birthday cake

DH did not let me down. Chocolate is my favorite thing to eat and I had a chocolate ice cream cake from Friendly's after dinner tonight. Yum!

I have progress to show on the test sock - 2 pattern repeats, size 2 needles and they fit very nicely. Better pictures tomorrow in the daylight.



Back to my knitting.

It's my birthday!

It's my BD today. DH fixed pancakes and bacon this morning, and cleaned up after himself! What a prince! He'll be cooking dinner later, too. I walked with Karen, who was the second person (after DH) to give me BD wishes for the day. We did our 4.5 miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes. My plans for the day include talking with Mom to settle on the dates for me to go visit her this week, taking a hot bath and lots of knitting and spinning. Other than the weather it should be a great day. It is just grey and cloudy out there, not bright and sunny, which would be my choice. If I were given a choice. Which I wasn't.

I had to frog most of what I had knit on the test sock last night. I started with size 1 needles because that's what I usually use for sock knitting. It just barely made it over my heel and up my leg when I tried it on after 1 inch of ribbing and one pattern repeat. I went up a needle size and will be ready to try again in 2 more rows. I love this yarn and the pattern is easily memorized but not boring. Pictures soon - I need more than one pattern repeat to show you. I also finished frogging the Cables and O's section that I didn't like and I am ready to pick that up again. I would like to spin today, also. Busy day....

Moving on....



This is our boat with new canvas and side curtains on it. The side curtains will keep us safe and warm in inclement weather and allow us to use the boat later into the year without me being bundled up as if I lived in the far northern area of Alaska. LOL. We will be able to sleep on board, fully protected if we need to be (weather-wise) and still be able to have good visibility all around because of the window in the back curtain.

Another thing (in addition to boats) that you see a lot of on the Chesapeake (most other bodies of water, also) is buoys. They serve to show the way from point to point and also to show you where the safe water (as compared to shallow water) is so there is less chance of running aground. I like buoys. They seem so stable and enduring. They are out there in good weather and bad, year after year. There are red buoys.



The little antennae thingies on top are to keep the birds off there, otherwise they would be nesting and ... doing other things all over the buoy.



And there are green buoys. In this photo, if you enlarge it, you can see the light on at the top of the more distant buoy. At night they each light up in a particular pattern and frequency to aid with navigation. It's difficult to read the buoy number at night, so this way you can look at the chart and it will tell you that, for instance, a particular number buoy will flash one long and two short flashes. If you coordinate the chart information with the buoy lights you can see, you can find out where you are and how to get to where you need to go.




We've come to the end of my boating trip for this week. I will leave you with this final image. This is the peaceful, relaxing Chesapeake Bay at the end of a wonderful spring day.

boating

We have a 20 foot Grady White power boat - bought used and lovingly improved upon by DH. The Over-Exposed name refers to both DH's photography business that he owned at the time and the fact that he gets sunburned easily. We got out on it for the first time this season yesterday. This might be the earliest we've gotten out. The weather was warm, the winds were low and the Chesapeake Bay was lovely. DH and eldest son were interested in fishing. I didn't care where we went as long as I could enjoy the bay, play with my camera and knit. And eat.

We saw several tug boats while were were out. I love tug boats. I am not exactly sure what it is about them that I like so much, but I am fascinated by them. They have graceful lines (most of them, anyway).








They are powerful. A very small boat can tow or push a much larger vessel easily as long as the captain knows what he is doing. For instance, this






was being towed by this






Amazing, right?








Blogger just ate part of my post. Grrr.

I worked on Cables and O's for a while yesterday but I will have to frog a section - only about 12 rows - but I put it aside to be done when I wasn't rocking. giggle. I am almost finished with my travel sock. I actually have enough ribbing but since there is more yarn I thought I would knit for a while longer. I also knitted on a felted bag that my MIL started for me while she was ill. She was not able to complete it but I decided that I would finish it and use it. I'll think of her every time I pick it up. : )
It's actually perfect knitting for in the dark, whether on the boat or on a long drive.

I started a new project this morning. I am test knitting a sock design. I only have a couple of rows of ribbing completed so there's not much there for the camera - maybe tomorrow. I am using Claudia's Hand painted sock yarn in the Chocolate Cherries colorway.

I am on vacation ! I have lots of sheepy things coming up this week - knitting, spinning, Maryland Sheep and Wool festival - all kinds of fun things to do and no work to get in the way. Yippee! I'll be going to visit Mom, too. She treats me like a princess whenever I am there, and tomorrow is my BD, sooo.... I also have lunch with Karen coming up this week. What a wonderful week it will be!


Have a great day.

Spring time is a good time for me

I love spring - new life, sun and warmth after a long cold winter, plants and trees bursting into bloom, and it's a time of celebration for me.











Wednesday was my 31st wedding anniversary. We've weathered some not so good times and come through it, still best friends. We enjoy being together. We were determined from the start that this marriage would last and we have worked at it. I am so lucky to have a man like DH love me and want to live with me. Happy Anniversary, Bob. And thank you for the ring.


