Homos with Hammers 2007

AHHH! We had visitors! Just look what they did to our backyard.

But while they were here, they finished the shed.



Okay, actually, we finished the shed -- or mostly finished it -- and the lawn-ring is where the pool used to sit. After the floor/foundation Snafu was fixed, the whole thing went up real quick.

Tony at work:

I thought we should leave it like this -- skylights are cool!:



Tony disagreed. Something about his stuff getting rained on blah blah blah.

The cat didn't do a damn thing except sleep.

All that is left is shingling and painting. The whole thing should be done next week.

Tune in tomorrow for knitting news.

Eric

new knits and construction

What could this be?

A Ballband of course! You can't have enough of these around.

Tony, bored with the ballbands, is making a dolphin washcloth. I think (and by "think" I mean "hope") this is going to be a gift.

I started my first Miter Square. Then I finished it, decided that I should have done it in Stockinette instead of Garter, frogged it, and restarted it.

Tony's Elfin Hat looks like a mushroom at the moment.

My monkeys are nearing completion. I finished the heel and have started the foot. I'm now looking for a sock pattern to use with my koigu.

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The pool water went from a H O T 92 degrees to a CHILLY 82 degrees in one week. So it was time to take it down.

The shed saw some progress. We built the floor frame and laid the floor panels before we built the foundation. Why did we do something so boneheaded? I still cannot figure out how a couple of homos with office jobs thought they could build anything. So we built the foundation then realized that the floor weighs about 500 pounds and there is no way that we could lift and carry it ourselves. Luckily our kind and strong neighbor offered to help with the floor/foundation problem and 10 minutes later we were building the walls. In the next week we plan to raise the walls.

More to come -- but probably not until next weekend,

Eric

Knits, Orchids, Construction -- again.

In knitting news:

I finished a Monkey. Or maybe I did that last week but just took the picture this week. hmm. I haven't cast on for #2 and I think it'll have to wait another week.

Tony knocked out this quick "Cat Squeaker" toy for Sissy. It's from the book Knitting for Dogs by Kristi Porter.

My secret sock pal got her socks! I was getting nervous and it's a relief knowing they got there safely. Go visit Marie at Compulsiveknitter or on Ravelry: knittingmarie.

I started Odessa; or on Ravelry: Odessa. This is the first of my fall/winter gifts -- this one is for a fall birthday.

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In Orchid news: This beauty now has four blooms. It usually has soo many more but it got a parasite in this last year and the cure almost killed it so we are happy to see that she bloomed at all.

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In construction news: we installed a closet organizer. Where we once had 6 linear feet of hanging space -- a drop in the bucket for a couple of fags -- we now have 7.5 feet plus six 1'x1'x1' cubby holes for storage. We're still using the guest room closet for all our winter stuff (and Tony's shoes) but it's a start.

The shed didn't get very far this week because I was pretty busy with work but I think the coming week will see good progress for that project.

Later,

Eric

More knitting and construction news.

In knitting news:

The swift arrived from Joann.com. We got the big one. It's even bigger than we imagined. Still, it is awesome and so purdy.

The Embossed Leaves were mailed out to my Sockapalooza 4 pal.

Pattern: Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock

Color: Carol Green

Needles: Crystal Palace US2 dpn

Started: 06-03-2007

Finished: 08-01-2007

Changes: I used an Eye of Partridge heel instead of the pattern heel. Originally, I added a pattern repeat to the foot but that turned out to be a fubar -- the sock was waaay to long (12"!!!) -- so I ripped it back to 7 1/2 pattern repeats which turned out perfect. I missed the line of instructions that called for a M1 at the end of needle 4 (after the heel) on the first sock so I made the second sock to match. I added two instep stitches for a little ease on a bigger foot.

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Misc: Tony moved his aquarium into the house. Fishes!


In construction news: We inventoried the parts to the Shed and laid them out according to the instructions.

Then we built the floor frame.

We also built a couple of saw horses and a temporary shelter (tarp and rope and a few poles) to keep the sun off us while we work.

That's all for now,

Eric

Birthdays and Construction and Orchids

The Birthday brought in a pretty good haul. Tony got me this light for the kitchen,

and this ball winder, and a swift that is on order. The parents gave me a gift card to the mall -- they still think I'm 12, but $100 is still $100 even at the mall -- and took Tony and I to Outback for dinner.

The Shed arrived today in a big crate. We had to unpack it from the front yard and repack it -- sorta -- in the back yard near the construction site.

Tony cleans the tarp that will cover the shed until we get to the part where we have to figure out how to put the shed together. I've always been good with following directions, but this project is the biggest I've ever tackled so I'm a bit nervous. We might find that tarp in the back yard for a loooong time.

And Lastly, the Sherry Baby is in bloom. During the day when the sun warms this plant, it smells amazing. Like nothing else on earth. To me it smells like warm sugar, blueberries, orange zest and vanilla. Tony says it smells like chocolate. I wish I could give you some smell-avision because this plant is awesome.

Thanks for the b-day wishes. Later, Eric