Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! My friend and I had a meetup for lunch a few days before.  I have nothing planned for Christmas.  It’s okay. There’s been a bit of a cold snap and I’m happy to hang out at home.  I did follow through on something I’d planned when I retired.  I said I would never use Windows again.  I converted my Thinkpad to a Linux distro called Omarchy, that I just love.  And I fell into buying a 13″ 2011 Macbook Pro and installing the same, then a 15″ 2012 Macbook Pro that I am still working on. It’s cheap fun.  I use the Mac Mini to take online dulcimer lessons.  That has been a lot of fun too.  I am considering making changes to this site and Spindlitis.  I really think WordPress took a lot of the joy out of blogging for me.  I’d like to change it, but need to commit to working on it.  Maybe I’ll start that after the holidays.

Everything else still going on the same way.  I take Jake out to the lake almost every day.  He is getting older, so I have him use the step to get into the car.  Fanny sleeps a lot, but then she’s 14.  She still does’t like Mr Trouble.  He has been enjoying the nice weather outside, but remembered how nice it is to be inside when it gets cold.

I have the garden tucked away for the winter. I hope my plants make it through the winter okay.  I have plans for the next garden.  I was able to ripen all the Cherokee Purple tomatoes from my plant and it has been great to have fresh tomatoes all this time.  I have an Asian pear and Asian persimmon coming in the spring.  I’d like to transplant the rest of the stuff in the tubs, but decided it was best to do that in the spring.  And I bought more irises, which could use a real bed of their own.  I got help from the neighbor’s grandson and we put the trailer under the roof of the back porch.  It just fits and this should keep any heavy snow off of it.  I want to take it out this coming year.  I really miss using it.

I don’t know what to do about the Spindlitis site.  I am not knitting as much as I used to and have done very little spinning this year.  It would be nice to roll it all into one site and be done with it.  Another project I need to think about. It’s silly to pay as much as I do for webhosting, but I still like having my blog and my email addresses.  At some point though, I’ll have to give it up.  I’m not there yet. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! I will try and add some pictures before the new year.

It’s been a challenging summer. I had shingles, then have been dealing with poor O2 levels. They made me try a generic again and it’s not as effective. So no trips with the trailer. I managed to keep the garden alive but it’s not very productive. It should be better next year. I planted berry bushes and some fig trees. I need to weed it and transplant some of the things in pots to the beds.

Jake had a vestibular incident this summer. DMSO helped pull him put of it. I’m letting him use the step to get into the car. He’s 11 and slowing down. Fanny is 14. Troubles is 3 and learned about AC this year. We are all managing. I lost my vet here in town as she shut down her service.

Jake and I took a trip to Red Cloud yesterday. I wanted to see Willa Cather’s childhood home and see the prairie again. It’s the longest trip we’ve had in awhile

I have been playing my dulcimer again! Nice to make a little music. I bought myself a Ron Ewing dulcimette. Still learning it. I plan to start Stephen Siefert’s online class next week

I am enjoying retirement but unhappy at how little I’ve been able to do this year. It doesn’t look like I’llget any work done on the house. It’s okay. I do need to get a washer and dryer here as it’s harder to tote the laundry to the laundromat. Just need to move some things out of that space.

We are all so happy to have cooler weather!

I am having so much fun. It really rewires your brain to spend time typing. I have several new ones.

This is my first one. I love these. They come in a travel bag and are portable. I have this one under my desk for quick access.

This really is a great machine and I don’t usually like plastic machines. It’s solid and a joy to use.

Haven’t decided about this one. It has a stiff action and may not be a good fir for me.

This is the nice Underwood 18 that I bought for number two. I like this one a lot but it is a bit noisier than my first one. And I have a third one. I am not sure yet if I will keep all three. I could use one for partsor hand it off to someone that needs a lightweight machine. And I do have more typewriters incoming. I am about to start cleaning them all up and getting my collection settled in. I type a page a day on a different typewriter. I need to start doing drills again as I am getting rusty. I hate virtual keyboards like I have on the phone. The iPad is the worst.

