Still no house sale but plenty getting done

So, the irony is we needed to sell our property because the upkeep was becoming too much for us.  BUT, in order to sell it we are having to do all the things that needed doing.

We love our property, we have a largish house, a huge workshop and 20 acres.  Now the land isn't flat, it is hilly and wooded.  There are about 7 acres that are cleared and have grass that we mow but it isn't farmland, just recreational.

By the time we have sold it and paid moving costs we will end up in a smaller ranch type house (bungalow) with a small (by comparison) back yard (garden) and no workshop.

But we will be much closer to the VA hospital and that is becoming very important due to the number of ER visits we have made over the past few years.

We keep plodding on, doing as much as we can and hope that someone falls in love with the place just as we did.

We have had a lot, and I mean a lot of rain this year.  The downpours would flood in front of the workshop and it would leak into part of it.  We had new sloping concrete poured in front of it and we took down and replaced one wall and put up new guttering.  It is so much better and we are very proud of ourselves.  We did get some help from my stepson when he and his family came to visit a couple of weeks ago but we did weeks of prep work before he came and have done lots since he left but his help was invaluable.  He was able to do the work that required ladders which we can't do anymore.

Thought I had better post as it had been almost two months since my last one.

No sale yet and still working hard

We haven't sold our house yet and hare still working very hard to get in as tip top shape as we can.  We realise that to keep it like this all the time is really much too much for us now.  But as it is still for sale we have to keep going.

Life as we know it is going to change probably this year

Have been so busy I have not had time to blog lately.

My husband had another emergency room visit and subsequent hospital stay which made us realise that it is time to move on from our country paradise in the middle of nowhere and join the world again in a small town near to the VA hospital.

The reality is we are getting too old to keep up the 20 acres and all that involves plus country living with wells and lagoons etc. and we need to be much closer to his hospital for all the appointments, stays and emergencies.

We are gutted, we love this place so much but we have to be honest with ourselves.

So, to that end we have been getting the place ready to list on the market.

We hit a bit of a hitch as I have come down with a really nasty cold which is rendering me pretty much useless but hopefully a few more days will put paid to that.

So, many changes to come, some will be for the better and some for the worse but realism has set in and we know we have to do it.

Will keep you updated........

It is like Groundhog day here at the moment

We are in a really weird phase where our computers/internet/wifi/phones are all causing problems.  Everything seems to take forever to sort out and when one thing gets sorted another thing comes and slaps us in the face.

The quote of the month was made by my husband.  "In an effort to re-design our lives and cut costs, things are spiraling out of control."

We are trying to cut our monthly expenditures, started with the cell phones.  Our phones were old and outdated and our service was way too costly.  We finally decided to transfer to a new carrier which was much cheaper and get new phones. (The cost savings would quickly make up for the new phones cost.  We didn't choose expensive phones). We did that but the phone was difficult for my husband to use so we ended up returning one phone and just keeping mine.

I have just spent an hour or more trying to pay the final bill of the old carrier online.  They made it extremely difficult but I finally got it done.

We got some weird emails so we changed the password on the modem/router and are in the process of changing all passwords and removing payment details off accounts.  That is taking forever.  Then we couldn't get the wifi extender to work, that took most of yesterday to sort out.

Getting the drift lol?

Anyway, onto nicer things.

I made the monkey!

We got snow!

Birds waiting to get onto the feeder

Having their fill

The pattern booklet arrived and yay! it does include all the nativity characters plus sheep.

I can't explain how happy I was and the rest of the patterns are wonderful too, I will be busy knitting all year now.

Change of my last post's title

After a rather obscure response from a far off land offering escort services I thought it was perhaps a good idea to change the title of my last post.

The search for a particular knitting pattern can be problematic!

I have to admit that I can be obsessive.  Not so much in my latter years but occasionally something  will still grab my attention and I really want it.

So what is it that has got me all fired up?

A knitted Nativity scene.

One of the blogs I read had a set that the blogger had made.  It is enchanting. As nowadays I much prefer knitting small items I thought this would be perfect for me to make and there would be no rush to complete it, after all Christmas is 11 months away!

So I set about googling and found a couple of books on the Alibris site, one was called "Knit the Christmas Story" by Jan Messant, I knew from the cover that this wasn't the same Nativity scene but it was a pattern book for a nativity.

Another was  'The Christmas Handbook" by Malcom Bird and Alan Dart.  I knew that Alan Dart created patterns for toys etc. so I hoped it would contain the pattern for the nativity scene that the blogger had made.  Sadly, it didn't but it is a charming book and it took me right back to Christmases as a child in the late 50's and early 60's.

