Humble Up...

 ...well, I pulled the metaphorical trigger. I finally went to the orthopedic doc and we have a date to meet the surgeon on June 1. I'm shedding my hip and getting a new one. I'm over it. I'm in constant pain, and I don't want to hold off till my posture is permanently ruined. 

I've told people and they say, "You're so calm." I'm not. I'm terrified. I feel like I've left it too long, yet I also feel like I should have more time before I make this decision. In reality, I am kind of where I'm at. The head of my femur is flattening, so I'm not imagining the sound effects and the pain. 

So. That's done. Moving on. 

I'm home from the day job - they basically said, "bye-girl, work from home!" though I'm going in one day a week. And I've subbed out my yoga classes till this is done and I'm released. 

I've had to ask for help, and that is so freakin' hard. But I've had to realize that those who want to help me, they want to do it because they care. And it's a grace to allow the help. And, frankly, it's helpful. So I've got help on all sides and it's really amazing. I'm very self-sufficient. Just let me do it and get out of my way (please). But to have people offer everything from rides to meals to prayers to "can I just take this over to the other building for you?" -- talk about humbling. 

For now, I'm using two canes. Kind of like a walker. I was using one cane, but my right hand is numb from bearing the weight, and my right shoulder is popping. Not what I need. 

The Knitting...

New #goals -- The orange 8x8 rib sock (the second one) is my "hip sock." As long as I'm sitting here on my butt between light exercise sessions, I'm knitting. I'm also watching movies. Knitting to movies is a good thing. 

This also helps eliminate "Second Sock Syndrome." I may as well get this thing done. 

I was chilly the other day. So, since Hubby wasn't home and I can't get a normal pair of socks on by myself (at least on the left foot), I grabbed the FIRST PAIR of socks I ever made. Yes. I still have them. They're made of Encore Worsted, and I knitted them on size 7 DPNs. 

Frankly, they're "house socks." The yarn pills like crazy for socks, and it's mostly acrylic. It's thick, and on days when your toes are cold, they fit nicely. And -- I can get them on one-handed! 

I was struck because -- look at the picture. So I don't really even like orange. It's not in my top 10 favorite colors and it looks horrible on me. And yet - this is the third pair that has orange in it. What is that???

The sock on the bottom of this picture is the First Sock. The colorway of this current sock is too close! And there's another pair that's a green + orange combo. Not sure what that's about, but apparently, this colorway has called to me more than once. 

If you notice, you may tend toward the same colorways. Now, I love purple. But I have yet to make a purple pair of socks. Or even socks with a hint of purple. Why is that? I've got lots of greys and blues. But not even my favorite color. It does make you wonder. 

The Movies...

So today's movie is "A Chorus Line," whihc I remember doing as a musicial in high school. My all-girls Catholic high school. Oh dear God... 

I mean, I've seen the movie many times. But I didn't realize till today just how much the Sisters cut out of that thing to make it palatable for supposedly innocent high school girls. 

The songs are spectacular. "What I Did for Love" is one of my all-time favorites. I could belt that sucker out like a Broadway star. Unfortunately...I can't dance a lick. I mean, I was never in dance lessons, and the girls who got the parts weren't particularly strong vocally. But they went to The Local Dance School. So they got the goodies. I was in the non-dancing chorus when they needed me because I could sing soprano (first and second), alto, and tenor. So you could hear me, but I was usually not anywhere near a spotlight. Often, I was a voice off-stage because I was really good at make-up so I was normally the one who did everyone's faces. 

Not that I'm jealous, but it did sting a bit because I have always had a good voice - and I'm not bragging. The Sisters told me, and they were not prone to giving praise. Humility was their thing. Don't let your light shine (though they did love the academic prowess of our students since we were college-prep). Don't stand out. Just blend in. Must be the convent mentality, and of course, we were all in plaid uniforms...like couch covers!

Anyway, watching the movie and singing the songs that I remember. And admiring the athletic ability of the dancers. It's a sad story all in all, but it's a well-written story. 

Later on, I'll check what's on because I'm going to be knitting. 

Mother's Day...

We had a quiet Mother's Day. Kid #2 came over. Kid #1 called. I have a lovely calla lilly. I think I can plant it in the ground, but I think we're just going to put it in a pot. It's not going to last over the winter because we're not in the right zone, and I'm not inclined to bring it in and over-winter it. I've never had one before, and I've seen different varieties growing here - the more hardy ones. They aren't as pretty, but then again, these are beautiful, but delicate. 

