Maybe The Cutest Baby Hat To Date

I finished up the Snowberry Leaf Hat last night and I have to say that I think it's the cutest thing I've made in a long time.  There's a lot of hat rolled up in that brim so it'll fit little Baby Malcolm for a long time.  (One of Mom's high school friend's mom wasn't named when she was born, everyone just called her Baby, she chose her name "Helen" when she was six.  Mom thought it was hilarious when as a teen she helped with a card party or bridal shower and all the aged aunts called the 45-year-old Helen "Baby" the whole time.  I am confident that DS & DIL1 won't be doing that to our baby [which can arrive anytime, just saying])  I took the other hat, the one I'm making with the remaining yarn from making its sweater, to the Christmas concert we went to last night and got 3/4 of the way up only to find that I was running out of yarn.  Drat.  So when we got home I pulled out the creamy white left after the Snowberry hat and I'm finishing with that.  It'll be an at-home hat but DIL1's talking about having hats for the babe to wear indoors because it's winter.  Makes sense to me.  (I have to confess that I've got a couple more hat patterns in my queue, non-standard ones too, this baby knitting's fun.)  The concert was good Christmas fun.  It's the annual Baylanders chorus concert with Lutheran bellringers and the Sweet Adelines, it's in a big Catholic church and it's free for a food donation or a little cash.  We try to go every year.  I personally sing along under my breath, I don't know about anybody else, although I did see a guy a few pews down conducting the chorus on one song.

When I walked into DS & DIL1's backyard yesterday all of the chickens were in the chicken house, but when I unlatched the door to the coop they paraded out in a row in pecking order.  I wasn't quite fast enough with my camera but I think you get the idea.  Porter and I had an abbreviated walk yesterday partly because the trail was snowy and I wore the wrong shoes, partly because it was cold and windy there by the river, and partly because she balked at the north end of Sunset Park so rather than working to tempt her onward I just turned around. I took a video of how much fun she was having running in the snow, you can hear me puffing along (hey, it was cold and I was hurrying to keep up with her so she didn't fling herself into a heap at the end of her leash) but it was fun.  I'll post it on FB later so you can watch if you want since I can't for the life of me figure out how to imbed one here.  As I suspected she was completely thrown by having to get into the wrong side of the car.  When I picked her up it wasn't bad, she tugged to go around but I insisted so she jumped in, she loves to go walking.  She didn't seem to understand that it was the same place, she turned around and around and looked at me as if to say "okay, how do I work this thing?" but by the time we'd gone a block she was sitting happily.  Getting her back into there was another story.  She first tugged to go around, then she'd look at the seat then at me, she put her front paws on the seat, backed up, turned around, tugged again, but I stood firm (because the other door was stuck, turns out it was frozen) and eventually she jumped in.

I stopped at Dell's on my way home from our walk to have them look at my rear driver's door and there was nothing wrong with it.  John gallantly said that my squirt of silicone on Thursday "must have fixed it."  I think it needed to be in the warm for 5 minutes and to have a mechanic's menacing greasy hands give it a talking to.  Whatever the case it's working now, but then it isn't -6 degrees anymore either, it's a balmy 22--and snowing.  When I opened the curtains this

morning this squirrel was out there digging for seeds and it amused me to see how the snow was building up on its fur.  I just noticed that the young single guy across the street's out shoveling his driveway with his 3 darling tiny children (2 mothers, 1 an ex-wife).  I took a couple pictures because it was so cute to see those tiny people just shoveling away, although the tiniest one was mostly leaning on his.  (I bet he'll grow up to be a highway worker)  I'll offer to email the neighbor copies if he's interested. 

December 14--Lewis Hine, Steamfitter.  That last bolt did it.  The door was sealed and no one would open it again.  Dale screwed a plaque onto the door warning that it needed to stay shut for one hundred years.  A hundred years might be long enough for memories to die out, for the consequences not to matter.  At least he hoped so.  He didn't want to live through another year like the last one, he'd had enough of cries in the night, bad dreams, and people with a crazy gleam in their eyes.

