Paying It Forward...

We all talk about "paying it forward." At least I hope we do. And we all like to think we're doing our bit to make our society a better place. 

At least I hope we do. 

But here's a guy who's put his wallet where his mouth is:  he paid up some kids' lunches in a local school after hearing about that school in Utah that tossed lunches for kids who had outstanding lunch ticket debt.

I love the comment he made: "These kids need to worry about the grade they get in spelling."

I wonder how many of us will take his lead and do something like this? It doesn't have to be a forever thing. It doesn't have to be EVERY kid... When we help one person, we create a ripple effect. So help one kid and pass this on to a friend. 

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/02/06/houston-man-pays-school-lunch-debts/

I don't normally post entire links, but I found the headline compelling, as I hope you do. If you are fortunate, you should feel easy enough to share your good with others. 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pass this link on. The good that man did is really beyond compare. No, it's not finding the cure for cancer.

But maybe he helped a kid get lunch and THAT KID might be the one who finds that cure. 

I think I'm going to call our local grade school... we have a school that's pretty poor, and my kids went there - and got an excellent education, by the way! So maybe I can help another kid out...

Knitting...

Cup Cozy

Was going to go with the super-easy-instant-gratification cup cozy today at lunch, but it's been a busy day at work. Suffice to say that I've got about 1" more on it. And about 40 more rows on the Nephew Afghan. I'll be working on that one tonight. 

Sad news at Le Mouton Rouge Knittery... She was robbed! The good news is that they did catch the young man. The bad news is that it happened at all. I hope that the young man wakes up -- he's headed down a very wrong path.

The afghan pic is my "super-lovely yarn bowl." Also known as one of my steel mixing bowls. You can get cutesy, but when you're working with what's essentially "bulky" yarn, you go with efficiency, right? This is the last 2 hanks and honestly, all kidding aside: I want this thing DONE. Where are the Yarn Fairies when you need them???

It's now too big to haul to my knitting group. I think I'll have to suss out one of the Second Socks to finish instead of taking this beast out. I believe I can lay my hands on them. Will look tonight. 

Free Yarn Bowl!

I have set aside the February Lady Sweater. I could bring that to knitting. It would probably help because I believe I'm at the juncture where I might need some expert help. But for right now, maybe a mindless sock is just about all I need. 

Angel...

I will often tell people, "I'll light a candle for you" when they need prayer or good thoughts. In the church we now attend, I can't figure out whether they actually USE the candle section!! And anyway, it's a small spot just inside the door, which to my mind isn't ideal. Heaven knows I don't want to burn the place down! I have never seen it lit, so I don't want to commit a churchy faux pas. 

So I have this angel. I usually will light this up. It's a lovely bit of stained glass I purchased - oh gosh - about 25 years ago?? Maybe more?? I can't remember. But she sits on my bookshelf. I don't use her as a night light. But I do use her as my "prayer light."

It's a little hard to see from this angle, but she has a pearly white body, her wings are all rainbow-y when she's lit or in the light, and her head is a faceted crystal. 

So if you ever need prayers, let me know - and I'll turn on the angel for you. 

Honestly, some folks feel all quibby about "prayers" - because perhaps they are private about their own beliefs; they have no specific church; they're atheists - no matter what. It's just a thing. 

Myself, I've found lately that "you have my prayers" makes me uncomfortable. I feel better telling someone that I'm holding them in my thoughts. 

This little angel is a good way to hold someone in those thoughts. Every time I see her in my home office, I pause and think about someone. 

I have a Himalayan salt candle in my work office. Not only is it good for the air (removing impurities) but it also takes a little tea light, which takes about 4 hours to burn through - I don't have to worry about inadvertently leaving a candle burning when I leave. I light that every day I'm in the office. It serves as a reminder to stop and think of people or even stop and breathe. 

Whatever works - that's the way I feel about it. What are your devices to remember people and acknowledge them? I would be interested to hear about them. 

Weather...

Baby, it's COLD outside!

Yes, it's cold. Yes, this is a cheesy dash-temp shot at 8:44 a.m. today. And yes, we're in for more on Saturday. And of course I work. I worked LAST Saturday and the instructor called the class off. After I got there. But it was actually a good thing I was there, because one of the HVAC units on the roof had fizzled and the back of the campus was about 50*. Great for August. Not so great when it's 1* outside!! 

So this weekend, Saturday will again be the big snow. Well, "will be ANOTHER BIG SNOW" is probably the better way to put it. 

This time, I will check my work e-mail -- last week, I was thinking that our school would cancel classes. Silly me... I also gave the instructor my cell phone number. Hopefully, (a) the class won't be cancelled; or (b) I'll know about it before I drive out there!

I am waiting for the temps to be a tad more... well, temperate! I loaned my cross-country skis to my friend G - she wants to get back into it and I can't ski for crap. I love to snow shoe, and if it gets a little less chilly - i.e. you can breathe without freezing your lungs - perhaps Hubby and I can get out onto one of the easier trails. 

