The older I get, the faster time flies by.

And how.

I "missed" posting last week, so I will only mention that last week was supposed to be attic and storage week, but I am behind a few weeks, and it is really family room week for slow ol' me. That is perfect, as I want the family room to be the cleanest room in the house. I will also do dining room week this week, so that my dining room is also clean, clean, clean. This sounds like a lot, but it's really not, as I am off work Monday through Thursday. Everyone is bringing something for dinner, and all I have to cook is the meat and dressing and cranberries. Hubby will be responsible for the meat, so my part is easy-peasy. Clean, cook a couple things and decorate.

Um, yeah. Decorate. I haven't even thought about that. I've done a few things, but not nearly "enough". I'll have to get on that. You know, like wash and iron linens and make sure I have enough dishes and silverware and serving dishes and flowers and such.

And I skipped over the Garage/Storage and Attic/Storage Areas, due to being ill, but it worked out perfect because the husband wants to hit these areas hard. We are trying to close down the storage facility and get rid of/use the stuff we have there and in the attic and garage as well. We have a plan for the cabinets we want to install in the garage, where we will be able to store the tables/chairs/other seasonal items such as tablecloths/napkins/serving dishes, etc. I'm also hoping to get the seasonal decorating items out of the attic and into cabinets in the garage where they will be much more accessible to me. (I'm terrified of carrying totes up and down those attic pull-down stairs.)

So much has happened over the last few weeks, illnesses and a death in the family, and changes at work. Which leads me to "the older I get" part I alluded to in the title of this post. Yup. Feelin' old. I ended up in the ER a couple weeks ago. Yeah, me, a first. Stomach virus ----> electrolyte imbalance ----> totally cramped up and couldn't voluntarily move my arms and legs and PAIN!! After some IV fluids and antiemetic/pain medicine, I was ready for home, but the recuperation was slow. As in old and slow. I went back to work four days later, but was sorry I did. That was one miserable shift. Two days later I felt normal about eight hours, and the next day I felt completely normal.

Subsequent to that illness, I had my annual blood work done, and got some "off" results. I was still so demoralized from the virus I didn't even do my usual arguing with the doctor about starting an antihypertensive and thyroid medication. I've had low thyroid levels for years but had not really felt like I was symptomatic, and although I always have an elevated blood pressure at the doctor's office, I'd never been able to get an elevated one at home or work. He had been encouraging me to take the meds for several years and when he said, "It's time", I just rolled over and said "ok". I was waiting to hear the thump of him falling off his chair, but he must have been bracing himself.

I've been taking the thyroid for about a week now, the only difference I've noticed so far is that I feel much less foggy when I wake up. I don't have hours and yes, days of brain fog. This week I'll start the antihypertensive when I am home as I am worried about the side effects. I don't want to miss work.

I'll post later about other going-ons--gotta go pay attention to the husband.

Oh, I'm posting a little late for a preview of the activities for the week to come, work was tiring, and I spent a luxurious evening watching episodes from Season Three of "Lost", and knitting on the blanket edging for the soon-to-be-here baby. I promise I will take pictures of the knitting projects I've completed to date and post a ton SOON!

This week--OH MY! I just realized I MISSED AN ENTIRE WEEK of the Holiday Grand Plan! Not only did I do a pisspoor job of the kitchen (I told you I was dreading it), I totally missed doing the pantry and closets. Although I hate doing hours and hours of cleaning, I think I really will just buckle down and clean the kitchen AND the pantry and closets! It's okay, a little penance is good for the soul.

It doesn't really surprise me that I missed a whole week, as I babysat Gbuddy an additional day due to his babysitter being sick, DearDaughter had an eye infection (she is better now, but not 100%), which kept us on the phone a lot, I was in charge or in admit at work as well, which takes a lot out of me. There is a lot of stress going on at work as well, and I'm beginning to weigh the pros and cons of this job.

