Wasp Nest Pattern and Furnace News

 To keep busy and warm  I wrote my wonky not at all professional pattern for the wasp nests. 

Yarn 4 ply...Grey, Green, Beige color about any color will do     Crochet Hook I as in Idiot

Make a magic loop...you can find out how to do that on the Internet better than I can show you.  You could also do some chains and connect it and stitch it up...magic loop is faster! 

Single Crochet (SC)  8 stitches into the magic loop

Pull the circle closed...pull it tight so no hole is seen...slip stitch last stitch to first stitch and chain one

* SC twice in the first stitch continue with a SC in each of the remaining stitches.  Slip stitch last to first stitch at the end of the round and chain one

Continue to repeat * adding two stitches at the beginning of each round until you have a funnel shape.  The side where you have added all the stitches may look a bit strange but it is all good.

When your funnel is a good shape do not bind off.  Instead anchor a stitch along the last row and chain 30 to begin a hanger, SC back across to the beginning and anchor well.   Pull your yarn through the last stitch and leave a long tail.

Fill the nest with plastic bags.  Use a yarn needle to stitch along the top of the nest.

Draw up the tail tight and stitch in place several times, tuck in the other end of the hanger and stitch it in place several times. 

The wasp nest on the right was done using this pattern...the others were created watching TV and adding stitches when ever I felt like it.

I will dip these nests in Mod Podge one day in the Spring when it is nice outside and hang them up to drip and dry.  That way they will shed water should they get wet.  

I have been tempted to make some smaller nests...and see if they work as well. 

Furnace News: Day Four 

Finally found a furnace that will fit our space...we may have to remodel the laundry/furnace room a bit next summer....we will see.  He may be here today to start the installation...he was looking for a hard to find kit...that converts a Natural Gas Furnace to Liquid Propane....at any rate things are moving in the right direction.  Good thing too as our weather is not getting any warmer.  We are okay.  I like it cooler to sleep at night anyway...but during the day I like to be warm...our tile floors seem to get colder everyday. 

Far Side

Day Three: No Furnace

 Still no news on a new furnace.  They must be hard to find.  

I finished up the Christmas Letter and Christmas Photo Card project. 

I have four folders full.  Some of the longer photo cards had to be trimmed. 

It is fun to read all the old letters again.   

Fireplace

We are staying warm. Sometimes it is a bit chilly/drafty in the house so we run the fireplace for awhile or the furnace fan to help circulate the air.   If all else fails the corn bags get heated in the microwave and join me under the down comforter!  Far Guy sometimes wears a stocking hat! 

Our weather is still horrid I believe our high for the day was -5 F. 

Far Side

Day Two : No Furnace

 My other baby brother dropped of another electric heater for us...we have four going now.  It was 30 something BELOW ZERO on Sunday morning.  The wind chill was awful around -45. We are only heating the bottom level of the house...heat rises so the upstairs is most likely getting enough. 

We had a quiet day, we watched church online... I worked on a paper project...putting Christmas photo cards in page protectors and albums...the new page protects with spots for 5 x 7 cards is working well...some photo cards have to be trimmed. It is putzy work...but fun to see little kids grow from one year to the next. 

The house is drafty...we run the fireplace every once in awhile and the furnace fan to mix up the air a bit.  We could always move into the bathroom as it is the warmest room in the house!  I am running a fan in the living room to help stir up the air...and Far Guy walks round and round stirring it up also! 

It was -15 F when I was making supper and the temperature was falling rapidly.  I hear by the weekend we should be able to put the cold spell behind us. 

We are okay.  

The heater in the living room by the fireplace.

Far Side

Chilly

We woke up a tad chilly on Saturday morning.  The furnace stopped working sometime in the night. 

Far Guy called the guy who sold and installed the furnace in 2013.   He returned our call in a couple of hours....he could come and look at it but it is cold out there and he doesn't have parts to fix anything...huh??  Not exactly a friendly kind of guy. 

