Sad Sock Situation

 A while back, a friend gave me 2 skeins of sock yarn. One was to make a pair of socks for myself--I ended up making two pair from that skein, one knitted and one crocheted with the help of some scraps for contrasting toes and heels. Bill said he didn't really need socks at that time, since he had a dozen or more pairs already, all of which I'd made. Of course, I didn't need any socks either, but I do love making them, so I won't run out any time soon--or so I hope. Sadly, Bill unexpectedly ended up in a situation where he now needs socks as soon as possible. My needles are full.

heel is turned and gusset stitches picked up

The variegated yarn in the photo is one of the skeins our friend gave me. When Bill said he didn't need socks, I ended up starting a pair of fingerless gloves for him using that yarn. I was almost done with the second one when we moved, so I put the project in a little pouch that I kept with me and it didn't get packed. But when Bill went to pack the socks in the drawer where he kept them, he discovered that critters had been quite enjoying the dark, damp wooden drawer and the delightfully delicious wool socks that lived in there. They had munched holes in some socks. Others weren't damaged, but who knows if there were tiny critters or future critters just waiting for their turn. I considered trying to treat whatever socks remained but I decided that the risk to all the other wool things was too great. The damage did appear to be limited to that drawer, which was in a room about as far away from all my yarn and the wool garments that I have as they could be in that cottage. Even Bill's hat collection didn't seem to be affected. I told Bill we'd better throw all the socks away. He said, 'All that work you did!' 'I can make more,' I replied. I didn't want to scoop up all those socks and discard them, but it was the safest thing to do.

Then there was the issue of actually making more socks. Having used some of the sock yarn for the fingerless gloves, I knew I wouldn't have enough for an entire pair of socks, given the yardage in the skein. I had some bits of yarn that I could use for the cuffs, which don't require the nylon content that sock yarn contains for longer wear, but that was buried somewhere under the bed. I finished the gloves and pondered. One day, I was fiddling with the edge of a sheet that was hanging down off the bed when my hand brushed a plastic bag. I pulled the bag out from under the bed and it was exactly the bag I wanted! It contained the royal blue superwash wool fingering weight yarn I was looking for, so I cast on that very day. Yesterday I sent Bill a link to the page with the sock yarn I usually buy from a yarn shop in Dublin. It's not something I can get around here or in charity shops, so I buy from there. It's Zig Zag sock yarn, it's great yardage, and it wears quite well. I told him that I can get three pairs of socks from two skeins, so he just ordered two of the same colorway. They should arrive on Monday. 

The socks will keep me in yarn projects, which is good, since I have no idea when I'll be pulling my stuff out from under the bed. Last evening, I got a forwarded message from F. It was from the plumber who was supposed to come and install our shower today. Yes, that's 'who was supposed to...' He said he wouldn't be here today but would come on Monday after his day job and would arrive around 5. Bill and I will believe this when we see him and not before, of course. This is the second time he hasn't shown up when he said he would. As far as I know, the regular plumber, who won't install the shower here because it involves PVC, is still coming to fix the shower at our friend's house. If he is successful, we'll take showers there until this other guy and his PVC man sidekick actually shows up. The way things are going, we might be showering at our friend's house forever. In the meantime, I'll be over here knitting socks. Don't know what I'd do without my yarn! 

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Hurry Up and Wait!

 Here we are, zooming towards the solstice. I love it when we're on the other side of that and heading back towards longer nights and the end of summer. Plenty of yuck to go, but at least over the hump. This could also prove to be a big weekend in another way--it's possible that we'll get a shower! Happy days!

When we moved in here, we knew the shower was not yet installed and we knew that our friend was stressed about this. She worked hard to try to find someone to do the job, but she tried in vain. To give you a short bit of the context here, we live in a 150-year-old building of terraced cottages. Of course, when the building was constructed, indoor plumbing wasn't a thing so there was none. Later, when it became available, each cottage, though identical in layout, was different in how the plumbing was added. These are small cottages so space is limited. We used to live a couple cottages down and in that one, a separate bathroom was added. It was small, but even so it cut into the back bedroom. It had a sink and a tiny shower and then a small space over the stairs for the toilet. In this cottage, there is no bathroom containing all three. Rather, they're scattered around. Decades ago, when our friend (I'll call her F), bought this cottage, she had an antique cast iron tub that she refurbished and had installed in the front bedroom, which is over the kitchen, so handy for the plumbing, I guess. There would have been no other place to put it. But there was already a shower in the small space above the stairs, which in this cottage was off the back bedroom. A few years ago, F decided to have a toilet installed in that little space so there would be one upstairs as well as downstairs. She had an electric shower fitted above the cast iron tub. When she asked us if we'd consider living here and we said yes, she decided that a walk-in shower would be better than getting in and out of the old tub, so she had the tub removed and got a shower. Before she ordered the shower, she talked to plumbers. The usual plumber wouldn't install a shower because the first step will be to install a PVC covering for the walls in the corner where the shower will go and he doesn't do PVC. This is apparently a common thing. In general, it's difficult to get tradespeople to do jobs or even call back, but she kept trying and was eager to have this all done before we moved in. She found a local plumber who came to look at the situation, told her what to buy, and said he'd be back with a guy who does PVC the last weekend in May. The shower components arrived, but the plumber did not. She tried to contact him several times and finally met with success, whereupon he told her that he was going away on holiday for a week. She told him that people were moving in and asked if he could come when he returned. He said he would. We knew all this when we got here and the plan was to shower in a different friend's house (the same house we stayed in when caring for Finn). A few days after we moved in, having washed my hair in the kitchen sink and taking sponge baths for a few days, we went over to take a shower. You know how, when you first turn on the water, it runs cold for a short time? Well, I was at that stage, holding the shower head in my hand so it was pointed away from me, and waiting for the water to get hot. It was just getting warm when the water pressure dropped quite a lot. So I skipped the hair wash, since I was not confident that I could rinse the shampoo out, and did a quick wash of everything else. So that shower now needs attention. The replacement part is there, but the plumber who is supposed to come fix that has not arrived either. As a result, we continue to use the kitchen sink as our bathing spot. F continues to be stressed about this and I've told her not to worry. We know that she tried her best to get this sorted before we arrived and that there was nothing else she could do. We lived without running water for a couple of years. Hot water comes right out of the tap here--we don't have to haul it ourselves or heat it up on the stove to wash. It will be nice to have a shower, but it's not anything to be stressed over.

