Started New Knitting and New Plans

I started new knitting yesterday. I did it because I finished the Wildflower Colorway Reyna shawl. The new one is the same pattern but in a very soft, very pretty color in the Summer Nights Yarn called Ocean Cove. It is one of the 6 colors I bought in this yarn when they were on clearance. 

I have at least 2 skeins in each of the colors. Finishing this shawl will give me one knitted Reyna in each color. 

Next up will be one of each color in a crocheted shawl pattern I found on Ravelry. This one is called Summer Sprigs Lace Scarf.

We have another road trip coming up. This one for us celebrating our wedding anniversary. I will probably use this pattern and my intention of making one in each of the 6 colors as my goal. I am looking forward to the project and the trip. 

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

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(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

Trimming Our Trees

Like many folks who live here in the desert we have a person who does our yard work. Jim can't really take care of it at his age and in his state of fitness. For the last year or more the man who does this is named Max. Yesterday Max came with a cousin to thin out our trees. We have 3 Sissoo trees, a Palo Verde and a Bonita Ash. With the monsoon season here we worry about their ability to stand through the strong winds that can come with those storms. Thinning the branches in theory means the air can pass through rather than push over your tree. This is the second year we have had this kind of work done. The process seemed to work last year so let's hope it is the same this year.

The picture is from before thinning yesterday. These trees are about 12 years old and at a bit taller than our 2 story house. We'd like them to be here shading the yard for many years to come.

If you follow me on twitter and I hope you do since I share a lot of nice things from authors, photographers, eBay sellers and creators on Etsy, Zazzle and Red Bubble, I will be sharing lots of retweets from those folks and a couple tweets about National Waffle Iron Day. You can find me on twitter @CozyAtoZ.

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

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(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

Inside the Banjoverse

My brother Kyle and I were talking about music and podcasts during some of our conversations while taking care of my mother earlier this year. He told me about the podcast "Inside the Banjoverse". I have started listening and really enjoy it. I have to admit that I don't know much about the people and the history of traditional Irish music but I like what I hear. The interviews on the podcast are done by Enda Scahill. He seems to bring such joy to these interactions that is sets a good mood for me for the rest of the day.

Enda is part of the band We Banjo 3 along with band members Martin Howley, Fergal Scahill and David Howley. From their website they use these words to describe themselves.

Galway-based We Banjo 3 has one foot in Irish music and one foot in Americana music, seamlessly combining the virtuosity and precision in each genre’s traditional disciplines with the artful song-craft and infectious live performance of today’s musical landscape.

If you are interested in more about the band and the podcast start with these links.

Podcast is found here - https://www.webanjo3.com/podcast

For shopping for music I found some on Amazon here - https://amzn.to/3CMzBi9 (affiliate link)

One last thing. If you check out any of this stop by in the comments and let me know what you think about the band or the podcast. I would love to hear from you!

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

National Sunglasses Day

Checking in on NationalDayCalendar.com I found out that among others things like pineapple it is National Sunglasses Day. So sunglasses is what I will be tweeting about today as well as sharing some links here too.

Remember please that sunglasses are more than just fashion. They can also protect your eyes for the type of damage that can lead to cataracts. I came to realize this personally at my last eye exam. The doctor told me I have the beginnings of cataracts but they are not developed enough for surgery yet. I asked if there was anything I could do to slow the process and was told no. Cataracts are created by years of damage early in life and I am guilty of not taking care of my eyes when I was younger. 

I did a search on eBay and to check for yourself click this affiliate link. Below are a couple of the styles I found. I, as usual for eBay found old, new, classic, trendy and cherished vintage styles. 

Amazon had of course a wide range of prices and styles too. Use this affiliate link to see the search results that just might help you find your next pair of sunnies. 

Funny thing I noticed while looking today. Nearly all of the images of the sunglasses on the pages of search results were looking the same direction. If there was a variation at all a few were straight forward. Random things that make me wonder why. LOL

So did you see anything you like? Feel free to let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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If you shop on Amazon, eBay or Zazzle you can use the affiliate links below if you wish. I could earn a bit from qualified purchases and that means more yarn for me and many thanks to you! 

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(Amazon) https://amzn.to/431rKIb  

(eBay) https://ebay.us/4IPcOx  

(Zazzle) https://www.zazzle.com/store?rf=238220271190296674   

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Back with more again soon. 

Take care and stay cozy! 

 

Yesterday I finished reading "A Girl Called Samson" by Amy Harmon. I really enjoyed this book. I would like to think that I could do brave and hard things like the women I read about in the books I love but fear my efforts would be short I what I imagine. I have heard of women passing for men in the Civil War as well as the Revolutionary War where this novel is set. This is a novel and not a biography however many of the characters were real people. 

Here is what Amazon has to say about this book from Amy Harmon who writes historical fiction very well.

From New York Times bestselling author Amy Harmon comes the saga of a young woman who dares to chart her own destiny in life and love during the American Revolutionary War.

