I found out that I passed my exam. Apparently I aced the Taxation & Pension parts - I bloody should've since I battle the Taxman at every opportunity! Seven of us attended the course from my little "group" & only TWO of us passed the exam according to my Up-line. My table mate & I wrote the 3 hour exam in less than 2 hours. The guy in front of us finished in just over 1 hour. We all decided that we must be really, really smart or really, really stooopid because none of us thought the exam was that tough. I think we only needed the calculator once or twice in the whole thing . . . we decided we weren't going to worry about it. Today, I found out I now have to be fingerprinted!

Summer's coming to an end & you can feel it in the cool evenings. I think this time of year is one of my favorite times, oh, I love the Indian Summer of the early Fall too. Those clear, blue days when you think the time will go on forever & you get to wear a favorite hand knit sweater & socks with your walking shorts! But, I think this time of year is the best! The days are warm but not scorching & nights are cool enough to sleep comfortably. Field tomatoes are just ready. You can still find cherries & nectarines with melons of every kind. Jam is simmering on the stove. And wool starts to look really good again. When it was so hot & sticky, I didn't want to knit ANYTHING. Now that it's cooled a bit, I've started to knit socks again! This pair in the Regia NATIONS colorway is for a work cohort. She teaches the Theory portion of the Motorcycle Training & is often out in the parking lot assisting with the Practical Training as well. I thought these would make her stand out from the crowd!

I downloaded a couple of CABIN FEVER top-down sweaters from PATTERNFISH the other day. I've been slobbering over a couple of them for ages & finally bit the bullet & ordered them. I have some lovely hot pink & purple yarn bought on sale which will look great in the PONCHO PULLOVER. I think this one will be terrific to throw on when I'm off to the grocery store or Starbucks to have a tea with the Techie Boys!!
And I have tons of blue or magenta dk weight yarn which would work for with the MENDOCINO SWEATER from OAT COUTURE! It's not top-down but it's such a pretty cardigan with light cables & seed stitch.
I also fell for the TOP-DOWN SWING COAT also from CABIN FEVER just because of the different directions the knitting went. It intrigued me a little & it's that simple garter stitch design that's soooo cuddly when it's cold. I personally think it would work out really well with handspun yarns. The directional variation in the SWING COAT would really suit handspun! Sweaters, sweaters everywhere & only two hands to use . . .

Hello World

I survived the Weekend. I rode the train for the first time in probably, maybe, 10 years. I didn't discover till the END of the day that I didn't validate my ticket in the morning. Yup, I inadvertently became a Scofflaw!! I stuffed that ticket in the machine & it 'clunked' but I didn't realize it was supposed to 'suck' the ticket in & print a time on it before spitting it back. The 'clunk' meant nothing. Ooooops - I'm just an old fart from the 'burbs . . . anyway, I learn quickly. Picked myself up a Bum when I exited the Granville Station - I asked for directions & he offered to be my guide! Bought us both a coffee & bagel at Timmy's right next to the place! After the fact, you can tell where BCIT is because there's a Timmy's, a Starbucks, a Mcdonald's, a Pizza-by-the-slice joint & an Extreme Pita within a half block!!!

54 people attended the weekend class from all over the Lower Mainland & the Island. The class turned out to be a REVIEW of the course which MOST people in the class had not yet finished. Some hadn't even started! One or two were unaware there was an ON-LINE course. Some came to the Review Weekend to find out what to study for. We have three opportunities to write the exam for our Mutual Funds License. Some will not write the exam tonite - one of their three attempts - and go home to review only what's in the handout from the weekend & write again later. I decided to review what I had problems with - two chapters I didn't study - and write the exam tonite just to get it over with!!!

Gad, ONE more climb up all those stairs to Seymour Street & it's over. Unless I fail. I better not fail. I want my life back! I've had more brain & body exercise in the last three days than I've had in the last three months . . . .

