What Day Is It Anyway? Thursday, May 14, 2020

I was so excited last night. I finally finished one of my daughter’s socks.

I was so happy. But when I pulled out the other one, it was two inches longer in the cuff than this finished one. So Thursday was spend pulling the cuff back on the loom. It didn’t work as easily as I thought it would. So just now, I am finally back to the length when I did the stretchy bind off I thought worked out so well. Well, I’d like it to be as nice as it can be.

Oh, well, Though it was still another rainy day, the sky gave me a show so I could rest my eyes after all the close work.

What day is it anyway, was answered as my brother took out the trash. How can Friday be here so soon?

What Day Is It Anyway?

This is what I’ve been spending most of my day on:

Oh, and when my brain didn’t work I started these:

Both for charity.

When sitting got too much and it was gorgeous outside, Kali and I took a zoomie walk/run around the property. She’d run ahead and hide and jump out with what looked like puppy-laughs and I walk-ran to keep up with her to find her. It was so much fun. I doubt I hit a thousand steps, but it was more than I would have had in the bad temps of last week. I hope we get better at this so I can improve and lengthen our walks.

This What Day Is It Anyway I think is Tuesday. Cinco de Mayo/Taco Tuesday was plastered all over FaceBook. But I don’t spend a lot of time over there. So in my day, I lost the day many times. I took a fibro-flare seriously over the weekend and all day Monday. So I missed my writers’ group. The reason is that the pain was too much to keep my brain working. I had even started my prompt a few times. I knew where I was headed with it. But then I couldn’t hold my laptop without it hurting. I hate fibro for its way of deceiving me. I’m not sure about whether or not it isn’t the flu or covid or… It is only when it gives up that I know it was a flare. It was worse when I was working. I couldn’t tell, how do you call your boss and say, I don’t know if I can work today. It feels only tired, hard to wake up. It is only when it hurts so bad that I know I can’t be at work. It is only the aftermath of one step too far that lets me know. Remember exercise that you do 10 steps today, and increase to 20 tomorrow? I used to be able to make big increases and improve lots every day. No way can I do that now. 10 today 4 tomorrow, zeros and back to 10. If not flare. It is hard to know when it is too much. I always feel like such the ‘Fairweather friend’ in that suddenly I’m not there where I wish I were. If it were just pain, I could do it. But suddenly there are no words. Then the next day you wonder if that were true. Did it really hurt that much? And how long was I out? Well, shoot! I missed a weekend and Monday. So here is Tuesday.

What Day is it Anyway? Sunday, March 22nd, 2020

Wow! I have to ask myself, what did I do today? It is 10:30 PM. My wake up was a little over 12 hours ago. Here is a little of what my day held for me.

On Sundays, we wake up and watch CBS Sunday Morning. I eat my breakfast toast or bagel during the show and get the coffee or other caffeine onboard. Anyone who has been watching “live” shows sees a big difference in how the shows are done now. Even our Sunday Morning showed the social distancing in effect. That makes me both happy and not so much. Knowing that we are still in the early stages of this pandemic. How will it change? Much of the show was dedicated to our new normal.

I know we watched another show after that but I can’t remember what it was. I know with all the bingeing we did we are now trying to catch up on our recorded shows. I might not remember because the highlight of my day was taking a stroll or two or three around the yard. I’m nearly ready to leave for a real walk. Thank heavens for sunny warm days. Yes, 55 degrees is warm. We are still dripping faucets at night as it is in the 20s. But after a cold, low snow winter, I was able to walk without a sweater or coat. I must have adapted to this weather as I used to freeze at 67! I’m not ready to wear shorts like some friends and a neighbor out here, but no coat is a thumbs up!

Most of my day is knitting, as you know. I’m anxious to take my daughter’s first sock off the loom. I want to try a certain cast-off and I feel I want to be aware of the tutorial on YouTube to make the best stretchy cuff for her. Meanwhile, the second sock is at the cuff part and the stitches used are more time consuming so I put it off. I do have her boyfriend’s first sock to the point that I’ll be making the heel soon. Now that I have his on two of the same size looms I am trying to keep both socks nearly caught up with each other. So I may put off the heel one until sock two is caught up. I still have a couple of hats in the making. But I only worked on boyfriend’s socks today.

During the knitting, I watched Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets:

It was weirdish but good for entertainment. In spite of whoever did the chest plate for our female star, must have been male, there were plenty of good lines from out starlet that I not only applauded, I shouted out to my three males of the house!

