This blanket will be the death of me . I mean it . The tones of the two yarns are so very similar , it 's very difficult to differentiate between them on the needles . As careful as I am in counting my stitches for the pattern row by row , I am still making stupid mistakes . I am only finding them at the end of the row , when it doesn 't work out the way it 's supposed to . I am even frequently stopping to check every few segments . And I 'm still missing the mistakes . This last one , I couldn 't find the mistake . So I started at the other end , the beginning , and worked my way from there . And there it was . Two groups of four stitches next to each other . Waaay back close to the beginning of the row . So I had to TINK back across the whole fracking row to fix it . This wasn 't the first time , either . It 's happened at least three other times already . It 's always on the rows which contain knit 2 , slip 1 , knit 4 , slip 1 , knit 2 , slip one , knit 4 , slip one . The other rows are easier , k2 , s2 all the way across . But I am making real progress . I only hope my mind stays intact until I 'm done . Yup , I have made significant progress on the new blanket ! I was concerned that the two yarn colors were too alike to really see the pattern , but as it 's getting longer , it seems to be working out . The pattern is just more subtle , which is sooo not my style , but daughter Sara seems to like it . And it certainly will be soothing , and very very soft ! You can see in the photo , the design is there , but not in your face . I like that it 's not easy to see . Though it makes it harder for me to knit it . Last night , after sending Hubs off to work , I realized that I totally zoned and forgot a very important item at Michael 's yesterday ! I had on my list to get a new row counter . Ideally , one of the ones specifically for a circular needle . Today I found myself needing to go to the supermarket , and since there is one right near our Michael 's , guess where I went ? The fact that my favorite son - in - law works there had nothing to do with it . . . So off I went in Hubs ' truck , since the Jeep is still making funny whistling noises and I don 't want to travel that far in it until it gets fixed . It took a bit of searching , but I found the row counter that I wanted ! I picked up two , since they are so easy to lose . I also grabbed a package of small stitch markers , since those get lost really easily too . I think I only have two left of the last pack I bought . That 's not counting the awesome ones I was gifted by my knitting buddy Kim , I don 't use those very often for fear of them getting lost . . . Now I need to get back to work . Oh yeah , I am also supposed to be crocheting a pair of wrist warmers for my beloved son - in - law , too . Maybe later . . . . . At long last , I was finally able to satisfy my baser urges and get some new yarn today ! YAY ! I took daughter Sara with me , to help me pick out colors for the next baby blanket . After all , it could end up in her nursery . What she chose , I would not have chosen , but she marches to her own drummer . I 'm sure it will turn out beautifully . So far , I have started the bottom border . This yarn is really soft , so it will be a pleasure to knit . We went with Bernat 's Softee Baby , in the colors of Flannel and Grey Marl . As soon as I get to the colorwork portion and have at least a few inches done , I will take new photos . Here is a photo of the yarn . Hopefully the colorwork pattern will show up well with these colors . I am tending to agree with Sara , she says that she finds grey a very soothing color . And these greys are very soft . I am looking forward to knitting these yarns together . When I went out this morning , I borrowed Hubs ' truck . He wanted to know why , so I had to tell him about the whistling noise my Jeep has been making the last few days . After starting it , and finally getting it to make the noise , he agreed I could take his truck . I really didn 't want to bother him with this until at least tomorrow , when his work week is over . It was bad enough that when he got home this morning , we had no heat . I kind of hoped that it was just the batteries in the thermostat needed changing again , but no , we were out of fuel oil . We have a delivery scheduled for Monday . Did you know that for an " emergency " delivery our oil company charges $ 1 . 50 MORE PER GALLON ? ? That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a long time . . . That 's why we are waiting until Monday . In the meantime , he went and got a few gallons of an alternative fuel . So we have had enough drama for today , thank you very much . . . But I am happy I got to buy some new yarn . It 's been a very long time since I could do that . It sure has been a very difficult week . I have been fighting with myself all week , as I want to go buy yarn . I had decided on Tuesday , I think it was , that I would wait until Saturday to go . But Wednesday , Thursday and even today , I almost jumped in the Jeep and drove off . It was with the greatest will power that I forced myself to stay home . I will be going tomorrow to Michael 's craft store and , only if absolutely necessary , to Hobby Lobby . I am really hoping it won 't come to that . I have even talked my beloved daughter into coming with me . It has been nice having some cash in my pocket . There is even enough to do some more grocery shopping ! Yahoo . But first , the yarn . You have