Year end looking back

Well like most of you I hope that 2022 is a better year than the past few. I know the kitties are ready for the world to be better so they can spend less time taking care of mom after shots and more time taking care of napping. OK fine they admit to napping quite a bit while taking care of momma, but still everyone needs less stress. 

Now that the big move is over I am concentrating on keeping us safe and happy. Quite a big task if I do say so. But the kitties are with me so I've got that going for me.

The kitties trying to keep me warm and make me nap after my booster shot.

I can tell you that I managed to meet my sock knitting goal of 12 pairs this year. Let me show you pair eleven. Hubby's Christmas 2021 socks. Yes I know it is not an artistic picture. If the world has taught us anything we need to roll with what we have. They are beautiful and he is happy to wear them. They are from Lisa Sousa Hardtwist Merino Petite in the Aww-Tum colorway. This yarn followed me home from Rhinebeck in 2015. Huh I guess that makes it one of my last Rhinebeck hauls. Incredible color.

My last pair of socks were for me. These are Huckleberry Knits Willow BFL in Honeycrisp colorway. Now these were a pandemic purchase directly from the dyer. Sadly she went out of business this year but I will enjoy here beautiful colors on my feet for quite a while. 

Do we need to look at the tally? Heck yeah I do. Hubby got more than half of the haul this year with seven pairs for him. I got two including my purple socks that I knit on while waiting to make sure my body could handle the vaccine. Those socks hold so much hope and love for me. Our caretaker friend Julie got two pairs knit for her after she gently asked what you have to do to get on my knitting list. Since she kept both of us feed and sane during our separate broken bone confinements, she did not need to do anything she's already sock worthy. Plus she is almost my foot size so she got pick of don't fit me anymore pile. Nice to know my socks are keeping her toasty when she is out camping. She even sends me sock pictures, hard for her to get anymore sock worthy than that. 

I have more to tell you and show you but I might as well just stop here and get this job done while the sun is still up. 

And one last thing RIP Betty White, you made me laugh and feel better. Thanks for that.

Whew Glad I got that off my chest.

Oh what story to tell you today? Sometimes I catch myself composing blog posts and journaling solely in my head, I really wish I could transfer them here so easily. I write such awesome things in my head. But when I sit down here I just stare at the blankness and think of all the things I need to be doing. And I never get the pictures I wanted loaded. Today I scrolled through pictures and I had posted most of them. So I have only this one to offer you.

So I am going to try some freeform writing to see how that goes. I know you're thinking like me, isn't that what I normally do anyways? Let's just pretend this is new and move on OK? Also no I did not write in my journal like I said I was going to last week. 

Yes we are settling in here but there is still more to do. Isn't there always more to do? 

I will tell you restocking a kitchen is not as fun as it sounds. I am starting to set up some freezer meals again. I love having a freezer full of yummy things to eat that I have made. I have been watching youtube videos from a lady that spends six or so hours cooking on a weekend to stock up their many freezers. She is a machine I tell you. Really 40 or more meals in four or six hours. Quite an inspiration but not the level I am looking to get to at this point in my life. The apartment kitchen is less fun than our Oregon kitchen but I am learning to adapt. Talk about space saving. At least I kept our freezer in this move and it fits perfectly in the kitchen. Almost like it was designed to go there. The kitchen does not have a lot of storage space and I sure as heck am not using it efficiently, but we are back to that settling in thing again. 

Hubby has discovered the joy of watching Great British Bake Off with me. And we are looking to explore cooking and baking together a bit more. I have told him I have no interest in making suet pudding but Swiss Roll is very much on the table for experimenting. I have always wanted to make one of those, so maybe a yule log for Christmas?

On the knitting front I am very happy to be close to my self imposed knitting goal of 12 pairs of socks this year. I have started the last sock that is needed. And even if I don't make it I came close and that is all that matters. Since I have only one sock on the needles I am itching to cast on more. And I want to get back to knitting that baby blanket for my friend again. D says the kid will be in college before it is done at this rate. I say it is still going to be done before my friend would have made it so it would still be a win. 

