It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Yes, that is the name of one of the movies that I absolutely do not like. But if the celluloid fits... 

The Toddler-in-Chief uttered a series of incoherencies which ended up with this (once great) country now being in a state of "emergency" so that he can pander to his handler Vlad and his "base." 

Base. Great word. Definition: "the bottom support of anything. The bottom layer." 

That about sums it up, folks. 

Thankfully, the lawsuits are already in place. California has already filed. He signed the deal with Pelosi and then had to turn around and do this because it's all about "winning." Or, as my favorite hashtag is, when referring to this chaos:  #winningnotwinning....

And there was another mass shooting. Which we heard almost nothing about because the news is all about the "national emergency" -- the "emergency that isn't." Only in his small mind and the minds of those who blindly follow. 

I posted a question on my congresswoman's FB page, and predictably, the "OMG OBAMA DID IT TWENTY SEVEN TIMES" trolls jumped on me. I pointed out that Obama DID declare national emergencies in the vein of seizing assets from threats. 

Not building a "wall to nowhere." And yes, by the way, ABC News is legit. I finally refuse to answer anyone else. I'm done knocking my head against bricks. 

Let's talk about something else; I want to get a good night's rest tonight and I won't if I'm all wound up. 

The Gut Reset...

Well, a lot has happened since Ground Hog Day... The doc put me on a "gut reset" program, and the gastro guy called to say, "Take yourself off dairy now, and if that doesn't work, gluten is next." 

So, for a while, I'm dairy-free, sugar-free, caffeine-free (yikes!) and sugar-free. Which means no more Velvet Latte. This is made (for me, at least) with almond-coconut "milk" but there are also no nuts on the gut reset. And this has a bit of manuka honey in it. So again. Nope. 

Surprisingly, I'm not eating air. I'm actually feeling pretty good. I've also lost 4 pounds in 4 days. 

Now, this is eating real food. 

But before I get into the ecstasy of the new food regiment, let us bow our heads and mourn.

No cheese. 

For the foreseeable future. 

Which means this little nibble of my beloved Jarlsburg is it, folks. 

The last bite of cheese I had. 

I'm still wrapping my head around "dairy free," even though a few folks I know said they've cut out a lot of dairy. 

In reality, so had I. I don't drink milk, though I like a shot of half & half in my lattes. I do love my cheese, though. And Icelandic yogurt, which has lots more protein than Greek, and is pretty tart (lots less sugar, too).


Anyway, I digress. I actually have quite a nice list of foods that are recommended for the first part of this, which is about 2 weeks. This picture here is dinner tonight. It's an oval, smaller plate that I've used for years, so it may look huge, but it's not. So, one medium sweet potato, one small, grass-fed steak, and a bunch of roasted asparagus. The asparagus has olive oil, Italian herbs, garlic and salt & pepper. I drizzled some of that olive oil mix onto the sweet potato. 

I also had 1/4 c. of blueberries a bit later for a snack. 

I eat two balanced meals a day and have a non-whey (no dairy, remember?) plant-based protein shake for breakfast. I'm used to having smoothies for breakfast anyway, so this isn't a big stretch for me. 

My tummy feels a bit better. I've cut my GERD meds in half, only taking them at night because I'm horizontal. I'm very excited about this, and it's not technically a weight loss program. It's about clearing out the junk, and then slowly reintroducing foods to see what bothers you. 

The whole program is 75 days. I'm in the first week. Got a ways to go yet. 

That being said, I still miss my cheese! 

The Knitting...

Well. Here's Diamond Smackdown on a human (me). I'll need to figure out a shawl pin for this one. 

The center point isn't quite where I'd like it, but I'm not going to quibble. I got a lot of compliments on it. 

One in particular from my oldest friend, for whom I made that pink + grey Close to You. She asked if "that's how you're supposed to wear it" because this one is similar in shape (though larger than hers). She thought this was pretty too. 

The afghan is coming along. I knit on that mainly on the weekends. This weekend, we're going to an orchid show, so this will be my Saturday Night Knit. 

I'm going to try to walk away from the computer this weekend. This week was a heavy, heavy computer week, and my eyes are feeling it. The afghan will be better knitting for me, even though I'm plugging along on two socks. I need a bigger thing to work on, I think. At least for a few days. 

The Petty Harbour sock is coming along. I'm on the heel flap. The Cascade is splitting a bit, which I'm not jazzed about. The heel flap is going a lot slower than it usually does; I think it's mostly me, though. 


