Knitting maniac

Bamboo needles

Several months ago, I decided I needed to take up a hobby that did not require technology.  Knitting was making a return to the world, and because I had a little background in knitting, I decided that was it.  A while back, a friend got a pair of needles, a knitting book and some yarn for me, and I put it away in the closet until I had time to work on it.

So here I was a couple weeks ago with a lot of downtime on my hands.  What to do?  Ahh, yes, I will break out the bamboo needles and yarn and figure this knitting thing out.  The lady at the Yarn Studio in a nearby town told my friend to tell me to use the book and watch youtube videos to get me going and that is what I did.

What I found amazing was as soon as I watched and read a little, it all came back to me.  My Grandma Lynch was a knitting maniac.  Most of my memories of her include yarn, needles and her knitting bag. . .and lots and lots of knitted gifts.  I'm guessing I was about 12 or so when she taught me the very basics.  I didn't stick with it and now here I am relearning.

As soon as I got the hang of it, I was taken aback...I could smell, see and feel my Grandma Lynch. Everything about it brought back memories of her knitting.  I fell in love with it and am hooked.  I cannot seem to put the needles down!

I have completed a dishrag (which was a fun project) and two scarves.  I am just about done with my third scarf.  It is a more complicated pattern and I'm having to really take my time.  Today I received this text from my number one fan and BFF: "Blog Please" to which I replied "I'm knitting, sorry."  His response, "Your people want blogs not scarves."

That cracked me up!  I'm outta control.  I have knitted in 90+ degree weather at a football game.  Got lots of stares.  I teased...I was knitting an afghan, ha.  I knitted the other night at the volleyball game.  More stares.  One asked, "Are you still on the same scarf as the football game?"  Ha, no, this is a new one!

I am the type of person that can hardly sit still.  This is a great way for me to be doing something while doing nothing...so as not to waste time.  Huh?  Get it?  And now that I've learned a few tricks, I don't need technology of any kind to knit away.  I can take it wherever I go.  Sorry, family, if I'm embarrassing you!

One funny about my grandma's knitting...the time Jay got an off-white cable-knit sweater (turtleneck and all) for Christmas.  Wow, was he speechless?!  Needless to say, he has never worn it out.  I keep teasing him that I will make him one.  My favorite knitted things from grandma were the matching leg warmers (blue and white striped - Go Bluestreaks) she made for me and my Cabbage Patch Doll, Amy Ann.  They were adorable.  Also, I love the burnt orange afghan that my mom has.  Great, perfect-sized blanket that really keeps the heat in.

Lane keeps bugging me about a blanket, and I keep telling him I'll get there, but it will take a while...a long while. He also wants a pair of socks and a hat.  Now, that I can probably do in short order.  And speaking of that...I gotta go.

Does anyone out there need a scarf?

Almost done.

Labor Day labors

Here's a follow-up to our summer project out the back patio door.  Last week Jay bought four sheets of siding and put them on the house.  It looks so good.  You can barely tell they were replaced...except that those four pieces are slightly whiter :)

Right in the area by the tail is where the plants were.

Jay has cut the boards for our walkway, but they need stained and fastened down.  The Pinterest photo shows them loose, but we can't figure out how that will ever work around here.  Hank the Tank will discover their mobility and they'll be all over the yard.

We plan to sow some grass and try to get that dirt area full of thick, green grass.  I think it will look nice next Spring if it takes off.  We also have to take care of the far side of the walkway where we have some weeds growing out of control.  Jay will sow new grass there as well.

Hank is not part of the project.

On Monday, Labor Day, we worked most of the afternoon moving the plants that had been right up next to the old deck.  They need shade.  We have always thought it would like nice to have some sort of landscaping between these two small trees in the backyard by the barn.  They are very shady and the grass won't grow there anyway.  So Jay went and got a few scoops of dirt from the Quacker's and we dug and split and re-planted until we had everything where we wanted it.

A little short on materials...

Unfortunately, we were short one strip of landscape fabric and one half scoop of landscape rock to complete our new shady landscape, but we made a good dent in the project.  We transplanted one plant out front to replace an incorrigible combination of two plants that is now in the fence row.  By incorrigible, I mean that I have dug that plant up twice now trying to remove an over-crowding columbine and the columbine will not go away...so out they both went.  If you ever want something hardy, columbine is what you need!

Earlier this summer Jay watched a do-it-yourself program on TV about separating and transplanting perennials. He felt like a pro by the time we were done with this. It's really simple too, don't be afraid to just chop those roots in two.  We got the machete and Jay chopped away.  When I took these pictures Wednesday morning, the plants hadn't even had water since Monday, and they were still looking great.  I just hope it continues.

