Chirp..........Chirp

I was eating dinner last night when I heard it. It took a while for me to figure out what the sound was. A smoke detector battery. I thought I just changed all of them! The first ones lasted 3-4 years, why was one chirping now. Batteries last a long time when the detectors are wired into the house. I started changing batteries. This required a store run to buy more batteries. I went ahead and changed all four smoke detectors.  Later I heard the chirping again. I didn't know there was one in the basement! This wasn't my responsibility when my husband was alive. This is the second time I have found a smoke detector that I wasn't aware of. Today I will be putting the old but still good batteries back in the first four detectors. I should be okay for a couple of years. The house was rewired at least four years ago, and three of the detectors were installed then. This last battery dates from that time.

I'm plugging along on sleeve #2 for my sweater. 18 more rows until the underarm. I'll have to redesign the front soon. The magazine is hat research. I have a request for warm hats for grandkids for Christmas. February is hats thin month on Ravelry's Stash Down forum.  I thought I'd get a head start on gifts. I have yarn pulled out for two hats. The first one is for charity. It's not warm enough for the grandkids, but it's washable, so the guild will get it. 

Today is cleaning day, as well as gym day, and work at the shop to catch up. Better get started.

Things I Like

An interesting building I saw on Coventry Rd.  

My freshly painted house.

Oh My

The day started out well. I picked a large bunch of flowers that were due to be covered with tarps. They made a nice display at work. The flowers to the right are Black-Eyed Susans and White Cone Flowers. I also picked Daisies and the little purple flower called Zebra Mallow (only one of those). This year's plant is all stem and few flowers. I didn't see it last year at all. I probably should have pruned it earlier in the year, but I just cut back what would interfere with painting.




Crochet is finished for the moment. The back of the vest is done. it's a little oddly shaped, but will have other pieces added, like two front pieces, and will look better then. I'm putting it aside to knit some socks. The pattern is from Cookie A. I didn't feel like designing anything right now. I still have a sweater pattern to finish.

This is what the back yard looked like this morning. There is a picnic table, as well as a patio table and tow chairs on the driveway. With only one car, I don't use that space. The patio table belongs on the porch. All the windows are covered, so that porch ceiling paint will not get on them. I can't use the back door at the moment. The downspout will be reconnected when that part of the painting is done. I'm hearing that they will be finished tomorrow if it doesn't rain. Then I'll be able to reclaim my dog.

The Oh My part
When I got to work, my laptop acted up again. The screen is so dark, I can hardly see it. It may re fixable, appearing to be a setting, but I've had a number of settings go wonky, and I've had enough. I bought a new laptop. I was able to get an inexpensive one, which will run QuickBooks, my bookkeeping program. I'm still setting it up, but once I get the backup restored I can work. There are a couple of other programs to install, but they can wait if needed. I knew the purchase was coming, but didn't need to have it fail and be unusable. Grrrrr!

Bushwhacking

I may have mentioned that I'm having the outside of my house painted. It certainly needed doing. Unfortunately for me, the best thing for my dog was a vacation at the kennel. I miss her!

I found an iPhone app called "Map my dogwalk." It is sponsored by Subaru and is free. I'm using that to track how far I walk. I'm still walking, although alone. This morning's walk was almost 2 miles, then I walked the track at the gym as usual for a warm up before hitting the machines. I skipped the treadmill that was scheduled for today. I figured that I had already walked farther than usual.

Here's a before and after example from the house painting. The scraping is done. The window and trim are aluminum. When the windows were put in, my DH planned to aluminum side the house. It no longer makes sense, since I won't be here long enough to make it pay.

The dormer twin is already primed. It's hard to tell,because the house color is almost white. The front wall below the dormers is already painted. The paint is sprayed on, which is why the window is masked. Makes for a nice even coat with no drips.