no idea , it 's been really hard for me to not just run out and buy what I want . Hopefully I can find good yarn and colors for the blanket at Michael 's . But I am not holding my breath . It may conceivably be unavoidable , the trip to Hobby Lobby . Is it scary that I am willing to betray my beliefs for the right yarn ? I don 't think so . It will take a very special project for that to happen . And this blanket for my future grand baby is that special of a project . As a post script to last night 's post , The color work sample washed and dried beautifully . I am ready to go , just need to get through tomorrow and buy the darn stuff . Wish me luck , please . I have sort of changed my mind about the frogging of the never - ending - garter - stitch baby afghan . I 've decided to just put it away and keep looking for the yarn . I have decided to end my color work sample too . It was getting kinda long , and I needed to check on it 's wash and dryability . It is in right now in the dryer . I had used two yarns that turned out to be 50 % cotton , 50 % acrylic . I didn 't know this when I started ! I had picked the one yarn for its color , and tried it out with an acrylic yarn . I didn 't like the way they looked together . I frogged it , and went looking in my stash . I came across the one skein on the multi - colored yarn , and the textures of the two yarns were very similar , so I started the sample over with the two of them . About 4 pattern repeats later , I decided to check on the fiber content of the yarns , and found out that they were the same ! Happy coincidence . Now I am seriously considering using that blend in the actual blanket . I really like how the knitted fabric felt , and am just waiting on the wash / dry results for final decision . It just pains me that I may have to go to Hobby Lobby for the yarn , as the mulitcolored one is one of their store brand baby yarns . I really really don 't want to shop at that store . I object to their throwing their religious stuff at me . I object to the Jesus mints and bible verse wrapped gum they sell at the checkouts . I object to the sign on their door that states that they are closed on Sundays so their employees can worship with their families . Not all religions worship on Sundays . Once I noticed these things , I decided I wouldn 't shop there unless I had no choice . I truly object to having religion thrown in my face . I don 't throw mine around , have the same courtesy , please . My close knitting friend thinks I 'm crazy , and can 't wait for me to voliate my principles . I think I 'm done for today . Babysitting for two full days has drained me completely , I am soooo ready for an early bed time tonight ! Monday in Fishkill , I noticed that the kids had moved the corner cupboard from the dining room out to the front porch . This is good , that means they want to keep it . I also found the box on the dining room table in which they put all the stuff that was left in the corner cupboard . I started looking through the box , and among out dated vitamins and other various old OTC meds , there was a little black case . I opened it , and inside was a small camera ! Just for shits and giggles , I turned it on . To my surprise , the batteries weren 't dead ! It blew my mind , the first photo that came up was one of Betty 's friend Wes . I discovered later that this was actually a short video . It brought tears to my eyes looking through all the photos she had taken . She was not among the best of photographers . . . Here is an example of her photographic skills : We can 't even figure out what it 's supposed to be ! Here is another , more typical of her efforts . She usually cut people 's heads off : But , there among all the really bad photos , was a good one ! Obviously , someone else had taken it . It 's a photo of Betty and her friend 's granddaughter , Shana . It was taken Christmas of 2008 , I believe . We spent the better part of yesterday at the house in Fishkill , we didn 't get home until 9 : 30 pm . By that time , it was too late for me to eat dinner , but I cooked for Hubs . I made a lot of Spanish Rice , since I was hungry . I broke down and ate a small amount of the stuff , and quickly chomped on four papaya tablets to aid my digestion . On the way home , since we were passing anyway , I asked Hubs to stop at A . C . Moore so I could check for yarn for the never - ending - garter - stitch baby blanket . With high hopes , I entered the store . But it was not meant to be . They had the yarn , and plenty of it , just not in my desired colorway . There wasn 't even an empty slot on the shelf for it . So it looks like I will not be able to get more yarn for the stupid blanket . I have therefore decided to frog the whole thing , and start over . Now , I can hear you out there , " But there 's the internet ! ! " I looked , I really did . I looked on ebay , and the average price per skein was almost double what the stores charge . I just can 't afford that much right now . And as Hubs pointed out , the blanket is too big anyway . Here is my celebratory photo I took when I reached the 1 / 4 done mark : I am trying not to be sad . There are so many pretty baby yarns out there that I can choose from , And the stupid blanket was / is too fracking big . I will not be distracted by this setback . I will persevere . I will win ! I AM WOMAN ! I AM KNITTER ! ! Today I made some significant progress on the never - ending - garter - stitch baby blanket . My