The Good, The Bad, The Stupid of This Past Week

What can I say, some weeks just do whatever they want to and you just have to live with it, right? This past week was like that, but the good news is that obviously we have all survived.

I have photos of The Good.

First of all, the other day, Miss Esme decided that a) she would come up to the third floor (rare), and then also sit on my lap for about half an hour (even rarer!). She sat there and purred her sweet little head off.

I was also amused at the position of her tail. I was sitting next to a large pillow on the end of the couch, and she placed her tail straight up!

She can be a goofball when she lets herself be brave.

Another good:

These are the buttons I ordered for my completed cardigan, aren't they fantastic? I ordered them from Wooden Heart Buttons, and they are just perfect for what I wanted. 

Getting them was a challenge to say the least. Since the shop is in Canada, there was the whole thing with it being a "foreign package." I kept getting notices that it was being held in U.S. Customs to make sure there were no "contraband" ingredients. (Do lots of things get smuggled into the country with wooden buttons?) Then they were alledgedly delivered, but of course were not in the mailbox. I checked with the seller, and they had been mailed in an envelope, so I didn't think there was any way they could have been porch-pirated. Then after a week and a half, a whole s**tload of mail was sudeenly in our mailbox, and there they were! So I don't know what actually happened, but I have them, they are on the sweater, and someday I can hopefully get a photo to show you the whole shebang.

The Bad.

Take your pick. God knows there's plenty of choices. 

The Stupid.

A week ago today, I woke up and my right eye was swollen shut with dried blood all over it. It hurt slightly, but was more uncomfortable than anything else. So off to the emergency room - because obviously I haven't been there a while and we can't have that! - to see what was going on. It turns out that I scratched my lower eyelid while sleeping apparently, and so I had two stitches put into the area and even got an eye patch to wear for four days (this was the up side, I must say, matey!). And no, it was me, the drs agreed that it was in no way a cat scratch. As of today, my lower eyelid is slightly red, but there are no other indications that anything happened. And though it was kinda fun to look like a pirate for a few days, it messed with my perspective so I was happy to not wear it any more. Even more stupid: did we think to get a picture? Of course not.

The main thing that was an issue is that last Friday, I had made plans with my friend Louise to meet for lunch, and I had to cancel. We had made plans to do it last time we met, and at the time I didn't realize that it would be Lent; now that I know it's Lent, I'm gonna wait until after Easter to reschedule. Usually during Lent, I give up buying myself a coffee/tea/pastry/lunch during the week, and at the end of it, donate the equivalent (usually plus some) to a local food organization. Not that I buy something to eat or drink every single day, but it's not unusual to do so two or maybe even three times a week, so it does add up. So Louise, if you are reading this (and I know she sometimes does), let's plan for after Easter to get together again!

*****

No plans for this weekend, as far as I know, which is fine with me. Next week, I have things I have to attend to every day except Friday, so a no-plan weekend sounds good to me. 

I've been knitting and reading away, and have almost finished the second sock of my February yarn from Farmer's Daughter Fibers. Of course there is a story related to that, which I'll tell you in the FO post.

Have a good weekend. And be careful not to injure yourself in your sleep! 🙄

Well, I'm Back

I didn't really mean to not post for so long, but I got involved with finishing a couple of books that were coming due at the library, knitting away on a pair of socks, and trying to keep my mental health on keel. But I'm here now, so I'll give you a little peek from while I was gone.

Here we have an upset, scared, betrayed, and angry Miss Esmeralda at the vet's office. It only took three years, one new carrier, and an hour and a half of chasing her to make this appointment happen. But it did, and she was declared in perfect health - even good teeth! - and we came home where she hid for 2 complete days until we saw her again.

As I've mentioned, she is really afraid of everything. So any time before that we tried to get her to the vet's office, it was unsuccessful. I wasn't too worried, because she never goes outside, and she lives with two healthy cats. But we have been thinking of adding to the family, and we realized that there is no way that would happen if she wasn't up to date on her shots.

The whole thing was traumatic for both of us, and I felt so awful, betraying the trust she had finally given to me. Now we're back to baby steps, but I am glad to know she is as healthy as I suspected. And unless she suddenly shows signs of being sick, we don't need to repeat the experience any time soon.

I did finish the first sock of the yarn from the February installment of the Farmer's Daughter Fibers subscription, and I am well into the second. The yarn is a slightly brighter red than this photo shows, with the wine-colored mini, which is just a lovely combination.

I've also added to my Cozy Comfort Throw, but even though it is a good chunk of work, it looks nearly the same. I'll probably only start showing progress on this when there's a substantial amount to show, since it will take me a while, and moves along kind of slowly.

But I do like how it's turning out, and it's using up a lot of scraps, which is a good feeling.

So that's what has been happening around here. We had a nice Valentine's Day, going out to breakfast at one of our fave places, and had a yummy Chinese noodle dinner last night for the Lunar New Year. 

