Did you hear that??

SO strange .... Monday morning, very early as in about 4 or 4:30 am, I woke up. What woke me is that I heard someone say "Hullo". I recognized the voice. It was some sort of aural hallucination because, obviously, no one was in my bedroom saying "Hullo" to me. But that did it for the sleeping for a few hours. I drifted off a couple times around 6 or so but needless to say, I was a zombie yesterday. And yesterday evening we had a dinner party to go to, so I I couldn't wait to get into bed. I read for about half an hour and I was off to dreamland. I am feeling pretty good today, thank goodness, because it's a real bitch of a week.

Last Friday was a good run, considering I had ridden my bike in. I had a busy weekend too. I did a few errands in the morning and then rehearsal in the evening. I was able to knit on the Frost Flowers Stole for about an hour or an hour and a half before I had to head over to Doug's for rehearsal. Now that we have a bass player Doug is very keen on getting some set lists together and starting to rehearse sets so we can gig. While at rehearsal I used another cool iPhone app to find out what was happening with the Husky/Stanford game. Huskies lost, but they fought well.

Mr. M's son was busy getting ready to head back to school on Sunday morning when I returned home Saturday night. I was, unfortunately, in very bad humor because he had left the door to the house unlocked when he left while we were out running errands earlier that day. I was VERY angry and let it out on him when I got back from rehearsal. He swore he locked it, but he is a notorious liar and I didn't believe him. It is very difficult to give a pathological liar the benefit of the doubt, like his father does. I am, quite frankly, thrilled that he is back at school and dreading his return at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And, as you might imagine, his father and I had some sharp words about it on Sunday. I don't think it's too much to ask that someone maintain some normal level of hygiene, for example. Mr. M thinks my standards are too high. (!!) Good heavens. Well, I'm not going to go down that road - it just gets me steamed up again.

Sunday morning I went out for my weekly training run with the other Gilda's Gang runners. [Speaking of that .... now would be a fine time to donate. Click on the box above and support me and my fund raising efforts for Gilda's Club.] The weather was perfect for running - not too hot, sunny, a little breeze. We did 4.25 miles. I must say, I was feeling pretty darned good. Not sore at all! This coming weekend it's 6.5 miles. My nephew has completely dropped out because he seriously hurt his knee. I am little bummed about that, but I'm not going to quit.

After my run I was worn out, as usual. I still had all the laundry to do, cleaning up of the boy's mess, grocery shopping, dog washing .... etc. etc. I did manage to get another few rows done on the stole after the Seahawks stunk up the place and lost. I need some serious time off but I've been looking at my work schedule and I don't know when I'll be able to do it until November. I will get somewhat of a rest when Mr. M goes away for 9 days, the first week of November. If my sister can come up I may take a long weekend with her. I have plenty of vacation, just no time to use it!

I love it when I'm right

I had a fabulous run yesterday! Laying off on Tuesday was just the right thing to do. I wasn't sore yesterday, I had a lot of stamina and I ended my run strong. Today's going to be tough though - it's a biking and running day. And then on Sunday it's five miles. But this time I won't be getting lost, since we'll be on the trail.

I sent my unfinished hat off yesterday to a woman in New York. She will finish it up and send it on to Tahoe Terror (whoever she is). I learned something with this competition - I do not like to knit when I am obliged. It just sucks all the fun out of it. I was happy to knit on my fourth (!) neck warmer hat last night. I must stop knitting those. I have lovely cashmere to make my sister a hat, I have some Noro sock yarn that I want to use to make some fingerless mitts, not to mention the Frost Flowers Stole that I haven't been able to touch for weeks. Maybe this Saturday? Oh I hope so. With my training on Sundays my weekends have gotten very short. Saturday I have to do all my errands, and I really should work some in the garden. If I have to rehearse as well it's almost like a work day.

Pushing 90

No, not me. The temperature. Today is the first day of autumn and the weather forecast is sunny and 87 degrees. It is a schedule running day but .... guess who forgot her shoes today? I had five packages to mail, and packed my running clothes but since I am not yet in the habit of bringing my shoes home for the weekend, left them! My calf muscles are even more sore today than they were yesterday, plus my knee is a bit twinge-y so maybe it's not so bad after all. I'll take a nice long walk and call it good.

I wanted to work on my Hat Wars hat yesterday evening but we had to go to the in-laws for dinner and it was not a conducive atmosphere for doing knitting that required any type of concentration. So rather than do a bunch of work I'd have to take out, I just played Scrabble on my iPhone. When we got home I poured myself a much needed cocktail and started working on getting all that yarn I had sold on eBay wound up and packaged up. Then I got on the Ravelry Hat Wars forum to see what was up and found a message from a woman wanting to know if I was Tink the Avenger. Good sleuthing!! I found her blog where she details the lineage of a kill and who gets the WIP. It is very confusing. But then she says that so-and-so had killed me. Well no ... I got no hat in the mail yesterday. I sent her a message and she explained that someone had finished and mailed off my hat and my death is imminent. Kind of lets me off the hook to finish this hat since I'm out of the competition and I'm not in love with knitting it. If I don't get killed today I'll work some more on it tonight so whoever gets it won't have that much more to do.

What else ..... work takes up so much of my energy this time of year. Add to that the training on Sundays which effectively wipes out the day since I'm so wiped out by the time I get home. That leaves me Saturday to do my errands, grooming, yard work and relaxing. Oh .. and there's rehearsing in there too. I can't seem to get enough sleep.

Lost in Discovery Park

Yesterday was our third training run. We all met at Discovery Park took off on the trails for a 5 mile run. Our group is essentially 3 groups -- the fast runners, the slow runners, and the walkers. I am in the slow runners group. The fast runners took off with the trainer who told the rest of us that he'd leave markers for us to follow. He said he'd make the mark of an arrow in the dirt or leave ferns or branches pointing the way. This is a VERY hilly park, by the way, and most of the trail is in the woods. Long story short, I was following a woman and there was another runner behind me. We missed a crucial turn and when we arrived at the top of the bluff we realized we were lost. So we turned back and started running to the spot where we understood there were steps leading down to the beach. And we ran into the walkers who had also made the same wrong turn. We ran to the stairs and started going down and who did we meet but the trainer and the others runners. The trainer berated us for not seeing his signs and told us that had never happened before. As if we're all dumber than anything for not seeing his grass arrows. We ended up just doing the run in reverse, running along the beach trail and up the steep stairs they had come down. It messed up the mileage and I ended up doing less than 5 miles, but more than four, so that's good. Plus the elevation .... holy cow. My calf muscles are SO sore today. It was so hard. I am hoping for a breakthrough soon. And by the way, look to the right at the top and you'll see a little widget for supporting my run by donating to Gilda's Club. It only takes a second.

The Hat Wars started on Friday, unbeknownst to me. I had to get on the Ravelry group to find the pattern. And of course I chose the hardest one. I worked on it Friday night, and Saturday realized that I had misread the pattern and had to take out the whole cuff, 3 inches, and four rows of the cable pattern that I was doing wrong. I got it started again and after knitting on it yesterday I'm 4 rows into the second 16 row repeat. I am kicking myself for choosing that pattern. Not that it's not pretty, but it needs a cable needle for nearly every row! I hope my target likes it.

The Huskies played their hears out on Saturday and it was a HUGE upset! It was bedlam in the stadium. I was watching it on TV, needless to say, and it was nuts! And today their Huskies are ranked #24 - Ranked for the first time in 6 years. Pretty special.

I love love love my new iPhone

I do! I've been working on transferring all my iTunes songs and videos from my laptop to my external hard drive and it's been a time consuming chore, I can tell you that! My goal is to get all of my person stuff off my broken lap top and onto the external hard drive so I can bring my work laptop home and use that for work. I've been using my personal computer for work forever and now that it's broken, I'm going to use my work computer for work. Yeah. I don't sit around at home and play on my computer or do personal stuff on it, except manage my iTunes, so it won't be hard to keep it just for work. They're very fussy about that kind of stuff, being a state institution.

Anyway, last night I synced up my iPhone and got all my music (except the holiday songs) on there and I've still got more than 17 gigs available! Right now I've got 1,631 songs, 2 music videos, 12 episodes (6 hours) of "Extras", 5 audio books (short ones though - the Ricky Gervais "Guide to .." series), 164 photos and 27 applications. I need to get more apps.

My new favorite app is called Checkbook. When we were coming home from Fort Flagler and getting on the ferry Mr. M remarked that the ferry system won't be accepting checks as of sometime soon. And I said that nobody uses check anymore. And I got to thinking - the only checks I write are twice a month to the housekeeper. If I paid her cash I wouldn't need my checkbook. I use the register to reconcile my debit card use with my account and I pay all my bills electronically and keep track of them on the register. There must be an app for that, I thought and sure enough, there is! It's great too. Way better than the check book register. I just have to be super conscientious about entering every transaction. Pretty soon it will be automatic.

