You'll Never Guess What This Is

 Well?

Believe it or not, it's a sweater! It's the Einstein Coat by Sally Melville. I've wanted to make it for ages, and I was able to nab the perfect yarn (Cascade Ecological) on sale when the Wisconsin Craft Market went out of business last month. I'm really focusing on embroidery, so I wanted a simple but useful knitting project.

Our old house had hot water heat, so our cats have been delighted to discover heating vents. Especially since we keep our house at 64 degrees. 

I'm off to lunch with my mother. I'm bringing food because the dining room in her retirement community is still closed. We are making great progress with getting help in for her, so I expect things to settle down soon.

Pandemic January

 I hoping to have a photo of my Seth and his partner, Clara, because I spent a few days in Chicago last week. Unfortunately, before I got around to it, both Seth and I got sick. I had the worst GI bout I've ever experienced. And it wasn't fun to be away from home. When things began to subside around 1:30 a.m., I drove home -- almost 3 hours!

I don't regret the trip, though. I had a couple awesome days seeing people and visiting the Art Institute, which featured Barbara Kruger. I had never heard of her, and her social justice themes are perfect for our times:

The temperatures were almost as low in Chicago as they are in Madison, so sketching was out of the question. However, I found an alternative. I know that pandemic life is harder for some people than others. I am a homebody, so I think that I've fared quite well. It seemed appropriate to do a home sketch:

Later on I was warmed up by Kola. I think she missed me!

NOTE: Dane County, where I live, has the third highest rate of Covid in the entire country! It's a good thing I like being home.

Let's Hope for a Better Year

 I usually consider my year to be the Jewish year, but this year I'm going with 2022. The first few months of the Jewish year weren't so great: broken hip for Keith; back injury and kidney stone for me; the death of one of my son's best friends from way back; and a colonoscopy for my 85-year-old mother When does my real retirement begin?

Wisconsin is once again one of the worst states for Covid. Just like we were a year ago. This meant no New Years celebrations for us. Keith went to his parents for X-mas, but I stayed home. I went to the funeral for Seth's friend and it was packed. Even though all those Death Metal kids were wearing masks, I was worried about exposing my in-laws. (Yes, Seth was in a Death Metal band, An End to Flesh. I'm glad he didn't stay with that as a career).

But some things are good, like our loving kittens.

And embroidering my newest design:

And, of course, Keith, Seth, and Rachel. 

There is knitting, but that is for another time.

Sometimes Things Work Out

 My newest knitting project did not start out well. The Piquant Mix Scarf is made with three balls of Ella Rae Cozy Soft Prints. As soon as I started knitting, the balls began to fall apart. Since you knit with all three, this quickly devolved into a mess.

I had no choice but to frog, roll all three skeins into balls, and start all over. Thankfully it was worth it. It's very pretty -- not my colors, though -- and will be a gift for one of my nieces.

I had been planning to have my friends over for dinner on our deck, but my neck injury made that plan too ambitious. Instead, I made brownies and offered up brownie sundaes.

My wonderful friend Richard made two huge bowls of cold soup: watermelon curry and watermelon gazpacho. So, it was dinner after all!

Kola says: "Thank goodness it's cooled off around here." 

And I wholeheartedly agree with her!

Friday Felines

 I'm missing this cat, who lives with my daughter in Denver:

Vashti is a very sweet, mellow cat. She'd like to be more friendly, but Rachel's first cat, Delilah, hasn't gotten over not being an only cat.

Randomness on a Wednesday

Taking a little break to breathe and say hi.

There were some question about my last post. First, yes, my MIL used to make Navajo rugs. She got all the wool from the Navajo people and even dyed some of it using their techniques. She dyed one batch with urine -- but said she'd never do that again. Apparently it was quite "aromatic." The patterns are all authentic and traditional. She used one of those big floor looms. She has one small rug she's trying to finish. At age 86, she thinks this will be the last one.

Another question asked if I go up in needle sizes when I knit hats. I do, unless the pattern says not to. When I improvize a worsted-weight hat, I do the brim with size 6 (96 stitches), then increase to 108 stitches and switch to size 8 needles.

I finally painted this interior. I did the drawing during a Zoom with my drawing buddies a few weeks ago. It's the interior of a house that was for sale. And those are the real colors.

I came across my Little Kiddles during the ongoing decluttering. I wasn't sure I still had them. I loved them when I was little. They're in pretty good shape -- but not worth much without the original containers -- so I'll hold onto them for now.

