I Have a Camera

I can take pictures again!! Not that my life is so exciting - very unexciting around here since I gave the BT the boot, I tell ya!! But, I think my blood pressure has come down & my bank balance has gone up! But, to get to the point - I now have a camera. Turns out to be a Video Camcorder. I can take 9 shots without adding an SD chip but no movies unless I add one. Today, I charged everything up - yes, internal battery toooooo - & stuck the camera into my USB hub to unload the pictures of my two latest projects . . . . Yeah, right. Spent the last two hours trying to delete the program that self loaded & sucked up all the BMP, JPEG etc files on my computer. Do you know how many that is??? Even I wasn't aware . . . I have now deleted all the extra files & found the file with the current pictures of the last two projects . . .
Here's a pic of my latest toy!! This was a very tough shot to get since I wanted to show IT not ME. It's the size of a cell phone & does all kinds of nifty things which I will probably never use. That's toy #3 in the past couple of months! Got my KOBO ebook reader, got a personal DVD player - I can play my WALKING CDs again & now this little camcorder. I love the single life . . . . it's the only life for me!!!

I found those two balls of yarn in the Sierra colorway & finished up the socks for ME. Fall socks now I guess since Sprummer(Spring/Summer) has finally arrived on the Wet Coast! I loved this colorway when a fellow blogger showed off a project several years ago & got several balls sent to me!! I remember knitting one pair up for a friend's daughter & forgot about the remainder. Well, I found the balls & had to knit a pair of socks for myself right away - the yarn reminds me of an African mud print. I'm not normally attracted to FALL colors because I look like crap in browns, greens, orange & yellow but on the FEET?? Yeah baby! I can wear anything!

My Office Buddy Bryan - brand new daddy of Solana who was three weeks old on Friday - wanted socks for his 34th birthday! He took my Saturn Socks to the hospital with him when Solana was born because he says he freezes in there & I hadn't finished the original pair of WILD socks I started for him. I had no idea he would scarf the Saturn Socks, he was supposed to try them on for size but somehow, they left with him. And the Stinker got two pairs. Oh well, good thing I have enough Saturn to knit myself another pair . . .

The Camera's on its Way!

So my new camera is on the way & I can't wait to play with another new toy!!! It better hurry up because Bryan's wild red, black & yellow socks are almost done! And I don't want to give them away until I have a camera so he can model them for the Blog! I forgot to get him to model the last ones - I usually don't carry the darned thing but I'll have to get used to doing so if I want the 'ON THE FEET' shots that others remember to get . . .

Still spinning the 'egg' shaped lumps of Brown Sheep mill ends. They're never ending!! The big bobbin on my Indian Spinner is full to overflowing with yarn & I found two more damned lumps to spin! This time, I'm determined to spin it ALL up for once & for all! I won't spin anything else until it's done!!! I think winding yarn onto the niddy noddy is my least favorite job. It's probably because the bobbin is SO big that makes winding off a real chore. I try to make those skeins as big as possible 'cause the old right arm really protests after a marathon winding off. And maybe that's why the bobbin doesn't get emptied as often as it should. Once upon a time, I even bought a skein winder from Don George - he makes lovely things out of wood - but I have nothing I can clamp it to so I can't use it - Great Planning, eh?? So I'm left with the old niddy noddy. And all that winding off . . .

This summer, I am really hoping to get more Craft Time out on the patio!! I have some macrame plant hangers to construct - I bought two baskets of Geraniums at the post Mother's Day Sale - I want to hang two baskets from the same hook. I'm making a simple double hanger so I can try to block the sun in the afternoon. Yeah, I thought about more lattice out there but then I can't hang anything high enough to keep the slugs out. I have a slightly damaged strawberry pot planted with strawberries - heh, the slugs won't climb that thing!!! & I want to hang the Geraniums above it as a sun block. I also got a Topsy Turvey Tomato hanger. The tomato plant hangs upsidedown!! I figure that will help block the sun too. I just may be able to sit out there after work & spin!! See, there is a method to my madness.

