Sunday, August 18, 2013

Eyes Close When I Sit Down

Lately, I've been having this problem. When I sit down, my eyes close! I'm tired all the damn time. Not that I'm doing much physical activity that isn't normal or anything, but I could quite happily spend every afternoon snoozing. Some days, if I get up early, go shopping, haul the recycling & clean up right away, I could go back to bed by noon. I want a nap when I get home from work instead of dinner. Old Age??? I'm not thinking so. Maybe this is why people retire???

In the meantime, I managed to finish the Regia socks. One more pair of winter socks!!! I've had to weed out a few pairs as they all got really thin at the same time, so new socks in the basket will be nice when the weather gets cold. Have you noticed we need a sweater outside most evenings lately???

Karen gave me three balls of my favorite Kroy yarn so I've cast on for another thick sock. I've gone back to my favorite bamboo skewer DPs for my latest Kroy socks. I can knit faster & see more of my TV show when I used them for socks. There's no rough joint to pick stuck stitches from on every round for one thing although I do miss those lovely pointed ends! My Kroy is a jacquard patterned yarn which knits up this lovely dense pattern in a slightly thicker yarn than the Regia.  I really like the Kroy socks when it's really cold outside because my basement floor is cement with tiles glued on top. Not much heat there when the temp dips low - lovely in the summer though when you don't need socks!!

Four trips to the Mail Box has told me my course will come to me all on-line. I do like a physical book to scribble up & a physical course to follow too - quite old fashioned of me, I know, but either way you have to haul something with the course material on it around with you! This way I have to haul a laptop. Would've preferred a paper outline with the questions & material to cover. Not liking that a whole lot. Now to fit the work on my desk, the course & work on the desk at work into my schedule where I want to sleep all the time. Interesting.
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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Just a little Sock Knitting

Too many projects & too little time! I seem to be doing nothing at all or 5 things at once. Maybe it's because I'm a Starter & not a Finisher??? Might have something to do with it, I guess .  .  . 

Motorcycle training just keeps on going - especially the Day School. Day School - runs just like six days of Primary School including recess - Monday to Friday & the following Monday. Once upon a time, Day School ran every couple of weeks for June, July & part of August. We've been running one since February!! And non stop since April. Unheard of. It's a boon for shift workers though since they can do part of a course with Day School & part with Main Program on Weekends. I've even had a couple of guys do theirs in 3 parts over several weeks! Seems we're the only people who will make that happen. Maybe we're crazy but we ARE in the Service industry.

And I've been working on my new course. Learning Kingdoms, Species, Families & genus of plants as well as the chemistry of life & the parts of a cell. The old memory isn't quite as fractured as I thought since I remember the parts of a plant cell quite well from Biology 101 in 1970 something. My problem is the new Software I have to use. Learning how to FIND it helps too.And, of course, ANOTHER new PASSWORD & ID#! My course info hasn't arrived yet but I decided to start without it since I have the text & access to the online class. Seems I'm the only one taking this course this semester - so I'm on my own. Damn.

Got an eye infection just to make life interesting. Why not??? First the voice goes - I now have a croaking whisper or whispering croak - take your pick!! And then the eyes go.  I get it every year at Tax Time. It's from handling dirty paper & rubbing tired, itchy eyes when working too long at a desk. You can't help it. So this weekend, I'm washing my hands every hour for two minutes with soap & then washing my eyes & face. No need for sticky antibacterial eye treatments, washing with soap & water several times a day for at least two days does the trick.


Between the goopy eyes, work & the course, I've even found time to knit more socks. I found another TWO BALLS of Regia Nations yarn. Yes, the Harlot is wearing a pair of the very same ones this week. I swear this is absolutely the last two balls I have!!  Dunno what I was thinking when I got so many balls of it waaaay back when it was on sale - $2 might've been the reason I guess - but 10 balls???. Four pairs of these socks have gone on to new homes in the last couple of years. And I will wear the last one. Maybe. It isn't Kroy but I like Regia a lot too.

Sunday, August 04, 2013

I'm all Alone in this Saddle

I got all excited about the new course & even found a second hand text book! But no box has yet arrived with the course in it. Most of it should be on-line but it's not on-line to me, YET. So much for excitement. Take my money & make me wait. Sigh


In the meantime, I'll play with yarn! I finally wound off most of the yarn I spun up for the Tour de Fleece this year. I spun up 8 ounces of RED HAT - this was the yarn I asked for to make the Cowl I fell in love with in last Fall's Knitter's magazine called Reds, Rounds & Ridges. I couldn't locate the yarn anywhere so I got some hand painted & spun my own.

It has more pinks in it than the original which was more red & orange but I like it very much. I'm not sure at this point whether to knit the original pattern - which is a cowl extending from neck to mid body - or to knit more of a long tube which can be extended up & over the hair. Decisions, decisions.


Another project that I spun up for the Tour de Fleece was a bag of fluff called Blue Jeans. It turned out to be some beautiful blue fibre died in light & dark blue mixed with some awful neppy white wool & something in beige that could only be called 'dryer lint'. I was appalled by it but the vendor is reputable & I tried to spin it before writing her a note couched in very diplomatic terms. I didn't want to upset her but I wanted to let her know that her supplier was sending out some very nasty fibre. I was told that it was 'special' fibre that would make 'textured' yarn.

Textured all right .  .  .  .  so, I took it as a challenge & let the neps, knots & bits stay & tried my best to work in the 'dryer lint' because it was really, really awful. I spent a lot of time picking out VM which I KNOW does not belong in 'Designer' yarn!  Challenge met. It was nothing spectacular until after it's bath. It plumped up like nothing else & softened so much - I love it. Was worth the bad words & threats. Was even worth the Diplomatic note I eventually sent the supplier after many tries.