Heart problems

I seem to be having heart problems these days. By heart problems, I mean Valentine heart problems.

Two years ago I made dozens of these little white, pink and red hearts. They were quick and easy, and they made nice little gifts to give a few friends. Those I kept, which is this pile in the photo, I put into a square glass vase each February and let them be my Valentine "decor."

Last year I made a few of these for Valentine's gifts. Per usual, I kept one for myself, too. Ken helped me with the wire that holds the little message; I did the rest. Again, they were fun to create.

But this year I seem to be having heart problems. I can't decide what the design for Valentine's '14 should be.

I've downloaded several free (and not free) crocheted hearts and flowers patterns, dusted off my crochet hook, and had a go at creating something.

But even now, after two weeks of fiddling around with yarn and crochet hooks, and the occasional knitting needle, I'm not satisfied with the results.

I wish I were an artist. Artists, the real ones, not the artist wannabes like myself, know how to use color and design to create something with va-voom.

I'm somewhat pleased with the rose-colored heart in the right-hand corner, the one with the blue, yellow-rose-ish and teal flower. And the pale pink one, just below and to the left of it is OK.

But that big, red heart? Can't for the life of me find three colors that work well together as a flower to adorn it. The green, white, and purple flower perched on it now is only sitting there temporarily as I wait for a brainstorm to strike.

This seems to be a difficult time of year for brainstorms,... for me, anyway.

Sledding, not sliding

Eight-year-old Violet came for a sleepover one night during Christmas break.

While she was here, I suggested we try out the flying saucer I'd purchased just recently. I hadn't gone sliding in 50 years, and I wasn't sure Violet had ever gone sliding, so this was our golden opportunity, given the snow and the hill in our back yard.

Whenever I mentioned sliding, though, Violet immediately corrected me: "Not sliding, SLEDDING."

So we went sledding.

I took the first turn down the hill, because I wanted to see where I'd end up. If it was in a tree or somewhere deep into the woods, I'd know I'd better not allow Violet to use the flying saucer. I always like to return her to her parents intact, if at all possible.

My trial run went well, and before long Violet was whooping and hollering her way down the hill. I heard numerous shouts of "Awesome!" and even a couple shouts of "Epic!"

Violet and I went shopping the next day. While we were out and about, she came up with what she thought was a brilliant idea: "Let's look for another flying saucer, Aunt Jean. Then you and I can race each other down the hill."

I made sure we stayed out of stores selling sledding equipment.

The Nutcracker…and the snow…and the mice

 Or is it the snow, the mice, and the nutcracker?

Anyhoo, the weathermen got it right this time: For the past several days they promised Maine a good snowstorm, and by golly, we got it. At left is a photo taken early this morning, when the snow was still coming down. Ken says we got 12-14". I hope that guarantees us a White Christmas. It seems as if it should, given the amount of snow and the cold temperatures. I don't think we've seen temperatures above 15° since early last week.

What better way to spend a snowy day than to knit mice? These will be filled with catnip and given as gifts to several cat-owner friends. The pattern is quick and easy. Once knitted, I gave the mice a thorough thrashing in the washing machine, to felt them. Now they're drying and will be ready to fill in the morning.

The nutcracker. Ken spotted this guy at Sam's Club several years ago. The price tag was $300, which was a bit much, I thought, for a mere holiday decoration. So the day after Christmas that year, Ken made a beeline for Sam's, found the nutcrackers reduced to half price, and brought this one home with him. (I took this photo last week, before we had much snow, by the way.) The nutcracker weighs a lot. We used to store him upstairs in a closet, but before long we decided he was just too heavy to carry downstairs each December, even with two of us sharing the load. Now he stands in Ken's walk-in closet for eleven months each year. I've learned to ignore him for the most part, but when Ken first put him in his closet, I'd walk by and think a strange man was standing there. Just about gave me numerous heart attacks! This year I toyed with the idea of finding a second nutcracker to stand on the other side of the front door. A search online yielded mates for this one, but to the tune of $799 each. Our nutcracker doesn't need a companion that badly.

Back to today's storm. Here's Ken walking Molly this afternoon. Walking in deep snow is hard enough for humans, but it's especially difficult for a dog with legs 10" legs walking in snow that's 12-14" deep. Molly hasn't minded spending most of the day inside by the wood stove.

Actually, I haven't minded spending most of the day inside by the wood stove!

A whole bunch of not much

Are you serious? It's almost December already?

I vowed to post several blog entries in November. Epic failuree, obviously, but if I post this today, that'll give me a grand total of two entries for the month.

I made some hedgehogs. I needed a little gift to give two children, friends of friends' kids, on Christmas Eve, so I decided it would be knitted hedgehogs. I found the pattern here.  They were quick and easy, which suited me just fine. As you can see, I got a little carried away and actually made five of the little rascals. The extra three will go to other children .

