Miracles

One: Hubby replaced the empty toilet paper roll with a new one. Even threw the old tube away. He missed the trashcan (apparently he took the phrase 'throw away' literally), but he tried. I was impressed, and it isn't easy to impress me at 4:30 in the morning, especially when I am unable to fall asleep until 2.

Two: It is raining, and for the second time this week. This is a wonderful and welcome sight in an area where the geese appear to be walking on water because parts of the lake are so low.

Three: Our one-footed redwing blackbird and our baldheaded cardinal made it through another winter and are back at the feeders. The cardinal is even regaining a few feathers on his head.


OK, so they probably aren't really miraculous happenings...except for the first one. That really is a miracle.

In my E-mail

"No more hopeless efforts to enlarge your p#n*s".

Thanks goodness. Because if I did have one I would certainly not be wanting to make it larger.


In a complete change of subject, I am going out to lunch today. To Olive Garden. I looove Olive Garden. And I am going with someone who isn't my Mom or my hubby. How different is that?

After lunch I am stopping by Knitwits to choose yarn for a project and hubby can't say a word because I am not paying for it, so there. Neener, neener, neener.
Mom wants a couple of tea cosies for a friend's birthday. One will be out of Paton's Merino. The other is for a tiny 2 cup pot and will be felted. My brilliant idea is to make a small version of the Bzzz hat in SnB Nation and felt it down before adding the bees. I will definitely be doing a test swatch first. So my mission for today, and I do choose to accept it because, Hey! Yarn shopping!, is to find a beehive colored feltable yarn. I am thinking Lamb's Pride or Cascade 220. Lopi is too fuzzy and who wants to shave a beehive?

The sun is shining today so I hope to get some pics taken. How many times have I said that recently? Let's not count.

And Jackie? I find an immature Malfoy to be a far more reasonable match for you than Dumbledore. Bwahahahahahaha!

Yeah, I'm so mature myself.

HP Personality Profile

No wonder I like him so much.


Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Silver?

The sweater is finished.

It was not finished by the time the flame was doused on Sunday.

I'm not terribly upset about it.


By flame's end I had 1 inch of stockinette and the crocheted border to go.

Want to hear all the iffen I did?

If I had not gotten the size wrong for the top of Tubey and had to start all over on the night of the 15th...

If I had done the ribbing called for on the Top Down V Neck instead of designing my own edgings...

If I had not been picky about the edgings and not frogged the sleeves 3 times and the neck 4...

If I had not made it a looong tunic length...

Then I would have been done days ahead of deadline.

But I am very pleased with the results and eager to begin a new sweater. I learned so much from making this and got over my Fear and Dread of knitting clothing. I don't know how much longer I would have procrastinated on it if not for the Olympics. I am very grateful for the experience.

Tomorrow - pics of the sweater and details of pattern, etc.

Replies to Replies

Nalani:

No, you didn't send me any pattern books...but I will take any that you care to send. *grin!*

Jackie:

You had best learn to speak 'knibberish' since Sonja wants to learn knitting.
Crochet has it's own set of gibbersih that you will have to learn as well.

Get busy.





We ate lunch out today using some of the stack of gift cards we received over the Christmas holiday. It was quite yummy. Alex had a half-rack of ribs (yes, he finished them) and I grossed out both of My Guys by ordering a Vegetarian Sandwich and a salad. I took my knitting but did not have time to do any. I have not done ANY knitting today, as a matter of fact, and had best get busy.

Tomorrow is meant to be sunny so I will try to remember to take some pics and post them. All words and no pics makes blogging a dull view.

Progress

Last night...

Me: "Well, I've put the sleeves on scrap yarn and CO to work in the round, just have to knit the body as long as I want and then pick up and knit the sleeves and the neck. It's supposed to be ribbed but I may do something else if I have time. And I rechecked my gauge and did the math and....."

Younger Son: "Mom, you're talking knitting gibberish. Speak English."

Me: "I should be able to finish on time and actually get it over my head."