Did I say something about bushwhacking? The side of the house to the left has a couple of trees and used to have five Rose of Sharon bushes. When I told Rockie, my neighbor that the bushes would have to be trimmed because the touch my house, he said he didn't care if they were cut down. He hates that variety of bush. I agree that they are a weed. The seeds scatter and grow everywhere. I said I would cut them down. He will pull up the roots. I left about a foot of bush to grab onto when pulling roots. That's a lot less than the 8 - 10 feet high bushes that were there this morning. Out came the saw and the big pruners. I really had fun destroying the bushes. I have two big piles of

greenery tied up waiting for trash day (next Tuesday). You can see them under the tree, to the right. The white things behind the trees are my downspouts. They'll be replaced tomorrow, as rain is expected in the evening.

I had already spent a bit of time weeding in the front yard, and spraying miscellaneous plants that needed to be killed. I finished the day with another "dog" walk before dinner as usual. I was afraid to delay it, because if I sat down, I might not get up. A very productive day, although as usual plans got changed along the way.

A Break From Knitting

I started this shrug in April I think. The plan is to finish the back, and then get back to knitting. I have a pair of socks started, need to do another pair, and get back to Christmas stockings. Why do we think that projects will be done almost overnight? I thought that I could work on this shrug for a day or so and finish the back. Two days later, I've worked from round 8 to round 17, out of 24. Of course, each round is longer. I don't like putting projects down for long, because of the time it takes to find your place and get back into the rhythm of the work. I'm there now and think I will give myself until Friday to finish the back. I will have to move on to the socks at that point, but finishing one piece is a good stopping place.

The yarn is, I believe, British. It's called Crevenna Wool from Tioga Yarns. Oops, the label says made in the USA. The yarn company does seem to have a Native American name, possibly from New York State. It's a fingering weight wool, with a crepe texture, that I bought at a house sale years ago. I had just enough of this color for the project. 

Home life

My life is being upset by the painting of the outside of my house. I put my dog in the kennel for the duration, but I miss her. She really doesn't need to be home when strange men are doing things to her house and I'm at work, so not at home to comfort her. I might have tried keeping her home if I were there. 

Electronics

My daughter Jan fixed my computers and got the printer to work. My son stopped over this morning to retrieve the yoga DVD from the dead player. He was on his way to the motorcycle shop for a minor repair. I'm sure he had a laptop with him, so he could work while he waited. The advantages of a computer based career, sometimes he gets to work outside his office. What does he do? He's a computer geek for Cleveland Clinic, working in the Cadrdo-Pulmonary department. He has a PhD in Statistics. I'm really enjoying having adult children, especially when they have time to take care of me a little. 

Inherited

One drill/driver with dead rechargeable batteries. It was my husband's. After internet research, and e-mailing the company(Ridgid), I went to the Home Depot service department. The sent me to Hardware, where a nice young man tested the charger and batteries, and swapped out a dead battery for a new one. Retail price of the new battery is $69.95. I still may pay that to replace the second battery, but not today.

Yesterday, I tried to post about the tomatoes which are still abundant, although now ripening int he house. I must not have saved it on the phone. The PC version has an automatic save feature. Anyway, I have 2 gallon bags of tomatoes in the fridge which need to attended to. Some will be chopped and frozen, but I'm looking for ambition to make tomato tarts in my new pan. The mini pie/tart pan will make individual servings. Photos if I get to it today!

I used the Ziplock bowl to cut the crust the right size, and as you see the tarts fit nicely. They will be great for lunch.

Checked out The Bottle House on Facebook. The Balthazar's Gift Ale is spiced with spiced orange and coriander.

This and that

Monday
Stocking #4 is finished. Only one more to go. Sometimes even one hour a day is a slog. When I get to the family stockings, it will  go better, since I'll design those. Right now I don't even know what the base color will be for each stocking. I know where to look it up. Both family stockings are for guys, so they'll be striped. I'm thinking peerie patterns.

The cooler weather is better if the house can be heated. Scott the furnace guy cam early this morning and diagnosed my problem as  a hidden switch that needed to be reset. The wind caused a back draft down my chimney. At least it didn't cost any money, since he was just here on Thursday fixing things. Bronte the dog was sure he had come just to pet her. She can act fiercely protective, but she's a different dog if you are in her circle of friends

I had a mystery soup  for dinner today. It was something unlabeled from the freezer. Now I wish i knew what the recipe was. It was a lentil soup and looked like it had spinach in it. Next thing out of the freezer will be turkey carcasses. It's time to make more broth. I'm not sure, but I think that what I froze is from turkey breasts, not enough to make broth from just one of them.