I am working on the fourth neck warmer hat and when that's done I'm putting them aside for a while. First of all because Hat Wars is due to start Saturday (I think). Plus which I've got to work on the Frost Flowers Shawl when I'm not knitting for Hat Wars. I am SO looking forward to Saturday. Mr. M is going to be gone working, the son is going to be gone visiting and I've got the whole house to myself! I am going to sleep in - I am still not caught up from the weekend - and get my nails done and be home by 12:30 to watch the Huskies play USC, and knit and knit and knit and knit. Sunday I'm running 5 miles in Discovery Park so Saturday I'm not doing a thing!

From the coffee room

It was a lovely lovely lazy evening. Having written out an eight point "House Rules" for the stepson, (who, despite numerous assurances that he had his school vacation housing settled has ended up at our house for the whole month!!) I had a quiet home in which to rest. Work was again crazy and I was still a little sleep deprived from the weekend. I knew I had to get that kid under control and his dad was not about to do it, but was oh so willing to let me write out the rules and go through them with the man/boy, making me out to be the bad guy. I am totally fine with that. Perpetuating the stereotype - Wicked, Evil Stepmother. They aren't tough rules, just common sense and housekeeping.He chose the first and walked from our house to Gas Works Park and back, which I estimate to be around 10 miles each way. If he keeps that up he might even lose a little weight, besides going back to school with clean clothes that are really clean. Okay -- enough of that.

So besides some sparking wine and Mario Kart, I had silly TV and knitting. Mr. M wanted scifi, so he took himself up to his "man cave" and watched some odd movie. I hopped in bed at a decent time, read a chapter or two and was out. It was a good sleep. Our irrigation system starts at 3 am and usually I wake up when one of the back portions start, but I didn't last night. I feel rested today. I hope I can get a good run in. My ankle is bothering me a bit, which I suspect might have something to do with all the hills on Saturday. I'll take it easy.

The weekend from hell

First off - if you like camping then you probably shouldn't read this post. I HATE camping and this past weekend just made me remember why and how much.

The weekend actually started off nicely. I had a busy week at work, got everything done I wanted to get done and caught a cab down to the ferry dock. There happened to be a boat waiting so I hopped on. It was a gorgeous day. Mr. M wasn't expecting to pick me up until around 6, so I walked into the town and found a lovely little bar and settled in with a martini and sports on the TV. He picked me up and we drove off towards the campground, stopping at a wonderful restaurant for dinner on the way. GREAT dinner. I love that restaurant. And while we were eating people at the campsite, his son I guess, set up our tent. Pretty much everything was fine when we got there. People drinking and chatting around the fires. We found our tent and put our stuff in there and Mr. M began starting to get the air mattress pumped up. But the pump was missing a crucial part so he had to go in search of another one. He got it pumped up, I got ready for bed, having found the facilities to be just as disgusting as I had imagined they would be. Unfortunately, the new air mattress had leaks. Lots of them. It was like trying to sleep on a water bed, but one that was not filled up. And then there were the drunk people, hollering and talking and making noise. And the not drunk people shouting at them. Oh, and the guy in the tent next to me -- so close next to me that when he started snoring I just about lost it. As my ass was sinking slowly and inexorably to the hard and rocky ground, I sandwiched my head between two towels and cried myself to sleep.

Saturday morning I woke up on the hard, very hard, ground. I was NOT a happy camper in any sense of the word. I had to run 4 miles on Saturday because I wasn't going to make the training session Sunday, obviously, and we were going to the Seahawks game so I just wouldn't have time. I figured I'd get up, get my running clothes on, have a little breakfast and then go. But breakfast was not happening in a timely fashion so I swallowed a cup of coffee that was about 25% grounds, and had some juice and took off for my run. Oh it was a hilly run. But I made the entire four miles in less than an hour. Unfortunately my new iPhone arm band was chaffing me something fierce. It still hurts like crazy. I'm going to have to find some way to pad it.

I was feeling not entirely bad when I got back, had a nice little breakfast and then headed to the shower. Oh my good heavens .... I'll try to be as delicate as I can ... there I was lathering up with some super wonderful smelling soap and someone else was in there stinking the place up. It pretty much doesn't get much worse than that. Ick ick ick ick

Still ... it was a lovely day. And Tink was having the time of her life - all the smells and the kids and the other dogs to play with. We took her for a little walk down to the water, I was hungry again so I had a little lunch and then thought I'd have a nap since I hadn't been able to sleep the night before and Mr. M had patched the air mattress. Unfortunately, he missed a hole and the tent was as hot as an oven. There was no sleeping, although I tried for about an hour until I was too hot to even pretend to nap. That evening was planned a big shrimp boil and since the teenagers had gone through all of our beer(!) I took the opportunity to escape that particular hell and drove 10 miles into town to get more beer and pop. As luck would have it the Husky football game was on and they were beating the tar out of the Idaho Vandals. It was SWEEEET! Finally, a win!

By the time I got back the preparations for dinner were going strong so I packed up some knitting and made myself comfy and did a little knitting and tried to get my blood pressure down. The dinner was nice. We got to bed at a decent hour and the mattress held up. I was anxious to get up, even though we had to get up at 7:30. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I hated every second of it and will now have a full year to figure out how I can get out it when it rolls around again.

The Seahawks took almost a full quarter to get their motors going, but beat the Rams 28 to nothing. Sacked the QB 3 times. It was a good game. And I slept like a rock in my own soft bed.

And now to work!!

Technology has got it in for me

It was a very nice and looong vacation weekend. Yesterday school started and I didn't have a second to breath let alone rant. I don't have to be in class first thing this morning so I'm indulging myself.

My weekend was wet. I did not attend Bumbershoot, needless to say. Saturday was errands and an evening of Husky football. They didn't win, but it was a great game and they really played well. And considering they were playing a highly ranked team on national television, it was awesome. They scored on their first drive, even. It wasn't a blow out, it was a good game to the end. Everyone is very optimistic.

Sunday was the first group training run. My nephew called at 10 am asking me if I was going to be there. I guess because it was raining so hard, he thought I might opt out. No way! Truly, I don't mind at all running in the rain and in fact quite like it. Picture though - this is not plinky-plunky rain. It was dumping! I got all togged up - I had bought new running shorts on Saturday but it was too wet for them - I had my long running pants and a short sleeved wicking T-shirt and a zip hoodie made of the same type of material. My nephew was not thinking straight and showed up with a cotton T-shirt and a sweatshirt hoodie. Off we went with the trainer, everyone but me just zipping along. Me, I know how to pace myself. I ran the entire 3 miles at a very good, almost race pace. The trainer took the other group 4 miles rather than 3 but they stopped at 2 miles and regrouped. I caught up to a poor woman who had not been pacing herself and run out of steam, plus was cramping. We ran the last 1 1/2 miles back to the start together. I was so mad at myself for not thinking to bring dry clothes, although I also wasn't intending to do anything other than drive right back home, but my nephew wanted to go eat, so I stopped and bought a Husky sweatshirt before we got to the restaurant because I was soaked to the skin and getting cold.

I'm going to have to miss the Sunday run because -- hold your breath -- it's Family Camping Weekend. O.M.G. Can you even imagine how much I am NOT looking forward to this? The first year we had just started dating plus I had Seahawks tickets, so it was easy to get out of. Last year Mr. M didn't want to go for some reason ... I think because his friend wasn't going to be there to make the big dinner or something. But this year -- no way out. On the plus side, my FIL gave us his Seahawks tickets so we get to leave bright and early Sunday morning. That means I'm going to have to do my four miles on Saturday, but I think it'll just give me a good excuse to get away from the chaos.

Now for the technology woes. My iPhone had been acting up a little bit for a few months. Sometimes when I would put it in the iHome dock it would light up and say something along the lines of this accessory is not made for iPhone and do you want to turn on Airport Mode. Since the accessory was indeed made for iPhone, I just ignored the warning. But Saturday night I received a call from my sister, everything normal. Next call I got I couldn't pick it up. And by Sunday is was not letting me make or received calls and that message was coming up all the time. I made an appointment to go to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store and, long story short, my iPhone was just broken. And since it was over 18 months old ... WELL over the warranty .. there was nothing they could do. I went home and thought about it and made an appointment to get a new one, which I picked up yesterday. A 32 gig version! Well, why not? Double the memory for $100 - it's a no brainer.

I was setting it to synching last night and when I came up to check on it, guess what. My lap top screen was shot. I rebooted and it was the same. Mr. M hooked up an external monitor for it and now I'm going to have to figure out what to do about that. Having just bought a new iPhone I really can't see buying a new laptop. Thank goodness I have that huge external hard drive and everything is backed up. Since I only use it for work, I might just start taking my work laptop home. That makes the most sense, but it's the lugging it back and forth that it tough. It needs more thought.

On Sunday I also got to meet our new bass player. The verdict it still out. He's okay, but I didn't exactly warm up to him. Partly I think because he and Doug, the leader, had to argue about a bass line. It made me uncomfortable. We rehearsed for 3 1/2 hours. I had no voice when I left.

Ahhh .. and Monday. Blissfully quiet, chores done, Tinkerbell and I hung out and I knitted on the Shawl for a while. This is a real time sink. Now up to row 21.

