All that Snow

I didn't go out on Saturday morning as planned because it was snowing like mad. The Weatherman promised - crossed his heart - that we'd only get flurries which would soon turn to rain. Since this was my first snow since the knee crapped out, I was a little leery about going out when it might be slippery. Well, the Weatherman lied & it kept on snowing & snowing & snowing .  .  .  Not unusual for this time of year but a pain in the ass, just the same when Safeway had milk & eggs & raspberries on sale. Grrrrr

Today I got up to the sound of snow shovels in the alley. One of my friends came over & shoveled my drive, swept the van off & even unclogged the drain. Free again!! Now if someone would come on over & clean my house, I'd be thrilled.

The Wallabies got almost finished for the Ravellenics. I did try my hardest to get them both done but I'm still working on the hood for #2. I did finish it but didn't like the garter stitch hood so I tore it all out & am now doing a stockinet hood instead. #2 Wallaby has been knit twice except for the bottom ribbing which should've been torn out too. But, I am NOT going to do it now. I think the boys will enjoy wearing these & probably need them now. So the hood will get finished tonight & they can go to their new home tomorrow. I think the little boys will love them. It's so much fun knitting for small children.

A Faster Clop

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself in the last few weeks. It seemed that no matter what I did, how much I rested, whether or not I took medication or where I went, I was in pain enough that I couldn't sit, stand or lean comfortably. It was like the Monostat commercials, I kept changing positions & moving chairs until it got so bad I didn't want to go anywhere with anyone. I was just too damned miserable.

I started thinking about what might be causing all the pain. I've been trying to increase my steps to strengthen my right knee - nothing like not being able to go places that makes you want to go there. Most of the pain was in my shins, the inner knees & right hip. My injured knee got wobbly from the pain & my left wrist ached constantly.
I thought about shoes. I pronate or roll to the inside of my foot when I walk. My expensive shoes help with that problem. They're about 7 months old but for most of that time, I wasn't walking much at all.
And then there's that cane, which I hate, that might be changing my gait. Figuring it might be cheaper to leave the cane in the car than buy new shoes, I started by leaving the cane in the car for the short walks. Most of my trips are short walks. Go to the coffee shop. Go to the bank. Go to the drug store, you get my drift. Going to Safeway is different. It's a much longer walk from parking to buggy. I prefer to park by the buggy returns even though I have a parking pass & sometimes they're empty. But, I left the damned cane in the car. And guess what?? Friday, I had a whole list of errands to do & went to 4 different places where I walked without the cane. I came home a little wobbly & sore & had to have a nap because I was so tired from the unaccustomed activity. I was a little stiff the next day & my injured knee ached a little but nothing else hurt, not even the hip.  I think I solved the problem.

Some days I feel old & used up

It's been 4 months since I turned right & my right knee didn't. Four months of hobbling, leaning on things & not being able to walk where, when & as fast or slow as I want. Four months of checking the weather, the parking & access before I and the damned cane, head out the door! And I'm sick to death of it.  My left wrist - the one that holds the cane - is sore from being used so much & weak from being dislocated in a fall on black ice two years ago. And now the muscles around my knees & down into my shins are complaining in the damp weather .  .  .   I wish it would all stop hurting, dammit. Someone said "it takes guts to get old". They weren't kidding.
This isn't how I planned to spend MY golden years .  .  .

It's a good thing I have my knitting. It makes me feel like I can still do some things like I used to. The first Wallaby is done except for tucking in the ends & sewing the stitches under the arms. Wallaby #2 is already on the needles & I'm just about ready to pick up the stitches for the pouch. The Pink Frankensocks are still in the bag unfinished. Pictures later.

Almost a Week In

So, the projects are coming along quite nicely. It's been a while since I knitted a Wonderful Wallaby but it's a very short Learning Curve. Gotta keep the 'little grey cells' working - as Poirot so often points out. My 'little grey cells' have been laying stagnant for the last couple of months but are now back in full gear. Not only am I taking an on-line E-course in Botany, but it's tax season, I'm knitting like a fiend for the Ravellenics & doing masses of data entry while I listen to Linda Fairstein's Alex Cooper audio books. Yeah, I'm addicted. I don't know what I'd do without my Audio Books when I'm pounding on the computer so much. I've become a Murder/Thriller listener but will admit to downloading a new book in the Star Wars genre. Han Solo is young again - Harrison Ford will always be Han Solo - and he's off to new adventures after blowing up the Deathstar. He still owes money to Jabba the Hutt & is still running from the bounty hunters with Chewbacca. I believe the series is called Scoundrels & there will be several books. Just a fun change from death, detectives & destruction .  .  .


My Wonderful Wallabies are coming along nicely but they may be too big for the little boys. I know they'll grow but it's nice to have something fit NOW too. I'm hoping they're just too long. You can always fold up the sleeves & wear it too long. It's a Hoodie after all.

