And yet another incredible run!

This is such a strange phenomenon.  Yesterday I had another amazing run even faster than Monday!   And while it is possible that changing my breakfast fruit could be the cause, I am not completely convinced so I'm going to go back to the strawberries for tomorrow and see what happens.  The fact that I am breathing so much better than I have for months is certainly a contributing factor as well.  I actually don't care why this is happening.  I just want to keep it happening.  If I could run a race this weekend I would easily beat my personal best by a couple of minutes.  It's just crazy.  Oh -- and it was raining hard yesterday when I went out.  I know I have a window now so there is no reason for me to be surprised by that, but my window looks out onto a courtyard and it didn't look like it was raining out there.  It was though and I was soaked to the bone by the time I got back.  I should have worn a cap at least but I was just so happy I didn't care.  It's not cold but boy is it wet.  I changed into a hooded jacket after I got home to walk Tink because holding an umbrella while walking a dog is very inconvenient.  My pants were sopping when we got back.  And even Tink didn't mind turning around. 

Today I drove in -- for the last time (at least for a while) -- so I could stop and get something for our lunch party today.  I was hard pressed to find something healthy to bring but ended up getting grapes.  We're having pizza and beer and heaven knows there will be candy and goodies aplenty.  I saw boxes of croissants and I really wanted one but knew I would be sorely disappointed.  Only three weeks and I can have real ones.  Mmmmmmmm  

All I wanted to do last night after getting soaked twice in one day was a hot shower and to sit in my comfy chair and knit on my pretty blouse.  But my sister called and I ended up talking to her for her entire drive home while having a lovely martini -- which meant I was not in lace knitting mode by the time we hung up.  No matter - cozy in my chair with Tink, we watched a little TV and I read.  It was nice.

Holding steady at #2

Well the results are in and I lost my fantasy match this weekend but still retained my ranking, thank goodness.  However this week my quarterback, Tom Brady,  has his bye and so I am going to have to go with my bench and that's Jay Cutler.  His team's defense is awesome but he's a wild card as far as points go.  I'll just have to hope for the best.

I tried the banana breakfast yesterday and indeed I had a fantastic run.  I did notice that my asthma symptoms are totally gone and so I'm sure that has something to do with it as well.  I will try the banana again today and then on Thursday I'll do strawberries and see what that tells me.

I was anxious to work on my new project when I finally got to sit down yesterday evening.  This is most definitely not TV knitting.  Well, every other row is TV knitting.  Cecilia (described as a romantic circle blouse) is lace in the round with a nice plain knitting round in between each pattern round.  The pattern isn't difficult, but each row is different as you can see, so you definitely need to concentrate and count even with markers.  But it's super fun and it's going to look awesome.

It's rainy today but still it hasn't gotten really cold.  I'm glad that I'm going to have at least mild weather for the first few weeks after giving up my car.  I'm giving it away on Friday and then .... we'll see.  I suspect this month and a half before I move to my new place is going to be a bit of a challenge but I'm up for it.  I'll sign up for Zipcar today.  It's an adventure!

Sometimes there aren't enough hours in the day!

Friday I woke up with a killer sinus headache.  I wonder if it was all of that intense computer work I've been doing lately?  Days and days of just staring at the screen.  I don't think I wore my contacts to work once last week.  Anyway, I stayed home and dealt with that Friday.  It wasn't until early afternoon that it finally eased up.

I had another super fantastic run last Thursday.  That morning I had 3/4 of an apple with my oatmeal instead of the strawberries and again I had energy to spare!  The only conclusion I can draw from this is that I have been eating less than I should for an optimal run.  I got more bananas this weekend and today I'm going to try a banana for breakfast with my oatmeal and see if I can get the same results as last week.  Also it's misting and has been raining hard so there is a lot of moisture in the air.  I can't wait for lunchtime!

I got SO much done this weekend I can hardly believe it.  Friday afternoon I took a load of shoes and boots to have the heels repaired - long overdue.  Then I stopped by the apartment complex where I want to live and found out that yes, definitely, that's where I want to live.  I have an application and I saw a couple of units, but I can't move until mid-December so I am going to complete the application and then just wait for the right unit to become available.  Unbelievably they have over 90 different floor plans!  And also because I work here I don't have to pay the application fee and get a discount on the refundable deposit.  Nice.

