Spring Cleaning...

Well, I didn't mean for it to be this long, but adjusting to the new job has been interesting. 

In a good way! 

I'm still in "learning mode" and even so, I've been able to contribute and make some positive steps toward a more cohesive organization, which is what Doc Boss wants. 

The New Job... My "office" is behind this sign.

The negative is that I've had a bit of a challenge getting onto some of the systems, and the computer is a bit different from what I'm used to. But that's ok. I'll adapt. 

So we'll see. We're on a long (like 5 days!! Squeeeeeeeeee!) break for Memorial Day, so hopefully, I'll be up and running by next Wednesday. 

My little closet is shaping up nicely. No, seriously - I'm in a closet space, but it's relatively spacious and I can work in there. I'm not in there all day, so it's not too claustrophobic, and that's a huge help. 

The work is fast-paced, but not as tense as you'd imagine. And apparently, the girls at the front desk (no, not sexist - I'm old enough to be their mother) are happy that I'm the calm type... 

I'll be calmer when I have full computer capability. 

Go Cubs, Go!...

So yes, there's this. I saw these when I went bra shopping. Bra shopping, for me, is the equivalent of swimsuit shopping for other women. I hate it. Hate it. Hate. It. 

All the cute bras are in sized I haven't seen since I was about age 11. Industrial-strength bras are usually not pretty. And they're expensive, too. 

I saw these, and had happened to hit on a "spring sale." Unfortunately - or fortunately, as the case may be - the clerk used those nifty "instant coupons" on the bras I bought, which pleased Hubby. I saved a lot of money. 

But had she let me use them on these?? That bag in the upper left would've been MINE! I don't buy "bags" the way a lot of women do, but I'd have purchased this one... Dooney & Burke. It would've been $90 with all the coupons. Still - glad I restrained myself. And so is Hubby!

Ah well -- perhaps there'll be another sale at the end of baseball season and I can take advantage of that. If the Cubs keep on the way they're going, we may not make it to the Series again (statistically, rather a rarity), but we'll be in the playoffs, which is great news for those of us still living off last year's Series win. 

Mother Nature...

Mother Nature hasn't been kind. I have yet to have my "garden yoga" class actually outside in the garden. As it is, today, we have the threat of a tornado watch, and if that does happen, I'm going to cancel the pop-up class because I doubt people will show up if the sky turns nasty. We're a storefront studio - it's not the safest place to be. Hubby says that by the time I hold the class, the "weather" (whatever that may be - we never know) may well be past us. We shall see. 

The Fields, Crest Hill, IL

This is the shot of where we practice outside. I had a hawk (red tail) join me that morning, but since it was the first nice Saturday in about 6 weeks, everyone was probably mowing lawns and getting stuff done. So nobody showed up. I bought plants, so it wasn't a total loss. But I do wish we'd have had the class outside. 

Memorial Day weekend is forecast to be half-and-half - and only Mother Nature knows which half we'll end up with. The farmers are kind of fit to be tied - the ones who've planted are either waiting for the mini-lakes in their fields to dry so they can RE-plant, or they're in the other camp: Haven't planted, and it's too wet to try yet. 

Prices at the Farmer's Markets are going to be rough... 

But - we did manage a bike ride last weekend. We did about 12 miles in the Isle a la Cache trail. This is a shot after the ride, of the old swing bridge. The trail is a nice one and of course, headwinds were both ways (thanks, Mother Nature - we love you!). But it was a pleasant day. 

I'm hoping for the chance, with that 5-day (Squeeeeeeeeeee!) break, to get in another ride. Maybe two, if we get the "good" half of the weather forecast. 

Knitting News...

Well. Lots to share. The layette went over well. The kids loved it, and there was a "reveal" of Baby's purported gender - but we quickly dashed anyone's hopes. 

My sister and I both had the "Oh, it's a girl" conversation with our ultrasounds, and granted - they were practically engraved on a rock with a chisel, since we're both old - but still. They were wrong. We both had boys. Twice. 

And we reminded the happy couple that even now, in 2017, if Baby decides to be backward or if there's the faintest shadow? "Suzie" could be "Stanley." Just sayin'... 

I did end up with extra booties - they worked out nicely, using the remaining yarn from a couple of other projects. The hat and sweater were ooooh'd and ahhhhhhh'd over and the afghan was much appreciated. They even saw that the little (a/k/a "failed") bootie would be good on a Christmas tree, so they get extra points for that. 

