And then the mail came....

There I was, a virtual prisoner in my own home yesterday. Sun shining, breeze blowing a bazillion pieces of pollen up my nose if I dared venture outside. Of course I had to give Tink a little walk and the only other thing I did outside the house was a quick run to the store to get some elastic for the skirt portion of the flower outfit. So I was in a nasty mood .... but then the mail came! My Secret Pal strikes again!!!

What a clever creative woman she is! She told me to look out for a "bug splattered" package. Isn't that cute! And I love dragon flies too. Ah, but inside ... the theme of this one is "Cozy". Inside I found all sorts of cozy things. The pattern from Knitty for the Cozy Shawl, size 8 circular needles [she's right, you never can have enough of size 8s], Elann Sonata to make the shawl, chocolate, cute little tissues and a handmade card, plus what you can't see .... a candle, some soap and a cute little tea bag dish. Just a lovely package and it brightened my day a lot. THANKS SECRET PAL!!!

I am also very proud of myself because I finally finally did the finishing on the Flower Skirt & Top. It is very cute. The picture doesn't show the pretty little flower buttons at the shoulder of the top but I think you can get the idea. I do not like sewing garter stitched pieces together. It is impossible to get the mattress stitch right. I think if I ever (and it's highly unlikely, mind you) make another totally garter stitched thing I will be certain to put a stockinette selvedge on it so that it can be seamed correctly. So, that's one huge weight off my shoulders. I also finished up the shrug I was making for my friend. I didn't take a picture -- it's only a shrug, albeit a very nice one. I have decided that I'm going to take a break from making things for other people and just make a few things for myself for a change. In that vein I cast on for the X-back top again last night a got a few rows done. I really hope I can finish that up for my trip.

What a shame

We are having absolutely STUNNING weather and I am cooped up inside. If I go out I start sneezing, coughing, my eyes itch. The allergy season is just killing me this year. I did work on that shrug and I can probably finish it up today if I can stay awake. Really, the Benedryl I have been taking just knocks me out! I am just in a rotten mood. I can't run because I can't breath. I can't work in the yard because that just puts me over the edge. I am hoping, nay praying, that whatever it is that's triggering this will go away, and soon!

In between bouts of snoozing yesterday (I kind of feel narcoleptic!) I managed to reorganize my stash. I was going through it getting little bits and odds and ends to add to my goodie box for my secret pal. I got her the Knitted Flowers book and even though we all have little bits and bobs of things to make flowers with, I thought she might like something not from her own stash. Anyway, I took that opportunity to reorganize, putting all the crap yarn in one clear box and all the good yarn in another. I threw out (!) my oldest UFO, which is a raglan sleeved cardigan that I made with a recycled sweater and other odds and ends, all in greens and blues. It is stripped about every 3 inches, randomly. Well, can you imagine all the ends to weave in? I got the entire body done and part way down the first sleeve and then put it in a basket and haven't touched it for over a year. I looked at it and gave an honest thought to it - would I ever really finish it? Could I see myself weaving in all those ends? The answer was a resounding "NO!". It was therapy. I didn't feel bad chucking it.

And my "stash", such as it is, is miniscule compared to many. I have enough purple wool to make a sweater, still in the plastic, except for a start on that very complicated cabled shrug from IK a few issues ago. I started it but realized that I didn't like the reverse stockinette background and that I would go crazy if I tried to make the whole thing. So really that's the sole entire project worth of yarn I have. I have two balls of Koigu that I will use to make my next pair of socks and I've got recycled yellow and pink cashmere, that I intend to use for socks as well. The lovely mohair that my Secret Pal sent me is also another project, and I have three balls of Bouton d'Or Eskimo that I bought in Paris in February that I intend to use for a scarf and hat set for next winter. Other than that, it's just the odd skein left over from a project, or bits of skeins. I think I'll look at "Odd Ball Knitting" and see if there are any projects I would actually make from there. Now and again I make a flower and that's a nice way to use up a bit of yarn. I just can't make myself actually throw out something like 1/2 a skein of Cashmerino Super Chunky even though I have no idea what to use it for!

Allergies

I am home today. My allergies are unbelievable! Bad, that is. It's either that or I have caught the cold/virus thingie that's going around. I didn't even knit yesterday, except for a little bit on the rubbing of the toe-up sock. I was just tired out after taking dad to the doctor yesterday and did a little reading and went to bed early. Maybe today I can put the flower girl top and skirt together. Or maybe I'll just snooze all day. It's gorgeous and hot and I am not happy that I don't feel like enjoying it!!!

Hot Hot Hot

It is supposed to get up to the mid-80s today! A bit odd for this time of year but I don't think anyone is going to be complaining much. Oh .. except me because my allergies are just awful!! I don't know why in the world they're so bad this year, but I am suffering and even though I took a pill this morning I'm still itchy and stuffy. Ick!!

I went out Saturday for dinner (nice little French restaurant at the Market) and then to an improv show. I wasn't looking forward to that but it ended up being hilarious! Instead of improv done in a Shakespearean way, as it was described to me, it was a company that improvised an entire play based on Shakespeare. For example, they used the two characters looking alike and getting mixed up. Well anyway ... it was very funny and I truly enjoyed it.

I didn't put the flower outfit together. I didn't do much knitting really. A bit on my sock and a good bit on the shrug. My nephew was over for dinner Friday night and we did a little drinkin' and it is not a good idea to mix knitting and drinking and we all know why from experience. Saturday I did manage to knit a bit on the shrug and a little more yesterday evening. I still have about 20 inches of stockinette to go though. I want to finish that up so I can get going on the X-back again. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it for the cruise.

I am waiting for that sock yarn still and as soon as it comes I'll be able to get my first package off to my Secret Pal. I want to get that off before my vacation. Speaking of which -- I bought some shorts this weekend and a little denim jacket. I wanted new sandals but honestly, I couldn't find a pair I liked! I found some that were okay, but nothing that I just HAD to have! That is not usual behavior for me, being such a shoe hound and all. I am going to have to go downtown next weekend where there is a bigger selection than at the mall.