Tuesday
Good thing Scott showed me where that switch is. I had to reset the boiler again today.

Bronte the dog got to go to the vet for a check-up. It always seems to cost more money than I expect. At  least it's only once a year.

I made a white beans & shrimp recipe in the Crock pot. It was very good, but my sister is coming to Cleveland Thursday and I don't think I will serve it for lunch. It looks bland. There are many dishes that taste really good, but you shouldn't serve to company, because they don't look very good. In this case, a little color would have helped. All is not lost, I'll just eat it myself.

Knitting at the library tonight. Worked on my latest pair of socks. I resisted the free yarn give-away. I have lots of factory yarn that is to think to be hand knit as is. Resistance was easy.

Wednesdaty
Reset the boiler again. It's getting warmer, but still raining. Where was all this rain over the summer? The tomato avalanche has slowed down. there are still plenty of green tomatoes, but they're not ripening as fast.

I've decided that Thursday lunch will be Pumpkin & black bean soup. Dear sis will just be here for a few hours. She's bringing some hostas thinned from her yard. I need more plants in my yard. Many of the things I have bought over the years have died or been eaten by the rabbit.

I finished the name on the last customer stocking.

Ugh!

This has been a weekend of things breaking at my house.

Friday I was in a cooking mood after work. I had planned on a dinner of fish in foil, a recipe from a knitting friend. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Take apiece of foil and put your fish on it, cover the fish with pesto, tomatoes (or mushrooms), yes i used tomatoes from my garden, spinach leaves and Parmesan cheese. Bake about 15 minutes. While that was cooking I cooked up another piece of chicken breast to use in salads and sandwiches for lunch. I had a taste for baked beans. Put some pinto beans in the crockpot on low overnight. I didn't have any white beans in the house. I'll have to get some. So far, so good.

The next morning, I put more ingredients in the crockpot and turned it up to high. I went to work thinking about lovely beans for dinner, made with my own tomato sauce. I came home to a cold pot and uncooked beans. The poor thing had died. It was old, with a cracked lid. Does the fact that the outside was orange give you a clue as to how old the poor slow cooker was? A couple of years ago I was able to pick up a new pot on sale with discounts. I planned to put it  into use when the lid cracked on the old one. The lid is still holding together. Both pots are the same brand and the ceramic insert from the old pot fits the new one. Last night, I transferred the beans to the new base and cooked them some more, turning it off at bedtime, thinking they were finished. This morning, I decided more cooking was needed. I ate beans for lunch after church and a trip to the gym. I now have little packages of baked beans in my freezer.

After lunch, I came upstairs to watch the football game while working on the computer. That television won't turn on. This is not a real tragedy, as I have two more working HD tvs. My husband was a real tv watcher as his health failed. He didn't have energy for much else. I will have to get the thing out on the curb, and it will take 2 men to move it. I'm not decided on whether I'll move the tv from the kitchen, or just leave it there.

As the day went on I felt chilly. I finally checked the thermostat, and it said the house was 5 degrees colder than the set temperature.I just had the furnace man here on Thursday, fixing radiators and servicing the boiler. The boiler isn't working! We think the pilot light went out. He'll be here bright and early in the morning. In the meantime, I'll wear more clothes. At least I have a heated mattress pad on my bed. It was still in the closet this morning. I don't think any of these problems will cost me money, but still it's frustrating.

Sewing - I finished a dress for myself. I found the fabric, pattern, and cut out skirt on a shelf at work. (I own the shop) I must have bought the fabric 20+ years ago. It's a rayon crepe with a print of different buttons all over it. I bought contrast fabric for the collar, which was enough for the bodice facing and the inside of the sleeve cuffs. The dress is a long sleeve shirtwaist dress with full skirt and buttons all down the front. I had picked 12 buttons, in 6 colors, each of them different. The store sold buttons loose, in the quantity you needed. I haven't decided if I really like the dress, but it was fun to make.

