Adulting - Ugh!

A week away from home was a very welcome break in the routine. I really enjoyed having others direct my day, feed, and entertain me. It was great not having much responsibility other than for myself for a few days. Now that I'm back home, I'm still recovering from camp's frenetic activity.

After breakfast yesterday I went back to bed and mindlessly watched YouTube videos on a variety of subjects. I had a couple of errands to run which I forced myself to do then scurried back home to my 'cocoon'. 

This morning I had a call to make then puttered around here. After lunch I headed out to pick up a few things only to find the pharmacy hadn't received the prescription refill order from my doctor that I had called earlier. I called the doctor again but the office was closed so I left a message for them to please fax the order to my pharmacy so the prescription could be refilled. I then did some shopping and went home. 

I made a Chefs Plate meal which was very yummy and added a cob of corn as a side. 

I usually make both servings and freeze the extra one for another meal. This order had 8 potatoes, which were way more than I needed in addition to the red pepper, onion, and zucchini. I only used 4 of the potatoes and still the mixture completely covered the cookie sheet I baked them on. I still only ate about a third of the veggies that were prepared, plus the fresh, sweet corn. My version:

I didn't cut the veggies exactly like the recipe called for and buried my meatballs in the garlic dill sauce. Yummo! 

After supper, I had an online meeting then had to whip over to Poppy's to take her birthday gifts. I'm heading to a cottage tomorrow for two days (one night) so won't be here for the auspicious day tomorrow. Our stitcherly 'gang' will celebrate her birthday at brunch on Sunday at a local eatery.

The big task that had been hanging over my head and that I accomplished while out today was to buy yet another range hood to complete my kitchen renovation. Initially the plan was to have a microwave oven over the stove with the built-in range hood, but it hung down too low over my gas stove so I exchanged it for a range hood. The one I ordered was backordered for over a month, then a couple of weeks went by before the installer cold come to put it in. When we held it up to the spot, I didn't like how far it stuck out over the stove and how deep the unit was below the cupboard above the stove so I returned it and decided to get a more appropriate one elsewhere. Then I went away last week and did nothing about getting another one.

Long story short, I have ordered one that still sticks out farther than I liked but is shallower. It's stainless steel to match the fridge and stove, has LED lights, and the filters are mesh metal and can be washed in the dishwasher. It is not returnable so it better be right. It is being delivered on Saturday. Then it'll be another couple of weeks before the installer can come and put it in. This will involve cutting into the bottom of the new cupboard above the stove to connect it to the vent that goes outdoors. So that will be the last week of this month. As of right now, I don't have too much on the calendar for next week. Yay! All this running around is a lot for me right now. 

Tomorrow, I want to get an early start for my 2.5h drive to my friend's cottage just north of Wasaga Beach. It will be nice to visit with Sue (another long-time friend and sorority sister from my university days) and her daughter, Erin. Sue and I have kept in touch all these years. Early on we'd carpool to our weekend retreat with some of our other Gamma Phi Beta friends. We have been through a LOT of life events together. I remember at our weekend 'retreats' in our late 20s and early 30s we speculated that we'd still be getting together when we were senior citizens. And here we are - still getting together.

Another thing I spent a ridiculous amount of time on last night was deciding to buy the crochet pattern for the Persian Tiles afghan. I'd been eyeing it online for a while and had the opportunity to buy a kit at Mary Maxim in Paris (ON) last month but the colourways weren't really grabbing me. So last night I did a search on Ravelry for ones other folks had done and came across a colour variation by Lucia Dunn.

So I bought a .pdf of the pattern from Jane Crowfoot and the variation formula from Lucia Dunn. 

Then next task was to decide what DK yarn I would choose. Someone on Ravelry had used Michaels' Impeccable Solid DK. My local Michaels had all the colours and quantities I needed but the balls only have 50g and the called for Stylecraft DK yarn comes in 100g balls. Also the Michaels yarn was more expensive even for the 50g balls. I went on the LoveCrafts website and found all the Stylecraft DK yarns I needed and even with $14 CAD shipping from Berkshire England, it will be less expensive than buying it all from Michaels. So the order is in and Canada Post should deliver it within about 10 days. 

The octagons are quite intricate but there are several videos online which will guide me through the process for the octagons, granny squares, and both kinds of triangles (side and corner). Also the pattern has line by line instructions and big charts to follow. I have the hooks ready to start as soon as the order comes in. 

3.5mm, 4mm, and 4.5mm (depending on what shape is being worked on)

Only one colour wasn't available from LoveCrafts. Michaels offers several DK yarns but I needed a light DK (3) rather than a regular DK (4). I did the math and Patons Astra is a light DK and almost exactly the correct weight as the Stylecraft. I also may make the afghan bigger depending on how much yarn is left over after doing the required blocks. Each octagon has 10 or 11 colours so I will be mastering burying the yarn ends as I go. There are additional instructions available for the outer border so I'll probably need to use more Astra yarn for that.

Poppy and Barb have afghan projects on the go, well UFOs, actually, from two years ago, so maybe I'll inspire them to get going on them again. 

Now I must throw some things together to take to the cottage and head to bed. I'd like to be out of here by 8am tomorrow at the latest.