And of course I have spent A LOT of time watching the Olympics, as I'm sure a lot of you have. Not being athletic at all, I am constantly amazed at how accomplished the athletes are - even those who don't win a medal. Think of how good you have to be to simply make the team in the first place!

So now you know what I've been up to and how things are going. Time to hit "publish" on this, and get ready for a trip to the dermatologist. Since I had that basal cell carcinoma removed from my back this past August, I was supposed to return in 6 months instead of a year. Hopefully this time the appointment will be completely uneventful. 

I hope the rest of your day today and rest of the week go well. I'm hoping I'll be back again before another week goes by, but just in case, take care!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Oh Ned Ryerson - don't we all know someone just like him? I have to admit that "Groundhog Day" is one of my fave movies, becuase it is so ridiculous, but also because I often feel like I'm living in the same kind of world - not one where it's actually Groundhog Day each day, but one where the events that keep repeating are unfortunately horrible ones. Even before recent events, though, I'll admit I'd still have days when I'd think "Wait, didn't this just happen yesterday the same way??"

If Gtoundhog Day is not your thing, it's also St. Blaise Day, when we used to get our throats blessed when I was in school. One of my favorite saints' days, since I have always had throat issues, and I always felt that St. Blaise was trying his hardest to help.

Or, if the saints don't grab you, it's also the birthday of James Joyce. We always have some gorgonzola cheese on rye bread with a glass of white wine, as Leopold Bloom does in "Ulysses." (Which I never made through - I was lucky if I read 20 pages. The Tim, on the other hand, can practically recite it.)

In any case, I hope you are doing OK and if you are in the storm area/deep freeze area, keeping warm. Frankly, I if I hear one more person tell me how many days are left until the first day of spring or summer, I'll find a way to bury them under the ice forever. But as usual, that's just me. (I do mean it though.)

Over the weekend, I was thinking of what I want to knit next, as far as a larger project. I am almost there, but I was in one of those moods where, no matter what pattern I'd see, even if I had the right yarn, etc., there was always some reason it just wasn't right. Do you ever do that? At one point, I stopped looking at things because I decided I wasn't going to be able to decide to try anything in the frame of mind that I was in. Which is an improvement, because in the past, I would usually keep going, and then just be ticked off at myself, my knitting, and the world in general for three or four days. 

Anyway, I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I did start working on a Cozy Comfort Throw a couple of weeks back, in an attempt to use up a lot of scraps and minis that are not being used for anything else. I bought some yarn for the  main color - but before the end of 2025 ... I already knew I was going to try and not buy yarn for at least the first six months in this year, so I headed myself off at the pass, so to speak! It's only cheating if I think it is. 😉 I haven't tried to photograph it yet, because it's still sort of at the point where the needle I'm using is kind of twisted, and trying to get it to be flat for taking a picture is more work than it's worth. But I'm enjoying it, and it's satisfying to watch those small amounts of yarn leftovers turn into something that I think looks nice and that will be useful. I'm waiting to see how it looks once it's finished before deciding if it will be for us, a gift for someone, or a cozy donation. That's mainly because I'm not making any effort to make it look thought out - I'm just grabbing whatever is next out of my bag when it's time for a new addition.

Other than that, there's nothing much to report. We're all hanging in, and so far, other than the cold that The Tim had (which he claims I gave to him, though I didn't have a cold), which *he* then passed to me, no one has been sick, injured, or any other version of being under the weather, so to speak. Let's hope that continues. 

Here's hoping a good week is ahead for all of us!

First FO of 2026 and a Test Knit!

Hello from cold and icy Philadelphia! Yes, we did get 9 inches of snow, but then at the end of last weekend's storm, we got three inches of ice on top of it. GRRRRRR.

So you can go outside if you are really bundled up in layers, but instead of being able to enjoy the snow, you have to be sure you don't slip and injure yourself. No fun at all. 

But we survived, though it was so icy that The Tim called out from work on both Monday and Tuesday - he *never* does that kind of thing, so you know it was bad!

Anyway on to the knitting.

I have my first FO for the year!

Project: Blue Hedgerows

Pattern: Hedgerow Socks, by Jane Cochran

Yarn: Farmer's Daughters Fibers Highwood Sock, in the colorway Deep Winter. This is the first installment of the Sock Squad 2026. 

Needles:  US1/2.25 mm

Modifications: I didn't pay attention to the instructions on how to center the stitches when you knit the heel. I had knit this pattern years ago for a pair of gift socks, and didn't really think it made a recognizable difference, at least for the extra efforts.

Notes: I started these socks for myself, but about halfway through the first one, decided to give the to my niece Amanda when they were finished. She is next up in the family queue for a pair, and I thought these might give her something to smile about these days. 

I did decide to continue the pattern down the front of the foot, which is something I only do rarely. But I'm pleased with how they look.

The large skein was 100 grams, and I used about 50 grams for the sock; the mini was 20 grams, and I used about 12 grams. I would calculate the yardage for you in a rough sense, but could not recall how to do it, and really you get the gist, so figure it out for yourself if you are desperate to know! 😊

The yarn is so pretty, and it's lovely for knitting. I was hoping I could finish these in January, before the February installment arrived, and I was able to finish these this past Sunday - I'm so pleased with myself!

