The Well is Dry...

I wish I could tell you that things were back to normal, that all is well, that (maybe) we have a new doggo, that everyone was fine. 

But it's not, we don't, and we're not. 

The good news is that we made it through Holy Week and Easter. The bad news is that some promises got broken, feelings were hurt, and frankly, I'm so dry of inspiration that I could be in the middle of Death Valley and not even notice the scorpions approaching... 

All my girls are home, and even though my BFF says this is creepy, this is where they currently reside. Everyone does their thing and I'm not going to lie - it does give us some comfort. It's actually only coincidental that all the urns match. Hence the collars. I wanted to get matching memorial stones, but I think the company that did Tippi's went out of business because I couldn't find them. Anyway, we re-did Raisa's and did Quinn's via a company out of England. You can see Quinn's at the far right. The middle one of Raisa was one I got off Etsy and frankly, I didn't like it. So Raisa's & Quinn's match. One day, when we actually have spring and summer, I may put everyone's stones out in the rock garden. 

This may be my most "ugh" blog entry ever, sorry. But what comes out of my fingers comes out of my fingers...I didn't want it to be that way, but that's my whole writing process.  

The Knitting...

The "over-use" injury to my left hand is, if nothing else, getting worse. But I started knitting again - I have deadlines to meet. However, I've started to time myself. I can do about an hour with a sock-weight yarn, and a little less with a bulkier yarn. Sounds funny, but think about it --- the size of the yarn determines the heaviness of the yarn and the project. 

The baby blanket is done. I took a picture, noticed a dropped stitch and said something nasty. We're gonna have to bless this one! The good news is that since the yarn was held double, the dropped stitch (in the middle, natch...) wasn't a total disaster. I was able to pull through using that same color and weave in ends. Not gorgeous from the back, but from the front, invisible. Hubby, once his own grief-fog lifted somewhat, said to me, near the end of this project, "What are you knitting?" 

He never asks... Anyway. I showed him the project, and he actually said the colors were "really pretty and bright," again - usually, I get a "looks fine" from him. 

Mind you, I am NOT complaining. He's fantastic when I want to match color. As many long-time readers may know, he's got a great eye for color and often comes up with things I'd never think of and voila! They work. He and my mom have that in common. Anyway, he thought it was really cool, and I ws going to use that green variegated with some lime green yarn for a baby hat. Held singly, though, because double it is kind of substantial, which is good for a blanket but not what you want for a hat for a baby. 

Again, 8-hour baby blanket pattern (available just about anywhere) using Encore Worsted - 4 balls. This particular colorway is 2 of a solid and 2 of anything else. I tend toward using a solid and then a tweed of that same color family, but pickings were scant when I went to the yarn shop. So this is what I ended up with and it's really growing on me. 

I also have a fleece blanket planned for this little one - one side a gorgeous pewter grey for the bottom, and a wild tie-dye for the top. Did I say that I didn't like "traditional" baby colors? 

I don't. I'll knit that if I'm told to do so (and sometimes, if it's a relative particularly, and they know they're getting one, my mom will tell me if the nursery is "trad" or not). Otherwise, I'm doing jewel-tones, high contrast, etc. It's more fun and less boring. 

So after I finished this, I got some PurlSoho Echo Cashmere (95% recycled cashmere and 5% other stuff)... and am doing a Simplicity Scarf. I caught a sale on the yarn, and it's a purple - looks kind of heather-ish, and knits up really nicely. 

Good stitch definition, soft in the hand. The color is very rich; it's a nice deep purple with little tints of the 5% "other" in different tones. I'm doing the longer version, so that was a cast on of 375 stitches. NO WAY was I going to "guess-timate" the length for the long tail cast on, and I only recently came across a reasonably accurate cast on calculator (read on for that link). So I did a knitted cast on. It was interesting to work with that again. I've done that technique to add stitches in the middle of a project, like for my simple baby sweater. 

But never that many stitches. Actually, the beauty of this was that I could just knit along for a while to get the movements into my hands, and then I could stop and count. It does take a while to do that many stitches. 

I was able to knit outside on the porch yesterday (Easter Sunday) because it was nice outside. Today, it's about 10 degrees colder, and we're looking at the potential for snow by Wednesday. Welcome to April in Illinois!

Anyway, I'm doing the large one, which is 6" from the cast on edge. I've got about 2 1/2" in, and because it's so freaking long, it does take a bit to finish a row. 

I can do about 4 rows and then I have to set it down for a while. 

For the life of me, though, I'm having a mental-pause on the knitted row. I cannot -- just CANNOT - process the M1L. Do you know how many of those I've done? Not quite a zillion, but pretty close. But for some reason, this just isn't sinking in. I've watched Very Pink Knits You Tube. Every. Single. Time. Call it long Covid brain or just The Other Thing. But I just can't manage to remember how to do it. 

As far as the long tail calculator, I'm linking this video - please take a look and if you're interested, sign on to get her info. Purl Together is another source I do like. That's the fun of the You Tube knitting community - you can really find some great resources. 

The Injury...

Well, I was wearing the brace, doing the compression gloves, using lidocaine and some special "pain ointment" as well as Tylenol, red light, and ice (not simultaneously!). And there's a lump in my hand right where the thumb is attached to the wrist. It's just not going away. 