I once decorated a wedding cake with the black ones, which you might think was creepy. But it was pretty elegant. We had burgundy ribbon around the cake, and the flowers were in the center of each tier. They were tied with matching ribbon and it was really prettier than I thought it would be. 

Random Picture...

I'm back to writing postcards. It's important to be in touch with your legislators, and let them know what you're thinking. Whether it's praising them for a job well done -- and let's face it, they get more complaints than compliments, so be nice where it's deserved -- or telling them how you feel about a particular piece of legislation. 

The postcards are an easy way to communicate. They force you to concentrate your message, and get to the point. And they're different. It's easy to ignore an email and it's easy to "not get the message" when you call the office. 

Postcards stand out. Whether you use an online print place to do special postcards (which I did, cost me about $25 for 100 of them) or you go find postcards and buy them - either way. There are a multitude of options. 

I know a person who used to be a state legislator, and I asked him what was the most effective way of communicating. He told me, "Anything handwritten." Becaes if people took the time to actually write something, rather than even typing it out, it's obviously important to them. 

So. Write your legislators. It is that important. 

Veni, Vidi...

...ego quod plantatum est....

Or, "I came, I saw, I planted."

I spent Mother's Day in what I consider the best way possible: a quick trip to Eastside Greenhouse and coming home to plant my haul.

For the veggies and herbs, I got: Big Boy, Golden Sunshine, and Sweet Cherry tomatoes. I got carrot seeds and radish seeds (truly enough for YEARS, but more on that in a moment). I got Rosemary, sweet basil, curly parsley, Lemon balm and chamomile. I bought two strawberry plants.

For the flowers, I got two LARGE hanging baskets, and an "angel" plant that I'd never seen before. It's a spiky plant that is an annual and vaguely reminds me of foxgloves.

That one came in coral pink, baby pink and magenta. I got the coral pink. I'm assured that butterflies and bees love it. I'm in for that!

You can see the haul in the back of the truck. The two hanging baskets went up first. We moved them away from the brick (a) so they wouldn't bake as the weather got warmer; and (b) so that when it rains, Mother Nature can help with the watering.

Within an hour after we'd planted what we got, we had hummingbirds at these plants. This is what I'm talking about!

In the front garden, I chose to put the herbs in pots. So again - they can take advantage of the strong western exposure. Our maple tree in the back shades virtually the whole yard, and the herbs hadn't been doing well in the large trug. Hubby also wants to stain it so that it lasts a bit longer, so this year, it's getting the year off. In the white-ish planter is the curly parsley (4 plants). In the small dark planter to the left of it is the sweet basil. And at the rear, that brown planter? Rosemary. It's something I'd been wanting to do for a while -- well, that and an herb spiral, but it's baby steps for now! I know these plants can take the heat and I know also that they'll benefit the birds and bees who stop by.


Hubby was all excited (yay!) because he saw a solar bird bath that might actually work. I'm excited about that too. The moving water will not only keep mosquitoes down, but it'll make it easier to keep the birdbath clean, and attract more birds. We've had bird baths forever, but they are difficult, with our water, to keep clean and the "solar" apparatuses we tried haven't seemed to work consistently. I'm hoping this one does, because I'm never going to talk him into a fountain or a pond!

To the right here are our lily of the valley. They desperately need to be thinned out, which I'll be doing in the next few weeks. I'd like to put them in pots on the back deck, but Hubby says he's got "a few more things to do" for it. We shall see. I love these plants and I'm so happy they're flourishing.

Speaking of flourishing, I was picking some of the Monster Bleeding Heart. And I about dropped my clippers. This is the longest string of bleeding hearts I've ever seen on this plant. I didn't pick it. I figured it was good to leave it there. There are fifteen hearts on this stem. I'm so happy every spring to see this old friend come back. It's like my harbinger of good things to come.

Moving to the back garden, Hubby refilled the three raised beds. Seriously the best way to grow things because (a) it's compact gardening. This year we're spreading out, but typically, we fill these things to the hilt. It saves space and is more efficient in keeping the weeds down. And (b) our soil is not your typical "Illinois black dirt" that's famous. Nope. We've got the "famous" --- or "infamous" clay. Yep, right under that set of planters, there's maybe 2" of black dirt (our contractor was hardly generous in this regard) and under that? Clay. Nothing grows in clay except our maple trees, apparently!

The top picture there is 7 heads of romaine, and 4 rows of carrots, of two varieties. The carrots are slightly crowded, but we will thin them out. Normally, we'd crowd that space with lettuce, but Hubby and I are the only two here. Nobody's going to eat that much lettuce, and then when you try to give it away, people look at you as if you're handing them yet another zucchini!