If I see the Precious out there using it as a potty, we may be in the market for Hank III...

Sweet Jo...it is not so

Sweet Josie...oh my.  I can't tell you how many times we've said those two words together...usually following something like, 'that stupid cat' or 'bad kitty.'  Somehow, Meepie has sent word down to Sweet Josie that her purpose in life is to make us miserable and regret our decision to put Meepie to sleep.  I just know it.

Our adorable little fur ball has turned into psycho attack kitty.  I cannot walk through the house without being savagely attacked at the ankles.  I have resorted to wearing long pants because of all the scratches on the backs of my legs.  She is relentless.  This loving little kitten, the one who would not leave me alone at night...licking my face and cheeks, lying on my head or across my neck...yeah, that's the one who will now jump up on the bed, sit down, put her ears up and pounce on my face.  I'm not joking.  Jay thinks it's hilarious because out of nowhere, literally, she will attack my face or any exposed flesh and hang on as if her life depended upon it.

A month ago I researched cat behavior online.  Apparently, I'm not supposed to wear long pants because it is basically enabling her bad behavior.  Hmm.  (Forget that, I'm trying to keep myself from bleeding to death.)  I should set aside time each day for 'ritualistic play' with the kitten.  Okay, I've tried this.  I'll calmly grab the sweet thang and try to play with her, using a toy or even my hand, and it always ends in bloodshed and me wanting to strangle the precious kitty.

Amazingly enough, every single night, once the lights are off in the house, Josie will jump up on the bed and find the perfect spot on or near my legs and sleep there nearly all night long. What a sweet kitty.  I guess it's a good thing that Jay and I are early risers for the most part because this little gem won't let us sleep past 6 or 6:15.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that she will get on the bed and cause a commotion until one of us gets up.  Her favorite trick is jumping up on the headboard and rustling the mini blinds.  That noise is like no other.  It is imperative that we check her food dish before bedtime because if it is running low and happens to empty during the night, she will kick her alarm into overdrive.

We have tried shutting our bedroom door to keep her out, but her persistence is never lacking.  She has discovered that jumping up and hitting the door handle over and over will also ensure a response from us. She  is like that child who wants attention and doesn't care if it's positive or negative attention.  She just wants to get her point across.

Josie's redeeming quality is her quirkiness and spunk.  She reminds us so much of Meepie when we find her in weird places or up to no good.  Below are a few pictures I've taken over the past month or so of some of her tricks.

Looks comfy, doesn't it?

Do you see me now?

I was cooking supper and one of the kids told me to try to find kitty, that she was staring right at me...sure enough, the little sneak was lounging behind the TV.








Apparently lying behind the screen didn't cut it....she immediately switched to plan B to get our attention.

We don't give her enough credit.  She's a genius.  "How do I get the humans' attention?  Ah, yes, they're always staring at that big, noisy square.  I'll try the other side."

Wish I had a picture of all of them, hidden message maybe?

Last weekend we went camping.  When we came home on Sunday morning, I noticed Hank the Tank's chew sticks all over the living room floor.  Weird.  I asked Jay if he had done it when he was home the night before feeding the animals.  No.  Then it dawned on me...Lane and his friends had been playing with Hank earlier in the week and had left the plastic bag of chew sticks on his top bunk.  We had found the sweet kitty licking one of the sticks a day or two before. After a quick search, I found the empty plastic bag on the top bunk.  Little Josie, as if to protest her lonely weekend, brought every single chew stick out of the bag and into the living room.  There were about a dozen sticks total.

No worries, we're just friends.

Her new favorite spot is right next to the fish bowl.  My coworker gave us their goldfish and Josie is in love.  She will watch that fish for hours.  Fortunately, the fish has not been attacked (that we know of).  

Not sure if I have mentioned before, but Josie, like Meep, prefers water from a glass, literally.  I have the same glass on my nightstand for Josie that I had for Meep.  Well, Josie has found bigger and better things...this fish bowl is glass and provides an endless supply of water.  Can you imagine what poor Sherlock thinks when that enormous head reaches down and her tongue comes out for a drink? Downside, the water in the fishbowl is always low...

This one has been a while (you can see how much Josie has grown).  The kids and I were gone one Saturday morning, and Jay sent me this picture.  The living room window was open and the little miss brought her treasure inside for Jay to see.  

