retirement writes... in knits & purls!: 2014

28 October 2014

TREE HUGGER IOWA CITY

This is tree huggin' time in Iowa City!! I have not yet stitched my 'leaves' on my assigned tree #185. So will take pics when that is finished on Nov 2. I knit and crochet'd LEAVES that I stitched together. They will be spiral'd around the trunk. Theme: falling leaves!!!

The tree huggers from last year were laundered by the city and sacked for possible repurposing. I sorted them by size and repaired those I could. Those were donated to Iowa City Shelter House this fall. I received 2 thank you notes from the directors ( I presume). The rest of the unrepairable huggers were frogg'd and wound by color. I used that yarn to knit the above hats!! Since the yarn was of varying lengths, I used the tied knots on the outside of the hats as a decorative elements. There was not a specific design to where the knots appeared!! If the recipient doesn't like the knots to show they can just poke them to the inside!!!

I am typing this on my new Lenovo laptop that my hubby, Terry, let me purchase for my (early) Christmas present!! I am slowly finding my way around Windows 8 and Lenovo. I downloaded Google Chrome so have all my familiar mail, sites, etc. It was nerve-racking until I saw familiar windows I am accustomed to using daily. Also got Utube app ready for my knitting fix!! I have used that a lot for learning new techniques...one of which was a crochet'd maple leaf!!! Hotmail, Utube, Facebook and HP Printer hooked up...I'm ready to compute!!! Oh, this is so much faster and nicer than my 10yr old Dell which has served me very well!! Except I have nothing saved here ie: pictures, patterns, etc. I will have to figure out how to reload my flash drives here. I'm so used to having to use my mouse, I'm afraid of wearing out this touchpad!! However, this screen is touchable on Windows 8! Also got intel core i5 which is good!! I want this laptop to last!!!

Hope to improve my typing again to use capital letters!! Stylus tapping on my Samsung tablet required a lot of correcting...wrong letters if I wasn't hitting the letter absolutely perfectly!!

OK, that's more than you wanted to know tonight!

Good night and God Bless You for visiting me again!!

Linda

FALL 2014

24 September 2014

OMG!!! i haven't posted since spring/summer!! my bad ;o

i have been busy knitting AND crocheting! here are a few pics of baby blankets (tried some new patterns); hats for Shelter House (from last year's Iowa City tree huggers that were unrepairable and frog'd); a few crochetd squares for my front yard tree (irregular lengths of frog'd huggers); a blue strip prayer throw for my nephew who was recovering from a motorcycle accident this month... more to come!!

August was the month i'd love to forget!! we tried to go on a vacation to COLORADO but it was a 'bust'!!! hubby was so sick by the time we got through the Rockies to Crested Butte that we left the next morning to return home! i didn't even unpack!! the staff at the check-in were most helpful, but we still had difficulty unlocking our condo in a downpour of rain!! i guess we weren't meant to go on vacation this year.
so...no more trips to Colorado (no more NEBRASKA either!!!) or Mesa,AZ as we haven't been back there for several years since it is a 3-day travel for us. we just cannot handle long road trips of driving anymore. two of us now with bad backs...

i am enjoying this FALL weather and color change!!! trees are starting to change to yellow, orange and red... i love it!! the nights are cool and i sleep really well with the windows open (except for the traffic right outside my bedroom window!!).

now is the time to think about knitting this year's tree huggers, put up St.Mary's huggers i made last year and carefully took down, and knit/crochet some more shawls and baby blankets for St.Mary's. NEW season tv shows are starting this week!!! yea!!!

i made a couple 3 doilies from red crochet thread... now to make some more for Christmas gifts??? i need to block some lace shawls i've made and stored in bags for several years... i want to wear them to church this fall!!

my right hip/leg/back hurt so much that my dr. took xrays... i have 25% curvature of my lumbar 3rd-4th vertebrate, right above my nuts/bolts dr.Found put in in 1997. it's so bad i can't find a sitting position that doesn't hurt!! plus, i have TMJ... my jaw hurts and clicks like my hips do... went to my dentist for that...slow recovery for that! and yesterday my right big toe bunion was red, swollen and hurt when i walked with my garden clogs on!!! MY RIGHT SIDE IS FALLING APART!!! appt with dr.Found on Oct 1. can't come soon enuf!!

that's all folks!!!

linda

Summer 2014

It's been a long time...

Today is June 25, 2014

I had to relearn how to use this laptop...slow as it is!!! But it feels great to be able to actually type again on a full keyboard! not just use a stylus one letter at a time!

Some of my spring blooms in the front berm! I have sprayed my daylilies and hostas with Liquid Fence...deer & rabbit deterrent... now I am awaiting blooms for the first time in 3 years!!! Living so close to a park with deer was not a good decision for my garden! and having next to no shade makes me miss my shade plants terribly!!!

