Long Weekend

We had a lovely Victoria Day long weekend. On Friday night we made a pizza from scratch, low-sodium, low-cholesterol of course, and watched a film on Netflix.

On Saturday, the only sunny warmish day of the entire long weekend, we went to the Rideau Camp early in the morning and spent the day burning brush in the camp fire pit, and moving a bit of crushed stone.

On Sunday it rained, so we stayed home, puttered around the house, and enjoyed a visit from Sister-The-Youngest-Girl and Beau Bob, who dropped in on their way home after attending a family function to the East of us. They dropped of a big bag of clothing my Mom bought for me, she is an amazing shopper! I have numerous new summer blouses, a summer dress, two new sweat shirt jackets, and lots of new pairs of pants. I am enjoying trying things on, and so far everything fits.

On Monday it was cold and wet out of doors, another good day to stay in our nice warm house, rather than working outside at the Rideau Camp. Domestic chores aren’t boring to us, but they are repetitive. Cooking for the week to come, we made muffins for lunches, salad dressing for salads, croutons for salads, and topped up many of our canisters. And then we went shopping. We began at Rona, where we went to look at sheets of lattice. We did buy a sheet of lattice, grey to add privacy to our back porch, but we didn’t stop there. Ever since I sat with my sisters and my Mom on my sister’s back deck swing, I have wanted one here at Mist Cottage. Every spring when we visit the building material stores I sit on the swings in the display section of the store. Usually I find them either uncomfortable, or far too large for our minimized lifestyle. But on Monday, at Rona, I sat down in a small swing and knew that it was the one. So we bought it. It is smallish, lowish, and will someday fit on the back porch when it is renovated. Until that time it will sit under a sun tent on the back lawn.

We didn’t stop there. After leaving Rona we dropped into Costco. Our neighbour calls it the $500 store with good reason. We don’t visit it often because our bank account is always drained by the time we walk out the door. This visit was no exception. We didn’t buy anything we didn’t need, or anything we wouldn’t use. Our purchases were primarily food, fresh vegetables and baking ingredients. We even found some frozen burgers that were low sodium, although their frozen chicken is all seasoned, and so there is sodium where I can’t afford it with the chicken. Our most surprising purchase was a new cell phone for Attila. I have been looking at cell phones for Attila for about three years, as the one he uses was purchased the August before our first Grandbabies were born, in 2006. The cell phone still functioned, but the battery would not hold a charge for more than an hour or so once it was turned on, and the cell phone towers upon which it relies are being phased out in favour of newer technology. We were walking by the cell phone kiosk, and I stopped to ask if they had any flip phones, and the did! We looked at it, and instantly decided that it was time to replace the old cell phone. In fifteen minutes they had Attila up and running on the new cell phone, his account transferred, and it only cost $67. Hopefully Attila will be good for another few years now.

I have been pondering what crochet project to begin since I finished my market bag. As I was sitting at home having a look at Attila’s new cell phone, I thought it would be a good thing if it were protected from the rough and ready pockets of Attila. I looked on Amazon and couldn’t find anything low enough priced to interest me. Later I was putzing around looking at crochet stitches, and saw a new stitch pattern that I though I would like to try, and the pieces fell together, I would use that interesting stitch pattern to create a cell phone case for Attila’s new phone.

I didn’t really think much about it, I just started practising the new stitch pattern, the Lemon Peel Stitch, ripped it out a few times, then started to make the cell phone case.

Attila’s new flip phone, a pay as you go wonder. We pay $100 for the year, and since we don’t use the phone much we seldom need to buy additional time. Beside the phone is the cell phone case I crocheted. I like it, as the phone slides out very easily if the bottom of the case is squeezed. The case is machine washable cotton.

Once I finished the cell phone case I decided I should write down what I had done. But my method of writing these kinds of things down is erratic. I decided to look at software to record the steps that were followed. I ended up finding some chart software at ravelry.com, where these two links were recommended in the forum:

Stitch Works Software

Windows: Windows: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7CaX7Dz9k8GTlhVNThlSVpBY1k/view
Os X: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7CaX7Dz9k8GSGxlRG5JNm1XNnM/view?usp=sharing

I downloaded the software and started to play with it.

I am just tickled to have produced my first crochet pattern in chart form!

Flip Phone Case Open Ended: Left-Handed

I have had a lot of fun today!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

14°C
Date: 2:00 PM EDT Tuesday 23 May 2017
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.1 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 13.8°C
Dew point: 9.1°C
Humidity: 73%
Wind: S 18 km/h
Visibility: 24 km

Quote

“The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.”
Charles Du Bos