I Have Yarn!

So, as you have all heard me whine, I didn't get to go to MS&W. But did that stop me? NOOoooooo.

I hit the Happy Place and picked up some Cherry Tree Farm yarn that will be used for Wendy's Grape Arbor shawl. And I got some Whisper (it's on sale, y'all) that will be used for the Baltic Sea stole. And I got a bunch of the Debbie Bliss silk in a beautiful silver grey that will turn into a very simple wrap.

I also got replacements for some of my tiny-sized DPNs. Never have enough. And another Addi Turbo. And a set of stitch holders.

And today when I got home, there was a package of Lisa Souza Sock! yarn. Three nifty skeins that I know I won't get to for quite awhile, but there they are.

The Baltic Sea stole and the silver silk are going with me on my cruise to Bermuda. (and maybe a skein of sock yarn, too.) (maybe) (don't want to overdo.)

We're Leaving in The Morning

A whole week off work.
Cruisin'.
I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!
And I'll catch ya when I get back.

Color Me Jealous

...because I've been drooling over everyone's blogs. EVERYONE went to MS&W this past weekend except moi, it seems. EVERYONE got wonderful yarn and got to hang out in beautiful weather, and see those really neat sheep and alpacas.

Well, I got night differential....

Catching Up

No blogs for the past few days, because I just came off 3 night shifts. Having caught a couple hours of ZZZs, I figured I'd blog a bit.

I am a bit preoccupied, because I leave Sunday for a cruise to here. (Figured I'd save the pretty pictures for later. Always loved those CIA factbooks).

The faucet handle arrived Friday, and was easily installed. Somehow, the hot & cold were reversed, but I got that fixed today. We have hot, we have cold, we have water. (Guess I'd better clean the kitchen. No more excuses.)

The parts of the shawl-collar sweater are done, and if I get some energy today, it just might become a totally FO. I had as much as I could take of the never-ending collar, and quit some 14 rows shy of where it was supposed to end. As it was, it took 3 balls of Cashmarino Chunky for the collar alone. That's between $25 and $30 just for the collar.

I couldn't see using a 4th ball.

It looks fine.

We had a lovely Late Night and celebrated The Impending Demise of Spinsterhood for our dear friend Ann.
Anyway,Here's to you, Chica!!!

Since I was working during the "bracketing nights" I was unable, AGAIN, to go to Maryland Sheep & Wook. Such a hassle!!! But my friend Carolina is such a sweetie. I saw her for a bit at Late Night, and she OFFERED to purchase yarn for me. We had a little discussion about my preferences, one of which is that I LOVE surprises. So I can't wait to see what she chose for me. (And make sure I don't forget my checkbook!!!)

Remember that Guardian Angel???

Glad to say S/He is still lookin' out for me. And for others. I was on my way to work on Saturday evening (see a theme here?) driving on Fort Hunt Road--AT the speed limit, I might add-- when a car was suddenly in front of me. Apparently it didn't register to her that there was a stop sign that is intended to prevent people from ending up perpendicular to cross-traffic on a very busy secondary road.

I saw her in front of me. I hit the horn. I hit the brakes. The anti-lock factor kicked in, so I didn't skid. However, when one slams on the brakes, one keeps moving for a bit. I think it was probably about a second and a half.

What goes through one's mind while hurtling toward the driver of a car who is directly in front of you and is looking you in the eyes? Here's my list:
1. Oh no. I'm going to hit her.
2. My air bag will deploy, and I won't be too injured.
3. I'm going to hurt her. A lot.
4. Oh my God. She has kids in the car.

I was blessed to have a 5th thought.

5. How did my car stop 6 inches from broadsiding her?

After a second or so of us both catching our breaths, she proceeded across the road, and pulled over. I really didn't have anything constructive to say to her, so after a Sign of the Cross, I kept driving.

The Son had been driving the car, and took it in for inspection last month. Although it passed, they said the brakes were getting low, so we took it to the dealer to have them fixed.

I'm starting to breathe again

What a Way to Start the Day!

So I wake up and stumble into the kitchen to make coffee, turn on the water, and the faucet handle breaks off in my hand. This is one of the single-handle, has the squirter thing that pulls out. Installing this sink and counter (about 6 or 7 years ago) was somewhat akin to the Landing at Normandy in terms of planning and execution.