Younger Son: " Oh, OK. Good for you."




This morning....

Hubby: 'Is this really going to get finished and BE something?"

Me: holding sweater up and explaining, "This will be sleeves, this is the neck, I'm working on the body."

Hubby: "Oh yeah, I see it now. Very good. It really is going to be a sweater."

A pause...

"Ummm, how much did that yarn cost me?"

Me: "Well, since I got it on clearance at $1.50 a skein last year, between $4.50 and $6 for the sweater.

Hubby: "Cool. So $6 for yarn and 500 hours of work...."

At least he gets the work involved.





15 minutes ago...

Me: with calculator in hand, "I've done 4,450 stitches so far today." (By way of explaining why I need to take a break.)

Younger Son: "Uh huh. Are you going to open that package of cookies?"




And they wonder why I need Knit Night and the Knittyboard.

Tubey is Toast

I made the back, worked on both sleeves for awhile, tried it on and


too small.


As in barely managed to cram my fat arms into it small.

So Tubey was frogged and rewound and I reswatched with 2 yarns and 3 needle sizes.
Late Wednesday afternoon I cast on for a top down V Neck pullover in sportweight yarn, size 7 needles.

The heck with Addis, *I* need to become Turbo Knitter.

I am determined to get the Gold, though, so will persevere and just have noodle arms for a week in early March.

I mentally debated switching patterns all Tuesday night. Should I change from what I began with? Having Tubey come out that small disheartened me, and I would not have enjoyed trying again. And I did only sign up to make Ye Dreaded Sweater, not Tubey, so I didn't feel it would be 'cheating' to change. I do want to make Tubey - I can see what I did and how to change it so it remains on my 'List'.



My Valentine (to abruptly change the subject) is being made and should arrive in another month or so.
I am getting a new couch, with the fabric of my choosing on it, that feels comfortable to me! I have no idea how it is going to fit in our living room but I am very excited. And no, it is not blue, it is sage green. The sweater I am making is blue though, so that should calm anyone worried that I have gone insane by using a color other than blue for something.
I did buy an orange sweater this winter which I enjoy wearing to my parent's as it completely freaks my Mom out. She keeps staring and cannot complete a thought.It's very satisfying.

Maybe my Olympic sweater will garner the same response. Hopefully not because it has 3 sleeves.

A Weekend Alone

Yep.

Alex will be leaving at 1630 hours on a weekend trip to an Air Force base for Color Guard practice and won't be back until Sunday afternoon. Billy works a 24 hour shift today and has class Saturday and Sunday. Do you know what his means?
It means that I get the remote control!
It will be a little weird. I am rarely, if ever, alone in my house for more than an hour or so while Alex is outside with friends (we home-educate, remember, so he's here 24/7). Billy being off for 2 days at a time means the TV is constantly going.

I love them dearly but am looking forward to having some space.

And what perfect timing! We can officially cast on for the Olympics at 2 pm today, which gives me lots of uninterrupted knitting time. (Don't call me. I will be either: giddy that my first sweater is going so well or, very frustrated and upset that sticks and string are getting the best of me.)

Before Alex leaves I have to do a horrible, horrible thing.
I have to sew.
Not fun sewing. Hemming. Hemming dress blues pants. Pants that have to be longer in the back than in the front, which makes them a complete and total PITA.
Mom helped me to get them pinned up yesterday. My mother is 4' 10" and has had to hem every pair of pants she has ever owned.
She hated the dress blues.
We finally got them pinned. 6 inches have been cut off and I have to cut a couple more. Stitching is not supposed to show, and I hate doing a blind hem. I have a sewing machine, for Pete's sake, I don't want to do it by hand.
So I am going to cheat. I bought that non-sew, iron on, fusible hem stuff. I tested it on some fabric we cut off and it worked....bwahahahaha!
I also have to sew a patch on the shoulder of his new shirt but that is a minute's work on my new machine - goes through it like buttah.