In other news... I am knitting AND crocheting all the time!! mostly little baby blankets for St. Mary's Baptism gifts that Sister Agnes gives to the parents. will post pics soon...

my needles are calling...

Blessings...
Linda

Spring into Spring... 20 March 2014

a few of my favorite mountain pics to welcome in SPRING!!!

Springtime in the Rockies!!!

mountain stream rapids

lupine field

paintbrush against mountain lake

Colorado state flower: columbine

lupines at sunset

rock solid

and then, my knitting...

miter'd square blankie from Bday yarn from CindyV

more to come...

BLESSINGS ...

linda

20 Feb 2014 Going Home...

Poor Wrigley!! she's been missing Gpa for over a week now!!

ER admission to Mercy Hospital IC Feb 12,2014

2 days in ICU

discharged from 5th floor tomorrow, Friday, 21 Feb 2014

severe chills at home, dizziness, falls

resulted in EuroSepsis from UTI,

low BP, high heartrate & shortness of breath

ER dr told him "you are a very ill man"

GREAT care @ Mercy Iowa City!!!

KUDOS!!!

Thank you to these folks for taking time to visit Terry:

Father John Spiegel, Sister Agnes,

Mercy Chaplains & Eurcharistic Ministers

J.Jensen, L.Iben, D.Volstedt

Teresa/Chris/Ethan/Evan

LINDA

ps: Good Luck Evan in Regina 8th boys basketball @ WestBranch 4pm

ps: Good Luck to Regina Varsity Boys Basketball tonight in 1st round of District Tournament
@ Regina 8pm
play your best Ethan 10!!!

23 Jan 2014 ~ DEEP FREEZE again!!!

yet another blast of artic temps from Siberia!!

most of USA is in a 'deep freeze' for several days!!

a reminder of what Crested Butte, CO looks like in winter!!

my favorite winter birds... beautiful color!!

my BKFF, Cindy, wants us to learn to 'arm knit'!!!

i'm ready for something new & 'messy'??!!!

miss knitting with Cindy...she still works...

always keep this in my daily thoughts, words & actions!

working on this pink lacey for my eyeDr, Sheri

working on a pink version of this baby blanket for good friend,

MaryEllenJ's great, great granddaughter!

will need to make a baby blue one like this for my eyeDr ...

and, so it goes...

another day inside wintering the subzero temps

in Iowa City!!

Stay warm

and

God Bless!!!

Linda

16 Jan 2014 ~~ The Good Shepherd

Follow me...

I have started using my treadmill again... yesterday, without a tv or earbuds,

I prayed the ROSARY while I walked!!!

2014 Ford Escape

Sunset Metallic

Thanks to my dear hubby, Terry, we will be driving this on Saturday! We went to West Branch Ford this morning to test drive a blue one like this. Oh, my!! What a change from sitting low in a sedan all these years!! We have loved our '12 Fusion, but find it too small for hauling Terry's walker. As of now, we have the walker as our back-seat 'passenger' everyday!! Loading into the back of this vehicle will be much easier with the power liftback! The front seats sit higher than our Fusion, but not like a SUV or Truck where you have to step up...easier for Terry to get in/out. The interior has more head-room and seems more spacious even though the entire vehicle has a shorter total frame length than our Fusion!! Then, of course, there is the updated electronic features...backup camera and visual screen on dash, dual front seat heat/cool controls, outside temp, etc, etc, etc. It will be FUN for BOTH of us to learn to drive and enjoy this vehicle!! I can't wait until Sat morning pickup/switch!! Must clean out our Fusion and say 'goodbye'!

Still working on my clients' 3 knit pieces...

My newest knitting student, Michelle L, has made progress on her scarf! She mentioned knitting a few rows while waiting in Regina's car-line!! YEA!!!

Also got reacquainted with a former band student's mother, Mary Pacha, on Facebook!

It is truly a small world!

Ethan had a great pic in the Press Citizen's sports section Wed highlighting one of his

3-pt shots!! He had 10pts... only other player in double digits besides Drew Cook! One of his best shooting games ever!!! I, we enjoy going to his games so much. Now, his brother, Evan will be playing his first 8th gr game next Thursday!! YEA!!

I also got some meds for my hip bursitis!! It is already taking effect! It is not hurting like it has for so long! Got blood drawn this morning for annual screening. I really enjoyed my appt with my Internist, Dr. Westermann Tues. I hadn't seen her for almost 2 years!! It was about time, don't you think??!!!

That's all for now... GOD BLESS!!!

Regina Varsity Basketball 2014

Jan 14, 2014

tonight, yet another great opportunity to see our oldest grandson,
Ethan
in Regina Varsity basketball!!