The middle bed holds an odd combination of bedfellows... two strawberry plants and two rows of radishes. I love radishes. According to a holistic website, I'm correct in my love for these little spicy red globes. Aside from the fiber aspect (and we all need a little more fiber), they're a natural detoxifier and diuretic. They'll clean out your liver and your kidneys. They'll help you sleep (that's never been my view, but I'll go with it); they're actually very high in Vitamin C and can help you fight off cold and flu bugs. They have cooling and anti-inflammatory properties and they're a natural decongestant (seriously, a nice spicy radish will make your nose run!).

They also have a high water content, are low in calories and help you feel full. Also, it's alleged that they can even help prevent cancer because of their sulphur containing compounds that can help protect cells from mutations.

Anyway, I'm nuts about radishes and can't wait to grow my own again!

And in the last bed are the tomatoes... The two in the containers are going to Kid #2. I hope he gets some good ones out of them. I reminded Hubby that we really need to keep the plants in trim - he once let the vines grow and grow and grow... The plants put so much energy into producing actual 12' long vines that there were about 3 tomatoes. Total. THREE tomatoes for all that greenery.

So he'll hopefully keep them from growing like crazy and I may get tomatoes. After tonight's forecasted rain, we'll put the lids on the beds, so that the squirrels won't have a heyday in there. The lids will eventually come off once everything settles in. I'm thinking of putting a "fence" down the middle of the strawberry/radish patch, because the berries can really take over.

Whole 30 Update...

So I kept going. Ish. I'm slowly introducing more variety into my eating, and still not really snacking like I used to. My body is responding by continuing to lose weight (yay!) and as of Day 41, I'm down a little over 10 lbs.

I admit - I was getting discouraged, because in the 30 days, I didn't see much. But like they promised, I do see some changes now. It just took me a bit longer. I'll keep on keeping on and hopefully will be able to see long-term, positive changes.

Knitting...

I'm on Point # 12 of the Close to You Shawl. That's 12 out of 18. So it's humming along and I got a good bit done this weekend. I also put together a Mass that I could play on the guitar, and now I have to practice it till I can play it in my sleep. And hope that our organist isn't absent much so that I don't really have to worry about doing it!

I also put on a few rows of the green traveling sock. It won't make it as a pair on the upcoming Colorado trip. It just won't unless I clear my entire schedule. And I'm not doing that for socks! They'll materialize. They always do.

You may notice something strange in the picture. I'm wearing nail polish. I haven't done that in years.

And now I know why. This lasted a total of 3 days. I removed it today because it was chipping. I'm not used to babying my hands and I was annoyed because it didn't last, even with a good top coat. And I don't have time to fiddle with it.

So off it went. And good riddance. I'll stick with pedicures. They last till I take the polish off, even when I'm barefoot so much. And I can't be worrying about my fingers. Between the knitting, the computer and the guitar (not to mention gardening and cooking), I've got enough to do without worrying about polish on the nails.

It was a nice try. Girly-girl just isn't me. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love my jewelry and I like to look nice, but the nail polish was kind of a disaster in the making, and I could tell I was being "hesitant" about doing things. Again: nice if you can do it, but not for me.

Random Picture...

Kid #2 gave me a Mother's Day gift after my own heart: an orchid and a book (Strangers on the Train...). He said, "Happy Mother's Day. Enjoy the book, and try not to kill the plant."

That combination of sentiment and snark was just what I needed! You have to enjoy the balance he achieves.

Temporarily, the orchid is at the studio, on the altar. If it likes it there, it'll stay. Otherwise, it can sit next to the white one I got a few years ago.

Which I've managed to keep alive, and which actually may bloom again. I did get another one to bloom twice and then it died on me. Could be that I didn't water it enough.

Anyway, Kid #2 knows a guy down the street from us who he swears is "The Orchid Whisperer." If I get into trouble, he says that AJ can resurrect just about anything.

I'm going to try to keep this one alive as long as I can.

Tippi is beside my chair and giving me that "It's time for bed already" look. And I need to water the other orchid.

Tell me what you're reading and what you're knitting! Let's chat!

PS: Sorry about the sudden change of theme... When I previewed this, it was all wonky, with white stripes where words ought to be.

Oh well, this one's spring-ly.

Where's Waldo??? Or What Happened in a Blink...

Nothing rattles you more than something that happens in the blink of an eye. And I'm rattled. And perplexed. Flummoxed. Kerfuffled. Discombobulated. In a tizzy.

Missing Needle #5

Here's why. Notice what's missing??? That would be Needle Number 5. Crap. I've managed in the space of one eye blink to lose a needle. And I've looked everywhere. 

