Smoke Alarm Works (apparently)

Thursday was fun this week. I made toast. It was 6am, and I saw a tiny tendril of smoke ascending from the toaster, which was (apparently) set too high. So, I did the normal things...cancel toast, open window, turn on fan...and then it happened. 

Cue the alarm sounds, flashing lights, and gentle voice stating, "Fire. Fire. Evacuate the building. Fire. Fire. Evacuate the building." It was a woman's voice, and I am sure she did not see the flashing lights or hear the horns while she was recording. Think Alexa with even less personality. Aside from the actual words, there was no urgency in her voice, just calmly letting me know that my house is burning down around me. 

Add to this that I could not find the ladder to silence the system, which is hard-wired to both power and the other two smoke alarms in the house, on the 9-foot ceilings (10-foot was a mistake in my last post, but they are very high!), and my nerves were fried for most of the day. My heart is strong, but my nerves (apparently) are not! 

I really needed my Thursday Knit Night this week. As a bonus, this is the first time we have met in person since last summer! I was able to get photos of my recently finished cotton cardigan (Dewdrops Cardigan, by Drops, in I Love This Cotton). 

It was so good to sit and laugh and play with yarn, outdoors with my friends until just after dark!

On Friday morning, after a good night's sleep, I did not make toast. "Wasn't that something yesterday?," I said to the cat. But, judging by this look, she (apparently) did not agree.

Oh, well, What does she know anyway...wait. Is that yarn coming directly out of her butt??? Lol! She's not impressed by that observation either. Then stop sitting on my yarn, Cat. Stop sitting on my yarn.

How are your nerves, friends? Still holding up as the masks start to come down? I hope so, and I am looking forward to seeing people's whole faces at Woolapalooza next Saturday! If you'll be there, look for me and my yarn posse! Until then, keep calm and carry yarn!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Transitions Are Hard!

Look at me, living in a new and beautiful home...everything is falling together, but I still feel so unsettled. I mean, we all know that Pretty is a creature of habit, and I've talked here before about how it takes me a minute to make changes. The older I get, the longer it seems to take. So, while this is a good move for Pretty and Sweetie, it has been a hard transition. 

Where are the spoons?

With all the silverware...which drawer did I put that in?

 

Where did you put the (name any item in my house that is not in plain view...and some that ARE in plain view)?

I have no idea...I think I've put it away, but I'm not sure where...?

Where does this go?

Your guess is as good as mine...

This last question has perplexed me most, because I have reached the point of NEEDING to hang my pictures on the walls. I need to do that so it feels like home to me...I know it's an OCD thing, and it doesn't really need to be done, but I need to do it. I spend countless moments staring at photos, stacked against the wall, trying to decide...

That's my bridal bouquet in front of my grandmother's picture, but I still haven't hung our wedding photo, and that's held a prominent place in all of our homes so far. I need to put it up...but where?

As I contemplate how to keep my past in front of me, I am reminded that sometimes I need to put it behind me...so I can live in this moment. Thank you to my daughter and her boys for bringing me back into the present with a visit yesterday.

They are watching Cocomelon as the big guy "tickle tickles" his little brother...so cute!

And Pop Pop decides that our new stairs are a great place to drop paper "whirley-bird" airplanes for catching or aiming into a basket at the bottom. He's not wrong, but they needed to look up a video to refresh Pop Pop's memory on the making...

Looks like they've found a good one...

...aaand, yes! They are having snacks and fun while they figure it out! 

We did have a great visit yesterday, and I am pretty sure the boys slept well last night...we did our best to wear them out anyway (and we wore ourselves out in the process...lol)!

So, despite my stress-face and tough-with-transition disposition, I am blessed beyond what I deserve, for sure! Don't let me tell you otherwise.

I am thankful for my new, beautiful home. I am thankful for a big, open space to enjoy my family when they visit (for the first time in 26 years). I am thankful the cats and I seem to be adjusting, and I am thankful for a Sweetie to share it with...so I will do my best to process and mitigate the silly stress of transitions that are a part of who I am. 