Besides going to two parties I also started a new knitting project - another one from the Feminine Knits book.  This one is a lace blouse and I'm using a white angora blend that I frogged from another project that I never could get into.  It is going to be gorgeous!

The Huskies won what sounded like a great game, but I didn't get to watch it!  I was bummed.  The Seahawks lost - unfortunately a game that I was able to watch.  Not good.  My fantasy team has one more player in tonight's game.  He needs to make more than 16.54 for me to win.  It's doable.  Fingers crossed!!

Snow is predicted for Luxembourg today.  It is so pretty when it snows there, but I hope it's gone in three weeks because it won't be fun getting around in it.

Those pesky neighbors

Was I just super lucky my first year at this apartment complex?  I never heard a peep out of my downstairs neighbors.  But now .... or heavens!!  These people are SO noisy!  Last night I had to go downstairs and pound on their door because their music was blasting so loudly it woke me up!  I had to knock 4 times before they heard me.  It is extremely annoying.  And I didn't even have to say, "Uh ... would you please turn that down"?  He knew even before he opened the door.  "Sorry.  Have a nice night".  I'd have had a better one of I could have smacked him one. 

I cooked the most wonderful dinner last night.  I had some kale left over from the soup I made last week and I sauted it with garlic and olive oil.  It was really yummy.  And then a quiet evening - well, quiet until the dance party downstairs.  I was going to start a new knitting project but held off.  I copied another pattern from that feminine knits book - a lovely lace blouse.  I have the perfect yarn for it.

Four weeks from now I'll be getting off the train in Paris.  Oh I know these next four weeks are going to just zoom by and I don't want them to.  If the days up to the vacation zip by then the vacation for sure will be finished way too quickly. 

It's cloudy and cool today.  I sure hope I have another run like I did on Tuesday!

I do wonder about my sanity

You will not believe what I did yesterday evening.  I still can't believe it.  When I got out of the elevator after work I reached for my keys and .... I couldn't find them!  I searched all through my purse - not there.  I searched my coat pockets and in the little bag I had - nothing.  I couldn't believe it but they were nowhere to be found.  I decided I must have dropped them when I put them back into my outside purse pocket on the bus, so I headed to the apartment office and had them let me into my apartment so I could walk Tink and figure out how to get my keys back.  And oh, I was SO mad at myself!  I got Tink and away we went as I put a call through to Seattle Metro Lost and Found to alert them to the fact that my keys were on the bus. The lines were busy and after waiting about 10 minutes I entered my telephone number for them to call me back when the line was free and went along on my walk, fuming and fussing all the while.  And then I started thinking how I was going to describe my little key wallet and what keys were on there -- my electronic door key, my apartment door key, the facilities key, the laundry room key, the mailbox key .......... and that's when it hit me.  I stopped dead in my tracks.  I had gotten my mail!  That meant that I had my keys when I walked into the building.  Oh I felt so stupid!  By this time my sister was on the phone and I told her what had just happened and she accompanied me back to my building to find my keys in the vestibule.  But nope, they weren't there!  Then I noticed another call coming in on my phone - the apartment office.  Of course, I got there and they had my keys.  Someone had just turned them in.  Whew!  But how silly is that?  I felt like a total idiot, and not wanting to take any chances doing anything else stupid I had a shower, put on my comfy flannels and made myself a drink.  I was in for the night.  Disaster averted. 

Yesterday at lunch I had the most awesome run I have had in months and months!  I don't know why but it was just incredible.  I was flying along (for me).  If I had been running that pace Sunday I would have had a personal best time.  And no coughing, no asthma after I was done either.  It was just perfect!  No running today so let's see if I can repeat it Thursday.

Now I'm number 2

Oh it was fabulous while it lasted, but the results are in and now I'm 2nd in my fantasy league and the guy who beat me is now number 1, even though we have the same records.  There's still plenty of football left and I should have a decent number of good players for next week.  I think only one of my guys has a bye.

Yesterday was busy at work and I skipped running, as I usually do after a race weekend.  But I'm not going to take the entire week off this time.  I'm getting right out there again today.  I am still undecided about the race in December, but I might as well keep it up.  Usually I take at least a week off after a race, but since I've got a trip coming up in four weeks(!) there's no need to slack off.  Heaven knows, it will be a week and a half of sloth and gluttony.  I've got to be in shape for that kind of action! 

