Crochet Time - Donation

 It is time to clear the decks again. Like I mentioned last week the closet getting stuffed with finished blankets and not sure where to go with any more completed projects. Doing a mid-year donation works out well, so need to do this again in future years. 

Here are the eighteen, yes 18, blankets finished since early September. Five months, so just over three per month. Which is about right, it takes 7-10 days to do these.  

You may be seeing a few blankets which I have shown you yet all on their own here in the blog. Don't worry, I will get to them over the next few weeks.  

 Closet before and after. I need to work on getting the lower area in a better shape for holding more finished blankets. One of those bigger boxes on the left needs to go. 

  

State of the yarn stash as of February 4, 2026. This should be enough at my typical pace to keep me going for the rest of the winter crochet season. Using up what is stored on the right hand side first. 

I may need to actually go yarn shopping soon! I do get a catalog every month and I check out the deals. 

I had a special visitor on Wednesday afternoon. Polly Possum showed up to eat some of the bird seed that gets spilled by my feathered friends. I also saw the possum on Thursday when I went out to move the garbage bin back from the street.  

 Happy Weekend. 

 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Had to wait until the Westminster Dog show ended tonight before getting this written. I was super happy with the results with the Doberman Pinscher winning. I am not into small, fluffy dogs. I also noticed a number of dogs from Wisconsin that made the group judging. They didn't make the final seven, but still. Lots of lovely looking dogs. 

Now that we are in February things are improving weather wise, we actually might get above freezing in the next few days. First time in about three weeks. Plus now that the sun is slowly moving north, the days are longer and the sun is actually starting to hit the back side of my house. When I wake up I can even tell the sunrise is getting earlier too. My frame of mind is that I don't need to rise and shine until the sun actually does too! 

Little Black Book - Brooklyn and Derek are off on an adventure after an old colleague sends HIM an old book. A book with coded messages inside. The adventure takes them to Scotland and a castle on Loch Ness. 

Loose Lips  is - the second book in the Ghostwriter Mystery series. In this one is a classic closed room murder, or rather murders. All occurs on a special cruise for writers. All female guests, speakers and boat staff. Well, except the chef, the main speaker's ex and her assistant. I didn't see this ending coming!

Fortune Favors the Dead -  first of a short series based on a female private detective and her female partner. They are brought in by a family who wants to determine who killed their matriarch. Story set in the 1940s and reminded me of some of the old movies of that era. I wasn't that taken with the characters so won't be reading the rest of the books. 

Dead Money - a tech company CEO is murdered in his own office. An area that you have to use a security badge to get into. The CEO altered his will adding a dead money clause. All the company assets are frozen until the crime is solved. The FBI is called in but a major investor wants his investigator to be involved. Between the two of them they find some interesting fellow executives who might have an ax to grind. 

 

 

Happy Reading

 

Crochet Time

It is slowly warming up. Thursday even the wind chill temperature was above zero for a while. I get out when I need to, appointments, groceries, trivia and the like. Must go out pretty much every day to refill bird feeders and water bath. Those little guys eat a lot during the cold. 

My family is scattered and they managed to get the big snow storm last week while I was in the cold. Grew up in snowy Wisconsin, so they know how to shovel and clear snow. Thankfully they didn't get ice or lose power during the storm either. Only thing is that they don't have the equipment to plow every street so the side streets are a mess until it melts. 

 I wish that could be true, but it is a nice thought. Plus as I get older I do enjoy just being at home. 

I sent an email to the food pantry director asking to drop off the blankets I have made since September. With the cold weather they might come in handy for someone. Hopefully I can drop them off next week sometime.  

Lots to keep me busy including the crochet projects. This one is made from Red Heart Yarn, color is Jeweltone. Nice bright stripey for a cheerful lap full of yarn. Like most of these stripey things I don't overly worry about keeping the color rotation intact if I switch from one skein to the next.  

