FO: The NGN Sweater

We are in the home stretch before the arrival of my New Great Nephew (NGN), and I am actually ready in advance!  He is due April 17, though my niece told my sister that she thinks he'll be here sooner.  In any event, I will be sending off his gift later this week.  

Project:  NGN Sweater (New Great Nephew Sweater) (link is to Ravelry project page)

Pattern:  Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan, by Jennifer Hoel (free on Ravelry)

Yarn:  Plymouth Yarn DK Merino Superwash, colorway 1132 Green Lake

Needles:  US size 4

Modifications:  I don't know that these are modifications necessarily, rather than mistakes in the pattern.  Anyway, the pattern says to pick up 38 stitches under each arm, and I found that to be impossible.  The upper part of the arms that were on stitch holders had 38 stitches, but I could not figure out any way to make room for 38 stitches on the underarm, so I picked up 19 under each one, and that seemed to work just fine.  The other thing was that when you got to the end of the arms, the pattern said "Row 1: K 38 sts.  Row 2:  P 38 sts."  That would have meant you only did a portion of the stitches, when I am 99.99% sure that the pattern meant to K and P all the stitches you had on the needles!

Notes/comments:  This pattern was so much fun to knit, and really very simple.  Except for the two instances mentioned above, it was easy to understand and the instructions made sense.  I wanted to choose a color of yarn that was not strictly "little boy" color, and I thought the color was not just gender-neutral, but good for springtime.  Usually Plymouth yarns are lovely but this one was pretty splitty, and that was annoying until I got used to it.  

The buttons (shown in a close-up above, complete with Jack hair!), were another story.  Again, I didn't want buttons that screamed "little boy" but I was also not willing to devote a quest to finding ones that were the Most Perfect Buttons in the World.  I was happy with these little Volkswagen Beetle buttons in red.  They made a nice contrast, and were kind of an homage to my sister and brother-in-law (NGN's grandparents), who had a VW bug for years before they had children.

Anyway, once the knitting was finished, I gave it a wash on the delicate cycle, 10 minutes in the delicate air dry cycle, and then blocked it to dry the rest of the way, because I wanted it to look as nice as possible since it's a gift.  Plus, this also served to get rid of all of Jack's fur that had worked its way into the project as it was being knit.  I can recommend this pattern to anyone who has a knit-worthy baby on the way.

I love, love, love, the result, and cannot wait to meet the wearer!  

Now, back to my other projects ... :-)

Small Is Still Important

Hello everyone, I hope your week is off to a good start and that you had an enjoyable weekend.  Our weekend was great, if very busy.  Friday morning we headed home to Wheeling, West Virginia, to see some of my family.  My sister Mary Ellen and her husband Patrick live there, and my other sister Nancy, her husband Michael, and their 17-year-old granddaughter Anya were going to be in town for a visit.  We haven't seen Nancy and Michael for a few years, and have not seen Anya since she was about 10 years old.  My niece Amanda and her husband Pat decided to drive in from Baltimore to see everyone as well, so we knew it would be a good weekend - and it was!

A lot of the time was spent just catching up, laughing a lot, and enjoying being together.  But Saturday morning, we all got up to head downtown for the March for Our Lives rally.  I was really glad we decided to go, because in the past couple of years, every time I planned to participate in something, a health issue kept me away from it, and this time I got to not just attend, but be there with a nice chunk of family in my hometown. 

Wheeling's population is currently about 30,000 people, and by the end of the rally, there were easily 200+ people there, which is a pretty good turnout for a cold Saturday morning, for something that - according to my sister - was not publicized that well.  Though she also said that they took three buses' worth of people to the march in DC.

Anyway, here are some photos from the day.

There were a nice variety of speakers, from local clergy, to college students, to local high school students.  There was even a girl who is in 8th grade who got up to say her piece, even though it was clear she was really nervous.  As you may know or may have imagined, West Virginia has a lot of people who hunt, so guns are not alien to the place.  Even some of the speakers either had guns themselves or grew up in a family of hunters, and so had guns in the home.  But every single one of them was in complete support of controlling access to guns, and were 100% convinced that the government was not trying to take their guns away from them.  I was encouraged by those statements, since so many other gun owners seem to go all the way in the other direction.

