Crochet Time

Weather continues to be nice, trying to get some fall yard work done, starting early and taking my time. Some days I swear I could just take a flame thrower at things and be done with it. As I get older this takes more energy!

Furnace tuneup guy was here this week, so that is all good to go for the colder months. I get it set up early as they give you a break on the price of the service if you do have it done early. 

Final few days of the regular baseball season. Milwaukee Brewers are in the playoffs and have a bye the first round. They won't play until next weekend. A friend and her husband will be attending the Saturday game thanks to their daughter-in-law. The DIL employer is a major sponsor so they got first crack at buying tickets.  

So between baseball and football, lots of crochet time. Latest creation below.  

 This is such a nice color mix, neutral enough with a slight pop of color. Yarn is from Red Heart, color Mirage. I've used this color before and I like it, I even have enough yarn to make another blanket next season. 

After I pulled the yarn for the current project I got some of the yarn still in bags on the shelf. So the state of the stash. If I remember correctly there is enough yarn for four more blankets in the bags!

 

 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Happy Autumn, the weather is still warmish. Had some thunderstorms on Monday evening as well. Ended up staying late at trivia until the rain let up and the lightning was past. 

We did good at trivia again. Five teams, we placed third as we lost the tie breaker for second. Lots of questions we couldn't pull up an answer for so our score wasn't that high. But the team we tied with were people who were in town for a work meeting and couldn't use the gift card, so they nicely gave the gift card to us. What a nice gesture. Loved the best team name of the week. The Church Ladies!

Had a new quiz master for the game and we like him better than the previous person. Paces the questions better and keeps things moving. If it hadn't been storming we would have been done at least a half hour earlier than usual. 

What's Next is a look back at the TV show The West Wing. Authors are two actors who were part of the cast. It is not an episode by episode book, but more of the story of the development of the show, casting and some of the more significant episodes are discussed. Lots of comments and memories from various cast members. If you are a West Wing fan, this book is for you. 

Good Lookin' Cookin' book of recipes from Dolly Parton and her sister Rachel. Good southern cooking, down home family favorites and yummy treats from places they have visited. Recipes are grouped month by month into a collection that would make a celebration meal. 

 

Happy Reading  

Crochet Time

Second blanket finished last week. The yarn is some I bought during the close out sales at JoAnn's. I bought all of the yarn they had of this color and it is enough to do three blankets. It is a yarn that was designed to make granny squares without having to actually switch yarn. I'm not that thrilled with this especially with the black. May not buy more of this style of yarn. Or try the colors that have white or a lighter color other than black. 

Mosquitos aren't as bad as a few weeks ago. Managed to mow the lawn and not get all sorts of bites. Wasn't wearing long sleeves or having bug spray on. They do still want to fly around my head!

Ducky want to wish his Auntie Kellie a Happy Purrthday. She comes to take care of him if I am away overnight. She spoils him rotten!

Also, it is Meow Like a Pirate Day! Ducky is sailing the Good Ship SassyCat out for another trip.  Join in the fun or walk the plank!

 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Warm weather has returned, open windows for me and Ducky. I turned the AC off a few weeks ago and haven't bothered to put it back on. Just enjoy the warmth while it is here. Sunsets are now before 7 PM and won't be back to 7 PM until mid March!

Overlap of sports seasons, baseball and football. So far the games I really want to watch haven't overlapped, at least not yet. When they do I will be bouncing back and forth between games.  

I checked my TBR and the books I am checking out now I put on the list in January of this year. Only 8-9 months behind. Not bad considering I used to be at least a year behind. I am being more selective as to what I add, but I am also reading more.  

The Ghost Cat, Grimalkin is a marmalade colored cat who resides at 7/7 Marchmont Crescent in Edinburgh. It is his last day on earth and then he will become a ghost cat as he lives out the remainder of his nine lives over the next 120 years. A very cute story. 

Wordhunter Maggie has lived a rough life so far and is a bit of a mess. However she is a genius when it comes to linguistics. Called on to help the local police on some crimes she makes a few very surprising discoveries. 

The Murders in Great Diddling Berit is a writer who has an upcoming deadline and no manuscript. The happenings in her new village are supplying what she needs. 

I don't buy, I borrow. Much easier on the wallet! That is why we have libraries, access to thousands of books, movies and all sorts of other stuff. 

 Happy Reading. 

Crochet Time - First of the Season

My crochet break is over! Since the weather cooled off it actually feels good to have a lap full of yarn again. Almost need something to help keep you warm on cool mornings or evenings. 

First creation is a yarn I picked up on clearance when JoAnn's was having their sale. Normally would have been above the price point I like to be at for my donated projects. Nice soft yarn, would be great for a baby blanket, especially these colors. Pinks, blues which sort of merge into a soft lavender in places.   

One done. How many more?

Thursday night was the Packer's second game. So I had out my trusty hook and yarn for the evening. Weather perfect for working on a blanket, it was coolish but sunny yesterday. Open windows for me and Ducky, but the mosquitos are still bad and until we get a freeze they are likely to be around. 

 

My score on the above test is ONLY 10! So almost an addict? I scored a point if at some point I could say yes even if it isn't true at the moment. Currently I would score a 7. I can't do any buying of yarn as I have no place to store it. Yeah, I probably could find a place to put it but why buy when I have a 2-3 year supply for making blankets. 

