For not having much progress, this is going to be a long post. And not just because I'm putting the menu plan with the yarn along again.

Nejat's blanket is almost finished. It is taking forever. I have two or three more "stars" to go around, but they are gargantuan. My last round will be 600 stitches. I'm hoping to get it finished before next week, but that still will leave the sewing down of the cloud border and the weaving in of the ends, and I still have two other projects that need ends woven in and blocking to do. Bleh.

Saint Nicholas is about to go to the tech editor. It was supposed to be there last week, but I had a horrible allergic reaction, which led to an infection, which led to a secondary infection. I will spare you the gory details beyond that. I also hurt my shoulder the week before, by reaching for my water cup on my night stand. Being old is so much fun. Yesterday, while trying to fill the bathroom sink to cool a solution I needed to use on the infection, I forgot that our sink didn't have an overflow drain and that I had left the water on while I went to dress. When I remembered, I stepped quickly across to turn off the water, in the now Niagara Falls of our bathroom, stepped on the rug, which turns out was floating above the body of water on our floor, hydroplaned, slipped, landed squarely on my elbow on the tile floor, and slid into home, letting the toilet take the brunt of my fall. I was waiting to find out that the wax seal had been broken on the toilet, and that we had a leak in the bathroom, but glory to God, that doesn't seem to be the case. My shortcut of cooling the liquid made Alexander late to class, ended up with Rich taking a sick day to get me to the walk in clinic and stay home to help me (though he had his computer at home, so was at least able to get some work done), and me in excruciating pain. No obvious breaks or fractures in the x-rays, but we're waiting for the radiologist's opinion before we decide it's just a monster of a bruise.

Oh, and on the non-medical side, one of the tires we just bought for our minivan blew out about a mile from our house on Thursday, so I got a call from Rich asking if I could come pick him and the girls up, then he and Alexander went to put the spare on it after our dinner and Michaelmas festivities. Then they came home to put a repaired tire on Rich's truck. We are buying new tires for my van today which, blessedly, have enough of a discount on them and deals we could take advantage of that we don't have to dip into savings to get them, but we also have to get new tires for his truck, a new engine for our big van, all while paying for college and trying to get Christmas presents for the kids. This is on top of the ongoing medical issues I have been having for the past two years, homeschooling, Rich studying for exams he has to be finished with and pass by the end of the year, the Nutcracker coming like a freight train, homeschool co-op, and normal family life. We're a little overwhelmed and could use prayer.

All of this is to say that Saint Nicholas is delayed now. I'm hoping to have it in this week, but both my shoulders hurt, so typing for any length of time is a challenge, not to mention not being able to rest my left elbow anywhere without shooting pain. My goal is to have it back next week, so we can do a quick preview knit (not a test, it shouldn't need much, if any, editing at that point) so I can see how people like the design and to have some extra project pages besides my own ready to link up when I release the pattern in November. If you are interested, please e-mail me, contact me via Arabian Knits Designs on Facebook, or @arabianknits on Instagram, on my Ravelry groupor leave a comment here with your e-mail address. This is a quick stocking, knit in a worsted weight (and only one!), that can easily be finished by the middle of November, but even if you don't finish, but post a couple pictures of your progress, I would be grateful. Amira is still on hold, as I haven't even had a chance to look over it with the editor at all. I'm hoping to get to that before the end of the year.

Since I spent so much time either hurt or sick this past couple weeks, I did a lot of reading. I'm still reading An Everlasting Meal, but I'm almost finished with it. Also, I finished two books: Last Wool and Testament and Dyeing Wishes. Both light, happy little murders in a series. Easy to read, a little predictable in the first, and using a bit too much Encyclopedia Brown tactics in the second, but fun.



Also posting to Keep Calm and Craft On and Yarn Fanatic.

Meals this week are heavy on what can someone else do to help. The kids have been wonderful, even doing as much schoolwork as they could without me home while I went to the doctor, and doing a lot of the copying for worksheets and meal prep, so I don't hurt myself. They even did most of their chores before Rich and I got home from the doctor's without being asked. It was such a huge blessing. Dominic even volunteered to grade his younger siblings' schoolwork, so I could rest. And he and Amira have been helping with phonics and Bible history with their younger brother and sisters.

We're also in the middle of potty training here. If Nejat is potty trained this week, it would be the first time in 18 years that we didn't have someone in diapers. We are so close! And cannot wait. Speaking of which, Alexander turns 18 this week. It's hard to believe. He gets to vote in the election this year, which he isn't all that excited about, and register for selective service, which none of us are all that excited about now. It is still a big deal, though. I'm hoping to be not in pain in time to make his cake. One nice thing is that his school has Monday off, so he gets three day weekend for his birthday.

The good news is that our garden is still giving us squash, tomatoes, peppers and a few cucumbers, plus radishes and things like that. We are still enjoying the fresh produce. However, the first real frost is supposed to be next week. So, goodbye garden after that.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Dirty Eggs, Toast, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: White Chicken Chile with Salsa, Avocado and Tortilla Chips, Chef Salad, Brownies
• Monday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Cinnamon Sugar, Bananas, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper with Potatoes and Green Beans, Steam Sauteed Crookneck Squash
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Chilaquiles, Bananas, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Kofta, Rice, Roasted Cauliflower, Harissa, Tomato Cucumber Salad
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Banana Nut Bread, Sliced Apples, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Pasta with Tomato and Onion Sauce*, Leftover Salad
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Tunisian Shakshouka (using sweet potatoes), Toast, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Cold Cut Sandwiches, Vegetable Sticks, Pickles
• Friday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Dolmas, Rice with Olives, Parsley and Pine Nuts
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Caramel Apple French Toast Strata*, Bacon, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Pizza, Salad, Chocolate Cake

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up.

Labels: Birthday, Books, Church Year, Crochet, Design, Family, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Homesteading, Knitting, Menu Plans, Prayer Requests, Tales from the Kitchen, Yarn Along