So Hard to DO

I know nothing about cameras. I don't even really like cameras. But, it's hard to post pictures of the latest projects, interests, neat things etc on a Blog without one. So I bit the bullet, checked out my Air Miles points & went in search of something to take pictures with. I decided I wanted a rechargeable battery. And I don't really want to mess around with taking out & putting back a memory card if I'm only taking 2 or 3 pictures! Oh, I really should have a 'smart' camera that can adjust to light & distance because I haven't got a clue - I just try to get my back to the sun & point. I'd like to be able to get in really, really close & take a picture of a bug or a special stitch or a blossom too. Can I really get all this for around 2500 points???

Apparently I can. I ordered a GE Digital HD Video Camera - it even takes movies underwater!! It adjusts for shaky hands. It plugs into the computer to recharge. It takes an SD card or USB thumb drive. You just point & shoot. Yeah baby!! And it only cost me 1200 Air Miles points. Because it's ORANGE.

In Mourning

Today, I realized my camera was dead. I didn't drop it. It didn't go for a swim. Sometime between taking out the dead batteries & replacing them with recharged ones, it quietly clicked it's last. And I didn't even notice. I totally blamed the batteries for not holding a charge. I blamed the batteries for not being as good, second class you know - they're rechargeable. I went out & bought very expensive electronics batteries to replace them. I guess I just couldn't believe it was true. The eye is open but the charge is gone. All the batteries in the world will not make my Kodak digital camera take sock pictures again . . . .

Leisure Time

I've actually had a little of it lately. Leisure time, that is. Time to sit & sip a cup of tea without paper in hand, on desk, in boxes, stacked, stapled, folded, etc etc. The phone is not ringing as often & I can almost walk into my office again. The FINISHED box rides everywhere in the car again. And the spinning wheel has been outside TWICE since I came back from the Retreat!!! I actually sat in the sun the other day & spun! Still working on finishing the last of the egg shaped knots leftover from the Grab Bag I bought from Sheep Shed Studios several years ago! I love the slight spongy feel of the wool in them. It's soft, a little fuzzy but nice to touch. Reminds me of Polworth in some ways & it just appeals to me, in a very tactile way. And, I do believe, I'm down to the last three bumps. Gotta check the bag again soon, just to make sure they haven't reproduced in there when I wasn't looking!!! I won't even discuss the wool/mohair roving that remains in the bag.

Got the Knit Kimono & Knit Kimono Too books out beside my TV chair & the decision is down to three. The lacy red one on the cover that first caught my eye, the really big 'wave' patterned lace kimono - I do hate the sleeves though or the indigo one with the textured sleeves & yoke that folds at the side. I love the LACE patterns but keep returning to the TEXTURED indigo kimono. It's simplicity, folded detail & subtle texture just gets to me. Mine would not be indigo though - not really sure exactly what I'd do with dye but I am leaning toward turquoise or plum with spots of brighter color. Oh for a warm, sunny summer to dye for!

And one last project that I'm waiting for a nice, warm day to work on - the felted cover for my new KOBO. I've discovered one bad feature of the KOBO, those buttons on the sides of the frame turn themselves on & off in my bag!!! Every time I go to use the durned thing, the battery's dead. The ON/OFF button on the top rubs against the side of my bag & turns it ON all the time. Ripped the guts out of an unused pocketbook sized Daily Diary with a zip closing that was in the "Donations" box. Unused, regifted, pages out of date!! It has a couple of pockets, a pad of paper for doodles, a pen to doodle with & room for my business cards. It's a little big for the KOBO but I could stuff a Driver's License, Starbucks card, $20 & a sock on a circ in there & go to Starbucks without a purse!!! !t works until I get something felted!!

A Day in the Life

It's officially OVER. I'm not talking Wedding or Election - although I could - but, I'm referring to TAX SEASON! Tried to E-file one last return just before midnight but the durned thing closed on me in mid file!!! I cursed but took the hint & went to bed. There's 5 unfinished returns left on the desk. Two will get refunds - no penalty, two always pay because they're always late & not because of me & MINE, which is also always late because I never have time till everyone else's is done! And then there's all the others who show up days & weeks or sometimes months & years, after the fact. Today, I don't care! Today I'm having breakfast OUT. Today I will read a week's worth of papers. Today I will get my mail on time. And later today, I have to take an ON-LINE course in BIDDING for EXCAVATING JOBS.

