In the Thick of Summer

August 13, 2022

In the Thick of Summer

My goodness, it's already August - time just flies and flies. There have been some very hot days, but also a very few nights that have actually been starting to be a little - dare I say it? - cooler than before. We had a week of no central AC which was tough for the husband, who gets overheated when it's 60 degrees Fahrenheit. But we were actually ok with a borrowed window unit, thanks to a couple of our kids, and a bunch of fans. I think it comes from not having AC as kids - we both grew up in NY and summers were plenty hot then, too. We got by on fans if we were lucky enough to have them. We would run through the sprinkler, go swimming if/when we could - and - joy of joys - make our way into a supermarket, library, or other business that had central air to cool off. Ah the good old days.

Today was a really nice day. Our (adult) kids/grandkids usually come over on Sunday, but today some came by for dinner after attending a day watching their favorite players at the Ravens' training camp. The team puts on a really nice practice for their fans. Thanks to one of our daughters who has season tickets, they were able to go and cheer them on. Afterwards, they came over for supper and watched football. I'm sitting here typing this as they watch in the next room. It's always nice hearing all the different conversations they now have as adults. Others of the "kids" are away at the beach and at a wedding in New Hampshire. We've all been keeping in touch with photos and texts throughout the day. Technology can truly be a good thing:).

I've been meaning to update this thing for over a year now (gulp - sorry). Life and laziness has gotten in the way. Its been well over a year since I stopped chemo. I keep thinking I ought to be back to my prior energy levels, but I'm not quite there yet. There's also the feeling that really, what do I have to say that's all that interesting? My days have opened up somewhat since the pandemic has eased, but they still do a lot of blending one into the other. J and I live a fairly quiet life. Work keeps me busy, of course, and I am visiting clients in person again finally, but almost all of our court hearings are virtual - and to be honest, I am fine with that. To give you an idea of how uneventful things have been, I'm going back to sing in church for the first time in over a year tomorrow. Whoo freakin hoo;) Not that I'm complaining - I'm actually very grateful for many things (see below:)).

So much has happened in the last year, so I will stick to some highlights - Professionally, things have pretty much remained the same, thank goodness:). Personally, we had a wedding in February. One of our daughters married a very nice fellow. He comes from a HUGE family, so the wedding was quite the shindig! We had a few family members come from out of town which was just wonderful! I believe I can safely say a good time was had by all. And J is a great guy. We are lucky to have him among us.

This year, our son Danny had a part on an episode of FBI. He played the grieving ex-husband of an agent who was gunned down and on life support. In May, he was in The Lucky Star off off Broadway. A bunch of us came up to NY from Merlin and met up with family from New York. Again, it was so great to see everybody! In June, my stepmother, M, came to spend a few days with us on the anniversary of my Dad's death. We all went out to dinner one night and had dinner here at home another night. It was wonderful to see her. On a less fun note, we are all fully vaccinated and boosted where appropriate, but there have been a few cases of COVID among us. TBTG, no one has any lasting effects. Guess who never got it, despite a husband with a full blown case of it? Moi - she who last year would have been voted most likely to get it. Still shaking my head over that one - and knocking on wood of course!

I haven't done much weaving or spinning in the last twelve months, but I have promised myself to get back to both. My knitting and crocheting mojo has returned, and I have finished a few projects. Rather than go through a year of WIPs, I figure I'll fill you in on the top ten knitting and cross stitch projects I've been working on. But before I do that, I will show you a recently organized craft space, brought to you by the Desperation Channel...

In the course of organizing this space, I went through and put all my ongoing knitting projects on Ravelry. I was honest with myself about all current and pending projects, and, very important to my mental health, noted WHERE each project was by taking a picture of the project bag and entering that information in the project notes. By the time I was done, I was ~~absolutely horrified~~ a little shocked at the sheer number of unfinished projects (or WIPs as we like to call them) on my list. I still wonder if I will actually live long enough to finish them. I've heard of SABLE (Stash At Beyond Life Expectancy), but is there such a thing as WIPABLE or UPABLE (Works in Progress or Unfinished Projects At Beyond Life Expectancy)? I suspect there is.

