More Yarny Things

On my hiatus from sewing, I found myself spending a lot more time with my yarn stash. I'm trying to get a jump on some Christmas presents, so you'll excuse me if I don't say who these items will be for ;)

First up, some nice, simple pot holders. In my kitchen, these ones are my favorite. My quilted ones just don't insulate as well as the two layers of cotton yarn, even though I added both cotton batting and Insulbrite to the middle. Ah well. At least those ones are still pretty, right? These will be a Christmas gift. I might make a couple more sets as well. I think they'll make good little add-ons and they're quick to make! Pattern here.

Next up. Some fingerless mitts. For these I used the Firecracker Gloves pattern.

I love the herringbone HDC stitch used for these, but they are a bit on the snug side. The pattern says they are for 3" to 4" wide hands. Mine fall into that range (albeit on the high end) and I checked my gauge, but they're still a bit of a struggle to get on. I was making these as a gift, but I don't want to give ones that may be too small. I think I will make them up again a little larger instead.

I also experimented with these on different starting methods. The glove on the bottom uses a regular chain to start and then a row of SC into it as the foundation. It's kind of ugly and wavy, probably partially because I'm not used to crocheting with fingering weight yarn. But the one on top uses a row of foundation single crochet. Look how nice and neat! It was really quick, too. I will definitely be using this method in the future.

And last but not least, sock progress! I have been working on these way too long. I gave up because I just didn't like doing 2 at once. Too much fiddling with each strand of yarn and turning and making sure your yarn doesn't get tangled.. Plus I just felt like I was treading water all the time. So! I took one toe off the needles and will finish them one at a time. I don't think these will be a Christmas present, though, as I started them in my own size ;)

It was nice to revisit my yarny projects! I will definitely be making more time for yarn in the winter months. There is just something so appealing about drinking a hot cup of tea while knitting in the dead of winter, you know? Not that Arizona gets much winter, but still. I can pretend!

A Finished Gift

Guys. Finals are *finally* over and I am on the verge of a 12 day break from work. I cannot express to you how excited I am! I am going to sew, sew, sew and play some video games on my time off. And it will be GLORIOUS.

But today I wanted to share with you the only other project I have been working on besides cats. My boyfriend and I recently celebrated our 5th anniversary and I wanted to make him something special. Here's what I came up with:

Isn't it cute? He has loved Calvin and Hobbes since he was a little kid, so I decided it was about time he had a Hobbes of his own to have adventures with :)

I used this free pattern to make him. I can't tell you all the yarns I used. I know the black is Caron Simply Soft. The orange is some remnants I had lying around... Same with the white. The eyes and nose are felt and I used yarn to make the mouth. I don't quite understand how his belly turned out so small when hers is so in proportion! I even made it slightly bigger than the pattern! I think I'm actually going to remove that bit and make it a bit bigger. It's just really bothering me.

But he was definitely well-received! Mario had NO idea I was even working on it, which made me pretty happy considering I didn't hide the progress pieces very well! But I should never underestimate his obliviousness to my craft projects ;) Makes things pretty easy!

And because this post wouldn't be complete without it... here are the newest additions to the catvent family:

Yay ipad photos?

What have you been working on?

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

A Decision (and other little things)

After all the wonderful advice (you guys are the best!), I have decided to skip the border. I cut up the pieces and laid it out around the edges of the quilt, but it was just too loud. I think Simply Color could be really fun on a low volume background, but just not in this context. I am going to leave it as-is and quilt and bind it. It's on the small side, but it's so pretty! So who cares, right?

I already have plans for the little rectangles of Simply Color, though. I need more low volume fabric!! This really cleared out my stash...

Anyways, while I was waiting for my HUGE roll of batting to come in the mail (YAY for one day sales!), I spent the weekend with yarn instead.

My sister's roommate has these cute little crocheted potholders. I loved them so much when I saw them, I just had to go home and make my own (significantly louder) version! So that's what I did this weekend while watching Tomb Raider and Downton Abbey. It was a really lovely weekend :)

Yesterday I had some time to kill before an appointment so I went to a local discount fabric/craft store (SAS for the locals!). I may have "liberated" some pretties from the enormous mountain of cotton remnants...