Friday at last!!

I have no idea why this week has just dragged by, but at last it's Friday. It took all my strength of will to get out of bed today since my good night's sleep was interrupted by a massive allergy attack at 12:30 am! I can't for the life of me figure out why that would happen, but I woke up with itchy eyes and totally plugged up. So it took a while for the Benedryl to kick in and for me to get back to sleep, then Tink decided that 6 am was THE perfect time to get up. Ah well .... I can sleep in tomorrow.

I've been invited to see an improv group Saturday night. Their "hook" is that they do their bits in a Shakespearean way. Now I must say quite honestly that this sounds like a one joke evening. I may have to pull a little acting job myself to look like I'm enjoying it. Or ... or maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. Want to take bets?

My major knitting goals this weekend are, first and foremost, to sew the flower girl outfit together and get it out of my life!! Then I want to work on the shrug. I am on the boring just plain old stockinette for about 20 more inches, then the other cuff. I can't really work on my X-back until I finish this since it uses the same needles. Well I could, since I'm using Denise Needles, but I'd rather not. I am still just totally in love with the fabric that this Micro Cable produces. It is just begging to be a summer top. I got a link to this pattern from somebody's blog which I can't remember now. If I could get the gauge and the fabric isn't too firm, I think this would be really nice from that yarn. I will have some left over so I can see if I can get the right gauge.

And that's that. My toe up sock is just there whenever I have a second. I love that I can try it on and choose how tall I want the top. The second sock will be perfect since I'm using this first one to get the whole top up concept. And I swear I will never make another sock any other way, it's that cool and easy.

She is off and running!

Wow! My secret pal is going all out from the start!! Here I am sitting here still trying to decide what to include in my first goodie box for my spoilee and I've already received two things from my pal!! Yesterday I received the first of themed packages she intends to send, and oh is it fabulous! Honestly, the softest mohair I have ever had. It is gorgeous and oh so white. I have never even dared knit with white yarn. Also a pattern for a Rabbit Tracks scarf, the appropriate needles and a beautiful stitch marker. The card is very cool as well. I suspect that she made it, creative girl that she is. I am very very VERY lucky! Thanks Secret Pal, soooo much!!

It was just a good day yesterday. The weather was lovely and sunny and I had a gggrrreat run at lunchtime, like I had wings on my feet! This morning there are low clouds but we are promised sunshine by the afternoon and it's supposed to get progressively nicer through the weekend. Bonus! Pretty soon I'll put the table and chairs out on the deck and I can sit there and knit.

Last night I worked a bit on the shrug, coming along nicely and I am still SO in love with that Micro Cable. If I had all the time in the world I'd get some more to make a T-shirt. It would be cool. I'll see if I can fit it in. I bought some sock yarn for my secret pal and also bought a skein of the yarn I'm thinking of using for the Rock Star Cardigan. That way I can swatch from a single skein to see if I like the yarn, can get the gauge and, most importantly, think that I can make an entire sweater in a lace pattern. I am going to do a BIG swatch because if I commit to making this cardigan I want it to be Perfect because I know it's going to be quite the project. While I was watching "Lost" I worked a bit on my toe-up sock. Pretty soon I will be putting the ribbing on the cuff and casting on for the second one. This next one I'm going to cast on 10 or 12 stitches so the toe isn't so pointy. This first one I only cast on 8 and really, it doesn't look pointy on the foot, but off of it - well, it looks like an elf shoe!! I don't know why I thought I needed to make it so small but that's okay. Knit and learn, right?

My SUPER Secret Pal

Wow! She's fast!! I got a little something from my Secret Pal yesterday. A very cool card and a beautiful little knit pouch filled with lavender. Ymmmmmmm!! I can see that she is also fond of the Turkish cast-on. Thanks, Secret Pal!!!!

I didn't do any knitting yesterday. I dashed home, gave Tink a quick walk and then had to rush out for drinks and dinner. Had crepes again. Odd, the last time I was at that restaurant on a weeknight, mind you, it was packed to the rafters. Last night we were the only ones there. Which was fine -- the service was much better than last time.

I don't want to be at work today AT ALL. I am so ready for vacation it's not funny. Seventeen more days to go.

Too many projects

I think that even if I didn't do anything but knit I would never be able to accomplish all that I want. For example, I ordered the pattern for Alchemy's Rock Star Cardigan. This is going to be a long project and quite frankly I don't know where I am going to put it in the queue. I don't know about this pattern though .... it was expensive, as patterns go, at over $9 PLUS the same amount for "shipping and handling". Puleeze ..... stick it in an envelope and charge me $9.50? But I wanted it. I've had my eye on this cardigan for months and I've found a yarn at Knitpicks, their Andean Silk that should sub quite nicely. There was no schematic with the pattern though. I thought that was odd and rather annoying. The measurements are strange. When you look at it, the front is very open and yet they say it's 36". I am wondering if they are suggesting that for a bust size and not indicating that it is the finished bust size. I guess I'll write the company after I check with Craftster and see if anyone has actually made it.

I didn't do much knitting last night. I picked my nephew up and took him to an appointment so that eats up much of my evening. Thankfully I've got my socks that I can toss in my purse and keep chugging away on. I love that about knitting socks, especially on two circulars. And I have decided that I like the toe-up method best of all. Now that I have the Turkish cast-on down there are no toes to graft or 3-needle bind off, just one little thread to weave in. That you can make them to fit perfectly. Also, you can get the length of the leg just where you want it. I keep ending up with lots of left over sock yarn. With the toe-up method I can use it up and make ankle socks for golf. Swweeeeet. Can't stand to have all those little left-overs hanging around and heaven knows we can't throw good yarn away!

I bought tickets to Zoo Tunes last night for a few of us to go see Shawn Colvin and Dar Williams. I haven't been to a Zoo Tunes concert for years. They end early but that's okay because most of them are on a weekday anyway. I saw Shawn Colvin at a Bumbershoot Concert a few years ago. She was in Memorial Stadium and was just blown away by the crowd she got. I really like her.