Fair point, I'm not exactly resting it. I mean, I'm not slinging horse crap, but I do have to work. I'm also not doing much yoga (again)... I did one class of a 3-class workshop I was taking, because I can't put any weight on it. Unscrewing a toothpaste tube is not fun. Bending or flexing is not fun. Needless to say, I picked up the guitar to practice for Good Friday ("Were You There") and it was a big old nopity-nope. I couldn't bend my wrist enough to get the chords. 

So I made another appointment for the hand person. End of this month. I'll let you know. The good news (I'm trying, really...) is that the last time I saw the NP, we had an X-ray and the screw where the thumb is fused is just gorgeous and in place right where it should be. That was something I was really worried about. 

I'm working with Tom Myers' energy trains and trying a hand massage to see if that helps. 

The Other Thing...

A long time ago, when I was in graduate school, we took a class in our HR module where we did testing for various things: the Myers-Briggs, a few other "what do you want to be when you grow up" tests, and some screenings. 

At that time, I was going through Some Stuff. One of which was my dad in the process of dying. It was just a few years after we'd moved back home, and the kids were just getting to know their grandparents. Life sucks. 

Anyway, I remember after doing one of the screenings, the instructor looked at the results and called out, "I need to see Number XYZ" (we were all numbers so the results were anonymous). That was me. It was quite sobering because the instructor told me that the screening clearly pointed to significant depression. Not the "I'm just sad and out of sorts" stuff, but clinical depression. 

I did talk to my neurologist and tried a couple things. Nothing seemed to work. And I'm complicated. I've mentioned it to my GP and my cardiologist and all 3 docs came to the same conclusion: I'm complicated. Because of meds I take for my heart, which really don't play well with the meds I take for seizures (thanks again, Covid), the combo there would be pretty difficult to balance with anti-depressants. Which have a host of side effects, which include seizures and some wonky thing with heart rhythms. 

Oh joy. 

Which brings us to now. I'm in a rough patch. I will cry at the drop of a hat. I can't sleep. I'm comfort-eating. I can't distract myself. My fuse is so short as to be nearly invisible, which is not cool. I have a sharp tongue -- that's not part of the depression. That's just who I am and I have to be very careful. Words can hurt. My filters are fading a bit, and I'm scared of that. 

I was able to pass off a lot of this due to work stress -- working at a church during Holy Week and Easter without a priest and with a bishop's visit pending? That'll curl your hair. Lucky for me I'm already totally grey... I've snarled at my kids and at Hubby. I haven't talked to my brother in a while, and I'm avoiding him. He'll want to know what's going on and I don't think I want to scare him. I did do a slight snap at someone at church. There was a personality conflict and I basically said, "Not my circus, not my monkeys. You two work it out now. " I think they were expecting sympathy. Sorry - I'm fresh out. 

There has also been some static in situations involving volunteer work, and I find that I'm no longer "the coolest head in the room." I am just so freaking tired of drama. And that's not the usual "can't we all just get along?" thing... This is "I really, really can't deal with you people anymore." And that bothers me because I am picky about where I volunteer and each place has a lot of meaning for me. 

I need to find a therapist. My problem is, I know a lot of them. Personally. And I don't want to talk to someone I know as a friend or socially. I know all about confidentiality and that sort of thing, but we're all human and I don't think I would feel comfortable taking a deep dive into my psyche with someone I know. 

So I guess I'll ask my friends for some referrals. I am also not comfortable just taking a look through the Yellow Pages (yeah, I'm that old...). 

In the meantime, I'll just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Maybe it'll pass. But more likely, it's time I tackled this head-on. I can't keep doing this. The older I get, the more I see how I'm actually cheating myself. Enough of that. 

The Garden...

So it's April 1st. And Mother Nature is in a mood. Yesterday, it was gorgeous, as I said before. The hyacinths are in bloom, the Monster Bleeding Heart has started to bud, as have the lilacs. The lily of the valley is pushing up shoots, and the lavender is greening up, as well as my beloved Icelandic Poppy. I can see bits of bee balm and a few things I can't quite identify yet, but I'm also trying to convince Hubby to do No Mow May...to leave the yard unmowed till Mother's Day. Or at least a chunk of it...to let the pollinators come out of their hibernation. 

And Wednesday it might snow. Of course. 

As I was knitting, I needed a break, so I got up to take pictures. I figured that if this week's weather took everything out, at least I had evidence that it used to be there. Along the north side of the front yard, we have a row of day lilies. I think I want to take those out, replant as many as I can along the front of the yard, and then plant some bushes for Raisa, Tippi, Quinn, and my sister. We hadn't planted anything for her and Tippi - and we usually do plant a memorial thing. Both of them died in cold weather, and by the time I was able to plant, I was laid up with the hip thing and couldn't go out and pick something out for them. And now they're all gone, so it's time to do something. 

Hubby has talked about removing the 2 lilacs at the end of the sidewalk - he thought he planted them too close to the sidewalk, and neither of us thinks they'll survive a transplant. We keep them about 7 feet tall, but they do overgrow sideways and one has some pretty bad suckers. 

So maybe we put a couple lilacs on the north side, then some forsythia at the end of the sidewalk. Those you can trim up nicely and they'll still look gorgeous. 

I'm still not sure about the veggie garden. I'm thinking small. Hubby's not sure about one at all - and admittedly, he does most of the veggie garden stuff. I do the flowers. So we'll see about that. 

