All Fool's Day

Yesterday afternoon the postman knocked. He had a lot of mail for us in the truck, but wanted us to know that we had what looked like a water main break. There is a little fountain coming out of the ground here. I wish it had showed up better. It ran down the sidewalk and out the neighbor's driveway, then down to the street all night, at a respectable rate.

The picture below is just before the dig. You will notice that Mother Nature had a surprise for us as well -- that white stuff was NOT forecast.

They started digging. And digging. And digging. 5 truckfuls of dirt came out, I didn't count the dirt going back in. It was a cold day to play in water. Although, to be honest, some of the things that they did looked a lot like little boys playing in a huge puddle of water. Making big splashes. With the backhoe. THAT makes a splash all right! LOL
Called the landlady, she had been under the impression that there wasn't much grass removed. Oh. Well. Yes. I think there was.

Someone asked if I was planning to do any April Fool's Day tricks. I think enough is enough, don't you?

Smile!

SMILE!

Justin and Us

Justin and Grandpa. Need I say more?

Justin and me

Gen's Quilt

Gen made a quilt up for Justin. So we used it for play time on the floor. This almost smile was just before or just after a BIG smile. I just wasn't fast enough.

Justin and his sweaters

This is the goldfish sweater, with the Dale of Norway Baby Ull yarn Mabel and Kay bought in Norway. Honestly the first sweater we tried on, but he wasn't quite sure what that idiot Grandma was doing with the camera! grin She sure stuck it in his face a lot!

This is the Presto Chango sweater, from jimmy beans Wool, knit out of Brown Sheep superwash







This cardigan became a pullover because Grandma forgot the buttonholes! sigh I tried to continue as a cardigan. It would have none of it. Perhaps that is just as well, because buttons like this won't be easy to button on a squirming toddler. As you can see, I went with the majority rule, and put in an additional 3 buttons. There are still 4 buttons left to decorate something!

The Joy of a Grandson

We are a family of readers.

Justin was grumpy today. Actually, he was very hungry and wasn't happy about having to wait for his milk. We were trying to wait for Mommy to come home, but it wasn't going to happen. Sorry Mommy! I was holding him while Grandpa thawed milk for him. There was a copy of "Peter Rabbit" on the table, a tiny cardboard version of Beatrix Potter's beloved book. I picked it up in desperation and started reading it to him. I didn't show him pictures, but he quieted and listened to the rhythm of the words. The book ended and he started fussing again. So I read it again. Just as I finished, he came to the end of his patience, but Grandpa had come through! The milk was ready!

I think we have another reader!

Pictures will be coming! He is a toad like his Daddy about pictures. He will have the biggest smile on his face, but bring out the camera and it disappears! Especially as you push the button. It might have been there as you pushed, but in that moment, it is gone and there is a wide-eyed look of astonishment that you would even think that you could catch a smile. grin

chuckle

We stayed in a lovely hotel last night in St. Paul. There are lovely white comforters on the beds. I was knitting away at my Mermaid, and thought "this would be a great place to take a progress picture!" I guess it is official -- knitting rules! Howard, the sweety, just laughed. The body is officially to half. Yay!

We were going to explore downtown St. Paul by foot. I was wheezing, though, so we didn't go very far. I needed my prednisone, and couldn't take that until we ate. Stopped at a likely place and had a lovely time. I'm so glad that retaurants here are now smoke free! We ate at Matty B's, the maitre d' took special care so that I could eat safely. It is worrisome trying to eat away from home with so many food allergies, he went far out of his way so that I could have a delicious meal. There was a jazz band playing in the background, we were on the other side of the restaurant, so chatting was easy. It was a delightful experience.

As you may have noticed, I'm back on pred. There wasn't much wheezing, but there wasn't much air getting in and out of the lungs either. My voice has been staying in the bass register, which causes some hilarity with friends. There was a debate as to whether Howard and I had switched voices (which would have been a good trick in and of itself, but it has been deeper than his.) Some people close to me couldn't recognize my voice. I guess it is hard to process when you know the person's voice and it is suddenly SO much deeper. Memorable, I understand. grin

Oh Wow!

Not very long ago I talked with our dear friend Gen about making a quilt for our bed. I've loved Star of David quilts for so many years. I tried quilting in the early 80s, I made a few tiny things and stopped. The ladies in Idalia Colorado quilted, I learned a bit more. But my abilities are um, weak. Gen is a QUILT MAKER! She loves to piece the way I love to knit.
Gen generously told me to come over and choose the fabric from her stash. Yesteday she came over to give this to us. She wanted to give us a visible sign of her love. I think that she has given us a hug that will be cherished the rest of our lives. I had tears in my eyes as I unfolded this precious gift.

She apologized that she wasn't able to quilt it. Oh my word! I think she gave so much already. I have checked with a friend who knows a quilter who may be willing to quilt it.

Each time I see this quilt, I will be hugged by Gen. Her love will enfold us at night.

What an absolutely lovely gift from the heart! God bless you Gen!

The Goldfish Sweater

Here is the finished Goldfish! I dropped it down onto the snowbank outside the front door, then took it looking down at it. I couldn't quite reach the arm to untuck it where it fell, but the rest of the sweater almost looks posed. Almost.

Yarn used, Dale of Norway Baby Ull, 4 skeins, I started with Brenda Zuk's Salmon Run then played with it. My fish are shorter, thus they look fatter. Pattern designed using SweaterWizard and Stitch and Motif Maker.

Oh, and it is resting on a new bed of the white rain that fell last night.

Eep!

I started an e-book. I made the mistake of reading a review about it. Normally, a review is a summary of the absolute essentials of the book. This one says "Because this is such a great ending, I'm not going to divulge anything else about it. You'll have to read the book to find out."

Now, for a person who has a hard time starting a book without reading the ending to make sure it all comes out okay, this is horrible! One of the few times I didn't want to read the end to find out and the reviewer does this to me? mutter, mutter, mutter! Yes, despite the years of being yelled at by family and friends, I still read the end of the book first.

So far I've not given in to tempation. Will it last? I dunno. :)

Maybe I'll take a picture of the goldfish sweater in the white rain that is on the ground. The forecast was "it is too warm for any snow, it will all fall as rain." HAH! That is some awfully solid white rain on the ground, I watched the neighbor shoveling it.