Holiday weekend coming up

The last day of student orientation for us, thank goodness. Tuesday we hit the ground running. I have to be ON my bike by 7 am. erghgh Thankfully it's only for a month or so that I have to get in so early.

Had a pretty darned good run yesterday. Not effortless but I was strong and it was only a 25 minute (rather than the normal 30). Today, my "easy" day, is another 30 minutes and I'm really curious whether my legs are going to hurt or not. I have been very thorough in my pre-run stretching but it's the morning bike ride that I'm more concerned with. There's only one way to find out - and I'll be doing that in an hour or so.

I did not pick up the stitches in that hat last night. I must do it tonight. I was watching the Seahawks beat the pants off the Raiders in their last preseason game. That makes the Seahawks unbeaten in preseason which hasn't happened ... well, I don't think it's ever happened. Must make the new coach pretty darned happy. Let's hope the Huskies come out of the gate as strong as the Seahawks have this year.

Mr. M's son is due this evening for his summer break. He did the summer quarter so now he's got all of September as vacation. *sigh* Well, I do have lots of work for him if he's at all interested in doing something other than sitting around playing on his computer or arguing with his father. I just love having my quiet time in the house when Mr. M is out working and I can sit and knit in the comfy chair and hear ... nothing. That's not going to be happening for a whole long month. Here's another one .... *sigh*

My stress buster

Last year at this time I was having terrible nightmares. I get stressed out only about once a year, this time, because work is pretty intense. This year I have not had the nightmares! I think it's because I have been playing Mario Kart Wii. I know I know ... it sounds really stupid, but I curse and yell at the other drivers and it's a cathartic experience. The down side is that I've developed a weird callous on the middle finger of my right hand. Almost like a callous from doing a lot of writing. But it's totally worth it. I hated those nightmares.

I am nearly done with the 3rd neck warmer hat, but I found a dropped stitch last night ... wwwaaaay down there about an inch and a half!! It's going to take some skill to pull it back up just right so I put it down. Maybe I can get to it tonight but more likely this weekend.

My run on Tuesday was really good! I felt strong and my legs did not hurt. I'm looking forward to another strong one this afternoon. I am going to try one more time to bike in and run on the Friday but if my legs hurt like they did last Friday then I am going to have to conclude that it's a bit much to bike 8 miles, rest for 3 or so hours and then run. I will probably have to start taking the bus, as much as I hate the idea. AND this Sunday is our first training run so I need to be strong for that one as well.

This weekend is also Bumbershoot. I still haven't decided if I'm going to go. Mr. M has a stage and he wants me to come for a while on one of the days but it's supposed to be raining and I hate crowds. The good side is that if we want to see anything on the Main Stage our passes let us come and go without standing in lines - bonus. But there's still the parking hassle, etc. And I have a huge weekend - unless it's pouring rain I've got to get in the garden on Saturday, get my hair done, do some shopping and then it's the Husky season opener that evening. Sunday I have my morning run and evening rehearsal and in the middle I've got to get other chores done and wash the dog. Ahhh but Monday is a holiday and I was hoping to dedicate the day to my Frost Flowers Shawl. Big plans. We'll see how it plays out.

Lake Louise

Oh I am in a very bad mood and it's only Tuesday. There is LOTS of week to go. I think I'll have my run super early today and maybe I can sweat this mood out of me.

I had weird dreams last night, Tinkerbell barfed on the duvet this morning, and I turned on my computer when I got into the office and there was Lake Louise on my rotating picture widget. Beautiful. Blue. Perfect. I had a wonderful weekend there a few lifetimes ago. I remember the oddest things about that weekend - little pictures. It was a gorgeous room - breathtaking views out of all the windows. I still can't watch college football without getting a silly grin on my face. So ... there it was on my screen. Yup.

This is a rant day. People just drive me crazy sometimes!! I know I get a little short tempered and ... well, let's just say it ... crazy this time every year, but that still doesn't excuse stupidity, does it? I am trying one last week to drive in on running days in hopes that I'll get a better run than I would after biking in. [The jury is still out on that. I didn't feel that my run Friday was any better or worse than my run on Thursday.] *Anyway* .... my rant is about idiots who can't figure out how to get into the garage, or (and this is most likely the reason) people who don't know that you have to be assigned to the garage, you can't just use your Husky card to get into any garage!! For the second time in a row I've had to back up because somebody couldn't figure out how to get into the parking structure. Come on people!! It's not rocket science!

Whew ... okay well I'll have another cup of tea and see if I can't shake this.

More work on the Frost Flowers Shawl

I got to spend a good three hours on Saturday and another hour or so on Sunday working on the Frost Flowers Shawl. I have finished the first 15 rows, moved the markers for the corners and repeats and done another two rows. I did have one little problem - I had stopped during the row when I was moving the markers to their new positions and when I picked it back up on Sunday I didn't realize exactly where I was. I ended up having to tink back about 20 stitches but amazingly enough I got it right! Here is a close up. There were a couple weekends when I didn't get much done so I am pretty happy I was able to spend so much time on it this weekend.

I still haven't rehearsed with our new bass player. I didn't hear from the leader on Saturday so I just assumed we weren't rehearsing and made other plans. Then he calls me at 5 pm Sunday ... uh no .. sorry, I can't make it. I HATE being called at the last minute. He was pretty mad because I guess the drummer was supposed to call me earlier in the week. Oh well - next Sunday.

Mr. M has been suffering with a cold for a few days. He never gets sick so you can imagine what's it like at my house. *sigh* I just keep him doped up with daytime and nighttime cold medicine. That man will NOT rest though! What is up with that? Stay in bed!! No, he'd rather be out there spreading his germs around.

I had a pretty decent run on Friday and it would have been really good, actually, except my thighs were just killing me! I believe I need to strengthen my medial quads. I was a bit achy on Saturday as well but I think that's because I was wearing such high heels. I am going to keep the heels to a minimum for a while and keep my fingers crossed that my legs get stronger. My wind was fine and that's good.

The weather is gorgeous but it's predicted to start raining later this week. Bumbershoot is this coming weekend. I don't have to go and probably won't especially if it's raining. Mr. M, on the other hand, has a stage to run. Ick

No FO

It was just too bloody hot to knit last night. I did really want to finish that hat but I couldn't do it. Maybe tonight. It's supposed to be cooling down and it is much cooler today than yesterday. We might even have some rain on Saturday. I've got to get back out into the garden again but Sunday will work just as well as Saturday, I guess. I'll just postpone the manicure. There's no use getting my nails done before I garden - it's a total waste of time.

I ordered some cashmere from Elann earlier this week. I was sure I had ordered 5 balls each of blue and black but when I opened the package I found blue and plum! I plan on using the blue to make a nice hat and mitts set for my sister's birthday in December and I had planned on using the black to make something luxe for myself. Alas .... I have no black cashmere. I don't know ... maybe I'll use the plum for myself. I should branch out on my color choices more often.

Had a good run yesterday. I still am not totally convinced that it makes any big difference if I drive in or ride my bike when it comes to the strength of my run. Logic tells me that it should make a difference . Today is my "easy" run day and so I biked in. We'll see if it's any harder than yesterday. Another thing I'm concerned with is that I don't over do it and injure myself. I have a feeling that I'm going to need all of the training in order to make it through that 1/2 marathon. If I over do it and get behind, I'm going to be sunk.

I have a choice???

It has taken 3 days but I have finally managed to change our phone plans from individual to a Family Talk Plan with AT&T. Talk about hoops -- it took 3 days because each time I tried I would run out of patience after completing one or two of the steps involved. I am sure they are hoping you will just throw in the towel after a day or two of fruitlessness, but I was determined to get this done. The phone company makes too much money off of running people around. So back and forth and on the internet and on the phone, I finally get it done and she says, "Thank you for choosing AT&T". As if I have a choice! With iPhone there is no choice. Whatever .... I am happy knowing they will get $100 LESS a month from us from now on. Next - a new iPhone but I think I'll wait a few more months.

I finished the second Neck Warmer Hat Tuesday evening and worked on the i-cord at lunch yesterday. I didn't finish it up last night because we had to go pick up something in Alderwood and then we went to dinner. So tonight I'll finish up the i-cord, weave in the ends and perhaps cast on for yet another. It's good TV knitting. But I am going to have to plan out a couple hours Saturday and Sunday to make some progress on my Frost Flowers Stole.

It's going to be hot again today. It's predicted to be about 86 degrees. I am going to go for my run early, like maybe 11 am, before it gets unbearable. I am still not convinced that NOT riding my bike on running days is making a difference. Tomorrow I'm going to be riding and running but my Friday run is supposed to be easy. I was figuring that my run on Tuesday would be strong but it wasn't particularly. That could be because again I was a bit late and I was hungry so that's why I'm going out at 11 today. I still have a couple weeks before "official" training starts so I guess you could say I'm training for training. I don't want to be the slowest.

Does my dress form need a name?

It has been suggested that my dress form needs a name. It has no head - it has a little ball for a head - and that makes it a little harder to name for me. If I had an alter ego or an evil twin name then it would be simple, but I don't. I supposed it'll come to me.

