Camp! Camp! Camp!

From a Dean's Perspective:

Arts and Crafts

Father DudeContemplating ArrowheadsSnacks with Artificial Colors

There will be more in a separate post. Blogger only allows five pictures per post, and I have lots more. I'll have to find a way.

Container Gardens Rule!

Especially when there is a moderate drought, such as what we have here in the bluegrass.
The garden looks great!

My green beans are doing their viney thing, and growing up the teepee we made for them. I suspect that we'll have green beans in a few weeks.I have two containers of tomatoes, and they are looking fantastic. I'll have green tomatoes soon, so at least we can have fried green tomatoes. Ripe ones might still be a little while.The lettuce is almost ready to pick. I'm not sure what I'll grow in that one after we pick it. I'll grow more lettuce and broccoli in the fall, but until then...
The peppers are blooming too. We'll be eating lots of fajitas in the near future.
Now I'll really be off line for a week. See you later!

I'm NOT cool

and I don't care.

I am probably the only knitter who isn't knitting or has knit a pair of Monkeys. Nope, I'm knitting 2X2 ribbed socks for The Collar and a pair of vintage socks for me.

I am probably the only knitter who isn't going to join Ravelry. One discussion board and a blog are enough for me.

I'm out of the loop, but I don't mind. My own little world is busy enough! :)

I am going to be away from the keyboard next week. There's lots to do here for various reasons, and I'll give you an update in a week or so.

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This week I've really started exercising again. I have been using the elliptical trainer at the Y and have managed a whopping 27.9 miles on it this week. My goal is to try for a marathon a week. Next week won't work, but after that, I think that I can.

In a couple of weeks, I'm going to try and ride the Dew. My thumb is still weak, and it aches after being out of the splint after an hour. Someday, I will be better.
Have a great weekend!

Soap Pouch Pattern

Here are the directions. I even remembered to write all of this down as I worked on this project.
Enjoy!

Soap Pouch

What you need:
1 ball (actually much less) of Peaches & Creme 100% cotton yarn
Size 8 US double pointed needles (I used 4 for this project)
Size 8 US crochet hook
Yarn needle for weaving in ends

Cast on 30 stitches. (I used knit on cast on.)
Divide stitches among three needles (10 on each needle, for those who hate math).
Knit, and join into round.
Place marker to identify beginning of round.
Knit 5 more rounds.
On the next round, *k2tog, yo*, repeat from * to * to the end of the round.
On next round and all following, knit.
When the tube is 4.5 inches (or as long as you need it to be) from the eyelet round, turn the piece inside out.
Adjust so that there are 15 stitches on each needle.
Using the 3 needle bind off, bind off all stitches.
Weave in ends, turn right side out.

Tie:
Chain stitch a tie for about 20 inches, depending on how long of a loop you want.
Thread tie through the eyelets.
Knot the two ends together.

There you have it: a pouch for soap. The boys tell me the pouch suds up very well, and works like a washcloth. Fine. Anything that gets Game Boy to use soap in the shower is worth my time!

While the boys are away

I should clean my house. But it's not happening. I seem to have hit a resentful place where I don't want to sort and pick up their toys. Part of the problem is that I want/need to vacuum, and our worthless vacuum cleaner is not working at all. Yuck. Maybe we'll scrape together some moola and buy a new one. That actually might work to motivate me. Instead, I've been knitting, playing on the computer, and getting exercise. I'm doing 10.5 minute miles on the elliptical trainer. Go me!

So, the knitting. I've been working on a washcloth to go with the yellow and white pinwheel one I gave to my MIL, that you haven't seen and that I forgot to take pictures. The pinwheel one I even did a single crochet edging around it, with a loop so it can be hung up. But, alas, there are no pictures because I forgot! The washcloth below is the ball band one from the Peaches and Creme yarn label.

I also knitted soap pouches for my FIL. They work very well hold the soap and as a scrubby/washcloth. I made him two, but actualy knitted four of them. The boys were my beta testers. They work pretty well, and they dry between uses, and you can toss them in the wash when it's time to clean them. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. I made up the pattern, so if you want to know what I did, leave a comment and I'll post the so-called pattern. I think that pretty much anyone who knits could figure out my pattern on their own.I'm still working on the pinwheel baby blanket, using leftover wool ease. It's grown a lot, don't you think? I like the contrast between the pink and dark green. My plan is to knit this until I run out of yarn. At that point, I'll decide whether to get more, or quit.
I realize that I am knitting a lot of stuff for babies. Baby stuff is a great way to use up odds and ends of yarn, or single lonely skeins. I might donate the washable blankets to Ronald McDonald House, because when The Wiz was born, they gave us a blanket for him and a stuffed dolphin to Game Boy when we had to stay there. (Yes, the Wiz has expanded our horizens greatly.

Back to knitting. I have a project that I need to start.

Project with the Wiz

The Wiz likes to make things. He loves to make pompom animals, strings of beads, and other sorts of crafty items. He even claims to be knitting a scarf, which is about 1.5 inches wide and is now about 6 inches long.

He has found a new love. Puppets.This puppet was a pain to make. It seems to be simple enough. Using the precut pieces, glue them to the sock.Well, the pieces wouldn't stay on. The Wiz is also not patient.

Eventually, the pieces were mostly stuck to the sock and the glue was dry. The Wiz likes his new puppet.
Classic Wiz.

Green!

Even with our amazing lack of rain, some things are growing (besides The Wiz's feet).

It may not be our flower beds, or our lawn, but our veggie containers are looking quite nice right now. I tried to take a picture of our "baby" tomatoes, but they did not come out well. However, here's what's growing.Lettuce!

Peppers with flower buds.
Tomatoes, container 1
Finally, Kentucky Wonder Beans.

