this time I'm doing the exercises.

This is the best non-fiction book I've read in years. It has five out of five stars on Amazon. It's well written and easy to understand. I promise you'll learn something about how your thoughts are managing you no matter how well you think you understand yourself.

Outdoors ...
It's goldenrod/ragweed/allergy season.

Giving thanks for ...
Twenty-one years living in this beautiful place.

And ...
Baby hat number seven for Haiti. The lady who is assembling the baby packets has plenty of hats now, so I'm going back to knitting blessing hats for local charities.

Maybe baby hats will be part of the collection. They are quick and fun to knit.

Testing a Post From My Droid

I'm loving my smart phone. Why did I wait so long to get one?

Test picture, my lunch from yesterday.

Real post coming later today from my laptop.

Snapshot For August 25

Weather in SW Michigan ...
Beautiful! The past week has been perfect. Sunny, not too hot, cooler in the evening. What a shame summer is almost over. I'm greedy and would like more.

Really? ...
I have no more use for phone jacks in my house. Everything is 4G wireless now.

Something from the kitchen ...
I bought BBQ ribs from the deli at Meijer's. Cut them in half and had them with rice and brocoli two nights in a row. They were excellent.

I am creating...
Baby hats for Haiti. Here are numbers four, five, and six.

No more plain ribbing. Doing a stitch pattern is much more fun.

I am procrastinating ...
When I write something under this header, I'm finding that it gets done soon after. So do I want to write that I'm procrastinating finishing the decluttering and cleaning of the basement?

I am reading...
Just finished listening to Wicked Game by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush. It is from the library. The blurb on the back sounded like it was going to be a good book, but it was mediocre at best.

I'm not looking for more by the same author.

I am hearing...
The fan is going. Otherwise it's very quiet around here. Nice.

Outdoors ...
I must have thrown some phlox parts in a garden waste pile on the back three acres. They're looking healthy and beautiful. The phlox in my garden look spindly and brown with hardly any blooms.

The lesson: Composting is magic.

A few plans for the next few days
Church tomorrow. If there's an openhouse in a condo community I'm watching, I'll go look around. I'm not ready to move yet, but when the time is right I want to be informed.

Giving thanks for ...
A renewed interest in life.

And ...
This 1970 picture is daughter Heather wearing a dress, pants, and socks knit by Alwina Kern, my maternal grandmother.

I might even find this outfit packed away when I dig back into the basement stuff.

Vitamin D Needs Some Frogging

After row upon row of stockinette, I finally got to the bottom of the body of Vitamin D. The pattern finishes off the bottom edge with six rows of garter stitch on 362 stitches, which I did.

And the bottom curls. It's a seriously strong curl. It's an I don't think this is going to block out curl.

The plan is to frog the garter stitch, pick up 362 stitches and knit five rows of seed stitch. I hope that solves the problem.

Pattern: Vitamin D by Heidi Kirrmaier

Yarn: Knitpicks Andean Treasure. 100% baby alpaca. Sport weight.

Color: Mystery Heather.

Needles: Options #4.

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 8 rows/inch in stockinette.

I'm also knitting little hats for an October delivery to Haiti. Just got a call today saying more baby things have been donated so more babies can be dressed and asking if my friend Sherry and I could knit nine more. Sure.

Fog, Phone, and Flowers

A few days ago we had a foggy morning. I noticed that the blue heron who hunts in the pond was sleeping under the willow branches. When it was hazy daylight, I took a few pictures of it as it started its morning hunt for breakfast.

When I traded in my Frontier landline for a Verizon Home Connect 4G home phone (same phone number), I also signed up for a 4G wi-fi connection. There is no more Frontier (non)Communications in my home.

To celebrate, I bought a Android cell phone. Setting it up and learning how to use it has taken most of my spare time this week but it's been fun. Already I don't know how I got along without it.

Do you have any favorite Android apps to recommend?

Brother Dave sent me this eye candy from his garden. He lives in drought free Oregon.

Snapshot for August 11

Weather in SW Michigan ...
After several months of super hot weather, SW Michigan is in the low 60s this morning.

This little phoebe is all fluffed up trying to adjust to the temperature change and I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.

Really? ...
Yesterday I tried to change internists to move to a practice that's more convenient for me and is affiliated with the hospital I prefer. The entire practice was booked for physicals through August of 2013. They told me to make up my mind and call soon if I wanted an appointment for September of 2013.

