MAINELY WOOLYNS

Wool Sock Project

2012-02-11T16:40:00.004-05:00

Last night I decided to try and save a pair of wool socks that I had knit for my husband about 7 years ago. He had worn the heels out and was still wearing them and driving me nuts every time I saw his heels sticking out from them! lol So I cut the foot off and then worked it back to the ribbed cuff. I decided to add some rows to the cuff to make them longer, as over the years he has decided he likes them high! I kept thinking I should have just thrown them in the trash and started a brand new pair, but I really hate knitting the cuffs. (They seem to take the longest when knitting a pair of socks to me anyway!) As I worked to get the cuff to a place where the yarn was still thick I kept thinking, "Throw this away! Its going to take more time to do this then to knit them from scratch!" So after an hour or so I finally got all the needles on and the stitches counted and I found that it wasn't as bad as I thought! I am using Bartlettyarns wool that is leftover from a pair I just finished yesterday. These were knit from all leftover yarns when I was knitting the felted hats that were the rage years back. Well, I was knitting the heel and put them up for the night. This morning I noticed that my wooly nylon strand was not there...Dang cat chewed it off again..but she left the wool alone. What am I going to do with this cat? She has eaten all the strings off my blinds, so now we have cheap pull down shades. She gets into my sewing threads and eats those too! I have them in a case and she works at the cover till she gets it off and then eats the thread! lol

Hope you enjoy the photo of the socks. One is still "hole" lol

Hoping to finish up the first one tonight and starting the second one tomorrow. Weather is supposed to be very, very cold here in Maine for a few days so I am staying in and enjoying the heat in my home!

Camp For Sale At Cedar Lake, Maine

2012-02-11T15:31:00.010-05:00

We have our camp for sale at Cedar Lake, which is located outside of the town of Millinocket in Maine. We are near Baxter State Park and Mount Katahdin.

In the past year we have added a lot of things, including a drilled well, a filtration system for it, a new metal roof, a new bedroom, a new state of the art computerized furnace (baseboard heat!)( and a new addition for the furnace), a new hot water system, new gas stove, hard wood floor, more insulation and other things. If you are interested in buying our home, you can contact me at 207.447.7800 or mainelywoolyns_414@myfairpoint.net.

Asking price is $299,000.00. The camp sits on 1.75 acre of own land, 275 feet of shoreline with a beautiful sand beach. We have made this into a year round home. With the other landowners here, we plow the 7 miles of road to our camps. We have two bedrooms, a loft, a full bath, kitchen and living room, septic system, and our lake does not have the water level dropped as the others in the area do. The lake has white perch, salmon, trout, splake and other types of fish. We also have a backup generator installed for those days when the power is out so there is no lose of power here at all. It is a Generact system. We also have internet and phone service here now. It is a little piece of heaven. If you are looking for a beautiful place to rest and relax, this is the home for you! There is a huge deck on three sides of the camp too. We enjoy many afternoons on the deck watching the birds and animals or eating our BBQed lunches.

The master bedroom is 16' X 18', the second one is 16' X 10'. The building is 40' X 28', built in 1997. As I get the chance I will add more pictures for your viewing enjoyment! Oh, the lake is one mile by two miles...spring fed and very clear!

2012-02-11T15:22:00.003-05:00

This is knit from acrylic worsted weight yarn, Encore by Plymouth yarn. I bought the yarn from Rosemary's Gift & Yarn Shop
39 Roosevelt Trail, Windham, Maine 04062

Time!

2012-02-11T15:16:00.003-05:00

I think it is time that I start to use this blog again. Living at the lake this winter and I have not done a lot of knitting, but I have made a dozen pair of worsted weight wool socks for hubby and friends...and I did knit one sweater for my Grandson Ben!
Winter has been very mild this year...no long term below zero weather at all, not much snow, but a lot of rain/ice. Very hard to plow when its icy underneath the snow that has fallen. Mud season will be here soon, so we will be moving back to town for a couple of months...will be nice to see people and go to the grocery store when something is needed instead of making a list to pick up when you go to town once a week. lol
Christmas was wonderful!!!! Sarah is 5 1/2 now and Ben is 3. Sarah was so excited this year...made Ben get into the experience too.
I will try to post some pictures of my socks and things...

KNIT ON!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

2010-02-14T22:50:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day and hope that you had a great day and plenty of knitting too!

KNIT ON!!!!

Olympic knit hat pattern

2010-02-14T22:45:00.001-05:00

http://cleverknits.com/2009/12/plural-of-moose-is-moose.html

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympic-reindeer-hat

This was posted in the Knitlist today. I have downloaded the pattern and printed it out! Now to find some yarn and make me one of these!

Tried to download it to this post but it won't do it for me. Please check this out!!! Easy pattern to follow.

KNIT ON~~~

Knitivity Yarns

2010-02-08T16:57:00.005-05:00

I placed an order with Ray Whiting a couple of weeks ago and today I received my yarns. I am so anxious to start on them. Planning on a couple of sweaters for the grand kids with a couple of the colors. Love the bright ones the most so I will be using them for the sweaters. Now to decide what to make for a pattern. No cables as they will not show up too much and I really want the different colors to show and not a design. I have a couple of SS roll neck patterns in sport weight that I am thinking I will use.

I did order wool again and now my DIL said she would prefer something she can wash and dry in the machine! Nice to time to let me know after I had already placed the order. Oh well, next time it will be a merino wool for them.

I really love the yarns Ray gets for his hand painted yarns..I have not had one skein yet with a knot in it so I have not had to hide any ends except from starting and stopping.

Been a while since Ive posted, just been so caught up with Facebook that I finally decided to take a break from that and the games on it.

I do have a nice purple WW sweater started for Sarah. Have the back done and the front to the sleeve bind off. I am using some of the Brunswick yarn I have left from my old yarn shop. They stopped making the yarn 15 years ago so does that tell you how old the yarn is. It was still in the plastic packaging and it is in mint condition. I have a couple of bags of their blueberry heather left too. Will make something with that soon.

Well, I am going to go start supper for hubby..he still has his job and we just keep our fingers crossed that the mill will continue to run for another couple of years and then he can retire.

KNIT ON!!!!

American Logger Bar & Grille

2009-11-12T17:02:00.006-05:00

If You're a fan of American Logger then you will enjoy these pictures of the Pelletier's new venture in the business world. Our little town is so very proud of this family. Thank you Pelletier Family, you ROCK!!

They lifted this logging truck onto the roof of their new business which is scheduled to open in January 2010.

Ben's new sweater.

2009-08-24T16:12:00.000-04:00

I bought this yarn last summer in Freeport, Maine at a yarn store there and had intended to knit Sarah another side to side sweater. Not being able to find a pattern that I liked I just never used the yarn. So I had a free pattern that came with the yarn I decided it was time for Ben to have something hand knit from Grammy!!

At camp and enjoying this summer. No surgeries this year so I have been out fishing a lot. I do not keep the fish as I hate to clean them...lol. So I go out in my little row boat and have a quiet evening fishing and enjoying nature. Had a couple of loons come up on side of the boat the first night out and scared me half to death!! I was hoping they wouldn't try to grab my lines and get the hooks caught in their mouth. I use a bobber and row around the lake fishing. I hate to sit in one place and have to pull up the ancher so I fish this way.

Well back to the woods...going to try to finish a pair of socks to send to my son today...their friends lost their house and everything in it Friday night due to a lighening strike! They just finished rebuilding the older home and were planning their wedding. Life always throws something at ya when you least expect it.

KNIT ON!!

Deathbysocks

2009-06-06T11:11:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the socks I knit for my victim Melody! I hope she enjoys them. I used Knitivity yarn for this.

Giant mosquito~~~

Anna's new socks

2009-06-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

Camp and knitting

2009-04-27T18:54:00.002-04:00

the road is open to camp. BUT!!!!! The culvert they replaced last fall has washed out. It is down on our end so no one is in a hurry to fix it. DH hauled two loads of gravel yesterday and at least now we can drive over it without killing the truck and ourselves. LOL We are getting old. We are putting in a new hot water heater...we are going tankless this time. It will be so much easier to close up the camp without the big 40 gallon tank of water to drain. Mike is going to put it in and put easy disconnects for us so that we can blow it out and replace with anti-freeze and not worry about that for the winter months.

I have received my hand-painted wool that I ordered from Knitivity. One group is of the colors of Samantha and the other is from our grand puppy Ollie. Going to knit myself a cardigan with hood out of the Samantha color and some socks. Possible a hat and some mittens if I have enough. The Ollie colors are in worsted weight and sport. Knitting some hats and socks for DS for Christmas gifts. I will work on them at camp this summer.

We have someone coming to look at the camp as soon as the road is graded. It is a mess this year. No one took the road rake this spring so it has hardened up quickly and with the ruts from the logging trucks still there. And the sides of the roads are very soft. Someone was stuck today...lol They must have walked to the main road and got a ride home. When we came out this afternoon the truck was gone but you could see the area he was stuck in. Get too close to the edges and they mud just sucks the vehicle in and there is no stopping it. Ha Ha. Better them than me! Mud is worse then snow any day!! lol

I have another pair of socks finished and one and a half of another pair too! Hope to post pictures tomorrow if it is raining out. We will not be heading to camp too early tomorrow..need to run to Medway to the vets to pick up Penny's medications for her thyroid problem. lol Hard to believe that a cat has the same problems humans have.....oh well. She is worth it...she is needed at camp to catch mice for us again. This has caused her heart muscle to thicken so now she has heart problems too. She has had a good life with us and we will keep her going as long as she isn't in any pain. But for now she is taking her meds, eating and has put on a pound in the last 6 weeks. I will start looking for a kitten soon to replace Samantha. I know that Tonto will not be here much longer as he is over 17 years old now...almost 18!!! We don't want Feather to be alone, she hates it when we go out and leave her alone now, can't imagine what she will do if she is the only cat in this house. She has never been alone.

Time to go watch the Young and Restless, or as DH calls it...the old and useless! lol Want to finish my sock tonight. God Bless!!

Take care all and KNIT ON!

Sox from Knitivity sport yarn

2009-04-16T17:10:00.000-04:00

I finished up this pair of socks from Knitivity yarn I ordered from Ray. This is from sport weight yarn and the color is Art School sr. This is 100% wool. Down Home art yarn is the brand. There were no knots or tied together strands in any of the skeins I have used so far. I had more then enough to make this pair of socks and enough left over to make me a single sock with a short cuff. But I am going to make a little sweater for my DGS with the other skein and will keep this leftover for just in case....lol. Winding a different color to start tonight with. Will post when finished.

The pattern I used is from my head. I cast on 52 stitches on size 3 dP needles. The cuff is knit and purl and the heel is half of the cast on. Nothing to knitting up a pair like this for anyone. If anyone wants the directions that I have in my head (lol) just ask. Will gladly try to write them down. Oh, I do use wooly nylon for the heel and toe reinforcment on all my socks.

KNIT ON!

Two pairs of socks done!

2009-04-15T18:54:00.000-04:00

Two pair of socks knitted from Rays yarns. Love knitting with this yarn. Can't wait to get my big yarn order.

Sarah discovered Grammy's yarn yesterday. She was having a blast pulling the yarn out faster than I could knit it.
This is from Ray also. I have one sock done and hope to finish the second one tonight...after I get off the computer!!

We went to our son's yesterday. Sarah and mommy baked Grammy a birthday cake..it was so yummy. No one took any pictures so can't share them with you. I had the best birthday ever!!! Got to play with Sarah and Ben all day and then tried to teach Sarah about knitting. She is a little bit to young, but will bring over some needles and yarn for her on our next visit. I think she will enjoy trying for about 20 seconds...lol

KNIT ON!

The Socks are Finished!

2009-04-03T23:20:00.000-04:00

Here are three pictures of the socks I knit from the yarn I got from Knitivity. I really enjoyed working with this yarn. I am impressed that it only took one skein to make this pair of socks. You can see the amount that I have left over in the photos.

This picture I used the flash. I do not care for it because it doesn't show the true colors. The photos would have been better if I had taken them during the day and not after 11 pm.

The color is Storm Surge. 100% wool. Can't wait to get the special ordered yarn of Samantha and Ollie colors.

KNIT ON!

New Yarn

2009-03-31T23:02:00.003-04:00

I have one sock completed and the second one about half way down on the cuff. Will take a pic and post it tomorrow if I don't get that April Fools Virus everyone is talking about.
KNIT ON!

Yarns from Knitivity

2009-03-30T17:51:00.004-04:00

Check out this website... www.knitivity.com His email addy is: ray@knitivity.com

Ray is very talented and hand paints the yarn in his shop. I ordered this when he was having a sale. I can't wait to wind up the Storm Surge tonight and start on a pair of wool socks for my DH.
I ordered worsted weight, sport weight and fingering. The yarn is 100% wool.

Got an email with this yarn in it for sale from sockyarnsales website. I checked out the website and ordered this yarn. I am very pleased with it. Tonight I start by winding this yarn and making a pair of wool socks for DH. This one is called Storm Surge and it is WW.

This one is called Glacier Berry. It is sport weight. I can see some pretty socks for DDIL.

These four skeins are four sport weight. They are colors Art School, Jr. and Art School, Sr.

These are two skeins of sport weight and two skein of fingering weight yarn. The color is Graffiti.

This a picture of them all together.

This is just what I have needed to get my out of that "don't know what to knit" hump that I have been in for a couple of weeks. Have knit a couple of dishcloths but nothing big. I still need to finish Sarah's poncho. I have the two panels done but need to pick up the 200+ stitches on each side of each panel for the sleeves. I will wait for the days to be longer so I have better sunlight.

I hope you all take a look at Rays Yarns. I sent him a couple of pictures of my cat Samantha and sons dog Ollie. He is going to paint me some yarn for a cardigan for me out of Samantha's color and some socks, hats and mittens out of Ollie's colors for my DS for Christmas gifts.

KNIT ON!!

Camp for Sale in Maine with owned Land

2009-03-07T19:14:00.005-05:00

As you can see in this picture, we have put in windows on the porch and a new front door and storm door. We are planning on finishing the porch this summer and making another bed/sun room out of it. I am hoping to put in some nice hardwood flooring in this room so I won't have to worry about it getting dirty like the rug in the bedroom. Love rugs, but prefer to wash flooring then rugs any day!!

We are also going to see what the cost will be to put a metal roof on so we don't have to shovel it every snowstorm...which is a lot easier to do with just a few inches rather than a couple three feet of snow like most of the other camp owners do. I enjoy going up there for the day, so now we can just enjoy the day without a lot of extra roof raking..just the deck and ramp and driveway to do. I hope we will be able to match the deck color if we do have the metal roof put on, but that will be if we have enough money left from taxes to do that. First to get finished will be the new room. Need to get a door for inside as we will be taking the window out and making a doorway there.

Here are a few pictures of our summer home. The camp is 28 x 40. The bedroom is 16 x 18 ...the deck is a three sided wrap around.The bathroom is 12 x 12 with a tub/shower and closet space. There is a loft with two beds and a screened in porch that can easily be finished into a second bedroom....10 x 16 in size. The land is 1.75 acres...consists of 275 feet of shore frontage. The lake is spring fed and is one mile by 2 miles. It is very private and secluded area with families living there year round now. We are on the snowmobile trails and the ATV trails.

Rainbows are plentiful here too. We seem to get a lot of them on this end of the lake due to the suns rays.

The loons are right out front all the time. This one let me take many pictures of it without swimming too far out so that I got some good closeups of it.

The camp was built in 1998. It has a new septic system, bathroom, roof, deck (2000)

Snow Dump, Sarah and Ben

2009-03-05T19:59:00.000-05:00

Alan is standing in front of the snow pile that is put there by the town crew. They bring snow from around town and blow it up on this bank and it grows daily!

Sarah is playing with her leapfrog...and Zoe the cat is not at all bothered!!

Alan snow blowing the deck on Wednesday. Just a little on the deck as the winds seem to blow most of it off. Very little on the roof too.