So all that is to say that with the shower and a couple other plumbing jobs that need to be done here, we haven't yet been able to get everything put away. Since the shower will be going into one of the bedrooms, I can't put stuff away in there. And the macerating toilet that is off the back bedroom needs to be reinstalled so we're not doing anything in that room yet. When my friend M and I brought the first load of stuff here, there was other work still going on so we had to have everything out of the way of that. It was mostly books and some yarn, which all went under the bed. We have yet to remove all that because we can't put in anywhere until the plumbing work is done. I did get the downstairs sorted the first few days we were here--kitchen first--so that's all done and we're comfortable and just waiting for the plumbers to come. Both have said that they're coming tomorrow (Saturday) so we'll see if that happens. We're all keeping our fingers crossed!

UPDATE: I have just gotten a forwarded message from F, in which the plumber informs her that he will not be coming tomorrow, but will come after he's done with his day job on Monday evening. We'll believe it when we see it and not before, of course. Looking on the bright side, this does mean that I won't have to get up at ridiculous o'clock tomorrow morning.

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The Real May Reading Post

 Clearly, I am very tired and feeling the seasonal ick because I started my May reading post, saved it as a draft, scheduling it to post later so I could add to what was there. Somehow it posted anyway with just the one book on it so I'm sure I did something wrong. I've deleted that post and am now writing the real May reading list. 

It was a very Trollope heavy month and I did finish the Palliser series, which has now been donated in its entirety to a charity shop.

The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope (personal copy)

From the title, you'd expect this to be a book about politics, but parliamentary politics are a relatively small part of the story. However unofficial politics play a pretty big role. In this book, Plantagenet Palliser, now Duke of Omnium, formerly Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been named Prime Minister in a coalition government. This provides the backdrop for the political maneuverings of his wife, the former Lady Glencora, now Duchess of Omnium. Much of this reminded me of my own corporate suburban childhood--the parties and the 'proper' behavior and all that. The other major storyline in the book is the growing awareness of Emily Wharton, who is young, compliant in some ways and stubborn in others, and who learns pretty quickly that she made a foolish choice in marriage. One thing I found interesting in this book was the way in which Trollope explores the ways in which the society of the time limited women's personhood and how women pushed back against this. Lady Glencora and Emily Wharton both acknowledge that husbands and fathers control women's activities, both legally and through societal norms, but while both are pretty submissive to these rules, both also find ways to push back. Emily tends to be more willing to go along until she's pushed too far and she has a lot of trouble fitting her moral sense into societal expectations because of it. Lady Glencora tends to just do what she wants in manipulative ways until she pushes others too far. Both strategies have their strengths and weaknesses. I quite liked this book and felt it was one of the best of the series.

The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope (personal copy)

This is the final book in the series and perhaps I was suffering from a bit of Palliser fatigue, having read 4 of the books in about 6 weeks, but I didn't like this one as much as I like The Prime Minister. It was fine. I didn't dislike it, but there were some general similarities between one of the storylines in this book and Emily's story in The Prime Minister. When this book opens, Lady Glencora has recently died, leaving the Duke to deal with his young adult children. He is ill equipped to do this, particularly when the heir and the only daughter fall in love with people he considers unsuitable. Of the middle child, we see little. He does provide some tension, but is not a main player in the story. The book is pretty much about how these relationships unfold, how they illustrate the changes in society, and how the Duke has to learn to lighten up a bit, adapt to change, and be less uptight. 

The Fixed Period by Anthony Trollope (my e-book)

I was watching a booktube video and the woman mentioned Trollope's satirical dystopian novel. Well, I had no idea Trollope wrote such a thing, but knew at once that I wanted to read it so I grabbed a copy online and stuck it on my e-reader. It's a strange little book about the president of Britainulla, a country which has gained independence from Britain. The story takes place primarily in the late 1970s and involves a crisis. Decades ago, when they were forming their constitution, the people in the government of Britainulla agreed to set a fixed period for people's lives. When they were 67, they'd be brought to a facility in which their every need and wish would be provided. When they turn 68, they'd be euthanized and cremated. No one thought much about it in the intervening years, but now the president's oldest friend and the oldest person on the island is about to turn 67 and he is having second thoughts about this. The population takes sides and there is tension, even within the president's family. A big cricket match plays a role in how things conclude. It's an interesting book with some humor and some weirdness. The bit about bringing someone to the facility reminded me a in a general way of the Book The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. The section with the cricket match seemed too long and detailed--I know nothing about cricket so that was all meaningless to me. Still, it was an interesting read. I'm always interested in these old books that are set in the future, because I'm fascinated by what they thought life would be like.

Stay Alive: Berlin 1939-1945 by Ian Buruma (borrowed from the library)

This is a relevant, powerful, and important book about what life was like for people of all persuasions in Berlin between 1939 and 1945. My father, born in 1938, happened to be one of those people and his experience, although almost never talked about with me, obviously shaped his life and to some extent my own. The author's father was a young man then and was a conscripted laborer from the Netherlands for part of that time. Buruma does a fine job of illustrating what the city was like for all kinds of people during this time. It's not a happy book and there is much people will find familiar from today, but it's worth a read. One thing I was particularly pleased to read was Buruma's reminder that the US was an inspiration for the Nazis--the genocidal formation of the country and the segregation laws were what Hitler built on. I think that bears repeating, because only when history is confronted and dealt with, whether on a personal or a societal level, can real healing and progress be made.

On Blackwater Pond by Mary Oliver (BorrowBox audiobook)

This is Mary Oliver reading 40 of her poems. It's an excellent listen. I do enjoy listening to poets read their work because the pauses and intonations are as they intended. Highly recommend.

An Arrow in Flight by Mary Lavin (borrowed from the library)

This book is a new collection of Mary Lavin's short stories. I love short stories and have been wanting to read more by Lavin. I'd only read one or two of her stories in anthologies so I was thrilled to see this at the library. The stories are set mostly in rural Ireland and are centered on the lives of women. I'll be reading more of her work.

Dream Latitudes by Alia Kobuszko (BorrowBox e-book)

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to make of this book, so I'll just put the description from BorrowBox here:

I am drawing a map of distances.

The swimmer. The sleeper. The dreamer.

