Eating & Drinking Again

The mouth is improving day by day although I liked it better when the Silly Putty bandage covered everything!! I'm supposed to brush gently with a very soft brush - doesn't matter how gently you brush, you make it sore, dammit!! And I can't chew on that side either but I managed to scarf down two whole bags of baby bok choy with Chinese sausage & six red grapefruit in two days!! I have missed all the green veggies & citrus fruit I normally eat!! Nothing like a trip to the Chinese grocery store to whet the appetite for Lettuce Rolls with hot sauce, BBQ Pork, Chinese Sausage & my favorite Pu-erh tea!! I think about moving away from the Rat Race in the Lower Mainland & then remember my tea, the Lettuce Rolls, BBQ pork, Sushi & Goat Curry . . .

I HAVE been doing other things besides eating. I promised a pair of wild socks to a second Motorcycling Mama with small feet so I cast on when I got my new Harmony DPs. Good thing this MM has SMALL feet because those needles are also short - not as short as the full set I bought but a little too short for me to work my magic with FOUR needles!! I now know why they include SIX to the set. It isn't to cover breakage, it's so you can knit a full sock. Here's an example - I'm about halfway into the increases for the heel shaping & there's just too many stitches for one needle! Since my heel is K1, S1, I can't break that part up onto two needles easily, I could put each one of the gusset increases onto it's own needle I suppose or do what I did on the other sock & just use a circ. I love the feel & look of the Harmony sock needles but they just aren't long enough for me to work with. I just don't find them comfortable & I'd never be able to knit a man's sock with them, that's for sure. Too bad because they're really nice.

The second sock is on two circs - not my preferred method of sock knitting but I can work with it. I had to put the stitches on the circs in order to finish the gussets & turn the heel since it was just too awkward to use THREE needles for the heel shaping. I don't have any other needles in this size so I had only the two options. I wish the Harmony needles came about 2 inches longer - 4 inches longer & I'd buy a whole set!!!! I'll probably end up making some more bamboo skewer needles in the 2 & 2.25mm size this summer. I have a 2.50mm set that I use constantly for men's socks. The whole bag was in the 2.50mm size - just lightly sanded them & rubbed them with greasy fleece! I've never broken one - I probably will now that I mentioned it!! But, I prefer the 2.25 for my socks. It's amazing, but that little .25mm does make a big difference!!

And then there's my gloves! I've been having fun with the gloves. I decided some of the wild colors looked too garish in the middle of them so I yanked it out & found other colors that looked nicer. I've finished the second finger & my only problem has been the hole at the base of the finger where you cast on a few stitches between picking up the front stitches & the back ones. I've messed with the cast-on a little but still have a hole. So, before I do any more fingers, I have to figure out how to get rid of that hole. It makes me crazy! Other than that, Gloves are easy & fun to make!! By the time I figure out the hole problem, it will probably be too warm for gloves . . . .

I found two boxes & one big bag of sock yarn leftovers - I'm sure there's even more lurking in the bags, boxes & bins around here too. I found a couple of pictures of afghans made up of leftovers but I sure don't have the patience to sew up a bunch of tiny mitred squares - hell, I don't even want to sew up the big ones!!! I am thinking about a Log Cabin style afghan with very large squares - less sewing - or starting a rectangle for the centre & then rotating it 90 degrees, picking up stitches and knitting another. Each rectangle is built upon the one preceding it & spirals slowly to the outside as it gets bigger with NO SEWING. You can end it at any point or keep on adding to it for years. Might be the ideal way to use up those constant leftovers.

Recovering

I postponed, put off, procrastinated & generally avoided doing something about a little problem I had with a spongey gum which my Periodontist wanted to fix. I had the same type of little spot (it wasn't so little but easy to fix) near a lower eye-tooth years ago - a popcorn hull had lodged in both places & been overlooked by all my Dentists till I got a new one who promptly sent me to the Gum Guy. The Gum Guy finds all kinds of things stuck under gums - popcorn hulls are common by the way, so are toothpick pieces! My Gum Guy made me promise never to eat popcorn again! Years ago he talked me into having ALL my lower gums trimmed so he could hide the big hole he was carving where the popcorn hull did the damage. I was so sick, sore & mad that I wanted to tear him limb from limb the second day after . . . I swore he was never, ever doing that to me again. So, fast forward 15 years, having tried everything from Witchcraft to Begging, I'm having another surgical intervention. I allowed him to have TWO TEETH on either side of the problem. I don't give a damn if I have a big hole!! Turns out I had a big abscess in my jaw instead & from the way he was digging, scraping & sanding - it was a bit of an emergency. I heard the Assistant murmur BONE GRAFT??!! Gasp! but he said we didn't need one! phew! To make this long story shorter - he packed it with some sort of antibiotic foam, stitched what he could & plastered the whole area with a Silly Putty-like goop that seals & covers the whole thing with just my tooth bottoms sticking out! Nice. Feels weird but it makes a great dressing! I did as I was told for a change, went home, took Advil & went to bed with a cold gel pack on my face. No food for 24 hours unless I could suck it through a straw. Drank lots, took C, B & zinc. I had some soft mac & cheese late last night - yummy!! And oatmeal today. The Silly Putty bandage is still in place & I have no pain - well, when the Advil's wearing off I feel throbbing but no nasty pain at all. I think the Silly Putty has magic in it!!! What a change from last time!! Dentistry sure has come a long way - even gum trimming!!! I plan on doing all the right things so that this heals well & quickly. And this is why I haven't been knitting much this week.