So here it is--the list--
KITCHEN:
Wipe out cabinets and drawers
Clean microwave, stove top and oven
Clean appliances (except refrigerator, which I DID do last week)
Clean decorative items
PANTRY:
Clean shelves and floor
CLOSETS:
Straighten and wipe shelves and floors
GENERAL:
Put Halloween decorations away and add some more fall/Thanksgiving type decorations
Choose Xmas newsletter graphics/pictures and have husband begin writing Xmas newsletter
Add Anne's newlywed recipe book pages to website--as much as I have and TRY to finish the rest of the pages--I think there are about ten more pages to go.
BAKING/COOKING:
Make a Xmas goodie or two--and add to recipe pages
Make a freezer dish or two with chicken--and add my favorite chicken dishes to the recipe pages

Baby Blanket Edging

I am knitting a genderless baby blanket in spring green, and the color makes me very happy. Gbuddy went with me to "pick out" yarn, and when I held up different colors, he picked the green too. It is Lion Brand Jiffy, and I think it is a good choice as it is washer friendly. I started by casting on one stitch with doubled yarn and increased at the beginning of each edge by knitting in the first stitch twice. I knit till I finished those first two balls, then began decreasing at the beginning of the edge with k1, k1, k1, pass 2nd stitch over the 3rd stitch. I know, I could have slipped the second stitch, but I like the look of this decrease.

I know this is a very plain, plain body, but my plan is to acknowledge the Irish background of the father of the baby, (who is very special to our family) and make a cabled edge. I am envisioning a separate edging in a simple cable such as in the Irish Hiking Scarf, and attach it as I go. What I will do when I get to the corners remains to be seen. I anticipate many tries on that first corner until I either conquer it or it conquers me.

The blanket body is a tad over half done, and I anticipate I will need another three to four hours to finish the body. The edging, I am sure, will take at least that much time. And it has to be finished by the end of the month. And this is October 25. I am having a good laugh at myself, as I am often heard complaining at work about families who haven't picked out a name yet for their baby, what have they been doing for the last nine months? And here I am not ready with the avalanche of presents I envision for this new babylove.

Gotta get to work--

Oh, good news! Daddy is still cancer-less, and can do his bloodwork every three months here in town. We will go back to Houston in one year. We are humbly counting our blessings.

This week is a busy one, trying to coordinate working out, eating well, cleaning and getting ready for the holidays in addition to that necessary evil, work, without losing my mind.

Working out: I've been looking at some new ways to work out, and just can't seem to get interested in anything new, right now the tried and true appeals to me. And so that means that I will be doing my 12 x 12 or Body For Life weights workout, with a goal of three times this week. I plan on doing those workouts on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights, watching TV. And I will also do three aerobic workouts, walking/jogging, etc., for about 40 minutes each workout, three times this week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. Wednesday and Friday I will take Gbuddy with me. I'm hoping to do some yoga/pilates this week, when, I don't know, right now there doesn't seem to be time to fit it in, but it could be used in lieu of an aerobic workout if the weather is bad or before I go to bed on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday morning or before Gbuddy gets here on Wednesday and Friday.
I did have a lovely walk around and through Hermann Park. I wish I had known that it was there, as I would have walked it as often as possible. I walked for an hour and a half, and what a delightful surprise the Japanese Garden and the Promenade were. Walking in the downtown area was also delightful. There were several lovely parks with water features and beautiful plantings along Holcomb. I am looking forward to exploring the area on our next visit.

Eating/Cooking/Baking: I so enjoyed eating out last week, and I am afraid to stand on the scale this morning. (edited to add: I lost a pound over the last two weeks.) We ate very well at our hotel, the Rotary House International. The breakfast buffet was marvelous, and I fulfilled my intention of eating meat and veggies and fruit quite well. I also observed how different I felt (not good) when I did not eat well. It's such a no-brainer. Eat well, feel good, think clearly.
I made my menu plan for this week, and I don't need to buy anything for a few days, and then I will just need to buy a few things such as milk.
Right now I don't have plans to do a frozen meal, but that may change. I will try to find time to bake and freeze some holiday goodies, but I may focus on some Halloween goodies.
Freezing some meals ahead came in very handy last week, and Dear Husband enjoyed the lasagna and corn cheese rice casserole. All the salad makings and veggies are gone, which hopefully means he ate them and not that he threw them away.

Knitting: I am "almost" finished with the Peter Easy vest. Just about three more rounds of ribbing! I also knitted Gbuddy a pumpkin hat, oh, boy, is it the cutest! I knit a plain hat with a row of purl every ten stitches and then decreased every other row after the purl row. I then knitted up a leaf, using this pattern.

I am ready to knit the last sleeve on the Adult Tomten, especially since the weather is getting so cool, but find that I am needing to knit a few baby items. I will be digging in the stash today.

Cleaning: This week the Holiday Grand Plan calls for Kitchen Week, the week I've been dreading. I will do the best I can, but my kitchen is BIG! Right now I don't have plans to do a frozen meal, but that may change. I will finish up with the Halloween/fall decorating.

