I Am So Far Behind...

...that I might just catch myself coming AND going...

It's Been Rough...

May as well start out with the bad news. Took Tippi to the vet a while back for swollen lymph nodes. Our regular vet is good - we trust her. We thought it might be an allergic reaction to something so we went with that, but it wasn't getting better. 

Went to a specialist, and it turns out that it's lymphoma. So I'm beating myself up about catching it sooner...We could've pushed harder to get to a specialist earlier. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel: she's basically in good health. It hasn't metastasized. 

BUT - she's 12. Doc (specialist) says she's a good candidate for chemo. But, she's 12. 

We go on the 31st. I've done major switching around of appointments to get there. Not that I don't trust Hubby to listen to the doctor - and we all know that Tippi is my heart-dog (I've been lucky to have a few of those) and I'd do just about anything for her. And I want to be there. Through thick and thin. That's what it's about. 

On the other hand, Raisa...our crazy problem child Husky - has had her thyroid medication adjusted, and the doctor gave her an appetite enhancer. The dog wouldn't eat. Huskies can be picky, but she refused every kibble, and at one point, also refused: chicken; rice; scrambled eggs; cheese; buttered toast.... We knew it was serious when she stopped eating toast. She would scale Mt. Everest for toast. 

Anyhow, hoping that the drops work because the dog's gotta put some weight on. And -- at some point sooner than I want to think about, I want to get her ready to take over for Tippi's therapy work. 

Springtime, Randomly...

Some pics that prove, sort of, that spring may finally have come to Illinois. Though it's still debatable, this Memorial Day weekend. 

A tree in Bolingbrook; I was taking a walk during lunch, and saw this beauty. Yes, it's one tree. Crabapple, I think, or maybe some sort of "mock apple" that was grafted, because it clearly has 2 different flowers on it. Same shape, just pink and white together on one tree. 

This is the fire alarm on the building. Needless to say, the birds have been enjoying themselves building their home there. What a pain! 

But it's not the only place; they've built nests in all the neon signs in the plaza. And you'll see another picture later on...

My front garden is going like crazy. The milkweed is actually sort of taking over; my parsley is bursting out of its pot (the pot I set out specifically for the butterflies - I have another set of parsley that we'll actually be eating!). The Monster Bleeding Heart is back in good form. The other wildflowers are coming along nicely, and the seeds I planted have, for the most part, come up. 


The Icelandic Poppy is nearly ready to pop. 

Remember, this is the big white one. And each year, it seems to get "poufier" in the front garden. 

We put out 3 new hummingbird feeders, but with the rain and the cold, we've only seen the hummers zip by. Hoping to see them landing and eating soon. 

This weekend, we'd like to get 2 more pots of basil planted, and get the gazing balls out on their stands in the garden. And clean off the front porch. 

The veggie garden is bursting. We've already done 3 harvests of romaine, and we've got about 6 radishes. The herbs are doing nicely and the leeks (see the front of the nearest bed) are going to be lovely. 

I've been really happy with the early planting; it seems to have made the lettuce happy, at least. I think it appreciated the heavy rains, and definitely likes the cooler days. 

The first radish of the season was very peppery, and with a bit of pink Himalayan salt, it was very delicious! 


Speaking of gardens, I went past the Cathedral the other day and noticed that they actually have done something interesting with their front yard at the Rectory. They've given it over to public gardens for fruits/veggies for the local families in need. That's actually pretty freakin' cool!! 


Our vicar over-planted...I've got about a dozen Roma tomato plants to find homes for, and I may just drop them off there - maybe they have space, or maybe someone knows of a yard they could grow in. Either way, Hubby has said that we are NOT growing tomatoes this year; and Kid #2 doesn't want them. 

So here's the other nest. This is a robin's nest at our church hall. And there's another one on the other door. Yeah, lovely signs of spring, till they nest on your building; then they get kind of shirty. I hope all the little ones have fledged; we had a rummage sale and they used this as the EXIT door. The robin wasn't happy... 

And...the chickens are laying again. Not mine - heaven knows we have no room for fowl. But a patient in the clinic has provided us with a couple dozen eggs the past few weeks. Yummy. 

Seriously, yummy. I'm spoiled now... 

And that's the wrap up for spring, so far. Lots of green stuff growing, but no blossoms yet. Well, the Bleeding Heart and the Lilac have bloomed. And the lily of the valley. But nothing in the "big flower beds." 

I trimmed up the bushes (butterfly bush in the front and a flowering tree in the back) and they've perked up nicely. Funny what a little trim will do.

The Knitting...

Well. Progress of sorts. The Kid #2 afghan continues to move bit by bit. However - it's getting warm outside! I traded the Green Sock for this today just because I needed to NOT have it on my lap. 