I said call Ryan a local fellow...he answered the phone and said he would be over in a little while.  The furnace is shot...it needs to be replaced.  The Heat Exchanger is under warranty....we could have not so friendly guy replace it...who knows when and if that would happen.  We looked at each other and said almost in unison "You can sell us a new furnace."  

We have a gas fireplace and several heaters going...we shall not freeze to death.  My other baby brother brought us over a heater and my baby brother said there are several heaters at his house and we are welcome to use them.  Several neighbors and relatives called to check on us. 

The house is a bit drafty....but it is really cold outside. -24 F or -31 C and falling as I write this on Saturday night.  -27 F at 11 PM

Ryan said he would get back to us on Monday with a plan for a new furnace. 

We are warmer than were were the first years we were married and lived in a old trailer house with frost on the walls, and warmer than the winter that we spent living in an RV the winter before we built the house. 

Sure the furnace could have picked one of those really nice above freezing days to crap out instead of during the Arctic Blast we are experiencing....but that didn't happen.  Oh well...it is what it is. 

I am on the waiting list for a vaccination at the Clinic in Detroit Lakes Minnesota...thanks Cousin Linda for sharing that information. 

So were are warm and alive and waiting on a vaccination for me...things could be worse. 

Far Side

Sundogs

 We had sundogs on Friday morning.  I took a photo out the dining room window. 

We got a phone call that our Income Taxes were done....so we decided it was an okay day ( better than next week when it will be bone chilling cold) to go to town to sign the proper papers and pay the bill.  We could cross something off our list of things to do! 

It was blowing a bit out there.  

In the morning she who sees robins first dropped off our mail and in the afternoon she dropped off venison soup!  It was delicious and had lots of carrots!!  I had it for supper, Far Guy had a small bowl of soup with his lasagna. 

Friday is usually catch up day around the house... I did some laundry, dusted and cleaned the bathroom...had a nice nap in the afternoon. 

Far Side

Hibernation

 It is turning downright cold...freeze your butt off cold....sub zero cold with horrid wind chills.  So we are hibernating at home. 

 Grocery pick up was great, just a brand swap on bread.  

Far Guy made a list for groceries...he said he may as well cook up some Seafood Gumbo.  Miracle of miracles everything he needed was available.  I am not a huge fan of Gumbo...I will have it once the day he makes it...maybe with some fresh bread!  It is one of his favorite freezer meals.

Book Club was a good discussion on the trials and tribulations of pioneer life in 1877 North Dakota;  An Untamed Land by Lauraine Snelling.  The book to read for the March meeting is My Life with Martin Luther King Jr by Coretta Scott King. 

For something new this week, I took out the cards that were a gift from Jen. 

Can you see the faint design?  It is there...it is a new kind of stamp that allows you to see the outline of the design. It is called Fadeout, no line coloring detail ink.

This one was created with Prismacolor pencils and a lot of glitter.

This one was created using Tombow watercolor markers and just a bit of glitter. 

I have some Arteza water based markers and some good old pan watercolors to try the next time I decide to play with these cards. ( Jen pre stamped ten cards for me, five different designs.)

Stay safe and warm out there! 

Far Side 

Foggy Day

 Yesterday it was foggy.  We went to town to return a new old car wrong part and ordered the correct part.  Stopped by Wally World and picked up our order from them.  

There is progress on the newest gas station in town. 

We hope it has a decent car wash.  We waited at the car wash last Thursday about 35 minutes for our turn.  When it gets below 5 degrees the car wash is closed. 

It was a dreary day.  

Back at home I made some rhubarb raspberry jam ( I like it swirled in my Greek yogurt)...delivered some jam to neighbors...a taste of summer on a dreary day.  I met the newest neighborhood dog...a Border Collie/Great Pyrenees cross by the name of Titus.  He has Border Collie coloring...and is a real friendly fluffball.  He joins Putz and Snoopy. He made Jo and I laugh with his puppy antics. 

Today we pick up our normal grocery order...always an adventure.

Far Side

Snowfolks and other stuff

 What says winter like snowfolks.

I left the red lights on the wreath...I may turn them on a time or two. 

We are supposed to get an Arctic Blast soon.  Fun...not so much.  I suppose we are overdue as our weather has been mild.  