The faucet was attached to the sink before the sink was installed on the counter. The garbage disposal is in front of the sink fixin's, and required a plumber to attach the waste drain which looks like a Rube Goldberg concoction.

As I disassembled the faucet, it appeared that it would be possible to just replace the handle, although it would require purchase of the entire faucet set-up. I wouldn't mind that-- we're talking a hundred bucks vice a thousand.

Nice idea, but Wrong. They don't sell this kind any more.

Is it too early to pull out the scotch?

The Saga Continues
Ok-- here we go. I went to Lowe's (which I usually like a lot) and ran into the most unhelpful, sanctimonious jerk in the plumbing section. In spite of him, I bought a faucet. When I got home I discovered that for a variety of reasons it wasn't going to work.

So I went to Home Depot, where I ran into a guy who was SO helpful-- spent a lot of time with me, and we thought we had a solution, but then figured it wasn't going to work. I bought the other faucet anyway, and figured I'd give it a try. $68 is better than a thousand.

Then I did what I should have done in the first place. Called Moen. Maybe they'd still have the part? Well-- not only do they have the part, they have a LIFETIME GUARANTEE. I've rarely taken people up on a lifetime guarantee. Since I preferred to get the part tomorrow rather than next week, the only thing I have to pay for is the overnight mail. $12.

So the water situation in the house is "iffy"-- not sure if I can turn it back on without flooding the kitchen.

Hey-- that means we'll probably have to go out for dinner.

Damn the bad luck!!!

The Never-Ending Collar

My prediction was pretty close to accurate. Not only am I into my THIRD ball of Cashmarino Chunky on the collar of this sweater, but I somehow misplaced my 10-1/2 Addi Turbo, and haven't been able to get to The Shop so I'm using straight needles. The sweater collar is formed with short-row shaping using wrapped stitches, so in order to keep some semblance of saknity, I'm transferring the non-current stitches back to the size 10 circular to reduce weight and sheer number of stitches on the needles. (The collar starts out with over 250 stitches, and you get down to 68 live stitches in the center before it all comes together again by picking up the stitches and their wee wrappies to prepare for cast-off.)

My goal is to get the shawl collar done tonight--TONIGHT, I tell you!!! I've been through NCIS, The Unit, The Dynasty Reunion (interesting, since I never watched Dynasty the first time around), and now to what's left of Leno.

Tom Cruise is on Letterman. There was a time when I would have looked forward to seeing that, but gone are the days.

If it gets really late, I may break out Season One of The Gilmore Girls.

Picture tomorrow.

The Traveller

That's me, this past few days.

I went to Blacksburg to see The Daughter. One of those Mom things-- had this aching to see my child, so drove 4-1/2 hours, did some of her laundry, had dinner with her, went to sleep, got up, had lunch with her and drove back. That was the best part.

The second best part was actually being able to visit the LYS down there-- Mosaic. It's not Knit Happens, but it's a very nice shop with a very respectable yarn line, and since it's 4-1/2 hours away, will serve to provide me with a source of fiber should I need to start something new while I'm down there.

I got back in time to spend a few minutes with Wendy in honor of her book. And then off to Prince William Park to spend the weekend being The Nurse for our local Girl Scout encampment.

I really enjoy camping, but as I "mature," I also really appreciate the opportunity to glean the benefits of the great outdoors without the responsibility for keeping groups of little girls in line. I was a troop leader for the entire time The Daughter was a girl in the program. Now I can go, lead songs, take care of cuts, scrapes and bruises, make sure the coffee's made for everyone in the morning, knit when I'm not otherwise occupied, and leave when I've done everything I need to do. This is the life.

I wanted to post a picture of me reading Wendy Knits in my sleeping bag, which I did, reading by flashlight. But another benefit is that I get to sleep by myself in the dining hall (no chatty little people). I had only a squirrel to join me-- but that's another story.

And he didn't know how to use the camera

Mini Progress Report

...for mini progress. The sweater pieces blocked nicely.

I was able to hit Late Night where Niki, Nikki Carolina, Holly and Aimee were holding down the fort.