I'm feeling this afghan starting to "zip along" so I'm not going to abandon it; I want to get it to him for THIS Christmas! After that next red section comes the first black section. 


And as you can see by the Copland Shawl, black is a stinker to knit with. 

I'm really not enjoying the black parts. Copland is also zinging along. For a simple shawl, it's actually got a few hundred miles (or so it seems) of garter, and luckily, this yarn's stitch definition is amazing. It's also squishy and warm, so the recipient will really like it, I hope. And while my camera doesn't do it justice, the warm tones of the brown really pop against the black, which is blacker than this...Go figure. 

For the heck of it, I whipped up another small bag. I needed something to put my gemstones in because I carry them in my purse and didn't want them rattling around in a plastic bag, or at the very bottom getting scratched up. This is using leftover of the MadTosh "Robin's Nest" that I used for socks a long while ago; they were short-cuffed socks, so I had lots left over. Frankly, I dislike this for socks because it pills like crazy. And it was one of my maiden forays into "real sock yarn" so I really was sketchy about whether that 400 yards would "really" make socks with cuffs; my cuffs on these are barely 5" whereas now I know how far to stretch a sock leg!

This bag actually took me about 2 hours from start to finish. It's not great, but it holds my gems. Instead of an i-cord, I did a crocheted chain; and it's smaller than my other mala bag. It serves the purpose though, so that's all that matters. 

And I didn't have to buy yarn to do it. Just went into my "Oddments" bag and found this. 

And then there was my "personalized yarn crawl." This is "Yarn Crawl Week" for a lot of stores; but I didn't want to hike my butt up to Chicago to troll around there. Hate driving up there anyway. 

My friend Roberta and I did our own. We hit two stores, Knitche in Downers Grove and String Theory in Glen Ellyn. In Downers, we had, by the way, a fantastic lunch...But I digress. 

Knitche has QUINCE!! I have some Quince in stash for an open-front cardigan. I love it. And they were having a sale!!!


So I have "Tern" - a wool/silk blend, and I got the maroon one on 40% off!!! This will be a long-ish, very open cowl. I also got the pattern. I'll have to fill you in on that one later; it's in my Ravelry library. 

Then I got "Kestrel" - a linen yarn, flat-braided structure. This was in their "last chance" bin. Do I have a clue what I'm doing with it? 

Nope. Probably either kerchiefs or a table runner. Not sure yet. But it's lovely stuff, and for something around $7 a hank, it was a bargain. 

I've got one project that I started in linen, and it's a table runner but the linen is a bit more coarse than this. This stuff would be easier to wear next to your skin. They had a sample of a sweater (another open cardigan) that I'd have bought yarn + pattern for in a heartbeat, but it would definitely have busted my budget. 

So I'm glad I didn't see it till we were done and ready to leave! Yarn gods had mercy on me in that case.

Random Picture...

After yoga tonight, the sky was just so pretty. I pulled into the local cemetery to take a picture. And I thought I could find my great-granny's grave, but somehow, I couldn't locate it. That bugs me. Mostly because I've always known where it was, and this is hardly a huge plot of ground... Maybe if it's nice tomorrow, I'll see if Tippi is up for a walk and we can trot over there to see if we can find her. 

We may have our share of crap going on in Illinois, but in my little corner, we still have open space and lovely blue skies. 

Mother's Day & Gun Violence...

Yes, those two are related today. Thankfully, not my own experience, but overall, with the school shootings continuing at an alarming rate, mothers are afraid to send their kids to school. And if they're anything like me, that also includes the mothers of the TEACHERS. 

When Kid #2 said to me, "Hey, I did this cool project over the summer...I painted bricks for each of my colleagues," I just thought he was experimenting. He's a stencil artist and loves to do murals. So, I thought, "Cool, I bet that's a nice idea."

Then the brick dropped, so to speak. "Yeah," he says..."we've been doing active shooter drills and I thought that my colleagues and I could either use the brick to break out a window to evacuate the kids, or chuck it at the shooter -- odds are that if we come close to hitting him, he'll duck and that'll buy us time."

Do you understand what happened to my heart? 

This kid has wanted to be a teacher since about 5th or 6th grade. His focus was honed early and he kept at it, a kid who often got straight As, and in high school, took as many AP classes as he could. He double-majored in college, every semester after the first one, taking an overload. His advisor tried to tell him to relax, but eventually she realized that he was in his element. 

He's been teaching nearly a decade now; and he'll tell you that teaching has changed drastically. But he loves his kids. Loves his classroom. Bonds well with his colleagues. 

And he has to worry about painting bricks to evacuate students or stun a shooter. 

What in God's name is going on? And when will it end? There have been TWO shootings of congress-critters and THAT hasn't produced anything near a civil discussion of gun issues. 

Will they wait till one of their kids is shot? Because THEN it will be important? Really? 

I've got news for you: MY KIDS ARE IMPORTANT. And so are YOURS. When you've got kids showing you how to do an active shooter drill, I have a problem with that. 

Yes, I'm old; the worst we had were tornado drills. Please - if you're going to comment and tell me that "times have changed," please stuff that in your rear end...Times HAVE changed, and not for the better. I hold my breath when I hear of a shooting. I worry about both of my kids. I had a discussion yesterday with Kid #1 and he said a good friend of his got the stuffing beat out of him because of a negative comment he made about the Mango Menace. A broken eye socket, broken nose, and cracked rib. 

What have we become when said Mango Menace can effectively tell his rabid horde that "shooting someone in the Panhandle doesn't count." What is this? A near-dictatorship? God, help us. And I don't mean that colloquially. 

I mean: GOD. HELP US. 

Gotta breathe. It's Mother's Day. I had a great day. Texts from both kids; church with a great organist; good movies, and knitting. Did a face mask and nobody screamed in terror (!) (that's a family joke...). Cleaned out a few things to give to the church rummage sale. Life is good. I have to keep telling myself that, and I have to keep being involved to make life good for as many people as I can. The older I get, the more I feel like that's my mission in life. 

The Knitting Situation...

Well. Progress has been made on the Chevron Afghan!! Yeah, bet y'all forgot about Kid #2's afghan. He hasn't. He reminded me about said "decade in teaching" and then proceeded to remind me that I told him I'd make it for when he was in college; then when he graduated; then when he moved out... 

Anyway, I finally got Caron's Simply Soft black yarn; I don't know what took me so long, other than just forgetting each time I was in the JoAnn Fabric store, I forgot.

I pulled this out last weekend and got two sections done (one each, red & grey) and then I proceeded to redesign the colorway for the entire thing. I'm adding a couple of black sections in the middle. I just have to balance the Red/Grey/Red at the end. I could, I suppose, do a whole swath in black, but I'm trying not to do that because of another project which I'll tell you about. 

Black is a stinker to knit with and I've even got an outstanding light, not to mention that my knitting chair is in the front window, which is a western exposure. It's just difficult. 

So I'm in the groove again and I figure I've got about 4 - 6 more sections to finish this thing. Each section is a 14-row repeat and it goes really fast once you get cranking. He may have it for Christmas or his birthday. We shall see...

Anklet socks are on the menu for lunchtime knitting. I was looking at these and I thought, "What are you waiting for??" I'm doing a really simple anklet - not a Rose City Roller or anything like that - just a 15-row ribbing (yaaaaaaackkkkkkkkkkk!!! I hate ribbing!!!) and then 3 - 4 rows of "sock leg" then the heel, then the foot. Simple, simple. This Opal Celebration colorway is going to be fun to knit with. Kind of like one of those "sprinkles" cakes. 

Speaking of lunchtime knitting, I changed purses and the knitting no longer fits. That's not cool, but honestly the bag weighed a ton and I needed to drastically lighten my load. So I'll just have to drag a separate knitting bag along, which is a pain, but otherwise these socks won't see the light of day for a long, long time. I'd like to wear them this summer on the bike trails. 

My prejudice about black yarn is going to come to the fore; I really try to avoid it. The darkest socks I did were navy blue, and honestly, it's a singleton -- I have yet to finish the mate. Mostly because it's small and it won't fit my leg comfortably. I know - I should frog it, but by the time I realized it was too small, it was done. Oh well. I can live with that, and chalk it up to an experiment with a pattern, which I will not do again. 

Remember the Multnomah Shawl that was Christmas knitting? Well, because of a misinterpretation of the pattern, which was totally on me, I need to tink back the lace part. The suggestion from my shawl group - which is a great idea, by the way, is to place markers at each pattern repeat of the feather & fan. Otherwise, the designer has some funky increases along the spine that didn't make sense till I saw a close-up picture of it from someone else who'd done the pattern. You'd think the designer would have THAT picture in her Ravelry notes??? 

So I get emails from Expression Fiber Arts, and Chandi had a great "beginner" shawl called Copland, and I found yarn on sale on the site so here's the project that will either blind me or be absolutely fabulous. Click on the link there, and watch. 

I probably should have done it in the colors she did hers, but I saw the brown yarn, which has lots of color in it (my pics don't do it justice) and it's called "Unconditional Love." In the pictures on the website, it's tones of brown with greys and black. Unfortunately, these two balls have NO black in them, which I didn't realize till I got them (not too jazzed with that). And all THREE hanks were, uncharacteristically, a mess to wind. I chose "Abyss" (their "about as black as we're getting") colorway to bring out the blacks in the Unconditional Love, but... As you can see here, in that first 3" section of brown, there's lots of color, and I'm liking it. The black is kind of killing me already. You do stripes, then a swath of the color, then more stripes. You can make this as large as you want. I'm only using the 2 colors, and I want this so that the recipient can swaddle herself in it. 