Mom-to-Be asked if there were care instructions. I laughed and said, "This isn't my first rodeo - check the card!" I always, ALWAYS put care instructions with my projects. Even though I use superwash wool for the garments and an acrylic/wool blend for the afghans, I still never assume. 

My only frustration is that I wish I could've gotten the greens to match. Had I thought about the afghan earlier, I could've ordered the proper yarn. But then again, this is still ok, and Encore is a hard-wearing yarn. It'll be fine. 

So I did finish a sock. Yes, I've already started the mate. And I'm relatively pleased with this. I say "relatively" because I did make this one at 64 stitches where I usually make them at 72. And I probably could've gone to 72 - the ribbing pulls in a lot when it's not on a blocker. It's a little snug (at least the first try-on was), but at least I know it's going to stay up! 

This is one of a zillion versions of a "Vanilla" pattern by My Knitted Heart - on Ravelry, and elsewhere, I think. Free. The yarn is Sirdar's Sole-to-Sole. I'm not sure of how it'll wear because I've never used it before. I can tell you that it's a bit odd on the thickness. Some of the bits are a tad thinner than others, but overall, the stitch definition is nice and it seems comfy enough. 

And I know I'm tempting the Knitting Goddesses for the second sock, but really... what's the "big deal" about Kitchener Stitch? This time, it came together like a dream, as you can see here...and this was a late-night bind-off because I was determined (at the cost of a VERY sore left hand the next day) to get the sock done. Lookee - no "ears" at the ends!

I did have some random decreases I had to put in the bottom of the heel at the gusset closing, because I'd picked up a few more stitches on one side, but all in all, the sock finished nicely and I think that even though it won't be an exact twin, it'll be a fraternal, and I like the size of the stripes here. 

And, in what may cause some folks to have a minor heart attack, I've come to a decision. 

Every knitter I know has a "criteria." We will only buy a book if we have a minimum of THREE patterns. We only by certain needles. We prefer certain brands of yarn. 

Well, my office is now known as "The Place We Put Our Crap," and since I have time, and I need to devote a dedicated space to business-building, I have to clean it out. 

And so I'm tossing knitting magazines. Don't faint. There are no places to donate - I've asked. No charity shops want them. And I've tabbed patterns I wanted to keep, and have torn them out of the mags. 

While doing that, I'm being brutally honest. "Yes, I love that sweater. Realistically? Will I knit it?" If the answer is "Yes" then it gets torn out of the magazine. If the answer is "Ummmmmmmmm" or any variant of same, then, no, I don't keep it. I just can't. 

My house is small. My kids will hold a humongous garage sale - or sell the entire house (sans valuables) "as is" because they won't want to deal with it. And I can't blame them. So over the course of the next few weeks, my objective is to clear out the space, figure out what to do with the knitting stuff, perhaps even tackle the closet to gain more room, and get some order in that room. 

And hopefully, KEEP the room orderly. I'll still use the studio for private yoga sessions - I don't want people in my house. Not that I'm ashamed or anything, but honestly, with 3 large dogs? People aren't eager to visit. And remember, Hubby works from home, so I don't need the hassle of interrupting him and having people traipse to the back of the house (where the office is). 

Here's a partial stack that's headed for the recycle bin. I will confess - I'm keeping all the PieceWorks magazines. I love fabric history and that magazine is the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned. 

Oh, and there's more. Never fear. I have 3 boxes in the "Crap" room, and I'm filling them up with stuff that I've shuffled from pillar to post for years. We're not technically downsizing, but I'm kind of in a frame of mind that feels like I can't be calm and focused when I'm surrounded by "stuff" anymore. I even (gasp!) tossed two needlework projects that a student of mine gave me. She'd inherited them from an aunt. "Realistically - will I ever complete them?" Um, no. Yes, I know how to do needlework, but I've got enough projects to last me till I'm 500 years old. I'd have to be madly in love with it to have kept it, and I wasn't. So I didn't. 

Crikey (though I'd never admit this to Hubby) -- I've got a veritable shop's worth of knitting bags/grocery bags. It's insane. And I think (whispering) that I may have enough sock yarn to keep me occupied. The only yarn I would realistically have to buy is "baby stuff" yarn, if anyone else turns up pregnant. 

Which, frankly, I hope won't be for a while, because I want to knit a few of those sweaters I pulled out of the magazines. 

Not to worry - next on the list will be the yoga articles and sequences. 

