Tomorrow

Tomorrow we are off to Germany. Our plane leaves St. Louis at 1:00 pm. Then it will have 18 hours of traveling. We have an hour layover in Atlanta then another one for 5 hours in Baltimore.

I finished the Diamond Necklace Cowl I was knitting . I would post a picture but I am on my iPad and can't figure out how to get a picture from the album to this blog. Very frustrating .

I wasn't able to publish this on the 18th due to poor internet connectivity.

We made it to Germany in one piece yesterday 12/20/13. The flight was good and the connections weren't bad at all. No long waits in the airport. Reggie made it through with flying colors. I was worried that traveling would freak him out a lot, but he is back to his usual self.

We bought a small Christmas Tree at the BX today. It's really small but we don't need anything big this year. I was looking through the gifts Catie and I bought for Don and we only bought Christmas presents. I thought we bought birthday presents also but it seems we didn't. Now Catie and I have to go to the BX on Monday and get them. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

TLF

The movers have come and gone. The apt has been cleared and the keys handed in. So we are officially homeless.

TLF (Temporary Living Facilities) is nice. We moved in on Monday and had to change units on Tuesday because the heating went out. After several calls to maintenance they finally moved us. Poor Reggie was completely freaked out with the move from the apt to TLF then he really freaked out when we put him in the crate to move him to the new unit. It only lasted for about 2 hours then he came out from hiding covered in dust.

Don's two sisters, brother-in-law and mother came and had lunch with us today. They traveled in the snow to have one last lunch with us before we move. It went much better than I thought it would. Not as many tears.

 

 

Here's Reggie lounging in one of the dressers in the master bedroom.

 

Only four more days until we leave for Germany.

Packing

The movers are here and packing the house up as I type. It's a strange to have perfect strangers go through your stuff. They will wrap almost everything in paper. They will take items out of boxes and wrap the items. Things that are secret will no longer be secret. I am having my Spinning Wheel, Woolie Winder and Lazy Kate listed as handle with care. My wheel is very old and the winder is very expensive. The Lazy Kate is hard to find especially the type I have.

We are settled into temporary housing. Reggie seems to be adjusting well enough. When we are out of the house we have to put him in his kennel. The cleaning crew comes everyday and they don't want to risk a pet getting out of the unit. So he goes into the kennel every time we leave and when we get back he hides behind the washing machine for about an hour and a half.

We are taking Catie to school every day and to get back on base is a bit of a bear. The line to get on base is very long. The line does move quickly but it still takes a long time to get through because of the volume of cars trying to get on base for work. Picking her up from school should prove interesting. There is always a long line to pick up kids. This line doesn't go fast because the parents are waiting for their kids to come out and it could take awhile for them to get to their lockers to put their books away then head for the door.

This is Reggie relaxing on Caite's bed last night. He meowed all night after he came out from hiding. I hope this move isn't too hard on him. After this he has about 24 hours in the kennel until we get to Germany.

Sweater Progress

I finished the left front of my cardigan. It was some what of a mystery. The instructions are a little confusing. I had to have my friend, Bridgette, the knitting goddess, help me out. We finally slugged through the confusion and figured it out. I went home and got through it. Now I am beginning on the right side of the cardigan. Hopefully I can remember what I did. I won't be able to go to Bridgette's for help because I will be in Germany. Speaking of Germany, only 14 more days until we leave. My stomach starts to flip-flop when I think about it now. I am starting to second guess myself. Is this a good thing moving? Will it turn out okay and more importantly can I find a yarn shop that has a knitting group I can join with out much of a language barrier? It's too late to turn back now.

Reggie is batting a Christmas bow around the house. He has found the wrapping bag that is in the closet. I am trying to get a picture of him carrying it but he drops it just as I get my camera ready.

 

I did manage to get a couple of pictures of him with it that weren't blurry. This bow will probably keep him busy for hours which is a good thing. With him busy I know he isn't eating or destroying anything important. He always seems to know what papers we need and what ones we don't. One time he ate Catie's home work and another time he ate one of her letters of references that her teachers had given her. Luckily she was able to get a copy of it. The drivers manual that I had to study to get my drivers license in Germany has most of its pages chewed on.