But - I have been experimenting with my first pair of gloves. I've treated them like a Frankensock - a little bit of this & a little of that & found that Gloves are easier to knit than socks!! The only problem I've had is trying NOT to get a hole in the first cast-on when I separate the stitches for the fingers. That one's tough & I may have to adjust everything after the fingers are actually knit. Gloves are fun. I've always thought they were complicated & hard to knit so I never bothered with them - I've only knit mittens once or twice!! But Gloves are fun to knit! And now that I know that, well, there's all those patterns to try!

Another Soggy Saturday in Suburbia


So, here I am, in the wilds of Surrey - Vancouver burbs to you foreigners - on the Wet Coast, wondering why I feel so crappy. Could it be the damp greyness out there??? The Spider Plant has been outside on the patio for over a week now & is happily producing baby spiders! I think he thinks it's Spring. But my Basement is cold, dark & damp & I just want to be outside in shorts again. It's very much wool weather no matter what the Spider Plant thinks so maybe I need to get started on those gloves instead . . .

Socks #3 are on the needles! They're in the 'Nations' series by Regia. I thought it was 'Flags' but I was mistaken. Doesn't matter though, it's still the same orange/purple etc etc that I reported before. Since both sets of my favorite 2.25mm steel needles were in the toes of my second pair of socks when I decided to start the ribbing on #3, I dug out my new Harmony circs - they're those lovely wooden needles Knit Picks has created. I just love the colors!! Anyhoo - started the ribbing on two circs which is NOT my favorite way to knit socks - I find two circs much slower to work with BUT the stitches don't fall off when you're packing the work around stuffed in your purse or down the side of your knitting bag. Part way through the first ribbing, my new Harmony DPs arrive!! Yeah, baby!! So I started the second sock on the new DPs. They're a little short for me - ouch, I'm just a glutton for punishment! With practice, I think I can get used to them, although, I hate to say it, I really do prefer my steel needles, the Brittany Birches or my all time favs, the bamboo skewers! Trust me here - if those bamboo skewers came just a little smaller in diameter, I'd be knitting on them!!!! I DO prefer the Harmony circs for patterned or lace socks though. I find it's easier to keep track of pattern repeats on TWO needles rather than three.

So, halfway through the second ribbing I realize something is wrong. The needles & the circs looked to be the same size but it turns out that they aren't. My new DPs are 2mm or size 0 while the circs are 2.25mm & size 1. Grrrrrrrr All those little stitches!!! Both socks are now on the new DPs. I notice the difference more when working with them since I'm used to knitting on 2.25 or 2.50mm needles that are at least 2 INCHES longer than these cute little wooden needles!! Imagine me with the shorter ones I bought the first time around!!! Gotta say though, this is tough & my left wrist aches like stink. My left hand is not happy with little short things yet. Funny, I just thought I wrenched the wrist in November when I fell! But, I guess the wrist bone is connected to the knitting bones . . . .

Off Like a Turd of Hurdles

I made some Resolutions er, guide lines for the coming year. I thought if I actually wrote them down & published them on the blog that some of them might get done. Number one was to knit for ME for a change. Well, I've been doing just that. I decided that a few of my socks were looking definitely scruffy & I put a toe through the end of one sock!! Am I going to darn it?? Nope. I'm not going to rip the toe off & knit another, neither. They were one of the first pairs of socks I made myself when I left the Ex 13 or 14 years ago . . . I knit a red pair & a blue pair in Trekking, bought ON LINE from Red Bird Knits!! Back when I knit those socks, the only yarn shop around was down on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver!! I've worn both of those pairs of socks at least once every TWO weeks since. When I first knit them, I wore them every second day until I had a week's worth of socks! I think it's time they retired.

I've finished the second pair of my 2011 socks! I actually finished them a couple of days ago but haven't had the time to get them photographed! Today you get to see them. This is Regia yarn in Saturn, of the Planets series. I don't see any Planets but I guess the streaks & blobs remind someone of the rings of Saturn. What the hell - they'll wear well & they ARE colorful & soft. And they aren't purple or pink, for a change!

The next pair of socks are not for me - yeah, they're already on the needles - they're for a Motorcycling Mama who admired a pair I knit up for another Motorcycle Mama who's an Instructor at Action Motorcycle School. Diane's a terrific gal & I knit them up as a surprise for her summer ride to Saskatchewan with the Girls. I had another couple of balls in the same orange/blue/yellow/purple colorway for a friend of hers who really, really admired them. I have no idea why bought 4 balls in THIS colorway! What was I thinking??? It's Regia again - good quality - in the FLAGS series. Damned if I know who has a flag with all these colors but I'll bet it's in Africa!

