Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

I can’t believe that its been so long since the last post.

Bad Crazy Jane, bad.

I have been knitting and Beading too. I frogged the sleeves on by Easy Raglan sweater. I really don’t want to sew up sleeves, so now I’m knitting in the round. Yes Amanda, I plan on knitting on it tonight. (She’s almost as good at nagging as her mother(me)).

Bear does keep me busy. He does need to go out, and he likes to play. His favorite toy is and squeaky airball. I buy him the small size ones. He had to be drugged for the 7 hour trip to Amanda’s in early December. That was fun. He did mark in the house but we tried to discourage that little trick. He was afraid of the cats and didn’t like to walk on the kitchen floor. It was too slippery for him. Christmas day I had bought diapers for him so that he could go to JessaLu’s, but they didn’t work too well. Until we taped one around his waist! He and Jazz were working out who was the top dog in the house. Beanie just growled at both of them.

In beading I made a Christmas Ornament Cover with Snowflakes for Marion, one of the pharmacist’s I work with. I gave Joanne one of the necklaces I made last year. I’ve made a bunch of Snowflake earrings to give the girls that I work with.

I’ve been trying to knit “booties” for Bear. He doesn’t like to walk in the snow when the temps are really cold. The first ones, (I made 4), I felted too small. I know I should have checked them, not just throw them in for a full cycle. Since then I’ve made 1 other that came out too big. I’m working on another one. Wish me luck.

I’m also working on some socks for a friend at work.

That’s about all for now. I hope to post again soon.  I really need to take some pictures too.

Happy knitting!

cj

Thank you

Veterans Days. A day to stop and take time to thank our Veterans. And to thank all the Men and Women in our military services. Without them we would not have our Freedom.

I just want to say “Thank you” for all that they do for us.

I’ve fallen off the Blog and can’t get up!

Oh my, it’s been a long time since the last post.

Bear is taking up a lot of my time. He does need to go out every few hours. And he really doesn’t want me to knit.  I was trying to work on my Through The Loops Mystery Sock and he decided he wanted to sit on my lap. This is fine with me, because he is usually curled up at the end of the couch or somewhere on the floor.

Amanda and the kids were here last weekend. Amanda & I went to Rhinebeck and Sue from work came over to watch the kids so that Tom could meet up with us in the afternoon.  He brought my boots and knitted hat and extra scarfs/shawls. Man is was cold there on Saturday. I’m glad we didn’t go Sunday, I understand it was wet and cold.

I got most of one sleeve done on my Easy Raglan Sweater. I believe that the sleeves are going to be warmer than the body of the sweater because I’m knitting in all of Bear’s downy soft fur. Now all my knitting is going to have a “golden haze” to it. Cassie from work suggested I spin his fur but I don’t really have to. It’s everywhere and it gets knit in as I go along.

Bear got a bath yesterday. It was starting to look a little “grungy”. He’s one crazy dog when he gets out of the tub and you cover him with the towel. He shakes so hard he squeaks. Then he runs around really fast, stops and rubs on the floor. Jumps on the couch, off the couch, runs around the fireplace (livingroom-dining room-kitchen) and does the whole couch thing again. I just stand out-of-the-way and laugh at him. He’s one crazy dog.

I gotten a few more rows knit on my Sweet Water Vesper Yarn Socks.

But I’m really trying to keep up with the KAL on the Mystery Socks. There is a dishcloth on the needles and a sweater for Bear. I know there are at least 5 other projects on needles. Some day I will get it all together and finish them. Yeah. Right. Who am I kidding?

Well that’s it for now. I’ll have to try to take some pics for the next post. Natalie is coming over this afternoon and we are going to go through some of my Sister’s craft things. Adair is doing ok but it seems like she’s giving up on crafting. That makes me very sad. And makes me realize I need to get my butt in gear and do all the things I want to do.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. It’s rainy here today, a good day to stay inside and knit.

cj

We are Doggie Parents

Bear, a male Pomeranian, has been with us for 14 days now. He seems to have settled in nicely. I have gotten more exercise in the last 2 weeks than in the last year!

We still don’t know how old he is. But we know he is healthy. He went to the vet (that was over $250) and has had a rabies shot. Some bloodwork has been done. We’ve contacted the Town Clerk and paid for a dog license.

So he’s ours! He is one pretty good dog. House trained. He’s had maybe 4 accidents. I have since started feeding him in the mornings only. If he hasn’t emptied his bowl by 5 or 6 pm it’s picked up for the night.

We didn’t leave him alone until he’d been with us for about a week. He gets really excited when we come home. I found that if I pick him up and hold him when I first come home he settles down. Seems like he just wants to he held and reassured that he’s loved. I still can’t believe that someone would just leave him.

