Making the cuts

I finished up one pink sock and started a brown one, different pattern.  More of a sculptured pattern than the lace and faux cable I used with the pink sock.  I'm waiting for my supplemental yarn to appear so I don't have to weave in any ends in the middle of the sock.  Just start fresh with a new skein.  It should be here by Wednesday, by which time I should have the brown sock done.  I'm using Fawke's pattern, which is no longer available online.  Might be if you use the wayback machine but I already had it printed out.  I had a couple of other Harry Potter-inspired patterns printed out, too, but I'm not sure where they are.  I'm so unorganized with my patterns.

I'm at the heel flap now, which is the fun part of socks for me.  I never use the heel of the pattern...just use the one I learned on.  It's easy, sturdy and fun.

After looking at Tom's paycheck, we're going to have to dig deep to make cuts.  Without overtime, we're looking at $400 a month less.  I've got the grocery bill down a bit but I have to cut even further.  I called and canceled the upper channels of cable but got a deal for the upper digital channels, which Tom loves and I rather like them myself.  The science, history and documentary channels are his favorites.  So we got to keep that for only $10.  And we kept the dvr boxes.  If it comes to it, we'll get rid of those and use the cable boxes, which would be cheaper but I use the dvr a lot and so does Zach.

But if it's a choice between eating and having the dvr boxes...it's a no brainer.

Definitely no more purchases of yarn, books or any other luxuries.  We have a fantastic library so that's not a problem and I have plenty of yarn to work with.  Enough for more than a year or so.  And hopefully Zach can find work soon.  He's going to put in applications again this week and look at volunteering at the local library.  We never use that one because it's not as big as the one in Beaver Dam and they're not open nearly as much.  Weird hours.  Sometimes only 8 hours a day.  But volunteering will help him form some people skills and maybe make some connections.

I'm not feeling well today.  Didn't get much sleep at all last night and am having an anxiety attack today.  I hate them but there is nothing I can do since all the medication for them conflicts with my pain meds.  I can take valerian and that helps sometimes but as tired as I am, I'd go right to sleep if I took that.  And I need to get supper fixed and laundry done.  I don't have the energy to clean today so I'm not even going to try but it's not so bad because we kept up with it over the weekend.

For now, off to my room to knit some.  I'd rather read but that would put me to sleep as well.  Or maybe I should just give in and take a long nap.  Because being this sleepy is making me miserable.

Still, I feel good about cutting some out of our monthly expenses.  Every little bit helps.

TTFN

I'm still knitting socks.

I was fending off a sinus infection today...or the beginnings of one.  I apparently won this round.  It will be back though.  So I didn't get a lot done today aside from swapping the bookcase under the south window for the rack so I can start my seedlings soon.  I have some herbs on my new shelf in the kitchen but not enough room for all the things for my garden.  Fortunately the seeds are in at StuffMart so I was able to get more herb seeds.  I still have no idea what happened to my huge bag of seeds.  I'd hate to have to pay out for all those again.

I'm nearly done with the sock.  I can't knit throughout the day on it because using those small needles hurts my hands after a while.  I do get about 5 hours a day on them but I'm not a fast knitter so it's going to be a while before they're done.  They do look good though.  I went to check my order for the extra yarn only to discover I didn't actually finish ordering it.  I got the last stage and quit apparently.  So they are on order now.  I wondered why I didn't get a confirmation email.

I might get busy on some art stuff next week now that my art supplies are a little more organized.  I miss it.  I'm also looking at some sculpting as well.  Never done it before but I've got some clay I can work with.  I've been watching a painting show on PBS that isn't Bob Ross and have learned a lot from the guy.  Can't think of his name but he's really good.  And it takes about 6 episodes to finish a painting.  Lots of information there.

But for now supper is over and I need to clean up the kitchen, take some stuff down to the basement, put the wash in the dryer and then find a place for all my knitted baby things I took off the rack.  Probably put them in a bag and stuff them in my closet.  I'll have some ready for next winter to donate.  Just not enough to bother with now.  Plus it's almost February.  Not a lot of winter left.