I would do it, by the way, WITHOUT the dogs. I'm still building back my endurance, which may seem strange to you what with all that yoga training. But these heart meds - they're making it harder for me to get my heart rate up (a good thing for arrhythmia but a bad thing when you get chilled outside; it's harder to warm up) and they've sucked my endurance out the window. At least this way, we won't have the Three Beasts dragging us in search of deer. 

In point of exercise, by the way, I have pulled the weighted hula hoop from behind my door. I can only do the thing for about 2 or 3 minutes. But it's also got knobs on the inside, so my ribs feel a bit "pummeled" when I get done. I'm trying to move more and perhaps this will help in the long run. 

And speaking of that, I've renewed my commitment to a "cleaner" diet way of eating. If I use better language, it helps me stay on track!! The reason this is appropriate here is because the "clean-up" involves lots of salads! And it's cold outside. 

I'm craving mac & cheese and butternut squash soup. Not kale salad. But - I went into a comfort-food tailspin this summer and I need to drag myself, kicking and screaming, out of it. 

The worst part is the first part because it's just dumping the sugar. You don't realize how much sugar you really eat! But I'm hanging in there and I know it'll pay off in more energy, better "numbers" during my check-ups and frankly, yeah: I'll weigh a lot less. When I weigh less, I hurt less. Believe me, it's only partly vanity. The other part is just being fed up with hurting. Arthritis - at least at this stage - is a "hidden" ailment. I just hurt. A lot. And it's no fun. 

I mean, I know people have it a lot worse than I do. I can still shovel snow. I can still do a lot of yoga. I can still knit, play guitar, walk without assistance - crikey, I'm VERY lucky. I have all of my original joints. But I want to be better. I want to get back to being able to do stuff with Hubby without him worrying that I'm going to keel over. 

And I'd like to take a Level 2 yoga class - of course I still can't invert, but a nice flow yoga sequence would be good. 

Autherine Lucy...

Autherine Lucy

I found this as part of a FB page I manage. I try to put something up there every day or so on Women's History and today we have a two-fer - Ms. Lucy was the first black student admitted to the University of Alabama. She was expelled because she accused administrators of conspiring in riots. Hers was a court-ordered admittance. She did not go back right away, but later did earn a Master's Degree.

The point of this is that there are "rights" and these rights should not be viewed through the lens of race, the lens of gender, or the lens of anything else you can see. 

Women's rights are essentially HUMAN rights. The recent "anniversary" and sturm-und-drang about Roe v. Wade is OLD NEWS, folks. As Kid #2 asked, "Didn't you fight that fight?" - and he can't see why there's such a determination to overturn a lawful decision of SCOTUS. To be honest, no, I didn't fight that fight. I was in high school. A Catholic high school, to boot. But I have taught the boys to use their brains and to see that really, each person should be able to make his or her own health decisions. When you're part of a couple, it's reasonable to expect that you would certainly discuss this with your partner.

But really - I don't want anyone else in my uterus. 

My personal feeling? (I know y'all are waiting for it...) If you want to overturn a decision of SCOTUS, how'z about that Citizens United ruling? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm??? We get all that Koch Kash out of our elections??? 

There's a thought. 

Random Picture...

This is a card that I bought for a fundraiser for John Nelsen Moosedog Rescue Fund. It's made by Mandy Smithers - Google her, she makes fantastic cards!!

Anway, this is what I plan to do tonight. In between rows of the Nephew Afghan!

I bought a couple of these and used one for a thank-you note for a gift Tippi got from one of our therapy partners. 

Mandy's cards are suitable for any occasion and they're works of art in and of themselves. I'm going to frame the extra one I bought. Pink is Tippi's color. Each dog has her color. Quinn's is red and Raisa's is purple. 

The cards are blank inside for your own sentiment. Help out a woman-owned enterprise if you're interested in some special cards!

Knitting Lace, Quinn and Quinn...

No, the title's not a typo. You'll see.

So I did frog the Lettuce scarf. First off, I think there's an error in the pattern, which will frustrate me. Second, the scarf is BEAUTIFUL. In a variegated or hand-painted yarn. I think in a solid, it'll be just blah. Not blah as in ugly, but more, "Ok. Nice." Just not "Wow, you MADE this for ME??" kind of knitting. 

Chandelier Lace Scarf

To that end, I started the Chandelier Lace in the Cascade Heritage Silk, which is 85% merino superwash and 15% Mulberry silk. I purchased the yarn at Le Mouton Rouge, a very adorable LYS in Morris, IL. A little farther than I'd like to drive, but I am currently "out of like" with my more local LYS for a couple of reasons. 

Lovely, lovely, lovely yarn to work with so far. That hint of silk is what's going to transform this project. Here's what it looks like so far. Not much, but it's a super-easy pattern to memorize, at least row-by-row. It's a 26-row repeat, but not really. What I mean is, the pattern total is 26 rows, but you are actually repeating rows 1 - 9 after row 10. 

There's a new variety of stitch here. It's called S2KP. Let me explain - or let Vogue explain: Slip 2 sts tog, K1, pass 2 sl sts over. It's kind of like what I've done before, but not slipping 2 stitches together. We'll see. Can't be all that hard.