Easter on Palm Sunday...

Regular readers know that we do things differently. We do the major holidays (except for Xmas Eve - that's in concrete) the Sunday before. So this Easter, we had an interesting mix of lasagne, salad, garlic bread, chicken enchiladas, and fruit. We did the lasagne and garlic bread, and for The Vegan Kid, I did donuts - which I didn't bring to the house. I knew the family would scarf them down. So I put together a little Easter basket. I'm not sure they made it home, but that's not my problem. 

I also did vegan stuffed peppers. I bought orange ones (on request) and stuffed them with a mixture of farro, mushrooms, kale, chives, spring onion and celery. I had extra filling, so I brought it -- and they ate it... My brother managed to take a pepper home, and really enjoyed it. 

Obviously, that picture is not the stuffed peppers. We have these large catering pans, and we took the 3" one and made a 5-layer lasagne. With smoked provolone, mozzarella, sharp Italian, and Parm, along with several pints of our own home-made sauce. THEN my niece tells me that she and her oldest kid are cheese-intolerant. Well, not totally intolerant. She ate it and so did the kid. They just said they would have a "good tummy ache." Oh well. Now I know. Guess maybe next year we skip that. In my defense, the chicken enchiladas also had cheese...And they did know we were going to have lasagne, so if you don't speak up, you get fed what I cook. I'm happy to turn over cooking duties for once, but since there are usually only crickets when I suggest that? Deal with it. 

The vegan donuts were with the help of my friend's Baby Cakes donut maker. I must have one of these. I had asked her to borrow a donut pan (the recipe is for baked donuts, much easier and less messy), and she said, "I'm bringing this - you're gonna love it!"

Oy. I do. I made 2 varieties: an apple spice, dusted with cinnamon sugar and a chocolate dipped in a chocolate glaze. They're so stinking cute! I used a chopstick to remove them from the pan, it makes 4 at a time, and it's about 6 minutes per batch. 

I did bring some leftovers to church and they were gone. Heaven knows they're super easy to make, so I may end up buying one and then doing that every so often for coffee hour. 

Random Picture...

A number of years ago, we went to Europe. We traveled to Lyon, France, and went up into Switzerland.

It was Hubby's first time over there, and my second (a graduation trip to Greece in the ancient days...), and we had a blast. Everyone asks what we brought back for souvenirs, and it was like, "5 memory cards full of pictures!" I did bring back some lavender from Provence, but customs searched HUBBY'S suitcase, not mine. Go figure! 

Anyway, have I talked about that 2-part scarf project, finally completing it? This is the blue part. I told you it was one of my longest-running WIPs...it was around 2013. I took it everywhere I traveled, and back then, it wasn't uncommon for me to travel a lot. Workshops, trainings, fun travel...this scarf went with me everywhere. It was my travel project. Notwithstanding the fact that I used a circular needle, the TSA let me take it on planes (you really can hurt someone with those needles, but who am I to argue??). Here, we were waiting for our parasailing adventure and I had it in my bag. The scarf hit both France and Switzerland. For the brief time we were in Italy (a drive-through) I wasn't knitting. 

I would love to plan a trip again. Maybe to see the Northern Lights. Or the North Pole before it melts. A girl can dream. I just have to find the right travel project. 

The Key to...

not twisting 350 stitches on a circular needle is..... to start out FLAT.

I started my Long Sands Tee (Quince & Co.) (here is the Ravelry link) using their Sparrow yarn, which is linen. I love linen, but I don't like knitting with linen yarn. I'm using colorway Moon, which is a gorgeous pewter color. 

The top itself has THIRTEEN INCHES of positive ease - so let's just call it really "floaty." For the size I need, I had to cast on 350 stitches. They call for 32" circulars - which isn't nearly enough. I did what they said, and it didn't last long; I ended up frogging. Went to Betsy's in Lockport, and bought 40" circulars (the largest they had) and started over. 

But I have to tell you about the cast on method I used. There was virtually no way I was going to "wrap stitches" to "estimate" the tail. I found the "Two Ball Cast On." I am in love. In. Love. This isn't exactly the link, but it's close enough. I thought I'd saved it, but apparently not. 

And another new thing...It's just been a great learning experience so far... After the frogging, I reached out on the Hive Mind of Facebook, and learned that, for a large number of stitches on a circular needle, one trick is to knit 2-3 rows FLAT, and then join in a circle. You can see whether you're twisted after the 2-3 rows of flat knitting and you're way less likely to twist. 

Jazzed with that, I am! 

The next new thing I'm learning is drop stitch. I dislike drop stitch stuff intensely. Reminds me of runs in nylons, frankly. But this is basically a tiny drop stitch after a row (350 stitches, did I mention???) of k1, yo, k1... So it won't be obnoxious. 

The shirt has a cap sleeve, and honestly, I'd wear a tank under it. It'll be a nice shirt for actually 3 seasons. 

Closing in on 200...

Masks, that is. I've made the pleats smaller, so I can get 3 of them in. We're thinking about doing them as a church fundraiser, since our Rummage Sale (spring & fall) is likely kaput for 2020. 

I'm working on several for Kid #2, since it looks like in Illinois, we don't give a rat's rear end for teachers... put 'em in classrooms where you can't circulate the air, social distance, or even open a window. With 1200+ kids in the average high school, plus another few hundred in teachers, staff, and ancillary personnel in there? 