Tink the Adventure Dog & Secret Pal 8 Begins

It was quite a weekend, starting Friday, which by the way turned out to be a totally awesome day! Around six or so I got a nice juicy bone for Tink and a book for me and off we went to sit outside at the Ravenna Ale House to celebrate Cinco de Mayo .... oh okay, not really to celebrate but it was a good excuse to drink margaritas, which I did. I didn't get much reading done but that's okay. Tink got into her bone and I chatted and we got home around 10, refreshed and relaxed. I was sitting there in my chair minding my own business, reading, when my friend A telephoned. He'd been awaiting the birth of some rat babies [don't ask] and he happened to have a bottle of tequila, could he stop by for a quick one. Well ... who wouldn't say yes?? We work together so there's always lots of gossip and we yapped away, drinking tequila until a) the bottle was empty and b) it was 4 am. ergh I don't think we missed a person though - we dished on everybody. Too bad I can't remember any of the juicy parts.

The good part is that I was so debilitated on Saturday that I couldn't do anything but lay around and knit between naps and I finished the flower girl outfit!! Yay! Can you say amen?? Holy cow, this thing has been such a weight. It still needs to be sewn up and it's going to be absolutely the cutest thing I've ever knit but I think the running out of yarn thing just really dragged me down. I HATE that! Anyway, here's a picture of it laying out on the table with strings attached. After it's sewn together and the elastic put in I'll take another photo. You can still see how cute it is though.

Sunday I had promised to take my friend's little boy shopping for Mother's Day, so I took Tinkerbell over with me to hang with her doggie friend, Jasmine, while I shopped. She loves to romp with Jasmine and I get the added bonus of having a tired dog the rest of the day. Anyway, the boys had left the gate ajar and when I couldn't see the puppies in the back I went out and found the gate open and no sign of the dogs!! AND they live near a busy street. Off I went in one direction and the boy in another, searching for the dogs. I found them not too far away. A nice lady had taken them off the street. It's a very doggie neighborhood so people are aware when they see a stray. Plus of course my phone number is on her tag. Whew.

I was avoiding sewing the outfit together on Sunday afternoon so after mowing the lawn (talk about avoidance! I mowed rather than sewed!) I decided to frog the x-back and then my treat for doing that would be that I could swatch for K's shrug. Here's my x-back in it's frogged glory awaiting another try.

I bought some synthetic yarn from Elann for the shrug because she wants it to be machine washable and the yarn looked pretty nice. Elann never lets me down, I must say. I just LOVE this stuff and have to take back all the nasty things I've said about acrylic yarn. I bought Scholler and Stahl Micro Cable and it's just gorgeous! It has a really wonderful drape and a subtle sheen that makes it look like rayon. I think the shrug is going to be pretty nice and I keep thinking of other things to make with this. I must hold myself back though. I don't need to buy anymore yarn! I think I'll have to make some kind of deal with myself to finish off a few projects before I buy anything else. Yeah ..... we know how well that works, don't we? Here's a picture of the shrug so far. Too much light in the picture but you get the idea anyway.

So ... big blog today. It's the beginning of Secret Pal 8! I can already tell that this one is going to be the best! First of all MY secret pal is local!! I think that's really exciting. It'll be nice to have somebody local to talk about the LYSs and such. And the secret pal I'm going to be spoiling, Karen, not only has a blog but actually uses it unlike some other secret pals. She just moved and she's lamenting the fact that she can't knit. Now that's my kind of gal! The hostesses did a great job for me (and I imagine for everybody else) hooking me up with two great pals. Let the fun begin!

A couple of reviews

No knitting yesterday so today I'm going to do some reviews instead. Kate & I tried out a new restaurant in the neighborhood last night called "Hot Dish". It's in a spot that has had like a new restaurant every six months for the past couple of years. Before it started playing musical restaurants the building used to be the Santa Fe Cafe which was a hugely popular place. I could never figure out why they closed down. It was always packed. But they had a second location up by the Zoo and they closed the Ravenna one down. Since then it's been several different types of things but nothing has "taken". This one, the Hot Dish, is a homestyle place serving meatloaf and chicken & dumplings, etc. I had the meatloaf and it was decent. The drinks were a bit on the small side .... you know, when you order a Cosmo you expect to get it in a BIG martini glass. These were small. I hope this place stays around. Since it was only the second night it wasn't too busy and we met the owner and the cook and the bartender and the waiter -- all really nice. I give it a thumbs up.

Now I want to talk about the piece of crap book that I got a few days ago. There is a writer in Seattle that wrote a popular (at least among the knitting group) book called "The Shop on Blossom Street". I hadn't read it but I saw "A Good Yarn" at the store and picked it up, thinking it would be a good read. WRONG. It's terrible!! Awful!! A travesty! Written in the style of the most horrendous romance novels. yuck I'm going to throw it away!

The 5th of May - Cinco de Mayo - Got to have a margarita. I hope the weather stays nice so I can take Tink down to the Ravenna Ale House and have a drink outside. Keep your fingers crossed.

It's going to be warm today

It's supposed to get up to 75 degrees today! Don't you love it? My allergies have been really kicking my behind though. I read that the trees are blooming rather later than normal this year and that the pollen count is high right now, so I guess I'm allergic to trees. I'm not allergic to the sunshine, thankfully.

I didn't work on the flower top last night, even though I had best intentions. I got the final "Lost" disc so I watched the last four episodes and worked on the socks. That catches me up with the first season. And I've recorded last week, which was a "catch up" episode, and last night's episode so by the end of the weekend I should be right up to date ... well pretty much. I had to be careful not to listen too carefully to the radio when I was waking up this morning. The morning show personalities always talk about what happened the night before on the show and I didn't want them to ruin the surprises.

Oh my god ... I certainly am living a booooring life if all I've got to talk about is a television show. I think I need to shake things up a bit!! I'm going to start Friday night. I'm going to go down to the local bar and drink tequila in celebration of 5th of May. I am assuming it's going to be nice enough to sit outside so I can take a book and my dog and see what happens.