I didn't knit last night.  I was just a slob on the couch, watching football and eating left over pizza.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  Now that I have had the little cowl knitting interlude I must dig right back into the Argosy wrap and get that thing done and move on to another interesting project.  And speaking of projects, I ordered a soap making book last night and a lotion making one as well.  I really do love handmade soap and it's not often that I get to a market or street fair where I can buy it, plus I am particular about my scents.  So now I can make my own.  It could be fun.  Or a messy disaster.  We'll see.

A very hilly race

Sunday was the Dawg Dash and we really lucked out with the weather.  It had been raining off and on since Friday, sometimes hard.  But the morning was mild and the really dark clouds stayed over the mountains all morning, not moving in until late afternoon.  There were about 4,000 runners for both the 5K and 10K races combined, plus plenty of dogs.  Because the stadium is being renovated the entire race was run on the upper campus which is on an incline.  I was feeling pretty good Sunday morning, my cough being mostly gone.  But we started out up hill.  Ugh.  I hate running hills and it is a very hard way to start a race.  I managed to not panic and made it to the top of the incline where the course turned west and then south, which is down hill.  Oh and we were all just flying down 15th and it was wonderful!  I knew that sooner or later we would be turning back east into the campus and have to make up all this flying down with a lot of hard up.  And indeed we did.  There were even a couple of places with stairs!  Holy cow.  It was the most difficult 5K I have ever run.  Needless to say I wasn't breaking any personal bests.  I am proud to say that I made it, I did have to walk up a couple of the steepest parts of the hills and of course the stairs, but I was strong over the finish line and that's what counts.  And it was fun, of course.  There's another run on  December 9th which I am seriously considering doing.  I know it will be only a week after I get back from my vacation but I think it would be a perfect way to keep from doing my post-vacation week of pouting and eating and drinking way too much.  I will check out the route.  If it's not too hilly I will seriously consider it.

I was quite busy this weekend.  I finished up that gorgeous little neck warmer I started last week on a whim.  It's called "Holly" and it's from a book that Monika brought in to noon knitting a few weeks ago called "Essentially  Feminine Knits".  There are a lot of lovely patterns in there and this cowl was super fast and not too difficult.  I mean, it's lace and I was knitting while watching TV, so it's not that complicated. 

The Huskies played Saturday night and it was a terrible and ugly game.  Since I had to get up early Sunday I just went to bed and gave up on it.  Ugly ugly game.  And then Sunday I stunk it up in my fantasy league.  I do have one more chance for points tonight but considering that I only have 44.93 points and my opponent has 106.10, I don't think there's much chance there at all that my defense is going to get me the win.  Ah well, that just means that there will be someone tied with me for first place.  I had all my good players on a bye this week so that's taken care of.  I should be golden for the rest of the season.  Let's hope.  I would dearly love to win this thing this year.

Some people

Some people are just plain difficult to work with.  Those people who can't seem to have a simple working relationship with anyone.  I am cursed to have not one but two of those people in my life, both autumn and winter quarters.  So I am practicing staying calm, cool and polite.  I tend toward sarcasm and it is oh so difficult now and again to keep those comments off my lips.  This one this quarter sends off a barrage of emails, one after the other, usually ending up with her figuring out the answer to her oh so important question.  Most of the time her questions and concerns would be non issues if she would just look at the web site or take a second to think the things through.  But for her everything is a BIG problem.  For example, she came storming into my office yesterday afternoon, waving a piece of paper.  "Shelley, we have a BIG problem!  The schedule on the web site doesn't match my schedule for the students!!"  She's practically hyperventilating.  "Really?", I say because I know it's not true and if she had taken a second to open her laptop to look at the web site she would have seen that.  But she hovers over my shoulder and we look at the web site.  Ah!  Okay - a typo.  "Oh, I see there's a typo here.  That should read 'Muscle' and not 'Blood'.  There, it's fixed.  What else?"  "Well, I don't know".  So we went through her schedule and of course there was nothing.  She hadn't even looked, but expected that there was a huge disaster.    The students are smart enough to know if it says they are being quizzed on a subject that won't be covered for another week that it's a typo.  But there you go.  Thank goodness, it's Friday.

And pouring rain.  The clouds came in last night and by seven o'clock it was bucketing down.  I took a break from the game and took Tink out and we both came back soaked, although I had my raincoat on.  The game was disappointing.  We lost.  Plus I had one of the Seahawks on my fantasy squad because three of my best guys are on bye weeks and he dropped the ball 3 times!  Arghghg!  I think I'm going to lose my fantasy matchup this week. 

I was very disappointed in my run yesterday.  I hope I do better today because Sunday is the race.  I had lots of protein for dinner last night so I am guessing I will be stronger at lunchtime today.  And it's very moist air that I'll be breathing, which is good.

The neck warmer is coming right along.  I am half way through it.  I got quite a bit done last night while I watching the Seahawks.  It would have been a perfect evening if they had won.

Rediscovering the joy of knitting

At noon knitting yesterday one of my friends was showing off a beautiful cowl she had knit during her recent vacation.  It looked so pretty and I asked her for the pattern.  Then when I got home last night I searched out the perfect ball of yarn from my stash - a cotton/angora blend in a beautiful blue - and cast on for that cowl.  I ended up doing 10 rows and it is going to be beautiful!  I think I have just been slogging along with projects I'm not all that interested in for too long.  It's lace, but not too complicated to knit while watching TV.  Perfect, because the Seahawks are on Thursday Night Football tonight.  Guess what I'm going to be doing tonight?

I actually did get my last reservation made yesterday.  I've been such a procrastinator lately.  It took me ages to get my new passport and I have dry cleaning that's been ready for weeks that I haven't picked up.  But all my reservations are made.  I guess we can see where my priorities lie.

I am looking forward to a wonderful strong run today.  It's beautiful outside again.  I was expecting rain this week but so far it's been lovely.  I guess it's saving up for race day. 

Mid-week bliss

I love Wednesdays.  It is a day when I don't run and I don't have any guilt about it.  It is noon knitting, a nice hour chatting and knitting with my friends that I look forward to each week.  And today it is lovely again outside, although just a touch chilly.  When I was walking Tink this morning I realized that in just 5 weeks at this time I will be checked into my hotel in London!  It is dawning on me slowly that I have a wonderful vacation in the not too distant future.  And boy am I looking forward to it!  It has been a rough six months.

My run yesterday was a bit disappointing.  I didn't have much omph.  Perhaps it is because I ate only vegetable soup for dinner the night before.  It wasn't my wind, because my cough is much diminished and I haven't been wheezing.  I think it's going to be raining on Sunday for the race, or cloudy at least.  And I do best in that weather so I'm not going to fret over it.  

How much do I love my new iPhone?  One of the features that I have been using more than I anticipated is the voice recognition, Siri.  It is so easy to make appointments, set reminders, get information.  No more typing on that little keyboard - or at least not so much.  You can dictate emails, just about anything.  If you are driving and a text message comes in you can ask Siri to read it to you and then dictate a reply!  Or you can ask her to remind you when you get to a certain place - for example I asked her to remind me when I got to work to make my last plane reservations.  And sure enough, as soon as I stepped onto the grounds my phone beeped.  And that's just a tiny portion of new features that I am learning about.

I was restless and antsy last night.  There was nothing on television that I wanted to watch.  I didn't feel like knitting (!!  I know!  I guess I need a new project).  I ended up going to bed early and watching a movie on my iPad, but then I got interrupted by a work matter.  I was tired anyway so I was asleep by 10.  I woke with a little cough around 1 but I got it under control and I am rested today.  Here's hoping this lingering cough will finally be gone by the race this weekend.

Someday I'll make a list

I have to start with a rant today.  This just irks me no end.  Why?  I have no idea.  Maybe because it's just so obviously selfish.  It is that person sitting on the aisle with an empty spot next to the window, typically filled up with their bags or back pack or whatever.  At each stop they make sure to be busily studying or reading or riffling through whatever is sitting on their seat with them so that no eye contact is made with the passengers walking down the aisle looking for an empty seat.  It just bugs me, that's all.

Other than that it is a gorgeous morning.  Looks like the rain just blew through, although I believe it is due back soon.  I had a great run yesterday and my cough is most definitely much better.  I almost made it through the whole night without coughing, which is a HUGE improvement.  I have high hopes for a good solid race this weekend.

Even though I had already won my matchup (yay me!  I have the best record in my league still) I was interested in watching the Monday night game, the Broncos against the Chargers.  But at the half the Chargers were up 3 scores and I had finally found a book I wanted in the Sunday Times book review section, so I headed in to bed to read, figuring that the game was in the bag for the Chargers.  Hah!  Never under estimate Peyton Manning.  I found out when I checked the scores this morning that he brought the Broncos back in the second half to beat the Chargers!  It must have been a great game.  But I did enjoy my quiet reading time.  There's still plenty of football left.

Now we're back to normal

Finally after a long and dry spell, we are back to our normal autumnal weather - cloudy and rainy.  The temperature is still quite mild but definitely not dry.  I don't mind actually.  I heard the swish of car tires on wet streets and it was a very cozy sound.

Friday before I left work I made all my reservations for my trip in November.  And good thing too, because even as I was searching for airfare the prices went up!  Seriously - I had a search with a fare listed and when I went back to it about three  hours after the initial search it said the results were no longer valid and they had gone up - same flight - over $50.  So I definitely got right on that.  And next day they were up over $100 more.  The only thing I have left to book today is my flight from Luxembourg to London because Luxair requires passport number and I didn't have that with me.  So - today I will be done and now all I have to do is wait.  Piece of cake.

Last week was a long, hard week.  I was happy to relax Friday after work with a nice dinner and a little silly TV.  Saturday was chock full of errands and I needed to be up and out by 8.  Tink had a grooming appointment at 8:30, so I picked up a coffee and off we went - no traffic at all.  In fact, it was so quiet and calm that I got to my nail salon 15 minutes before they opened!  After the mani pedi it was off to finally pick up my second box of contact lenses that I have been waiting for, then to the hair salon.  Yes - a completely girly day.  Finally I stopped by the mall and that was when the traffic started getting insane.  I don't know what was going on.  The only thing I could come up with is that people have been enjoying this crazy good weather for so long that when a bad weekend day arrived they all flocked to the mall to catch up on their shopping!  I had to park WAAAAAY far away and I only got that spot because I happened to drive by when someone was pulling out.  It was totally worth the search though because I found a skirt that I have been coveting was on sale and they had my size, plus I got a really cute pair of pants and a new top.  Nice score.  At that point it was 2 o'clock and time to head back to pick up Tink.  The trip that took me less than 10 minutes at 8:15 that morning took me 35 minutes!  It was bumper to bumper traffic.  Crazy. 

While I was out running errands my big oak desk had been removed from my office.  Hoorah!  Now I only have the books to finish getting rid of and clean the closets ... no, I didn't ever get around to it this summer.  But since I have decided that I'm not going to force myself to move at the end of November I feel better.  I have plenty of time. 

I went out and heard a really fun trio Saturday night.  I needed cheering up because the Huskies lost in a terrible game to USC.  The Seahawks more than made up for that on Sunday by beating the Patriots in an AWESOME game.  So I got the best of both words on Sunday - Brady made my fantasy team some good points and they lost.  I have won my fantasy matchup again this week.  I can hardly believe it and if I'm having a hard time, my nephews and their friends must be going crazy.  The football this week was accompanied by a lot of knitting.  The Argosy wrap is maybe two weeks away from being done.  Less if I put some effort into it.  I'd love to finish it up this week.  That's my goal.

Signs I'm coming to my senses

And good thing too!  After a few days things are settling down and I made a very good decision yesterday evening, as I was knitting.  I would be absolutely INSANE to try to move at the end of November!  Yes, I really really want to move to a new apartment.  But to add the burden of finding a new apartment, packing all my things and then coming home after 10 days away to a new apartment with all my belongings strewn around by strangers - that is an absolutely ridiculous idea.  Plus it would be costly to have someone else do the move, no matter how organized I was.  Silly.  Also, I need a month or so for all my financial dealings to settle down.  I will take my time and find the perfect place and move at the perfect time.  No rushing.  I can do it when I get back from my Christmas in California.

I got off to a late start this morning.  I was tired last night and dropped off early but woke up and was awake for a while in the night, so when the alarm went off I must have shut it down, because that's all I remember - it went off.  I had planned on emptying my big desk last night - it is going away tomorrow - but I didn't get around to it, so that's first on the list for tonight.

It's finally raining.  Eighty days without rain.  It's not pouring, just misting.  I had a good run yesterday, so I bet today is going to be awesome as well!

A little treat

I decided yesterday afternoon that I needed a treat.  I am not really all that self indulgent, am I?  I guess we all have our days .... but I just really really wanted to have dinner at one of my favorite nice little restaurants.  So I invited a friend, ditched the evening workout and went to the Stumbling Goat for a gorgeous little meal.  Also, truth be told, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be one of those people who weird out after having an anxiety attack and can't eat in restaurants any more.  Success!  No problems.  And I had a delightful meal, as always.  And then, home for a little knitting and some silly TV.  It worked its magic, I slept great and I feel wonderful!  As I suspected, now that this house thing is done, even though it didn't end up as well as I had hoped, I can move on with things and I feel better.  Maybe I'll even be able to start a new knitting project!

I would like to get my travel reservations made this week, but I have SO much work to do this morning.  It can wait another day or so if need be.  Now that I have all the pieces in place I just need to get the reservations done and that won't take much time at all.  And my new passport came so I am all set!  Oh hoorah!!  I can hardly wait!  Six more weeks.

I have had several people ask me what I'm going to do about my fantasy line up this weekend.  The Seahawks are playing the Patriots and my quarterback is Tom Brady.  I did have the Seahawks new rookie quarterback but he hasn't performed as well as hoped so I dropped him and picked up one of our receivers.  So - I am going to have to root for my team, but also root for Brady ... it's going to be tough. 

Looks like I'll be having another good run today.  It is cloudy and misty.  My favorite running weather.

As predicted

I did have a fantastic run yesterday!  Oh, but I had to really talk myself into it.  I was tired and thinking of all sorts of reasons NOT to do it.  But I am so glad that I listened to the voice of reason.  It was glorious.  Today is knitting Wednesday so I won't get a chance today, but Thursday and Friday for sure.  Then I'll have to be super conscientious next week to get ready for the race on the 21st.  I think the cloudy weather was a factor in my good run.  The best ones are always in cloudy weather or, the best, misting a bit.

The knitting therapy was used again last night to a good end.  I was calm and sleepy and went to bed early to read.  But ... I couldn't decide what to read!  I need a new book but nothing jumped out at me.  I hate it when that happens.  I get on Amazon, ready to buy something and download it to my iPad and I dither around ... history or mystery?  Something light or ????   Gahh!!  I have a stack of magazines I've not even opened but that didn't spark my interest either.  I ended up playing Scrabble in my iPad, browsing a bit on line and then I was out like a light.  Maybe in the cold light of day I can decide on what I would like to read next.  It sure hasn't been working from bed.

I don't think I've been doing enough knitting

I think that's it.  I can run my legs off and work out until I'm falling over, but that just burns off energy.  Knitting calms me.  It relaxes me.  There's something soothing and almost hypnotic about the process.  That's what I did last night.  No extra work out.  I got the dog walked, put in some laundry, poured a glass of wine and just knit and knit and knit.  But that Argosy wrap ..... I have GOT to get done with that thing!  It's a monster!  I want something a little more interesting to work on.  I don't lack for projects or yarn, that's for sure.

I am going to have a great run at lunch time, even though it isn't sunny.  I didn't get to run last Friday, nor yesterday so I am looking forward to it.  Speaking of sun -- it has now been well over 70 days without any rainfall to speak of, and not even cloudy days!  But today it is cloudy and we might even get some rain by the end of the week.  I'm almost looking forward to it! 

So Anatomy is finished, my house business is finished, and that other legal thing ... that's going to be going on for a looooong time, so I am not even going to think about it.  I am just going to think about my vacation and moving to a new place.  Just good things.  And I am still first in my fantasy league!  I have the best record of any of them.  I can hardly believe it.  I am pretty happy about that.  

My little visit to the emergency room

Friday morning I went straight to the escrow office in Bellevue and signed the papers.  As I supposed my ex had one more little nasty surprise for me.  It'll get straightened out eventually but it was annoying nevertheless.  It didn't take long and I was back on the road to work in 30 minutes.  It was a busy day, being the last whole day of class plus a little good bye program for one of the professors who is going to be retiring at the end of the year. 

I had a nice evening, quiet and woke up feeling just fine.  However, I went out to breakfast and started feeling very strange, then faint, then terrible and .... well, then the ambulance came and took me away.  It was SO embarrassing!  I had to spend time in the emergency room where the doctor insisted on giving me an MRI just to make sure I hadn't anything neurological going on.  The medics decided it was just an anxiety attack ... (JUST) ... and he couldn't take their word for it.  I am *extremely* claustrophobic so the idea of an MRI gives me a panic attack.  They had to give me a sedative and even then I was pretty uncomfortable.  The good news is that I am just fine - nothing neurological, my heart is perfect.  I'm just under a lot of stress.  Duh ...

I took the rest of the weekend off.  I didn't do any of my errands on Saturday, but instead lay on the couch in my comfy pajamas and watched football and let my friend wait on me.  Sunday I did manage to get to the grocery store and that was about it.  The Seahawks game was on in the afternoon and they won.  I won  my fantasy match up again!  It looks like I'm be number one again this week but I won't be certain until after the game tonight.  Wheee ... I just love to beat all those boys.

I heard from my friends in Paris and they have found me a hotel close to the pub.  So I've got to get that booked this week.  Well, I'm not going to get myself all worked up about all the stuff I have to get done.  "Relax" is the word of the day.  Of the week.

The perils of football knitting

I have been actually doing a good bit of knitting lately on that Argosy wrap and lots of it while watching football.  I brought it to noon knitting yesterday and it was inspected and admired, then I sat down with it again last night and realized that I had made a mistake.  Fortunately I don't think it's going to be noticeable unless someone is specifically looking for mistakes because even Peggy didn't notice it, and she notices everything!  At some point - and I was counting back so I am thinking it must have been during the Seahawks game on Sunday - I skipped adding the 8 stitches on the end of row 5.  I am NOT going to rip it back.  I just carried on, and added an extra 8 stitches to this repeat.  I want to be done with this and unfortunately I am only at the half way mark.  I did make a decision in the afternoon to frog the squares I started crocheting a couple of years ago.  I am definitely not going to finish that project.  What was I thinking?  I don't even like crochet!  So I got into my basket and found a skein and a half of a Noro colorway I just love, and when I'm done with that I can start frogging the squares and I won't have to buy any more yarn.

I mad a restful evening, on purpose.  I had such a bad night Tuesday.  The cough was back with a vengeance - maybe from running two days in a row and quite vigorous evening workouts as well.  The race is on the 21st and I had three weeks off, but I shouldn't expect to make it all up at once!  The good news is that my cough has nearly disappeared and I had a wonderful, deep and restful sleep last night.  I feel great today.  I will take it easy on my run.  Slow and steady and all that.

My current audiobook is the second book I have read (listened to) by the same author.   This one is not as serious as the first, but still is about time travel in Oxford, set 50 years in the future.  It is narrated by the same person who narrated the wonderful Shardlake books, which I loved.  However, I have now come to associate his voice with Shardlake so sometimes it is a bit confusing.  I am not liking this one as much as the first, but it is fun.

Busy day today and it looks like I'll be signing documents tomorrow morning!  Fingers crossed.

Late late late!

Two days in a row I have turned off the alarm and slept until 7!  And it's not like I'm sleep deprived.  I have been turning out the light at my  normal hour and last night I could barely keep my eyes open.   It is not good to start the day out all rushed.  And I don't even have time to catch my breath since I've got a meeting at 9.  It's not going to be too interesting so maybe I can catch up with some email.

The Argosy wrap is boring me for sure.  I did a few more rows last night and now I have 10 more 8-row repeats of the second section before I move on to the third section.  I am pretty sure I won't have enough yarn but since I've been using some Kureyon I rescued from another project (or two?) I can just go buy a couple more skeins of something with a near enough color way and call it good.  It's a wrap ... it's a scarf.  Not a big deal if there are different dye lots or even entirely different color ways.

I heard from the real estate agent again last night.  We have ANOTHER extension!  The buyers are going crazy.  I mean really, this is outrageous.  What if someone was waiting to get into their house?  A closing date was set for September 20, then moved to the 27th, then the 2nd and now the 5th.  I have never seen anything like it.  Incompetence or what?