My Mom is signed up to get her first vaccination on Friday...she is 91...Dad (94) got his at the VA and gets his second shot on Friday. 

There were some vaccines available in the area however we live in the wrong county...even though we go to that clinic and hospital....picky ..picky...picky.  The hospital in our county is only doing health care workers and nursing homes right now. 

I am crocheting wasp nests....I have two done.  They worked real good for us last summer. Each one I crochet is a bit different...and I have no pattern....perhaps I should write one! 

My paper projects... I grabbed all the loose recipes that I had printed off and shoved behind the recipe boxes...ditched the ones we didn't like and copied some to recipe cards...a few we have not tried yet so they were folded and put in the recipe box....I cringed when I did that...but I was still able to shut the box!

Made Tater Tot Hotdish for supper minus the tater tots.   I layered frozen hash browns, frozen mixed vegetables, browned hamburger and added diluted cream of chicken soup...bake for awhile ( about an hour) covered and then uncovered and  top with cheese.  I made enough so we have some freezer meals. 

Far Side

Onto February

 As we turn the calendar over we say goodbye to January.

I have fun making calendars with my own photos.

Onto February! 

Since it is someones birthday later in the month he and his new old car are the subject for February.

One month more of the Pandemic...or one month closer to a vaccination and some kind of immunity.  I am still waiting...I filled out a questionnaire from our local clinic.  No news yet.

My computer  Windows 7 is getting really wonky...and slow as molasses...I got this computer back in 2010. So I guess it is time for a new one...it has been ordered...and I hope this old one holds out until the new one gets here. 

I have been going through photo files and taking many off of my simple saves...not sure they are compatible with the new system I am getting.  It may be a real adventure. 

We ran errands in town...dropped off the taxes at the accountants, got the special gas for the new old car and went by the bank...so much for our outing.  The special gas is $3.09 a gallon. 

Steak, Salmon and salad for supper...I am not real fond of Salmon a fork full suits me fine.  The steak was excellent! 

Far Side

Yarn projects

 I took the latest shawl off the blocking mats. 

It is a beautiful burgundy/wine color.  It will go into the finished project drawer.   It is Lion Brand Amazing Lace Yarn part acrylic and part nylon and the yarn people call the color Cranberry Garland....fancy smancy color name.

As I was looking at my stash of yarn....I came across a skein of plain grey yarn...I recalled I said I would make my brothers some of the wasp nests that I made last summer. 

Remember these...they are crochet in the round...I think just a single crochet...they are stuffed with plastic grocery bags and I sealed them with Mod Podge.  I hung one near the front door of the sauna and one under the back deck...and we had no wasps last summer.  I declare them a winning idea...the idea is that the wasps think other wasps started a nest so they move on to someplace else...works for me as there is nothing quite as painful as a wasp sting.   I have one more place I could hang one...so I will make nests for awhile. 

I am also working on two other crochet projects.   Always something to finish! 

We got about 1/2 inch of snow...so I shoveled...easy outside work! 

Far Side

Looking Back

 I emptied the saddlebags where the Christmas Cards are stored.  I read them again.  Seemed like a fine thing to do as a fine mist fell outside.   It was too warm to snow. 

There were 30 photo cards.

51 Cards

31 letters, some hand written.  Many of the cards had notes inside...some people send just Christmas letters or photos.

There were 5 handmade cards

 Very talented folks. 

There was one beautiful long fold out card.

A piece of art that tells a story every year.  The picture is painted and then made into a card! 

I double checked the list.  We sent out 140 cards and heard back from  91 people.   A Christmas Greeting  is a wonderful way to reach out to long time friends and to family.  Besides that Far Guy loves getting the mail in December! 

 I used to keep all the cards and letters...then I had a whole file cabinet full.   Now I keep many of the photos...it is fun to compare them from year to year...and I keep a number of the letters especially those from family that tell about their year. I keep a few special cards. I keep everything in three ring binders.  I ordered some special page protectors that will store four 5 x 7 photographs and when they get here I will put everything away.   Another paper project for later in the week. 

