But, really, the dog comes first
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Where was I?
Dec 26th
First up, the Sister Report: Awesome. She's got torso brace and resembles a Storm Trooper out of Star Wars but is up and walking around.
Next, Tricks I did not teach my dog(s):
(oops. embedding video not working. hang on …)
Next, Progress on the Christmas Knitting:
I didn't actually do any Christmas knitting. (Wait – does this count?
Really. No Christmas knitting . (Except for a scarf (by request) due the end of January, for a new coat and a wedding to attend. More on that later.)
Those hats are drying, in the car, on the 8 hour trip to my sister's. (Fabulous, by the way. Have I mentioned how well she's doing? Fabulous.) There's nothing like last minute preparations. (deets later.)
Next, The Dog Who Lives With My Sister (you know, aside from the husband and children and such):
Next, Job News:
I doubt this will make any sense at all, since I don't talk about work here, but there are great changes afoot for the New Year. I am not only excited but relieved and thrilled and a tad nervous (in a good way). I should have more normal hours in a few weeks. (Perhaps its the wrong holiday, but I'm very thankful for this. And my sister. And Dude. … I feel that I am late again. Will I ever catch up?)
Last, Greetings of the Season (Politically Correct Version):
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for
an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress,
non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday,
practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion
of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the
religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice
not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar
year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other
cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not
to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is
the only "America" in the Western Hemisphere), and without regard to the
race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual
preference of the wishee.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is
subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no
alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to
actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void
where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the
wisher.
This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application
of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a
subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited
to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion
of the wisher.
Happy Days!
Coming up for air
Dec 3rd
I unearthed my desk today:
ahem. (No wonder I have no Christmas list. Or Christmas lights. No Wonder I'm confused.)
I have found the Christmas decorations. Well, really, they've been sitting in a corner waiting for Christmas. We have an excellent place to store them, year round. Except they are only going up once a year and coming down once a year. No inbetween times. If I forget something, it is probably staying down till the following year.
(Please note: I did not say "if we forget something" or "if Dude forgets something".)
Wanna see more yarn?? (Of course you do!)
This is some scrumptious FoxFire Cormo Silk Alpaca (55% Cormo wool, 25% Bombyx Silk, 20% Prime Alpaca) in a yummy Acorn colorway. I think It looks like Caramel. Or Toffee. There are 75g and 190 yds. I plan to swatch with it. And then buy more.
This little wad is 116 g of lace weight soft brown/tan? something. I've no idea what it is other than 2 ply tight twist animal fiber. It is soft. It might be alpaca. If I could find a ruler, I'd do the wraps per inch thing.
I can't find a ruler. (Still no scissors. Just in case you're keeping track.)
When I see that I picked up some lots of lace weight from the swap table, I realize that there is no way I will ever knit it all.
Wanna see a dog??
If a tree falls,
Nov 25th
blogging may be scarce, ( and, uhm, non-sensical.) (So many times I've written this in my head. So many witty comments and allusions to philosophical teasers. /sigh … So many interruptions.)
(This is my reserved buying at Stitches. I think something is missing and I don't recall what it was. Details later.)
So, if you're outside blowing leaves and a tree falls and whacks you across the back of the head, just what is the universe trying to tell you?
I'm not sure. My sister is o.k. but isn't really up to contemplating the deeper philosophical meaning. (Actually, she doesn't really want to – its not her thing. Its mine. And because she probably doesn't want her life plastered on the internet (especially now), I have to refrain from details. Lets just go with helicopter evac's and a long convalescence. And she lives 8 hours away.)
Look, more yarn.
(These are the projects I brought with me to the Knitter's Review Retreat. More on them later. I am still have delusional, just in case you're wondering.)
(This is what I have acquired:)
(Oh the pretties! Just wait till I get it all laid out and inventoried!)
(No, I did not get to Webs. Its just a bag I acquired to hold the yarn.)
Anyway, life has been challenging. Just when work let up (and I got to Stitches, and became Obsessed, and was planning to go play at the Retreat), it got wonky again. I'll try to get caught up. It may take some time. I've been away and I need to get caught up at work (again.)
(Look: this arrived while I was away.)
Wanna see a dog?
Hope all is well with you. I'll try to post regularly.
(Apparently, you should worry when I don't. I'm Kidding!)
Obsession
Nov 12th
When have you ever seen me knit a sweater so fast? (Never.)
When have I just dropped everything to knit something new? (Well, uhm, nevermind. And its not actually done yet, so don't hold your breath.)
When I last wrote; the world looked like this:
I was lusting after autumn temperatures and colors. Then it became this:
And now it is this:
Sorry. I didn't really mean to be gone so long. I've got lots of catching up to do – but Stitches happened on Saturday (when I meant to get all caught up) and I've been Obsessed.
The Yarn: Malabrigo. I've heard about this yarn but never actually knit
with it. In the skein, it is softer than Manos (but not so much that
it seemed irresistable.) But flowing through the fingers: butter. It
is so soft and lightly spun (I fear for pilling). It is delightful.