Ahhhh that's better

Miracle of miracles ... I finished the petals on the skirt last night! One seam for the back and sew up the casing for the elastic and that's done. I'm going to pick up the stitches for the second arm tonight and this weight is going to be off my shoulders this weekend!! Despite all my kvetching about this outfit it is adorable. I don't think it would have been such a chore had I not run out of yarn. Oh! And now I have a new baby to knit for!! My friend and her husband (who live in England now) are adopting another baby. No more garter stitch outfits though. I've learned that lesson. Maybe I'll make some cute hats like Nonnahs did. There seems to be an abundance of adorable baby things to knit. And we all know it's always cold in England.

I also watched a few more episodes of "Lost". I think there's another four episodes but I'm not sure if the disc I have coming is extra material or four more episodes. I hope the latter.

Another Secret Pal exchange coming up soon. I think this will be my last one for a while.

Self indulgent

I was just a lazy girl yesterday. Oh, I went to work. I ran. I picked up my nephew. I walked the dog. That was it though. I didn't even knit last night. I just laid on the couch and watched more episodes of "Lost". I'm getting close to finished. I *think* I have two episodes left on this disc and then there is a sixth one but I'm not sure if it's bonus material or more episodes. It sure has sucked me in.

Tonight for sure I'm going to finish up the flower skirt. I only have six petals to go. Then I can pick up the stitches for the second arm of the top - I got another ball of yarn and the dye lots don't see too off at all but I'm not going to take any chances and I'll do the whole arm in the new ball. I should be able to get that finished up by the weekend, or AT the weekend anyway. I am going to buy some yarn today from Elann to make a shrug for my friend K for her trip to Ireland in June. She'll need it.

It's sunny today and by Thursday it's supposed to be over 75. I like it!!

Hooray Hooray the First of May!!

And we all know how the rest of the rhyme goes.

I had a mixed bag of a weekend. Friday is was 72 degrees and gorgeous but when I awoke Saturday morning it was chilly and threatening rain and when I got out of the gym at 11 it was sprinkling. That turned into just plain pouring in another hour, and it was 52 degrees. Twenty degrees difference! It put me in a terrible mood, especially since I had to go clean my Dad's apartment, which is like the chore from hell. I put a good face on it though and got it done, but was in such a bad mood by the time I was done that I just crawled under the covers and took a nap until I had to get up to go out. I had a girlie evening - a couple Cosmos and a chic flick. Actually I really enjoyed the movie - it was "Friends with money". There was one actor that was driving me nuts - I knew I had seen him before but it wasn't until we were walking out of the theatre that I figured it out. He plays the elder Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. I can't remember the actor's real name but it was him and he was quite good, as were all of the actors. Totally enjoyable and it made me almost forget about the whole crap day that had proceeded it.

Sunday of course the grass was much too wet to mow and I had received three "Lost" discs in the mail Saturday so that was my evening sewed up. I did chores and then turned the heel on my toe-up sock. I am a bit confused about that. It's just a short row heel and it went fast but I am confused about the whole wrap and turn bit and when one goes back to pick up the wrapped stitches, well I don't see any wraps!! So it left some odd little holes. I am going to have to do some research on that whole phenomenon. I am wondering if perhaps "wrap and turn" isn't kind of like "pick up and knit" where the terms doesn't actually reflect the action.

I watched 4 or 5 episodes of "Lost" while I worked on the flower skirt and miracle of miracles I am nearly done with it and I'm going to have enough yarn. I did half of the petals - I only have six more to do, then I can finish the top and do the seaming and yay I will be finished!! Hopefully by the end of the week.

Another gorgeous day!

Pretty soon I'll be able to bike to work without a jacket ... it's that nice outside! I do hope it continues for the weekend because I really need to get into the backyard and do some work.

I worked from home yesterday, having slept in because Tink had me up in the middle of the night cleaning up after her. I turned the alarm off and slept until nearly 8! I like working from home, but the down side is that I don't get my workout. I am a little undisciplined. To make up for it, I'm going to the gym Saturday morning. And I won't be running today because I am going to be someone's "Special Friend" at their school and I don't want to be all sweaty. I'll work double hard tomorrow morning.

Rather than tackle the frogging of the ribbon x-back tank, I wound the Lorna's Laces sock yarn (and that was a project!) and started my first toe-up sock. I used the Turkish cast-on method which makes a seamless start and it's wonderful. I should have cast on more stitches - I started with 8 and I should have started with at least 10 - because the toe of the sock is rather pointed. It doesn't show when it's on the foot, but while I'm knitting it, it looks weird. I think for the second one I'll cast on 10 and see how that works. It doesn't really matter to me if the feet aren't exactly alike. And I can make these longer on top too. I am always afraid when I'm making them top down that I won't have enough yarn, when in fact it looks like I could make two socks from one 200 yd skein. And I knit another flower yesterday too. What I need to do is go through my stash and find all the little odds and ends of yarn that I can use for flowers, make a bunch and then sew them on some t-shirts and/or tanks. Yeah .. another project, that's what I need.

Oh I could just kick myself!!

I was working on my x-back tank last night. I finished the front and had to start work on the straps and thought I'd slip it on once more. I had slipped the body on and it seemed a little big .... but I thought it would work. You know where I'm going with this .... I put it on after finishing the front and realized that it was just too big around! It needs to fit somewhat snuggly so that it doesn't sag when you have the straps the right length. In other words, a combination of not having the gauge quite right and wrong size. If I had made the small it would have worked but the medium is gigantic. I thought I had the gauge right but it was very difficult to count those seed stitches and ribbon yarn is notoriously stretch-prone. While I can definitely be considered a "process knitter", I wanted to wear this!! So I am going to have to frog the thing and start over in a smaller size. I have never been this close to the end and then had to start over before. It's disheartening, but at least it's a quick knit. And ribbon yarn ends are so bloody difficult to hide that I think as I am frogging the thing I'll sew the ends of the yarn together as I come to them. It'll make for a much tidier end product. I guess that's the silver lining.