Sarah and Ben. She kept saying to take her picture with Ben on his play mat. He was crying and just didn't want to lay there while we took pictures...only got a couple of shots. And he is crying in each one!

Snow Storm 2/22/09

2009-02-24T05:53:00.001-05:00

The neighbor trying to knock some of the snow off the roof of his two story house. We got over 2 feet of the white crap again!!! Where is spring!

One of the kids in the neighborhood enjoying a no school day because of the snow. Roads were not opened up until late morning in our little town..just got so much of it and all the cut backs haven't helped either.

Tough plowing conditions at camp. We were only able to plow in part way. So much snow and the banks are too high for the plow to push the snow over them it kept falling back under the truck and making it too hard to go forward. Here are are stuck and the road goes on for another 2 miles. So we backed up and went home. Now to get one of the big logging crews to go in and open the road for us. Still have a couple of families still stuck in there.

Intersection of the highway in town. As you can see the snow is piled high and no where to put it. The whole town is bogged down with this lastest storm. The two lane roads are down to one lane in most places so driving around town is slow. Everyone is putting their snow in the roads for the town crew to clean up and they have no place to put it either. Hope they get our street soon. Can just get a car up and down the hill now.

Knit content!

Working on a pair of the socks I knit on Death by Socks. I had to go to a size one needle to get them to fit me. Wow what a lot of stitches this pattern has. I cut it back so that I don't have all of them and the socks are still looking good.. will post pics later.

KNIT ON!!

The Letter that the Orange County Newspaper refused to print!

2009-02-12T19:27:00.001-05:00

The Letter that the Orange County Newspaper refused to print!

ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER

This was a very good letter to the editor. This woman made some
good points.
This lady made the argument pretty simple. But it was NOT printed
in the Orange County Paper ........ Newspapers simply won't publish
letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect
(read below) or which does not agree with the philosophy they're
pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the
editor that should have been published.

And, with your help, it will get published via the internet!

New Immigrants

From: 'David LaBonte'

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC
Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to
'print' it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along
if you feel so inclined.

Dave LaBonte ( signed)

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the
Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land
is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should
tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question
aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis
Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people
like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this
new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a
rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people
had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be
documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and
kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support
their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English
a primary rule in their new American households and some even
changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children
a new life and did everything in their power to help their children
assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free
lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had
were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to
trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of
age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men
whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy , France
and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any
thought about what country their parents had come from. They were
Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They
were defending the United States of America as one people. When we
liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the
French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The
people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that
represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have
thought about picking up anther country's flag and waving it to
represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their
parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants
truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the
melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2007 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the
same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing
with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement
card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm
sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe
that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's
deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice
in raising future generations to create a land that has become a
beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they
would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those
waving foreign country flags. And for that suggestion about taking
down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the
citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start
talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

I don't know this person, but I feel the same way! If you come here to be an American, be an American!!!!

KNIT ON!

Blessed

2009-02-07T16:01:00.003-05:00

Just reflecting on how lucky I am. I have a wonderful son, daughter in law, two beautiful and healthy grand kids, a husband who is my hero and all the yarn and books I could ever want. lol Alan and I are truly blessed!

I received my socks from Judi yesterday in Death by Socks. I love them. she put beads on the top cuff and they are just perfect in the fit too. DH wants me to take the beads off so he can steal the socks. He likes them too.

Hope to go visit next week one day and see Ben and Sarah. Sarah will be so excited to see her GB and Grams. She is getting so tall and talking more and more in longer sentences. Time is going by too fast. So glad to have my family in my life. And they are so kind and caring about sharing with us too. Anna calls daily to let us know how things are going and lets us talk to Sarah...who has learned where the off button is and is good at using it. She likes to answer when the phone rings and knows we will call her back and she gets to answer. lol

Well, back to my socks...and Ben's little aran sweater.

KNIT ON!

Ben and Sarah

2009-02-02T23:09:00.000-05:00

Ben sleeping in his grandfathers arms yesterday. We went to their house for a visit...so glad we did. He is getting big already!

Sarah loves her baby brother...she is kissing him and being a good big sister already! She was so much fun. She is saying more and more words in larger groups now and we just have to laugh at some of them.

My DBS victim died today. She wrote her own obit...she leaves behind 3 children and her husband. Too funny Sarah. She called me this afternoon but we were out. So I called her tonight and we talked for a while. She is a young mother and has just started knitting socks last year. She said the socks were a little loose, but she had them on and was very pleased with them all in all. So glad she liked them..my biggest worry is laid to rest.

KNIT ON!!

Death By Socks #5

2009-01-28T16:10:00.000-05:00

Have the heel turn on the first sock.

The top of the sock pattern.

Finished socks!!!!!

This picture is without the flash..it shows the design better.

Finished and in the mail this afternoon. It is snowing so hard that it will be hard to get out tomorrow to mail them so was very pleased when I finished them at 2:30 pm today and then went to the post office. The whole state is in shut down mode because of this big storm that is just getting up to this end of the state now. Predictions are for up to 24" of snow and we could get some freezing rain/ice at the end of it. The hot air is aloft and it will be up to Mother Nature as decide what we will get so will not lose any sleep over it. But will be plowing early tomorrow morning and Friday.

KNIT ON!!!!

Before and After....felted mitten

2009-01-18T00:01:00.001-05:00

Here is a picture of one mitten done...no thumb yet, and one felted. I have 5 pair of these drying and it has been over 24 hours and they are stlil very, very damp! Have them by the woodstove but they are so thick it will probably take another whole day to finish drying them before giving them away.

The weather has been COLD! There is no other way to discribe how cold it's been. We have been at - 24F and today we got up to 3 above...it was down right balmy out! Went to my cousins to knit. Helping her with her felted mittens. I started a pair of two strands of worsted weight mittens for my hubby. He wore out two pair already this year using the roof rake at camp. More snow is coming tomorrow and the weatherman says around 9 inches or more. Oh well. At least it will warm up once the clouds come in and that northwesterly winds changes direction and we start getting some of the southern warmth in the jetstream.

And what about that plane landing in the Hudson River! That was one big miracle right there!!! My niece said if she would have been one of those passengers she would have bought 12 powerball tickets!!!! LOL Thank God they all survived and are ok. The pilot was one quick thinker!!! God Bless them all!

Time for bed...-11 right now and just got home from an evening of knitting!

KNIT ON!!

Same view in the summer!!!

2009-01-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

These photos are of the same picture in the last post during the summer. It is really a lot nicer in the summer !!!!! This is from the deck of our camp.

This one is from the deck with a big rainbow!

This one is a hail storm! The hail was the size of quarters and it destroyed my flowers and vegetable garden!!

KNIT ON!!!

Winter scene from Cedar Lake

2009-01-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of the winter sky from the beach at camp. I thought you would like to see the snow and clouds of the day!
Winter is here with a vengeance right now. It has been very, very cold...-12 one night and today started at -2. I can feel the cold on my feet in the house..that's how cold it is. Even with the wood stove pumping out heat we have had to turn the furnace on to keep the temp in the house at a comfortable range. The sun has been out the last two days, so the sun has been nice but the cold air is still the big thing!! When it's cold, it's COLD! Oh well, the third week of February will bring the turning of the cold into spring. Will be cold but not that Arctic cold we are getting right now. Hurry up SPRING!!!!

KNIT ON!!

Yarn and Snow--at camp

2009-01-10T15:36:00.000-05:00

This is the yarn that I will be using on my victim on the Death by Socks that will start on Jan 24. I hope I am able to figure out the pattern when it is posted on the 24Th and at least get them done before I am "assassinated" by my assassin! This should be fun!

In this photo you can see the snow people from our camp. The weather yesterday was very blustery and had heavy snow squalls most of the time we were at camp shoveling and plowing.

At the camp at the end of our road I took this picture of two snowmen that they built over Christmas weekend. It has rained and was warm so the snow was sticky. They are a little dilapidated right now from the winds but still can tell they are snow people!

You can see the black clouds and the snow squall across the lake from us. DH and I had to shovel the deck off as the snow blower isn't working. After an hour of that crap I said it was time to head home..had something important to do. We went to Stanley's Auto center in Medway and bought a new Toro snow blower!!! We got 10 years out of the other one..and it still runs like a charm..just need a new sprocket and the company is out of business. Our neighbor has the machine apart and will take the part over to the foundry on Monday and have them make us a new one. When its back up and running I think we will gift our son with our old machine. He won't use it much but will have it to do the walk and the back of his house with. I used the snow scoop we got last year and it was a lot easier then the shove. I still had to be very careful of my back and knee so that is why I bought the new snow blower....and today we used it. What a difference it made. The snow from the roof had settled over night but the blower took care of it. While I did that DH did the rest of the roof and then shoveled the snow away from our little canvas hut he bought. Already had to buy a new cover for it this summer so don't want to lose another one.

Well it's time for me to knit some mittens for my wonderful husband. He was worn out two pair in two days with that roof rake! Take care all and
KNIT ON!!

Felted Mittens

2009-01-05T16:14:00.000-05:00

Knit these mittens from Bartlettyarns bulky yarn. Instead of using two stands this stuff is so thick I didn't need to. It is easily pulled apart so have to be careful when pulling it together on the ends of the mittens and thumbs. Can't wait to felt them now. They are sure large!!!! lol

These are for gentleman that I worked with many years ago in the mill. He is such a nice man and have knit him many pairs of double thick mittens over the past 35 years. I thought he might enjoy these felted mittens instead of the other ones...but am going to knit him some double thick ones too.

These will be for my cousins daughter. She is in high school now and has a problem with the cold and her hands. Can;t remember what her mother said the problem was..some disease that I can't spell so won't even try!! I will have the second pair done tonight and will felt them tomorrow.

Weather is warmer today...29F right now. Weatherman says more snow/rain/ice mix is headed for Maine in the next couple of days. Glad to be inside..but missing my daily walks at camp. Too icy for me to take the chance of falling again so will just stay in and wait for better street conditions around here.

KNIT ON!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2009-01-01T12:14:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year!!

It is below zero here today with wind-chills hitting -30F at times. The winds are gusting and it is a very bad day to be outside. I feel bad as DH is outside working again today! We are up to 2F right now!

KNIT ON!!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T18:41:00.000-05:00

sarah lounging in her new Tonka dump truck!

Scarves I knit for Christmas gifts for family and friends.

Sarahs new smile! She has her daddys ski hat on!

Sarah playing with her new Camera. She took over 400 pictures before the batteries wore out. She took pictures of EVERYTHING!!! She was more interested in seeing what the view screen showed than the actual taking of the pictures. It only took her two pictures to figure out that she had to push the button on the front of the camera in order to have a picture. Reviews on this fisher-price camera were negative on the childs ability to use this camera. My God!! Sarah is only 27 months old and she used it for two days!!! Now to find her some rechargeable AAA batteries for this.

The ride home was horrible. We woke up to light snow then it turned to freezing rain. When we headed home at 10 a.m. its wasn't bad at all...just the roads weren't plowed or salted or sanded. We got to Newport and it was pouring!!! Temps were 35F. I am amazed at the drivers. If the big rigs are not going any faster then 45 MPH should tell you something! We saw one very serious accident in Bangor in the southbound part of the I. The further north we went the worse the roads got and the faster people wanted to go. I just took my time and stayed in line with the rest of the traffic and we got home without any problems. We had a car pass us and then up the road about 5 miles they were off the road. So called 911 and reported it. Told the dispatcher that they needed to get the plows out to salt and sand. Was told there is no money for it so just take my time. Love this state!!! Don't lay of the people in the office building, lay off the men and women out there in the plow trucks and let us worry about how we will get home safely. Love our governor...he is such a jerk!!!

Well heading to bed to rest. My back is sore and my ankle is swollen and it needs to be elevated for a while. Happy New Year Everyone!!!

KNIT ON!!

Sony Camera

2008-12-17T00:22:00.002-05:00

I got an email today from Sony about my camera. Mailed it out two weeks ago and they just got it today! Now I go in to their site tonight and I have to call them...this is supposed to be a recall. I don't know if they are open this time of night so will wait until morning.

All my christmas presents have arrived by mail or UPS. Even with paying postage I saved a lot of money of these gifts. I am amazed. I received all my orders within 7 days...most came two to three days after placing the order. Thank you Amazon.com!!

I haven't felt like knitting much lately. I did get the four pair of socks done for my friend and she is very pleased with them. I told her she should learn to knit. At our age it is something to do with our time and it does produce very nice results for me and the giftee! Lets see how long it takes for her to ask me for lessons. She said she was taught by her grandmother as a young adult. It wouldn't take any time at all for her to remember how to knit and purl. I would gladly teach her how to read a pattern...even though the new ones today with "charts" make my head spin. lol

DGD is learning to use her potty! Got a call today from her to tell Grammy and GB that she went 4 times yesterday and 2 time today!! She is growing up so fast!!! Next month will be big changes in the house for her. A new baby brother...I call him the "little guy" and I think that is what I will call him after he's born. Now it's a big secret what his name will be...DS is the name picker as DDIL was the one who got to pick Sarah's name. Hope our son is kind to this one...nothing to long to learn to spell..lol

We got a lot of rain this weekend and most of the southern part of the state was hit hard with ice and power outages. We had a couple of flickers but nothing that stayed off. I stayed off the computer just in case it did go out. Hate to have it shut down like that.

Have my Christmas cards all written..now to get to the post office tomorrow and mail them. Supposed to snow and we could get 6 inches of the white shit! LOL I will get to plow!!! Yippee for me!

Dh had two things removed from his bald head last Friday. He missed a day of work because they changed the time on him...so he decided to be home in case they changed it again..and they did. Called us at 7:30 to say they had a cancellation due to the snow/rain mess so he went in an hour earlier. Will know next week sometime if they are cancerous or not. One looked like the one he had on his back removed 18 months before and that was basil cell. The other had changed some and was sticking up so the doctor took it as he was already there ....haha DH has 5 stitches in each one. And they are so GROSS! DH said they are very sore and burn. I bet they do. I have changed the bandages for him each night and I am so glad I haven't gotten light headed like I did when I was changing the bandages when he had his gall bladder out!! Almost passed out doing that! LOL He still teases me about it. Oh well. Must be because I love him and don't want him in any pain. He gave me the shots when I had my knee and ankle replaced because I couldn't stick the needles in myself and never complained (too much anyway) about that. lol

If I don't get to post again until after the holidays "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" everyone and May God Bless you all!!!!

KNIT ON!

Christmas Gifts for a friend

2008-12-11T00:04:00.001-05:00

This pair is from Red Heart Acrylic yarn. I swapped with my friend Nadine for this...she was looking for some of the pink camo yarn to crochet a couple of sweaters..good trade for us both.

This one is from Brunswick Yarn that I had left from my shop. It too is acrylic worsted weight. I hope the young boy that is getting them likes them and they fit.

The purple ones are from Brunswick yarn that I have had left over from my yarn shop days. I have so much yarn I will never use it all in my life time!!!!
One pair left to go for this little girl. Gerry I hope they fit your step-grand kids.

My Sony Camera is at the repair shop in Texas. I got my shipping labels after I hounded them three times in one day. Oh, they emailed them to me. No you didn't!!! So I called and finally got an American in the USA and he got me the labels ASAP...so I packed it up and took it to the UPS place in town. Now for them to replace that LCD part and get it back to me before Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed that they can do what they promised me!