Another afternoon traipsing the incomprehensible

corridors of the brain. Nothing uttered.

Alia Kobuszko's poetry is as immediate as it is mysterious. She is unafraid of detonating form or trusting a quiet phrase, and saturates these poems with surreal and sensuous aspects. In this enchanting and piercing debut, strange horses gallop - embodying metamorphic freedom and power. The speaker becomes the rider, the horse itself and even the field, enacting how the poet inhabits and unanchors their subject so that 'girl and horse / stand still- / field runs through them.'

The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts (personal copy)

This is a British Library Crime Classics republication that I found in a charity shop. I brought it because it was a BLCC, even though I wasn't sure I'd like it. I'd started this author's first mystery novel, which didn't involve his series detective, Inspector French, and found it to be a slog, so I didn't finish it. It was on audio and perhaps I'd like it better in print. I may go back to read it at some point. I enjoyed this one. It's the 10th Inspector French novel, but I had no problem reading it as a standalone. In this novel, three women who were friends at school gather at the home of one of them. It soon becomes apparent that the marriage isn't a happy one and there are things that make the other women uncomfortable. Then the husband disappears in mysterious circumstances. There's no body and no indication that he was elsewhere. The local police are baffled and call in French. He starts digging but before he can solve the case, one of the houseguests goes missing and things get more complex. I'll probably read more in this series.

The Feast by Margaret Kennedy (my e-book)

I read about this book in a book blog, I think and knew I wanted to read it so I went clicking around and found an e-book. And what a great book it is! As I've said several times already in this post, this is an author I will definitely read more of. As this book opens, readers learn at once that a cliff has fallen into the sea, taking a hotel and its inhabitants with it, leaving no survivors. The story then turns to the week before the collapse and shows what happened leading up to the event. Who was in the hotel at the time and who wasn't? The ending mostly ties this up, but I did feel it was a little abrupt and there was one person that was left unknown. I went back and read the prologue after I finished the book and I think it's still an open question about the one person, given the last scene in which he was present. 

The people in the hotel are all from different backgrounds and have different temperaments. Many do not get along with others in their family and those outside it. Class and status resentments are at play. Emotional abuse within families is evident. Religious tensions exist. I loved this book and I can't wait to read more of Kennedy's work.

I read one book that will be published soon. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a digital review copy.

The Clew Bay Detectives by Pam Lecky

to be published on June 16, 2026 by Storm Publishing

ISBN 9781837005079

This book opens with a man, lying in a ruin on a small island in Clew Bay, off the coast of County Mayo, Ireland, aware that his death is imminent, and reflecting on his life. The action then moves to the Westport area, where readers meet master gardener and landscape designer Ali Brennan. Ali is new to the area, having moved there from Dublin after leaving a long-term relationship. She and her brother had been wanting to expand their business and this seemed like the perfect time and place. Ali's cousin, Jacinta Burke, owner of Burke's Hotel, has a holiday let that needs some refurbishment so Ali moves in there, paying a reduced rent in exchange for some work on the cottage. Ali's nephew, Gavan, soon arrives. He's at a bit of a loose end since he dropped out of Trinity College. He's there to get some part time work and to room with Ali. Little do they know they'll soon be working together as amateur detectives. As Ali tries to get the word out about her business and find her way in rural Ireland, she meets locals, learns about feuds and small town rivalries, and unwittingly becomes involved in an international crime investigation. Then she's asked by his widow to find out what happened to the guy on the island. She reluctantly agrees and she and Gavan find themselves investigating what law enforcement thinks is a case of natural death. Are they right or is something more sinister going on? There are other aspects to the intertwined stories, but I won't say anything more here because I don't want to give anything away.

When I saw that this book is set on the Wild Atlantic Way, I knew I wanted to read it. I've lived on the Wild Atlantic Way for several years, albeit further north. I haven't spent much time in the area where this book is set, although a town I lived in when I first got to Ireland is mentioned a couple of times in passing. The author's note stated that there will be at least two more books in the series and it'd be fun for me if one was set up here in Donegal, but it seems like the areas she's most familiar with are further south. No matter. I will look for the next books and happily read them. I enjoyed this one a lot. I think the author captured the setting beautifully--the landscape, the interpersonal relations in the rural area, the feuds, and the friendliness and willingness to help a newcomer all rang quite true to me. The plot was very well crafted and the story unfolded at just the right pace--as Ali and Gavan learned more about what was going on at the dead man's home, readers began to understand why it could be that someone wanted him dead, while at the same time, the possibility of a natural death was kept open. The mystery at the heart of the book was well done and pretty unique. The ending was satisfying with loose ends in the various plotlines tied up well, but with one ongoing. All in all, I'd say that this is an excellent cozy mystery--one that I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with. I'm thrilled that this will be a series and I look forward to reading the next one.

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Almost!

 It's been a busy week. I was hoping that we'd be able to fit everything in my friend's car for one last run. Well, everything except the few things we'd need here for our last days in this cottage--sheets, a few bits of clothing, and that kind of thing. My thinking was that if we could get stuff there we could take the last bits on the bus after meeting with the guy who manages this place. LOL I underestimated a bit in terms of the amount of stuff we had left to take. We got the stuff in the car, but that left no room for our plants. We're very lucky that my friend M is enjoying these jaunts to Killybegs and is quite happy to keep going back. She has offered to take us with the plants on the day we leave here so that's the plan. We are grateful.

Bill and I spent a very long day Tuesday getting things organized for Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday morning, M came, we loaded up the car, went to drop everything off, had a visit with my friends, and played with Finn. We then went to have a quick late lunch and headed home. When going through one of the towns on the way there, M saw something in a charity shop window that she was interested in. We stopped on the way back so she could get it. Then we stopped at a grocery store and I picked up something for supper and breakfast the following day. I didn't get home until after 6. It was a hot (for here) and sunny day. We were all wilting. Even Finn didn't care for it. He loves to walk with the wind in his face, blowing his ears back. Wednesday was not his (or my) kind of day.