Nothing but Paperwork

I recovered from my re-entry into the yellow haze of smog that encases the Lower Mainland - every time I leave for a few days I wonder why I bother to come back to the wheezing, coughing & sneezing!! If it wasn't for my clients, the Motorcycle School, my stash & friends, well, I'd stay in Hope! I keep telling the Ex that we should sell the house & most of our junk, combine forces & move to Hope!! Why Hope?? Close enough to emergency services should we need them but out of the Transit Tax, Air Care, Hydro levy, traffic jams & yellow smog. Gas & housing is cheaper & we can zip to Chilliwack or Kamloops for groceries if we need too!! Since Hope got a Timmy's & a Mcdonald's, I can get my Steeped Tea & he can have his low fat muffin & Senior coffee! I think Hope needs a Dollar Store/Yarn Store too. Lion Brand yarn should sell in Hope. Gives me an excuse to order the good stuff for me & my pals & spend the days spinning in the store. I figure we need a nice little DUPLEX with a garage for his toys on one side & a nice covered porch on the other for me. My adopted child is now working for the Hope RCMP. A nice "IN" for me . . . But, I'm still paying off that damned loan so I guess I'll be in town for a couple more years . . . .

I have two more birthdays in the Motorcycle Office. My little buddy Bryan had his 34th on Saturday. We let him leave early for the Family Bash but I had no idea what to get him for his birthday other than Corona Beer. I was thinking about a 'Manly' pair of socks when he came in & told me he wanted WILD socks for his birthday!! Great minds think alike! Okaaaaaay. I have just the yarn - Regia - in one of the Nations colorways of Yellow, Black & Red! And he asked for KNEE SOCKS. He intends to wear them in the parking lot when he teaches in the summer!! He isn't getting knee socks because I only have 100gms but I can make em come halfway up his leg!! When the batteries in my camera recharge, I'll include a picture of what's on the needles so far!! The Boss turns 50 in May. We all know what to get him. I have my order in for a nice single malt scotch from the Misty Isles because we're teaching him that Johnny Walker isn't the only action in town!!

Haven't spun a thing since I came home. I like to get outside with my wheel & it's rained every day except when I'm stuck in the office cranking out tax returns or working in the office at the Motorcycle School!! Tax Season slows down on April 30 but small business stuff continues for a month or so beyond. At least I can take the afternoon OFF & sit in the sun - if we ever get two days in a row!!! WHEN summer finally arrives, I'll be out on the patio every day spinning the last of the 'bumps' I bought from the Sheep Shed Studios. I'm getting so close to finally finishing them that it's kind of exciting. I have the light grey fleece in the closet that I want to spin this summer too. And that lovely 'shades of purple' superwash wool & nylon roving I got at the Retreat to spin for socks!! I want to knit a couple of pairs of Barn Socks for a friend who will be 60 in September!! She has two huge pooches, two enormous horses & a pond full of migratory birds, herons, ducks & frogs in the yard. She's out in boots for more than half a day shoveling stalls, walking dogs, exercising horses & shooting bullfrogs. She needs warm feet.

A Surprise!

There's nothing like a little adventure once in a while! To my surprise, I got a phone call asking which bed I wanted at the Desert Mesa Spring Retreat. This was Tuesday & the Retreat started Friday . . . apparently my friend Gail sent an email a day or so before saying we were coming - if there was room at the Inn . . . Oh yeah. It's payroll week - 5 payrolls in fact. And it's Payroll Remittance week & three weeks before the tax deadline as well. What the hell, why NOT Go?? So I did what I could, threw a few things in a bag & AWAY WE WENT!! Had a good time, met some people I've been corresponding with for years but never met & spent too much money - as usual. Did NOT spend all my money on fibre this time - I bought a lovely bracelet & earrings in COPPER with an Indian motif - more Southwestern I suppose than local but very nice all the same!!! Laughed a whole lot - isn't that the reason we go to these things??? & got to see how our Blanket for the Bishop turned out!

Spent most of my time spinning up the remaining 'egg' shaped wool knots of the GRAB BAG I bought umpteen years ago from the Sheep Shed Studios in the States. I've decided to have a merry dye session later this summer on the patio & dye all the skeins at the same time! I've been slobbering over Kimonos since I bought the KNIT KIMONO book a coupla years ago & the Knit Kimono Too this year. I don't have enough handspun in any one colorway or type of wool to make any of them yet. But, I have seven or eight skeins in the basket & probably three more on the giant bobbin on my Indian Head spinner. I believe I have half a grocery bag of 'egg' shaped lumps left. There will be more than enough wool - I think it's Polworth - to make any of the short Kimonos!! Not sure what I'll do with the dye or what color I'll use yet but they'll be done all at the same time. I'm leaning towards a Kimono with a patterned yoke & sleeves with a plain body.