Knitting -  I'm at the toe4 of stocking #4. I should finish tomorrow. I'm still putting in at least an hour each day on the project. I have a pair of red birthday socks knit to the middle of the foot. They are a mystery pattern and I wasn't sure if I would run out of knitting before the last clue came out Saturday morning. I was prepared to start the second sock, even  though I have only one ball of yarn and I don't like working from both ends at once. As it happens I don't have to do that. I may be able to start the other sock tomorrow. I'll try to get pictures of the dress. The beginning of the sock looks like this:

I've been going to knit night at the local brewery. There's a nice group of new-to-me knitters, including a local designer, named Hunter Hammersen. Not knowing what the conditions would be, I started a simple project, a scarf called Wingspan. The first night I didn't have any mindless project and the stockings were not in a good place to take. The second night I took a stocking and worked on the heel. White yarn is prefect for semi-low light conditions. Actually the lighting is not bad. One of the knitters is very close to an owner, and makes sure we can see. This project sits in my purse until I need concentrated mindless knitting. The yarn is Crystal Palace Mini Mochi.

Time to crawl into my nice warm bed.

More Solar Power

I finally have photos of the solar powered lights that were added to my yard this year. The green lights are butterflies. Still don't have a good picture of those. In the front yard, the lights close to the house are insects, which change color. We have had lights before, but they wore out. all these are new. I makes me smile to look at them. Isn't that what you want from your yard?

I think I am surprising myself by how much time I'm spending working on the yard this year now that the whole thing is my responsibility. The lawn was DH's job, which he delegated to a landscaper the last few years. The short story is that we had a relatively new mower, and I won't cut down flowers.

I'm trying vegetables again this year. The tomatoes are doing well, although not red yet.

Last year, the rabbits ate all the leaves from my pepper plants. This year they are in containers on my porch. the first to ripen is a purple variety. It's about 2" long now. I'll pick it when it starts to turn red. I don't know what size it will be, so that seems the best way. The other peppers are coming along. the next biggest one is green.

 Business has picked up at work. The orders are bigger this week. One of the most interesting jobs involved making a sari blouse. The sari comes with fabric on one end for the blouse. In this case It was a coordinate, sewn to the end of the sari. Different from fashion blouses, these are very fitted and short. They are made with about 1" of fabric in the side seams to be let out if needed as the wearer grows/ages. These garments are kept for years, so the flexibility is needed. The sari itself is wrapped to fit every time it is put on.Other than that, it's been hem week at work. I probably do more hems than anything else.

Knitting has been a large pair of birthday socks. My Olympic knitting challenge will start when these are finished. These match a pair knit for my daughter earlier this year.

Busy, expensive week

The green socks are finished! It was a struggle. I ran out of yarn in the last toe. Since I had already re-bought this yarn when I lost a sock last year, I didn't want to buy it again to finish this project. I love the yarn (Crystal Palace Panda Silk), but I'd like another color.

Ravelry to the rescue. I found a couple of Ravelry members who had the same yarn and had used most if it in their projects. One was moving and all her yarn was packed up, but the other sent me the 8 gn she had, which was more than enough.

I'm now finishing socks for my son, but no photos. I first knit these socks for my husband in a semi-solid black. That doesn't photograph well, but he liked black. This time they are beige4, which photographs well, but I've sold the sock pattern. I have a deal where they will go to the August photo shoot and be returned to me so my son can wear them this winter. The pattern won't be published until spring.

The dishcloths for my daughters are done. Now I want to do some for my sister, but they will be a Christmas present. They're such fun to knit. I really make a large swatch of a pattern, using cotton yarn in a color I think appropriate. My sister has crocheted dishcloths. She says when the centers get thin, she uses them between the pans in her cupboard. She cooks with electricity and has non-stick pans which benefit from the protection.

Toimorrow will be a day to drive the dog crazy, not that it's hard to do. The refrigerator fix-it man is coming back. He's fixed my ice maker water valve, so we now have ice, but it still doesn't come through the door. That'll be expensive, but I knew that. In addition roofers will be her early in the morning. It's an expensive week!