I switched from Addi Turbo aluminum to bamboo. I really should use lace needles, which I don't have. The only gripe I have is that this yarn has the potential to split easily, if you're not paying attention. Sharper points would help, but the only thing I have in really sharp points is a set of DPNs and this is a flat project. Anyway, the longest DPNs I have are only 7" and this scarf is at least 8 - 9" wide. 

The picture, of course, doesn't do it justice, because the yarn is just a lovely color. Even with the crappy-camera on my phone. I think when I take a progress picture, it'll show up better. More fabric will equal a better picture.


Today is sooooooooo humid!! It's humid when, in a building where you can't open windows, and the A/C is working, you still have condensation on your water cooler bottle. Yuck. But for some reason, I'm chilled, so I don't necessarily want to turn on the fan. Though I probably will, just to move some air around. 

New project, new bag. Well, not "new" -- one I got when I purchased some dog things at Fun Time Dog Shop. Fun Time is an online store where 100% of the profits goes to rescue groups. They have a list of partners and at checkout, you can pick where you'd like your profit portion to go. They were giving the bags away as a promotional and I was lucky enough to be sent a lilac one. So you can click here to check them out. They source as many products as they can from the USA; they test all their products. They take input from their customers. I'm just tickled to be able to have a nice place to get good stuff for my dogs. The treats, leashes, puzzles and other items have all been first-rate. And it's good to support rescue. 

The bag is plain and nothing special other than a great way for me to spread the word about a female-owned small business that does wonderful work. In fact, to use this as a knitting bag, I have to use point-protectors because sharp enough needles will puncture it! 

Quinn ready for her nap

So, you're wondering: Quinn and Quinn?? Well, I realized that I hadn't posted a picture of Tippi's daughter, Quinn. In a while, or ever... Here she is, being a goofball on the couch. She gets up there and paces back and forth trying to figure out her most favorite spot. Then she nests. Usually upside-down. And twisted. On you or right next to you, if you happen to be there and she needs a pillow. Or between me and Hubby. Always. Always - even sitting there staring a hole in us till one of us moves slightly, then she jumps up and jams herself in  between us. We always wonder who'll get the butt-end. It's usually an even split. She's fair in that regard. 

We're worried about her this 4th of July. She doesn't like fireworks or t-storms. The doc has suggested melatonin (3 mg) - taking 6 mg twice a day. We'll get it into her system and see how she does. We can layer a Benadryl on top of that, but we have a 50/5o chance that the Benadryl will either mellow her out or cause her to be more hyper. More hyper, we don't need. She already has a Thundershirt, which only worked a couple of times. We have a cave for her; she goes into our bathroom. I have ordered an Anxiety Wrap which is supposed to be more focused on accupressure points and covers a little more of the dog's area. There's also an Ace bandage wrap technique that's a figure-8 that is supposed to work. 

This is all to keep her from freaking out and potentially hurting herself. I hate 4th of July. 

The other Quinn is our beloved (?) governor here in IL. He's rewritten our newly crafted concealed carry law. Now, you all know that the only thing I think Illinois did right was to have a law against concealed carry. Well, the NRA fixed that. They bought a couple of politicians, like they've been doing nationwide, and we now have a "compromise" bill. I'll admit it's restrictive. But he wanted stuff like magazine capacities and the limit on only carrying one gun. And obviously, the Powers that Be (which aren't him, apparently) say that they'll veto his veto. Gotta love government that works. Trouble is that lately, we wouldn't recognize government that works because nobody's government seems to work at all. 

I mean seriously... you really WANT to carry ALL your guns? Let's just ask for trouble, eh? And carrying guns where alcohol is sold? Yeah, that's just a totally cool thing. No problems there, right? I don't like the idea of concealed or open carry. I don't think - and a number of cops agree with me, because I asked them - that the average citizen needs to carry a gun. And large capacity magazines are idiotic. If you want to beat me over the head with the Second Amendment, let's parse that.

I believe they say something about a "well-regulated" militia... And that's only for starters. You want to go all Founders on me? Ok. Have your weapon. The average Colonist had one gun. One. Usually a rifle. Usually a lead ball and gunpowder. And he made his own bullets. 

Fine. You can have that kind of gun. Not an automatic weapon with a 30-round clip. Go for it.  Otherwise, please -- if  you feel like it's that dangerous to go out, then stay in. Your "right" to arm yourself infringes totally on my right to not be your collateral damage. 

Anyway, those are the Quinns we were talking about. I'm in one of those "I don't want to be here" moods and I think I'll just knit a few rows on the scarf to take my mind away from here. No yoga class tonight; we cancelled it because 9 times out of 10, right before a holiday, nobody shows up. So save some gas and aggravation, right?

Maybe a walk when I get home, if it's not raining. Have a safe 4th of July! Quiet, too, if you're lucky. 

Mr. Squirrel, You're Not Getting the Point...

As I was up at just-after-dark:a.m., after taking the dogs out for their morning ablutions, I looked out my kitchen window while my water was heating for the morning tea.

This is what I saw... If you click on the picture to make it larger, you'll notice that all my herb plants have screens on them. That was to keep the squirrels out - the little buggers like to dig to plant sunflower seeds. So I thought I was pretty clever. 