How do you handle change and stress? A bit of exercise? A tall glass of (insert adult beverage of choice here)? Perhaps a cookie? Prayer? Please send suggestions...

All that to say that I am doing well, and I am so glad that you have popped into the blog today. As things open up, if you are local, I hope you will stop by our new place for a visit, too! Now, it's time for me to hang some more pictures and do a little Saturday knitting. 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

All the Unpacking...

Still living out of boxes, so not much time to write. But the cats seem content, and I'm calling it all good! 

More details, and (hopefully) moved-in-and-out-of-boxes next week, friends!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

We Are There...YAY!

Guess what? (Hint: The answer is not "Chicken butt!," FYI!)

Last week I told you we had keys, right? Well...today WE  MOVE IN!!! 

*And the crowd goes wild!!!*

So I don't have time to give you lots of words...but, just for fun, here are some progress photos:

On our first visit, it didn't seem real.

As time passed, and we shared our excitement with family, we could see our dream becoming reality...

We watched drywall and cabinets go in...

Flooring, siding and the back deck were completed...

...and finally, COUNTERTOPS to decorate!

I've already started...it's a work in progress. :)

The welcome mat is out...

Gifts have been received...

Curtains and artwork have been hung...

Yesterday, furniture even arrived!

We are just about ready to spend our first night in our new home, and we will be ready for a good night's sleep after the final push in our move today! Thank you to our kids and friends who have helped us lug things around, and to those who have been so graceful and patient while we have been losing our minds in anticipation! So much happy this evening!

Thanks for stopping in online to share the joy with us. If you know me IRL, and you live in my neck of the woods, I hope you'll be able to stop by in person soon. I can't wait until I can sit at my table with friends and enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee, or...something else)!

After a good night's rest, I hope to start back into knitting like a fiend! I hope to see you again next Saturday!

Until then, Knit in Good Health!

Keys

Keys. We have keys. Not car keys, or train keys...

Not the keys to this little guys heart (though we have those, too...)

But the keys to our new place! We have the keys!

So the next couple weeks are going to be full of moving all the things! We have a good start, with some very nice gifts from our Realtor (thank you, Chad!)...

...and as you read this, I am either hanging curtains or putting things away in one of my many new cupboards or bathrooms, so I'm not going to write too long today. More pictures will be coming soon! 

Even though my time is limited this weekend, I did want to stop in to say hello and Happy Saturday to all of you! I hope that you have something to celebrate. Springtime. Sunshine. Kittens and puppies, or new yarn, perhaps!  

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Twenty-Six

I've just celebrated another birthday. I am not 26. However, Sweetie and Pretty have lived in this house for 26 years this month! 

Here we are, in our starter home, getting ready to celebrate one last holiday before we move. The last thing I will bake in this house will be holiday rolls this afternoon. They will be knots, rather than crescents, mostly because I have already packed the rolling pin. When they come out of the oven, all the baking supplies will be packed up snug, because (drumroll please)...  

We close on Thursday for the new place! 

If you're counting (and I most certainly am) we've spent...

26 Halloweens...

26 Thanksgivings...

26 Christmases...

26 New Years...

26 Wedding Anniversaries...

26 Birthdays for each of us, and after tomorrow...

26 Easters in this house!

Nostalgic much, Pretty? I know. I know. But that's what happens. We took down the photos and the growth charts, and we are packing things up every day. I'd like to think that the trash collectors are impressed with the amount of refuse and recycling we have hauled to the curb so far. Jess is right. I am a hoarder. But I am less of of a hoarder now. Progress...and Swedish Death Cleaning...lol!

Just one more holiday in this house. 

Two more weeks. 

Three more blog posts (including this one) in this house. 

That's a pretty good run, so thanks for the memories, Little House!

I know it's still a pandemic out there, but I can not help but hope that you have some plans to gather with loved ones, either online or in person, to celebrate the hope that Easter and Springtime bring. New beginnings, including rounds of vaccines for everyone, and fresh starts are everywhere. What is one way you can start fresh today?

Whatever it is, I'm glad you took a moment to stop in and say hello! 

Happy Easter, peeps!, and Knit in Good Health!