Oh well, another hour with the pants gives me almost 2 days of knitting.
It's worth it.

You've Got Gauge

Yes, yes I do.

Which means I have done all I can to my Knitting Olympics sweater for now.

My choice? Tubey, from Knitty. Although I will not be putting horizontal stripes across my bodacious tatas and ever-enlarging belly...no, it will be done in a solid that has subtle hints of other colors. A cheap yarn that I have on hand, have enough of, and can get gauge with. And that's all I am telling you until the 10th.

I am going to see if I can finish Clapotis by then. If I quit messing about with little things and concentrate on it exclusively I can probably do it.



On the personal front, Billy has been working a great deal of overtime (12 hour hirebacks). As an example: He worked 24 hours Thursday, stayed to work another 12 on Friday, came home at 7 pm, left to do papers at 4 am and work another 24. He gets off at 7 this morning and will most likely sleep in his chair most of the day. Since I am staying up all night I just might be sleeping, too. Good thing the Younger Son is the responsible sort...;-)


It's nice to be blogging again. I need to reread how to make lovely links, and I have buttons and things I want to put on my sidebar. Maybe this week. The place could use some spiffing up (lazy faeries).

Anybody home?

Wow, is it dusty! And what is that smell?

I thought perhaps the faeries would keep up in here but apparently the only mythical creatures patrolling the web are trolls. Guess I will have to do my own dirty work.


I had the flu (the actual flu, not a fluid-spewing virus that people insist on referring to as flu) and subsequently came down with sinus and lung infections. I am on some huuuuge pill that contains 2 antibiotics and am feeling some better. Still have little energy which I think is due to running out of breath whenever I try to do something. This means the 24¢ fish are staring sappily at me through even dirtier water than usual, and you do not want to examine my kitchen floor too closely. Sweeping does not remove all evils.



I joined some KALs (knitalongs) and am in the 3rd section of a clapotis as part of the Behind the Times KAL. I also joined the Monthly Dishcloth group at Yahoo and am on my third one.

Yes, I am knitting and not flaking. Such a new experience for me. *grin*

The big thing I am going to join in on is Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics. I am nothing if not a lemming. Really, though, the thought of so many of us worldwide knitting to reach a goal at the same time is amazing to me and there is no way I can pass it up. Only problem is, it is meant to be a challenge. Something you are just a bit fearful of, that will stretch your abilities yet be within reach.

This means, for me, a sweater.

The thought of lace, entrelac, Fair Isle, intarsia...these all interest me, are things I want to try and am not afraid of. I know I will make mistakes with them, have to frog. I consider that part of learning them.

I cannot seem to apply that way of thinking to a sweater.

And it would be so great to have a sweater that fits! One that does not hang 3 inches shorter in the front, one in which the long sleeves do not extend past my fingertips and hang to my knees!

I will do a simple one. I have narrowed it down to 2 possibilities: Knitty's Tubey or White Lies Design's Shapely T.

The Tubey claims it will stretch to fit my chest. The Shapely T includes short-row shaping to compensate. I have to decide soon so I can swatch, which is considered training and is allowed before Opening Ceremonies.

It has to be finished in 16 days.

Oh well, that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? And I will be in good company, others are doing their first sweaters for this, including a woman in my Knit Nite group.

So I will go to YH's blog and join the over 2,000 knitters who have already signed on.
If you hear a thunking sound later, that is me banging my head against the wall.

The 24¢ Fish

Back in the summer of 2003, in the dog days of August, Hubby and the Younger Son built a little pond in our yard. It was a nice little pond with a small spray of water in the center.

It was not big enough for My Guys. Apparently ponds can be weenies and we certainly can't have THAT in our yard, now can we?

So back in the spring of 2004, Hubby and the Younger Son built a bigger, deeper, better pond. It was a very nice pond. A 300 gallon pond with a waterfall, surrounded by rocks, with a small spray of water in the center. And plants. It had to have plants.