There might have been other shows. But it is Sunday and my evenings are usually watching The Walking Dead and The Talking Dead. I think having watched so much of these kinds of shows in the past few years, I find myself not as panicky. You see it isn’t about the zombies, but how people come together. How the good and the bad are affected. How old rules of social life can change and how to adapt.

If you haven’t watched it and are into it, this was a great show and there were tears. I hope that wasn’t too much of a spoiler. But The Talking Dead helps me get over whatever trauma I hold from TWD.

By the way, this is not tonight’s show. More on that in a moment.

Tonight’s show was done from the homes or offices of the stars. Like all live shows, keeping the social distancing so as to stay alive and well.

While I did my Duolingo lessons, I focus on German and Spanish but have added French and Esperanto. and while writing this blog I have had on one of my favorite go-tos: Alaska the Last Frontier. My brother knows the Kilchers and has shared his experience being up there one summer with me as I watch. I love that family. I wish I would have tried living up there like that when I was younger and energetic. I wonder how they are dealing with this new normal? Probably just fine as they are already socially distant.

Well for some people this is a boring kind of day. But for us, this is how we’ve been living since SSDI and then retirement SSI. I keep my hands busy trying to do something for others (yay! socks!) and keep my mind occupied watching writing, directing, acting out stories. Or listening to stories on Audible or Kindle Text-to-Speech.

So this is my version of What Day Is It Anyway? A prompt given to us by Linda G. Hill.

Per Linda:

Why I’m writing this post:

Because if you’re like me and stuck at home already, or if you’re going to be like me soon, the days of the week are going to be hell to keep track of. We have a wonderful community here on WordPress and all over the Internet as well, and I’m sure many people are feeling nervous and/or isolated. I want to make sure every one of us has somewhere to congregate and someone to talk to.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday –Wire

Per Linda:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “wire.” Use “wire” as a noun or a verb or any way you’d like. Enjoy!

More slipper socks finished. Yay!

And the snow is falling. About an inch in an hour. Here’s the latest of my porch banister that was just wet and brown an hour ago:

(revised edit: two inches now at the finish of the blog)

That is the peaceful scene I wished for in December or January. Here we are early spring and I wanted to start getting out for walks. But I guess it is helping all of us stay inside and meditate our lives.

You know at any moment we all could have died. Let’s say by accident or gunshot or our own stupidity. I guess the risk-takers would have been more prone to death than those who live from a cautious point of view. It’s all according to how we are wired.

Heck, we have enough coyote-to-roadrunner ratio here that we could have been hit by:

Pixabay.com

The loss of life from any or all those incidences are devastating. Yet, they happen every day, bar the anvil. We try to protect ourselves as best we can from any of these, yet our thoughts don’t stray to or remain on the what-ifs.

Our new shared reality is built of constant worry on top of the regular worries of paying bills and surviving winter.

Some of us are wired to be gregarious. We must be around people at all times. Others of us are more of quiet wiring. Many taught to greet with a hug or handshake are shaken to bows or not even meeting people. Besides, who has toilet paper these days? You don’t want to shake that hand!

This is a time for the introverts to enjoy not feeling guilty for staying home, enjoying our own company. This is a time to reflect on how death has always been just around the corner. But facing that it may or may not be your own is hard to grab onto.

We came into this thinking it one more hoax, one more conspiracy. A joke. But even if so, life has come to a halt. Many I know are finding people they know have the virus. Many have it that can’t be tested. It is fear upon fear.

It is like we just opened a new book and we find ourselves in The Walking Dead or something like it. Panic is our worst enemy. Take a lesson from the disaster movies. Stay put and use your time to ponder.

I am finding it hard to listen to the constant fears of others. I’m 70 after all! I have lived a wonderful life. I have a great extended family and fantastic friends. I would hate, at any point in my life to have lost any of them.

At the same time, I have been the young mother as my young children romped about me. I chose not to take my children to see grandparents if any of us were even the slightest bit ill. So I don’t believe in my heart I cause their demise. Yet, at my age, I have lost many I have loved. This is something you never get used to. I assume if it happens on a large scale the loss will be overwhelming. Let’s hope that that doesn’t happen.