A few weeks before this, she had brought a bird in through the window and let it loose in Lane's room.  We have an open door/window policy at our house, all of God's creatures are welcome to come inside...ahhhhh!

We're going to keep Sweet Josie around for a while, hopefully, but we welcome better behavior anytime soon.  In the meantime, I'll be wearing long pants...or I'll be in line at the blood bank.

It's too late...

Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don't really need to write you.  For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.  1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 (NLT)

At church camp we sing this song called the "Shark Song" and one part of it goes, "It's too late, do-do, do-do-do-do, It's too late, do-do, do-do-do-do, It's too late, do-do, do-do-do-do, It's too late."  That's what I said to myself when I went to retrieve the grape bunches from my grapevine.

This spring as I was on an early-morning walk, I was pleasantly surprised by the eight bunches of green grapes on my grapevine. The Quack momma had given me a couple fruit vines/plants a few years ago for my birthday.  We planted them halfway up our driveway under these two posts with a cross-post, thinking if they live, they can crawl on the post.  Perfect.  And then nothing...

I finally decided none of them had lived, which wouldn't have been too shocking because I did absolutely NOTHING to them after Jay planted them there.  So to see those grapes growing this spring was so awesome.  I was tickled to death.  I took this picture and posted it on Facebook.



Every morning since then, I have watched and waited for those beauties to ripen.  About two weeks ago, I grabbed one and ate it.  It was still a little tart, but it had softened quite a bit.  I told Jay that sometime the following week, I probably needed to get them...

And then two days ago, as I was driving up the lane, I noticed the grapevine leaves were kind of strung out everywhere, not lying in their position across the post...and upon closer inspection, I saw that all eight bunches of grapes were MIA.

I quizzed both children...nope.  Jay...nope.  Bummer. I can only assume that the deer or the raccoons enjoyed their sweetness.  That's what I get for putting off today what I can do tomorrow...

It's the same with making the commitment to Christ.  Tomorrow may not come.  Today is the day.  Accept Christ in your heart....before it's too late, do-do, do-do-do-do...

18 and counting...

Jay and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary yesterday.  We really 'celebrated' on Friday evening with a nice dinner at the Black Angus Restaurant in Terre Haute.  The food was delicious, and although it was a little pricey, it was an occasion to be celebrated so we were okay with it.

Last night Jay had a meeting and I had Ladies Night Out with the church women at Monical's.  Monical's Pizza is my number one favorite and I haven't been there in months, so in essence, Jay taking me out on Friday night, which freed up my Monday evening, was a great gift.

My real gift is something I bet none of you have ever in your life received...and maybe never will.  That makes me a very special girl.  My mom always tries to give us something in line with what is appropriate for each anniversary.  Eighteen was porcelain.  She asked if we needed a new sink.  Haha.

Back to my very special gift.  Last year for our anniversary I received a Duroc Gilt named Yadi from the Illinois State Fair gilt sale.  And now look...Yadi is on her second litter and there are eight babies in our barn.  This year, Jay has spent countless hours looking at websites and researching the specifics of this gift.  He has finally narrowed it down to one...

Boar, that is.  Jay just ordered some semen for our pigs so they can be artificially inseminated in a couple weeks.  It's the gift that keeps on giving.  You're jealous, I know...

Summer Project 2013

Earlier this summer when summer was fresh and exciting, we were working on various projects outside. Number one on our list was tearing out our old deck and replacing it with a smaller set of steps, we are calling temporary.  (Temporary in our world can mean anywhere from one hour to ten years.)  We know ourselves enough to understand that temporary needs to be good enough to last a while...just in case.  So our temporary steps are pretty nice if you ask me...of course, I also feel that way because Jay and I worked side-by-side on these steps.

Some day we would like to add a screened-in porch to the back of our house and we don't want to do anything back there right now that would interfere with that future plan.  (Future in our world can mean anywhere from one hour to twenty years.)

One Saturday in June, Jay and I worked all day long on these steps.  All day long.  It was a very long, hot and exhausting day.  And by the end of that day we were both completely spent...totally dead on our feet. We practically had to crawl in the house.  We kept laughing because we were so pitiful...and the next morning we were heading to Holiday World.  YIKES!  We must be getting old or something.  The sad part was even though we had worked hard all day, we were only halfway done!  It took a couple more half days to wrap it up.

Before deck stain

As you can see from the picture, all that area of dirt is where the old deck was, it was pretty big.  It took most of the summer, but we finally finished those temporary steps.  And after finding several excuses not to, I got two coats of deck stain on them.  Now, we need to get a couple sections of white siding to replace the areas that were ruined from the old deck...and a piece Lane wiped out with the tractor bucket. (Someone let the 9-year-old work the tractor and bucket on this project...)

