Catching the sun

Despite the rocky start it has been a good week.  The weather got cold again on Tuesday and Wednesday but it warmed up on Thursday to the freezing mark and above.  The long range forecast seems to be showing we're past the really cold weather so by the end of March I expect we'll start seeing some signs of spring.  Fingers crossed!  The longer daylight hours and lots of sunshine are certainly encouraging.

On Monday I made a run to several hardware stores looking for a replacement for the wand for the kitchen faucet.  When I was talking with my friend K about our plans for Tuesday, she asked me if the entire faucet needed to be replaced.  I took a look at it more closely and realized I could simply replace the wand portion.  Woohoo!  It took me three stores to find it - the first I went to because I have gift cards to use, no luck there, the second I was picking up birdseed and thought I'd check, and the third store because I looked it up on the internet before I went.  For just $36 I was able to replace the piece.  All I had to do was unscrew the old broken wand and screw in the new one.  Even I can do that!

On Tuesday, K picked me up and we went for one of our lovely long lunches.  She arrived about 11:30 and dropped me off shortly before 3.  We never run out of topics to discuss.  This visit revolved around their recent stay in Arizona, upcoming travels for both of us, recycling, my grandson, and a myriad of other topics.  She brought her camera so I could see the photos from their sightseeing - Arizona is another place I need to visit!

D and Eli were here on Thursday, as she attended the funeral of her friend.  It was well attended and she saw a number of people she hasn't seen in years.  They didn't stay the night but went home after she got back to the house.  Eli was very adamant he wanted to go home to his treehouse.  He was very good for me while she was away; he even put himself to bed for an hour long nap.  


Eli loves Sasha, and while Sasha doesn't reciprocate, he does tolerate the little guy.  Here Eli was sharing his blanket.  It had warmed up by lunch time so I opened up the sun room for the cats and the kid.  Eli sat on the chair beside Sasha while he ate his lunch and chattered away at the cat.    

I've kept busy for much of the week with the curling and knitting.  I'm actually happy the men's Canadian championship won't start until Friday evening....my house needs some serious attention!  I did the bare essentials, laundry, dishes, and cleaning of bathrooms.  My son had to fend for himself several evenings as I didn't get around to figuring out what to make for dinner.  He didn't mind at all and is quite capable of making his own meals.  Dishes on the other hand.... not so much.

With all the time to sit and knit I managed a couple of finishes this week.  First up is the little lamb to go along with the blanket I made for my cousin's son and his wife.  Baby is due in April, so I made the blanket just big enough to cover a car seat.  The lamb was made with the leftover yarn.  By the time it was finished and sewn together, I had pretty much used up all the yarn, though  I did have to buy some additional cream yarn to finish the lamb.  I'm not showing you a close up, because although it's cute, my ability to sew knitting projects isn't the most professional.    

In addition I finished another baby blanket.  This one is also a smaller blanket. I'm using the yarn I purchased for a whopping $4 at Michaels (when I bought the cream) and I have a half a ball left.  I'll probably use the rest of it, along the cream for another blanket.  But I'll crochet the next one as I've done lots of the knitting the last few weeks. 

On Sunday I'm off to my brother's in between curling games to help my niece finish her top.  We're onto buttonholes and I've been watching videos to learn how to do it with my sewing machine.  I don't have a one step option, so it will be a little more tricky.   We'll practice with some additional material she has until we're both satisfied we're doing it right!  

I'll end this post with a photo from R's run along the river last week.  Maybe one day I'll go for a walk there too, though there will be no running.  

Wishing you all a week of sunshine ahead!