I connected the shoulders to the back, and after a false start, spent the ENTIRE TIME picking up stitches around what will be the never-ending collar. Now mind you, having said that, my dearest wish is that it'll be done in no time, and I'll feel like a fool for even having trepidated about it. Ya think?

To paraphrase Wendy's words: Fat chance, cupcake.

It's Launching Day!!!

...For Wendy-From-The-Blog's long-awaited Wendy Knits. I was able to see an advance copy, and I gotta say it's all it's cracked up to be. The models, by the way, are absolutely gorgeous. If you want to know more, go here. (Or get yourself a copy. That's what I'm doing today.)

What else am I doing today? Well, this morning I did this:

The Blogger finally woke up, so I could load the pictures.

Blocking always amazes me (I'm easily amazed). I started out with these tubes of knitting. It was the curliest thing I've seen in the recent past. Then it turns into an amorphous blob of soggy cashmarino, then takes on a bit of character as the water is teased out, and then you can actually see what you've got. (Hey, Ann- the sleeves are both the same length. Hurrah!) The only thing that's more amazing to me is when I get that final end woven in.

I'm one of those people who knits a lot (not as much as SOME people we know) but I'm not that great at finishing. I'll have pieces of things all done and sitting around, but unless it needs to be somewhere, I just don't feel the pressure to do much with it. ADD. Priceless. And expensive.

And what else today??? Continuing the weed-out process in the closet, doing laundry and cleaning the bedroom. AmVets is coming May 1, and I'll have a boatload of stuff for them.

Then, this evening I hope that the sweater will be dry, so that I can pick up stitches for what I know will be the never-ending-collar. Maeve is "not" knitting this right now, since we all know she's studying, and I'm looking forward to her take on the collar. But she's a bit more prolific in the production arena than I, so she may not be viewing it with the same trepidation.

Tomorrow? Doin' my part for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. And if there's a lot of sitting-around-time, working on the never-ending-collar. (Nice attitude, huh? I haven't even started it yet.) Then, depending on the needs of the Justice System, I'll either go to The Shop and be Irregular, or if I'm released from duty early enough, head south to see The Daughter at The Place. If I don't get out early, I'll head down on Thursday, but she has more time available on Wednesday night.

Not much can convince me to miss Late Night, but I haven't seen The Daughter for a long while, and I won't have a chance again until the end of May.

After The Bermuda Cruise!!!

Progress Report

Second sleeve redone. May block tonight, energy permitting. Then to the collar thing.

That is all.

...And I forgot My Camera

...on Wednesday, when Kay and Ann came to Knit Happens to tout their most wonderful book Mason-Dixon Knitting (with a subtitle that I can't possibly recapture without looking at it.)

But some of my Irregular buddies had theirs, so go visit Wendy orMaeve to see pictures. There was quite a nice crowd there. Kristine had her buddy Jacinta from England. We'd heard about her, and were thrilled to be able to finally meet her. (If you see Kristine, ask her how the Jirbil is doing.)

Erin, Ann, Niki, Jasmine, Aimee,of course Holly and Carolina were there-- and my brain is a bit too fried to remember everyone else.

I proceeded with the second sleeve of the bolero sweater, and was thrilled when I reached the end-- In my mind, finishing a second sleeve basically equates to a FO, except for the rather massive job of doing the pick-up collar. And then I noticed. It didn't match the other sleeve. It was about 6 rows off. I knew that I counted this one properly, so I must have goofed on the other one, but this was the one that was closest in my memory, so with Ann's encouragement, I ripped back to the decreases. And it wasn't as painful as it could have been. I'm still not finished with it (again), but maybe tonight. (there's a lot of stuff on the DVR). Now THIS is the reason that I usually knit both sleeves at the same time.

Live and re-Learn.

What a Beautiful Day!

And as it turns out, I was SUPPOSED to be spending it sitting in jury duty. Why, you might ask, am I not there? Because my number wasn't listed on the website when I dutifully checked last evening, as I was directed to do by the official summons I received. This is cut and pasted from the website:
This information was last updated on: 4/10/2006
Groups to Report: 200-202 AND 221-228
Summons Color: Yellow
Date to Report: Tuesday, April 11th
Date to Check Back (after 5:00 p.m.):
Service Status: Completed after Tuesday, April 11th

I was group 220. Do you see group 220 included above? Neither do I.

