On Tuesday, the sound of cousin N's text arriving woke me up around 9:00 a.m. I hadn't gone to sleep until 4:30 a.m., so I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep after that. So, I did the sensible thing and got up. The mornings are cool, now. It was 66F inside the house when I woke up:
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| 66F Inside the House |
It warmed up to 80F, outside, in the afternoon, but the house only warmed up to 70F. I am back to wearing socks inside the house! And long sleeved tops! And opening the living room drapes to let the afternoon sunshine in for some passive solar heating! Fall is here!
I spent a relaxed morning, having my coffee, responding to blog comments, reading a few other blogs, and checking my emails.
Later in the morning, around 11:00 a.m., I went to the optometrist's office and picked up my new eye glasses - two pairs, one for distance (mostly to be worn when driving):
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| Distance Glasses |
And one for reading, sewing, etc.:
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| Reading Glasses |
Yes, I chose the same frame for both, but the reading glasses have a black frame and the distance glasses have a lighter colored frame, more like tortoise shell (not quite noticeable in the photos). These are the types of glasses I like, with bigger lenses and rims.
I was worried whether the car would start after not being driven since Thursday, but it started without any problems, thank goodness!
After I picked up my glasses, I looked around in two shops for clothing and curtains. I saw one or two clothing items I liked, and I even tried on a sweater, but, I didn't buy anything. I will look a little bit more before I buy. I am mostly looking for a white, short-sleeved blouse to replace the old one I have. The sweater I tried on was cream colored, with a cable pattern, with "pearls" sewn into the pattern - dressy enough for holiday gatherings, but even the size small looked a bit too big, and I forgot to check their petites section to see if they had it there. I have a gift card to a different store, so I shall look there, too, before I buy anything.
The only white curtains I saw were very sheer panels. While I like the amount of light I get with sheer panels, I am thinking I might want something thicker for the winter.
Then, I went to the fabric store to look around. I didn't find any bordered eyelet for possible curtains and I didn't see anything else I liked for curtains at a price I was willing to pay! I have an old drapery panel that I might be able to fashion into a curtain, too. Until then, the piece of eyelet I have made into a curtain will suffice. I'd like something a little fuller, but it will do for now.
The quilt batting was not on sale, either (it's on sale online, but out of stock!). So, I will wait until there is a sale on that. I bought the reel of green thread ($3.49/250 yards) I wanted and another reel of white thread ($2.99/400 yards), as well.
Then, I looked at the holiday fabrics! I know I said I will use the fabric in the stash for the holiday pillowcases I am making. However, there is a piece of fabric in my stash that I really want to use for the pillowcases for one particular person on my gift list, but I don't have enough of it to make two standard pillowcases and it is, I believe, a discontinued pattern:
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| Santa Fabric |
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| "Ho! Ho! Ho!" |
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| Paired together |
When, I saw this fabric, I knew, at once, that I had to buy it for one of my cousins:
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| "Kittens in Stockings" |
All in all, I spent $19.55 at the fabric store for my purchases:
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| Fabric Store Receipt |
By this time, a little after 2:00 p.m., I was getting hungry. I had a granola bar with me, as well as my bottle of water, but I bought a hot dog with chili topping from one of the fast food places I was passing ($2.18 with tax) and ate that before I went to the grocery store, for milk ($1.99/half gal.), grapes (@$.88/lb = $1.74), a can of tuna ($.89), and cat food (2 bags @ $8.99). A container of ice cream ($1.79/1 pint) also found its way into my grocery cart! LOL! I took a photo of the purchases when I came home, but, I guess I only thought I took it, because, apparently, it didn't take! But, here is the receipt:
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| 10/9 Grocery Receipt |
October Grocery Budget = $75 + $4.64 carried over from September = $79.64
Spent to date = $25.02 + $6.41 = $31.43
Amount left = $79.64 - $31.43 = $48.21
After I came home, I ate some of the ice cream and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing. I decided not to go to the knitting group at the library. I didn't walk, either, because I had walked around the shops for over three hours. Not quite the same as a 30 minutes walk, but stamina building, nonetheless! Cousin P called in the evening and we chatted a bit.
Dinner was leftover pasta "noodles" with some of the sausage stir fry. Grapes for dessert. Still later, however, I felt hungry, again, and I had a scrambled egg on toast!
Later in the evening, I video chatted with daughter and exchanged emails with a friend. I debated writing this blog post, after that, but it was already past 2:00 a.m. and I thought I had better get ready for bed. It was almost 3:30 a.m. when I finally went to sleep, however.
On Tuesday, I was grateful for:
- New eye glasses and being able to read the small print, clearly!
- Being able to shop for 3+ hours without getting too tired!
- Pleasant Fall weather
- The car started without any problems!
- Keeping in touch with family and friends
Tuesday's To Do List:
- Optometrist's office to pick up my glasses - DONE
- Fabric store for quilt batting, thread, maybe fabric for my bedroom curtain - DONE
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE
- Do some other shopping (maybe) - DONE
Wednesday's To Do List:
- Do Tuesday's blog post - DONE!