Sunday will be my 54th birthday. I love birthday celebrations, so even at my age, I need a cake and candles to make the day complete. I have DH's presents already. We don't usually do that but I saw a purse I really liked that was too expensive for just a summer purse purchase, so.... And I am taking a spinning class at Maryland Sheep and Wool courtesy of DH. Great presents.

I have been working on Cables and O's (left front finished, right front almost finished) and the Diamond Fantasy Shawl (8 rows to go!). No spinning happened this week. My travel sock is at the ribbing (toe up construction) and will soon be finished. This is the first sock of the pair, so I will be casting on for the second one very soon. I would like to start another shawl - one that has an easily memorized pattern - but I chose colors for the sweater that DH wants and ordered the yarn last night, so that will be my next priority. He wants a stockinette, white
sweater with a few narrow stripes across the chest in nautica green, red, yellow and blue. That will soon become my simple take along project. Until it gets too heavy to cart around. That kind of thing is great for knitting on the boat, though. There is no need to watch what I am knitting so I can enjoy the scenery. When Cables and O's is finished I can choose my shawl pattern. DH deserves his turn at getting something he wants knitted for him. Most of my knitting is for me.

I will be visiting my mother next week for a couple of days. When we last saw each other, I had gotten sick partway through her first visit to our house in a year. What a great hostess I was! So we will lunch together, walk at the arboretum while I take photos, and go to the beach if the weather allows. Maybe some shopping, too, but if the weather is good we won't want to be inside.

That's all for now. Have a great weekend.

It's a beautiful morning

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. I can never decide whether I like spring or fall more. spring is the beginning of new things. Peonies










Dogwood tree foliage










ETA Blogger has had photo posting problems for a few days that totally frustrated me. I will post this and try another day.

oooowwwwwww it hurts

DH is still not feeling well, nothing had been defrosted for dinner and yet we both wanted to eat. I went out and picked up supper. I got home, got out of the car in a rush because I was feeling hungry and didn't want the subs to get cold, walked in between our two vehicles on the driveway and with my leg in full swing, smacked into the trailer hitch on DH's vehicle. I took two steps before the pain hit and then didn't move for over 5 minutes. I couldn't believe how much that hurt.

When I was finally brave enough to move, I hauled myself up the 8 stairs to the kitchen and got a cold pack for my leg. I sat there in tears for quite a while. I nearly didn't got to the Cables and O's KAL because I could not see myself being able to depress the clutch on my car. DH nearly got himself strangled because he kept saying "I can't believe it hurts that much". I took 4 Ibuprofen, ate half a sub and cried some more. Ultimately I did go to the KAL in DH's vehicle (automatic transmission - no clutch). I took the cold pack and kept it on my leg while I knitted.

I hobbled in to the house after knitting - DH came out to help me up the stairs - and went straight to bed. DH did have to be threatened before he stopped laughing and shaking his head at me. Did I make fun of him while he maoned and groaned all weekend? NO. Some days I wonder how we've stayed married for so long.

I kept an ice pack on my thigh all night (I even had DH bring me a fresh ice pack when he got up during the night) and it helped. I was afraid that I would be almost crippled today but I was able to drive to work in my own car, clutch and all.

Today is Needle Exchange night at the LYS so I get to knit and visit with friends. It is also Knit Doctor day so I will have my sleeve position issues on the hemp top fixed by Karen. This is very good. I want to get on with that project. Cables and O's is moving fast - I am on the left front and have completed the sleeve decreases. I have another 2 inches or so of straight knitting and then comes the neck shaping. I will try to get photos tomorrow.

ETA I took some photos today when I got home from work. I was unable to upload them for some blogger reasons. Maybe tomorrow.

ETA (on Friday) Cables and O's progress as of Thursday afternoon. I am further along now buy about 3 inches.




This weekend will be busy. Eldest son is moving in with us for a while and that's going to happen mostly on Saturday. I have the usual walking, cleaning, laundry, etc. to do and Sunday is our monthly spinning get together. I hope to get the Diamond Fantasy Shawl
completed this weekend and make more progress on the
hemp lace top .

I played with my camera today - spring in all it's glory in Bel Air, MD

















Have a good day.

Just because it's spring

It was a good Monday

I can't believe I said that a Monday was good! I was actually happy to get away from DH and his germs and crankiness. He really is sick, though. He returned to the doctor and he has another anitbiotic and an inhaler plus more cough medicine. He doesn't have pneumonia (yet)but he has some wheezing and possibly an asthma component to his illness. His throat is very sore and his cough is very persistent and painful. Poor guy. He is not used to this sick feeling for so long. He's been lucky in the past. He'll be home from work for another week, I think.

I had a very productive day and still managed to get in my 4.5 mile walk on the trail. I topped off the night by getting to the last pattern repeat on the Diamond Fantasy Shawl and to the spot to bind off for the arm holes on Cables and O's. I have to do a little figuring here since I added 10 stitches to the pattern to make both fronts end with a cable. I have the center back marked and have to work the instructions and counting backwards to the side seams and bind off spot. I know that I have a lot to knit still but I feel that this is a major landmark in the project and I am happy to be there.