I'm actually liking the black + brown combination, and I think it's pretty classy. What do you think? 

The pattern is a simple 2-row repeat, and I did have to order some ADDI's - I didn't have a 40" cable. Yeah, went to Amazon. I won't get to my LYS for a while, and locally, there's bupkus. This needle is a 16" cable and it's filling up fast. The "spine" of the pattern is really quite clear and clean, just that it's too small and kind of curls right now. In another few sections, it'll be very nice. 

Build Me an Ark...

It's raining again. We're molding. I stopped by my local park last week and took these pics; as of two days ago, the picnic table was back on solid ground. But the water is moving fast, and it's dangerous on the roads as well as on the trails. 

And it's raining again - and will do so for the next 3 or 4 days. 

Today, I had planned a bike ride, which didn't happen because before the rain, it was in the low 50s. Yep, welcome "spring" again... It's too cold to ride - at least for me. Maybe next week. I need to get my "bike legs" back because I'm starting my 500-hour Yoga Teacher Training (yayyyyyyy!!!) and I need to get into some sort of shape. Biking, for me, is great exercise, even though it's mainly lower body. 

Biking is a moving meditation and I love it. But it's gotta be dry to bike! This picture is the canoe access. Ideally, you would walk to that platform and launch your vessel. 

That part, as of two days ago, was still under water. With this rain now, I'm not sure when parts of the area will dry out. The ground is saturated. 

We're lucky - we're flooded in some areas, but nothing like other parts of the country - or even other parts of our state. We'll count our blessings, hope our sump pumps keep working, and hold off on actual spring and summer footwear till it all passes. 

News on Tippi...

Princess Tippi Un Sigrid

Our two princesses posed for pictures. And I have news, sort of, on Tippi. She's been dealing with swollen lymph nodes for a few months; we've tried several things, including a cystology report that said at first it was benign. 

We have no news (yet) that it's NOT benign, but we did go to a vet who's a specialist. Our vet sent us. 

Two issues: she's losing weight like crazy, though she's eating like a horse. And those lymph nodes. 

The weight is a separate issue; her labs are wonky and the vet thinks she's got the doggy version of Irritable Bowel Disease - not that she's got the runs or anything, but she's not absorbing her food. So in my mind, it's like an autoimmune disease - Crohn's for dogs. 

She's a happy, energetic 12-year old dog. What the doctor calls a "Class A dog." I'll explain that. 

So the lymph nodes could be 2 things: Benign or malignant. 

If they're Benign, we have some options. 

Princess Quinn Un Gerda

If they're malignant, it could be 2 things: Lymphoma or metastasized from another area. 

If it's Lymphoma, it could be 2 things: The "bad" lymphoma or what she calls "Indolent Lymphoma" which basically is like prostate cancer: at her age, it's not what's going to kill her. 

If it's metastasized from another area, that's bad, too. 

So, the physical showed NO OTHER LYMPH NODES were swelled. There were no obvious masses anywhere that the vet could feel. This is good. 

She took a more aggressive sample to send off to Colorado State University for extensive tests. We'll know sometime next week. FYI, that cost us $1300+... To do a larger biopsy with a whole-body CAT scan would've been closer to $6,000. It sounds crass, but we can't afford that. If this biopsy tells us what we need to know, that's what we need. The biopsy has a 4% "unconfirmed" result, and to me, those odds are pretty good. 

Fingers, paws, toes, tails and eyeballs crossed. 

Rings, Eggs, and Rocks...

I've been looking for a "middle finger" ring that I could wear. I usually wear my great-grandmother's wedding ring, but I wanted to do something different every once in a while. These, I found on Amazon, for about $15. If they turn green, I'm not upset. They're stainless steel washed with Rose Gold. 

They're billed as wedding rings, and one has a teeny-weenie crystal in it. 

It's a cute set, with lots of texture, and it's comfortable. And rose gold looks good on my skin. 

One of our patients brought us eggs. She has chickens. Each of us got 6 eggs, and a feather from the "donor hens." Each of us got a separate feather... 

These eggs are soooooo good!! They're actually extra-large eggs, too. I was happy to have them to share with Hubby. We've been enjoying them, and recognize that they're a nice treat. 

At our studio, we had a Crystal Trunk Show. I usually get a good discount, for hosting, so I bought several things, a bunch of which are gifts, so I'm not going into a lot. 