I also found a third book which I knew would not have the pattern I was looking for but it did have some lovely patterns for knitted toys.  This one was called "knitted Toys - 21 easy to knit patterns for irresistible soft toys" by Fiona McTague.

These books were all published in the 80's but are in excellent condition and definitely worth the money. Alibris is a used book site and the prices were very reasonable but the postage wasn't particularly cheap.

It cost under $7 for all three books but the postage was $11 so a total of $18.

After I had placed the order I found out that the patterns I was looking for were actually authored by Jean Greenhowe who has retired but still has a website with details of the booklets available and links to where the booklets can be ordered from.  They are mostly in the UK.

On her site the details of the booklet Christmas Special show that the Nativity scene is included in the 28 page booklet as well as many other delightful Christmas things to knit and I found a supplier who sold it. BUT, there is always a BUT isn't there? On this supplier's site the booklet does not show the Nativity scene but it does show all the other items listed on the Jean Greenhowe site and it does have 28 pages.  So, I ordered it in the hope that it has the scene included and it was an error on the part of the supplier to not show it.  So another $11.

So now the total is up to $29 spent and I still am not 100% sure I will get the patterns I am looking for.

Now for the good BUT! I have the book 'Knit the Christmas Scene' I bought mentioned above and I can access pictures of the Nativity scene I want on the Jean Greenhowe site so I am sure I can modify the patterns in my book to look like hers.  At least I have a guide as to number of stitches and rows etc. from my book.

And if all else fails I can download the Alan dart version of the Nativity scene from his website for 2.50 UKP.

Meanwhile, while waiting for the Christmas Special booklet to arrive, I have started knitting a cute monkey from the Fiona McTague book.

I know this is a long winded post but I wanted to get it recorded for when I need to look back on what transpired.

Not a lot of anything going on right now

Today it is sunny and fairly warm outside.  I took Maggie for a nice long walk and run.  I don't take her every day especially if it is too hot or too cold but please do not think she doesn't get any exercise, she does, we have 20 acres and I take her out many times a day and she can run around to her heart's content.  She stays withing my sight which is a good thing, the going for a walk thing is really for my benefit and I do not do it enough!

Christmas came and went and all was very nice.  We had to go to Columbia just before and just after Christmas for my husband to get his immunotherapy infusions so we stayed home alone so he didn't get in contact with anyone and risk getting anything.  They suppress his immune system intentionally to slow down the autoimmune disease but it does leave him vulnerable to infections and viruses.

I made the apron mentioned in a previous post for my neighbour.  It is a good job she is a smaller build than me because it sure didn't fit me very well!  It was fiddly to make but she really liked it as did some of her grand daughters.  I will not be taking orders. 😌 I didn't take pictures which is most unlike me.

In case it didn't work for her I also made a plastic shopping bag holder out of a new tea towel, very quick and easy to make.

Not much else going on in the crafting world.  My husband is setting up his office/studio and I have been helping him with that a bit so I have not been idle.

A blog friend has asked me to make a dog collar for her dog and as soon as it warms up for more than a day or two I will get out to the workshop and make a start on that.  I really enjoy the leather work and it is something we both get involved in.  My husband cuts the leather.  I attach the hardware and do the patterning and the holes, then he colours it.  I then gum trag the edges and the back so a real joint effort.

Not much else happening, waiting on a call back to see if I have to go in for a D&C after my bout of woman's problems.

Hope 2019 will be a good year for everyone.

Update on the update

This was the still to do list:-

Put up inside decorations and little tree

Gifts for 5 grandkids and other daughter to order

Wrap gift for littlest grandchild and mail

Find another gift for husband

Get something for Maggie the dog

Get rest of food shopping

Make Christmas cake and shortbread

The first 5 things have been done.

Here is Fern in all her new clothes before I wrapped her to send to our youngest grand daughter

Undies and top first

Now with skirt

And finally with jacket, shoes and hat.

I have started making an apron I promised my good friend and neighbour I would make her for Christmas. I have been putting it off but today I bit the bullet and cut it out and started sewing it.  It involves using a lot of bias binding but the sewing machine is struggling as it seems to be coated with something to stiffen it so it isn't going too quickly.

I am making View C

Christmas progress

Christmas cards all made, written and mailed.

1 gift for husband found and ordered

Family gift for one son and family found and ordered

Daughter's gift ordered and received (she better not be wearing them yet!!!)

Outside lights and ornaments put up and tested

Inside ones bought to house

Bought nice big piece of beef for Christmas dinner (husband doesn't like turkey) and fixings for Christmas cake.