So off to finish up my chores and then to bed.

TTFN

Nothing but socks

I had to order more sock yarn in all three colors because the bamboo yarn is not only a bit sturdier, it's less yardage.  I tried my best to make it work but it just won't.  I'm using size 0 dpns, which is pretty fun but is wearing a worn spot on my finger.  Still, the yarn is great, not splitty at all and the stitch definition is beautiful.  I just won't be making anything on the socks.  But I am getting a pair for my mother which I wouldn't have done if I hadn't been ordering the yarn anyway. 

I've been sleeping pretty well until last night and then just couldn't stay asleep.  Probably because of the impending cold spell.  We had furious winds Saturday night that kept me up most of the night but I slept late so I was fine.  Gusts of nearly 55 mph.  I worried about the window beside the bed being blown in.  I think it ended up ripping the plastic off the tape.  I didn't check.  I know I should but I don't want to open that curtain right now with temps around 0 and wind chill in the minus 20s.  Winter has finally arrived. 

And I'm ready for a heat wave.

I finished up the Farscape marathon, watched some stuff on dvr and now am working my way through American Horror Story, season 1.  I love it!  I'm alternating with the two seasons, as I have Asylum on my dvr.  I got in a Stargate mood and am going through season 1 to give myself a break from the AHS seasons.  They are pretty intense, after all.

I've got Once Upon a Time on order from the library.  I'll be done with AHS by then, I'm sure.  It may take a month or so to get that one.

Tom is no longer foreman at work.  They did away with his job and are training him to run a tube laser.  It's a mixed bag.  Shorter hours, although he's lead man, which means basically doing the same job for less pay AND having another job to do at the same time.  But any overtime he'll get paid for so if he goes back to those 70 hour weeks, we'll feel it.  It's been extremely stressful here, wondering how to survive on even less money.  I'm so tired of watching the pay check go down instead of up.

I need to crunch the numbers tomorrow and we might get rid of the upper cable channels.  I don't mind getting rid of the movie channels but I would hate to lose the science channels.  Tom loves those.  Still...we've got to cut somewhere.  It may not even be cheaper to cut them out because of their package deals.  We'll just have to see about that. 

I've cut back on groceries and turned the heat down to around 55 during the day, 50 at night.  I just bundle up more and if it's too cold, I grab a hot water bottle and hold it for a while.  That warms me up.  It may seem silly to hang onto cable and do without more heat but we live in a very rural area and don't normally need a/c in the summer so it's just a few months we have to worry about the cost of the utilities.  And so far we've barely gotten over $100.  Cutting out $30 of the cable bill won't give us that much more heat.  We're also not going to the store as much anymore so we've saved on gas as well.

I'm sure it will all work out and if we have to do away with cable, we'll survive.  But for now, it's just a bit uncomfortable, but not miserable, to have less heat.  Tom and Zach have heaters in their rooms so they can take the chill off of their rooms without running the furnace all the time.  I do just fine after supper when I curl up in bed and knit.  I really don't need more heat for that.

Time to finish up supper so I can get back to knitting.

TTFN

Still here

With the stress involved in Tom's job and trying to overcome the fatigue that is ever-present in my life, the past week has been a blur.  Tom's now making less money and with our taxes going up, too, this is going to be a real challenge.  I don't expect to make any money from knitting the socks for my aunt's daughter-in-law but at least I'm having a good time knitting with bamboo for the first time.  Apparently it knits up larger so I had to rip out and start over with smaller needles.  Gauge, you say?  Pish!  I normally always knit according to gauge so I didn't bother checking.  It was only after I turned the heel that I thought the socks looked abnormally large.  They were big even on my huge feet.