But I will share this with you: a fossilized sea sponge that, when they cracked it open, produced this beautiful white quartz. 

This is Guardians of Nature, and they always have such cool stuff! I did pick up another piece of black tourmaline to put by my computer (helps avoid EMFs) and a green opal that I adore. I skipped a beautiful smoky quartz heart, because the green opal was calling my name. 

They had an amethyst Cathedral stone; 22 POUNDS of amethyst. Wowza. 

Check them out on Facebook. If you're local, they'll send you a schedule of where they'll be. Go see them. 

Great people.


Random Picture...

Just another shot of the sponge. Apparently, rock hounds have an instinct for these, because if I'd seen this in the wild, I'd have walked right by it. 

It looks kinda like a lumpy potato from the back side, but the quartz inside just glows white. 

I figure these crystals are my Mother's Day gift to myself. That and the face mask! I don't need a lot of stuff; I appreciate the beauty of the crystals, and I like having them around me. 

I had a great Mother's Day, and now I'm off to watch "I Remember Mamma" and knit some more! Have a great evening!

Post-Easter Crap...

Well, that's technically true. Like clockwork, I have a post-Holy Week cold. It's a doozy. I have a solo this Sunday. As in TOMORROW. Will I be able to sing? Will I be a baritone? Will I get through the service and still have a voice?

Hmmmmm. All good questions. All unable to be answered until tomorrow, to see where my voice ends up. 

It is snowing outside. Yes, I'm not crazy. Yes, it's April 27, 2019. Yes, this actually happened a long, long time ago -- 1967, to be exact. And I don't think we've recovered from THAT. 

I've spent the past 4 days (Yeah. Started Monday night, to be exact.) drinking tea and water, and eating soup. Tonight was the first time I've had something solid to eat. No worries; I like soup, but I figured I needed to get rid of the leftover meatloaf. 


Oh, and because I have great timing - today was my "Spring Pedicure." Lucky me, I may have acquired a yoga student. But I was in flip-flops in the wet, cold rain. Not a brilliant move. But I have lovely blue toes. 

I wasn't planning on this color; but when I saw it, I was in love. It's one of the shades of blue in my yoga studio's logo, so I bought it, too. It's OPI, called "Dreams Need Clara-fication." It's technically from their Nutcracker series, but I thought of Dr. Who, of course! 

Originally, I was going with "My Dogsled is a Hybrid" which is an older color. Check it out on their website; it's a nice "1960's looking" green-blue.

Now, though, that pedicure is stuffed into fuzzy "house socks" because my feet are freezing. 

Did I tell you that I'm kinda over this weather? 

On the bright side, here's a shot of my neighbor's "fish flags." He hasn't been able to fly them for a few years; the top flag had a line break and he said it took him a while to find the replacement part. 

They're lovely, large koi fish, representing his family. They were very striking against the recent grey skies. 

Let's catch up a bit on stuff...

Easter...

Well, I could make a million baking lamb cakes. At least mine wouldn't have plastic faces. And they wouldn't taste like cardboard. 

I didn't do one this year. We have done them before, and the kids love them, but nobody in the family is eating many sweets lately, so it's just easier to make the potica and keep it simple. 


There's the requisite "Peep Art." This is a great one, actually... Yes, in case you're asking, I really don't have any idea how to share that stuff with my phone so I do it really old-school and take a picture of my laptop screen.

It gives my kids something to roll their eyes over. 

Don't judge. 

It was nice to have Easter Sunday "off." But speaking of "off" -- Hubby and I went on a bike ride that day. It was a glorious day, my first on the bike in over a year because of all the tummy troubles. 


Ten miles. I felt so good. But I fell on my bike. 

You read that right. 

I got off my bike to take a picture of a "carpet" of violets. And as I was getting back on, the bike slipped out from under me and my right knee hit the sprocket. It's a lovely greenish color; the gal doing my pedicure was quite stunned at the coloration. 

And it hurts like crazy. The trail was that crushed limestone stuff. It's easy to lose control; funny thing was, I was trying to get ON the bike and the whole thing just went over sideways. 

Could've been worse. 

But then, I haven't fallen off my bike since my age was in the single digits. 

I don't bounce the way I did then...

Mother Nature...

At first I thought that this cold might be allergies. Since my car was literally covered in pollen the other day. Seriously had a "golden" tone to the green paint. 

I went to the car wash on Thursday at lunch, just to scrape a layer of it off. 

One of my students insists that that's all my trouble is: "It's sinuses related to allergies."

Respectfully, no it's not. I know the difference. 

I did take a walk, even though I felt kind of crappy. It was nice to be out in nature, even with the coughing and sneezing. Watched this guy try to catch his lunch. He was remarkably calm for how close I was. 