My next project is not going to be socks. Surprise, surprise! I keep admiring the gloves my friend Gail has. They're knit out of sock yarn leftovers & she wears them all the time. I haven't been able to snag them when she isn't looking because she keeps them in her purse when they're not on her hands . . . . So, I have no recourse, I guess I have to knit my own.

Monday Morning Hiding Out

Yup, I'm hiding out. I'm overwhelmed with data entry these days. With the year coming to an end, there's all that Year End stuff to be done for a number of people who show up with boxes & bags of paper at the last minute. There's WCB - Worker's Compensation to those who don't know - reports to file, Tax slips to file for employees, Tax slips to file for Contractors & did I mention year ends???? And then there's the Taxman calling about stuff that was filed by Someone Else several years ago that I know nothing about. And another Taxman calling about late payments. And yet another Taxman calling about forms that need to be filed for a person I haven't seen in several years - who's gonna pay me?? Today, I don't care. Today I will take the current sock-in-progress & hide out with the morning paper, my favorite cup & my new iPod mini with Anna Pidgeon in Colorado(Nevada Barr's Park Ranger Series). Today, I don't care about your year end or your late payments. Put on your Big Boy Underoos honey & take care of it yourself! Cause I'm goin' knittin'!

Here we go again

This is NOT what 3 to 5cm looks like!! The radio & TV were yapping for two days about the snow storm coming in. Only 3 to 5 centimeters were to fall on the Lower Mainland & turn to rain immediately. Yeah right, an inch or two overnight to turn to rain. Well, it wasn't 3 to 5, maybe 15 to 30 instead. I stuck a ruler in the snow at 3:15AM last night & it was OVER 6 inches by then. That's 15cms by my calculation & it was still snowing!! Too bad it was too dark for my little camera!!! Today at 11:30 I took this picture from my home office window. I figure I've got 4 - 6 inches of slop out there although my client, a couple of miles away, says he has almost a foot & told his employees to stay home today! It's now above freezing and there's a lot of dripping going on out there so I guess, in my part of the Lower Mainland, we're going to be traveling through at least 6 inches of Slurpee once again . . . I hope it doesn't freeze tonight! Apparently we're still under a snow & rain warning!! It's pretty but puleeze come & wash it all away!!! I'm beginning to think that barnyard gumboots - wellies to you Brits - are about to become a fashion statement this Spring.

New Year Socks #2 are on the needles - you didn't think I was going to use a whole Blog to grouse about the weather did you??? I just had to get it out of my system!! I am working in REGIA again in Galaxy, Saturn. I'm not sure I've seen anything else in the Galaxy series & was hoping to find Jupiter or Mars in my collection, but I seem to only have this one colorway. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I knit it up but I sure don't see Saturn anywhere!! Course, it could just be me. Or maybe, these are Saturn colors?? I dunno. I liked the colors so it probably won't matter in the end. Since I'm only starting the heel shaping - yes, Virginia, this is the beginning of the Queen Kahuna heel! I make the heel flap & the gussets all in one by increasing on either side of the heel flap every second round as I knit. No more picking up stitches that I can't see. I love this heel. Maybe, as I knit the foot, I'll get a Saturn!! REGIA makes a good product & I have yet to have any holes develop in any of the socks I've made out of Regia!

And speaking of Regia, I was looking at a very interesting pattern in the new Knit Kimono Too book I bought myself for Christmas. Funny thing happened. I had a Brain Fart & started imagining it in Regia sock yarn . . . in MY Very Large size! I found myself calculating how much yarn I'd need to make it. Considering that I made 47 pairs of socks AND finished the Ginny in one year, I should be able to handle it. Then I started calculating how much that much sock yarn would cost . . .

The First Socks of the Year!


TA DA! They're done! At last! Let's see, that's about 10 days or so . . . And the second pair have been cast on in the REGIA Planets series. I am working with Saturn. Apparently, Saturn shaped objects are supposed to appear when you knit. We'll see . . .

It's trying very hard out there to SNOW. Pretty little flakes drift down occasionally & then stop. And then start again. I guess I should get my butt out of the office, get dressed & get something constructive done. Ham & Navy Bean soup in the slow cooker today & two corporate tax returns on the menu. Blahhhhhhh