The Goldfish Sweater, he is finished!

Between the county caucus this morning and the knitting group this afternoon, the goldfish sweater is completed! I need to give it a quick wash, then I'll post a picture. People seem to think it is cute!

Thank you again Kay and Mabel!

Oh for...

Then last night, as I'm knitting away at this Goldfish Sweater, I notice that the last cable I knit in the column with the wrong cable was wrong AGAIN! sigh I must have looked at the wrong cable when I glanced to see which way the cable was to go. After all, I've hit the stage where I really don't think I need the pattern. whimper

I spent most of the morning fixing those two cables. The first was done by snip, move stitches then kitchener. The second was dropped down, fixed, then knit up again. Just those 8 stitches. Now can I finish this sweater? snivel

Drat

I had planned to write a post today about the joy of knitting when the pattern finally "clicks." When you suddenly "get it" and develop a rhythm. You see the word PLANNED? HAH!

I am having trouble believing that I went 7 rows without noticing that cable crossed the wrong way! After all, I look at my knitting! I know that I have to check to see what row I am (which way the seed stitch starts.) I LOOK at my knitting. I thought. Now I'm on the 8th row, time for another cable crossing. ARGH! This yarn isn't nice to drop down and knit up, it splits better than cheerleaders! I'll wait until I'm done and do a snip and kitchener repair.

The good news is that it is beginning to look like a sweater! As you can see, the arms joined the body today!

The color is somewhere in between these two shots. It is not quite a baby yellow (I called it that and one vendor was quite offended, told me it was "real yellow." Okay. It isn't a BRIGHT yellow. The first picture is too gold. The second one is too pale. Somewhere in the middle. You imagine, as my camera doesn't want to see it that way. I tried playing with the color, it wants to turn it into a gold, and it isn't.

The Tale of a Sweater

Last fall, two wonderful ladies, Kay and Mabel, went on a trip to Norway. While they were there, they thought of Justin (who was had yet to make his appearance) and bought some yarn so I could make a sweater for him. It is beautifully soft Dale of Norway Baby Ull -- a superwash wool in a lovely yellow (safe for either sex!) That was so sweet of them!

Here is the sweater I've started from that yarn. I've had a bit of a time, my gauge changed after my swatch, and I had to start over again. I started over the next time when I realized my gauge had changed again. This time it seems to be consistent. I have both sleeves knit and am nearly 3 inches up the body. It is going to be a seamless pullover, with a shawl collar. I like how it is working.

I started with Brenda Zuk's cable pattern in Salmon Run, a pattern I'd purchased thinking about our son. I felt that an all-over texture would be too much on this sweater. And then, of course, I started playing with the cable and changed that. I think the fish is now more of a goldfish than a salmon. grin

So, thanks to Mabel and Kay, Justin is going to have a sweater with "fishies" that will keep him warm. I can't wait until I see it on him! I know it is going to be too big (I purposely designed it so he can grow into it) but I love the picture of him in the changed Tutti-Frutti.

Thank you, ladies!

We Belong

The song in the hotel ad is haunting me...the chorus sings "we belong" over and over again. I think it ends with the word "together", but the part that sings -- okay, I'll be honest, is STUCK in my mind is "we belong".

There are so many places where I have found I belong. Some are a good fit, others are...not so good, but I stay because of friends, or circumstances, duty and sometimes (unfortunately) from habit. Some ties are weak, some are strong. But they are there.

We each need to belong.

Newest Justin pics

This one is a bit old (if you consider his age, that seems to be all wrong!) Aunt Serena is a fan, can you tell? So is Grandpa H, for that matter. Aunt Serena is trying to catch him young, I believe.



Justin spent part of a day at day care yesterday, so they could all experience it before Mommy has to go back to work. As they said, doesn't he look worried? grin This is at the day care site. He''s changed a lot already!

From what we understand, there are a lot of pictures being taken, but not a lot of time at that end (and boy, do I remember that lack of time) to send them on. We will "have" (such a hardship) to make another trip north to visit, and copy their pictures onto CDs so we can have them as well. There are some cute pictures on his webpage, but I can't copy them for my computer. There is one that he looks just like Jack Benny! The only thing missing is the hand up to the face!

Decisions, decisions

So the question now facing me is this: Is it better like this;

or this;

or this?

I figure it will be called the fish sweater, for some reason! I thought about having some of the fish face the other direction, but the eye is not centered. Someone would be making comments that some of the fish are floating upside down which means they are dead.

Rats!

I've still not finished this little double-breasted sweater for Justin. Murphy's Law seems to be ahead right now.

First decision was to skip buttonholes, as I figured odd-shaped buttons = bad idea for a toddler.

So I sewed in large snaps. I must have been distracted on the first snap, as the second half was in backwards, so it wouldn't close. The sweater fabric wasn't heavy enough to part the snaps (found that out after they were attached.)

Next I sewed in snap tape. First time through the white of the tape showed up and down the edge. Fixed that.

Then I realized that the sweater is heavy enough that you really can't feel to close these small snaps under the sweater fabric.

Last night I decided to make this into a pullover! Sewed one button and whipped the two front neck edges together.

Today I thought about taking last night's progress out and making another change. I'm afraid that if I do, this poor sweater will continue to be modified and modified, never fixed. EEK!

The face of knitting

When I started knitting, the options seemed to be:
1. fiber -- wool, cotton, angora, mohair and fibers we'd now count as acrylics;
2. weight -- worsted, sport, baby
3. cost -- can I afford to make that?
4. availability -- can I find it locally?

Now I see people have many other concerns:
1. What is the carbon footprint of the yarn?
2. How were the animals treated whose fibers make up the yarn?
3. How green is the yarn?
3a. Is the yarn as bio-friendly as implied?

Most of us don't worry as to whether we can find it locally, the internet makes it possible to order from around the world. All we need to do is a Google search, then off we go.

Cost is still a factor for most of us. We knit because we enjoy it, not because of any illusion that we are going to have something cheaper than can be purchased at the local discount store.

Weights now vary from laceweight (many different sizes) up to super bulky. Knitters choice.

The choices in fibers have grown too.

I want to knit a ... (fill in the object of your choice) is not always a simple matter any more. Each knitter chooses what is important and buys what seems right at that time.

I'm glad for the options available.