We ordered up a load of rock to match the other landscaping rock and Jay has put it in line with the sidewalks to create walkways.  I found this simple idea on Pinterest for deck board steps that I plan to use on the rock paths to meet up with the concrete sidewalks already in place.  As I have found with Pinterest, often things that look simple...are not.  We shall see.  Then we're going to move the plants that I had in a little garden around the old deck and we'll sow some grass seed in the rest of the dirt areas.

Surprise tomato plant!

Funny thing, last year, I had a topsy-turvy with a cherry tomato plant hanging from a shepherd hook in that little flower garden by the old deck. I didn't remove the topsy-turvy and dead cherry tomato plant from the hook until early this spring.  (I know it's pitiful.)  Surprise! This spring, a very healthy volunteer cherry tomato plant popped up among the marigolds and has been thriving!  I think the marigolds have protected that plant from all the bugs and such because it is so healthy. I have been picking cherry tomatoes off that plant for weeks now and delivering them to Grandma Great, who eats them like candy.  The marigolds also come up volunteer.  They're not very orderly but they're thick.  I know when I relocate the rest of the plants, I will probably lose my little surprises.  Snap.

I can't wait until grass is growing thick in the dirt areas...that will complete the project...of course then we'll have to figure out how to mow it.  And we don't own a push mower.  Hmm...

Piggies!

I kind of kept you hanging a couple weeks ago, I know.  Sorry about that.  I was so frustrated that day because Yadi was making me wait...something I'm not very good at.

Would you believe that I got to be there for six out of the eight deliveries?  I missed the first two.  I think Yadi was upset that I wasn't there so she waited a whole hour on me to get home...and then was so pooped out from the first two, she decided she was done.  Literally.  Or she wanted to see just how far Jay would go for her.  I'm not sure, but by 5:00, it was time to take action.

When I arrived home, Madolyn had had enough with assisting in the birth and clean-up of one and two.  She retreated to the house and came out periodically for check-ups.  Lane saw the first two and decided to circle the barn on his fourwheeler.  That quickly came to an end.  The noises and commotion were not very relaxing for Yadi...or Jay.  And then Lane left for football.

Numbers three through eight came via human hand express.  It was lovely, people.  I had the honors (barf) of being handed the goo-covered piglets as they came out and cleaned them up.  I got to the point where I was nearly dry-heaving.  Ugh.  The smell.  The site.  The whole experience.  We had called upon the expert hog mama, Mammie, to come evaluate the situation.  Sometimes it's just good to have someone there who has done this before to calm fears.

My mom came over to get in on the action and I can tell you she was super impressed.  Or not.  We were giving Jay lots of 'tips' on his gentleness...and how would you feel if...based on our own experiences with child birth, etc.  My mom may or may not be back next time-around.  

We had seven healthy piglets and couldn't decide if she was done or not.  Mammie's son, we'll call "Cook", came by and reached up in there and felt teeth.  Hmm, that's not something you would expect to hear when reaching in that end of a pig.  But, lo' and behold, number eight (I dubbed Husky) was stuck way up in there and had to be helped down the line too.  Again, what a lovely sight.

All eight piglets are healthy and happy.  Their teeth and tails have been cut...seems so cruel, but I'm told that's just how it is.  It's sort of interesting how you mark the babies with notches on their ear.  Each ear has meaning, one side means the litter number (which this is number two for Yadi) and the other side is the number in the litter (so we have one through eight).  The ear is divided into sections that are numbered, because obviously, you aren't going to make eight notches in an ear (or even twelve or thirteen).   Then you make a notch in the appropriate section to equal whatever number you're needing to show.  (I think)  That is the extent of my understanding of the ear notch process.  Madolyn drew a poster on how it works...maybe I need to study it a bit.

They are very active and are growing quickly.  I was a little perturbed with Yadi early on because she gave up pushing after the first two, but she has been a very good mama and seems attentive to the little ones.  They're so much like puppies right now, and watching them snort and play around is fun.  It's when they grow up and get super disgusting, that I lose interest.

First pig in the house...hope the last.

It may seem ridiculous, but with these low temperatures at night, we have had to have a heat lamp on...in August.  I told Jay the other day that I think the pigs are thick enough they don't need it.  They're pampered enough.  We'll feed them until about January and then off to the market they will go, and the circle of life will begin again. Hopefully by that time, Yadi will be ready to deliver litter number three...on time.