The New Year

It's been a horribly busy first week of January! I've been wearing my fingers to the bone with data entry by the DAY so I've had little time to work on my new socks. But, I have squeezed in a little here & there - mostly late evening. I found VISION TV on channel 119 with a show called "Doc Martin". Thinking it was the series about the haughty London surgeon who developed a blood phobia & became a GP in a small English fishing town that has been running on KNOWLEDGE & PBS, I tuned in with my knitting in hand. It turned out to be a TWO hour show with the same actor - Martin Clunes - as a Big City doctor who runs away from a philandering wife - he finds out that all THREE of his friends have been involved with her while out at dinner with them!! He arrives in the small Cornish Village in an expensive business suit, covered in mud with no shoes after driving his car off the road! He lodges at the pub & becomes involved in the goings-on of a small seaside village. There's a blackmailer sending messages in jelly molds, a crazy doctor & a dope smoking fisherman who's feuding with his crew. Our doc goes fishing in an effort to get cell phone reception & stays. I got a little knitting done between bouts of laughter!! Found episode TWO the following night where our Doc get divorced, finds a job & becomes involved with witches & smugglers in the attempt to secure the ancient farmhouse he wants to buy. I LOVE this series & hope to knit many more socks while laughing at it's crazy antics. And as you can see, I'm just about ready for the toe shaping with my new socks!

At noon, the sun was shining, the sky was blue so I put my poor Spider plant back outside to get some rays. My basement is very dark in the winter so houseplants don't do very well inside. I had it out yesterday for a while but it got cold again. So, it's out in the sunshine when all of a sudden I hear tapping against the window. Thinking it was that damned grey squirrel peering in for a handout, I look out to see this huge black cloud & hail just pouring down! Then snow. Then hail again. I had to run out & rescue the Spider & bring it back in. Enough snow & hail fell in 15 or so minutes to coat everything, road, car, roof & lawn!! And now I see blue sky peeping through once more. I guess it's going to be one of THOSE days . . .

I bought myself a Christmas present - I couldn't resist the free shipping - I got the second Knit Kimonos book, Knit Kimonos Too. As usual, the cover Kimono caught my eye & I had to have the pattern!! The free shipping & terrific price didn't hurt neither!! I had the yarn out to knit a pattern from the first book - after socks - when I saw the second book advertised. I just love the simple kimono patterns & have been planning to knit myself one for ages. Yeah, I know, I have the purple Kyler's Kardigan to finish but it's still too heavy for my wrist to work with since it's knit in one piece from the top down - not that I wouldn't love to WEAR it right now!!!! I've swatched some of the Kimono stitch patterns in various yarns. I even did a swatch in the Arvik handspun yarn. But most of the designs in the first book call for heavier yarns than I have, except the Briggs & Little yarn, which is too heavy! The new book is different, the designs are for finer yarns. It hasn't arrived yet but I'm hoping for Monday! I have some lovely, light, hot pink/deep plum yarn which might just work out very well until I can work on the Kyler's Kardigan again.

Presenting . . .

The first sock of the year!
It's Regia Design Line, Exotic Pool by Kaffe Fassett. As soon as I was able, I cast off the damned splint & started knitting socks. It's my standard plain med/large sock pattern, cast on 69 stitches(first & last knit together), K2P2 ribbing with the Queen Kahuna heel on 33 sts & 13 gusset increases on either side of the K1,S1 heel which I carry under the entire heel so that it's extra cushy.

I taught myself - with plenty of phone help from Gail - the Queen Kahuna heel because it got to the point where I couldn't see to pick up those flap stitches unless I was 1) Outside at Noon or 2) Under a Really Bright Light!
In self defense, I learned this new way to do my heels. For those who don't know the Queen's heel, the flap is made the same old way but instead of picking up the stitches AFTER you knit the flap, you knit them as gusset stitches on either side of the flap as you're making it - you M1 on either side of the flap stitch markers every second row. The heel is then short rowed as usual.

To be quite frank, I like the Queen's heel better than the old flap! It was worth the pain even though I did throw the knitting on the floor a couple of times & kick that book across the room!! The instructions were difficult to read & I admit it took THREE pairs of socks before the light bulb came on & all the Cherries fell into place. Now I can do it in my sleep with the lights OFF. I also do try to do the two circ method - best for any lace patterned socks, in my opinion - but I still knit faster & more easily on four DPs. My wrist is still a little sore so I've been using circs when my arm starts to ache which is why you see both in the picture.

A New Year

It doesn't seem much different than yesterday except for the crowds. I went to work yesterday & tried to visit Starbucks on the way - heh, gotta use some of that Christmas loot!! Left turns were terrible!!! Even at intersections with left turn lights, left turns were terrible! Suburban streets were bare of traffic but intersections around malls were backed up for blocks. People were running red lights, ignoring left turn signals, gesturing, screaming & just out for blood yesterday. Apparently it was the End of The Year Dash for Alcohol. There were no parking spots to be had or seats to be had either. My local Starbucks is in between two liquour stores. So I just went to work!

All was not lost though. I'm working in the home office of an old client trying to get a year's worth of stuff on the computer before the end of February. I'm supplied with tea & space to work in the downstairs office so I can come & go as I please. In the downstairs bathroom is the most delicious Vanilla Bean hand soap - I make sure to use it when I arrive & before I leave because it smells so good!! Yesterday, I asked the wife where she bought it & ended up with a huge basket of Vanilla Bean goodies to take home. Apparently it's in the downstairs bathroom because SHE doesn't like Vanilla Bean! Holy crap. He he he - what a score!!! Vanilla is one of my favorite scents but I prefer the deep dark rich warm Vanilla Bean to the light sweet French Vanilla. Although I don't get there often enough, the Body Shop scented oils in Vanilla, Mango & Papaya are my all time favorites.