Sorry Bill

moar humorous pics
We didn't have a shower in the house until we had lived in Utah for a few years. Mom and Dad had one installed in the basement. During that period of time they seem to have been installed in a lot of laundry rooms instead of bathrooms, just as this one was. The house didn't have a lot of water pressure. It was really easy to annoy the person in the shower by turning on hot water upstairs. So convenient if they had annoyed you... Actually there was a perverse joy in listening to my brother bellow to turn off the hot water. I don't remember doing it to Annette and wouldn't have done it to my parents. But I do remember doing it to Bill. This photo from http://icanhascheezburger.com brings it all back.

Skunks Take 2

We lived in an old house in Oklahoma that was actually two houses that had been pushed together. One side had an unfinished basement, the other side was balanced on concrete blocks. Little did we know that the concrete block side was a skunk magnet! Our first clue was waking up one night to the sounds of a cat fight on steroids. That was "exciting" as it sounded as if it were right under us. Turns out that it was. Right under our bedroom. sigh

Our children were small, about 4 and 1. You know, the age when they are either movng or asleep. The time of life when there is no mute button.

There was a wonderful racetrack in the house. They started off in the living room, then on to our bedroom, breeze through the bathroom, whizz through the dining room and wind up back in the living room. This was a wonderful game -- to chase each other around and around. Sometimes just one of them ran it. Screeching in laughter at the top of their lungs. Nathan couldn't move very fast, but it didn't matter.

Unfortunately, the skunks resented being awakened as they slept under our bedroom floor. They really didn't like the noise. And showed their displeasure as skunks are wont to do.

We tried all of the home remedies we were told about. How many of them were to tease us? I don't know, they didn't work. Eventually a friend loaned us a trap, and helped dispose of the first skunk. Which got exquisite revenge as it died. The second skunk left for a day or so, and Howard dug out the path to the den, and put down a sheet of roofing materials to deter the skunks.

Didn't work. Wasn't too long before they had moved under our bedroom again. This time the trap was dropped off, with best wishes. I'm not sure he even slowed as he dropped it off. He wanted nothing to do with it!

Eventually the skunks were persuaded to find a different home. But every time it rained there was a skunk odor in that house.

I don't remember how long we had skunks under our bedroom, it seems as if it was a very long time. It probably wasn't, but too much time has passed to know for sure.

Skunks 1

Alison told her skunk story the other day. It reminded me of several of ours.

When we lived on the eastern plains of Colorado, the house was 4 miles out of town. The church, parsonage and cemetary were surrounded by fields. When our road started drifting over at the cemetary, it was our responsibility to call the school and let them know. There was just enough time left to end classes, get the kids on the buses and home before it was too dangerous.

Nathan had severe asthma, so we had outside cats. For convenience, the cat food was kept outside on the front porch, in a metal bin that had originally held popcorn. The cat food attracted skunks. Cucumber (and the other resident cats who were there for shorter times Rosie and Blackie) learned to eat quickly if they didn't wish to share. Didn't matter, the skunks would investigate the porch to see if there were any crumbs.

After a while, the blasted things figured out that they could open the bin by pushing at it with a nose until it fell off. There would be a loud CRASH as the metal lid hit the concrete floor. Not conducive to sleep. One night, I'd had enough. I heard the CRASH and jumped up out of bed, raced downstairs, threw open the front doors and stormed out on the porch. DUMB but I wasn't thinking at the time! The skunk tried to spray me, while balancing on the rim of the bin. Instead, it fell on its back. I came to my senses and leapt back into the house, slammed the front door, then looked out through the window in the door (heart pounding!) The skunk rolled over, looked around, then waddled off the porch.

The next day the house was sprayed in a different place about every hour. The smell lingered for a long time. The day after that Nathan, waiting for the school bus, leaned against a post on the front porch. It became obvious, as the bus made its way to school, that he had found one of the places that had been sprayed. A polite phone call from the school asked us to please pick up that coat and bring something to keep Nathan warm, so the smell wouldn't permeate the school.

After that, the cat food bin was kept inside. I do learn, sometimes slowly!

34.5 years

Howard's grandmother was a letter writer. She wrote just after we were married that we had married on their anniversary. I didn't know that. Turns out she meant that they were married on Valentines's Day, our six month anniversary.

Grandma J. felt that the best way to show her love was to feed the person. We always left from visiting them stuffed beyond the gills. Two days (or so) of eating as much as we could left its toll! Grandma would put any food that hadn't been dished up on our plates, telling us to "eat up, so the sun will shine tomorrow." Oh dear. One memorable meal she served homemade banana pudding, coconut cream pie, chocolate pie and angel food cake with strawberries. Howard asked for a small bite of each and received a full serving of each one! That was on top of a full meal! Uf-da!

giggle

You know it has been cold for a while when you drive by the bank, the thermometer says 10*F (-12* C) and you think, "My it's warm today." It took me 2 blocks to realize that my brain has been skewed by all of this frigid weather!

Knitting pics

Here is Justin wearing his sweater. I knew it was going to be huge on him, but he agreed with just a little fuss to model it for us. I think he looks darling in it. This is my version of Hanne Falkenberg's Tutti-Frutti knit with 2 strands of 3 ply Kroy sock yarn held together for each color. This way it is machine wash and dryable. I think that is necessary for any baby knitting. It is wool, but easy care for busy families.


Finally a picture of the Rogue being worn. Serena had a bad cold all weekend, and the picture wasn't flattering. So I cropped it to show just the sweater. It has been worn for a while, yet it isn't pilling. Another plus for the yarn (as well as the fact that it is so warm!) This is the merino/possum/nylon yarn from Supreme Possum in Ecology Green that I ordered from New Zealand. Absolutely yummy stuff to knit with!

New Justin pics

We had a fun weekend with Justin, Kim, Nathan and Serena.

Eek!

I finally finished the 100% angora shawl I started in August. A variation on a shoulder shawl I've done many times. Instead of a square back, it is triangular. It can wrap around me and tie. I knit and knit on this. It was hard using the circulars, as the yarn caught on the needle each time, as it relaxed while on the cable. I finally gave up and put it on mis-matched straights. One wooden and one plastic. All I had! Whatever, it rescued the project from UFO-dom. The problem? With all of that knitting, the shawl weighs in at a whopping 2.2 ounces or 63.5 grams (the scale couldn't decide between 63 and 64 grams, it kept fluctuating back and forth) or 138 yards! This doesn't seem fair. It feels as if I knit a LOT more than that! Sure doesn't do much for my stash knitdown, as I still have 16+ ounces of the yarn/1049 yards left and no clue as to what to knit with this 3/10 or 62.5 yards/ounce angora! Suggestions?