The weather this week has been one weird ride!! Monday it was -20F with the windchill and it was snowing all day too. Today it was 56F and rain. Tonight it is down to 27F and supposed to be heavy snows tomorrow and possibly into Friday. I am so glad I have my Christmas shopping all done. I did most of it locally and on the Internet. I took a ride to Lincoln to Walmart on Tuesday to get a fisher price digital camera for DGD. The Internet price was $40.00. I printed out the page and took it with me. I was told that would not honor any Walmart.com prices. So I put it back and came home. I checked out Amazon.com and got one with shipping for less than $38.00..and it will be here Friday!!! Yippee. I also was able to find some blanket sleepers with feet for Sarah. I got 7 of them for her for $68.00 with shipping..at Amazon again. I saved enough money that I went and ordered her a cabbage patch doll...$13.33 and that will be here Friday too. So Santa is going to come to her house with some nice presents this year...her other grandmother got her a new leap frog thingy so she can learn some more words. She already knows her alphabet, colors, and 0 to 10. Nice to have a mom and grandmother that have a college education. Her other Grammy is a school teacher and also teaches a couple of courses at the local college. Not us, we are from the school of hard knocks. I was one of the first females to work in the paper mill in town..talk about women's lib!! We sure have "come a long way, baby!" Today what us girls went through would get a person fired. We were told that we were walking into a mans world and if we didn't like it we better find another job! What we did for the women of today!!

I hope to get the last sock done tomorrow for my friend and then finish up the second Christmas stocking and start the last one for Rosemary right after. We will see.

I did go back and order all the Christmas stocking patterns from Annie's yesterday. I really like them. Done on a circular so there is no sewing it up the back and it looks so much better..IMHO Sarah's sweater will be on hold for a bit. And I signed up for Death By Socks today for their DBS starting Jan 12, 2009. I have some fingering yarn here now to get the gauge done so that when they post the directions I am off to a good start. I would like to at least get to the second round of this..and not be "assassinated" right off. If anyone is interested in this, the deadline is Friday, Dec 12 at midnight. It is a Yahoo group. Last year I did a sock swap with a lady in Minnesota. She did a beautiful sock for me out of a sport weight with a nice pattern to it and I knit her a pair from worsted weight Bartlettyarns. I hope she got to use them to keep warm last winter! I have enjoyed my socks many times this past year.

DH has to have some minor surgery on his poor bald head right off. He has two pre-cancerous spots and now they have turned to basil cell cancer. At least that is what the doctor is thinking. It sure looks just like the other one. Of course DH hasn't seen the first one or these ones as they are on the back of him..and looking in a mirror doesn't look the same as what you can see up close and personal...ha ha They will get him in ASAP to get this done. This is the second time he's had this type of cancer. I hope this will be the last of it..but he is so light complected and burns so easily that he will probably have more of them in his lifetime. We didn't have sun screen like we do today. And being so blond and white skinned he burned many times as a kid and blistered each time. Me, I have enough of my great great grandmothers Indian blood in me that I just get darker and darker..I will burn but it takes a lot to get a burn like DH gets in just an half hour in the son. And our son and DGD are both dark like me. Now if I could just get the benefits that the American Indians get I would be happy..don't have enough blood line for that.

Well, I am going to go read some more of my new books I got on Amazon.com...right now reading the Spenser series by Robert B Parker. Have read the other series he has but haven't gotten to the single books yet. The library here has a very small and limited amount of his books so buy them online at a good discount rate for second hand books.

KNIT ON!

Christmas Sock is finished!!

2008-12-04T19:28:00.003-05:00

I have finished the sock and put it in a Ziploc baggie so the cat won't bother it..lol The pattern is from http://www.annieswoolens.com/StockingKitsPatterns.php The site has a lot of new patterns that I plan to order after Christmas. I will have to order some more wool from Bartlettyarns to make these...and I think I may do a couple of craft fairs next year around the Christmas season. (If I don't give them all away like I did today...lol)
I am waiting for a new pattern book I ordered from Mary Maxim on Monday...was told they would be here tomorrow. So while I wait for them to get here, ordered 4 of them, I have finished a pair of acrylic socks for a boy with a size 5 shoe in boys...which is the size I wear in them so I know these will fit him..they are gifts for friend to give as Christmas gifts. She is paying for the yarn and I am doing the knitting. I will start the second Christmas stocking when I get the mail tomorrow afternoon...already have the yarn. The second one will be a poinsettia and the third one is a snowman. I enjoy knitting these so it will be fun to make more of them after Christmas is over.
The weather has been rain, sleet, and snow all within an hour today. We have a lot of black ice on the roads and sidewalks so it is not fun out there at all right now. I am being very careful not to fall and injure my new body parts!
We do have some snow on the ground but it isn't much. Just enough to be white and icy.
The sweater for Sarah is on hold for now. I want to make sure I get all the socks and mittens done before Christmas this year. I do want to make some felted mittens for my DH, DS and myself. I made some about 9 years ago and DH finally wore them out last winter. And he said his hands were really too warm at times.
Finally got my UPS label for the camera to be returned to Sony last night. If I lived closer to Bangor all I had to do was take it to the UPS store and they would pack it up for me, but I don't. So now trying to find a box sturdy enough for me to wrap this camera up and take it to the little UPS place in town and it should be done in 10 days and back to me before Christmas...and I have my fingers and toes crossed on that promise.
Time for knitting and watching a little TV is on my to do list...so take care, be safe and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!!

KNIT ON!!!!!!

Christmas Sock 2008

2008-11-29T00:46:00.000-05:00

Making this Xmas sock for a friend...she also wants one with a snowman on it and a poinsettia. I had two of these with the moose on them done, but I think a moth got at them and ate a hole in each one where I had folded it and put it on the couch last spring before we moved to the lake.

I am using Canadiana yarn that I have left from my yarn shop days. The yarn has held up well for over 15 years since it has never been used before and it comes from a smokeless home. Cats, yes, cigarettes, no!!!

I hope to be able to design the other two from this pattern as I have the diagrams for them but I do not like to knit these socks on two needles and sew them together. So I will take the designs and incorporate them into this moose pattern. I have already figured out how many more rows I will need to add to this pattern and once I get my head around the rest of it I will be able to get them done in a couple of days from when I start.

It is snowing here again. The last couple of days it has been so foggy you couldn't see across the street. It is 34F so this snow won't last long.

Hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday? We went to DH's cousins for supper. DH came after he got out of work and we all had a great time. The ride home was slow due to fog, but we both made it home in our own vehicles. I drove the truck down there and he had the car at work. I made a couple of graham cracker pies from scratch the evening before so we had a lot to eat and a lot of great company to share the day with. Tomorrow I am going to cook my turkey for us.

KNIT ON!!

Winter is here!

2008-11-23T11:10:00.002-05:00

Since I have no camera to take pictures of the weather or my sweater progress I'll just write a little bit about it.
We got some snow yesterday with heavy winds and a lot of Arctic cold. This made for bad driving conditions and more wood in the wood stove. The winds are still howling today and the windchill is around 0 F. Too cold too soon if you ask me. I did go out to the dump yesterday cause DH is working 12 hour shifts and he won't be home before it closes at 4. Once out I decided to visit with cousins for just a few minutes to see how they are. Haven't been over since before I had surgery in July. Forgot to go to the grocery store to pick up DH RX...two days in a row now. They will put it back if I don't get there today and by the looks of the wind and cold today, I am not going out!!

Working on a Christmas stocking for a friend. She gave me a pattern for them (2) and I really don't like it. So trying to take the snowman and poinsettia designs and work them into the pattern I used for family socks. My pattern doesn't have enough rows for the design without taking away from the one that is there. Oh well. Don't want to make them too big or long. Will just have to figure out something else or find a different pattern with those designs in them.

Have the two panels for Sarah's sweater up to the neck..now to start decreasing then then increasing for the back. They are made in one strip from front to back. Then you pick up the sleeves from the panel. Different!!!

This economy is sure bad. I am hoping our new President will be able to help us get things back on the right track quickly. If not, this country and the whole world will be in deep do-do. The thing that really pisses me off is that it's more taxes and we are taxed so much right now, no wonder we can't make ends meet. These big companies and banks should be ashamed of themselves for asking us Americans to bail them out! We make squat compared to their income and benefits and they still want more. They should be put in prison for their greed! Making 27 million a year and then going to the government for more money just so they can keep their live styles and we lose what little bit we have?? (Ford execs., auto execs) What a joke this country has become! Talk about taxation without representation!!! I think we need another Boston Tea Party only it should be a "No more Taxes" party. Let these companies take care of themselves. We sure aren't getting any help.

Nov 24, 2008

I heard on the news today that we are now bailing out CITI bank! Wow! I want to be on that bail out list too! Where do I sign up? If we could get help to pay off our camp loan we wouldn't have to sell it!! Come on people!!! Where will this end? I have no income at all and only DH is working and now it's going to be pay more taxes while the big wigs keep it all and I go without??? I just don't see how we can bail anyone out and still keep our head above water too!!!

Well enough of this crap...I am stepping off my soapbox for now!

Have been knitting on my alpaca socks last night. Have the heel turned and will have to wind some more yarn to finish this one up. Then I only have one more pair of them to make for my DS for his Christmas gift. DDIL is done and so is her mothers so that makes a couple more gifts done.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!!!

KNIT ON!

Sarahs sweater Part 2

2008-11-16T20:59:00.000-05:00

Started the new sweater this afternoon. I am knitting the two front parts at the same time. I love this yarn!!! All the pretty colors from the 5 different colored skeins will be eye catching for sure. I will have enough left over to make some little baby socks for my new grandson due in Jan. 2009.

Rosemary..again, thank you so much for ordering all this beautiful yarn and the pattern book from Berroco!!

My Sony Camera is Broken

2008-11-16T12:50:00.006-05:00

Well, I am so upset with my camera's not working. I bought it 5 years ago and have had no problems with it until recently. Yesterday I wanted to use it to take pictures of my finished sweater and all it did was have a black screen. If you took a picture it was black. I could use it to view my other already taken pictures but that was it. So last night I went to the Sony Cyber Shot website and chatted with a rep. He asked a bunch of questions and then gave me a link to the problem and read that. I filled out all the forms, online, and submitted it. They charged me $15.oo for shipping it to and from but are going to fix the problem for nothing....YIPPEE!! Seems that one of the components was faulty and they had one batch manufactured with that in it and mine was one of them. When I bought the camera I got a notice that my camera WASN'T one of them..but they fibbed. And it is! I just hope they can get it fixed and back to me before Christmas.

On yesterday post I tried to link Rosemary's Gift Shop to her website link and all I managed to do was connect it to the heading. So am going to try this again. Rosemary's Gift Shop link http://www.maine-crafts.com/ Hope this works! If not click on the heading on this and the other post.

Sarah's new sweater

2008-11-15T15:42:00.003-05:00

Received my pattern book and yarn from Rosemary's Gift Shop in Cornish Maine. She has been so good about ordering for me. I am going to make this in a size 4 so Sarah will have it next fall. Trying to keep ahead of the growth game. They grow so fast at times and then slow down.

The book and yarn are from Berroco. I should have a lot left over as the pattern called for one skein of 4 of the colors and 2 of one color. I can always make socks with the leftovers.

This is the yarn I am going to use. I had to use my scanner to upload today as my Sony camera isn't working. I am so upset with this camera. I paid over $1200 for it in 2003 and the last couple of years it has been acting up. Today I went to photograph the yarn and books and the finally finished hooded sweater and it won't do anything but show me already taken photos. The screen is black when I try to use it to shoot a picture. I can see all the writing the camera has on the battery length and such, but it won't work...all I can see is black. But it will display my previous photos. Darn, darn, darn!!!!! Nothing seems to be going good right now. Oh well.

Our new little grandson to be is coming along well. Anna had her checkup last week and all is fine. He is right on schedule...whatever that means. LOL They are thinking about naming the little guy after his great grandfathers...Laurence Reynold. I think it is too long a name for the little guy, but not my kid. Great grandads would be pleased with the name I am sure. But time will tell. They could change it at the last minute. But it is up to the parents to name their child. Whatever his name will be I will call him a little nick name like I do with my son.

The weather here today is weird. We are supposed to have thunderstorms tonight and heavy winds. It has been raining for 3 days now and I swear we are going to have to go get the boat at camp and bring it home in case we need it...like Noah's Ark. ha ha.

Ankle is getting better every day. I am not using my cane any more, I just have to be careful when I get up to move as it is stiff until it gets stretched out. Now if the numbness would go away from when the doctor cut the skin and bones. No one ever talks about that part of knee or ankle or any bone replacement numbness. It has been over two years for the right knee and I still have a lot of that prickly numbness on the outside of my knee. It is very irritating at times as it seems to be worse on some days then others. My ankle has most of it on the outside and the heel area. It is continuous and very hard to not think about at times. Oh well, time will tell how much of the nerve endings will rebuild or not. And I have no patience for waiting..ha ha.

Take care all and KNIT ON!!

Our cat family

2008-11-10T17:38:00.001-05:00

This is Tonto. He had most of his teeth pulled last Tuesday and is finally getting back to being himself...old bastard! He is 16 1/2 years old. DH said it would have been cheaper to put him down then to pull the teeth, but that was all that is wrong with him so I gave him some more time with us. He will have a hard time until his gums heal, but he is already eating the dry food. Maybe he won't kill all my squirrels and birds next summer...lol

This is Feather. She came from the hovel and had been stepped on by the horses. Her pelvis and back leg were broken. She was so little she didn't know how to eat food. Took her to the vet and then kept her in a cage for a month. All that time we spent teaching her how to eat moist food by making it into almost a liquid...it didn't take long for her to learn and heal up. She bonded with DH and she still thinks he's her mother. She is 14 years old.

This is Samantha. Always up for special attention from us. She is no longer with us. I still find myself looking for her or calling her name when I call the others...lol

An this is Penny. She is the youngest of our cats. She has had a hard life. She came to us after someone dropped her and her sister off and they had given birth to 4 kittens each. We took them in, mothers and kittens, and then found homes for the kittens. Kept the mothers and had them fixed. The other one we called Shadow as she had no voice. Penny made up for that!! We lost her about 2 years after she came to us. We still think someone took her home as she was so bright white and pretty. They were both so starved and thin when they found us.

Knitting is coming along fine. Working on too many projects right now. So only going to work on the one that I have for my DILs friend Wendy. I have the front, back and the two sleeves done and sewing it up today. I will then start on the hood. Hope to have it done by this weekend. We will see. Then to start the little cabled blue sweater for our new grandson that is due in Jan.

Well, back to knitting. Take care all and

KNIT ON!!

Crystals baby shower

2008-11-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

Crystal with her ribbon and bow hat on after she had opened up all her wonderful gifts. She got so many things she will need a UHaul to get it all back to Bangor!!

I knit this little dress for her. It is acrylic so she can machine wash and dry it.

Here's the little hat I knit. Didn't get the little sweater done in time...she isn't due for another 6 weeks so I should have time to get it done.

We all had a wonderful time at the baby shower today. I got to see a lot of relatives I haven't seen in years. Some had their grandkids with them so that made the party a little more lively!! Got the kids to pick up all the leftovers for us and clear the tables...all at that age where they want to help!

KNIT ON!

Yarn, raven, Dog in sidecar

2008-10-28T19:01:00.000-04:00

This yarn is going to be a side to side sweater for DGD.

This big raven was on the deck eating the cat food from their dish and then drinking from the cats water dish. I have 2 outdoor cats and one indoor one now.

He was so noisey I thought that someone was running up and down the deck. When I opened the blinds up I saw this big guy having breakfast at the cat dish. He was HUGE!! One thing to see them on the side of the road or flying over head, but when they are right there 4 feet from you...let me tell you this one was a big, big guy! Even the outtie guys stayed away from their food and water dish that morning. LOL

This picture I took in Kingfield Maine when we had to stop for the parade that was on the highway. We walked up to the parade and I saw this guy sitting there patiently waiting for his owner to come back and finish the ride! They were stuck for 45 minutes with all of us.

I haven't posted in weeks and here I am posting a ton of stuff. LOL

KNIT ON!!

Ankle surgery.

2008-10-28T18:48:00.000-04:00

This first picture I took a few days after surgery. I was on the couch, glad it had a queen size bed in it, and stayed there for 8 weeks. The next picture my DH took the morning of the surgery. I had worn that brace for 5 years and it was on it's last leg..no pun intended...lol. After paying $1500 for it, I got my money out of it.