I was so disgusted I needed to just step away before I threw the whole project, basket and all, across the room. I stepped out on my deck to survey the havoc that comprises my back garden and as I was standing there looking at the tangled mess and wondering if I could summon the strength to tackle it on Sunday, a hummingbird flew right up to me! Gorgeous bright pink head. I was astonished. It must have mistaken me for a flower, ya think? That means I am bee-you-ti-full as a flower!! And then I looked over in the tree at the nesting squirrels and noticed that the blue jays are back as well. It's like a wildlife refuge back there! So then I came inside and knit a flower and felt better.

As Nonnahs suggested, "Lost" is addictive and so I went downstairs to watch the fourth episode on the second disk. Then I packed up the two movies I had from Netflix that I hadn't even watched and put them in the mail this morning along with the finished 2nd disk so I could get 3 by the weekend! I am hopeless. Also, last night was a big catch-up episode, so I recorded that because I don't want to watch it until I get at least caught up with the first season. Hopefully I can get the second season in re-runs this spring and summer. Everyone else will be gnashing their teeth for a new episode but they'll be new to me!

It's getting a little itchy

I am feeling allergies already. Maybe because I mowed the lawn yesterday after work, but more probably because so many things are blooming. I was sniffley last night and my eyes were itchy and Tink was scratching even though she had her pills. I think it's going to rain sometime this week so maybe that will tame it down a bit. When I take an antihistamine it works all night, but Tink can only take 1/2 a Benedryl at a time and it didn't last all night last night. If she gets very itchy I can up it to 3 times a day, but I don't like to do that. Last year at this time she had that terrible skin thing so I can't really say how long it's going to last. I hope not long, for her sake as well as mine.

I could have finished my X-back top last night but I got the second "Lost" DVD and so I watched 3 episodes of that instead and that's not a program where you can be knitting anything that you have to really pay attention to, so I did a few more rows on the skirt for the flower outfit. (woohoo less than 20 more rows to go before I make the petal hem!!) I am going to finish up the X-back top tonight for sure though, then really concentrate on getting that outfit finished for Cat's little girl so I can get it out of my hair and do something fun! What I really need to do is go through my stash and get it organized (hah, famous last words, right?). I had bought yarn to make the fancy cabled shrug from IK, but I didn't like the reverse stockinette background so I ditched it and I have enough yarn from that to make a little bolero, which I might do. Then I've got enough sock yarn for two pairs plus I've got tons of recycled cashmere in pink and yellow. Definitely have enough of the yellow to make a shrug but I think I'll start with socks. They would be nice gifts down the road.

I am loving this weather!!

I know it's not going to last -- it's just too early in the spring -- but it was fabulous again yesterday and it's supposed to be nice again today after the clouds move. I cut some lilacs from the tree in my neighbor's yard last evening. Only the stuff that was hanging into my yard, of course! There were some branches hanging low because of the blossoms and I kept knocking into them when I got my bike in and out of the little bike garage, so now my living room smells of lilac! It's just absolutely the best smell in the world!! The combination of all the rain we had last week and the sunshine these past few days have made the lawn a jungle already so I've got to mow it again. What is that ... once a week?? Thankfully I've got just a small piece in the front and I use a manual mower. The back has grown so much moss that I don't really need to mow it often, although that's what I must do this coming weekend - get into that back garden and prune some of those shrubs before they take over the whole place!

I got the body of the x-back tank done last night and the left front. The shaping is just great, but I am afraid that I should have done the size small rather than medium. Oh well, better too loose than skin tight I guess. I am definitely going to be able to wear this, it's very cute! And the color - NOT purple or green or pink! A lovely periwinkle blue. I love Deco Ribbon.

What amazing weather!

What a weekend! Yesterday it was so warm that I was at the Mariners game in a T-shirt with just a short-sleeved jersey for a second layer and it was HOT! Thankfully I had a hat to keep my face shaded, it was that sunny. Gorgeous! Oh, except the Mariners stunk it up but what else is new?

I got up early Saturday and after giving Tink a nice walk, worked in the garden for over an hour, digging up all of the dandelions on the parking strip and growing along the fence. I was determined to get them all and it looks like I did, at least for now until the other ones start coming out. I was amazed Sunday morning how sore I was! It's so odd, no matter how much you work out and/or run, try working in the garden and a whole new set of muscles get in on the act.

I got the body part of my X-back top finished and today while I'm sitting around at my dad's doctor's office I'm going to start binding off for the arms and neck. It shouldn't take long now. I wore my Flower Power shrug to the open house on Saturday and got lots of compliments. And Tink had a great time being carried around by the kids and chasing them. Perfect - she slept great.

It's going to be a very busy week this week. It should go by quite quickly. I'm doing the vacation count down -- 5 weeks to go.

April showers

Oh it is really an April showers day. Saturday and Sunday it's supposed to be in the high 60's and maybe even 70 on Sunday, but last night and today it's rainy and wet. It was too warm to wear my waterproof bike pants so I got a bit soggy coming in. At least it's not windy and, as I said, we have a great weekend to look forward to. I was planning on going to my friend's open house on Saturday and then Sunday do yard work, but Ruth has invited me to the Mariner's game Sunday so unless I get out there early I guess the dandelions are going to have to wait. My neighbors are going to llllove that, I'm sure. Although ... here's a thought .... if I let it get bad enough maybe my neighbors will get sick enough of looking at it that they'll get rid of them for me. Oh probably not. But it's a nice thought -- wake up some morning and in the night the dandelion fairies have visited and taken them alllll away.

I started Knitty's Ribbon X-back yesterday and got a good bit done - one skein's worth anyway. I am so proud of myself for making something blue! Something weird happened though and I can't figure it out. I'm going to call it a "design feature" if anyone points it out. But it looks like I somehow turned it inside out at one point. I don't really know which is the "right" side when you're doing a seed stitch pattern in the round. Both sides look equally nice. I was sure that I was knitting it correctly but I noticed that the stitches looked a bit different at one point and sure enough, I looked inside and it was opposite of what I was seeing in the front. So I will have a 2 inch band of different stitches on the bottom. It will actually look like it was done on purpose but .... oooooo it's going to bug me forever trying to figure out what exactly happened!!