This weekend I found a cute peach colored linen sheath which just happens to coordinate perfectly with my February Lady Sweater! So that's what I'm wearing today. It is the only thing I have that goes with that sweater! I have been just wearing it around the house but I'm glad now I have something to wear it out with.

I didn't knit on the neck warm hat last night, nor the socks that just need binding off nor the Frost Flowers Stole. By the time I was done with my shower and my little after work chores I just wasn't in the mood to knit. Mr. M was out at a meeting so I had a little time to myself to play Mario Kart and by the time I was cooking dinner he was on his way so we got to eat together. And then he had ANOTHER meeting, but this one at home, so I just went upstairs and read. I should be able to finish up that second one tonight though. And when I have some spare time I'd like to bind off the socks and divide that Noro sock yarn I got to make a pair of arm warmers. So much to do ... and never enough time!!

No London trip ... boooo

I spoke to my sister this weekend and she was pretty upset with her company. She's been selling booth space for a licensing show. The one in February was in Las Vegas and the whole London office came over. The one in October she was promised she would go, and I was going to meet up with her and we were going to have a few days, but come to find out they have decided to cut the budget and save a little money so she doesn't get to go, nor do I. She has filed a formal complaint but doubts anything will come of it. We shall see.

I ended up taking Friday as a vacation day since I had plenty and I'm caught up at work. It was a good thing to do and I ended up being able to make a nice party without being all stressed out about it. I gave myself Saturday off - just did a little shopping (using my b'day gift certificates) and watched the Seahawks on TV. The second pre-season game and they won again, this time beating the Broncos.

I've been getting a head start on my holiday knitting, finishing up one neck warmer hat and starting another. They go quickly and are really cute and useful. I've also joined up with another silly knitting contest. This one is call Hat Wars. It looks like it's going to be a blast!!

Rehearsal was cancelled on Sunday due to the bass player having the flu(!!), so I worked in the garden for a couple hours and did chores and knit. Typical Sunday. Dinner was lovely. One of Mr. M's clients had caught some salmon which we grilled on cedar planks and had fresh from my garden corn and a caprese salad with my tomatoes and basil. Funny thing about the tomatoes - I believe the plants must have caught some sort of thing because they have hardly produced any fruit compared to my neighbor's plants and the ones we had last year. I'm going to be more careful picking out the plants next year.

Better FO pictures

Yesterday my dress form arrived! It is awesome and now I have no excuses for bad FO shots. I snapped a couple this morning on my way out. I should have used my real camera and I will, but for now here's a pictures of Loppem and the wrap I made when I was on vacation. It's from "Knitting in the Sun". I still haven't put a button on the Loppem. I have worn it once and just let it hang but I think I'll use a pin as a button. I have a couple cute glass ones that would work just fine.

It was, as predicted, blazing hot yesterday and my ride home was tough. After walking Tink and having a quick shower, I went out to purchase the stuff I need for our dinner Friday night. I was unable, however, to find the two main ingredients for the starter and entree! Thank goodness Mr. M has time and he's on a mission today to find them. Then tonight I'll get it all set and all he has to do is start the cooker. On the one hand, it's a hassle to have people over for dinner on a Friday, but on the other hand I'll have my whole weekend to shop and knit.

Wow .. here comes the heat again.

It's supposed to top out at 90 today. It was pretty darned hot yesterday too. I ran at lunchtime but I was so exhausted from that rotten night that it didn't make any difference that I drove in - it was a bad run. I also had started out later than I had planned because it's pretty darned busy around here so I was hungry as well. No matter -- I've got a couple weeks before we even start the serious training so I'm feeling pretty good.

Oh! And great news yesterday - we finally have a bass player! Yay! We're going to have a 3 hour rehearsal on Sunday. I couldn't make it last Sunday - actually I figured it would be much better if just the guys got together for the first time. I am SO looking forward to this weekend.

I worked just a little bit on the Neck Warmer Hat last night. And I have definitely decided to frog the Flutter and sell the yarn. And while I'm working slowly on the Frost Flowers Stole I can start holiday knitting. Hats. Lots and lots of hats and fingerless mitts.

I feel SUPER this morning. I got caught up on my sleep. Despite the fact that it was sweltering last night, even with the ceiling fan and another fan across the hall, I slept soundly and got a full 8 hours in. I went up super early to read, made it for about 30 minutes and then conked out. Tink woke me briefly in the night, barking at some phantom in the street. But once I got her upstairs and settled I was out! I have lots of chores the next few evenings because Mr. M wants to have a business dinner party on Friday so I have all the shopping and prep to do the next couple nights so that he can get the entree cooking on Friday afternoon and all I have to do is finish the sides. It's much better for me to have these types of things on Saturday, but I guess schedules did not permit that.

It's that time of year already!

It's insomnia season. That time of year when if I am awakened during the night the chances of me being able to get back to sleep are slim indeed. I try to avoid looking at the time, but I do know that it was pitch black when I woke up and so that means it was before 4 am. Needless to say, I am exhausted. I started thinking about work and that was all it took.

I drove in today because Tuesdays and Thursdays are my harder weekday running/training days and I think I'll get a lot more out of the run if I'm not worn out from that long bike ride. We'll see how it goes these next few weeks.

I finally ordered myself a dress form! Mr. M found it in one of his catalogs he gets. I'll finally get to take some decent FO pictures. It should be here tomorrow. Woohoo!

And Monday rolls around again

We are getting our summer weather back this week. Yay! It was perfect gardening weather Saturday. Not too hot, a little breeze, and sunny. I filled up 3 garbage cans with stuff. Amazing. There was a lot of dead heading to do, and tons of buttercups to get cleaned out. The other gardeners I hired to do weeding just never got around to that. I should have walked them through the garden before setting them loose. I spent a good 2 hours out there. That's about my limit. Next weekend I'll work more in the front.

Tinkerbell was up getting groomed while I was working in the yard. When I finished and got cleaned up I spent a couple hours on the Frost Flowers Stole. Still not up to the first moving markers row. I'm on row 12 now. This is just something that I am going to have to keep plugging away on.

Saturday was the first Seahawks pre-season game so I mostly spent the evening watching that and doing a little more work on the socks. I think I can bind them off any time now. And I have decided that I hate that pink bamboo yarn so much that I'm not even going to bother finishing Flutter. I absolutely will not wear it. If it was more of a creamy pink, then yes I'd go ahead. But this is absolutely bubble gum pink. Not good on anyone over 8 years old. I think I'll frog it and sell it on eBay.

Last night I started a neck warmer hat - a pattern I saw in a book of Knitted Gifts that my friend brought to noon knitting. It's going to be a project I can make a few of for gifts and use up some of that yarn I got for that organic wrap that flopped so badly.

A busy bike trail

There is some kind of bike race going on today and part of their course took them onto the Burke Gilman trail. They were heading the opposite direction as me, and since the weather was bad this morning there weren't the normal numbers of commuters heading into Seattle. If it had been a sunny day it would have been quite a mess for a few miles. Yesterday when I was running at lunchtime I actually yelled at a bicyclist who passed me. I swear if I had moved one inch he would have clipped me. I always ding my bell or call out before I pass someone. It's just polite! And safe. And I know how annoying and scary it is to have a bicycle whiz past you unannounced.

There was no knitting last night. I was soaking wet when I got home, and then I had a phone call, then walking Tinkerbell, and on our walk I was waylaid by a guy selling meat and seafood .... weird. Anyway while he was showing me his wares it started raining even harder so I was really cold and wet by the time we made it back home. I had decided to finally finish up those socks I have been working on so I can cast on the Noro sock yarn I bought on vacation and make some arm warmers. But it was so late by the time I finally got showered and settled that I just watched TV and thumbed through Spring and Summer issues of IK. I can't decided if I should do the Tangled Yoke Cardigan with the beige Ella Rae Shibu I bought or if I should get some cotton and make the Gatsby. There's also a nice tunic in the latest issue of IK but I think it's pieced. The Gatsby is done in the round. That's a big plus -- not that I couldn't re-do the flat pattern to round but .... it's nice when it's already done that way. We'll see.

Big plans for gardening this weekend. Tonight we're going out to dinner, tomorrow Mr M will be working late so it's a perfect day for me to do chores and garden and MAYBE start a new project.

The hat is finished and my next 15 weeks sorted!

I finished up the Windansea during noon knitting yesterday. It's SO CUTE! I should have Mr. M take a picture of it on me, but here it is on my flat topped hat block. The color is my favorite and it fits my head perfectly. I'm not going to sew in the elastic. I really don't think it needs it.

I attended a meeting at Gilda's Club last night. I am definitely going to join their 1/2 marathon training program. As soon as I'm registered I will put a link up here and be bugging you for sponsorship. I have to raise $750 for them and it's a really really wonderful program, so I'm going to be really trying hard to even beat that. The training starts next week but I'm going to start this week since I already ran Tuesday. And every Sunday we all meet at one of several locations to do a training run together. The schedule is moderate 25 - 45 minute runs on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and on Sundays we will start at 3 miles and eventually get up to 12 miles a few weeks before the race. The sole down side is that the scheduled training is Sunday - football day - and starts at around 11. Thankfully I've got a DVD and can record the games but that does mean that if someone happens to have a spare ticket I can't go unless it's a night game. Or after the 29th. Totally going to be worth it though. (Can you tell I'm excited?)

Mr. M has a big job tonight and won't be home 'til late, so it's just the Tinkie dog and myself. I guess I'll do some work on Flutter and get that out of my hair.

Pleasantly sore

It turned out that I was feeling quite strong yesterday afternoon and made my whole 30 minute run without having to stop and walk. That's great news! My leg feels fine, except of course that I'm a bit sore. But it's good soreness. So I am very excited to go to the meeting tonight and find out about the training. I did a bit of sleuthing on line and it looks like my Saturdays from now until race day, November 29, will have a formal training session. Shorter runs during the week and a longer session on Saturday. That makes sense. I just have to stay injury free, which is going to be the trick.

I didn't get to do any knitting last night because Mr. M's daughter came over for dinner with her new boyfriend. She's going to be gone for the next month and wanted him to meet her new beau. He seems nice. A whole lot better than the previous one.

It's noon knitting today. I brought my hat - I've only got 2 inches left of crocheting the wire in so maybe I can finish it up. It's sitting on a chair in the picture, the crown is flopping over but you can get an idea of how it is going to look. I will put it on my hat blocker and take a really good picture when I'm completely finished. And I brought my WIP Frost Flowers Stole just for show and tell.

Making up for all those dry days!

And how! It's been raining since yesterday evening. I know the garden and lawn will certainly perk up. Of course so will the weeds.

I'm feeling much better today. No sore throat! Since it was pouring rain and my rain gear is nonexistent, I drove in. I am going to try running today for the first time in over a month. More like a little run/walk action. Tomorrow is that meeting about the training for the half marathon. I want to know how my leg feels before I go to the meeting. I mean, it feels fine just walking and riding my bike, but I don't remember how long the last time I waited before I got back running.

I had plenty to do yesterday, work-wise, and kept busy. Tinkie got a bath late in the afternoon and then I settled down to finish up my Windansea hat. I didn't have much knitting left to do on the crown and finished that up and started crocheting the wire into the brim. I'm almost done and it looks really good! I meant to snap a quick shot this morning but as usual I was running out the door when I thought of it. Tomorrow.

Except for the sore throat ......

it was a pretty darned good birthday! I went to rehearsal Friday and when I got home my throat was very sore. I thought it was just from singing but it was still there Saturday. I chose to ignore it and did a little shopping instead of laying low. As usual, Mr. M gave me an awesome gift -- who doesn't love jewelry? And we had a nice dinner out with friends. And there was cake! Yay!! And a gift certificate to my LYS! YAY!! And champagne (well, sparkling wine). It was an early dinner so we had a movie when we got home.

I had big plans for Sunday -- yard work and doggie washing topping the list. But I was just not feeling well at all so I did a quick grocery shop and spent the day knitting. I got quite a bit done on the frost flower stole - I'm now starting row 11. I know that doesn't seem like much, but this is hundreds and hundreds of stitches. I got the hat nearly done - just the crown left to do. And I even managed to work a bit on the Flutter. I would like to finish the hat tonight. I couldn't find millinery wire but found 20 gauge wire that should work.

My goal today is to pound liquids and get rid of this whatever-it-is. Thank goodness I can work from home.

The good thing about it being unseasonably ....

cold today is that I got to wear my Ingrid skirt! It's awesome, if I do say so myself. I had Mr. M take this shot with my iPhone this morning. Yes, I could have been a little less lazy and had him use my camera but I was running late. At least you can see how the ruffle is indeed higher on one side and that is a design choice that isn't apparent in the picture on the web site. But it's really cute and it works. When I walk the ruffle moves in a most fetching manner. ;-)

I didn't do a thing last night. Mr. M was working late and Tink and I just chilled on the couch. I read the paper. I watched some TV, cooked some dinner. A nice, quiet evening. I haven't heard from Doug yet but I'm assuming we're still rehearsing tonight. If not, I'm going to do a big push and try to finish up the hat. I'll need to get some wire tomorrow. It is supposed to be cloudy all weekend but I really want to work in the garden AND I want to put in some solid hours on the Frost Flowers as well. Good intentions. Tune in Monday and we'll see how well I did, eh?

Clearly what I needed was a good sleep

I was so groggy yesterday. It was difficult to be productive and impossible to be in a good mood. When I got home I had a nice shower and got into my lounge-y pants and just relaxed. Mr. M was out running errands and so brought dinner home, which was nice because I sure didn't feel like cooking. And I tell you what -- after a dinner and a movie I went to bed and I must have been fast asleep before 10. I slept like a rock and now this morning I feel pretty decent.

Tomorrow I think we'll be rehearsing again, since I can't do it Saturday. The drummer has a bass player in mind and is lobbying hard to give him a try. I'm game. I don't know what the hold up is. Anybody is better than nobody because we can't make our gig demo without a bass player. Do you realize, if I'd started taking bass lessons when that first guy quit I'd be a whiz by now!

I got a good bit done on my little hat while watching the movie. I must make myself work for a few hours on the Frost Flowers Stole this weekend. It looks like it's going to rain so it shouldn't be too hard to carve out a few down hours since I won't be working in the garden and Mr. M is working most of Sunday.

The birthday week

It is in fact my birthday week and I am just flat out depressed. I hate getting older, and I miss my old friends SO much I can hardly breathe sometimes. I know ... don't think about it. But it's much much easier to say than to do. And OMG, do NOT read old email. I made that mistake. My thinking was ... oh this was a few months ago ... let's see what I was doing in May of 2000. Oh no no no. Bad idea. Well anyway this will pass. It always does. And there are always surprises around every corner, aren't there? And even if my birthday itself is a bust, there is football on Sunday! The first pre-season game.

I was going to attend a meeting about training for the half marathon in November. Gilda's Club is offering 16 weeks of free training if you pledge to raise $750 for them. I have always wanted to get some running training but it's rather pricey. Since I've just started riding again I am so tired I can hardly stand it. So I think I'll skip the meeting tonight and go next Wednesday instead. That way I can drive in and I won't be so wiped out and able to make a 6 pm meeting.

I worked a little on my hat last night but didn't want to bring that in with me because the yarn is so slippery, so I've got the Flutter with me today for noon knitting. I am really not loving that color. Way too pink. The picture on my monitor had it looking much lighter. I can give it away when it's done if I don't like how it looks.

Okay, so it hurt a little

I got back on my bike today - one month off! It was not painless, I'll tell you that. But I was only 2 minutes off pace. The weather was much cooler than it has been and it was very pleasant. Except for the pain, of course. Since I have my doctor's approval to do it I shall assume I'm not causing myself any permanent damage. But oh my goodness .... I am going to have to take some Naproxen or something. Ouchie

I got my hair done yesterday and by the time I got home and got a few chores done I was just ready to watch a little Star Trek and chill. I didn't do any knitting. I hope I can do some tonight. Tomorrow evening I'm going for a meeting about training for the half marathon in November so I probably won't knit tomorrow night. Oh ... but it's noon knitting tomorrow so I should be able to get something done. I guess it'll have to be Flutter.

More tea!!

According to plan

I got going early Saturday in order to get a good morning in the garden before the heat kicked in. Well of course the back garden is on the west side of the house so it was warm even at 9:30. I got out there and started with the hedge around the deck. I have never trimmed a hedge before but it actually turned out quite well. I switched up from trimming the hedge to weeding to dead heading, etc. etc. I ended up spending 2 1/2 hours out there but I got lots and lots done. It looks pretty good. I've learned a lot about gardening this year, watching this one come full circle. It will be better next year.

Mr. M was gone the whole day Saturday to a memorial service for a distant cousin so I had a nice long afternoon to myself. I *should* have picked up the Frost Flowers Stole and done a couple rows but instead I started Windansea with some beautiful green Seduce I bought at Weaving Works on Friday. I wound it up Friday evening and that was quite an ordeal. This yarn is linen, rayon, silk and nylon. VERY slippery! It is not a portable project because the balls threaten to unwind. It is knitting up nicely. I got it cast on and did a few rows before he got home that evening and a few more while I was watching a movie. It's an easy pattern.

Sunday was very hot again and we kept the AC on so we could sleep at night. Saturday night we tried fans and windows open but I ended up melting all night so at least I got a good night in last night. Went over to have a little rehearsal yesterday afternoon. Thankfully Doug has a window AC in the studio because it's on the top floor of the house. So it was okay - not cool by any means but we spent a couple hours up there without too much trouble. We hadn't been able to get together since my vacation and surgery. Still no bass player(!) but the drummer has a line on one so, fingers crossed, by the end of this month we should be able to put together out demo.

I know this could go without saying .....

but oh my goodness, I am SO glad that it's a bit cooler today! Last evening I actually turned off the AC and opened the windows. It is still supposed to be getting hot - predicting nearly 90 again today - but this is a nice respite.