Here is a friend's teddy bear wearing the Tutti-Frutti. I thought it looked kind of cute, but I couldn't get Teddy to look at me!

presenting

I'm really pleased how this sweater turned out. I'm glad I made the changes that I did. Now to wait for Justin to grow enough to be able to wear it! I'm wondering whether I should make the matching hat, or call it.

So far in January (the month is almost over, but there are a few knitting days left) I've knit 1.2 miles of yarn. My mind boggles a bit over that fact. It helps that this sweater was done with two strands at a time, double the amount of yardage used!

I did learn a valuable lesson. I was 21 ridges away from finishing. Decided to do the math as to how many stitches remained to be knit (as I was determined to finish all but one gusset and the ends Sunday evening. I found that to be an intimidating number. Instead of thinking "21 ridges, I can do that easily!" my thoughts turned to "21 ridges is 42 rows times 50 stitches is 2100 stitches that I expect to finish tonight? Who am I kidding!" I went back to "21 ridge, I can do this!" And, I did. Perspective. The way you think about things makes all the difference in the world.

We got haircuts yesterday and I love mine. Although today, with the dry air, wind and sleeping wrong, I have cowlicks! The bane of my mom's existence on picture day. I won't make you giggle by posting a picture, but you can giggle at the thought of my hair creating its own design today. Still in the shape it was given -- almost! grin

ah-ha! moment

I found the cable to my iPod, thank God! It was hiding near the printer for some reason (another room, let's not go into reasons.)

Had an ah-ha moment a bit ago as I was trying to resize a cable pattern from Ivanova and Carter Knit the 1/26 post. That one triggered an immediate idea for a new sweater. I spent probably 5+ minutes on the activity to suddenly realize that if I save it to the computer then put it in my picture editing program, I can resize it easily. Actually, the program does it for me. Whew! Takes seconds instead of minutes.

Justin's sweater is moving along. I will admit to measuring it again and again (actually counting rows, but it is the same thing!) The adult version of "are we there yet?" grin

If anyone finds my brain, please let me know!

Justin's sweater is a simple color pattern, row 1& 2 black, 3 & 4 white, 5 & 6 black, 7 & 8 red. Today I skipped rows 5 and 6. Not as much frogging as it could be, but still! After knitting along this far, one would think I would pay attention to the pattern. At least a littl bit. Yes, it is mindless knitting, as garter stitch is wont to be. But the reason I like it is the color changes. Hello brain? Can we have a discussion here? You want to knit Hanne Falkenbergs, so you aren't bored stiff when knitting garter stitch, you gotta pay THAT much attention. Please. I'd really appreciate it.

Then I went to download some of the books I bought from Audible.com. The plan was to put some on my new iPod so I can read while I knit. The cord, she has gone poof! I actually picked up my knitting room! Not so much that others might notice, I still have the box of books up for trade at paperbackswap.com and I don't see a lot of point in putting them in a bookcase to come out when they go to a new owner. But still, there is a noticeable (to me) improvement. No cord. Maybe I should go back to bed? Take my knitting, of course.

Howard's cast

As per request, here is the picture of Howard's cast. He is so glad it is coming off Thursday! He'll have had a total of 20 days in restricted movement. It is hard, I'll agree. Here's to a healthy wrist!

Happy Birthday all!

Today is the middle day in a cluster of family birthdays. There are 10 cousins on my Mom's side. My brother's birthday was yesterday, my cousin Nancy's is today (as was my Mom's father's) and my cousin Robert and my birthdays are tomorrow! What are the odds to have 40% of us born within 3 days?

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OF US!

Stuff

Should I call this a Medley of Mitts? I also thought Melange would work as well. I couldn't post until they were received, now could I! As shown in the earlier picture, my sister and parents were so pleased with the mitts I sent right after Christmas, they asked for more. So more they got. These are made from (from upper left) dark green Patons Kroy, Trekking and Patons Kroy, (center) Brown Sheep Wildefoot Symphony, Patons Canadiana, Patons Astra and Brown Sheep Wildefoot Violet Garden (I don't think that color is on the general market, I got both of these skeins at the Factory outlet. That was ALL of the symphony!)


Here is the Hanne Falkenberg "Tutti-Frutti" in my variation so far. Two strands of Patons Kroy for each color. I need to finish the back as well as the ends of both sleeves and the neckband. And, as you can see, I have ends to sew in. I really like how it is turning out. At first I'd planned to just use black and red, but it seemed so -- blah. I think the white really pulled it together and made it. I've gotten many compliments already on it!

This is for Stacey, who complains that it doesn't get cold there. Hm, I think she may be bragging instead of complaining, actually. We set a new record low temperature last night, this was the inside pane of a double paned window this morning. You KNOW it is cold when the outside door has frost on the inside.This happened in the kitchen, the lower edge of the door and the sill were white with frost on the inside. BRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Yeesh!

Today has been one of THOSE days. Drove DH to the doctor (45 minutes away.) As we left town, I stopped to get gas. Could NOT figure out the gas pump. I interpreted what it was saying as push a button to start your gas. (It said select gas, and showed a row of buttons.) Finally DH told me to flip the lever. sigh

Doctor told us that he could drive now. I said "you can drive home!" Nope, he didn't have his wallet along, so no driver's licence. The nurse put the cast on. Home we went. I seriously considered stopping to get something to drink, but we didn't.

As we pulled into our driveway, his cell phone rang. My purse was still at the doctor's office. This isn't normal behavior for me. Neither of us can remember that happening before. We piled back in the car and took off. With his afternoon meeting in town, there wasn't time for lunch.

We decided that he should drive back, as he now had a driver's license with him and I didn't. First indication of trouble: he couldn't turn the key in the ignition.

As I was passenger, I knit. Or tried to. The yarn tangled, badly. I finally gave up and broke the offending yarn and untangled it that way. By the time I had that sorted, I was only able to knit a few rows.