I also found another little friend. Luckily, I wasn't getting dive-bombed. This one is roosting outside of the front door on our church hall. 

ON the door. 

This is a shot from inside. 

Robins are not the cheerful harbingers of spring when it's nesting season. 

They're mean. And they'll dive bomb you without a second of hesitation. One of them used to roost on our front porch light. Then it moved to a bird feeder. 

The mailman was afraid to deliver our mail. 

Small but fierce. 

So far, this one has stayed in his nest and has only given us a stink-eye. The Vicar hasn't disturbed him; she's a live-and-let-live kind of person. Nesting season will be over soon.

The Knitting Dilemma...

Well. I have a dilemma. The Multnomah Shawl is giving me some problems. There's some weird crap about the stitch markers, and it's just strange. I thought it was straightforward, but her directions are kind of not cool. 

My problem is 10 rows of Feather and Fan. I love Feather and Fan and I've been dying to make a shawl with it. 

This is gorgeous; MadTosh HT (high twist) merino, for a very special, knit-worthy person. And the way this is constructed, the drape over the shoulders will be phenomenal. 

But the Feather & Fan is driving me nuts. 

It doesn't appear to line up in successive rows. So I fudged it and now I'm frustrated. 

I've temporarily set it aside, till my snot-addled brain can think. It's only April; I have time for this. 

I even added a second set of markers, to delineate the K5 middle section. I wish she'd have just done that YO, K5, YO thing without a zillion remarks about stitch markers. 

It sounds like it would be easier. 

Maybe not. And maybe I'm misinterpreting the whole thing. 

I'll go back to Ravelry and see what others have said. I love the Spectrum colorway. And I love the heft and drape of this. It'll keep the eventual wearer nice and toasty. 

I just have to get my head together to figure out how to keep each part in line. 


So I pulled out The Book. When I'm bored at work (shhhhhhhh, don't tell), I'll troll blogs and pick up notes on items I may want to knit. 

I've found a hat for both of the kids; I try to make a hat every other year. I know last year I made hats, but this is a nice double-layer one that I think they'd like. 

I also have several pages of shawls. So I could check those out. Lord knows I have stash. 

And in the meantime, I pulled out the Traveling Scarf -- a/k/a The Before-and-After Scarf. I will be getting something to replace that lime green for the second half. And I briefly thought about doing another one for the recipient of the shawl above; but this is honestly MILES of garter stitch; and I don't know if I could do TWO of them (it's a 2-part item) by December. 

If I can get to my LYS to see if she even carries this lace alpaca, I might give it a shot. If nothing else, it's totally mindless and easy enough. Just kinda boring. 

Even with the prospect of beads along each end to hold it down. Blocking might actually be a nightmare -- it's going to take an entire floor, which I don't have empty at this point. The finished length is about 5-6 feet. 

But it's alpaca and laceweight, so it'll be warm but light. A totally different feel than the Multnomah, which kind of reminds me of those British dramas I watch where the mom of the family wraps herself in a shawl and braves the British winter weather...

Anyway; I started another pair of traveling socks, because the green ones are close to the heel. That makes 3 pairs in progress; I just need to buckle down and deal with finishing them. It's another Opal yarn. Self-patterning, so it's vanilla and great lunchtime/outside knitting. 

What's on your needles? Are you starting to think about Christmas yet?

Anyone got wisdom for me on Multnomah?

Random Picture...

I was going to take a picture of the snow on our neighbor's roof, but I decided against it. 

I was running late for the pedicure, but it turned out ok, because the person doing it was running behind. This was one of the things that held me up. The annual Walk A Mile in Her Shoes Walk that was done by our local domestic violence shelter group. 

Men walk a mile in high heels. The high heels are donated. And these guys did it. 

In the pouring rain/snow mix, down one of our main streets. 

It was inspiring and sad at the same time. 

Domestic violence is a scourge. People still victim-shame, and perpetrators still get off fairly easily in many jurisdictions. And often, the victim isn't believed -- till she's dead. 

I know - domestic violence can happen to anyone. Male or female. 

Either way, it's a crime, it's a shame, and we're better than this. We need to crack down on the availability of guns, legal and illegal. And the illegal ones are the hardest nuts to crack. 

I don't have answers. But I know we have the brains in this country to do it. We just have to have the will. 

Happy Easter!

For most of the Christian planet, Easter is NEXT Sunday... For our house, Easter was yesterday. For about 8 or 9 years, my mom has had Easter and Thanksgiving the week before each event (usually the Sunday before) so that with the various in-laws, grandparents, etc., folks aren't shoving an egg in their faces at her house and dashing off to the next event. 

It makes sense. Hubby and I have done the bulk of the cooking for lo these many years, and frankly - for us, we like it because on the ACTUAL holiday day, we can vegetate. 