I'm still doing the Doris Heel, which is a modified French heel. It's just comfortable for me, and I know I should revisit the Strong heel, learn the Fleegle, and definitely try the Fish Lips Kiss, but at this point? I kinda want mindless. 

I keep saying, "On my next pair of socks..." that I'll try a new technique. 

Well, let me get my singletons done and the Petty Harbour, which has a busy leg. Then, I'll do something new and exciting. 

My Valentine...

Hubby and I exchanged cards; we've been doing that for a while. I mean, seriously: Christmas, then my birthday, then Valentine's Day? That's kind of rough. 

But I did buy myself something; it's more in the line of a replacement than a new thing. I have a really nice Jordana Paige fold-over bag in a dark purple. It was a close-out since she's now out of business. Well. The main zipper doesn't work and one of the inner ones is wonky. I'll use it at home for strictly larger projects and deal with it that way. I can't use it as a purse because it doesn't close. 

So, after doing weeks of research (honestly, I looked at bags for a couple of weeks solid), I came up with this. 

Jimmy Beans has apparently bought Namaste. Which is good, because it's nice to have options. 

This is the Knitter's Shoulder Bag. It's not the largest; but not the smallest. I loved the look of the Crossbody bag, but it would've been too small. 

I honestly probably should've spent the money and gotten the Namaste Fold-Over, but maybe this is a way to tell myself to "haul less crap."

This came in a lovely bag you could use as a project bag, and they tucked in a "beanie bag" which is a little canvas tool bag. 

It's got two big side pockets, and a middle, zippered section. The tassel has a stitch marker attached. There are a few inside pockets and a larger outside pocket that fits both my phones. 

And happy day, the fabric lining the bag is light-colored! 

See that little wrapped thingie in the center of the top pocket there? It's a yarn-holder. So that's the knitting side, and I put my wallet, etc. in the center, and my book, calendar, and other stuff in that bottom pocket area. 

It's stuffed, and I'm going to live with it a bit to see how it really works before I write the review. 

The color is a darker teal. When Namaste was Namaste, their teal was called "peacock" and it was a tad more blue. 

This is a tad more green. I still like it. It's also got a cross-body strap, a key leash that's marked in 1" increments (emergency tape measure) and it comes with a tiny journal, a needle sizer and a tapestry needle. 

This is what it looks like when I've got it open and I'm knitting. And there you see the Green Sock. It's also coming along. The "took forever" ribbing is done, and I'm blitzing down the leg. I figure I'll have a sock by spring, since this is my lunch-time knitting. 

My sunglass case (that leopard-spotted thing) is huge. So I can't help but stuff it next to the yarn. I'm used to carrying my knitting in a separate project bag, so this feels a little odd. I can tell you I wouldn't carry wooden needles in this or any other bag. Especially sock needles, which are like toothpicks! But I feel confident that the Karbonz are ok. 

It also comes in Blush, Grey, Black, and a Plum color (which is not what they call it, but I can't think of it right now). It's well-constructed. But I have to find something to condition the "vegan leather." Some websites say "just wipe it down," but Jimmy Beans says to condition it. 

With what???

The Ice Storm Cometh...

This past week, in addition to being buried in work, we were almost buried in ice. For two days it rained and froze. 

These are the trees by the Polish deli near my office. It was freezing - like 11* or so, but I needed to get outside and feel the sun. 

And see the sparkling trees "for real" rather than through a window. 

It was very pretty. I spent a few moments with a broom, too. Knocking icicles off the awning. They sounded like shattering glass as they hit the sidewalk. Those things will hurt!!

Anyway, it's all melted now. It was cold today, but grey and the grass is crunchy. This is the icky part of February. 

I'm holding out for a late winter blast. I still want to get out on the snowshoes. 

We've had the snow, but at -34*? You can't exactly hike in that. At least I can't.

Random Picture...

Madame Tippi is in a pickle. Well, she's in a collar. Having chewed her leg to bleeding, we also needed to have a swelling looked at. 

The vet biopsied the swelling. We are anxiously awaiting results. The leg has to heal, but she's also on antibiotics. The little stinker can STILL reach the leg. 

She's giving me a royal stink-eye, but she got around the inner tube. And got around the cushioned cone. If this doesn't work, she's going into the LARGE cone we have. I don't want to do that because she'll hurt herself. 

We could use some good wishes. She's 11. I don't want that swelling to be anything serious. But it's concerned the vet enough to take a biopsy. 

Praying it's only an inflamed lymph node or something. 

Well, time for me to find my pillow. What do you want to bet that I'll get maybe 3 lines read and be zonked out? I'm hoping! Good night!

Plugging & Plodding...

I wish I had something remarkable to report. As I'm on Day 25 of Whole30, I wish I could say that it's awesome, I'm awesome, life is awesome, and I'll do this the rest of my life. 

But I can't. There are also no new revelations about recipes, food or anything of that sort. 

I've been doing more research, and I'm also listening to my own body. I don't like the protein content of this diet. I feel like my portions are all off. I feel as if I've done no good at all except that I've not eaten any processed food, no sweets, and gotten off sugar. 

I think I'm feeling unbalanced. I think that perhaps the fruit that we're allowed is even too much sugar. But I'm enjoying the fruit. 

I was thinking that I could eat this way for a long, long time, and the truth is, that in the main, I have been. All a long. Except for the sugar. If I were to truly go off sugar, I'd eliminate the fruit. 

But I don't like saying, "I will never have XYZ ever again in my life," especially when that XYZ is a whole food group!

I do have good  news, though - this has been rather morbid, hasn't it? All "woe is me" crap for a food plan where you really have to have the ability to pay for the food - it's silly. 

Anyway - I'm going out to see Kid #1 in a few weeks, so "clean eating" is still on the bill, but I'm going to start walking and exercising more. Kid has plans for hiking --- and I don't think I'm up for it right now. But I can work toward it. 

I'm really excited about that, because Kid hasn't been home in a long time, and frankly - it's hard not to worry. Of course, someone could make the case that moms having kids in the military have it harder - and they do. But that's not the case here, and I'm not apologizing for missing one of the kids. 

Knitting...

Well. Knitting has happened. I'm on Point 10 of the Close to You Shawl, and I'm plugging along on that. I've put a few more rows onto the traveling sock, but I haven't done a thing on the Petty Harbour sock. I need to start alternating projects. 

Of course, watching "Miss Marple" is kind of inspiring. The little knitting detective, plying away at whatever's on her needles (I've never seen a finished project in all the Marples I've watched!), and solving crimes that have stumped the authorities. This one is Joan Hickson. She's one of the better ones. I was going to say she wasn't the "iconic" one -- but it turns out she was!

I just haven't seen a lot of her versions. 

The one I'm watching now has a heroine who's apparently fallen for a real creep. She's just found out, and I've been thinking, "How could you NOT know he's a creep? I don't have to do anything but listen to him and I'm feeling queasy about him touching you!"

Anyway, I feel good about progressing on this project. I'm planning to spend time with the intended recipient this weekend, so that's kind of a nice, juicy secret I'm keeping - hoping the recipient will love it. 

I've been looking at other knitting blogs - different ones than I usually read. And honestly? I can't find anything else that engages me. I've read some and I either get turned off by the format (please don't type everything in a medium grey on white background and center every line of your work), or I don't like the projects, or I think the person is ... boring. 

Not like I'm lighting the world on fire with my prose. My friend Nat just wrote a lovely short essay on a jar of peanut butter which left me near to tears. My words don't often flow like that. 

There are so many bloggers out there, it's hard to read through all of them - I just don't have that kind of time! So I think I'll stick with the ones I read now. But I'm willing to take suggestions - if you know of a knitting blogger who just makes your needles sing - let me know!

I have to plan the knitting for the trip to see The Kid. Definitely the shawl. And a pair of socks. I'll be gone a week, and there are already activities planned, so we shall see how much I get done. I'm driving, so that's kind of no help. Looking forward to some time by myself and some silence. 

I hope to have lots of progress pictures ready after that trip. 

It's Spring...

We had the windows open! Spring has sprung! The daffodils at the church have come back to life after a wilting frost-ish kind of span of time. 

And sort of to celebrate, flowers were brought to work. Pink tulips. 

Funny enough, in a vase which I've had for almost 15 or 20 years - a crystal vase into which water and flowers were never put.

It's serving its purpose now, but I had used it as a "pretty" -- I put either shredded curly ribbon in it or Christmas ornaments, or those cute marbles. 

My thoughts are turning to the garden. Hubby, in spite of his continuing shoulder thing, managed to clear out two of the raised beds. 

My young tomatoes are looking peaked - so I may put them outside tomorrow to see if they perk up a bit. I talked to a friend who's done heirlooms from seed, she says that's not unusual. Thankfully. 

