The "shelter-in-place" order we've been under for about a week now isn't what's bothering me. Honestly, as a high-functioning introvert (meaning: I can ACT like an extrovert when I have to, but I'd prefer to just not "people" if I don't have to), it's not too bad. I've got the Internet, yarn, books...I've been baking up a storm (see the pics) and I don't have to put shoes on. All good.
Let's just go to pictures and we'll start from there. So I guess the bad news is that I'm one of the "laid off" folk again. That being said, this pic was from the local store near where I used to work. That was the "wipes" section. Empty.
Kinda like the paycheck I'm not getting. Kinda like my attempts to call the Department of Employment because I need a password reset. And I can't get a human. No answer even on the day that I spent calling every ten minutes. Hoping to get an answer. Not sure how or if that's going to improve, and it's frustrating as all get-out.
The one good thing is that I still have a part-time gig that I can do at home. Which leaves me time to clean out and purge my home office (it's either that or drink WAYYYYYYYY too much tea, which doesn't make my heart happy). I've been seriously purging stuff and tossing. I have a great idea for the old "The Sun" magazines -- I'm taking my address info off and donating them to the local Little Free Libraries. I hate to toss them because they're treat magazines. But I don't have any reason to keep them. Maybe if Kid #2 ever gets anything published in there, I'll keep one.
The Knitting...
And the other good thing is that I'm knitting like crazy. I took what turned out to be a "last" trip to my favorite LYS, Le Mouton Rouge Knittery in Bloomington -- which isn't exactly LOCAL, since it's 2 hours away, but I like to support Kelly because I've been a friend & patron since she was actually "local." Do a gal a favor -- check out her site. I don't get any compensation -- but you'd be helping a young woman business owner. Who also happens to be a fantastic knitter, designer and person who can help you pick colors and yarns. And who does a great mail-order business as well as the brick & mortar store.
Anyway... I got some Cascade Yarns cotton, and finally, instead of stashing it, I had Hubby be my yarn swift and wound up the cotton. I needed to replenish my stash of washcloths, so I did. Here are a few of them. A simple bias-knit one, a ribbed one, and a circular one. Kinda liking the circular one. The ribbed one - I'm not sure how I got the 2 ribs in the middle; could've been during a binge of "The Royal Now" - a UK hospital soap. Again, no matter.
It was the "last" trip only in the sense of the "shelter-in-place" order we're under here in IL. I actually put in an order for Kelly to send me because as you'll see in one project, I want to make it a little larger. I wasn't sure what I was going to knit out of THAT cotton yarn (I seem to be on a cotton binge these days), but I ended up with a lovely shawlette.
I got 3 cloths out of the Cascade Nifty Cotton Splash, colorway 204. It's a bit more drapey than Sugar & Cream; I'm sure it's more intended for garments than "washrags" as my Granny used to call them. But it does work for a cloth, and I could see a baby ensemble out of this. Knits up nicer - it's got some give. I have already used and washed these; they don't shrink like the Sugar & Cream ones but that's ok.The circular one was a fluke - if you look at it, it's vaguely like the top of a hat. I did kind of ham-hand the finishing, but hey - not like I'm entering in the State Fair. And this one looks like the top of a mushroom if you flip it over!
I have ordered another hank of this, in a "Lime Splash" color. I'm not wedded to any color; I just use them in my bathroom. You want to know why I get so many compliments on my skin? These cloths and goat's milk facial soap. That's it. My "beauty routine" in a nutshell.
The other cotton was going to be destined for cloths, too, and it was on sale (pitter-patter goes my heart!). But after looking at it, I decided not to. I went tiptoeing thru Ravelry (and really? If you're NOT on Ravelry?? ... ) and found the Two-Color Seedlings Scarf. This is a vaguely crescent-shaped shawlette with a Feather & Fan border. It'll look nice when it's blocked... The yarn called for, Classic Elite Seedlings, wasn't what I put in my basket.
I bought Classic Elite Yarns Mika. It's discontinued, so I got the hanks for $7 each. It's 100% organic cotton, with a little wrap on it. The border is in "Rose" and the body is in "Terra Cotta." I do want to make the body a bit more substantial; I'm playing yarn chicken as it is, but it's also for a friend of mine who's on the tall side. I don't want it to be too small for her to wear.She loves orange; this picture is a bit deceiving; it looks coral, but it's more like pumpkin and the rose border stands out a bit more. I think she'll like it. Her purse is a bright orange - not "traffic cone" but a nice deep orange.
I'm hoping that my order gets here soon, so that I can drop it off.
I'm also working on the Green Travel Sock; I'm just going to put my head down and knit a bunch of stuff that's been sitting around far too long. I did a bunch of prayer patches too, and a friend of mine asked me to knit a crown for her granddaughter - which I will, in pink, and find some jewels. I may have some buried in my sewing box.
Life in the Time of COVID-19...