Still to do:-

Put up inside decorations and little tree

Gifts for 5 grandkids and other daughter to order

Wrap gift for littlest grandchild and mail

Find another gift for husband

Get something for Maggie the dog

Get rest of food shopping

Make Christmas cake and shortbread

It is only December 5th though so should have plenty time to get the rest of the Christmas stuff done. There will only be the two of us and Maggie this year so no need to go daft.

I find that my enthusiasm for Christmas has wained a bit the past few years, I remember my Mum was the same at my age and I couldn't understand it at the time.......but I do now.

For our youngest grand daughter I have knitted the American doll clothes written about in a previous post (plus a top) and I have decided to dress Fern with them and send her too.  I found another doll in another thrift store which I was going to send but decided on Fern because she reminds me so much of our granddaughter with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The new doll I have named Leigh, she has long brown hair and brown eyes and was made in 1995, she is in excellent condition for the age.

I seem to have become a rescuer of wannabe American girl dolls. I will still have the new doll Leigh and Peggy after Fern goes to our granddaughter.

We have had the usual unplanned expenses arise that we always seem to get just before Christmas.  The furnace went out, fortunately the replacement motor was covered under warranty but we had to pay $190 for the labour.  Husband needed new glasses and we had to pay $86 towards the cost of them, extra trips to hospitals and of course we have the expected property taxes but we had managed to save for those.

Two more hospital trips at least before Christmas too.

On a very different note, I watched most of the funeral today of George H.W. Bush the 41st president of the USA.  It was a very dignified and profound ceremony, very touching and a lovely send off for him.  Recorded the rest to watch later.

Who would have thought atherosclerosis could be a good thing?

The appointment with the vascular surgeon was yesterday.  It was with much trepidation we made the trip to Kansas to see him.

I saw the nurse and gave her the CD of the CT scan.  Many minutes later the surgeon came into the examination room carrying an ipad.  He showed us a close up picture of one of the aneurysms.  "You see that circle of white" he asks.  "That is calcification"

I was thinking OMG, it must be really bad.

BUT, it is a good thing it seems.  He said that with the calcification the likelihood of a rupture was negligible.

Wow! where we relieved?

So asked a lot of questions about whether heavy lifting or stress would be detrimental or should I change my diet at all and he said "No, just go out and live your life, no need to change anything"

We left his building very happy.

Bring on Christmas!

An update on the Christmas cards, early snow, a new kettle and some health issues.

It's been a pretty strange month. I have been getting on with the Christmas cards and finally got them all done yesterday.  I am very happy with how they turned out.

I recycle cards received from previous years.  I used to keep cards for years then eventually throw them out.  Last year when I decided to make cards I thought it would be nice to recycle cards we had received, that way they get another go around. I cut out pictures and messages and also stamp out the 'Merry Christmases' from the old cards.  The stamping out is very time consuming but I like to use them on my cards.

I also use Christmas fabric, I cut out the shapes and use them.

So here are this year's.......

Here a couple of insides

And a back.  I decided to put a logo on them, Fernwood Springs being the name of our property

I think I missed a few of them, but you get the gist.

One of the weird things is that we have had snow, it is still on the ground but thawing.  It has been very, very cold, that is unusual here for the time of the year.

We have had two electric kettles go belly up on us these past few months, both were stainless steel and came with good reviews but proved to be pretty useless.  So, I decided to try a glass one this time and was delightfully surprised when I switched it one and it has blue lights all around the bottom when it is on.

Sometimes simple things really amuse me.

And finally to the health issues.  I started peeing blood nearly two weeks ago. It got pretty bad and I came over all weird-like so my husband took me to the ER.  They were very good and efficient and did a CT scan.  Seems nothing unusual to see, no kidney stones or masses, which was a huge relief but it did show an incidental finding of two aneurysms on my splenic artery which they advised I saw my Dr. about pronto.

I went to see my doctor, turns out the bleeding was a woman thing, heck I am 70 years old for goodness sake!!!  She sent me right up to see a gynecologist, I told him I must be going through puberty again, he replied, 'Nope, ain't happening"  Anyway, a biopsy was done and again, thankfully, no masses but benign things that will need attending to.

Meanwhile my doctor has also referred me to a vascular surgeon about the aneurysms because she was concerned about their positioning. Just waiting on a call from them about an appointment.  Worst case scenario is a rupture before I get seen to, once I have seen the doctor though it could be the removal of the spleen, or best case, but not likely because of their position, is a repair of the artery.  Time will tell on that.

I have started making our Christmas cards, our new roof and helping my husband make shelves

Not much making of anything from me these past few weeks.  I did find another couple of machine knitting swatches that I turned into hats for the 18" dolls.  I have one for Peggy now and put one in with the clothes I knitted for our grand daughter's Christmas gift.