Meanwhile, what if we only have a few days to be alive? A few days to enjoy the amount of health we do have? Why spend our last moments worrying. Outside of proper precaution, what more can we do? I’m not saying ‘eat, drink, and be merry,’ I’m saying love your people. Spend as much time as you can by connecting in the ways earlier pandemics didn’t have: Skype, FaceTime, google chat. Talk on the phone if you can handle it. Write out your thoughts, email. If you are so inclined: write letters. I don’t know if sending the letters is advisable as others will have to touch and handle the mail to their detriment. But once this passes, and it will pass, there will be ways to reach out or remember each other.

I do believe we are wired to LOVE.

Pixabay.com

 

 

Making Monday

This sad first sock should be on Finished Friday, but unfortunately, there wasn’t any more of the white wool. The thin red wool is still a large cake so, I guess I will have to frog this soft sock and find another way to use the white. Maybe smaller socks? I tend to think a child might have problems with the wool. So even making a hat might be a bad thing. Maybe just a toy? Either way, this one has had its chance in the sun and will go back to being a yarn cake. By the way, this one was made on the 24-peg, blue, Knifty Knitter.  It was an experiment of the toe up on a wider gauge loom. It was a fast project so I’m sorry I couldn’t go further.

You have seen sock number one of this pair and the second sock is just ankle and cuff away from making the pair.

This is the metal-pegged loom. I think it is KB. It is not as comfortable to hold or keep my tension even. But I think the pair will be comfortable as house slippers. It is just acrylic yarn so not inherently warm. I love the toe-up, Kitchener cast-on. The rest is flat-knit if tension allows or u-wrap or even e-wrap at times as the tension was hard to maintain. Kitchener cast-on is harder on this rectangle loom. It may be one I use less and less often.

***

This is my favorite project. Look! My daughter’s first sock is nearly finished. Just the cuff to finish. What is slowing me down on it is that I am doing a four-by-four purl/knit ribbing stitch using ‘true’ knit stitch. It is very like the purl stitch and more time-consuming. Those purple looms hold the toe-starts to my daughter’s boyfriend’s socks. By knitting two at a time I can keep the lengths the same. I need to order yet another set of the His/Hers KB sock looms as the first one I start her sock on broke. So I transferred the project to the new loom and will order the next set at payday. So I will only be doing one at a time for her socks. It’ll work just not as timely. Looking at the purple looms, isn’t it cool how each skein of yarn starts exactly the same. Each toe starts with red. Because the orange loom is smaller and was my first, I will have to skip the red parts of the next skein to keep her socks even. It is truly an amazing thing to watch as I work! I wish I had been a part of the people who invented this kind of yarn. It is magical! By the way, I love the texture of this yarn, too. It is so soft and being wool will be warm in the colder winters up here or on camping trips.

***

Yes, another sock. This is the cuff of a sock. I am trying to learn to needle knit on circular needles. This pair of needles are bamboo. It makes it harder to lose a stitch. The yarn is kind of like T-shirt material as it has no fibers that can be frayed or separated. I figured it would help me see my mistakes more clearly.

***

Yep, another sock. This one will be for a child.

***

One more:

One of my favorite looms, CinDWood, 56, 1/4 inch gauge. This is donated wool. I know it works up into a nice sock and I have plenty.

***

I’m still working on two hats. I find the bigger looms are not as much fun or as easy on my hands as the smaller looms for socks and toys.

Both hats are on KB smaller gauge looms. The one on the left is soft pastels with black. The one on the right is red and white, I think that is HomeSpun. The one on the right is gifted to me yarn so should go to a loved one. The one on the right is donated and so should be for charity. Both should make cozy head warmers.

I think that’s it. I usually keep each project in its own zip-lock baggie. But I do keep them all where I can see and grab the one my hands feel drawn to.

As spring is working its way into our area I probably will have to slow it all down for more outdoor activities. Or find ways to take a project with me to sit and enjoy the sun while knitting, drawing, writing, or reading. Those are all good rewards for a nice walk, don’t you think? How do you do the balance?

The Story of a Sock or Four

So this sock is on its third remake because the loom had a broken peg. I had Gorilla Glued it but yesterday, as I was finishing the ankle part and heading for the cuff it broke again.

 

Ugh! See the broken peg attached by a rubber band to the loom?

Yeah, I can’t toss something if I think I might be able to use it again sometime. But I did order a new KB His and Hers set. Trouble is, even though I ordered off the last order this set of looms is smaller. The same amount of pegs, but I think the pegs are slightly closer.