I have decided not to buy any more yarn until I have finished a least 25% of these WiPs. And then I will re-visit the remaining ones to see what I'm actually going to finish and what I can (1) repurpose - which again means no more yarn buying; (2) save - see #1; or (3) give away to someone else who will also enjoy it - none of the above necessarily in that order of priority!

I will say though that this is my happy place. I go there as a reward for getting my (professional) work done;).

FINISHED OBJECTS:

I participated in the Miss May KAL hosted by the inimitable Helen Stewart.

This was another one of the very few KALs for which I have actually finished as the KAL was ongoing. Who knew? I used fingering yarn from stash. It was a very fast moving and enjoyable knit. I was never bored at any time. I blocked it very gently, no pins, and I think it will be just fine come the cooler weather.

I also finished the stitching for a couple of cross stitch projects:

One is Alice Merrifield by Pineberry Lane. I have framed this piece, but don't have a picture of it framed yet, so it is not a true FFO (finally finished object) and boy are there a TON of serious errors - all mine! Even so, it has given me a lot of joy stitching it and I think the pattern is really delightful.

I also finished Suffrage Act by Little House Needleworks. Not yet framed so again, not a FFO:

CURRENT WORKS IN PROGRESS:

There are five sweaters I have on the needles that I am working on right now. One is a new start for which I don't have a picture: Silverlining by Jennifer Steingass. I am knitting that in worsted weight red, white, and blue yarn. Just barely starting the rather intricate colorwork yoke. Will take a pic or two to share once I get really underway with that. Other projects that sit near my chair are the Lunenburg Pullover by Amy Christoffers. The photo below is from a month ago - I have gone past dividing for the armholes and am basically trying to find a way to make the endless rounds of stockinette in the round less boring. I do like the colors - this is a kit from The Woolly Thistle. It is in fingering weight singles and is taking for. ev. er.....

I'm also working on a long desired project: Hirose Midori's Ranunculus. I'm knitting this ii two yarns held together to create a bulky weight project that is such a speedy relief from the pile of fingering weight I'm sloughing through:)!Like the Lunenburg, it's past the armhole division, but wow did I ever get there quickly!

Fourth is the Wildflowers Path pullover by Melody Hoffman. This is for one of my daughters. I'm knitting two yarns held together to create a bluish lavender with fuzzy bits. I've made a bit of progress and hope to have this ready by fall.

Fourth is a wild and crazy colorwork vest called the Hello From My Colors Crop by Jessie Maed Designs. Mine is decidedly NOT going to be a crop:

I've had a lot of fun putting together a number of odd balls of fingering weight yarn and adding a few more from some very minimal yarn purchases. I've finally divided for the armholes and although there is a bunch of knitting to get to the hips, it will change with a colorwork pattern every so often, so I highly doubt I will be bored. It's a fun piece:)!

Some cross stitch WiPs are:

The Moonshine Cabin by Modern Folk Embroidery and Evertote - not enough progress for a photo yet - I decided to change the cloth I'm using and will be beginning that tonight.

This is a picture of the finished project from the Modern Folk Embroidery website:

Isn't it pretty? My challenge is getting a background linen - most likely an Aida 16-count - that is dark enough to set off the color, but not too dark to stitch on with my old lady eyesight. More to come.

For similar reasons (eyesight) I have set aside another pattern I had been working on: Coming to America by Brenda Gervais.

I'm not even a third of the way through it. It's on 40-count linen and it's do-able, but I had to take a break last year. I'll get back to it - it's too nice t leave languishing.

I'm also working on a larger-gauge project called Be Thankful by Shepherd's Bush. This is barely another start with no photos, but here's a picture of the pattern: