Zoom.

Another week just zoom, zooming, zooming by! 

 I swear I don't feel like I've had more than a second to just sit and breathe in weeks. And then I realize that a lot of that is self-inflicted and get over it. lol

Case in point: the picture above. We went hiking the day after walking like 5 miles around Hartford. No one forcing me to do THAT. Heh. Can't beat that view in the fall though. There is a state park about a 1/2 mile from my house and, if you've got the legs, you can climb to the top of the cliffs and get treated to some spectacular views of the area. (I live in the green area to the left.) 

 It's quite the hike though because the first mile is straight up up up up, very rocky and very 'rooty'.

A good trekking stick is your friend here if you don't want to feel like you are going to tumble all the way down to the bottom. Thankfully, the last 2.5 miles are a lot easier on the feets. (And the knees.)

The hubby is still sore in the ribs but he powered through it and made it up there too. (He was slated to be on vacation this week even before he got hurt so he decided not to change that so technically he's on vacation this week, not out hurt, so he's trying to do what he can to enjoy it because, you know, vacation time is precioussssss. He's feeling better every day though and is hoping the doctor signs off early for him to go back to work before the 4 weeks is up.)

Stitches East Stash!

Probably disappointing though because I didn't end up buying all that much from the show. (Which is different than saying I didn't spend all that much. *ahem*) It can be so overwhelming, just aisle after aisle after aisle of stuff. It took me 30 minutes to get through the first aisle and my 'eyes' had already purchased hundreds of dollars of stuff, so by the time you get to the end you're exhausted! (And I never buy anything on my first go through - only on the second pass.) I was looking for some more Twinkle Toes sparkly yarn (above) from a local dyer by the name of Tucker Woods and it turned out to be the very last booth I came across. It was like a tall drink of water after being stuck in the desert. (A really wooly, really colorful desert.) OH THERE YOU ARE! I thought she wasn't there this year, which would make me sad, because I always buy something from her. And then I bought a box. 

Not just a box though - a goody box. It has the fixings to make a bunch of knitted pumpkins, including some faux floral leaves and vines. Very cute all done up! Should probably, uhhhh, get on that before fall is over and the pumpkins are gone. 0_o

There was even a super big booth of Scandinavian and Germany, etc. cross stitch items. So you know I had to get something from there. I liked a couple of the models they had from this book. (Which is German, I believe.) Very cute!

And finally, I got the fixings for another scarf. One that is Boy Approved (so far) so it should be a uni-tasker and be worn by the both of us. (Or so he says. We'll see.) That's a truly terrible picture of the Kauni yarn because look at the difference once it is caked up:

BOING! HELLO COLOR RIOT.

The scarf is knit sideways, in long long long rows, just back and forth with the lacier alpaca breaking it up a little bit. It's not so much a 'pattern' really because even someone who learned to knit, like, a day ago could probably manage really well with this project. It's more about maximizing the striping nature of the Kauni yarn. Knitting 350 stitch long rows is not for the short-attention span peeps though. I timed a couple rows yesterday and each one takes about 15 minutes to complete. Hahaha! For ONE row. 15 minutes! This will either be mindless/good or mindless/KILLMERIGHTNOW. Time will tell!! :)

Ahhhh....fall.

 (not my pic but I couldn't resist saving it) 

October is usually one of my favorites months. I love the chilly weather and all the colorful leaves and fall festivals to attend. (It doesn't hurt that the Stitches East aka Yarn Mecca is also in October.) And, of course, there is Halloween.

Walk in Putnam, CT last Sunday.

