Insinkerator

   Bill tried snaking it and got a some out, but it still wasn't quite working.  There were still leaks, but less so, and it was draining really slowly.  It was time to call in a professional.

  The guy showed up bright and early yesterday and ended up staying for about three hours.  It wasn't quiet work.

  He had to keep going deeper and deeper to get the whole clog out.  He had pieces he could attach to the end of his snake to make it longer.  Each piece looked to add another six feet and he had to put on 6 more pieces.  It could be heard in the basement vibrating the walls.

  He replaced the pipes and so far everything is working.  Tank is glad to be getting his wet food in the morning again.  I'm glad that when we want to eat anything we don't need to worry about dirtying a dish.

  Today Bill cut some new wood for the under-sink area.  He was thinking of staining it, but I also have a mat to put down, so you won't really see it and water shouldn't get to it anyway.  Things are back under there with a few less items, and hopefully everything will be happy for a while.

  I tried making one of those looped together headbands I've been seeing a lot of on TikTok.  I wanted to make it a cowl, so I made it a bit longer and tried to seam it so that it didn't have a front and a back.  I was sort of successful, but not as much as I wanted.  One side looks a bit off, but it doesn't look as bad as the wrong side of a seam would look.  I'm going to try another one and see if I can make it a bit better.

  I've finally started the brioche hat I mentioned before.  The one that has the same pattern as the blue one, but we will see if it works better with a different yarn.  So far I think it does, but on the body of the hat is where we will really be able to tell.

Christmas Time is Here!

   Tank got two of his presents today.  He really liked his new salmon bursting treats and he also got to go outside and eat some grass.  I wanted to get him some crinkle balls, but I wasn't able to find any.  Luckily he doesn't understand Christmas and I can give them to him later.

  My mom likes making these branch gnomes.  She had some troubles finding the branches this year, but we all got there in the end.

  The spread for the lunch.  Rolls, stuffing, Korean sweet potatoes, bacon wrapped brussel sprouts, pork loin, cranberry sauce, stuffed green olives, ranch pickles, and Muldy Apple drink (a drink I saw on Quincy’s Tavern's TikTok).  There was also wine and beer, it was very good.

  All the presents!  Everyone got something they will use/eat/drink.  It was fun and I always think it's the best part to find fun things that other people will like.

  I was blessed!  Nezumi used to sleep laying on top of me, but since I've moved out, I've become a stranger.  She's also 17 years old and might be having a hard time with memory.  She demanded some pork loin and after we were done opening presents she waited for someone to sit down so she could take a nap.  She even let Bill pet her some once she had a full tummy.

  After all that we went to meet some of the Popcorn Gang and watch a movie.  It was a good day.

Pre-New Year's Resolution

Pattern: Make Your Own Granny Square Sweater by TopKnot's Trunk - Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Chip - Hook: 6mm

  I finished this a while ago and just hadn't gotten around to taking a picture until right now.  There is no real reason why it took me so long to take the picture or to post about it.  In fact, I have about three posts, not including this one, that I have started and never went back to.  They are just fine and I have no reason to not work on them, other than I don't have a finished project to show.

  I need to work on that.  There is nothing wrong with showing progress pictures, I've done it a lot in the past.  The new year isn't too far off, but I am going to try and implement this before that happens.  I don't know if I will manage to do that or not, I have a cowl that I need to take out because both my gauge isn't working and I cast on too many stitches.  The couch blanket has also gotten no love lately.  I need to get excited about it again.

  This year I spent more time at home, so I didn't find as many random things during the summer months for people as I have in the past.  I don't think anyone will be disappointed in any way though, there is some high quality stuff in that box.

  There have been some other things that no one on here has gotten to hear about.  Our garbage disposal had stopped working a while ago.  We were able to make it work with a sink plunger for quite a good chunk of time.  However, when I was rinsing out Tank's food bowl, it gave three big bubbles and got stopped up.  Bill was able to get a new disposal and was trying to get it installed, but it didn't want to cooperate.  It didn't help that we had to flip almost every breaker to get the old disposal to lose power.  It was labeled as Basement on the left panel.  There was then a lot of leaking and it didn't help that the wood under our sink has been bad since before we moved in.

  We are really close to it working though, so things are looking up.  Now it's time to go to bed so Santa can show up and bring Tank the rest of his presents.

