Tomorrow Is Moving Day!

 When we bought our retirement house, the word was that high schools would not open before late April. Nope, we go back April 5. So here we are, moving as I prepare for going back to school -- once I am fully vaccinated.

Somehow I squeezed in a Zoom Passover Seder on Saturday night with the help of a few friends. We kept it small, which I really appreciated after suffering large Zooms for work every day.

I'm feeling a bit scattered, so here are some random thoughts. This came from my grandmother's apartment. She had more than a dozen of these figurines: Royal Copenhagen, Doulton, Lladro.

I desperately wanted this one for the obvious reasons. But as we downsize, I realized that I don't want any of these. At least one of my brothers does, so we'll be packing them carefully for mailing.

My grandmother spent hundreds of dollars on this one alone -- it's now worth about $35. Apparently I'm not the only one who doesn't want these chotskies.

Apparently it's breeding time for turkeys. I've never seen them in full flirting condition.

I've moved all my knitting stuff to the new house except for the Adrift shawl

It's very mindless, which is perfect for this week!

The next time I blog, I'll be 2 miles west of here.

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!

Three Months of Stress to Go

 Three months from now, I will be on my 2nd day of retirement. I cannot express how happy that thought makes me! For one thing. our school district is going to remove seniority as a priority for shifting schools and for layoffs. As if that's not enough, I went on a safety tour of my school Friday -- and it is a mess. Hardly anyone has their own classroom because the school is so small (but has 200 staff and 2,200 students), so there is nowhere safe to eat lunch. 

Even vaccinated, I'm not sure it's safe. People are dying after being fully vaccinated. My employer acts like vaccination removes all risk -- but it doesn't! Even though the CDC recommends that vaccinated people should avoid crowds of any size and restaurants, we are opening high schools. And what about all those unvaccinated teens?

So onto something cheerful:

Here's our little retirement house. We had the inside painted white. The painters finished Friday, so we have spent much of the weekend moving in the smaller furniture. My sweet husband moved all the furniture for my craft room so I could get that set up ASAP. The movers come on March 30, so we have time to get our current house cleaned up.

The neighbors are super friendly. There's a darling 4-year-old girl next door who I'm going to adopt as a foster grandchild -- seeing as I don't have any grandchildren on the way

That safety tour lasted 1.5 hours, which is way too long for me to be on my feet. In between taking loads of stuff to the house, I've been hand-quilting using my lap quilting hoop:

I love the tear-away paper. I can't do circles or spirals freehand.

And I finished another hat:

It even matches the Navajo rug that my MIL made!

We back to school on April 13, and I am very stressed out about that. I am having so much trouble with foot pain (club feet) that I don't know how I'm going to survive. For me, virtual teaching has been a blessing. I have asked for accommodations, but my district has denied every accommodation I've requested in the past, so I am worried.

Still, it will all be good in three months. I can do this!

Chugging Along

 We closed on our house without incident last week.  We've moved in a few things, but we can't move in too much until the painters finish. The sellers painted the walls themselves before they put the house on the market. Not only did they do a sloppy job, but they chose colors better suited for a state mental institution.

We have movers scheduled for the end of the month, so we hope to have all the small stuff moved by then.

I still need some crafting time to keep my sanity. This next photo will look like a repeat but it's not. I am now calling Porto the "Forever Sweater." It will get done. Eventually

I've been quilting the Hook, Line & Tinker embroidery designs, and I think it enhances the images.

Thursday, Keith and I drove 45 minutes to the Walgreens in Fort Atkinson. Why? So I could get my first Covid vaccine! Seeing as my district is starting in-person instruction with K-2, I was feeling pressure to be vaccinated before the high schools open.

I wanted a quick, easy, stash-busting project for the drive, so I pulled together materials for a Banff. It's a Tin Can Knits pattern, and I have never been disappointed by one of their patterns. This was fun, fast, and very relaxing. Just what I needed. I've already started a second one.

I expect my posts and comments will be sporadic over this coming month, but I will be trying to read and keep up with you!

In Between

 These days I am mostly decluttering and starting to pack. We close on our new house tomorrow, and then we have to move and get this one ready to put on the market. Work is hectic with both teaching virtually and planning to go back in a hybrid situation.

But in between, I find little times to do some crafty things. Thanks to Kim, I went a little crazy on the Hook, Line & Tinker hygge embroidery designs. It's been a fun and relaxing project that I'm going to hand-quilt.

I found a few hours to do some online sketching with a friend -- via Zoom, of course. This is the house where Marc Chagall grew up in Vitebsk, Belarus.

Then there's other people's crafts that I've come across as I declutter. The Barbie on the left is dressed in a darling suit that my babysitter knit in the late 1960s; the doll on the right is wearing a coat knit by my MIL. They are both better knitters than I'll ever be!

And I got some very good news this morning. Yesterday I had an endoscopy to see if I have Celiac Disease -- and I don't! I am so excited that I'm going to find time to bake Hamantaschen, even though the holiday for this Jewish treat has passed. It's a cookie dough folded around a filling -- with lots of gluten!

Long Slog

Right now everything feels like a long slog. We close on our house next week, so we are sorting, tossing, and packing -- never fun stuff! My union is in prolonged negotiations with the district to figure out how to reopen our schools.

And it turns out my latest sweater project is going to be a long slog, too. This is Porto.

