Cooooler Temps


I am sooooo enjoying the cooler weather today. I did NOT enjoy it yesterday after the barometer fell. I woke up stiff, sore & aching all over - it was Monday, Curves day. It took me an extra hour, one hot shower & two Tylenol arthritis pills to get it in gear to go to Curves. I managed to get thru the workout to find I'm not actually malingering when the weather changes. The computer recorded a definite decrease in range of motion & strength! This shouldn't come as a surprise of course, since I really notice it when I have swollen, hot joints but to have it acknowledged on a graph on the computer when I'm only stiff & sore - well, it really brings the chickens home to roost, so to speak! And, pushing & pulling those damn machines really makes my hands hurt too!
Have to admit the exercise does make be feel better when it's over . . . maybe you don't understand how bad you can feel until it stops???? LOL

And on to knitting, I decided to try a lace patterned sock.
I found this great sweater with a simple lace pattern & really liked it. I had to swatch the pattern! And then decided to try the pattern - a simple repeat over 7 stitches - in a sock that I was making in a purple OPAL. Too much association with the Lace knitting gang on Wednesday nites. I think! I think the lace pattern is interesting but would look better in a softer yarn - the OPAL tends to be a little stiff but that may change when I wash the sizing out. I still like the effect though so I may just try another pattern with the softer DROPS Fabel yarn I have next in the lineup. It has a color pattern but it's mostly large runs of one color so it may be a better choice for a knitted pattern. I've turned the heels on the OPAL socks & am on the home stretch. Hopefully, I'll have one finished for Wednesday nite to show off!

Still spinning up white mill ends for a big dyeing day. I want at least six big skeins ready so I can knit up a big project for a change. I have a couple of things in mind & it just may turn out to be a lacy or openwork project so I can make the most of what I'll have spun up. I won't know for sure until the yarn is spun, dyed & dried so I can swatch.


What a difference a year makes!! The second-hand cat is reclining on the same knitted blanket a little over a year in between the pictures - I ran across these today & was shocked - she wasn't sick or anything but she learned to sneak out at nite!!


And poor old Arvik?? Well, I'm thinking I may rip it back yet again, to the middle of the yoke & finish it off with an openwork pattern on bigger needles so I can make the most of the yarn I actually have. I figure this is the fastest way to actually get a sweater finished before the end of the summer! I DO love the shetland wool & particularly Arvik's lovely shades of grey. But she can't give me anymore fleeces so I have to make the most of what I have.

And so this is Canada Day


And it's just another day in the life of a separated, self-employed woman rapidly approaching retirement. Well, rapidly approaching the AGE of retirement in Canada, that is. Whether or not I CAN retire is the question to ponder on this Canada Day. I've worked since I was 15 for small businesses & non-profits so I have little in the way of pension credits other than those paid to the National Plan unless I kill my Ex. The Doomsayers question the long term existence of The Plan. The Baby Boomers are certainly taxing the limits of The Plan. The Cost of Living may soon exceed the payments of The Plan.
So, on this Canada Day, I am planning to keep working until I die.

Having pondered the future, I think I'll spend the rest of the day spinning.

By the way, I stole the Knitted Sushi pictured above from one of my chums who's using it as his latest ID pic on Messenger! And the bugger doesn't even knit!! Can you believe that???

A couple of years ago, I bought one of the 15lb bags of white mill ends from the Sheep Shed Studio. They're from the Brown Sheep mill. And they're gorgeous. I still have most of the bag which I split with my pal, Gail & other than the yarn I spun up for my Danish Working Shawl, its remained in the bag. Most of the bag was full of wool/mohair roving that feels & spins like silk - you could tell by the pink tint which washes out easily. The rest of the bag was oval 'bumps' of a slightly woolier stuff. I spun the 'bumps' for my Danish Working shawl because it had a sponginess & elasticity which the mohair/wool roving did not. I guess I just liked the feel!

While sorting thru baskets & bins last week - my annual attempt to clean house & toss stuff I don't need - I ran across the bag. I wondered why I hadn't spun it all up when I first got it. The stuff spins beautifully & maybe that's it's main problem - it flows so smoothly thru the fingers that it almost spins itself. And that can get really boring after a while . . . . I started spinning a couple of the 'bumps' that I just had to pull out & now have an almost filled bobbin - this pic is from LAST week. Oh, I heard someone in the crowd snort. This giant bobbin my dear, holds at least a pound of spun wool - it's on an Indian Spinner!

