So winter will officially arrive

 Tomorrow is the first day of winter. I will admit that living in Arizona it is not always easy to tell. Good thing for calendars! The temps are of course no longer in triple digits or in the 100s for that matter but having coffee outside in the morning is still doable. We may even watch the football game today out in the lanai. Just checked the tracking numbers for gifts we sent...still in la-la land. we mailed them on 12/3 and just mailed to cousin Janice on 12/14 and she already received hers! Yes I know there is postal back-up.

Still working on Lisa's socks..

A few have found it confusing to knit no heel or toe...they are generally called yoga socks. This is one completed the other is only a few inches. Why? well I got distracted. Lately it is not difficult!

I saw this someplace on line...can not remember where... but of course it became a challenge and I just had to try. These are practice rocks. Next trip out I may get the leather cording and some river rocks  to do it properly. I found them easy and fun. These rocks found their way to my craft table via across the street from the neighbors landscaping!

Lisa and I have fallen in love with gnomes.... I have had a little one since the late 70s but this guy followed us home last week.

He stands 9 inches tall. Just too cute. 

Murphy did not have a good night, well actually it was me that did not as he managed to keep falling back to sleep in my arms. We made 4 trips from midnight to 4 am out to make deposits. By his alertness this morning you would never know this. At the moment he is trailing Alan about the house. Today is a lazy day here...we are all home. 

Guess it is time to return to my knitting and Christmas music. Currently Michael Crawford is singing; soon to follow will be Johnny Mathis. Glad we could chat today. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship.

Stay safe my friends.

Almost gone...

 I am not sure if it is the Covid situation or just the holiday season, but days disappear. I am always home as a retiree but it is different when you are home trying to avoid illness. Tomorrow is a new month but not much has changed. Like many other states our Covid numbers have risen.  With Alan and Lisa out in the working world, they are careful and we all stay safe. Hopefully you are all okay. The other day I received a text informing me that a friend had passed. I had not been aware of her health issues (she is  was in RI). This gal was the daughter of my childhood friend Donna who passed in June! So sad for the family, she left a dad and a sister. Any death around the holidays is hard to deal with.

On a happier note, I am keeping as busy as my hands let me. Yes, still and always will have trouble because of the arthritis.

Did you...do you remember making folded books years ago? I do. We used to use the Reader's Digest and make full rounded trees. I saw this on Pinterest (of course)  so I got a book from the Dollar Store and voilà a tree grew! Brought back memories of Girl Scouts in the 50s.

These cute ornaments will soon fly away. The Post Office seems to be in a slow down so the sooner they go the sooner they will arrive. No picture to show yet, but I started the socks for Lisa. I love knitting socks. My goal is to get them completed soon. There are lots of "soons" in my world lately.

Later I will bake Almond Biscotti. We enjoyed fresh baked bread with our past in marinara sauce last night. Alan is a good cook. 

Murphy has a stocking.  It is burlap with applique that I made years ago. I just added his name to it. Surprisingly he has not touched it or our stockings which are hung on the fireplace.

Our gifts are on the mantle this year because Murphy thinks every package is his and enjoys tearing any...I mean any...box or mail into pieces. As a matter of fact, he has not touched the tree at all. 

Well friends, it has been nice chatting with you, but there are chores to do so I can bake. Thank you for your kind words and thank you for your friendship.

Stay safe.

Two more days

 Goodness another month flying by. Maybe it is just me loosing the days! I have had a few off days. Thanksgiving was Denny's favorite holiday so each year reminds me of his preparing dinner wearing a Santa hat. Good memories remain forever.

This is a Spirit Doll that I made for my niece Tonya. It is made from Dennis' jeans and all the embellishments have a significance.

Here is the back side. My lovely niece is having a health issue and I wanted her to have something from Dennis and me.... Something to remind her how much we care about her.  I also sent her a hugging pillow

This I posted before.  They were quite the pair when she was young. He had a special nic-name for her. I requested prayers and good thoughts for someone special, this is who they are for. It is difficult to face any issue around the holidays. 

Two more snowman...these with a top hat and snowflake. They are so cute. I love Christmas creating. It was always fun for me to send Reindeer food and a letter to children.... no requests this year. 

