A Small 'THANK YOU' to my friend's aunt for driving me to my physical therapy sessions while I was unable to drive...

One day, my friend's aunt... brought some plywood cut-out shapes to me when she picked me up.   She wanted to know if I'd 'paint' them to look like SUNFLOWERS???

I don't have a photo of the beginning stages-- but, just like this but without any lines drawn.

I had limited paint colors (many were dried up) but, I did what I could.  I tore open a paper sack to use as protection for the outdoor wooden table.   I know myself and I am 'if nothing else' a little MESSY when I am doing my creative projects.

My friend's cats helped to supervise the job.   They actually were very good, watched me with interest, and stayed out of the paint, which I really appreciated because you could tell that at first they were a bit confused as to WHY ON EARTH WOULD I BE OUTSIDE 'unless' I was going to PET THEM???   I mean... that is what my job is, right?    So, here is the finished project.  Drying and waiting for their owner to pick them up the next day.   It took 3 hours- longer than one would expect.  (including myself)  However, that is what I've always noticed... people tend to think that "JUST BECAUSE" you might know how to do something... that it won't take you but a 'few minutes' to do something... because 'after all'... you know how, right?     Anyone else ever noticed that?     However, that being said... I was happy to do these for her as a THANK YOU for taking me to my physical therapy appointments.    Anyone been up to anything creative lately?   You know... one of those '5 minute projects' that really takes 3 hours or more?   ha ha

What do you do... if you find something 'deeply discounted' but... it's just not your color?

 Like this?  Orange-y red color.  I don't like orange (not that there's not anything wrong with it) and I don't look good in orange... not even a nice 'orange-y red' like this sweater.  However look at that brand name!  It's 100% linen too.  

So, what's a gal to do?  Well, I decided to buy some 'Rit Dye' and dye that sweater to a more pleasing color.  *The sweater is still sort of wet in this photo.   What color do you think that I used to get this nice raisin brownish color?  

Purple!    So, don't pass up those wonderful 'deeply discounted' purchases... just because you don't like the color.

Auto correct really does have a mind of its own... maybe auto correct really wants to write comedy? Become a STAND UP COMEDIAN?

I have an Ipad with a cracked glass screen.  I also now have a Kindle Fire.

I woke up this morning... hot and sweaty because I had forgotten to turn down the house heat and the 'heat' was even more noticeable because... yesterday while doing laundry, changing bed linens... I also added the lightweight goose down comforter to my bed because my very thin cotton bedspread quilt wasn't warm enough anymore.

I just noticed that this is the message that I sent AS A RESPONSE TO MY FRIEND'S message:


Friend had sent me this message:

I finished my laundry, fed the horses, and managed to watch some good college football. Grilled some venison sausage a good day for sure.

Apparently, I had responded with this...

Well, guerrilla n g of food tops my day.  I forgot to turn the breakdown... woke up hot and sweaty. Sleeping under my bed with the winter bedding.. I now have the goose down n the bed.

I meant to say:  Well, grilling of food tops my day.  I forgot to turn the heat down... woke up hot and sweaty.  Sleeping in my bed with the winter bedding.. I now have the goose down comforter on the bed.       I haven't heard back from him yet- due to the time-zones.  Ha ha.. (I may never hear from him either!)  Had any funny 'auto correct' stories?

My 'foster' cats...

I don't get to have any pets where I live...  so, my USA friends that have pets are well loved by me whenever I get to see them.  This is 'Dovie' (she's gray like a dove) actually belongs to my friend's next door neighbors- but, she likes to hang out at my friend's house instead.   She is sweet, doesn't roam far, but only likes to be petted just the right amount... (as in:  not much)  However, she will lay down on the grass and meow exposing her belly in a 'oh, please, please, please pet me now' message.  *She doesn't really mean it though.

I've got a scratch just right there...  If I bend just a certain way... I'm sure I can get to it??    Dovie (girl) and Tom (boy) are great 'cat friends'...

This is "TOM, the CAT"... he loves me and I love him.   He was the cat that I rescued a few years ago.   My friend adopted him, got him 'fixed' and he is happy to have a home of his own.  His sweet nature meant that he just wasn't meant to live on the streets.  He still remembers me each time he sees me- which will be a year between visits.

 "Maybe if I act all cool like... she'll notice me and give me kitty pets?"   *He loves to be petted and purrs his thanks loudly.


If you look under the blog entry for: http://iwouldratherbeknitting.blogspot.it/2013/04/my-summer-foster-cat.html you can read more about TOM.

They might look OK from the OUTSIDE... but, you never know what 'evil lurks' within....

This summer I looked at a few houses for sale in the states.  First of all... I only wanted to look at the cottage/bungalow type of houses built in the 1930's-1940's.  I love the wooden floors, etc.

What did this person take me to see?  Even though I had supplied her with several addresses of houses for sale and had told her that I was NOT INTERESTED in looking at or buying any RANCH HOUSES (not that there is anything wrong with them-- I just loved the old cottage styled houses in this neighborhood when I used to live in it 20something years ago).  I had even sent her photos of houses that were the type/style that I liked. Yes, that's right she showed me RANCH HOUSES and not just any ole ranch house... no, one that seemed to have some really big 'structural' damages!  Hey, I haven't watched HGTV during the summer for nothing!  *I am not in the photo.