Slow week ahead

Well, maybe not a slow week--slow for cleaning house and cooking/baking/sewing maybe. This week I'll be out of town taking Daddy to Houston for his checkup. Actually, it's okay that it is a slow week for cleaning as this is "guest room" week and DD is living in the guest room, and she is doing her own cleaning for now. There is still plenty of time to do all the things I want to do before the holidays.
Today will be busy, trying to get things in order before I go, packing and cleaning and washing and making sure DH has enough to eat.
Knitting is moving along well; I have several things (Gbuddy's pumpkin hat, gaiter for a friend) almost finished.
I am about to finish the ribbing on the second armhole of the Peter Easy Vest. I will take it with me to Houston and I'm hoping to finish it this week. I am still trying to come up with a solution for the waistband. The vest is too short and I originally planned to make a straight bottom and knitted one inch, then a purl row, then straight knitting for the body. So far I can think of several options. Number one would be to pick up stitches so that it looks as if I have another row of purl bumps, knit as many stitches as I did for the turned-back hem portion and then another purl bump, etc., till it is as long as needed, then hem. The second option would be to pick up stitches and knit in ribbing to the desired length. This would match the armholes and neck ribbing, but I'm afraid the purl bump would look odd. The third option is to pick up stitches, knit around for an inch, purl a row for another purl bump, knit an inch, then knit ribbing for as long as needed. This option would potentially be too long. The fourth option would be to pick up stitches, knit a few inches of patterning, then finish with ribbing or a straight hem.
I will leave the Adult Tomten at home. It is just too heavy and bulky now, but oh, how I would love to finish it.
Instead, I will take some small projects with me such as hats and mittens.
I am reading some wonderful books. I finished reading "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith and enjoyed it very much. I will watch the movie as well, and have it in my Netflix queue. I also plan on watching "Ghost", "In the Garden of Good and Evil", "Gosford Park", "I Served the King of England", and "The Stranger".
I'm looking forward to having some quiet time waiting at the hospital to complete DD's recipe book. By the way, check out this blog post about favorite and classic casseroles, courtesy of edible distractions.
I've researched some walking trails, and not knowing Houston and I'll be doing some of that as well as working out in the fitness center while we are there. I'm going to pack my yoga and pilates dvd's too.

Crafty Doin's

I have a few things finished, a few things working--

Peter Easy--working on the second armhole ribbing.
Adult Tomten--working on the second sleeve.
I started a gaiter as a thank you for a friend. It is nearly finished.
I have also finished a few dishcloths. They are so handy, I just love them to death.
I made two pillows for the living room.

And if the sun ever shines again, I will take pictures and post them.

I am hoping to get some little things such as hats and mittens and socks/leggings made for Gbuddy, as the weather is getting quite cold.
I would also like to make some machine embroidered pillows for the dining room host chairs, and a seasonal table topper for the dining room table.
I am wanting to knit some seasonal dishcloths for the kitchen--pumpkin, turkey, etc.

DD's recipe book is nearly finished; I think I have just six more recipes to scrap. I plan to post them on my website as a .pdf with just the recipes, and as separate pages as I have scrapbooked them.

Kids' Rooms Week

This week is Kids' Rooms. For me, that will be the workout room and the cra(p)ft room.

The other things on the list that I will do for this week are:
* Make two batches of Holiday Goodies. (Since I missed doing one last week.)
* Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.

Halloween is on my mind. I want to knit Gbuddy a pumpkin hat and decorate the house for Fall/Halloween. I will try to get DH to retrieve the appropriate box from the attic today.

DIL says that Gbuddy wants some hats. I'm looking at the Toasty Topper, this Anime Character Bonnet, a Lil' Devil Hat, a Little Monkey Baby Hat, and some plainish cable or fair isle hats.

And of course he needs mittens and socks and maybe even a sweater. I need to get a move on!

Catch-Up Post for Last Week

*I made rice corn and cheese casserole and froze some lasagna.
*Last week was bathroom week--I deep cleaned the bathroom except for the floors, which I will do this week.

The Grandbaby had the flu and his mom was too sick to care for him, so I had him on Monday and took him to the doctor on Tuesday. I made sure I did all my chores before I went to work on Wednesday, and it was a good thing, because I came down with the flu on Thursday. I was sick on Friday, too, but luckily had it only two days and was able to go back to work on Saturday/Sunday. Poor Hubby has had it for almost a week now, he has had it BAAAD.