"lattice"

"ribby"

My first block!

yes, more hand warmers...

I decided Mary needed some nice shiny red hand warmers, so I made them! I like making the hand warmers. They don't take so long to make (like the baby blanket I'm working on), and yet they are a challenge as far as adjusting the pattern to the particular person's hands.

Another thing I'm working on lately is an afghan that will probably take a million years to finish, and that's alright. I'm working out of a book that I found a few months ago.

It has, as the title suggests, 200 knitted block patterns, ranging in skill from easy to hard. I'm working my way through the easy patterns with the hopes that I will learn more and eventually be able to do cables. (Which will probably be easy once I get the nerve up to try them.)

So that's what I'm up to as of late. Nothing earth-shattering, and really just kind of plugging along, but that's what it takes sometimes, right? I thought so.

kids

Here's some pics of the kids...

In PA right now

Howdy, y'all! Greeting from Pennsylvania! Last week I was talking to my sister about maybe visiting in June, and I jokingly said that I could come next week. And here I am. I flew into Philly and made my way to Lancaster by subway and train all by myself. Those of you who are privy to my issues with heavily populated places will understand the significance of that.

Even so, I did it, and I even made some friends along the way. Will, who came down from Seattle to Fresno by train, and was then flying to Denver to visit family. The woman on the plane whose brother was recently deceased, who was on her way to visit her brother's wife in Oklahoma City. The couple who took a picture with me at the start of the flight from Denver to Philly, then promptly fell asleep for the rest of the flight. Sue, who was on her way to visit her daughter in Philly. And the man at the train station who was mad at me because I didn't know my PA geography. He laid off once I told him I was from California, admitting that he knew nothing about California geography, so we were even. He was gruff, but also helped me in his own way.

So now I'm here and helping (a little) with the renovation of Kate and Adam's new house in Landisville. Here's Kate hanging out Sarah's window:

knitty knitty

More handwarmers...

(they're actually a blue-gray, not purple, but whatever.)

dry spells. they happen.

I noticed today that it's been almost a month since I last posted. Hmm. I have no justification or explanation for this. After the black widow incident, I guess I went into hibernation or something. In any case, I sick of seeing that damn black widow come up when I turn on my computer, so I'm posting this now. The best I have to show of late is this: one of a set of handwarmers. It was my first venture into this small a gauge yarn and needles, and it was quite fun for the first piece. Now I find myself halfway through the second and not being able to concentrate (or not concentrate) and finish it.

On the flip side of not finishing projects, I must mention that I did manage to get some things done recently. I got a new fridge from my landlord, just for being cute! (Just kiddin'. The old one's freezer section went kaput. I truly appreciate a good freezer now. It ain't just for otter pops, kids!) I also finally semi-cleaned my garage... after there was a flood in it and it had to be done. But, still, it's much cleaner than before! I even got some spring cleaning done in the house, even though it coincided with the garage disaster. My house is looking pretty nice about now.

Then there's the bad news. My old lady cat, Chloe, is in failing health. A trip to the vet Wednesday confirmed my suspicions that she is in the later stages of chronic kidney failure. At this point she's still eating, little though it may be, so she's somewhat stable. For how long is the question. I'll keep y'all updated because I'm the kind who likes to sob on people's shoulders via the internet.

So. Nothing too crafty, almost a little banal, but that's life. Deal.