Friendsgiving aka Tanksgiving

 

  It took a bit of moving things around, but we got The Chosen One to fit into the refrigerator.  I sent this to everyone who was coming to the big event to get everyone excited.

  Bill smoked the turkey this year.  This photo is curtesy of Shane because I was still getting Ryan when it came out of the oven.  It does most of the cooking in the smoker and is finished in the oven.

  Bill smoked the turkey (as seen above), and also made cranberry sauce, gravy, and yeast rolls.  J-Dub made the mashed potatoes.  Shane brought some King's Hawaiian Rolls and made two kinds of stuffing.  I joked that I brought Ryan.  We all ate way too much and had to sit around before we had the apple pie and/or pumpkin pie that Shane also brought.

  Once we were a bit more out of our food comas, J-Dub went home and the rest of us played Just Dance until we were too tired.  We even got Bill to play a few songs.  After that we watched random YouTube videos until it was time for people to either go home or find a place at our house to crash for the night.

  It was a lot of fun and I was worried about finding space for everyone, but we would have been fine.  A few people ended up not being able to make it, but I think we would have been able to fit them in.

  Tank was a bit weirded out by so many people being over, but he was being okay for it.  There was some pacing, but he didn't try and jump on the table or anything.  He got grumpy when we were playing Just Dance, but he does that when I play it alone.  I don't know why he is so against dancing.

  I then got to spend my Black Friday the way I like to, eating cold turkey dipped in ketchup and not dealing with people in stores.

Laptops, am I right?

   I don't remember if I posted about the time I ran over my laptop bag with my work laptop in it.  But I got the screen fixed and everything was fine.  After a few months I go to sit down to get some work done and it won't power on.  I thought I had forgotten to plug it in, so I checked that.  The brick's light came on, but nothing on the computer.  I ordered another one in case that was the problem and it didn't work.  Luckily I'm pretty good at backing up everything.

  I didn't mention that when I got my order of business cards for work, I also got some Toyota car parts.  The bottom of the box looked like it had opened and was taped back up.  VistaPrint had no idea about it, so I contacted FedEx.  I got a few numbers to call and eventually got to talk to someone who could help me out.  She said to put them back in a box and that they would pick it up, do some research, and see if they can figure out who the car parts were supposed to go to.  I got a call the day after they picked them up by a very confused guy.  Seems they didn't let anyone know what was happening.  He was confused and thought he was supposed to send them back to VistaPrint.  I told him that I was told that his end would do some research and see who might have filled a claim for a missing shipment of a Toyota Front Left & Right Outer Tie Rod Ends, since VistaPrint didn't add them.  He agreed that that would make sense and thanked me for helping to clear his confusion.

  We were able to meet inside at the Church, so Carola decided to come.  She's been a busy little bee while we were apart.  They are all so cute and it's really fun to look at all the little details.  They make me want to make more huggable things.

Look, Cookies!!

 

 Was hoping to tell you about the fun I had at the Renaissance Faire, but we kept missing out on tickets.  I was also hoping to show off some finished projects, but other things keep getting in the way of me working on them.  So instead, here are some cookies to distract you.

  We actually ran into someone from the Wednesday group and she said she could never get into the online meeting.  My mom and I told her that we are there most Wednesdays and she said that she might join us next week.

  The guy who takes our orders and the manager at Santini's both keep asking when the group is coming back.  Which is interesting since I heard the other tale.  I don't know who is right, probably a bit of both.

  Work is starting to pick up, but I'm going to make it my mission to work on something a little bit every day.  That way I can get some things done.

 

It Looks Like Ice Cream

Pattern: Waves of Hope Hat by LJM Designs - Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Chip - Needle: US 6

  I decided to make another one, using the right weight of yarn.  I like how the yarn pooled and made it look like there were long runs of the same color.  I now want to make one with beads on the yarn over gaps.

Pattern: Wheat by Tin Can Knits, Yarn: Red Heart Stripes in Icy Pond

  I didn't know how it would turn out with the variegated yarn, but I wanted to try this pattern with this yarn.  This was the yarn I lost before the trip to Glacier.  I was nervous about how the pooling would look, but I had a feeling, and it looks really cool.  It's also very interesting how a slight change in gauge makes the one part have a completely different pattern.  I'm not overly worried about skein changes, I won't be measuring some out to make sure I'm at the exact same point in a color shift, I'm okay with just letting it happen the way it does.  Maybe we will get some new fun color pooling patterns.