When we arrived he again couldn't turn the key in the ignition. His movement with the hand is also restricted. He decided that it is going to be the better part of valor to wait until the cast comes off next week.

We came home again, he called on the way to have his secretary put off his appointment for a half hour. I got him there 2 minutes late. Are we having fun yet?

Odd occurence

Sunday afternoon Howard went to the nursing homes for worship services at each of them. The churches in the area take turns so that there is a short service every Sunday afternoon, with lots of singing and a short message.

I dropped him off, with the understanding that he would call when he needed a ride home. The second place is across the street from the first, so he would walk between them.

Around the time that the second one was to start, the home phone rang. When I answered, I heard people singing "Jesus Loves Me." I realized, just before I hung up, that it was the second service. I listened through it (what I thought was the end) and left to pick up Howard. When I got there, he denied all knowledge of calling me (and if he had called, he would have called on my cell phone, not the landline.) Yeah, I checked his phone, he didn't call me. There wasn't a telephone in the room where the service is held. NO ONE that was there admits to calling me! We don't have caller ID on the home phones, so I couldn't figure it out that way.

And, to top it all off, he had a ride home! So who called me? It was an enjoyable phone call, but I'd feel better if I knew who had called!

Justin's Sweater

I have a bad habit of writing here when I'm in the car (doing a lot of that recently!) and then not actually putting it down. Blast it!

I started a Hanne Falkenberg Tutti-Frutti for Justin. Before you get offended at the idea, I've changed it so much, I'm not sure it would be recognized as her pattern. I'm knitting it in 3 colors with 2 strands of Kroy 3 ply sock yarn (what in the world was I thinking -- that is 6 strands on each piece!) and removing the bobbles.

I'll post a picture when I get home (and edit this sentence), as I just enjoy the way this is turning out. I confess that I stop knitting just to admire what I've done so far! My plan had been to knit it in red and black, but the thought came suddenly to add off-white as well. What a difference that makes! The colors play together so much better than just the black and red!

May you find pleasure in your tasks today! Even better, I hope you find joy!

Giggle

Howard gave me an iPod for Christmas, and Serena gifted me with an I-tunes gift certificate. I purchased Hadyn's "Creation" and started listening this morning. I know that when I bought it I had thought to buy it in English, I've listened to it for years in German. Started listening this morning and suddenly thought "I bought it in German!" It took about 4 tracks to figure that out. I don't speak German, but I guess I was so used to it in German that it didn't compute. Then I had to laugh at myself!

I'm enjoying it. Thank you Howard and Serena!

Excuse me?

Why do individuals feel they can disparage my knitting, without it being an insult? One person today said, "I was told some years ago that women knit so they can talk." Another person looked at me and said, "I'll bet you didn't get anything knit today." (and no, I wasn't the one in the meeting, I had 6 hours away from home while Howard was in a meeting.)

More Justin Pictures!

Nathan e-mailed more pictures today!
"Is this another dog? What exactly is this thing? When awake, it makes a LOT of noise!" Tucker is finally getting used to Justin, the noise made him nervous at first. Justin, however, is able to sleep right through Tucker's barking (and he has a LOUD deep bark! Tucker's mom was a lab and his dad was a basset hound...)

Mommy holding me so Tucker can look on.













Sleep is SUCH hard work! I'm putting all of my energy into it!

This is my favorite of today's set! Despite these pictures, we have actually seen Justin awake!

Howard had surgery on his hand today. He is doing well, but the next few days are going to be interesting. He can't drive until he sees the doctor again -- the 22nd. He did try to persuade the doctor otherwise, but no dice. I am chauffeur for the interim. :)

Brain, what brain?

I looked at the hat I’m making for the library lady this morning. Thought it was too big, and took all 240 stitches off the needle. (I thought I needed to frog back about 8 rows, and it was too much to tink back stitch by stitch.) Then I put it on my head, and it was just the right size. I s-l-o-w-l-y put it back on the needle, one stitch at a time (just after a cable row too, what was I thinkinig?!) I am now down to the ear flaps and I’m trying to figure out the placement. Brain, what brain? It took 4 trips to the living room to get the knitting needle kit, so I could put a smaller needle on the left side, so the stitches would feed better. Just tried it on after one row of the needle change, and, as I said, it is ready to do the ear flaps which means I need to change needles again.

I know someone once wrote about placement of ear flaps. Now I need to find it again. I thought it was Kim Salazar of Wiseneedle, but I can't find it now. Oh well, back to finding other patterns and working out percentages.

Giggle

Kim and Nathan gave me a teapot fountain for Christmas. It is darling, and it fits my personality. I think. There is just one wee problem. All of that running water tends to make me need to run to the bathroom. sigh It is relaxing, I enjoy it, but that little problem does make life more interesting. How many of us are affected by the sound of running water? grin

The Years of a Couch

When I was growing up, it was called a davenport. I believe Howard's family called it a sofa. Now it seems to be called a couch.

When Serena was just getting active, my Great-Uncle Charlie decided to move into a senior apartment complex near my parents. He was fascinated by Serena, I don't think he had been around a toddler much, and her energy level astonished him. (As it does, I believe, almost everyone around one!) One memory stands out, my parents had a step/seat in front of the fireplace, probably 9 inches to a foot tall. Serena was clambering up that, then she'd stand up and jump down. Over and over. And over. Charlie stood there and laughed, which, of course, encouraged her to continue. He was filled with delight, and so was she.

Charlie asked, somewhat shyly, if we would take some of his furniture. It would make him feel better if he knew where it was going. As we were fresh from grad school with few belongings, we accepted with joy. I'm not sure that I fell on his neck thanking him, but it was close! (grin)

So it was that we received some of Charlie's furniture. Now the nice thing about Charlie's furniture was/is that it was purchased by someone who stood right at 5 feet tall. In other words, his furniture fits me beautifully! The couch was oversized (it didn't fit in the door of the apartment when we were living there!) but it was just the right depth for me to be able to sit all the way back and my feet still could be flat on the floor. That is unusual.

Just after we received the furniture, we moved to Portland Oregon. We had the couch reupholstered. It needed it. Shortly after it came home, Serena took a red marker to the cushions. Thank goodness I could turn them over! That did, of course, mean that the cushions didn't get even wear.