It was like Christmas last night at my knitting night. I traded sock yarn that had lost it's bloom for sock yarn that brightens my day. She was happy with my old stuff & I have more of my favorite Kroy Sock. It's thicker than a lot of sock yarn out there but when it's cold in my basement, it's the only sock yarn I want. Love the stuff.

The Pink Frankensocks are moving right along too. I found a little more yarn with some pink in it plus a lovely lavender leftover to add to the mix. My dental Assistant is gonna glow in the dark when she puts these suckers on! I can't wait to go to the Dentist again.

Let The Games Begin

The Ravellenics(the knitting & crochet version of the Olympics) began this A.M. with the Opening Ceremonies in Sochi.  I Cast On a little later in the day. I slept in since had a really, really busy day yesterday. I had my first appointment with the Specialist about my lack of voice & my first test at the hospital. And of course, the fight with the parking machine that wouldn't take my credit card - either of them - and the phone call to the head office to complain, which ended up with a recorded message giving me an 'incident number' which I couldn't write down since I didn't know I was getting one . .  .  .  all standing in the -9 weather with the wind blowing through my double seed stitch sweater. I am not equipped to be standing outside in very cold - for the wet coast that is a record setting temperature - windy weather with a cane, a limp & a bag.  By the time I got home from 4 appointments, I was done.

Thank Gawd for the internet. I was able to look at all the outfits that everyone wore. The colors are definitely wilder this time around & I'll bet they glow in the dark too. Someone else got the Silly Medal this year for their outfits. And I was so glad to see our Athletes look a lot classier in 2014.

I'm competing in the Ravellenics again this year. Hopefully, I'll actually get my Arvik sweater finished & on my back this time around. It's been hanging on the door to my office for a year & is on it's third re-knit. As some of my friends have said, that wool will be worn out long before I get to wear it if I don't watch out. But look at all the fun I've had. You can't buy that with money .  .  .  .  Yeah, WIP Wrestling. That's the category for people like me with projects like that. And we get a medal if we finish too. Wooo hooo.

I'm also knitting two little Wonderful Wallabies. Size 2 & 4. They'll be entered in the Sweaterboard Cross as a single entry. They're going to have stripey arms with a plain navy body since I don't think I have enough navy yarn to finish both sweaters if I don't. They'll be cute enough for two small boys to roll around in, that's for sure. This is the amount I managed to knit today on Day 1 of the Ravellenics. I've got 4" on the body of the size 2 Wallaby & I'm getting ready to pick up the stitches for the pouch in front. But that's  a project for tomorrow. I think this one will get the variegated blue sleeves since I only have one ball. Or maybe I'll alternate the blue with the buff to stretch it out a little. An extra long cuff that can fold back for now will give a little kid a little more growing room.

Where Did January Go??

I was doing something on the computer yesterday & found out it was February.  What happened to January??

I've been busy. Busy working on my course. Busy doing data entry on late year ends & late tax returns. I even filed my own late return, haha. And I've been choosing my projects for the Ravelenics. This was the knitting/crochet version of the Olympics until the IOC sent a letter to Ravelry telling us we couldn't use the Olympic name. The event was renamed & we'll cast-on during the Opening Ceremonies & lay our projects down during the Closing. We challenge ourselves with techniques, projects, unfamiliar materials etc. Team Canada - my team - has been planning to Cast-on as a group, with Canadian Cider - we keep on discussing flavors that most of us haven't tried - and whatever project each of us have chosen for the duration. It's beginning to look like most of us should be doing the W.I.P. (Work in Progress) Dancing category since we have so many on the go .  .  .  and I can be counted among them. I don't even want to think about most of them but there is that afghan I started about 5 years ago for the BoyToy that remains in the bin, unfinished, unwanted & unloved. I should probably frog it but I've often thought about just adding a fat RED stripe to it's blue & grey sameness.

One of my clients asked if I'd knit sweaters for his two little boys a while ago. They're almost two & almost three. After digging through my stash for something machine washable & dryable for the little guys, I found an odd collection of balls in navy, black, two shades of yellow & one variegated blue. They're 100 gm balls of worsted Markoma  Pittsburgh yarn. I thought I'd knit a Wonderful Wallaby with a solid blue body with yellow & blue striped arms for each of them. A perfect project for the Olympic Cast-on. I can knit two of them in less than two weeks! And if I finish, well, maybe I'll finally add that Red stripe to the blue & grey crocheted afghan.

And on my sock needles?? The Pink Dental Frankensocks are on the go. It's amazing how much yarn I have that doesn't contain PINK. I have two small boxes full of leftovers that don't contain Pink. I thought I was a lover of Pink but it seems I have mostly Purple leftovers or Red leftovers or a lot of Blue leftovers but hardly a Pink one. Sigh, so they're taking a little longer than anticipated. Do you know how much Pink you need to cover size 12 ladyfeet???