  I'm also using a Fisherman's Rib instead of the 1x1 ribbing the pattern calls for.  The garter stitch squishes down on itself, I thought the ribbing would pucker because those rows wouldn't do that.  I know that makes this a bit less of a beginner pattern, but I like how it's turning out and I apparently want more brioche in my life.

  Last Friday/Saturday was the first time I got to yell things at a screen while The Rocky Horror Picture Show played and people I know run around a theater in a long time.  Ryan found a place in Manassas that we could use.  Bill offered the use of his truck to help take the props from the University Mall theater to The Salisbury Center.  This place is really interesting.  They have boxing matches, there is a bar, and they have other shows.  I suggested we eat at The Philadelphia Tavern before the show, since I've been wanting to go there for a bit now.  Everyone who went seemed to really like it.

  The comedy show went long, so then the country music band went long, so we didn't get to start moving things until after we had been promised.  There also weren't stairs to get on and off the stage from the front, but the owner let us use some speakers as stairs.  It wasn't the best, but it worked.  Bill got adopted by the props people and helped on that during the whole show.

  The show was really good.  There were some imperfections, but when no one has really done this in a year and a half, that's to be expected.  They also didn't get to practice the show on the stage beforehand.  When they started to work on blocking, the people who worked at the location started to let the audience in.  The sound on the movie cut out twice, but some people were yelling the movie while others continued to yell callbacks.

  In a very Rocky tradition, we went to IHOP after the show.  Our waiter had recently been in a car accident and had a concussion.  They were also understaffed for as many people as they had, so the waitress who was helping the other table ended up bringing us our drinks, and it was her first day.  It was all just kind of crazy and we had been sat in a very cold corner.  Not the best, but it was nice to keep hanging out with some of the people after.

  I am definitely looking forward to the Transylvanian Concubines getting to be back at University Mall, but it might also be fun to go back to The Salisbury Center again, especially since they now know what to expect and we know what to expect.

Mukbangs

 

  Tank for scale.  I stopped working on it for a while because I now have two projects that are 3 double crochet clusters.  It is currently 75" on long side with short side being 11.5", I figured this would make it easier to figure out when I'm done, I just have to measure the short side.  I'm not sure how wide to make it, possibly another ten inches.

  I've been watching a lot of the mukbang style videos made by tzuyang쯔양.  She eats a lot, but she seems to really enjoy all of it.  She also likes going to small restaurants and some even say that she brings in more business after she puts out the video about them if she goes back.  She donates some of the money she gets from YouTube ads to charities and some of the places insist on not charging her, but she insists on paying because of how much she ate.  One lady kept refusing to accept any money, so Tzuyang went to the market and got her high quality meat to use in her restaurant.

  A few warnings though.  If you don't like seeing people eat, you definitely won't like her videos.  There usually aren't a lot of eating sounds, like some other channels have, but there is some.  She also makes everything look good and there is a good chance you will become very hungry from watching her eat.  It is a lot of fun to see people doubt her when she is ordering and then get really impressed by her.  Some people also recognize her and don't bat an eye if she orders 4-8 servings of food at a time.

  Crumbl changes their flavors every week.  Well, the Milk Chocolate Chip is always there, but the other five change.  This week it's Banana Bread, Waffle, Old Fashioned Doughnut, Cereal Milk Sandwich ft. Pebbles®️ Cereal, Milk Chocolate Chip, and Classic Sugar Cookie.  The cereal was somehow still crispy when I got mine.  I also love how they give you some syrup with the waffle.  I was excited to try the classic doughnut, but they were out when I went.

  I wasn't even going to go this week, but I think I earned them.  Mowing the lawn had been on Bill's to-do list for a while, but things kept happening to distract him from doing it.  I told him I could try it, but I've never done it before.  I don't know if he believed me on if I would actually try it or not.

  Some of the grass shoots were to my waist, so I grabbed some ear protection and gave it a shot.  I wish the handle could me moved lower because it gets to be in awkward angles when trying to push it up bumpy hills.  I ran over a turtle too.  Luckily, he was in a dip and we have the blades up fairly high.  In the end we were both scared and uninjured.