Yeah. Let's just open the schools. 

Ahem. I digress. 

Anyway, what we were thinking was that we could put the masks out, ask for a $10 donation per mask, and maybe make a bit of money that we've essentially lost with the lack of rummage sale profits. 

We'll see how that goes. I'm also doing another of the more "fancy" masks for myself, using an over-the-head kind of tie so that it only takes a bow in the back. We'll see how that works. I want to get that one done prior to my next yoga training. 

I used a "coffee filter" mask (that's what I call the procedural masks that loop over the ears) for the last weekend training, and it was kind of a pain in the ears... I prefer the ties. But I need something a bit lighter than the ones I made for myself that were lined with flannel. Much too hot for summer!

Got Smoothies...

Well, I went a little nuts with the smoothies this week. You think I have enough? 

In my defense, I now only have about half of the Mason jar left. Here's the recipe:


2 T. Maca Powder
2 scoops your favorite protein shake powder
1 c. coconut water
1 avocado, do the usual prep...
1 cucumber, peeled & chunked
2 stalks celery, trimmed and chunked
1 Granny Smith apple, quartered
2 carrots, chunked
1 head romaine, chunked
1 piece of ginger, about 2" or so
6 ice cubes
1 c. frozen berries
1 cup Siggi's Yogurt, your favorite flavor
Extra coconut water if needed

WASH YOUR PRODUCE.... Use Thieves Fruit & Veggie wash (no need to wash the frozen berries - but if you use fresh? Wash 'em! 

In a VitaMix or Bullet or whatever you have, ingredients in as follows: 
Coconut water
Powders
Granny Smith
Carrots
Celery
Romaine
Avocado
Ginger
Berries
Yogurt
Ice cubes

Notice you're putting the "harder" stuff at the bottom, which, in the VitaMix at least, is the preferred method. Whiz. Adjust for thickness: Add more coconut water if needed. Don't make it too thick - you're not supposed to chew your smoothies, and if you're using a regular blender, a chunky smoothie is the quickest way to burn up a blender. 

Ask me how I know that...

Store in the Mason jar and however many extra containers you need. Use within 2 days. 

You can add any other fruit that you want; I'll often add a pear if I have it. But I like the Granny Smith for the snap. Always add veggies!!! If you just go with fruit, that's a LOT of sugar, even with using Siggi's (which has lots less sugar and a lot of protein). I don't add bananas -- too high in sugar for me. But if you use a banana, you don't necessarily need the yogurt. 

If you want, skip the coconut water and use almond or oat milk. 

I Broke the Dogs...

Or, the heat did. Well, I kinda broke Tippi. She wanted to go for a walk today, and Hubby said, "take her around the block." We made it 2 blocks. The humidity was awful. And she's recovering from a UTI, so I know the antibiotic knocked her for a loop - on top of giving her the runs. Poor baby... She came back in, drank about a gallon of water, and plopped over... Quinnie was behind my chair as always. 

Raisa, on the other hand, has now got the HVAC stuff figured out. She has found the kitchen AC vent and that's her spot. 


It is, of course, the most inconvenient spot, being right in front of the sink. 

Does she care?

Nope. 

Her butt is right by the vent. We call it her "Freezy butt seat." You should have seen her when we had to get the AC repaired. 

Thank goodness that day was in the 70s. She laid by the Freezy Butt Vent and there was no cold. She looked at me as if to say, "What the heck is this bamboozle???" 

Once the guy repaired it (we only needed a sploosh of freon), she was back at the Freezy Butt Vent and happy. She was mortally offended that, till he fixed it, she only had a fan to keep her cool. 

How Does My Garden Grow...

Well, pretty darned good in certain respects. My cherry tomatoes are coming along nicely; I usually buy Sweet 100s - very reliable. My romaine has bolted; I have one pot of parsley eaten to the nubs by the caterpillars. The kale and broccoli rabe have been eaten, I suspect, by Mama Woodchuck and her babies. She's living under the neighbor's tool shed. The neighbor keeps blocking the holes, and Mama just digs more. I suspect the neighbor should just give up, otherwise, the toolshed is going to fall into the huge hole Mama has dug...

My wildflowers are doing ok; the Brown-Eyed Susans are in bloom now. The rest of the garden is starting to fade, but it's time. 

I was quite skeptical when Hubby moved the tomatoes, parsley and lettuce to the deck. But he was right. Even though it's the north side of the house, it does get enough sun - and plenty of water with all the rain we've had. I have to tug the pansies away from the back door - they need to dry out a bit. They're a tad too soggy. 

It's so cool that the tomatoes are taller than I am. 

I can slice them up, and put them on pasta. A cool tomato on warm pasta or risotto is really quite yummy. Hubby says they taste spicy, but I don't think so. I think they're a bit sweeter this year. 

If the Beefsteak tomatoes come in, I'll be using those (and maybe some of my friend's Romas if she has extra) for a fresh batch of canned pizza sauce. 

The basil was really nice; I need to plant more of it next year. I don't have enough to do pesto, but I do have enough to add to a salad or to add to pasta sauce or pizza. My Rosemary, this year, is kind of slow. I have it in the same place as last year, but it's just not thriving. Not sure why. It's usually bigger by now. There's still enough to freeze, though. 