...because let's face it, Amy Butler does NOT deserve to be unceremoniously buried under such a mountain! And when I say mountain, I mean MOUNTAIN. I mean, in theory there are boxes of fabric. But the fabric pile extends a good couple of feet above the boxes and it all just sort of runs together. Who knows what other treasures await my discovery? And all at $4/yd! AMAZING. Unfortunately, I really had to stop myself. I could have dug through that mountain all day and bought all of the pretty fabric! You should see the stack I left behind... But I could already hear my wallet screaming, especially considering the batting roll and the bundle I just bought, too (that will hopefully be in this week so I can show you)!

I also got these lovelies, too. The houndstooth is for a project for the boy (who is just as obsessed as I am, fortunately). I really wish I could've found a wider piece of the wide Spot On- it was the same price as fabrics of normal width!

I didn't get a picture, but I also got quite a stack of zippers. The short ones (less than 10" or so) are only $0.25 each. The longest one I got- 22"- I believe was only $0.75. There weren't a whole lot of colors and I will likely also put in an order at Zip It on Etsy, but it's good to know I can get some good neutral colored zippers for super cheap in town. I really want to make more bags, so I have been slowly gathering the hardware stuff I need. Anyone have any good sources for relatively inexpensive purse hardware online?

I have my batting and I'm just about done with the backing. I hope to move on to quilting the little pinwheel quilt soon!

Help me Make a Decision!

This is a yarn-related post. I know. Weird, right? But in addition to sewing all the things, I also knit and crochet all the things.

But you see, I have a problem. I went through a bit of a blanket-starting frenzy at the beginning of the year and now I have a conundrum. Which blanket do I choose to finish before the end of the year?

Here are my options:

This isn't all of the squares

Option 1: Gray and yellow granny square blanket. I used the pattern for the blocks from here but obviously went with a different color scheme. I really like these blocks! They finish up at about 7" square, so they're nice a big for a granny blanket. It isn't the best yarn I'm using- Red Heart Super Saver a friend bought me in these colors for my birthday. But still, it would be a nice little throw.

Option 2: Rainbow ripple. This is made with Bernat Mosaic yarn- the one that looks like a rainbow (don't remember what they called the colorway). I'm using Attic24's ripple pattern, which is super simple to memorize and makes this a nice, mindless project. I kind of love how one side is more yellow/orange and the other is purple/blue. I hope it continues this way throughout!

Option 3: what I think of as the Spring blanket. I am using another of Attic24's patterns here for granny stripes, just making the colors go for 6 rows instead of just two. This one is pretty big- this is folded in half. I'm using 4 colors of Caron Simply Soft for this one (can you tell I was way too broke to by anything but acrylic yarn at the time?). This is another good, mindless project. I only have to think at the beginnings and ends of the rows.

Do you see the paw up there? My smaller dog is always curious about what I'm doing and is notorious for crawling into my lap when I'm knitting or crocheting something and laying on top of my foot while I'm trying to sew... Adorable but slightly annoying sometimes :P At least by this point I had gotten her to lay down to the side of where I was taking pictures... (see below!)

So which would you choose to finish first? I plan on finishing all three eventually, but I'd like to have one done for sure before the year is out. But I love them all and can't make a decision! So help? :)

Bonus: shot of my little helper, Lizzie.

Oh well, at least she didn't try to steal any of my squares!

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday at Better Off Thread!

Happy Valentine's Day! (And a little finish!)

What a week! I had hands down the longest interview I've ever had on Tuesday. It was 3 hours of interview plus an hour tour! Is this normal?? I mean, the position I'm applying for isn't even faculty... But no matter. It went really well, I think, and I think it's pretty great that they took so much time to make sure I understood the organization I would be getting myself into instead of just focusing on me. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

In other news... I finished my first ever Bee Block!! I really hope she likes it. We're using all fabrics from our stash and mine isn't terribly large, but I had a little bit in each of the colors she asked for. And I even had one solid pink for the "stepping stones," which kind of amazed me. I have no idea when I got that pink, but it must have been in a scrap pack because I don't have enough for another block now...