Samantha Marie

2008-10-28T18:33:00.003-04:00

Samantha came to us on June 12, 1991. She was from a litter that was dropped off at the horse hovel at my neighbors barn. We had just put down "Sam" and had him for over 15 years. On October 15, 2008 I had to finally let her cross the rainbow bridge and stop her pain. She has a liver disease and was very sick the last three weeks of her life. I took her to the vet on Sept 25 and they did an IV with Vitamin B12 and it was like she was a kitten again. She also had a very rapid heart beat and he gave me medications for that. For the first week after this IV she was great. Now vomiting, eating like crazy, playing with yarn again and back to sleeping with me or on me all day long when I was resting my ankle. Then it started again a couple of days before I finally called and had her put to sleep that next day. We drove to Orono with her and she was like a kitten all morning. But the illness had gotten into her bowels and bladder and she had blood in her urine and stool. She was crying and trying to pee all the time. So it was time for me to be an adult and do the right thing. Samany I sure miss you little girl!

This little girl was my best buddy. She stayed with me all summer while I was laid up recovering from ankle replacement surgery. She would sleep on my pillow at night with her paws on my arm and purr. Or when I was on my side she would climb on my and lay with her nose in my ear purring. She was my first INDOOR cat. I had her spayed and declawed at 6 months. She had double paws front and back.

I told DH that after the other 3 cats are gone I will not get any more. It is too hard to say good-bye. My other ones are 16, 14, and 12 years old. So I won't have them much longer either.

All my cats were "throw aways". I took them in when the people in the apartment houses around us would pack up and move and leave them behind. I hat 14 at one time. All were spayed or neutered and well taken care of.

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Recovery is coming along!!!

2008-08-27T18:10:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am getting better every day. I will start to put some weight on my ankle next week. Right now I have a knee walker that I am using to get around on. I have had a lot of people comment on it...kids are amazed that an old lady like me is using a scooter!!!

I have knit 44 dishcloths these last couple of weeks, a couple of baby hats for this winter and started another "Mexicali baby" sweater for Sarah. I ordered the yarn from The Knittwitt in Mass. Can't remember the name of it but will post it later with some pictures.

Had to buy a new keyboard as my other one died..that is why there wasn't any writing the the archery pictures. sorry about that.

Have PT tomorrow so I hope to come to town early and add to this blog with some pictures.

And I drove to town today by myself for the first time in 5 weeks! Talk about feeling free toady! I have done nothing but lay in bed for 5 weeks reading, knitting and watching TV. Our cell phone doesn't work that well in the camp so I haven't been able to talk to anyone on that!

Yesterday we heard the news on the local news channel that the mill my husband has worked in for the past 40 years will be closing their doors on Sept. 2. They have lied to the workers for months now...and now they gave them all a one week notice. HOLY SHIT! NOT AGAIN!!!! We went through this in 2003-2004...18 months closed. New owners and now they are of the cost of oil. Promises, promises, promises is all this town had heard. We were praying for another 3 years before they closed, DH would be able to retire then, and now this. Oh well, will keep you posted as to what happens with the mill.

Take care all and

KNIT ON!

POKE & HOPE Archery tournament

2008-07-17T15:36:00.004-04:00

My husband and I went to Durham, Maine for this traditional tournament. I don't shoot any more but hope to after my ankle is better.

This tournament was a two day event, but he didn't want to drive back down. There was another shoot in Old Town Maine on Sunday so he went there.

I got to go to a yarn shop, but her prices were so extreme that I didn't get anything. And she wouldn't sell her books unless you bought the yarn the pattern book called for from her. Oh well.

Knitting and Loons

2008-07-17T15:33:00.000-04:00

Here is a hooded sweater I am knitting for DGD for fall so she can go hunting with her daddy in October and November. I am using Bernat worsted weight yarn, arcylic, and do not like the feel at all! The pattern is Johnny by Penny Stryker. You can see that I have it put together and have started the hood.

Went fishing last night and this loon decided to check me out. There were two of them that followed me around while I was rowing and trolling for fish! Kept praying they wouldn't go for the hook and worm!! lol
This one I took the other day from the beach. They seem to be on our end of the lake a lot this year. Not a lot of boats out due to the oil prices and it is very quiet and peaceful. The loons are not bothered by boats so enjoy a day catching fish!

Well, had my preadmit today. All set for next Thursday! I hate needles so bad, told them to make sure they have the good stuff ready when I walk through the doors...they all laughed. Just give me some of that happy stuff and they can cut away and I won't care! oh well, the worst part is the recovery...not it isn't..the worst part is getting there for the surgery! Once I'm out I won't care what they do for me.

I am looking for a side to side sweater pattern for Sarah. I would like a size 3 or 4. Anyone out there know where I can get one on the internet for free would be wonderful!!!! But I am also one that buys a ton of patterns so any suggestions as to where I might buy one, please let me know!

Take care all, I won't be posting for a month or more, will be in bed with this recovery..can't put any weight on the ankle for 6 weeks. I will be knitting and reading my mystery books and watching the wildlife from camp!

KNIT ON!

JULY 2008

2008-07-11T11:24:00.002-04:00

I took this picture of this cow moose on route 11 on the way back from Bangor on July 2ND. As you can see, she is very thin and her rib cage is showing. The animals has a very hard winter and we lost a lot of wild life to this snow burdened year. With over 210 inches of snow the animals had it hard...very little if any food for them. Many died of starvation and even more did not have any babies this year as the mothers weren't able to carry them due to the lack of food.

This one decided she was going to pose for me....I stopped in the middle of the road and she turned and started eating from the bog. This picture here you can vaguely see the water dripping from her mouth as she chewed the sweet grass from the bog.

In this picture you can see how thin she is!!! I understand that the Maine wildlife isn't going to have any doe permits in our area this year for guns or bows.

July 4, Baxter and Brewski in the water playing. They had a great time chasing the stick we threw in. Brewski isn't too fond of water, but he finally swam a little to get the stick..more than he has ever done. lol

And this moth was on the screen at camp the other morning. I went out and touched it and it opened its wings up. It stayed there until the sun came around to the back of the camp and it got hot.

I have been knitting dishcloths like crazy! Gave over a dozen away so far and kept 5 for me. I will probably make more when I have my ankle replaced in 2 weeks...it is the kind of knitting you can do and not have to think about the pattern...mindless knitting!! Just my cup of tea lately!

I do have a hooded cables sweater started for Sarah. I bought some pink camo yarn at AC Moores a couple of weeks ago and decided to make one for DGD so she can be in camo when her Daddy takes her on his hunting rides...she will blend in with the rest of the hunters!! lol

Well, heading back to camp. It has been so nice up there even with all the heat and humidity. TG for A/C!!!

Oh yeah, had a night when all the windows were open and had a critter in the woods by our bedroom thrashing and snapping limbs...woke me up from a dead sleep! DH thought it was a moose. The cat took off from the bed hid for a few hours...lol scared cat!!!

Take care all and

KNIT ON!!

We're going to be Grandparents again!

2008-06-14T14:29:00.002-04:00

No pictures today, but wanted to share with everyone that our son and his wife are expecting a baby in January!!! We are so excited!!! She will have her ultrasound next month! She is a lot further along then she thought!

My ankle surgery is scheduled for July 24 here at our little hospital. Will be glad to get this done with and recover so I can have the back and then my knee done.

The mill is going down July 28, so want to make sure I have insurance to get this stuff done...I am hoping DH is able to bump down in the other mill in the next town. We will see. Keep your fingers crossed for us...the state of Maine is trying to get the company some grants to put in some other type of fuel system..bark burner type thing.

Well, Happy Fathers Day to all you men out there. Take care all and ........

KNIT ON!!!

Knitting and other things going on

2008-06-09T12:52:00.002-04:00

I have one pair of socks done for DH and another pair started to me. I bought this yarn off the Internet this winter and I can't remember from who. I know I paid around $26.00 a skein for it as it was hand painted yarn. I ordered two skeins cause I wasn't sure how much it would take to do a pair of socks with...and guess what? I have more then enough for a second pair for me and probably a little pair for DGD!

And I have knit two sweaters and one is off to Texas as I write this along with the Aran cardigan I had finished a while ago. This one is knit from Lion brand Vanna yarn. DIL loved the one I knit for Sarah. And I was told that she has already worn it last week during the rain and cold weather we had.

Dawn at camp! Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors delight! And did we get rain! And cold weather to go with it. Had to build a fire everyone day for the last week as the weather has just not been spring like at all!
Lady Slippers. I have some other photos I took but on another stick so will add them the next time I am in town.
This is a trailer fire that happened on Sunday, June 8 in our little town. A 41 year old woman died in it. You can read about it at at www.bangornews.com It is a tragic death to say the least. I didn't know the lady, but I pray God has her now and she is not suffering!

Here I am holding a male hummingbird. It was on one of the window feeders and wasn't moving. I went out and it just dropped into my hand. It was breathing so I brought it in the camp and held it for about an hour in my hands. It had been in the mid 30's overnight and I think the poor little bird was cold! It took a long time for it to start to move around in my hands..as it warmed up it opened its eyes up and kept trying to hide in my hand. So I took it outside and put it back by the feeder and it flew up and landed on it. It still just sat there so I picked it up again and went back inside. It was well over an hour by then and it was time to see if it could fly. And it did! I was able to take two pictures of it as I was alone at camp at the time. It was amazing to do this! The humming birds are back for the summer and I do enjoy watching them at the feeders.

Life at Camp

2008-05-27T14:38:00.000-04:00

Red breasted Grosbeak on the feeders. Spelling isn't right but who cares! He is so pretty and fun to watch!

This Morning Dove is driving poor Feather crazy walking past her all morning. She doesn't go out so this is a treat for her to be this close!

Wild strawberry blossoms in the yard!

And the squirrel is in the feeder filling his belly up!

KNIT ON!!

Life is GREAT!!

2008-05-27T13:14:00.004-04:00

Sunset at Camp! What beautiful pictures these are!

Taken from the deck at camp!

Aran Cardigan for Rebecca in Texas. This one is going to my Pen Pal Judy in Texas for her Granddaughter! She will not be wearing it for a while as the baby won't be one until October.

This is the sweater I am working on for Sarah. It is from the Vanna print out that I got a while ago. I have never had to many ends to tie in before in my life!!! I spent all day yesterday and all most all the evening hiding those many double strands of yarn!

I have it all finished but for the buttons. Came to town today to get them and to get a few things at the grocery store. We have some big thunder storms coming tonight so I want to be back at camp before they hit. I needed to shut this pc off too!

I have been doing a lot of knitting this last week. DH was on vacation so he got a lot of the yard work done. DS had a softball accident last week and had to have surgery on his right thumb on May 20. He is lucky that he is the boss, so he has two workers and he can do some things. He has a cast and will have it checked on June 6. The doctor had to put the cords back on the bone. Called it a skiiers thumb. LOL Always something with that kid! Just like his mother!!! One thing or another with us! His wife is so good, she just smiles and is by his side. We are hoping to get to see them this weekend...once I have the ankle replaced I will be laid up for 6 weeks with a cast! And will not be able to put any weight on the leg either!

Well take care my friends. I will try to keep you posted with my knitting projects and recovery. May God Bless you all for your concern and internet friendship!

KNIT ON!!

WE ARE MOVING!!!

2008-05-15T22:45:00.002-04:00

The waterline is in the lake and the pump is working...hot water tank is on and we are ready to move in tomorrow. I plan on going to the camp early tomorrow morning and getting the fridge and the rest of the cupboards cleaned up and do some laundry. I love to hang clothes out on the line so will be a fun day for me. I got my veggie plants in the pots today and the hanging flowers are now out on the post on the deck! WE ARE MOVING!! The alarm system is working at the house so this year we will have that for security. Lets hope DH remembers the code!!! We are going to stay up tomorrow night and then come home in the morning to bring up the cats. It will be so nice to have quiet again. Last night we listened to our neighbors across the street little girl talking and crying most of the night. We had our windows open and I guess they did too! And the dogs in the neighborhood barked all night long too! And then the paper machine in the mill went down so we had the steam plant screaming at us as the released the steam into the air most of the night too!!! It will be heaven at camp until the fourth of July when everyone moves up from their out of state homes for the next month or so. Oh well. That won't be bad..we are just about the last camp on the road so we don't get their traffic, just the 4-wheelers during the day. And the people that own party boats ride around and talk. But the nights are quiet and it is so nice!!! Crickets, frogs, loons, and the birds...lol

I had my MRI yesterday. I didn't make it through the first set when I started to get upset so they brought me out and let me calm down. The 3 ladies decided to put me in feet first for the next 45 minutes if I could go back in and finish the first set. I had enough Valium in me to float a house, but it didn't help. The last time I went in they gave me xanax and it worked very, very good. No problems at all. And I couldn't have any music as they had to put my head in the device so the headset wouldn't fit. DARN!! It is an awful feeling to be in something like that and scared to death of it. I guess the fear I had from being locked up in that little room in the cellar as a small child still rears its ugly head from time to time! At least now I know what it is and why it happens. And I was able to talk myself into knowing that I could get out and no one would keep me there..especially after they took me out the first time. I had the first full set without the contrast and then they brought me out again and said to not move at all...the computer would pick up where it left off so I had to be in the same position for this to work. So they injected the dye contrast and put me back in. I said so many prayers yesterday in that hour I won't have to pray for a week now!!!! And the noise that the machine made sounded like disco music beat a few times. I could see John Travolta dancing around in my head. And when they put me in feet first, me knees were hitting on this bump. The first set tickled my knees so much I was giggling for the 2 minutes it took...and the tech asked me what was so funny...ha ha ha. I noticed that when they were running the MRI the area that it was working on got very warm. When the took me out that first time I was burning up. So I ended up taking the blanket off me and pulling the johnny up to my boobs so the air would blow on my bare skin.(I had my boxers on) The girls laughed and said I had no modesty...not when it comes to keeping cool! All and all, I will make sure if I have to do this again I will have a different medication to make sure I can get through it without tears. Now for my doctor to decide what she can do to help me. But I think I will have the ankle done first. I won't be able to use crutches after the back surgery and this ankle replacement means 6 weeks with not being able to put any pressure on that ankle so I will be on crutches for a couple of months. We will see!

Got the second button band on the aran tonight and the ribbing for the hood almost done and ready for the hood. I hope to finish this soon.

Well, heading to bed..want to get up early and head to camp. DH has the car loaded up for me. He told me he has my rifle and bullets in the front so I would have it with me at camp. After seeing that bear the other night..I want that rifle close at hand!!!

Temps today hit 70 F beautiful degrees..it is still 60 degrees at 11 pm. And the bugs are out! I hate those black flies..they love me and they sure do bite me! DH didn't have any around him when we were out in the boat dropping off the waterline..but I had a dozen of them getting in my eyes and mouth!!! YUCKY!!

Night all

KNIT ON!!

Moving to Camp some day!!!

2008-05-13T23:32:00.002-04:00

Well this is going to be one of those years! Nothing has gone right with this move at all this week. DH and I put the waterline in the lake yesterday after waiting for 4 days for the winds to die down and the lake to calm down. Then he discovered he had brought up the wrong pump so that was the end of that! So today we brought up the right pump and he hooked it up. He primed the pump and waited for the water to fill the line up so he could open the line into the camp and nothing. An hour and a half of him putting water in the pump and turning it on and nothing!! So he pulled the waterline in and checked it out to make sure there weren't any holes in the pipe. The foot valve was tangled in the rope and he thinks this was stopping the water from getting pumped in. But the winds are still bad so we didn't get to put the line back. Yesterday we had a little lull in the winds so we took that as our one chance to get it in the lake. But today the winds were even stronger and huge white caps and waves made it impossible to put the little boat back in the water and row out to drop the line with the block on it back. We won't be going to camp tomorrow as I have an MRI in Bangor at 4 pm. It will be too late to go up by the time we get home...so it will have to wait until Saturday when DH is on vacation for the next week. Oh well. Just wasn't meant to be! Now we are keeping our fingers crossed that none of the pipes in the camp have cracked like they did several years ago due to moisture in the pipes and a very cold night with no one staying at camp to keep the water running...lol That is the only good thing about PVC pipe..it is easy to cut and replace it if there is a problem.

