Catching up the details of 2012

I did promise to come back and add some details didn't I?

 Well, we finally found a wonderful young man who turned out to be the SON of the fellow we bought our lovely old stove from! He spent all morning trying this and that and tinkering along with some feline help. But by golly he got the oven door fixed and the whole thing working better than ever. Then he charged us a pittance and left us very happy.

 David came up sometime in the Spring and brought his boat to go sailing in the Straits out of our Marina. It was a lovely visit! I know I had a picture but danged if I can find it!

 I guess the next thing that came up was the death of my ex, the abusive father of my sons. He left behind a huge mess starting with a bogus will that left everything to one of his old bimbos. Turns out SHE wrote the will during his last few days, mostly out of his mind on morphine. The boys had to contest the will and wound up being coerced into a 3 way split. So One house has been sold, the other is up for sale in Stinson Beach and everything else has been distributed or sold. The creditors have until February to make their demands and then the boys will each get 1/3 of whatever is left over. David & Jenny made a few trips up here from Los Angeles for various things and are very tired of traveling. I don't blame them. It's a long drive. The whole thing was very upsetting to Matthew but he is doing much better now. He gave us this HUMONGOUS new television and we just got it working today. Yay!
 

Let's see... Thanksgiving was next and our usual group was mostly sick. So it was just me and Alex and the kitties for dinner. Nephew Seth was recovering from his second perforated ulcer and Nephew Alec and their Mom were trying to take care of him and fight off the flu.

 Then Alex's old childhood friend went to the hospital for a stent and wound up with a quadruple bypass. His recovery had been very slowed and complicated by a long hidden problem Deits had and is still in denial of having. He finally checked himself out of the convalescent hospital against the doctors' wishes. So now he is home and depending too much on Alex. But Alex is a good old friend.

 And then Christmas came and again our dinner plans were thwarted. On Christmas Eve Mary had a bad fall and spent all day in the hospital. They sent her home on morphine and she has had to do some serious resting. So I had planned on making dinner and taking it to her house. But Nephew Alec had made their dinner and all was well for the time being.

The way the tree is between my chair and the new tv I can only see one little corner of the tv. So the tree will be coming down sooner than later. I'm really looking forward to seeing my soaps on the big screen! And movies too! In HiDef no less! LOL!

So it is time for me to clean up my extremely messy room and decide what I am going to work on next. The cleaning and tidying alone is a daunting task that should keep me busy for a while. It will also give me an opportunity to review and tidy my stash. My hands are beginning to ache so it is time for me to get something on the needles to keep them limbered up.

So, here's to a better year ahead! Please God, no more heartbreaking tragedies such as has been suffered through this year. Let the New Year be bright and full of hope and Joy! Amen!

The end of the world? Nah, keep knitting!

Well, the end of the world did not arrive. Just the end of an old calendar. I bet lots of old Mayans are having a good laugh. :o) So... where were we? April it was. Well, I've been knitting like mad since then, with a bit of crochet too. Making Christmas gifts ALL year! In my last post I was in the middle of a Kimono style sweater for my niece. Next came a filet crochet Dragon banner for my nephew Alec. Then a Unicorn for his Mom. Still need a couple of bamboo sticks from our jungle out back for hangars for the banners. Getting Alex to cut any of his precious bamboo is difficult at best. Then came a beautiful Celtic pillow for Alex about his favorite tree, the Oak. It has leaves and acorns and the celtic rune for the Oak tree. It's been hard to hide it all this time! Then a lined Celtic bag for my Mom. Dang! I never took a picture of the finished bag! It has a beautiful cable up the side that goes right into the strap. It came out really nice after the lining. I mailed it today before I knew I needed another picture. Sorry! Then a Celtic bag for my sister-in-law. It was finished long before she made my brother's life so miserable and tossed him out of the house. Not sure what to do with it now. And then I got brave and tried colorwork! This sweet little bag is for my very dear daughter-in-law. So now I am totally hooked on 2-handed colorwork! So I hope my son Matt will like this pillow. It needs a pillowform. May have to make one myself! Then a darling gingham rug for my brother. I pictured it at his bedside but now that he has to stay with his witch of a mother I don't know...