So I was sitting here, minding my own business, and trying to gather the info to finalize our taxes, when the phone rang.
"Are you aware that you were scheduled for jury duty today?" the voice at the other end said.
"I checked the website, and my group number wasn't listed."
"It was a mistake," she said. "The phone line had the correct information."
"I was supposed to check BOTH?"
"No, but you have to reschedule."

Great. I cleared today so I'd be available, and now I've got another messed-up day. Oh well. I'll look at this as a gift. Maybe it'll rain on my rescheduled day.

It really is beautiful out. See?


I might just take my knitting and sit on the porch.

Another Busy Week

.. and a rather boring blog.

I was summoned to Jury Duty, and my group was not called on Tuesday, for which I was a bit grateful. I did loads and loads of laundry, and made a minor bit of progress on the house.

I went to Norfolk for a speaking engagement on Wednesday and Thursday, and then did a full shift on Friday. Today was taken up by the Girl Scout Annual Meeting. One of my dear friends was given a really terrific award, and it was great. The bonus was that I got over half of the second sleeve completed on the Debbie Bliss Bolero sweater. The end of the tunnel might be in sight.

I am really tuckered out, though. I work 12-hr shifts tomorrow and Monday, and then am in the jury pool again this week. It's going to be another sturdy week for The Nurse.

But we're going to Winchester for Easter. We'll probably take in the Saturday Easter Vigil and big Easter service on Sunday, because The Son will be singing with the choir out there. The Daughter can't get away, and we'll miss her, but it'll be a nice break.

Home Again (There), Home Again (Here)...

But it's never easy. Not easy to leave The Parents, whose love and total acceptance have sustained me for my whole life through ups and downs, and decisions that at times I'm sure they thought were not so great.
And it was not easy getting home here, out of the airport! We left Chicago early, and made it to the nation's capital in record time. Great, I thought. I'll be home before 10:15, and be in bed by 11. Nice thought... until someone's hanging bag got caught in the belt on the baggage carousel. What a mess!!!

Hangars and clothes inextricably tangled and wedged in the little spaces. And the baggage from our flight was all staged under that carousel. So they had to move it to the other one. The Husband was doing laps around the airport-- as were the friends and relations of all the other people on the flight-- while it took AN HOUR for us to get our luggage. Did I mention that for short trips I only take a roll-aboard or small duffel and don't usually "do" luggage? Well this time my parents lent us 2 large suitcases to use for an upcoming big trip, so I brought them back with me. Wouldn'tcha know???

It was so wonderful to be with The Parents. Mom's doing well, and is in remarkable spirits. Dad is such a host all the time... "More coffee??? Can I get you anything???" He thrives on it.

I gave Mom the hats-- here's the Celtic Cap being blocked.


The bad part of the visit was that I came down with probable food poisoning on Saturday (most likely from some turkey I'd bought the day before and put in a salad). It was pretty awful. And I was afraid at first that I had some kind of virus, and that I'd exposed Mom. I was especially distressed, because we'd ordered Famous Dave's and a bunch of my brothers and sisters and their kids were coming over. I didn't leave the bed except for some rather violent activity. My ribs are still sore. (#1 brother was so sweet. He knocked on the door and brought me a 7-Up mid-hurl). On Sunday, after we analyzed the symptoms and my rather rapid response to pepto, we decided that food was the most likely culprit. Everyone came back for brunch, so I got to see them, although we didn't do any embracing, "just in case."

I was able to get some knitting done, and have made some respectable progress on this. I didn't bring enough yarn along, so had to stop short of the end of the first sleeve.

And Mom gave me these:

Aren't they cute? Hats ranging from teeny to small for the babies at our hospital. Mom loves to knit, and she whips these out like crazy.

On Monday The Parents and I took a walk along the river in our town, and it brought back so many memories... And one thing that I hadn't seen before was a memorial to a man from our town who was killed in the attack on the Pentagon. It brought back all the emotion and memory... but I didn't cry, which surprised me. I wonder if there are callouses on my soul-- or if I'm finally doing a better job of coping.

And now I'm back home (here), to The Loving Husband, and my friends The Irregulars, and-- tomorrow-- to work.