To celebrate the start of a New Year, I made a few Resolutions. These are not things I do very often because Resolutions made at this time of year are usually kicked into the trash before the Christmas wrapping paper. Money talks, bullshit walks!!! This year, I made a few Practical Resolutions.
Resolution One - I resolve to knit for myself this year!
Yeah, yeah, I know I knit socks & washcloths for myself all the time but have I finished a sweater lately??? Or a pillow? Or an afghan?? Do I need to go on???
Resolution Two - I resolve to clear out ALL the Trash.
I HAVE been taking out a bag a week each & every week since November. I can almost see ALL my kitchen floor & living room carpet. I found two more boxes under all the stuff I've already sorted, tossed or given away which I think belong to the BT. They obviously got deposited in the corner when he moved out of his condo SIX YEARS ago. I haven't opened them yet but they're going next. Then, maybe I can finally move the big ugly leather couch he stuck in my living room at the same time & failed to take when he moved 3.5 years ago. It will definitely go to the dump this year. Early this year.
Resolution Three - I will get a nice big poufy upholstered recliner with pockets, side table, massage, backscratcher & optional heating to take the place of the big ugly low leather couch I never used that took up a third of the space in my living room & just collected junk!!
Resolution Four - I will spend more time on ME. I will walk more even if it's only to Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home CDs. I will take another course or two. I will eat even more fruit, veggies, whole grains & beans. I will take the Luminosity program to improve my Brain. I will dust off the Serger & make some pants that actually fit!
Resolution Five - I won't forget to knit for Charity. Because Charity begins at Home, I will continue to make hoodies for Lynne at Knitopia so she can load up the Loving Spoonful's family hampers.

I really cleaned up

For a person who tried to ignore Christmas, I've done quite well this year! Since I meet most of my clients at Starbucks, they've all contributed to my habit!! I have a wallet full of Starbucks cards! I think there's one of every kind they have.


The Techie Boys have been laughing at me since I bought a Creative MP3 player instead of one of the iPods they have. They also had iPhones while I stayed with my Motorola. I told them I refused to pay for the brand name. They got even with me! On Christmas Eve, my tech buddy Steve arrived at my door bearing a cute little box with a surprise inside - an iPod mini!! I like the mini's size - I think it weighs TWO GRAMS - but that damned Apple wants to convert all my books & what music I have to iPod only data!! I still have other devices I want to use. And the mini doesn't hold as much as my Creative device, that's for sure. So, if you get one, beware! It will attempt to take over everything. But, it sure is cute!


I made a big pile of washcloths! I think it's good therapy for my wrist. I even managed to keep 4 for myself in the end. On Christmas Day, I went to Starbucks for tea & Sushi Line for Sushi. I gave out washcloths to everyone who was working! I missed one person who came in later but saved one for her. After giving out washcloths to all my buddies, I actually have 4 left in both colors for myself!! I thought the second ball was cocoa/tan/cream when I bought it but when I got it out of the bag & into daylight, it turned out to be a pale mauve instead of cocoa! Either I'm getting old or florescent lights do strange things to color!!

So this is Christmas

Here we are again. No parking at the Mall if you should need to go there - thank gawd I don't!! Everyone's begging for Money! Some have enough toys to run a Third World Country & still want more. Some aren't paying their bills this month but are out there buying electronics. Some can't buy enough groceries to feed their kids but the liquor cabinet is full. Some of us pander to our family's every want to get some peace on that one day a year. And some of us will still be paying off the bills from This Year at this time Next Year. I know people who work a second job to pay for all the STUFF they buy at Christmas & others who take their Holiday Pay early to buy for offspring who think money grows on trees. What is it about Social, Media & Commercial pressure to buy, buy, buy that creates the Mob Mentality to go into debt at this time of year???

Thanksgiving is a family holiday too but we don't go into spending frenzy mode. Has Television created this Monster? TV talks about Christmas & all the things we should be doing to Make it Bright even though the Politically Correct Police won't actually let us SAY Christmas in print fer gawd's sake !! Christmas Holiday is now Winter Holiday or Season's Holiday or Winter Break. Why aren't we calling it RED HOLIDAY?? Tis the Season to go deep, deeper, deepest into debt! No payments for 16 months!! Get it TODAY, Pay Later. Take it home, we'll work it out Next Year! No Money Down! Boxing WEEK Sales!!