 So, what do you think?  Should I have put in an "OFFER???"

I'm baaaaack in Italy... yes, June 24 to Sept 29th... is a long, long, long time

I missed Italy and mostly I miss my knee that didn't have an ugly scar running the length of it too.   However, these things in life happen and EVENTUALLY I hope that I'll have a knee that will work just as well as the one that I was born with....    I see that the blogger is doing the 'wacky stuff' where I can't space between paragraphs again.  Grrr     I did do some knitting while I was recovering- to give myself something 'fun to do' since I was trapped without a car (couldn't drive if I wanted to anyway) and my social life consisted of going to Physical Therapy once I was out of the hospital and rehab.  Packing for a knitter is a little different than regular folks... and since I can't sleep on planes (never have been able to for the past 24 years that I have worked overseas) ... I need some knitting for entertainment.  I don't take anything too complicated (small space is a big reason) because I do get 'brain tired' even if I can't sleep.   I usually take more than 1 project 'in case' something goes wrong-- pattern wise, wrong needle (yes, one time... I forgot to take the larger sized needle that you needed to use for the rest of the pattern AFTER I got started-- all of 1 inch got started) or something else you don't expect.   As a result, I usually try to already have a project or 2 started to prevent some of the knitting glitches that I had mentioned.  This time, I took a couple of projects that I had started in Germany and never finished (I had probably got pneumonia or something like that?)... a pair of socks (I had knitted the cuff, the heel, and most of the foot of the sock- but, I could tell that 'hope against hope' that the sock was going to be too big for me-- and the needles were no longer in the sock... (I had apparently needed that size of needles at one time and removed them for another use?)   so, I ripped the sock out to the cuff and knitted on them using a smaller needle and they fit perfect after I was finished! The other project was a sweater that I had started and had knitted about 1 1/2 inches of the bottom- both projects got finished... (well, I decided to lengthen the sleeves to my wrists - since I had extra yarn left over and I just need to knit the last sleeve - about 4-5 inches and then I'll be finished).   I also knitted 2 hats (birthday gift for a dear friend and a hat for the friend's mother) where I was staying in the states- as a THANK YOU for taking me to my doctor appointments.   I also knitted 7 dishcloths as gifts.  I bought some more yarn and knitted myself a blue/white pair of striped socks too.   (You can see how much MORE SWOLLEN, from the surgery, my right leg is in this photo of the blue socks.)   Photos 2, 4 and 5 are yarns from www.knitpicks.com and the brown sock is some good German sock yarn that I bought when I lived there.  Regia brand.  The green cotton yarn used in the sweater (you can't tell much from that photo, can you?) is some amazing cotton yarn that I bought in Italy the first time that I lived here- about 1999.

News, stress, trauma, and a bad knee

Well, the first week that school was out for the summer... I continued taking my visiting friend from England around the area... got too busy to post photos.  We had some great meals and we both left for the airport a few days ago.   We didn't do some of the things that I had wanted to do-- because of my knee- but, my friend did manage to spend all of her money and had some great food/meals.   I even got bread from the local bakery a couple of times.   *I did take photos for blog entries.

I had an injured knee... and even though I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV... I knew it warranted a visit to a knee surgeon simply because... I was having such difficulty and pain walking - especially stairs.

I couldn't do as much traveling with my friend while she was here and I would have liked... but, I figured it was because I had 're-torn' my knee from last year.

Saw the surgeon, got a MRI and saw the surgeon again and he gave me the news a couple of days ago.

It is way worse than a torn ligament... my knee is so bad that it couldn't be repaired in the normal manner-- I am going to have a complete knee replacement on Monday!  Shocked was my reaction!

Eleven years ago, I tore the ligaments in this same knee... helping someone move.  I felt it tear as I was going down the stairs carrying a heavy box and I shifted the weight on one knee as they yelled for me to stop on the stairs as they were carrying down some heavy furniture.   So, I did stop at the landing about mid-way down-- shifted the weight of the box on my hip and I felt the tear.   A few months later, I got that knee repaired with surgery for the torn ligaments.

Everything was fine... until last year... when I had the same feeling in my knee from again... carrying heavy stuff up/down stairs.   Saw the surgeon and had knee surgery to repair the torn knee ligaments.

Flash forward (or back) to October 2012... and my unexpected move from Germany to Italy ... for my lung health... since, I constantly had pneumonia in the 7 month long winters of Germany... and again... I injured my knee while carrying heavy boxes up/down the stairs.   Actually, the knee wasn't completely well from the summer surgery and I had flown back to Germany the 15th day after surgery and started teaching only 4 weeks after surgery... walking/standing all day as an art teacher to 700 children per week.

So, the knee really never did heal from last summer's surgery.

So, I'll be out of commission starting Monday... July 8 as I have total knee replacement surgery.   I do have some knitting with me and a couple of library books to read.   I also have a book;  that I need to read for my final college class that I have to take for my renewal accreditation.   I will also be very busy doing PT for my knee surgery recovery.   As far as I know... I won't have a computer to use but... I will post when I can.

Wish me well and my knee well too.