Thursday was another long day. It was my last time attending the knitting and crochet group at the library. I will miss it. I said goodbye to the librarian on duty--and apologized because we stayed about 10 minutes past the time when she would have closed for lunch. With her two colleagues out on holiday and sick leave, she's run off her feet and would have really, really wanted her downtime. She was very gracious about it though, telling me that she could make allowances on my last day. I said goodbye to the woman who asked me to teach at the art gallery and thanked her. She gave me a hug. I felt a little sad. Then it was back home to load up the car again, this time with bags and boxes for donation to a charity shop, some things for the recycling center, and a bunch of houseplants that we weren't taking with us. There used to be a covered platform at the recycling center where people could leave things that were still usable and I was planning to put them there. But that was gone and when I asked the guy about leaving the plants, he shook his head and explained that they couldn't take them because they'd just get drowned in the rain and they'd have to throw them away. Most of the plants were small--we'd grown them from bits that came off the larger plants--but one was a large jade plant that someone gave us 10 years ago when we were moving into a new place. It was much smaller when we got it but it just kept growing. We've started so many jade plants from that one so we still have some decent sized jades to bring, but we really would have no place to put that one and we figured someone else might enjoy it. But I couldn't leave it there so the next stop was a charity shop. We'd stopped at one on the way into town. The sign indicated that it should have been open, but it wasn't. We stopped to check the one on Main St and it was open. I went in to see if they'd take donations--mostly books and houseplants but a few odds and ends as well. M had seen a few books and other things she could use so she took those, but there was still plenty left. The women in the shop were happy to take it all, including the plants, so we started carrying stuff in. Once I'd handed it all over, I had to stop at the (very small) book section. I mean, I couldn't leave without looking, could I? That would be rude! The book section consisted of a single narrow, but tallish, bookcase. The books were in rows, one in front of the other, so I did have to pull books out to see what was behind. No matter. I was thorough. And I found four books to bring home with me. M found a pile of books for her grandkids and other children in her family. 

By this time we were both hungry and ready for lunch, so we went and got some food. I was feeling quite light after having successfully done the recycling and donating and I was feeling good about where things stood. The lunch was excellent and I ended up bring a fair bit of it home with me, which Bill and I shared with our supper that night. After lunch we did another grocery store run and I'm pretty sure I have enough food to get us through our remaining days here. It was another long but productive day and I was so tired, but happy too.

So now we're in a bank holiday weekend. It was roasting on Wednesday, still warm but without sun (yay!) on Thursday, and cooler and windy yesterday. Today is like yesterday with some rain mixed in. Of course it will rain--it's a bank holiday weekend! Things are looking good at our new cottage. There is a problem getting the plumber to actually show up when he said he would to install the new shower, or to get a different one to respond to queries, so it looks like that won't be done until sometime after we move in. We'll be taking showers at our friend's house in the meantime. The plan is to do the final walkthrough and get the final meter reading here on Thursday morning. Then M will pick us up and we'll all head off to Killybegs. Then I'll be looking at all the stuff I have to put away. I won't be doing too much of that on the first day, but I will be getting the coffee maker out of its wrappings and into the kitchen. It'll be the very first thing that gets used in my new kitchen. Well, that and the fridge, I suppose. I am muddling along without it for now, but I will be greeting it like a long lost friend on Thursday. It went in the last load and is easily accessible. 

That's where things stand as far as our transition goes. I hope all is going well in your part of the world!

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Counting Down and Progress in the Meantime

 This is one of those weeks where I am constantly having to stop and think abut what day it is. Over the weekend, we packed some more stuff and on Monday morning, my friend, M came over so we could load the her and take off for Killybegs. Once again I was amazed at how much we fit in her little car on this second trip. There wasn't much that was heavy this time--a few books and my slow cooker. The rest was lighter. Before packing things into the car, I laid down one of my knitted blankets and then on top of that, a big, heavy, thick blanket that a friend gave me years ago. I used it for a while as a blanket in one of the places we lived when we had a real cold snap, but other than that, it's been used as a cover for chairs or couches. The colors are deep, rich, and gorgeous. If I'd folded it up, it would've taken up lots of room, but laid flat, it took up none at all. Anyway, we got there, unloaded, went to a delightful little place for lunch, which hadn't been there when we lived there before, and enjoyed a lovely lunch. I shall go there again. I got some food to bring home for Bill and me for supper as well. I was glad I did because it was a long day. After lunch, we went to Fintra Beach with Finn and his mom and were there for over an hour playing ball, of course.

When we arrived, everything was blue--the sky, the sea, and even the rocks and hills had a blue tinge to them. In the photo above, in the far distance, you can just see Benbulben in Co Sligo. Even that seemed faintly blue. But as we were walking and kicking balls, the clouds started rolling in, as you see above. We walked to the far end of the beach and played there for a while before turning around and heading back towards the car. We were almost back there when we felt the first sprinkles whipping around in the wind so we picked up the pace and got inside the car before it started raining in earnest. Then we dropped off Finn and his mum, said good-bye to my other friend, and headed home. Now we just have odds and ends and houseplants left to move.

It was nice to see the new cottage after it was painted last week. It looks beautiful. Work there is continuing with the cast iron bath removed from upstairs and the shower that will replace it arriving yesterday. Someone is coming to clean the cottage on Friday and some furniture is being moved in. 

Yesterday was a much needed quiet day. I stayed home, drank tea and coffee, read a soon-to-be-published cozy mystery, and enjoyed the sound of the splattering rain. This morning I was off again with M, this time to a knitting and crochet group that started at a place down the road from me. If I was going to be here, it's one I'd continue to go to. The women seem quite nice and I enjoyed their conversations. I think I would've had the possibility to do some teaching there as well, but it's not practical--I'll be too far away. I'm sure they'll find someone to teach what they want taught and I'll probably have opportunities later in the year. I'll look into that once we're settled. One thing I am sad about is that some of the women are making blankets for a children's ambulance service--something to give the kids when they have to be in the ambulance and that's something I would definitely contribute to. Perhaps there's a similar initiative in Killybegs. I'll find out. After the group, we went out to lunch. I had a lovely bowl of soup and picked up a couple of slices of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake so Bill and I can have a nice dessert later. Then we stopped at a grocery store where I was able to get some yummy farm fresh chard and other things. Tomorrow is the library knit and crochet group at the library, which I will miss very much. That's a smaller group, but a very good one and I've made friends there--people I wouldn't have met without the group. 

So we've got a couple of weeks left here. We won't be bringing any more stuff until the cleaning is done and the furniture is in place there. That's fine. I can use a couple of quiet days at home. 

