FO’s, and one of them is knitted…

The last bit of the bathroom is done (installing the end pieces on the counter), the trim is painted, everything’s cleaned up. The plumber had to access the shower pipes, which meant removing the radiator cover and the sheetrock panels in the hall outside the bathroom. The radiator became a small project for me.

Before on the left (the grate is just leaning there, but you get the idea). Though I’d removed the shelf to bleed the radiator, I’d never removed the grate. A lot of paint to scrape. And on the right, mostly down to the metal or the first coat of paint and ready to spray.

And now, bright and shiny. I even painted part of the wall to the right… when the grate came off, there was a large unpainted area.

You can see if you look (because the base color is fresh and bright white versus the old antique/linen/whatever white came with the house), but it’ll do.

The hall was painted over 10 years ago, and surprisingly the blue wash was still in a yogurt container in the basement, and even more surprisingly, it was still good… just needed a bit of water. I found a lot of fuzzy stuff growing in other containers… and a lot of gelatinous muck that once was paint. I know what we’ll be bringing to the next home hazardous waste day…

Vanille

Lots of mods to pattern, waist shaping, more fitted arms. What I hope to different in the next sweater: figure out the raglan length so the armhole isn’t so deep… makes the sleeve baggy and oddly fitting at the top. But it’s comfortable, and like the blue paint, it’ll do.

Got a haircut too!

what was I thinking?

I got seeds for Sweet Annie at the Common Ground Fair last year… the stuff smelled so wonderful. Um, I was there with our “invasive plants” display… this thing can be invasive? I hadn’t heard that for Maine, but I think I need to get it out of the garden!

rain!

I was rather excited that Earl brought us some rain.

shhh… that’s the flash making the liquid water look white and solid…

new project started

Newport cardigan, out of the Phaeolus dyed wool!

Sara I never post on my blog anymore won the snowmelt contest! (OK OK, to be fair, she is active in Ravelry). She guessed May 24, and, guess what? It was totally gone by then! There were a couple of minor wet spots that were raised a bit above the ground… these typically result from ice melting below them. But no ice… I figure it had finished melting that morning. A groundhog even appears to be living in that snowmelt area…

Since Sara works and lives in Augusta, it was easy to deliver her winnings on my way to a meeting (she lives on the east side and works on the west, I live on the west side and work on the east).

She seems happy with the circular needle holder and a couple of buttons. Or maybe it was the delivery of that frozen caffeinated beverage… It has been wicked hot here these past couple days (90’s and humid).

I did a bit of spinning over the weekend…

Something from Amy, not sure what color, burnt toffee maybe? I got this a few years back to use with the drop spindle. Which hasn’t been happening… so it’s now for the wheel. I’m not trying for anything special, just to get back in the groove… then I’ll move on to that alpaca I was working on months ago, or maybe that “I’m trying to spin thin” wool.

See what happens when I don’t post during the week…

meet Dory

Who graciously modeled her fancy schmancy sweater…

I was in Brunswick on Thursday, recruiting for summer field interns at Bowdoin, and thinking, gee if I had a cell phone, I’d call up Ohana (her Ravelry name, but does she ever do anything in there?) and say where are you I am here (she works there). And within 10 minutes, who walks by? So we got together, walked Dory, gabbed… I was glad to know I didn’t crush her back when I slammed a great bear hug into her at the job fair…

the river is still icy!

Along Front Street (that dirt road along the river) in Hallowell, behind the Lucky Garden, looking north.

Along the rail trail in Augusta, last evening.

color

I have been making progress on DH’s sweater…

But I needed some antidote to all this white gray oatmeal blah, and something small I could work on at the job fair… and so,

And before I set up for the job fair, I visited Ellen at Purl Diva! And came home with some subtle color, Madeline Tosh sock yarn in the lichen color,

OMG it is so lovely. Ellen has a new shipment of all sorts of Madeline Tosh yarns…. they’re all wicked nice, squoooshy, soft, great colors, yum yum yum!

Maybe I’ll actually work on some socks soon…

still digesting election results

I learned last night that Augusta voted heavily in favor of Yes on 1. So now I wonder, as I pass people, see them at the supermarket, watch them drive by… who among you voted against equality? Who among you voted against people I know and love? Who among you voted against my family?

In one word I am disgusted. Not in an “ew” way but in an angry way. Disgusted that fear overcomes reason. Disgusted that outside money can overturn a law that was voted on a year ago. Disgusted that the religious “right” isn’t really paying attention to the one who really heads up their organization… Jesus.

• Jesus would have voted No on 1
• Jesus was a social reformer
• Jesus taught that we should love one another

Um, have they been paying attention? Will they be denied access to the glorious beyond? Denied at the gates when faced with the reality that they did not follow what Jesus taught? Will “I thought you meant…” carry any weight?

I’m also disgusted about this business about marriage being defined as something that happens under God in church. It was originally and is still first and foremost a legal contract (you need to get a license from your state before you have a wedding). I was not married in a church; I had no wedding. Yet my marriage is recognized by all, across state and national boundaries. I have atheist friends that were not married in churches, and their marriages are recognized. Will our rights eventually be stripped?

Haven’t people learned? When the rights and liberties of some of us are not the same as the rest, we all lose. I mean, did the world end when blacks rode on the front of the bus? When women voted? No, all of our lives became enriched. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… but only if you are a white and straight man I guess.

Remember Martin Niemoller’s poem,

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out–
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out–
because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out–
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me–
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

I guess I live in a bit of a bubble.

winter

There’s about four inches of snow on the ground this morning. Here’s a bit of it last night, on the rugosa rose leaves…

Winter also means winter coats… and for the past few years in all but the extreme cold, mine has been this,

It’s too big (48), but it’s comfortable and I can wear it over a big bulky sweater. And it cost all of 25 cents. I have been shamed into getting another coat. And this one does look silly with a skirt, or with a long sweater hanging below the bottom.

So I got a few at the Goodwill recently, and my friends helped me decide on these two,

Neither of which is as warm as the Makita Carhartt. But both are big enough to wear a sweater underneath.

Really, my favorite winter coat is the other one I got for 25 cents… sadly it is a size 38 and I can’t wear it with a heavy sweater. It’s wool, and lined with cotton flannel, and heavy, and warm, and has great pockets (six in front and two in the back!), and has a big collar that can close. I don’t think you can buy anything like it anymore. Certainly not for under $100.

winner

I won Mel’s raffle drawing. It’s kind of a bittersweet winning given that the intention was to raise money for the No on 1 campaign. It’s some lovely fiber and also yarn, which Mel may or may not knit into socks for me… he offered in the contest, but between his hand issues and my ability to knit socks, there isn’t any need for that… but he’s got this idea about making toe socks (for my webbed toes!) so we’re still figuring this out. I figure since there’s no rush for postal delivery (not like I am lacking for yarn), it’s a good excuse to get together sometime!

I’ll announce winner of book drawing in next post. Comment in that post if you want a chance to win the book!

My family keeps asking me this, “so how much snow did you get?”…

A lot.

Path through the front yard,

Pile on one side of the driveway,
You can see there’s a rock wall there, but there is a lot of snow piled on top of it…

Another perspective… we have to shovel the snow so it lands on top of these piles without rolling back down,

(he’s about 6 feet tall)

More pics at the bottom of this set.

You know it’s been cold when…

You come in and say “well it’s really nice out there today”, and you find out that you’ve been outside in only a shirt and light sweater and it’s 17 and you feel warm. But it was sunny. And we are, by virtue of the hill, protected from the wind.

It’s really beautiful out there today. Hope you can get out and enjoy it.