Found a home for two of the bags in the Office closet. The mohair curls & the best Border Cheviot fleece will go north to Quesnel. The seedy fleece will stay to become hanging basket lining. And, should there be any more fleece in there, it will go north as well. Thank you Lou for taking my leftover, forgotten fleeces!! I will de-clutter, de-stash & gain some storage space in spite of my hording ways yet!!!!

Today, I spent part of my first morning back sneezing, wheezing & watering whilst waiting in line to renew my Driver's license! What a picture I presented!! I decided not to wait one more minute since my license actually expired on Saturday & I had to drive sans license to the Driver Service Office. Some of the Nervous Nellies at the Retreat were telling me stories of rewriting the Exam & taking the Driving Test once more because it had expired. But, no one even looked at my license except to verify my address, mother's maiden name, height, weight, eye & hair color - somehow I shrunk 3 inches in the last 5 years!!! But, I'm legal again. And, the picture is now black & white - good thing because my nose & eyes were bright red! It looked about as good as my Costco picture. Whoopie - I just can't wait to whip that one out for ID!

April Already!

I've been mostly Lost in Taxland with the occasional venture into Motorcycleland lately - tis the season for both! And how do they connect? Every boy & more & more girls, want to get their taxes done early so they can buy a bike. A big bike with a motor on it! And of course, they want one NOW. All the paper dust & testosterone makes me realize that I'm rapidly crossing the line into OLD AGE. I just don't care WHEN I do my taxes & the only bike I want has at least three wheels, a heater, cup holder, a radio & a trunk!

And speaking of OLD AGE, I got my Official Bank Letter yesterday - the one that says," Happy Birthday Senior!" OUCH Apparently, they're switching me to the No Fee Senior Account. I don't have to do a thing! I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad. I know I've been looking forward to the NO FEE courses at the local University and Senior's rates at the Rec Centre! Woohoo. But, the bank letter sort of set it all in stone.

So to honor my Aging self, I've been trying to clean out some boxes, closets & piles in my office. I found boxes of paper that belong to a client who DIED three years ago as well as boxes of documents that should've gone home with their owners even earlier. And in the Office closet I found FOUR BAGS of fleece! There's one bag of mohair curls/2004 - 6 pounds it says, two bags of very dirty & somewhat seedy, Border Cheviot/2005 - probably 3-5 pounds altogether & one bag - 2 pounds - of anonymous brown/grey fleece with tan tips. I suspect there's another bag hidden in the big wicker basket in the back. I found a box with dry grey roving in it last year - I think it's the remainder of some Romney roving I bought years & years ago when I wanted to knit a grey sweater. The roving was so dry it was like spinning Dryer Fluff. So, it didn't get used. I sprayed it with spinning oil - still have half a bottle from the 70s - & tucked it into a plastic tub. I'm hoping it will be spinnable outside this summer!! Sigh, AND I was going to go to the Fleece Sale this summer!!!

Before I change my mind & give it a toss, the dirtiest BC is going outside to become hanging basket fodder. I have a wire basket that's usually lined with coconut fibre but the water just runs through as fast as you pour it in. Only succulents can live in that basket! I intend to line it with dirty wool this year & replace the succulents which have become thin & weak looking. I have several baskets which hold petunias, fuchsias, geraniums etc that dry out & bake unless they're watered twice a day - they will also be lined with dirty wool to keep in the moisture this year. And the rest? I'm going to wash some of the Cheviot & see if it's worth the effort. All this wool was given to me. I took it because I thought I could just wash it & use it. Free wool after all & I was poor . . . but I've been exposed to luxury fibre by other spinners at Spin Ins, Fibre shows & the Desert Mesa retreat. Because of them, I even tried to spin cotton fluff, dryer fluff, unspun nylon, rayon & even the anonymous fibre that the hairdresser puts around your hairline at perm time! I still DO love spinning right off the fleece but the wool has to be GOOD wool to start with & I've been spoiled by a small Shetland sheep from Alberta named Arvik.