Happy Birthday!

  This happy little boy just turned 9!  I had a bunch of plans for him for his birthday, but they didn't all happen.  We slept in and snuggled for a while.  I then mixed some of his gel treat into his breakfast and we were going to go outside once he was done.  Our timing was off because the Evil Beep-Beep Trucks (garbage or recycling truck) were coming through, later than usual.  While waiting for them to leave I got a payment for my eBay sale, so I was packing that really quickly.  I was gluing the label on when we both jumped from a huge rumble of thunder.

  While it was pouring outside, we watched some YouTube on the big TV and had some lap time.  We then played with the laser pointer.  I've had to click on the flashlight part a few times because he's starting to stare at the pointer.

  While there are times where he rips papers I'm using or scratching up the whole house, he's a very good boy.  He gets really excited when someone gets home, he has to do circles on the bed at night because he wants to snuggle both of us.  He wants to get pets from strangers and loves to rub against Miss Jackie's house.  He wants to smell everything you are eating or drinking, and will try and steal your grated hard cheese.  For some reason he loves to smell people's heads and faces.  It's also a requirement for him to dramatically grab at doorways if he is being carried through them.  Everyone loves his "puppy-dog tail" and his little meow.  Chest scratches will sometimes lead to a lot of drool.  It's a good time for everyone when he tries to catch his tail when on his scratching post.  He will practically knock the phone out of your hand because he knows you could be petting him with it instead.

  I know he loves being spoiled and the only fur-baby, but some day we are going to get him the live-in four legged buddy he wants.

Another Wedding

   It was time to go to another wedding.  This was supposed to have happened last year, but Covid put a damper on those plans.  Even though the plan had been to have it in the field behind their house the whole time, they knew people would want to be able to gather and talk.  There are also a lot of high-risk people in their friend groups.

  Everything was simple, but perfect.  They didn't want presents, so they asked everyone to bring something to eat.  There was a nice mix of foods from different parts of the world.  There was some smoked pork, lumpia, bacon crackers, fried chicken, and I made crack.

  The cake they picked out was a fluffy chocolate one with strawberries.  I'm picky about my chocolate cake and this one was nice.  They are such a cute couple and I'm so glad I've met them.

  I met Neil and Shane because of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Bill and I went enough that we got invited to the bonfires at Neil's place.  I know Toni and Neil will live a very happy life together.

Rumors and Cookies

  I heard something interesting, though I don't know if it is true or not.  It seems Santini's didn't really want us back.  I was told it was because one of the employees wanted to go home early and she couldn't finish cleaning her section because we were there.  At that time they were open until 10pm and most of us left at 9pm.  We never complained when we didn't get the section we normally used or when they cleaned up the tables around us.  We also tried to get all of our trash cleaned up, even if it was made by someone else in the group.  The manager didn't stay until close, but it seemed she was telling tales about us to make us look bad.  Seems silly to turn away guaranteed money since most of us bought dinner there, but not much to do about it.  So we are looking for a new place, which can be tricky.  We want somewhere that can let us sit as a large group easily, has good lighting, and serves food.

  Amanda from my bank came a few weeks ago.  We were talking when I went to deposit my work check.  She thought my mask had bones on it but then thought they were nails.  I told her they were knitting needles so then we started talking and it turned out she crochets.  I left but then was kicking myself that I didn't mention the local meet up.  I then got brave and went back in and mentioned the Reston Stitch'n'Bitch.  I was worried that I didn't give her good information and that she had no contact information for me, but she got it.

  The couch blanket is slowly coming along.  I had to take a few rows out because it wasn't long enough for Bill to throw some over his shoulder and also have his feet be covered.  One of the skeins was thicker and more dense feeling, but I don't think it's noticeable.  It is 64" long and I've already used 11 skeins.  I bought a bunch the last time I was at Michel's, but don't know if I will have enough, though I plan on working through what I have before getting more.

  Since the Delta varient is starting to spread around in my area, knit-night was cancelled.  Earlier I got a notification on my news app that a new cookie shop opened near me back on Friday the 13th.  This seemed like a good time to get cookies.  Crumbl Cookies is an interesting shop.  They tell you what temp each one should be served at.  Some are better cold and others are better warm.

