Friday The 13th

My Friday started out like most of my Fridays do --  trying to work on this seemingly endless pile of wood in my back yard.

Seriously, I'm beginning to think it's multiplying while I'm not looking.  I cut, and cut, and cut, but the pile never seems to get any smaller.  After a bit, I came inside for a drink, and one of my cousins reminded me that it is indeed Friday the 13th.  I needed to be working with a machete, not a chainsaw.

I'd been wanting to get rid of all this mess,

so, I went and got said machete and that's exactly what I did. 

I'm telling you, that stuff can take over a yard.  I've already cut it back from blocking my gate twice this year, and it was starting to block it again.  When the spring comes, I'm going to try to keep it mowed down, starting from when it first appears.  Maybe that will kill it off for good. 

When that was done, it was back to chainsawing, until I broke my chainsaw. 

The chain came off.  After several unsuccessful attempts to get it back on, I gave up in frustration and decided I was done cutting wood for a while. 

After a shower, the rest of my day was taken up with knitting.  One of my Facebook groups is having a holiday themed dishcloth swap.  It can be for any holiday -- well, any of the upcoming holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year's Day. 

I completed this one today.  It's hard to see with the variegated yarn, but the pattern is of a Christmas ornament.  Here we see it in its pre-blocked, pre-end woven in state. 

I finished this one a few days ago.  It's a little snowman.  It is also presented in its pre-blocked, pre-end woven in state. 

The group is assigning swap partners Sunday, but I'm pretty sure none of them read this blog, so I doubt I'm ruining the surprise.  Even so, I've got another dishcloth cast on that I won't show until after the swap.  Just in case, you know.

Along about 12:30, the electricity went out.  I'm not sure what was going on, because it wasn't stormy or anything.  Since Anastasia is no longer here to guard my roses, I used that time to cut them back pretty hard.  There was a lot of dead stuff  in there that I cut out, plus I thinned the rest out so sun and air can get in there.  I still have to do the back side -- the part of the fence that is in the back yard.  Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow, since I won't be chainsawing any time soon. 

The rest of the time that the power was out, I sat in the shade in a lawn chair and knit.  It got warm, but it was pleasant in the shade and there was a nice breeze blowing.  I almost hated to see the lights come back on. 

And that, pretty much, was my Friday the 13th.