What was the menu? Glad you asked... 
Ham
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Avocado Deviled Eggs
Sausage (mom did these)
Nadif (a strata-like dish that I'm inheriting next year)
Homemade Bread (from Kid #2)
Veggie tray (my sister)
Hren (pronounced like you're clearing your throat: beet + horseradish relish)
Green onions
Vegan Lasagna
Potica & cupcakes

Here's what some of it looked like, before the "vultures" got to it! LOL 

Vegan Lasagna: That was a first for me. I looked up a recipe and then added to it (because I just can). This used 4 small-to-medium zucchini, hand sliced because we couldn't find our mandoline. I also used a medley of mushrooms and leeks; mushrooms included cremini, shitake, and baby portabellos. The sauce was a vegan, sugar-free one I found at Fresh Thyme (yeah, from a jar. I'm stunned myself). The "cheese" was made from blanched almonds, nutritional yeast, basil pesto I made (minus the cheese), and salt/pepper. Then, I bought vegan Parmesan cheese (which are 3 words I would never have thought I'd string together). It was good, really. Everyone including my brother tried it. Except my mother, sister, and BIL - who are notorious "no mushrooms" folks, so they do get a pass. Everyone seemed to like it or at least not gag. 

I tried some vegan cheese, a slice of "American cheese." It tasted like...nothing. It was cheese texturally, and I suppose that if I closed my eyes, and shut off my taste buds, I could "imagine" it was real cheese. 

I'm just  not interested in pursuing that at this moment, though. I'll suffer through "no cheese," though I will say that the "ricotta" I made with the almonds was surprisingly tasty. 

Next up were the Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes. Seriously, take your favorite from-scratch recipe and add a whack of cheese (your choice of cheese - ours was a mixture of Italian Sharp and Parm because that's what we had in the freezer). The cheese goes into the bechamel sauce you're making (flour & onions & butter + milk). Add more cheese on top just because you can. 

Hubby - for a brief moment - contemplated adding bacon to this, but felt that with the ham, Nadif, and sausage, we were rather "porked out." But the nephews all voted YES on the bacon for the next holiday. 

Maybe by that time I can eat cheese again? Who knows?

So the next up is the Nadif. I'm probably not spelling it right, because it's a dish I grew up with, with one of those "recipes" where whoever wrote it actually knows what they're doing and has probably left out a few significant steps. So when my mom re-wrote it, it went from an index card to 3 pages... Shhhhhhhhhh - secret here. She got distracted and forgot to add the cornmeal. 

Everyone ate it anyway, and nobody commented that it was missing. 

This is served chilled. It takes a good bit of a day to make it, but it's worth it. Only at Easter. It's pork butt (we use a small ham), green onions, day-old Vienna bread, eggs (LOTS of eggs), cornmeal, salt & pepper. Oh, and the cornmeal. It's labor intensive because it's all got to be chopped by hand. She takes forever, I'm not gonna lie. Hubby did it for her last year and it took him about 1 - 2 hours. 

Next year, it's all us. Which is fine by me. I believe the old recipes need to be handed off while the prior cook is still alive. (Dad, I'm looking at you - dying before you gave me the Mushroom Soup recipe? Not cool!! And Granny, what did you forget to tell me about your dumplings, since mine are like bricks??)

Then we had the Avocado Deviled Eggs. This one, I tweaked big-time. Because I made my own mayo and added a few things to it. 

I found the recipe on the internet, and thought it would be cool. How was I to know that my sister's violently allergic to avocado?? I owe her deviled eggs, the regular style...

Take your eggs and boil them however you want. I used the Instant Pot and it has changed my life. It takes just about as long in that as it does in the pan, and I can peel these much easier! 

Slice 'em in half, yolks in a bowl, whites on a platter. Dice up an avocado (peel and seed it first, please) and add it to the bowl. Salt, pepper, cumin, Tabasco sauce (I used the green, milder one). About 2 tablespoons mayo. Mash or whip it up (I whipped because I was doing the "fancy piping" thing this time). Stuff the whites and then sprinkle with paprika. 

I used yellow mustard in mine, too, for additional bite. The little kids were soooooooo excited to see "green eggs" with our ham, and even more excited that they were, in the words of my nephew K: "GUACAMOLE EGGS!!" Even the somewhat snooty niece L was sort of impressed. 

I'll stick the mayo recipe in the next blog entry. 

Finally, potica. And nope. You're not getting the recipe for this. Unless you're family. And you can ask anyone who makes it and you should get the same answer. 

My potica story: since I've been on this metabolism thing, where I'm essentially resetting my entire gut? I've undergone a sea change of sorts. I'm no longer craving sugar. 

