Note to Self...

ALWAYS carry a crochet hook. It almost doesn't matter what size. You never know when you might have to rig one up with a paperclip and while that's very "Girl Scout," it's not always ideal.

Knitting...

I finally got on Ravelry and entered the hats. I got a nice compliment on the Kauri hat. That always feels good!

I feel like all I've been doing is double-stranded knitting. 

Oh wait. I have. Between the Nephew Afghan, the Basic Hat, and my (gasp! FINISHED!) cup cozy, I've done that for -- like -- EVER now. Though Friday I did cast on Teal Sock #2 and I have about 4 rows of the cuff ribbing done. I can't wait to finish that. I am going to try to make a pair of socks every quarter. That's about all I can do.

The Yarn Harlot says she's doing a pair a month, but we all know she rocks and is a super-knitter. I don't think I could commit to that, what with the WIPs I have in my mind to clear out. 

So - yeah - finished something. It's a cup cozy. No, it's not horribly big, but I like this reusable Starbucks cup and I was annoyed at myself for using the corrugated cup cozies. This is again the Patons Classic Wool. It seems like I'm drowning in this Wedgewood colorway, but I do have 4 hanks of it. I think that the last thing I'm going to do with this is another pair of hiking socks. It's about what? Somewhere near 425 yards for 2 socks, and I have enough full hanks and 2 partial hanks. If nothing else, they'll be warm. I'll do the same as I did on the purple hiking socks: worsted weight yarn on size 3 DPNs. 

Cup Cozy

If I have more of the Wedgewood left over (sigh), I will either do wristers or, since I have a LOT of grey Patons, I will do the hiking socks using the variegated at cuff, heel and toe. Or I hit up Joann's and buy a couple of hanks of beige Patons - there's beige, blue, brown - lots of ways I can go, and I think that either way, it'll work. 

Here's the cup cozy: I think I posted a partial pic earlier, but either way. It's only 3" long, so it's not like a monumental project.

But what with the monumental projects I've been knitting lately? I needed a down-and-dirty easy and small one to just talk me off the ledge here. 

I suppose some of my Etsy friends might say, "Hey, you could sell those." Well, yeah, I probably could. But knitting endless cup cozies is not my idea of fun. Ever. This is stupid-simple: just cast on your desired stitches (in this case, about 42) and knit in a K1, P1 rib for 3" and bind off. So the bind off is where I used my paper-clip-crochet-hook device. Not ideal, and I do have an end to weave in, but I can do that at home. And remember to stick a spare hook in my bag. 

You can use any stretchy stitch: K2, P1 or any of those variations, or a moss stitch, maybe? Grab your stitch dictionary and go for it. I guess if I screw up and wash the cup with this on, it'll felt. But it won't kill me. 

Olympics...

I'm not watching. Putin is a dictator. Plain and simple. There are too many stories of Russian dysfunction and his ruthlessness - from shooting stray dogs to displacing people because they're "in the way." This dude has really reignited the Cold War. And for what?

Gotta love the whole speech about "inclusion" in the Olympics. Check out Russia's human rights record. You probably won't sleep at night, if you have a conscience. 

I'm going to be exposed to it, of course, because you can't get on the Internet without seeing it and I have 2 sports nuts at home, so it'll be on. 

I'll be knitting or reading. Or maybe THIS is my Olympic moment: to finish cleaning out my office at home!! Yep, there's a thought. 

Yoga...

I'm in a rut. My own personal practice is kind of in the toilet (which happens to teachers) and I've got a couple other things going on. So the reason I'm bringing this up is because I went to a therapeutic workshop last night.

I almost didn't go. But I'm glad I did. Workshops tend to reinvigorate you, especially if they're not particularly long. This was a one-hour thing dealing with ankles, knees, hips, low back. I felt jazzed in the lower body, but sore this a.m. I hope to be able to use some of this in my own sequences. 

And I'm really hoping that this makes me roll out my mat. Which, actually, could be done if (see paragraph above) I make room on my office floor on which to roll the mat!


Really...

OK, so I wonder sometimes what people think when naming their kids. My kids have conventional names because they have an unconventional last name. Neither name can be mangled into a cutesy nickname, and both are, in my opinion, classic names.

My friends, for the most part, have named their kids along the same lines. But there are some folks who do choose to go "unique." Kid #2, the teacher, says that he sees a lot of "odd" names, and Sis (a nurse) often has to have people spell what you'd think was a simple name because they want to be "different." 

Now seriously. Take "Christopher." Very common in the early 80s. So I once saw it spelled thusly: Khristopfer.

Yep. So you say "Christopher" but you make your kid forevermore have to spell it out. 

Nice. 

So the reason for this segment is this story. A couple named their child Messiah. A judge in TN - the home of the Bible Belt, apparently, changed the name over the objections of the parents, and she stated in court that "Messiah is a title and only to be used by one person, Jesus Christ."

Nice. Well, not so much. She's been fired. Apparently, she's let her bias slip more than once and this set the judicial commission in her area over the edge.

Do I agree with the parents? Well, not so much. And it's not because of some overwhelming religious fervor. I just think that sometimes in their desire to see their child as unique, parents saddle their kids with names which are quite burdensome. 

The judge should have been fired, if indeed she was bringing her Bible to the bench. There's no place for that, because so far, we're not a theocracy. Though there are plenty of Republicans and Tea Party folks trying to make us so. 

Anyway, you really can't tell a parent what to name a kid - at least within reason. Of course there are naming conventions, and your local clerk's office will outline those. But please - recall that at some point, your kid may not thank you for that "different" name. 

Random Picture...

Peace is slowly coming to the house. Hubby still feels (and is) "tied" to Raisa while they all work out who's where. But it's coming along. 

Everyone napping

Our biggest hurdle is the relationship between Tippi & Quinn. We've had 3 females before and after one or two "dominance displays" everyone calms down. I really feel that the mother-daughter thing is overwhelming sometimes. If Tippi and Quinn were not related, I think Raisa's integration would be easier. I've talked to folks who've had mother-daughter combos and they all seemed to think it was really easy. Well, maybe for them. But it has certainly proved to be a challenge with us. It doesn't help that there are 3 adults in the house with three DISTINCTLY different styles of interaction with the dogs. 

This week is Raisa's first training, but since I have a wedding shower where my attendance is required (and for which I'm baking the cupcakes), Kid #2 will be Raisa's handler. He's also got to sub for me one more time. After that, I'm clearing my calendar to get her trained. 

This morning, Raisa said "hello" and I have a scratch on my face very much in line with Boris Karloff. We're working on "off" pretty regularly! She took a chunk out of Hubby while going after a treat, so that's another thing: "EASY!" 

But overall, things are mostly positive and we understand that this will be an interesting group of dogs. Raisa will be our last puppy. And we're hoping it all smooths out sooner rather than later.

By the way, in case you're curious, that rectangular patch on Quinn's flank is the hair growing back after the removal of a pretty nasty cyst. She's got the undercoat just fine; now we're waiting for the guard hairs to come back. It takes a while.