It was a little spooky

After the dentist and a hair appointment I just wanted to veg last night so I started watching my first Netflix disk of "Lost". I watched two episodes and I must say, it was a little spooky! But good. I enjoyed it a lot. I don't think I'll be able to completely catch up before even the end of this season but I imagine there will be repeats of the second season this summer.

So, while I was watching I finished the last bit on those socks and hey! I'm actually going to post a few pictures. I have been very lax about posting FOs. Socks are pretty boring so I got Tink in on the act. I like the feel of this yarn but I don't like what it did on the top of the foot while I was making the heel. Big wide bands of color. Other than that though, nice and the second pair of wearable socks I've knit. I ordered some Lornas Laces from Jimmy Bean yesterday. I shouldn't have, but there ya go. Just a teensie bit of retail therapy.
And, because some kind soul posted about a closeout of Noro on WEBS, I managed to snag six skeins at a great discount and made the Flower Power Shrug from IK Spring insert from '05, but I did it this time without the beads. It turned out great! It's still a little cold to wear but I'll be ready for the good weather. Here's a closeup of the pattern and then a longer view.

The best duck I've had outside Paris!

I went to a wonderful little neighborhood restaurant last night called The Jones. I couldn't help myself - the duck sounded wonderful and I've yet to find a restaurant that doesn't overcook it or otherwise mess it up. This was just great! The closest I've found to that little place in Paris. My dining companion had an Italian beef dish that came with some great risotto as well. I will definitely want to go back there.

It's supposed to be 64 degrees today. Lovely spring day. Pretty soon I'll be able to run in shorts, which reminds me - I'd better get some running shorts, and some new bike pants as well. My bike tights are so old that they're practically transparent at the thigh! My bike shorts - pretty much the same deal.

I was reading yesterday about someone's "knitting slump" and I seem to have hit the same wall. I can trace it back to that darned flower outfit I'm making for my friend's little girl though. It's not just that it's garter stitch for freaking ever, but the fact that I ran out of yarn with a sleeve left to make, which just irritates the dickens out of me! I got what the pattern asked for, but there ya go. I did get the yarn and thankfully the dye lots don't seem to be that far off. But as I'm doing the skirt I am wondering if I'm going to have enough to make all of the petals on the bottom. Of course I couldn't get another skein of the correct color there either but I got a darker lavender, so if it looks like I'm not going to be able to make it with the lighter color I can use the darker shade for the petals and it will look like it's a design feature. I just need to buckle down and get it done. I hate it when a project becomes a chore. I was looking forward to this because it's so cute but it just ruins it for me when I have to hassle with yarn. It's not going to be perfect, you know? That's what gnaws at me. But I am almost done with the pink socks, which are just lovely. When I finish that - it'll only take a few minutes - then I'm going to cast on for the X-back top and between that and the flower skirt I should be able to get myself out of my funk. Spring/summer knitting is just different. I think I'll do the cotton lace tank from Spring Vogue. I know it's going to be difficult but it's very pretty.

My absolutely most favorite flowers in the whole world!!

Lilacs!! They're getting ready to bloom all over the place! I think I know every alley and sidewalk where they grow in my neighborhood. It's one of the best times in the whole year to walk the dog. I have a tree that hangs over my fence in the front so I can see the progress. They are just starting to open, but there's not much scent yet. Soon though!

Yesterday was a looooong day. I had to take Dad to the doctor so very early in the morning and I hadn't had much of a sleep Sunday night because I was just a little worried about my first anatomy exam. And instead of studying on Sunday as I should have, I took a nap. I tried to cram while I was waiting for Dad and for a little bit after I got to work, but just said the heck with it and took the test. I was worried I was going to embarrass myself but actually I did okay for having missed a lecture and not having done the reading. And now I know - read before lecture or you'll never get caught up. So after taking my nephew to his appointment I got home at 7 and was just dead tired. I ate something and managed to stay away until 9 or so. I knew it was too early to go to bed but I was trying to knit the toe of my sock and kept losing count so I figured I'd cut my losses. Of course, I ended up waking at 3 am. I got back to sleep - it wasn't too bad. And now I'm rested up and feeling GREAT! I'm checking out a new restaurant tonight. Could be good.

Done with jury duty

Well, that wasn't so bad after all. I did get called out for one jury, but in the end the defense lawyer dismissed me. Good thing too because I didn't like him one bit. He was smarmy and icky.

It was very very different getting up in the morning and going out to catch a bus downtown. It has been so long since I've taken public transportation to work. The bus was clean and not full and it was a very quick ride. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to do it every day. But it was an interesting change of pace.

I sat in the jury room, iPod plugged into my ears to block out the inane chatter, and knit and knit away on my socks. I got one finished and started a second one. I was the only knitter in the whole group. Several people came up to see what I was doing and comment. Yesterday a man approached and said that he noticed I was knitting socks. Did I ever do two at once? And I told him I knew it was possible but when I tried I couldn't get the heel/gusset pick up thingie. He then told me that his wife owns a yarn shop in Issaquah (not very far from Seattle) and that she could help me. Oh joy. He also said that he told her I was the only one knitting there and she thought it odd as well. Isn't it funny - I mean, relatively speaking there aren't that many knitters in the world but we all seem to think that *everybody* knits. Or should. Well, if I ever get up the gumption again to try two at once from the top down I might go out and see her before I do. I am quite happy doing one at a time. They go quickly when you're not dinking around with lace patterns. And it's nice having a teensie, portable project you can throw in your bag and pick up any time. The pattern is easily memorized, you really don't need a tape measure even. I am going to finish the pink ones, then re-roll my Koigu and start again with plain socks and then when I have done those I've got recycled cashmere and I'm going to make cashmere socks. Yummmm, huh?

Where did Monday go?