Quick Update

Nothing profound or fancy today, and no time for pictures. Newsboy hat is blocked and dry; Celtic cap is done (and quite lovely, I do believe). I'll give it a bath tomorrow at Mom & Dad's. I'm going home for a few days to spend some time with them.

I went to Late Night for some emotional regeneration and was thrilled to see Phyllis, Aimee, Erin,Holly, Niki, Liz, Carol, Ann, Maeve (You say "Hello" and I say "Goodbye')-- a pretty hefty percentage of Irregulars. After a bit of deliberation, I decided to cast on the right front side of the Debbie Bliss bolero shrug and proceeded to ADD myself into a frogging situation. So I'll probably rip out and start over tomorrow morning while waiting for my plane.

I've been very tied up with work, and haven't had time to center on the things that are most important to me. So I'm looking forward to a few days of focusing on The Parents. Mom's having a minor procedure while I'm home, so I'm glad I'll be able to be there for hand-holding purposes.

Catch y'all next week.

No Knitting Now

At least not for another couple of days. I had a huge burst leading up to the last blog, and the Celtic Cap is exactly the same today as it was then. I somehow misplaced the 3 pages I actually use of the 12 in the (did I mention wonderfully and flexibly written) pattern. So I had to print it out again. And now I'll need to find my place. It shouldn't be too hard, but I won't get to it today or tomorrow.

The Daughter's Spring Break ended for us on Saturday when she returned to Blacksburg. I was able to schedule work so that I could be off for several days while she was home, and we had fun. We had lunch out, did some shopping, and we both needed haircuts. Mine's back to where it belongs, and hers is, I think, the shortest it's been in her 20 years of life. It is darling-- about chin length, and it will be easy for her during the summer. We made a quick stop by the shop to chat with The Irregulars on Wednesday.

We covered a chair-- and it looks really great. I should have taken pictures. It was one of those bare white armchairs from IKEA that needs to either be covered or get a slipcover. We did it in a cocoa-colored microsuede fabric. I watched the people in Changing Rooms and Trading Spaces when they sort of held up fabric and pinned it, then cut it and sewed. Hey-- it works!!! I'd say it took about 4-5 hours to do from start to finish. The actual sewing part was only about an hour, and most of that was trying to figure out which direction to go and try to avoid poking myself with the pins.

If you decide to try this at home, make sure you have enough pins. You'll need dozens if not hundreds. I got poked plenty, and the tips of my fingers are still sore from inserting and removing pins through the heavy fabric. I probably should have used a leather thimble or something.

The bottom of the seat isn't sewn. If I'd had more time, or more energy, I probably would have finished that part. As it is, the fabric that comes in from the back, the arms, and the bottom of the front are tucked under the seat cushion. Since the fabric is microsuede, and the cushion fits tightly, it seems like it will "hold". We'll find out, and I can always tidy it up later. The cover is stapled to the chair frame around the bottom.

During the construction of the chair cover we watched Almost Like Heaven and The Wedding Crashers. Both fun, feel-good movies. The Wedding Crashers wasn't as mindless as I thought it was going to be. It was good to see Owen Wilson as not a total idiot.

During cushion construction we watched The Constant Gardener. Definitely NOT a feel-good movie, but SO worth watching. It is truly a well-done, disturbing, well-acted film. I highly recommend it-- but make sure your head is in a good place.

I did have to go to work a couple of days, and on one of those, The Daughter came in and took some pictures for The Writing, since she knows my camera better than I do.

Of course, days away from work have not been days free from work, as I'm still working on The Chapter whose deadline is tomorrow. I've been doing a bit on it every day, and since the content is the same as The Article, only really pared down and in outline form, I'm not at all stressed. The pictures are taken, and now it's just a case of pulling it together, getting the references straightened out and emailing it to the publisher. (Tell me again WHY I thought this was a good idea?) I'd rather be knitting.

The Son is on break now--came home late Saturday night. I worked a bunch at the end of last week and over the weekend, and I haven't been able to spend as much time with him as I'd like, especially since he's mightily in to sleep while I'm conscious. I need to go in to work today for a couple of hours, so maybe we can do something this afternoon. He leaves tomorrow for a trek with frat buddies. Tonight will be corned-beef and cabbage (our second in 2 weeks, since The Daughter needed to have some last week.) Not only will The Son not be here on St. Patrick's Day, but it's also Friday during Lent, and, you know...