Then the music piles... Something's gotta give, folks, and I think that's me. 

Crimes Against Lasagne...

Hubby and I recently celebrated our 24th anniversary. Low-key as usual. For Mother's Day/Anniversary, he gave me a beautiful London Blue Topaz pendant set in rose gold. 

We decided to go to dinner. Now remember, I've still got the braces on, and actually had the next set of wires put on a day or two before the anniversary. So my mouth was sore, and I'm still not really chewing much of anything. 

So we ended up at what was supposed to be the 'best' Italian place in town. I can gum pasta! The specials included lasagne, and I thought that would be good. 

Ummmmmmmm. It wasn't. It was, quite frankly, horribly disappointing. Not even tasty. And cheese? 

In my lasagne, you put cheese on alternate layers with the meat. This had a whopping THREE pieces of mozzarella on top. That was it. And there was no sausage. It was straight up hamburger. It was swimming in a watery tomato sauce. 

Nasty stuff. I'm surprised because it's usually a very reliable place to eat. But not this time. 

Random Pictures...

This time, it's a two-fer. Everyone was settling in for their morning naps, and I was able to capture them all. Tippi (right) tucked herself down, and Quinn (left) is there, too - still growing in her patches from her recent surgery for the sebaceous cysts. 

I'm trying some Young Living Essential Oils on her cysts to see if they'll help heal her up. The Essential Oils for Animals workshop I went to was done by a vet and we had a short chat about basic oil use on dogs, so I'm comfortable doing this. I already use them for anxiety (which we're manifesting now, since the t-storms have started - we'll see how long they go on). 

It's interesting being at home. Tippi's been glued to me all day (t-storms notwithstanding) and Quinn's kind of like, "Hey, I'm loving this, but what're you doing here??" 

And then there's the Red Menace, Raisa. She had this whole process on her corner of the couch. Get up, circle around, sit, stand, circle, curl up, place the feet "just so" and then the tail, and then scratch, then re-set the feet, yawn, flick the ears as I focused the camera, and finally --- finally... shut her eyes. 

It's tough work being a dog in our house! 

I Had Good Intentions...

Really, I did... I had on my list, "Blog."

But then I got sucked in. 

My Year of Knitting Socks...

This is a new KAL (knit-a-long) in my "Addicted to Sock Knitting" group. Here's how it works: I put 12 hunks of yarn (hanks/skeins/balls) into 12 separate brown paper bags. Then I had Hubby label them. He put them in a tote, and yesterday I started knitting. 

The object is a pair a month. We'll see. One of the designers who's in the ASK group has donated a year's worth of patterns, and they're of various skill levels. And you can, of course, use your own - or knit 12 pairs of plain socks. Whatever you want. 

So far, there's at least ONE of our members who's already finished her socks. But I refuse to be intimidated. I'm knitting. On my own socks at my own pace. 

In the bags, I put a variety of yarn and I honestly can't remember what's where (which is the point, really). So I picked January's bag, and found a pair that I had started then frogged (knitting term meaning: ripped out - like a frog - rippit, rippit, rippit -- use your imagination). 

They're in Opal, the Rainforest collection and the Borneo Ricky colorway. It's a grey/cream self-patterning yarn, and the ball said, 'Roman Rib' -- so that's what I started. The designer has a heavenly pattern for us for January, but I will wait till I have a solid-color yarn to do that one; it'll fit better. 


So as I said, most of yesterday I spent working on the sock. Well, I didn't exactly speed-knit, but I'm a good way along the leg. This is the progress as of this morning. 

You all know I'm not a speed-knitter, and remember, I've been working on cotton over the past few months. It takes a while to get your "sock knitting fingers" back. 

I think it'll be nice. The pattern called for 1.5" of rib, but I usually only do 1" and even at that, it seems to take forever. 

I didn't just do that all day. I was puttering in my office, doing some cleaning, and my mom came over to visit. 

Anyway, these will make nice socks and they're far more subtle than usual for me. I guess I've never grown out of the crazy-colored sock fetish I have!

So we'll have another category here, where I will attempt to document my sock progress. I'm not sure what other knitting I'll get done, but we shall see. 

Knitting...

I haven't yet e-mailed Alicia at Purple Goddess Design about the mug and how the letters are chipping off. That's on my list to do today. 

As well as working on the sock and dealing with my "2015 My Year In Socks" binder. I'm rooting through the office ... yes, it looks like a paper machine barfed in there ... to gather up some simple patterns to have in waiting in case I don't feel up to the designs that are in the KAL. Of course, I can still always do a vanilla (plain) pattern, particularly since I do recall that I have a car-load of Opal in there. 