I hope you're enjoying your days, whatever you're doing.

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Will It Work?

 Some months ago I watched a video of Katherine making a hexagon cloth bowl on her youtube channel, k3n. If you're into slow stitching, eco printing, upcycling, and various ways of working with textiles, it's an excellent and relaxing channel to watch. I love her approach to her work. But, but, but. I know myself well enough to know that while I love the bowl she created in this video, this particular process isn't for me. It's a bit too fussy for my taste. Obviously (and unbeknownst to me) the idea continued to rattle around in my brain because several days ago it popped back into my consciousness and I wondered whether I could make one using Tunisian crochet. There was only one way to find out so I grabbed some Tunisian hooks and a cone of bright yellow wool yarn that someone gave me and I started experimenting. I'm not fond of the yellow so I wasn't going to be bothered if I ended up with a mess that I had to rip out. Also, since the yarn is wool, I figured I could full or felt it if it turned out too floppy, which was my main concern. I knew that if I got to the point of attaching the hexagons, I'd use the green, which I do like, to make the bowl in Donegal colors. 

I had to swatch a bit and go down a few hooks sizes to a smaller one than I would normally use for this yarn, but then I was off, making 7 Tunisian crochet hexagons. I had planned to bring the hexies and the green yarn to our knit and crochet group at the library and attach them there, but I finished the last one whilst listening to a podcast and since that wasn't over, I decided to start the finishing process right then.  Once I'd started, I couldn't stop, finishing the bowl just before 2 am, so I just brought it with me to the group and wove in my ends there. I am thrilled with the end result and I will definitely be making more of these in different sizes. It occurs to me that they can be stacked as well, which will be useful.

the finished bowl--you can see how the hexies are attached together

detail of the Tunisian crochet

the bowl filled with wool roving--it holds quite a lot

In case anyone is wondering about Tunisian crochet, I used the basic stitch--sometimes called simple stitch or afghan stitch--to make the hexagons. They're constructed using short rows. I chained 13, but any number will do. The length of the chain will be approximately half the width of the finished hexie. Pick up a stitch in each chain, leaving the loops on the hook, then work them off. There are many videos around that show how to do this if you're interested. For the next row, pick up a loop in 12 stitches, leaving the last one unworked. Work off the loops. Next row, pick up 11 stitches, and so on until there is just one stitch remaining. There will be little stairsteps along one edge and the next segment of the hexagon is made by picking up a loop in each stairstep (13 stitches, including the loop left on the hook from the previous row) and working it off as before, until there's just one stitch. Repeat this until there are 6 wedges. At the end of the 6th wedge, slip stitch in each stairstep. Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail and use that to sew the row of slip stitches to the starting chain and there's your hexagon. I've used these hexagons to make bags, dishcloths, and now this bowl. They're fun to make and look quite nice, especially in a variegated yarn.

And now I'm off to gather some thread to make a smaller version of this. I think I will find these to be quite useful and I'm quite taken with the stacking idea. I guess I know what I'll be doing for a while--at least until some other idea leaps to the front of my mind and sends me off in another direction!

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The Things We Do For Love

 One thing about getting yarn from charity shops and from people who no longer want it, is the mystery that is sometimes involved. often there's no ball band so I have to guess about exact fiber content, although doing the burn test will tell me some basics. For example, acrylic and other man-made fibers will burn easily and leave a hard black bead at the burnt end. This is why making pot holders from acrylic yarn isn't a good idea. Cotton, linen, and other plant fibers will leave ash behind and will also burn easily. Wool and some other animal fibers will not catch fire easily and when they do will burn out, leaving a kind of crumbly black residue. To go back to the potholders, I made mine from wool. The information I get from the burn test is quite enough for me to go on.

Sometimes, in addition to the mystery of the fiber content, there's a little work involved to get a particular bit of yarn into a usable form. Recently, I was given some yarn which included a pull skein of a lovely grey-black variegated yarn that is all or mostly natural fibers. It's gorgeous to touch--very soft, squishy, and has a bit of a halo. It's also a bit slippery. This was a good sized skein and either full or very close to it--probably the latter for reasons which will become clear. As is so often the case, someone didn't want to pull from the middle when using this yarn, so they removed the ball band, found the outside end, and tried to do whatever they were doing with it. I get it--it's frustrating to start a center-pull skein sometimes. You pull and a big clump of yarn comes out because of the way it's twisted around inside (some people charmingly call this clump 'yarn vomit' 😶). But it's usually fairly simple to deal with that small bit of yarn and proceed with the project. Often people try to avoid this by starting on the outside and depending on the yarn, this can work. I happen to find that very annoying so I don't do it, but it doesn't matter much of the time--it's just personal preference. But with a slippery yarn like the one I had, doing this is almost certain to end in tears. As one pulls on the outside end, the skein rolls and flops around. With slippery yarn, twists, tangles, and bunches occur, as was the case here. It wasn't usable as it was. I wonder if that's the reason its original person didn't want it any more. Well, I love it and I do want it, so I sat myself down on a quiet afternoon and I started untwisting, untangling, and slowly eliminating the large clumps and bunches, just following the strand of yarn and letting my mind wander. Two hours later, I was close to the end, but I had other things to do so I set it aside. The following afternoon, I worked on it for about another half hour and then I had this:

I didn't have to cut it once. 🎉🎊It's ready to go whenever I'm ready to use it. I don't yet know what I'm going to make with it, but I'm very glad it ended up with me instead of in a trash can somewhere.

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Notebooks

 When I walked into the art gallery on the first day of my cloth journal workshop a couple months ago, someone handed me two bags of yarn. They were from the home of her partner's mother, who had recently passed away. Some members of her family were starting the process of going through her things. No one wanted the yarn, but this person said she knew someone who would and she brought it back for me. Inside one of the bags were two granny squares that this woman (I assume) had made. I set them aside and considered what to do with them. Then it dawned on me--duh!--I was tutoring a cloth journal class and my journal was dedicated to the textile and other work done by women from previous generations. I suspect that this woman was probably not older than me, or if she was then not by much, but I knew I'd add these squares to my journal. I decided to make a small notebook with them and then attach it to a page in the journal. 