I can't decide what he's walling up--a toxin, a photograph, a person, a mirror?  Dun-dun-dunnnnn.  Haven't got a clue.  Durwood's made me a 3-store shopping list for today so I'd better get a wriggle on.  There'll be shoveling too, I'm sure.  Most important may be making party mix since I'll be acquiring the remaining 2 ingredients, ooh, better get some Worcestershire sauce to make sure we have enough.  Good thinking, Babbums.  Toodle-oo.
--Barbara

So Trite And Yet So Pretty

I looked out yesterday while eating my yogurt to see a cardinal sitting plumply in the bare apple tree.  How could I resist taking a picture?  Then I heard the raucous call of a bluejay and one swooped down to investigate my peanut wreath.  I watched as it came back again and again, finally bringing a pal.  Yay!  Durwood was disappointed that he hadn't seen one on there yet but I had faith and yesterday my faith was fulfilled.  Ah.

One of my most favorite customers (and people) came to see me at work yesterday just to visit and say Merry Christmas.  PJ's a near-expert on shipwrecks in this area and always has fascinating stores to tell.  Yesterday he told me about his uncle who was in Peking in the late 1930s and some of his adventures in the military during that time, I could listen to PJs stories for hours.  He was followed by one of my least favorite customers (and his marginally bearable wife).  This guy whines and complains about everything and everybody (except Eileen, he loves Eileen, but who doesn't) and it's all I can do not to smack him upside the head and tell him to "get with it."  Now he's going on about a regulator (a breathe-y thing) that he bought in 1972 being discontinued; he wants the company to give him another one because it has a lifetime warranty.  The company will give him a price on a replacement but corporations and the economy have changed since 1972 and he needs to grow up, get realistic, whatever, just get out of my face.  After all of that I didn't put one thin dime into the till, so I put up with him for nothing.

But my chili was a big hit at the BLKG meeting.  I told them that I'd made it because I was cold when I was thinking about what to make.  They think I'm hilarious but there was maybe a full serving left to take home, so hilarious but also smart.  There were some excellent pasta salads, a mini salad bar, deviled eggs (yum!), and yummy desserts.  I got some advice on how to resize my giant cardi and I lovelovelove my swap washcloth.  Look at the colors!  Turquoise and lime green--what's not to love?  I also didn't need to donate a cloth to anyone as all had brought one.  I didn't take one picture though, I was too busy having fun.

The only hitch in yesterday (aside from the grump and no paying customers) was that the rear door on the driver's side of my car decided not to open again after I'd put all my crap in, so I had to unload from the other side and, let me tell you, that's a royal pain when you've got as much to unload as I did and you're used to using that door.  Guess I'll be stopping at Dell's after I walk Porter.  Speaking of which I need to hustle my buns.

December 13--China, Ensemble.  She wore him in a harness on her back like a schoolchild carries books.  All through the days he rode there, babbling or napping, as she walked to the market for food or to the river to wash clothes or to the well for water.  At times she mused that she had merely moved him from her front to her back, that he had been easier to care for before he was born but now her back hurt less.  It was hard to keep him out of the sun as he pulled off his hat but it made her laugh when it sailed past her when he threw it.

I was tired so I quit and now it's time to me to sign off and brave the not-as-cold to give peels to the chickens and take Porter for a walk.  Enjoy your day!
--Barbara

Man, I've Got The Slows Today

Here it is 8 o'clock and I'm just getting around to blogging AND it's a work day so that means I have to hoist my heinie into some presentable duds PDQ and get out there with a smile pasted on my puss.  In my defense I was organizing my chili makings so I didn't forget anything, then I had to go downstairs to find a holiday headband to wear at the party tonight and while I was deciding which one to take I decided to take ALL the Santa hats etc. in case someone forgets (they always do) (also I think I'll wear the red and white sequined tie that's down there too which requires a wardrobe change) and carried up a too-small bag to put them all in so I had to go back downstairs for a bigger bag (plus some tea for Durwood) but I also ran across the garland I like to put around the dinette lamp and brought that up but then I had to dust that lamp even though I won't be putting the garland on until tomorrow since I don't have time to do it now; then when I sat down here I realized that my printer hadn't turned on so I had to crawl around unplugging and replugging it to see if that helped (it did), of course I got distracted by some emails that I had to read (but not respond to [except for one to Lala] until later if at all) because my Outlook account tab is on top and so here I am.  *pant, pant*  Oh and I sewed the ends of an arm-knitted cowl together when I was first up but I'm not thrilled with it so I might frog it later.  Like "over the weekend" later, not later today, today's already full and it's barely begun.