We ventured out to the transfer station with our every three weeks of garbage.  The price went up it now costs $4 for a big garbage can.  I wave the money out the window ...the fellow grabs it and Far Guy and I unload and drive away.  Easy peasy.   It used to cost $3.50 so  it went up by 14% the first of the year. 

Far Side

End of the week

 Our weather is finally seasonal...chilly... but not freeze your butt off. 

This week I finished gathering all the Income Tax stuff, it is ready to go to the accountant next week...yeah me!  I also corrected all the change of addresses from Christmas in my address book....and on my computer address list....yes I keep both current.  That was my "paperwork" for the week.

Christmas decorations have been put away properly...I had them laying on the stairs and shoved through the railing upstairs... no one visits so who really cares...well I guess I do. 

I found a very old stale bag of pretzels shoved way back on the top shelf in the laundry/furnace/pantry room.   I dumped them out under the bird feeders...some squirrels liked them others ignored them...one would grab one and take off.   The next morning they were all gone...we figured a squirrel had been really busy all night long.  The next night there was a bit of moonlight shining through the clouds and I saw a deer by the bird feeders...mystery solved.  

  Far Guy is woodcarving and painting. ( I help him paint a little)

 He goes over to my brothers shop and visits his new old car...the brakes are better now...and they are working on replacing a Pinion Seal what ever that is.  Some kind of a special gas can that cannot spill has been ordered...I think it still needs a special wooden box that is strapped down...and we have to make a gas run to town these old cars need non- oxygenated gasoline and that is sold only a few places.  Who knew.  Alcohol in gasoline is the problem...it is harder on the older gas tank, fuel lines and engine. Old cars always an adventure.  

Far Side

** Daughter Jen had a Robin on her deck yesterday... A Robin in January...isn't that something!

September 4, 1916

 Last summer Far Guy's cousins Jack and Pat gave me a pretty little wedding booklet that was with some stuff that they bought for their antique shop. 

Well...anyone that knows me...knows that I am always curious.   Wouldn't someone like it as a remembrance?

The only real lead I had was the find a grave page

The couple were parents of two children.  Their son was a 19 year old Marine who was killed in Iwo Jima March 21 1945.  They also had a daughter.   All leads to return the booklet to family seemed like a dead end.  I scanned the booklet and put it up at Find A Grave at Robert and Luella's pages...they coincidentally have the same last name as Far Guys Maternal Grandparents...so they could be related...who really knows for sure.

Yesterday I got an email from a relative ( a cousin of Luella) who is thrilled to get the Wedding Booklet. 

So the mystery is solved...and the booklet will be on the way soon. 

One less thing for my daughters to discover and say "Why in the world was Mom saving this?"

Far Side

Miss Miney 2005-2021

 Miss Miney (Hermione) has been having a time with Old Dog Vestibular Syndrome.  Some days she was fine ...other days she struggled to get up and down but was still happy.  Yesterday she could not get up from a lying down position.  It was time.   Sadly she made that last trip to the Vets office in the afternoon.  

We will miss her so much.  We were lucky to be able to care for her throughout the years...instead of going to the kennel when her people had to be away she came to our house.  We loved having her visit.  Chance loved her visits.  She was just a little younger than Chance.  She would have been 16 years old this summer.  

August 2005 when she was just a little puppy she made her first visit to our house.  She is sleeping on top of an overnight bag and a pair of shoes most likely Noah's shoes. 

She was a beauty. 

She and Chance were best friends. 

Little Elvis joined the pack. 

Miss Miney was our daughter Jen's "heart dog" ...they come around only a few times in your life if you are a dog person...those dogs are the ones you always miss and remain forever in your heart. 

I am certain that Chance was happy to greet her. 

Goodbye beautiful Miss Miney.

She helped to heal our hearts a bit after Chance died. 

Run free Girlie.

Far Side

Cold

 It is cold here...start the car and wait a while cold.  Wear a scarf around your head cold and wish you had heated mittens when you go to get the mail.  I shoveled a bit in front of the garage.