They're little sprigs of things. She says to plant them right up to the leaves. All I can do is try. 

I want to do lettuce (even though it's kind of late), mostly because of the whole "romaine scare." And I want to do carrots and radishes, along with the tomatoes. That should about do it. Though I'd love to try potatoes one year. Have to ask Hubby about that one. My MIL used to do potatoes every year. 

Herbs, too. But given our winter, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to start them from seed. It's almost May already. 

Stained Glass Repair...

I get to watch someone fix our stained glass windows at church. As you can see here, if you click on the picture, you can see the lead part slipping away from the glass. I understand from someone who knows about these windows that they're restored, and on the outside, they're protected by triple-pane thermal pane glass - also protecting them against fading and against the weather. 

On the inside, that wood frame is removable, so they can remove the stained glass when it's needing repair or something. The church is over 180 years old - and some of these windows date back nearly that far. 

Anyway, a couple of people noticed that two of the windows had some damage at the top. 

I called a restoration expert - happens to be the one who worked on the windows when they were first restored - and she'll be coming to the church on Tuesday, and I'm getting kind of excited to see what she's going to do. 

I will try to snap some pictures of our windows - now that the light is better, they'll be easier to photograph. I also have to take some new pics of the hall as it's being renovated. Which reminds me of a few other things I have on my to-do list... it just never ends!

Random Picture...


The sunset a few days ago after yoga class. We all enjoy watching it as the class ends, and we all joke that the building there on the left? We want it moved about 100 feet to the south, so we have a better view. 

It's a beautiful way to end the day. I turned around and saw the nearly-full moon, and it was stunning against a sky that was the total opposite of this one. 

I love to be able to look out at the sky. That's why I'm eagerly anticipating the trip to see Kid #1 - I've never been to that area, but am anxious to see it. I was told that, during one part of my drive, that I'll be "able to see the curve of the Earth." I'm looking forward to that! 

72 - 64 =

8.

Eight. The Fluro sock is cast on at 72 stitches. All my other socks are at 64. It's absolutely amazing how much difference those 8 stitches make. I mean, this sock is taking for-freakin'-EVER!!!

Here it is; I've added about 3 rows since lunch, and I'm now pretty solidly in the neon yellow part. 

I think of how quickly my Little Prince socks worked up and I just can't figure it out. 

I should enjoy the process more, right?

I'm trying. But it seems like the process is what's taking forever.

I think that (sacrilege) I may need to work on something else for a bit. Perhaps Kid #2's afghan?

The Kid...

Particularly since he will be leaving in the next few weeks. School starts mid-August, and if we're planning all this right, he'll be leaving at least in time to move into his new spot by the middle of August, the week before he has to start teaching.

He looked -- well, actually WE looked all day yesterday, and he thinks he's found a house. Today, he went up to talk to the Realtor. He's not crazy; he's been saving for this for a while, and he's pretty level-headed. 

I mean, truly, both of the kids are geniuses. But -- Kid #1 is more "leap THEN look" where Kid #2 is more "let's over-think this to the point of an ulcer..." So he's being very deliberate about the process. 

I hope he gets what he wants. He's got a list of alternatives, if what he wants doesn't work out. 

I've gone ahead and gotten him some "hope chest" stuff: kitchen linens, a clock, etc. because (a) they'll work no matter where he goes; and (b) they're small enough to transport easily. I have a car-load of house plants from the campus that he can have, too - it'll fill in the blank spaces till he can furnish wherever he lands. 

So as part of our day, we went to lunch. This is how bad it gets. His theory is, "If a restaurant has a BLT on the menu, order it." But he was so keyed up that he couldn't eat it! Normally, neither kid eats much in the summer, but this was sheer "Oh My GOD" -- I could tell. 

Anyway, this is the restaurant we went to, on a tip from my friend K at the knittery. She told us it was good, and it was really nice. 

It's a place that Kid will go to again; it's close and looks like it has lots to offer to a single guy who's on his own for the first time. 

For the record, I stuck to my eating plan and had a Dixie Salad: a green salad with grilled chicken on it. It was plentiful and delicious. The menu looked really good, and Kid says that the beer selection was good, as well. It's right in town, and the Realtor he talked to said that it was a popular spot with not only the neighboring college kids, but with the folks who live there. 

I'm happy that he's settling in a place where he can be part of the community. 

Eating Plan...