In 1760, Deborah Samson is born to Puritan parents in Plympton, Massachusetts. When her father abandons the family and her mother is unable to support them, Deborah is bound out as an indentured servant. From that moment on, she yearns for a life of liberation and adventure.

Twenty years later, as the American colonies begin to buckle in their battle for independence, Deborah, impassioned by the cause, disguises herself as a soldier and enlists in the Continental Army. Her impressive height and lanky build make her transformation a convincing one, and it isn’t long before she finds herself confronting the horrors of war head-on.

But as Deborah fights for her country’s freedom, she must contend with the secret of who she is—and, ultimately, a surprising love she can’t deny.

If you are interested the link below is an affiliate link and I can earn from qualifying purchases. This book is available in paperback or with Kindle Unlimited or Audible.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Knitting WIP

The colors are not as pretty here as in real life. The colorway for this Lion Brand Summer Nights yarn is Wildflowers. There is more pink in it that is not really showing up. 

Anyway this is nearly done. I spent a lot of time yesterday resting and icing the sore hip. I have one more row to knit and then bind off. With blocking the garter stitch evens out and the lace will open up. The pattern is Reyna with an added band of garter stitch at the end.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

From Mom's House

The plant pictured above is a Peace Lily. It is from my Mom's house. It is one of the things I brought home. One thing I can tell you about my mother is that she loved to garden and take care of house plants. I couldn't save them all but I did bring home 3. I have the Peace Lily, an azalea and a geranium.

I did some research on how to take care of the lily which I learned isn't a true lily. The most supportive and informational place I found to learn about the care of this plant was at HGTV.com. I haven't had one of these plants before and would like to keep it for a long time. Right now it is living on the table in my eat in kitchen so I can see it and remember her several times a day.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Finally Friday

Not really sure why I might be happy it is Friday. Not tied to jobs or school schedules anymore, weekends don't mean much. However for those of you who spend time looking forward to the weekend I hope it is a great one.

My youngest sister left Mom's house yesterday. She will be the last of us to ever be there. Now the realtor and the trustee of my stepfather's trust take over. They are planning to get the yard cleaned up for curb appeal, paint the inside of the house and get a professional cleaning done including the carpets. After that the house will go on the market. The sale proceeds will be split among the 5 of us, that is Mom's 5 children. 

The house wasn't a childhood home for me and I won't miss going there. It is, however, grandma's house for all the grandkids. I suppose they may all have some feelings about that part of their childhood being gone to other people. I hope whoever buys it has at least half the joy that my nieces, nephews and children had when visiting there.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Bing Image Creator

I have spent some time playing with a new online toy. Have you heard of Bing's Image Creator? I can't remember how I leaned of it but I have had fun playing with it. This tool works to create an image with the words you type in. You can use style words like watercolor, digital art or in the style of an artist. Next you need to use words to describe what you want to see. You can even include mood words.

With that said find a few of my creations below.

Playing with words to get an image from your mind to the screen can be fun but sometimes frustrating. If you would like to play with this too click on this link - Bing Image Creator. Let me know if you try this in the comments. 

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Considering Online Marketplaces

Happy Wednesday! I don't know what the day will bring but want to start with a positive attitude. 

We finished the last episode of the last season of Mrs. Maisel last night. I really loved this show and will miss it. The monologue she did on the Gordon Ford show was one of the best she ever did in the show. I won't give away anything else. I still don't really like the jumping around of the timeline this season had but it is what it is.

While upstairs doing laundry I started knitting a mindless scarf. This one is the last that I have planned out of the Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball. I bought, I think 6 different colorways at very good prices and when done will have a triangular shawl and a wide scarf knit on the bias out of each color. Hope they sell.

Speaking of selling...

I am considering moving from Etsy to eBay and Amazon Handmade. There are no up front costs with either of those and both sites have more traffic that Etsy. Anyone have any experiences with eBay or Amazon Handmade they would like to share? Comments are open and I would love to hear from you.

I don't like what is going on with Etsy concerning strange bot take downs of products and holds on payments that are happening so often these days. On top of that I still feel that Etsy has lost control of their marketplace. I have a shop that I have been reporting for months. It is so very obviously a reseller. This shop lists all its wholesalers as production partners and its listings as handmade and it is so infuriating! Let's face it, Etsy hasn't been what its founder imagined for a very long time and I miss that Etsy. Whoops, slipped off the positive attitude already. Damn.

Deep breath and I'll be moving on to twitter now.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Still Hurts

I didn't do all my stairs yesterday and probably today either. I spent a lot of time using an ice pack on my left hip. Took some ibuprofen too. This morning on waking up the painful hip is still there. Am I suffering from the dreaded sciatica? Isn't that just for old people? LOL

So I'm thinking lots of gentle walking and more ice for me today. The ice packs help and give me an excuse to sit and knit. I am working on a shawl done in Lion Brand's Summer Nights and the pattern is Reyna (Find the pattern on Ravelry)  I am adding a wider garter stitch border to mine. I really like the look of the mesh bands combined with squishy garter stitch in the pattern. 