Monday was a blur. I was just running, it seemed, all day. Not literally, of course. I was at work in the morning until 11:30, then had to dash to make a lunch engagement by noon. Then back in the car and out to pick up Dad for a doctor's appointment. And as I was waiting for him I had a knitter's moment. I was sitting there working on my little sock and a woman walked by and said "Ooo, knitting!", and whipped out her project to share. It was a lovely beaded armwarmer. I totally blew her away when I touched her yarn and said "Oh, Koigu." As if I could forget the feel of that!!! Dropped Dad off at his place and took his shopping list and did his grocery shopping, which is embarrassing! A case of Bud and a cartful of Hot Pockets and Stouffer's frozen meals. So, was my day done? Nooooooo. Back in the car, get home and change and pick up the dog and it's off to pick up the nephew. While he was busy with his appointment I did have a lovely nice walk with Tinkerbell. It's great now that it's so light outside and it wasn't even very cold yesterday. Today it's supposed to get up to 60. Since it hasn't rained for a couple days I'm going to have to mow that lawn this evening when I get home because I do believe it's supposed to rain soon, as in tonight.

Tomorrow I have to get up super early because I have to catch the bus by 7:30! ICK!! Jury duty. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't get picked.

Another quiet weekend

I'm boring myself. Quiet weekend again. Oh well, I guess I'm saving up for a wild summer. Yes, it was raining all weekend so I didn't have to beat myself up about not getting any yard work done. Got Tink to the groomer Saturday and did chores and knit on the Flower Power Shrug, which I finished up Sunday. It's so cool! I've got to take a picture of it. I am definitely going to get a lot of wear out of it. Saturday night I watched a movie and worked on the socks. The more I work with that KnitPicks yarn the more I like it.

Sunday, more rain. Tink and I had a nice walk though. I had to find out how far it is to the bus stop because I have to take the bus to Jury Duty Wednesday and Thursday. Ick!! I HATE taking the bus! But honestly it's the only sane way to get downtown during rush hour and I've got to be in the jury room by 8 am. Torture. So she got to have new sniffs along a different route. Then we went to the mall for some essentials. I was so proud of myself that I didn't buy a thing, not even a pair of shoes on sale, that I hadn't come for. Yay Shelley. I'm saving myself for some cruising clothes and a bathing suit next month.

And that's pretty much it. I watched another crappy movie last night. I haven't been doing very well choosing movies lately. This one was "The Weather Man". I mean I like Nicolas Cage but this was a depressing movie. I think I'm going to stick with comedies for a while.

It's finally here

The day I can start running again. It's just going to be so painful! I just know it. And I'm going to have to start off slowly - run 15, walk 15, run 15, walk 15 ..... even so, it's going to hurt. Nice thing though - it does feel sooooo good when I stop. And I do know that it's not going to last for long. In two weeks I'll be back to normal and no more pain. And it is that knowledge and only that knowledge that makes it doable at all. Because did I mention IT HURTS!

Typical spring weather - one day it's lovely and sunny and the next cloudy and ccccccold! It's supposed to rain all the weekend, which is fine because then I won't have to do yard work. But then again, things are starting to get ugly. Unless you LIKE dandelions that is. Maybe while Tink is at the groomer tomorrow I'll do a little weed eradication. Or not.

Knitting has gotten a bit frustrating lately. I have gotten to the part of the first sleeve of the Noro Flower Power shrug where I need a smaller circular needle, so I am waiting for my delivery from Knit Denise. I ripped the Koigu sock off the circulars -- I still can't stand to look at that yarn -- and cast on for a normal, vanilla pair of socks (1 at a time, thank you very much) with some pretty sock yarn I got from Knit Picks. I got about an inch of the ribbing done. It's beautiful yarn, by the way. I definitely will use the Koigu yarn but after wrestling with those socks and then finding that the sock I worked on was gigantic, I just need to get it out of my eyesight for a bit. It's going to be make a beautiful pair of PLAIN socks. Finally I'm working on the skirt portion of the flower girl set and that's where stamina comes in. It's just 83 rows of garter stitch. I can't do that unless I'm watching a movie or something - it's just too boring. Still waiting for the final skein to finish up the top. I bought Deco ribbon yarn in a color other than green, pink or purple! Yay for me!! It's a beautiful light blue. I bought it to do the X-back top from Knitty. I wanted to do it last year but never got around to it. This is something I can wear on the cruise, if I get it done by then, or work on while I'm on the boat (if I feel the need to knit, that is).

Only one more day to go!

Tomorrow I get to start running again. I am soooo happy about that! But I know for sure that it's going to hurt a lot the first week or so. I'll just have to start out slowly. I was up to 45 minutes before I had to stop and I am figuring it shouldn't take me more than a week or so to get back there. However, it's just gym day today. I have had to stop listening to the Ricky Gervais podcasts at the gym because he makes me laugh so much I lose my strength! It's difficult to lift weights when you're laughing.

Quiet evening last night. I had to leave work early to take my dad to the doctor, and then I had to do a bit of work after I got home. I had stopped at the store to get some strawberries and saw some lovely soup bone for Tink, so she was happy as a clam laying in the front in the sun gnawing on her bone. I can't wait to get her up to the groomer Saturday. She really really needs a haircut. Lucky for me she's the type of dog that loves to be brushed so she stays relatively clean and knot free. But she just looks better all clipped up. I am going to take before and after pictures of her this time because I have let her hair grow quite long so that they can give her a really good Westie cut.

It's one of those crazy, unexplainable things!

Monday night as I was sliding into the booth at the restaurant I hit my elbow on a ledge that was sticking out of the wall. And it hurt!! Since then I've managed to whack it again 3 times!!! Yesterday in the shower at the gym, again in the evening on the bathroom door and AGAIN this morning on the closet door!! It's just so weird. It's not like it's swollen or anything, so why do I keep whacking it? Now it just aches.

I was pretty tired yesterday after work. It was lovely and sunny though so Tink stayed outside and basked in the sun after her walk and I was able to read the paper in peace. I finished up the back of the shrug and picked up and knit a few rows on the sleeve. I realized I'm going to have to get a 9" cord from Denise Needles so I can work on that sleeve. I don't want to have to purchase a size 13 12" circular. They're too expensive and I wouldn't use it very much. It makes much more sense to buy a new cord for .. what ... $3, then I can have allllll the sizes in a useful circular. I wonder why they didn't make that size in the first place?