I just love it, though! This bee thing is pretty fun. I don't think I would have ever done this block or these colors on my own (it's mostly the pink- I'm not a big pink fan), but they all play so nice together! I'll get it sent off soon :)

So that's my big finish for the week. Sad, isn't it? Well, it has been super busy with interview stuff and other job stuff and my dad's birthday.. And now Valentine's day! We don't have huge plans. Just staying in with some chocolate cake I am going to make this afternoon, lasagna, and a bottle of champagne. But I don't particularly like going out for Valentine's day, anyway. Every restaurant is always so jam packed with people, it's just no fun. I would much rather stay home and spend time alone without all the noise and distraction :)

One more thing... I haven't been sewing this week, but I have been able to sneak in some crochet time! It is much easier for me to sneak in ten minutes here and there of crochet than sewing. I like to devote big chunks of time to sewing. But I started a granny stripe blanket for myself! I'm using the pattern from Attic24, but I'm only switching colors after every 6 rows instead of every 2. I wanted thicker stripes. And fewer ends to weave in ;) I know it won't have quite the same effect, but I really like it so far anyway:

There is one more shade of green as well. My idea is to have the lighter colors touching and the darker colors touching so the light/dark contrast creates stripes as well as just the colors... We'll see how it works out.

That's it for me! I am hoping to get some more sewing time in today before Mario gets off work. I really need to do some FMQ practice for my Skill Builder blocks! The new blocks have already been posted so I am officially behind!

Sleepy Morning

Good morning!

I don't know about you, but I don't feel very awake yet. There isn't really a good reason for this. By my calculations, I got about 8 hours of sleep. And I didn't even wake up because of nightmares like I did the night before last. Maybe it's the cold weather? It seems our annual week of winter has finally arrived in southern AZ and it's less than 40 degrees outside (I know, shocking!). It is set to freeze the next few nights, which probably means pipes bursting all over the city because we are never prepared for winter. Really. Two years ago we had a hard freeze and when I went to class in the morning, pipes had burst all over campus. There was a geyser of water outside the building I had class in that day. It was weird and kind of funny. Winter always takes us by surprise.

So what have I been working on? A bit of sewing, a bit of crochet. Well, maybe a bit more crochet than sewing. Although my crochet projects take less time than the sewing projects, so maybe it's about even. Anyway...

I finally finished some arm warmers for a friend for Christmas... Yes, I know. It's January. And I started these in November. For shaaaaame.

I also made myself a pretty scarf. I haven't woven in the ends yet, though, because I used a whole skein of yarn and it still doesn't feel long enough... now I'm debating whether I should be lazy and call it good or if I should just suck it up and go get another ball to make it the length I really want. Right now I'm leaning toward lazy because I feel sleepy. But I think I'll hold off on the decision making until I feel I've woken up properly.

What about sewing? Well, I did finish cutting strips for Mr. Hounds Tooth. But I won't bore you with more pictures of strips. I got distracted from Mr. Hounds Tooth by this:

This is the January block for the Sisters' Ten BOM over at Gen X Quilters. I don't know that I will follow along the whole year, but I had some time on my hands and a pretty fat quarter bundle of La Dee Dah, so I decided to take a break from cutting 2.5" strips. Since I only made one, I think this might be destined to become a pillow. But how nice will it look as a pillow?? I'm kind of excited about it. I'm also pretty pleased with the piecing. I'm getting much better with the accuracy thing :) 

But the most exciting thing I've done? I FINISHED A SKIRT. And it even FITS. 

I can't prove that it fits. Because no one was here when I needed to take pictures and I didn't want to mess with trying to set up a times and anyway... my hair is a mess and I haven't shaved in a couple of days because it's winter and my legs are hiding under jeans most of the time anyway and... Well. You get the idea. So you'll just have to trust me ;) I used some super cheap Joann fabric that I got on clearance. Because it was my first attempt at making clothes, I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case it all went horribly wrong. 

With a Christmas Amazon gift card from my sister, I bought a book called Sew What! Skirts by Francesca DenHartog. It's a nice little book that goes over the basics- how to measure yourself, how to make a variety of cuts and waistlines for skirts, how to add buttons and zippers, etc. I did an easy elastic waistline to start because I didn't want to attempt a zipper on my first ever skirt. That and I forgot to buy zippers. Next time I think I will use wider elastic (this is 3/4" elastic I actually bought for a costume a long time ago and forgot about- it tends to roll easily) and add more flare to the skirt. But I'm still so pleased with the results! It was so much easier than I thought it would be. Definitely a good introduction to garment making, which is something I would love to do more of in the future. I already bought a couple of yards of blue and white gingham that I plan to use on a simple dress. Maybe I'll start working on that this weekend :)

I'm feeling a little more lively now. Time to cut the coffee umbilical cord and face the day, I suppose.