  This week they had: Confetti Cake, Honey Bun, Buckeye Brownie, Orange Creamsicle, Classic Sugar, and Milk Chocolate Chip.  They have mini cookies for catering jobs.

  They have the big mixers right behind the registers.  The space might have not been totally ideal for them, but they are making it work really well.

  There were a lot of employees getting everything done.  This meant that even though when we walked in the line was all the way to the door, everyone got processed quickly.

  There is also the option to check yourself out.  We got the six pack, which meant that we could easily get one of each.  Most of the cookies weren't too sweet, so it made it easier to try more of them in one sitting.  The Buckeye Brownie was a bit too much for me.  Confetti Cake and Honey Bun were my favorites.

Home Again?

  My legs are tired so the walk to check out of the resort was harder than it should have been.  We could have called for a cart to come get us, but figured that we would be sitting enough today.

  Got to see a hummingbird as we were in our van ride to the airport.  Our driver's best friend lives in Maryland.  It was interesting seeing the same keychains that I got for 75 Pesos ($3.73 USD) in town being sold for $9 USD at the airport.

  Bill wanted to know if I wanted to eat there or wait until our layover in Chicago.  I got used to eating earlier than normal, so we went to Guy Fieri's Kitchen + Bar and I got some fresh guacamole made at the table.  These chips were really thick and made it more like a meal.

  It seems that Mexico didn't want Bill to leave.  It's fine with me leaving.  First I was checked in, and he was my optional travel companion.  Then the kiosk didn't want to let him pay for his seat.  When we were trying to board his ticket said Invalid Flight when it was first scanned.  It was also sunny when we got on the plane but started to rain when Bill sat down in his seat and buckled his belt.

  It was a really good thing we got in to Chicago early because the buses were running behind.  Turns out we had to go to another building entirely.  We got our bags and handed them back over to security and headed out to get in line to go to the other building.  It didn't move for a good long while and we were starting to get a bit worried.  We were in the second bus and the first took forever to unload at the first gate.

  We got through security again and double checked our gate, though there was some confusion as to who was checking IDs and tickets.  There was some fast walking (sort of, my legs were hurting) and Bill kept saying that we weren't going to make it, but I kept saying that we were going to.  It hurt, but we made it.  I ended up taking off my shoes because they were sliding when I was trying to walk quickly and it was making it even harder.  I need better shoes if we are going to have a connecting flight in case the universe decides we need to hurry through an airport again.

  It was a bit of a bummer that I didn't get a window seat and the guy next to me wanted to sleep instead of have the window open for take off.  He did look a bit like Pat from Bumfuzzle.  For the landing he had the window open.

  While waiting for my mom to get us we saw a VW with smoke coming out from under the hood.  I was so worn out and ready for bed, and Tank was very glad to see us.  Unpacking will have to wait because it's time to fall into bed.

Biking into Town

  We took a short bike ride into town.  The first stop was at the Little Market and I spend most of the allotted time petting a sweet cat.  We think some of the people also live in their shops because we could see beds in the back room.

  Bill asked what I wanted from the market and I said the cat.  It was then time to bike around town, there were some places for sale along the way.  I wish I had brought the GoPro because the town was so cute.  There was even an old VW bus/van for sale.

  I got a few souvenirs at the second stop and tried to find the Geocache.  No luck for that.  On the way back we saw a nasua.

  I was worried that my calves were feeling tired and I wouldn't be able to do it, but the bike ride worked a different set of muscles, so I was okay.  My legs were hurting near the end, but I made it.  Fergie (our bike tour leader) told us we are here during the 40 hottest days of the year.

  After a quick lunch we sat near the pool, but not in it.  There was a large thunder storm rolling in when we sat down.  It was fun to watch all the lighting and to watch the people scramble out of the pool after the first bolt.

  During the storm the breeze was almost chilly.  Al made the joke with one of the bingo people by saying "I don't speak Spanish, I only speak English" in Spanish.  It took the guy a second.

  It's so nice that such a big group is here (82 people) because almost anywhere you go you're going to find someone you know.

  Tonight was the largest group I was in for dinner.  There were 13 of us.  At El Alcazar I got the lobster cream soup, raw and baked tuna with some olives, calamarata with arrabiata sauce and squid, and ended with the vanilla Joconde cake with mango cream and raspberry puree.