In between ending the Baby Layette and starting the Sock-a-Thon, I knitted this up for Kid #1's girlfriend. 

Yes, that's a tassel, not a pompom -- I couldn't get the yarn to behave and he thought she wouldn't mind it. Apparently, my wig-head (I use it to help block hats) is tiny. This is an average adult size. And she's got long thick hair, so it'll fit her fine. 

It's acrylic. She'll be able to wash it. And the purple is a bit more magenta than I thought, but it's very pretty. However, I don't like knitting hats flat anymore. Had I had a set of size 10 DPNs in my bag, I'd have done this in the round, but I wasn't going to go out in the post-holiday insanity to find them. 

If I could have... Either way, though, it was a nice change. 

Christmas...

Was quiet. Thankfully. Of course, I barely had a voice. But we did get through all the music. And lookee - what Santa brought me. 

Santa in the persona of Hubby. I had been eyeballing this ring for a long time. Like, before I knew I was losing my job. Hubby jokingly said, "You can take January off, but after that, get a job so I can pay for this ring!" He was joking - he got it on a good sale because he's a good shopper. 

I was expecting a FitBit... 

It's a Morganite, in rose gold. I love the antique-looking Deco-ish setting. 

As I work through a Hercule Poirot marathon, drooling over the architecture, jewels, and general decadence of that period, I just think that it was my particular era. 

Minus the boozing and loose women... And the fact that you apparently have to be a size -0- to wear any of the clothes. 

Happy New Year...

Yeah, not so much at my house. This is Tippi, modeling her headwear. And it took a couple of shots to get this. I cropped out Raisa's nose. 

We spent New Year's Eve like we typically do. Hubby went to bed early because he gets up at Dawn O'Clock. I was up later because I had napped (I wasn't feeling well) and had screwed up my "time to go to sleep" rhythm. So I stayed up to watch more Dr. Who and work on some knitting. 

I ended up in bed around 10:30 or 11 p.m. and was reading an OUTSTANDING book, got it from Kid #2, called, "The Remedy," about the journey to cure tuberculosis and how Arthur Conan Doyle ran against the guy who said he'd cured it. 

Fascinating reading, about how it took us so long as a society to believe in germs, when now you can't swing a hank of yarn without hitting someone's bottle of hand sanitizer...

Anyway, I'm ready to shut down for the night, and it happens. 

Fireworks. 

And I hear Quinn "tip-tap-tip-tap" pacing maniacally up and down the hall. Then I hear no pacing. Never a good thing. 

I go into the larger bathroom and there she is, wedged between the wall and the toilet, with her head stuck in under the tank. 

I had to pull her out because she was trying to get BEHIND the toilet (a space into which my mother's dog Buddy might fit into, but he's 20 pounds). I dragged out 47 pounds of quaking Norwegian Elkhound and then had to dead-lift her out of the bathroom. I got her into her cave (her particular dog bed that has a canopy on it where she feels safe) and then sat there petting her and reassuring her.

While the casino and God knows who else were shooting off the fireworks. Half an hour. I was freezing, she was shaking. I should have figured that, and given her a Benadryl or something, but I forgot. 

So I was kind of "hung-over" on New Year's Day, but only because of lack of sleep. Here's Raisa's take on New Years Day... 

Her resolution is apparently to nap more. 

On the Job Front... 

No news on the posting for the university. No news on the voice-over - which I expected anyway. I figure I'll hear from them next week. 

I have, however, hooked up with a publishing company thanks to my friend Nat. They've got a project due January 9th and they would send me no info till I signed a confidentiality agreement, which is standard. 

I'm waiting... I hate short deadlines, though I'm good at them. It's been a while since I've exercised my editing muscle, and this is totally different from the publishing house I used to work for. But it's any port in a storm for now. I really would like the full-time position to come to fruition, but I've also got a hankering to build up the freelance work. 

Random Picture...

We survived the dreariest December in ages. And finally - FINALLY - my solar snowman lanterns were able to charge enough to get some use. Today is a cold, frigid day - also sunny, so we should have a nice display tonight too. 

It was also a pretty sunset that night. 

No snow. But supposed to be some tomorrow. Of course, because we're going to dinner at my sister's house. 

My BIL has an idea for a book. You never know. It could work. At any rate, it'll be nice to spend time with them. We don't do it enough and life's too short. 