It's more than true that compared to a lot of places, Wheeling's rally was very small.  But it was no less sincere, and those participating were no less determined to have our government see their beliefs in action.  It was a wonderful group and also a group that is clearly in it to win it.  And across the country, we have to hope that other places that are not major metropolitan areas are taking a stand for themselves, their families, and their neighbors.  Small is still important, if you ask me.

Going to the Wolves

As mentioned in a previous post, I had a birthday last week, and the one thing I had asked to do was to visit the Wolf Sanctuary of PA for one of their tours.  So last Thursday, The Tim and I got up and got going out to Lititz, PA (which I enjoy calling "La Tits" because apparently part of me is an 11-year-old boy).  It's a lovely drive, and once we got away from the city, there wasn't much traffic, so we were there in no time!

I wasn't *exactly* sure what to expect in real life, but I can assure you that the entire experience was wonderful, and did not disappoint in any way! 

The Wolf Sanctuary is a huge area, which currently houses 48 wolves.  There is one pack ("The Big Pack") made up of some of the wolves from the original group at the Sanctuary.  They had formerly bred wolves, but then realized that it would mean they would very quickly run out of room for other wolves that needed a place to be.  So all the wolves that are there now, and that come in the future, have been spayed or neutered, to control the population and assure room for any wolves that need their help down the road.

We have both always been attracted to wolves, and there used to be a woman in our neighborhood who had a wolf/dog hybrid (who was incredibly shy), but other than that, have never had much of a chance to be around the animals otherwise.  It was really interesting to hear all about the history of the Sanctuary, as well as learn details about wolf behaviors.  But of course, the actual wolves were the stars of the day.

The Original Pack includes Lincoln, Levi, Sarge, Chomp, Trinity (Alpha Female), Frodo (Alpha Male), and Lucas.  They were very interested in us, though would have been more interested if we had brought lunch for them!

Lucas and Frodo 

The Whole Pack

Frodo

Frodo

Lucas

Lucas

Lucas

Chomp

Below, please meet Thor.  He is the oldest wolf at the Sanctuary, having turned 18 on February 15th of this year.

Thor is blind, but was still very alert when the tour guide was talking to him.

This is Jake.  She is a relative newcomer to the Sanctuary, and is in the enclosure next to Thor.  They are hoping that the two of them will form a pack.  She was very friendly, but then decided she was lonely and started to howl.

And, just like when one dog in the neighborhood starts barking and then all the others start, the same thing happened here.  Everyone else started howling too.  It was amazing.

Here is a little video that The Tim took of her howling, I hope it works here.

Next up, we met Cheyenne.  She is particularly friendly, having been someone's pet.  She was so excited to see us and the tour guide!  Here's a video of her coming to see him.  (Again, I hope it works.)

Then we met Spirit and Mika, who are both white wolves.  Mika was extremely shy, but Spirit was ready for some attention and wanted to play!  Spirit is a former pet, who one day escaped from her yard when everyone at her house was out and she got bored.  She ended up at the playground of an elementary school, where the kids at recess loved playing with her, and she loved the attention!  Only when they called to say a lost dog was there, did they find her, take her to animal control, and learn that she was a wolf mix!  She was more than happy to get some attention, and clearly loves our tour guide, Denny.

The animals were all clearly quite content in their enclosures, and it was clear that the people working there were not only familiar with them, but that they love them all, and take excellent care of them.  

This is a cow skull, which is the only part of a cow that they are not interested in eating completely.  They use this to "play hunt," as they did with an opossum that [foolishly] wandered into an enclosure.  

Happy wolves all around.  This place is amazing and the people so clearly care about the animals and caring for them and rescuing them, it was a wonderful thing to see.  I can't wait to go back - our guide told us that the nighttime tours include a bonfire, which would be really something to experience.

I would definitely recommend a visit to this place if you like wolves and are interested in animal rescue.  There is even a B&B on the property where you can stay!  But it's well worth the day trip too.  

As we were coming home, we realized it's not that far from the Stoudt's Brewery, which has a tour of their facilities and a pub too.  So you could make a day of it and probably get a yummy meal as well.  

Which is surely on the agenda for a future trip ... 