The Stormtroopers...

Apparently, the president of Chicago's police union wrote to Washington DC and asked for help. Not sure how the new Police Superintendent feels about that. But I am sure how the mayor feels. 


Having armed, unidentified "cops" in the street, just like they're doing in Portland, OR, is frightening. And unconstitutional, though that doesn't seem like it bothers anyone in DC lately. Can you smell the Constitution burning? 

There's a hot dog place called The Wiener's Circle. They're known for their "attitude." And lately, because of COVID-19, they've been doing business in a different fashion. You can call your order in, and then specify the "level of rudeness" you want. From basically just "Chicago rude" to F-bombs. 

It's a thing. 

This is their latest sign. In honor of the Stormtroopers. 

This is a swift fall toward authoritarianism, and martial law conveniently placed close to the 2020 election. It's also very bad theater for one madman. Who managed to conflate a test for dementia with a "genius" test. 

Citing the "failing New York Times".... (sorry, snark is now "off"), we have the Wall of Moms; the Wall of Dads. And now? The Wall of Vets. See the story here. Veterans have had it. After the beating of a Navy veteran who just wanted to talk to the "federales" -- they're now standing in front of the moms & dads. 

Now, given "white privilege" and all -- I get that many black moms are kind of upset about the idea of the Wall of Moms, given that they've been doing that for at least 2 generations. I hate the idea that we, as white women, are co-opting the thing they've been doing. 

I'm wondering how awful it sounds to just say, "But if we can get it noticed and change it, is that bad?" I don't know. I'd welcome discussion...

It will be interesting to follow up on the Portland story. The "cops" have now gassed the mayor, at which point #MangoMussolini crowed that he was "pathetic." 

Mirror, dude. Just look in a mirror. THAT is pathetic. 

Random Picture...

So I did something I'd been toying with; just something to "check off my list." I had my stylist put a few purple stripes in my hair. Jeeze - I'd forgotten that "hair dye" takes forever!! I was there for 2 hours! Now, as you can see, with short hair? I'm in and out. 

You can see the larger of the stripes in this picture. When it's really styled correctly, the purple is just under a "layer" of my silver/pewter (or whatever color you want to call it). 

I have to use a special colored-hair shampoo, which is kind of annoying, but I do want this to last. It's only semi-permanent anyway, but I'd like it not to fade at the first wash!

Anyway - it's something fun.I needed some fun. 

Random Stuff on Saturday...

So it's been a bit busy; new equipment at work, Tippi starting chemo, an editing job that's kinda driving me nuts. Figured I'd get some time this weekend, and I needed to process a lot of what's been going on. 

Anyway, here we are. I got to spend a couple hours today with Hubby & Kid #2 on the driving range. It felt good. I'm not exactly Nancy Lopez (look it up...) but I was rather surprised at how quickly a golf swing came back to me. it had been 3 years or more. Hubby said I was out after my thumb fusion, but I don't remember. 

Randomly, I've sort of emptied my camera here and we'll go over everything. 

My front yard is going nuts. In a good way, with all this rain, we've had a burgeoning flower garden. I think the wildflowers are now settled in and happy. The milkweed is taking over the front bed; the brown-eyed Susans have the square bed and we have a new variety of phlox in the very front, next to the Monster Bleeding Heart. The "butterfly Parsley" (I mean the pot I've specifically planted for the Swallowtail butterflies) is huge. I'm looking forward to the day they eat it all. Hoping to have a bumper crop of butterflies this year, to be honest. Should be monarchs and Swallowtails as well. 

The hummingbirds have been around, but I'm not happy with one feeder. It leaks, which is very annoying. Hubby put chairs out on the side deck and the front porch. I added a couple of cheap "solar lamps" that look very pretty at night. I'd love to sit out there at night; as a matter of fact, I tried today, for World-Wide Knit In Public Day. And about got eaten alive by mosquitoes. No thanks!

The Knitting...

Here's a sneak peak at a project I can't show you right now. It's Encore worsted, held double. It's seed stitch and stockinette. While the camera makes it look burgundy, it actually looks rather like an erzatz tiger stripe. 

Other than that, my lips are sealed for now...

I started a project for World Wide Knit In Public Day...and tonight I frogged it. When your yarn is determined to be something else, you need to listen to it. No good can come of forcing yarn to do something it's not suited to do. 

Here's how it came about: I was leaving to get a pedicure, when I remembered it was WWKIP Day - but I had nothing "portable" enough to carry and knit, since I left my shortie socks at work. Frankly, I'd forgotten about the Green Traveling Sock, but that's as it may be. I asked Hubby to pull a bag from my long-ago "I'm Going to Knit a Pair of Socks a Month" project. (Go ahead - laugh...)

He pulled "April" and no, I can't tell you what year that was... 

I grabbed a small project bag and needles, and I opened the bag. And my heart sort of sank...It was Zauberball. I had purchased this a while ago, and I wasn't sure it was technically for socks, but it ended up in the Bag project. 

Recently, in my sock group, folks were not happy with Zauberball. After casting on TWICE, I can tell you why...The yarn is VERY "splitty."

I'm not sure I want to deal with that for socks. And I'm not sure what possessed me, because I didn't think I'd ever knit white socks. The picture on the label has a decent amount of white in it, and I'm not jazzed about that. 