The cold snap broke and it is so nice to have warmer weather. I am set to start putting in a garden. I may start some seeds this week. I need to do this just to get all this stuff out of the house. Time for spring cleaning!

I finally retired! I am so glad to be done with it. It’s been six weeks and I am starting to feel relaxed. I have plans to have some work done on the house. And I bought this:

I’ve wanted one of these for a long time. It’s a 2017 T@g XL. It even has air conditioning. I’ve take it out twice, once to Missouri and once to Nebraska. I am doing just overnight trips as I don’t want to leave my old cat alone for too long. I will be taking more trips when the weather cools. Meanwhile, I spend a little time in it every day. It reminds me of the Airstream a bit. I have added some artwork to it since I took this picture but here’s an idea of how it looks:

I have tatami mats on the floor. There are two of those folding beds. There’s enough space for me to have a cassette toilet inside at night. I usually have a sheepskin on the floor when I don’t use the bed. And yes, it’s a comfortable bed. I have a new bed that I got with the trailer but much too thick for me. They make my back hurt. I have several outside tarps and tents that I haven’t tried yet. With these trailers, you use them to expand your area outside. And there’s an outdoor galley:

I am still working on this. Already taken out that microwave. It’s a minimal space because you are supposed to camp with this, unlike how you use a bigger RV. There are lots of interesting places for me to visit in the area. That’s my plan for retirement fun.

I am finally starting to knit again. I need to start spinning again too. Still trying to get used to having all day to do what I want. Jake, Fanny and Mr Trouble are doing fine. Jake got to take the trip to Nebraska. Not sure that he likes it yet, but there were lots of interesting smells for him

Still working. It’s difficult. I just had another birthday and I am truly ready to retire. There are some things happening that could make this a very good year. So we shall see.

Found a You Tube channel called Just My Typewriter. It had me inspired to pull out the three Smith Coronas that made the move. I’ve ordered new ribbons. She has good imstructions on how to clean them so I will tackle that next. And I found something called Typepals, where you get a typewriting penpal! There are some activities that bring fun into your life and typewriters do that for me.

Mr. Trouble is back home after a three day stay at the vets. He had abscesses on his tail and seemed like he had an infection. I took him in and also had them neuter/chip/and rabies vaccination while out. Since he had to wear a cone for three days, I decided to board him. I expected grumpiness but he is so happy to see me and be home. He is not 100% yet but is healing up.

I have plans again to garden. I picked up a small Mantis tiller but have it about halfway put together. The weather has been crappy the last two weekends. I just seem exhausted on the weekend. I have to get areas cleared for berry bushes and fruit trees. I have things heeled into pots right now. I really don’t want to do a lot. I just want some berry bushes.

Jake and Fanny are doing fine. I am trying to get Troubles worked into the household but no joy yet. He did claw Jake in the eye last summer so I try to make sure he behaves around Jake.

I did a field trip to the Eisenhower museum in Abilene this year with my friends. Was interesting and I like Abilene. I’ve found a place near Russell with raw milk so I make the drive out every couple of weeks. I want to get back into short trips again. I’d planned to go to Red Cloud NE on my birthday but it was too windy for the trip. I have a new tent and can set the car up for camping. I will get a few more trips in before the hot weather sets in.

And that’s it for now!

In September, I was hired back on as tech support supervisor. This is the third time I’ve been hired there. Then they got rid of my team in favor of contracted people in othe countries. I am now co-supervisor of that group. Honestly, this is not a long term deal for me. I don’t have the energy for it. At my age, there’s not a lot of time ahead. I just go day by day.

Jake and Fanny are doing fine. Mr. Trouble, the stray, still comes by daily for food and pets. Will see how it goes this winter.

My retirement was short. I was contacted by a co-worker, asking if I would be willing to come back as a contractor. I said yes, and was back at work by May. Was offered a full time position. It would have meant flying in to train people. I just don’t think my lungs are up to flying. So that didn’t work out but I am on through September.