I hope you enjoyed these pictures and videos, and seeing the wolves.  I have a ton more photos, but what I have shared here surely gives you the idea of the place.  Let me know if you visit, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Off to enjoy the rest of my snow day, courtesy of the most recent nor'easter.  Have a good one!

This First Day of Spring Is Being Brought to You by Yet Another Nor'Easter

I know it's wrong, but it amuses me that we are expecting yet another nor'easter to hit today.  Not because I enjoy shoveling snow and slogging around in resulting slush once it starts melting, but because people always seem surprised when the first day of Spring does not arrive and turn out to be a day that is 60 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny.  Everyone always seems so shocked, and it just seems that this year, Mother Nature is saying, tough luck suckers!

I am sad that it might mark the end of our daffodils that started to bloom.  But they bloomed for my birthday, and that was good enough for me, if they can't hang around for a while after today.  I love daffodils, and consider them my birthday flower.  I take it very personally if none have shown up by then.

Anyway, I am somewhat disorganized at the moment, but wanted to post something, so I decided to borrow Nance's Monday Meme, called Love/Hate Relationships.  (Yes, it's Tuesday.  So sue me.)

1. What kind of song/kind of music always makes you feel good/irritated?

I like most music in general, but I will say that songs by The Beatles make me feel good.  "Modern" music (for example, Philip Glass) makes me irritated.  Big time.

2.  What are among your best/worst traits?

Best:  Self-discipline, loyalty, empathy
Worst:  Impatience, quick judgement, bad temper

3.  What food did you used to like but now you don't?

Marsala veggie burgers from Trader Joe's.  The Tim still really likes them, but I can't stand them anymore. 

4.  What book did everyone else love but you didn't?

The Girl on the Train.  I could not stand any of the characters, and would not have been upset had said train crashed on page 4 or so.

5.  Fill in the blanks:  I love my _________, but I hate (its/their/the) __________.

I love my house, but I hate to clean it (though once I get started, it's fine, and I'm always happy with the result).
I love my country, but I hate the current administration and their ilk.

OK, that was fun.   And it meant I had a legit post for today.  Feel free to answer in the comments, at Nance's original post, or on your own blog. 

Stay warm and safe if you are in the path of the crazy weather!

Celebrating 62 Years

First of all, Happy St. Patrick's Day!  It's one of the very best days of the year, with good baking, good food, and most excellent beverages. I hope you have a lovely one, and at a minimum, lift a glass of something good to honor Paddy himself.

It's been a grand few days (with one exception) leading up to today.  This past Wednesday was my 62nd birthday!  Other than wondering how the heck I got to be 62 (spoiler alert: it comes after 61!), it was a day of just enjoying myself.  I took that day and the rest of the week off from work.  Which is always a good idea, in my opinion.

The Tim had to work on my actual birthday, so I just enjoyed the day myself, knitting, reading, taking a walk, cuddling with the kitties, and getting my hair cut.  Once he came home, he fixed us homemade gnocchi and garlic breadsticks for dinner, followed by cake and presents.  A most wonderful way to celebrate a birthday.

The Tim had asked if there was anything special I wanted to do to celebrate, and I decided I wanted to visit the Wolf Sanctuary of PA, so he booked us a tour for this past Thursday.  It was the best day, and deserves its own post, so that's coming in the next few days.  We got back home early in the afternoon and just relaxed and hung out the rest of the day, watching some shows we'd recorded, and cuddling with the kitties.  Perfect.

Yesterday was the only ick day, but I knew that it would likely be so.  I had an appt first thing in the morning at the periodontist's office to have a tooth removed and a bone graft done in preparation for a dental implant.  Ugh.  It went just fine, but as with any dental procedure it was unpleasant.  I spent the bulk of the day putting ice on my jaw and dozing in and out.  It's still sore today, but not quite as swollen, and I know it will improve every day, but ICK you know???

So that brings us to today, St. Patrick's Day!  I'm baking brown bread this year, which will make the house smell sooooo good.  And we'll have it some Kerrygold butter, which is also a treat every year, and later we shall raise a glass to the good saint.

I still have all of today and tomorrow to enjoy my extended birthday celebration, so it's definitely been a good week overall.

I hope you are having a good weekend, and having a chance to do what you like.

Sláinte to you and yours!