Sock yarn...yes... I will be knitting a pair of toeless and heelless socks for Lisa. She chose the yarn and as soon as take a few measurements I will start them.  I only have a few Christmas gifts to get .and then mail it all out. How about you? I just mail a couple of just because gifts out and they have not arrived at their destination. Should have been Monday and Tuesday, but who knows where they are.

With that, time to fluff on was and swish another. Glad you stopped by. Thank you for your kind words and for your friendship.

Where Do Keys Come From?

We were looking for Dennis's car keys and as Grace found them, there were several (6) keys on there, well one was identified and the other 5 are a mystery.

So we checked them again all known keys, no matches needless to say they did not fit any lock in this house.

So where do they come from, now this is a mystery that is not easily answered, imagine me walking into Hospice tomorrow morning and saying, "Dennis what are these keys for"? I think not, the conversations that I have left with him will not be about several pieces of brass that at the end of the day really don't matter. So where do these extra keys come from? Does anyone out there find keys that they do not need on their key rings? I don't know I only carry three keys myself, car and outside door and inside door. I am safe

Is this part of the same phenomenon as lost socks? Were do they end up who gets them and why don't I have them? I wish to know these things, I came out here to see the mystery of life and now I find myself looking for keys and socks. Hell I have the correct amount of socks that I packed, but will I leave with the same number? I can not know until I leave, it is perplexing. Are the socks in my drawer at home in pairs? Are there powers out there at work that I do not understand?

I know at the end of the day I can not truly understand the power of life and death, buy you think I can figure out the socks?

New Scissors

They are not as perfect as the first pair, but they will do until I find the perfect pair..

 

see how small and sleek the broken pair is.... perfect for cutting threads in Hardanger. The new pair I bought at the Viking Sewing Center at Jo Ann's this morning. I tried them and they do work.... I really like the original pair. I checked on line and also Nordic Needle and I really do not want to pay $60+ for a replacement. The little pair did cost a fair amount, but at the time of purchase I was given a very nice discount. These cost $29.00 and then a 20% discount. So, for now these will do. I still have not started my baking...what am I waiting for? I really do like to bake at night or very early in the morning...tomorrow is football day so that may be a good day. Remember the socks that I just knit...sent them off to my mom, EvaP for Christmas. What did she say? She carried on about how talented I am and that her friends love them but that she doesn't know if she should wear them. She does not want to spoil them! What! My response is that if she does not wear them I want them back. They are made to be worn. EvaP just celebrated her 89th birthday and is " I should save this/that/these mind set. Really.... Anyway, that's my tale for the day. Happy to have you visit with me. Thank you for your kind words and your wonderful friendship. Enjoy your day.

Smelling fire....

It would seem the rain and winds of yesterday are gone today. Sunny and quite cool for us. There is a mulch fire burning North of me along the I-17 area and the smell of that fire is reaching us. I am not sure of the distance...but this fire is a difficult one to fight as there are no hydrants in the area so they must truck in the water...living in the rural/desert can be tough. Yesterday Mr H and I sat outside on the lanai playing Farkle...I don't know about sitting out there today. I rested my hand for a few days and finally finished my sock....

I really enjoyed knitting this last sock. Sorry I waited so long. I always loved knitting since I was a young girl. One of the reasons I do not knit much is that living here in Arizona I hardly wear socks or long slacks or even a sweater anymore. I am thinking of giving these as a Christmas gift...thinking, not sure. I really like the lace pattern. I  forgot to take out my life lines before taking the picture

 I would never knit any lace pattern without them. I might, I say I might check through the craft closet to see if there is any other knitting....might. Mr H has some pretty Marigolds in the yard...

I loved the way Katherine Hepburn said the name Marigold in The African Queen....I think of her every time I see one. These are the giant type. Usually we have the regular smaller kind. These are in a large tall pot outside my kitchen window....

so nice to look out and see this every morning. The smaller pot is also marigold in a lemon color. Well, dear friends that about is what has been doing around here. Some ice for my hand today and looking for the next project. I did stitch the logo for my EGA group, the Desert Threaders, that I  joined in May... just need to finish it and find the right holder for it. Glad you visited with me today and thank you for the kind words and your friendship...have a good day.

Clouds make way for sun

Earlier this morning I attempted to post here...no luck. So I gave up and then had computer slow issues. Call to the Geek Squad...for the very first time I had an "agent" who did not seem to know what she was doing...I gave up and restarted the computer for the 5th time.... let's see if this is working now...I tried to show you my sock and could not so here is is so far....