Cold quiet day activities; laundry,  finishing the book I read for book club...I give it a 7 out of a 10... A Untamed Land  by Lauraine Snelling.  Of course I would have written it differently...the last parts of the book were very sad and depressing.  Guess she had a story line to finish up.  Next week is book club so I have finished in time to discuss it. 

The afternoon movie was so bad I fell asleep.  I was about to rise from my slumber to put supper in the oven...when Far Guy said "I can do it sweetheart!"  So I hunkered down to finish my nap....waking up for the news and to check on supper...Pork Chops and rice. 

I started a new to me crochet project...not sure it will turn out the way I want it to or not....time will tell.

Far Side

Seven Year Someday Project

 Believe it or not  I started the Join As You Go Afghan Project in November of 2013.  That is one advantage of a blog, you can search for just about anything!  I couldn't believe I started it that long ago!

The simple border is finally done and is on the blocking mats upstairs on my work table. . 

It is not perfect as scraps of yarn were used and 4 ply is not always 4 ply.   After it is dry I will put it away to donate someday. 

It is bright and colorful and will make a colorful addition to the foot of a twin bed or a lapghan for a wheelchair.

We had a quiet Monday...laundry and a bit of dusting for me, Far Guy ran his robot vacuum.  I took part of the Christmas Decorations down. I watched a subtitled movie based on a true story...The Intouchables.  I usually do not like subtitled movies but I enjoyed this one...I give it 8 out of 10 stars. 

Far Side

Snow Sparkles and a Recipe

 We got a little over an inch of snow.  There are seven inches at the snowstick.

It was light and fluffy...a dry snow....so it was easy to shovel. 

The snow sparkles are hard to photograph.  Everything looks so much better in the sunshine! 

My other baby brother stopped by to say hi in the afternoon.  I just opened the dining room window and let all kinds of fresh air in while I talked with him.

Supper was a old recipe from my sister.  Far Guy requested it.

Chicken in its own Gravy

3 large skinless chicken breasts cut in half.  I flour them and then put them in a baking dish with some butter in the bottom to brown Bake 350 degrees about 30 minutes turning the pieces as they brown...you can speed this up if you use the broiler. 

Then mix together 2 cups cheese ( I used shredded Co Jack), 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 can evaporated milk in a saucepan and heat it up. 

Pour over chicken and cover with foil bake about an hour.  Serve over rice.   If you don't cover it with foil the cheese sauce gets a little brown...but it still tastes good.  

You can use any cuts of chicken...without skin.  This makes six servings and freezes well.   Four servings headed for our freezer.  It is also really good over wild rice.  You can also use what ever kind of Cream soup you wish the original recipe calls for Cream of Mushroom...and I am not a fan. 

I should put dates on these recipes...I think this one is from about 1990.

Far Side

Snowy Day

 It snowed.  

We went to recycle ...our big excitement for the day. 

The sky and the snow are the same color. 

Someone waved to us on the way back...not sure who it was...perhaps a neighbor or someone that was really friendly.  We did not recognize the vehicle...but then someone may have gotten a new vehicle. 

Face it we are out of the loop.

The roads are still icy in some spots from the wind and the snow last week.  

We made Moons Over My Hammy for supper.  I make a plain omelette pile some cheese and ham over it plop it on a slice of bread...cover it with another slice of bread and  throw it is a pan to toast both sides.  Breakfast for supper.   It was one of Far Guy's requests. 

Far Guy's sister and  brother in law got the Pfizer vaccination yesterday in Indiana...and have no side effects so far.  They got their shots from their vehicle and then were directed to an area to park and wait...Jan said they were waiting to see if they would die... we asked what were they suppose to do if they had a reaction...honk the horn??

Far Side

Saturday Roundup

 Here we are at the end of another week.  My online grocery order was number 45. They keep track.  This week we were missing Yogurt.  I spent some time planning meals...Far Guy had a couple of requests. 

I waded through the Insurance and Medicare paperwork that you get in the mail...not sure why I keep them...I suppose in case I have a question. They are now shredded.  New folders were made to collect the 2021 papers. 

