Knitting, Voting, Audio Books and Exercise

 

Picked up the blue and white corner to corner blanket again.   You can see  HERE,  how much it's grown.  The blue section has been completed and the 2nd white section, and now onto another blue section.  The decrease has also been started, so am now over half way with this.  

Oh Ohio!   What hot mess.  I know it's been discussed in some detail around the country.  Ridiculous amount of Republicans running for one spot, all but one trying hard to get the endorsement of "the orange one" , which tells you how pathetic the race was.  All we can hope for now is the author of Hillbilly Elegy doesn't win in the election.  Sad to me that he won the primary for that party, given how dysfunction he is.  Several of the debates almost came to fist fights between the Republicans.  Anyway, did my part yesterday and voted against them all.

Haven't done anymore work on the pretty asymmetrical scarf pictured in the last post.  Nor anymore work on the brown afghan.

My yoga mat on top of my Life Board.  I did much better in April with Yoga.  March was only 2 x, April was 8 x and in March the sessions were 30-35 minutes, in April 30-45 minutes with a total of 367 minutes or 6.11 hours.

PLANKS...I did them 9 x in April, which is the same as in March.  No going backward which is good, plus the last couple of days in March I increased the time from 4 x 40 seconds with 11 seconds of rest to 4 x 45 seconds with 13 seconds of rest.  So, that brings up to 3 minutes of planks.  I did side planks a few times which is the same as March.

WALKING...I jumped from 9 walks in March to 12 in April (which includes a couple of times mowing the yard). Fitbit says 128.34 miles which is up from March at 104.61.  I had 2 days of 8 miles.  April's mileage is the best of 2022 so far.

Elie Wiesel's "Night", is a memoir of his life in 1944 and 1945 in Auschwitz and Buchenwald.  Parts of heart breaking, parts are inspiring as so many of these stories from Nazi's horrific treatment of the Jews and others they didn't side with Hitler.  While many of these books from WWII aren't pleasant or fun or light reading; they are important.  We must NEVER forget what happened so that we may keep it from happening again.  History must be our teacher and our moral compass.

Can anyone identify these yellow flowers?  I spotted them on a recent walk through the neighborhood.  I know they're a perineal from a brief conversation with the homeowner who happened to be out in his yard.  He told me what they were, but I didn't remember by the time I got home, darn it!  He said I could come and get a start if I wanted.  I might take him up on his kind offer.  Now to remember which corner I was on.  I rarely walk the same route, and when walking get engrossed in listening to my book...so it may take me some work to locate this corner again.

TA DAH, Another Finished Project

 

Corner to Corner colorful blanket done.  I  laid it out and debated about an edge.  To edge or not.  Changed my mind several times, but ended up deciding to add an edge.

Decided on the bright blue and did 3 rows of single crochet.  Here it is after being laundered, as it's laid out to dry/blocked.  I think adding the edge gives it a bit more of a finished look, as does laundering it.  This will be gifted to my great niece, as she's recently had a baby.  A boy, I think the bold stripes will work well for that vs traditional light blue.

This is Pam Jenoff, author of many award winning books, and best sellers.  She's had eleven best sellers.  As I was adding my most recent finished book, "The Lost Girls of Paris" to my Goodreads Bookshelf, I noticed how many of her books I had read/listened to.  I knew I had read a couple but was surprised to see how many.  Which prompted me to look her up.  She writes Historical Fiction and Love Stories.  I've not read any of her Love Stories.  I found her background interesting.  She has a degree in International Affairs from George Washington Unv. and a History degree from Cambridge, and her JD from UPenn.  She worked as a diplomat for the state department handling Holocaust issues in Poland.  She currently teaches law at Rutgers.  All the books of hers I've read to date are about WWII and the struggles of families in the ghetto's, as well as those arrested and sent to camps and more.  It certainly makes since given her background.  And, now that I've read about her, it gives her books more credibility.  

I highly recommend yet another WWII book.  This one has a bit of a twist to it.  A mystery unfolds as you connect the war years and what follows.  Questions arise about how governments use people.  Another story about how much Women gave to the War effort and how little their stories were known until recent years.  It's past time for Women to be given the credit and notoriety they deserve.