It is a very loose-fitting pull-over knit out of a gorgeous Berroco non-wool yarn. The yarn is listed as DK, but it feels more like fingering. And the rounds get really long before you separate for the sleeves -- like more than 500 stitches! I think it will be worth it in the long run, but it's going to take a while.

My mitered-square blanket is another big project. I'm trying to figure out where to put colors for the last row. Then comes the long slog: the border!

In six to eight weeks, at least some of these issues will be resolved, for now I just have to take things a day at a time.

Trying to Stay Positive

The day I've been dreading has arrived: My district has announced it plans to reopen in March -- without vaccinating teachers or other staff. The announcement is very vague, leaving us with more questions than answers. The only good thing is that I teach high school, so there is a chance that I will get vaccinated before I have to return. Fingers crossed!

But there are some things to be happy about. A couple weeks ago a friend dropped off some paper white bulbs and now I have flowers:

I spread them over two vases and dropped off one for my mom at her retirement community.

And, speaking of flowers, I'm finishing up a flowery project I started four or five years ago: embroidered flower bunting. I drew the flowers, so it's fun to see it come to life.

And here's another:

I'll take a photo when it's done and hung across our mantel. But it won't hang there for long...

Madison's disregard for its teachers is the final straw for me. I filed for retirement! As you know, we started looking for a smaller house a couple months ago. It's been crazy. All we wanted was a ranch with an attached garage on the near West Side. Apparently that's what everyone wants. The competition was fierce and houses are selling at $50,000 or more above assessment.

Well, we lucked out. We found the perfect house. It's a little farther from the city center than I'd like, but I think it would cost too much to live closer. Our current house is very close to downtown and the university, so it should sell fast. The one we bought was on the market for 3 days!

We close Feb. 24 and hope to get our current house on the market by April 1. With me working, we'll need a good month to get it ready.

Snow Day!

 Madison called a snow day -- even for virtual instruction -- and I could not be happier. I had insomnia last night, so the timing is perfect.

And what better than a snowy day to think about blankets? I finished my Habitation Throw. Mine is quite a bit larger than the pattern calls for. I just played it by ear. Some of the color transitions are better than others. I think I prefer more of a fade technique than these sudden changes. But it's very homey and comforting.

I've also been working on a larger blanket that uses worsted weight. I had an odd assortment of Julia yarn and Cascade Quattro, both discontinued, which is a shame. They are absolutely lovely yarns and they play quite well together. I'm using a variety of grays to tie it all together and hoping it works.

 

I think I'm going to let this one get quite large. It also has a border, so it will take me a while to finish.

I would love to spend the whole day knitting by the window, but I need to declutter. We are looking at a house tomorrow and it looks promising online. Whenever there is a house on the horizon I panic and start decluttering. Moving is a lot to take on right now as I try to adapt to my new diagnoses, but it needs to be done. It's never fun, but we'll be happy when it's behind us.

The Bad and the Good

 Let's just get the bad stuff out of the way. I've been absent from the Blog World lately because of doctors' appointments and bad news. It started with a podiatrist, who sent me to a rheumatologist to see whether I have Eylers-Danlos Syndrome, a disorder of connective tissue. Well, I do.

I also have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Sjoden's Syndrome. You can look them up if you want. Suffice it to say that the EDS and the POTS make one very tired. No wonder I've been tired for 30 years. And I've had symptoms of POTS since I was 12.

And, if that's not enough, I have a biopsy scheduled for later this month to see if I have Celiac Disease.  I feel like I've been hit by a truck. 

As you can imagine, these new diagnoses are making the retirement decision quite easy. I have to formally announce by Feb. 15 if I'm going to get my retirement benefits. Don't worry! I'm not going to miss this deadline.

On to more cheerful subjects. It's been snowing here!!

I've been able to ski for the last three days in a row -- which is pretty much heaven in my world. The photo is from Saturday's outing to the Arboretum.

And I've been able to ski with friends each day. This is as close as I can get to socializing in person, and it is pretty darn nice.

I have two FOs, which have yet be photographed. I'm getting ready to cast on the Adrift shawl from Laine Magazine and using some stash yarn.

It's a nice easy pattern -- perfect for this time when I have so much to sort out!

You Win Some, You Muck Up Others

 As if it isn't bad enough that I'm the last person to bake bread during the pandemic, my bread did not turn out at all. The dough for two loaves of cinnamon-raisin bread looked OK at the beginning:

But it never rose properly. I puzzled and puzzled over it. I've baked plenty of bread in my time. Then Keith asked about the yeast. I only bought it a few weeks ago, but I checked anyway. Yep, it expired four years ago! Given the run on yeast in the past year, I have no idea how any out-dated yeast was left.

Fortunately, not everything here is failing. Thanks to Kim, I have an adorable embroidered sheep. I'm going to make the Hygge Reindeer, which Kim also made, and then combine them in a little quilt.

Kim really has a knack for finding the best embroidery patterns.

And I'm quite happy with the quilt I'm making with my flower embroidery:

The border strips are fabric that I sun-dyed last summer. Wow, does that seem like a long time ago or what? Not that I mind winter. I took a long walk this afternoon, and it really cheered me up. 

I have a rough work week coming up so I needed the boost. So far, my district is mostly virtual, but I'm always worrying about being asked to go back before vaccination! Chicago's teachers have voted not to teach in person, which I think is wise. My science-smart friends say the Midwest will have another spike as universities open up.

So, wherever you are, stay safe, my friends. We are not out of the woods yet.