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

A Little Finish

Do you ever have those mornings where everything just seems to suck? Like no matter what you do, you can't win? I felt like that this morning. I woke up with a sinus headache and my arm hurting. I have trouble with one of my shoulders and sometimes it flares up out of nowhere to ruin my day. But I got out of bed anyway and wandered out to the kitchen to get myself a much-needed cup of coffee. I was going about my little morning routine- letting the dogs out, getting the coffee going, refilling the dog food dish and then the water dish... and what do I do? Drop the full dog water dish so it makes a HUGE mess and gets my pajamas and feet wet. UGH. All I really wanted to do was leave the mess for later and crawl back into bed where it was safe and warm. But being a grown up (sort of... not really) I instead cleaned up the mess, poured myself a cup of coffee, and sat down behind my sewing machine to make myself feel better.

This may not have been the best plan given the state of my arm, but it did make me feel better! And a couple of hours later I had these to show for it:

Pretty little potholders for a house warming gift for a friend who recently moved into a new house. I LOVE this fabric! It's Everything is Nice. I love the little stand mixer and the little spatulas... And, of course, all the dots! Pretty, pretty dots. Finishing these made me feel so much happier.

And even better? I got to wear these while I was sewing:

I decided after all the holiday sewing and crocheting that I really needed to make something little for myself. And since it is ALWAYS COLD in the winter in my sewing/computer room because we don't have central heating, I thought these would be perfect. I used this pattern that I discovered via Pinterest. It was a really great, easy to follow pattern. And so quick! I finished them up yesterday. Now I have something pretty to keep my hands warm while I sew. 

So, a little bit of finishing going on here. Therapeutic finishing. I'm linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts. Now I am going to go look at other finishes to keep me in this calmer state of mind :) Hope you're having a great Friday!

And Now, We Breathe

The holidays are (mostly) over and now it's time to catch my breath. It was such a fun year and everyone seemed to like their handmade gifts :) I barely finished in time. I was working on sewn projects almost right up until we left for Mario's parents' house and then I finished crocheted projects on the drive and on quiet mornings while everyone was digesting *delicious* breakfasts. I ate SO MUCH between Saturday and Tuesday, it is amazing I didn't explode or something. But everything was delicious! How could I resist tamales and beans and cinnamon rolls and cookies and pot roast and and and... YUM.

Anyway, here are a few of pictures of the things I finished between the last post and this.

Chibi Charmander and Owl

Polka dots on the inside. Skipped the pocket for time reasons.

Finished holiday quilt. Sorry for the photo- I had no one to help me!

I also made a pretty hat for my grandma, but I didn't get any photos of it before I gave it to her. Oops! You'll just have to trust me on the prettiness. I'm planning to make another Charmander and a Squirtle and Bulbasaur as another gift for a nerdy friend of mine. I will see him for New Year's so I guess I have the weekend to finish. Yeah. We'll see if that happens. I already have all the pieces done for Charmander, though, so he'll at least get that!

I'm sort of relieved and sad that the holidays are over. This is my favorite time of year. There are so many things to celebrate... my anniversary, Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, New Year's. All in a little over a month and it's over! Every year I feel it is too soon. But at the same time, things have been so hectic and crazy, it is kind of nice to be able to sit and enjoy my coffee in the morning without worrying about all the things I have to do that day. 

But the new year will bring happy, exciting things! I interviewed for a job before Christmas and am now waiting for a background check to go through before my second interview. Cross your fingers for me! But if that one falls through, I should be getting another interview after the holidays. And I have applications pending at several other places. So I better enjoy my brief break from working full time while I can! 

I think this is enough for one post. I'll post again soon with some cool things I got for Christmas. I hope all your holidays were wonderful and that you also get a little bit of time to catch your breath before the new year! :)

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

Another Monday?

