Finding time...

...to do the things I want and love to do is difficult these days. I'm still knitting, but it seems as though I'm not accomplishing much. I did finish my own My So Called Scarf:

and I am working on a pair of socks right now:
I'm knitting them as a short row toe up using the stitch pattern from the River Rapids Sock pattern. I'm really stuck on the short row toe and heel from my Toe-Up Totem Sock Pattern...I'll admit that I'm afraid to try a different pattern because this one fits me so well. The yarn I am using is the prize I won on Becky's blog.

A couple of weeks ago I tried a new cookie recipe for Peanut Butter Cowboy Cookies which was a big hit.
Next time I make them I'll double them. I substituted canola oil for the butter and they were fabulous :) Whenever I can I have been substituting canola oil for butter and shortening just because I think it's much more healthy. Cakes, cookies and breads do fine with the substitution. The only recipes that don't work out is pie crusts. Today I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with oil and they taste a little different, but they turned out fine.

Last time I spoke a little too soon about my Dad doing much better. Though there is nothing terribly wrong, he has developed a pressure ulcer ( looks like he's missing a chunk of flesh) on the bottom of his heel. Most likely this is due to poor circulation and wearing his new shoes. He's been living in slipper socks in the house since his toe infection. Looking back I remember being asked if he was diabetic. Not realizing that all his feet problems are probably due to poor circulation and neuropathy (remember I needed to get him a blanket support). The visiting nurses are back in the picture because the pressure ulcer requires special wound care. Hopefully it will heal faster than the infection. Luckily the ulcer was caught before it was infected.

Seems like everything is breaking around here. Between my old washing machine, old shredder and now my old Cannon Power Shot A70 digital camera has been behaving very poorly lately. I think it may be dying slowly. While trying to capture some video at my sons' concerts this week the screen went black. Don't know what's wrong with it, but I did manage to get it to take some photographs for this post...thank goodness!! I'm going to have to start saving up for a new camera. I did a little research and I'm wondering if a Cannon Powershot SX110 IS would be a good one for me. It seems to be a moderate priced camera that has a lot of nice features. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. I want a camera with a zoom greater than 3x without breaking the bank.

I'm sorry to say I'm still way behind in my blog reading. All of my blogging friends are very prolific....need I say more. Even though I am a slow poke...I do enjoy catching up on what everyone is doing. When I have a few extra minutes I'll keep trying do a little catching up. My dad and my family come first, so I hope you all understand :)

Hope the rest of your weekend (very spring like here) is filled with lots of happy knitting :)

Getting back to normal...slowly....

Things are getting better...almost normal. My Dad is doing much better. His toe is healed and I don't have to go everyday anymore to change his bandage....yay :) I'm still bringing him meals, washing his clothes, shopping for him and bringing him to all his appointments, so I do see him often.

My eldest son is back to school today and I have my dining room table back!! Winter break is over and he starts his last semester of graduate school tomorrow. My middle son took over his room last year when my eldest was gone more than he was home. He had to move into a room which he shares with my youngest. Of course when my eldest came home for Christmas his nose was out of joint because he felt he had no place to call his own. Sharing a room with your younger brother wasn't his first choice. He was a man without a country so to speak. That's why he took over my dining room and we found his stuff cluttering just about every room in the house. He has been pretty much camping out in our dining room all of the break. He set up his computer right in the middle of our dining room table. That and all his stuff created quite a mess. I'm still playing catch up blog-wise as well as home-wise. Trying to find enough time to do everything is a challenge. I usually do find the time to knit, which is very important to me. I've been knitting, not a lot and not that fast and nothing very exciting or different. I knit another hat for my eldest. I felt a little guilty that I only made one of the fingerless mitts for him and gave up. I had plenty of yarn left, so I made him another hat. I used the cashmere ribbed hat pattern by Fig and Plum. That's the pattern you need to use 6 dpn's for. I LOVE this pattern. I see many more of these hats in my future :)
Another thing I tried for the first time was a cowl. I used the Honey Cowl pattern also by Fig and Plum. Not sure if I did the pattern right or not but it doesn't look like the photo on the pattern page. It may be the yarn I used which is very colorful. The original piece was done in a solid color. That's probably why the pattern doesn't show up. The yarn I used was the yarn I won on Bumpydoink ( Aim's blog) a while back. I still have more yarn left, about a skein and a half. I'm still deciding if I like the cowl or not. Maybe it would look better with a coat. It is bright and when I wear I don't want it to look like a clowns collar. Perhaps I would have been better off with a scarf, but I really wanted to try a cowl.Right now I'm working on another "my so called scarf". I really liked the one I made for a Christmas gift and I decided to make another one for me. I certainly had enough yarn left. It looks like a woven scarf instead of it being knitted. I love the texture.