This is Peggy's hat and the other one is very similar. A great way to use up test swatches!

We have had the rest of our roof replaced this last week thankfully now we will be nice and dry for years to come.  Our house which has multiple roof areas is now all done with metal roofing.  The original part of the house and the sunroom already had metal roofing.  The addition had shingles, they covered the outside porch, the kitchen, the new downstairs room and the large screen porch on the rear, so quite a large area. Then there is a separate roof on the upstairs extension. Now we have copper coloured roofing and it looks wonderful.

This is the addition, the front lower roof was done a couple of years ago, this past week the corresponding lower level on the back was done and all of the upper level.  All the woodwork needs re-staining and sealing but that is beyond our means both physically or financially right now.

I have been helping my husband in the workshop with a project he is making for his office, some shelving for under his desk so he can have all his computers on one desk. We did get two of our computers repaired this past week so that was a bonus.  I haven't really been much more than moral support for him but he appreciates my humble efforts.

As for the Christmas cards, I have made a start.  I got the blank cards and envelopes and blank address labels.  The cards are white this year but I think I prefer the beige colour I used last year.  I had to re do all my labels because I lost the originals when my computer crashed.

This is my second year of making cards.  It takes a long time but I really enjoy doing them.  I recycle old Christmas cards.  I cut out verses and pictures to re-use using fancy edge scissors.  I cut out "Merry Christmases" using a die on the Sizzix Big Shot machine. (This machine was a Christmas gift a couple of years ago, a tad frivolous but a lot of fun and I buy the dies and embossing folders when they have their 80% off sales).  Each one takes awhile as they have to be pressed out and they are very fiddly.  It is not like just cutting out a star or a tree.  I have also cut out some different fabric items like snowmen, Christmas trees and snow globes etc. from Christmas fabric. I used pinking shears for that.  I will emboss the front of the cards with Christmas designs as I think that gives them a nice look.

It does seem like a lot of time and effort but I will continue to make them until it isn't fun anymore. I will take some pictures when I have made some more progress on them.

Oh, and one more thing, it makes a heck of a mess, little pieces of card and fabric everywhere!

What I have been up to

I have been pretty busy these past few weeks.  A couple of visits to the VA hospital for my husband and another coming up this week.  A visit for myself to the doctor for my annual check up.  She sent me off for xrays of knee and shoulders.  Advanced joint disease apparently so she is setting up a consultation with an orthopedic specialist for me. Everything else was OK except I am now on the lower end of pre diabetes so I have to watch my diet.  A1C was 6.1.  Pre diabetes is 6.1 to 6.5.  I am not too worried and I will mind my diet.  One of the adverts on TV for diabetes meds strive for an A1C below 7.1 so I am thinking 6.1 isn't too bad.  My husband's is 7.3 and his doctor isn't too concerned. He does take meds but not insulin.

I have been knitting up a storm for the 18'  dolls.

Shoes for the twin dolls.  I made up the pattern for these and am using up left over yarn from other projects.

A hat for one of the dolls made from a swatch knitted on my knitting machine.

And finally an entire ensemble for our grandaughter's Christmas present

I have stopped for the time being.  I have really enjoyed knitting these clothes but I need to do some sewing next.

For today, at least, it is cooler

Yeppers, for today at least, the high is going to be 65F. (18C) Sheer joy!!!  It will be short lived but appreciated immensely.  Back up into the 80's (26-32C) until the 22nd September then it should stay in the 70's (21-29C) for a while.

We have had a lot of rain and storms this past week and Maggie, our American bulldog, just hates storms.  She didn't like the thunder coat we had for her as she didn't like putting her feet in the holes so I made her one that has velcro to attach the top to the bottom.  She loves it and likes to wear it all the time.  I am keeping it for the storms though and winter when it is cooler.

Need to get some more velcro to make it a little more snug.

I woke up a couple of days ago to a searing pain in my heel.  I assume it is plantar fasciitus.  I had it years ago and it is not fun.  Had to change my orthotics and medication to be able to walk.  Trying to keep off it as much as I can but that's not as easy as it sounds.  Have to see the doc soon for annual check up so will ask about it then.

Meanwhile, still knitting.  I have made a little jacket and panties for our grand daughter's 18" doll and am working on a skirt, then a hat.

Photos when the whole ensemble is made.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I think I have gone full circle and am in my second childhood!

First of all, Fern is a twin!  Who would have known?  On another trip to the Thrift store I found her sister, messy hair and all, thrown on the top shelf with a load of stuffed toys.

She was undressed, mucky and her hair was a tangled mess.  It is long though. She cost me 25 cents.

