Friday 11 December 2020

A Mystery and Other Things

I have a nystery for you today.  I washed my blue sweater last week and this is how it came out of the washer.


I have not spilled anything on it other than coffee.  I washed it with a sweater that I have washed it with before.  The process was the same:  soak in machine with Eucalan and spin it out, then hang to dry on my rack.  Nothing different at all.  But that happened?  It doesn't wash out.  I tried.  It came into contact with something and I have no idea what.  But it has turned a good enough for wearing out and about garment into a just for the house kind of sweater in one fell swoop.  

And that is why I keep knitting sweaters.  


I have other things to do today.  I have a game board that has been in the works for several years.  


My mother in law and father in law made the board game for us years ago.  I always felt it was more a piece of art to hang.  I just love how it looks.  My grandkids are all right about the age for this kind of game.   

I decided to make each of my families the game a few years ago, and it has taken a few years to assemble the things I needed.  One year I went to get cards and the box on the shelf was out.  And then there was the year I had cards but had nothing for the tokens.  They could have used fruti loops but I wasn't ready to go there.  I have solved both of those problems and this year is it.    

I was going to mount the game on a hard board backing, like this game is on but it is kind of a pain.  I couldn't find corrugated plastic locally, so Keith and I came up with foam core board.  We were both sure that we could source it without a trip to the city.  Off my handy shopper went.  He found something even better.  


Bifold Foamcore board.  It is a bit wide but that just means I can put the instructions to the side or perhaps some fancy schmancy something or other.    I've included the instructions below, because it would be rude not to.  Using the name my Mother-in-law used, Google came up with nothing.




This made me think of other great family games for the season.  Hand and Foot Canasta.  Which you can google for instructions.  Its lots of fun so long as you have one more deck of cards than you do people playing it.  I recall some games with more than ten players and it always was a blast.  

My sister in law always sets puzzles between Christmas and New Years.  That is what I am going to be doing this year that is different.  And reading the new book I will get for myself.  Can't be Christmas if you don't have a new book to read.

All this made me think of when I was a child. At mom and dad's house, the TV did not come on on Christmas day.  Boxing Day either, for that matter.  And Christmas Eve, you might watch some in the morning, but by after lunch you were kept pretty busy helping mom make our family at home big Christmas meal.  You also had to take a bath in the afternoon (how decadent) to get ready for chruch at midnight and if you were little, you were getting a nap, even if you didn't want it.  Christmas Day and Boxing Day were  all about visitng Grandma and Grandpa's and when you got home of Boxing Day, you really just wanted to check out your own presents.  Finally.  

I know everyone else says they watched the 'traditional' movies, but I never saw them till my own kids were getting pretty grown and we had sat TV.  We did do a Christmas movie night.  I enjoyed that and still do, though now, in the evening, I just fall asleep. Movie afternoon is more what I do.

Anyway, that is what is keeping me busy today.  Plus sewing the pants I cut yesterday.  That won't take very long, really.  They are pretty simple pants.  And knitting.  Gotta keep that blanket moving along.

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