Yes, it has been over a week.

I was going to post something Friday. Then I read the news. Then I didn't feel like posting anything. I don't even have words for what happened, not really. It was just unbelievable.

It is still unbelievable, really. So over in my corner of the world, I am cherishing the people I have in my life right now because you never know when they will suddenly disappear from it. I can't even begin to imagine how awful things are right now for those affected directly by the shooting and I sincerely hope this leads to some meaningful nationwide dialog about mental illness and gun control.

Right now the cherishing has taken the form of making Christmas presents and spending time with family and friends. You see, it was my birthday yesterday. And I graduated "officially" on Friday. It was a big weekend. Would you like to see the cake my boyfriend made for me? It's pretty cool.

Feliz Cumple Master Poophead! :)

Adorable (Mario is from Mexico and speaks fluent Spanish, hence the Spanglish cake). We had a small party with my friends and siblings. Cake was eaten, Mario Kart was played (who went undefeated? Yeah, THIS GIRL), and my new(ish) puppy was loved by all.

I know. She's the cutest! Her name is Lizzy. She showed up on our door step one day as a stray and since we couldn't find her owners and she was just such a sweetheart (when she isn't licking men's legs or biting your ankles), we decided to keep her. She is dog #2. This is dog #1, Charlie:

He thinks he's a cat, as evidenced by his sitting on the arm of the couch. He doesn't understand the concepts of barking, stairs, or fetch, but he loves to run around in circles like a maniac, which we find to be pretty endearing. But he is too big to be picked up like Lizzy, so there aren't so many adorable party pictures of him. Plus, everyone knows Charlie, so they were mostly doting on Lizzy.

But back to crafting! I have been crafting my hands off! I finished more hats:

Quilted and bound my dad's quilt (which is the FIRST QUILT I have ever finished! Happy dance!!):

You can see the holiday quilt in the background. I started quilting that today! It needs to be done by Friday so it's definitely crunch time!

I also somehow found the time to pick up Tunisian crochet...

This is going to be a gift for a friend!

And I completed a second notebook cover, this time with three *usable* pen slots:

I have also been working on a couple of adorable amigurumi Pokemon for another friend, but they aren't very exciting to look at right now, so no pictures. I have been so busy! But it's a good kind of busy. A relaxing kind of busy, even. I'm really enjoying making Christmas presents for everyone! I don't know that I'll do it every year, but this year at least it has been fun. 

I'm linking up to Let's Get Acquainted over at Plum and June! 

Let's Get Acquainted

Hey there.

I'm linking up today to Plum and June's Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link Up! If you're visiting from there, hello! I hope you'll take a look around and say hi. I am just starting out as a quilter and crafter and love the encouragement and inspiration I get from the blogging community!

I don't have anything new to share today, sadly. I spent yesterday making English muffins and cutting and piecing quilt backs for 2 quilts I am working on. Not terribly exciting work (except the English muffins! Sooo much better than store bought) - but it will pay off when the quilts are all finished and given away on Christmas :) Here are a couple of pictures of what I have been working on.

First Quilt Top

Pillow Covers

Frippery Table Runner

Crocheted Hats

Notebook Cover

See? These hands have not been idle. And in the last push to Christmas, they will continue to be busy! So keep an eye out- I am going to be making some fun things :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Busy Week!

So. It has been over a week since my last post! But I have not been idle- far from it.

First, the BEST news. I have officially finished ALL of the homework and papers and paperwork necessary to graduate!!! I am so, so thrilled to be finished!! In a month or so I will have a shiny new diploma to tell the world that I have a Master's degree. YAY! I didn't take a break between undergrad and grad school, so I am absolutely exhausted on the school front. You have no idea what I relief it is to not have to worry about homework anymore! :D

That was the main reason I have been so quiet. I just wanted to focus on getting my school work done as much as possible. Not that I haven't been crafting, mind you. How could I not when my amazing, wonderful, PERFECT boyfriend bought me this for my birthday?

A new sewing machine!! Ahhh! I'm so happy :) Isn't he the best? And it's over two weeks early! I got it Friday and my birthday isn't until the 16th! He got it as a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal, I think. I got it to replace one of my old ones, a Brother, that has had tension problems almost every single day and has been nothing but frustrating. The other old one, another Brother, but a very basic model, has never given me a lick of trouble- but it is also really small and has limited capabilities. Still, I plan on keeping it as a back up because it has been so faithful!

