Scavenger Hunt

This week we went on a Scavenger Hunt at Cedar Falls Park. The scavenger hunt was organized by our Senior Center staff and it was a great way to get outdoors and get some exercise. When we arrived, we were given a bag of goodies. A list of scavenger items to look for, a bottle of water, snacks, a magnet, and a pen were in the bag. We walked along a paved path to the river and ended up at the falls. It was a nice day for a walk and the weather was perfect. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold. Along the way, Don and I looked for wildflowers. We saw lyre-leafed sage, sowthistle, wild daffodils, ebony spleenwort, and spotted wintergreen. Everyone seemed to have fun. 

6¢ Wool Industry

The 6¢ American Wool Industry stamp (US #1423) was issued on January 19, 1971, in Las Vegas, NV. It was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with 11 perforations.  

Wool has been used in Europe since 10,000 BC and Cortez brought it to America in 1521. This stamp commemorates the 450th anniversary of that event. 

There are over 1000 sheep breeds in the world. Merino or Rambouillet make fine wool used in clothing because it is so soft. Romney or Blackface breeds make thicker wool and are used for interior decor, carpets, bedding, upholstery insulation, and protective clothing for firefighters and soldiers. 

In 1789, King Charles IV of Spain gifted 6 Merino sheep to the Dutch. Then these sheep ended up in South Africa and were sold to a British entrepreneur John Macarthur who took them to Australia. 80% of the Merino wool used in fashion today is produced in Australia. 1.2 billion sheep produce almost 2 million kilograms of raw wool for home and clothing. Other leading producers are Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa, the US and Uruguay. 

Wool can vary in color, texture, and length depending on the breed of the sheep, the country they come from, the food they eat, and even the weather they live in. 

The interesting feature of wool is its composition. It is made mainly of a protein called keratin which is also in human hair, nails, and other animal fibers. It gives elasticity, strength, and the ability to withstand bending and stretching over time. If you looked closely at the fiber under a microscope, you would see that the fibers have overlapping cuticle scales that look like shingles on a roof. These scales protect the inner layer of the fiber known as the cortex. In the cortex are the main keratin fibers bundles to form a helix.  Past the cortex is the medulla, the central part of some wool fibers that account for the crimp or waviness of the fibers. This crimp gives the fiber its insulating property by trapping air and enhancing warmth. 

The average diameter of wool fibers is measured in microns.  A micron is one-millionth of a meter or approximately 0.000039 inches. This is a standardized way to measure the thickness of fibers. This thickness determines the quality and characteristics of wool. Finer fibers (softer)  have smaller measurements and coarser fibers (rougher)  have larger ones. Fine wool is used in clothing because it is softer and touches the skin which means it will probably not be itchy. The coarser the wool (with the higher micron count) is more suitable for fabric that needs to be durable like rugs, blankets, upholstery, and coats. Micron counts can differ from wool taken from different parts of the sheep. Wool from the neck and legs are usually coarser than the back.  

Many of my friends know that I’m a passionate knitter and my favorite fiber is wool. There are Fiber festivals all around the United States throughout the year but my favorite is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival which usually takes place over a weekend after Mother’s Day. The festival features Sheep Shows to rate various breeds of sheep, and herding dog demonstrations. hundreds of fiber vendors, a fleece (fiber from different sheep)  auction, and even a Sheep to Shawl competition. During the Sheep to Shawl competition, registered teams of 6 people have to shear a sheep, comb the fiber, and then spin it on spinning wheels. The spun fiber is then used on a weaving loom to create a shawl. The finished shawls are auctioned off at the end to raise money for charity. Thousands of people attend this event each year.

Spring Time

I love spring! I love seeing the flowers bloom. It is a sign of rebirth and new growth. Spring makes me feel happy and excited about life. 

Unfortunately, it is also a time for pollen which means itchy eyes, sniffling, sneezing, and sounding hoarse. 

I thought I’d share with you some pictures of flowers from my yard. 