This one is off to a bit of a slow start. I've been limiting my computer and crafty times because I've had a terrible case of trigger finger in my left hand for the past 4 weeks or so. It's caused (for me) by too much bead making. I can knit for an hour and have no problems but after 15 minutes of bead making, my middle finger starts getting tight and, another 15 minutes in it starts 'clicking' like an off/on switch, eventually getting so constricted I need to use my OTHER hand to straighten it out for the next couple hours or so. It's not particularly painful really - more annoying than anything else. Especially when trying to sleep. (You tend to keep waking up and having to straighten it out.) I kept it taped up for a few weeks whenever I wasn't working and that has helped. It's still bothering me when I'm working but it's settling down fairly quickly after I'm done for the day vs. being cranky 24/7. So that's good!

Biking here in town yesterday.

The husband is still building his brand spanky-new uber-big shed. Or was. Until he fell off the ladder last week. Broken rib(s). Hard to tell if it's one or two. (And one ass cheek that looks like a rotten banana. lol) So now he has a month off work to heal. (He offered to do a light duty position but they declined. Guess they only do that when you get hurt at work. Oh well. So much for trying NOT to be a '47% moocher'. Bring on the disability checks! lol) So he's pretty miserable at the moment. Can't work on his shed and can't go bike riding with me, etc. He's getting a lot of reading done. *snort*

Fancy-pants panorama from in town

It *IS* Walktober though so I'm still dragging him out of the house with me for some daily exercise. Even shuffling around for a half hour or whatever is better than sitting around the house all day. Between that and picking up all his chores, things are busy, busy, busy! Looking forward to taking a day off for the Stitches East show this weekend, I tell you WHAT. 

IMMA GONNA GET MY YARN ON.

Happy Friday the 13th! :)

It's hard to be spooked by it though when it's so bright and sunny and warm though, right?

(I've come across this multiple times today on Facebook, etc. and, while it doesn't seem that fair, I have to say I've snorted  laughed at it every single time. Why? I don't know.)

Hard to believe another week has gone by!! Let's see, what did I get into to this week.......

I finished up all of my current sock projects!

Oh, don't be too impressed though - the "Wayward" (red) ones have been ongoing since the beginning of March. 

 I just had a bitty foot on the right one to do to put that project to bed. (And, because of the complementing wrap-a-round cables, these socks actually *DO* have a left and right to them. Thankfully, I paid attention to what chart was what, out of the stack that this pattern comes with, and ENDED UP with a right/left one vs. two lefts, etc. WHEW!) 

 The Dragonfly socks were a quick knit - easy, easy! Probably could have gone with another repeat for the leg so I'll remember that for next time. (I don't like my socks too long so it's no biggie either way.)

Also (semi) finished:

Stitched my flag stitchy again, this time on the 'proper' fabric so it will fit on top of the star box that came in the kit. Just need to find the time to do the finishing now. (I didn't improvise a little '2012' on the new one but now that I see them together, I kind of miss that? I might have to go back and put that in!)

Anyone else doing the L*K Mystery Sampler Club that was just released??? I started it and love the colors but the fabric is a little larger count (30 ct.) than I would prefer. It's not a deal-breaker though. I'm just a diva and will get over it. *cough* I think the transition from 40ct from the last project to 30ct was a little oogy for me, is all.

I know so many of you are BROILING out there, in the heat, but it's been phenomenally seasonal here the past week...........again. Much better than it usually is for this area! If this is the new 'face' of climate change for this area, I'll take it!!!! Got lots of biking in last week, picture is from one of the (many) bike bridges on the Blackstone River Trail in Lincoln/Cumberland, Rhode Island.

This last pic is from my Epic Kitchen DeClutter this morning. Does anyone else find the kitchen gets cluttered if you so much as take your eyes off of it for a second? I hadn't SERIOUSLY decluttered it in awhile so I went at it in a ruthless manner this morning and now it's all back down to clean surfaces everywhere you look. 

I had to laugh and stop to take a picture of this ridiculousness though:

I *might* have a packet problem. As in, drink packet?

Yeah, I gots it bad. REAL bad.

And I'm not sure the picture is *quite* capturing just how many are there. (And I'm not even getting into how many bottles of MiO are around. *ahem*)

In my defense, I do drink a lot of water. (I even have a water cooler in my kitchen to facilitate things.)