It was 36 degrees this morning when I left for work! I put all of my scarves and gloves away over the weekend. Thank goodness I had kept one pair of fingerless mitts out for walking. They came to work with me this morning. It is sunny out and that makes me happy. Maybe I will go outside for lunch today. I usually don't do that because on nice days it is very hard to come back into my dungeon and get back to work. I am craving the sunshine, though, so maybe I will go out today.

I didn't spin yesterday - just not enough time, but I hope to get in 30 minutes tonight. It is amazing how much can get spun if I do that every day. And it's fun, too.

My boys two years ago on Memorial Day (and also my in-laws anniversary) - the last time we were all toghether:




Have a good day.

I am back

I’ve been busy and I’ve been sick and I’ve been nursing DH.

Last Sunday I got sick and spent a couple of days in bed. Thursday DH got sick – different illness – and he’s much sicker than I was, so I’ve been trying to nurse him. He is a terrible patient when it comes to being sick, so my biggest challenge is not killing him. LOL.

I have made progress on Cables and O’s though not as much as I would like since I didn’t knit for 4 days. I have a few more inches to go before it's time for the arm holes.



I made progress just tonight on the diamond fantasy Shawl. It's all scrunched together on the needle for this photo, but it is wider than this, I promise. I have one and about a quarter pattern repeats to go. Yippee!



I did one pattern repeat on my hemp top (forgot to get pics in the daylight) and now I need to figure out the placement of the armholes. The pattern may have an error or I might not be thinking things out well, but I am not happy with what I see so far. I may have to go see the Knit Doctor at my LYS this week to check out the placement of the arm hole markers before I do any knitting of sleeves.

I’ve been spinning! I decided to spin the latest fiber selection from the Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club and found that I really like African Fine. I did a Google search but couldn’t come up with any information on the fiber but I really like it. The staple length seems to be about 4 inches and it’s very soft. I split the roving length wise into 3 sections, weighed them to try to get the sections pretty even and am spinning to make a 3 ply. I have no idea what I will make with it, but it’s a lot of fun to spin. The fiber drafts easily and the colors are entertaining to watch.





















I had a very productive weekend. Laundry was washed and most of the clean clothes were hung on the line to dry, lots of cleaning was done, some of the summer clothes were taken out and some winter things put away, groceries were purchased, and Karen and I walked about 3.5 miles Saturday (we hadn’t walked in a week and thought we should not kill ourselves the first day back at it) and 4.5 miles today. Good for us! Plus I actually cooked dinner and did my back exercises.

Monday morning is never any fun and I think I should go to bed and get ready for mine. I hope to post more regularly again – we’ll see. Have a good week.

Spring is here

Proof positive that it is spring. Despite the fact that we had sleet last night. Sleet for Pete's sake!








More Cables and O's:



It was a small group at the LYS last night for knit night but a good one. We giggled and chatted and ate cookies as we knit.
DH brought his new vehicle home today and we are trying to adjust. It's big.

It's amazing what you can do if you set your mind to it....

It's been a busy week so far. We bought (but have not yet picked up) a new (to us) vehicle to replace DH's well used Explorer. We moved up a step in the size department. We now own an Expedition. I know, the mileage will make me gasp and feel faint. But we do need a large engine to tow our boat - several thousand pounds up and down hills and slippery boat ramps etc. and it has to be 4 wheel drive to go on the beach when we do surf fishing. The combination was very hard to find in a smaller vehicle within our price range. The good news is that I have permission (DH actually brought up the subject himself!) to bring as much yarn as I want on trips. Can you believe it?

I have been spinning most evenings for about 30 minutes. It doesn't make for speedy results but it does provide steady progress and that's MUCH better than no progress.




I have knitted about 3.5 inches on my new sock and I love the way it is coming out.



I have managed a few rows on Cables and O's every day



The Diamond Fantasy Shawl has not seen any growth since the weekend.

My back exercises are getting done daily and I have graduated to once/week appointments instead of twice. We haven't walked since Sunday but will get to walk on the trail today and it is so nice outside.

One wall of the living room was primed and got a coat of paint last night. (So did my hair!) Not only do I not like the color but when we took off the tape (for cutting in on the edge) some of the new paint came off with it. I am not sure what that's from but we need to find a fix. I think it's because the paint is a year old. DH disagrees. He's checking with the paint department at Home Depot today.

Anyway, I've been more productive than I thought I could manage (at work, too) and that's good. I am sleeping well and getting healthier (though I am not loosing weight, which is a bummer). Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is coming up soon - that's a great weekend for me, and it falls soon after my birthday. I can't wait. I signed up for a class but I won't know whether i got in for a while yet. It's OK either way.

ETA I looked at the paint color in the daylight. It's better, but I would still rather change it. No word on what to do about the paint coming off with the tape. Also, we walked our 4.5 miles today and it was great to be out in the sunlight on the trail. Have a good evening.