I am learning to sketch and do watercolors. I’ve played with it a little. I was subscribed to Liz Steel’s mailing list. Went into an email to unsubscribe and saw it was for a class on teacups. Could not resist that! Then I signed up for Foundations, which is her sketching class and Watercolors. Trying to keep up with Foundations which is being done with a group right now. There is lifetime access to the classes and you can join with the group led versions when they pop up. It has been a lot of fun.

Jake and Fanny have been fine. It’s been a nice summer, with triple digits just this last week. Lots of rain to keep things growing. I still don’t have a garden but I have a few things in giant pots out front. Am having the house painted soon, so it will finally be all one color. I need to prepare for fall.

And there is my outside cat, Mr Trouble. He is not feral but doesn’t seem to belong to anyone. I started feeding him, so he hangs out here a lot. Will try to make him an inside cat come fall. More to come.

I am still trying to settle in with recent changes. I was terminated at work, along with two coworkers, because they wanted people to come in to the office three days a week. No way that’s happening from here. I am looking for work but this may turn into retirement. I have so much I want to do here. I’ve been trying to catalog all the yarn I’ve bought over the last few years. That’s what I want to work on. And it’s difficult to settle in to a new community, when you are at home working until 7.

There are some other issues that may be resolved soon but don’t want to talk about those yet. I picked up a Canon DSLR and have been trying to learn how to use it. I have been taking short trips in the area and want to take better pictures. I went to The Garden of Eden in Lucas last week.

It was a fun trip! I don’t know if I’ll use it but I have a small tent for overnight stays. I can sleep in the back of the car too. But first, I have to get the mahogany kitchen table moved out of the car into the house. Am hoping for help with that soon. No progress on the garden. The weather has not been cooperating. I did get Jake to the groomers.

So far, it’s been nice to rest and to have time to relax. My birthday is tomorrow. I miss being able to go to Larson’s to get a cake. That was one of Lon’s favorite places. But I picked up a tiramisu cake at the store and that will do. Still waiting for warmer weather.

Cold one here today but we are warm inside. I have a very happy cat sleeping on a heating pad:

And Jake just came back in:

Outside it’s cold. I have been feeding the birds and was blessed with a cardinal today! Should be a bit warmer tomorrow. Stay warm and have a happy holiday!

It still needs work and I want to set up a garden for next year. It’s my little house in this quiet little town. I still don’t really know anyone, although I’ve met some neighbors. I don’t feel lonely or sad these days. I sit out in the back yard with Jake and just take it all in. It’s sunny almost every day and you can see for miles when you get out of town. At night, you see the stars. All the pictures I take show bright blue sky with interesting clouds. I am happy to be here.

It all arrived on Thursday. The crew was impressed by all my trunks. I have stuff piled everywhere now. But I will find places for it and put it in order. I do think the animals are happy to have familiar items here. I am especially grateful my cousin convinced me to move the fridge. There was one here, but it doesn’t work. The old one works fine and I’ll hook up the ice maker next week.

I have the gas turned up for the furnace and a company should be out next week to get that working. I still need to have two windows replaced, which may happen next week. I have learned to be patient with when someone will come out for these jobs. I did have to convince the window place that I don’t need an estimate. It has to be fixed. I can’t go through the winter with two busted windows. It’s a slower pace of life and that’s what I came for. So far, I’m happy with the neighborhood and happy with the house even though it needs a lot of work. I will get it done over time. I will have some order here and a comfortable place for us.

It was not a fun move. My plan was to move some of the stuff I needed right away in my utility trailer. Well, everything was overloaded and I blew out the transmission in the car. Found a rebuilt one and got that put in. Sold the trailer to my stepson and had the stuff in the car and trailer added to what U-Haul was moving. Took four days to get here and that part went fine. We are still pretty burned out. I am in northern Kansas, where I bought a small house that I could afford. I’m in a town of about 1200. So far, I’m pretty happy with it. There’s work to be done on the house and a couple of things I need to do right away. But it’s mine. And I think it will suit me.

My stuff is also in Kansas and will be delivered and unloaded on Wednesday. I haven’t had much time to check things out. There is a small city about 22 miles away, where I can get items that aren’t available locally. The best thing is that I don’t have any memories associated with anything here. Everything is new.