second skein of three is almost gone . I have the third ready , this time I am going to make an effort to match the yarn up . I can hear my friend Kim yelling " Huzzah ! " . . . I feel hopeful that at some point in the near future , I will be able to find more skeins of this yarn . When we go to Fishkill , I plan on hitting the A . C . Moore craft store down that way . After this current ( first ) quarter of the blanket is done , I will take a few photos . I don 't know where I can take them , it 's already pretty big , and waaay too big for my usual tray table to be used as a background . Never fear , I will find some place . Since I was so very tired after Clermont yesterday , I thought I would sleep really good last night . I was wrong ! I didn 't sleep good at all . I kept waking up and having trouble getting back to sleep . Oh , well , tonight for sure I will make sure I have pharmaceutical help . . . Then I will sleep well , for when I have to get up at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow morning . . . Since we ate dinner so late last night , I had a small bout of my tummy troubles . That could be why I didn 't sleep very well . But I did find some of my papaya enzyme tablets in the kitchen cupboard , and ate four of them last night after dinner . They did help , just not enough . No worries for tonight , though , since we have already eaten dinner tonight , and we ate plenty early . Today was the big day ! We had a really great time , and learned a few things too . I even remembered to take some photos ! We got there earlier than we had planned , only because Kim and Cherub were ready sooner than expected . I hurried and got there as soon as I could . We had a really fun day , it was so nice to meet so many people who love yarn ! For some reason , I am totally exhausted , and I am not the only one . All three of us were yawning on the drive home . The Cherub managed to keep herself entertained , both at the crafts for kids booth , and on a sort of treasure hunt . I had to accompany her on that one , she had to prowl around the grounds of the estate looking for sheep , writing down their names , and figuring out the clues to the next sheep . And she won ! She was the first to get the names of all the sheep . Yay for the Cherub ! It was a long day , and now I 'm ready for either a nap or a pot of coffee . I haven 't decided which it will be . One last photo , this is a felted rabbit that I bought , he was so cute that I couldn 't resist ! Posted by Please let me know if you like it ! ! I am very proud of this , now I can 't wait to start the full size blanket . I do realize that the variegated yarn will have to be different , as the colors are a bit too close to looking tie - dyed . I have been told I am not allowed to buy my future grandbaby any tie - dyed onesies . I have decided I will buy them , but keep them for wearing at grandma 's house ! So there ! After changing my eating habits a little , my tummy troubles are better , it seems my tummy likes the change . All I did was not eat dinner so late , and cut snacking way down after dinner . It sucks , but when your body lets you know it 's not happy , you had better listen . Last night , I made dinner for Hubs and myself , but it was so late that I was afraid to eat it . I saved my chicken breast for tomorrow . Today I ate dinner shortly after Hubs left for work . He leaves by 5 p . m . I cut up the meat from the two ribs that were left over from the weekend , and ate them in the rice left over from last nights dinner . I will eat the chicken breast tomorrow , at least I plan to . Unless the boy comes home starving later , and eats it . Can you believe it , I 'm planning my next knitting project already . The garter stitch baby blanket is coming along nicely , but it is going to be so huge that it would be better for a giant 's baby . I am seriously considering just finishing this first quarter square and calling it quits . Maybe I will add a crocheted border to it . I ordered a new knitting book from Amazon . com . It 's called Baby Nouveau and its designer is Amy Poleyn . There are only ten patterns in this book , but I think I could make several of them . The first one really intrigues me . It will be my first foray into colorwork . If and when I start it , I will take and post photos for you all to see . Today I actually started a swatch of the colorwork , to see if I could manage it . I think I can do it ! The colors I used were too alike in value , I used a purple solid and a variegated jewel tone yarn . I ended up frogging it after 5 rows , but I am determined to try again , with better color choices . I have unmitagated success in the colorwork department ! ! I used two yarns from my stash , a deeper purple and a kids yarn , colorway Crayon . It turns out that they are both 50 % cotton , 50 % acrylic . They look great together . Unfortunately , I have misplaced the camera ! I was going to take photos this morning , and when I couldn 't find it , I spent what time I had today searching for it . I still haven 't found it ! ! On a different front , it seems the crafting black hole has had enough of holding onto my spindle and fiber ! I found them today while searching for my iron , which is a whole other story . . . one for another day . Hopefully , at this time tomorrow , I will be sitting here , typing my heart out about the success we had at Clermont ! I am sooo looking forward to this . I need to go look for the camera again , I really want to get photos of Kim 's booth ! Good night ! ! For the second year in a row , we had a big family get - together at daughter Sara 's house . It 's held the Sunday after Easter . A good time was had by all . In attendance were : My mom Mary Lou , the matriarch , my Hubs and myself , my brother Chip with his wife , Carol and son Christopher , my son James with his wife Jessica and their two kids Chloe and Mason , our son Jesse with his girlfriend Julie , and mom 's friend John . The only one missing was my niece Kristen , who was feeling under the weather that day . Yes , I brought my camera , but I never even took it out of the case . I 'm hoping Sara got some good photos , and I will steal them to post here for you to see . We started out outside , with Jess and Julie playing ladder ball . Then my Mike and Christopher challenged them to a team match up . I 'm not sure who won . It is a very good thing for all of us to get together at least once a year . The other time we gather is Christmas , usually the day after , for lunch or dinner . Because of so many different families some with small children , it 's harder to manage on Christmas Eve or Day . So we decided on the day after , or thereabouts , if everyone can make it . I think all of us , at one time or another , have had fantasies of what we would do if we won a very large amount of money in the lottery . Of course , the first things we would all do would be to pay off mortgages , credit cards , etc . Then buy new cars and houses . But there are a few other things I would want to do : Thought this one up this morning . I saw a show on castles in New York State over the weekend . There 's one nearby , in Millbrook . I would love to live in one . I would want a regular size house , though , and have it look like a castle on inside and outside . I have always wanted to have my own book store . I would even go so far as to say I would like to sell only science fiction / fantasy , mysteries , and " new age " type books . I would have to come up with a really interesting name . . . Friend Kim and I have discussed this before . We would go in together , and show yarn by appointment only . I doubt we would allow any yarn to actually be sold . " It 's MINE ! , you can 't have any ! " 4 > open a combination book and yarn store ! ! Then I would have to add crocheting and knitting books to my short list of genres that I would sell . Frankly , I don 't see a problem here . Does it get any better than this ? Wait , maybe having a book / yarn shop IN a castle . . . . That 's the ticket ! Today , I am pleased to report that I have turned the first corner in the never - ending - garter - stitch baby blanket . It 's cool , short row by one stitch every other row til there 's only five stitches left , then work back , adding a stitch every other row . I have turned the corner , and now I 'm adding the short rowed stitches back on . It looks cool : I am very excited , even though I only have one more whole skein of this yarn left . I am hopeful that the A . C Moore store in Wappingers will have some , when I 'm there on Monday next week . I figure I need about six more skeins . Please send me positive thoughts on this . . . I realized that this blanket will be about four feet across when it 's done . Oh , well , it fits in with my life philosophy : Go Big or Go Home ! I just have to hope she doesn 't have a giant baby . That is my report for today . I am looking forward to working on the blanket at Clermont next Saturday , while I 'm being a good minion and hope to get lots done . If I don 't run out of yarn in the meantime . < shudder > This coming Saturday , April 21st , the annual Chancellor 's Sheep and Wool Showcase is taking place up at Clermont . I believe it 's a historic site . But it will be lots of fun ! I will be there , helping man the booth of my friend Kim , of At Knits End Yarns ! You 've seen her etsy store , now you can see her Kool - aid dyed yarns and fibers in person ! This is a small festival , not as huge as Rhinebeck , so it can be a lot more fun , especially for the kids ! There are lots of crafts and things for them to do , and animals to see . There are demonstrations of sheep shearing , and of dogs herding the sheep . There are other things going on too , it 's a good time for all ! So , pack the car full of people and head to Clermont , it 's only $ 8 a car load ! I believe the hours are 11 - 4 , so come early to get a full day of sheepy fun for the whole family ! Come find the At Knits End Yarns booth and say hi to the two Kims ! Tell me you heard about the festival on my blog . Unfortunately , I can 't give you a discount or anything , but it will be fun to meet new friends , and I hope to see some old ones too ! In closing , here is a shot of the progress so far on the never - ending - garter - stitch baby blanket ! I am almost through one whole skein of yarn , and I 'm not through one triangle yet ! ! There are eight triangles in this blanket , and I only have three skeins of yarn . I went to the local craft stores looking for more , but no one had any of this particular colorway . I 'm using Bernat Baby Jacquards , colorway Easter Basket . If anyone happens to see any , please let me know ! ! Thanks ! For the past few weeks , I 've been having tummy troubles . I know that I can 't have a beverage just before going to bed , because when my tummy is full , and I lay down , it threatens to come back up . I need to sit upright