So I got to my pedicure, cast on, divided onto the needles and then stuffed it all back in the bag. 

It just didn't feel right. I'm not sure how else to explain it, except to say that it just wasn't going to work out. 

So, I frogged it. I'll look in Ravelry for a shawl pattern and take it from there. I don't know what else to do. Though I've pulled out again the Copland Shawl. Christmas is coming and I need to get skippy with that. 


It's not much farther along than what I showed you last time, but I'm thinking of jazzing it up a bit in the middle, with a series of about 3" of stripes, instead of 2 sets of stripes then 3" of solid. Since it's black and brown, I think it can handle the striped section nicely mid-way through. I just have to figure out what's "midway through" since I don't have an accurate idea of exactly how this thing is going to block out. 

I'll do my best to guess. 

The Dogs...

Well. Tippi's only side effect of the chemo so far is a bit of looser poop. She's eating, and I'm also doing the following: A nightly massage with either Frankincense or Lavender essential oil (with a carrier oil so it's not full strength on the area of the swelled lymph node. A 1/2 of a vitamin C tablet. A liver support (2 x/day) and a greens support once a day. Somewhat liberal-ish treats; she can take the weight gain if it happens. 

I think I felt that the lymph node has gone down. I'm not doing a happy dance, nor am I attributing it to the oils and supplements; I think it's a combination of many things. 

I managed to get a somewhat decent picture of Quinn & Tippi together. Quinn is on the left with her eyes closed, the little goofball... As she gets older, she looks more and more like Tippi. Tippi is, of course, on the right. Yes, she has 4 legs - she just likes to tuck one under when she's laying down. 

And Raisa. Poor Raisa. It's not bad enough that Tippi's in chemo treatments. The Monday of her first treatment, Hubby took Raisa out for her normal walk. Then I get a text at work, "Going to vet. Raisa attacked."

WHAT????


Turns out they were walking along and some chick was "napping" on a park bench. And her dog, unbeknownst to Hubby, was under the bench, leashed but not attached to the owner. 

Yep. You guessed it. The dog darted out and chomped on Raisa. Got her in the back leg. Raisa screamed, wrapped her leash around Hubby and down he went. On the shoulder that had the rotator cuff tear. While he's trying to pry the attacking dog, off, the owner is apologizing and doing God knows what. The dog eventually lets go. Hubby is madder than I could imagine. And the chick and dog took off... He got her to the vet and they initially didn't find anything. Later, though, he found this puncture wound, so back to the vet for an antibiotic. 

And now, with the antibiotic, she's not eating. She can't afford to not eat. We also had just finished a short course in an "appetite enhancer" because between antibiotics for a UTI and her thyroid medications, she lost an ENORMOUS amount of weight. Weight she honestly can't afford to lose. She now weighs less than the Elkhounds, and she's a good 3" taller than they are. 

All this being said, she'll eat human food (certain things) and she'll eat treats. But she won't eat even canned dog food. Frustrating, because we've tried canned; we've changed her kibble; we've tried the stuff in the tube that looks like sausage... one meal and then she's done. 

It's very annoying. I'm tempted to take her to a specialist (not like we're rolling in money) because it's just not healthy for her to not eat. 

We'll see. I have no answers. I'm still mad about that chick taking off and not even exchanging information...a friend of mine says she'd bet me lunch that the dog has a bite history. And I think she may be right. 

MOD Pizza...

Where has this been??? So since the gut re-set I've done, I've still, for the most part, avoided gluten. I'm pretty sure I'll have some sort of sensitivity, but if I don't, I already know me: I love -- no, I ADORE...wait. I absolutely WORSHIP carbs like pasta and bread. I don't want to re-gain what I've lost. So if I can avoid them, without significant damage to my own eating and health, then I can live with that. 

All THAT being said, we found MOD Pizza. If you've never been, it's a make-your-own pizza place. Choose your crust/size and they put whatever toppings on - no extra charge for toppings. They have both a cauliflower crust and a "gluten-friendly" crust. And they say that since they do everything on one production line, they won't guarantee "gluten-free" but for me, that's not a huge issue. 

This is the gluten-friendly crust (which takes about 4 minutes longer - Hubby was just about done with his, though he's an extremely fast eater). I put a vegan white sauce on it, asiago cheese, mozarella, and gorgonzola, then arugula, mushrooms, chopped garlic and sausage. They finished it with a pesto drizzle. 

Oh my. It was delicious. It was an 11-inch pizza and yes, I did eat the whole thing. Lucky me, there's one right down the road from where I work. Danger, Will Robinson!! (Look that up, too)

Clothes Make the Woman...

I've dug through my shoe pile, and I had come up with a couple pairs that I hadn't worn in a while. One pair of Earth sandals I wore and they literally fell apart on my feet. I was hoping they'd last the day so I could chuck them out at home. I didn't even take a picture of how bad they were. The soles were fine - it was the tops of the sandals that fell apart. 

It couldn't happen again, I told myself. So the other day, I wore these Earth clogs to work. I felt something funny, but I was running around and didn't pay too much attention. 

Hmmmmmmmmmm... Even duct tape couldn't keep these together long enough to walk up my driveway. 

I showed them to Hubby, who's a master at Gorilla Glue. Even he couldn't salvage them. 


Two pairs of shoes in the trash. 