I bought her home, cleaned and sanitised her and spent a long time detangling her hair.  Her hair is actually very long and very thick and I named her Peggy as she too has wonky legs!

They are identical other than the length of their hair,

So far I have made them both a knitted jacket and a skirt for Peggy.  Fern did at least come with a skirt and top.  At least, they are now both presentable.

The little jackets were quite fiddly and took a fair bit of time each to knit.  I am now working on a third for our grand daughter.  I had nearly forgotten the purpose of getting the doll in the first place, hence the title of this post.

I have to admit though that I am enjoying making these clothes for the dolls.

The first jacket I made.  Was very thin yarn and US#1 very thin needles

Amended the pattern for thicker yarn and needles

Identical faces so must be twins!

Think I am done with knickers now!

After making the knickers with lace for Fern mentioned in a previous post I thought I would try my hand at knitting some.

I wasn't happy with the ones I made, the lace just didn't go on right.  I have since trimmed it a bit and it is better but still not as good as I would like.

Anyway, the first knitted pair were huge!!!!! Like a great big nappy (diaper). 

So I modified the pattern, used a thinner yarn and smaller needles and made a couple of pairs.  They are much better so it is time to move on from knickers. (phew!) I have two good pairs and one so so pair.  The pinky coloured ones will be the first of the doll clothes for our grand daughter.  I hope I can find a teddy bear that the big ones will fit!

Look at the white ones top right, they are huge!!!!

Next on the agenda is a cardigan.  I can sit and knit at night whilst watching TV, I don't have to set aside a time like I do for sewing.

A scorpion tale! (photo now added)

Regular readers will know that we have a scorpion problem where we live.  They are nasty little boogers that pack a very nasty sting that doesn't subside for two hours but are fortunately not toxic.
(Unless you get an anaphylaxis reaction to them, which fortunately, so far, we haven't).

This year, we hadn't had so many.  They came out in Spring then we have only seen a few since then until last night!!!

We were in bed and neither of us were sleeping that well as it was very hot despite the fans and a/c.  My husband felt something on his leg and it was heading in my direction.  He knows how I am about bugs so he grabbed it! It was a scorpion!!!!!

As luck would have it, he got it by it's tail, just below it's stinger so it couldn't get it's stinger in contact with his skin. 

He slowly got out of bed and put on the light.  I asked him if he was OK and he said he was directing all his attention to the beasty in his hand.  I jumped out of bed and got the pair of scissors we keep on the dresser by the bed to cut up said beasties if we see them.

If it had been on me I would have had a hissy fit, screamed knocked it off and probably it would have stung the both of us.

He is always my hero but last night he was my hero of heroes.

Head chopped off and tail cut off into 2 pieces!

The doll now has a name and also some knickers!

I always name things so it was inevitable that I gave the 18" doll a name.  She is now named 'Fern'.

She also needed some knickers.  I searched the internet and found several patterns for 18" doll clothes including one for knickers.

I didn't have the proper elastic lace the pattern called for so I improvised with some stretch lace I had but it wasn't stretchy enough so it puckered a little.

But until I make some more, these will do and Fern's dignity is intact.

Poor Fern is a little lopsided, her legs are a bit off sync but she makes a great model.

I now also have patterns for a t shirt, a skirt and a dress so I am looking forward to making them too and some more knickers. I have some ideas to make the lace better.  I will look for some knitted patterns for cardigans and sweaters too.

I will make two of everything, that way the second one should be perfect to give to my grand daughter for her doll and I will keep the first made of them all for Fern and my grand daughter can play with them when she visits.

Thrift shop treasures

I have stopped going to garage sales, auctions and thrift stores because, quite frankly, we already have too much stuff!

However...........something told me to pop into our nearest Thrift Store today when I was in town.  A sixth sense or something like that.

I got 2 jigsaw puzzles, both 1000 pieces, an 18" doll, not an American Girl doll, but one of the  copycats, a set off embroidery rings, some green ribbon and a pair of big bum jeans.  All for the princely amount of $4.

I have had a hankering to do a jigsaw puzzle for a while now so they will be perfect. One of them for sure should be complete as it stated so on the box.

The doll will be a model for the doll clothes I want to make for our grand daughter.  I have looked on the internet and there are lot's of free downloadable patterns for these dolls.  I had mentioned in a previous post I would keep an eye out for a doll and I had looked on Facebook market place but couldn't find one under $40 so I am extremely happy with the $1 I paid for this one.

The embroidery rings will be used to make a dream catcher like the one I saw here on Artsy Fartsy's blog.