I have been playing with my new toy non-stop, but I had to finish my homework I could open it (isn't he smart?). As a result, I finished all my work over a week before it was actually due just so I could spend the weekend with my new machine.

So what have I been doing? All of this :

Work on Holiday Throw for Mario's parents

Free motion quilting practice! Weee!

Pretty Potholders- first ever!

Finished Table Topper (didn't actually use the new machine for this, but isn't it fun?)

See? I have been busy. I know the free motion example is pretty terrible- but it was my first go! I have a couple of books on my Christmas wish list. I may also add a Craftsy class or two to that list as well :) I really want to learn how to do it well!

It hasn't just been my sewing machine that has been busy, though. I also made *most* of another hat! Bringing the total up to 4 in the past couple of weeks!

The owl hat is clearly not finished. I still need to stitch on his face and get some buttons for eyes. I just love all of these hats, though! Most are destined to give away... But I might have to make myself my own owl hat. It is just too cute! I used the pattern from Repeat Crafter Me: Owl Hat. It was a great pattern- easy, well written, and most importantly- Cute! I also really want to make one of these Penguin Hats, but I need some black yarn first...

Last thing- promise! Thanksgiving pictures!

My first Turkey :) It was delicious!

Me and Mario's sister- excited about the turkey while his other sister  laughs
at our ridiculousness in the background 

It was such a fun day! There were so many people in my house- I was definitely stressing. But everything went so smoothly! And having a couple of beers helped calm my nerves on the actual day ;)

Thanks for stopping by! Now that school is done, I should have more time to post more often and in smaller chunks :)

And Dessert :) I made the "pretty" pies- the others were gluten and dairy free for my brother
so they weren't terribly pretty, but they tasted good!

Sickness and Productivity

I have been sick for a whole week. Isn't that just yucky? A whole week of sniffling, coughing, fever and sore throat. But I am finally feeling better today- not perfect, but better. So I'm here with updates about what I did while I was sick :)

Sadly, my boyfriend has the fancy camera at the shop where he is working on his car. He's doing an engine and transmission swap, so he wanted to document the process of giving his green monster of a car a new heart. It's a lime green Volvo from the 80s! It's pretty cool.

Isn't it? I love this car. It is getting a turbo motor to replace the non-turbo one that has over 400,000(!!) miles on it. And a manual transmission because that's what he prefers :) So I don't begrudge him the camera. 

For now, I will just upload a couple of not-so-good cell phone pictures and make another post later with better ones- including pictures of the apple pie I made for Thanksgiving that tasted as wonderful as it looked!

When I'm sick, I spend a lot of time on the couch. But I'm not good at just sitting and watching TV. I have to be doing something else at the same time. That is how these were born:

Silly hats! I absolutely love how they turned out. Especially the rainbow one- the yarn just worked perfectly with the pattern to produce the full spectrum, beginning and ending with orange. I used this super easy pattern: Holy Julie Newmar, Batman!

I actually made 3 hats with this pattern. The third uses the same fuzzy rainbowy yarn as the top picture but has a lime green trim. I'm thinking at least one will end up being a Christmas gift. Maybe two. But I just can't part with the rainbow one- it makes me so happy! Please excuse the dopey smiley faces in the pictures. It was late and I was probably feverish...

I also made an arm warmer for a friend. Yes, just one. I plan on making the other one today and will post some pictures when they're finished. They're also super simple. I don't know about you, but I don't like having to think much when I'm sick. This is why I stayed away from my sewing machine. I knew that piecing the quilt top I'm working on would require me to pay attention to fabric orientation and layout way too much for my fuzzy, fevered brain. So I set it aside and worked on simple crochet goodies instead. I'm glad I did. I wouldn't want to ruin a quilt top by being too tired and sick to pay attention!

I guess that's all until I can get the good camera and the pictures from it. I also finally caught up on reading all the blog posts! I am subscribed to so many blogs... I was almost 200 posts behind. But it made for good reading while I was sick on the couch.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday if you celebrate Thanksgiving :) If not, I hope you have been in better health than I have!