I figured it up the other day. While we had it, the couch survived 2 children growing up, 8 cats, 7 moves, 2 stints in a storage unit, dirt roads and a lot of use! It, unfortunately, finally the wood started giving way. Re-upholstering just wouldn't work now. I didn't want to let it go without some sort of memory. So I kept a piece of the upholstery. There were 4 fabrics on the couch, so it had been reupholstered 3 times. Charlie had probably purchased it in the 20s, so the it had a good long life. The velvet (brown?) was the first. Then there is a tiny scrap of brocade (all I could get, the fabric was disintegrating.) That is a gold with a brown brocade. Then there is the gold brocade that was on it before we received it. The blue striped velvet was put on in Portland.

I don't know if the couch would have survived longer if it had been reupholstered again earlier. Somehow I doubt it. The nails in the arms had broken the wood when they pulled out. One of the legs broke as the couch was moved.

It was hard letting the couch go. It had been part of us for a long time. But it was time. We'll miss it. If I can't find another that allows my feet to touch the floor, we won't buy another.

Ideas on what to do with the fabric scraps?

Justin

We drove up to see Justin and his parents yesterday, coming home today. We wanted to meet him! Justin didn't have a good night last night. He tried his best to keep Mommy and Daddy up all night. That was hard work! He spent almost the entire time today asleep. We went out to lunch before we said goodbye, this is how impressed he was with the entire situation! Sound asleep! You will notice that everything is a bit large for him -- right now 0-3 month clothing is large on him. We are sure he will grow, but he looks tiny, doesn't he!

Here is my favorite shot of the ones we took, Grandpa and Justin! Grandpa was able to hold him and he'd stay awake (not crying, just watching and looking around.)

I retained the title of most boring person around and he went to sleep every time I held him. This has been happening for years -- it seems that when I hold a baby, no matter the mood he/she is in, they fall asleep. May I note that this did NOT work with my children! It has proven true with other babies, from those in the Peds section at the hospital (when I volunteered there), to infants in the church -- whenever I get to hold an infant. This morning he was fussy, I held him and he went to sleep. Yesterday he wasn't fussy, he still fell asleep.

Mitts, 2007 totals

The mitts arrived and were received with pleasure. In fact, much to my surprise, my sister didn't wind up with all three pairs. As you can see in the picture, Mom and Dad each took a pair as well! The verdict? They are surprisingly comfortable and warm. In fact, the request has been made for more pairs for all three of them! grin



My 2007 totals. Somehow, it doesn't feel as if I've accomplished much last year. (Hm, had to make a correction, as I wrote this year. Must make the change mentally!)
Baby Afghan 1 (This was the 3 generation afghan that Mom, Serena and Howard all contributed toward making it)
Baby hats 4
Baby Sweaters 3
Briefcase (felted) 1
Children’s sweaters 4
Felted purse 1
Sample for Margaret 1
Scarves 1
Shawls 1
Adult Sweaters 4
Socks (pairs) 1
Wristwarmers (pairs) 4
DK weight 120 yards Cormo

Welcome Justin Lee!

Grandtad has revealed that he is a boy! At 5 o'clock this morning we each received this photo message on our cell phones. The message was "Meet Justin Lee". He arrived 5 days late, but his Mom and Dad are thrilled that he is here (so are we!) Mom and Baby are doing well.

Ramblings

Still no baby. Poor Kim! She is past her due date.

We spent time with our kids around Christmas, I figured out that we were in the car 30+ hours between Thursday the 20th and Friday the 28th. That does NOT count driving around town either place. That's a lot for this body!

Serena wore her Rogue-ette almost all the time we were there. Did I think to get pictures? Nooo! sigh I have a request in for her to get someone at work to take a picture of her wearing it. If not, then maybe late January...

Tucker was unhappy that no one was playing with him. So he sough solace with his frog.

I knit several more pairs of wristwarmers for my sister, but mailed them off before I got pictures. Hopefully her hands will be warmer! I started one more pair, finished another, but one isn't a color she'll wear happily (I will though!) and the other is driving me nuts right now. As I've whined before, asthma makes knitting difficult some times. While I have been capable of knitting a 2 by 2 rib, I was doing a 4 by 4 (because I like the way it looks and to do something different.) I just couldn't. COULD not. 4 by 5, or 5 by 4... many many times. I finally put it away in disgust.

On the way home, it was snowing and blowing. Howard wasn't using cruise control, to keep better control of the car. At one point we watched the car just ahead of us as it perhaps hit ice or realized it was missing its exit. We don't know. Howard thought the first, I thought the second. Whatever, it started spinning. There was concern that we were going to collide. It seemed to be happening in slow motion. Just when we thought the driver had brought the car under control, a tire dipped over the edge and the car gracefully rolled and landed on its roof! Talk about a heart thumping stretch of time! Howard brought the car to a stop, then backed up to help out as I called 911. (As an aside, I really wish the dispatchers knew mile and exit numbers -- it would make it easier for those of us who aren't reading all the road signs as we go by! That would be me when I'm passenger.) All the time praying for them, for other travelers, for those who stopped and for a safe trip the rest of the way! We were told the people in the car were fine, so took off. It was a subdued pair in the car for the rest of the way. That happened 2 and a half hours from home. Ick! We rejoiced when the road cleared up shortly after we got back into Iowa!

Handel's Hallelujah Chorus

I should be asleep. The alarm is set to go off at 4:30 in the morning, so we can spend some time with the kids before Serena flies out for home. Yet, I'm awake. Drat.

My parents had a reel to reel tape recorder. Dad used it for work before his stroke. It was a massive thing by today's standards, I think each reel was close to 6 inches (15 cm). And heavy. But that was state of the art in those days. After his stroke, he didn't need it. We had pre-recorded tapes for it, I remember some were loaned by others to amuse him after he came home from the hospital, but the selection was...eclectic. The Messiah, Coppelia, western tunes... I think I remember some friends loaned/gave him tapes.

For whatever reason, I commandeered that machine. I needed it to go to sleep. I'd go to sleep listening to Coppelia or to Handel's Messiah. I'm sure I probably only needed one side to go to sleep, I seemed to have fallen asleep before "The Trumpet Shall Sound" for the Messiah, but I'd rouse for that. Wonder if that is why my Mom hates trumpets? She commented one time that they demand (bugle?) her attention.

