Table Still Clean, JD Monkey Has Tail, Knitting in the Dark

Happy Monday from the exceedingly soggy SW corner of WA state. It's another one of our usual spring days, with alternating rain and sunny periods. The wind continues to feel very cold and nothing wants to grow very much in the garden.

I am happy to report that our kitchen table has stayed relatively clean for the last entire week! I only had to put away a few grocery items before I took this picture. It appears that my plan is working, whereby I publish a picture of my table every Monday MORNING. I am amending my promise to make it before NOON, otherwise, I might post a picture at 11:59 pm. and that is giving me way too much rope!

I almost FORGOT Mr. John Deere monkey's TAIL!!! Without his tail he could NOT be a monkey!!! (Ask any zoologist--it's true; without his tail, he'd be an APE and none of us want that, at least he and I don't).

I have finally solved the problem of simplifying my monkey's design. I used a toe up sock toe for this prototype's head and I didn't want to have to explain that process in a pattern--it's not all that complicated, but for someone who's never done it, there is quite a lot of explaining.

So, after a lot of thought and trial and error, I finally remembered how the Christmas stockings I've knit go together, and decided to use that relatively simple way to make the monkey's body. You knit the body on two needles until you get to the heel (monkey's rear)--that is much easier than using the toe-up sock toe and I wanted my pattern to be easy enough for a beginner to knit.
I tried to knit in the semi-dark at a concert last night, and you know, I didn't do half badly until I realized that I had dropped a stitch. I found that, yes, I CAN knit in the dark, but no, I CANNOT pick up a dropped stitch in the dark--that can be difficult enough in the bright light; especially if you'd knit several rows (like I did) before you noticed a stitch had been dropped. So, I'd say the knitting-in-the-dark experiment was at least partly successful. Blind people knit, so I thought maybe I didn't need light to knit either. However, practice at this is necessary and DO NOT, under any circumstances, drop a stitch or you're in BIG TROUBLE!!

Lost Library Book, Overdue Fines!!!

$24.05 worth of fines, $16 for a lost book I am quite sure I returned. However, if, by chance, I haven't, paying for it always lets me find the curse-ed book. We have been spoiled: for 43 of the 44 years we have lived here, there WERE no overdue fines, but the library levy failed, so now we have those fines. (SIGH!!)

I need to mark down when the books are due, maybe on a sticky note on each book; I can renew them online, but not if there is someone else who has requested the book. It's fair; I just need to GET ORGANIZED!!!!!

JD Monkey, Gardening

I almost forgot JD Monkey's tail!!! That wouldn't do at all, as all monkeys have tails. So I knit on his tail at Knit Group today and almost finished it--used ten stitches, five on each circular needle--it's boring to knit a tail, but necessary. Just about forgot to make the end of his tail white, too, until one of the others asked me if I was going to. Yikes, I am SO forgetful, it scares me sometimes---but then I remember teaching first grade and how forgetful six and seven year olds are, and I feel much better.

Today was a typical spring day on Grays Harbor: rainy early, then dry but with threatening clouds and sunny moments the rest of the day. My greenhouse gets nice and warm--I finally put a thermometer in it, and it was in the 70s in there today. It would have been warmer, but we have had a really cold wind lately---feels as if it's blowing over a glacier before arriving here!!! BRRRR!!!

But the good news is that it was dry enough to work outside a little this afternoon. I got a plastic colander at SA and used it to sift some of the lousy potting soil I bought last year--it's full of wood and rocks!!! (You get what you pay for, folks!) Anyway, once I sift it, it's very nice. I planted some over-germinated tomato seeds that I'd forgotten--we'll see if they do anything. I also planted two Armenian Cucumber seeds, and germinated the rest, and put some lavender seeds to germinate, too--I had almost no luck with last year's lavender seeds (purchased) this year; I will research harvesting my own lavender seeds before they flower this year.

Clean Kitchen Table, the Confessional, Motivation

Well, the kitchen table has now been cleaned off for THREE days, and I am patting myself on the back. I am FORCING myself to refrain from placing ANYTHING on its surface for more than a minute or two. I'd put a "BEFORE" picture, except I didn't take one. I DO have one from last November (yes, it has been cleaned off since then, but always reverts to the same dismal state in a day or two or three) that was very similar, but I'm too embarrassed to show it--just imagine a table piled as high as possible with laundry, junk mail, and assorted items and that will pretty much be an accurate image.


The reason I have a picture from last November is that I got so disgusted with myself for letting things get so cluttered and disorganized that I took a picture of every spot in the house that looked terrible. Then I put them in a notebook with a "Before" label on each one. I intended to systematically clean each messy spot up, photograph it, and label that picture "After." It was an attempt to motivate myself to do what I knew I should, and also have a record of how bad it was (probably not for public view, just for myself) so that I could look at it, see what I'd accomplished, and NOT go back to my old ways. The picture of my table will go in the book, as soon as I find it :>( .

I am making a promise right now that every Monday, I will post a new picture of this table (I'll put a small card with the date on it in the photo, so you'll know I'm not cheating, and I will put it on my Google Calendar so that I get nagged about it). If that doesn't make me keep stuff off this table, nothing will, I guess. I call this the DeGaulle Method, as when Gen. DeGaulle decided he wanted to quit smoking, he announced to his entire staff (immediately on making the decision) that he had quit; then pride did not allow him to return to the habit, as he would have lost face in the eyes of everyone. It worked for him. If I forget to post, you may also nag me.


For anyone else who tends to be disorganized, like I am, don't give up; find what works for you. If anything I do helps you, too, then hurray, and feel free to share your tips, too. Some people are so neat and organized they don't even need to THINK about it (how I ENVY you!!!), and then there's people like me................................................

Oops!!! Mistake on yarn for JD Monkey

Yarn is Lion Brand, Vanna's Choice, color 302, TAUPE mist. Sorry!!!

J D Monkey is Finished

He now has ears, two, even though it appears in the picture that he has only one.

He has a John Deere logo on his hat, too--I'm hoping they WON'T sue me!!! (Please don't sue me!!! )

He was fun to make, but turned out a little bigger than I wanted him to be. I had to buy a second skein of yarn to finish his second arm and ears. When I write the pattern, I will want people to be able to make him out of just one skein of yarn.

BTW, the yarn I used was Vanna's Choice, mauve mist. I think it worked very nicely for monkey skin. So, if you want the pattern, stay tuned. I don't much like writing patterns, but if I want to have one to sell, then I have to do it.

I used "toe up sock" method for his body, and I'm not sure I want to use that for the pattern because a lot of people are unfamiliar with that method and it will take a lot of explaining which I don't really want to do. So that pattern may very well begin with the Monkey's socks and go up from there.

Mr. John Deere Monkey is Almost Done

Mr. John Deere Monkey, the prototype for a pattern is almost done. He now has arms, as well as legs, and ears. When I write the pattern, I will need to make it a little smaller than this prototype, as I had to buy more yarn just to finish the second arm and the ears. I want to make one that will not require more than one skein of the yarn.