Goodreads tells me I have hit my goal of 52 books this year also, so I have that goal in the done pile too. 52 books read this year, check. Successful move in the middle of a pandemic, check. House sale complete, check. Still enjoying knitting, check. New handknit socks for hubby under the tree, almost check, they just need to be wrapped and put under tree. Booster and flu shot on board, check. Some Christmas cards sent out, check, more than last year's zero! Still in contact with friends in other states, check. Cats feed and petted, check. Momma not too stressed about everything, check.

Well I think that is enough rambling for the day. I feel better and I have some calls to make and some kitchen organization to do. 

Remember it always good to have a cup of tea with friends (furry or not furry) and just be you.

 

Post move Randomness

Did you ever notice when you move you always find new items, or new places for items, or new uses for items? Well of course you find new places for items since the old places are no longer handy so to speak. Anyways new uses, I have never been a big fan of afghans. It seemed pretty counterintuitive to expect an item full of holes to keep you warm. But if you have a nice hole filling cat and an afghan big enough to fold over it can keep you quite warm.  Plus it was handy since we never really figured out a new spot for it. I assume this is an afghan my grandmother made but maybe not who knows anymore.

I do know the one on the back of the couch my mother knit while we were still living on the farm, acrylic yarn has its place I guess. Burt does not mind clashing with either. 

You think Big Orange clashes with red Momma? I don't think I clash at all! Afghan has hints of white, I have hints of white, we match perfectly! Plus it is pretty comfy here I ain't moving again!

Before I left Oregon, I found two little journals that I had to pick up. I had looked at the one on the left online and found a page that said write down bad things lightly in pencil then using a dark pen write good things over top of them. They are not erased but they are not so easy to read. My mind immediately rebelled and said this is a bad book how will you be able to read the pencil stuff? 

I stewed on that for a day or so before coming to realize I did indeed "need" the book to learn a few lessons, most importantly how to let that shit go!

Sadly I have not taken a bunch of time to start working through the book. It is another one of the lies we tell ourselves that today is full of tasks and we will do it tomorrow. Plus working on yourself is hard. So on Monday I will do one lesson from the book to get myself working on me. 

Anyways so much for life philosophy. Let me show you something cool one of my former coworkers gave me. It is meant to go into a cup so you have a great place for all those little tools you use.

I discovered it hangs over my little knitting basket quite well too. How cheery and handy is that?

So that is today's report. I'm sure I will think of more things to tell you as soon as I hit the post button. But hey how about lunch first Hmm?

NM Success

Yes moving is hard but it can have advantages too. We found a phenomenal taco place next to a brewery. Mid-day tacos and beer in the sunshine? Yes we did!

My first street tacos and first fish taco. No those were not my first beers... I will say the sun is wonderful but blinding here. That is the only way I can explain cutting D off mid face.

I successfully made high altitude scones! D declared them my best ever scones but I think he was mostly happy to have them back after the chaos of the move. We did manage to find a bakery that makes scones and they were so big four scones lasted us four days.  

Burt is enjoying his momma's lap time. It is his favorite way to start a Caturday. He approves of scones and tea because they keep momma sitting for long enough to get a good nap in. 

Of course Burt does not believe there that a bad nap exists either though.

I finally managed to finish a pair of socks for Hubby. The move really put a crimp in my knitting time. I have a long standing goal of knitting 12 pairs of socks a year. Well it is not looking too good this year. This is pair ten, and we are into December now, yikes.

See Jayne Knit Superwash merino/nylon in Dead for Ten Minutes colorway.

At least I have one other sock done, so I am halfway on pair eleven. Don't you just love how my pumpkin bag compliments my foliage sock? You can guess what time of year these ones were started and know they have been quietly waiting their turn at some knitting time. So technically I am only three socks behind schedule.

Lisa Sousa Hardtwist Merino Petite in Aww-Tum colorway.

Because I had tossed the stash so thoroughly before the move I knew which bag of yarn was calling my name before the move so I easily found my next yarn to knit. 

Huckleberry Knits Willow BFL/Nylon in Honeycrisp colorway. 

 I am so glad this was one of my post ankle break pandemic buys last year. The dyer closed up shop earlier this year. Just goes to show you sometimes you really should buy the yarn when you want it.

So we're all settling in here and finding where we put things and discovering the joy of finding new favorite places while finding comfort in still having old favorites around us. No honey, you cannot call me "Old Favorite" now. It is not romantic at all.

I'm looking forward to being able to show you other successes and not too many failures too.

Happy knitting!