Anyway, tonight I was thinking about the Messiah and the Hallelujah Chorus. How many times I've heard it or sung it in my life. My first memory of it is with that recording (no, I don't know who made it.) Then there is the memory of the pick-up choir of my high school days. A local religious institution invited anyone who wished to come for the afternoon to practice the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah, to be performed that evening. We all came together, from MANY religious backgrounds, practiced (I'm sure that the sponsoring church's choir had practiced a LOT more) and then put on a performance that evening.

Then in college, the church we belonged to performed the Christmas and Easter portions on alternate years. Complete with brass quintet. I think that is the last time I sang it myself.

When we moved to New York, Serena was a member of the high school choir, which had the Hallelujah Chorus as the finale of the program every year. Anyone who had been a choir member in the past was invited to come up on stage and sing. It was a vibrant, exuberant performance, with friends meeting up since they had graduated. Some had been singing this together for 40 years or more. Most of them tried to get in on time, so they could get to the program. I know we tried to schedule her flights home from college in time so she could get there. Didn't always happen, due to finals schedule, but still...

Now, listening to XM stereo on tv, there have been a couple of playings of the Hallelujah Chorus. And there is still that stillness, that delight in the memories over the years.

Tonight, for some reason, instead of sleeping the Chorus is once again ringing in my head. The worst of it is that I can't remember, is it 3/4 or 4/4 time? Sheesh? Instead of the joy, why is THAT important?

We are waiting the birth of grandtad. Any day now. Whee!

EEEK!

We have spent 16 hours in the car over the last 3 days. Here to Nathan and Kim's, there to the MSP airport and back (to pick Serena up) and then home today. Then we will drive up Christmas Day to have Christmas with the kids, then drive Serena back to the airport, then back up to N & K's. From there, we don't know what we will do -- yet.

It is so frustrating, to get so freaking many political phone calls a day! Good grief! Even though I've committed to a candidate, they call me so many times to make sure I'm still planning to vote for this person. GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK! The more you push me, the more irritated I feel. The political commercials are on constantly, the phone calls are ridiculous! Why in the world do we live here?

Still no baby. Poor Kim. She isn't comfortable. Neither of them (she nor Nathan) are sleeping well (surprise, surprise!) The only good thing is that we know that it will, eventually, end. Her blood pressure climbed suddenly, she was put on bed rest yesterday. Hm, good thing she was going to be off work Monday and Tuesady anyway!

With all of the driving time Thursday and today, I did get knitting accomplished. Not Friday, however, as we drove in the dark, and I didn't want to mess up the pattern. It is hard to get the correct number of rows in a Fibonacci sequence when you can't see what you are doing! LOL

Appreciators

I don't think it is a word but it is exactly what some special people are. Appreciators. I have some appreciators in my life. Right now I'm talking about my knitting life. There are others, in other areas, but this was highlighted TWICE today! TWICE! YAY!

I have knit for my sister off and on for years. I love knitting for her, as she cherishes whatever I've made. To the point that I think she could safely get rid of the vest I knit for her in high school, um, way too many years ago! Unfortunately, that was before I had the idea that I should knit colors that look good on the intended victim, instead of my favorites. She looks good in rose tones, this was rust. Nevertheless, she wore that vest for a long time. Today she asked for wrist warmers in wild colors, because it is so cold in her office. Whee! I'm off to stash dive (and I asked my friend Dianne for extras, because she LOVES wild colors much more than I do.) I'd started a pair of socks for me, but the yarn yelled, "I wanna be wrist warmers!" Okay. I frogged the couple of inches I'd done, and that's what they will be!

Some of the yarn is in a bit of a short supply, so I'm going to knit them in reverse, start at the hand and work down. I suppose some could be Scandinavian pulse warmers....

My "almost daughter" in London UK who visited us several years ago wrote this morning too. The two sweaters I knit earlier in the year for my "granddaughters" are so loved, that the other day the youngest pet hers going in and out of the washing machine (called a wetter by the oldest , isn't that appropriate!) The sweaters (jumpers) aren't impervious to stains (darn it) but they are light colors -- lime green and neon yellow respectively, but the girls love them. That is what is important.

These aren't the only knit appreciators in my life! But I heard from both of them today, and that meant a lot to me.

I hope you have appreciators in many aspects of YOUR life!

3 and a bit days of knitting

I couldn't let that last bit of yarn go to waste! Really I couldn't! I knit the mitts first, then, because there was so much yarn left, I started the Moebius. I got near to the end of the yarn, and put a slip knot in it about 4 times the width of the scarf (because of the ribbing.) I had about 6 inches of yarn left over at the end. Sweater pics will come after Serena tries it on next week. I'll try to get pics of the mitts on a body, as they do look nice.

Have you ever noticed that yarn sometimes does NOT want to be something? I was knitting on the Moebius last night using a different stitch pattern. It just didn't go well. I finally frogged it and started over. It went so quickly at that point.

Waiting

We are in that period of life that is so interesting. We are waiting. Every time the phone rings, we think, "Is it the baby?" Posts from them indicate how tired they are, and the baby isn't even here yet! Oh dear. New life is on its way. It is almost here. What a promise for the future!

Unfortunately, the phone is ringing a lot these days. You see, we are in one of the first election states. One memorable day I received 5 phone calls for political surveys PLUS 7 for political ads. I don't know about you, but I hang up on robo calls. Thanks but no thanks. I don't find it impressive that someone with a "name" has recorded a message and it is going out to several thousand people at once. I don't care. Click. I admit I have a weakness for political surveys. I want my voice heard. But there really is a limit. It has gotten to the point that I can frequently tell the politcal bias of the group who is sponsoring the poll. We're not supposed to notice that it is slanted toward one person/group?

Oops. I was just working on my yarn spreadsheet. Must keep myself honest. To realize that one of the times I added yarns, I managed to foul up my total ounces line. I don't know how. Not sure I WANT to know how. sigh But that means I have almost 200 less ounces than I thought I did. Um, that is quite a mistake! Over 12 pounds. I am not saying that I'm running out of yarn any time soon. Far from it. But still, there is a wonder about that error.

By the way, the wristwarmers are finished. Well, one still needs the ends sewn in. But effectively finished. Whee!