Summer came, and the pond was still found to be weenie-ish. Apparently the ultimate way to unweenie a pond is to have it support Life Aquatic. And where does one find such things?

Petsmart, of course.

Petsmart was absolutely teeming with fin-bearing life forms and after much perusing Hubby decided that we should put...

wait for it...

feeder goldfish in the pond.
24¢ feeder goldfish.

Not pretty koi. No, just cheap, tiny carp.

No point in spending too much money on them, Hubby said, in case they croak. I wanted to tell him he is confusing fish and frogs, but decided to remain silent.

The fish do well in the pond. Hubby and/or Younger Son feed the fish several times a day, ignoring all advice from Experts on Fish and Ponds that they do not even need to be fed every day, let alone several times. Hubby talks to the fish. The fish begin to come to the surface whenever Hubby walks by the pond.

It's a bit eerie, actually.

Autumn approaches, as it invariably does, and the air begins to cool. So does the water in the pond. Hubby casually mentions one day that we need to get a tank set up in the bedroom.

Huh?? A tank? What in the world for?

Silly me. For the goldfish, of course. They would freeze to death if left outside in the pond and we certainly can't have that, now can we?

Apparently not.

A 29 gallon tank with filter, light, etc. is purchased and set up in our room. More food is bought. Chemicals are added. The fish are caught and placed in plastic bags, being released into their winter quarters after a suitable period of adjustment. Winter quarters that cost well over $125 to purchase and set up, so that the 24¢ fish can be safe and snug.
Hubby talks to the fish and feeds them several times a day. What the heck, the man works 24 hours on and 48 hours off, it gives him something to do.

Spring of 2005 comes. The pond water warms, aided by the heater that floated in it all winter. The fish are set free and seem to enjoy themselves. The whole neighborhood talks to the fish, cats try to catch them, and I can watch them from my craft room window. They push the plants around the pond, chew off their roots, and make sucking - chomping noises.

When Autumn came, I bowed to the inevitable and cleared off my dresser. The tank is prepared and the fish are caught, all 7 of them, and placed in their winter home.

They are HUGE.The 7 of them line up across the front of the tank and STARE.
They STINK. Oh boy, do they stink! I keep a bowl full of potpourri on my bedside table and spray my pillow with perfume. I fear my clothes reek and that people will look for whalers as I approach.

We should have fileted them and made brunch.


They will not be coming back in next year. I put my foot down (although not anywhere that water). I don't think they would fit anyway. I can picture one bloated fish, all that could be crammed into the tank, floating sideways and unable to move, just waiting for spring.

Carp sandwich, anyone?

The Project

The Project is in the mail.
Bye, bye, Project!


I am not sure what I think about it.

I started it with far more enthusiasm than skill and knowledge (as I do most things) and so it took far longer to make than I thought it would.I had only been knitting a couple of months when I began this and didn't even have the basics down, but what the hey, I can do it. :-D

I had this wonderful vision for it, based on 2 patterns that I dearly love - the Color on Color Scarf from Scarf Style (the one that Yarner is doing a KAL for and that I would love to be able to justify the $75 worth of yarn...sigh!) and the Anthracite Shawl in Ponchos and Wraps-a Knitter's Dozen.I am very intrigued by the idea of a Log Cabin pattern done in yarns.I would have many different yarns sent to me by many people so both would seem to be a good choice to build from, right?

HA!

To begin with, the Log Cabin in the center required, of course, picking up of stitches, which I had never done. I didn't even recognize a knit stitch from a purl stitch yet, not that I was purling...Grin! That would not have been so hard except I was using...wait for it....Novelty yarns!
Yep, I had not progressed past Walmart yarns and thought that all those different textures would be cool. And many of them are. The parts where I began using the same color family and just changing the yarns every few rows in stripes are kinda neat.

It quickly became dubbed the Novelty Yarn Shawl From Hell, or, Joseph's Amazing Tecnicolor Nightmare.

Yes, novelty yarns are the work of the Devil and should be destroyed. Local burning times to be announced at a later date.