In my bag. In my handbag. On my desk. On the floor. In all my pockets. I laid it aside to pick up stitches with a crochet hook for the gusset of the sock. And from there? Who knows.

Gremlins. 

I can knit these on 4 needles. I just don't want to. (A) because these are BRAND NEW Karbonz. And (B) because I like using 5 needles. Just the way I learned. 

Magical!

Anyway, during the storms last night, I turned the heel. It's coming along and today was my day to get going on the gusset and perhaps the foot. This is for the Plain Vanilla KAL (knit-a-long) I'm doing. Have to have a pair of socks done by June 30. No pressure... And best yet, the yarn was already in The Stash. Gotta love that. Practically "free" socks (work with me here; knitters understand this philosophy).

It was nice last night, during all the hubbub of the storm to just watch the magic happen. I keep saying that, but you gotta wonder... Who was the first person to think of this way of making a sock heel happen? Whoever he or she was? Genius. 

I've been asked to teach my friend Roberta how to knit socks. I will do that on 5 needles, thanks!! 

Oh, I did switch to the "Doris Heel" - which is basically the slip-stitch heel, with K3 at each end. I didn't like the directions on the other one. Oh, and I didn't understand the directions on the gusset either, so I did something else. 

It'll be a nice sock. Even if it IS on only 4 needles. Grrrrrrr.

Garden...

Front Garden

So we got the garden in this weekend. About all of it, I think, just waiting on what may have survived the brutal winter.  The front is mostly flowers, but I have some basil, chives and dill that I'll let go to seed for the birds and bees. I have rosemary and more basil out in the back, so I'm covered. Also, lavender and some purple coneflower. The hyssop and borage will go into pots in the front.

And we've already seen our first hummingbird - just put those feeders up yesterday afternoon!

Monster Bleeding Heart

The Monster Bleeding Heart is back, and you can see in that first garden picture that our tiny little lilacs came through the freeze quite nicely. I'm still trying to convince Hubby that I want a compost bin and I want to take over that one side of the front yard for a flower garden...

I don't know if I have a full view of the Monster, but it's fully 20 years old if not more. It's taken over the northwest corner of the front sidewalk "garden" area, which is really crummy soil and mostly pea gravel. But for some reason, this thing is thriving. 

The lily of the valley are up, but I haven't seen the big hosta yet. I need to get in there and thin the lilies out again. 

Here's what the bleeding heart and lilac look like. I'm sad that the lilac only lasted one day in a vase. They're a fleeting flower - tells you that it's time to sit and enjoy, right?

Actually, gardening in and of itself tells you that you must have patience. And you have to see incremental success. And you work to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

Lilacs and bleeding heart

It's like therapy, only in dirt. 

The sum total of what we have is as follows:  3 kinds of lettuce; 2 tomato plants; 2 kinds of cucumber (salad and pickling); carrots; radishes, scallions.

Herbs include: rosemary; basil, lemon thyme; parsley, garlic chives and dill.

Flowers include: marigolds; purple coneflower; lupine; flowering chives; hyssop; foxglove; borage; lavender. 

I think it'll be beautiful, fruitful and eclectic.

Just the way we like it.

Mother's Day...

Mother's Day

Was quiet, except that late after dinner, Mother Nature threw a phenomenal hissy fit. Hubby got me flowers. We don't "do" Mother's Day much. Just cards. Kid #1 called me early to wish me a happy day, and Kid #2 gave me a card that said, "You know it's all your fault."

You have to understand, we're also not a "sappy card" family. And I'm good with that!

I mean, they're not snotty or nasty... There's just a good dose of snark in them, with no mean intent or anything. We just like it that way. 

One year, I got my dad a "normal" (not sappy, but not snarky) birthday card, and he called me and asked me if I was mad at him... So that's just the way it is.

Random Picture...

The Girls

The gang. Left to right, Tippi, Raisa, Quinn. Tippi had gotten an end-of-the-year present from one of our therapy gigs, and they all saw the bag. So everyone got some.

This is "the rug." As in, "Get on the rug!" when they're getting treats or we want them out of the kitchen. 

Raisa is almost done with heat, which will make Tippi happy.

Tippi was very good last night with the storms, which normally terrify her. She was still scared, but she glued herself to my chair and was fine. 

Quinn is still Quinn - a lovable bundle of nervous energy. Each one adds a little something (besides tons of dog fur) to the family, and while it gets a little nuts navigating whirling big bundles of fur, it's still fun. 

And no, I haven't found the needle yet.

And yeah, I'm still annoyed.