Moves Like Jagger?

That post title is misleading. 

Neither Pop Pop nor Pretty "got the moves like Jagger," but we are moving.

Yes, in a little over a month, Pop Pop and I are planning a move. It will be a local move, with little to no dancing (maybe singing though...), to a condo in a neighboring town. I am overwhelmed by the process, and I honestly wish it were over already, but I suppose that is pretty normal. The outside will look something like this rendering:

It will be shiny and new, and we will no longer be responsible for snow removal or lawn care, which is good. Our little starter home of 26 years is paid off, so we won't list it until we have moved out, which will make it easier on the real estate agent and the cats. Cats hate moving and people parading through their place!

To be perfectly honest. Pretties hate having people parading through their place, too! I mean, you never know what someone will touch or see, and keeping a place clean enough to "show" while you are still living there is difficult at best! So, we know we are blessed to be doing it this way...but the waiting is tough! I mean, everything is not yet shiny and new at the condo...

But it is getting there! I hear that counters and cabinets will be installed soon, and this will start to look more like our new living space, so that is pretty exciting! This is what the model looks like, from an angle similar to mine above (fun to imagine with furniture!):

While we wait for buildings to be finished and loans to be closed, we will continue the great cleanout and start our packing...which explains all the boxes in my living room, lol! And we will spend time loving some of our favorite people, who will live just a little bit closer after the move. 

Happy Baby! I love a happy baby!

"Build house, Gee!" This kid loves to build and climb!

Yes, that will be good indeed! I will also be a little closer to work, and less commute time means more knitting time! Speaking of knitting, I finally put a lid on my 7-year Beekeepers Quilt, that I've been working on since 2013! 

That means that I can finally take down that counter on the side bar of the blog...I got up to 243 hexipuffs (though I only put together 233). I may use the other 10 for something else, but I may not. Either way, I am so excited to put this piece in my craft room as a pop of colors!

Prayers and moving mojo are greatly appreciated as Pop Pop and I navigate the next few weeks! If you have moving tips and tricks, please share. It's a little surreal, and 26 years is a lot of history here, but we are ready. New beginnings are good things, and every knitter could use a good excuse to knit some new dishcloths...so that's where you'll find me while we wait!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

A Curly Outlook

Last Saturday, while you were reading my blog, I had nearly arrived at my darling granddaughters' house! Sweetie and I were beyond excited to see them again, especially since they will soon move to a state far, far away. The drive time for our Saturday trip was approximately 8.5 hours, and when we got there, we were greeted by only the dogs...the house was empty, in preparation for their upcoming move, and the poor dogs had only the floor (and their bed) to sleep on!

All the furniture and household goods had been packed and shipped, and our future visits will likely be by plane. But I was not going to worry about that just yet, because they all came home before long, and we ran and played and had Wendy's for dinner before everyone went to their sleeping bag for the night.

On Sunday, they loaded up the van with most of the remaining "stuff," as well as two girls (with all of their paraphernalia) and two grandparents for the drive back to Ohio.

The drive went well, and the parents (and dogs) followed on Monday evening. Since then, we have been climbing

running

playing and laughing

playing with yarn

building

swimming

and having a great time!

Knitting time has been limited, so there is not much to show you this week, besides  these socks I started on the drive to and from Virginia...

The socks are still coming right along, and I plan to start a couple hats for the girls soon, because their new home will be in a place that can get pretty cold. The new place will also be a 20-hour drive, which means that our visits will be fewer and far-betweener...(sad face here) But I am thankful that we live in such a time as this, with video chats and airplanes, and we will see them much more than past military families would have been able to. On top of that, cold climates mean I will knit new hats, sweaters, mittens and socks for them, and they will be wrapped in my love from head to toe on those very cold days!

For the rest of today, I am going to run and play and laugh with two amazing girls (and their amazing parents), and I will forget about that move. I will carpe diem, and relish the sound of their giggles as their curls bounce along and my heart swells with the love I have for them.

I hope that you have some sunshine in your life, and in your day today! I should be back again next week, with more photos and funtimes. Maybe there will even be some more knitting? Until then, thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!