I got a good start planning my November trip yesterday.  I've got the first part down anyway.  Fly into London, one night there then train to Paris for Thanksgiving and Friday, then Saturday take the train to Luxembourg and stay there until I go back to London - probably Wednesday night or Thursday morning, and finally fly back to Seattle on Saturday.  It'll be busy but it's only 10 days so I've got to make the most of it.  The good news is that my friend in Luxembourg finally has a car so we can drive around - go to Germany or Belgium .. whatever we want.  As long as the weather cooperates, of course.  It will be late November after all.

I had a decent run yesterday and a nice after work workout as well.  I have still much to discover about the Fitness Television programs.  So far I'm not blown away, but it's a nice change and a decent workout.  Noon knitting today, so it's a rest day.  I need it.

I did it!

This is my third year playing fantasy football and this is the first time I have been on top.  Granted, we are only ten this year, but still!  It feels pretty darned great.  The Bears defense got me 23 points last night.  I didn't need them, but it's nice to have a bigger than a few tenths margin. 

I ran yesterday for the first time in three weeks and it was not bad at all.  I was afraid it was going to hurt but it didn't.  I even had gas in the tank at the end of the run.  I didn't want to push it and I guess I could have pushed it a bit more.  Maybe this year I'll be able to actually run in the Dawg Dash.  It's one of those runs that I have signed up for in the past and then not been able to make it due to injury or illness.  This may be my year.

And then I discovered Fitness Television.  I was getting tired of my Wii workouts and the other workout games I had and as I was searching around came upon the Xfinity OnDemand Fitness channel.  There are tons and tons of workouts there.  I did a dance one that was really good and it kept my interest.  So after running and doing a 40 minutes cardio routine I was beat last night.  I had a little dinner and knit some and then turned in early.  I was going to read but instead just played with my iPad until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.  I woke up a bit late, but I feel wonderful, so all is well.

Yesterday I also started making concrete plans for my November trip.  Once I get a couple more details ironed out I can get my ticket.  It's going to be low key, although I will be covering some ground.  I'll start in London for a night, then train to Paris for a couple of days, then on to Luxembourg for the weekend and a few more days, then finish up with another night or two in London.  Maybe I can even get some Christmas shopping done.  I'd like to go to Trier again.

It's cloudy today.  More like seasonal weather.  But it's not going to last.  More sunshine on the way.  Ahhhh ... Indian summer.

The sun and the moon

I should have snapped a picture.  The sky this morning is so clear and blue and the full moon was still out as the sun was coming up and I was walking Tink.  The weather has been just gorgeous!  I know it's going to turn soon but in the meantime I am soaking up the sunshine and mild temperatures.  Some of the trees are starting to turn and Tink collects sticky leaves on her feet when we go for a walk.  She doesn't like it. 

Saturday was a very busy day and I got everything done on my list except my laundry, which I did on Sunday while watching the Seahawks get beaten.  They did so well last week but not so this week.  I did get a lot of knitting done on the Argosy wrap while watching the game, then ran some more errands at University Village.  It was, as I said, a gorgeous weekend and the place was packed as usual.  I love all the pretty shops there but the crowds are no fun, but I needed to go to the Apple store to buy an adapter for my new iPhone.  And guess what?  No adapters yet!  What the ....?  That makes absolutely no sense at all!  They have known for quite a while that the charging port would be different and it was no secret.  Why then didn't they have the adapters already in stock with the phones?  So in the meantime I have to carry my ONE cord around with me in case I need to charge my phone - which I often do in the daytime especially if I've listened to my book on the bus, and then run and use the Nike app.  That eats up a lot of battery.  Oh well ... I'll make do.

So it's a new month and the house thing is ALMOST done!  I had to call around on Friday to find out what the heck was up.  The lenders needed more time ... unbelievable.  So now it looks like we'll have to wait until Wednesday.  Nervous much?  Yes ... until it is done and the money is in the bank I am going to be nervous.  No fun.  But I've plenty of work to keep me busy and I am going to start making my plans for November today.  Hoorah!

There is one more football game tonight but I have already won my fantasy matchup against the number one guy.  Oh I am so happy I beat him!  I'm only up a few tenths on him, but I have the Bears defense in tonight's game so I'll have an even bigger lead and he has nobody so ... I win.  I was number 3 overall last week.  I wonder if this will put me at number one?  That would be super.