How to make a dream catcher using doilies

The ribbon will be used when making my Christmas cards this year and lastly the big bum jeans will come in handy this winter.

They are not pictured as they went straight into the washing basket.  I didn't try them on so if all else fails I will use the fabric from them for one thing or another.  For $1 it was worth the gamble.  They are a good brand and show no signs of wear.

The doll has some home made clothes on and I think the previous owner may have given her a hair cut but it is very well styled.  Her hair is actually lovely and very thick.

I was very happy with my little excursion into the Thrift Store today.

Hospital appointment for my husband's plasma exchange later this week.  He felt a little better for a couple of days but has been pretty worn out today.  The appointment is on my 70th birthday so we will travel up tomorrow night and go for a nice meal before he has to get it done the next day.  He won't be up for much afterwards.  

Had some pretty nice weather the past week or more, very welcome but unusual for this time of year. No doubt it will heat back up soon.

I made another hat

I must have a thing about hats. 😊

I made this one while the World Cup was on but forgot to post about it.

I like the color,  it was some yarn left over from the king size blanket I made.

Woopsie, I thought I had downloaded the picture from my camera, will be right back!

Here it is!

Waste not, want not and the Big guy!

Yesterday I set up and cleaned my SK155 knitting machine, aka The Big Guy.  It is so beaten up, poor thing, I am amazed it still knits, but it does. My husband says it has heart!

The story in a nutshell is that I bought it off ebay late 2013.  It was a reasonable price, $300 as they are quite sought after.  It arrived all battered and beaten up.  Obviously, it had been mishandled in the shipping as the sellers photographs showed it in good condition.  The cover was beaten and cracked as was the needle bed base which had been broken.  The carriage, seemed OK but it had lost one of the things that triggers the row counter.  I notified the shippers straight away and made a claim because the seller had insured it.  Eventually, they paid up and allowed me to keep the machine.  I got the full price and the shipping refunded.  So the Big Guy didn't cost me anything in the end.

I lovingly fixed it up the best I could, it has lots of duct tape where the plastic pieces got broken and cracked.  I was able to glue some bits back together and cobble the needle bed so it actually worked. The punch card operation still worked which is what makes it a sought after machine.

I bought a bulky machine because my husband wanted me to make him a bulky cardigan.  My preference is for a standard gauge machine which is what my SK 700 is.

I made him his cardigan and he loves it.

Then, for various reasons, I didn't use my knitting machines for three plus years.

After cleaning and oiling the Big Guy, I tried it and it knitted fine, better than I remembered.  So I did a sample piece and cast it off.

Now what to do with a white piece of knitting? The wool was not very soft, just some old acrylic that I had inherited from my MIL.

What else!

A toilet roll cover 😏

I added a bit of crochet trim and voila!

I also sewed up and trimmed the Barbie dress which is put away for our next visit from the grand kids.




I hate waste!!!!

Gave my knitting machine and ribber a whirl yesterday

I was like a bumbling nincompoop.  I had forgotten so much, even how to thread the yarn (wool)!  Good job I have all the manuals.

It took three or four attempts to cast on the ribbing correctly.  It knitted just fine once started.

I gave the machine a good oiling first so thought I would give it a test run.  I can tell you it isn't like riding a bike!  You do forget, well at least I did.

I made my customary Barbie dress which is what I turn all my practice pieces into.  Have to sew it together and put a row of crochet around the bottom to save it curling.  The top is a bit wrinkly because I forgot to reduce the tension when casting on but hey ho, it will be a feature 😉

My Barbie doll model and her clothes went home with the littlest grand daughter this past visit so no model to display it on.

I might look for an American doll in a garage sale and make some clothes for it both on the knitting machine and sewing machine. I fancy doing something like that for a bit.

Today I will get the big guy out, the battered up old SK151 (see posts below for it's history) and oil it and give it a whirl.  No ribber for that one so hopefully an easier session.

The saga of the SK 151

I was a little concerned that I had forgotten so much so checked back on my blog and it had been three years since I had used the machine and made something so I didn't feel quite so bad then.

In the way of everyday stuff, my husband is having to get plasma exchange every three weeks now and the last one didn't seem to help much.  He may have to go back on the immunotherapy with the chemo drug but he has to be careful with that, last time it wiped out all his white cells. He isn't feeling too well since the procedure last week, lots of dizziness and weakness,  Hoping he will rebound soon.

We had a visitor this week, unfortunately!  Haven't seen any in a few months but this one showed up today. He looked like he had been dead a while though so he may have just been under the dresser or something.  Will be keeping a sharp look out from now on though.

It's been a busy time!