At all. I mean, my MIND is, but my body? It's "meh" right now. And potica is my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE thing. And I had a little nub of it - like one of those crusts there. And I was ok with that. 

This is huge. 

Immense. 

Bigly...

I've never been on a "detox" that has actually worked. And it looks like this one will be The One. Finally. At my age, I don't want to fool with my health. I need to get on - and STAY on - a healthy path. And I've found it. 


So, what did we wear for Easter?

Parkas. 

This was the view as we drove off to church. It snowed several inches, with a slushy mix thrown in just for fun. 

Yes, I know. I just planted my garden... Red and green romaine, leeks, carrots, radishes, borage, basil, parsley, oregano. 

All under covers now, because it's going to be crummy for one more night (sun is shining now and it's about 49 degrees out. 

Tuesday and Wednesday, it'll be in the 70s and then Thursday, all day t-storms and crap. 

Welcome to spring in Illinois. That wasn't "thunder snow" you heard in the Chicago area. It was my mom, cursing up a storm at the weather... 

The Knitting...

It occurred to me that I haven't updated you in a while. The Close To You for the auction is done and sent off. 

I haven't heard about its eventual new owner yet. Will keep you posted on that. I think it turned out nicely, though I'm now over the MadTosh Copper Pink yarn. And I have a lot of it left. Since it's 100% merino, with no nylon, no socks will be made, even though it's fingering weight. Maybe a quick hat? We'll see. I already have a shawl in this, so I don't need another one. The glitter doesn't show up here, but in person, it's really pretty. 

And I started another travel sock. This is in my bag. It's one of the Opal yarns in my stash, and honestly, I don't know which one. Illusion, I think. I think it's colorway 9686. I'll double check that for you. It's very cheery and it'll make nice socks. 

I'm using DPNs again. It's just my default. I do have 9" circulars and I need to get back with those. After these. 

I'm still holding the Green Traveling Socks. Remember, if you will, that I need to snip the one and reknit the toe. And I'm almost at the heel for the mate, so I'm just keeping those at home right now. 

I'm planning and researching my next knitting project. I have several shawls in the mix, some UFOs and I may  have baby knitting; we'll know in a month or so. 

All of this is from current stash. I'm really trying to plow through some of that, though I've gotten diverted a couple of times by yummy yarns and fantastic patterns. But I really do have to focus. It's my own thing; if you're a knitter who does otherwise? That's cool. That's knitting. I just feel like I need to hunker down and get that stash pared a bit. 

Artwork...

So I'd finally gotten the statue that Kid #1 made for me into the studio. For months, she resided on my living room floor. Now, she's where she's supposed to be. 

This is his interpretation of my studio's logo. She weighs a ton, and Hubby put felt feet under that bottom saucer so that she wouldn't scratch the floor. 

I love what he did with the texture and the patinas. When you see her, you really don't notice all of that till you look for a moment. 

Our logo is kind of "floaty" and I think he captured that right off. He's an ingenious fabricator and I like that she does look like she's hovering over the floor. 

It's a great piece of art, and long after I'm gone from the studio (on that far-away date), I'll have this and another piece he made for me to remind me. 

Tippi...

I'm putting it out there that I'm frightened for my girl... As you may notice, she's got a growth under her right cheek. A big one. And it's not going down, with antibiotics and turmeric doses. 

The vet may want to do surgery. 

Which has its own set of terrors, as she's now 11 years old. 

Her left cheek is fine; but the other one is very troublesome. I've reached out to our rescue group for prayers. She's my treasured dog; not only because she's a therapy dog, but because she had a crappy beginning and I think she deserves a great "golden years" period. 

Vet today at 5:20... I'm kind of biting my nails.

Asking for prayers, good vibes, healing energy  - whatever you've got. If you've ever had a "heart dog," you'll know what I mean. I've been lucky to have had more than one, and this girl is my last hurrah. Once these 3 dogs go to the Rainbow Bridge, our lives as dog owners will be no more. Looking at our ages, and the demands of dogs (if you take care of them extremely well, which we do - ask our vet!)? We know that this pack is our last hurrah. 


Random Picture...

Being a small business owner, I can't usually take advantage of perks and goodies to give away. But I splurged a bit, and I'm hoping it'll garner some students. I'm probably guilty of being too eager, but at a recent college health fair, I gave away cut-rate coupons for classes, had a drawing for specific 3-card class passes, and gave away this "grand prize" of an embroidered yoga bag + mat. I'm pretty sure that the embroidery cost me more than the bag & mat combo. Hubby picked it up for me and he didn't say anything. Just filed the receipt in our envelope. A local embroidery place did it for me on the quick, so no logo. Just the name, in a lovely blue thread to match the logo. And the gal at the desk said she'd come to class! Win-win if it happens.