Stopping this post here for today so I can get my retweet favors done and then get the ice pack out. I am going to combine ice with gentle strolls through the house and ibuprofen and see if I can't get this discomfort to go away. I've got plans that don't include this kind of time sucking distraction.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Staying Fit

While staying at my Mom's house to care for her and then clear her house my exercise routines were abandoned. I suppose I could have taken walks and probably should have but I did not. So now I am starting to make efforts to get back in regular routines.

I live in a 2 story house and I am using the house to get myself in better shape. According to my FitBit and its app climbing 10 sets of stairs a day is a good goal. Doing that doesn't take much time and while not easy, is doable and I have done 10 flights a day for the last 4 days as exercise along with the other sets I do just normally in a day. Yay me!

I don't know if it is connected to my sets of stairs but this morning is bad. I feel achy all through my hips, lower back and right knee. I do want to keep going so I will see how I feel after a cup or two of coffee, publishing this post and doing my retweet favors. Is it amusing to think about what one 68 year old lady will do to get another green star?

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

What We Are Watching

Jim and I have started watching season 5 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" on Amazon Prime Video. It will be the last season as far as I know. I have thoroughly enjoyed the show but this season is a bit strange. A few episodes in and I keep wondering what the writers were thinking because they keep throwing in random scenes in the future. These scenes take the story from the 1960s to the 1980s and I don't think they add to the show at all. 

The picture is an affiliate link and I earn from qualifying purchases.

As usual I am watching and enjoying and Jim doses off after a few minutes and it is only around 7 pm, after dinner, when we settle in the living room to watch. He complained last night about feeling tired all the time. He also is complaining of cold feet and legs. He has also changed the dosing schedule for the medicine he takes to keep his vasculitis under control from every week to every 2 weeks. I worry about this all the time and will keep an eye on him.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Morning Thoughts

My day started with really early morning thoughts. I was awake between about 1:30 and 3:30 am with a brain spinning through all sorts of things. Of course none of these thoughts were useful or solve anything at all and only kept me awake. This has been a pretty regular pattern since taking care of Mom. If she was going to have a rough time while she was in hospice care it seemed to always be in those very early morning hours. I finally slept again and got up about 6:30 and here I am.

Yesterday was #WorldSeaTurtleDay and I tweeted about it. I like finding National or World days to share affiliate links about. It is an easy way to find something to share. I have an affiliate account with Amazon and eBay. I am not getting rich but I like sharing links for the occasional yarn money pay off. I have embedded yesterday's tweets below. I do really like watercolor art and found these great images. Also if you are on twitter and retweet anything from my timeline I will do the same for you. 

Turtle Sea Turtle Gifts for Women Turtle Gifts for Turtle Lovers Sea Turtle D閏or Funny Birthday Gifts for Teen Women Women Sisters BFF Beach Makeup Bag Travel Toiletry Bag A Women Who Loves Turtles - affiliate link

https://t.co/itPKOtdpsz via @amazon #WorldSeaTurtleDay pic.twitter.com/iQE5A5pvkb

— Kathy 🌻 (@CozyAtoZ) June 16, 2023

It's #WorldSeaTurtleDay!

Check out these prints from artist Anne Gorywine on eBay.https://t.co/VTdNLnbhWDhttps://t.co/GS3R1moN63 pic.twitter.com/2NJlRdLbWr

— Kathy 🌻 (@CozyAtoZ) June 16, 2023

I finished my day by making a pizza and salad for dinner for me and Jim. I use Jenny Can Cook for the pizza dough recipe. It is the deep dish one done in a cast iron pan. I really like her bread recipes and have made several of them. 

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Fresh Start? Not Really

I seems I haven't been here since September. Here now though.

This year so far has been really rough and I won't put all the details here. Starting in February my 88 year old mother began to obviously going down hill. She was hospitalized early in March and then came home to hospice care. Everyone of my siblings did a bit of her care, of course as most families go, some doing more than others. My youngest sister and I were with her when she died on April 10th.

My family was 3 girls and 2 boys. We girls worked well together and the boys were pretty much useless. My sisters and I worked together to plan the funeral, a lunch at her house after and the clearing of her house. I need to remember that there were some very helpful nieces and nephews through all of that. One very special bit of gratitude from me is to my husband who supported us and worked beside us at times every step of the way.

I came home from California 2 days ago to start my life as the oldest woman in my family. To be honest I feel a bit cranky and out of sync in my own home because I haven't been here since the 19th of February. I need to get over that and move forward.

Yesterday I got laundry done. I unpacked and began organizing the mementos I brought with me from Mom's house. I made a grocery list for Jim since he likes to do the shopping. 

Life goes on.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!