Behind the hedgehogs are some knitted and felted gift card holders. I found that pattern here. I use a similar small purse to keep all my credit cards/discount cards in, in my handbag. It's much easier to pull out all the cards at once and shuffle through them to find the one I need, rather than to store them in my wallet and take ages to try to locate the sought-after card. Perhaps the recipients of these gift card holders will use them all year for the same purpose.

My so-called Christmas cacti all bloomed very early this year, like in early November. I enjoyed them but wished they'd held off a few weeks so they could have added some color to the Christmas season.

A friend asked me to knit a lamb for her great-grand daughter. Here's the result. I used my favorite pattern for knitted lambs.

In October/November I swept the dust off my sewing machine and whipped up some small zippered bags, or wristlets, to sell for my sorority. They're a breeze to make and should come in handy for a multitude of purposes. A friend, an upholsterer, gives me her old fabric sample books, so that's the fabric I used for these. Also in the photo are two Wonder Wallets, also a sales item for my sorority. These little wallets have sold like hot cakes. I wish I'd kept a record of how many I've made in the past four-five years. I bet I've made at least 150. Just when I say I will absolutely NOT make any more, someone requests one or two and I, being weak, oblige them. But I really, really hope I won't be making any more.

Almost two weeks ago I came up with the brilliant idea of knitting an afghan.What drove me to this, I don't know. Anyway, I'm working on it daily and the darned thing is barely growing at all. I measured it this morning, and it's now 20 inches long, which means I'm only one-third of the way there. Mercy. I hope I have the stamina to stick with it and finish it. I rather like the design, to be honest. I do enjoy knitting cables.

This is what we've received for snow so far. Rather disgusting, really. I mean, this is MAINE, for crying out loud, and this is what we've had for snow in November. I hope December starts looking like winter around here.

Our great niece Violet came for a two-night sleepover at Thanksgiving. She attempted to draw a portrait of Molly while here. Things were going well until Molly suddenly had had enough, got up, and walked off, leaving the budding artist with a pencil and paper but no model.

 I had a hankering for lemon meringue pie for Thanksgiving, and a hankering to make a meringue others only dream about. I searched Allrecipes.com, and there was my answer: Never, Ever Fail Meringue. The secret is the cornstarch, I suspect.

If I had any self-respect, I wouldn't let you see the mess my kitchen was in a couple of weeks ago. I've since tidied it up, honest. I wanted to show this to you because that large box beside the fridge? Yeah, that one. It arrived from Amazon one day. I thought, "Wow, they sent my entire order in this one box!

Wrong. The box contained one order only: six Stella Artois beer glasses. Six glasses in a box large enough to accommodate, easily, one average human.

Now you see why I haven't been posting in November. I've had little or nothing to write about!

Recent knitting

It's time I gave an update on my recent knitting. My needles are kept busy most of the time. There's nothing I like better each morning, after reading the newspaper and checking Knitting Paradise and emails, and playing a few games of Words with Friends, than sitting and knitting for 30-60 minutes with a cup or two of coffee.

First is the second Brynna that I swore I'd never knit. I had such a hard time figuring out the pattern for the white Brynna that I knit this past summer and said, "Never again."

Trouble is, that first Brynna is for a friend, and I do love the design so much, so I decided to tackle a Brynna for Yours Truly. This one was much easier to knit because I'd learned from the first one. I didn't realize until a few minutes ago that I've never photographed the completed Brynna #2. All I have is this photo of the first half of it! This photo gives you a good idea of how unique the pattern design is, though: You knit one half of the sweater, add stitches up the entire middle back, then tackle the other half. Then you had a wide edging to the entire front and, finally, a peplum effect to the bottom. I used Cascade's Ultra Pima 100% cotton for both Brynnas and loved working with that yarn. It gives such a nice drape to the garment.

In October I spent much of my knitting time creating these little critters. They're a request from a niece in Georgia, so I'll be mailing them to her before long. I love the Fuzzy Mitten designs and have knit several of her animals: lamb, penguin, mouse, polar bear, puppy….It's fun to clothe them in knits once they're finished. It'll be kind of hard to part with these four mice and two polar bears because they seem to be mighty comfortable right where they are, in my living room1

Lately I've been knitting some hats for charity. This hat and mitten set, which I finished this morning, will go to a local Christmas toy and clothing drive. The hat is "That Favorite Hat," which is a quick and easy pattern knit with two strands of worsted yarn; the mittens are from the first knitting pattern for mittens that I actually have success with. I've tried knitting mittens in the past and have always been disappointed with the results. Both patterns are free.