Sock Madness 18 Rounds 1 and 2

I just finished my socks for Round 2 and submitted them. Now I’m just waiting to see if it was approved.

I love a good challenge and my friend, Patte, says I’m product-oriented. So, I like getting something finished even if I dislike the process of getting there.

I’ve learned a lot of new skills and techniques so I’m happy I gave it a try. It is a free challenge so I had nothing to lose. I made 3 pairs of socks over 24 days which really surprised me. Of course, I didn’t do anything else that needed to be done. After I finished each pair of socks, I had some free days before the next round so I tried to catch up on some things.

Now, I think I’m over the challenge and will step back if my socks are accepted. There may have been some mistakes and I just don’t have it in me to knit another pair of them and hope I don’t make another mistake. If I do move to the next round, I’m not sure I want to spend the time making another pair of socks that doesn’t fit anyone I know. The required size is turning out to be so huge. I’m ready to knit something fo myself that I can wear.

Here are socks from Round 1 and Round 2:

Postcard Show

Yesterday we went to the Postcard Show hosted by the Tropical Postcard Club. We got there around 10 am when it started and stayed until 1 pm. It ended at 4 pm but we had to get on the road before then. It was so nice to see our postcard friends. I thought there was a good turn out and I was glad to see a couple of our stamp club friends come to the show. 

Don found lots of treasures that he couldn’t live without. I surprised him and bought 4 boxes of postcards from another friend for his birthday. Of course, our car is packed to the gills as we make our way back to our summer home and I felt like I needed a shoe horn to fit anything else in the car! We will miss our postcard friends but we will be back in 6 months for the winter. 

Sock Madness 18 Qualifying Round

I’ve decided to try a new adventure and I signed up for Sock Madness this year. It is a Ravelry challenge that involves knitting socks. You have to pass the qualifying round to get assigned to a team and then compete. I think each round gets more difficult and the deadline gets shorter.

Qualifying Round: You are sent an email with a specific pattern. You have to knit it exactly as written with specific minimum requirements. After you finish, you have to take specific photos and upload it to your project page. Then you email the judges with a link to your project page. If it is before the deadline, they let you know if you see any mistakes or if you are approved to move to the next round.

So, I knit the Hydra Scales socks which was completely out of my comfort zone. These socks are knit cuff down and I usually knit toe up. These socks called for 64 stitches and I usually knit mine on 52. These socks had a heel construction that I’d never done before. I have to Kitchener stitch the toes which I hate doing. Plus it included stripes and cables.

My first submission: I had cables on one sock going in the wrong direction but was told it was easily fixable by using a duplicate stitch. I wasn’t sure if I should fix it but I did.

My second submission: I did some overthinking and thought all the cables were going the wrong way so I duplicate-stitched all of the cables. They let me know that now I had multiple cables going in the wrong direction and they saw that one sock had a leg that was too long (too many repeats) and the foot was too short (not enough repeats) and that I would need to reknit that sock. I almost gave up but I was many days ahead of the deadline and what would I do with these wonky socks so I fixed it. 

My third submission: I reknit the second sock. They approved it and I moved on to Round 1.

I am proud of myself for finishing the qualifying round. Now I’m working on Round 1. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Things I’m Learning:

• New knitting techniques.
• I’m faster than I thought I was.
• I’m better at Kitchener Stitch than I used to be.
• Knitting one sock at a time isn’t that bad.
  
  

  
  

Bills, Taxes, and Enjoying the Front Porch

It was a lovely day today. I always (or at least try to) balance my checkbook every Friday and pay bills. Then I worked on our taxes. I usually start this on the first of February but I kept putting it off this year. Yesterday I gathered all the needed info and filled in a spreadsheet. That makes it easier to fill out all the tax forms. Today was the first draft of my taxes. I usually review it once a week and find a mistake every week. Next week I will plug the numbers in on the form that is on my computer.