for a while after I drink something . Now it seems that the same thing is happening when I eat . You see , we tend to eat rather late . Sometimes very late . And lately , it 's been affecting my sleeping habits . It seems that I need to eat earlier , and not to snack after dinner . I tried this for a few nights , and it seemed to help . This is bad news for me , as I really love my evening bowl of kettle chips , or ice cream . I even need to try to eat my dinner earlier . As an aid to digestion , I used to have a bottle of chewable papaya enzymes on hand . A friend of mine uses them , especially when on a trip to Las Vegas , as she loves food , and frequents the buffets there . She eats until full , then chews some papaya enzymes tablets . This digests the food faster , so she can go back and eat more at the buffet . I used them when my tummy was full , like after Thanksgiving dinner . Now it seems I must get some more and take them after I eat my dinner . Of course , that 's only if I can 't manage to eat dinner at a reasonable hour . By the Goddess , it sucks getting old . And it seems it 's not only at night any more . I 've been getting an acid stomach during the day too . So what am I supposed to do , stop eating altogether ? Maybe I should eat something when I have my morning coffee . I hear a rumor that there 's a meal that 's usually served in the mornings . Personally , I don 't believe in it . Ask my family . . . . Today , both Kim and I figured we were on our own for Stitch n Bitch . Jan had work stuff to do , and Bonny had to watch her grandson . Imagine our happy surprise when into Cranberry 's walks Cheryl , our long lost fellow knitter ! We were so very happy to see her ! It has literally been months since she was last able to make a meeting . For her , it 's rather a long trip , so we understood . And shortly after that , Bella came through the door ! It was one of those days when the unexpected happens , and we were all happy about it . Both Bella and I had to leave , before we wanted to , due to prior commitments . I had been waiting for a text that would tell me that I didn 't have to babysit today , but it didn 't come , so off I went . First I stopped at the post office , then home to set up the coffee maker for Hubs . Then I was off to babysit for my favorite 15 month old . And she was a pistol today , let me tell you . She is usually about ready for a nap by the time I get there at 11 : 15 , but today , she did 't collapse until 1 : 45 ! She really wore me out today , let me tell you ! Running and dancing , and trying to make herself dizzy . At least she was having fun . Much later , I got to go home and hang out with Hubs while he woke up , and then got ready for work . I left for my interview just after he left for work . I was there in plenty of time . The interview went well , I thought . If they liked me and think I would be a good fit , they will call me in seven days or less . We shall see ! After that , I went to Michael 's craft store for more yarn for my new blanket . They didn 't have any of the color I need . Of course . Then I tried Jo - Ann Fabrics . They didn 't even have the yarn at all . It 's no problem , really , I have three skeins of it , and I can look another time . On my way home , I stopped at the Karate School , just in time for Kim and Jan to be leaving . My next stop was the supermarket , to get some meat for dinner , since I forgot to take something out of the freezer this morning . And now that meat is cooking , and soon I will be applying some barbecue sauce . And that is about the end of my day . I plan on sitting here , eating my dinner , maybe having a drink later on . But for sure , I will be watching Dark Shadows . I am actually nearly through all the episodes currently available on Netflix . . . Well , due to the overwhelming non - response to yesterdays post , I have frogged the baby surprise jacket . I won 't give up forever , just for now . I have instead started the square garter stitch baby blanket from the same book . It 's going well , so far . Tomorrow is our weekly Stitch n Bitch , and I am excited about attending . We have such a good group , even if it 's a small one . We do have some lively conversations ! I can 't wait to see the progress on the other girls projects . My mind is all over the place tonight . It 's full of Dark Shadows , and I have some observations . Dr . Julia Hoffman has a lab set up in the basement of the old house on the Collinwood estate . My question is this : How much work can she get done , seriously , when there is no electricity in the old house ? ? How can she make up the experimental serum that she is injecting into Barnabas ? With candles ? That is just one of the things I 'm thinking about tonight . I have another interview tomorrow , at the Awesome Store ! This one will be a one on one interview . Thank goodness it 's not until 5 : 30 , so I can still watch Malia tomorrow , as well as send Hubs off to work . Then I can head to the mall . The other day , Hubs and I were in Home Depot . I looked for my beloved door , that I fell in love with last year . They didn 't have one on display in the Poughkeepsie store ! I did get a brochure , so I can at least look at it and choose the finishes etc . One of these days , I will own that door , I swear ! For those who have forgotten , here is the photo I took of " Diego " : OK , so I 'm stumped . I started making Elizabeth Zimmermann 's baby surprise jacket , but have gotten stuck . I love the way she wrote , but . . . . the directions for this jacket in her book , E . Z . 