I crocheted the squares together across one side, then cut some paper slightly smaller than the size of the attached squares side by side. I happened to have some heavy-ish, good quality blue paper, which belonged to the woman who knitted the sleeve I made into a journal page so I used that. I simply sewed it into the notebook with crochet thread and then sewed the back onto the journal page.

I used some of the yarn in the bags and some novelty yarns given to me by friends to make another notebook. First I wove two squares on my pin loom. On one square, I wove with some smooth acrylic and some novelty yarn and on the other I wove with the smooth acrylic and did some surface crochet with the green eyelash yarn. Then I crocheted a small yellow flower and sewed it on along with a plain button. Yellow and green are Donegal colors, so I think of this as my Donegal notebook. Inside I used some scraps of card stock and some mixed media paper.

i'm calling this the front

i'm calling this the back, but it really doesn't matter yet

Finally, I saw someone's tiny scrap cloth journal constructed in such a way that it kind of folds closed. I liked it, so I dashed off an experiment. I haven't finished the inside yet--I think I'm going to put paper inside, but I could change my mind. The one I saw was all fabric scraps and embellishments inside and out. I really like this format and will do a neater, more careful one soon, possibly woven or crocheted.

closed (the front embellishment was inside the button band of a shirt I got at a charity shop)

opened--the square in the middle is the back when the flaps are closed

partially closed (the flap on the left is the back of the front)

I brought all of these examples in to show the workshop participants so they could perhaps get some ideas for their own work, now or in future. I mentioned that these could be a fun way to add little photo albums to their journals. I suggested that if they have photos they can take photos of the photos and then they'd have digital copies that they could manipulate if they wanted or they could leave them as is. These could then be printed out at a pharmacy, many of which have kiosks where digital photos can be printed. Then either glue them to the notebook pages or used those little adhesive corners to stick the photos in. 

I do plan to make more of these. I will probably do collage in some but I plan to use them primarily for writing. It's possible that I'll do some combination of writing and photos as well. Who knows how they will evolve! I do know that they're fun to make and a great way to use scraps of stuff--yarn, cloth, paper, and more. And you know how I love to play with scraps 😏

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A Lovely Start to the Process

 Today I went with a friend from here to Killybegs with a load that consisted mostly of books. She came over last evening with her son so he could load them into her car and this morning I added some lightweight stuff in the nooks and crannies. I'd prepared for the loading of her car--or so I thought. 

In addition to these, there were a few more bags and other boxes of books that I could grab if there was room, but I didn't think there would be. Boy was I wrong! I was grabbing books and sticking them into bags as fast as I could. Almost all our books are now in their new home waiting for us. But since there's work still being done on our new cottage and our lease here isn't up until June 4, it'll be a few weeks until we go. So now we are kind of in a waiting mode. We will have a few things we can do later this week or next week, but other than repotting plants and possibly going to donate books to a charity shop, we will be in waiting mode--we have a bit of calm before the next rush, which is very welcome.

We got there midday and I introduced my friend from here to my friends there and of course had some quality time with little Finn (Bill stayed home because we could fit more into the car if that passenger space was free). I knew my friends there and my friend here would get along well and they did. We chatted for a while and then started unloading the car and bringing stuff upstairs. I left the books that were in boxes, but the ones that were in backpacks and bags were removed so I could bring the empty bags back to use for other things. Then we went back to my friends' house and had a lovely 'tapas luncheon.' The food was yummy, the conversation never stopped and the company was wonderful. I was very content. I even had a caramel square--my friend had gone into a bakery in the town to get some because as she said, 'We can't have Shari here and not have caramel squares for her!' I do love a good caramel square and these are very good indeed. They bought extra so I could take some home. I might even have to nibble on another one later.

Bill and I are both shocked at how much was moved in one trip. We're very grateful for friends. We have no furniture, so the slow cooker is really the only heavy item we have left. 

It was a long day, but I hope to be able to read more of the next Palliser novel tonight. I read the first 100+ pages last night and I'm into it now so I should be able to read some in spite of being quite tired. As I mentioned in my book post yesterday, I want to donate the complete series before we move and I have two books left. I'm off now to make a cup of tea, put my feet up, and pick up my book! It's been a lovely start to our moving process and I'm so grateful.

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Second Half of April Reading Wrap-Up

 April came and April went. I was reading. My thoughts on the books I read in the first half of April can be found here. My thoughts on the books I read in the second half of the month are below.

Japanese Paper Yarn: Using Washi and Kami-ito to Knit, Crochet, Weave, and More by Andra F. Stanton (borrowed from the library)

This was quite an interesting book, which contains instructions for making and using paper yarn, beads, and more, but also includes beautiful photographs of art created with these materials and short essays on the history of paper in Japan, the importance of paper in Japanese culture, the uses of paper in Japan, and the ways in which paper is made to meet the needs of people. I enjoyed the instructions on making paper yarn and beads, but I was also aware from the start that I wouldn't be trying this. Knowing myself and how I create, it was clear early on that this wouldn't be for me. However, in spite of the fact that I am going to neither buy nor make paper yarn, some of the projects and photos did give me inspiration and ideas for my own work with 'regular' yarn and cloth. I found the short essays fascinating and definitely worth reading. I think for mixed media and textile artists, this is a worthwhile book worth getting from your library, perhaps. If you're someone interested in making art materials from paper, it's a great introduction to making and using paper yarn, beads, and more.

The Haiku Anthology by various poets and edited by Cor Van Den Heuvel (borrowed from the library)

This is a collection of over 800 haiku and senryu written by a wide variety of poets. I'm a big fan of short form poetry and there was much to enjoy in this book. Here are a couple of examples:

long meeting

I study the pattern

embossed on the napkin

   ---Miriam Borne

One reason I love that senryu is because I can relate to it--sitting there listening to people drone on and on and needing to find something to focus on--I've been there. And like the poet, I will usually find myself drawn to pattern somewhere, looking at lines and shapes and thinking about how I could incorporate that into my textile work.

Snow at dusk

our pot of tea

steeps    slowly    darker.

   ---Betty Drevniok

This one is puts me right in that place and brings me a feeling of calm and peace--a winter night with dusk falling early, cold, wet, snow falling, then the warmth and pleasure of savoring a mug of hot, strong tea. Bliss!