As I write this, Keith is at the new house with the cats. Kola, who likes to spend her days napping in "my" chair, turns out to be a scaredy cat.

While Nagi is exploring, Kola is hiding under the twin bed that Keith has already moved there!

Winter Break!

Winter break is here! And it feels great, even though it will be busy. I am frantically baking cookies and working on decluttering. Keith and I have looked at two houses in the past couple weeks, and they are selling very fast. So we need to get our house in order!

I finished the mitts I designed in Isaac's honor, and I need to write a note and drop them off for his mom. Writing that note will be the hardest thing I do during break

I do have some good news. My mom is recovering from Covid. It is a slow recovery, but 4 weeks after she got sick she is able to go to the grocery store. She is very tired and has some other symptoms, but it looks like she'll be OK.

I finished Rachel's mittens. They are simple, but very squishy and warm.

With the leftover yarn, I was able to make a matching hat.

We have been having pretty mild winter weather with high's in the 30s, so at least I can get out and walk with my buddies. Keith was able to bike 26 miles last week, which brings his yearly total to 7,000 miles. Impressive, huh? And it is cold enough for me to wear my hand-knits:

The cats are definitely in winter break mode:

Like all sane people, we are planning on a quiet Christmas with just the two of us. I will deliver plates of cookies on the 24th, but that's as close as I'll get to family and friends. It's a small price to pay for staying alive!

Cooking & Knitting

 To make up for two nights of parent-teacher conferences, I have the day off, so I am alternating between cooking and knitting. 

I'm doing a socially distant potluck with friends. We are each going to make a couple dishes and package them up for the six participating households. Then we'll meet at the Arboretum, exchange food, take a walk, and regather later via Zoom to eat. I think it will be fun. 

I started a pair of mittens for my daughter, but the cuff turned out horribly large. I should have read the Ravelry comments first because there are some issues with the pattern. Besides, I don't enjoy doing corrugated rib. I'm very slow at it.

So I frogged the mitten and chose a simple slip-stitch pattern. Now I'm flying along.

This very warm and squishy, so I think it'll work.

As always, Kola keeps us smiling. Apparently she wants to quilt:

Wishing you all the happiest and safest of Thanksgivings!

It's All About Covid These Days

 Let's get the complaining out of the way first. This has to be the worst time in history to be a special ed teacher. Betsy DeVos waived requirements for regular ed, but not special ed. As a result, the federal and state bureaucrats have developed mountains of extra paperwork. It's truly overwhelming and accounts for my blogging lapse. At least I have company in the "office."

A sane person would cut back the time she spends with students, but I just can't do that. Half my caseload is freshmen this year, and they need support! I even worked this morning -- and I never work on the weekends.

Wisconsin is Ground Zero for Covid, so we are sheltering place, even though the state legislature and courts won't let the governor issue an order. That means lots of knitting time. The next time you see this, it will be a sweater:

I seamed the sides -- my first seaming project -- during a Zoom bat mitzvah yesterday. They are not perfect. I don't care. The sweater fits me and is cozy. It just needs an icord edging now.

We do go the grocery store. I've been going to a Mexican grocery that is owned by parents of one of my students. It's the only way we can communicate, given my Spanish and their English. Along the way, I've developed a passion for Mexican junk food:

Bubu Lubu may be a silly name, but they are addictive! And the Emperador cookies are pretty darn good, too!

I expect November to be my most challenging month for work because I have 5 IEP meetings (with all the paperwork that goes with them!), so I won't be checking in with all of you as much as I'd like. Oh, and then there's the A-bomb of paperwork which was dumped on us Wednesday. But this too will pass!

Finishes on Friday

I'm pleased with this mitered-square blanket. I made up the pattern to use up the colored yarn, which is the now-discontinued Julia yarn by Kristen Nicholas. The gray is that workhorse: Cascade 220. I crocheted the edges, which is a new skill for me. It's a bit wonky.

I know I should block it, but it's cold and rainy here, so I'm just going to start using it!

I finished my second coffee-cup mini-quilt. I think that having two cups is more satisfactory, 

What do you think?

I finally finished a sketch I started a month ago, when it was warm enough to draw outside. This is a gorgeous house on Lake Monona.

 And here is a very special finish I'm looking forward to:

 I eat one candy bar on the 1st and 15th of every month. When this is empty, the school year will be over! 