I took him over to my Sister’s last Sunday. They also have a dog. Bear decided to “mark” a couple of spots in the house. I was afraid that he might do that. So after a short visit we met up with Tom at the car show at Bogies in Great Barrington. Bear was happiest under the car.

There has been some knitting done. I’ve been working on a DW dishcloth in Sugar ‘n Cream’s Jewel colorway. Knit a few more rows on my Monkey Socks. And the Biggest and Bestest I finally got the KnitPicks order from Amanda! (Just giving you a hard time because I love you)

Amanda bought me the Tiding of Joy kit. I was really excited about this kit. So far I have only made 1 miniature hat and 2/3 of a sweater. (Sorry no knitting pic, just Doggie pics)

The CVS that I work at has new hours. The front store will be open 8am to either 9 or 10pm seven days a week. The Pharmacy will be open 8am to 9pm Monday-Friday, 8-6 Saturday and 8-5 Sunday. (I think) I just checked the times on the phone and they are different then what I thought they were. The crazy thing is that Great Barrington is dead after 8pm. It’s really crazy. Hopefully after they pay us for being open these crazy hours and find out there’s no business they will rethink this.

I’ll leave you with a couple more “cute dog” pictures. and .

Happy Knitting!

Happy Bday Amanda!

Today is Amanda’s Birthday.  If you have a minute go over and wish her a Happy Birthdays.

Well you know how they say “Monkey see, Monkey do”. I am guilty. I started my Monkey Socks a week or so ago. I’m at the heel on sock one and thinking of doing an afterthought heel. I need to hunt up some waste yarn. My excuse for putting them off for a while. I really like the pattern, but them look a little big. I have a feeling they are going to be loose. I hope not.

Tom & I went to Albany today. He wanted to go to Harbor Freight and I wanted to go to Michael’s. We never found the Michael’s in Albany so I went to Joann’s Fabrics instead. I needed silver ear wires. I’ve recently started making earrings. It’s fun going through my beads and making earrings. They are quick gratification.

Spinning: I finally finished spinning the yellow/orange fluff that’s been on my wheel forever. I tried najavo plyed. I way over spun it. Amanda suggested I “unspin it” a little then try to ply it again. I really want to get this stuff off the bobbins. I need to move on.

Well this has been a sporadic post. But that’s been me lately. I hope everyone is having a great evening.  Happy knitting! cj

The adventures of driving a British Car

My husband has a 1959 Bug Eye Sprite. He has owned this car for about 35 years. He has restored it a couple of times over the years. On Wednesday he drove it to town to get gas and the battery died. Can’t complain because it was about 17 years old. No problem, buy a new battery. Thursday night we went to a car show in Gt. Barrington and had a great evening. It was a chilly ride home, but a lot of fun.

On Friday he had the car inspected it passed. Yesterday he went to the Saratoga Automoble Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY. He stopped at a MacDonalds and had breakfast. He went to start the car and the new battery was dead. A very nice lady that had admired his car was nice enough to give him a jump start. (He had put a set of jumper cables in the car after the problem Wednesday.) He continued on until the battery died again. Ending up having to push the car for about 1 mile before someone stopped to help him. He did finally make it to the car show.

I received his “please come rescue me” when I got out of work at 2pm. I stopped at the NAPA store and bought what he needed and started out on My Big Adventure. Tom had my TomTom, so I had to follow written directions. I got there with no problems, didn’t make any wrong turns. I was amazed.

Then the BIG adventure started, the ride home. We had to stop about 5 times to recharge the battery. We were about 30 miles from home when he should have turned on his lights. Problem there was if he put on the lights, they drained the battery faster. The last 10 miles it was completely dark, by then we were on back roads I was behind him in the Tundra with the high beams on so that he could see where he was going. About 5 miles from home, while charging it for the last run, a friend of ours pulled up next to us and helped us out. He drove in front of  Tom and I was behind him and we got home. The surprising thing was that we never got pulled over! My husband is one lucky guy.

I did manage to almost finish my Mystery KAL dishcloth of the month. It would be done now but my left hand is sore and swollen. I think it is from opening the safety caps on the stock bottles at work. And the Mayo jar. Tom likes to put the top on tight and I strain my hand trying to open it.

That’s it for now. I’ll be busy with work this week. A couple of girls at the Lenox store are on vacation and I’ll be working til 9 for the next 5 days.

At least I did get a little knitting in this knitting blog. Have a great evening! Happy Knitting! cj

Awesome Weekend!

I had a really great weekend. We got to Amanda’s Friday afternoon. And Amanda & I got KFC for dinner. Yum.

Saturday we watched Bryce play in his Flag Football, last game of the “season”. He played very well. His team skunked the other team. But it’s really all about the fun.

Amanda & I went to pick blueberries Saturday afternoon, but the bushes were all picked out. We planned to go back 7am Sunday. The rain changed our minds. We went back to bed and got up a couple of hours later. Corra & I went about 10am and picked for about an hour. We brought back a fair amout of berries. Corra complained that her belly hurt, probably from all the berries she ate!

