All black and blue

First, the blue. Yesterday I started and finished the first lady-mitt (#2 is on the needles). This blue-grey is not a very exciting color, but looks good with faded jeans and U.S. Postal Service uniforms, and most importantly, was something in my stash of the right gauge (9 wpi) for the pattern. I'm using the same pattern as for the manly mitts (which I modified), with the addition (as well as the modifications) of a cable up the back of the hand to dress them up a bit. It's a bit small for me, but I have BIG hands for a woman. I'm hoping our mail lady has smaller paws!

Brian is asking for a pair of fingerless mitts, too. I have some sport-weight navy yarn in my stash that I think I'll use. I don't know if he'll really use them after the newness wears off, but it's a quick knit so no biggy if he doesn't.

This is the Baby Surprise Jacket I started New Year's Day for a KAL (knit-along), set aside until the fingerless mitts are finished. No intended recipient; it will be put in my "gift stash." The boucle yarn is a challenge, and I'm not even to the picking-up-stitches part! Hopefully I will be successful with it, because I think it will make a beautiful cardigan.

As for the black in the title, look who's home! Franna brought Blackberry back this evening, and all the boys were moved into the new Ram-ada Inn. Unfortunately, in spite of all Rick's work to make it ram-proof, the boys proved it otherwise - all after I left for a meeting. Rick had to rearrange and repair more than once, enlisting Franna's help, and ended up putting Browning back in with the girls for the night. As tough as they were making it for Rick, I guess I can be thankful none of them were in the freezer by the time I got home!

That's it for now from . . .

Mission (mostly) accomplished!

As hoped, we got the roof on the new Ram Ramada yesterday. The roofing materials were all leftovers from previous projects (tar paper and roofing screws) or recycled from previous structures (wood, tin). We also have the sides somewhat secured. A neighbor had some used horse panels for sale at a good price, so until we can enclose the shed, they will function as walls and gate - with the addition of a bottom board so no one tries to crawl under the bottom pipe. Then all we need to do is build a feeder, and it's ready to use - none too soon, as Blackberry may be coming home this week.

Brian was so proud to be working on a real building project; for awhile now he has said he wants to be a builder when he grows up. He got the tool belt for Christmas, along with a tape measure, clamp, crowbar and small cordless drill (the hammer was an earlier gift).

Speaking of gifts, and (half) accomplished missions, here is the first of two pair of fingerless mitts I decided after Christmas to make for our two rural mail carriers' Christmas gifts. (Thanks to Morgan the Easter Egger for this morning's prop.) I used this pattern and some unidentified black yarn from my stash, and got quick gratification - cast on Jan. 6 and cast off Jan. 9. I thought this pair looked appropriately manly for the male carrier; now I need to figure out what pattern and yarn to use for the lady carrier's mitts so I can get these winter gifts to their intendeds!

That's it for now at . . .

A sad farewell

Okay, I'll admit it. I've watched "The Love Bug" more times than I can count. Perhaps that accounts for how I felt when I drove over to the towing yard today to get the last few little things out of our car. (The insurance company totaled the car as we thought they would, and they gave us a fair offer for its age and mileage so we took it.) It looked so forlorn sitting there with its front bumper on its engine cover, but inside it was still the same great car that served us so well for 12 years. It was the nicest car I've owned, and we may not be able to replace it with one of equal quality. But it wasn't that fact that made losing it so hard; it was feeling like I was abandoning a friend in a muddy junkyard. Remember that part where broken-hearted Herby wanders the rainy streets at night making that mournful, broken beeping sound? Yeah. If my car had squeaked at me, I probably would have called the adjustor right then to tell him I changed my mind; we were going to buy back the car and get it fixed. I actually shed a few tears. Perhaps I'm over the edge. Then again, some guys name their vehicles and caress them regularly with chamois and soft towels....

Seventh sunrise

"Creation's seventh sunrise; we stand before the burning bush of time...." Wrong day of the week, but the colors of the sunrise this seventh day of January brought Michael Card's lyrics to mind.

So how has the first week of the new year treated you? We've all been battling colds, with Rick's being the worst. We're still waiting a call from the insurance adjustor. I've got two projects on the needles - and nothing on the wheel. We put away the indoor Christmas decorations and carried out the tree this morning. Lois told me that the ewe I'm getting from her was bred on Monday. (June lambs? I must be crazy!)

That's it for now from . . .