The pattern: What is it with some designers and lack of schematics?
This is not a regular pattern and it could use a schematic – which I
will create when I'm done. I'm knitting Camelo – which is the cover of this book.
The stitch pattern? K1P1? Throughout? Am I nuts?
It is soothing. (And, oh, the yarn.)
I'm not sure it is long enough (I am tall and long waisted) and have
tried to account for this. This is my first real opportunity to try it
on. (4 days till 1/2 of a sweater. /swoon … any bets on how long the rest will take?)
So, Internets, what do you think?
p.s. I've picked up all the stitches which fell off the needle for picture purposes. I tried to pull the back so that it would lie properly (thus the odd arm position, aside from the one straight out from my side.) The shirt is not the proper shirt for the sweater but did provide color contrast (its dark, we needed a flash.)
O.k. gotta run.
SQUEEEEEEE!!!
Oct 29th
Look what I got in the mail!!!!!
SweetPea and I had a trade. And I decidely got the better end of the deal:
LOOK: handspun. Nicely spun singles of autumn fire-y colors. It is beautiful and soft Merino. The colorway is "Fallen Leaves" and it matches its name. (I'll take it out into the woods and prove it this weekend. We're just getting some good color here and I've been very jealous of other places – until I saw there was snow yesterday.)
I'm not sure what it will be, yet. I am thinking.
And I'm wearing this delightful piece right now. Soft and cuddly (and, gee, maybe I should turn the heat on.)
Those pictures of sheep in the top photo are pix SweetPea took and made into postcards. Aside from adorable sheepies, they are very well made and I look forward to using them!
Thank you, SweetPea!
p.s. Dude says I look very happy when I play with yarn.
Does it violate the First Rule of Handknits …
Oct 9th
if it is before dawn?
(Editor's Aside: This post was written and uploaded over several days. If my tense changes and pronouns are confusing; sorry!)
The First Rule of Wearing Handknits is: to avoid looking dorky (rather than fashionable) wear no more than 1 handknit at a time. (That is, iirc; I would look it up except, well, the books aren't all unpacked and orderly. I think it is the Mason-Dixon first book.)
Yesterday All week, because I am sooooo over the unpacking thing (not as
in Finished Unpacking, just tired of it and not doing any more taking a
break.) I haven't unearthed a warmish-type article of clothing to wear while walking the
dog. (Where is my rain coat??) Dude has found a sweater. (It is not a sweater I have knit for him. I have not knit him a sweater. I
have purchased the yarn. I also have yarn for a sweater for my sister (maybe 2)
and 6 or 7 sweaters-worth for me. This inventory has nothing to do with a) his ability to find warm clothing or b) my ability to knit him a sweater. It is just my over-whelming guilt at the amount of yarn I just moved. Annnnyhow…)
in Finished Unpacking, just tired of it and not doing any more taking a
break.) I haven't unearthed a warmish-type article of clothing to wear while walking the
dog. (Where is my rain coat??) Dude has found a sweater. (It is not a sweater I have knit for him. I have not knit him a sweater. I
have purchased the yarn. I also have yarn for a sweater for my sister (maybe 2)
and 6 or 7 sweaters-worth for me. This inventory has nothing to do with a) his ability to find warm clothing or b) my ability to knit him a sweater. It is just my over-whelming guilt at the amount of yarn I just moved. Annnnyhow…)
So, yesterday, I wore a hat and
mittens. (The DTDS rocks.) And socks. (Because the only socks I can
find are the handknits. The store-bought heavy duty wool-wonders for
slogging through winter mud version? Haven't seen 'em. I'm sure they
are providing padding for something as yet unpacked.)
So, that is 3 hand knit items but it was before 6 a.m. I'm thinking I get a pass because it was pre-dawn. (On the other hand, if I dress like a dork at 5:45 a.m., do I care?)
Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy (That's code for: "catch up post with lots of pix")
Dude and I were joking on Saturday night
that we'd sure gotten a lot of work done, and boy! were we tired.
that we'd sure gotten a lot of work done, and boy! were we tired.
Exhibit A: Look a fence:
(We had existing chain link on the back and one side. We added split rail along a long side and closed in the yard on both sides. of the house.)
Exhibit B: And a new kitchen floor:
This is environmentally friendly, soft, quiet cork (floating tile). This was ugly red paisley carpet; here's the before shot:
Exhibit C: And then stuff left the house:
part 1: packing materials (that I meant to take a picture of) went on to the next mover. I love reusing things (vs composting the boxes).
part 2: an organ, a microwave, a toaster open, a mountable electric can
opener, coffee mugs,… (that is: assorted kitchen stuff) which all went to a fundraiser yardsale. (This pile, there is a picture of, somewhere. Don't you hate it when your electronic stuff is as disorganized as your real stuff? /sigh)
opener, coffee mugs,… (that is: assorted kitchen stuff) which all went to a fundraiser yardsale. (This pile, there is a picture of, somewhere. Don't you hate it when your electronic stuff is as disorganized as your real stuff? /sigh)
Of course, we didn't actually do all the manual labor involved in these activities.