Then some beautiful colorwork Scandinavian mittens for my grandson. White on red. And a matching pair for his serious girlfriend. Red on white.

I need to go to bed so I'll publish this for now and fill in some details tomorrow. Nighty night!

Catching up again!

I'm back! Been a very busy bee, knitting like mad, thoroughly enjoying the kitties and lots more. So... where were we? Oh yes, Halloween. That was a while ago and I apologize for waiting so long to update my blog. Friend Lois says why not just give up the blog? But, you see, I think of my blog as sort of a diary, and I never was very good at keeping a diary, much to my Mom's dismay. But I like this one too much to quit! So, even though it makes me put down my knitting, just like eating and sleeping, I will find time for it and keep updating. I hope that's ok with ALL my loyal readers? I'll keep doing it anyway, because I like to go back and read it myself. :o)

What came next? Thanksgiving I guess. A little while before Thanksgiving our 1948 Wedgewood oven door broke. Not the door itself but a spring inside. Now the door wouldn't close all the way and I couldn't find any way to get the spring out without taking the whole stove apart, nor anyone who could help. So the day came and we put the turkey in the oven and made a sort of a plug for the door space out of heavy aluminum foil. It worked and the turkey came out fine. It was a quiet dinner with just 4 of us. But it sure tasted good!




Then the Christmas madness began. I was still knitting like mad and very behind on my gift list. I finished the Aran for Alex finally. That's Zoe giving her approval.



Then I got hold of some bulky yarn and started making hats. We had sudden news that my son and his wife and my Grandson Brandon were coming for Christmas dinner. Still no news of my Granddaughter Judy. So, this hat for my DIL Jenny. A nice Tam.




Then news that the onsie I made for my neighbor's new baby did fit! Yay!



Then Christmas arrived. We got our tree at the last minute .



Dinner was ham with the fixin's. There were 8 of us! Clockwise around the table are... nephew Seth, SIL Mary, nephew Alec, my DH Alex, grandson Brandon, DIL Jenny and my son David.



Didn't get any pictures of gift opening but a few of the results. Like Alex in his Aran.




My brother Greg and his family sent pictures of their gifts. Maria in her hat.



Greg with his afghan.



Laura in her silk cabled wrap.



Mary in her cardigan.



The New Year came quietly. But there was a painful war going on in my mouth. So it was decided that I should have the few barely functional teeth that were left surgically removed and get a lower denture. Surgery was all arranged but on the day it was supposed to happen the dentist cancelled saying that he was nervous about it. I had already paid him for the "temporary" denture (which still doesn't fit and is still painful to wear) so that was ready. So I went back to my old oral surgeon who is a wonderful friend and he did the surgery on January 18th. Since then he has put in 2 soft liners (that the dentist should have done), and last week he did a frenectomy and some bone smoothing. The denture is a little more comfortable but there is still a problem. So this week I am seeing a new dentist that my surgeon recommended and who is right next door. I think I trust him a lot more than the old guy. Whenever I was there I couldn't see any other patients in the office. And whenever he worked over me I could see his hands shaking. Scary! And last time I was there he just sat in his office while his assistant saw me. So, I'm still healing and looking forward to getting a decent, permanent lower denture that fits and doesn't hurt to eat with. Of course it will cost me all over again but I don't think I'll feel so ripped off and abused.

So far this year I have worked on a shrug for myself. Unique design, wonderful yarn, but it didn't fit at all. :o( So I will either rip it out and redesign the pattern to fit me, or will use the yarn for something else.

Then I made an afghan for one of my nieces. It is finished but I haven't been able to spread it out anywhere for a good picture.



Just finished a Kimono style sweater for another niece. It will look wonderful on her! This was the yarn from the shrug. Fortunately I have lots more!



Easter was quiet. It sorta snuck up on us this year. Another ham dinner with Mary & one nephew. Too much candy and we wonder if the Easter bunny might be getting tired. Nah!

We had a lovely bunch of wet storms, some thunder & lightening and even a couple of tornadoes but not near us.

So that's where I am now. I have a list of projects, many left over from last year. I will cast one on tonight!

OK! All caught up! Thanks for dropping by!