We have had a busy month or more.  Firstly, getting ready for family to visit.  You know how that is, have to make the whole place sparkle!  Silly, because the family is just happy to see us and us them but it is how we are.  So my husband tackled the outside mowing and I did indoors.

Then the visit which was lovely.  The children grow so fast, so there is such a big difference when we see them each year.

I showed the treadle sewing machine to our granddaughter and daughter in law and they both wanted to try it. 

The daughter in law is a professional photographer so takes pictures of everything!  She doesn't care if your hair is out of place or you are in your tatty clothes, she just snaps away.

Some of her photos this time:-

A cushion made on the treadle by our grand daughter

Using the treadle machine, she aced it!

Maggie playing with one of her favourite sticks

A day at our good friend's lake house

We took a trip to our good friend's lake house and the family got to try out all of his cool lake toys.  It was a wonderful day for all topped off with great barbecue from our host Bruce.  Beef tenderloin steaks and pulled pork.  So delicious!

So that's what we've been up to this past month.

Back to VA this week twice, 3 appointments and plasma exchange for my husband. Back to reality!

Finally, I made something

As you know from my previous posts things have been pretty hectic here but I actually managed to get a pair of curtains made for our upstairs landing window.  As we live in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours in sight we really didn't need draw curtains so I just had net curtains on that window.

However, with the onset of the hot weather I realised we needed thick curtains to keep the heat out.  In prior years, I confess, that I hung a thick towel over the wire for the nets to block out the sun in July and August but this year it got hot in May! But it is still cooling down at nights so it makes sense to open the window at night and this was difficult to do with the towel in place.

So, as luck would have it, when we were sorting out the shop I found some fabric that I had stored away and had forgotten about.  It was perfect for the job.

Couldn't get photo to turn the right way!!!!

The fabric was very thick and difficult to sew through more than two thicknesses on the sewing machine so there was quite a bit of hand sewing involved.  Each of the loops had to have the ends turned in by hand and then attached to the curtains by hand.  I added the buttons to break up the plainness.

It was nice to make something again!

An update on the plumbing etc......

We got the new tank installed with the help of our neighbour.  He is younger than us but has problems with his feet so it was also hard going for him.  We were very grateful as we couldn't have done it with out his help.

The plumbing still continues to be a problem.  Once it was all fitted back together it was leaking.  The next day we went to town and got some replacement pipes and couplings and my husband fitted them.  They still have a tiny leak.  We are not going to do anything until this coming week as we are waiting for a new filter cannister to arrive which he will fit in front of the tank.  When we took the old one out a lot of sediment had built up in it which may have caused the leak in the tank.  In a bid to reduce this we are putting in the filter cannister.  We will work on the slight leak at the same time.  I say 'we' but in essence it is my husband who does all the work, I just be there to pass him things and sort out the fittings.

Last week he went for his plasmatheresis treatment.  It is an all day process so a long day with the traveling to and fro.  He gets this once a month now.  He really shouldn't be doing all this heavy work but we just can't get people to come out and do it.  There is a dire need for plumbers, electricians and construction workers in these parts.

Nothing on the 'making' front I am afraid, just do not have the time or energy lately.

We are in our stormy season and Maggie, our American Bulldog just hates storms.  They scare her and make her very nervous and put her off her food.  Much comforting and petting is going on to keep her settled.

I watched the Royal wedding yesterday.  I really enjoyed it, it is good to see jolly old England.  I miss it a lot but I chose to live here with my wonderful husband and here I will stay.  I get my England fix every day from my blogging friends there so all is good.

Must get back into making things soon.........

Sad news from a blogging friend

I know I will likely never meet any of my blogging friends but I feel close to them despite this. So I share in their joy and in their sadness.

So I send my condolences to Sue from The Cottage at the End of a Lane on the loss of her husband Col who passed away on Friday.

Sometimes things just don't go right!

We were very happy with the slow progress we were making sorting out the workshop.  We  have all sorts in there.  Family have their stuff stored in there, we have a lot of my husband's mother's stuff in there, (she died in 2010), some of my stuff and some of my husbands.  Not to mention the functioning aspect of the shop with our tools and work benches, wood and leather plus an old cooker, an old washing machine and 4 old TV's.  Garden equipment etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  (Any one who remembers the original movie 'The King and I' will understand that reference lol)

Floor space was at a premium I can tell you.

Any way much sorting and repacking into totes and dumping of stuff was happening.  We had been working at this for about 5 or 6 weeks as we can only do about an hour or so a day as neither of us can do more than that with the rest of the daily stuff that needs doing.

Then on Wednesday we went into the pump house that is on the end of the workshop and the well pressure tank was leaking and the floor was very wet.