Squirrel on the wire

This guy, however, (before I grabbed my camera) was looking right at me...Sitting up on his hind legs. Now, these things are sharp! I just grabbed one yesterday to cut some tarragon. I walked quietly away, grabbed my camera and shot this through a kitchen window with screen, so it's not as sharp as I'd like. By the time I came back to shoot, he turned around. Flicked his tail. And scampered off. 


He obviously "didn't get the point" even though he was sitting right on it!

And then the other day, we brought in all the birdfeeders - at least setting them on the porch, in anticipation of yet another major t-storm. Kid #2 put one on the porch and I didn't think anything of it. I had put a couple there after I filled them. I ran an errand, and then since we didn't have another storm, I figured I'd put them back on their hooks. Walked out to the porch to see one of the more "open" ones dumped over. 

"What???" Then I saw it. A chipmunk. Little stinker had tipped the thing over and was porking out on the seed! He scampered away and there was really nothing I could do. I grabbed a dustpan and just tossed the seed onto the lawn. They may as well enjoy it. 

Cooking: So today I made sort-of-Italian chicken in the crock pot with my own canned sauce. I cut up peppers and chunked an onion. Layered that on the bottom, snipped 2 large sprigs of Rosemary, grabbed some basil and layered the chicken, the herbs and the sauce. Added salt & pepper, added about 10 oz of water and slapped it on "high." Made some pasta that Kid #2 brought home and we just ate that for dinner. Got enough leftovers (or "plan-overs" like they used to tell us as Tupperware sales-ladies) for the week.

Now I have to do about a bazillion dishes. I want my dishwasher fixed!! Even if I can't put every single thing in, it would certainly cut down the load, right?

Knitting: On the decrease on the last Robin's Nest sock!! We may have a pair by next week. I have one gripe: Either I've slept on my hands funny, or I need to take a break with a pair of larger needles. My thumb hurts. That hasn't happened since I recovered from the surgery. Urgh.

Dogs: So far today, the dogs have been out of their "restraints." Quinn's been out of the Thundershirt (which we were using to keep her cysts from getting oozy on the furniture. Tippi was in The Collar of Shame. But so far, she's left her leg alone. 

However, tonight, they'll be in their "suits" because I'm not interested in staying up all night keeping tabs on them! Oh, and they're blowing their coats. Big time. 

Work: I have my "too long meeting" tomorrow, then I assist at a yoga class. I also have to plan the sequence for Tuesday's class. And figure out what I want to do for Wednesday's class. Now that I'm teaching it instead of taking it, I do have to get more disciplined in actually doing the yoga practice.

And at training next week, we have our first quiz. Of course, they're not going to flunk us, but nevertheless, I do have to study. It's all based on homework, so I should be ok if I just review everything. Although I enjoy the training, and this weekend will be observing (I don't invert...), I'm tired. I'd like to be done with it. I have to catch up on one workshop I missed, and then I can get my 200-hour certification.

Well, I'd be interested to hear what y'all are doing for July 4. I'm going to be trying to keep 2 dogs calm. They're not fond of fireworks. And our neighbors are, unfortunately, idiots. 

Randomly...

Oh my. It's been a while and I've been busy, busy, busy. 

The Robin's Nest sock is coming along. I had a short burst of SSS (Second-Sock-Syndrome) where I actually didn't pick up needles for almost 2 weeks. It was staring at me, guilting me into picking it back up so it could be worn. I know it was. Socks do that. 

I did buy yarn for the Lettuce Lace scarf; I know - I don't need another scarf. And it's not for me. It's for my yoga teacher. I have to take a picture of it and get it on the Ravelry list. 

Hubby is off helping out his mom. Of course, that leads to all kinds of fun. So here's what happened. Tippi had a lump on her back right foot. We had it biopsied because she was worrying it. The biopsy showed "abnormal cells" and the initial pathology report said either "basal cell or melanoma" with a strong lean toward melanoma. Yikes!!

So she was scheduled for surgery. The day before he left. Of course. The DAY he left, Quinn decides that the 2 cysts on her back must burst. Now, you all know I'm a total wimp. I don't do blood, bodily fluids or the like. I'm a community barfer. You barf, I'm right there next to you. Not necessarily for support, but because I'll be barfing right next to you. 

Hubby cleaned Quinn up and suggested a visit to the vet. 

Then we had rain, hail, frogs and locusts. In about 10 minutes. The power was out from 6 p.m. Sunday night till 3 a.m. Monday morning. I had a migraine. Our neighbor across the street got his power back on in about 10 minutes after the microburst, derecho, or whatever they're calling it. 

I'm calling it a "Big Honkin' Storm." Luckily, I was a worry-wart and I'd removed all the birdfeeders, gazing balls, etc. and stowed them along with the patio furniture. "Patio furniture" being those molded plastic chairs we spray-painted along with 2 side tables. Not necessarily "good" furniture, but then we're not really "patio" people. It's just a place where I put my herb pots!

Oh, and the Super Moon.... (See how random this is? My mind is all over the place...) Oh, and I have a temporary crown that did NOT make me happy.

OK. Focus.