I wish I had finished this one when I did the first. My sock knitting is so ... well I have to keep reminding myself of this or that and I just wan t it to turn out correctly. I am sure I am making it more difficult than it should be but it has been a long time since I did socks on 2 circular needles. The thing is, I hardly wear socks anymore with our mild temps. You can be sure I will wear these after all this.
The sun is bright and the breeze is more windy than not. We are suppose to have rain today into tomorrow. I am hoping for some cooler weather so I can sit outside and knit or stitch. I am taking it slowly because between the minimal yard work I did the other day and this knitting stress, my hand has been a little swollen. This is the first year that Mr H id not put pumpkins out front..... neither of us seems in the Halloween spirit. We did put some nice lighting in the back yard and it looks so pretty at night. Yesterday was my EGA meeting and it was the first time in a few months that I was able to go and now it will be January before I can meet up with them again. That is called life happens. I am hoping that Mr H will be feeling okay by the end of January so that I can attend. The plan is for a Stumpwork class and even though I have done some, I look forward to the class. Well, my dear friends, that about covers my busy morning...time for more knitting. Thank you for the kind words and have a great day.

What a sunset

I have mentioned before my fascination with the sky and the clouds and just about everything sky. Saturday evening....

this is what I saw when I looked to the West toward The White Tank Mountain range...believe me when I say it took my breath away. This is totally untouched...an as it was photo! Last night's full moon was beautiful as were Venus and Jupiter....Today it is another lovely Arizona morning with comfortable temps and bright sunshine. I managed to get a little yard work done so Mr H who should not be doing it right now would not be tempted to do it later. Our growing season is year round and some plants do just that...keep growing. The lovely Snail Vine is looking a bit tired. I did get it to look more presentable. When I went to Cavecreek last week for the pumkin festival I bought myself another Southwet ornament to add to my collection

The artist is Bette Fraser Day. She lives here in Arizona, in Tucson. It is a hand-painted and embellished one of a kind glass art, with Silver and Turquoise pieces. Until the tree is up for Christmas, it will hang with my other pieces of Southwest art. I was lucky to win a drawing from Barbara and it arrived...

it is so nice. I love these scissors. Never have too many scissors. If you do not know her blog To Stitch or Not To Stitch do pop over and meet her. My sock is progressing, started the heel flap and then on to the the heel turning. Since I did start these ages ago and did not expect to put it aside...there are no notes. You know what I mean...on any project we tend to write ourselves reminders or measurements....well, I did not so I am using the finished sock and I hope it  turns out okay. So far so good. With that, I will say thank you for the kind words you send me and most of all for your friendship.....I have learned a good friend does not have to be someone in our daily physical lives. It is that special person who can be miles away. Have a wonderful day.

2 needles and a sock

The last 2 days we have had rain...down pours and we were caught out twice in it. A quick run to the market and the skies once again looked like "any minute"

no sooner had Mr H pulled into the garage and down it came....not complaining about the rain because we should need it. Problem is, that it never seems to amount to anything. Today it is so lovely ...sun is out but it is actually comfortable outside. I plan to sit outside before the heat is on. This is what I will be doing....

once again, looking in the craft closet revealed my knitting tote with one sock completed and the second at the ready. My goodness....I have not knitted in ages! I at one time worked in a knitting shop and that is where I found...TOFUtsies (toe-foot-sies) sock yarn from South West Trading Company located right here in Arizona. They have an outlet store in Phoenix. This particular yarn is made with part Chitin fiber from shrimp and crab shells! Soft and ooh so nice.

this is color #722 and the pattern was a freebie called Wild Kat from Deby Lake. It is knitted on 2 circular needles. I use a German long cast on for a nice stretchy cuff. I also, someplace in the depths of the closet have a lace shall started....one of these days.....
Mr H starts some testing for his upcoming surgery tomorrow and we will both get our flu shots. I always get a sore swollen arm after it.  I just found out that I won a drawing from Barbara ... she had a cute way to announce it. Always fun when we win a drawing....
Thank you for visiting with me today...and for the kind words.... and most of all your friendship....I am indeed very lucky to have you for my friends. Hope you have a wonderful day.