CountryMouse's Refuge

We finished watching this wonderful 26-episode series from 1974. Then we watched a lovely interview with Susan Hampshire, who played Lady Glencora.

Maybe we'll watch some Jane Austen movies next?

Happy Mother's Day, all you moms!

The way I like it. :-) We had some thunderstorms sometime in the early morning, but not loud enough to fully awaken to. No watches or warnings. I know because our weather radio did not go off. :-)

I was up late, so I slept until 11am. Laziness is fun. :-D

When Bunnicula gets back from the gas station/convenience store, he'll have a wrap/sandwich from there and we'll watch more "The Pallisers".

Cat'r is at work again today--the hardest workin' Cat'r in the computer business!

Uh...there are a few stitches that *still* haven't fallen out. Grr. Well, I guess they have to stay until they are no longer needed.

I just don't like them. I don't like "scary weather". The weather people have not said anything about there being severe weather...but I still worry.

I slept until almost noon, then was on the phone quite a bit, one way and another.

Mama's Mother's Day card *still* has not gotten to her. Bunnicula sent it off, AT the post office, on Monday. Now Mama's roommate at the nursing home is saying that I lied and didn't really send a card at all. :-( Old troublemaker. Grrr. Everyone knows the USPS is unreliable. That's why I sent it so early. That or the card got misplaced at the front desk of the nursing home. ::sigh::

I crocheted on the cotton bathmat I'm making. I've got about 18 inches done so far--my goal is 27 inches. Now that we're going to be here until the end of the year, we'll actually have some time to use it. I mean what are the chances we'll have another peach-themed bathroom?

I ripped out a Warm Up America square I was knitting--it was 1/2 inch too wide, which will not work for those putting the blankets together. WUA is very specific about the dimensions of the squares. So I frogged it and got out my wool winder and wound all the yarn back up again. I don't know if I'll use that again or something else. Why oh why don't I ever swatch?!

I knitted some more on my pale green garter ridge scarf--that yarn is such a pleasure to work with!

As to the pink cable scarf: I totally frogged it, even though I had more than 12-15 inches done on it. I decided to use a slightly bigger needle (only slightly--I only went up .5 mm); and I also decided I'd better NOT follow the pattern and instead do the trick of knitting the first and last stitch of every purl row no matter what, to help guard against the inevitable curling of stockinette stitch. I restarted the scarf and have done a couple inches so far.

You can see in the photograph of the scarf in the book, Celebrity Scarves 2, that it has a tendency to twist and curl. But I still want to make it. I wish I could use the yarn recommended (a cashmere/silk blend), but allergies will not permit. ::sigh::

While I ate supper I went to my Animal Crossing: Wild World towns. Why do people always try to move away? I try to accede to (almost) all their requests for furniture, clothing, etc. I take care of them when they're sick. Do they all just have wanderlust? Well, I'm not letting Dora go: everyone talked her out of it, plus I sent her a letter with a gift attached.

This evening Bunnicula and I watched another episode of "The Pallisers". It's getting too close to the end! I don't want it to be over!

Cat'r will be working in L'ville until the end of December. The reason for this is that his company wants to help him get a Microsoft certification (I forget which one). They will pay for the books and exams and all. This will definitely help him in his career path and upcoming jobs.

This will also give us all more time to save money for moving and deposits. And I'd rather move in winter than summer.

Also this will give Cat'r better positioning for a job at the end of the year than he would have now.

up early again and needing to get back to bed soon soon.

Yesterday (Friday): knitting, TV, reading, general laziness. ::grin::

No Cat'r this weekend (again). :-( He's got lots of work he has to do down in his work town. And it needs to be done NOW. ::sigh::

I did crochet the top of my little Baby Banana amigurumi yesterday. Wow, that kind of tight crocheting is hard on the wrist! No wonder one of the amigurumi books I have has hand and wrist exercises and massages in it!

I need to look at tutorial videos online again before finishing my banana amigurumi. I can't remember the best way of joining parts. :-P

Twitter from earlier this morning:

CountryMouse ctrymaus It's 5:22am, it's still dark out, and there is a bird singing! about 1 hour ago from txt

All right, I need to stop procrastinating and get back to bed!

I got up around 4:30am, had my little meal, dawdled, played some Nintendo DS games, watched some TV, and did the requisite salt-water rinsing.

Then I wrote a letter and packaged up a surprise for someone. :-P

I hope to get a bit more sleep at some point, if not this morning, then napping this afternoon.

Laterrrrrrzzz!