- Email cousin in Florida - DONE
- Do the dishes
- Load of laundry
- Sew another set of pillowcases
- Walk for 30 minutes
All my readers and friends in Florida - I hope you are safe and not in the path of Hurricane Michael.
I'm glad you chose different colours for the frames of your glasses, so that you won't pick up the wrong ones for driving or for reading.
ReplyDeleteYour Ho ho ho fabric works well with the Santa fabric. After all, Christmas pillowcases are meant to be fun, not elegant. The kitten fabric is adorable. I wonder what you will make with it?
I finally unraveled all of the pink velour sweater that I was having trouble with, and found two new patterns, one incorporating a stripe. The main pattern uses larger needles than the other I had used, and the work should go faster. One day I may have a sweater that is wearable, who knows? I do enjoy the knitting. I have a friend who worked on some sleeves 3 times because her daughter wanted ribbing instead of plain for them. Friend did it in ribbing first, didn't like it herself, redid in plain, but then daughter didn't like it, so re-knitted in ribbing again. A saintly knitter and mother, I think!
Thanks, Bushlady. A bit over-the-top should be OK, for a teen boy, right? I don't expect these to become family heirlooms, although my grandnephew surprised me, the last time I saw him over the summer, by saying he has displayed a banner and T-shirt I embroidered with his name, one year, on his bedroom wall!
DeleteOh, my, that's a lot of work to knit, unravel, and knit, again! It's a good thing you enjoy the knitting! :) I, too, have at least one unfinished sweater that I might have to undo, because I've lost weight between starting it and now! I already redid the back, but, I think it's still too big!
Nice fabrics! My new glasses are ready. I just have to go pick them up. Apparently the place doesn't open until 11am though and I'm usually that way earlier than that. I shall probably have to make a special trip. My glasses are both - I think it's a sign of getting older lol
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. Yes, the optometrist I go to is located in a store and the store doesn't open till 10:00 a.m., so that's when they open, too. Hope you are able to go and collect your glasses when it's convenient to you.
DeleteI really do like the ho ho ho with the Santa fabric. It is adorable together!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. I will have to play around a bit to see how to put it together, best, but that's half the fun of it, isn't it? :)
DeleteI like the 2 fabrics together. Maybe you could make the body of the pillowcase with one kind, and a band across the top with the other. You could even put a row of solid ribbon along the break between the 2 fabrics, if you thought you needed to break up the 2 prints. Or, one pillowcase of each? Whatever you decide, I'll bet it comes out great.
ReplyDeleteKnitting escapes me. I can go back and forth, back and forth, and make dish cloths or a scarf, but struggle greatly with anything more complicated. I think people who can knit are amazing!
Thank you, Becky. I haven't quite figured out how I'll put the two fabrics together, but having one of each is what I am leaning towards, with a red border on both, to sort of tie them together. There is one other idea, floating around my mind, too, which I need to sort of play around with a little bit to see if it will work out the way I envision it - which is the reverse of each other! One pillowcase with the Santa fabric as the main fabric and a border with the other and, for the second pillowcase, the body with the Ho Ho Ho fabric, and a border of the Santa fabric, with, as you say, a red strip between them.
DeleteIf you can knit a square or a rectangle, then, you can knit a sweater! Think of a sweater as being composed of four rectangles - two for the body, two for the sleeves! :)
Hi Bless,
ReplyDeleteLove the fabrics! I think I would put a 1” solid fabric piece between the two prints to create a bit of visual rest.
The Christmas kitties might be cute as an apron or a vest, depending on what your cousin would like.
Hopefully, you can have different cases for your glasses to help tell them apart quickly.
Good luck with the curtains.
Chris
Thank you, Chris. Yes, I am thinking of putting a strip of solid fabric - red, I think - to create a bit of visual division between the two fabrics. Still thinking of what to make with the kitties. I like the idea of different cases for the glasses - they gave me identical cases, but that is not going to work! LOL!
DeleteThat kitten fabric makes me smile. I wonder if you could make accent pillows that your cousin could use during the holidays? Or a table runner? Actually I can think of lots of ways to use the fabric, lol!!! $12.99 is pretty typical for yardage at most quilt shops; I do prefer it but usually wait until there is a sale.
ReplyDeleteAccent pillows or a table runner is exactly what I am thinking of! I have given her a table runner, already, a couple of years ago, however. So, if you have any other ideas and are willing to share them, I'd be happy to hear them. :)
DeleteHa. I definitely know it is Fall when the socks and the long sleeved t-shirts go on. Also, the capris are replaced with jeans.
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas fabrics are adorable, but the price of fabric is too rich for my blood....even on sale. I can buy a lot of paper for what you have to pay for fabric. Good thing you have a stash to make from.
Fabric is too expensive, these days. Most of what I am using was bought when they went on 75%-90% off sale for $1/yard. I'll be waiting for another similar sale before I buy any more fabric!
Delete