The Barbizon: The New York Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren (borrowed from the library)

I requested this book from the library after reading Erika's thoughts about it on her blog, BioArtGal. Her review of the book is here. Although the book is organized around the hotel and there are descriptions of the physical structure itself and the way it was furnished and decorated, that is primarily a way to describe what the evolving cultural and societal norms and expectations about the proper place of women from certain classes. The hotel gave women a safe space from which to explore the world beyond the places they grew up in and to explore themselves and what they wanted from life. The hotel gave them the freedom to make better choices because it allowed them to widen their experience. There's a lot of name dropping in this book as women who later became famous lived there for varying lengths of time. But the author goes into more depth about women who never became famous and their stories were fascinating to me. I enjoyed reading about their backgrounds their hopes and dreams, their fears and courage, and what they discovered about themselves. That was the best aspect of the book for me, but I also found it quite interesting to read about residential hotels and why they were popular for a time. I'm so glad I read this book, so thank you Erika for sharing it on your blog!

The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope (personal copy)

This is the third novel in Trollope's Palliser series and revolves around (surprise!) a diamond necklace. When the book opens, we meet Lizzie, a beautiful, poor, young orphan who is living with a harsh aunt. We're told right away that Lizzie is not the heroine of the novel. She wants money and status, so she connives her way towards these things by playing with Lord Florian Eustace. He is easily played. She sees him as an excellent opportunity because he's older and unwell, has money, and can give her a title. By the end of the first few chapters, Lizzie has become Lady Eustace, a widow, and a mother, in that order. Before he died, Lord Eustace realized his mistake in choosing that particular wife, but never changed his will. Nonetheless, Lady Eustace isn't as happy as she might be with the terms of that will and decides that she will keep a diamond necklace that is, in fact, a family heirloom and not hers to keep--or is it? Needless to say, Lizzie makes up stories about how she came to have the necklace and what her husband said to her about it. When the family's legal representative, Camperdown, tries to get it back, the contest is underway and runs throughout the book. There are also other storylines about various people connected and unconnected to Lizzie Eustace. After a time, Lizzie decides it's time for her to marry again and she's torn between wanting someone who can give her more wealth and/or status, or what she calls her Corsair--Lizzie is fond of romantic poetry. This tension runs throughout the book as Lizzie plays around with various people and in the end, realizes that some people are playing around with her too. I enjoyed this book a lot--there's a slight element of mystery involved as I wondered what would become of the necklace. I read on through the almost 800 pages hoping all the while that Lizzie would get her comeuppance and I never got bored. 

This book is placed between the Phineas Finn novels in the series--Phineas Finn precedes it and Phineas Redux follows it. Although this book can be read as a standalone and does have a satisfying conclusion, the story of Lizzie is a part of the story in Phineas Redux as well.

Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope (personal copy)

I've had all 6 of the Palliser novels in my book collection for years now--we got them during pandemic lockdowns--and since I do not plan to keep them, I thought I'd donate them all together. I'm hoping to finish the series before we move so I can do that. So as soon at I finished The Eustace Diamonds, I jumped into this book (and I plan to start the next one, The Prime Minister, today). This book takes up the story of Phineas Finn. I shared my thoughts on that book in my reading wrap-up for the first half of the month, which can be found at the link above. I won't go into certain details of this book for fear of spoilers in the first book. The book begins a couple of years after the end of the first Phineas book. It can be read on its own--details from the previous books are summarized seamlessly through the narrative where appropriate--but I'm glad I read both Phineas Finn and The Eustace Diamonds before I read this one because I enjoyed it far more than I would've otherwise. The Pallisers are featured more prominently in this one than they were in the previous couple of books and stories progressed and become intertwined. There's the beginning of a mystery in the second half of the book, but Trollope doesn't really develop this, and gives the answer a few pages after it's introduced. This served to redirect my attention to how things would be resolved rather than wondering what had happened. 

I'd say that if anyone is interested in this series, Phineas Finn, The Eustace Diamonds, and Phineas Redux are best read in order. The first book, Can You Forgive Her? divides space between one storyline and that of Lady Glencora and Plantagenet Palliser. The Pallisers recur throughout the books and I think will play a prominent role in the next one, but the people from the other storyline in that book, have only been superficially mentioned in one or two of the other books. I'm glad I read the first book because it gave me the background of the Pallisers which informs my reading of their relationship in subsequent books, but so far anyway, I wouldn't say that it's crucial to read the first book. And for anyone interested in starting with Trollope in general, here's a video from a booktuber I enjoy watching who discusses her thoughts on the topic. I agree with her that The Way We Live Now is a fabulous book and definitely worth reading. There is (sadly) much that is still current described in that book. 

So that wraps up the second half of April. On we go into May. I am currently deciding which books to take to my future home so they can wait for me there and which to keep with me so I can read them while we're in the process of moving. I have the last two Palliser novels to read and possibly another couple that I don't plan to keep so those will stay with me. I'll decide about the rest as the process unfolds. Happy reading, everyone!

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The Next Big Project

 Here we are on the last day of April. We know how we're spending May as our next big project commences. Not sure exactly how it's going to go, but I guess we'll find out. It starts this weekend as I get some books boxed up so they'll be ready to load into my friend's car and brought to what will be our new home in Killybegs. Our lease here ends at the beginning of June and we'll be out of here by then. I gave notice today, but we've known for a few months that we'd probably be going. To be honest, I was not letting myself get too attached to the idea until recently, because this wasn't imminent and stuff happens, so I waited patiently. My friends here were puzzled about my lack of excitement at first, but they kept telling me, 'I'm excited for you.' I will miss being around them and I will miss the yarn group at the library. 

It was all quite unexpected. We weren't planning to move, nor were we looking for a place. My friends were concerned about the damp in this cottage, and expressed their concerns to me repeatedly. One even started looking on our behalf, although I didn't know this at the time. It's not like we had options so we just dealt with it and although we would have pursued any possibilities as they arose, we weren't actively seeking anything. But after we got back from taking care of our furry friend in February, another friend brought up the possibility of us moving into a property she owns. We jumped at it. So now we'll be neighbors with our furry friend, Finn, and when she needs someone to care for him, we'll be right there. 

When we moved here, we didn't know we'd be taking care of him so we signed the lease which was very clear that we were not to have a dog. After we went to his house for a month to take care of him and knew we would be caring for him again a couple months later, I contacted the manager to ask if we could have him here on a temporary basis. He checked with the landlord, who wouldn't allow it. So we went back to Finn's house for a month. Shortly thereafter, our friend offered us her property to live in. We've lived in that neighborhood before and I have always loved it. I would've never left, but there were circumstances involving the landlord at the time and his manager that made it difficult to live there. That won't be an issue this time. 

