Kninja Knitter

Happy new year, and welcome to 2025! How on earth did that happen? I’m still reeling from how the last quarter of 2024 got away from me. I do have a number of things to show for it, though, including a beautiful new bathtub/shower and vanity and a restored kitchen sink. But I had a lot of plans that didn’t come to fruition by the end of the year. Anyway, I am doing something of a look back on 2024, bit by bit, and it will take me a few posts to get through everything. I’ll be getting my first podcast for the new year done within the next couple weeks, too, once my schedule settles down. But here’s my first couple topics to share..

Grandson Glimpses

I shared plenty of pictures of the munchkin in my last post of 2024, though I didn’t expect that to be my last post of the year. (Setting a new goal to be more consistent going forward!) And now that my grandson is likely going to be far away for most of the time, my plan/hope is to see him IRL (in real life, if you didn’t know that already) once per quarter, but other elements of my schedule may hinder that. At the very least, though, I will be FaceTime-ing with him regularly.

This past week we celebrated his second birthday! I wasn’t included in the first birthday celebration, so I did all I could to be sure that wasn’t repeated. 😉 And I dusted off my artistic skills after a couple decades (or longer) to decorate his birthday cake!

And while it wasn’t warm at all (though much warmer than back home!), it was a beautifully sunny day. Mama found a new playground that Zayne loved! He definitely prefers the activities meant for the bigger kids (age 5-12), so supervision was absolutely required! And he clearly didn’t mind the cold as he just kept on going, eager to climb up to take another trip down a slide.

Before we left for the adventure, Zayne also got his “big” birthday gift…his own “cell phone” – a toy that has a LOT of features of a smart phone. Before my son had even opened the box, he was saying “Hello?” What’s particularly entertaining is that my son, his dad, also got a cell phone toy for HIS second birthday.

After the playground, we picked up dinner from Papa John’s (pizza and wings) and returned home. And then we had cake. Zayne was very excited to enjoy the sugar rush…

Today made my trip to South Carolina totally worth it!

Environment Evolution

While spending time with my grandson is nearly always joyful, dealing with the restoration of my house to a fully functional and peaceful abode has its ups and downs. I still have a lot of decluttering to do, and I plan to rent a dumpster in late Spring to clear out the mess in the basement. But the biggest challenge I’m currently tackling is with the squatters in my attic.

Raccoons (trash pandas) have been a problem I’ve struggled with. They’re so destructive! Yuck. They made a royal mess of the upstairs bathroom, but replacing the roof halted further damage… until they returned and tore a hole in the new roof. 😖

Addressing the issue was difficult because I couldn’t find the right resource (service provider) since there were several fixes needed. But by chance I spotted a truck advertising the company that I’ve engaged – this group will take care of ALL the fixes I need: trapping and removing the critters, repairing the roof, installing their system to prevent any recurrences, and (at last!) removing the ivy that has totally overtaken my chimney. They’ll spray the area to prevent ivy regrowth, and also install a new chimney cap as the old one was broken by earlier critters.

Additionally, they guarantee their work so if the problem recurs in the next year, they’ll take care of it, and then I can pay them an annual inspection fee going forward and the guarantee will be extended each year.

The trapping efforts are continuing as at least one beast has been avoiding the trap but is definitely still in residence. But in the first couple days of the trapping process two were caught, including one massive bugger!

I’ve worked up a plan (with the help of my AI companion) to make my way through the main living area throughout the year, so stay tuned for the updates! I’ll be starting with the areas that are significantly cleared already, the kitchen and living room. And interestingly, the January All-Day Declutter event hosted in the Take Your House Back course is focusing on the kitchen and living room.

I have added a kitchen remodel to my pre-retirement plans (likely in 2026) and when I get into more of the decluttering details there next week, I’ll share more on that plan.

Tomorrow I’ll share about my knitting accomplishments and plans!

Knit on. 🧶