And since it's Friday, here's a feline. Kola enjoying HBO's "Succession" with me

Some Happy Things

  As winter hovers, we Midwesterners are eking out every outdoor activity we can. My Urban Sketching group met at the UW Arboretum on Sunday. My sketch is the ugly one. I can't seem to get the hang of trees.

I'll sure miss seeing these folks over the winter.

I finished a project that is making me happy. 

Of course, it is: It's a coffee-themed mini quilt. The background is from cotton scraps left on my cutting board from a throw I'm quilting. The cup is felted wool, and the "steam" is made from beads.

I am also happy with these mitts that will be making their way to my daughter in Denver.

The pattern is Align Mitts. It's free and well-written. I zipped through these with a Madtosh speckled yarn.

And there are some good things about working from home. Sometimes I have company while I'm teaching:

She slept all through a Biology class!

Every Weekend Should Last Three Days

 It has been a quiet but lovely Labor Day weekend. Some socially distanced gatherings with friends, phone chats with those who are farther away. But a lot of it looked like this:

Just me and Kola hanging out. Yes, she often maintains the oddest positions. My pain levels were up and my sleep was scanty, so it was nice to relax. Students attend school for the first day tomorrow, so I need to be ready to go in the morning. 

I finished the handwork on my summer quilt, and I'm not 100% happy with it. All the fabric was hand dyed or painted by me. And I think it's pretty obvious that it is hand-quilted in the Kantha style.

But I do like the appliqued leaves, so for lack of a better name, I called it Leafing.

I picked up the Brennivin cardigan I started a year ago. I'll try to get a photo, but at this point it's just a big blue-gray blob. It's knit from the bottom up and then separated for the sleeves. I like this design, but you do end up with a big blob in the middle of the process.

I hope your holiday weekend turned out to be what you wanted.

Feline Friday

You didn't want to work on this, did you, Mommy?

Tiny Needle Tuesday

I've been working on this Frida cross stitch in little bits as cross stitch irritates my injured wrist. It's been a fun project, and not too hard.

After a serious rain storm on Monday, we are having a hot and humid week. I'm OK with it so far, even though we don't have AC. It does mean I need to get out early for a bike workout. I took advantage of the weather to do some sun-dying this afternoon.

And Kola naps in some pretty interesting positions when she's hot.

I love summer!

Where have I been?

It has been a long and eventful 10 months since I last. blogged. I have done some lurking on your blogs, but until today, could not find my blogging mojo. But if this isn't a time for virtual friendships, what is? So, here is a whirlwind tour of the last 10 months:

It was a rough school year. A week before school  began, my dear friends and long-time colleague Jim McCoy died suddenly during cross country practice. The incredibly healthy 61-year old just collapsed and never regained consciousness. Some kind of cardiac event. Denise, another friend and colleague, and I were at the hospital and able to say farewell to him with his family. Jim and I had worked together for a decade. 

Me, Jim, and Denise, at an American Players Shakespeare performance in August  2018.

Needless to say, working without Jim was devastating. I miss him every day. But we carried on. 

One of the times I most missed talking to Jim was when two teens we both know from middle school were accused of murdering a beloved Madison physician and her husband. It's a tragic story. If you want to know more: https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/dane-county-judge-sends-suspects-in-arboretum-double-homicide-to-trial/article_e8a80174-7e0c-56db-b282-cd0399c7fed2.html

Over winter break, Keith, I, and my mom flew to Phoenix to visit Seth and his girlfriend, Clara. Rachel flew in from Miami, so we were all together and it was glorious!

Clara, Seth and Rachel on New Year's Eve.

Clara is going to transfer to a medical school in Chicago, so she and Seth will be closer to us! 

Of course there was knitting. I mastered the (not-so-hard) Latvian Braid for this hat, which was a prize in a membership drive for my teachers' union.

Then came Covid-19. While the workload lessened for some of my colleagues, it skyrocketed for special education. I cannot tell you how tired I am of teaching via Zoom. And who knows how much more of it I have in my future? I need to work at least one more year.

Like everyone, I had to cancel some exciting summer plans. My mom and I had booked a trip to Scandinavia. Even worse, the University of Miami had to cancel graduation so I didn't get to celebrate Rachel being awarded her Ph.D. Nor will I be able to help her get settled this summer in Denver. Still I am very pleased that she has a tenure-track position at the University of Denver in these difficult times.

So, now I'm hanging out a lot with these guys:

I feel lucky. So far everyone I love is healthy. I have a lovely home and yard to shelter in. I have friends and family to talk to. And now I have all of you to check in with!