The laundry is one thing I refuse to let Robert do. I mean the actual placing of clothes into the machine, adding soap and turning it on. The machine we have seems to act up if we add too many clothes, so the load size is a concern to me. If it becomes unbalanced it can take up to two hours to run one load. Ugh. Who has time for that?

Robert has always thought I was mean for not letting him run the machine. I don't think I am mean. I know he loves to tease me about stuffing in a whole basket of clothes to be washed, but he always tends to add more clothes than I want in there at once, so I don't allow it.

Hence my surprise when this morning I heard the washing machine beep after he went into the laundry room. I questioned him and he explained that he had sat in some mysterious goop at breakfast and wanted to wash his pants. He added a few other items he said so he wasn't washing just one pair of jeans. I thought to myself "Maybe this man has some laundry potential. Maybe it wouldn't be too dangerous to allow him to do some laundry once in a while."

My warm fuzzy feeling about Robert doing laundry screeched to an abrupt halt when I heard the expletive he uttered upon opening the machine after the cycle was completed. Yes, he had neglected to take his wallet out of his jeans before washing them, so it and many things inside were ruined. The picture is of the things that could be saved drying out.

I should learn to trust my gut.

We got Java's tumor results back yesterday. It was a Grade II, which has a chance of recurring, but if it does, it'll be somewhere on her skin. While not the best type it's far from the worst type. The vet got clean margins which is the main thing. So we're happy and we're going to keep our eyes on her and check her over thoroughly for recurrences. I feel like we dodged a bullet.

I've been making a few beads lately. I don't find myself working for hours and hours anymore but rather for one or maybe two at a time. I need to get on the stick and start listing my beads somewhere for sale. Once I start selling again, I'll get motivated to make more.

It's been quite a week. We had a lovely time in Vermont. We had a very homey room:



We went to Simon Pearce and watched them blow glass:


We dined with movie stars:


We sat by the roaring fire:


We watched football:


We played foosball:

And we worked on the crossword puzzle:


It snowed:


It got more eventful when we got home. I don't think I want to dwell on it, because we're waiting for results, but Java had to have a tumor removed from her leg this week. It popped up almost overnight because I never saw it. Luckily some sharp eyes at the vet's kennel did see it. It's gone now, along with a painful broken tooth, and we're waiting to see what grade tumor it was. Cross your fingers for a good pathology report!

This weekend my family and I are going to the Woodstock Inn. We went last year and it was a blast. I read, knitted by the fire and relaxed. I plan to do the same this year. Last year's weather was brutally cold, but this weekend is supposed to be a little warmer than normal. That means no hunkering inside, but we'll be able to enjoy the outside too. Several family members plan to ski and I plan to shop downtown Woodstock. I hear there's a nice yarn store there. We're going to go to Simon Pearce for lunch and watch them blow glass. That's always a fun time. I'm bringing my netbook and my camera, so I hope to be able to update daily.

More knitting and other stuff

Here are some knitting projects I finished recently. This is a cowl. You wear it on your neck to keep warm. It's kind of like a neck hat, LOL. No ends to tuck in or worry about like with a scarf. I like it. It's made from Malabrigo Marino Worsted, one of my new favorite yarns.

This is the same hat I made for my mother in law, only in red instead of blue. I made it from some other merino that kind of matched the Malabrigo, which I couldn't find any more of. It's missing the orangey notes of the cowl, but it's close enough.

And here is me, wearing both and taking a picture of myself.


They will definitely keep me warm this winter.

I made a hat for my mother-in-law. I think it came out just like it was supposed to, which is great! I love the stitch pattern, it looks like it's really difficult, but it's not. It's the Amanda hat on Ravelry. I made it out of Malabrigo Merino worsted. It's soft and warm and snuggly.


Bobby is as cute as ever. It amazes me how sweet he is. It takes me aback sometimes.

This weekend was my father-in-law's funeral/memorial/mass whatever. It was very nice, with Frank and Angela giving the eulogies. Angela's made me cry. It was beautiful.

A picture of the snowfall:


The birds love the feeders when it snows:


Java and Bobby love the fire:

Gary relaxing:


Begging for cream cheese: