A pretty restful day

All things considered, that is. Early doctor's appointment for my annual physical had me up and out the door by 7:30! Eeeeeps! AND it was icy. But I got it out of the way, ran a couple of errands and then took myself to breakfast. It was yummmmmmy - Eggs Benedict at the local comfort food restaurant, "Hot Dish". And then do you know what I did? I came home, turned my phone on 'silent' and took a nap! Ahhhhhh. One final errand to do today - I'm going to pick up the kind friend who fixed my fence and we're going to put the old cement from the two post holes in my car and take them up to the dump. They've been sitting on my parking strip ever since he dug them up so I'm sure the neighbors will be happy.

I've done some good work on the TDR turtleneck. Maybe one more repeat of the cable motif and the yolk should be done. I don't want it to be too tight across the chest, but I don't want it to be a sack either so I suppose it's going to come off the needles a couple times before I get it right. I'm measuring the back AND the raglan length this time -- usually I just go by the raglan length. I want to get all of the measurements right so I can make a pattern with three sizes.

The holiday hoo haw

No knitting going on lately what with company and Christmas and all the other stuff I've been dealing with. But, fingers crossed, I'll be able to get comfy tonight and do a little knitting for a change! It's not going to be a particularly restful rest of the week or weekend because I'm getting my Dad ready to move and then moving him. Can I say it's the worst "vacation" I've ever had? Can only go up from here, though.

I threw the ugly, scary incense thing away today. Done frightening the children with it. Even my nephew said it was creepy.

Hopefully I'll have some knitting pictures to post by Friday. I can't decide which project I want to jump back into - the Ogee Tunic, which has been woefully neglected; the heart socks, which are deceptively complicated; or the TDR turtleneck. My guess is I'll head for the turtleneck. It's autopilot knitting except when I get to the cable panel. I've got some good movies coming today from Netflix so I can put in a movie, autopilot around and then pause while I cable. Yeah.

Awwwww!

Isn't this cute!!?? AND romantic, I might add. I got home from walking Tinkerbell and found this on my doorstep. I feel much more in the holiday spirit. Now I'm going to pick up around the house while my guests are out and about, and bake three pies and start wrapping gifts. Merry Christmas!!

It's Wednesday

Still no sign of holidays around my house. I have never left it so late but hey .... that's the way it is this year. My sister comes into town tomorrow and we shall get the tree and let the holidays begin! Friday - shopping. I know ... I heard that gasp. True story, I don't have any gifts but the few small things I brought from my trip and I haven't even given it much thought either. It's going to be a fun shopping expedition on Friday. At least I've alerted everyone not to expect much. It's always jolly around here though. We'll have a fine time. And at least we have lights! If you can believe it there are still people out there (my nephew is one of them) without electricity!

I knit on those mitts last night until my hands were sore and I had to stop. I should be able to finish them up in a few hours and then NO MORE KNITTING FOR OTHER PEOPLE!! Unless it's a gift that I decide to give someone, of course.

The big story

The big story, of course, is the weather here in Seattle and environs. Lucky for me the worst that happened is that my fence blew over. I lost the cable for about 1/2 hour and electricity for less than a minute. Again, very very lucky. There are people who are still without electricity and it's been more than 3 days.

I've been doing a good bit of knitting these days. I opened my big mouth at our staff party last week. My gift was a pair of fingerless mitts - like Fetching only more cables. One woman loved them so much that she wanted to give her daughters each a pair. So ..... guess what I've been knitting on? You got it - here's the first pair nearly done. I will be able to finish the second mitt and start on the second pair. I wanted to have both pairs finished by tomorrow afternoon but I don't think that's going to happen.

The other project I've been working on is the TDR turtleneck with a cabled panel. Here's the very beginning showing one repeat of the cable. I wish I had more time to work on it but with those mitts over my head .... ah well.

And finally as promised a picture of the ugliest gift ever given to me. I still don't know what he was thinking. It could very well be cursed. I keep it wrapped up because I can't stand to look at it. I am just keeping it around to show people and then ... poof! It's going to disappear.

Proctor blogging

Again. Seems I proctor a lot of exams, doesn't it? Today is the last one. It's not so bad but I think I've already said once, I don't think I would be able to spot a cheater anyway! And if I did ... what then?

Yesterday evening I ripped out the start of the cabled turtleneck. It wasn't so heartbreaking since I had only done one cable repeat. I measured the cable panel and figured out how many stitches that would be in stst .. well anyway, the maths seem to be fine. I didn't get much done other than ripping it out and casting on and maybe 4 rows of rib but I also now know that I have to be very careful reading the chart so I don't make garter ridges on my cables!

Before I did that though I worked a bit more on my heart lace sock, finishing up the gusset and up to a few rows of the leg. I'm just ribbing on the back. I must say I'm going to be fighting SSS. I'm not exactly loving knitting the lace. It's a 10 row repeat but it's practically impossible to memorize. And then there's the row where you have to knit 4 together. It does look nice though. I am going to post the pattern when I finish.

This post needs pictures!

I should have taken pictures. I had the time this weekend but just couldn't get motivated. My Secret Pal from SP8 sent a wonderful surprise which I got on Friday when I needed a little boost. A darling card, some super sock yarn and a washcloth and some lip balm and cream. I will surely post a picture!

I can't wait to use that sock yarn - it's gorgeous! I got a bit more done on my first heart lace sock - got the heel turned and I'm almost done with the gusset. I don't think I'll put the lace all the way around the leg though - just in the front and rib the back.

There were two packages on Friday - one a box from Mr. G (who I haven't heard more than 2 words from for weeks!). I was genuinely surprised and when I opened the box, dug through the crumpled paper and found a packaged wrapped in Christmas paper with a card on the front of it, I couldn't help myself. I opened the card. And it said "Something I made for you to burn incense. Love, Greg". Curious-er and curious-er. Should I wait until Christmas morning or open it now? Hmmm? Well of course! I opened it up right then! And OMG -- see I can't even describe it. Here we need another picture. Or two. I will most certainly do that because it is the most amazing and ugly thing I have seen. It actually frightened me a bit. Very bizarre. Very. This thing looks like something you would use in a Voodoo ritual. What ever happened to flowers?

I also started a TDR turtleneck with a cable panel in the front. I have noticed that the back is growing faster than the front because of the pulling in properties of the panel. Now I must decide if I should rip it out and do over, starting with fewer stitches in the back portion, or if I can just start increasing only every second or third time until it evens out. I am torn - on one hand if I rip back I can fix the one cable where I knitted when I should have purled. Not very noticeable but I notice it. On the other hand, I got all tidy minded and have already woven in the ends of the beginning and where I added the 2nd ball of yarn. Major deal ripping that out. What to do?

Catnip to married men

That seems to be me. And I don't want to come across all cynical or anything but it's getting to be rather annoying. Here's the latest. An old friend of mine from high school also works at the U and I see him now and again when I park my bike or walking around the building. We also run into each other at reunion functions and he always says "Oh, we should have lunch some time". But it's been over a year since I've spoken to him so when I got an email last week suggesting we get together for lunch I was mildly surprised. My first thought was "Of course .... his marriage is on the rocks, what do you wanna bet". Then -- no that couldn't be it! Too easy. He's just getting around to asking me. But the gut doesn't lie my friends. We weren't very far into our meal before he spilled it - and yes, I was right.

Men: predictable. That's my man appreciate point for the day.

My living alone appreciate point: You don't have to have any conversations in the morning.

Elann has Merino Chunky for sale today. I think I'm going to treat myself and buy some of the charcoal color for a nice sweater. I still haven't started that cable turtleneck with the chocolate colored Merino Chunky. Maybe I can do that this weekend. AFTER I get the sleeves done and start the body of the Ogee Tunic. Must. Be. Strong.

My old friend Mike came over last night. He's up here for a visit with his family -- they're doing a holiday thing this weekend since they're spread all over. He came in with a big present AND a bottle of Veuve! Now that's a houseguest! Nice thing about old friends is that they know what you like and how to make you smile. You can't go wrong with a nice bottle of champagne, boy. Now I'm going to have to get a tree to put my present under. I'm not really in a huge mood for Christmas this year but I'll man up and get it done. ha ...I love that expression "man up".

Is this really news??

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Some of Hollywood's most successful women share an unexpected byproduct of success -- hairy armpits.

Women bragging about being sooooo busy that they don't even have time to shave their armpits. Puhleeze. Is that not ridiculous?

Today's living alone appreciation point:

• Drinking juice right out of the bottle. I know ... it's a totally piggy thing to do.
  

What I love about men today:

• The way they smell. No, really.

On my little trip to Paris and London I was given a special gift - a "Mind the Gap" T-shirt. It's a sign on the Underground reminding people to be careful of the space between the train and the platform. I think it's hilarious but for another reason entirely. *Anyway* I wore it to sleep in and had a dream I was having a conversation with Napoleon. Just chatting away like old friends. I don't remember the topic of conversation, just the feeling of being with him. If I were going crazy would I be able to tell?

I finished up one of my Fetchings last night, except for the thumb. I've got to get on the stick. They've got to be done in a week. I have company coming tonight and there will be no knitting because I'm going to help him do his Christmas shopping and then tomorrow a dinner ... maybe Friday I can knit. I'll most likely be good for nothing else by then.

And .....

to continue -- a couple more things that I like about living alone.

• Slobbing around. I can come home, take out my contacts and put on my sweats. Tink sure doesn't care what I look like. And as long as I avoid the mirror in the hallway, I don't care either!
• No negotiating over meals. Whatever is to hand is fine. Peanuts and Tequila? Sounds like dinner to me.
  

Man appreciate point of the day: "Here, let me carry that for you".

Yesterday was a frustrating day. I started out with a trip to one of my Dad's doctors. An appointment I anticipated would take just a few minutes turned out to be an hour. I had, of course, brought something to keep my hands busy but had neglected to remember a row counter and so I had nothing to do! I paced. Very attractive. I didn't get to the office until after 1, having spent another chunk of time in the pharmacy. I had planned on being to the office by 11:30 at the latest and so hadn't had anything to eat or drink except a cup of tea I took with me in the car. I was dizzy by the time I arrived and of course had the chairman hovering over my shoulder. I calmly explained my blood sugar problem and got him to back off for a few minutes so I could get something in my stomach. Oh well, I could whine on for inches. Nevermind. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. Something's gotta give. Uhhhh .... anymore cliches?

Let's try something different

Here's the deal -- I'm going to try to fool the gods of love. Oh sure ... yeah, sounds crazy, I know. But what the heck - what have I got to lose? Instead of concentrating on how much I hate not having a boyfriend and how much I hate living alone, I'm going to make an effort to find the positive in the situation. A much more difficult task, believe me. And while I've never been a man basher, even at the worst of times, I'm also going to celebrate all the wonderful things about men. Just a little reverse psychology (kind of) with fate. It seems to me that when one is happiest with one's situation that's when things change.

So here's what I found most satisfying about living alone this weekend.

1. No sharing the Sunday paper. The New York Times crossword is all mine and nobody is over my shoulder trying to "help".
2. No waiting for the bathroom. Ever.
3. While housecleaning never goes away, at least the mess I'm cleaning up is only mine.
4. WIPs are decorative and I don't have to explain it to anyone.
   
5. Peace and quiet.

And here's what I appreciate about men, in general. They can fix things! Some of the most wonderful words to come out of a man's mouth are "I know how to fix that!", followed by the even more popular "Where are your tools?." I think it's going to be easier to list wonderful things about men than what's good about living alone, but I'll work on it.

And speaking about working on it -- our departmental party is coming up soon and I've not finished the fingerless mitts yet! I was going to make them out of recycled cashmere but quite frankly it looks terrible! I got one done, except for the thumb, and realized that the kinky recycled cashmere, while admittedly a deluxe fiber, looks like crap! Even after it's washed it still doesn't look as good as some new and cheaper yarn. So I started over last night with some pink fuzzy stuff from my stash. I think they'll look a lot better and nobody is going to care that they're not cashmere.

Say bye bye to November

And we're very happy to do so! What a month weather-wise. I started December out right and actually rode my bike this morning. It's warmer - 36 degrees now - and the snow and ice are all gone from the roads. It was raining on the way in, but not too much and frankly I didn't care. It was just nice to get on my bike, even though it was so dark that I had to have not only my tail light on but the headlamp as well! Two more weeks and we'll be heading back into the light as well.

I telecommuting yesterday so it was a very quiet day. I was supposed to take my Dad to an appointment but it was cancelled and he didn't call to tell me ..... Oh well, at least I telephoned him before I headed out and got the news. He's just like my nephews - they all just expect me to get news out of thin air as if I have some sort of psychic connection where their affairs are concerned. It kind of makes me crazy, and not in a good way. [Okay okay .... so I'm still a little cranky. Post-vacation blues or something. It'll pass.]

I finished up the earflap hat. I used the left over yarn to make a scarf but it's a teensie weensie scarf. Maybe a cravat. I shouldn't have bothered but I didn't know really how long it would end up being since I used a different needle size. Oh well. I may gift it. I may keep it. It's not my best look, but I sure wish I had had it a few days ago!

I also got the top of my sock done and tonight maybe I'll turn the heel. I am loving that lace pattern! The hearts are so apparent. Not in the picture I posted yesterday but when it is on the foot and stretched out a bit more, it's really the best heart lace pattern I've found.

Nothing fun planned for the weekend. I've got company next week for a day or two and I may take Friday off. I'll tell you - there is only one upside I've found so far for not having a boyfriend and that's that I always have plenty of vacation time to spare.