This weekend is "Wear Orange" to protest gun violence. There are marches all over, as well as several Pride events. The only orange I have are 2 long-sleeved shirts. But in the spirit of going along, I put this one on. I'm a Zonta member, and this one seemed particularly appropriate. 

This one and the Take Back the Night shirt are the ones I wear when I volunteer at the Old Prison to do clean-up work. It's all long sleeves, jeans and hiking boots there. Douse myself with citronella and wear a hat and gloves. 

You never quite know what you'll be doing, and you never quite know what may land on your head. 

Yeah, I'm still looking for a new stylist; but I've got it narrowed down to 2 choices. I've got to get on the schedule soon. 

Random Picture...

This is the second shelf of the "altar" at my yoga studio. The "altar" is really a coffee table with cabinets under it. Hey, we repurpose! It works! 

There's a little Ganesh on the left; an Indian goddess (not sure who) from the former owner, a Feng Shui frog with a penny in his mouth, and a salt globe. 

I need to get another salt lamp for the office yet. But that's on my list. 

I've taken over the meditation classes and another Wednesday night class. I'm teaching, now, 5 classes a week (two of them on Sundays), and I'm subbing. I wanted to teach Yoga mostly as my "main job" -- which means that I've got to teach. I think my biggest issue is that I'm teaching on nights when I've already worked a 10-hour job. It makes keeping my focus and energy a bit interesting. But it's all good. 

More on the editing job and other stuff in the next post. Rest well, all! 

Marching On...

OK, that's facile and stupid. But I'm "blogging with migraine" so forgive me. 

Doctor's Report...

So today was (finally) the follow-up from the "roto-rooting" of last month. Overall, good. But -- esophagitis and a bit of gastritis. That's not good. I'm back on the Rx version of Prevacid, 80 mg (40 mg 2/day). They want that to heal. 

But on the plus side: no celiac disease, no h. pylori, no candida. A few other issues that are, frankly, age-related. And "being a mom" related. They're delighted with my (now) 8-lb. weight loss and consequently lower BP. And they said "keep it up."

I'm a bit dismayed, but glad. Esophagitis in particular is something that folks like me, with GERD, want to avoid at all costs. It's nasty and it can be deadly if left unchecked. They seem to think that 3 months of this high-dose Rx will fix it. I'm also thinking the anti-inflammatory gut reset will, too. 

The Knitting...

I've turned the heel on Petty Harbour #1. It's going ok. I love heel turns. I'm actually, now, on the closing of the gusset. This time, I'm going to keep the pattern down the instep. We'll see how that goes. 

Normally, I like a plain foot, mainly because of comfort. But these are a really nice pair of socks, and frankly: they're beige. I need patterning. If only to keep me awake during the long foot part. 

Speaking of long feet parts... I screwed up on the Green Traveling Sock #1... As you can see in the picture, the foot is "kid-sized." 

No, honestly, I do NOT know what I was thinking. Or not thinking, as the case may be. I know I wanted a star toe and I looked high and low for a pattern, like the 3 or 4 other pairs I had. Could  I find it? Nope. 

So I winged it with web directions: "star toes for everyone" kind of thing. 

Obviously, I started the toe about 2" too early. I'm thinking of steeking - a/k/a "cutting into live knitting" and adding more at that green stripe. That's just below the closed gusset, which I think is the best place to do it. I can add more; then re-knit -- maybe not a star toe this time, but either way. Re-knit so I can wear it!! 

I've tried it on and it fits. But it's so, SO tight that it'll wear badly. Not to mention crunching my toes. 

I'd like to do a different toe. I do wedge toes on 90% of my socks. Either that, or I buckle down this weekend and finally clean up my office space, hopefully finding the notebook or pattern that has an actual star toe pattern that I can follow. 

I know - I've got my MBA, and you'd think I could figure it out. 

I can't. I don't like math, and I'm too old to change. Besides, my MBA was in marketing and HR. 

I ordered the Etude #1 shawl AND yarn from Expression Fiber Arts. Yes, in those colors exactly. I think they're stunning. And another thing I'm not necessarily good at is colors. I love color. But I'm not particularly adventurous at matching and setting up colors for patterns. 

Hubby shines at that. I'm boring. I swear, I'd stick with grey gradients. 

Anyway, Etude #1 will be the next project I cast on. 

And I managed to do something weird with Kid #2's afghan. I think I can redeem myself if I have really managed to miss a stitch. It's not that I dropped one; I'm actually OVER by 1 stitch; so I used K2tog to get the count back where I think it should be. If I'm wrong? I add a stitch. He won't care if there's a "make one" in there. It's also coming along. Almost ready to change stripes again. Picture next time. 

Paczki Parade...

I work next(ish) to a Polish Deli. It's hopping this time of year with the sale of paczki (poo-nch-key). That lovely and now popular Polish donut which, in my great-granny's time was a way to use up all the sweet stuff before Lent. 

Lent starts, if you're interested, on March 6th. 

So I saw these at the local "health food" store. No, these little beauties are in no way 'healthy' even if you want to say it's traditional. Traditional isn't always healthy, as we all know. 

When they're home-made, or made by a real Polish bakery, they're not light. They're full of sugar. And when Great-Grandma made them, they were fried in lard. Or, in her later years, shortening. 

Dusted (in her kitchen) with either white sugar or powdered sugar if she wanted fancy, they were stuffed full of fruit. 