Crown: My former dentist (who shall remain nameless, but at whom I am EXTREMELY mad) somehow missed a fractured tooth. Actually, TWO fractured teeth. Molars. So my new dentist told me that at "some point" I would need crowns on both of them. Conveniently, one's on the left and one's on the right. So I did the left side first. That was the week before Hubby left. It hurt. Yes, I was numbed up, but it still hurt. The temporary is in and next month I get the permanent one. I'm going to try to put off the right side till September or so. Just to give myself a breather. 

Super Moon: The Super Moon coincided with what would have been my Granny's 100th birthday! We were able to see it Saturday, but by Sunday, the clouds came in. Granny taught me to knit and crochet, so in her honor, I spent a lot of the day Saturday knitting on the sock.  In between...

Shower cake

Cakes: Baked a shower cake on Friday for delivery Saturday. Baked a retirement cake Saturday for Sunday delivery. Seriously LOVE my Windows phone. Seriously HATE the camera, but again: we knew it had a crappy camera. So sorry about the quality of the pics, but you get the general idea. Here they are. The shower cake was for 30 people. Buttercream frosting, yellow cake, chocolate buttercream filling. Cornelli lace, which (amazingly) happened to match the napkins. Wilton didn't make a lime green tint, so this is Leaf Green with a touch of Lemon Yellow. 

And Hobby Lobby (auuuuuuuuughhh!!!) is getting away from Wilton product for some off-brand. Thanks, guys... Anyway, I felt sorry for the gal hosting the shower. She had planned a back yard shower, but the skies were already spitting and it didn't look good. So she was able to put it in her basement.

Which of course begs the question of my own basement, also known as The Pit of Despair. Crikey, we'd have a hard time sheltering from a tornado...but I digress and I need to focus. Anyway, she ended up hosting it there, and she said that the bride loved the cake. I was happy. 

Retirement cake

The retirement cake was for my fellow alto Sandy, as she retires from the education field. She had a big bash, and this was for 80 people. Chocolate fudge cake with raspberry filling. Now, you have to notice the crown. She told me she wanted pink as a color and that her theme was "Retire like a Queen." That was all the direction she gave me, aside from cake flavor and filling. 

The pans I managed to find at Hobby Lobby. They were the LAST Wilton pans; the new stuff is all the off-brand... (yes, I'm still stewing about that). The pan is called "Paisley" and they showed it with fondant, of course. I don't do fondant. 

I had to send The Kid out for an emergency purchase of disposable frosting bags. My plastic ones are really worn and I need to get restocked. 

I put edible glitter on the cake and headed to the Party Store for a crown. We had the party Sunday, and I couldn't stay long. Aside from that being the day of the Big Honkin' Storm, Tippi was still on pain meds, and I needed to keep an eye on her. Of course, while at the Party Store, I picked up a couple more headbands for Tippi - she has to look good for her therapy gigs!

Sandy's Party

So I get there to set it up, Sandy takes one look at it and squeals. She hollers at her hubby to "show [me] the decorations!!" and her hubby drags me into the dining room to see Sandy's decorations... Now remember, we didn't consult on this... And again, pardon the crappy picture... Yes. Crowns. Lots of them. People didn't believe we hadn't coordinated that. But Scout's Honor - nope. 

We were all sitting on her deck having a lovely conversation as the clouds rolled in. Those of us with smart phones were checking radar and one lady said, "Oh, look, blue sky; it'll blow over without a problem."

Well, then thunder...then PELTING rain!! Ended up with about 50 of us in her house. I drove home and noted areas that had flooded because the rain came down so fast and in such quantity. 

Storm(s): So Hubby's not home. The lights go out just as The Kid is making dinner - he was very proud of making dinner and very annoyed that we lost power for so long. Luckily, I have a candle addiction. We were trying to find a flashlight. Well, there was one. But no batteries. And mysteriously, the mag light happened to disappear. But we were relatively good sports about it. Power came on at 3 a.m. and I was fidgety all night. 

So how do you prevent future storms? You go the next day to Menard's and buy 2 lanterns and 2 flashlights, plus a whack of batteries. There were no storms Tuesday. See? 

Tippi: The doc removed the large lump. She's shaved up her leg, and was on a pain patch for the week. They did a pathology report and came back with NO CANCER!!! Yay!!! The vet did say that it was a good thing we removed it because it was "abnormal cells" and it could've gone either way. He said it could have been an old injury which got irritated, much like a pearl is created from a bit of grit in an oyster. She's gimping around a bit, but is getting back to herself, having pooped and now eating like a longshoreman. 

Other Knitting Blogs: I'm going to have to take a cue from other bloggers and link to blogs that I read. I have a list of new ones to check out. As soon as I figure out how to link them on this new version of Blogspot, I'll get them up there. I see The Panopticon, and Franklin is knitting a pair of bathing shorts. Man, if I hadn't used up all my vacation, I'd go on that cruise just to meet him and see the results. He sounds like a hoot, and his work is phenomenal. I do have his listed, and the Yarn Harlot. Just have to update it a bit.

Sadly, Mary Lynn Quilts and Knits is no longer. Our dear Knitwit friend Mary Lynn died from lymphoma in May. I wonder if she knew more than she'd say...she was, up till 2 weeks before she died, knitting furiously. 