I had one couple "just looking" in the store yesterday just as I heated up my lunch soup (of course) and one woman, the mom of one of DS's high school band mates, in to buy a gift certificate, and JJ, a friend and Instructor, came in after he got off work for me to get on the state unemployment website (he's pretty much computer illiterate so I do his online stuff for him) and set up his direct deposit since he was laid off Thanksgiving week and doesn't want a debit card which is what they send if you don't get organized.  He works building and installing signs so he's laid off off and on in winter when it's impossible or dangerous to work outdoors.  (I just wanted you to know that he's not a schlub who gets laid off because he's a slacker.)  In between those pesky interruptions I made a spare dishcloth (in came someone comes without one; sue me, I'm a caretaker) and watched the episode of Person of Interest when Carter gets killed.  How could they kill her off?  All the other women on the show are nuts, they needed Carter to show that women are strong and powerful and smart, not all psychopaths.  Tsk.  They should have called me before they did something so rash.

December 12--South Netherlands, The Unicorn is Found.  "I love this tapestry," said Mae.  "I especially like the guy on the left holding the dog's leash and pointing at the unicorn, as if anyone could miss it."  She really did like it, she had since the first time she saw it as a child.  The young Mae made up stories all about the groups of men, what they were saying to each other and all the animals.  When she was ten she made a list of all the creatures woven into the tapestry.  Some she had to guess at because they didn't look like any animals she'd ever seen.  By the time she was fifteen she had a notebook filled with stories, plays, and lists all about the Unicorn Tapestries.  Her cousin Laura was right, she was a nerd.

I'm sorry to say that the temperature only got down to -6 last night, two degrees higher than the record low.  Tsk, just our bad luck, so close but no cigar.  We can try again, it isn't even officially winter yet, not for a whole week yet.  Ye gods, I think we might be screwed this winter.  I should look to see what the Farmer's Almanac has to say.  Time to zoom.  Later, dudes and dudettes.
--Barbara

It's Not A Sock, It's A Swatch

That's what I'm telling myself anyway.  I reread The Yarn Harlot's book, Knitting Rules!, a couple weeks ago and she went on and on (and on) about the need to swatch even though most swatches are dirty, rotten liars (she said that, not me), then I put on the Khaki Cardi that has a part-time job as a Smart Car cozy and I see her point.  I am such a product knitter that I hate the thought of "wasting" that knitting by just using it to measure my gauge and then taking it out.  (a product knitter wants the object of knitting, a process knitter likes the knitting more than the outcome)  Pretty soon now I'll be trying this cuff and sock top on to see if increasing the stitch count while decreasing the diameter of the needles and yarn works out to be a sock rather than just a tube of knitting, but I'm hoping against hope that this is a sock and not a swatch after all, since I've got 11 rounds of ribbing and 11 rounds of pattern that I'd really hate turning back into a tangle of yarn that's not going anywhere.  This is my first foray into a sock for a grownup woman with size 10 feet with teeny tiny sock yarn and US 2 needles so I'm kind of knitting blind (since I'm determined to use a pattern written for fingering yarn which is twice the size as the thread-like stuff you see here, but it's so pretty [thanks to DD who gifted it to me] and it's name is Fiddlehead).

It's really dark when I get up in the morning these days.  I really liked the way the front yard looked when I reached out for the newspaper today so here you go.  It's damned cold today too. Ball-shrinking cold (if I had any).  Speaking of... have you ever seen the quote from Betty White about balls?  Click here and read it for yourself.  I love her.  Anyway, you'd better bet I'll be dressing in layers and layers--of wool when I can.  Toe warmer packs too.  Brrr.