 

And then I had to move all the stitches on the broken loom onto the new equivalent loom. I used the circular knitting needles to capture the loops and then move them to the new loom.

 

These are ChiaoGoo Red Lace 47 inch Stainless Steel Size 1.5. They did an excellent job for me. I can’t wait to try and make sock on them.

So my daughter’s first sock is nearly finished. I suppose I could give it to her and she can take turns on which foot she’ll keep warm that day? Kidding!  But those purple looms are for her boyfriend. Can you see the difference between the purple on the lower left and the bigger purple above? They are supposed to be the same size. If they turn out to be too different in size I will make the decision of which loom I’ll make the second one on.

Oh, and that sock with the mermaids on it? That is on my foot. Those were a gift from my friend. They are so fun I thought the girls wanted to be a part of the sock party. Okay, back to knitting.

Sh-h-h Elves Be Busy

Another sock.

Is it really a cowl for a small elephant?

Jeweltones?

But it is soft!

Soon this will make a pair.

Making Monday

Besides working on NaNo and now trying to edit a couple of my novels, These are the fun things I’m working on:

A rust color sock of wool on a CinDWood fine gauge, 56 pegs. I’m loving toe-up with the Kitchener cast-on. I can’t decide which cuff I’m wanting to do. Well, I guess it will be a surprise for all of us!

 

This is a fuzzy soft yarn. Sometimes, most of the time, LOL, I don’t know what it is as there are no labels on a lot of the donated yarn. I thought this would make a fun, soft hat. I did the two-by-two (two knits, two purls) brim the rest is the flat knit stitch. This is on the large KB fine gauge. So soft. It’ll probably be done by Friday!

I’m hoping this will be a pretty Boho colored hat. I don’t know if you can tell that blue is turquoise, burgundy, gold, and a sort of magenta. We’ll see. I’m making it up as I go with two strands (two colors) adding the turquoise a little at a time as I don’t have much of it. Oh, this is the KB fine gauge the next step down from the orange one. This is the set. And now I remember the orange is 80 pegs the white is 72.

But wait, there’s more!

Again, another toe-up sock on the KB Adjustable Sock Loom. This is just acrylic yarn. By the way, I find the Kitchener cast on harder on this loom. In fact, I have a harder time with the metal pegs as if it isn’t a bright color then the metal reflects and it is hard to tell if I have the whole strand of yarn.  BUT this is a strong loom and can handle a tighter tension. It will break the knitter, not the loom!

More socking it to ya!

 

Why do I always wait until it is dark to try and take pictures? This gray yarn is soft and has flecks of white, black and pink or lavender. It is bumpy-ish. I have no idea if these will wear well as more than just house slippers as I don’t know what the yarn is. But I’m making two pairs. This is the KB His/Hers sock loom set. I finished the sock you see on the orange, what looks like yellow on the right side, loom. I still have the heel and cuff to go. I started another the purple (His) loom. I’ve just barely got the toe done. The cuff is four-by-four. I kind of like that look.

Though I like this set. My hand like it, now, too. But for a beginner making socks, it can be tragic. I broke a couple pegs when I first started. I’ve used Gorilla Glue to put them back and working oh so gingerly I haven’t broken them again. They are inexpensive so I plan to replace them sometime.

 

I do have yarn to make socks with size 1 knitting cable needles but I feel I should finish a couple of things before I get started. I’m so new at needle knitting that I feel I need to stay with it until I get it right and have a good rhythm going.

Okay, back to the editing. Ugh! It was great having your encouragement along the way during NaNoWriMo. I’ll try to share some of that when I feel it is somewhat people-ready.

 

 

Mindless Monday

I forgot to mention this sock on the post yesterday. It’s a Kitchener toe-up on the KB Sock Loom. It isn’t my favorite loom. But it does come with a DVD to teach one how to knit socks. And it’s a very sturdy loom.

Yay!

Shorty socks. Ran out of orange on the second sock just four rows from the toe part. Husband liked them. I donated to him though it goes on the charity count. I usually don’t donate to friends and family. I use my own yarn for that. But the group has been good about realizing most of us are a paycheck away from needing charity ourselves. Even still, most every project goes to the group.

Oh, I have no idea what kind of yarn this is. It seemed thin enough to make socks. Used the ‘his’ or purple loom of the KB His and Hers set.

Though mostly flat-knit stitch, heel and toe are done with German Short-rows.