Well I did get the two bands done on the Aran Cardigan tonight. I just haven't felt like knitting at all these last 4 or 5 days. I have several projects all packed for camp. Will take up three or four and the rest will be at home. DH will bring them up when I am ready to start them.

I hate thinking about the MRI I am having tomorrow. I was abused as a little girl and one of the incidents was my mother locking me in the basement in a little room that they kept potatoes in during the winter. There was no light so it was a very dark place to be. And this MRI is a great reminder of those feelings even 48 years after the fact. And it took a scare to bring it all back when I was 35. I was in the bathroom at work when the lights went out and there was no back up lights. I was terrified and this just came flashing at me like it was yesterday! And since then I have been terrified of being locked in and not being able to get out. I will have to be medicated to do this and I am bring my Phil Vasseur Greatest Hits CD for them to play while I am in there for an hour tomorrow. My doctor has ordered this to check the whole spine this time. No more little surprises I am hoping. This way she will know what else needs to be corrected and then go in for the surgery. I will be the bionic woman when I am done!!! LOL

Well, I am going to watch Murder She Wrote and then head to bed and try to relax enought to get some sleep. Take care all and.......

KNIT ON!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

2008-05-11T03:37:00.001-04:00

Just a quick note to say "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY" to everyone! May your day be filled with love and a lot of knitting!

KNIT ON!!

Camp

2008-05-09T18:35:00.000-04:00

I went to camp on Wednesday to see how things were and to get the bedding. On the ride home, I almost hit a deer that ran into the road in front of me. And this big snapping turtle was crossing the road. I stopped in both lanes of traffic so no one could get by me and run over it. They move so slowly and a lot of people run over them when they could have stopped and waited for them to get to the other side of the road. We do not have turtles like we used to when I was a kid. People kill them all the time and the babies do not survive because of predators. This one was moving along nicely and it probably wouldn't have made it if I hadn't stopped traffic for it. LOL

Yesterday we went to camp after DH got out of work at 3:30 pm. I got some of the bedroom cleaned and a lot of the dust removed from the furniture. DH unloaded the cleaning stuff for me and then went to shoot his new bow! I knew he wanted to go up for a reason that wasn't to clean...hahahahahaha. We had sandwiches for supper at camp and then did some more cleaning and headed home. While I was eating supper I noticed a hummingbird at the feeder. By the time I got my camera ready it flew off. So today I went to camp at 7:30 am and did a lot of cleaning...with a lot of breaks. I had lunch and while I was eating, the male hummer was there a lot. I finally got a picture of him. I also put out some of my other bird feeders and had several blue jays and many different kinds of finch. I think the bright yellow ones are so pretty.

And there is still snow at camp!! Some on the road in and a lot on the shoreline. We have a huge pile of it because that is where it drifted the most. It should be gone in a few more days. It will take a couple of weeks for the lawn to dry up before we can drive on it.

I got two of my cupboards washed out with Clorox cleanup today. I hate cleaning up after the mice!! They poop everywhere. We put all the dishes and silverware into large plastic storage boxes so we don't have poop on them any more. But they still get in the cupboards and drawers. We are so lucky that they make cleaning products ready to use...especially when there is no running water for a few more days. I get to clean the place and not need any water!!! Thank God for smart people!! lol

Well, going to go knit and watch TV early tonight. Need to rest my poor aching back and ankle!! Take care all and....

KNIT ON!!!!

Aran Cardigan

2008-05-06T23:26:00.002-04:00

Well, I got the sleeves knitted up last night and measured to make sure all the pieces were the right length. @#$@%#& it all! The back and the front were an inch too short. So I took out the bind off and picked up the back stitches and added 8 more rows. Then I frogged the two fronts back 18 rows to where I started to decrease and added 8 more rows there. I have only 5 rows of the decrease done and had to put it up for the evening. Was so over tired I couldn't see straight. Today I have been so busy that I didn't get a chance to even open up my knitting bag to work on it. The weather was 71 F beautiful degrees today, the sun was shining and I just couldn't stay in the house to knit or read!! I went to bed early to work on the fronts this evening, but just didn't feel like it so watched NCIS and Shark. Turned off the TV and couldn't sleep. So here I am at the computer reading blogs and adding to mine. And DH is upstairs snoring away and I can't seem to get sleepy tonight.

Had my little car checked over today. Back tire was making noise so had it to the garage all day. Nothing there so didn't cost me anything.

Having a lot of problems with my poor ankle. Dr wants to wait to replace it until after my back surgery. I don't think that is going to wait. I am using crutches again to get around. In the morning it isn't too bad, but as the day wears on the pain is so bad I can hardly stand on it. It feels like a broken bone! I know it is the little pieces in there moving and causing this pain. And I know that I am calling the doctor tomorrow to get on the list and have it done ASAP. We should be moving to camp this weekend. So if I can get it all cleaned up this week and stuff moved in and put away, all DH has to do is put the pump in place, line in the water and prime it! The rest will be getting the cats up there! Then we can plan the surgery. It is only a 2 day stay this time..but I will be in bed for 2 weeks in a fluffy cast and then 4 more weeks in a hard cast and not able to put any weight on it. Oh well..can't be any worse then when I broke it in '82. (Did it on my 10 year olds little 60CC dirt bike! Had 5 1/2 hours of surgery to put the ankle back in place and 6 weeks in a cast. I then had 6 months of physical therapy 5 days a week to learn to walk again. I then had two more surgeries in the next 5 years to remove the pins and screws in it. That summer a friend and her son and me and my son went up on the mountain where there had been a terrible forest fire a few years before and picked blueberries. I picked over 120 quarts of those little things. It was a hot July too! lol We had blueberries for months..gave away many of them too.)

I boiled my sugar water tonight and washed out my hummingbird feeders. I know that the males are already here and they must be wondering why there isn't anything to eat! I have bought 50 pounds of sugar so far..I hope to get the rest this weekend at Sam's Club in Bangor. I have used 150 pounds one summer! Had over 40 of birds and they sure did go through a lot of the stuff everyday. I was boiling 3 gallons of water a day for over a month...August. I usually have a dozen or so females and 3 males. Then the babies start showing up. Last summer I thought I had a couple of big bumble bees on the feeders. When I went out to shoo them away, I discovered they were baby hummers!! lol

Going to head to the camp at 6 when DH leaves for work. Need to get the bedding and curtains down and bring them home to wash and dry. Then I will take the truck to the glass place for them to fix the windshield..it leaked inside the truck last week when we had all the heavy rain. The dealer isn't sure if it is the windshield or the lights on top. (Reason we never ordered them on a truck before..this truck wasn't ordered by us so it had them on the cab.) So start with the windshield and see if it happens again. The truck isn't 3 years old yet and it still have full coverage on it..so get r done now!!! lol

Going to have to get my knitting projects lined up for the summer. DH will never be able to find anything if I don't have it all bagged and tagged and ready to grab when I need a new one. This way I will always have something to do while recouping. I hope I can get the skirt done for DDIL this summer too. Started it over 3 years ago and just couldn't make myself work on it when it got to the 3/4 point! Now I have them on one big circular needle and only have about 45 more rows to go. Will try to get a couple of pictures taken of it and post soon.

Well, going to go watch Murder She Wrote..Haven't seen this one before..that I can remember!! LOL

KNIT ON!!

Graces 5th Birthday Today!!

2008-05-05T18:33:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Grace's parents had her birthday party at the indoor mini-golf place for kids in town. She had her little friends from nursery school and family there to share in her day!
This picture is of Grace riding the little merry-go-round that Lori has in the store.

Grace opening up one of her many gifts.

Grace with her Dora lamp that she got from her Aunt Kelly and Uncle Jason. She had such a fun afternoon there. She tired us out just watching her running around, playing golf, and playing the many other games there!

This is a picture of dandilions in our yard! This is the first flowers in our yard. I do not have anything else because we will be moving to camp in a couple of weeks and no one is here to take care of them. So we have them at the lake to enjoy.

Today I finished the two sleeves for the Aran Cardigan. I will be putting it together later tonight and then adding the hood. Can't wait to get this finished and off to Texas.

Went to the local hardware store today to get some hummingbird feeders...the ones from Perky-pet...that stick to the window. I had bought 3 last summer, but dropped them a couple of times when I was filling them and they leaked all over the deck. So I will save them for parts if I should need them.

Well, heading in to work on my aran...and I think I am going to go to bed early tonight..like right now! Got up with DH at 5:30 and drove him to work so I could use the truck and pickup my flowers at the local greenhouse for camp. Also went to the cemetary to put the silk flower arrangements on my father in law, mother in law and brother in laws graves. Will get my mothers later as hers are at camp and we still can't get in.

Take care all and

KNIT ON!!

Flooding

2008-04-30T12:54:00.001-04:00

This is Route 11..about 14 miles outside of town, heading towards Brownville. The heavy rains Monday and Tuesday took its tolls on our roadways. The road was closed to traffic both ways until DOT could get it fixed. As of 9 pm tonight the road has been reopened. There are many of the sides of the road that are washed out and very deep. And quite a few areas on the road were covered with debris due to the water covering the roads.

This is the Underpass on the Lake Road. This road goes to the mountain. The people on the other side had to travel to the lake and then back down the golden road to get to town. There are many houses with flooded basements all over town today.

The town has had school buses in the past to get the residents from one side to the other, but this year the water was too high for that. The road is still closed tonight. Word on the street is that they will be opening Rip Dam tonight and that will cause even more flooding to us and all the way downstream to the ocean. So glad I live on this big hill away from all that. We do not get water very often in the cellar, but when we do it's usually a good one! No water again today down there.

This is the Millinocket Foundry in town. They had the water running right through their business today. The men and women went to work and it was business as usual for them.

Finished the two fronts on the hooded cardigan tonight and started the two sleeves. I hope I can get this finished soon and in the mail to Texas. Then I can finish the other hooded sweater for Sarah and then the wool lace skirt I have been working on for my DIL.

KNIT ON!

WIP'S are coming along great!

2008-04-29T22:16:00.000-04:00

I took this picture in hopes that you can see the price of gas in our little town. I was driving and only took this one. When I got home I noticed that the trees seem to be covering the price, which is $3.65! And my little car broke down yesterday so we have to use the truck for a while until we can get it fixed. We are going to need the car soon, so hoping our stimulus money comes in this week! It will probably take the whole check to fix the left back wheel...it started grinding and then you could smell metal heating up...can't remember what I was told needed to be replaced, but we just had the right side done in Feb. Oh well. No car payments and repairs are a lot cheaper then buying another car! And it does get up to 30 MPG when I don't drive it over 80! lol

The back is finished! I have a lot of half used balls left over from Sarah's sweater and another I did a little bit ago and have used them on the two fronts. I really like to knit this pattern. Wish I had the brains to sit down and make the pattern large enough for me and DH. Would be a sharp looking hooded cardigan if you ask me!

Here are the two fronts. I am to the point of starting the neck shaping tonight. I have only two small balls of yarn to use up and then can open a couple of new ones for the sleeves and hood.
I have enough buttons like the ones I put on Sarah's sweater for this one. They are big enough so that Sarah will be able to button it up when she's a little bigger. And I did knit hers in a size 4 so it will last a little longer.

I had given one of these sweaters to one of my sons friends little girl a few years ago.(She was 2 at the time and very petite.) They had a house fire a week or so before Christmas and had only the clothes on their backs when it was done. They lost their 3 dogs in the fire too. There was really nothing left of the building but some timbers and rubble. It was very sad for the family to lose their beloved pets. My son helped his friend dig through the rubble and find their remains. The dogs were bought back to this area and buried on her fathers property. The couple and their daughter were renting the house and it was a wiring caused fire. Their communities came forward and really helped them out...people are so wonderful when something like that happens here in Maine. And Lydia is still wearing the sweater. Her grandmother told me it was her favorite one because the buttons were large enough that she could be a big girl and button it up all by herself!

We have had heavy rains all last night and all day today. It is still raining heavily and some of the roads in town are flooded and the police have closed off the roads. And on route 11, the road we use to go to camp, they have had a total road washout a few miles after the road we would turn off to get to our camp. The culvert is completely gone and the rushing waters have opened the little brook up to a raging river. The water has taken the huge culvert out and the state is trying to get the road closed off to all traffic from both ends..which is our little town and another small town about 35 miles from here. We only have one other road in and out of town with this one closed. What a night it will be for the hydro people and state road workers all over the state. Some places have already gotten over 4 inches of rain. We are closing in on 3.61 inches now. And it hasn't let up yet.

DS called at supper time to let us know he got a wild turkey yesterday with his shotgun. He decided not to use his bow as he didn't want to waste time and gas! He was only out of the truck a couple of minutes when her heard one. He got set up in the brush and called for them. He said it was what is called a Jake. They had some for supper last night and tonight! He said that they were getting snow over there today too. It have been cold enough up in the higher elevations for snow. Hope we don't get any...have had enough of that white s*** until December...or January 2009!

Well, I am going to go back and watch Law and Order and knit before I head to bed shortly.

KNIT ON!!

WIP'S

2008-04-27T18:27:00.001-04:00

Here is the little squirrel sitting on the pallets eating sunflower seeds. DH cleaned the yard yesterday and today and moved the pallets to the back of the yard so when they deliver our wood next week they won't get broken. The little guy decided to jump back and forth from the feeder to the pallets and eat his dinner. Tonto decided he wanted to eat the little squirrel, so had to go out and shoo it away...hate it that the cat does that, but it's what he does! lol
The neighbors have their platform up for their pool this summer. I am so glad we don't have one of those.. a royal pain in the ass to put up and take down every year.

This is the hooded sweater that I am knitting for my granddaughter. I have taken a picture of the yarn so that you can all see what it is I am using. I haven't seen this yarn in many years, so don't know where I got it..what distributor sold it to me. I want to say Reynolds, but can't..so won't ha ha!!
It has a single strand of green in it, though the picture doesn't show that at all. It is aran color with that one strand. Love the way it knit up and the feel of it. Wish I had more of it to make another sweater for me out of it.

Started another Aran hooded cardigan today for my friends grand baby in Texas. I am knitting this one in the smallest size as the baby isn't a year old until October. Their weather is nothing like Maine's so trying to knit something the baby can use and be used.

Here is a picture of the yarn, book and the started back of the cardigan. I really enjoy this pattern and is probably why I have made so many of them and given them as gifts to family and friends. This one is the smallest size, 22" chest, finishes up at 25". I will make it to the exact size the directions call for.

I started this around 2 p.m. today and have quite a bit of it done. The pattern is a 28 row repeat and now that I have it in my memory again, I am off and running without having to look at the pattern. And only mark the rows when I take a break..lol love it that I can just knit this one without all the hassles of keeping track like the first one I did for DGD.

Have a fire in the woodstove today. Very cold and damp all day. Only 46 F right now and the sun is trying to come out. We have had many rain showers all day but it didn't stop DH from getting more of the yard picked up and hauled to the dump. At least the town leaves that part of it open for everyone to use. It is just for leaves and brush. No trash. That part is closed today.

We still have a little bit of snow in the yard. Down the hill by the mill fence there is a LOT of snow! The sun doesn't hit that part so it will take longer to melt.

Can't wait to get to camp...should be in about 2 weeks. Waiting for the road to reopen and the ice to go out. No water - no me at camp! I like flushing a toilet! And taking a shower!

Well, back to knitting on the hoodie for my friend. Take care all and

KNIT ON!!!!

New Sweater on the Needles

2008-04-24T22:22:00.003-04:00

No pictures to post, but I have started a new hooded sweater for Sarah. I got the pattern from Lionbrand. I had the yarn from my old shop, it is called "ARAN" by Moby. I do not remember what company I bought it from, but I know I had made a small sweater for a lady for her grandson with it. It is 85% acrylic and 15% wool. Just went and got a skein of it. It is made by King Cole Ltd in Bingley U.K. It is aran with a single stand of dark green twisted through it. I am quite pleased with the way it has knit up. The pattern is Vanna's Choice Hooded Sweater. I am knitting this in a size 4. I have the front and the back done and working on the two sleeves at once and they are almost done. Finished the last increase on them a little bit ago. Now I need to find my tape measure and see if they are long enough to bind off. Then I can put it together and start the hood, which is picked up from the cast off stitches, not knit and sewn on.
When we went over last weekend to visit, my DIL brought out 3 other hooded sweaters that I have already knit for Sarah in size 2/3. So this one I will give her for Christmas this year. Hopefully she won't grow too quickly and not wear it a lot like I want her to.