I need to put together a lecture to give next week, and it'll take a few hours, so Thursday is for that. But only part of Thursday is for that.

Some of it will be for knitting.

Nous Avons Les Chapeaux

... Or at least we're working on them.

The Newsboy Cap, as previously mentioned, is completed but not "finished". I'm waiting for The Husband and The Daughter to finish the jug of milk in the fridge so I can cut the brim stabilizer out of the side. And if I don't like the way it feels, I'll pick up some heavy buckram at the fabric store. The pattern recommends plastic mesh-- and I have some... who knows... I'll make a decision soon. And then to block:


And here's....

.........................The Celtic Cap .........................

So very much fun to knit. And may I say addictive? "Yes, I need to go to sleep-- but just one more round. Well, maybe just one more". Although Carol taught me to cable without a needle, I'll save that handy tip for simple 2x2 or 3x3's. I DEFINITELY need the cable needle on this one!!! The picture is a little blurry, but you can see the cables. I just love the way they come into form row by row. And I really envy those who can figure it out without looking at the pattern all the time. There are some areas that are intuitive, but then again... I've done a couple of Aran things earlier in my life, and I've been a slave to the chart if it gets at all complicated.

There have only been a couple of places I've had to rip, and luckily, have been able to stay within one cable panel for the fixin's. I've gotta get moving on a bunch of stuff today, so a better picture will show up when it's done.

And since I'm on a hat roll, I'm going to need to think seriously about a stocking cap for The Son who asked for one last year.

Hmmm... Has someone been neglected?

Progress, Progress

No pictures right now, but maybe this afternoon.

Mom's home from hospital and doing pretty well. I spoke with her yesterday, and she's been relatively pain-free and seems to be in excellent spirits. We are so blessed to still have both of our parents. Do not think for a second that any of us take it for granted. This is such a gift.

Talk amongst my sibs centers this week on 2 of The Brothers. #2 just got a job as director of operations for the Milwaukee Brewers. I can't tell you how excited The Nurse's family is about this. #2 Brother and his wonderful wife and really neat kids have been in Omaha for the past several years, which they like just fine. But now they'll be really close to the Chicago area, and back to running a baseball parks, which is what #2 really loves to do. (#3 runs Jacobs Field for the Indians.)

The other excitement is #4 Brother's upcoming wedding in June. Of course, any opportunity to get together is wonderful, but weddings are the best. The Beloved and her daughters have their dresses, and I'm privileged to be making the garter. I'll need to get to that soon. Carol has some good ideas for me-- I'll have to commit them to paper, as my brain was rather rattled when we were discussing it before.

In knitting progress, the coral Newsboy hat is completed but not "finished". I need to put the bill stabilizer in and block it. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. Perhaps a picture this afternoon while being blocked?

I started, and am about halfway through the Celtic Cap that I came across on Kelly's blog a few days ago. It's also for my Mom.

I cast on at Friday's Late Night at The Happy Place, and just worked on it like crazy yesterday. I'm doing it in Debbie Bliss Cathay in a dark teal on size 3's. I gotta tell you-- I'm really lovin' this project. And here's a plug for the pattern: It's written with directions for any type of yarn!!! I was just amazed. So worth the $3. I chose the Cathay because I wanted something that would be light and totally non-itchy. I might just have to make another one for myself-- and maybe one for The Daughter, and let's see, I have 4 sisters, and 12 girl nieces..... well, maybe not for everyone. But in the interest of time, I'll probably do mine with larger gauge.

The Daughter came home last night for spring break and I'm just thrilled to see her. She'll probably do the college student thing and spend most of the time sleeping, but while she's awake, I plan to have her help me with the slipcover for the apartment living room chair. I'd really like to get that completed.

And the rest of today? Well, it's devoted, for a couple of hours at least, to the book chapter. It's not the stress of the article, so for that I'm grateful. Then a bit of grocery shopping-- we are seriously out of basics (NO EGGS!!!! but at least there's coffee) and then, I can't wait to get back to the Celtic Cap.

(and maybe I can sneak in a stop to The Shop)

Thank You

(And hey-- guess what!!! I finally figured out how to do pictures!!!)