Remember my whine yesterday about the yarn for the last sweater that seemed to have gone missing. Well, I checked my actual stash (against the spreadsheet) for my yarn (purchased for me at the same time/place.) Hm, spreadsheet said 20 skeins. Actual stash was 12. I am going to take it that I did the same with Serena's. somehow. Must have been the day the spreadsheet went bad. grin That is a 1.3 pound difference there alone...

Whew!

The sweater is done! In time to hand it off to the intended victim next week! I had just a bit of yarn left over (that I can find) and am in the process of making a set of wristwarmers. No pattern, just playing. Serena (said intended victim) said she doesn't need wristwarmers, so I will just have to wear them around here! Such a shame, as it is COLD in this house right now! LOL We still have power, but there are a lot of drafts.

As I said, the yarn left over "that I can find." I have a yarn database. I try to be accurate with it. There are things that slip through the cracks, it may be off by a few skeins, but not by much. So I wrote down that I'd brought 15 skeins (26.25 oz or 250 grams) of this yarn home from Serena's to knit this sweater up. I'd bought it a couple of years ago from New Zealand. The sweater weighs 1 pound .5 ounces or 468 grams. There would be a little more used, the ends that were trimmed and thrown away. That is 9+ skeins. I have the rest of the + skein and one more at hand (hence the wristwarmers.) BUT WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THE OTHER 4 SKEINS! I've hit the exasperation level by now. If I'd had them, I probably would have saved them to make something else toasty. But it didn't feel as if I had enough to make much, and thought "a-ha, wristwarmers!" Didn't want to waste this uber-warm yarn! I have searched the house. I asked Serena if she remembered how many skeins she had, her helpful response "a box full." True, when I sent them to her I squished them all in a small box. But that doesn't really give me an accurate count, now does it?

Does anyone else have this happen? Sheesh!

Sadness

There was a car accident last night. 4 high school boys were in the car. Two of them died. This is a small town. It has hit hard. Howard spent the morning at the high school as one of the volunteer grief counselors. Today 2 families are facing the Christmas holidays with their hearts breaking. Their friends are having to come to grips with the painful reality.

Inevitably, memories of the school bus accident while we lived in Oklahoma surfaced. Luckily that time no one died. It was the last day of school before the Christmas holidays. Many families had all of their children on that bus (even smaller town -- elementary through high school students rode the same bus.) Howard was one of the first ones on the scene. The first I heard about it was a frantic phone call from a father who had all 3 of his children on the bus. He hoped that someone had called Howard to alert him, and so he would be able to find out WHERE the accident was, so he could go to his kids. He had been given strange directions (the crash was so many miles east and so many miles west of town instead of north. Can't get there from here. But we didn't know at the time to substitute north for west.) Funny, I think of the accident, and I immediately see Serena's Christmas dress that I was making. I was pressing in the hem when I took the call. I can see the ironing board, the dress, and the feeling of horror. Mentally naming the children that were probably on that bus.

Things like this do happen. But we would all much rather that it didn't happen to anyone, but especially not to those we know. All we can do is be there for those who have been affected. And pray.

When the stitches go bad...

I was knitting away on the collar. Paying very special attention to those cable crossings that had been wrongly turned earlier. Really I was. About 12 rows in to tonight's episode of knitting, I realized, every freaking one of the center cables in tonight's knitting was done incorrectly! Part of me was in absolute shock. Part was horrified. The rest? Resigned. The sweater is no longer going to have a collar as I had planned it before. At this point I'm knitting a rolled edge to match the sleeves and hem, and this sucker is done!

Later (much later) I will figure out a way to show myself how the cables are supposed to go. Bur obviously not tonight.

I am now going to whimper off into the sunset.

One of those days

I made a commitment to myself today that I'd knit at least 10 rows this evening. Then I cut my finger while slicing bread. Can't tell if the bleeding has stopped yet, until it does I'm not going to even try. Knitting may be a moot point. I'll see. It is the tip of the left index, I don't use the tip foe knitting except on the cable rows. Wonder if I can come up with a work-around! I can tell you honestly that my typing is atrocious! Amazing how many letters use that finger!

Have you ever noticed how important something that is seldom noticed becomes when it is incapacitated or gone? As soon as you give/throw something away that hasn't been used in several years, it becomes vital. I don't understand. Same with yarn. Pass it on because it won't be knit up -- ever, and BANG! sigh

I've noticed as things become more uncertain, my knitting is doing the same. grumble

I've been pondering the new-born baby hat (knit for newborns at the hospital where I still volunteer, despite the fact that we moved away 4 years ago) that I knit while in the emergency room with my dad. According to information on the web, it is very difficult to kill the disease spores for what he had. Finally came to the conclusion to throw out the hat and the yarn (there was enough for one more hat.) I also gave the needles, stitch markers and row counter a good chlorine bleach bath. The stitch markers and row counter hadn't been used for the hat, but were in the same knitting bag. The bag was also swabbed out. Maybe overkill. I'd rather be safe than cause harm to a baby.

Update on the finger, new bandage because I bled through the other one, and yes, I can knit. Slowly at the cable crosses, but that finger is used to tension, not move the stitches.

Great Stash-Down

I've been thinking of shopping my stash for some time, and joined a group on Ravelry. Karin MT started it, and it has become vastly popular. Some are shopping only from their stash, others are working on a zero growth goal -- however much comes in, an equal part must go out. Right now I'm working toward the stash only, with the exception to be yarn for baby things. We'll see how long it actually lasts. There is so much laceweight there, I think the only way to use it all up is to strand many together until I reach the desired weight.

Ice!

47 minutes of playing human jack-hammer today and I managed to break the ice and clear the walk for less than half. I had to give up when the wheezing and sore muscles won. More tomorrow. I am trying to remind myself that I am doing good things for my body by all the work. I suspect tomorrow I'm also going to be saying something on the order of "Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, OW!" LOL It is probably still 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.

Happy Birthday Serena!

Happy Birthday Serena! The best daughter we could ask for!

Her birthday present today? Notice that her truck was totalled. She was told that the frame is shaped like a banana. The thing we are all trying to remember: She was NOT hurt!

On the sweater front, intended victim looked at the picture on the blog and "kind of likes the way it looks, so don't fix it." Whew! I have to admit it has been in time out since I noticed the error.