The weather here in Maine has been wonderful. The snow is going, going but not gone! The lake road is still closed and won't be opened until May 11. DH has the week of May 19Th off, so this will give me time to get up there and get the place cleaned up...dust and all that stuff from the winter months. And DH can put the ladders and snow shovels away, not in the kitchen. LOL We had a huge thunder and lightening storm last evening. I hate them!!!!! It was a little early in the season for one, but Mother Nature has not been doing things according to the seasons at all this year, so why not throw in a good summer storm in the spring...ha ha. The temps have been in the high 60's and mid 70's the last 6 days. Today was only 53 F but still nice out after the clouds cleared.

I started my cucumber seeds yesterday. Also my tomato and morning glory seeds too. I am going to put them into hanging pots or 5 gallon pails this year as I will not be able to do any bending to weed my garden again this year. Last year I didn't do anything because of my back surgery the end of May. This year I hope to have it all planted and on the deck before I go in again. I missed not being able to pick fresh cukes and tomatoes last year. And the price of veggies right now is off the charts, so this will be a money saver in the end....IF I can keep the raccoons out of them...especially the tomatoes. They always eat them or tear up the pots at night when they are hungry. I asked DH to get someone to till the garden out so I can at least have a couple of rows of radishes...which are my absolute fave! He just laughed at me. I bought some seeds of mixed flowers for hummingbirds. Hopefully he will plant them for me so that at least there will be something there besides the weeds we had last year..ha ha

Had the studded snow tires removed from the truck today. State law is that they have to be off my May 1st. DH is going to have to find 4 more rims so we will not have to be paying to change the tires twice a year. To have the mounted and balanced ran us $53.00 today.

Gas prices hit $3.65.9 a gallon yesterday. One station was still at $3.53.9 a gallon so I went up and filled my little car up...if you pump it yourself and are 55 or over they take .02 off a gallon. Then when DH got out of work we went up with the pickup truck...it only cost us $83.00 to fill it..good thing it still had 10 gallons in the tank...can't imagine what it could have been if it had been really empty...OH MY!! My little car was $17.36 for 5.07 gallons! OH MY!!!!! DH wants to buy a motorcycle to ride this summer back and forth to work. I think he may just get one if we can get one cheap enough. I haven't driven a bike since I broke my ankle in 1982 when I did that on my sons little dirt bike. I have had three surgeries on that ankle and now I am going to have an ankle joint replacement this fall! So glad I never had it fused! I wouldn't be able to have this new surgery.

I am going to make another Aran Cardigan for my pen pal in Texas. Her granddaughter is going to be 1 in October, so I am going to make the size 2. Judy said that they wear sweaters, but nothing heavy. So this worsted weight will be great for her in the winter time.

Well, time for me to get off the PC and knit some more on the sweater for Sarah. Take care all and

KNIT ON!!

Sarah

2008-04-21T11:34:00.001-04:00

OK Baxter, bring me the stick! Sarah loves to throw the stick for the dogs. This one is a bit too big for her so her Grampy threw it!

Here Baxter, I have a snowball for you! She kept trying to get Baxter to catch the snowball, but wasn't able to throw it high enough for him.

MOMMY MOMMY, I found somthing in the garden!!!!! Bruski is right there to make sure no one gets in Sarahs way! He's checking out the plastic that Sarah found.

Hi Grams and Gramps, see my new sweater I have on! I love you so much for knitting it for me Grams!!! LOL

She loves to be outside in this nice weather. Next month the bugs will be so bad we won't be able to enjoy the sun without getting bitten to bits when outside!

Sarah playing in the mud

2008-04-21T11:22:00.000-04:00

Still a lot of snow on the ground in the northern part of the state. We went to visit our son and his family this weekend. Sarah decided to check out the mud for the first time! She is having a blast in it! The temps hit 70 F Saturday.

Look at me! More water and mud to play in! The dogs had a blast running around with Sarah too. Grams and Grampy had a wonderful time watching and laughing at her!

In a month or so this will be their garden!

We waited for her to fall in the mud, but she didn't. She was sure-footed today!

KNIT ON!

Sarah

2008-04-20T19:15:00.000-04:00

Sarah in her new poncho and hat! It was made from Streetwise yarn that I have had for a long time. I think I am going to have to crochet around the neck to make it stay on her. She kept trying to put it around her waist. LOL

Sarah wearing her new hooded Aran cardigan! I made a size 4 hoping this would be something she will wear later this year...but it is just a little bit big for her.

Dad put the sweater on her today and met us for breakfast at the little restaurant by the hotel we stayed in this weekend. We had a blast playing with Sarah for 2 days!

Sarah is trying to get the dogs to play with her. She wanted them to come over so she could throw her little snowball in the air so Baxter could catch it.

More tomorrow on our visit...heading to bed to rest and watch some tv.

Take care all and...........

KNIT ON!

Aran Cardigan

2008-04-14T18:21:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of the cardigan that I am knitting for Sarah. I am using Encore,worsted weight yarn from Plymouth Yarn. It is 75% acrylic and 25% wool. This way Mom can wash it when it gets dirty. I have made many of these sweaters as gifts for friends and family...HAD to make one for Sarah! The pattern is from "Country Arans for children". It was put out by Plymouth Yarn. The first printing came from Paton's in the late 80's. I have this one left over from my yarn shop days. Have some buttons that I had purchased in Canada many years ago when we went to a big craft fair in New Brunswick. Can't remember the person who made them, but will be perfect for this sweater.

Here are the roses that I got from my son, daughter in law and granddaughter for my birthday today! Also got cards from family and friends, both email and snail mail. (And you can see all my knitting books in the background in the book case.) DH took me out for supper tonight too! And then we went to the local greenhouse to see whats growing there...NOTHING! Debbie won't be starting up the furnace until Wednesday when all the plants arrive. Got my order in early for some hanging planters of vegetables for camp. Won't be able to bend to tend the garden, so will just have them in planters and on the deck. We have some 5 gallon buckets we are going to put tomato plants in along with cukes and peppers. Hope to get the big half potato barrels filled again and plant some radishes in them. LOVE fresh radishes. Love fresh veggies anytime! But to have them fresh in Maine is a hard thing to get in the winter months. They are either not fresh and coated in wax or just not tasty when we get the hot house ones.

Well, off to work on the cardigan for Sarah and go visit Aunt Bubbles at the nursing home with DC.

KNIT ON!!

More Deer Pictures

2008-04-14T01:59:00.000-04:00

Duck and deer...lol

Duck and Deer.

Just a few more eating

Supper is served! More coming from the woods to eat.

Snow again & Deer

2008-04-13T19:12:00.002-04:00

Well, woke up to snow Saturday morning! Just a little bit, but enough to make us stay home instead of going to Bangor to the Home Show. There were many accidents and the odds made us make a quick decision to stay home and for me to bake a nice spiral ham! So we stayed home, I cooked, cleaned and knit on my aran cardigan. I now have the hood started. The sleeves are done and so are the button bands.

We went to Bangor today (Sunday) and got some stuff on modular homes at the Home Show. (Not a lot of stuff there...people do not have the money to invest in these shows like they did years ago.) Hoping to have home built in a few years near our son....want to watch the grand daughter grow up and once DH is retired, we can move. Just a few more years to go.

We stopped in Medway at the Gateway Inn and watched the deer. Had heard the cops talking about them on the scanner last night, so when we pulled off the interstate I told DH that we were going to stop and watch the deer if they were there. And were they!!! In the 20 minutes we were there, 20 of them came out of the woods to eat the grain the Inn owners have been putting out. There were seagulls and a couple of female ducks there too! One of the ducks was right next to the deer and didn't care if they were close to her or not. The deer were not phased by anyone getting out to take pictures or of all the coming and going cars! The deer were in the woods and some were near the edge of the woods watching. They all came to eat while we were there and more were coming as we pulled out of the parking lot.

This picture shows a duck landing in the deer to get some food. The deer moved and it took right off again and the other one followed suit and took off to. Did get a picture of it in the deer.

This shot shows there are 13 deer. More came from the right and just mingled with the rest to eat. DH didn't want to sit and watch long. Told him I should have left him home...he's a party pooper! I was talking to the people at the show and he was standing there huffing and puffing to move along. You'd think I'd learn after 38 years...go by myself...get to see more and do more. LOL Gotta love him!!! ha-ha

Aunt Ellen

2008-04-10T11:05:00.002-04:00

As I posted last night about my aunt Ellen, she passed away. She is now with her family, as she has wanted for the last few months. I will miss you Auntie!!
I love you!!

Aunt Ellen

2008-04-09T23:17:00.003-04:00

Just to let everyone know..I did go to the hospital tonight...Auntie is in a coma and is not expected to live much longer! They have stopped all her medications and IV. She still has oxygen, but it is not helping her at all now. She may not make it through the night is what the grandchildren are saying. I am praying that God will take her soon and stop her suffering. She has said all this week that she is ready to go.

Today is the second anniversary of her sons death. She has outlived her husband, son and daughter. Her grandchild have been there for her forever. She lives with one of her granddaughters since her own daughter died just a short time ago.

GOD BLESS YOU AUNT ELLEN!!!

Snow Dump today and collapsed garage

2008-04-09T17:21:00.001-04:00

Here a picture of the snow dump I took today. DH wanted to stand in front of it with a shovel and post it to some bow site he goes to. LOL And this has melted in the last 2 weeks! The dirt is showing now and that will slow down the melting of the snow until into July.
Men!! Just have to love them! lol

Here is DH walking back from the snow trying not to step into the mud like he did when he walked to it...lol. I stayed on the road that goes into it and used the zoom lens to get the closeups...haha. Now to go to Rite-Aid later and print them up for him. (cheaper there then for me to print them with my printer I bought for my Sony camera.)

These next two pictures are of a house that the attached garage collapsed yesterday. The owner had her car in there and it was heavily damaged too. The problem with this type of thing happening is that our insurance company won't cover the damages because they didn't have it shoveled. Paying to have someone clear the roof would have been a lot cheaper then rebuilding. This second picture is closer up and shows the crew hired to tear it down and clean it up. This means Mike will have early work for his crew this month. Most carpenters have to lay off their crews for the winter months.

KNIT ON!!!

Green Grass in our yard and Sarahs Aran Sweater and slippers

2008-04-08T19:06:00.001-04:00

Washed the slippers and I do not think they are small enough for DGD's little feet. I might try felting them some more today. I think I like them, but not sure...will have to wait and see how Sarah likes them. I just wish they had felted smaller...look to me like they are still as large as when I knit them. Her little feet are only 6" long and these are a lot longer than 6 inches...lol Oh well, hope to try them on her this weekend...if mother nature doesn't mess up the weekend again with snow like the last one! We are planning going to visit on Saturday, and staying over night, but the hotels are all booked for Reggae weekend at Sugarloaf USA.

Have the back and the two fronts done on the Aran hooded cardigan for DGD. I have the two sleeves started but haven't really worked on them much these last couple of days. My back ache has increased and now I just want to lay still in bed and hope for the pain to ease up. Have pain meds to take, but hate taking them. Saw my doctor on Monday and he said I shouldn't have the second back surgery...just increase my meds and live with it. Yeah right! He should walk a mile in my shoes and then tell me if he wouldn't take the chance to have this pain reduced like it was before I went and moved the wrong way and now have the vertebrae slipped over so I have pain 24/7! My surgeon is now wishing she had fused this when I had surgery last May. Oh well, and I was doing so good. Now to decide which to do first, back or knee replacement...haha Get-R-Done!!

We have some green grass in our yard. LOL Still have a ton of snow, but what grass is showing is turning green. Our back yard is so muddy, (Mud season has arrived!!) that we are going to have to start parking in the driveway or on the street for a while. Hate parking on the street..never know what will happen to our vehicles! Do not want the alarms going off at 2 in the morning!!

As you can see, there is snow and now grass! I hate the thought of the bugs and mosquitoes coming in May, but will gladly put up with them after this winter and all the snow!

Aunt Ellen is still in the hospital. I haven't been back up...just so hard to see her struggling to breath. I am not a very nice person, but I hope the family can forgive me for my short comings in life. I understand that the doctor has put her on morphine now to help her relax and hopefully able to breath better. I am just going to have to go up today and see if the family can use some support. Enough of me feeling sorry for myself and not being there when needed!!!

Well, got to get going. Promised a lady to send her a yarn care package so she can design some more socks! She is such a great talent, but like is always looking for donations to help with her limited income. And I hope to get a couple of her wonderful sock patterns too!

Take care all and

KNIT ON!!!!

Snow at the Mountain and the Dike

2008-04-08T19:03:00.001-04:00

Underneath all that snow is a camp! OH YEAH! Just a little bit of snow up at Amajejus Lake! Of course the snowplow hasn't helped! The banking is high because of the plowing, but the snow on the roof, imagine it, it there by mother nature. In the center of this picture is the camp. I had to take a picture to prove that we have a lot of snow! And this sure proves it!

This is the camp just before the camp you can't see. I am amazed that it hasn't colapsed from the weight of the snow. Yesterday DH and I took a ride around town and saw a home with an attached garage that the garage had colasped from the weight of the snow. I will have to go back and take a picture of it today to post. I am amazed that people do not take the time to shovel or to have their homes shoveled off with all this snow we got this winter.

We had taken the state road to Abol and drove back on the Golden Road. We were both suprized to see tree length wood stacked on the sides of the road again. We haven't been up that road in a few years due to the fact it is posted a private road. The mill hasn't had tree length logs there for years....since they took out all the equipment to cut it up into 4 foot lenths. So took a few pictures of the piles of wood.

Abol Bridge and store. The bridge is one-lane and the loaded pulp trucks use it to bring the logs to the mills in the area. Just a little bit of snow in this picture too!

At least the snow has started melting and spring is finally coming to Maine!

KNIT ON!

Aunt Ellen

2008-04-05T17:58:00.002-04:00

Wednesday was my Aunt Ellen's 94Th birthday. Her granddaughter brought her to the hospital and she is there still today having severe breathing problems. I went to visit her yesterday and it was so hard to watch her trying to get enough air into her lungs. I didn't stay very long, it was just too much for me to watch. I do plan on going up tonight to see her again. She is alert and in good spirits, but struggling to breath. After watching my mother, father in law, mother in law and brother in law die and the difficulties they had to breath, I just do not have it in me to sit there and watch auntie. Love her dearly, but I just don't want to see her suffering. I hope the rest of the family understands.

I have been knitting on the aran sweater for DGD. I have the back and the two fronts done. I have the two sleeves started as of last night. I will try to get some pictures posted soon. I hope to have this done by next Saturday when we go to visit our son and family! Sarah will look so good in it...it will be big, but she will be able to wear it for a while. I have knit a few other sweaters that she has already outgrown...so this one will last a year or more.

KNIT ON!

Knitting for Sarah

2008-03-30T19:01:00.004-04:00

I got this pattern for the felted slippers at the Knitt Witt shop online. DeeAnn is still running her business and she has a great selection of wonderful yarns and patterns. Still have one that she had to order coming, but will have enough to do when I have back surgery again soon.

The slippers were knit with bulky Bartlettyarns wool that I've had for few years. I used left over fun fur yarn for the tops. Now to felt the slippers to fit her little feet. Right now they fit me!

Started this hooded aran sweater for Sarah last night. I am using plymouth encore in aran. Got this last summer at the City side yarn shop when she was going out of business. I have knit this up many times and now it is time for my Granddaughter to have one!