I took the bus again yesterday. Two days is enough for me. I really really hate taking the bus. It's not like taking the Metro in Paris or the Tube in London. It's the bus. Noisy and stinky. And yesterday, the 2nd hottest day of the year, a poor man got on dressed in a shirt, tie and a coat and hat! He was quite obviously impaired somehow and quite a nose full. I have errands after work so I could justify driving in. Monday as well I've got a hair appointment but then on Tuesday I'm getting back on my bike. It will have been a little more than a month. I wonder how long it'll take me to be up to speed.

No knitting last night. I did get the circular needle I need to make that hat but the new Interweave Knits arrived so I indulged myself with an evening of reading. Isn't it funny how priorities change? I used to be such an avid reader. I always had a couple books going AND a few in the queue. But once I started knitting my reading has gone down down down. I do always have a book by my bedside, but the days of spending an entire evening reading seem to be gone. Who knows, I might get back into it someday. And I do keep up with my favorite authors, although they're mostly getting quite old. I'll have to branch out pretty soon.

No big plans for the weekend except to get out into the garden and pull weeds. That's another thing that hasn't been touched for some weeks and it is starting to look like it. I think I can get things spruced back up in a couple hours tomorrow if I start early in the morning before it gets too hot.

It was indeed a record

All I can say is thank goodness for the air conditioning. When I finally dragged myself through the door last night and looked at the indoor/outdoor temperature ..... would you believe me if I said it was 30 degrees cooler inside the house? The temperature outside read 105, and inside 75. It felt like Arizona out there! I took Tink for a little walk around the block and that was about all she wanted too.

This heat just sucks all of the energy out of me. I couldn't even knit. I just played Mario Kart and watched stupid TV and made a little food for Mr. M, who left the house at 6am and got home at 9pm, and ate, went to bed and got up and is doing it all over again today. I swear, I don't know how he does it! He's got two shows running simultaneously - one at Boeing and one at Microsoft. And one of his best employees has the flu. Talk about timing.

I am going to a meeting next week at Gilda's Club. They are offering a 16 week training for free to run the half marathon November 29 if you pledge to raise $750 for them. Since my nephew wants to do a triathlon I asked him if he wanted to do it with me and he does! It's going to be perfect timing for me. I'm really excited about it.

And hotter

It is crazy! The house was nice and cool yesterday when I got home, thankfully. I stopped on the way home and got Tinkerbell a new "swimming pool" -- actually just a plastic storage bin. But she loves it! As soon as I got it filled up she hopped in. She just stands there, maybe takes a little lick or two. Crazy dog.

I had also stopped to get some Seduce for the Windansea hat. I hadn't read the pattern closely and the needle it calls for - a size 6 16" circular - I do not have. I am using my size 6 Denise needles on the lace knitting and I am loathe to take them off. Besides, the Denise set is not very good at making a viable 16". So if I can't borrow one from one of the knitting ladies I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy one. It's just a rather odd size. Usually a hat is made with a 7 or 8 ... well, at least the hats I do.

Even though I have the doctor's approval to get on the bike it is truly too hot for me. As I said, getting to work would be lovely, but coming home in the heat of the day and going up that hill would be impossible. So rather than drive in again (they raised the PayPerUse parking fee) I thought I'd take the bus this morning. Of course since I have never taken it from home, and only once taken it from work back home, I went down the wrong road heading to the stop and had to walk back, causing me to JUST miss the bus. Just miss as in I was standing on the corner waiting for the walk sign. It was early as well. So I had to sit there beside that busy road for nearly 20 minutes to wait for the next one. Ick

I worked a little bit on Flutter last night since I couldn't start the hat. Let me just rant here a bit about this pattern and well, a lot of patterns by this particular designer. Here is a simple T-shirt really that she has written out in pieces - front, back and two sleeves. There is no reason this can't be done in the round, which is much more efficient. So I re-wrote it so I could do that. And also she has you increasing evenly across your work but doesn't give the count. Now I know how to figure this out or where to go on the internet to use a calculator but a beginner does not know how to do this. This designer has editors. Why in the world can't they just do the math for the pattern? Ridiculous. End of rant.

WoooWeeeee!

Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot!! It is ridiculous! Tomorrow they're predicting we'll hit triple digits. Crazy hot.

Yesterday Mr. M decided to just leave all the windows open rather than turn on the air conditioning. Yeah ..... not a good decision, it turns out. Our house is situated so that the morning sun beats down on the back of the house, and the afternoon sun through the side windows and the evening sun beats down on the front of the house. We have a lot of windows. There was no breeze yesterday. Needless to say, he decided to close up and turn on the air con this morning. Good decision.

So it was definitely too hot to knit last night. I just sat in front of the fan trying to stay reasonably cool. Maybe tonight I can knit. I might stop by the LYS on the way home for a couple skeins of Seduce for that Windansea hat.

I got all the sticky bits off my leg ... all but one at the ankle. And I can get back on my bike any time I want to. Probably later in the week when it cools down. It would be fine riding in to work in the morning, but hideous trying to get home and up that hill. AND she says I can start running any time after 3 week post-surgery. yay!

I shall try not to whine

Ah yes ... back to work after more than 3 weeks away. It was very difficult to get out of bed this morning. I know these next few days will zoom by, thankfully, because I have tons of stuff to do. Oh but the heat! It is going to be in the 90s all week! And even though our main office was remodeled they neglected to give us air conditioning! I am not in the main corridor, however, so my office is cooler than those with the windows facing west.

It is not easy for me to get comfortable because if I have my leg down it starts hurting and to put it up I have to twist my body around to type and see my screen. I can't put my leg up right in front of me. I'm going to have to get clever because I can't stay twisted.

I started the Frost Flowers stole a week ago Saturday. What a project! This lace knitting is "real" lace knitting, as opposed to the other kind I've done where there is always a plain row after a pattern row. This is just row after row of pattern. Once you cast on the 997 stitches, you do a few rows before joining. I was so afraid I had the darned thing twisted. I finally had Mr. M help me by holding the circular needle for me while I made sure it was on there straight. Here's a picture of where I was after 7 hours (!) on that first Saturday. Granted I was still on pain pills so I might have been a little slower than normal but yikes. And here's a picture 8 rows in, taken this morning on my way out the door. You can start to see the pattern finally. Still it is an hour a row so I don't imagine I'm going to be moving along very quickly. NOT TV knitting, that's for sure.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday Mr. M was doing a job at one of the 3 street fairs in Bellevue. The poor guy was mixing sound for the only music stage they had at this fair, so he was stuck there all day, every day. Luckily for him the food booths were near to him. My little great niece and I went to visit on Saturday. The main draw for me was the new Wii Resort game that they were demonstrating and that's where Sophia and I spent most of our time. It was so bloody hot that neither one of us wanted to stay long. We went home, turned on the air conditioning and played video games until our eyes bled. She was happy.

Now, back to real work!

Boring boring boring

Well now -- I had a nice long vacation. Part with my sister and part with my hubby. Then I had a little leg surgery last week. The bandages came off yesterday and now I have the better part of a week to stay off my leg and let it heal. This, my friends, is the difficult part. Sure sure -- at first it sounded great to have all that time off to just lay around and knit and read and it was nice for oh, about 3 days. The weather is gorgeous and yesterday I tried to give Tink a walk. At the end of 2 blocks I was whimpering in pain and almost called Mr. M to come get me! I guess it's going to take a little longer than I had remembered. In fact, I've been at my desk for a little over 30 minutes and it's about time to get it back up again.

I have been doing knitting, that's for sure. I finished my skirt on July 4. I started a little project on my vacation from a new bok "Knitting in the Sun". I had found a new Noro yarn on Elann on sale - Aurora. It has bits of wire in it for sparkle. I made the Silver Strand Ocean Waves Wrap and blocked it a couple days ago. It's lovely! And Sunday ... or was it Saturday? ... I finally started the Frost Flowers Stole. Oh. My.Goodness. This is a project and a half. Perhaps tomorrow I can get some pictures up!! Until then ...... errrrrghghghg

Ouch

Vacation is over and yesterday I had a little procedure done on my left leg. So I am laid up now for about a week. I can't take the wrapping off until Sunday which means sponge baths and no shampoo. My goal today is to find a way to be comfortable.

In knitting news-- I finished my skirt on July 4 and am just rows away from finishing a little wrap I started at the beginning of our vacation. Finding a project for my convalescence .... I can't decide. Maybe some coffee will help.

Port Townsend

Today, Port Townsend. We passed a yarn store with a "sale" sign and Mr. M pulled right over!! Unfortunately not much of a sale but I bought some Noro sock yarn to make some fingerless mitts.
I wish I could do pictures with my iPhone like I used to with my other phone. I hear that MM messaging will be available soon.

Now .... Lunch

Vacation

We are staying in a quaint place in Port Hadlock. Nice weather!! Lllllove vacation!!

Shelley

What? No FO pictures??

Ah yes .... I got derailed again last night. First it was a little Mario Kart on the new TV. I still haven't gotten used to it. There's not a really big size difference, but enough of one that I'm still not used to it.