We all know that knitters have more than one project going at a time, often a big one with a smaller (or several smaller) ones for when you get aggravated with the big one. I did several projects along with this, most not taking more than a few days, and it helped a lot.
I learned how to recognize individual stitches, how to pick up dropped stitches, how to weave in ends and bind off....lots of basic stuff which helped Immensely with the NYSFH.

I thought what I had done looked horrid and started it over. A contributor saw what I had done with the first attempt and told me to keep on with that one, so I did.

It never looked finished to me. I added some blocks of color at the ends which helped to balance it some, and did the long stripes across the bottom, one of which I did dropped stitches in the center of to balance the pulling in of some yarns above. Not one of those darn yarns acted the same as another. Finally I tied on the charms and beads (did not sew them in case they want to become jewelry or be in a different place) and pronounced it done.

I have a song for it.
Are you familiar with The Song That Never Ends?
This is the Shawl That Never Ends.

This is the shawl that never ends
It just goes on and on, my friend
Somebody started knitting it not knowing what it was
And she'll continue knitting it forever just because
This is the shawl that never ends
It just goes........

Never teach your kids this before a road trip of any length.



If I did this again I would either:

1.Use the novelty yarns but just do stripes of texture in the same color family
or
2.Ask for good acrylic or superwash wools that would all behave pretty much the same way.

With either way I would assign colors. I finally noticed that there is not one green yarn in this. I find that very interesting.


Although I am sorely afraid that this Project will end up on You Knit What? (maybe I will submit it myself and beat out Domestic Overlord's Overalls of Shame - pics in a few days) I did like making it. I learned a great deal about how yarns behave, how colors work together, how textures change things. And of course the reason for making it was always in my mind. Yes, just close your eyes and feel the love emanating from it.

Keep those eyes closed.
Don't peek.
Seriously.

The Goodies

Ho Ho Ho!
Merry Christmas!

OK, so the Day is over - but the gifts remain. As does a mess, but that will be taken care of this afternoon.

Knitting related haul:

Ball winder
Swift
CP needles in size 7
Hanging circular needle storage
Sally Melville's Color
Knitting On the Edge
Sheep measuring tape
A $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble so I can buy books, mags, and frappacinos on SnB nights.

Yep, hubby is a sweetie at Christmas. And he has his odd moments throughout the year...Grin!


My room (crafts, fibers, computer) is a terrible mess - unorganized, and makes me woozy to walk into. Things placed willy nilly without being in their rightful places does that to me. So today I am embarking on a huge overhaul. I am sorting all yarns, beginning with all my old acrylic. Much of it will go to the church for the Heart2Hands prayer shawl ministry. If I get that much done today I will be pleased.

Started a hat for hubby last night, the one that needs to have CFD worked into it. He originally wanted a ribbing deep enough to fold up over the lettering. I didn't think that would look right since he choose the larger Army locker style letters from among those that I charted out and having a ribbing deep enough to cover those would put the letters way up on his head.
I worked the ribbing up and left the work on the table with a note about it (he leaves at 4:30 am). When I called him this morning he had decided that it should have shorter ribbing and not worry about turning it up. ;-D I knew he couldn't visualize what I was talking about until he saw it - I'll frog back and maybe have it done tonight.

The Big Project is done and packed up, heading for the PO this afternoon. I'll post about it tomorrow.

Hope your Christmas was a Merry one!

In Which The Woman Begins To Feel Human Again

When we last left our intrepid heroine she wasfar more useless than intrepid. A virtual blob, a bug on the windshield of life, contributing very little and creating work for others.
But now she is once again a functioning member of family and society! Amazing!

How did this miracle come about, you ask?

Drugs!
More drugs!

That's right, using the Better Life Through Chemistry Plan, she is able to eat, sleep, remember things, do housework - even cook a meal and bake bread! Wow!

