2012 June 06 — Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara

Knitting Time

June 6, 2012 · by JudyL

Free time seems to be in short supply around here. I’m definitely not complaining . . this is the lifestyle I’ve wanted for so long and I wouldn’t change it for anything . . but I would add a few more hours to my day if possible. That’s not possible!

During the fall and winter, when the days are shorter, we’re in the house much earlier in the evenings. I have lots of knitting time during the winter.

We still haven’t figured out a good summer schedule. Do we eat dinner about 5:30 p.m. and then go out and work in the yard/garden til dark? Do we work in the yard/garden til dark and then come in and eat dinner? We’ve tried both and eating earlier works better but that means I have to stop sewing by 3 to come in and get dinner done. Then we eat and go outside and work so that when we come in after 8, I still need to clean the kitchen, shower and by then, I’m too tired to do much of anything.

So . . when is there time to knit? There just isn’t! Camp Loopy started on May 27 or May 28 . . doesn’t matter because I managed to find a few minutes to cast on . . maybe on June 1 or June 2 but haven’t had another minute to knit.

Remember the socks I was making for the mechanic’s wife? They were part of Madtosh May? They were supposed to be finished by the end of May? I was also going to knit two shawls . . during May. Yep, that didn’t happen either. I got the little sack knitted for the baby and that’s it.

For the socks, about half of one sock is knitted.

Here’s my plan – Since doing the Design Wall Monday posts really motivates me to get something on the design wall to share, I’m going to start doing “On the Needles Friday”. Knitters . . get your yarn and needles out and get started. Take a picture or do a blog post and on Fridays, we’ll have a link box for whatever knitting projects we’re working on. Maybe this will motivate me to find a little more time for knitting. Anyone want to join me on Fridays in sharing what you’re knitting? Include anything yarn related that you’re working on . . crochet, spinning, weaving.

· Filed Under: Knitting & Weaving · 19 Comments

Lid Opener

June 6, 2012 · by JudyL

This is my favorite bottle opener! Not for opening bottles but for removing lids from jars. It works so well . . never bends the metal lids, never feels like it wants to crack the glass on the jars. I love this little opener.

Here’s the underneath side. I’ve had this opener for a long time. Since the Tattler lids are re-usable, I wanted to be real careful with them. I ordered the the opener that Tattler sells and I’m not crazy about it so I looked for this old opener and couldn’t find it. I keep it in the drawer with the silverware because I use it so much. I’ve had it since we moved into this house so I knew it wasn’t lost in the move. I knew that Vince had used it and stuck it somewhere. I figured it was easier to buy a new one than try to find the old one. That’s exactly why we have so much stuff! Bad habit!

I had already looked at Wal-Mart here, and at Amazon. There’s one at Amazon that might be a newer model but I just love the one I have. We looked everywhere at Abilene for it and none of the usual places had it . . Bed, Bath & Beyond has tons of OXO products and they didn’t have it. Target has a bunch of OXO products and they didn’t have it. I was so desperate that I came home and dug through all the drawers in the kitchen (yes, I know . . there aren’t many in this kitchen!) and I found it.

Then Vince and I sat down and had a talk! He now understands that he is never ever to touch this bottle opener again and if he sees anyone else touching it, he is to immediately take drastic measures.

Who would have thought that a can opener that I’ve had for years and years could now be such a treasured possession?

· Filed Under: Home & Garden · 8 Comments

Do I Like to Shop?

June 6, 2012 · by JudyL

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t know that I detest shopping? Yes! There is one person who doesn’t know – the man whose laundry I do, the man whose favorite meals I cook, the man whose neck I massage . . ok . . we’ll stop right there but I think you get the message. Is it that he forgets how much I dislike shopping or is it that he loves to shop so much that he thinks somehow . . some day . . he’ll convince me that shopping is fun.

Yesterday I spent several hours working in the yard. I started bright and early while it was still cool. I came in the house about 9 a.m. and Vince had called and wanted to go to San Angelo to eat lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. It’s right at 2 hours to San Angelo so I knew there was more he wanted to do than eat lunch but, because I really needed a new pair of shoes . . really I did . . I agreed to go. Big mistake! And I knew better than to agree to go shopping with him.

I do alright stopping at three or four places, not counting lunch, but much more than three places and it’s really difficult for me. I just don’t like shopping. And, going somewhere without a list . . cannot do it! Did we have lists yesterday? No! Did we even know where we were going? Did not!

First stop – lunch at Armenta’s Café. Fantastic! I was ready to go home after lunch but knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Second stop – HEB. Love that store. So wish we had one. We had one cooler in the car and filled it at HEB so at least we couldn’t shop any more for cold stuff. We bought two packs of sushi to bring home for dinner last night, we bought fresh tuna to grill for dinner tonight. We bought salmon to smoke. We bought fruits and kale and beets and flour tortillas . . things I can’t get here.

Third stop – Sam’s Club. Not sure what we were looking for there but we ended up getting a new grill. We have this love/hate relationship with every grill we have. The one we bought hooks up to propane for lighting the charcoal and has an easy way to raise and lower the coals closer or farther from the cooking surface. Our grill sits out here . . which I guess doesn’t matter since it never rains!

Fourth stop – Lowe’s. OMG! Why did we have to stop at Lowe’s. We bought more of the plastic fencing. Did we need it? Do we have more garden area to fence? No! But, when I need it, I want to have it! I think we have about 20 rolls now. Then he wanted to go look at tools. Do you know that men consider everything in Lowe’s to be tools? That’s where the meltdown almost occurred. We had a few angry words but that surely didn’t encourage him to hurry up! Men!

Fifth stop – Shoe Something – can’t even remember the name of it. Maybe you can find shoes in here! All I wanted to go was go home! Did not find shoes.

Sixth stop – Petsmart. Yes! I wanted to stop here. That’s where I have to get the treats Speck likes.

Seventh stop – Bed, Bath & Beyond. I was looking for a can opener. They no longer carry it. They said HEB carries them. Hmmm . . that was Stop #2. Not backtracking!

Eighth stop – Target. By now, I was downright grumpy. We each got a Dr. Pepper at the snack bar. That’s it!

Ninth stop – Academy. We seem to have to stop at every Academy we see. I don’t get it.

Tenth stop – Marshall’s. Vince promised me this would be our last stop. I did find shoes. I found Fig Balsamic which I love for salad dressing. I found olive oil in a nice little bottle that pours and doesn’t drip. I had one in MO but left it with Chad. Vince found a few things and we were on our way . . heading home . . I thought.

Eleventh stop – Tractor Supply in Ballinger. Our Tractor Supply is out of watering cans for the chickens and we need more for their run area but ours is supposed to have more coming in this week and the runs aren’t made yet so . . really . . why did we have to stop at Tractor Supply in Ballinger?

Thank goodness for Speck! He was in the crate and we don’t like to leave him longer than 6 hours in the crate. Otherwise, I’d probably still be in San Angelo shopping!