And finally, two hats for a friend to donate to her church. The hats will be taken by missionaries to people residing high in the mountains of China. I actually gave her ten hats, but I forgot to take photos of the other eight. Shoot. I wanted to be sure to contribute to this drive because Ken and I have such good memories of our trips to China 2005-2006.

The hat on the head model is called "The Bob Hat." It's a quick, easy knit, and I like the way the bottom edge creates ear covers and a longer rib at the back of the neck. The pattern is free on Ravelry.

The second hat is called the "Cable and Seed Hat," by Susan Macurdy for Cottage Knits. I got the pattern free when I bought yarn for my first hat in this design. The design calls for a rolled edge, but I changed that to a K2/P2 edge for a snugger fit.

So that's how I've been keeping myself out of trouble lately. I've been trying like crazy to use up some of my yarn stash on many of these knits. The stash has taken over my study, and I'm embarrassed to let anyone see it. If I don't get it under control, it'll soon take over the house.

Here it is November 2, and my flowers on the kitchen porch are still untouched by frost. Unbelievable.

"You can't make old friends"

In the fall of 1970, I began teaching at Gorham High. I had two years of teaching under my belt, but switching schools, in addition to being a bride of only two weeks, made the transition to a new school very difficult for me. I remember going to school in tears a few mornings as well as returning home at the end of the day in tears.

My lifesaver that first year was David. David was also a new teacher at Gorham, also with two previous years of experience, but his previous two years were in Kentucky, while mine were in Maine.

David and I became quick friends. We shared our struggles as we tried to fit in with  a new faculty and a new student body.

David had left a girl back home to come to Maine. Her name was Norma. The summer after his first year at Gorham, David returned to Kentucky, married Norma, and brought her to Maine.

David and Norma became our (Ken's and my) closest friends. We spent many weekends together exploring southern Maine. Norma and I, both new brides, shared with each other the challenges of being wives, cooks, housekeepers, and workers outside of the home.

Dave and Norma stayed in Maine until June 1973, when they decided to return to their homestate, Kentucky.

I was devastated to see them go. I've always taken goodbyes hard, but parting with such good, solid friends was difficult. Luckily Ken and I had just purchased our first home, so I had that distraction to keep me occupied.

We have kept in touch with Dave and Norma over the years. They made two trips to Maine in the 80's; we visited them once in the 80's.

Although we hadn't seen them in person since the 80's, we've maintained our frequent phone calls, letters, and now, email.

David and Norma came to Maine for a visit last month.

I was nervous to be spending time with them again. Would we still find things to talk about? Had any of us changed?

My fears were put to rest the minute they appeared in our driveway. They were the same; we were the same. It was just that forty-something years had passed since we'd first met.

We started gabbing immediately and didn't stop to draw breaths until they left.  What a wonderful experience to see two long-time friends again.

A new knitter...and some new needles

We have a new knitter in the family. Violet's great-grammy would be so proud of this seven-year-old.

When Violet visited us one weekend in late August, I showed her how to do the knit stitch only. That seemed to be enough for a learner to tackle before moving on to more complicated maneuvers with knitting needles.

Well, she went home and devoted herself to mastering the knit stitch. Her mom gave her lots of support by purchasing additional needles for her and by, herself, learning to cast-on for Violet's benefit.

Violet visited us again last weekend, bringing along her knitting needles and yarn. We sat down for another lesson. This time I showed her how to purl, knit two together, do a yarn over, and cast off. She loved seeing an actual pattern emerging as she knit one row, purled the next, knit 2 together followed by a yarn-over across the next row, and purled the fourth row. I also showed her how to read a very simple knitting pattern and how to keep track, with a pencil, of the rows being completed.

She caught on immediately. In fact, when she got up early Saturday morning, she immediately tackled her current project. I said to her, "Violet, Are you knitting?"

"No," she replied, "I'm purling."

Such a stickler for details!

She worked steadily on this four-row repeat the entire weekend.

Later on Saturday the three of us decided to go to the Montsweag Flea Market for one last visit before it closes for the season.

I wasn't terribly excited to go, because I find the Sunday vendors to be more interesting than the Saturday vendors, but I agreed to go, and Violet was excited to tag along with us.

Lo and behold, I struck it rich: a set of Boye Interchangeable Needles, new in their case, for $4. I couldn't believe it. I almost felt guilty taking them home for a mere $4. Boye Interchangeables retail for anywhere between $60 and $90.

Once we got home, Violet immediately looked through my yarn stash, selected a partial skein of purple yarn, helped herself to my new purple size 4 Boye Interchangeables, and asked me to cast on 25 stitches for her. She said she'll work on this new project the next time she visits us.

I didn't have the heart to tell her one chooses one's needles by their size, not by their color. That lesson will hold off for awhile.