Have you SEEN the oldie, It's a Wonderful Life?? Remember the tree?? And the decorations?? The Bonhomie?? I remember Christmas almost like that. We looked forward to it. We made a lot of the decorations, some were made in school - gasp, the horror of it!!! Mom made the wreath on the front door out of cedar branches. Dad put lights in the trees in the front yard. We got out decorations my mother inherited from HER mother & grandmother. We made snow decorations if we had snow. We made a lot of the gifts & we stuffed stockings with little things, special candy & toys. We baked. We packed tins with cookies, sausage rolls & tarts as gifts. We even made root beer. Families didn't go broke trying to satisfy every kid's wishes - although they tried hard to give us one special gift in with all the socks & pajamas. We looked forward to a week off, visiting family or friends & had a huge turkey dinner. It was a social time for whole neighborhoods. If we had enough snow & it was cold enough, our whole neighborhood would block off the steep hill & spend Christmas & Boxing Day sledding. One year, we had a huge dump of snow so we built IGLOOs. One of the parents sprinkled them inside & out with water so they'd freeze solid overnight. We played in them till spring!

The Silly Season has become an obligation to some. Loneliness & depression to others. Some people dread it. And it's Out of Control spending to still others. Instead of a Family, Community & Religious celebration - hey, no one said Santa is religious & we aren't even going into that - Christmas has become a Commercial Feeding Frenzy. The Media rules our desires, our wants & our needs right now & most of us don't even realize it. I say DOWN with MEDIA. Let's go back to a simple celebration. A simple celebration of all things good & giving for a change. Simple Human-ness. In the last 4000 years, we've morphed from celebrating the return of the Sun God out of the dark, the Winter Solstice to the Roman god Saturn in Saturnalia to Christianity to the New Gods of Desire & Debt. We never lost the green boughs, burning log, food & gifts from the earliest days but somehow they've taken over the celebration. It seems to me that Shopping has become the Celebration.

So much better . . .

Splints are a pain in the Ass. Even removable ones. Especially removable ones because they have Velcro to which everything sticks - especially my favorite purple house sweater which I wear constantly indoors all winter!! I've had to roll the sleeve up beyond the elbow - so much for keeping me warm - to keep it from sticking to the splint. I now have a fuzzy edge to the sleeve! But this splint keeps me relatively pain free as long as I don't try to do something too heavy. And it totally gets in the way when I want to type, make left hand turns or knit. I have to take it off to knit. Then my arm & wrist hurt. And now I've developed a sore left shoulder from using my forearm to lift things that my wrist & hand can't yet - hahaha - like I said, you just can't win!!

And speaking of all things Purple, my Secret Santa sent me a Purple Christmas gift. You can see Him smirking at me from the photo at the top of this page! A face only a mother could love & he's still got straw in his hair . . . The contents of my 'Purple' box can be seen in the photo - a Purple Llama, a Purple Angel, a felted Teddy & even a Topknot to make a scarf or pair of socks - in Purple, of course!!


I've increased my pile of colorful washcloths & hopefully, will make it to the cocoa, white & beige ball before Christmas too. When I can knit, it's pathetically slow - I'll have to make up for it next year!! But, there's still a small pile growing even though a couple have gone to new homes already. Before I fell, I'd managed to knit another pair of Mitts in the Spirogyra pattern from Knitty. I'd made three pairs in this pattern & love them all. The pattern is extremely stretchy so you almost need to make them a little small if you want a snug fit! Unfortunately for me, this pair is way too big & may be going to a new home. I have half of another mitt made in a smaller size but can't manage to work with DPs yet so it remains unfinished. And that's also why the Ex's third pair of socks aren't finished. I got both heels turned & am halfway down the foot but there they remain until I can handle DPs again with my left hand. I suppose it gives me an excuse to knit something else on circs instead??? LOL I guess I have no choice but to wait until the left wing co-operates fully with the right one to make any new socks or finish the old.

Knitting Night

I finally went to Knitting Night after missing two weeks. I was working on something viral the first week & didn't want to share. The second week, I'd fallen on the ice, was too damned sore to drive & couldn't knit anyhow. So, this week, well, I had to go. The Girls ganged up on me when they found out I hadn't seen the doctor & was still really sore. I was ordered to show up at the Hospital the next day for an x-ray of my wrist. This is the problem when you knit with people who are used to bossing other people around in their OTHER lives. This is also what happens when you hang out with the same people all the time, they become Family & TAKE LIBERTIES. So, as ordered, I showed up at the hospital. I was escorted to Emergency, ID'd, Temp'd, BP'd & told to wait. 5 x-rays later it turned out I'm only bruised - probably jammed small bones against large bones in the fall - & then encased in a removable splint. No fractures, no breaks! Lucky?? Maybe. But maybe I just have good bones from all that yogurt, milk, cheese, green veggies - did you say chicken & broccoli??? - & salmon that I've eaten all my life. I supplement with calcium citrate a couple times a week too. It still hurts but a hellova lot less when I wear the splint. So, hopefully, I'll be back knitting in a couple of weeks or so . . .