MIA

I know, I know, nothing has been posted for ages!! I've been Missing In Action, so to speak for the past week or so while trying my best to complete an On-Line course for a Weekend Course that I stupidly signed up for, ohhhh, about three weeks ago. I was told " It's only a two day course over a weekend with the exam on the Monday . . . ." so I paid the 400 bucks, sent in my application & got ready to do the "Weekend Course". Of course, none of these stupid things are that simple & easy!

I found out about a week after enrolling that the "Weekend Course" was just a Case Study Session! I had the course to do, On Line, BEFORE the weekend in question which was less than TWO WEEKS away. Oh yeah, somehow I'm working almost full time & then must come home to my hot little basement & try to do a course in less than two weeks. Good thing I took a Calculus course waaaaay back in the 80s because there are formulas to memorize & use. Did I say we CAN use a calculator?? It can't make noise, must not be programmable & you STILL have to memorize the formulas! And here it is, two days before the "Weekend . . ." and I'm only a little more than half way through. Last night I came home from my job exhausted. I laid down to have a nap - the old eyeballs were red & tired - and woke up FIVE HOURS later - to my surprise. I had something to eat & was back in bed by midnight & slept through to 6:30 this morning! That's tired!

So, now, it's back to the computer. I have to finish learning about Mutual Funds, bonds, stocks, debentures, T-Bills, GICs, Loans, Premiums, Discounts, face values vs market value, Strike, Bid, Ask, Money Markets, the Rights of a Client, confidentiality, Interest, Capital Gains, Grossing up, Taxable Income, Net Income, when you're In the Money, At the Money or Out of Money & Trading in the Market. I still have to find out about the rest! Whooooo Hooooo. Right now - I think I'd rather spin or dye some wool . . . .

Knitting Right Along

I've enjoyed the last few days of cool & damp intellectually even though my joints hate it physically. I creak like an old sailing ship in the mornings & avoid stairs if I can. Thank gawd for fish oil & enteric aspirin!

Not much progression on the 'lump' spinning since it's been too wet to pull the spinner out to the patio - why is it that it rains sideways when you have an open sided roof???
In my crafting defense, I've pulled out the latest "hoodie" & am moving rapidly towards the shoulders & hood. The yarn I'm using is rather loud so I found a solid pink to knit the yoke. I'm really hoping that the street kids of Afghanistan don't have the color allergies of the spoiled kids in North America. I think the colors are fun but, who knows what a kid will think??? When this one is finished, the next one will be in the grey/tan/cherry. I have about 10 balls of it so I can make another size 10 or 12 sweater for a larger kid.
Also in my own defense, I've been working on the purple Kyler's Kardigan for myself as well - you can see it just peeping out from under the hoodie in the photo. It's the top down garter stitch cardi I've been working on in that nice Marble acrylic yarn from Knitopia. It feels soooooo soft & yummy as I work & I'm really looking forward to wearing it in the Fall. It's almost hip length at the moment!

Haven't knit a sock in some time. I just got tired of socks I guess, although I invested in six sets of Knitpicks Harmony circs. I bought two sets of size 2, 2.25 & 2.50mm needles in the 24" length. When I did the Smoldering Hearts socks, I had to use circular needles to keep the front & back separated because the lace chart had two parts that were slightly different. I'm not totally comfortable with two circs but I see their advantage when doing patterns or lace. I want to make a pair of Monkey socks from Knitty for myself & will use a set to keep the pattern organized. And I still have two pairs of promised socks to make . . . .

Have you seen the new Knitty??? I fell in love with VICTORIA! I printed it off immediately when I saw it! And it goes up to a 60" bust! I don't have turquoise yarn but I DO have Magenta Dalesman wool & a lovely Eton wool in a soft, slightly faded, blue. And, come to think of it, I also have a whole lot of Briggs & Little in the Anniversary Blue colorway reminiscent of faded blue jeans - both blue yarns were bought with He, who will not be mentioned, in mind but have become MINE by default! In the end, it doesn't matter which yarn I use, I love this sweater & intend to make it for myself.