knitting project – Nittin' Ninja

As New Year celebrations have come and gone leaving us with the rest of winter and only Valentine’s Day to break it up, I am diligently working on yet another Boyland Knitworks creation, Ghost Horses. And as follows my modus operandi, I am modifying the design. You may be wondering Why bother with purchasing the pattern? Answer: I’m not that good! LOL!

I won’t be doing fair isle for the whole sweater – pretty much done with that. The colors I am using would make that too overwhelming.

Even though I have mentioned that I don’t do well with resolutions, I thought I would give it yet another go in 2022. Seems the thing to do. Last year about this time I posted on Facebook that I was going to endeavor to knit or crochet every single day, even if it was only a few stitches. And yes, I did. Don’t know if it’s actually a resolution in the true sense, more like a goal. A minute accomplishment, but one I am proud of.

Yup, this is STILL not done. My excuse? Fingering weight k2 p2 all the way.

As for actually finishing certain projects (see above), that remains to be seen. By the time I complete this baby I will have gained back all the weight I lost – no! This was started back in March of 2021 and I gave myself two months to a year to finish. I had no idea. I CAN do a sweater in a month, just not this one, apparently.

I did finish my own design, fair isle socks. Fairly proud of them and waiting to hear back from testers before I post the pattern. I will let you all know when that happens!

Basic photoshop fun was had with this image!

So do you, dear reader, have resolutions for the upcoming year? If so, what are they? How did you come to make them? What was the driving force?

Hello, dear readers. It’s been awhile, I know, but that does appear to be my blogging modus operandi! That way, I am more assured of having some interesting content – we hope. In the interim, thank you so much for reading my entries when they do show.

Over the last several years, I know I’ve mentioned here in my blog that I am losing weight. I still am. I wanted to show off a little, even though I have another 20 pounds, or about another year, to go. The motivation? I was taking meds for cholesterol, hypertension, and my blood sugar was wobbling from prediabetic to diabetic. My “Fuck. This.” moment was when I got another medication added to my already intolerably long list.

I have lost weight before, but it’s never stuck. I’m a classic example of a yo-yo dieter. I didn’t want to do that – yet again. So when I asked my long-suffering doctor, who has since retired, what I needed to do to lose weight, he sighed, and repeated what he had been telling me for the previous five years; take long walks, don’t eat out at fast food joints/restaurants so much, lay off the white rice/white flour, and make sure you include vegetables and fruits in your daily regimen.

And I finally listened.

It’s been bumpy, and I back-slid, which was so discouraging, but I persevered. I haven’t been on any official diet, just being moderate in what I eat. My biggest hope is that by taking so long and being patient with the weight loss, I am teaching myself how to maintain it once I get there. The maintenance, or everyday living, once you reach a weight goal, is actually harder than losing it. That’s why there is such a thing as “yo-yo dieting”. I didn’t make it up, I promise.

Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to losing weight as a late middle-aged woman. I noticed almost immediately that I literally lost my ass. I mean, seriously? That never happened when I lost weight as a young woman. Also, my hips are way too narrow. I imagine with more weight loss, the girls are also going to go. But I gotta do this; I don’t want to be taking anymore crappy drugs that mess up my homeostasis – not worth it. I also know that due to age and genetic predisposition, I won’t be able to cut out all the meds. I waited too long. My bad. But as the old adage goes “Better late than never”.

Truth.

So enough about that.

You need to meet Peanut, the latest addition to our fur baby family. He was a stray found wandering around in our neighborhood who was taken to the Placer County Animal Shelter, then ended up coming home with me. I just can’t imagine someone dropping off this little sweetheart, but I also can’t imagine he ended up way out in my neck of the woods all by himself. It’s a long walk to anywhere else. There were posts in social media (that’s how I discovered him) and he was at the shelter for 12 days. There was plenty of opportunity for a concerned dog parent to retrieve him, but that didn’t happen.

And as with all my rescues I try not to dwell upon where they came from. Were they loved? Abused? Neglected? Do they miss their previous owners? The “trying” part doesn’t work, and my husband tells me to STOP. They are loved and well taken care of NOW.

I think he’s a chiweenie – what do you think?

Which brings me to the never-ending sweater project. In my last post in February, I was voicing my optimism about being done in two months. Riiigghhht.

As evidenced in the images, this is one slow-moving project that is killing my soul. I posted the same pic on my Facebook Nittin’ Ninja page, asking if I should just change out from the k2 p2 pattern and switch to knit only just to finish the damn thing! As of right now, I’m being encouraged to stick to the pattern. *sigh*

I do want to wear this eventually, and when I started this odyssey, I set this up for a “large”. I am counting on the fact that my tension can sometimes be a little tight, though I am concerned that only counts with the knit stitch. Ribbing is a different story altogether. I better not finally finish this just to discover it’s too big. I will be madder than hell!

And talking about hell, it’s summertime here in Northern California where Fire Season is in full swing. Yes. I did write “Fire” followed by the word “Season”. I have always associated the word “season” with something pleasant. Fast forward to now. Can you imagine trying to sell that concept for holiday makers? This summer, add a frisson of danger to your vacation – visit the western United States. Choke on the lovely smoke, see the flames licking up the once tall, majestic trees, flee for your life. What the fuck? But yes, there are fires all around us, people losing their homes, and businesses – thank God, no deaths so far. Anymore, this is an annual mini-season and it’s debilitating to one’s sense of well-being, let alone what it’s doing to your lung health. And don’t ask about the homeowners insurance rates.

This smoky haze in Colfax proper is from two counties over.

Last year we experienced unacceptable air conditions for around two months. I am not looking forward to that this year. It seems, and I may be wrong, that the fires started later this year. Maybe wishful thinking? In the meantime, I don’t walk the doggies when it’s too bad, I just get on the treadmill and do my normal summer thing; always have my nose on high alert and watch for fire notifications on social media.

So what do we do to keep cool in these unacceptable conditions? We go to the river, the lake, or higher up to Tahoe…which I don’t really do the last one because it’s way too damn busy with tourists and I’m too lazy to drive that 50 minutes or so! The rivers and lakes around here are 10 minutes away, can also be crowded with tourists, but, eh, like I said, it’s only ten minutes away! LOL