 

Happy Weekend 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

While it is still cold, below typical temperatures, it isn't as cold as it was last week. Still colder than I prefer for my old bones so hoping it gets warmer soon, at least back to more typical normal temperatures. The only good thing is that when it get this cold we get very little snow or that snow is super light and fluffy. 

In spite of the cold we met for trivia on Monday, did OK with one of our better scoring games. However we still ended up in third place out of four teams. Point spread between first and last place was only nine points. We had a sub moderator again, our regular person will be back next time. 

Since we had paid our entry fee for the trivia last time they held on to the cash and we didn't have to repay. It's only $1 per person to play.  

Our favorite wait staff person was on duty, we could catch up with what he was doing since Christmas, including a hunting trip to Texas and ice fishing in northern Wisconsin. School is back in session for him, so he is busy. 

The restaurant has a special menu for Mardi Gras season. Gumbo, jambalaya, po' boy and our favorite beignets. We had two orders of beignets, oh so good and gooey. This seasonal menu lasts through actual Mardi Gras, then they will switch to a St. Patrick's for a month.  

Affairs of Steak installment of the White House Chef mysteries. Due to staff being unavailable, Ollie is assigned to help plan an off-site party for the Secretary of State. A couple of dead bodies that have links to the White House are found at one of the possible locations. Lots of twists and turns to find the who done it. 

Ambition is an eight part series that has to do with equestrian eventing, horse farms, and romance. I read the last chapter of the book, didn't really care about it and my library only has the first two books. So why really get into the story I won't know the end!

The Price of Power a biography of Senator Mitch McConnell. I was primarily interested in his early life and early career. I'm old enough to have lived through his life during the last few decades. This is an authorized biography, author was given access to the subject, friends and documents. 

The Elements of Marie Curie a lovely biography of Marie Curie. She was a pioneer for women in science and a mentor to many. She was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize shared with her husband in Physics in 1903. Then in 1911 she won another Nobel in Chemistry. First woman to receive a Nobel and the first two win two! Also the only person to be awarded Nobel's in two distinct sciences. 

 

Or prevent frost bite! Stay inside, be warm, be cool, be safe. Enjoy. 

 

 Happy Reading 

Crochet Time

Hello from the deep freeze. Staying in, staying warm. Have the shades and drapes on some windows closed to keep the cold from radiating in to the room. One thing when it gets this cold we do have sunshine, so windows that allow sun in are open while the sun is out. The worst of the cold snap will be done by Monday. I do have places to go on Monday. 

This week's blanket is made from Big Twist color Spa Stripe. Nice mix of blues, green and gray. 

I've been considering taking the blankets I have completed over to the food pantry so they can be given out to those who need them. That will free up storage area for the blankets still to be made. Crochet season will last until at least April. Unless we get a huge heat wave in early spring which isn't likely. 

Same applies with yarn. The entire house is not completely full of yarn. It is controlled to a few shelves in one closet. So not an addict. 

 

Happy Weekend. Stay warm, stay safe. 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Middle of January, our typically coldest time of the year and yes, it is being rather cold these days. Thursday night into Saturday may bring our lowest actual air temperatures and wind chills in the danger zone. I will be staying in and keeping warm.  

A few errands and tasks to get done on Wednesday and Thursday while it is still decent. Hair cut, monthly fill of the gas tank on the car and pick up the last of the books from the library.  

Buffalo West Wing - next installment of the White House Chef mysteries. The staff is adjusting to a new First Family and they are adjusting to life in the White House. The family decides to bring in their family chef to handle their meals, but he thinks he is getting the top chef job, causing tension in the kitchen. Plus someone brought in outside prepared chicken wings which get eaten by the staff and not the family. The staff gets sick. Who brought the food in and exactly what made everyone sick? 

Giant Love - is a book about the author, book and movie Giant written by Edna Ferber. Author is Ferber's great niece. Combines the earlier life of Ferber, her researching and writing of the book and then the movie. The movie is known for containing the final acting of James Dean who was killed late in the making of the movie. 

Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words - an extensive biography of Ira, the man who can be credited with many of the works that are now considered the American Songbook. Includes lots of references to his brother George as well. Interesting book. 