Yes, after being offered More Drugs by her regular doctor for over 2 years she finally caved and asked about Sleep Aids. She discussed this with the nurse practioner, her regular doctor being unavailable. The NP talked about menopause, depression, and other things with her...and the NP sympathized! She understood menopause! Our heroine may even be in love with her!! The NP added an antidepressant to the one our H. has been taking, one that the NP felt would help the winter gloom and let her sleep. And it worked!
Our heroine has not slept through the night in years! Literally! Years! But for 4 nights she has slept 8 hours - all in a row. No creepy crawly feelings, no waking and staring at the ceiling, no using the bathroom 3 to 4 times.
Sleeping at night means she is awake during the day. And she does things! And she smiles! And laughs! And feels happy! Even though it is winter, and almost Christmas!

Wheee!

Here's wishing you all a Chemistry-Filled Christmas.
I'm going to bed now. I'm sleepy. ;-)

Monday, monday......

I'm feeling better this afternoon, still a bit tired.

Yesterday I had NO energy at all but finally was so bored that I could not lie around any longer. I curled up in my bedroom chair under the warming blanket and worked on something with part of the Project yarn that I had been wanting to make so the Small One would have something in the box as well.
I had lots of Bright and Lofty in an orangey-red color and plenty of red Fancy Fur so I made a scarf holding a strand of each and I am quite pleased with it. Did it on size 19 needles. It's colorful and soft, and long enough that an adult could wear it should the Small One tire of it. I'll try to take a pic this week.

Lots of packages came my way - Knitty Swaps that have increased my Stash and an amazing package from my Knitty SP, Woollymind! She has been a lovely SP and spoiled me rotten. This package included 3 kinds of yarn, tea, choccies, Marmite, notions....will take pictures this week and tell you what I plan to do with the yarn, already have a pattern for the Cherry Tree Hill which is the most gorgeous blend of blues and purples ever. I keep making Alex look at it...'isn't this pretty? Won't it look good as this?' His polite Uh huhs are getting a bit testy. ;-)

Since all I have accomplished today is vacuuming and sweeping I am off to make myself useful...riiiiight.

Ho HO Ho

My Knitting Guild is having our Christmas party right now. I am not there....obviously.
I really wanted to have that Pecan Crusted chicken, too. I paid for it. And it's at a lovely girly place, an old Victorian B&B.

But noooooo, I am sick.

Bah Humbug!



OK, enough griping. I do feel better than I did last night and missing a dinner isn't the end of the world.



I made my first pair of mittens. I did them both at once, like I do socks. Finished off the top of the first and it was just a wee bit too short, so I frogged it back to the colored section I had put in the middle of the mitten and just bound off. Picked up the stitches for the thumb and bound them off after a few rounds rather than making a full thumb. I will wear them on the paper route, since they are not as nice as I would like. I need to work on the parts near the thumb. It seemed like I had a hole as soon as I rejoined to work in the round (after putting the thumb stitches on waste yarn) and I do not like how I picked up stitches for the thumb. Not neat looking. Oh well, I figured as much, which is why I did them out of Encore and not the Cascade. Try, try again, but probably not until after Xmas.


Y'all stay well.

Knitter's Christmas Eve

Because I am too lazy to think up a post. This was in the Guild newsletter.



KNITTER'S CHRISTMAS EVE

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and toes had not a stitch there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.
Out on my lawn I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both Dad and the boys.
And though I was tired, my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplex-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I expected,
"Move, Ashford! Move, Lopi! Move, Addi and Clover!
Move, Reynolds! Move Starmore! Move Froelich --move over
Paton, don't circle 'round; stand in the line.
Come now, you sheep will work out just fine!
I know this is hard; it's just your first year,
I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing.
And then, in a twinkle, I heard at the door


Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned 'round St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe,
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.
A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back,
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.
The scarf 'round his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I espied a small label,
"S.C." was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
And I asked, "Hey, Nick, did you knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair,
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two,

He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks.
While I sat back drinking scotch on the rocks.
So quickly like magic his needles they flew
That he was all finished by quarter to two.
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me,
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year start your knitting sometime around June!"

