How I Spent My Wednesday Night

Why, Camping with the Girl Scouts, of course. Where else would I be, unless I were at Late Night-- and one of the few things (other than work) that could keep me away from Knit Happens on Wednesday nights.

It was a very nice evening, spent with a bunch of 10-and-11 year olds, and their unit leaders who are a couple of neat ladies-- one's a lawyer and the other is a scientist who's done some fascinating work. The girls were all working with their Knitty-Noddies-- making yards and yards of i-cord with those little spool things, and "finger-knitting". I hauled out Spring Fling, and several were very interested. I got an inch or so done, and although it probably smells like campfire right now, it was nice to get a bit of progress.

The awesome thunderstorms held off until the kiddies were safely ensconsed in their platform tents. It was a very powerful storm with lots of thunder and lightening-- and after the fireworks ended a long and drenching rain. It was a good storm. And I luckily did not need to go to the latrine in the middle of the night.

This morning we fixed something I've never had before-- eggs in a bag. They were really neat. You take a freezer zipper bag, crack a couple of eggs into the bag, add some shredded cheese, salt & pepper, and then get all the air out, zip up the bag and squish it all together to mix it up. Then you drop it into rapidly boiling water and let it cook until it's done. It makes these omelet-like things, with no clean-up required. For those who are not carbophobes, you can roll it up into a tortilla. Give it a try next time you're camping.

This made me think of my most favorite camping food-- one that I don't eat these days, but it's really the best. It's called Bags of Gold, and I first had it when I was at day camp in Illinois as a Brownie. Back in those days we got government food for scout camp, and this yummy concoction could be made with all "free" food. You mix biscuit mix with some water or milk until it's doughy. Wrap bits around 1" chunks of velveeta and drop into boiling tomato soup. It makes really wonderful cheezy dumplings and is the ultimate in comfort food. It's really good on a cold evening. I don't recommend it for weight loss.

Back to knitting.... I had to frog a couple of inches on Spring Fling-- (luckily I keep a couple of lifelines in)-- because I suddenly noticed that one of the ribs zigged a bit. It looked like the lanes on the GW Parkway just south of Old Town before they straightened it out last week. It did not pass Carol's "would you notice it from the back of a galloping horse" test, so down to the previous lifeline I frogged. I'm now caught back up to where I was before I started ripping, so there we are.

I'll have to miss Knit'n'Nosh because I'll be working. That's a whole 'nother story that I won't go in to. Suffice to say, I started out with a 4-day weekend that ended up not being that way. It's my own damn fault (to quote Jimmy Buffett). I gotta learn to say NO!!!!!!

I have so many things I want to do-- why are there only 24 hours in a day, and why do we have to sleep????

Onward. To bed.

It's been a WEEK???

Holy moley!!! I can't believe it's been a week since blogging. It's been a busy one, and it caused me to miss Late Night, and used up my Saturday, to boot. It's been a really productive week at work, and yesterday and today I went to a course that will be really useful.

I did get a bit of knitting done on Spring Fling. I'm shaping the back right now, and should get the back finished tonight. Maybe. It's technically lace, so I figure it counts for "the summer of". I'd really like to do a shawl, and I'm itching to get back to Klaralund, and there are a couple of other things on the needles right now.

I'll have some concentrated knitting time coming up, so I should make some substantial progress. It's about 3-1/2 weeks til vacation, which will include a looooooong (probably 10-12 hours per day) two-day drive to Missouri (knitknitknit), where we'll spend a week with my mom and dad and my 4 brothers and 4 sisters and their 7 spouses/significant others and most of the collective 26 kids.

My parents rent a resort that has enough room for all of us in houses, and it has a pool and is on Lake of the Ozarks. It's really nice-- a most laid-back week with time to catch up with the family, have some brews around the pool (or whatever novelty beverages my-sister-the-accountant-and-her-husband-the-lawyer come up with.) (They're really good.) There will be fishing, day trips, and lots of un-laxing. None of the events or activities are mandatory. A bunch of the kids are in college now, and another group is in high school, followed by the grade school crew. The maintenance is fairly minor with them, so we can really relax pretty much.