Otherwise, I wish you all a great 2015. I hope you'll share this blog with others; I'd love to see it spread a bit (writer's conceit), and I think that it spreads a little happiness. 

At least I hope so. 

Perseverance...

Plucky Petunia

I haven't decided whether this is "bloom where you are planted" or "go with the flow."

Either certainly describes my life at the moment. 

I got word that apparently the Dean "doesn't know what to do" with my position, so it looks like, after 8 years of happy employment, I'm facing the dreaded "reinvent yourself yet one more time" thing. 

The problem is that jobs like mine don't grow on trees. Or sprout up between patio stones, either. And other jobs I can do? I can do lots of things, but employers in this tight job market only look at the "recent" job experience. Eight years is a long tenure for some folks. 

I'm moving forward, though. Like this Plucky Petunia (wouldn't that make a great name for a hand-dyed yarn?), I'm going to just move on and see what there is to see. 

My boss has been entirely supportive and incredibly sympathetic - even passing job leads to me. I have an alternative, if I want it, but I'm not sure I want it.

Don't be picky, you say. Well. The option involves something that would require me to work with a difficult person, commute in one of the busiest business corridors in the state, and work odder hours than I already do. 

At what point do you say, "You know, this just isn't going to be a good thing"? I'm not exactly a newbie on the job scene, which works both ways. It makes me slightly more expensive, but frankly, I'm an extraordinarily hard-working person. But it also makes some employers look at my "tenure" and think, "She'll be retiring soon." Which isn't likely. 

However, as Plucky Petunia seems to say, "there's always hope." Will keep you posted. 

Knitting...

This blue stuff is Lorna's Laces, "Shorewood" colorway. I can't wait to knit it up. It'll be socks, but I'm not sure how, because I'm not sure how the colors will lay out. I think this might be the pair where I try for a cable. Just one. No need to be greedy. Just on the leg. I'll search around. I don't think I'd like to do socks that are definitely "right" or "left" leg - because the wear patterns would be pretty immediate. Maybe a mock cable would be cool, too. 

Sounds like I'm a chicken about cables...and that's probably right. I've never done them, and I know it's like reading a chart: sooner or later, I just have to dive in. 

It's only knitting... 

So here are my "voodoo socks" -- I had ordered this Lorna's Laces (colorway "St. Charles") in the deluded hope that perhaps this would bring me luck in a possible transfer. 


Oh well. At least I'll have socks. 

This is the Vanilla Latte pattern free on Ravelry. It's a cuff of my own creation, a bit of a mishmash of things, and I'm really (a) loving the autumnal look of these; (b) enjoying stitching this up because the yarn is gorgeous on your hands; and (c) anticipating what will happen with that purple spiral/stripe thingie. 

These were initially for a KAL (knit-a-long) in my FB group, but since I have to buckle down on the baby knitting, I definitely know I won't make the deadline on the socks. But that's ok. I'll have socks. 

So I needed a "mental health day" and I (obviously) headed to my LYS where the lovely Kelly had set aside two of these beauties. And of course, I grabbed the 3rd one. Never pass up a new Opal colorway. This is Sweet-and-Spicy2 -- a reiteration of their first Sweet & Spicy, which was nice. But this is kind of nicer... From left to right, we have: Watermelon, Honey, Peppercorn. 

So many people on my FB group love a watermelon yarn that's hand dyed. I love it too, but it's a bit pricey. This Opal will knit up just fine. And I'll have watermelon socks. I have to figure out what to do with them, because EVERY one of them are self-patterning. So you want something that will not be boring (as in Plain Vanilla) but not too busy so that you are fighting the self-patterning bits. 

Maybe a pinstripe or some variation of K3, p1 or the like. I have time. Gotta get to finishing the baby knits! Today will be dedicated to the sweater, and then I'll crack on with the blanket. I'm really only worried about the blanket now, because I think the sweater will be done in about a week, if I do nothing but knit on that. Which I'll do because babies have deadlines...

And since this is a newborn layette, I want to make sure that the kid has a passing chance at actually FITTING into the garments! 

These are the buttons I got for the sweater. Since we're doing the whole "snowflake" theme, I knew that while my "vintage" white buttons would certainly have sufficed, I really wanted something a little more into the idea. Of course, the child and parents reside in North Carolina, where snow is but an image on a Christmas card. But the mom grew up here in Illinois, so she knows what winters are supposed to be like. Anyway, it was a whole $2.60 for the pair of buttons, and if you count what I've already spent on yarn, it's a small price for cute. 