I spent most of the day I sat outside on the front porch. I knit, played games on my phone, and browsed the internet. I watched season 12 episodes of Chicago Fire that I’ve missed. I went inside to eat lunch and watch The Waltons. Little Bear wanted in the screened porch so I let her in and she went to the corner chair for her nap. After lunch, I sat back outside until dinner time.

I will miss my time on the front porch. The weather is so perfect at this time of year. It isn’t too hot and it isn’t too cold.

Gardening Fun

Yesterday, my hubby and I repotted a bunch of snake plants. First, he drilled holes in the bottom of my new flower pots and then I put a coffee filter in the bottom of each one. He helped me put potting soil in each one. Then we had to separate the snake plants in these cheap plastic containers. We had so many leftovers that we planted some in the garden around the back patio. I ended up throwing away some because there was nowhere else to plant. Then we transplanted the firecracker bush from the side of the house to the garden around the shed. Hopefully, tomorrow when it is cooler, I will take up all the concrete scallop edging and let the grass fill in on the side of the house. Since we never see that side, it is a waste of time to plant flowers over there.

I have an online friend, Maddie, (aka Madgardener) who has been my online friend since 1998. When I got first got on the internet on the computer, I found a chat room called rec.gardens. We became gardening friends there and eventually transitioned to Facebook and continue to be friends. She is always posting wonderful pictures of her plants and I promised her that I would post some pictures of our plants here in Florida.

Snake plants in front of the living room

Orchid and Angel Wing Begonia

Candlestick Plant

Night Blooming Cereus

Aloe and Firecracker plant

Floor Restoration

For a couple of years now, I’ve talked about restoring the terrazzo floors in our Florida home and I finally got my husband to agree to do it. I put in 4 calls to different companies and I only got one to call back. They sent out a guy who offered to do it and we agreed. Of course, I couldn’t remember which company it was that showed up. So, we wrote up a simple contract and when he came out, we had him sign it before he started the job. We paid him half at the end of the first day and the remainder of the money on the last day. He did ask for a $100 advance on the third day which we gave him. Then on the last day, he wanted the full payment after only being here for 2 hours and we refused to do it until the end of the job. It took 4 days and our house was in total chaos. But I’m glad we finally got it all done!

2023 Goals Review for December

We had a wonderful month of December. Most of the month we relaxed and enjoyed our hobbies. We had a quiet Christmas but it was nice. I achieved 82% of my goals.  I was one book short of achieving my last goal so I am happy with my results. 

1. Learn something new. - I learned Tunisian crochet to make a couple of dishcloths. I’m still practicing my watercolor painting and my ukulele. COMPLETE!

2. Knit at least 1 sweater - I finished with my sweater. (Collins Tee) COMPLETE!

3. Yarn - more out than in (use more yardage than I buy) – COMPLETE!

●                                  Yarn used - 12263 yds.

●                                  -Yarn bought - 9009

4. Complete a shawl - I finished my Shawlography shawl COMPLETE!

5. Try 4 new recipes. - I didn’t do this at all for the whole year.

6. Stretch regularly (at least 20 days out of the month) - We walked and exercised regularly. COMPLETE!

7. Create at least 2 scrapbook pages each month. - Made 0 pages in December  (Total - 82) (Even though I didn’t do 2 each month, I did more than 24 overall so I’m considering it complete.) COMPLETE!

8. Participate in the Photo a Day challenge – COMPLETE!

9. Read the Bible every day. – yes COMPLETE!

10. Read 100 books – read a total of 107 books this year. COMPLETE!

11. Read 12 nonfiction books. – (Total: 11).

-   Enough Already: Learning to Love the Way I Am Today by Valerie Bertinelli

-   Prince William: The Man Who Will Be King by Penny Junor

-   I Still Believe: A Memoir by Jeremy Camp

-   Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

-  I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

-  Nowhere for Very Long by Brianna Madia

-  My Extraordinary Ordinary Life by Sissy Spacek

-  Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

-  No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox

-  Spare by Prince Harry

-  John le Carré: The Biography by Adam Sisman

 

What are your goals for this year? Please share.