We have a great time. We "sign up" to fix dinner. The dinners are lots of fun, and growing up in such a sizeable family prepared us to cook for 40+ people. Whoever doesn't cook that night cleans up, which gives an opportunity to concurrently quaff a few more brews. There's nothing like it. One fun thing is that my-sister-the-doctor-who-has-six-kids buys all the tabloids and we read them out loud to each other. Other than standing in line at the grocery store, I don't usually indulge in the rags. The men have a cigar evening, during which the women-folk (haha)have a puff or two and then leave the men-folk (haha) to their cigars.

So, I'm really looking forward to this, although it will mean that I'll only have another week or so with The Son and The Daughter before they go back to school.

Meanwhile, I need to call in to see if I have to work tomorrow. (j'espere que non.)

And a very nice Sunday, to boot!

Well, I really needed this weekend, and today was pretty fine. The Son and I hit church this morning (8 am express service) and saw a couple of friends we hadn't seen for awhile. Then, it being Fathers' Day and all, there was yummy brunch and such, complements of the aforementioned Son.

The Daughter and I went to see Star Wars III, which I hadn't seen and she had seen but missed part of, thanks to the super sized diet colas. She and I stopped by the KH where there was sale-age going on. The Daughter made out pretty well, as I am booked for a pair of snuggle socks and a ribbon T on her behalf. She got to meet Kristine and Erin and Cindy and Brittany and Aimee, and see firsthand the Happy Place.

She had to go to work, but the previously aforementioned Son (repetitively redundant, aren't we?) took on his role as "Grilling Boy" and did the steak thing for dinner. And I knit. And I tinked. And I knit some more.

And tomorrow I go back to work.

A Very Nice Weekend, So Far

Well, Friday found me with another trip to The Son's University to speak with incoming Freshman parents about the experience. The Son accompanied me, taking the opportunity to take care of some paperwork in preparation for his return in August. On the way home I got so tired that he needed to finish the drive. I snoozed for much of the afternoon. I think that the busy, busy week just caught up with me.
I was very happy that I'd put in lifelines, since I needed to go back again on Spring Fling. I'm baffled at my clumsiness-- that's really all it is. And I wonder what will ever happen if I try to do complicated lace. I think if/WHEN I try, it'll have to be a very small project.

So tonight we ALL had dinner together. Yep. We went to Tutto Bene in the Ballston area, and it was lovely. The Husband was astute enough to realize that we were all present concurrently on a Saturday night, and decided that he wanted to return to this very nice restaurant that he'd been to for lunch awhile back. The food was great, the wine was tasty, and we even did dessert (cannoli and tiramisu-- luckily I'm happy with just a taste.)

I've been loading up the iPod, with The Son and Daughter's help. No, it's not rocket science, but...

I'd hoped to hit the sale at KH today, but decided to catch a nap, instead. I think I realize the need to sleep while the sleeping's good, to get ready for the coming week. But tomorrow is another day-- another busy day, with early church, Star Wars III, a trip to The Daughter's sorority sister to pick up some stuff, and then a stop by the shop.

So I think I'll go knit for awhile.

Ah yes-- That's Better

It's been a busy week for the Nurse. Very little knitting has been accomplished, but many, many hours in the chosen profession. I was going through serious Knitter-Friend withdrawal, since I was not able to even catch up on the blogworld. So what's a woman to do? Why, hit LateNight at Knit Happens, of course. I was so very thrilled and happy to see Erika who is finally vertical. I was further thrilled that she brought the most amazing chocolate-covered strawberries and raspberries and blackberries, and a yummy looking banana pudding. I hadn't seen Liz for awhile, and she ALSO brought a wonderful surprise-- Sophie and her new shoes!!! Sophie is the cutest thing-- and lucky, too, to have a mom who can knit such wonderful kiddie clothes for her. Shanti was there! Shanti was there!-- oh yes, we remember her-- (Ravenna's making great progress). Holly and Brittany were holding down the KnitHappens fort, and Carolina and Maeve and Carol and Ann and Erin and Rosanna and--- oh yes, there was knitting, too.