Regina Varsity Basketball Team 2014

Ethan's 3-point shot!!! (#10)

Jan 13, 2014 'KNITTING lesson'

just a short post today...

7am: 7 test Health Screening from mobile van in NorthDodge HyVee parking lot!!

1. Echocardiogram
2. 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG)
3. Arterial Stiffness Index (ASI)
4. Carotid Artery Ultrasound
5. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Ultrasound
6. Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
7. High-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) (high protein marker in heart)

Now, that's a LOT of tests in 45 minutes!! Cost, but not out-of-sight! Bus was from Texas...some staff were from Georgia & all over. I will get written report and CD disc plus my UIHC internist will receive report. You ask why?? I wanted a baseline of health info now that I'm 62.

I feel better knowing that ...

my heart is beating

and

my blood is red!!

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Next on my schedule was a trip to JoAnn's to meet a parent who volunteers with me at Regina Elem computer lab to buy yarn and needles so she could learn to knit! The knitting lesson actually occurred at 1st Ave JavaHouse. She bought me a AmericanGothic for teaching her to knit! She's my kind 'a friend!! Java & Knitting!! She videotaped me knitting so she could watch it later at home if she forgot how to do it! By the time we parted, she had knit several rows...getting used to holding the yarn in her right hand for controlling the tension, learning the garter (knit every row) stitch and turning (switching needles) for the next row.

It was so much fun to visit with her. We discussed her huge SUV and my wanting to get a Ford Escape Crossover when we trade next time from our Fusion which I have really enjoyed...all except loading/unloading Terry's walker into the back seat. It doesn't fit in the Fusion trunk! Also it is hard for him to get in/out of the passenger side. The Escape is higher and you sit into it so easily! It's higher than a car but not a step-up kind of SUV difficulty. Also I want outside temp display on Sync hands-free phone, remote start if possible, all weather floor mats...no more carpet floor mats!! Heated seats would be a luxury, but I could live without that! The most important thing, besides ease for Terry to get in/out is the 'hatch-back' lift-up with straight-in loading for his walker!! And the color: Sunset Metallic (burnt orange) to go with my orange/brown stone home!!!

**********************************************************

Then on to the computer lab!!! Always something new every day I go... 3rd, 2nd, 1st & Ktg classes on a 6-day cycle schedule. The teacher is so appreciative of her volunteer help! Always makes me feel really good for volunteering to help.

Home to help Terry get logged onto Regina Gmail... that's done!!

sorry, no pics!!

Now, to get some supper for us and treats for Wrigley!!!

GOD BLESS!!!

Jan 6, 2014

Memories of Crested Butte, CO

This snow engulfed log cabin brings back memories of my only trip to CO in the winter of '84. There was so much snow we had to walk through tunnels on the sidewalks in town! It was my first trip to that ski area and it was gorgeous!! I put this pic on my laptop today since we are in a 'cold' snap just like the temps on that trip! -17 this morning when I got up! Wind chills unbelievable! I went skiing by myself on the Mt... only one trip down since my lift ticket fell off my jacket zipper tab ;-( But the view from atop Crested Butte Mountain was permanently fixed into the recesses of my memory!!! Just a gorgeous site of snow-covered mountains as far as the eye could see! I can still picture it! Then... how to get down by myself... I was scared I would go out of control (speed-wise) and crash into a tree! I looked like a little, scared baby up there!! But, here I am today, so I did get down ok! The temps were so cold that diesel buses were freezing up at our motel! Just as it is today... school canceled today and tomorrow due to severe wind chills! Poor Wrigley limps back into the house after potty trips of only 1-2 minutes outside! Then...

in front of the fireplace to warm up!! She loves to look at the flame! and likes her 'bone' rug I gifted her from the top of Monarch Pass last summer!! 'Sweater' Santa watches over her!

More hat knitting for Shelter House in Iowa City...

I am concerned with this cold spell... I cancelled St.Mary's Prayer Shawl Ministry this month. I had a dr appt that conflicted, but was more concerned with my 'ladies' feeling they should attend when it is so cold. I don't even like to go out to the garage to put my recycling items in the sacks/bins, so why would I want them to brave this cold.

Terry & I are watching Florida State vs Auburn tonight... we're both for Auburn!! Just another great time to knit!! I've watched almost every BOWL game this winter... lots of knitting! Only negative today: I did not get on the treadmill. But I did try out my new Ninja blender today! Made my 1st smoothie: apple-peanut butter! I need to grocery shop for fruits & vegies! I'm going to try to go Vegan (somewhat)... to make sure I get my plants! I can do without meat!! Don't miss it! And Terry has given up most meat now too. The chicken nuggets news was the crowning blow!! Mystery meat?!!!