The War that Isn't a War...

Shades of Korea. The air strikes in Syria are all the news lately, pushing a lot of other important topics to the background. What I find interesting is the coalition, which now includes Saudi Arabia - heretofore, they were only going to "allow the US to use their airspace." 

I guess when you're looking a caliphate in the face, you change your mind. A caliphate, in case you're not familiar with this kind of ancient word, is an Islamic state led by a supreme religious leader. This is a clear and present threat to the monarchy in Saudi Arabia. 

Anyway, my reference to Korea is somewhat historical too. It's known as the Korean War, but actually there was never a formal declaration, so technically it's the Korean Conflict. Which conflict lasted longer, I believe, than BOTH World Wars. 

I'm afraid that's what this War That's Not A War will be. And I'm afraid of what it will cost us. In the many layers of that "cost," I'm considering the political cost, economic cost, body count, and history. Why do we have to be "all war all the time" lately? 

And how about a "War on Poverty" or a "War on Corporations" to keep them from taking advantage of paying -ZERO- in taxes while us average folk pay a bunch of money - to keep our government running while the corporations who've purchased our politicians continue to bemoan the "lack of talent" in the US workforce and the "lack of opportunity because of oppressive regulatory rules."

Ha. You want an "oppressive regulatory rule" then how about paying your fair share and stopping the shipment of manufacturing and jobs to cheaper overseas locations? 

That would help. 

Health Issues...

Well, aside from not sleeping because of the aforementioned job issues, I'm hopeful that the cardiologist will give me a good report. I have my annual physical too, wherein we'll have the "why didn't you do anything about this long-term anemia?" discussion. And another visit with the hematologist to reaffirm that my iron levels still stink, and probably get me going on the iron infusions. 

I'm sort of back on track with the food issues; less junk, more fluids. Working toward more exercise, too. 

Random Picture...

Of the elusive Siberian Husk-Cat. Raisa is about 50% cat. I'm convinced. She uses her paws just the way a cat would. Here, she's emphasizing to Hubby that she REALLY wants to have him continue to give her belly rubs. 

Or otherwise she will pummel him with her big fat Husky Paws. 

I still expect that if I was not sitting directly next to it, she would completely try to climb up on the canary cage table when Arlo isn't there. Just to get a better view. 

Yesterday, she apparently thought that my knitting chair was her personal province while someone came to the door. The other 2 dogs were yowling at them by the window, so she clambered up on my chair to add her voice. 

Hubby says, "OFF!" and she LEAPS from my chair to that couch in the picture. 

Yep. At least 50% cat. And 50% idiot. 

Can We Just Agree...

...that Dick Cheney is a soul-less moron with no actual experience in ANY war, and thus should not ever - EVER - be quoted as an "expert" in anything to do with the Middle East?

Unless, of course, you want to talk about the faulty equipment that Haliburton sent over, the bad facilities and the general killing and maiming of an entire generation so that he and his ilk could make billions?

Ok. There. That's the end of THAT discussion. Hey, newspapers and news outlets: STOP QUOTING THIS IDIOT! He's shot his credibility just like he shot his lawyer friend in the face. 

So. Enough. It's just as bad that Terry Bradshaw, late of the NFL, is now a Fox News(?) commentator spouting off about Benghazi. Really. I couldn't make that up even if I tried...

Knitting...

This is WORLDWIDE KNIT-IN-PUBLIC WEEK!! Go out and knit something in front of people!!

Ok, so to celebrate this great holiday, I bit the bullet and bought Fluormania sock yarn. And of course, the Teal Sock #2 is sitting again... I'm on the foot of Teal, though, so there's hope that it'll be finished sooner rather than later.

I told you it's coming along...

I'm sad (well, not really) to say that on my first day off in a couple of weeks, I went to Le Mouton Rouge and spent a bit of money on yarn. This IS my favorite yarn shop. Kelly is great to deal with, the yarns are quite nice, and the "stuff" that we knitters need? It's plentiful!

I went by myself, and I probably should have thought about that for a bit. I haven't been feeling well, and Morris is a ways from my house. 

Neon Flower

Sure enough, I started feeling a little "off" about half-way home. Took a reading and according to my sister, I'm now also throwing PVC (premature ventricular contractions). Lovely.