There was sockage, and Martha-ing and various forms of lace-age, and bulletproof mittens as well as the obligatory stockinettestockinettestockinette. I worked on Spring Fling, as I needed something other than stockinettestockinettestockinette. I did, however, tinktinktink. I think it is my destiny. Did I mention that I really heart the purple Cathay?

It was just what I needed. (Not the tinking.) The sittin' and knittin' and talking and catching up with everyone just calmed me right down. It's really energizing, and life is good. (The chocolate covered berries help a lot, too.) I'm ready for tomorrow.

When is Late Night Not?

Why, when you get there at 3 and leave at 5. But as short and sweet as it was, it gave me the Knit Happens"Irregular" fix I needed. Holly and Maeve and Brittany were there, and Kel arrived just before I needed to leave. I got to see what Holly's Spring Fling looks like all done, and it inspired me to keep on keepin' on with lifelines in place. Maeve's in-re-construction sweater is just lovely, and Brittany's version of Spring Fling is making great progress. Kel's lovely red locks are, well, lovely, and she continues Clapotizing.

So I needed to leave to go to a meeting of an organization I belong to. I've been the recording secretary for many moons, and now I'm not. :) I actually got to just sit there and listen to what went on. I've never done that before. So I got home late, driving past KH at about 8:30, and lamenting that I couldn't even knit at the meeting. They would have freaked.

I'm going to do a row or two, but need to hit the sack fairly soon, since we are most busy at work. I've learned from experience that sleep is most necessary when a string of shifts is coming up. Now here's a question-- How did I survive on so little sleep in my wild and crazy days?

That brings to mind The Son and The Daughter. It takes me back a bit to see how they can go on and on, and then when they sack out, they sleep and sleep and sleep. My problem is that I need to do the going on and on part, and never seem to get to the sleep and sleep part.

Well now, I can either knit, or write about it... So I guess I'll knit.

Random Thoughts

Let me be perfectly clear-- I find detangling yarn barf blobs to be calming, and I could do it for hours, and I enjoy helping others. (It's that Girl Scout thing). This being said, I was wowed when Jenn sent me a "thank you for helping me with the black dental floss" e-gift cert to the best online lys in the nation, Knit Happens. The Samoa/Mouline are on sale at the online store, and I need some more for Fibonacci. The timing couldn't be better, so Thank You, Jenn.

(oh-boy-oh-boy-oh-boy-- I think I got the link thing to work!!!!!!! Thanks Liz.)

By the way-- I love knitting with the Samoa/Mouline. It's a cotton blend. The Samoa is solid colored, and the Mouline is its variegated sister. I mentioned previously that I had a tension problem with my purl rows, so changed my knitting style for this project. As a result, I inadvertently knit more tightly, so it's making a tighter, thicker fabric. The next time I use it, (and I definitely will), I'll not be knitting something that's all stockinette, but rather something with some texture to make the tension issue less obvious. So I'll stick to my normal way of knitting, and consciously be a little looser. (no comments about loose women, please. thank you.) I think that it would do nicely with cables, and ribbed items, like the top on the KH blog.

So, today is "off work" for which I am truly grateful, although I will be working a shift on Saturday. I sometimes prefer weekdays off, even at the expense of working weekends, because I seem to get more done. This morning I re-redded (quoth LauraRN: "The Lord giveth, and The Lord taketh away.... Clairol Restoreth.") and will go to see my pal Gail this afternoon for some hair cuttage. Then to KH for a bit, although with tears in my eyes, I'll need to leave before Late Night really gets rolling, because I need to be somewhere at 6. (It's important that I be there, because very little could voluntarily keep me from a Late Night fix.)