So I started over and they are much better now.  But I'm still battling the fatigue and with the cold weather, pain.  Good news, though!  My gp is willing to manage my fibromyalgia so I don't have to find a new rheumatologist when she retires next month.  And, she'll give me that same amount of meds I was getting.  That was a huge weight off my shoulders.

I need to get some laundry done today.  It's windy enough that clothes would dry on the line and it's in the low 30s so they would definitely dry but the clothes line died during the blizzard we had before Christmas.  I need to re-string it and no way I'm doing that today.  With the wind chill, temps are in the low 20s and I'm barely going to get out there to dump the compost and refill the bird feeders.  But I must get it done before Monday when temps drop to around 0 with wind chills predicted in the minus 30s.  Brrrr.  I bought Professor a sweater on sale because that is way too cold for him to go out to wee.

I am sleeping again, so that's good.  I had a few nights of a puppy with an upset tummy who needed to go out every hour on the hour (and still hit the puppy pads in the night) but he's better now and able to sleep through most of the night.  He still gets up a couple of times during the night but Zach has been taking him out so that helps a lot.

Fortunately most of the snow is gone aside from the mountain beside the driveway from the snow plow and our efforts to clear the driveway.  You can see grass for the most part.  We got a dusting this morning but it's gone now and only flurries are predicted in the near future.

Back to knitting...I finished up the baby blanket but need to wash it and find a box to ship it to my daughter.  That's the hardest part for me as I'm not a fan of going to the post office.  It's not far away...just 5 blocks or so...but it's on the main road and parking isn't great.  Plus pulling back out into traffic is never easy.  But I must get it done so...

Well, off to start the laundry and then some general cleaning.  I need to vacuum and dust.  And de-clutter as much as I can.

TTFN

Bam! again

Zach and I finally made it to The Hobbit yesterday.  It was wonderful even if the matinee prices went up 75 cents due to the  new sound system...dolby surround!  Doubly amazing.  We packed sandwiches instead of stopping to get a bite because the new taxes are taking $200 more a month out of Tom's pay.  And we didn't have $100 extra so no more luxuries.  Or very few anyway.  I'm still debating what to do about cable since we can't get any tv stations otherwise.  We mostly watch the upper channels and since it's our only entertainment, I'm going to see what I can do to bring our budget back into control first before I start cutting off everything.

I went to bed early last night because I had trouble sleeping Sunday night and was very tired.  Around 1 a.m. the phone rang.  It was Tom.  On the side of a dark country road with a very dead truck.  So we gathered up his new tool kit and headed off to find him.  Fortunately we know the route well and found him with no problems.  We did the jumper cable thing and got the truck started so I followed him on our way home.  We got a couple of miles down the road when his lights failed, followed quickly by the death of the battery again.  At least this time we were in a bitty town with street lights so he pulled over, locked up and got in the car with us.  We waited until morning to call a tow truck, saving a bit of money on overtime costs.  It's the alternator, which is going to run us around $500.

I don't know when we will ever get a chance to breathe.  If we could have gotten the car home, Tom could have done the trouble shooting and fixed it himself for half that cost.  More than half, actually, but having it cut out far from home...wasn't an option.

And so I've dug out my tightwad books, my Encyclopedia of Country Living and am sitting bundled up to save heat.  I won't turn it up until I'm uncomfortable, which I'm not as yet.  I've been up moving around cleaning so that's probably why.  When I'm ready to sit down for the evening, I'll probably turn it up a bit.  We're not in danger of freezing.  It's sitting at 55F.  Can't see my breath so I'm fine.  I've got to dry a load of clothes in the dryer and although it's in the basement, we do get some of the humidity up here.  It's not vented outside so we get all the heat from the dryer.  I just use old pantyhose to cover the venting pipe.

I'm still waiting for the sock yarn.  As far as I know it hasn't even shipped yet.  I'm a bit annoyed about that since it's been more than a few days, but I'll give them to Friday before I look into canceling the order.  I've never tried WEBS before so I don't know how good they are.