Then I called my sister to find out if her boyfriend eats lamb, because I want to make a special lamb dish for Friday dinner. And then we started gabbing away --- yes, I know she'll be here tomorrow but there's always so much to say! By then I had to get dinner ready and then we watched a little TV and there goes the evening. Tonight for sure. I have a few little chores to take care of, but mostly I'm ready for the visit AND let's not forget VACATION!!! Woohoo!! And YAY Summer!!

Here comes another heat wave

Well it is absolutely gorgeous again AND it looks like we're not only going to have a sunny 4th of July, but a hot one as well! This is not normal for Seattle but always appreciated. Super lucky for my sister's visit as well.

There was absolutely no knitting yesterday since I spent the evening at Doug's rehearsing. I like the newer songs he and the drummer have learned - some Fergie and Pink. We're going to be having a big break in July since I'm on vacation and the drummer has a family reunion and then I've got my little surgery which is going to lay me up for a week plus. Doug promised to audition bass players during our hiatus. I am sure I'm going to be getting very bored after a few days of laying around. Maybe I'll just make it a project to keep calling him about it. hee

I brought the skirt in today. I should be able to finish the band and start weaving in ends at lunchtime today and then tonight - in the washer it goes! Hope to post pictures tomorrow.

Oh so close!

I really really really wanted to finish my skirt last night. Unfortunately I didn't quite make it. I was so tired when I got home, but I got Tink walked and got cleaned up, and finished cleaning up from the party and then sat down and started working on the skirt. I was doing fine, then I got distracted by the thought of fresh cornbread with the leftovers, so I stopped to make that, then a friend of Mr. M's came by with a new mini computer and I stopped to ooooo and ahhh over that ... then it was time to get dinner together ....... Yeah, there went the evening. By the time I got that mess all cleaned up I was barely able to keep my eyes open.

I did have an absolutely gorgeous night's sleep though. I feel great today. We are rehearsing tonight so there will be no knitting, of course. I think I might have to drive in tomorrow so I can bring it in with me and weave in all my ends. I am undecided whether I should put in the elastic and sew down the waistband or wait until after it has been washed and blocked to do that. I might have to put it in the dryer to shrink it is why I am thinking of waiting. I'll ask for opinions tomorrow.

I got the yarn packed up to be sent back today. I put it in a Priority envelope so hopefully I'll get the correct yarn by next week before we go on vacation. That would be a perfect project to have with me to pick up and put down. Lace .... no. If it's not going to get here in time I may have to finish up those little socks I have on the needles and cast on another pair or .... oooo! Or I could make another Sizzle with the left over Shibu. I have two skeins of orange and 3 of the gold. I could make another Sizzle, this time in the small size and do it in the round. Well, I've got option then!

Sum-sum-summertime

Friday I had another doctor appointment, so worked at home in the afternoon. I was thrilled to get my package from Webs containing lace weight alpaca silk for my Frost Flowers Stole, and supposedly Plymouth Royal Bamboo for my Flutter. The color of the lace yarn is absolutely perfect! However, I was a bit disappointment with the pink color of the other yarn. And it wasn't until this morning when I took a picture of it that I realized it wasn't what I had ordered! It is Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton and the color is not right. I looked on line this morning and found the bamboo I had ordered and gave them a call. I have to send the wrong stuff back and they will replace it with the bamboo. Hopefully I can get that in the mail tomorrow so I can get my bamboo fast! I am nearly done with my skirt and while I am looking forward to starting the stole, I will definitely need a simpler project to have on hand.

This weekend marked our first wedding anniversary. We had a big party on Saturday. It was a blast! I had purchased a small wedding cake from the woman who baked ours, and I made red beans and rice, Monika's husband Andre makes THE BEST ribs in the world and he brought those, Mr. M had the BBQ going and ... oh there was just too much good stuff. Coincidentally, the woman we bought the house from happened by while we were celebrating and came in for a tour of the garden and house. She was very happy to see the garden was thriving.

Obviously it was a quiet day on Sunday, our actual anniversary. After cleaning up I just relaxed and worked on my skirt. It was difficult to get the time to work on it. Now I have about 8 or 10 rows to go. Not much. I have the elastic so maybe I can get it done tonight or tomorrow, if I don't rehearse.

The weather is awesome and supposed to stay that way for the 4th. My sister and her boyfriend are coming up Friday morning, he's leaving Sunday and she's staying until Wednesday. So for me, my vacation officially starts Friday am. Can't wait!!

Oh I cannot WAIT for football season!!!

Besides the obvious reason - that I like football - I have another reason. Mr. M came home last night with a brand new, huge LCD TV! The TV that we had in the family room is a good TV, but this picture is even better. Football is going to be insanely good on that. He got it set up after dinner and stayed up WAY late tweaking it. I stayed up later than usual because we found a LOST repeat on the SciFi channel and it looked so darned good I couldn't stop watching. My MarioKart looks awesome as well. I don't know if I'm more excited to go home and play Wii or work on my skirt.

While I was waiting for him to get home and while he was fussing with the beast, I was working on the skirt. I got all of the decreases done and now have only 14 plain rows to work, then the waist band. I should be able to get it all knit up tonight, maybe even get the ends woven in and then tomorrow night I can sew the waist band up and put in the elastic and block it. I am anxious to see how that lace ruffle looks all blocked out.

I tried out the new ice cream maker last night as well (big night) with a sorbet. I was wanting to make mango sorbet but Trader Joe's didn't have any mango but they did have a mix of mango, raspberry and blueberry which made an incredible sorbet. Next will be ice cream. We're going to have some awesome desserts at this party Saturday. I'm also going to bake a peach pie. Wedding cake, peach pie, sorbet and ice cream. Good heavens - will anybody want real food??

The wind really kicked up last night and it was very windy on the way in today. The weather is still supposed to be nice Saturday, so fingers crossed!

The garden is tamed

Yesterday we had the gardeners out to weed, thank goodness. It took 3 people 3 1/2 hours to do it. That's a whole lot of man hours. It's not perfect - I can see a few things they missed and the little hedge around the deck didn't get trimmed. But that's something I can do myself and if I can get disciplined and spend just 1 hour a weekend out there I truly believe I can keep it up. It's really too bad Mr. M is not at all interested in it. He doesn't mind cutting the grass but he's not at all interested in the shrubs and flowers, except to enjoy looking at them. It's too bad my sister's visit is going to be so short because I could use some help deciding what to plant in the place of the things that died last year.

I got lots done on the body of my skirt last night and when I was getting ready to go up to bed I held it up to myself and realized that if I keep doing the decreases for the medium size it's going to be too long. I brought it to work today for Noon Knitting. I'll get the opinion of the ladies, but I am thinking I should now switch to the short version decreases for the other half of them and it should then be about the right length. The cotton is heavier than linen and the big lace ruffle on the bottom is weighing it down. I am loving it still though.

Insomnia strikes again

It's been quite a while since I've been plagued by insomnia. I was so very tired last night that I headed up to bed at 9 :30 to read a bit. I could barely keep my eyes open by 10:30 and so turned off the light and ... boing ... my eyes popped open. I couldn't get to sleep. When I finally did drift off it was a very light sleep and I was awakened by every little noise. Needless to say, I am a zombie today. I didn't even get the energizing effect of the bike ride because I have an appointment this afternoon and had to drive in. Ah well ... just means I'll sleep like a baby tonight.

Mr. M wanted to go visit his Dad yesterday evening so we took off to eat dinner at the Mongolian Grill en route to his parent's house. While there they gabbed and I worked on my skirt. Now it's just donkey work - around and around. I'm working as fast as I can. I have yarn coming from Webs on Friday. I broke my yarn diet and purchased some bamboo to make Flutter, by Norah Gaughan. And a cone of alpaca silk to make the Frost Flowers Stole. I was going to by the Indie II from Little Knits for that, but I liked the colors better from Webs, and the price was better too. I know the Flutter is a simple pattern, but sometimes simple is best and I believe I can rework the pattern to do it in the round.

It is now officially Summer ....

and therefore the sun has taken its accustomed place behind the rain clouds. It was nice while it lasted, eh?

I had a doctor's appt. Friday afternoon so worked from home. Friday evening and Saturday day and evening I worked on the Ingrid skirt. The short row bits, 3 of them consisting of 28 rows, took forever! Especially the third one which went all the way around the front and back, working towards the left side marker. Once I got the hang of the short rows, and started using markers, it went a bit faster. But still - whew! The odd thing about this pattern though is that it is written with one side being about 4-6 inches shorter than the other in the short row department. It's odd but supposedly it's supposed to make the lace panel hang straight. I hope it doesn't look funny. I can't see it in the pattern picture. Here's where I am now. I am working on the body and have done 3 of 15 6-row repeats, with decreases on the 6th row.

For Father's Day Tinkerbell bought Mr. M an ice cream maker. He is excited! I took him and his daughter out to eat last night - nothing fancy, just Red Robin. It was packed.

Loppem is finished

All in all a quick and satisfying knit. I used only 5 skeins of the yarn and so have 5 skeins left. I am considering making a sleeveless top with the cable used on the edges down the front. Maybe I can copy a top I have that fits right and make my own pattern. I'll think about it.