Leftovers

I keep having these small amounts of yarn left over after I finish knitting washcloths and the like. It drives me crazy. It's not enough to make another one, and it's too much to throw away. I have also been thinking about pinwheels.

I am knitting a pinwheel blanket with left over yarn from a couple of sweater projects and thought the same thing might make a good washcloth. This is knit from 5 different small bits of yarn from other projects.

Game Boy says I've knitted a pizza, complete with crust. Maybe.
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Keeping the boys busy when Daddy's away idea #52: Give each one a dollar and go to the Dollar Tree. Game Boy chose a pack of two rc cars (one pink, one green) and The Wiz chose a tiny bowling set. Not only did they get to choose a new toy, they've been busy with them all day. All for two dollars.

And now, for something not so different

I can knit again. This is a huge relief, and counts as physical therapy. I am also biking again. (Well, okay, it's on the trainer, but I'm still on the bike! I can't grasp the handlebars well yet, and shifting is right out. Right now I'm biking my way through Vicar of Dibley episodes.)

The vegetables are growing. I had to re-tie the tomatoes already. Lettuce is recognizable, and the green beans are going to become vine-y soon. We'll wait to talk about the peppers and their narrow escape from total destruction.

The Collar is shepherding several teenagers through inner city Chicago. Lucky him! I get to stay home with two bored but creative boys. You be the judge who is in for a more interesting week!

I have actually finished a few things since last Thursday. Three of those things are gifts, and cannot be shown just yet. (The recipient(s) reads the blog.) I even made up the pattern. Maybe I'll write it up and let y'all knit one too. Or not. It's pretty easy to figure out all on your own.

There are things that I can show you. For instance, another patternless project (for Game Boy, they are wristbands, for The Wiz, they are powers):Game Boy's wristbands are knit in leftover Denim Style on size 7 needles in a 2X1 rib. The Wiz's powers are Wool-Ease, also on size 7 needles in 2X1 rib.

These are 2 miters for a miter square baby blanket in Crayon. The yarn was from the intarsia baby blanket which I ripped. Then it started as a log cabin baby blanket that I ripped because it wasn't quite right. I'll do a log cabin some day, but right now, the miters are easier. I'll probably knit 16 miters and decide then if it should be bigger or not. I'm knitting miters (or washclothes) whenever I want to finish something quickly. (I am still knitting miters from leftover sock yarn, too.)Finally, I started a pinwheel baby blanket using the left over Woolease I have in hunter green and pink. We'll see how far that goes.
There is something deeply satisfying to me about using up leftover yarn in the summer. Money is tight, and somehow it feels like I'm doing something to help that, even though I'm not a big buyer of yarn any time. Maybe it's the satisfaction of making something nice out of leftovers. I really don't know.

The MRI hath spoken

and so sayeth the surgeon: "There will be no surgery."

I'm not crazy, I really did hurt the thumb. I tore the RCL, and the evidence that I did was right there on the MRI scans. The RCL has healed, and is stabilizing the joint like it should. It's thin, and not 100% attached, but at this point, it's good to go.

However, (you knew that was coming, right?) I bruised the bottom end of the distal phalynx, probably by forcing the two bones into each other when I fell. There is also evidence that I cracked the bone. Now all the pain is due to the bruise. Apparently, bone bruises are good because they do eventually heal on their own. They are bad because they take months to heal. I am now at 2 and a half months since I originally injured my poor left thumb. So it could be a long time still.

I am supposed to go ahead and do things as much as possible. If it hurts, the splint goes back on. I am also supposed to find ways to do things that don't hurt my thumb. I am guessing my thumb won't ever be 100%, but it will be usable.

So, I am not crazy and I don't need surgery. It's a long time to heal, but it will eventually stop hurting. I'm calling it good.

More Zoo

Since I really don't feel like writing about the destruction of the garden (anyone want a dog or two?), I'm going to show you pictures from Lorikeet Landing at the zoo.

Here is the Wiz feeding one.The Wiz again (MIL is holding the bird).Here's a picture of FIL and his new friend.Finally, the biggest turkey I've ever seen.

Home Again.

The Wiz and I both have had medical tests this week. The Wiz is done for a bit, my next appointment is Thursday. The Wiz had a lot of blood drawn, but not as much as was actually allowable from a kid his size. When the nurse asked how he did with blood work, I tried to say he tries, but it's hard on him, but he beat me to it. He informed her that he screams, and that he was going to do so. And, he did! At least he's honest! (We won't receive results for two weeks.)

I had an MRI on my hand. It took forever, probably because I started every time the pitch changed. I hope to NEVER do that again. Thursday is the day I find out if I'm crazy or if I really did do something to my hand.

Anyhoo, that's enough of that. We'll talk about the zoo.

We went and had a blast! It was really great. We saw the cutest baby peafowl. One was yellow, so must have some weird genes in there. Dad was pretty darn handsome, too. We also saw a sloth. Last, we went and saw the wolf pups, who were tumbling around and enjoying the day. It was fantastic.

Irony*

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

*Yes, I'm using it correctly. Considering all of the trouble I'm having with mine, it's pretty funny that this is how my results came back!

200!

I missed my 100th post, but here I am with #200.

So to celebrate, here's my first finished knitting project since April 21st (Game Boy's hoodie):
It's a hat for a very small person. It still needs to be washed and blocked, but it's done. It will find a head. There's no real pattern. It's your basic rolled brim hat with a top knot.

Specs: Patons Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Earth (my secret pal LC sent if to me)
Size 7 dpns
Cast on 72 stitches and go from there.

It's not too bad considering I'd had a month layoff from knitting.

Next project is also small. I'm knitting Game Boy new wristbands to replace the ugly one he wears EVERYWHERE.