Well, off to tackle my bedroom, de-cluttering and vacuuming.  Then onto the dining room and kitchen.  Not sure about supper but I've got a chicken thawed out.  I'll probably poach it and take the meat off the bone so I can stretch it out for at least 3 meals.  I've got a cup of tea to warm me up and the sun is shining out there so it doesn't feel too gloomy.

TTFN

Socks and mitts

Pretty much all I'm doing these days.  My aunt contacted me to knit some socks for her granddaughter so I've been looking for some yarn.  I found some at WEBS...bamboo sock yarn for $7.29 a 100g skein.  Pretty colors, too, so I ordered 3 skeins.  Two for the granddaughter and one for my mother.  I knit her a pair every year.  I picked up some books from the library today but I think I'll probably go with either something I already have in print or something off the internet. 

I do need to get back to finishing up the blankets I've started...such as my granddaughter's blanket and the Greek Key blanket for Zach.  I'm awful at actually finishing things.  Plus I have a sweater to finish up as well.  It's been on the needles well over a year.  I might just frog it and start over with something else.

I'm so tired of the snow.  It's not been as bitterly cold as we've known in the past so the gas/electric bill was only  $112 for last month.  Way lower than any December bill we've ever had.  So I upped the temps by 2 degrees.  It's pretty comfortable now at 60F.  Still, with our paycheck going down due to tax increases, I probably shouldn't. 

Zach is under the weather with a cold or something.  I'm not feeling well myself but it's probably more depression than anything viral.  I'm not a fan of the holidays.  I wish I could be but they are extremely stressful times and just another reminder of how little money we have. 

I ordered American Horror Story and Farscape: Peacekeepers' Wars from Amazon.com and am waiting for them.  AHS is already in town and will be delivered tomorrow but F:PW hasn't shipped yet.  A bit annoyed but the price is so low I shouldn't complain.  It's the last of the purchases until much later in the year.  We have to be absolutely frugal from now on.  At least we have an amazing library so I don't have to worry about getting to watch things I want to if I'm willing to wait in line for them.

So...I'm off to watch some more Farscape: season 3 and knit on mitts some more.  Then maybe finish up Zach's socks.  I wish I could find the baby blanket pattern I was working on.  I should never organize my room, ever again.

TTFN

A rude awakening

Last night, for the first time in my adult life, I went to bed before midnight.  I was tired and didn't see any reason to stay up so I went to bed about 10:30 and fell asleep immediately.  Only to wake up around 12:30 a.m. to a very wet and cold feeling.  The cat keeps trying to tip over their water dish, which sits on a table at the foot of the bed.  Early this morning, he succeeded.  I was drenched in ice cold water.  All the covers were wet, my sweat pants were dripping and he was happily drinking out of the tipped over container, the teaspoon of water that remained.

I called for Zach and he gathered up towels while I changed into dry pajamas.  Then he took all the wet bedclothes down to the basement and brought up some dry blankets for me.  I had two layers of dry towels on top of the damp sheet and mattress but there is no place else to sleep so I had to make do with what I could.  It took forever to get to sleep because the towels kept bunching up under me and the covers weren't tucked in so they kept falling off the bed.  And I was dealing with several throws that weren't big enough but layered just right, kept me warm. Except when I turned over, they didn't turn with me.

Then, when I finally got comfortable and warm, the cat decides he wants to cuddle with me.  Darn it!  I let him.

So today I'm doing laundry and trying to find my two pair of jeans that have disappeared.  I thought they were in the dirty clothes basket in the basement but they're not there.  Neither are they upstairs or in my drawers.  I think the car key fairies are really messing with me.

So...Happy New Year.  The year can only get better from here on.

TTFN

Nothing happens for days and then....bam!

The world didn't end yesterday but it was the day from hell and yet a good day at the same time.  Zach and I were out digging the car out of 20+ inches of snow when I had to go inside for a while.  I figured he had dug out enough for us to get out so I had my purse and keys with me, locked the door and walked outside to find our neighbor helping him dig the car out.  I was so pleased because the neighbor has never really spoken to me before.  He's always friendly with us but just hadn't talked to me.