A bunch of you have sent emails with well-wishes for my Mom.  I appreciate it so very much.  I talked with Dad this morning.  The surgery was a bit more complicated and the post-op course a bit more involved than we would like, but Dad insists that her spirits are great, and that she should be home by the end of the week.  

I've been (of course) working, and during my after-work-for-a-few-minutes-before-sleep time have made great progress on The Newsboy Cap from Stitch’n’Bitch Nation (aka the chemo hat).  I started it on Saturday at Knit Happens where I got hugs and support from some of the Irregulars. Stephanie and Carol and Holly and Kelly and Courtney and Brittany; and Shelley were there.  It was just what I needed.  I'm in the last few rows of the main part of the hat, and then will work on the brim.  I'm doing it in coral CashMarino Chunky, and it's very soft and cheery looking.

Wanna see what the finished cap looks like in green?  Go visit Lara


Mom's also getting this:


In other news, I got an email from the publisher, and the article is in peer review. I'll have some tightening to do, but it's minimally invasive and very manageable.  The next hurdle is the book chapter,  but it should be pretty straightforward and relatively painless.

Other than that, I plan to sort through mail, tidy the family room, and of course knit.  And maybe start the slipcover for The Daughter’s living room chair. Or maybe I'll take a nap.

Such will be my day off.

A Do-Nothing Day, Finally!

The Nurse has had a very busy couple of weeks. Every breathing moment not devoted to work or sleep has been spent on "the article" that finally made its way to Kinko's for shipping at 9:30 Wednesday night. Dumb thing wouldn't come together, and as I was doing the legends for the pictures, I realized that I totally had to reorganize the article. That's not too bad with cut & paste on the computer, but the dumb references... and Word tries to "help" with automatic renumbering. It gave me a headache.

The worst part was that I had been SO looking forward to Late Night at The Shop. And I couldn't go.

Then full, busy busy days of work on Thursday and Friday.

This has all been overshadowed by news that my Mom needed surgery for a recurrance of an old problem. A serious one. She was operated on Thursday, and is doing ok. But things are a bit more complicated. I haven't allowed myself time for a breakdown yet. I had a minor one on Sunday night when Mom & Dad called to tell me about it.

But I'm sure it's coming.

One thing's for sure. I AM going to Knit Happens today to pick up some soft yarn (probably Debbie Bliss Cashmarino) and spend time with my friends. I'm going to knit the Newsboy Hat from Stitch'n'Bitch Nation for mom. I think it's perfect chemo hat. All other projects are on hold til it is done and sent off.

Or maybe I'll take it to her. Next weekend.

What Good is a Day Full of Doctor Appointments?

Why it’s good for KNITTING, of course.  All that time in the waiting rooms, very good for knitting.  I got most of the back of the Debbie Bliss Bolero Jacket done, almost at the point of casting off for the armholes.  (By the way—they were a bunch of routine follow-ups to my annual physical.  I’m fine.)

I left from the hospital to go to Winchester for the annual Dessert Extravaganza, which I’ve helped to run for the past 5 years.  Hopefully this was my last hurrah, because hopefully, The Son will do the graduation thing sometime in the next year.  I met him for some shopping and the obligatory Buffalo Wild Wings run.  I then entrenched myself in the Hampton Inn to put together raffle baskets (about 25 of them) and cut polarfleece scarves with the rotary cutter on the cutting mat.  I watched the Olympic opening ceremony—loved the floating acrobats and the torch lighting.  And of course the fireworks.  I always love fireworks.  AND I discovered a new treat—the newly introduced Michelob Ultra Amber.

Drove back in the beginnings of the snowstorm, and when I went to bed last night I figured that the weather dudes got it wrong again—we only had a couple of inches.  But when I woke up this morning, it had REALLY, REALLY SNOWED!!!!  And then I discovered that the electricity was REALLY, REALLY OFF!!!!.  It apparently went off about 5:30 this morning, and stayed that way until about 2 in the afternoon.  But hey—I got most of my article written.  Pencils and paper, and luckily we have one of those old fashioned rotary pencil sharpeners.  Guess I need to do that more often—back to the basics.

And then, because I was such a good girl, I allowed myself some knitting time tonight. Finished the back and cast on the left side. Gotta love it!!!!