*****

I also have a second FO for 2026, technically:

This is a test knit of the Bainbridge Beanie, a pattern that will be released soon from Michele Frazzetta of meeshyfrazz knits. This is the Child size, and it was a lot of fun to knit. The pattern has the option to make it with or without a brim, and I knit it with the brim because I thought it would be warmer, especially since it's child sized. 

The yarn is some deep stash Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport, in the colorway Poppy (the actual hat is a bit more coral than this photo). It's a sport weight yarn, and the pattern calls for DK weight, but it all worked out. I'm really happy with it.

Now I just need a kid to give it to ... 

Speaking of meeshyfrazz knits, the cardigan I've knit is also one of her patterns. I finally decided to go with some buttons I already had, and when I sewed them on, I was really happy with how they looked. Except they almost immediately fell off! I think they might have been too heavy. 

So I poked around, and found some wood buttons on Etsy that I really like, and ordered them. They are allegedly going to arrive sometime next week from Canada, so my poor cardigan is still waiting for its moment! I keep telling it that once it's all set to go, I'll be wearing it a lot, but I think it is pretty skeptical since I said that before ... 

And that's about it from here right now. Today is laundry day, but since I got started earlier than usual, as soon as the load of towels come out of the dryer, that will be that. Kinda makes it worth waking up super early with a panic attack that told me that there was no way I was going back to sleep this morning. Kinda. 

Stay warm, and be careful if you are surrounded by ice (or ICE)* like I am!

*Don't EVEN get me started ...

Five Favorites for This Friday

Hello from preparing-for-the-big-storm Philadelphia! For the past week, the forecasters have been talking about the MAJOR snowstorm we would be getting that would start on Sunday. Last night, they changed it to "some snow, but mostly freezing rain." Great. Snow, I can deal with. Ice means stepping outside is a death wish. 

Which only added to my decision made earlier in the week to try and "bring back" (so to speak) something I used to do fairly regularly on the blog, namely a post pointing out five things from the past week that made me happy, felt good, made me laugh, etc.  I could talk about all of the things happening that are terrible, scary, unfair, etc., but I know that all - or at least most of us - are feeling that, and probably don't need additional reminders. So here you go - five things from the past week that were good:

1. The socks I am knitting. 

I showed you these before, but now I am on the heel flap of the second sock. And I'm enjoying them so much, now that the pattern repeat is firmly in my brain (if not always in my hands). The completed first sock looks so nice, it makes me glad that I decided to continue the pattern on the top of the foot of the sock. (Though I'm not sure I'll do that again soon because it does mean that it takes me longer to finish a pair.)

2. Really cold weather walks. Yes, I know a lot of you are thinking I am crazy, but I love the feeling of getting truly bundled up and then taking a walk. For the most part, I have my routes to myself, because people are either working/in school,, or avoiding the outdoors because it's too cold. So I make my way around, occasionally getting to pet a dog or two, and then come home and get cozy with a nice cup of tea.

3. Making plans for little projects. I love to have little projects to work on - I do much better when things are broken into smaller components. For instance, this week, instead of telling myself that I needed to do a really thorough, after-the-holidays clean of the whole house, I decided to only concentrate on the first floor. Then the second and third floors got a good dusting and clean up, but will get their turn for more serious cleaning in the next couple of weeks. 

4. Watching old movies. Recently, The Tim was looking at various sites for something, and I saw that the old movie "Till The Clouds Roll By," was available. It's a "biopic" of Jerome Kern, in the style of the old movies where the term biopic is used very loosely. In any event, this one has a lot of famous people in it, but mostly importantly, Van Heflin AND Van Johnson - two Vans in one movie! And the movie itself is what we refer to as "killer" movies, meaning that there are scenes and events that just kill you. The Tim, who never watched many (or any, really) of these movies said, "I'm not sure this is all accurate," and I pointed out to him that a) that wasn't the point, and b) how often do you get a movie with BOTH famous Vans in it???

5. The ridiculousness of cats. Milo the Koodle, Alfie, and Esme are hilarious without meaning to be. The Koodle has decided that Dug and Hamlet's old sleeping pad is now his. So there's this 8 pound cat claiming a huge bed for his own. He's so pleased with himself, too. Then Alfie and Esme have decided that they both need to be out in the garden. So when I go out to fill the bird feeders, Alfie dashes out, and then has no idea what to do, because of course every bird and squirrel in the area disappears when I open the door. So he looks at me like "Wasn't there just a lot going on out here," and then cries. Esme, meanwhile, is too afraid to go near the door to the garden, so she waits inside and when Alfie comes back in, bats the crap out of him. It's never not funny!

So there you are, I hope this reminded you of at least a couple of things that were good, funny, or comforting this week. They're there - but lately (at least for me) you have to dig a bit to find them.

Have a good weekend, and if you are part of the area (which seems to be a LOT of the U.S.) where the snow/ice/whatever decides to show up, stay safe!