But we did unpack stuff. Lots of stuff. (Who needs this stuff?)
And then we went out and bought some shrubs:
a crepe myrtle:
a butterfly bush (the ones I tried to propagate died (for, ahem, lack of water (ooooopsie) and it was cheap. Ftr, the red twig/black pussywillows and forsythia that I propagated are doing just fine.)
a winterberry
3 mums
and a Harry Lauder Walking Stick Tree
(Legal disclaimer: No dogs were bribed in the making of this post. It amused me that she followed me around and "posed" for each pic. I can't tell if she's showing off her new yard or if she's feeling neglected on the blog or just a little unsure of all the changes … but she's very cute and cuddley. Now, if only I could get her to balance something on her nose …)
Topic Change!
I never in my wildest dreams thought that laundry would become a blog post. But, Sunday I did laundry at the new place. For the last 5 years, I've been using one of these. I loved it. It was small and compact and did just enough for me in my tiny little house. (I swear Dude was saving his laundry pre-move just so he could do it all once in the new washer/dryer.)
In the new place, we've got a standard U.S. sized washer and dryer – that would be large and super-sized. What would normally have taken 7 loads and 3 days of washing, took 2 and "why don't I have a clothes-line yet?" Omg, I'll need more clothes to make full sized loads.
And then Monday morning (yes, I haven noticed that it is Wednesday Thursday before-god's-awake a.m. I said I was catching up!) I went to find clothes for work…and I could wear the same 5 outfits
every week (which will Not do in Winter). Or, as suggested by a friend, I could just go buy more clothes. (Wait! Didn't I just think that up all by myself?) Option C would be to pick up dry cleaning… I can wear
suits for a week and make peoples at the office wonder if I'm
interviewing for a new position. Or, maybe, possibly I could unpack something.
every week (which will Not do in Winter). Or, as suggested by a friend, I could just go buy more clothes. (Wait! Didn't I just think that up all by myself?) Option C would be to pick up dry cleaning… I can wear
suits for a week and make peoples at the office wonder if I'm
interviewing for a new position. Or, maybe, possibly I could unpack something.
Oh look:
My moose door knocker!
I take great pleasure in finding something and immediately putting it where it belongs and it out of the way and unpacked and done. As opposed to, say, Aurora's blankets:
I'm not sure where they will be stored, yet. So as I find them, I just keep piling them under a bed in the living room. Its not quite "princess and the pea" status, yet. (I'm only counting 5 layers there but there is actually 7 6 — because I just rummaged through to find a towel; it's raining and she'll need drying off.)
Knitting? What knitting? (The Berthe Collar
version 2 (which is 20% longer than the first version) is now 75% 90% complete -
width-wise. But each row gets longer so I'd guess 50% 75% complete all
over. And it looks like a silky blob.)
Tactical Error
Oct 2nd
See first, I slit the back of my thumb while I was cutting the tops of the fennel (for seeds, for the new place):
Then, I banged up the nail (being impatient in waiting for movers to arrive). (I'm realizing, for blog purposes, I should make up something and go take a picture of any random box still in the house. (Easy, there's a lot of 'em.) But I'm whining and I'm not going to do that.)
Then, while I was delicately holding it out of the way, I was carrying something and ran it straight into a wall. That's the one that did me in.
I can still knit (no really, on the Morning Commute, I've tried.) My little sock needles (size US 0/2 mm) hurt. So I tried some Cascade Fixation (US 3/3 mm (?)). No good. I tried some bamboo (Silk Collar, longer version on size 3/3 mm, picture later. Its still slow casting on.) I think this works but since I've found the needles, I'm searching for a felting pattern (boxes, everywhere boxes) in garter stitch on slightly larger needles. (I thought of a kitty bed (No, I don't have one, yet.) but it would get too heavy and I'd have to put it down.) There can't be too much shaping becuz picking up stitches is hard.
Anyway, here's what I've been doing:
This was my tactical error. He has a microwave, I have a microwave; oh look – there's a built in. That makes 3 microwaves. /sigh
Toaster ovens (2). Blenders (3). Pots and Pans??? omg. We've got enough to … The above picture is missing the baking menagerie AND 2 giant pots (one which should have been thrown out prior to moving, I hope, and Aurora's huge stock pot.)
That red rug? Its going on Saturday (woot!) Cork floor behind the pots? Its going in. Time to finish cleaning out the kitchen – 2 more evenings. /Sigh
And the fence comes on Saturday. (Anyone else notice that the F List will then be done? Freezer – check. Fios – check. Floor and Fence – scheduled.)
Fuzzy White Dog:
She's getting used to the place. There's a spot in the house with doors to 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and an opening into the living room. I was in the front bedroom (rumaging for clothes, I think) and she came out of the back bedroom and just stood in the middle of all the doors. Head up, tail up. Just her furry satellite dish ears were swiveling - listening the way only dogs can – to find out where the people were.
She found me, wiggled her tail, trotted into the room. Looked around. Looked at me. And said: hey! there's no bed in here for me!
Bigger house = more dog beds. /sigh