  The people with the black wrist bands get one bottle off the special blank-band list per day.   Since they hadn't used it yet, we ordered the most expensive wine off the list.

  Stopped by the Abria to make sure to say 'bye' to as many people as we could before having to fly out tomorrow.  On the way back to the room we saw a momma and baby kitty getting drinks out of the pool.  They were more wild and didn't want anything to do with me, but I did try and say hi to them.

Filled with Fish

  Had to get up early to get our Covid tests.  It wasn't at the Health Center in the middle of the resort, it was at the Family Center near the marina.  I know I had seen the building but I couldn't remember where and we had to ask a few people before one knew what we were talking about.  There was nothing with the right label on the map they gave us, on the map it is called Harbor Master.

  The swab at home for the test wasn't too bad, I feel like they took a brain sample with this one.  They also only took it on one side, so I felt unbalanced for a while.  A dirty monkey definitely helped.

  Some of the people from our group had their appointment right after ours and we waited for them and we all went to breakfast.  The server kept trying to get people to add things to their coffee and said it was his specialty when someone people asked about Kahlua or Bailey's.  When he brought the double shots he said that Santa was here and bringing presents.

  More pool lounging while hanging out with people, some of the time spent smoking some cigars.  The cigar guy would take quick cat naps when people were not shopping.  That was smart.  It was just so nice to be able to hang out with the various groups of people in the water and watch the birds fly around.  The frigate birds were my favorite, though I did really like the small brown/black ones because of their loud cries.

  We had dinner at La Marina.  Shown is the bread with olive oil or vinegar, squid rings with Cajun and paprika, the mahi mahi fillet with garlic accompanied with roasted vegetables and basil risotto, and the miserable cake with tamarind sauce.  Not shown was the food that the kids ate a few bites of and didn't want the rest of.  They were then offered for anyone to eat.  I had some of the tuna steak, the linguini with mushroom cream and shrimp, and the shrimps alla Romana.  I was way too full and had a bit of a waddle to my walk on the way back.

Wedding Day

   I asked the lady at the fruit section at breakfast what the new fruit I like is called.  I thought she said something like "lyara" but couldn't find it in a search.  Tried some more spellings and I think she said "pyara" which is a guava.  I didn't know guavas came in so many colors and options.  It is either a yellow guava or a honey guava.

  I'm amused by the fact that at breakfast they probably just take the label and the lids off the juices, but they look so cute and kitschy.  Just a little bottle of juice.  The honeydew juice was my favorite.

  Some people had to spend most of the morning getting ready, but since I'm not anyone important, Bill and I lounged around.  This is where I got sunburnt.  I went out too early without waiting long enough for the sunscreen to soak in before getting into the water.  A sun-shirt would have been really nice and smart, I'll know for next time.

  The weather wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze the whole time.  It was also slightly overcast so it wasn't super bright and a bit cooler.  The one they were supposed to use was closed and while we were closer to where the resort dumps the extra seaweed, the breeze worked in our favor and the smell was hardly noticeable to me.

  They had a few extra bits to the ceremony.  They did the mixed sand, a small handfasting, and a wine box with notes in there telling the other why they married them.  The notes were to be read 5 years from now (or sooner in case of distress).  It was all very sweet.

  Refreshing drinks during cocktail hour and some finger food.  There was fried shrimp, beef puff things, empanadas, and meat with cheeses.  The orange drink is a Sex on the Beach, and I'm not sure what the other was but it had some cucumber in it.  It was a warm walk to the marina but not as bad as it had been some of the days previously.

  I don't even remember what all I got for food, but it tasted great.  There was a shrimp Cesar salad, a traditional Mexican soup, steak with veggies, and a custard tasting dessert.

  The employees were smart and brought some of the mosquito repellent lotion, but there were so many I still got eaten up.  I don't think Bill got many bites, but the bugs love me anyway.  Barb is the same way, so we could commiserate.

  The first dances were elegant, the food was delicious, and the music was fun to dance to.  A lot of us were on the dance floor until 10pm when they turned the music off.  I didn't go to the after party because my right foot had a bit of a rash starting and I was tired.  Bill went and had some fun.  It was a really great wedding overall and I had a great time.