It's THAT time of year again

Haven't accomplished a thing lately - not even a pair of socks! The poor Sierra Socks are still in the bag toeless. I managed to turn the heels & then got too busy to do much of anything. And I'm sleepy all the time! Spring fever?? Nope - Spring Allergies!! The Benadryl goes with me everywhere to ease the itchy, sneezy, wheezy, coughing paper shuffler I've become. Thank gawd for EFile!

For all you people who still have or are in the process of getting SNOW, Vancouver is now busting out all over. I noticed both of the scrubby bushes outside my favorite Greasy Spoon are in full bud with just a tinge of color - I'm surprised they bother since the customers dump their butts in the planter just before they go into the cafe!! My Clematis plants have TWO INCH sprouts on those dead looking branches & the rhubarb is six inches tall! I can't wait till I can fill the hanging baskets with lovely little plants with big buds on them. I've been out pruning & cutting off dead ends - the spider plant has been out all week & looks very happy in his corner. Even the strawberries have perked up in the last week or so - I do believe our long, grey, wet winter is over.

Now I'm just hoping for another couple of sunny days warm enough that I can set up the spinning wheel outside & spin the afternoon away . . .

Time Tinkering

I wish the Powers that Be would stop tinkering with time! As in clocks, that is. This Daylight Savings thing kind of gets my goat. We aren't Farm Folks who plan our days with the sun's comings & goings. Most of us in this country even have electricity. When it's dark, we can turn on a light if the flickering television doesn't already light up the room. We don't go outside to find the Convenience down the path behind the house any more. So why are we still turning the clock back & forward to gain a little more daylight?? I think it's old fashioned, archaic & plain silly in this modern age. I find no real, useful reason to carry on the Tradition. And I'm sick of changing over all the battery operated clocks in my life! Instead of battling the HST - a lost cause in my estimation because it's actually GOOD for businesses - let's do battle to eliminate Daylight Savings instead!

Odds & Ends

I've got this large basket of odd balls in the corner of my living room. Because I tend to knit a lot of things for Charity, I've been given quite a lot of yarn over the years & have amassed quite a selection of 50gm balls in a variety of weights, colors & natural materials. A lot of the samples are not suitable for local knitting since they're not machine washable but are also not suitable for infant caps & socks for foreign donations because of weight or content, either. So, I've accumulated quite a stash. I've tried giving some of it away but my friends suffer from the same problems as I do - what the hell to DO with it???!! My Niece - adopted her at 41 - sent me a text message asking for Wristlets or Cuffs. I think she's expecting left over sock yarns but my eye drifted over to that big basket when she also went on & on in the text about creme, tan, brown, rust & any other combination of the above I cared to find. Resting on the top of that thigh high basket were several 50 gm balls of blue, brown, tan, rust & snotty green! Amen, said I.

I found at least 10, 50gm balls of merino or merino & silk that would work for her in the basket. I also found that 50gms will make 2 pairs of cuffs easily. Cuffs are also a great way to try out new patterns of all kinds. And I discovered I love knitting with this merino! It's so springy & soft! I mean, I looked at the yarn & thought it was kind of thick & too evenly spun & wasn't really inspired or impressed. Ho Hum! And then I used some of it. Changed my mind! It's definitely mostly a sport thickness in the ball but knits bulkier. It sprongs & stretches beautifully. And I'm glad I decided to make cuffs. They're fun & warm & very quick to make. I was experimenting with a combination of seed & knit stitches in the snotty green cuffs to make something a little fancier. Originally, I tried a twisted knit stitch but it wasn't really right with the seed - I'm thinking the heavier weight merino & silk would make lovely cables with seed fill on size 5 to 6mm needles! The snotty green cuffs are in the lighter sport weight merino & silk on size 4.5mm needles. The tan cuffs are just knit 2, purl 2 in a heavier merino on 4.5mm needles. The flare at one end is just to make them look different depending on which way they're worn. Being the wild & crazy person I am, I pulled out a few other balls which may become cuffs for ME!! That cherry ball would work with my purple jacket . . .