 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Weather has gotten back to normal temperatures. That means some open windows during the day. Even a little bit open overnight. Gotta have fresh air. 

Trivia on Monday night. Our favorite waiter was working but he wasn't assigned to our table. I was a little late getting there and ran into him as I entered and he said hi. Later he came by the table and helped us out with a few questions. 

We usually do OK but not great on the trivia, but this week we ended up with 74 out of 84 points and were tied with another team. So they asked one final question and whichever team was the closet would win. Question was "In Home Alone how much did they pay for the pizza order?" We guessed $125, the other team guessed $75. The actual answer was $122. So for the first time ever we WON!  

Mosquitos still nasty so not much yard work getting done. I could do it but I don't wish to be bitten and even bug spray won't keep them away. I had one in the house the other day and it took me a while before I managed to slap it dead.  

I took myself to the movies this week. They finally released the movie of the theater production of Hamilton to regular theaters. This was the original Broadway cast production and has been shown on the Disney network the past few years instead of being released to theaters back in 2020. I had seen a touring stage company a few years ago but this was better!

The Book Stops Here Brooklyn has been hired to serve as an on air appraiser for the show This Old Attic. When the first person she does an appraisal for is found murdered, she wonders who could have done it. Lots of twists in this one. This series is one of my favorites. 

 Scotland Yard interesting book in that the authors go through how the London police moved to the modern police methods. Using fingerprints and other evidence clues that we now consider typical. However, the numerous examples of real life crimes got to be a bit much for me and I didn't read the entire book. 

 Happy Reading 

Mini-ManCat Monday

Hey everyone! Thought I would pop in for an update. Mum took me to see the vet lady this past week. I am holding my own and my blood work is about the same as it was six months ago. 

Mum is worried cuz I is losing weight and being a tiny boy I don't have lots of weight to loose! You know I have to keep my slender figure. 

I am as active as I can be for a 17 year old cat. I do gentle and short jumps. Mum makes sure she lets the kit-hen chairs are pulled out so I can jump to the chair, table and then a short hop to the countertops. Yeah, mum doesn't worry that I am on the kit-hen counters. 

 Me just hanging out in the carrier, mum didn't take any pics while Dr M did her thing. 

Feetsball Report

Yes, it is feetsball season again. Mum watched the Packers beat down on the Lions. I slept during the game and mum wasn't yelling so things were pretty good with the team. The Pack plays again on Thursday night.

I won't be giving a weekly report on feetsball, just when I feel like it. 

You all have a good week.  

 

Donation Day

Really cooled off and I am hoping the mosquitos are freezing and dying! Still bad the other day. I put out more bird feeders and have more to add as the natural food sources go away. Saw a chipmunk up in a feeder and I haven't quite figured out how he got up that high! The squirrels don't make it up there! 

Eventually my creations have to be sent along. As stated before I donate my things through the food pantry. The pantry does a thank you picnic in August for volunteers. I briefly talked to the director and asked when I could drop off things. She said "Anytime!" We set up and day and time, so that got taken care of late last week. 

In total I had 25 blankets and over 100 hats. I laid out the blankets on the bed in groups of six and four layers deep.  

Layer One

Layer Two

Layer Three

Layer Four

Layer Five a single!
  

The shelves as of August 29. I had pulled one color out to start with, so you do see one bit of open shelf. 

The floor of the closet with all of the blankets pulled out. The bags contain  yarn which I don't have room for on the shelves. I think there is enough yarn in the bags for 5 or 6 blankets! At my typical rate the amount of yarn I have should keep me for two years. I have been trying very hard not to look at yarn catalogs or websites so I don't get tempted to buy. I truly have no room!

I was in Michael's last week, they have more fabric and other sewing items but they haven't expanded their yarn department. Maybe the selection on line will be expanded. Time will tell.  

I hope those who choose these items enjoy them and get lots of use from them.  

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Happy September! The weather has gotten more fall like in the past week. Heat and humidity gone, very cool overnight. Even wore a long sleeved shirt this past week. 

Pro-football games start this week with one game on Thursday, then into the usual bunch of games on Sunday, Monday and then again Thursday. Will be interesting to see how the Green Bay Packers are this season. Always changes in players and I don't bother to watch the pre-season games. Will have to learn who all is on the teams this year and what numbers they are (been some number switching this last week).

While the weather is nice outside it is hard to spend much time outside as the mosquitos are horrible. Even with using repellent they come after you like crazy. All the rain we had a few weeks ago gave them places to lay their eggs and I swear they all hatched. I wear long pants and long sleeves to mow the lawn now. First time I mowed I had short sleeves on and my arms were full of bites! Itchy!

My local library has gone to self-service for picking up books you have on hold. Find your books on the shelf, grab them and then check them out yourself. I hope they aren't reducing staff, but rather giving them more time to help people that need help.  

Blood Test is labeled a comedy, I just found it weird. Brock takes a special blood test that shows he is disposed to commit crime. All sorts of things happen with him, his ex-wife, her boyfriend, kids and Brock's girlfriend. Like I said, weird. 

Connie: A Memoir a bright and easy read of the personal and professional life of reporter Connie Chung. 

That Librarian is the author relating on how when she spoke out at a library board meeting was targeted by the far right. Defamed in that she supposedly was against banning books because she want to exposed children to pornography. Court case filed by the author for defamation is still in the courts. 

Happy Reading