Darn! frantic calls to plumbers and friends who know about these things yielded nothing, nada, nilch!  So much researching was done and we sorted what tank we needed to buy to replace the leaky one.  $500 buckaroos later and a 4 hour trip to pick it up yesterday early evening.  It is currently in the back of the van as it is very big and heavy.

Our wonderful neighbour's son is going to help us install it but we have to replace some of the floor boards and the pipework so not a quick fix. He is not a plumber but is a bit of a jack of all trades.  We didn't want to bother him, would have gladly got a plumber in but getting one to even reply to our phone calls just didn't happen

If that wasn't enough, we had a really bad storm Wednesday night and woke up to my computer being fritzed and 2 sound systems attached to our TV's had fried also. Also the water wasn't running.  We though maybe the tank had burst completely but the storm had taken out a breaker and the well pump had stopped running.  Thankfully my husband was able to fix that so we do have water but the tank is still leaking. The TV in the living room wouldn't work either but Direct TV came out and got that sorted.

So not the best of weeks, will update when we make any progress. Needless to say the sorting out of the shop has ground to a halt until we get these other issues resolved.

The past couple of weeks......

Today we are celebrating our anniversary.  We had both been married and divorced before we met and this is our 13th wedding anniversary.  It has been a wonderful 13 years even with the ups and downs of health issues and am looking forward to many more years.

Where our journey together will lead us we have no idea but we plan on it being together.

Eventually we will have to leave our existing home and land because there is more upkeep involved than we are able to do but we will hang on here for as long as we can because we can't envisage living anywhere else.

Enough philosophizing,  back to the subject of this blog.....making things.

I haven't actually done a fat lot to be honest, just been making the pin loom weaved squares for the baby blanket ready for when the next baby in our extended family arrives.  Nothing on the horizon that we know of yet.

I have 70 of then done and need 81 so only 11 more to go.  That should make a 3' x 3' blanket.  I will determine after that how much bigger I will make it.

I also bought a pattern for an apron that I had seen Henny Penny made.  (see link below)

The apron Henny Penny made

I really like the style of this one and the fact that it doesn't need to be tied.  My arms do not work so well these days so tying things behind my back is not so easy.

I ordered some bias binding and am awaiting it coming and I have some fabric already to make it.

It's been a long cold winter here as it has most places so as I am sure that you are looking forward to some better weather as much as I am.

Bloggers and blogging

I have been a little disappointed to hear that a few of the bloggers whose blogs I read have had negative comments about their blogs and I fully understand how they must have been hurt and upset.  Why do people make nasty comments?  Can't they just move on and read a different blog.

To me it's like complaining about a certain TV program.  You don't have to watch it if you don't like it, just switch to another channel.

I am not a prolific poster but I do enjoy reading other folk's.  If there has been any I didn't like I just stopped looking at them. I am not much of a commenter either but once in a while I do.

We all have our own reasons for blogging, mine is to keep a sort of diary I can look back on.  I don't have many people read my blog and that is fine, I started it for me.  I do appreciate any one who comments though.

I hope those bloggers who were subject to the nasty comments keep on posting as I do so enjoy reading about their adventures and daily activities.

Apologies

I am such a Dumbo sometimes.  I never realised I had a lot of comments awaiting moderation.  Today I found them and told Blogger to publish them.

If yours was one, I am very sorry and have resolved the issue.

Will Mung beansprouts be the answer?

On a visit to see my husband's neurologist last month we commented to him on how well he was looking.  He is not a well man and suffers himself from neurological problems as well as other things especially allergies.  He told us he had been eating Mung beansprouts for about a month and wasn't sure if his improvement in health was related but it was a big coincidence, he said.

So, we researched them and found that they are supposed to be beneficial healthwise and though why not give it a go.  Nothing to lose except a bit of time and the cost of the beans.

This was the best video I found online on how to grow them.

How to grow Mung beansprouts

I am now on my third batch of growing, here are a couple of pictures of my second batch before I harvested them.  They didn't grow as tall as the one's in the video but they taste great and they were plentiful.  Enough to keep us going until the next batch is ready.

Have we noticed any changes?  Well my husband thinks they are helping with his problems of constipation and I have noticed that I do not get indigestion at all if I have eaten some.

We eat about three small bowlfuls a day usually with or just after meals.

On a not so good note, when my husband was in the hospital the week before last some blood tests showed some liver function tests highly elevated so he has to have an ultra sound on his abdomen on Tuesday.  I might add that he hadn't started on the beansprouts at the time the blood test was done.  The first batch was growing while he was in the hospital.  Hoping it is just a temporary reaction to the plasmatheresis treatments he had.

Will keep you updated.