2011 December 27 — Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara

Day 1 of the Exploration

December 27, 2011 · by JudyL

If it wasn’t so cold and windy, and if my throat wasn’t so sore . . I’d have stayed on that RTV all day yesterday. We didn’t venture too far because we don’t have a GPS we can carry with us but we have one ordered. There are so many trails for exploring. This land was all part of the original Camp Bowie so there’s no telling what we might find deep in the woods.

Our closest neighbor comes to visit through the woods but I didn’t know the route so we we went to see them . . and now I know how to get there by myself. The RTV is so fun to drive . . though I don’t think Vince much liked riding with me driving. Vince told me last night that he thinks it’s the funnest thing we ever bought. We have a couple of 70º days coming up. You know what I’ll be doing!

On our ride yesterday, the first neighbors we encountered weren’t so happy to see us!

They’re kinda far away. Vince had the camera and I was driving. He was holding on with all his might and he was afraid to let go in order to take a picture. Did I say the RTV is so fun to drive? The horses were running away . . they’ll get used to us.

We visited the neighbors who were happy to see us and see that we have transportation now that will get us through the woods from our house to their house. Then we left and drove farther back on the land. Look at that sky! Oh, how we’re loving this place!

The land to the left is ours, the fence is the right border . . I would say west but I’m probably wrong. It’s probably south . . or it could be north or east. See why I need GPS?

We traveled on down the path and even though the picture isn’t great, at one point, we’re kinda on a ridge and can see for miles and miles. I can’t wait for some warmer days.

The fun ended. We had to go back out to the rental and work. Why did I unpack so much stuff there? I guess because for a while, it was looking like we’d never find a house but dang, there’s so much stuff in there to get packed up. The local movers just move boxes . . no packing.

· Filed Under: Home & Garden · 10 Comments

The Yarn Stash

December 27, 2011 · by JudyL

Since I’ve been so disciplined with my fabric stash, I’ve been thinking about what was different with my yarn stash. Why do I keep buying yarn? Why do I spend hours drooling over the beautiful yarns online and I hardly ever think about buying fabric? I have more yarn than I will ever use but I have to get to the point where I no longer want more and more yarn. I can remember how excited I would get when a box of fabric would arrive and now I feel the same way about the yarn.

I’m determined to stick with Denise’s challenge in 2012, which is almost like a “no buy” commitment. Before the end of the year, I wanted to be sure I had plenty to get through the year. Once I make up my mind, I’ll be fine. I went through the Bugga and Wollmeise yarn, double checked my spreadsheet to be sure I’m ok and don’t need to do any wild and crazy buying in the next day or so (like some people have been doing)!

My Bugga stash is fine.

This is yarn in the bigger containers and UFOs in the smaller containers, that I brought home this week from the rental. This will all go into the sewing room but for now, it’s in the entry hall. There are also 4 yarn containers under two beds so that’s 8 more containers of yarn! The top container is Bugga. There’s a lot of sock yarn in there .. at least 50 skeins. That’s enough for 50 pairs of socks. That alone would take me at least 4 years to knit up.

Then there’s the Wollmeise:

There’s at least 60 skeins in there. That’s about 5 years worth of sock knitting yarn.

There’s at least 100 various others — Lorna’s Laces, Malabrigo Sock, Madelinetosh Sock, Opal. So, that’s another 8 years worth of knitting. I think that about takes care of my knitting years.

Then there’s enough yarn to make 8 sweaters. I haven’t knitted a sweater in 30 years and I’m scared to try it but I’m going to knit at least one sweater in 2012.

While digging though all the yarn and updating my spreadsheet, I found two more socks without mates. I was lucky . . I found the yarn so I can finish them. I could be wrong but I think I only have 3 socks without mates at the current time.

2012 is definitely going to bring about a change in my knitting and yarn purchasing habits!

· Filed Under: Knitting & Weaving · 25 Comments

Vacuum Cleaner

December 27, 2011 · by JudyL

A while back I had asked for recommendations about a vacuum cleaner and wanted to spend less than $200. Everyone was suggesting a Dyson with a pet hair feature that was over $400 and I just wasn’t going to pay that but the more I looked online, the more frustrated I got. There are so many vacuums with so many features and it’s been forever since I had to buy a vacuum cleaner. I had a Rainbow that lasted forever and a day and then had the central vac that came with the house in MO so finally, I just said to Mr. Super Shopper (Vince): Honey, will you find me a vacuum cleaner? I want one that works with pet hair, that works with hard floor and with carpet and I want to spend less than $200. Ahhh . . Vince was on a mission. He researched, read Consumer Report, read customer reviews and decided on the LG LuV300B, which after a rebate or coupon, was a good bit less than $200. What’s funny, is that after it arrived, I noticed it’s one of the things advertised in the BlogHer ads in my sidebar.

It arrived before my parents got here and because Fed Ex didn’t have the gate code yet, I drove down to the gate to get it and it’s been in the back of my car til yesterday when I threatened to give up cooking and everything else that makes my husband happy if he didn’t get that blasted vacuum cleaner out of my car and put it together. Yes . . don’t tell me . . you would have done it yourself. If I do something like that once, it’s my job forever and I don’t need another job around here!

I love this vacuum cleaner. I think Vince loves it too. It is quite a vacuum cleaner for the price.

I think Vince loves it too!

It comes apart! Kinda like an Erector set! This could be fun if it wasn’t mainly for cleaning house!

This piece telescopes. Great! Now I can get that moth off the wall that Vince killed and left up there to petrify!

Get a good look because we’ll probably never see him with a vacuum cleaner in his hand again. And, if we do, he probably won’t look nearly so happy.

I’m not recommending this vacuum cleaner yet. I’ll use it for a while and then let you know what I think. So far, I will tell you that it has about 10 times more sucking power than the central vac did; the cord is a mile long – which I love. Not sure if you can see how much dirt is in the canister but it’s mostly just sand and it’s from one narrow, long runner type rug!

I’ll do an update on the LG LuV300B in a few months.