Knitting Project - Hat

I finished another knitting project! The pattern was called "Awesome Toboggan (Worsted)" and I chose the option for the turn-up brim. I got the pattern from my friend Rebecca who took the class last summer (I had to miss that class because I was out of town). There weren't any stitches in the pattern that were new to me so it was a pretty simple project. I used circular needles for most of it and then double pointed needles to gradually close it off at the top. The yarn I used is 100% Baby Llama from Peru because it's so soft. It is hand wash or dry clean only.

Hat with brim turned up:

Alisa loves her new hat. She wore it much of the day (indoors, because it's hot outside). She can maybe wear it in the evenings in Colorado this summer, but other than that we will have to put it away for fall/winter. It fits her and there is plenty of room for her to grow in it. Hooray!

Open Windows and Doors

I love this time of year because we don't need the heater or air conditioner. We stopped using the heat in February when we left town for a month. And we haven't turned the air conditioner on yet. In the mornings and evenings, it's usually cool so we open the doors and windows and let the cool breeze blow through. That, plus the ceiling fans is all we've needed so far. There have been a couple of days here and there where it was pretty hot in here (especially the 3rd floor) as it was 85 degrees outside with no breeze, but we've survived. We'll see how much longer we can go like this. We may have to turn it on soon because Alisa's room (on the 3rd floor) gets really hot. We put a 2nd fan in there the other day but she still wakes up from naps with a sweaty head.

Deer

I was getting a wet rag to wash Alisa's face after breakfast when I saw deer out the back window of my sister's house in Oregon where we've been visiting for nearly a month. She lives in an awesome neighboorhood with lots of trees and common green spaces between houses where anyone can walk or play. I called to those who were awake in the house--Alisa, my nephews Michael and Daniel and my mom (who just arrived last night for a visit)--to come see the deer. More and more deer entered my view--I think there were 6 or 7 in all. They slowly made their way down the common area behind my sister's house as we took pictures of them with my mom's camera. I didn't get any pictures with my camera because the battery was being charged and I figured by the time I retrieved it, the deer would be gone and I would have missed seeing them so long.

Dirty Dog

Our dog LOVES to run outside and splash in the creek behind our house. We hose her off and dry her with a towel before letting her come back in the house but apparently she's still pretty dirty. Here is a dirty spot on the wall from her frequently rubbing her back on it to scratch herself. There is a spot like this on each landing of our staircase and here at the bottom of the stairs outside our bedroom--ew! Lucky for us, it wipes off easily.

Stain Remover

I accidentally sat on plate of hot Bagel Bites a few days ago. I had set it in my office chair upstairs and put my drink on the desk in what little open space there was (reason I couldn't put the plate on the desk). I turned to move something from my desk and was then distracted by Alisa who came into the room. It was then that I sat on the plate. Oh nooooooo!

I immediately took off my pants and wiped off the cheese and sauce on the butt and upper leg areas. I put Shout Ultra Gel on the stain and washed them. That Shout has worked for nearly all other stains our clothes have had over the years but it didn't work on these (the circular grease spots were still there). I read online that spraying WD-40 on a stain and then rubbing Dawn dishwashing liquid on top of that and then washing as usual would work. I tried that but it didn't work. It seemed to rearrange the stain--some spots were gone but others appeared and others were larger.

So then I bought OxiClean Max Force today and sprayed it on the stain and washed the pants again. It completely removed the stain! I am SO relieved because the pants are fairly new and are my favorite (comfy exercise pants). To show you how distraught I was after the first two stain removal attempts didn't work, I went to Kohl's to see if they were still selling the pants so I could buy another pair (they were not). Thank God for OxiClean! Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the process.