OK, I think that's all. Whew. Yes, I have to get back to this. We haven't even touched on SCOTUS and all that stuff. But then, I deliberately went into a "news hole" on TV. I'm reading the Trib and skimming HuffPo, but I really, really don't want to dive into the cesspool. 

I'll get back to it. Just not now. 

SockMania -- Almost A Pair!

OK, so you hit the wrong button and you have to start over. Story of my life, right??

So the Robin's Egg sock is almost done. I've turned the heel, finished the foot and am working on the toe decrease. Standard decrease, and then maybe on the next pair, I'll try a different heel and different toe, just for fun. 

I also bought some pale blue Cascade 220 heather to begin another pair of hiking socks; using up the remaining purple as cuff, toe and heel on these. It's fun to mix it up, and if they look weird? Well, they'll be in hiking boots, right?

Turning the heel

Here are the first batch of pics from Robin's Egg. I started turning the heel using the instructions from the Madeline Tosh "Simple Socks" pattern by Amy Hendrix. Check it out here. As I noted, this is a "Franken-Sock" because I'm using several different sources. Kind of adventurous for me, but then again: look at the colors here, people!! I'm kind of a vanilla personality (yes, really I am) so if I can do "wild socks" then I'm expressing myself that way. Particularly "wild-knit-by-me" socks.  Again, my favorite needles: Kollage square DPNs. Made in USA. Very, VERY sharp points! I ended up buying some sheep needle protectors, but I'm not sure whether I'm protecting the needle tips or protecting me! Either way, they're cute and useful.

Heel turned

You can see that the sock colors kind of puddle at the heel. But it's a pretty shape, and it was easy to do if you kind of disengaged your logic and did what the instructions said, when they said to do it. Heel turning is "magic" no matter how you do it, and I'm always, always surprised! So was Hubby, who said, "Hey, that looks like a sock!" No stopping him, right? I'm glad he's noticing what I'm knitting. Or maybe not, if he keeps nosing in The Stash...

Back of heel

As we see the back of the sock, you can see how the colors blend here. It's not the spiral look on the cuff; it's also not a very dense heel. I'm hoping it holds up well since I didn't do a run-along support thread. And I paid an arm and a leg for the MadTosh yarn! I don't want to have to darn quickly, so they may become "clog socks" so that I prevent heel wear and tear. 

Using the Kollage needles has been good for my hands, and yeah, in spite of my usual cynicism about advertising claims, the stitch tension is really nice. A slight brag, but usually, I do get good tension. I just notice that with these needles, there are no ladders, and the stitches are very uniform. Huzzah!

Starting the foot

As I finished the gusset, the colors kind of evened out. You can see here that there was some puddling, but I wasn't worried about it. I knew it would even out once I was in a regular flow, so that the stripes would continue (you'll see that in a little bit). The gusset was a little longer than I thought it should be, but then the pattern for the toe decrease is more gradual, too. We'll see how it looks. All I have to do is make another one - I don't ever have to do this again if it looks weird. 

The heel

The heel, close-up - you can see that it's pretty basic, and not as triangular on the bottom as a lot of them are. They had me pick up the same number of stitches as were rows knitted, so it's a 28-stitch gusset. Kind of long, but it worked. I used a crochet hook. Sorry, perhaps lazy, but that's the easiest way for me to do it. You can see on the "heel" picture that the brown puddled directly opposite the blue on the gusset. That's fine, though, because it all resolved itself. 

I can't wait to start on Sock #2. And no, I'm not breaking the yarn to see if I can match the starting point directly. Since it's a swirl rib, and since the color goes down the leg the same way anyway, I'm not worried about matching - the yarn isn't self-patterning; it's self-striping. Not worth the waste of yarn to figure it out. If it works out that it starts in about the same place, I'll take it as a sign of grace from the Knitting Goddesses, and off we go. Here's the last shot.  See how the stripes resolved themselves? 

The Foot

I'm going back now to the toe decrease. I have that oddball Friday class, so I figure I can knit while they're doing their thing. Hopefully, it'll be an early night and we can get home before the next round of storms breaks loose. Right now, it's all tracking south of us, but with the way Mother Nature has been having hissy fits, it could change. Quickly. 

So, what's on your needles? Anything fun for summer? 

Pictures! We Got Pictures!!

I still have to clean off the 2 memory cards, one of which is full (which is really weird because it's a big honkin' memory card). But here are some pictures.

Baby afghans are done. D.O.N.E.  It'll be a while, I hope, before I have to knit another one. I have one ball each of the yarns left, so I can make hats with the remainder when I give K her sweaters around Christmas -- or more likely, we'll give them to her at Thanksgiving so that she can have them for the kiddies.

Here's the both of them - the afghans, I mean, though the babies are apparently ready any time now:  As you can see, the blankets are very different in texture, but about the same size. I don't know which kid will get which one, but since I made Kid #1's larger blanket in yellow, I'm thinking his little brother will get orange and his little sister will get the yellow one.

I have to say, I tried a new soap: Indigo Wild's ZumBaby soap. And it didn't work out so well. I mean, it got them nice and fresh, but we ended up washing them THREE times, finally using All Free 'N Clear to get some of the soap scum off. I wonder whether it's because the blankets are 75% wool and we did them in cold water? Because we did some silk stuff with the same soap and those came out fine.

