Petunia rambles on and on….

I was looking for a recipe yesterday, and was digging through all my cookbooks, trying to remember which one the recipe was in.  I was drawing a blank, just sitting on the floor in front of the bookcase, trying to jog my old memory.  Nothing was coming.   I pulled a stack of small books down and was glancing through them when I found some knitting books – old knitting books.

They were my mother’s.  When she died 2 years ago, my brother and I had to clear her apartment, and we had to do it quickly.  Books that I wanted to keep were bundled together.  When I got them here, I guess I thought they were all cookbooks, and just put them in with mine.   I found this little gem.

Look at the price!!!!   35 cents!!!!   Published in 1963!!    Don’t remember which ones Mom might have knitted.  I would have been 14 when this was new, and probably wasn’t paying as much attention to her knitting as I should have.  As I now wish I had!  Her first 2 grandchildren were born in 1960 and 1962 so I’m pretty sure they were the recipients of her skills, and the reason she bought this pamphlet.

 

What Pop isn’t getting for Christmas!!, originally uploaded by Petunia509.

My weekend started with my knitting, my iPod and me sitting at the Ford dealer while my car gets its scheduled servicing. We put some miles on my car last month, and will be going up into the Poconos for a week in September, so I figured I’d better get this done now!  And from the waiting room set up for the customers of the Service Dept, this was the view.  I’m sure they do it to tempt folks. 

I’m thinking of some guy I used to go out with, about 1966 or so.  Can’t remember his name at all, but I sure remember that new pony he was driving.

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Then to the bank, then to the pharmacy to get the meds that Hubby forgot to pick up last Thursday, then to the grocery.  Then home with the items that needed to be kept cold.   Then back out with a 50% off coupon for a local big box craft/hobby store.  And I found exactly what I wanted.   A “Learn to Crochet” book.   A really nice one with lots of explanations, lots of pictures, all big and clear.  Really great tutorial.  Just what I need, huh?  Been crocheting since I was about 6  – more than half a century now.  And have been doing it for most of these intervening years.  Crocheted hundreds of baby blankets for charities, for young military families having their first child, for hospitals.  I’ve made more afghans than I can count, while either sitting on the couch in front of the television or sitting at a switchboard waiting for a call.  So why the hell do I need a beginner’s crochet book?

Because my sister-in-law is a beginner at crochet and she asked if I’d help her increase her skills.  While working for the last 40 years, I’ve probably taught 50 women (or many more!) how to crochet, and I guess I’m good at teaching it.  But I was right there with each of these “students” each day, and could straighten out a tangle, answer a question, fix a mistake.  I wanted a basic book that can answer SIL’s questions when I’m not there! 

I found Basic Crocheting – All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started by Sharon Hernes Silverman.   And it was 50% off!!!

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And then I went to Spence’s Bazaar, the big open-air market in town, and found most of our dinner!

We do love summer tomatoes.  Slice them down, sprinkle them with shredded mozzarella cheese, a bit of dressing.  I’m good.  Don’t need anything else!  Those yellow squash will be peeled and sliced, dipped in bread crumbs, into egg, then back in the crumbs.  Fried until golden brown – just as Pop is coming in the door tonight.  Pain in the a$$ to do, but delicious to eat.  When I was a kid (read that, pre A/C) my mother would have 2 HUGE frying pans going for all the fried squash she used to make for us!  I still don’t know how she remained standing over the heat!!

And while I was at the bazaar, just wandering and looking, I saw some cobalt blue sparkling.  And if it’s cobalt, I buy it.

Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper

And add it to my collection.  Near the cobalt wine glasses that Jimps got me, and the cobalt bottle that Brian found in a shop at the beach years and years ago.

I’ve got the Forest Canopy Shawl blocked, but I sure had some nervous moments. 

I put the shawl into a bowl of warm water for a bit of a wash and a soak.  And I thought to hold it down in the water, so it would be saturated, by placing a dinner plate over it.  A white plate to submerge the shawl.

Uh, do I have a problem here?  I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed, and squeezed the plate down trying to force as much color/water out as possible.  And then I rinsed some more.  And I put in some white vinegar, trying to set the color.  And pressed on that plate, while holding the bowl sideways until my arm ached.

Pinning it out took longer than I thought it would.  I have no idea why I ever thought this might turn out to be quick and easy  I used a set of blocking wires, ordered from KnitPicks and didn’t have any trouble with them.  The trouble was in dealing with the fact that my joints just don’t bend the way they did 30 years ago, and crawling around on the floor for an hour or two is really a sport for the “Three and under” set.  I haven’t been there in half a century. 

To keep my mind occupied on something other than my creaking ankles and the weird noises that my knees were making, I set the iPod on speakers and listened to Sticks and String, Knitty Nora and Cast On podcasts.    Needed the volume turned up to hear it over the crackling noises.

Here it is, pinned out on the rug.

 

Forest Canopy Shawl, designed by Susan Lawrence

Knitted in Cherry Tree Hill Winterberry on Addi size 5, I think???

Artsy photos to follow.

Today, I am wrung out.   Yesterday was a lovely day, weather-wise.  Another odd day for this area, in that it was not scorching hot, and was not miserably humid.   Apparently, when the air-conditioning went out in our building at work, I honestly never noticed.  I guess some folks down the hall did, though, and called in a Work Order.   This morning, when I walked in through the main door, I knew immediately that something was VERY WRONG.  It was cold enough to hang meat in there.  Horribly cold.  Freeze your ass off cold.  I have 2 guys that come in at 7 am, and they were both wearing sweatshirts with hoods.  And still cold.  Hands and feet were cold.  They’re grateful that they had left something heavy to wear in their lockers.   I’m wearing Capri pants, a sleeveless top, and sandals.   I start freezing.   Within an hour, I was chilled to the bone and by 10am, I could no longer feel my feet.  The story I got is that when the lunatics came in to fix the A/C yesterday, to make it come on, they fixed it so well that now, it won’t cycle off.   Damn thing had been running non-stop since 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon!!!   By noon, we opened the windows to let some HEAT in.  I found a crocheted rectangle that someone made, years ago, to throw over your lap.  I wrapped it around my shoulders and held it in place with one of those big black binder clips.  Geez.   I went outside several times, and told they guys I would be back when I could feel my feet again.

Tomorrow, I’ll go in to work dressed like I’m heading for an exploration of the South Pole – they’ll have the system fixed, I’ll look like an idiot and die of the heat.  And bitch.

And while I’m out toiling away, earning a living to help pay the bills around here, this is what goes on at my house in my absence.

Damn dog spends more time relaxed on my couch that I do.  And of course, a Poodle must have a pillow to rest her head upon.  Note light blue bow in her hair, it’s been there since mid-July, her last grooming appointment.  Usually she gets them out in a few days.

(If Wendy can show cat pictures all the time, I can show Sophie Poodle pictures)