Back to knitting... So here's the Fluromania colorway I have. It's "Neon Flower." It's going to be wild. Seriously, the picture doesn't do it justice with the way it pops in real life. Kelly is holding 2 more for me: Ocean and Berry, I believe. 

It's a little different. I'm doing these in a plain pattern, with a K2, P2 ribbing instead of K1, P1. I also chose US size 1 DPNs and I cast on 72 stitches. Usually, I'm a 64-stitches gal, but also I'm using 2.5-ish or so...

Bright start...

I think that the 72-cast on will be fine. It's a much smaller needle; truly, the smallest I've knitted on since I knitted 3 rows of a "baby afghan" on two size-00 needles.

Which I gave away. And now that I know - I wish I'd have had sense enough to keep them... Oy. Live and learn.

So I did the usual 6-row knit-around for the cuff, and it's looking interesting at any rate.

All Hubby said was, "Well, those are gonna be bright!"

The other stuff I bought is pictured below. 

Do I need it? Of course....(maybe not). 

I bought more sock yarn. I'm on a roll. I think it's because I've finally got socks "in my hand" and they're becoming a great take-along project. It's summer. I know that I owe Kid #2 his afghan, but really - even though the house is air-conditioned, I don't really feel like working on an afghan.

He knows it's in progress. He's seen it. 

Trekking

So. We have more Trekking. Now that I have the Karbonz size 1 DPNs, I think this will be nicer than the Teal Socks. I am toying with the idea of perhaps a cable down the cuff of these? I have to look for a pattern for simple cabled socks. 

I love the colors. And I don't think that the cable would be "too much" with the colorway. I could also do the Twisted Rib like I did with the Madelaine Tosh "Franken-sock." 

Yes. This time I'll write down what I did with the heel. Thanks for reminding me...

And there's more Opal. This is still the Little Prince colorway, but it's a different color - I can't remember which number it is; it's in the bag in my office at home. It's brighter, and has blue in it, which my last Little Prince socks didn't have. 

Opal

This reminds me of a beach towel. Don't know why. But the other Opal Little Prince reminds me of autumn. 

Since this one is very definitely a self-patterning yarn, I will again do a plain vanilla sock. 

By the time I finish this, I should be able to do a Plain Vanilla Sock in my sleep. Which is nice, I think. 

At least memorizing a pattern will be good for my brain. I think I can do everything to the heel in my head. At least till the heel turn, since I have mostly memorized The Doris Heel.

I also purchased the Fish Lips Kiss heel pattern from Ravelry. That may end up on the next pair of Opal socks. Not sure yet. 

Shawl-to-be

This is Cascade Ultra Pima. A while back, I used their stunningly gorgeous garnet color for my friend Janet's prayer shawl. This is Jade. And this is the pattern I am doing: The Miami Beach Shawl. It's a free download and also, (yay!) not charted. 

Check out the awesome shawl pin I got from the shop. I figure that if I get the whole thing, it'll be the next thing on my needles.

Go ahead. Laugh if you want. At the rate I'm going, I could potentially use this as the project I knit while recuperating from the atrial ablation. 

Lord knows I'll need something to keep my mind busy. 

My Friday...

So here's a lovely look at my lovely Friday (yes, tomorrow). 

At 7:30 a.m. I have a board meeting/annual meeting at which I'll be named president of the organization's board of directors. It's a one-year term. I have to run out of there, speed drive home and change for a... 

10:30 a.m. interview with a committee of colleagues who are in charge of hiring for the academic advisor position I've applied for. Then, at... 

11:30 a.m., I spend an hour with the Dean of the adult accelerated program. Who also happens to be Special Assistant to the Provost. And buddies with the person who decided to flip my life head-over-heels.

Then, just for fun... at 2:30 p.m. I meet with the cardiologist to talk about the upcoming surgery. Hubby will be there with a notebook in hand. Because I'm telling you: my brain will shut down right about when the doc says, "It's a 5-hour procedure..."

Then, at 6:30 p.m. I have a guitar lesson. Which is likely to be the highlight of my day...

Luckily, I don't have to work on Saturday. 

But I do have a wake on Saturday. It's also the day I'd planned to whip down to Le Mouton Rouge to pick up those 2 extra Fluro skeins. I'll see how that goes. It'll be another trip down there by myself, because if I go with "The Girls" it'll take too long. It may be that I can go Tuesday, with "The Girls" since we haven't seen each other in a long while. 

If the call doesn't come for Tippi from Children's Advocacy Center. 