Foe now, I guess that's all. Hope this finds everyone well and happy. Happy Knitting :)

Catching up is so very hard to do!

I don't think I have ever felt this far behind. I have little or no spare time ( Dad's needing more care, Christmas and the whole family being hit hard by the stomach flu didn't help), so it's been very hard to try to update my blog or even read blogs. I miss it all and I am in the process of trying to make it work. Hopefully you'll see more of me soon :)

Now let me see where did I leave off? Oh, yes...my Dad's saga...the one who didn't want to bother me by deciding it was better not to press his lifeline and lay on the floor all night. That one decision really upset my apple cart, but it's ok. I'm moving on and have taken steps so hopefully it won't happen again. He now has a lock box on the outside of his apartment door. This way if he needs help, lifeline will give the code to the fire department so they can get in. Dad can get help right away even if I am unavailable. Before they would call me and I would have to go and check on him. Thank you all so much for your prayers and get well wishes for my Dad. I really appreciate all the support. You are all very good friends :)

Dad is home now. He spent four days in the hospital and two weeks in rehab. They took very good care of him and he was spoiled. I think his fear of going to a nursing home was dispelled a bit. The nursing home was excellent. I think one of the best in our area. If ever he has to go back we know where he'll be going. Dad came home the day before Christmas Eve. Need I say more it really put me in a tailspin. We had to take down and move two twin beds and replace it with a hospital bed. I also got him a lift recliner and some other equipment to make him safe and happy. The chair ended up being returned. He didn't like it and preferred his old rocker. I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. That's ok, as long as he's happy...that's the important thing. One thing I did do right. I bought him a blanket support. He was complaining about the blankets making his feet hurt. Such a simple solution, thanks to my dear sister-in-law who knew exactly what he needed. The internet is a wonderful thing as you can find just about anything from slipper socks to skis for his walker (highly recommend these :) )
Yes, even though you haven't been hearing from me I have been doing a little bit of knitting. I knit a scarf for a Christmas gift. It was very well received. The pattern I used was the My So Called Scarf pattern by Sheep in the City. I really love how it turned out. The yarn Moda Dea Cartwheel has a nice texture to it and makes a very nice fabric. One would think it was woven, not knitted. I've been wanting to try this pattern it seems like forever....and now I'm very glad I did :)I also knit a pair of mohair mittens for my son's girl friend. She loved them. They certainly will be warm. They will be good for shoveling snow. I used a vintage classic mitten pattern recommended by Marie. It's a wonderful pattern and I highly recommend knitting mittens with this pattern. You can make just about any size you want! Thanks Marie for pointing me in the right direction :) Then my next project was a disaster. My oldest son asked for a pair of fingerless gloves, the ones that convert into mittens. Being the good Mom that I am I said sure, but I had to make them as an I.O.U., because there was no way I'd have them done in time for Christmas. I finished only one glove and gave up. I used Mag Knit's Urban Necessity pattern.I was not at all happy with the outcome and it did not make me happy to knit this glove. Very cumbersome glove to wear as well. In Walmart I bought an inexpensive pair of fleece convertible gloves for $8.00. My son was much happier with these. It just wasn’t worth the trouble :) Would I knit another pair of gloves? Think not. But I would knit mittens again.

Lastly I finished the prayer shawl I had started back in October. This was my take along project. I used a different yarn (a bargain - at fifty cents a skein) that I had found in AC Moore - Bernat Marsala. I was very happy with the results. I 'm in love with adding a ruffle in place of fringe. I really love this shawl.I think my felting days maybe over as I previously have known. My 12 year old wringer washing machine decided to die right in the middle of our stomach flu epidemic. I can not be without a washing machine. We went right out and bought a new one...a front loader this time. Whirlpool Duet Sport. So far so good...I love it!! My 25 year old dryer is finished before the washer finishes, so I think we'll be saving money on gas as well as water. It's a fun to use and is a more efficient machine, but I have my doubts as to how it will felt. I guess if all else fails I can always try the plunger in a bucket method.

Guess with that - I've pretty much brought you up to date for now. Please be patient with me as I try to catch up with everyone....really looking forward to that!! Hope this find everyone well and happy.

Happy Knitting :)