An Unpleasant Surprise!

Jim is actually retiring on April 30th. We will be moving then. To have moving day go smoothly I plan to pack as much as possible as early as possible. With that in mind this morning I headed to the basement to clear out a guest bathroom and two guest bedrooms. Entering one of the bedrooms in sock covered feet I felt wet carpet. Looking further it seemed as if the Jack and Jill bathroom toilet had exploded! The tile floor and the small rugs on the floor..... well you can imagine. I am definitely not putting any pictures in this post for your sake and mine. You're welcome. 

There is another drain down there in a utility room and it was backed up too. That sent water into the laundry room too. The plumbers have come and gone. The drains are doing their job now. Since we rent the landlord has a disaster company coming for clean up which starts with getting the basement dry and moving out furniture so that carpeting can be replaced.

I don't know how long the recovery will take. I guess I will change my timeline for getting ready for moving day.

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

Stash Busting, Startitis and Shawl Shaping

I went stash diving recently and came up with some Paton's Lace, some Knit Picks lace weight and some sock yarn that told me they needed to become shawls. Does your yarn talk to you or is it just me?

I am trying out ideas for different shawl shapes for wearability and style and color combinations with stripes.. So far on the needles are a crescent and a triangle shape that is worked kind of sideways. The shaping for that comes from adding one stitch to the same side every other row. That idea is shown in the blue and white stripes. I also want to make a bottom up triangle and a shallow top down triangle. Some of these will be just for me and some may end up in my Etsy Shop. All this knitting should keep me occupied through this summer and on into the fall.

When I find my thoughts whirling nothing, for me anyway, helps me process those thoughts better than a mindless knitting or crocheting project. These shawl ideas are perfect projects for this purpose.

What is whirling through my brain these days? We are in a time of figuring out a transition to retirement for Jim. I suppose I should clarify that. Jim is still working at a hospital in Wyoming where we rent a house. I have no idea and from one day to the next neither does he, when or if he will come to a place where he is ready to walk out the door of his job for the last time.

We own a houses in Arizona and Utah. We have daydreamed about retiring to Arizona and I have spent time in the last two years setting up our house there to have it ready and keep it maintained. The house in Utah currently houses my son and his family. I don't know if I will ever live in that house again. I would like the option to sell it if I wish but it means getting that family out of the comfy nest I own and they are very happy in and moved on to more independence.

My mind is filled with questions. What to do if anything? Where to be and when? Will Jim just keep working until he just can't and how far in the future is that? How to split my time happily for all involved between Arizona and Wyoming? How to get my son launched into another place and have it be a good thing for all of us? Is that even possible or will I need to push and take the consequences?

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