This morning we had a couch sectional delivered. It's for a friend of ours who is already in Germany. We are putting it in our household goods since we will not even come close to our weight limit. It's a nice leather sectional with a chase on one side.

I went through the cupboard and tossed the items that were open and that we weren't going to take to TLF. Some of the opened items, like the teas and spices I left because I believe that they can be shipped.

Saturday Night

It's been cold here. The fountain in the front of our club house is frozen except for a small little bit that is spitting out of the top.

 

  We went to visit Don's family for Thanksgiving this year. It was also a family reunion on the Case side of the family. There were a total of 31 people there. It was a real noisy, fun time. Don's brother in law bought all the men a t-shirts that had a funny saying on them.

It says What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe. It was pretty funny to see all the men wearing them. Catie went shopping with her cousins on Thanksgiving. Black Friday begins on Thanksgiving now.  Jenifer posted a picture of Jessica and Dylan on Facebook on Thanksgiving.

Don't they look good? I miss my family so much. I wish they could of made it for Thanksgiving. Maybe next year they can come visit us in Germany.

Only 17 more days until we leave. The time has flown by. I only have two more weeks to go to Fiber Friday and Knit Clinic. I wonder if the knitting stores have knitting groups like the one here. I sure hope so.

I finished the back of my cardigan and while I was blocking it, Reggie helped by standing guard. After I went to bed he pulled out all of the pins and batted most of them under the refrigerator and stove. At least he didn't carry my cardigan back all over the house.

Don cleaned the garage today and found Jessica's Christmas card under the car. I don't know how it got under it but I am glad he found it. It has her gift in it.

Some Random Stuff

Last Thursday night I finished the back on my cardigan. Only the front two panels and the sleeves to go. The yarn I am using I got from a friend who was downsizing her stash.  I plan on taking this project with me to Germany so I have something to work on while I wait for our household goods to arrive.

 

Sunday I started a pair of socks at Sock It To Me Sunday at The Bead Place here in IL. It's a great place for yarn and beading supplies. They have Knit Night/Bead Night every Friday night for anyone who want to come and have a good time talking and knitting or doing their beading projects.

 

 

 

The yarn I am using for my socks is Austermann Step with Aloe Vera and Jojoba Oil. Should be soft on my feet.

The person to assess our household goods was here this morning estimating how many pounds and what they will need to pack our household goods to Germany.

I think I will do some spinning today. I have a bunch of alpaca to spin. Don wants me to make him a sweater out of it. I only have one skein spun so far and I only have 180 yards on it. It takes approx. 1,000 yards to make a sweater so I have a lot of spinning to do.

My daughter is a big One Direction fan and a friend of mine texted me letting me know that they are on ABC signing. I found it and now am recording it for her. I hope she likes it.

Moving to Germany

Don got a job in Germany. We are moving on Dec. 19th. I quit my job 3 weeks ago. I just got a new job after my old job came to an end. I was still in training when Don told me so I quit before I finished training. My training would of ended sometime in Dec. When I let my boss know she said that I could quit then. So I got the hint and that day was my last day. So I have been doing things I haven't been able to do for over 2 years. It's been great! Knitting and going to lunch with old friends that I have lost touch with since I started working.

Kar-Pern is no longer with me. He went over the Rainbow Bridge almost a year ago. Catie got a new cat about the same time. His name is Reggie and he is a very busy cat. He is into almost everything.

I started on a scarf and finished it already. I make it out of mink yarn. The yarn is really made of mink hair. No animals were hurt in the process of making the yarn. It's a very nice red color and I used a basket weave pattern.

 

 

I have a new Grandson. His name is Dylan and he was born in January. I went to Alaska for a week to see him and Jenifer. I had a wonderful time visiting. I was also able to visit Jessica and the boys since they are now stationed in Anchorage. I really miss them.

 

I went to Knit Clinic today at the Bead Place. I had a nice time. Got to talk with a bunch of great ladies and do a little knitting on my sweater.