Now, to the issue of Spring Fling. It's not complicated knitting, but I have now gone back to the ribbing THREE times. It absolutely cannot be successfully frogged, at least by me. So what is my problem? Attention(you know the rest). The first time, I allowed stitches to drop, probably while waving my hands around while I was talking. The next time, I think the same thing happened. Yesterday I picked it up, and did 2 rows backwards. (knit on purl row or vice versa or something. And I had the right side MARKED. There is absolutely no rational excuse for this.) I debated whether just to leave it, but then decided that wasn't an option. So I tried for quite awhile to tink, (through the entire episode of Six Feet Under) but-- it ended up being easier to just go back to the ribbing. The decision has been made. Lifelines (training wheels?)are necessary for me, at least until I can focus!!! I feel like I'm back in kindergarten. This is not a difficult project-- I've done things much more complicated-- if I could just keep the yarn on the needles!!!! (yes, Carol-- I'll get more point protectors, but they really don't help when I'm in the middle of actually knitting.)

And forward to the rest of this very hot day. (I think I'm already wishing for Fall).

Yarn Barf Blobs

Well, that's how I spent a chunk of the day at Knit Happens. It seems that today was Yarn Barf Blob day at KH. One blob involved what was probably thousands of yards of black "dental floss". We gave it our best shot, but only managed to detangle about a third of it. Cindy was detangling some errant King Tut, and had similar progress. Suggestion (of which I have precious few...): Yarn hanks? Swift! Ball winder! It's a Good Thing. Use 'em.

I had a laid-back afternoon. Did a few rows on The Daughter's Spring Fling, and chatted with the folks at the shop. Got some sage advice on matters sock from Carol, saw Liz for a couple of minutes as she blew through for some Lorna's Lace sock yarn, and saw Kristine's finished-but-not-yet-constructed Harriet, and pondered guage.

Went home, and detangled more yarn. barf. blobs.

Hardly Knittin' These Past Coupla Days

So-- It's been a busy working week for this RN. Nothing like last Friday, though. I've had a bunch of interesting cases, and one that is a diagnostic puzzle that has everyone (at least everyone immediately involved in her case) fascinated.

But busy at work interferes with the rest of the life. Made me miss late night :{.
Didn't have dinner with The Husband and The Kids even once (2X :{.) And too tired to trust myself with the Turbos (or the Denises, or the Lantern Moons, for that matter) for fear of imminent frog-dom. I WAS awake enough to catch up on everyone's blogs, and hooked up with a few more.

I discovered another Laura whose blog is Knitting for Sanity. Small world, huh? Yes, I know--- I still haven't cracked the code on putting in links,so I can't send you there. And I still don't have any pictures posted. I hope to catch up with YarnGeek Liz this weekend at the shop so she can set me straight. It'll happen. Stay tuned.

First knitting priority-- chip away some more at Fibonacci. Really-- this is just taking too long. And then some inching on Spring Fling for The Daughter. I'm really enjoying the Cathay, although the lace is a bit slippery with the Addi Turbo's, and I ended up ripping out a couple of inches a couple of times because of dropped stitches on "pass yarn overs" that I couldn't pick up properly. I discovered that I do have a hole in one place, but I am NOT going to frog it again. I think I can sew a couple of strategic stitches in when I'm finished that will disguise the problem.

Next week should be a bit calmer, so I can hope for some more productive knitting time. And maybe some more productive housecleaning time. This is getting grim.

Well-- on a totally different topic, I was thinking about how we put together ideas for license plates, and blog names, and userids and things like that. One that I've used in the past for various things is HoyaRN (as in Georgetown-the school that used to have the most bang-up basketball team in the nation, and still might get back there, where, by the way, I went to Nursing School.) in all small letters it is hoyarn. Thinkaboutit. ho-yarn, not to be confused with yarn-ho which may be more on the mark.

So that's about it for now.