Anyway, this is Encore Worsted, 2 strands held together for both, so they're plenty warm.  Here's a closer shot so you can see the patterns. It's not my greatest shot, but I'm short!! The pattern on the orange one is actually a 'pinwheel' and the other is what Encore's 8-Hour Afghan book calls 'Textured.' That one almost looks like a broken rib or a variation on baskeweave. I like both of them. But I would NEVER have been able to do either one in "8 hours."

Now...........FINALLY. I can do something different. So my mom and I are taking a bus trip (God help me) -- I will need knitting. But something mindless. So I am doing the "Before And After Bias Scarf" from Churchmouse Classics. Find it on Ravelry or here. My colorways are Silky Alpaca Lace 2481 and 2446. You can find those here. Nuts. I don't have the beads with me. However, they're a "peacock" color and a "peridot" color. I left them at home.

So, the yarn: It's 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. This is a gorgeous, GORGEOUS yarn. I'm using Addis to knit it because the birch needles I started with (a) were straights; and (b) had too much "stick" and the yarn wasn't moving nicely. The Addi needles, a circular, are much speedier than I would normally like, but hey - you use what you've got!

The pattern says "...it's so ugly (truly!) before it's blocked and so beautiful after." Well, they're right. Here's the peacock colorway. It's lovely and it's knitting up with a nice yellow-green "swirl" thing happening. But it's really one of those "Is this going to HAPPEN?" kind of projects. You can't really see the bias till you've knitted a ways. And you have to knit 97" of this. NINETY SEVEN INCHES. Make one at the beginning and K2tog at the end...the provisional cast on is because you'll be able to bind off with beads, which I wasn't going to do but after thinking about it, the beads (size 6) will add a little "drape" to this already drapey scarf. 

I am doing 2 of them - the pattern shows the model wearing a variegated one and a solid; my freezer -- oops, OFFICE -- is cold most of the summer, so I thought that I would at least have the option of wearing 2 of them if I wanted to. I thought that starting with the variegated one would keep me happy on the bus. That, and a fully-charged Kindle! So far, I have about 7" done (yay - only 90 to go!) and it is finally starting to "look like something." You can see the bias and while Hubby thought it was socks, it's clearly not. It's somewhat fiddly on the Addi needles, but that's ok. This picture is obviously not a 7" chunk of fabric, but it gives you an idea of the lacy feel of this project.

Now I get to decide what to do with the Five Dog Yarn, and perhaps that will be my next project. Or better, maybe, restarting the washcloth stuff or a cotton tee. I have lots of "passed over" yarn from my friend Doris, who's "cleaning house." She's got great taste. I also bought the "Shawls from Sock Yarns" book (that's so not the title, but I don't have the book handy....). Doris gave me some TOTALLY SCRUMPTIOUS Madelaine Tosh yarn in forest green color tones. That is the perfect weight for one of those shawls. I also have some silk/merino in a pretty lavender which I could use for a cardigan since it's DK weight.

While I truly do enjoy knitting for the family, it's nice to have "me knitting" instead of "obligation knitting" to do.

This is all HUBBY'S fault...

Ok. You read it here first. I was NEVER going to put games on my phone because my phone is my phone, though I do love the calendar feature. And I got it because I was tired of coordinating three or four calendars (work, volunteer, personal, family) -- it didn't work, no matter what system I used and I always missed something. I have a Nokia Lumia running Windows and I couldn't be happier. Or at least that's what I thought. Both kids and Hubby have games on their phones, but me?????? Noooooooooooo - not for me. Ha.

But Hubby knows how much I love Scrabble. Love it. LOVE it. So he finds me a free (!) Scrabble knock-off. And loads it on my phone. Oyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!  I'm now addicted to "Table Tiles." Addicted. Yeesh. His fault. Entirely.

"Table Tiles" has different rules than Scrabble. You can use slang. You can use some foreign language words, though it seems to be fickle. The phone gets to use them, but I am told "not a valid word." Hmpfh.

So that was my big nit to pick was that Hubby now has me stuck on this game.

Other news: 

1.  Both sweaters are done. Just need to be seamed. Will do that and photograph it.
2.  I started the orange afghan. I bought the Encore 8-hour afghan books. Yes, it's size 13 needles with doubled yarn, so I feel like I'm knitting with tree trunks, but the patterns are lovely and I'm looking forward to getting through them quickly. No, it won't be 8 hours!
3.  I'll intersperse this afghan stuff with smaller stuff - like socks.
4.  I got a gorgeous Siberian Husky calendar for Christmas. Yes, I still miss River.
5.  I also got a phenomenal camera, a Canon EOS Rebel. It's way more whiz-bang than my small Canon "pocket-shooter," which has begun to eat batteries at an alarming rate. And it's tons lighter than the Canon 5D that Hubby uses.

Since Hubby is a professional photographer, he's very comfy with using The Big Camera. I have always been a little skittish of it, though I'm competent with it. Now, though, I have a "mini-me" which, even though a Rebel is idiot-proof, has enough stuff on it whereby I can actually learn to take better pics.