I don't have any defense, really, for ordering more though the other day. True Lemon has 50% off all the lemonade packets this month and I..........may have ordered some more? Less than a 100 packets but, uhhhhh, more than 50. Okay so it was 80. Crap. WHERE IS THE 12 STEP PROGRAM FOR PACKET ADDICTION????? o_0

(Not that anybody asked, but my favorite one is the stevia-sweetened Apple Pear ones from Target. If I could get that one on tap, that would be GLORIOUS.)

Peeking in..............

 To my poor neglected blog. It's crazy how time just gets away from you and POOF, before you know it, it has been two weeks since you last posted. 

 Sterling, CT trail.

I blame it on the bike riding. It's going to be the death of me. Doing that 3 times a week and still trying to walk 2-3 miles 5-6 days a week? IS TIRED. VERY tired some days. And with not much extra time for projecty, crafty, yarny type of things. *sniff*

South County trail, RI.

Oh well. I'm sure the hot and muggies will hit us soon and that will be the end of me wanting to do anything that doesn't involve me getting major time in air-conditioned rooms. I am UTTERLY miserable and diva-cranky when it's super humid out so the hubby will have to go plunder those forest trails without me once it hits. (Which it will............soon. I'm actually surprised at how mild it's been so far this summer because it's usually yucky yucky yucky here from Memorial day to mid-September.)

The only thing I've managed to put any real amount of effort into lately (aside from WORK, of course, which can not be avoided, yes?) is my pair of 'travel' socks that I keep in my purse for car trips or quick crafty goodness on the deck. This is a Patons cotton blend sock yarn and is very sproingy yet comfy. (Not all cotton blends are.) The striping is super cute to boot. I never say no to stripey socks. :)

Needless to say, my blog reader is STUFFED full of unread posts as well but I'm so far behind at this point I might have to start over from scratch. Bleh. I hate that because I hate the feeling that I'm missing something really really important but when it gets THAT bad there isn't much choice. I promise to be a better blog-friend going forward, at least in the near future, because I miss that daily dose of blogginess, I really do. :)

Weeeeeeeeeeee!

 Lots of new adventures this past week in the form of: BICYCLING.

The husband recently got one to use on the hiking trails in the woods down the road from the house and then he talked me into getting one too. (With CONDITIONS. Like: bike paths only, no woods, no roads, etc. I'm a diva like that. :))

Mind you, I haven't been on a bike in OVER TWENTY YEARS so this past week was *quite* the hoot. You don't TOTALLY forget how to ride one. You basically remember enough not to fall off it - while looking/feeling like a complete moron for awhile until it fully comes back. There was bunch of pushing around with one foot like a scooter until my brain kinda connected with the fact that you have to, you know, PEDAL. Hahaha! We've gone out a few times and it gets easier, as far as handling, each time. (Because physically? Exhausting. And I've been REALLY good about getting in my exercise 5-6 days a week this year so that doesn't seem fair. *pout* I feel like I should be in better shape?) This week has been nothing but rain but hopefully the weekend will allow for a couple more 'sessions'. :)

In other news, Shepherd's Bush was really great about sending me some more chenille trim to finish my pillow. While waiting, I stitched her face again, this time with random Crescent Color floss in a Xmas theme. I think it will make for a cute ornament finish. (Carrot nose has been ordered.)

 It fully hit me that I have a STAGGERING amount of smalls to deal with now (to me) when I went to store that pillow until holiday time so I buckled down this week to at least get my Halloween designs finished.

Turns out if you do one each day it's not super overwhelming. I would cut/pin them while waiting for my kiln to heat before working, do the sewing after I was finished work, and then stuff/close up at night while watching tv.

 It feels good to get these 'done done' now so I can use them this fall. I have four times as many Xmas ones to finish though so....................hold me. The end is no where in sight. lol

OH MY!

