Kninja Knitter

How in the world is it October already? I’m stunned!! There are still three months left in the year, and that’s plenty of time to do a lot of things. But it never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes. I have a few things to summarize from the quarter that has ended. As usual, I’ll start with the knitting/projects.

The two blankets might come out of the list as I haven’t made any time for them in months. At a minimum, the Felicitations isn’t going to be done this calendar year. I’m also continuing to add projects to the list based on my current interests. I chuckled when I saw that I’d allocated three months for the tee but I finished it in under a month. This approach to the Year of Projects (YOP) is considerably looser than what I did last year, and that suits me perfectly in this season, given the other demands on my time. Every green check indicates a completed project – but in some cases it could actually represent multiple projects. Shawls is a good example – where I’ve named a broad category.

Stitched or Still-in-Progress

I finished a couple projects last week, and one marked a resounding win at yarn chicken! I was nervous as I approached halfway through the shawl bind-off, so I prepared a contingency plan. But I didn’t need it!

Unfortunately, the hat is too small for my grandson. That means I’ll be donating it and I’ll cast on another pattern that hopefully fits him.

I also pulled out the cable sweater for a bit, though I didn’t make significant progress. I’m targeting to finish the ribbing and start the body this month.

Cast-on Conversations

Having completed a couple projects, I cast on a couple more, lol. For the months of October and November, designer Laura Nelkin is hosting a Cowl-tober event, so I cast on a hooded cowl she released last year as a mystery KAL. She has another MKAL, ironically another hooded cowl, later this month. For the one I cast on last week, I frogged and restarted a couple times as I sorted out the cast-on and then the yarn choices. Once I was happy with the start, it has been moving along handily.

And particularly for the Down Cellar Studio Pigskin Party, I started another shawl in Buckeye colors. I bought the yarn last year at the Wool Gathering.

If the hooded cowl is wrapped up as quickly as it seems, I should be able to get back to Wicked socks before the next hooded cowl MKAL starts.

Environment Evolution

I had to adjust my plans over the weekend, sadly. The Take Your House Back course offered their latest edition of the All-Day Declutter event on Saturday. But my grandson was here for most of the day, so I made no headway on the bedroom as I’d planned. I wasn’t going to forego time with the munchkin, though, so I’ll just plan to do that another day.

In the meantime, I’d mentioned that I was going to rent a dumpster for my basement clean out project. It arrived today! I ultimately went with the 16-yard unit, listed on their website as ideal for basement clean-outs. I was originally planning to put the “decomposing” couch in it, but then I realized I probably can’t haul it upstairs by myself. So it can stay in the basement until I arrange for help.

I’ll get started after work this afternoon, and I might do some sort of Timelapse video as I fill the unit. I took several “before” pictures of the basement, but I’m far too embarrassed by them to share publicly. Suffice it to say it’s a “hot” mess down there, and I’ll be getting a solid workout going up and down stairs this week!

Grandson Glimpses

I have photos to share this time! The poor kiddo had a difficult time when he arrived on Friday. He was very tired, and had a complete meltdown when Mama left. This has happened plenty of times before, but he was more animated this time. I let him settle down over an hour or so, and then I picked him up and put him to bed. That meant he was up super early (4:30AM) but thankfully he was quiet! Then, around 6:30AM the chatter began. So sweet, he was whispering “sunshine” – because my usual greeting when he wakes up is “Good morning, Sunshine!”

He met River briefly, though she wouldn’t let him pet her. She did come to me for some pets while he sat on my lap though. I was glad he got to see her in person. We also played with his block set from Ms. Rachel – he recognizes most of the emotion expressions, but there was understandable confusion between “mad” and “frustrated.” The sad face is most impactful for him. We also went through most of the alphabet pictures, words that (usually) start with the letter on the block.

The munchkin had a good lunch, ate lots of grapes and some mini ravioli (pronounced “lallioli”) after which he had a nap. We went for a drive around the neighborhood later, and then Mama picked him up.

This kid does like to push boundaries – he can be incredibly bossy. But we have a lot of fun together. He enjoyed dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” – I had played this for him when he was 18 months old, so it was neat to see how he reacted over a year later. His feet were moving (from his seated position) as soon as the music started. 😍

It’s possible that we’ll be back to the Friday night sleepover schedule now, but it remains to be seen. I’ll take whatever time I can get with him, that’s for sure!

Financial Finesse

I’m still dealing with credit card balances, but I’ve been able to reduce them with my DoorDash income. The better news this month is that I paid off one of my loans, and I’ve reduced my loan debt by over 25% since the beginning of the year. I’m only about $100 over my target for September 30, so I’m still on track. I need to get the credit card balances down so I can accelerate the loan payments more than I already have.

The most exciting tidbit with all of this is that I’m closing in on paying off the loan for the bathroom upgrade. And it will be significantly cheaper than the loan terms had stated. The original estimate of interest charges was $21.2K, but to date I’ve paid less than $1.3K. When I pay this loan off next year, my total interest expense will be less than $2K, so less than 10% of the original cost of the loan!

And once that loan is paid off, I can direct that money towards the next loan to be paid off in 2026. I’m still on track to have the mortgage paid off in 2028 which is a key factor in my retirement timeline.

Football Frenzy

Another fun weekend of football – I thoroughly enjoyed watching my Buckeyes rock the Shoe (informal name for Ohio Stadium, as it’s shaped like a horseshoe) for the first night game of the season! This Homecoming game, their only home game in October, was well attended and featured a dominant run over the Minnesota Gophers. Final score: 42-3. Our defense continues to stand fast, allowing no more than ten points per game, though this was the first time they allowed a first quarter score. I guess they can’t be perfect! 😉

And while the college games were fun to watch, I had a grand time watching one of the Sunday afternoon NFL match-ups: Tampa Bay at Seattle. It was truly delightful to see two of my Buckeyes take center stage (or field) as exciting wide receivers! Jaxon Smith-Njigba, in his third year with the Seahawks, has made a great name for himself as a go-to target. On the visiting team, Emeka Egbuka continues to show why he should be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, scoring his fifth touchdown of the season.

And that is all I have to share this week. I’ve got my plans made to start clearing out the basement. I’m hoping the rain in the forecast (predicted to start overnight) at least lets up tomorrow after work. I’d rather not have to deal with wet shoes on my basement steps. 🤞🏻

Knit on. 🧶