T Stands for This and That as well as a Day Trip to Salem -part 2

 Hi everyone. It's time for T again. I hope everyone had a great first week of 2024 week.

I spent my first week of the new year with my husband home from work isolating because he had covid. Then I came down with covid a couple days later.  Oh boy. Not exactly a fun way to start the new year, but I am feeling like I am on the mend now. 👍 Worse than covid are the hives that are covering my body. I have moments where I am going out my mind with the itch. 😖 Luckily as the covid symptoms get better, the hives are slowly clearing up too. 

 Some of you asked if my doctor prescribed Paxlovid for me.  Yes, she did, but the pharmacy said it couldn't fill the prescription without contacting my doctor, and since it was late on Friday when I received that message and then it was the weekend, nothing happened.  At this point I don't know exactly what the issue was that held the prescription up, but now that I am on the mend and my 5 days of isolation are up, I don't feel I need it any longer.  (And luckily I didn't get terribly sick either.)

My husband, being immune suppressed, isn't recommended to take Paxlovid, but he did go through a 3 dose anti-viral infusion. That was just as big a mess, because no place in New Hampshire does the infusion, and only 2 places in Massachusetts do it. (Whether this is because of an association with Mass General Hospital who monitors him after his kidney transplant or not, I don't know.) He ended up having to drive 2+ hours  each way to and from Worcester over 3 days to get the infusion. Luckily he was less "sick" than me, and also he was getting bored being home so I think he liked the escape from his isolation. (By the way, isolation for an immune suppressed person is 10-20 days. not 5 days as it is for me.)

  OK, onto  "better" things.

We had our first big snow of the year the other day. (CJ might disagree about this being a better thing-😏) We ended up with around 10 inches/ just over 25 cm.

You might remember that I wanted to finish the sweater I was knitting by the end of 2023, and look, I did. I finished cutting off the yarn ends on New Years Eve. That was before I ended up  sick with covid.

I know these are pretty lousy photos, but I was trying to find a good place to take my photograph. I will share a photo of me modeling it, but the ironing board is still put away from the holidays, and the sweater really needs  to be blocked  so it hangs correctly. Having covid last week didn't exactly make me ambitious to do that.
 

However, I had so much fun making this sweater, and I was missing this type of knitting at night while I watched TV. I went online and ordered some yarn ( from Web's) to make another one.  It wasn't quite as inexpensive as buying it in Iceland, but now that I am on the mend,  I am excited  for the yarn to arrive so I can get started on it once I feel 100%. 😀 

In last Friday's post, I shared a bit about a day trip my daughter and I took during the holiday week . We had driven down to Salem, Massachusetts, and one of the things we did was visit the House of 7 Gables. If you're interested or want to know a  bit about the house's back story, here's the link to my other post about our day trip (House of 7 Gables )

Briefly, this house was made famous by a novel of the same name. This novel used to be popular school reading back in my parent's or grandparent's school days.  It was written by one of the big writers of American Literature named Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne never lived in the house, but his cousin did, so he was familiar with its layout. He did take several liberties in his novel like adding a hidden staircase. When the house was restored in the early 1900's, the then  owner added in some features from Hawthorne's book and opened the house for tours. That hidden staircase was fun to climb up, although it was pretty narrow and almost claustrophobic.

I thought as my ticket to  T over at  Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog I'd share a couple of photos from inside the house. It was decorated for Christmas, and there were lots of drink related scenes. 

Let me start with the dining room which was all set for Christmas dinner.

In the living room, there was a Christmas tree and some T related pieces also. I thought our lovely hostess Elizabeth would love seeing one of the "gifts" under the tree. I think it is right up her alley.  The living area was up on the second floor.

Our guide actually showed us a photo of the tree taken around 1910 (with the presents) and that's how it looked. 

And not far from the tree was this after dinner tea table. 

Let me end my post with one final photo.  Before I got sick last week I took the dogs down to the beach for a walk. Miss Maddie  doesn't care if the Atlantic Ocean is only around 42 degrees F/ 5.5 degrees C.

After her accident last September and thinking we were going to lose her, I think if the cold water makes her happy, let her wade around in it. 😏  What a dog. 

Have a fantastic T day and week ahead.

 

Vintage Finds

When I was home on Monday I finally got around to cleaning the little attic space behind my studio. I wanted it to store my fall and holiday art supplies- since they are now out of the way and make a little more space in the studio. Plus, I can get to them easily so it seemed like the perfect  no brainer way to gain that extra space.

And when I cleaned I had a bananza. I found this bag of vintage clothing.  

Most of it isn't that old, but they're vintage to me, items I had in my 20's (and before) and I  wondered where they had disappeared to.

I really thought I had put them into a charity bin years ago.

But then again, all of these have a special connection to me.

This pink sweater is  my first knitted item ever!!!! 

My college roommate and friend Lorrie taught me to knit (my Nana tried when I was about 10 but I needed some memory jogging at about 28) and I started on this sweater. Pretty good for a novice!

And here's an Icelandic sweater I bought on my trip to Scandinavia in 1985. I had picked it up in 

Copenhagen during the couple of days I hung out there way back when I was youthful.
And here's a sweater my Nana knitted me back when I was in high school.
I miss my Nana a lot; she and I were pretty close. All I had to do was ask and she'd
knit one for me.
Nana's are fantastic like that.

And this skirt was a maxi skirt back in the 1960's. It was my Mom's, and she gave it to me when I was in my 20's. I cut it down and made a work skirt out of it back in the day when I was a young skinny teacher.

Here's another couple of sweaters my Nana knit for me.

These reindeer sweater swere all the rage back in my college days in Orono, Maine. My Mom had actually started this for me back when I was in high school, but Mom was never much of a knitter.

Yet she finished it up for me when I pleaded to have it done so I would be like everyone else on campus.

Now Katie wants it.

Another sweater I knitted. I unfortunately I ended up felting it by accident, but that never stopped me from wearing it.

Finally a 1950's ski sweater that was my Auntie's, but she gave it to me.  I love the pattern and design of sweater. Still.

Now if only I was small enough to still fit in all of them.

I could use one today-

it is brutally cold here in New Hampshire.

Stay warm.