I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted here. I guess I've been busy with knitting and reading. I've also spent several hours on a few days playing with Brady so Alyssa can get more of her work done.

Last Saturday, Alyssa invited me to have supper with her and Lexi at Olive Garden in Paducah. Then Lexi spent the night with me. On Sunday, we did not go to church in the morning, but went there at 4 pm for a grandparents and grandchildren thing - decorating cookies, then eating them with punch or coffee, playing a couple of 'getting to know you' games,and then a Eucharist service around the labyrinth that has been created with masking tape on the floor of the parish hall.

Tuesday this week, I went there in the afternoon and then accompanied Alyssa to  Shawnee Community College for the Ninth Annual Shawnee Pride Jr. High Honor Band concert. Band directors from thirteen elementary and junior high schools in southern IL had selected students to participate. Lexi was one of the kids selected from Metropolis Elementary. The kids spent the entire afternoon there, working on the music, and then played four pieces for us. The concert started at 7 pm, so I didn't get home until 9:15.

I did my normal Wednesday knitting group thing yesterday. When I got home, there was a voicemail from the Mayfield library saying that one of the books they had requested for me last week from another library had come in. So today I went there to return two of the books I had checked out last week and to pick up that one. I then went to the senior center for lunch.

Tuesday I noticed that they had started pretreating the roads. I hadn't heard the weather forecasts, but that told me a 'winter storm' was expected. This morning, when I left home it was raining - slightly more than a drizzle - but I ran out of it before I got to Fancy Farm. When I left Mayfield a couple of hours later, it had started sprinkling there, and continued all the way home. When I got here, I sat down and read for three hours. When I got up to make a cup of tea, I saw that the trees are coated with ice. The precipitation is coming down as rain, but is freezing on the trees, etc. Now there is also lightning and thunder. I think I'll shut down the computer and go back to reading.

Another 130-mile Day

That was yesterday. Alyssa called and asked if I could come over and play with Brady in the afternoon (Stephen worked 12:30 to close.) I told her I need to go to Mayfield, but would be over after that. She suggested that since I was going to Mayfield, I could pick up Bob (her dad) and give him an outing with his grandson.

So I left the house about 9:30, went around the corner to pay my water bill, and then headed to Mayfield. First stop was the Senior Center, where I donated this scarf

to be a door prize at the fund-raising supper that night. I told them I didn't know if I'd make it back for the supper or not (I didn't). Then I filled the gas tank, exchanged the toilet tank flap at the hardware store (I'd selected the wrong one last week, Fortunately I discovered my error before opening the package.), bought aluminum foil at Big Lots,  and went to Goodwill and Kevil Korner (local thrift shop that supports a sheltered workshop) - not in that order. Then I picked up Bob about noon and headed for Metropolis.

We spent a few hours there, during which I picked Lexi and Devin up from school, and Brady shit on my sweatshirt. Alyssa had just changed his diaper and handed him to me. I heard and felt a small explosion and told Alyssa I was sure that was a wet fart. She picked him up and changed his diaper again. I looked down and saw a line of mustard-colored poop on my sweatshirt and couldn't help laughing. I went to the bathroom and cleaned it off as well as I could, then took off the shirt. There were only slight spots on my turtleneck shirt underneath. Both shirts are now soaking in a Biz solution.

From Alyssa's house, we went to Sara's, taking Alyssa's Christmas presents for them and picking up Bob's laundry (Sara's a sweetheart to do it for him.) It was the first I had seen Lily since just before Christmas and Rose since Thanksgiving. After I dropped Bob off, I got a sandwich at Burger King and came home. It was 8:30 already, so I got in bed and read.

Today I'm staying home, but tomorrow I'll be back out again, to church (haven't been there for at least three weeks) and knitting.  

What a day! - yesterday

On Tuesday Alyssa called and asked if I'd be willing to help her out a couple of days a week, by coming over and caring for Brady so she could get more work done. (She works from home on her computer.) She'll pay for my gas - about 2.5 gallons for the round trip. She wanted me to try it yesterday to see if it will work. Brady seems to like me, unlike his mother and sister at that age. I told her I had an oncology appointment a 11:15, but I could give her an hour or two.