Miracle Quiche

I'm back on the Metabolism B because it worked well. It's the first 3 or 4 days that's really a kicker. The first 8 weeks are fairly restrictive, only because you are essentially doing what I've needed to do for a long time:

A sugar detox. I can't believe how far off the wagon I leaped! 

Anyway, this time, I figured I'd be smarter and look in the book for recipes. Behold the Miracle Quiche - with my own alterations, because... Well, I can't leave well-enough alone. 

It's basically egg/custard base with veggies. I didn't have broccoli, so I used frozen shredded zucchini. And mushrooms + leeks. Oh, and some goat cheese. 

I've had it for breakfast the past few days, and I'll make it again - but likely with a mix of fake and real eggs. And I'll probably add some ricotta cheese or something. Anyway, it breaks up my "breakfast boredom" and in a pinch, it can serve as a lunch or dinner, with a salad. 

I'm actually OK with a certain amount of "food boredom" because the routine helps keep me focused. But I'm also thinking it's time to expand my horizons a bit. 

I took my measurements; I'm not going to fret the weight loss/gain for this next few weeks. I'm most particularly interested in getting things back under control since next week I have the pre-op tests and then the surgery the week of the 21st. I won't lose what I gained back, at least not right away, of course. But I'd like a good foundation because I could very well get the "mopes" after the procedure and be all-too-happy to dive into the ice cream...

Exercise is mainly biking and yoga. Logging both exercise and food is helping me keep tabs on it. I've taken to setting the Heart Phone timer for every 1/2 hour or so, just so I get off my rear end, particularly at work. 

Hey, with all this, perhaps the Fluro socks will get done quicker as I substitute snacking with knitting??

"Knit, not Knibble." There's a motto for you!!

Speaking of Knitting...

I'm in a Facebook group called "Addicted to Sock Knitting." Honestly, it's a very busy group. These people knit socks like I breathe, apparently. 

With all the hustle-and bustle of the group, I kind of want to know where they're finding the time to knit socks. Socks, socks, socks... An awesome bunch of folks and while I thought I was a "yarn snob," these people have shown me yarns I didn't even know existed!!

I think, like me, some of them actually do knit stuff other than socks. But this is a great place to find inspiration if you're in a sock-knitting rut. 

I just wish my job didn't interfere with my knitting. Oh, what we do to earn Yarn Money. 

My Overall Plan for World Domination...

Continues... So, I didn't get the advisor position. That's the Universe giving me a hint. At least I hope it's a hint, and not a house dropping on my head!

This is a blessing because I really, REALLY don't want to be an advisor. I really, REALLY want to operate my facility. And so now Boss Lady and I can fully focus on getting us over to the new facility. So far, a couple of important folks have bought into the plan, and the positions already exist, which makes this one layer LESS of paperwork and politics. 

In addition, I won't have to have that awkward conversation about, "Oh, yeah - I need a week off to recuperate from a surgery that I didn't disclose during the interview." That's not illegal, per Boss Lady, who's an HR expert. It's just positioning yourself. 

However, the dean who was to hire that position is one of the Three Important Folks who can make this other plan happen. So perhaps not getting that job is a step toward getting to do what I really want to do. 

We're now lining up faculty who'll say, "Of COURSE we want them there! We want them to do their jobs for us!" Fingers, toes, eyes... everything crossed so that this works out well.

My Laptop...

...is doing something funky. All of a sudden, it's going all kind of pale. I've fiddled with the contrast, but I can't seem to get it right. I'll have to look some more. If not, Hubby will work with it. 

It's not debilitation. Just annoying from the usually uber-reliable ThinkPad.

THE decision...

OK, still not naming The Store That Shall Not Be Named... but here's an excellent article about the decision and the way it can be reversed. 

Check it out. It's worth the read. 

Random Picture...

Bubbler

So I took this a while back. It was the few hours where our larger solar fountain got sun from under the big maple. Anyway, I tightened up on the bird bath and this is what I got.

Yes, again from the Nokia camera phone. Or phone with camera. Whatever you like. The trick, in spite of the whiz-bang commercials, is honestly to take the shot and then do the fancy stuff with it. 

It's a cool shot, and one of those where you look at it and say, "Wow - didn't realize I got THAT part!" 

As you might imagine, I was tickled to be able to just bring the phone on my recent trip to Florida. Even though, yes, in the actual convention center, the bigger camera would have been better for the most part. The scenery pics were really good with this phone/camera.