Eep! Bunnicula carried home two gallon jugs of water from the shopping center yesterday, in addition to the other stuff (ice cream and heavy ice blocks, etc.)! That was too much! Well, I need it, but I didn't know zie was going to do that. =8-O

In the afternoon I knitted a little--mostly on the dusky pink cable scarf. I am following the pattern, which was a mistake. I should've used a size larger on the needles, since I knit too tightly. So the scarf is not as "drape-y" as I would like it. Also I should've been knitting every first and last stitch in every row, no matter what, to help the stockinette fabric to keep from rolling in. All that I can do to remedy that (somewhat) afterwards is to single crochet around the entire edge, then go around that in single crochet with the novelty yarn that is part of the pattern.

So after a few rows of knitting, I realized I needed a nap, but I couldn't actually go to sleep, although I was tired. I keep running out of energy fairly quickly still.

Instead B. and I ended up listening to the next chapter in Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope on the portable CD player, using headphones and a splitter. We just propped up in bed, relaxed, and listened to the soothing, reasoned words of our next President (I hope, I hope!!). Some people are not good at reading aloud their own works--President Clinton reads too fast, for instance. But Senator Obama talks to you just like he was in your living room with you, with all the time in the world. :-)

After my little meal of soft (as ever) foods, we watched Keith Olbermann's "Countdown", then another episode of "The Pallisers".

Then early bed.

What I'm reading, what I'm dragging my feet on, etc. ::grin::

Yesterday afternoon Bunnicula and I watched the regular "Dancing With The Stars" competition (Monday night). We didn't have time to watch the Tuesday night program--we'll do that later today.

Then we watched Keith Olbermann's "Countdown", and after that an episode of "The Pallisers". We're almost at the end--what will we watch after that?!

Bunnicula has gone out on an ice cream run. ::grin:: This means on foot, so we had to pick the coolest day we could. It's around 64*F., rainy and grey. Zie is taking an insulated bag with four of those blue ice block things. I need the ice cream because it's soft and it's cold and it has CALORIES (which I need to get enough of).

Later zie will go back out for the mail, to look for a jug of spring water at a nearby gas station/convenience store, etc. I need almost a jug a day--all this rinsing and such. I don't use tap water--my allergies don't like it.

We would've stocked up better/more on these things if we had known Cat'r wasn't going to be up here this coming weekend *too*. But Cat'r himself didn't know--work is intervening yet again. :-/

Today I want to knit and/or crochet. :-) And maybe read some more in The Friday Night Knitting Club.

If you look at my del.icio.us bookmarks, you'll see that yesterday I saved a lot of videos helping with learning the Continental (German) style of knitting.

I've tried. I've tried in the past. It just feels SO WRONG to my hands. I taught myself to knit decades ago; and I learned the "English" way. I just feel totally annoyed when I try it the Continental way. ::sigh::

When I crochet, the yarn comes from the left; when I knit, the yarn comes from the right. That's how it feels right to me.

I do not "throw" the yarn. Well, not in the manner of actually taking the yarn in my fingers and wrapping it around the needle. I move it over with my right forefinger. So I am not doing a whole-arm motion when I wrap the yarn. I do not feel I would be bumping into anyone on either side of me with my elbows.

Also, when I try Continental knitting, it feels like I am trying to crochet without a hook--yeck! And as for repetitive motion: if my hand or wrist gets tired doing crochet, I can move to knitting. The motions I use for the one are so different from the other, that either is a rest from the other.

So I guess I'll give up trying to learn the "better" (in some peoples' opinions) way of knitting. I knit to enjoy myself, not to be the fastest knitter on the block. If I want something FAST, I'll crochet. :-P

These are mostly from text messages I sent to Twitter + one I just did on the Web:

CountryMouse ctrymaus Stayed up too late, skipped a meal ystrday; really wiped out today. On + side: began pale green garter ridge scarf last nite.
about 3 hours ago from txt

ctrymaus Not sure if I'll turn on computer today. Need rest/napping.
about 3 hours ago from txt

ctrymaus Cat'r wasn't here this past weekend; he might not be able to get up here this coming weekend. Blech. :-(
about 3 hours ago from txt

CountryMouse ctrymaus So I'm at my computer. I couldn't resist. :-P I had a little nap and feel a bit better. :-)
less than 10 seconds ago from web

I sent the photo + small explanation to Utterz. See it there. :-)

depending on how you look at it. I slept from 11pm-3:30am. I do plan on getting back to bed for at least a couple more hours' sleep.