 Sooooooooooooooooo busy lately. You can tell from my frazzled needs-to-be-dyed immediately and not-quite-red-anymore hair (hate that red washes out so quickly) and the number of mumbled-under-my-breath F bombs I'm dropping per day that things have been, well, busy. Vacation is coming in a week and I'm trying to keep on top of EVERYTHING (work/housework/shopping for a vacation that I have exactly ZERO clothes for) all at once so I don't end up 'last minute'ing everything and.............it has been a little crazy. *whew*

First up.........

Time to say BUH-BYE to the snowmen for the year. It's back to being cold out here but it's time to, sniff, put these away for spring. Loaded them all up and onto (and under............and around.....) the coffee table and packed them away into their bins. It hurts a little because I picture them going "Oh nooooooooooooooo!" in a Mr. Bill voice as I do it. lol (I probably just dated myself with the Mr. Bill reference too. Heh.)

Hey! How crazy is this?

Apparently if you write a polite letter to Patons telling them you are disappointed in their lack of dye lot know-how (see: multiple pairs of non-matching socks done with the FX yarn line) they send you a box of free YARN. That's pretty cool of them, right? Aside from the non-matching dye lots in this FX stuff, it is good sturdy yarn and will make very wearable socks. I do appreciate the effort because I wasn't looking for replacement yarn, to be honest. Free yarn = always awesome.

I threw out the shall-not-be-named stitchy that was giving me grief. Yes, threw it out. It was too far gone to do anything else, to be honest, and keeping it around would have assured I continued to stay butt hurt over it so.......................a quick flash of the scissors to free the linen that was used up and off to the trash it went. I went back to trying to finish the LHN design pictured above and all was right in my world again. (I could *possibly* finish this one this week if I stay monogamous with it and don't start side eyeing the 823423234 other things on tap.)

Does anybody else Lolo Fit? I know fitness posts are uber-boring but I started using their treadmill app last week and it's pretty durn cool and figured it might punch up someone else's treadmill routine too. You set how long you want to walk, load your own music set from your iPod if you wish, and it gives you a walking (or running if you do that..........I don't because OW. OW. OW.) plan that goes through intervals and different inclines to keep you interested. Changes it up every few minutes or sometimes even every 30 seconds. The trainer voice speaks over your music when it is time to change the speed and, surprisingly enough, I haven't wanted to strangle and/or kill her yet. lol It sounds simple but it really does make the hour go by MUCH faster somehow. IT'S TRICKSY LIKE THAT. Gotta love something that makes exercise a TEENSY bit better, ya know? Now I just need an app that magically makes pizza and tortilla chips look like a pile of poo and I will be all set for life!!!! :)

Random Tuesday.

 Nothing to see here...

Clearance Felici striped yarn from Knitpicks.

 *cough*cough*cough*

I, like, needed the darning egg though. 

That big 'for me' Black Friday purchase?

 

(Not my house.)

An official Ass Kicking Machine aka rower. 

I loves me some exercise machines, man! ESPECIALLY ones that fold up, like this one, AND it was on lightening deal for cheap-cheap. He joins the line up along with my skier, treadmill and Pilates reformer. (Though I'm mostly off that last one so I think it's on it's way out.) I always loved the rowing machines the most a long, long time ago when I had a gym membership. (A long, looooooooong time ago.) Not sure why but I did. It's kinda fun and it kinda kicks your ass without you realizing it. lol You use it and get a little out of breath but feel fine otherwise.........until you try to stand up and realize you don't have LEGS THAT WORK ANYMORE. Haha! It sneaks up and POW! You're dead. Maximum work out for minimum amount of time = appeals to my ultra-lazy self. I'll take that over walking on the treadmill for an hour. :)

 I was seriously behind on blog reading but have been trying to catch up the last couple days. I'm tackling it in blocks of ten posts at a time. lol 

You can't say I'm not a dedicated follower/commenter! :) 

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