Frustration Strikes!

Yes, it did strike today … and on more than one level. Kind of like the s#%t that hit the fan a couple of days/posts ago. Many little annoyances … placed carefully in one day so that I’ll appreciate the easier days, perhaps?

I had gotten pretty close to done with the back of my Dropps tunic. Only to realize today that I was making the XXL size rather than the XL. I’m simply not an XXL. So … without further ado, I had to frog it. Had to. There was no way to finagle it to be right without a battle. I’ve pulled my beautiful green Signature needles out again and have cast on the proper number of stitches for the XL tunic and will get back to where I need to be!

I did finish the fingerless mitts that have been languishing in my project bag for ages. I think they were started way back before Christmas when I was making oodles of fingerless mitts for an order. These were made with Lana Bamboo by Cascade and they’re really pretty – will go well with denim as they’re a lovely mottled blue color way. I am pleased with the pattern even though I didn’t care for the needles that I used (at least for the second one). Nor did I mark the pattern well when I knitted up the first mitt so that I made a couple of matching errors on mitt number two. No matter, I frogged a few rows and started again so they were “right” and they matched each other.

The “throne” at our Maine house has been malfunctioning this summer. It’s been “out of service” for several days. Today I was told it was finished and ready to be used again. Discovered that it’s not really and will have to wait until Thursday … in the meantime, I guess I’m grateful for the upstairs bathroom!

Company arrives Thursday and we still haven’t gotten a new vacuum – well, we did but it didn’t suck. Literally. It’s been returned but the house needs vacuuming NOW! 🙂 Maybe we can get a new vacuum with suction included tomorrow. I don’t think our blankets will be back from the dry cleaner in time for their beds. Sure hope the weekend is warmer than it’s been so they don’t miss them. Antique wool blankets are wonderful but they do have to be cleaned once every decade or so. LOL!

Please don’t notice the dirty/old stove! Thanks!

I did make a successful breakfast food – pull-apart cinnamon bread. It looks pretty good and I hope it tastes equally good. I was in the way in the kitchen but dinner was also on the table at a decent hour. With construction and dogs and all that has been happening in this house over the last few days, it’s a miracle that I can get anything accomplished.

If I could see in the dark, I’d be going for a bit of a walk tonight to walk off the frustration. For now, I’m not knitting. I’m just done. Maybe it’s time for bed.

 

s@%t!

Well, we’re up to our eyeballs in it!

A summer home on the lake is lived in for a few months a year. We were here last summer for five months – a rare gift of time in a very special place. This year, we’ll be here two months. Between the times that we’re here, many little critters call it home. And those critters leave feces. Yuck! So, when people move back into the house, cleaning has to happen … especially in the kitchen but I’m a bit of a clean freak and I like to clean all over because we have dogs and I don’t want them eating yucky stuff. I had a miniature panic attack/meltdown when I finally decided to clean the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. Thank goodness N. took pity on me and finished the worst part for me. Ugh.

Mouse-infested before ... clean now!

And then there’s the age of the house which contributes to its awkward angle on land. The house is about 100 years old and it’s been sinking on its “fishing camp” (negligible) foundation for 99 of those years. So, you walk into the house, up over a rock, down into the bedroom. Up over a rock, down into the bathroom. Don’t drop anything in the living room that might roll … or you’d best be ready to chase it toward the lake!

View over the septic tank

The result of the sinking house is that the septic tank doesn’t work properly and despite having had it pumped three times in the last 12 months, we had some lovely water in the shower. And now we’re having a new “platform” added to the bathroom (we will have a true throne) so that we can “fix” the problem. (Long-term fix is lifting the entire house up about 24 inches and putting a more sturdy foundation under it … at a frighteningly high price tag and with a huge permitting question as the “new” set-back is over 100 feet from the lake front.)

Throne in progress! And you thought I was kidding?!

So, there you have it – we’re happily (most of the time) dealing with s@*t …

Gone knitting!