In the meantime, I've been working on washcloths. I can hear the laughter from here!! Hey, I found a couple of really NICE color ways in the Crafter Cotton, the Yellow below & a Beige in the same style. This is number 5 of a series . . They're so useful!! I love them in the shower with my home made soap. They lather up beautifully & are just rough enough to scrub your face & neck without taking off more than the dead cells on the surface. I make mine about twice a big as most patterns call for so they're nice for the guys in my life too. Most of them LOVE the big washcloth! And they're almost all I can manage to knit right now anyway.

Can't spin & working anything heavy is out but I am going to make ELEANOR, the lacy cowl in the Deep Fall issue of knitty. It's a lovely little funnel shaped cowl that should look good on a friend. Since it's made with only 200 yards of yarn, it's so worth it to buy something scrumptious & airy so I can ENJOY the slow knit!!! And while I was there, I also fell in love with the Ringwood gloves. I'm not sure if I can knit them with the splint on but I'm gonna try really really hard!!

On the Mend

Turns out that something always hurts the most when it's starting to get better. The bruising on my knees is still faint but they're VERY tender to the touch - maybe the frozen veggies stopped most of it!! My hand is a little swollen across the knuckles & the first two fingers. The wrist is a little swollen at the base of the thumb but everything is working. I can type, I can knit a little on small projects, I can turn my wrist in all directions. I just can't pick up anything heavier than a fork without pain. But I'm moving my wrist, fingers & knees as much as I can to keep them limber but without straining them. Since us Old Farts don't heal as quickly as the young ones do, I figure it'll bother me for a week or so & then be just fine. Maybe it's all the calcium-rich foods I eat!! Next time, I'll look before I step in front of a vehicle on a cold morning . . . I had no idea how fast black ice can lay you out on your ass or knees.

I can't spin but I can knit a little. I've been able to cast on the second fingerless glove & I'm just about ready to do the thumb. I need them for these frosty mornings!! I have a thick cover for my steering wheel but my hands still freeze until the heater starts pumping out heat & the wheel warms up!! I've used Knitty's 'Spirogyra' pattern again but made them a little bigger by going up one size in needle & adding 3 inches of ribbing on the bottom. Can't wait to wear them. I see the thermostat is reading -2 at 4:00PM. That's a little warmer than the -7 we had at this time yesterday. I sure hope it stays cold & clear like this for a while longer!!!

It's all gone

Sunday morning I'm usually out the door by 6:15AM to head for the Mcdonald's drive thru for coffee & then on up the road to open the UBrew for a 7:00AM customer. He bottles his brew & I hang around & work for a few hours. This week end, I canceled due to the cold I've been nursing. But, since the sun was out, the snow was almost gone & I was feeling a lot perkier, I decided to head out about 11:00 to get a paper & coffee. Since I'd parked at the bottom of my drive, the snow had melted off the drive & mostly off the Van except for a patch on the north side of the windshield. So, I turned on the Van, cranked up the defrost & hiked around the front to sweep off the bulk of the snow. And hit a patch of ice. The next thing I knew, I'm face down on the concrete! I don't even remember slipping. The whole front of the drive where the snow melted off the Van is a solid sheet of ice. I fell hard on both knees & saved whacking my nose with my left hand. Eventually, I slid off the ice, got back on my feet, backed the Van up the drive so the ice melts & got myself back inside. An hour later after spending time with bags of frozen veggies, it appears I have gotten away with bruised & grazed knees & a badly sprained left wrist. At least I think it's just sprained. All the fingers work but I don't remember sprains hurting this much or being this painful. I guess if it isn't a lot better tomorrow, I'll be getting it checked for a fracture. So much for my knitting projects!

There's nothing like a little snow . . .

The first snow of the year fell on a Friday nite - good thing - it didn't close down the town like it usually does!! We had plenty of warning - hey, I got good snow tires once again - and most people slept in on Saturday morning. I planned for this snowfall by parking my car down near the END of my drive, both to minimize shoveling - I could slide right out & to maximize sun exposure - to avoid shoveling! The neighbors hate me when I park at the end of my drive since they can't use my drive to get in an out of their drive. They built a big fence & moved 3 mini-vans & 5 cars into the space inside! Normally, I park way over to the side at the top of my drive but the sun doesn't melt anything until late in the day if I do that & I knew I didn't want to shovel 4 inches of snow from my very large drive if I had to go out in the morning. So I planned. As you can see from the second photo, the snow has almost melted by 1:00 except at the side where I normally park. I'll take pity on the neighbors a little later & move Van to the side.

I was looking forward to a little snow, the world gets so quiet & some of those flakes must've been 3 inches across!! It was lovely at 3 AM & I thought seriously about sitting outside with a hot drink & watching it fall. But, I've been sniffling, sneezing, working up a cough & thought that might be a little stupid so I ended up in bed instead. A totally unglamorous way to spend a cozy Friday nite!!!