Out for the Count

Remember when the Doctor told you to get that flu shot & you said "Yeah, yeah, I'll worry about it later"? Or "Gee, I never get the flu." Well, you'll be sorry! I'm just getting over my very own personal encounter with this year's strain of the Killer Bug & I tell you, GET THAT SHOT! I've heard noises coming from my very own GI tract that I never thought I'd hear outside of a Horror Movie. It came out of nowhere, with no warning, struck a terrible blow & left me flat on my ass, wishing I could just die & get it over with. And then when I thought I was improving & ate one little piece of sushi, the GI tract went into such paroxysms of rage, that I was hammered back to square one again. So, I am back to fluids only, sleeping & taking better care of myself. I will drink shakes & juices until my damned stomach begs for something solid.

I have started another pair of socks in an interesting yarn I saw on-line a few years ago & just had to have. I know I knitted up one pair of socks but I'm not sure what happened to them! A couple of weeks ago - between bout's of coughing & sneezing which I've also had - I found a 100gm ball of this Supersocke yarn in the Sierra colorway. I immediately cast it on the needles & have been too sick to finish it up. Damn. I could use those socks right now!

TaaaaDaaaaa


Pair #3 for the year - another pair of the crazy 'Nations' socks from Regia! These will be off to their new home on Wednesday. I used a slightly smaller needle this time around & I quite like the thicker fabric that .25 of a mm makes. This pair were knit on my new 2mm Harmony DPs until I ran out of needle & then switched to the 2mm circs. I was very happy I had them! I don't think I'd want to knit a Man's size 13 on these but I may use them for the next pair for myself for those dark, cold, wintry days when the mercury is heading down instead of up the thermometer!! Today, I wished for long underwear & blanket jammies to hang out in. The landlord cranked up the furnace overnight & turned it down once again, when the kids left for school!!

Just to make you jealous, here's a pic of all three pairs of socks knit since January 1!! That's two pairs on the bottom for MY sock basket & the wild one on top will be traveling. The gloves are still on the needles but I've been too busy to finish them - lucky I got the last pair of socks done!

I do have a plan to knit something else for myself but I have to figure out the math since I don't have the yarn specified & take a size larger than the largest in the pattern. Since I now have Sweater Wizard, Math Wizard, Sock Wizard & Print-a-Grid, I figure it should be a lot easier. There's also this crazy crisscross crocheted sweater that caught my eye but I may have to make it up for a kid just to see how it goes together . . .

Complaints Complaints

I've been whining lately about people who have blogs but rarely update them! I have a couple of favs that I've followed for years who just stopped blogging! How could they?? Or there's the ones who leave little hints & never get back to tell you what happened - they're probably the worst. And then there's me, I notice I haven't blogged for a couple of weeks . . . well, what can I say? It's February. The month that no one pays the book keeper. I've worked double the hours I normally work to get paid half the money. Every February I think about changing careers but get caught up in the backlog & suddenly, it's Tax Time. My favorite time of the year!! So, here we go again!!

I admit, I haven't done a lot lately. Steve, my techie buddy, tore the guts out of my computer & refurbished it so I haven't had a computer for a few days. I'm still on soft food & getting mighty tired of it! And I haven't vacuumed or cleaned out a closet yet this year! I haven't finished the latest pair of socks but they are ready for the toe shaping. Haven't finished Kyler's Kardigan in the purple Marble yarn but it's back in the car as Car Knitting! Coffeed with my adopted Niece on Friday & came away with an order for arm warmers & a hoodie in wool! I feel a Wonderful Wallaby coming on! Can't decide between the remains of the Briggs & Little Anniversary yarn I bought on sale - barber pole of two shades of blue or the multiple skeins of Briggs & Little Heritage & Regal in every shade of blue they make & one skein of cherry. I bought them at Knitopia when they were clearing out the storage bin in Langley. I was thinking about an Adult Surprise sweater at the time & I didn't want it to be too boring . . . I'd really love to do a Wonderful Wallaby in red or emerald for her but Sapphire blue is her color - a true WINTER child. She's training to apply to ERT - Emergency Response Team - & I've never seen her so thin & muscular! She's 42, in better shape than she was at 22! She rides horses & motorcycles, shoots & builds dragons in modeling clay. And wants a hoodie with a 'Lord of the Rings' hood. She'll probably wear it with lace underwear. . .

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.