The wake is for the FIL of my friend Nat. It's a short one, with a private burial, and I really want to make sure I get there. 

Susan B. Anthony...

This is my new Facebook picture. I love this quote. Especially these days, when we're having a lot of trouble (in my opinion) with folks shoving their religion in our faces. 

It reads:  I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.

You tell it, sister.

See, I'm a religious person. I have no problem with other religious people. I just do not believe that the United States of America has a "state religion." 

Those Founders that the ultra-right-tea-baggieez are always beating us with? They clearly said that there was to be separation of church and state. 

I'm also not really fond of politicians saying, "God Bless America" after speeches. I think that's disrespectful to atheists and agnostics. For cryin' out loud: Even Pope FRANCIS says that they should be respected.

And I love that a woman said this. Particularly since women are usually on the receiving end of men's  proclivity to regulate and "religious-ulate" our reproductive rights and even our working and personal rights. Hey - I'd like to make the same wage a man makes. It would be cool.

And please. If you don't have my plumbing, you aren't allowed to legislate against it. 

The Storms...

Clouds from the southwest

So this happened. I went to the back of the campus to put a note on the board yesterday morning... And in 5 minutes, the outside looked like this. 

More clouds

The weather alarm didn't go off, but it was totally dark, and the wind whipped up something fierce. 

It started with a couple of plops of rain, a clap or two of thunder and then some pretty nasty lightning. 

The lights flickered briefly but we didn't lose power. 

Then it started bucketing. It didn't last long, but it was fierce. We apparently just got skimmed with that system that spawned a couple of twisters up north of us. 

There's more in the forecast for today, and I'm hoping it holds off till I get home, and settled in with my knitting. 

The rest of the clouds

What's fascinating is the cloud formations. They're pretty cool. It was another adventure in "How fast nature changes" and it was awesome to witness. I was particularly concerned about that batch from the southwest, since that's usually where tornado activity initiates.

And last night's yoga class was punctuated by yet another storm. Of course, I was by the window. Try holding Adho Mukha Svanasana (down dog to the civilians) while thunder and lightning are popping all over... It's a study in concentration, for sure. 

As I start to clear out 8 years of "stuff" from the campus, I'm feeling melancholy, and the clouds kind of reflect what I'm feeling. 

I don't know if I'll get the job I'm interviewing for. I told my boss the other day that I wished with all my heart that she or someone else would call and say, "You all are moving to the new location" -- but I think that she and I are the only ones who think that that's a good idea. 

She's pitching something for my assistant, for which I'm really grateful. But one thing is for sure. 

I'm really tired of having to reinvent myself. 

I thought I'd have a home in this job for a long, long time. And maybe for some folks, 8 years IS a long, long time. But not for me. 

Bad Karma...

So this other thing happened. A student bounced a check for a private yoga lesson. Then, my bank (which happens to be the student's bank) ran it again and it bounced AGAIN. So. No fee for the lesson and TWO bounce-fees. I've asked the student (strongly) to pay me in cash, ASAP. According to the last communication, this should be accomplished by next week. I gave the student 5 days, which I'm told is "much too nice."

My studio owner - well, this is her hot-button issue. There's a sign in the studio with the student's name and "cash only" on it. I don't know that I'd have done that, but it's her studio. She really doesn't want to have to chase people for fees. And I get that. We shall see.

If the student doesn't come forward with what's owed, I will (sadly) be reporting this to the police. It sounds harsh, but it is, after all, a business. 

If the student had called and said, "I need to change the lesson date and time" it would have been fine and I would never have thought that it was perhaps that money was tight. It's more honorable in that instance to do that -- rather than write a check you can't cover. 

You want to trust people. And it stinks when you find out that you can't trust them as often as you would like to. 

Blowing coat

Random Picture...

This is Tippi. Or what's coming OFF Tippi. She's blowing coat. So is Quinn, but to a much lesser extent. 

Raisa is, too, a bit. But not near this amount... However, NEXT year, she'll be on par with Tippi, if not more.

And no. I'm not saving it this time. I haven't even started anything with the Five-Dog-Yarn that I have.

But I've found a lovely lace shawl that will fit that yarn nicely.

It's on my list. 

I was going to go put another box of stuff into the car. But then I realized I had 2 cans of upholstery cleaner in there.

I don't think I need to have them explode. It's a cloudy day, but the car interior heats up nevertheless.

I guess it's time to save this, post it and take a toddle around the office.