I need to go look at yarns and colours online. It's always tricky sending Bunnicula to get yarn. If I don't give hir specific brand names of yarn and colour names (and even dye lots, if applicable), then things get iffy. I'll see what I can do, looking at JoAnn's--and other places--online.

Also I'll have to guess/try-to-remember as to softness of some of the yarn. I know that Caron Simply Soft is the softest against the skin. It's more a DK weight than worsted weight (meaning using smaller needles and taking longer to knit), but it's probably a trade-off that's worth it. But Red Heart's Soft Yarn is almost as soft and a little bit heavier weight than S.S. I wouldn't mind trying Caron's Natura and/or One Pound, but I don't know how those feel and if they are too scratchy. I want this scarf to go against my neck, on the inside of a coat.

Hmm! Caron Simply Soft in Light Country Peach might be very nice! I'd have to get enough for a scarf, hat and wrist warmers. I always like to make matching sets. :-) Failing Michaels and JoAnn's having that colour, I guess I could settle for Caron S.S. Orchid. We'll see what they have. B. can phone me from there and we can decide.

(cross-posted and backdated from Mouse Droppings, my Blogspot blog. There are overlaps here and in my previous IJ post)

I haven't been able to post to my main blog, CountryMouse's Refuge, which is at InsaneJournal. This has to do with the move to new servers over the weekend, and some leftover stuff needing to be done.

Today: lazy day. Did a little knitting. I worked on my pink scarf that has a cable running down the middle. It's from a pattern in the book "Celebrity Scarves 2: Hollywood Knits for Breast Cancer Research".

Then my CFC counselor showed up, and we had a nice session. It's a comfort to have her to talk to.

After that Bunnicula and I watched last night's "Desperate Housewives". We have been watching "DHs" since the first season and don't intend to ever quit. Too much fun!

And then it was time for my little meal of soft foods. I went to my main AC:WW town of Candlefd (Candleford) whilst eating.

In a few minutes, B. and I will be watching Keith Olbermann's "Countdown".

Tomorrow Bunnicula will need to go get some bread and other things for me at the grocery; so while he's at the shopping center, he'll get me some yarn (heh--like I need more!). I want to start a rib-knit scarf. I don't know why--probably because my sister is making one. I always want to try to make what she's making. :-D In fact, I probably even want to be such a copy-cat errrr mouse as to use lavender yarn TOO!

I am going to TRY not to stress out about tomorrow's primaries. Que sera, sera. But Bunnicula and I will almost certainly watch MSNBC's coverage of the returns anyway.

Posted by CountryMouse at 7:32 PM

(tried to post this via my little LJ client, but it didn't show up. trying to post now from the web)

Bright sunny day today. Bunnicula is out running errands.

Sometime today we'll watch last night's "Desperate Housewives", which we have been watching from the beginning and don't intend to ever quit on. :-P

My counselor from CFC will be here this afternoon.

And other than that, my day is pretty much open. :-)

I still feel too lazy/tired/what-have-you to work on my amigurumi. If I do any needlework, it will be some simple knitting or work on the crocheted bathmat (yes, I still have not finished it!). :-)

I haven't looked at the headlines. I am trying not to stress about politics. Que sera, sera. We all voted. There is no way I am doing phone calling with my mouth the way it is. :-P So that's that.

Maybe a nap sometime later might be called for. Sounds like a good idea. :-D

It's not gross, I promise. It's just a photo of my impressive bruise. :-P Also I utter on a little bit about it.

Two stitches dropped out yesterday afternoon/evening. One fell out this morning.

Can stitches fall out too soon? I hope not!

Need to go get some ice cream, then I guess Bunnicula and I will watch this morning's "Meet The Press" with Barack Obama.

Oh, you gotta see "The Empire Strikes Barack"!!!

I'm posting from Bunnicula's computer. I don't know if I'll turn my computer on today or not.

I've had my breakfast and used the salt-water rinse. When B. gets back from errands, we'll probably watch an episode or two of "The Pallisers".

Cat'r and I text-messaged this morning while he was at breakfast at a restaurant. :-P

I don't know if I'll finish the little Baby Banana amigurumi in time to send Mama for Mother's Day; but B. is picking up a Mother's Day card today while he's out, so at least *that* will get to her on time. :-)

I can't think of much else to talk about. I hope to spend a lazy day doing not much of anything. ::grin:: Well, I am pretty productive in my Animal Crossing: Wild World towns. :-)  But that's at mealtime anyway.