's Knitting Workshop , have me very confused . If there is a knitter out there who has translated this pattern into comprehensible language that a relative beginner can understand , would you please answer in the comments ? I would really appreciate it ! I got confused , and would like to see simply written directions . I placed my stitch markers where she said to , but I still have to count all the stitches , because each marker sits right smack in the middle of the two stitches that I must knit together , so there 's a lot of moving stitches around , to move the marker . All I require are simple , " pithy " directions , like for the Pi shawl , of which I have made two . Thanks in advance for any help ! I feel like a horrible mother , for I have been making plans for things to do when the boy moves out . Not that I am rushing him , or anything . It 's just an epiphany I had a few months ago , that the boy would not be living here forever , and that we could make plans for when he 's gone . When I brought this up to Hubs , he played along with me . We thought that it would be really cool to temporarily move into his bedroom , so we could do something we 've talked about for years : Re - doing our bedroom . We have put it off for so long for the simple reason that there is not enough space in our little house for us to move our furniture into , while we do the redo . And now that he is moving out , and taking our sectional with him , that means we get a new couch ! But before that can happen , Hubs has told me that he wants to rip all the carpeting out . And there is no better time than when the huge sectional is gone for good . I 'm up for that too . One evening while we were discussing these plans , I mentioned to Hubs that after our current cat Ozzy has passed on , perhaps we should be pet free for a while . He agreed with that . However , as we sat in silence , watching the TV , the cat jumped up on the couch with us . I reached out to pet him . And as usual , he shied away from me . I continued to " torture " him , as Hubs calls it , by petting him and talking to him , and to really piss him off , pick him up and hold him . This got Hubs to thinking , " Who is she going to pick on when this cat is gone ? ME . . . " . So now he 's thinking maybe we need more cats in the house . I think he 's afraid of having all my attention focused on him alone . He says I have a strong tendency to " poke the rat " as he says . He might just be right . . . . Yes , after three long years , I have had a job interview . There 's this local store , called the Awesome Store , which is run by a local family . They make most of the things they sell , and what the don 't make themselves , they get mostly from local people . I frequent their store here in Hyde Park . I love the smell when you walk in . It is a very herbal garlic - type smell . Absolutely delicious . They have the best soup mixes ! I have used them regularly for at least three Winters now . I even bought the Cream of Broccoli mix just for my son , who loves broccoli . He only ate a little , as he had already eaten that evening . But Julie liked it , and so did I . I added a bunch more broccoli to it , from a bag of frozen chopped broccoli . I had to travel down to their second store , in the mall , for the group interview . There were three young chickies and my middle - aged self . I was intimidated . But I think it went pretty well ; after all , I have used quite a few of their products , and after the interview , the chickies left right away . I stayed and talked to the assistant manager , and bought a couple of things . That may have given me the edge . Now I just have to wait . The assistant manager said that she will go over her notes with the manager , and if they are interested in any of us , we will get a call for a one on one interview . Yay , something to look forward to . Technically , this was my second interview in the three years that I have been unemployed . The first was last summer at Michael 's craft store . That went well too , but the man never called me . And to start the interview , he kept me waiting , with no explanation , for about a half an hour . I thought maybe it was a test of sorts , where they keep you waiting and watch and see what you do . It wasn 't a test . Let 's all just hope that this one turns out better than the last one ! Thanks for your positive thoughts ! Today , I was going to stay home while Hubs went to the house in Fishkill . Our son was there , an Graeme turned up too . They were all there to help do some work on the house , I really wasn 't needed . Hubs told me I was going to come with him . I had other plans for today . I was going to go grocery shopping . I was going to get some more laundry done . And I was going to overdose on Dark Shadows episodes , which are now in color , by the way . But no , I had to go to Fishkill . I helped out where I could . I scraped the walls in the two bedrooms , in preparation for painting . I gave some advice when the boys were pulling out the posts from the ramp that is no longer there . I threw out some old mildewy books from the front porch . I sat and ate some really good barbecue from a place called Dickeys . It really was good ! It has to be the first time I 've had brisket that wasn 't all dry and nasty . By the time we got home , the supermarket was closed . Of course , we had to stop at Home Depot . So no food for dinner tonight . All because it 's a holiday . I hope everyone had a very nice Zombie Jesus Day . It 's a fact , people , Jesus was the first zombie . He came back from the dead after three days . That is the textbook definition , people . I know there aren 't any stories passed down about him eating brains or flesh , but I 've decided that those aspects of it have been covered up by the church . Well , I have offended enough people for today ! I 'm exhausted , so I will be going to be early tonight . 