Will try and do another update, once I find out how much was broken.

The good news is that I will be moving in the near future. I am currently looking for a house to buy in the Midwest. And then comes the fun of finally moving. It will be good to be in a new area. There are just too many memories out here and I spend a lot of time being sad.

And in a happier change, Jake got a very short haircut. I thought the weather would turn warm, but we had several weeks of cool weather. But it’s still short and will be more comfortable than all that hair. I do miss the curls on the ears.

Lots of things happening all at once. I am finally wrapping things up here. Will be looking for a  new place and planning a move. I’ve waited a long time for it and it will be nice to see something new. I have to finish the last of the packing and make sure that I’ve gotten rid of as much extra stuff as I can.

And…I had to put Loretta down last night. She was getting to the point where she had trouble walking. Just going out to the yard was hard. She did manage to go to the woods on Sunday. I wasn’t sure if she could do it, as she had a seizure on Friday. She had to stop mid way and rest but did make it back to the car. She was a sweet dog and I will miss her. She is likely the last puppy I’ll ever have.

I am still working on some projects. I am making another IPA from Chic Knits, to replace the one that someone decided to wash in the washer. Pictures when I’ve made a bit more progress. And I’ve been doing a small amount of spindle spinning. Mostly I have been trying to recover from three weeks of laryngitis. It’s really tough to deal with life when you can’t talk. It’s slow, but I am starting to talk well enough to be understood.

I haven’t been doing a lot beyond work. I did not finish the second Icelandic sweater. I need to combine the pieces and do the yoke but wasn’t motivated. I love the one I did finish and have worn it a lot this winter. I have a pair of socks going but that’s about it.

My cat had to have three teeth pulled. She’s recovered okay. Loretta is really starting to fail. I am trying to give her as many good days as I can. She still has a good appetite and manages to save her strength for our trips to the woods. Jake has slowed down this year a bit. He is the same silly dog. They really keep me busy and give me something to take care of.

I’ve had to update my electronics due to some changes at work. I bought a Lenovo Idea Pad which I think is the second computer I’ve bought new. I like it. It’s small and I will need a second monitor for work. It should last me for awhile Also have discovered TWSBI fountain pens. I hadn’t bought any pen and ink in a long time, so it’s just a fun thing for me. The TWSBI 700 vac in Iris, extra fine nib, is my favorite. I bought Noodler’s ink in Black and Anti-feathering Blue. I have some samples to play around with too. The black ink even works on Moleskine paper.

Then I upgraded my pressure canner to a small All American. Bought a Vita-mix. I’ve wanted one for decades. Still trying to figure out the best way to use it. I have a dehydrator and plan to start putting up some food this year. I have a few Grow Bags in the back yard, for the fingerling potatoes left from last year. It’s not much but it’s fun to play around with. I am still trying to settle up here and move to a new place. It has been a long, frustrating time. I just have to be patient. For now, I just keep working and wait to see what happens.

When you finish both sleeves, you start work on the body

You work till time to join the sleeves. I didn’t take a picture of this part. I started the yoke, using a design from Priscilla’s book and putting the decreases in the pattern. Here’s what it looked like:

There were problems. I didn’t like the way the decreases affected the design. And the white yarn was consistently thicker. Also, I was trying to avoid long floats by weaving in. I finished the sweater, wove in the ends and tried it on. It did not meet my vision of a faded pattern. So I did this:

This is me cutting off the yoke! Since I would just be knitting a new yoke, I knew that it wouldn’t take long to fix. I left the longer floats, changed the decreases and came up with this:

I finished it and blocked it. This is the final result:

I’ve worn it in the woods and it is a cozy and warm sweater. I’m really happy I redid the yoke. And I’m trying to sort out my notes as I work on the next one.

I used the ribbing suggested in the video I linked. It’s very easy to do. You work the two sleeves first, since this is a bottom to top sweater. They act as you gauge swatch. Nothing fancy here. I wanted a fairly plain design. You can try as you go and adjust the speed of the increase.

I’m working on a second Icelandic sweater so I will try to post the rest of my tutorial next weekend, when I’m off.