So I went to warm up the car and help get the snow off the windshield but he had gone to his garage to get his shop broom to do it instead.  I left my purse in the car and got out and was going to get the scraper out of the back seat but couldn't get the door open.  I figured it was frozen shut so I was going to just grab it from the front seat but that door wouldn't open either.  For some bizarre reason the sensor had locked all the doors on the car.  And it was running.  And the only other key was 30 miles away.  And the house was locked up tight. I didn't have Tom's work number because it was in my purse but Zach had his phone so he was going to go online and get it from his phone but the neighbor insisted we come inside his home. And it was going to take Tom at least a half-hour to an hour (because of work and weather) to get there.

We got the number, phoned Tom at work and was able to wait inside, warm and safe until Tom could get things straightened out at work and come rescue us.  I felt so bad about him having to leave work but it's only the third time in 26 years of marriage that I've had to call him at work so it's not like it happens all the time.  And only the second time he's had to leave work to help me.

But it was so nice to finally get to know the neighbor and his wife.  I'm guessing they were both as shy as I am.


Then I had to go shopping and figured I would take the state highway instead of the county road, thinking it would be better.  WRONG!!!  It had solid chunks of packed snow and ice with significant drop-offs onto the pavement from a packed snow drift.  I came back the county highway which was practically clear all the way.  Go figure.

By the time we got done shopping, I could barely move.  My upper arms were so sore from the shoveling and the dodgy hip was giving me grief so walking was painful, too.  Fortunately by the time we checked out the lines were only 3 deep instead of six or seven, like it was when we first walked in.  Driving home wasn't a knuckle buster like the trip there was except for one curve where a huge truck was coming the opposite direction on a curve and there was a huge drift on my side of the road that hadn't packed down.  I let off the accelerator before I got there so I didn't slide but the truck was over the line on my side because it wasn't visible there.  I had to go onto the side of the road, into more snow...about 4-5 inches deep, to avoid him.  Other than that, it wasn't bad.

So we had pizza because I was nearly in tears from the stress, pain and fatigue.  And I was too tired to eat any.

I had decided to knit up some hats and scarves for my neighbor and his wife for their hospitality and all the years of them clearing the driveway apron so I picked up some yarn while I was at the store.  I started on his hat and knitted about 4 inches last night before Tom got home and we briefly celebrated our anniversary by giving each other things that were sitting on the table.  Like...I gave him his keys, he gave me a bag of chips.  This kept going on and we were laughing so hard that Zach came out wanting to know what was going on.  He left shaking his head.  Adults!  We're really backward because I'm the one who always forgets, which I did once again.  Since our anniversary is so close to Christmas we don't usually buy each other gifts but especially this year since the world was going to end anyway.

But I did sleep well last night and when I woke up this morning I got dressed and went out to refill the bird feeders.  I also bought some field corn for the bigger birds and squirrels.  I got outside and immediately fell, landing on a cushion of 20+ inches of snow.  I finally made it out to the feeders and back and sat down at the computer to read my mail and stuff and looked out to watch the birds but the feeder that they use most of the time was on the ground.  Apparently the weight of the snow on it had weakened the string.  Dang it!  I don't know if we can fix it but if I move the other one to that spot they'll use it.  As of now they're mostly eating off the snow instead of the other feeder.

I'll go out later I suppose.  It will bother me all day until I do it.

But today I need to finish decorating the tree and wrapping presents.  And what cleaning I can get done.  And probably some laundry, too.  Plus tons of knitting this weekend.

TTFN

Christmas is sneaking up on me

I've been under the weather for a few days with a cold, the first one in years, maybe decades, that hasn't turned into bronchitis or a massive sinus infection.  It was a 3 day cold that, while miserable for a day or two, left me without overstaying its welcome.  I still have a minor cough but my chest is no longer so sore from coughing that I couldn't even bend over, let alone cough without a pillow to my chest.