Cedar Lake Road Accident

2008-03-28T14:36:00.002-04:00

Accident cuts power to 87 BH customersBy Thursday, March 27, 2008 - Bangor Daily News
LONG A TOWNSHIP - A logging truck accident on Cedar Lake Road left 87 Bangor Hydro customers without electricity, telephone and cable television service for most of Thursday, a company spokeswoman said.
The extent of accident injuries is unknown. Six utility poles and their lines were strewn across the roadway by the accident, which was near Route 11 and Millinocket, said Susan Faloon, a company spokeswoman.
"Our crews are still there," Faloon said early Thursday afternoon. "We were due to get the equipment we need to repair it out there at noon and at that point Cedar Lake Road was to be closed down."
The accident was reported at about 6:45 a.m., dispatchers at the Piscatiquis County Sheriff’s Department said. Although the accident is not in their area, they took the call and dispatched Bangor Hydro to the scene, they said.
Electricity is expected to be restored by 8 p.m. Thursday.
Anyone who has lost utilities due to the accident is asked to call Bangor Hydro at 1-800-440-1111.

I will try to get more information on this accident and post it.

KNIT ON!!

Deer on I-95

2008-03-28T00:33:00.002-04:00

This was taken on the I just be fore the Alton Bog. She didn't care that I was there until I move closer in the car...the next photo shows her with her head up and looking at me! She stayed right there the whole time.

These guys were too busy eating all the freshly cut tree limbs. The winter has been hard on all the wild animals this year and the loggers cutting to reclaim the sides of the roads have brought out many, many dear, moose, raccoon, birds, wild turkeys and many other critters.I took this picture of the deer on the ride home today from Bangor. Had to go to return some things and decided to bring my camera along. Took 123 pictures on the way down and back. Also have a video of a deer at the Gateway Inn in Medway. They feed the deer and their customers

Deer at the Gateway Inn in Medway Maine

2008-03-28T00:26:00.002-04:00

This is one big deer. The owners of the inn have been feeding the deer all winter so they are nice and full. I took these and the video and hope you all enjoy them! Hope this video will play for you to see this deer eating. There were other people there in their cars too taking photos. This guy would only move when the big trucks would go by on the highway right next to us. Love to watch the deer..any time of the year.

Interstate 95 south bound from Medway, Maine

2008-03-23T01:44:00.001-04:00

I took these photos while DH drove us to our sons for Easter yesterday. The state has hired a contractor to reclaim the sides of the highway after 40+ years of tree growth has taken over the safety zone on the sides and in the middle. They have been cutting a 83 mile stretch of the I for a couple of months now.

This is a picture of the trees that have been cut and waiting to be either delimbed and sent for lumber or to make paper with. The trees are used for making paper, fire wood, log homes and the limbs and smaller trees are chipped for bio mass for the industrial burners in the area. On the news the other night the contractor said they take out around a 100 loads of chipped brush every day.

This picture is of them moving the trees to the roadside to be readied for loading onto trucks.

This one shows how the traffic is moved to just one lane as they chip it onto the big box trucks.

I was hoping to catch the deer eating, but DH was driving too fast for my camera to focus..so just got the downed trees again. On Wednesday I saw over 25 deer along that 50 mile section eating the trees...they were cutting the trees down and the deer were eating off the tops as soon as they were setting the trees on the snow covered ground. This winter has been truly hard on our wildlife. The cutters are making them some well needed food, but they are being stuck and killed continuously all day and night long. They now have flashing signs up just before the areas where the most deer are. Have seen many of them dead on the side of the highway over the last month.

Snow in Millinocket Maine

2008-03-23T01:24:00.001-04:00

Just a little bit of snow! Very windy conditions on Friday after the snow we got during the night. This is picture of the highway in front of the Deadriver gas station. The snow has melted quite a bit...you can see all of this sign now compared to last week when just about half of it was covered up by snow.

Just a bit further down the street you can see that we do recycle here in the boonies!! lol Snow just keeps piling up around here! No sign of spring yet!!!

Two teens walking on the sidewalk..even though they are snow covered. The one on the far left was just about to fall on the ice! Very cold and blustery day. Not too many people out..wind-chill is about 1 degree F and winds were gusting to 50 MPH most of the day.

Little bit of snow in the park on main street. The spruce tree is growing steadily and it getting quite big. They are still able to decorate it for Christmas.

Don't know where we will put any more snow. Our streets are so narrow now that two cars can't pass side by side...one has to move into a driveway for the other to pass it.

It has been a wild couple of days. Thursday we got snow and then the winds came in. The northern part of the state got over 20 inches of new snow and heavy winds for 2 days. We only got 4 or 5 inches of snow, but the winds made it difficult to drive because of the blowing snow. Our house was just a swaying most of the night..told my DC that we had a vibrating bed! The house just kept shaking all night and day long. DH had to work 11-7 shift on Thursday..so Friday morning he came home and plowed us out and then went to bed and slept for 5 hours. He said the bed felt like it was rocking all day long...lol I HATE the wind when it's like this. These old houses sure have withstood some pounding by the winds over the last 90 years. And they stand up better then the new houses being built. All wood and none of that "pretend" stuff they call wood today as my grandmother called it. Real 2 by 4s and all...they cut their wood the true size, not this 1 3/4 by 3 3/4 that they do today. haha

Well this picasa won't let me put up any more than 4 photos at a time so will do the others of the interstate at another time. One of the cats decided she wanted to go out at 1 a.m. so waiting for her to do her thing and then heading back to bed!

KNIT ON!!!

First Day of Spring

2008-03-20T17:57:00.002-04:00

Well, here I sit watching the rain, ice, sleet, hail and snow falling. It seems that Spring is just a word that everyone is wishing would hurry up and come to Maine! We have so much snow on the ground that we will have to watch out for floods in the next month or so. DH is back to work and tonight he has to go back in at 11 and work until 7 on snow removal and plowing. He is sleeping now hoping to get enough of a nap to get him through the night! He just hates working this shift so much he won't get any sleep and will be miserable all night. I loved working this shift when I worked in the mill. I would trade my day shift for this one! DH and DS didn't like it, but I was home during the day with him and his father was home at night. So we didn't have to pay for a baby sitter only a few times.

I have one and one half alpaca sock done. These are taking a long time to knit up. The size of the yarn and the needles takes so much longer to get done. But I have finished the little precious sweater and have given it to Lily. Her mom doesn't want to put it on her cause she might get it dirty. LOL Told her that's what washing machines are for!! tee hee.

A friend of ours was killed on Monday. He was in the parking lot of the Olive Garden in Bangor. A very young woman was racing through the parking lot on her cell phone when she hit and ran over him....he died at the hospital a little bit later. Only 53 and such a quiet and gentle man. He will be missed.

We are going to our sons for Easter on Saturday. We won't be staying over, but will be leaving here early and coming home late. Supposed to be quite cold and windy but hopefully no snow! Can't wait to see Sarah. Got her a big soft purple bunny and some new clothes...summer ones and a pair of sneakers that light up. She will have to grow into them, but that is what I wanted when I got them a size bigger...feet grow so fast at the age anyway.

Well going to go read my book..can't stand to start a book and not read it all quickly..so will read it until it is done. Then going to start on some wool felted slippers for us and for Christmas gifts. Hope to have a few pictures up tomorrow of the snow and the socks. Take care all and....

KNIT ON!!!

More snow pictures

2008-03-10T07:41:00.001-04:00

More Snow Pictures

2008-03-10T07:36:00.000-04:00

Just a little bit of snow at camp!
Enjoy looking at it, but hate having to take care if it. These are from camp before we plowed the yard and the deck.

Look at how high the snow it!!! The snow is getting so high there won't be any place to move it to!

This picture if of the bankings on side of the road by our house.
It has been cut back a couple of times with a large machine the town has. They can blow it back over into peoples yards or they can blow it into dump trucks and take it to the snow dump. I just wish they would get up on our street and cut it back so it's wide enough for two vehicles again..not one like it is now. Oh well, spring is coming soon..I HOPE!!

KNIT ON!

Snow Dump in Millinocket

2008-03-06T14:52:00.000-05:00

Here are pictures of the snow dump that the town has out on Medway Road. You can see Mount Katahdin in the background of one. There is a large dump truck coming out of the dump..hope this lets you see how high this thing has grown too.

Life in Maine sucks right now!

2008-03-05T20:20:00.002-05:00

Well, is there any place out there that has some nice summer weather? I am so sick of this winter weather I could scream. We got snow,sleet, ice and rain today. The yard is full of frozen snow and ice covers the car and truck. It's is just so hard to understand why it's raining when it's 17 F and 9F with the windchill. We haven't lost our lights and hope we don't. Had a checkup with my back surgeon this morning and was supposed to go to work. Well I didn't get to either one of them. There was no school in just about every town from Bangor north. It was just too dangerous to chance a ride on the interstate in these conditions. I hope they don't fire me...lol. Thank goodness I have a lot of sick time to use up. If I get done working and the hours are still there, I don't get paid for them.

After trying to get Social Security Disability for the last 14 years, I finally won my appeal. I will be able to still work a little bit and not affect the SSD. I am still trying to get Workers Comp to pay my medical bills from my fall on the ice in 2005 at work and nothing yet! I got a bill from the hospital for $50,000 for my knee replacement. At the bottom of the statement it had "We take all major credit cards"! Like anyone has a limit of $50,000 on a credit card. If I had that kind of money I wouldn't need a credit card. DH and I have been having a good laugh over that since we got the bill. Unbelievable!!!!

Going to dig out the wool lace skirt I started for my DIL a couple of years ago and get that finished up. I promised that I would finish up a lot of the WIPs I have and get them out of the way. Or either that take them to the FROG POND and RIP IT, RIP IT, RIP IT!!! ha ha

Night all...off to the living room to knit and watch some TV before bed.

KNIT ON!!

More snow pictures on Route 11 by Twin Lakes

2008-03-04T14:58:00.000-05:00

These are pictures I took from the truck on the way back to town. The wind was blowing so hard that at times we could barely see the road. The drifting on the highway makes for a dangerous ride...it gets very slick and slippery even in 4 wheel drive.

Snow and Camp

2008-03-04T14:53:00.000-05:00

Here are 4 pictures of the snow that was at camp yesterday. We got about 18" at the lake compared to a foot in town. But the wind was horrible..poor DH was using a roof rake to get the snow off the roof. He went back up today to get the rest of it off. The snow blower died, so the deck will not be shoveled off. With the snow, ice and rain coming later tonight and tomorrow, it will be too heavy on the roof, but the deck was built to withstand way more weight then the roof. We have seen reports on TV where people are losing a lot of their out buildings because of the heavy snow pack on them. There was one man in the southern part of the state that made the news on TV because he was raking his metal roof off while standing on the ground and the snow let go. He was buried with his head in the deep snow and his feet upwards. No one could see him, so he was there trying to get out. He said he had his cell phone in his pocket and was able to get it out of his pocket. It fell into his hand and he dialed 911 and the fire department came and dug him out. He tried to holler for help, but no one could hear him. He is one lucky man! DH rakes our roofs after every storm to prevent any heavy build up of snow. We do not need to lose our house to neglect.

KNIT ON!!

Just l little bit of snow again!!

2008-03-02T10:43:00.000-05:00

This is my little car after the snow yesterday. We don't have much more room to plow the snow in the yard. The banks are higher than the car already.

Look at how high the snow is!!

Took these pictures from the back door this morning. This is the neighbors house on the next street from me. He can't even see out his windows with all the snow in front of his yard. And we have more coming on Tuesday and Wednesday! Enough Mother Nature!

I finished the little precious sweater last night. Now to start Sarah's. And I have gone through one skein of yarn for my alpaca socks. Will take three skeins for a pair. Will use 1 1/2 skeins per sock for my pair. And I am worth it. I will have to get in touch with Kim at the little store in Kingfield and order 3 more skeins of her yarn. Want to make 4 pair and have enough for 3.

KNIT ON!

WIP'S

2008-03-01T15:47:00.003-05:00

Here are the photos of the Precious sweater and the alpaca socks I am working on. I have the sweater all pinned together and should have it done later on today. Then I will start another one for Sarah. I used astra yarn that I had from my old yarn shop. I find that the quality if so much better then the new yarn that is produced today. Now that the company was bought out by a Canadian company, they just don't have the same texture of the old stuff. Sorry, I can't help it, but it is the way I feel about all these companies buying out others and then cutting back to make the yarn cheaper. Oh well, I have enough in my little shop to last me much longer then I will be on earth....lol

And we have SNOW! More snow then I care to look at. It has been snowing all day now and with no end in sight, we are in for a lot of it again! Our little street is so narrow now, where are we going to put it all???

Take care all,

KNIT ON!!

ANOTHER SNOW STORM FOR TOMORROW!!

2008-02-29T19:26:00.002-05:00

Can Mother Nature get off the snow wagon and get some spring here in Maine! We are expecting another major snowstorm tomorrow...we just got 8" and they are talking well over a foot this time around. Hot Damn! Where will be put this snow? The streets are so narrow now it is getting impossible to go anywhere. The town crew is so small that no matter what they get done, mother nature comes along and drops another load of snow. We have a "Snow Dump"...lol Because of the environmental laws we have, we can not dump any snow into the river, so it is put into dump trucks and take to an area that is just for the snow. It will melt and run into the river in the late spring. Well, this snow dump right now if over 60 feet tall and growing. It is well over the height of a two story house and growing every day. If I get out tomorrow, I will try to get a picture to post.

I didn't go to work Wednesday because of the snow and today because I have a sore throat and stuffy nose. I am running out of sick days and I don't want to do that.

I have my alpaca sock almost done. I am knitting it for me and I am thinking I should have knit the sole with the purl stitch so it would be smooth on my feet. Oh well, next pair I will try that.

Well, I am going to go knit on my socks and also work on sewing the precious sweater together tonight too. That is almost done...it's tying in all those ends on the roses that are taking the most time.

KNIT ON!

IT's snowing again!!!!!

2008-02-26T18:07:00.002-05:00

Here I sit watching the snow falling again! We are expecting some ice, sleet and rain with this storm..and about 16" of snow! I doubt I will be going to work tomorrow. This has been an unbelievable winter for everyone this year. So glad we are on the back side of winter and waiting for spring to get here. I told DH today that I bet we get a big storm in last of April this year. Been a while since we had one of those. They usually are heavy wet snow and only stay a few days, but cause big power outages. Oh well, I guess it could be worse. We don't get the kind of weather other parts of the US gets, so I guess I will just shut up about the snow and be thankful we don't get the tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes others get.

I have the "Precious" sweater all knitted....now to put it together and start the next one for Sarah. I hate having to tie all those ends in but it has to be done. So tonight I will tackle that and then get it to Lily's mom.

I have a scratchy throat and itchy ears today...I hope I don't get the CRUD that others have. One of the young men I work with has it and made a point of getting in my face yesterday at work just to let me and the others on our team...and I think he wanted to share it with us all too! Because of the storm, I went to the store and got Kleenex, cough drops and cold medicine...just in case. Better to be safe then sorry.

We will be plowing tomorrow for sure. The snow started early today but didn't start to stay on the roads until around 4. Now the roads are covered and the snow it getting steadier. Weatherman said we will be getting the biggest part of the storm tomorrow morning after it redevelops of the coast of Maine and then will be a good one. DH put the plow on the truck today so we won't have to do it tomorrow morning. Well, going to go knit and watch TV. Take care all and.........

KNIT ON!

Alcapa socks

2008-02-21T17:19:00.003-05:00

Well, I have two of the hanks rolled into balls and have started the first of many socks to come. I am using a size 2 needles and 60 sts. I hope these are going to be right the first time. I haven't knit on alpaca before so this is really a treat! They feel so wonderful and I just wish they would go a little fast, but the size of the yarn isn't going to work up as quickly as the worsted weight ones go. And now that I am back to work, I have been knitting a lot less then I would normally do. Last night I went to bed around 8 to just lay in bed and knit until I got sleepy. Because I worked yesterday, my body was very tense from the drive to and from Orono. I had muscle spasms all night so I finally got up and took a flexaral to stop them. It started to work a little bit after taking and I was dead to the world until the cat decided he wanted to go out at 7 this morning. DH went to the mill doctor to see when he will be going back to work and he has two more weeks off due to a broke rib that he did at work in Jan. He left around 8 am and I fell back to sleep and didn't wake up until almost 11! Then it took a couple more hours for that little pill to finally get out of my body and I could actually function. But the sleep was a good one for me! I guess I really needed it!