Something from the kitchen ...
For an afternoon treat I've been cutting up a nectarine and stirring it into a cup of Dannon blueberry Greek yogurt. Delicious. And it helps me avoid eating something less healthy.

I am creating...
A friend from church is assembling newborn baby packets for the Thedes in Haiti. One of the requested items is a hat, so I got some baby yarn and knit a sample to see if it's acceptable.

The hat is knit in a 2x2 ribbing pattern which easily expands to fit a baby head and has enough elasticity that it doesn't fall off. When not on a baby head, the hat looks a little narrow, but it's really OK and very practical.

I am procrastinating ...
Cutting down the willows growing along the edge of the pond. I'm not sure I'm physically able to handle the job and I don't want to pay someone to do it.

It may be a job left for the next owner of this property.

I am reading...
I'm listening to Danielle Steel's Legacy on CD from the library. It's a predictable tale of a modern woman finding an Indian chief's daughter in her ancestry. Perfect knitting background for a moderately challenging pattern like the Vitamin D I'm knitting. Not fast paced enough to relieve the monotony of a simple, 2x2 rib mindless baby hat.

I am hearing...
Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), an album recorded in 2007 by the Terence Blanchard Quintet.

In 2008, it won a Grammy Award for "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album," and it gets my vote for one of the best CDs of all time. Every cut in it speaks to my soul. And the trumpet playing is double awesome. That coming from someone, me, who rarely uses a single awesome.

Outdoors ...
The Rose of Sharon bushes are blooming. They have a long tap root so they happily thrived and multiplied in the drought while other bushes turned brown and withered away.

Something new for me ...
After six months of a Frontier landline that only worked 70% of the time, I'm replacing my landline with Verizon Home Connect which hooks my landline phone into a 4G connection. It has all the same capabilities as a working landline, free long distance in the US and various islands, and I get to keep my same landline phone number.

(Note for the people who call me: My phone number hasn't ported to Verizon yet, so you still may not be able to get through to me. Call my cell phone.)

Home Connect is better than the landline, it costs less than the landline, and all I have to do when I move is unplug it from the electrical outlet and plug it in at my new home.

I asked if I could keep my Mattawan number after I move to Kalamazoo. They told me I could get a new Kalamazoo number for $15, but most people are just keeping their same numbers when they move and even area codes aren't linked to a geographic area anymore.

Giving thanks for ...
The love of God and the comfort of my faith.

And ...
Sunny likes to guard the kitchen from her favorite chair.

Progress on Vitamin D

I've been knitting on Vitamin D (the weird name of this sweater pattern) and making good progress.

There was an option to knit the sleeves in the round or knit them flat and sew the seam. My preference is to knit sleeves in the round. I knit these sleeves flat. My gauge for flat knitting is looser than my gauge for knitting in the round, and I'm guessing the difference would show in this stockinette and/or the sleeve would be too tight.

Each sleeve was knit with one skein of yarn and then put on hold. I'll finish the entire rest of the sweater before I finish knitting them. That way I can try the sweater on and get the sleeves just the length I like.

Pattern: Vitamin D by Heidi Kirrmaier

Yarn: Knitpicks Andean Treasure. 100% baby alpaca. Sport weight.

Color: Mystery Heather.

Needles: Options #4.

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 8 rows/inch in stockinette.

A Hat and Two Blobs

Blessing hat #5 is finished.

I know we knitters call this charity knitting, but I don't like to think of it that way. I'm praying that someone loves this hat and it's a blessing for them to receive it.

Anna Marie, the doily, is on row 38 of 62.

I'm in the process of getting 272 stitches knit onto one needle, so I couldn't get Anna flatter than this. Trust me, she's looking good.

She's lace. She's going to be difficult to show from now to finish unless I put her on multiple needles again so I can spread her out.

Between the 100% cotton yarn and the complex pattern to follow, she's going slow. Plus I take time to count stitches after each quarter round. Better to be super careful than to have to try and frog this slippery yarn.

This week I've just been knitting on Vitamin D. Last night I finished the last super long row of left front, left sleeve, back, right sleeve, right front. There are 386 stitches on the needle, resulting in a blob.

Tonight I hope to get it split into parts and start knitting on the left sleeve. That should result in a better picture next time. Or maybe not. Fuzzy gray yarn isn't the most photogenic.