Tomorrow night's the December holiday potluck party at Bay Lakes Knitting Guild and I was wracking my brain to think of what I can take to share that doesn't need cooking since I go right from work.  I threw out the wish that I could take something hot since it's so cold and Durwood reminded me that we've got a smaller crockpot so I hurried to Walmart after supper (in the relative warmth of 9 degrees F and not much wind) for ingredients.  I'll put it all together tonight after work and then take the crockpot and zipper bag of cold chili parts to work with me tomorrow and let it simmer all day.  He said he thinks everyone who comes in will want some; I wonder if anyone will come in to want some.  I have a package of Styrofoam cups that we can use as bowls because I can't make enough chili for 40 or even 20 people if each has a bowl but I can make enough chili for that many people to have a warming few ounces.  I got oyster crackers too; what's chili without those little crunchy rounds?

December 11--Iran, Dagger (Khanjar) with Scabbard.  It looked too pretty to be a murder weapon but only the hilt stuck out of the dead guy's chest.  Simon clenched his teeth to keep from losing his lunch in the weeds like the rookie patrolman who had been first on the scene.  Simon knew he didn't have enough dignity or time on the job to sacrifice some by puking over some corpse.  The flashes of the crime scene tech's strobe made it seem like the body was pulsating and he couldn't be sure that he hadn't seen the guy's hand twitch.  "Did somebody double check that this guy has no pulse?" he said to no one in particular.  "Yes," came the exasperated chorus of voices.  Guess he'd asked the same question too many times before.  One of his recurring nightmares, there were many, was of a stiff coming to life and fighting its way out of the body bag. 

Well, the sun's finally up--almost 2 hours after my first alarm clock buzzed.  This time of year is hard.  I'm holding on until December 21 (only 10 more days) which is the shortest day of the year, then the days will start getting longer every so slowly.  Getting longer is better, trust me.  Time for food, shower, and layering warm clothes.  Bundle up! 
--Barbara

Evidently It's Never Too Cold To Snow

The lady at Office Depot and I were both wrong on Sunday when it was 6 degrees and snowed all day, and this morning it's 9 degrees and it's snowing too.  Well, not snowing snowing, more flurrying, but still flakes are falling and covering things with a light dusting.  Arrrgh.  Naturally today's a day that Durwood and I have a crapload of things that need doing, appointments and such, so we'll be out and about in the cold and snowy.  Goodie.

I got the nursery curtains delivered and DS helped put them up, they look nice.  Whew.  DIL1 loved the hats and, like I said, I've got 2 more on the go.  It's hard to stop, I keep having ideas and the yarn's here so, boop, a hat!

I had 2 customers yesterday, one on the phone and the other one in the store in the afternoon.The afternoon one is a divemaster and long-time habitue of the dive shop, he said that he knew I hadn't had customers because the snow was drifted against the door.  Hmm.  Maybe I should have shoveled every hour or so... oh well, it was too cold and windy out and I was warm-ish and busy knitting.  I stopped on the way home to fill up with gas and nearly froze solid, then there was a drift across the driveway I had to shovel before I pulled in.  I'm a saint.  A brick.  A treasure.  (Durwood thinks so too.)

December 10--Amedeo Modigliani, Juan Gris.  John looked stunned, like whatever ended his life had been sudden and surprising.  He sat in the shade on Miller's porch as if he'd been invited but neither Mary nor Gus Miller had ever met him and none of their three kids knew him either.  He hadn't been there when Stevie Rawlings delivered the paper just after sunup or when Mary went out to water the red geraniums in the pots on the steps, but by the time Art the plumber arrived to install the new water heater John was sitting there dead, just plain dead.  Not shot or stabbed or hacked or strangled but plain, old, natural causes dead or so it seemed.  Of course an autopsy might have something different to say about that.

Time to get ready to errand.  I need time to bundle up and warm up the van so Durwood can breathe in it.  Seeyabye.
--Barbara

Not Just A Light Dusting

Now it's just snow.  Snow that I have to SHOVEL because the %$#^& snowblower wasn't fixed after all and didn't get "back to you in a day" like the guy promised.  Grr.  Good thing Durwood bought a scoop shovel years ago that glides along the pavement, slides over any pile at the side, and just gets tipped up to empty it.  It's much easier on me than lift-and-carry shoveling.  Much.  He will be calling the fixit guy today, you'd better betcha.