I am still working on the granny square lapghan...in a couple more days it will be done.  I am working on the border now.  Not sure how wide of a border I will put on it.  

I am reading the book for Book Club.  It is a good read so far.  The Untamed Land by L Snelling...about Norwegians coming from Norway and making their way to the Red River Valley in North Dakota and Minnesota.  

I am enjoying the Discovery + channels...no ads...no news...just perfect.  I watch a number of cooking shows.

Far Guy reports no horrid side effects from the vaccination...his arm was a bit stiff.  One of his infusion nurses said it is not really a vaccine...it is a protein that protects you from the virus.  She also said the Moderna is 80% effective shortly after the injection and then goes up to 95% after the second injection.  The Pfizer injection is just the opposite....begins with 15% and goes up to 95%.   Far Guy's sister and brother in law in Indiana are supposed to get their shots today.   Far Guy is a bit bugged that I do not have the shot yet...I told him that he is the important one as he has to go out to the Infusion Center once a week...I do not have to go anywhere...so I am very safe at home. 

A cheerful photo I took last year inside a grocery store. 

Our weather has turned cold...down right bitterly cold.  Normal for us in January. 

Far Side

Sharing

We share our woodcarved Christmas Ornaments with many people.    

Some times the recipient dies before Christmas and the ornament is passed on to other family members. My Cousin shared her Mom's ornament..my Aunt Anna who died in November.  Happy to see it on a tree...sad that my Aunt couldn't be here to see it.   She appreciated carvings and was a woodcarver herself....but she liked quilting and fabric  more. 

Sometimes a recipient moves half a world away. Shortly before Christmas I got this photo from Belgium! 

Jonas was the foreign exchange student that lived with Andy, Jen and Adam for almost a year.  He sent Christmas greetings and a photo of the ornament we made for him in 2019. 

I do not have a photo to share for the next ornament.  Years ago Far Guy met a gal through my blog from Washington State they both had Trigeminal Neuralgia...and became a good long distance support system for each other.  We were very surprised to get an email from her daughter telling us about a very aggressive form of cancer that took her Mom within weeks.  She said her Dad placed the ornament next to the urn that holds her ashes. 

I don't share these stories of the ornaments to make you sad.  They are a reminder that each day is a gift and should be appreciated as such.  So go out, grab the day, embrace it with gusto! 

Far Side

A Smile

 I smiled when I opened this Christmas Card. 

I thought it was just perfect. The photo is of my other baby brother's grands. 

14 was so happy with his sign that he ran with it!   As you can see it is even 7 boys and 7 girls.   It has been a joy to watch these little ones grow up. 

10 1/2 years ago there were only 7 grands  and they were so little!  This was the oldest boys (the twins) 5th birthday party back in June of 2009.

*****

Far Guy reports his arm is a bit stiff after the Moderna Vaccination...other than that he has no symptoms. 

Far Side

First Shot for Far Guy

 Far Guy got the vaccination yesterday.  He called the local VA where he usually goes in Minnesota...they had no idea when and if they would get vaccinations....so he called the VA in Fargo North Dakota and got an appointment. 

So we made the trip over.  The roads were a little icy in spots. They got a little snow overnight.

Elm Street in Fargo...when you drive down this street in the summer time it is like driving through a leafy tunnel. 

I stayed in the car...walked around it several times and stretched and had a nap.  He was out in about 40 minutes.  He reports that they could use better signage about where to go...but the Security Guards were helpful...too many people in the elevator for his liking... other than that they tried to keep Veterans about eight feet apart.  He said it was a small needle and didn't hurt...his arm is a little stiff hours later. 

I packed an EPI in his backpack...just in case we needed it. 

He got the Moderna Vaccine and has an appointment to go back for his second dose. 

No news on a vaccine for me yet, they think it will be soon... at the Clinic in town and we will be notified by phone or email.  So we wait. Being 25% done is a start.

On the way home we stopped by Burger King...they were only doing take out...which was fine with us...there was a wait...but we had lunch for lunch and supper. So we called it a date day! 

Far Side