5 : 45 comes really early , folks ! Today I started another project , the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann . I have some self - patterning sock yarn I found in my stash , and bravely started it . I read the intructions over , and over , and over again . I ended up deciding to just do what I keep telling my friend Bonny , " Just do what it says ! " . I have been working on the log cabin baby blanket too . I was doing that this morning while contemplating the baby surprise instructions . Then Hubs went out , and I had an errand or two to run . I needed to get him more cigars ( don 't ask me why he can 't get them himself ) , and I needed to get some gas . I had to dip into my change for enough money for the gas . Then after I got home , I had a visitor and got paid for sitting last week ! So I have some money for groceries now ! I only sat for two days last week , so the amount was smaller than usual . But it is enough for now ! Well , I am watching Dark Shadows now , so I will sign off , See you all tomorrow ! ! Posted by I am very pleased to report that this morning I finished the knitted basket weave patterned afghan for my future grandbaby . Whew ! It is currently in the washing machine , and needs to go into the dryer . After it 's done I will photograph it for you . I am also pleased to announce that I have already started another afghan for future baby ! This one is crocheted , a log cabin blanket done in Simply Soft yarn that I found in my stash . I had five pastel colors , with quite a bit left in the skeins . There 's even a baby colors ombre yarn too . So that makes six all together . Sometimes it 's good to have a large stash ! I got confused about how to do the log cabin , since I am doing it from memory . I went to the Lion Brand website and looked at the pictures they have , and I am doing it right . Whew . So now I can keep going ! I am very excited about this one . Even though it 's crocheted , it will be light , because the yarn is light . It will also live up to it 's name , and be very very soft . Here 's my progress so far ! The crochet hook is placed to remind me where the next section goes . Hopefully , there will be more photos when it gets bigger . I am stopping every few sections to weave ends in , as it would be an overwhelming task , if left to the end . Hopefully it will look good when it 's done . And I can go as big as I want ! Posted by Yup , that 's right . My youngest child is going to be moving out . All the way to Fishkill , into his grandmother 's house . Her husband wanted him to have it anyway , so he should be smiling down at us from heaven . That is , if he 's not mad at us for moving his ashes . . . So the son wants to live in the house in Fishkill . At least he will have a roommate , Graeme , to share expenses . It makes sense , since Graeme works in Fishkill most of the time . Of course , Jess will now have a nice commute to Hyde Park to work , but he will be closer to his girlfriend . I think she likes that idea . Now I can start planning the Empty Nest Party ! Of course , I haven 't mentioned it yet to Graeme 's parents , but I bet they 'd be down for one . And after the actual move , we can finally start doing some work in this house , that we 've wanted to do for a long time , but just haven 't been able to get done because there was no room to move anything . There is still a lot of work that needs to get done in the Fishkill house , before the boys can move in . Floors to be refinished , a bathroom to be reassembled , carpet on stairs to come out . As well as painting and general cleaning . But it will get done . Hubs has even told Jess he can have our sectional ! I 'm so excited , because this means I get a new couch ! ! I 've been looking already , on line . I 'm leaning towards a double recliner couch , but I have always wanted a chaise . We shall see . . . . I am also extremely excited at how much money I will save on groceries ! TRUTH ! When Jess comes home for dinner , I need twice as much meat as I would need for Hubs and I alone . And don 't get me started about those nights when he says he 'll be home for dinner and then changes his mind and doesn 't let me know . Either way , I know he 's ready to live on his own . He 's more mature than his father and I combined ! He has a really good head on his shoulders . I know he will make a go of it . Today I have managed to take a few new photos of my progress working on the blanket for my future next grandchild . I am very pleased at how much I 've managed to get done ! Here is the last known photo of the blanket 's progress : That was last week , I believe . Since then , I 've been working on it as often as I can . When I 'm babysitting , I work on it when the princess is napping . At home , I 'm working on it while watching TV , either with Hubs or without . And now for the most recent photo ! : Sorry about the blurriness of the photo , it