I thought I'd fill the bobbin a couple of times & save the skeins for a day of dyeing. It would be nice to have enough yarn to knit something soft to cuddle into when it gets cold & damp in the fall. And to all of you out there who're laughing because you know I've been knitting Arvik for three years, one giant Bronx Cheer!!!

On someone's Blog I read, "Unhappy people watch more television. Those who describe themselves as "happy" spend more time socializing & reading . . . " Hmmmm - so what does that mean for us who plug in a good murder on the old headset & spin???

By the way, I finished my Rosy DROPS Fabel socks the other day & tried them on this morning to take a photo. One pic & the camera reports the chip is full!! Damn. I bought a new chip reader but it does funny things & puts my photos somewhere else . . . . now I have to hunt for them. Grrrrrrrrrr . . .

Curves Update


Yesterday, after dithering for a week, talking to friends - dithering some more - checking out the competition & just plain laying about, I decided it was in my own best interest to just give in & sign on for a year with Curves. And, I can hear the bell tolling in my head as I write this . . . I just spent too much time on the Cardiac & Stroke wards last fall with the BT to NOT sign on & get my butt moving. The monthly fee bothered me a whole lot. But I checked out the Rec Centre, which is half the price & knew I wouldn't go with all the 20 somethings in spandex & sweat pants . . . I've tried the Multi-Location spot that has all the frills but no instructors to help unless you pay $80 an hour . . . . the Women only local joint has no air-conditioning in the summer - ouch!! And I don't want to work out with the Testosterone crowd . . a l t h o u g h h h h . . NAAAAAA, I'd be too intimidated even though it sounds like fun . . . So I bit the bullet & signed on with Curves.

Yesterday, I went just after lunch to do the paperwork etc. And met the wackiest woman in the world. Apparently the place is dead from lunch to 3:00 - afternoon nap time, I'm sure of it!! So I decided to wander in when it was quiet. The Whirlwind takes me over, does the paperwork & leads me thru the optional computerized programming. Apparently Curves offers a whole lot more than just the circuit training! I'd been watching members insert these tags into the special equipment attached to the machinery & although they do the same circuit, they do it a little differently. So I made sure I got signed on for THAT too. They also have a walking club & weight loss club - I am NOT signing on for more than I can cope with right now.

So, I'm signed up for the Computerized Circuit. Apparently you have to do at least two weeks on the plain circuit before you can sign up for the computerized plan & I've now done my 30 days for the Study! So we sign on , transfer my sign up info & workout info from the study & it assigns me a TAG. We stuck my little tag into each machine, did three full movements, waited for the beep & did three more. After completing the circuit, we went back to the computer, inserted my tag & IT NOW KNOWS MY NAME & BODY. Sounds ominous, doesn't it??? It sets up a program for me. I have to stay within the Green zone as I work out. If I slow down or hesitate, it flashes YELLOW. It has determined that I have good upper body strength - must be all that knitting!!! - AND I am a lot weaker in my right leg - told ya - it targets my right hip, inner thigh & glut as needing work. It assigns me strength & endurance work on each machine according to my numbers. On some machines I have to do so many reps, on others I just have to go slowly & stay green. After my circuit, I'm to go back to the computer, plug in my tag & call up the information from the workout. The computer will show me a graph of how I worked, if I worked to program & where I exceeded or fell short of my goals.

I went back for another circuit as programmed. The instructor recommended that I only do ONE circuit my first time since I'd already done it once while programming. Well, I said, we'd see how it goes . . . and bit off more than I could chew! That computerized program really put me thru my paces, gang. I was stumbling with exhaustion at the end of that circuit - and YES, I only did ONE more! It pushed me to muscle exhaustion. I actually did smaller movements but more reps. Turns out that I have the strength to do the work but not the endurance. The machine is going to work on the Endurance part of exercise . . . . oh bloody!

And I found out why I've been in such pain & why I injured myself on the 30 day program. I was doing WAY TOO MUCH. I was using too much weight & trying to force my right side to keep up with my left. The Computer has changed my program so I work at the pace my right side can do instead of injuring it trying to keep up with the left. So I'm doing lighter work but for a longer time. I literally went home after that workout & crawled on the couch for a nap. And, nothing hurts today folks. NOTHING!