I got the nursery curtain panels completed yesterday and I'll deliver them (along with the latest knitted hats) after work today.  I used just about every inch of the fabric and lining; I hope they're how DIL1 imagined they'd be.  I remember those days of intense "nesting" before each of the kids was born so I want my contribution to be what she wants it to be.  This is a very stressful time for her and I want to smooth as much as I can.  It's not the magic time that everyone tries to tell you it is (you know that if you've had kids)  it's one long, uncomfortable slog (with random moments of glow) and right now her new baby keeps kicking her in the ribs and doing headstands on her bladder.  Not fun at all.  I'm sending welcoming vibes to the little darling so that it comes out to see us soonest now that it's grown enough to be happy out in the world with the rest of us who are so eager to meet (and spoil) it.  Come out, come out, tiny human.  Please?  (can I complain that I managed to poke myself in three different fingers, poke myself well enough to bleed twice, while making the curtains?  I don't think I got blood on them though, but ouch.)

I cast on another baby hat yesterday but I also got working on another sock for me.  This is the skinniest sock yarn and the smallest needles I've ever used.  It looks like this sock will be completed for NEXT winter.  *sigh*

December 9--Navajo, Wearing Blanket.  The setting sun cast red gold light on the rough ground that stretched from the porch to the hills.  Even the road was painted over so that the blacktop looked less unyielding.  Terese stood with her arms wrapped across her chest trying not to fall apart.  When the phone rang an hour ago she had no thought, no premonition that the message it brought would play in her head over and over for the rest of her life.  A man's deep voice told her that there had been an accident, a crash.  That Cale's plane had slammed into the side of a Costa Rican mountain before dawn and they had found no survivors.  Dawn, the man had said.  That meant that she had run errands, eaten lunch, and had her nails done all while her husband lay dead or dying in a Central American jungle.  She hadn't known he was gone forever.

Now it's time for me to bundle up and move some snow.  Wish me luck, I'm going in, um, out.  Gah.
--Barbara

Got 3 Panels Sewed

Yesterday I worked on sewing up the curtain panels for the nursery.  The first one took a while because I had to figure out how to eke all that I could out of the striped fabric while learning how to line them with blackout fabric (which is some very heavy, very rubbery stuff) but I managed and got a system going.  Stripes make sewing straight lines easy.  (Thanks for choosing a stripe, DIL1 & HZ.)  I'll get panel #4 sewn together this morning, get them all hemmed, and deliver them later when DS & DIL1 are home from OWZ's christening.

I found a peanut wreath birdfeeder at the birdseed store.  I've wanted one for two years, it was even on my Amazon wishlist, [I took it off now] and I finally found one and bought it.  Today I'll get Durwood to help me fill it with peanuts in the shell and hang it outside.  I've come to love seeing and hearing those raucous bluejays at the feeder.

And it's snowing, not hard but... not only is it FOUR degrees, it's snowing.  I heard that they were practically giving Packer tickets away since the team keeps losing and it's so darned cold.  No way would you get me to sit on those aluminum seats out in that bowl today.  It's cold, snacks cost a fortune, and it's three miles to the nearest bathroom.  Nope, not me.  Not even if I LIKED football.  Remember, I only like the flyovers and I missed the last one.  Tsk.

December 8--Navajo, Wearing Blanket.  That red and black blanket was all she had left.  Marjean had kept it when everything else had gone or burned or got stolen by thieving drunken boyfriends who were more boy than friend even when they were sober, which wasn't often.  On really bad nights she'd curl up in its woolen embrace sure she could feel Grandad's arms around her and smell his tobacco.  It got her through.  Funny how the boyfriends would take her dishes and her shoes but not one of them every laid hands on her blanket from the years on the rez.

I don't know where that's going or even where it came from.  I was right, that candy cane hat needed a pompom.  See?  It's nearly time for CBS Sunday Morning.  Can't start the week without Charles Osgood.  Toodle-oo.
--Barbara