Now-a-days, you can get them filled with just about anything. And there's a local brewer who's doing "paczki-flavored" beer. Can't even wrap my brain (migraine or not) around that. Because there are at least 15 flavors. Which goes in the beer?

This was the parking lot Thursday. From 8 a.m. till I left at 5:15 p.m. Cars in and out all day.

Many buying lunch, but lots of them carrying boxes of paczki out.

They're getting another 2,000 this Tuesday, for Fat Tuesday. 

How do I know? I asked my mom if she wanted a couple of them, to which she replied, "Is the Pope Catholic??"

I went to the doctor's office on one side of town, and it ran late. All I could think of was, "Boy, I'd better get there before they close" as I dashed across town to the very opposite side. 


There weren't many left. I got her a Bavarian Creme with chocolate, and a "strawberry & cream" - which wasn't exactly what she wanted, but it was either that or prune...or blueberry, and I couldn't remember if she liked blueberries! 

These? Well, no, I'm not planning on eating them. They're a unique flavor: rosehip. Very nice and light, slightly floral. I thought if Mom didn't like the strawberry + creme, I'd take that home for Hubby. 

And I told Hubby that if he didn't want them, I'd be perfectly happy bringing them to church on Sunday. 

I have a feeling these aren't going to make it to church. 

I'll be texting the kids a picture of this. One of them lives far away, out of the reach of paczki. The other? I can see him driving down for these. 

Everyone Gets a Cone...

Yeesh... Two of the 3 dogs are in cones. 

Tippi is in a cone because she gnawed the crap out of her back leg. It's healing nicely, but she managed to confound the Inner Tube of Shame and the soft cone. So Hubby went out and bought her a "satellite dish."

The dog isn't happy. But the leg is coming along very well. It was so bad that we had to skip our last therapy visit. I had to leave it open so that it could begin healing, and that's against the rules. 

And it's not safe. 

And it wasn't pretty. 

So we think she'll be ready to go back to work on this Tuesday, which will be nice. I know she's anxious to get back to work. 

I started her on Turmeric butter. Not actual butter, but you mix turmeric with water, heating it up a bit to make a paste. Then you add coconut oil (which she loves anyway) and keep it in the fridge. She gets 1/2 tsp. total, split up at breakfast and dinner. It'll take a few weeks to see if it takes down that inflamed lymph node. Fingers and paws crossed. 

Raisa, on the other hand, has some sort of skin rash. We've started to add a little olive oil to her food, and Hubby is getting something called Linatone, which is what the elkhounds had when we first got them. 

She can still get to a dry spot on her chest; we're hoping to get that under control. Her coat's a mess. Thanks to backyard breeding, she's got one of the worst coats I've ever seen. 

Her head is gorgeous. Well-shaped, and the coat is just what it should be; nice and fluffy. 

From the back of her head on down? Not so good. And the scraggliest tail I've ever seen on a husky. Not to mention the coat's thinner than normal. The vet says "it is what it is." She can't make it grow better. 

But we've got to do something with the state of the itch. 

So we'll try the Linatone and see where it gets us. 

Beverages, etc...

Apparently, CBD is now all the rage. One of the patients gave Doc a tiny vial of hemp oil for him to try. Not likely... And I saw these supplements in the local Meijer. 

Not sure how I feel about that. I mean, I do give it to the elkies when there's thunder coming. We call it "boom boom cookies" and it seems to at least calm them a bit. 

But randomly swallowing these supplements? I can't see it. 

I have no problem with alternative medicine. I'm sitting here in this picture with my "Mermaid Latte" to help me sleep. It coincidentally matches my shirt! Using Ayurveda, it's got some herbs + chamomile in it. I make it with coconut milk. 

Not the coconut milk in the cans, but actual "milk stuff" made with coconut, since on this cleanse, I'm non-dairy and for a while, no nuts either. It wasn't bad, though I do miss my almond milk. Or "almond milk-like beverage" since "nuts don't lactate."

But a coconut DOES have milk. So there. 

Anyway, I think people need to evaluate before jumping on a bandwagon, that's all. I'm all for it for pain relief, and relief from chemo and glaucoma. 

I just don't think it's right for everyone. 

And it's incredibly ironic that it's next to the Doritos... 

It Was Windy...

The Sunday before last, it was really, really, REALLY windy. We went out to church, and when we came back, this is what we found in the back yard. 

I mean, it's ours. But this is how we found it after the service. 

This is solid cedar and it had about 80-ish pounds of dirt in it. 

There's no way it should've blown over. Except that the winds were in the neighborhood of 40-60 mph. 

Everything got whomped on. 

Lucky for us, we didn't lose major tree branches. Nothing fell on the cars. 

Hubby righted this and put the basin of the concrete bird bath in it. At least, now, if we have anymore wind, this thing shouldn't move. 

I hope. 

It was really freaky hearing the wind moaning through the high-tension wires. Haunting. 

Random Picture...

Every once in a while, there's a really pretty sunrise. This isn't much to look at close-up. But look at the sky and see the pinks and lavenders? 

I caught this on the drive into work one morning, when sensible folk are still in their pjs... 

I live in the semi-urban 'burbs and we still get to see a lot of sky around here. 

Even in the dead of winter, in the icky February/March dullness? If you look up, you're usually guaranteed to see something beautiful. 

It's there. Just gotta look up.