But I did get some knitting done while feeling poorly.  I talked to my son in Montana and he doesn't want any hats or mittens or anything so what I knit will go to charity somewhere.  I picked up some wool and am knitting myself another pair of socks.  I finished up Tom's and Zach's.  I already knitted up a pair for myself.  I have enough wool for at least two more pair if I'm not particular about what the last pair looks like.

I need to finish up the baby blanket.  I still haven't found the folder with the pattern so I'll have to re-print it out.  But I decided not to send it until after the holidays since the post office is a bit busy this time of year.  I can wait.  It's not like she'll outgrow it in a month or so.  I made it crib size so she can use it for a while.

The Christmas shopping is done.  Pretty meager this year but it can't be helped.  At least we have all our needs and that's more important now than anything else.  I'm going to have to work past the fatigue and depression to get back to frugality.  The economy might be picking up but inflation is outpacing us.  At least I feel better today.  Enough to get some work done and maybe the house decorated for Christmas.  I hope. 

I need to refill the bird feeder today.  Odd how the birds keep eating the seed I leave out for them.  This is the first year I've had birds us up the suet.  Mostly it just dissolves from the rain but I've seen what I think are nuthatches hanging on the suet cage.  I saw a huge squirrel in the back yard the other day.  He was about twice the size of the squirrels we see scampering around the neighborhood. 

Venison for supper tonight.  I'm very thankful for that.  I'm thinking of a ham for Christmas dinner instead of roast chicken.  Not fans of turkey and we rarely have ham so that would be a treat.  A small one though.  I don't have room to store a bigger one. 

Well, I have much to do today so I need to get moving while I have the energy.

TTFN

I had to make a promise

...before Zach would help me move my room around again.  It just wasn't working out so I'm back to where I was in the very beginning.  It's a pain to open the curtains but other than that, it's easier to make the bed and for some strange reason, the pets sleep on the sides of the bed this way instead of in the middle the other way.  In fact, Professor slept under the covers beside me last night...first time since moving the room last time.

But I had to promise Zach I wouldn't move it again until summer.  Or never.  He's preferring never.

I finished up the mitts but for some stupid reason the thumbs aren't the same length.  I think they're off by a couple of rows and it won't bother Stephen, I'm sure but it bugs me.  But re-knitting the thumbs isn't an option.  I'll just have to learn to let it go.  I intend to start his flip-top mittens tonight but I'm also working on Tom's winter socks.  He loves to wear them when he's outdoors because wool...real wool...is so much better than cotton or acrylic/wool blend.  I need to finish up the baby blanket but I'm going to have to re-print the pattern because I just can't find the folder it's in.  I'm sure I'll find it after I finish the blanket.  I don't really want to send it before Christmas because I don't have anything for the other kids.  I just don't have the money for more than this.  And no time to knit something up for them.

I finished up the second time through American Horror Story.  It was even better the second time.  Definitely have to own that some day.  I went ahead and took it back today even though it wasn't due until next Wednesday because there is a waiting list and I wouldn't want to wait while someone had a movie sitting on their counter for a week, not watching it but too lazy to take it back.  So it's looking like clam chowder from a can for supper.  I'm still going through the fatigue.  Last weekend I had really bad pain and ended up taking move than my regular dosage, which I'm allowed to do occasionally.  I just hate to do it though.  My first reaction is to hoard my meds.  It takes a lot of pain for me to actually take them.  I hope the new doctor or my gp will understand that.

But I need to crawl into bed and catch up on my dvr stuff that I put off while watching AHS twice.  I'd watch it again but I wouldn't want to get sick of it.  I think I'll watch an episode or two of AHS season two.  Which is a totally different story.  Or maybe the Doctor Who I have on my dvr.  The rest of season 7, I think.

And knitting on the mittens and socks the rest of the night.

TTFN