I hope to get lots of good work done on the skirt the next couple of days and through the weekend. Big party plans for the following weekend - 1st anniversary - so these next 7 days or so is when I'll get a big push on the skirt.

Watched "Animal House" last night while I was doing the sleeve bands and weaving in ends. I haven't watched that movie uncut in so long! It's a classic. I still laugh at it. Of course I am know for my low brow humor.

Finally they are fixing the trail

There is a portion of the Burke-Gilman trail that is SO bumpy. You can tell people that ride it regularly by their elaborate weaving path through the cracks and bumps. I have lost my panniers more than once on that stretch. Yesterday evening we were directed by signs off the trail and back on by the Metropolitan Market and again this morning it was closed. So yay!! It is about time!

Today is Noon Knitting but I couldn't bring either of my "big" projects in because they wouldn't fit in my panniers. So I brought socks. I have only a couple rows left of Loppem, then the sleeve bottoms. I am astonished at how much yarn I have left. I am still working on unraveling the Radiate, I have two balls of yarn already wound and I will most likely only use a small portion of one of them. AND I have 3 skeins of yarn that hasn't been wound. That means this little sweater is going to come in at under 600 yards.

No meetings today, one more tomorrow. This is the time of the year when we get together with faculty from the other sites, plus we're gearing up for the anatomy course in September. And people are writing grants like crazy. It's kind of nice to see action around here for a change.

I spoke too soon

Yesterday we had day one of our annual course meetings. I was talking to someone from Alaska who said he immediately started sneezing when he got off the plane because of hay fever, which he doesn't get in Alaska. So I said that I thought the worst of it was behind us, based on the fact that my symptoms had pretty much disappeared the last couple days. Well, not so. I woke up sneezing and I couldn't even get my contacts into my eyes! Oh well ... it's not so bad. It's a good trade off -- I am loving the weather!

Yesterday evening I worked some more on the skirt and finally "got" the wraps. I now realize what I'm seeing in the first couple rows are 3 or 4 wraps that didn't get picked up properly on the way back. I was thinking of taking out those 30 or so rows that I've already done and starting over but ... nah. Honestly it's really only visible if you get right up on it. I can make that the back and then even I won't have to look at it!

After dinner I got to work on the Loppem. I did some sleuthing on Ravelry yesterday and found out that the original corrections that had been sent and published as errata had in fact had errors! Can you imagine what a nightmare that must have been for Norah Gaughan? Good heavens. Anyway I got that squared away and was just knitting away, "one more row" --- you know how it goes. Before I knew it, there I was an hour past my normal bedtime! I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. But I will be able to finish up the Loppem tonight, hopefully. One thing though --- I messed up the first buttonhole! It is very small. I'm hoping I can stretch it.

I booked us rooms yesterday for our little mini-vaca. We're going to take my sister to the airport early Wednesday evening and then we'll head to Port Hadlock for two nights at the Inn at Port Hadlock, and then one night in Port Townsend. I got us a place there with a view AND a Jacuzzi on the deck! Yeah baby! Now fingers crossed our weather isn't just an aberration and we'll have warm weather in July!

Happy Monday!

Boy, I don't know why but I'm in a great mood today! Maybe it's because my sister has finalized her plans to come visit and I have decided on a week vacation to coincide with her visit and a few days after, so Mr. M and I can take a little weekend. He is SO busy! I am not complaining, it's just hard for us to find time to get away. The fact that he has a weekend in July open is something we have to jump right on. I am thinking we'll go to Port Townsend or somewhere around there. Water.

The weekend didn't go exactly as planned. I worked in the garden on Saturday rather than go for a bike ride. I spent a solid hour weeding and filled TWO cans! There is a part of the garden that is not planted and it's not exactly visible from inside the house so when I got back there it was like a forest of weeds! Big, tall ones. I am having the guys who did such a wonderful job with the spring clean up come by and take a look tomorrow then hopefully they can get out there later this week and do a professional job. It needs weeding and edging. If gardening was my hobby, rather than knitting, I'd come home every night and spend an hour or so out there. However, it's NOT my passion. I love looking at all the flowers - and they are spectacular - but messing with them - not so much.

True to my word, I worked on the Ingrid skirt for hours on Saturday AND Sunday. I got the ruffle done and 12 or so rows of the short row shaping. This skirt is going to be heavy! Good thing I'm making it from the bottom up so I can try it on as I go. I may be wise to make it a bit shorter than I would like because it is going to grow. You can see a bit of the 10x1 ribbing. Also I didn't get the first couple wraps knit back correctly. On close inspection it's obvious but I don't think it's going to be so obvious when it's on. Working those wraps on the purl side is hard and I still don't think I have it right. But the lace ruffle - nice, huh? It is going to swing when I walk.

AND I worked on Loppem as well. Finished up the decrease rows and am working now to get the sleeves up to 5 inches, then we do the yoke and button bands. I can see on the pattern picture that there is a garter rib to echo the bottom and the bottom of the sleeves but it is not written into the pattern, in fact the errata seems to erase it! I am going to check with Ravelry and see what people have done about it. It is very important to the look to have that, I think. Here's where I am so far. I am also hoping that blocking will keep the bottom edge from curling so much.

Hap-hap-happy Friday!

Oh boy it's Friday and it's supposed to be a nice weekend to boot. The forecast had originally predicted clouds and rain but it has been revised for sun. I have GOT to get out in the garden and do some serious weeding. I will try to do that Sunday. Tomorrow I'm going to go for a bike ride in the morning, do a bit of grooming and walk Tinkerbell, and then I'm going to wind some more cotton and get to work on that skirt! I haven't been doing 2 rows a night so I've got many hours left of the ruffle. If I can get up and get going early enough on Saturday I should be able to settle down around 1 or 2 and knit until my hands hurt. Mr. M has to work Saturday until late, so it's all me time.

He worked late yesterday as well so I spent my whole evening working on my Loppem (with the exception of 30 or so minutes on Mario Kart). I got the sleeves cast on, the garter stitch edging of the sleeves done and up to the first decrease row. It's still cute.

MUCH better

Oh yeah, the allergies were much better yesterday. And I had a great sleep last night! Yesterday afternoon I went for a run, since I could breath. It was hot but thankfully not so hot as last week. I rode in today, all the time thinking it was Friday. Cruel subconscious. When I made my first cup of tea this morning and went into the fridge to grab my milk I then noticed that I had 2 milks in there, meaning one for today (Thursday) and another for tomorrow. Yep ...

At noon knitting yesterday I worked until I had about 12 inches of yarn left. I must wind a couple more balls before I can do any more on that. And instead of doing that yesterday evening I worked on Loppem instead, finishing up the 9" of body and bound off for the sleeves. This is interesting and different construction for me. Since Mr. M has to work late tonight I may just work on that all evening and save the Ingrid for the weekend.

We're coming up on our 1st anniversary and trying to decide if we're going to have a party or not. I am torn because my sister is supposed to be coming up to visit and I want to take some time off around that. I need to nail that girl down!

And it's not even summer

Wow! Another gorgeous day and the weather forecast has been revised so that we are not expecting any rain until the weekend (of course). But still -- it's just wonderful to have all this sunshine and warm temperatures. Thankfully NOT as hot as last week.

But the consequences of having this nice weather so early is that the allergy season is kicking behind! I never did get my antihistamines to work very well yesterday and consequently didn't run at lunchtime because I just couldn't breath! I was uncomfortable all night. My eyes were very itchy. I let myself sleep in for an extra 45 minutes and drove my car in today. So far I'm feeling marginally better. I'm not wearing my contacts because my eyes still itch, but not as bad as yesterday. Maybe whatever is blooming that is causing this is on its way out.

I did a row on my ruffle last night and brought it in to work today for noon knitting. I should be able to get a full row done at noon and maybe start another one. I've got to roll a couple more balls of yarn too. I'm nearly done with my second ball.

Do you thinkI could actually rub the nose off my face?

If it's possible, then I'm on the road. The WORST allergy season I can remember for a long long time. Eyes itchy, nose itchy, sniffy .... ergh. As long as I keep myself dosed up with antihistamines I'm okay, but it's taking a few minutes for my morning dose to kick in!

One evening this weekend Mr. M and I made a quick dash to the grocery store to round out our dinner. There I saw a man in a Seahawks jersey and he caught me looking at him. "I like your shirt!", I said. "Won't be long now!" And he said .... "4 1/4 weeks". Wow! I guess he's talking about 4 1/2 weeks until training camp starts. Still ... sweeeeet!

I did no knitting last night. I was just so tired when I got home. I played some Mario Kart (oooo and unlocked MY Wii!) and after I got dinner on the table I was up for about another hour, then went to bed to read. I must have dozed off by 9:30. I don't know why I was so tired. I hope I can keep it together for a bit longer tonight - although I'm going to run at lunchtime and that always wipes me out. I truly do want to get that ruffle done and get the rest of the skirt going. I'll have to make a deal with myself. No video games until I get a few rows done!