Speaking of sewing, it's a "thing" to sew masks for the healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. After talking to Hubby, I've decided NOT to sew those. First off, I honestly believe they give a false sense of security. Oh, I know - what our government has done is criminal. That Mango Maggot in the WH is a crook.
He's mentally and socially retarded, and I do use that word in its traditional sense of "stunted" - as in, "the growth of the organism has been retarded."
He's thumbing his nose at everyone and doing exactly what he wants to do; he's aiming to be the Emperor of America and he doesn't care what happens to anyone but himself.
Back to the masks. I've seen several patterns and I think that they're just not effective. I wonder how many hospitals are actually accepting them and I'm not sure I want to go through the time and expense to do them, and for what? Maybe I need to find another way to help out. Rather, I absolutely KNOW that I need to find another way to help. I believe, in spite of rosy predictions from DC, that we're not going to ease up anytime soon on the social distancing and other precautions. There will be opportunities for me to help in some way.
Bread Bonanza...
I've been baking. Thankfully, I've not been eating; I'm a huge stress-eater. Unfortunately, since the bout of bronchitis I had at the beginning of the year, my A-fib seems to have come back, so I do have to watch my tea consumption. So to keep myself busy otherwise, I'm baking bread. Lots of bread.Kid #2 taught me a "no-knead" recipe which gives you an amazing rustic loaf. The downside is maneuvering it into the scalding hot Dutch oven you bake it in. That's still something I'm practicing.
It also has a 5-hour rise. That's totally different for me. You make it in a tub. No mixer even!
The recipe is all in grams and you use a scale. Another first for me.
I must confess that I did try to make bread with my "1:1 Gluten-Free Flour" --- "use just like regular flour." Not so much, it turns out. It was a brick. A nasty, pale, raw brick. No pic, just trashed. Hubby got me a fresh yeast supply and I made my old standard: Potato bread, which was delicious and not gluten-free. I've discovered that I can bake bread with organic flour and it doesn't make my stomach go nuts.
Of course, with the hoarding going on, flour and yeast are in short supply. Seems like there's a rash of Instagram "sourdough" posts. Everyone is rediscovering bread. Thanks to Kid #2, bread is actually not a "new fad." He's been baking it since ... well, about 2 years ago, he bought himself a bread book and decided to make one new kind of loaf a week. Took off like quick-rising yeast, and now, he's a regular bread guy. Pizza crust. Donuts, English muffins, Poolish (look it up - it's a kind of bread)... all kinds of stuff. Japanese Milk Bread. I just drool from afar.Anyway, back to the Potato Bread. It's an old recipe, and honestly, my next challenge will be a good Challah bread because I want to try braiding.
This bread is easy; and it makes a nice loaf. I'll make it again, but I want to work on a bread we can actually use for sandwiches. This one can be a bit crumbly. But it toasts up lovely and it's nice with fresh butter on it.
I have not made sourdough and I'm not going to. People don't realize that those starters practically turn into sentient beings and I don't want to make a loaf a week. I love sourdough, but not that much.
Moving House...
No, we're not moving. I'm talking about a house that moved. In the downtown of the next town over, there was a huge push to save this house that was on the chopping block for a gas station. Yeah, that's preservation in our area: tear down the old stuff and build yet another gas station, mini-mart... This is the Cassaday House. It's a rather nondescript house, but what it DOES have is local limestone. And history. It dates back to the 1880s and it might've been a hotel or something commercial. We have a nasty habit of destroying our own history. Our courthouse for the county was an architectural gem, and it got torn down for an upside-down concrete monstrosity that's on the verge of being torn down for a glass-and-steel monstrosity...Anyway, it moved this week and it took 14 hours to make the move about 2 blocks up. I can't wait to see the museum they'll be creating. I believe they're going to make it about prominent African-Americans in the area, which is cool. The county has been around a long while, so I'm happy that our museum system is going forward.
In Memory...
So on the 22nd, it snowed. A lot. My dad died on the 23rd, at about 2:20 a.m. And it snowed. A lot. My brother and I shoveled a good bit of snow off the driveway so the hearse could get him. This will be 27 years since he's been gone. We didn't always get along, but I can say I have several of his traits, among them a talent for cooking and baking. We ended up with more than a few inches and it made me smile. It was the same day I made the Potato Bread. He taught me to bake bread. He taught me to make potica, bake cookies, cook from my imagination and intuition. Using a recipe as a jumping-off spot.
The snow doesn't last in March; it just falls to scare the crap out of people. I predicted this. I told people that we were in for some snow late in the first quarter.
Random Picture...
Madame Tippi is enjoying me being home. She's getting her fill and more of belly rubs and attention.
She's recovered nicely from her bout of pneumonia and her X-ray is clear. She's got a lot of her spunk back. Her voice will never be the same, but that's ok. Her personality is back.
All the dogs are enjoying me being home; I realized how much time I've spent away from home. What with teaching and working, I was running in several different directions.
Maybe this "shelter-in-place" is a blessing in disguise. At least my office is getting purged and my dog is getting spoiled.