Male cardinals in maple tree

So Hubby had to play with it (of course). Here are some of his shots of the birds who came to visit us this New Year's. As you can see, we have a decently diverse batch of birds, but we are missing some of our "usual suspects." No Blue Jays in a while. Also, we didn't get any shots of the Nuthaches, because they flew away. No doves, either, but some folks actually consider them an annoyance.

And we missed the biggest, fattest brown squirrel you ever saw! We have greys, and we've seen the browns, but seriously - this guy was the size of the back-door neighbor's Chihuahua!!


Small Woodpecker



Large woodpecker

We did get both kinds of woodpeckers. Now, I just have to take Whiz-Bang Camera to Starved Rock so that my friend Susan and I can get the Pileated Woodpeckers that live there! He had to sneak up on the little stinkers, because the bigger one is more shy than the smaller one. The smaller one? Doesn't care. He's eating. Leave him alone. Here's the little guy, on the right. Isn't he cute? He's got lots of personality, too. I've seen him chase off the "scavenger" birds like the grackles. He's fearless when it comes to his suet.

Our New Year's Day? Well, we got a lot done. I finally have an office where I can lay out my yoga mat! I didn't take pictures, though I should have, right? And yesterday, I did my "First Practice." I intend to do one a day, even if it's 10 minutes. Oh, and I'd better figure out my yoga timer! It did time, but it didn't chime.

Most of the stash is organized. The desk has been configured a little differently, and I'm hoping it's more efficient. The Catholic music has been moved downstairs. I don't want to pitch it - there's a ton of it. But I don't use it anymore since we are attending an Episcopal Church across the river. But I also needed the room, so downstairs to the basement it went.

The floor is swept up, the corners are vacuumed, the guitars are put away, and my meditation altar is changed up a bit. I just need to reinflate my balance ball chair, and I'm good to go. Out of the 12 things I had on my to-do list for vacation, I got all but 2 of them done. Success!!!

Hubby baked bread. He does know how to bake, and he's good at it. But he did need a little help because this recipe was a little garbled when it came to the second rise and putting the dough in the pans. Unfortunately, I'm off bread for a while, but I can tell you the smells and visuals were extremely tantalizing! Enjoy, but please don't drool on your keyboard or tablet. You've been warned....



Final rise

Yes, that's a cast-iron loaf pan. It bakes up the most wonderful bread. We use it for everything from sweet nut breads to these whole-grain breads -- and even meatloaf. And yes, it weighs a ton.



Fresh out of the oven

This recipe was one he found online. Our outlet bakery closed, as part of the Hostess fiasco, and he's having "sticker shock" at the cost of bread from the supermarket. This isn't our first go-round with baking bread; I actually enjoy baking it anyway, but usually it's during the colder months. This recipe uses Bob's 7-grain hot cereal, so it's a little heavier than I'm used to working with. It gave the Big Mixer a workout, that's for sure! I thought he was going to blow it up. Wouldn't have been happy about that, for sure! 

Out of the pans


The directions did say to roll the entire loaf in oatmeal, but I prefer it just on the top. With the cast-iron pans, there may be a tendency to scorch, and that would've been nasty. On top looks pretty enough anyway.

And now comes my "artsy-fartsy" shot. I love this. Even Kid #2 said, "Oh, it looks like something out of a Panera display." I guess that's good.   :)

"Glamour shot"

I had to kind of shoot it blind, since I'm short, but this is one thing the Rebel does - it makes you look lots more arty than you may actually be! Hubby has already sliced the loaf and toasted it. He said it held up well. Sometimes, the homemade breads can be a little wonky when you try to toast them or use them in sandwiches. I like a hearty loaf like a potato bread because it holds up well. Maybe one day when I get to eat bread again.

I'm not griping. Yes, I put on about 4 lbs. over Christmas, having lost nearly thirty this summer/fall. I need to get those pounds back off, and I will. And I'm not crying about "never" having [insert food here] ever again. It'll come. It's like anything - a work in progress.

Speaking of which, I do have a few resolutions: daily yoga, blogging here at least once a week, and reintroducing myself to my "elliptiKILL" machine in the basement. Barring any weird health things, I should be ready to get back into the regular routine.

My yoga teacher training starts in February, and that's a year-long process. That will help me with one of my goals, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Always the perpetual student, I guess. Ha - that means I have to put down "Word Tiles" to practice! 

Happy New Year from Quinn

In the meantime, here are the girls, enjoying New Year's Eve with a Himalayan Chew, available at Fun Time Dog Shop. Don't forget, this is an online store that donates all its profits to rescues, and you get to pick the agency on their list. It's a great place to get really good stuff for your dogs. The treats, toys, etc. are all tested by those monsters, the Elkhounds, and if they can't destroy it, you can bet it's sturdy!

Yes, I do dress my dogs. And yes, they usually tolerate it much more when they have a yummy chew. Tippi was savoring hers. Quinn was destroying hers! I did take them away after a while, but that's just so they last a bit longer.

All the best in 2013, from Tippi!

My wish for you and yours: Peace and all good for 2013.

Do something to challenge yourself. Even a small step is a big thing.

Namaste.