Work in Progress

I even made it on a Wednesday!  Some blogs, much more organized than this one, have certain subjects on certain days of the week.  I'm lucky to figure out the day of the week after a couple of wrong guesses.  Anyway, the socks are looking like socks now.  I didn't put enough information last time.  I'm knitting toe up, 2 at a time, magic loop socks.  That basically means I'm knitting both at the same time on a circular needle.  I'm ready to start the heel now.  Foot for scale.

Socks, the beginning

I should really explain that these are more 'bed socks' or slippers.  I'm practicing on larger yarn so that when I use nicer, more expensive sock yarn I may know what I'm doing.  I got this yarn for $1 a skein at a thrift shop.  Judy's magic cast-on and then I knit the tail along with the main yarn on the next row to double the stitches.  I'll increase stitches in some pattern yet to be determined until it looks like it will fit around my foot.  What can possibly go wrong?  Well, other than the first round I knit with the tail instead of the main yarn.  I switched over when I got to the main yarn again.

Onward.

So, a blog post

Now that we have affirmed that Live Writer works, I guess I’ll write a post.  It won’t have a picture because I’ve been putting off taking the picture all day and if this is going to get written and posted today it won’t have a picture.  Don’t try to make sense of that.

I started some sprouts last night.  I’m using the new, improved sprouter I bought last year, or whenever it was.  The mix has all kinds of weird named lentils and other odd legumes.  So far nothing is showing any sprouts.  Forget the hype about sprouts in 24 hrs with the new, improved methods, I guess.  I’m kind of relieved about it, actually.

I started a new pair of socks.  Actually I watched most of Judy’s YouTube of how to do Judy’s Magic Cast-on.  I’m making up the pattern as I go since I know how many stitches I used last time, and the pattern I’m using this time is for bulky yarn.  I’m using worsted yarn and needles 2 sizes smaller because apparently I knit very loosely.  I’ll probably end up starting over a few times till I figure it out.  I meant to have the picture of the first few rows in this post.  I have to get that far in order to do that. 

I’m still shredding paperwork.  I’m finding paycheck advices from 2005, and contract paperwork for a house I ended up not buying as well as all the buying and selling paperwork (a lot) for each of the houses I’ve bought and sold.  I’m making some progress.

It rained again today.  The Monsoons are here.  The temperature has dropped nicely.  I may survive.

The rest of the story

I have been using my phone to do most of my blog posting as I can just send an email and it posts.  Only 1 picture per post that way, though.  I now have good portable internet, so I decided to try posting from my computer a few weeks ago and had issues.  I now have time to troubleshoot.  I’ll try posting a picture with this to see if that was the problem, or if it was just a temporary glitch.

This is a random picture of my sprouting seeds.  I need to get back to sprouting.  Now to see if this will post.  If you see it, then it means I need to get going on stuff to post about.  I’ve always known that is my blog is (even more) boring, it means I’m just sitting around vegging too much.

This is a test

Testing Live Writer as I haven’t used it in awhile.

Work In Progress - Finished

Many mistakes were made.  I did end up with socks, and they fit.  These are my first attempt at knitting socks.  I used Magic Loop, two at a time.  I used Cat Bordi's sweet tomato heel, and a stretchy bind off.  The yarn is not sock yarn and I had issues with it splitting and I dropped a lot of stitches and had to go back and pick them up.  I did not totally understand the heel instructions until I was in bed hours after I'd finished knitting the heels and it clicked how it was supposed to work.  Even done incorrectly, the socks do have heels in them.  Next time it will go better.

Thoughts on the trip

This trip evolved.  Originally it was planned to just fly out to see Rod Ivers one more time.  He left the area fairly suddenly, and even though I did go over to say goodby the evening before he left I still wanted to see him again.  I planned for October after my medical tests that had already been scheduled were finished.  It kind of morphed into running up in a rental car to see Favorite Neighbor after she fell and it became apparent she would not be back down to Mesa for the winters again.  I have family in the area (more or less) where Rod lived, so this plan was doable.

Well, the medical tests came back showing breast cancer, and I was tied up with that until the end of the year.  Rod died in January.  It was winter in MN.  The trip got put off.  Once I had the Class A I pondered taking it, but Mom was getting so weak once she went of her thyroid medicine because of the side effects of taking it for over 35 years I stayed put.  Once Mom got straightened out and was feeling so much better, and I had the Class A, I turned the trip into a visit with family as well as the trip up to see Favorite Neighbor.

The motorhome performed wonderfully.  It is 20 years old, but runs very well.  It worked well for Mom and I traveling as well.  I turned the passenger seat around to face the living room in the evenings and she sat there and read while I went back to my bedroom and got on my computer.  It is comfortable to ride in while driving, and nice to be able to stop anywhere.  I had enough on my mind with this being my first long trip in an RV that we mostly stayed in RV parks.  We did boondock one night at the Kansas Star casino and that went well, even though there was a huge storm during the night.

I managed to dodge the storms while traveling, and most rain fell during the nights.  It seemed a blessed trip in many ways.  I got used to driving in a stiff broadside wind.  At one point I told Mom that I wouldn't know how to drive on a flat, good road with no wind.  I never had all three at the same time on the way out.  It was better on the way home.

Some take away thoughts:

It sucks not having a car while traveling.  We did no sight seeing at all.  I was not comfortable taking the motorhome far off the interstate.  This is my nerves and lack of experience, not the motorhome.  The size and worry about getting into and out of parking lots is the issue.  After paying for fuel on this trip, which averaged $100/day of travel, I don't have the money to set up the motorhome to pull the car.  This is an ongoing issue.  I'm still pondering.

I was ready to get 'home'.  Mostly back to the Southwest.  I apparently have a strong sense of 'place'.  I need to factor this into future plans.  I said going into this that, given that I 'retired' with little money I might just end up going from the Valley (Mesa/Apache Junction) in the winters and to Payson in the summers to follow the weather and that was ok.  I don't need to make any decisions right now as I'm in a good place right where I am. 

For now I need to sit tight, pay some bills, sort and get rid of a bunch of stuff and chill.  The car issue, and not having it if I leave in the motorhome or the cat issue if I take off in the car and tent camp is my biggest hurdle.  I don't have to solve that right now.