There's been precious little production going on around here but I have been working on some fingerless gloves for myself. I spun a nice singles yarn, dyed it & knit up a Danish Working Shawl that I wore maybe three times. I am NOT a shawl person - which I did know but I thought I might change my mind once I made one for myself. I didn't! So, I pulled it apart to knit fingerless gloves instead - something I will use constantly! One glove down except for the thumb - finally - after 5 attempts!! I have no idea why I was having such a problem but I've upped my consumption of B vitamins to try to stimulate the aging brain cells. I miss my gloves from last year & may just knit a second pair of these with extra long arms for warehouse jobs!!

I was asked for another work touque by one of my Tire Guys. His son pinched his. So, I found a nice ball of multi-strand pure wool in brown & am just about finished knitting a plain hat that 'doesn't show the dirt'. I figured I'd just rib it from bottom to top so it'll cling to his bald head & not fall off when he bends over to tighten those lug nuts!!

Gloomy & Grey

And it's another gloomy day on the Wet Coast. I don't even want to open the blinds. Is this all there is??? Van has eaten up all my extra cash & increased my credit card balance so I can't afford to go anywhere other than to work so I'm feeling a little blue. Good thing I have the freezer & cupboards full or I'd be in deep doo doo!! The houseplants are all in for the winter & the Crab Cactus is trying hard to add a little color!

I'm feeling a little frustrated at the moment. I started the 'Spirogyra' fingerless gloves at least 5 times in the last few days. My favorite needles are being used to knit socks so I had to find others. I had about 4 inches on the found needles when I decided they were too large. I pulled it off the needles & cast on fewer stitches, only to decide I still had too many stitches on the needles after a couple inches of pattern. So I cast on again for the smallest size only to realize it was too small. Of course, it's hard to tell until all of the ribbing & at least two repeats of the pattern - about 12 rows - are done. So I found smaller needles & tried once more but with the medium size since these needles are smaller. Nope. Ripped it out one more time. And found my old set of 2.25mm Brittany Birch needles - well, what's left of them - I think there's 7 needles left. But, I'm only doing one fingerless glove at a time so they'll work. This is some of my handspun from the 'bumps' in the bag of Brown Sheep mill ends I've been spinning. I don't know what kind of wool this is but its slightly fuzzy with a lot of elasticity to it. I dribbled Worker Red & Worker Blue dyes on the yarn after I spun it. I forgot the acid to set the dye & most of it washed out!! I added vinegar, dabbed a little more dye on it & put it back in the microwave to heat. This is what I got! Ain't it purdy??? Right about now I sure wish I could find my old fingerless gloves . . .

But, all is not lost. I found a bag with two big balls of Crafter Cotton in the midst of all my junk & I had to cast on for a new face cloth for the shower! This big ball was just so bright & cheery that I just HAD to cast on immediately! I needed the burst of color to cheer me up & I may just knit several of these to replace the Oatmeal & faded Berry washcloths that now hang in the bathroom.

My new Wheels

So, my new-to-me van & I have been getting to know each other this past week. Oh, I've had to fix a few things but you ALWAYS have to fix a few things when you get someone else's old car. It came with almost no rubber on the wipers - no wonder they made that strange noise when I used them!!! And there was this great Black Hole in the dash at night - someone put in a new instrument module & mickey moused the wiring. So I got the wiring fixed. The worn out fan/water pump/air belt that started to squeal was also replaced. And I learned that I have a factory Alarm/Disabler in there. I also learned how to use it without a FOB. Nice of the former owner & mechanic to tell me about it. NOT! There's nothing like sitting in a screaming van in front of a bank with no idea how to make it stop. But I learned. Like any new relationship, you enter with shining eyes & open heart forgetting about the bumps along the way. Van's pretty easy to get along with & doesn't have a lot of baggage from former relationships. His heater's hot, he has good bones, he's in pretty fair mechanical condition, his body's in good shape for a van his age & so far, he always starts when cold.

With all the damp weather we've had lately, I haven't accomplished much in the way of knitting or spinning. Although I'm casting on for some fingerless gloves to keep my hands warm - I made Spirogyra from Knitty.com twice - I'm going to try another pattern this time. My hands & fingers hurt. I'm so stiff in the mornings that whatever falls to the floor, stays on the floor till much later in the day. And I tend to wash dishes a little at a time all day so I can soak my hands in the hot water - why waste water??

Soup is back on the menu again jsut because the weather is cool & damp! I cleaned all the chicken & turkey carcasses out of the freezer & made a huge pot of soup! I'd saved all the drippings from cooking a turkey last month & added them. It was wonderful!!! I added barley & bow tie pasta before adding back the meat picked off the bones & a couple of cups of baby peas at the very end. I ate it for three days & gave some away!!! It was the best turkey soup I've made in ages!!
Today, I'm making Soup with hot Italian sausage. I cook it in chunks in the pot. I add water, a can of diced tomatoes, a package of Onion Soup, a can of small white beans or any beans you have & tiny bead pasta. 4 cups of cubed zucchini are added at the end. Sometimes I chop spinach or bok choy leaves if I don't have zucchini. And I've actually thrown in a cup of pureed yam a time or two. The Italian sausage really gives it that bite of flavor!