Amanda made Breakfast for Lunch. The pancakes with the fresh blueberries were wonderful. I did bring some berries home. I got pretty wet picking them. There was a lot of rain on those bushes.

Tom’s scarf is almost finished, only about 1 and 1/2 inches left. I did knit on it on the way home. But Tom got sleepy so I drove for a little while. We had dinner at the Chief Martindale Diner. Stopped off at Roger & JessaLu’s to say “Hi” on the way home. She’s been very busy sewing knitting bags. They are very nice bags. I love mine.

I had to work today. But after such a great weekend it was a pleasure. I’ll be in the Lenox store this week and next it looks like. The store in Gt. Barrington really wants me back there. It’s nice to be wanted. I must be doing a pretty good job.

I did start a dishcloth on the way to PA, but the scarf seemed to demand my attention more. It’s fun to have a project that is easy and fun.

Well that’s all for now. I hope to see my Sister tomorrow and see the new Harry Potter movie. I can’t believe we haven’t been to see it before this!

Have a nice Tuesday! Happy Knitting!  cj

4 days off

What do you do if you have 4 days off in a row? Go to Pennsylvania to see the Grand kids!

Even though Amanda and crew were here only a couple of weeks ago when I discovered that I have 4 days off in a row. I have to go somewhere, do something. We were going to visit a friend in Delaware, but she’s going to the shore for the weekend. So plan B, go to PA.

Work has been interesting. I’m really glad I’m done for the week.

I did get Lynn’s necklace finished. She has a Pandora Glass charm that she was wearing on a rubber necklace. But it kept breaking and getting smaller with every fix. I found a silk cord at Joann’s, cut it to the length she wanted and put it all together for her. She’ s very happy with the results.

Knitting news. I have started a scarf for Tom. It’s a Seafarer’s Scarf with a little change. Instead of knitting the flat ends in garter stitch I’m doing them in Seed Stitch. I’ve added one stitch to the pattern, so when I start the ribbing that goes around the neck, I’ll just decrease the one stitch. And add the stitch when I start the other end. I tried to knit the pattern without the extra stitch, but I messed up a couple of times. I’m using a dark green yarn and couldn’t see the stitches well. So I dug out my needles that light up. They are kind of cool and fun to use. Knit in the dark and see what you’re doing. The best part is that I bought them last year on sale from Clover.com. Really cheap!

I’ve been on a dishcloth kick. Don’t see that stopping for a while. The DW stitch is fun and easy.

There is packing that needs to be done, and I’ve got to get to bed, it’s late.

Happy knitting! cj

Full House/Empty House

First off, my daughter JessaLu recently (July 15) celebrated a birthday. Tom & I went over to her & Roger’s house and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

This last weekend my Granddaughter Heather & I drove to PA to meet up with Amanda & Michael and family.

Kailey is definately 2. She wouldn’t look at me for 2 days. Just before they got ready to leave she decided that she did love me. I got lots of hugs and kisses. It was fun seeing how much the kids have grown. Corra will be taller then me soon I think. Bryce is quite a young man. He talked me into buying “Roller Coaster” for my iTouch. “It’s only $2.99, that’s not a lot of money, it’s really a good buy.” How can you turn down that logic?  Allysa was cute as always. Her speach is really improving.

It’s late and I have to get up early tomorrow. Work, and I have to go to the DMV and renew my license. Oh joy.

Happy Knitting!  cj

I’m a Winner!

Not yarn, but Chocolate!

Our Head Tech, Lynn, was running a contest. Who ever got the most people signed up for CVS’s Ready Fill program would win a 40 ounce (2 pounds and 8 ounces) of Whitman’s Chocolates.

I am at the register a lot, which I don’t mind. It’s nice to be able to greet and help all of our customers. Well long story short, I won! Here is a pic of Lynn and I with the prize!

Yes I’m really happy. It’s not often that I win something. The really funny thing is that there’s not a lot of chocolate that I can eat. I have a milk allergy, but everyone at works knows that I’ll be bringing the box of chocolate back to work to share with everyone. After Tom gets to pick out what he wants.

Lynn is a lot of fun to work with. She has been with CVS for a while and she comes out from Westfield to work with us. Thanks Lynn!

Since this is a knitting blog, here is some fiber content. (I thought I should put some yarn in here.)

I have been knitting. The second sock is almost at the heel turn.

I have been a dish cloth kick. I’ve finished 2 and have a 3rd one on the needles.

They are a lot of fun to make, easy and almost mindless. It’s a free pattern on Ravelry. Darrell Waltrip dishcloth.

Also, I’ve been making some jewelry. Necklaces to be exact. I have completed one (the pink one) and the blue one  is about 2/3’s done.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July.

Happy Knitting! (And spinning and beading!