Monthly Archives: January 2025

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what I’m watching

We have a population of pileated woodpeckers around our area.

We’re not sure if it’s the same family year after year but we love watching them and other birds at our feeder.

what I’m eating

Most days Mr. Aitch and I have a late lunch/early dinner that my brother named “linner”. Our charcuterie board “linner” was fabulous.

Two kinds of cheeses, leftover prime rib bits, fresh veggies, thinly sliced apples, assorted dips and crackers, plus wine.

what I’m loving

My pedicure.

I’ve been going once a month since October. I don’t go for the polish color during the cold months but having someone massage my feet is such a relaxing experience. With the bitter cold temperatures we’ve been having, I went with a frosty, shimmery ice blue. Next month maybe bright red for Valentine’s Day, a different color or none at all.

what I’m working on

Our dishwasher doesn’t completely drain and there’s always a puddle of water (estimating a gallon) covering most of the bottom when the cycle is complete. I know the cycle is complete as I run it mostly at night and it doesn’t take eight hours. I also turn off the heated dry cycle as the dishes are 99% dry in the morning. No point in making our electric bill any higher than it already is!

I got on YouTube to find some answers and what I could do to try to fix it. It amazes me what information is there!

It looked easy enough for me to tackle. Plus I was tired of water sitting in the bottom.

I grabbed a couple of screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, and a roll of paper towels. then I donned my headlamp (a gift from Mr. Aitch), some disposable gloves and got to work unscrewing all the screws and discovered grossness.

Most of this was hard lime scale and some soft gunk. Fortunately it didn’t stink.

A vinegar soak, an old toothbrush, an old turkey baster, some elbow grease, and various other “tools” helped get the parts cleaner, not brand new clean but clean enough.

I found a screw and rivet from a saucepan, a small chard of glass, and some paper from a label. Nothing looked large enough to restrict the water flow to the drain.

After three hours with my head inside the dishwasher, I climbed out, cleaned up the wet mess and turned it on..

The whole ordeal cost me three hours of my life, a gallon of vinegar, and a broken thumbnail.

It still didn’t drain completely. I’m certainly no repair person but I’m pretty sure it’s gotta be the pump. Since this dishwasher is 22 years old, I’ll be looking at buying a new one.

Broken Seed Stitch pair

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I finally finished the Broken Seed Stitch socks last week. I love how the dark green of the Knit Picks Stroll in Aurora Heather toned down the bright green, aqua, and yellow hand-dyed yarn.

The broken seed stitch looks like fish or mermaid scales that illuminate and glimmer.

The yarn color pooled a bit on the first sock (below left) that is more noticeable on the sole.

My tension changed with the second sock (below right) as I tried to tighten the stitches where the color changes. The seam isn’t as visible even if I can see it. Will it make a difference when worn? I doubt it.

I prefer the Eye of Partridge heel flap as I think it is more durable. (I must say that I’ve never had to reinforce or repair any of the heels on the socks I’ve knit whether it’s the standard slipped-stitch or Eye of Partridge heel flap so it’s just my personal preference.)

I found this sock “recipe” by Hanna Levämiemi to be a great stash buster for an ugly-duckling ball of yarn as it can be transformed into a swan with the right contrast color.

I’ve already got another sock on my needles.

Patti

four things | one

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what I’m reading

This month our Book Club is reading The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel. I read it last August for my own pleasure but since I suffer from CRS (Can’t Remember, um, Stuff or sh!t), I am rereading it. Our next meeting is January 27.

The book takes place during WWII and the present day. I’m always astonished by the ways people helped one another during times of crisis be it war, natural or manmade catastrophes, emergencies, personal distress, or other devastating circumstances.

what I’m eating

After we devoured the Christmas ham, I saved and froze the hambone for later. Well, it’s later and we’re expecting some bitter cold temperatures by Monday. I boiled/simmered the bone for a couple of hours then removed the remaining ham from the bone and tossed it…the bone not the ham. I added a bit more water to the broth to make three quarts, a package of 16 bean mix, some seasonings and returned the ham to the ham broth. The aroma is wafting throughout the house and should be ready for a late lunch/early dinner. Homemade cornbread is also on the menu.

what I’m loving

Flannel sheets on the bed in the cold of winter were a luxury I loved as a kid. Today, most of the flannel sheets I’ve used slip off the corners and leave a messy bed. I tried these inexpensive jersey knit sheets a few years ago to see if we liked them. They are soft and warm, very similar to the feel of flannel and we only use them in the winter months. But the most important thing is they stay on the bed no matter how much tossing and turning we do!

The only complaint is that my pajamas stick to the fabric just like the flannel sheets. Last November I bought two pairs of silky, satiny pajamas. I love them! (One note: they run large.) No more sticking to the sheets like Velcro when I roll over. I get a great night’s sleep.

what I’m working on

I picked out some heavier fabric from my stash for my yarn swift drawstring bag. I still need to finalize the dimensions, cut it out and sew it together. It won’t be hard, I just have to do it.

Things I want to do this year

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We’re already two weeks into the year and I’ve been thinking and writing down things I want to get done this year. If they are good, I can keep doing them in future years.

  1. Post at least once a week. And on a schedule. Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Pick a day and stick with it.
  2. Knit at least one row a day though I tell myself it’s five rows a day. That’s not really hard when it comes to socks which I seem to knit most of the time. I’m joining a KAL this month and surprise, I’ll be knitting a sock.
  3. Plan and finish one sewing project a month. The first project is a bag to hold my new yarn swift. Our church will have a baby shower in the spring with items donated to a local pregnancy center. I will sew burp cloths and perhaps knit a few hats.
  4. Practice makes perfect (or at least improvement). I painted wooden sorority and fraternity paddles for pledges in college which it was quite profitable. My Old English calligraphy was pretty good back then as that was the most popular font style. I even designed and printed invitations for a wedding and parties many years ago. Now that skill has all but disappeared. Lindsey at The Postman’s Knock is my go-to for inspiration to get back into calligraphy. I have the materials. I need to sit down and do it at least 30 minutes every day.
  5. Organize and declutter the basement is on my list Every. Single. Year. My grandson helped me paint one cinderblock wall one summer. I painted another wall myself. Two more walls to go so it’s brighter and cleaner looking. It’s cool in the summer but cold in the winter so this will be a warm weather project. Making zones might be best: craft zone, workshop zone, paint zone, storage zone, etc. Having rubber-type flooring would make standing on the cold, hard concrete floor much more comfortable, too. I could make space for a sewing room and get my sewing machine out of the tiny laundry room.
  6. Speaking of cleaning and decluttering…this blog needs some major work. Posts, tutorials, and how-tos need updated tags and categories that include specific words about the content. All posts related to the Dots and Stripes Purse should be tagged as such so all posts pertaining to that sock would appear in a search for that particular project. That will be time-consuming with over a thousand posts but tackling a couple a day should make that go faster.
  7. Include some self-care by relaxing and unwinding in healthy ways. I started getting a pedicure every month last fall and will continue this year.
  8. Stop playing mind-numbing games on my iPad for hours and use my time wisely. I’m pretty sure I have fewer days ahead than behind. I seriously doubt I’ll live to be 144 years old so I shouldn’t waste time with nonsense. Life is too short.
  9. Learn something new.
  10. Show gratitude.

Those are some goals, resolutions, things I want to do this year.

What are you doing this year?

Patti nona