The Queens of Crime - historical fiction with five real female mystery writers in the hunt. The male dominated writers group, The Detection Club, which isn't that thrilled with the women. So to prove their mettle they find a cold case and solve it to prove their worth. Set in 1931 the five writers were Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Emma Orczy, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh

The Sirens' Call author is Chris Hayes who has an evening show on MSNBC. The siren, the alert, calling our attention to whatever. Hard to miss in our society. Phone, internet, breaking news and we all have a hard time tuning any of it out as much as we try. 

 

 Happy Reading.  

Crochet Time

It is a snowy and cold day. Glad I don't have anywhere I need to be today. I can stay inside, snuggle with Ducky, read, crochet, maybe even have a nap. I even went to the library last night to gets more books. 

With the football games both college and pro, that means lots of crochet time. Although I have to watch how much time since my hand gets crampy at times. When I did my monthly massage this week I had her work on my shoulder, arm and hand. They all felt much better after she was done.  

One of the more recent creations was made with Red Heart yarn, color is White Speckle. I have been starting to keep track of where yarn is made. Growing up Red Heart was one of the main brands and probably the best "average" yarn. Now I find this brand to have yarn that is thicker, coarser and stiff. All of the yarn from Red Heart has been made in India. Other brands that I have checked have been made in Turkey. 

  

Now I did a special project for a friend. She has arthritis and her fingers from her hands go off at an angle instead of straight. Gloves don't work because of the angle of her fingers off of her hands and commercial mittens weren't working either. I had seen things for hand warmers so decided to make some for her. Made them long enough that they totally cover her hands and sent yarn along if she wants to stitch the ends shut. Yes, the thumb sticks out, but you can bring your thumb in if you want. Here is the pattern. 

She called me on Thursday afternoon, so I know she finally got them. Post Office sent them on the grand tour to get to the final destination. So I can post about them.  

 

Happy Weekend. 

 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

We have had some nice days with much warmer than average. Lots of sun too. That is changing today with much colder temperatures.  

Trivia was an adventure this week. We get there, get settled, ordered our beverages and hadn't decided on what food to order. Trivia actually started and three questions in, the fire alarm goes off. We had to evacuate the business. No super rush as we had time to get our stuff and get our coats on. I wanted to get out quickly as I was parked in the business parking lot and was afraid I would get trapped in the lot. 

I counted three fire engines and two ambulances and I made a second loop to check all the equipment out. Some people who had been inside were hanging around, maybe hoping they could get back in. I came home to watch the football game since no more trivia. 

I also know the fire department will do a thorough job checking things out and that takes time. I know from personal experience when I had a smoke detector go off. They were here for 30-45 minutes, I am sure it was more than an hour at the restaurant. The restaurant posted about 2 hours later that the issue was because of a minor issue with the HVAC and they would be closed for the rest of the day. They would reopen the next day. 

Now the fun thing of this is that the restaurant is located in a building that served the village as a fire station for many years. Originally it served as a fire station, village hall and the library too! It was sold to the private business about 10 years ago for a conversion into the restaurant which opened in late 2019.   

The Reflecting Pool Marko Zorn is a DC homicide detective with tastes of the finer life. Sometime taking on private jobs to help pay for his high end tastes. Then there is the regular job, finding the who and why a Secret Service agent was killed. 

Superbloom is a look at how new communication technologies, which are designed to connect us, are in fact tearing us apart. Interesting book. 

Accidentally on Purpose is a memoir of Kristen Kish the current host of Top Chef. A trained chef and also a winner of Top Chef back in 2013. Book outlines her life from being an adoptee raised in Michigan, culinary school and her growth as a chef. 

The Amalfi Curse - Haven is set to lead a dive off the Italian coast near Positano. Possibly finding gems her father couldn't get to on an earlier dive due to health issues. As she is set to begin her dives strange happenings begin to occur and she must figure out the history and past of the sea witches. I liked her previous books better but still a good story. 

 Happy Reading.