So that night I set the alarm and got up at 6 am, like I did for 40 years or so. Took a shower, got dressed, had breakfast, and went out to the car about 7 am. The car wouldn't start! After several tries, I came back inside, called Alyssa to tell her the problem, and called AAA. It took about 45 minutes for them to get here, and, of course, the car started right up!  So I went to Alyssa's after all and played with Brady for a little under two hours. Then I went to the Cancer Group, had blood drawn, saw the nurse-practitioner and had my port flushed. Everything seems to be OK - no sign of myeloma cells in my labwork.

By then it was a bit late to go to the noon service at church, so I stopped at Kroger - no frozen stuff, of course, but as cold as it was, I didn't think the butter would melt while I was at knitting group. We were a small group yesterday - only five, but some of us stayed for a long time. By the time I got home, put away the groceries and made a cup of tea, it was 5:30. I was still reading emails when the phone rang at 6 pm.

Hello.

Is this Adele?

Yes.

This is Dr Bobo's office in Murray. We have Robert Rickards here. We've pulled a few of his teeth and are ready to send him home, but he really needs someone with him for three or four hours. He asked us to call you.

Um, OK. He has a ride back to Mayfield, hasn't he?

Yes, but he shouldn't be alone until the anesthetic wears off.

So I shut down the computer, picked up a knitting project and  book, and drove to Mayfield. As I was approaching his apartment, I saw the 'bus' letting him off. As the anesthetic wore off, he was in quite a bit of pain, but was much better this morning. I wound up sleeping in my clothes on his sofa. This morning, I took him to Walgreens to get two prescriptions filled - one is the anti-microbial mouth rinse I was using for so long, and hated the taste of.

At knitting group, I finished the scarf that has been my 'keep in the car' project for two months, and started a dishcloth since that was the other yarn I had in that bag. At Bob's, I did an inch or so on one of the shawls I'm working on, and also read a few pages of my current book - In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming.

Week end

Yesterday, Alyssa and her two children came over in the late afternoon, bringing some things to store here. I guess it was the first time Brady had been here - not that he knows that. Lexi helped me fix supper, and then she spent the night. This morning she brought me breakfast in bed. She scrambled some eggs and seasoned them with tarragon and rosemary; they were very good. She also peeled a mandarin, arranged the segments like a flower and drizzled them with honey. I would never have thought of that, but it was good as well.

About mid-afternoon, she went to visit her friend here in Milburn. Just before 5 pm, which is when I told her to be back, and just as I was starting to fix supper, she called and asked if she could spend the night at Michele's. They came a few minutes later to get her things, and I told her to be back by noon tomorrow. I'll take her home then, stopping at the Lowes store in Paducah to get the part I need to stop the leak in one of the toilets.

Another one completed

I finally got the border knitted on a short cape I started on October 1st.

 Front

 Back

Detail of lace border.

I think my step ladder wears it very well.

This lace border is one that I have in my head, because I've use it so many times.

The tag in the first picture has my favorite blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), with care instructions on the back. I put this on most of the things I give.

Special Request Knitting

There were the Christmas stockings, of course, which I've already blogged about. Then there were two things requested a couple of months ago, which had to wait until the stockings were done.

Son Dominic asked for a Cthulhu mask to wear with the Dr Who scarf I made for him many years ago. He emailed pictures of two that other people had done and I did a bit of Internet research on the character. Here is what Dom will be getting as soon as I get it mailed.

My typical poor photography, even worse trying to photograph myself in a mirror. The top one is of the basic ski mask, and she second after I crocheted tentacles under the eyes and mouth.

The other request was from my son-in-law Bob. Several years ago he had a stroke that left him with no use of his left arm and hand. The hand curls into a loose fist, so he can't wear a glove, or even a regular mitten. He said it gets cold, and asked if I could make something to cover it. Here is the mitt I made.

The top picture is on my hand. The ribbing pulls in enough to keep it from falling off (I think), but stretches enough for him to get it on one-handed. In the second picture, I folded up the ribbing and it looks like a hat for a baby.

I took the Cthulhu mask with me to the knitting group at Panera yesterday, and had to model it for each knitter who arrived. I wonder what other Panera customers thought. My friends all thought it was great.

Monday night, the scarf I donated as a door prize was snapped up by the first person who's name was drawn. I'm not sure what the other prizes she could have selected were. I need to look in my stash and plan a scarf for next month's supper.

First 2013 Project

Front and back (I don't know which is which) of a knit scarf. I think I'll donate it as a door prize at the Graves County Senior Center's fund raiser supper tomorrow evening.