Me hiking in Colorado a few years ago.  I've added my March exercise stats to the exercise tab.  Sadly my mileage for the month is down a bit to 104.61 miles.  But, I'm happy to say I did better with my planks and my yoga. in terms of how many days I did them.  My best day mileage wise  was 5 miles and I averaged 3.37 per day in March.  Hopefully I'll do better with planks, yoga, and miles in April.  Though the end of the month is fast approaching and while I was out of town on a Girls Trip, I didn't do as well as I should have, so we'll see how the stats turn out.

WIP (work in progress), the light blue corner to corner blanket, the yummy asymmetrical scarf pictured in the last post, and a brown afghan that's been tucked away for a LONG time.

Seriously, I last worked on this brown afghan in February of 2021.  I tucked it aside to work on projects that were date sensitive and totally forgot about it.  I'm very close to finishing it.  So, trying to push myself to work on it.  I rarely make something in one color, but this does have some texture to it for interest.

Knitting, Chocolate Martini's, Easter and What Are You Reading?

 

My newest project, scarf/shawl was casted on in the car on the way home from Hilton Head 2 days ago, on Friday.  The first 3 ish hours of knitting was all frogged.  I had planned to do a basic rectangle scarf/shawl; but the pretty colors weren't showing up with the longer rows.  So, on day 2 in the car on the return trip after frogging, I started anew.  This will be another asymmetrical scarf/shawl.  You see the colors so much better.  I have 51 stitches on the needles.  This yarn is soooooooooo soft, 460 yards of superwash Merino, hand dyed.  It's called Ode to Crescendo Copper Corgi from a Savannah, Georgia studio.  A bit pricey at $45.00 (a little more than I often pay).

Before it was rolled.  Thought you could see the beautiful colors here a bit better than the ball.

Buckeye scarf is completed and already gifted along with it's beautiful hand made scarf pin.......but, I forgot to take a picture before I gifted both the scarf and pin.  This picture was taken long before it was completed.

OMG!  Where to begin.  This book is frightening, maddening, and then some.  It is a true story of corporate greed, and corporate lies; as well as the age old workplace horror of women simply not counting.  Women worked in a watch factory, painting clock dials and watches with radium.  They were called "Ghost Girls", because they literally glowed from the exposure.  They got sick and they died, one after another and the company continued to lie about the danger.  Meanwhile the men who worked in the same factory wore protective lead aprons and none of them had been instructed to put it in the mouths and actually consume the dangerous poisons.  I first read (listened) to the book, then watched the movie that was came out in 2018.  The book is far more detailed than the film, and you learn far more about their lives and deaths and the cover ups than you do with the movie.  A MUST READ/LISTEN.  

Did a fair amount of walking during my two weeks in Hilton Head, but only managed a wee bit of yoga, so am behind again with yoga and planks.  Just got back in town last night, and restarted today...by doing my planks.  The process is on going.

While in Hilton Head with girl friends (for our annual girls trip), we perfected making Chocolate Martini's.  This became our desert. 

**Need to get back to the colorful corner to corner now that I'm back in town.  It didn't travel to Hilton Head with me, so has been resting on it's on here at home.

Knitting, Wine, and Yoga

 Making good headway with adding the turquoise, then tangerine, then royal blue, and now the lime green.  This was the progress as of a week ago.  This afghan is now at a standstill, as it's at home and I'm not.

Currently working on The Buckeye Scarf because its smaller and easier to work on in the car.  No new pictures.

Sharing this because I thought it was cool.  Hope my fellow knitters enjoy it; as well as my non knitters as an interesting piece of art work.

Two friends and I toasting 25 years cancer free.  One of my besties, Congrats!

A novel, a story of courage, betrayal and more.  Jewish families trying to maintain, to survive, to feed their families and never knowing whom to trust creates many layers of intrigue and suspense as well as heartbreak and warm moments.  Another book to add to your reading list folks.  I love audio books.  You can walk, knit, do household chores and listen to your books.

It's a balancing act folks.  Still trying to maintain activity with planks, walking, and yoga....but sometimes you need a glass of wine.

This and That, Changes, And Knitted While Winter Returns

Since the last picture, the blanket has grown several more colors.  I had just started the light gray section in the last photo and now that's finished, followed by a teal section, then a rose section...next up is the pretty turquoise.  The side measures about 41 inches so is larger than a typical baby blanket which is typically around 36 inches.  Trying to decide if I want to put an edge on this blanket.  Often I make a small ruffle edge for baby blankets.  Feel free to weigh in with your opinions on that.  The weather has turned ugly again, so working on this a lot and hope to finish it fairly soon.