There will be a few things I miss about being in this area, but overall, It'll be much better for us there in so many ways. I'm looking forward to being there and being with my friends there once again, both human and canine. Not sure exactly what the move itself is going to look like, but we start this weekend! I'm excited now, even though I'm not looking forward to moving. I'm greatly looking forward to having moved though. Off we go into a new chapter!

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Peanut Butter Cup Bars

 I was thinking about the Snicker-ish date things I made earlier this year--as you do. The first time (back in January), I made stuffed dates . The next time (in February), I decided to make them in such a way that I could cut them into bars. Same ingredients but less fussy. This time I decided to try making a sort of peanut butter cup thing that I could cut into bars. I'm happy to say that these were quite successful!

Here's how I made them:

I placed some dates (pitted) into a bowl and covered them with boiling water, letting them sit for about 15 minutes. After that time, I scooped them out with a slotted spoon and out them in the bowl of my food processor fitted with the blade, leaving the soaking water in case some of it was needed. Today it wasn't, but when I make them again it might be. I dumped in some ground almonds and a few heaping spoonfuls of natural peanut butter. It was a newly opened tub so I was scooping from the top, which is very runny and perfect for this kind of thing. I whizzed everything up until it looked crumbly but would hold together when a bit was squeezed. I had to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times. I lined a container with baking paper and pressed this mixture in very firmly. Then I broke up a bar of dark baking chocolate (150g), heated it in the microwave for about a minute, stirred until it was all melted, and added another couple large dollops of peanut butter. I mixed this together well, spread it over the top of the mixture in the container, and put it in the fridge to set. As soon as the chocolate was firm enough to cut, I had to try a piece. Yum! We're both fans, so this will be something I make again.

I don't have any measurements to give--this is one of those things where it depends on how much you want to make, how soft the dates are, how much the ground almonds absorb, and how runny the peanut butter is. It's also not something that can go wrong. If the mixture was too crumbly, I could have added a bit of the date-soaking water, some more peanut butter, or maybe some almond milk--just a smidge at a time. It's probably not possible to make it too wet, as putting it in the fridge will firm things up anyway. If peanut butter isn't your thing, you could use any nut or seed butter that you like. 

So I'm glad I gave these a try. They are yummy. And with summer coming up, I like the fact that no oven is required!

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Veering Off in an Unexpected Direction

 Yesterday when I was out with a friend, our first stop was the Dunfanaghy Country Market.

My friend told me it was small, but excellent and sent me some info about it the day before. After reading about it, I was looking forward to checking it out in person. The guy in the middle is one of the mobile greengrocers. There were people selling plants for outdoors, both flowers and veg starts. There was a guy selling succulents in handmade pots. There were women who crocheted amigurumi, weavers, and knitters. It was a lively place with a great vibe. When we got there, my friend pointed out the green tent and told me that's where the baked goods and other goods things were and suggested we get over there before people started buying up the goodies. I followed along and took my time choosing a couple of desserts for Bill and myself in the days ahead. I had a very hard time because there were so many things that called to me and everything looked scrumptious. I did try a cookie sample when it was offered and it was yummy, but in the end I decided on a lemon cheesecake and two pieces of flourless raspberry-pear cake. We had the latter last night and it was wonderful. Further down the table, there were some homemade jams and a few baggies of assorted garden produce. I nabbed a bag of chocolate mint, some of which I have placed in water to root. I'll be able to plant it and enjoy it with my apple mint and lemon balm. As I was waiting to pay for my goodies, I suddenly found myself in conversation with a woman from Germany who has lived here for many years. She told me how great my socks were! As often happens in situations like this, I have to check to remind myself what sock/hat I am wearing. I bent down to look. Because it was a warm day, I'd put on a pair of crocheted lacy socks that I made ages ago out of sock yarn scraps.

They're handy because the toes stay warm but there's air circulation. The bottoms are solid because I don't think it'd be comfortable to walk on the lace. Anyway, a rather lengthy conversation about the socks ensued. She was telling people to come look at the socks and asking me how I made them. She doesn't crochet, but she is a knitter so I explained the general construction of the socks so she can develop her own knitted version if she wants. We talked about using scraps and other things. A dog came up to me and wanted to be petted so I spent some happy moments talking socks and petting a beautiful dog. 

After getting some stuff from veg man, we went to deposit our things in the car, then went back to look at more stuff. I was looking at the stall of a woman--another knitter--who had some yarn on a table that she was trying to sell. I stopped to look. She started asking me about my hat and my bag. As we were chatting, someone came up and told her to look at my socks. She asked if there was a pattern for them. I said I'd made them up. I'd already grabbed a decent sized scrap ball of yarn that she wanted 20 cents for (and purple, no less--of course that was coming home with me!). She had some basic acrylic in a few colors and a couple of skeins of novelty yarn. I chose one and bought that too.

She asked me what I'd use it for, maybe some kind of trim? I said I wasn't sure yet--possibly trim, but more likely pin loom weaving or kumihimo with the novelty yarn. Not sure about the purple ball--will have to do the burn test to get an idea of fiber content. As we were leaving, she told me to keep on stitching. 'I know you will,' she said. She is so right. 😉😀😏

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A Visit to Marble Hill

 Had a day out with a friend today and one of our stops was at Marble Hill beach. We were there early enough that she easily found a parking space right by the stairs down to the beach and across from The Shack, a place that sells coffee, tea, ice cream, milkshakes, baked goodies and possibly more. I didn't spend much time looking at the menu, just ordered my iced latte, which was perfect on this warm and sunny day. We sat in the car to enjoy our beverages and then carefully walked down the stairs to the beach. 

At the bottom of the stairs we turned left, towards the hills you can see in the top photo. The sea was calm, with tiny waves lapping onto the shore. On another part of the beach some people were in the water, but it wasn't very deep at that time of day. There were some dogs enjoying the beach too.

I quickly became interested in the patterns and textures I was seeing. Here are some examples:

And the patterns and textures under my feet:

We were on our way from somewhere to somewhere so we didn't stay long, but it was a lovely place which I enjoyed visiting.

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