BRRRRRRR!

It is 5 frickin' degrees outside.

5

frickin'

degrees.


Windchill about 4 below 0.


Why do I not live somewhere farther south like, oh, the Carribean?


It is, of course, my morning to do the newspaper route. I am very grateful that I am no longer walking my porch delivery route and can now stay in my car with the heater blasting and stick papers in plastic tubes along the road. (Hey, Somebody has to do it.) Still, staying in my bed with the heating blanket on my toes would be even better.

Menopause is good for something - I am so hot most of the time that last winter was not too bad and I suspect the Big M will be just as helpful this year. My Mom can't believe I run around without a coat on...hmmm, maybe because my body temp is currently 135ºF? No, wait - it is a bit chilly. No.....hot again.




The Big Project is down to deciding borders and edgings. If I ever mention that I am going to use a novelty fiber again, please shoot me. I am going to have to post pics when it is done so the folks who contributed to it can see...but I am very afraid that it will end up on You Knit What? and I will not know whether to laugh or cry. Maybe both, at once.


My last Chair Project (those little things we knitters work on in our chairs in the evenings during TV, etc.) was my brother's birthday scarf...about 6 feet of 2x2 ribbing. I think my thumbs are staging a protest. Anyway, it is packed up and ready to go...good thing he lives in this state cuz his birthday is Saturday.

Current chair project is my first pair of mittens, done in Plymouth Encore so I can wash and dry them. I have nothing for my hands and as I mentioned earlier it is

5....frickin'.... degrees

and it is not even Officially winter yet.

I have some lovely Cascade Pastaza (sp??), wool and llama, that I will make a pair out of once I figure out the thumbs on the Encore.



2 1/2 hours until my alarm goes off. It is now 4 degrees outside.

I think I may wear a coat.

So I lied

I didn't post twice in one week.

So shoot me.



I am going to have a lovely, lovely day tomorrow. Billy is working for 12 hours and Alex has gone to Ohio with the Civil Air Patrol. That last is a bit scary - how did he get old enough to be wearing a uniform and taking bus trips to another state for an entire weekend? But he will be having a great time - supervised - and I will have a Guy Free day. Hubby even gave me money and told me to go buy yarn or whatever! Whoo Hoo!
I am going to have a little spa hour at some point and use the lovely products my Knitty SP sent me.


Thanks to all of the kind comments and e-mails regarding my depression. It's something I have dealt with for many years and it is always worse in the winter. Those who know me well know that I tend to clam up and withdraw, which is why I need to make the effort to post. Thank you for caring!

IT......IS.......ALIVE!

Yes, yes I am.

This is the time of year that, even with meds, I have to really fight to stay on top of my depression. It just seems like such an effort to do ANYTHING that some things go by the wayside. The blog should be one of those things that I keep up with, though, since it keeps me connected to people.

*hand raised* I promise to do better, and to faithfully update my blog at least twice a week. ~grin~


Updates:


The Guys are putting all the Xmas decorations outside. Enough lights go up to qualify us for an airport runway. They enjoy it, so that's ok.

Hubby has been working scads of overtime which means he has been gone for 36 hour stretches.

Alex has joined the Civil Air Patrol. He went on an overnight last weekend and earned the rank of Airman. He loves it. If he stays with it until he is 18 he will be able to go into the service as an E3.

He wants a rifle for Christmas.

NO. WAY.

Cass is talking about moving to Chicago with some friends this coming spring when his lease is up. J.'s uncle claims he can get them into the Fire Service. And that they can all live with him until they find jobs and apts. Uh huh.

I repotted my spath yesterday. It has grown from 3 tiny leaves stuck into a mixed planter over 10 years ago into a nice plant that has bloomed twice this year and needs a 10" pot. I'm so proud. ~grin~

Making a hat out of thin sock yarn on size 1 needles is a bad idea.


Well, off to..........do ..... something.