 I've added a Good Reads Widget in the right side bar,  in an effort to keep track of my books.  Almost all are rated 5 stars, some 4 and a few less.  Since I just started the account and widget, I can't remember many of the books, so my ratings aren't probably the best.  I don't imagine everyone rates everything they read a 5?  These are books just since I started using Libby to do audio books.  Previously I used the other library app, that I no longer remember the name of and those books apparently did NOT transfer over when I loaded the Libby app, so no clue what I read/listen to then.  Further down is the actual shelf where you can see some of the books listed.  What I don't know is, are you able to click on it to see all the books, or is that only for me?  Need someone to try it out, and let me know.  Since I'm new to this, am trying to determine how it works.  Thanks!

PAGES...I've added an additional page (see the titles listed before the post).  The new page added is a means to keep track of my exercise.  My steps, walks, yoga, planks, and bike rides.  Sadly, due to the weather, I'm not getting the walks or bike rides, but trying hard to continue the planks and yoga.  Check out the new page.

I've deleted some bloggers on my blog list who don't seem to reciprocate blog visits or comments and added some newly found blogs.  The list is forever changing.

I've deleted a few widgets and moved others around in an effort to try and freshen the look of the blog.

I started this book, but sent it back to the library through the Libby app, as I had too many books and this wasn't at the top of my list.  But, I have it listed as a book I want to read on my new Good Reads Widget.  It takes place in WWII (I know you're shocked, lol), in the Artic Wilderness when a US Cargo plane crashes into The Greenland Ice Cap.  This is a true story of survival and I think it sounds good, so I hope to get it a 2nd time in order to listen to it.

I had this book on my list for some time, so when it became available, I returned "Frozen in Time".  I had previously listen to, "The Warsaw Orphan", that was based on Irena's story, so wanted to read the actual book about her.  What a brave woman, she saved so many Jewish Children from being killed in the concentration camps.  In 2009 there was a TV film, "The Courage's Heart of Irena Sendler, based on a biography, Die Mutter der Holocaust-Kinder.  Irena's story is true.  She was a Catholic Social Worker who saved approximately 2,500 children., as part of The Polish Underground.  She was arrested, questioned, and tortured by The Gestapo.

**No additional pictures of Buckeye Scarf or the Blue and White corner to corner blanket, as I've not worked on them since the last pictures.

Back Home, Catching Up, Yarn, Audio Books, and Exercise

 

The blue afghan grows, inching closer to a 2nd white section.  I've worked on this a few more days.  It's very light weight and as it grows; I like it more and more.  Left the blue blanket at home so only worked on it the last few days before I left town.

The colorful corner to corner blanket has grown 4 more colors...from blue to orange, to green, and currently light gray.  It measures almost 40 inches a side, and in the green section I've started the decrease; so less than half the blanket left to finished.  I worked on this while we were out of town; but still a bit too large to work on it while on the plane.

So this Buckeye Asymmetric Scarf was what I worked on while traveling to and from Hilton Head n the plane.  Smaller items are best for plane travel.  It's growing nicely and might be done fairly soon.  It now measurers 49 inches long and is 10 inches wide as it's widest point.

I started listening to this book, but ended up returning it early...2 fold.  I had several books on my shelf at the time and wasn't going to be able to get them all finished in time and this one called out to me the least...however, I may check it out a 2nd time.  This novel is a recollection of The War in Burma.  It's not a part of the war I know much about.

This was one of the other books I had on my shelf at the same time, and I really enjoyed Kelly Rimmer's other book, The Things We Can Not Say, so went with this one.  A story inspired by a real-life heroine who saved thousands of Jewish Children.  Elzbieta is drawn into what happens in the Jewish Ghetto's by her neighbor Sara.  Let me know if you've read this.

Exercising....mixed bag.  In January I planked 13 times, only 5 during Feb

I did Yoga 3 times in January and only once in Feb.

I went for a walk 5 times in January and did better in Feb 8 times.

Went for a bike ride 6 times in January and 5 times in February.   

February is a shorter month, plus 2 days were travel days, but still...you can see a downfall from January.  January I walked 119.9 miles and 115.95 in February...so that difference isn't too bad.  Gotta see if I can finish a bit stronger in March.