Still working on the Precious sweater. The sleeves are to the point of adding the little ruffle and then the cuff. I think that will be my project to work on tonight. I want to get it finished so I can give it to Amanda at work for her little girl..who is a week older then my granddaughter. She is expecting another baby in 4 months but the baby has a very serious heart defect and will have surgery immediatly after birth in order for the baby to survive. She has a lot of hope that the baby will be healthy after the surgery...but she said it is a high risk for the baby. My prayers go out to her and her baby and her family...it will be a long haul for them after the birth.

The weather has been so cold that I hate to get dressed to go out in it. I did get my new alpaca scarf I ordered from the little store in Kingfield today. I was so happy to get it and get to use it right off the bat! It was very much needed today! The weatherman said this is the coldest day this month and I can verify that statement...had to go to the credit union and mail some clothes to Sarah that her grandfather bought her Tuesday. (He bought carhart- jacket, pants and cords for her). I keep telling him she's a girl...lol Oh well, I think that she will be better off in this world being a little tom boy then a little princess! The temp this morning was well below zero with the windchill...the house is very cool today. It was good for sleeping last night!

Well, baking chocolate chip cookies right now and need to make some scotch-a-roos for work tomorrow..it's a potluck lunch for our team. I only work 4 hours so I won't be there all day to munch on the goodies everyone is bringing in.

My little car is still in the repair shop. Tuesday I had the timing belt and all the other belts changed and an oil change. They found that I had a strut broken and it would be a longer job to fix it so they took it in again this morning to fix that problem. When they put it on the alignment machine, they found they couldn't get the back right wheel to align. So upon a closer inspection there was something bent. They tried to pound it straight, but it just wouldn't give. George thought it was happened when someone got stuck with it and they used a chain to pull the car out of the snow. Well, we are the third ones to own this little Forrester, so who knows. I know I haven't gotten stuck with it any time in the last 4 years, so I think it was like that when we bought it from the dealership in Lincoln. Oh well, George ordered the part from the Subaru dealer and it will be here tomorrow. So I have to take the big Dodge to work...and $40 I make working sure won't pay for the gas to drive that big gas pig to Orono and back home! I think I will go 20 minutes earlier and take the truck through the car wash in Bangor to get all the salt off it. And we sure have a lot of salt on the roads due to all the snow and rain we got the last couple of weeks. The roads are so bad here in town I hate to drive anywhere. The ice is at least 3-4 inches thick in places and the side roads, like our street, is nothing but ice. Too bad the town wouldn't put some salt down and not more dirt. Then it would melt. Oh well...live in Millinocket

Going to go put some more cookies in the oven...take care one and all and

KNIT ON !!!!!!!

Kingfield, Maine

2008-02-18T06:35:00.000-05:00

These are pictures I took as we drove into Kingfield on Saturday. It is such a pretty little town! Enjoy

Knitting projects on the needles and new yarns I purchased!

2008-02-17T21:59:00.005-05:00

I am knitting this little sweater for my granddaughter and a young woman that I am working with. This one will go to her daughter as soon as I get it finished. It is a Leisure Arts pattern that I had knit up many times 10 years ago. I am using Patons yarn that I have left over from my yarn shop days. I like to knit the acrylics for young children..they do clean up easier and those new stain sticks work wonders on stains too!

This is a picture of the sweater with the sleeves at the bottom. I have knit another 20+ rows tonight on it and only have a few more decreases to go and then a couple of row to the cuff. The pattern calls for picking up the sleeve stitches and working it down to the cuff. I find that I do not pick up stitches well enough to do this so I just cast on the amount called for and knit it down to the cuff and then sew it on. That way I can make sure its even!

Ordered this yarn off the internet through the sockyarn sales. I forgot that 2 oz of yarn is not a lot...so I ordered two skeins with the intention of knitting a high cuff on the socks. I hope there is enough there to make a pair of nice socks for me. This was a costly buy and I hope the yarn is worth it. Will start the socks when I get the two "Precious" sweaters done. Have a pair of worsted weight socks still on the needles..those I take to work with me so when I get my breaks I can work on them. Something I don't need to have a pattern to follow...know it by heart!

Yesterday we went to visit our son, daughter in law and our little granddaughter. We didn't stay but 4 hours after the 3 1/2 hour ride over..as I wanted to go to the Alpaca shop in Kingfield..and it closes at 5. We got there and I bought 8 skeins of alpaca from her and they are from her own llamas. They were $12.00 a skein..2 oz. I am going to make some socks for Christmas gifts, so I want them to be a nice long cuff on them so that is why I bought 8 skeins. I had bought a pair of socks for my DH before Christmas from this lady, but she didn't make them..they were from a company but were alpaca. DH loves them..says they really keep his feet warm in this cold weather when outside working. You can look at the shop and llamas on line at http//:www.sugarloafalpacasofmaine.com I am going to order a red alpaca scarf from her soon...to go with my new dark gray coat I bought last week.

We had a great time visiting...Sarah is getting so big and too smart for her britches. She tries everything we do now..haha. And she has us all wrapped around her finger too! Her hair if finally growing in..the back is getting long and she doesn't like it when it touches her neck...but the top is still slow growing. If she takes after me, she won't have a full head of hair until she is 4 or older. lol

Well, time for bed..work tomorrow at 9 am so will have to leave her by 7...and the weather is supposed to be crappy again! Snow, ice and then heavy rain all day. I think it is snowing out now, but haven't looked out the window lately. I will be so glad to see summer this year. Bugs and all!!! We haven't had snow like this in years even though it was the norm when we were children. My parents took a lot of movies back then and we have them on tape..the snow was to the roof on the porch many times..and dad would have to climb out the bedroom window to get to the road where the plow had gone by and start shoveling by hand to open a path to the front door. So Mother Nature is just giving us a dose of reality like we had 45 years ago!

Take care all and KNIT ON!

ENOUGH SNOW Mother Nature!!!

2008-02-15T06:48:00.000-05:00

Snow and then heavy rains covered the state of Maine Wednesday. This is the deck at camp...look at all the ice on the rails and feeder! Plowed the camp road and our yard yesterday. The highway was horrible getting to the lake road. I was in 4 wheel drive all the way...the ice ruts and snow and slush made for a white knuckle ride to camp.

Snow and ice in the back of the truck...it was bone dry before the storm hit Wednesday. And you can see the ice and the high snow banks in the background. My poor little Forrester is covered in ice. Going to have to start it early to get the ice off before I leave for work this morning.

Can you see the ice on the trees? We are very lucky that it wasn't worse then this...the lower part of the state is still without power because of the ice. We lost power once for about 20 seconds.

This is a picture of a neighbors backyard. He had a tree down across his truck and into the house. This happened on Monday from the storm that hit on Sunday...had very extreme windy conditions Sunday and Monday. I haven't been to work at all this week due to the storms. No way am I going to travel to Orono for $40.00 and take a chance on getting hurt.

Here comes the snow again!!!!

2008-02-09T05:41:00.000-05:00

Good morning from Maine! The weatherman tells me we will have another "significant" snowfall late tonight and all day tomorrow. It has snowed every day all week long. It hasn't added up to but a few inches, but the roads are horrible to go anywhere. The town crew hasn't been out to do much of anything but put a lot of sand down. I am so tired of winter and we only have another two or so months to go!

I am back to work after being out for over 2 years. I am traveling to Orono so that means about 150 miles round trip. And now you know why I am bitching about the snow and traveling. I have dealt with black ice, snow, rain and wind...so much wind that I couldn't see very well to drive to work because the wipers would lift off the windshield on the drivers side so they didn't keep the window clear enough to see, and all the crazy drivers who think they can still travel at 80 miles an hour and control their vehicles. Last Wednesday I made 2 calls to 911 with people off the road..one was with a completely missing left front tire from hitting the icy snow banks and the other was down in the ditch and two other people were trying to pull it back onto the Interstate..FACING ME!! What a scare that was to have a set of high beam headlights coming at you from the wrong direction! Then the traffic that had been passing me finally decided that 35 MPH was the best way to get to their destinations. Needless to say, it was over a 2 hour ride home that night! Then when I got to the Lincoln exit the state crew was salting the road..so by the time I got to the Medway exit, I was dealing with icy water all over the windshield and headlights. I was so tense from the ride home, my back was in spasms for 5 days!

I am only working 3 days a week for 4 hours right now. See my doctor on Wednesday to see how I'm doing with this. The ride is bad enough, but the sitting for 4 hours without being able to lay down to take the pressure off my low back/spine is the worst. Thank God for flexeril and my other meds! My sleeping routine is so screwed up that I am doing good to sleep 4/5 hours in all during the night and early morning. And of course it doesn't help with DH and his broken rib. He can't sleep on his right side and is so sore he wakes himself up and me when he moves. I have been reading a lot when I wake up. Last Friday I started the lasted book from JA Jance and finished it in 24 hours...about 400 pages. I couldn't sleep, so might as well do something with my time. LOL (I bought a little light that hooks onto the book instead of using my little mag flashlight.)

I started a sweater for my granddaughter this week too. And finished a pair of wool socks and started another pair to keep in my bag to take to work to work on when we have a break. I have a leisure arts pattern for a sweater that has Precious on the front with roses. Did the back in one evening and have the front done up to half of the precious. It is the cutest pattern. It only goes to a size 24" chest so Sarah won't wear it for long. I will take some pictures later today and post them. I also ordered two skeins of handspun and dyed wool last week and received them. I paid way too much for them and now wished I hadn't done it. It will only make a short pair of wool socks...at $54.00 thats a little too much if you ask me. I thought I would be getting two large skeins of yarn, but needless to say, they are very small..only 2oz each. Why do the pictures always look so LARGE and the product so SMALL when it arrives? Wishful thinking on my part? LOL

Well, going to head back to bed and see if I can get this back pain under control and pick up another couple hours of sleep before I begin my day. Oh well, I will adjust but the question is "WHEN?????" ha ha.

Take care all and KNIT ON!!

Wind skiing at Twin Lakes

2008-02-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of the mountain covered with clouds after the snow/ice/rain we got late Friday night into Saturday morning. The lodge is called "Five Lakes Lodge" and is a bed and breakfast for couples only. I have not been inside to see it, but I have heard it is drop dead georgous!

I haven't seen this before in our area. I was coming back from plowing the camp out when I stopped to take a few pictures of the mountain when I noticed the colorful sail in the sky. The person has skis on so I was thrilled to watch him try to get the wind to move him across the freshly fallen snow we got Friday into Saturday Morning. It was very brisk winds so he had a lot of trouble with the sail.

January 24, 2008

2008-01-25T21:19:00.000-05:00

Luke Bryan and Trace Adkins (there was another guy too, but don't remember his name) played at the Bangor Auditorium last night in Bangor Maine. I went with my DC and we had a great time. The weather dipped to -10F on the ride home last night.

Hate the way this blog works when downloading from Picasa. Oh well, it's free.

Here is Trace Adkins...and he is as tall as he looks to be. He put on a good concert. I was surprised that the stage was set for only half of the place. And it wasn't a sell out either! Hate the way this Picasa works...always get the pictures ass-backwards when downloading.

The concert was very enjoyable...wish the seats weren't so close together. I was lucky to have a very nice man sitting next to me...he was joking about how we all had to sit sideways to sit down. Asked DC if she enjoyed my boob in her side all night long! LOL

The ride home was cold...and we did have a little thing with a cop in Orono. We stopped so I could use the restroom. I went in and went to the bathroom and then went to get some pretzels for the ride home. I was looking at the rack when a cop came in and asked two men if the blue dodge outside was theirs. I spoke up and said it was mine. He asked me where my handicapped plaque was. I told him I had handicapped plates on my truck. He then proceeded to eye me up and down and said "you don't look handicapped!" Well, I was pissed. Pulled up my pant leg and showed him my ankle/leg brace. I then proceeded to tell him that I had DJD, had a total knee replacement and just had back surgery. He just said he never looks for a plate, but the plaque in the windshield. He then followed me to the register and then out to my truck. I was telling my two passengers what had just happened with him right beside me getting into his cruiser. I talked to one of the officers on our police force today and he said I should get in touch with the Chief of Police in Orono. So, this evening I sent an email to the Chief explaining what happened to me and asked that he teach his officers that being disabled isn't always visible to the naked eye. And to have some sensitivity training. Hope I don't get myself in trouble for doing this. You know how it is with cops, piss them off and they are forever after you. Just have to wait and see.

Still knitting socks. Have one now that I just can't seem to get the heel to come out right. Oh well...life goes on and on and on and .................

DH is home from work for a few weeks. He was injured last Thursday and on Tuesday the mill nurse finally sent him to the ER to have X-rays. He has a broken rib! They sent him home to recover...about 4 weeks or so. GRRRR He is just under foot all the time now. LOL Told the doctor yesterday that he needs to find him a light duty job so he can go back to work NOW!! We all had a good laugh over that. So now I have to rearrange my schedule to fit him and now I have to share the PC all day long, not just in the evenings and weekends. I love him and really don't mind him being home, I just don't want him to know that. ha ha

KNIT ON!!

Another Snow Day in Maine

2008-01-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today we got another good snowstorm. This one was very heavy and sticky snow. This is was one of the trailer parks in town. I go to my cousins to plow her out.

This is on Katahdin Ave.....heading to my cousins place. It was snowing very hard, but it was very warm out. Had the heater going with the A/C button on to keep the moisture out of the truck so the windows wouldn't fog up as I was driving.

Heading to the lake to plow the camp out. Nothing like bright sun light at 4 in the afternoon after a big storm. We have had a couple of nice warm days so far but watch out!!! The cold air is coming this weekend and we should be well below zero by Sunday. It is very pretty when it has just snowed. The trees are very heavy with all the new snow on them. Luckily we have had no power outages in our area today or tonight.

And this is one of the camp owners that went off the road while plowing today and got stuck in one of the ditches. I was able to get by with my truck and go into my place and plow. The road wasn't opened up all the way in and the snow mobilers had already been using the road so I had to put the plow in V form and plow in and then I was able to finish plowing the road and our place. On the way out I took this picture of the truck. This was before the men got there to pull it out. They had to use come-a-longs to get the trucks tires out of the deep ditch and then one hooked on with a big rope and used his 4X4 to pull him out. If he had been going slow this wouldn't have happened. Speed and plowing just don't mix. When you hit the drifts, it always pulls you into the ditch....so you know you're stuck. Been there, done that a few times. Thank God for my cell phone. Had had to call people to come get me!

Well, I have finished another pair of wool socks tonight. Also started another pair for adult male. Or a woman who wants them big and loose on her feet...(didn't want to say big feet! ha ha) I will get the pictures taken and post them to my picturetrail account soon. They are for sale, so if you're interested, email me at mainelywoolyns_414@verizon.net

Time for bed and to read my murder/mystery book by JA Jance. I bought a light that clips on the book so I don't have to use my little mag light any more and have a sore neck from trying to hold it in place. DH says this light is bright and he will get used to it so I can read all I want while he sleeps.

KNIT ON!!

Our ride in and out of camp today!

2008-01-16T00:54:00.000-05:00

The ride in was fun...came up on this big thing! We had to stop and wait for it to move over for us to go by. The driver had lost part of the shackle that held the wing up and was trying to fix it when we came upon him. DH got out to see what was happening. And as luck would have it we had two in the truck. So the two of them changed it and we both got on our ways!

The driver was winging back the snow to keep the road wide enough for the big logging trucks to come in and out of the lake area.

This cloud caught my eye on the ride out! Pretty isn't it. And it was so nice and pink...means a good day tomorrow.