seems my hands shake a little after only a couple of pictures . But at least you can see how big the blanket is ! I have even started a second skein of yarn , and it 's getting used up , I may need the third one I bought . I am looking forward to finishing this thing , let me tell you ! Now we just have to wait for the news . I am excited , my friend Kim will help me make baby stuff . I told her today , she gets to make the lacy blanket , since I suck at lace knitting , and she 's really good at it . I don 't recall if I ever mentioned that I a knitting this blanket because knitted fabric is lighter than crochet . I already have some crocheted blankets put away , and I wanted a few knitted ones so no matter what season the baby will be born in , he or she will have the right weight blankets all ready and waiting for him / her . I also would like to make the Baby Surprise Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann for baby as well . That will probably be next on the schedule . Then all we have to do is sit and wait for the news . . . When we lived in Fishkill , after my mother - in - law passed away , both Hubs and I had experiences there . First , I should say that Betty 's ashes were kept on a shelf in the living room , and after we had his dug up , her husband Tom 's were there too . I would talk to her quite often . Betty was there for 6 months , Tom only about 4 weeks . Hubs was working nights , and sleeping during the day , as he is now . There was more than once that I would be watching TV , reading , or knitting in the living room and I would hear a knock on the door . I would get up , and go to answer it . Each time , there was no one at the door . Sometimes , I would sense that someone was behind me , or I could see someone out of the corner of my eye . Again , there was no one ever there . I have to say , I was never afraid or uncomfortable at these times . Just frustrated . When these things happened , is when I would talk to Betty , and tell her to stop laughing , it 's not funny . After we came home , Hubs and I would still go there on his days off from work , to keep clearing out the house and getting rid of unusable stuff . Sometimes Hubs would have to go by himself . He finally remembered to tell me that more than once , when he was working upstairs in the bathroom , he also heard someone knocking on the door . He would have to stop what he was doing , and go downstairs to answer the door . And every time , no one was there . He was getting frustrated , thinking maybe he was hearing things . At least until I told him I had the same experience when we were living there . After my first marriage ended , I lived in an apartment with my daughter . After a while , I could no longer afford the rent , so I took a roommate . Some of you may remember her , I wrote about her in a very early post . For a long time , nothing extraordinary happened . But after C . moved in , some strange things began happening . We both worked the same shift at the same company , so we traveled to work together . One weekend we noticed that the clock in the living room was ticking very loudly . This was unusual , I had never heard it do so before . It was a plug - in clock , not a battery operated one , if that makes any difference . Well , C . told the clock to quiet down , stop ticking so loudly . And it did ! The next morning , the clock was quiet . For the rest of the time we shared that apartment , every so often that clock would start ticking loudly again , and she would tell it to be quiet , and it would stop . Strange . Also during that time , I had a necklace that was a zipper on a chain . It was very unusual . One evening as we were getting ready for work , I looked at the necklace . It was weird , I had not really looked at it in a long time . But that day , I specifically remember noticing it hanging on its peg on the wall in my bedroom . Later that night , as we were working , I was walking back to the clean room after break about 3 a . m . For some reason , I was looking at the floor as I walked along . And there was a necklace that looked just like mine , in the hallway , at the base of a wall . I picked it up , and stuck it in my pocket . How could it be mine ? I hadn 't even touched it on its peg , I had just looked at it . I promptly forgot about it and got back to work . In the morning , when we got home , I felt the necklace in my pocket . I told C . about how I had found it . With it in my hand , we walked into my room . The peg where my necklace had been was empty . How did it go missing ? How did it get to my job ? I never touched , or even brushed up against it in passing . Yet there it was , on the floor at my job . Very strange . After I married my beloved Hubs , we lived with his mother and her husband for a while , to save money to buy a house . We were there about 8 months . Just before we were to move out , I had a really wicked nightmare . I woke up so terrified , I woke Hubs up and told him about it . I dreamt that a woman , a very evil woman , was trying to get me to leave the house . She looked like a gypsy or something , and when I woke up I could feel the force of her , up near the ceiling , in a corner . It was like she was still there , floating . I have never been so scared in my life . Strangest of all ! These stories are true . I lived through them . And they are the only ones I can remember right now . If any more come memories come back to me , I will let you know !