I wonder if Nonnahs' move went well? I know it's been raining like crazy down in SoCal. Hope it didn't start until all of the good stuff was inside.

Confirmed. My life is WAY too boring!

Had a really really fun time last night. The limo was one of those super stretch jobs, white. I think they look funny because they're so darned big and there was only four of us rattling around in there. The inside had two regular bench seats like a normal limo - one back to back with the driver and the other facing front. But all along the looooooong side is another bench and across from that a bar and two TVs. The ceiling is mirrored and there are neon strip lights. It's garish but definitely gets you in the mood. We got to the restaurant and got introduced to the psychic - world renowned astrological psychic, to be precise. While we were waiting for our appetizers and drinks to arrive I went first for my reading. The poor guy was literally struggling to find things to say! I'm serious!! Here are some of his gems: Don't bottle up my anger. [ya think?] Don't buy a car any time from July 4 through July 28. I am going to change something about myself in August, perhaps my haircut. I don't look my age. The names Katrina, Tod and Rex are going to mean something to me. [Sounds like the name of a gay folk trio, doesn't it?]. When asked what was going on with my (sucky excuse for a) love life, he said "What? Didn't you meet someone in February!??" Uh nooooooo, says I. "Well you were supposed to meet somebody in February!" Great. Guess I missed him, huh? Is he coming around again?? Anyway .... the other women had just really cool readings. Ruth is supposed to come into great gobs of money. Now why didn't I get that??

Poor little Tink had been alone all day, I was only home for about an hour to shower and change before I went out so when I got home around 9 or 9:30 she was ready to play. Me? A leeeetle drunk and not in the mood to play fetch the squirrel. I gave her some cookies and let her outside while I skimmed the paper. She came in about half an hour later just covered in dirt. Digging. That's what she does when I won't play ball with her. I guess she's got all of this pent up energy or something. Oh well. She is getting groomed Saturday.

It was a bonus!

I totally spaced on daylight savings time so it was such a nice surprise when I got the paper Saturday morning and saw that I got to turn the clocks forward! Whoooo! The dark days are behind us. I was also thrilled to wake up to rain Saturday because that meant I didn't have to do yard work (I am so lazy when it comes to that).

I am looking forward to a totally girlie evening tonight. My friend Ruth won this at an auction a while ago. A limo will pick us up (four of us), take us to dinner and then .... wait for it ... psychic readings!! Oh baby. Does it get girlier than that? I was also instructed to "dress sexy". I don't need to be told twice. I think it'll be leather pants and a red silk cami.

Saturday I ran some errands and then worked on those darned socks -- well sock singular now -- until my hand hurt from that stupid ribbing. I put it aside and started my beadless version of the Flower Power Shrug in Noro Kuryeon. It looks fantastic, by the way. I'm almost done with the back. Anyway, by Sunday when I picked up the sock again I realized that I was going to run out of yarn, which is odd considering I'm making a woman's sock, right? But that sucker is HUGE! I put it next to my first pair and it's like for a man or something. I checked the gauge. Yup, right on. So I don't know what the heck is going on but I am sick to death of the yarn by now and I hate hate hate the pattern down the foot. In fact, I don't like knitting lace socks. Perhaps something this complicated was not the project to pick up for my second sock only. I am going to frog that and put that yarn out of eyesight for a while. I have a couple skeins of pink multi that I got from KnitPicks that I will use to make something simpler until I really have the sock deal down.

I just feel so good!

I can't even begin to describe how good I've been feeling lately! And I know it's directly attributable to getting back into my routines. And while I can't run for another week, I've been walking and that in combination with riding every day and the gym -- well, I feel practically normal. And happy! I've been sleeping like a stone and getting up when the alarm goes off, refreshed. What a relief. I even mowed the lawn after I walked the dog last night. And good job too, because it rained during the night. Well anyway .... it's just nice to feel good again.

One dark cloud though - those darned socks! I finished turning the first heel and had written out the instructions for picking up the gusset stitches and getting on to the next sock. I SWEAR I followed them to the letter but now I have this tangled mess and no free end to start the second heel. I can't for the life of me figure out what I did wrong and I just don't know what to do about it. I'm going to write to the woman who has the pattern on Knitty, post something on Craftster as well, but I have a feeling that I'm going to have to frog that first sock (it's the one with the hole in the ribbing anyway) and just finish up the second and re-start the first. As I said, I'm really not all that keen on doing two at once anyway. I think it has slowed me down, quite frankly. I was very disappointed that it didn't come out right. I had pictured it in my head and thought I had it figured out but the holding needle isn't holding the stitches I thought it would be. I took pictures but it's just a mess and hard to even see. I have so many projects lining up now I want to get them finished.

Good luck to Nonnahs on her big moving weekend!!!

It feels like spring to me

And I really can't say why. Maybe because it was sunny when I got up today. (Of course by now it's cloudy and threatening to rain). It just smells so good outside! All of the things that are blooming now - the hyacinths smell wonderful and there is one particular flower lining a path that I bike through to get to and from upper campus that is just awesome! I don't know ... I guess I just feel good!

No knitting to speak of last night. I did a couple rows to start the skirt part of the flower set but I may have to frog it. I was at my Dad's and the light was poor and I may have dropped a stitch. If I can't pick it up I'm going to have to rip it back, but it's only a matter of a couple rows, since I've only just started. I sure hope I have enough of the lavender to make the skirt, considering I ran out of yarn for the top. I don't know ... I'm not having much luck with the dyelot search. Yarnfinders.com has disappeared - and what a shame too, because that was such a fantastic service. Nobody on Craftster has spoken up so it looks like I'll just have to make the sleeve out of a different dyelot. I was thinking of starting with the yarn I have and seeing if it is enough, but I am pretty certain it isn't. I think it would be better to make the whole sleeve out of the same dyelot rather than have it be half and half. I just hope it isn't too obvious.

Tonight though (after I mow the lawn, unless it rains) I am going to turn the heel on that sock and pick up the gusset stitches and see if I can make sense out of the instructions. I think I have it pictured correctly in my mind but of course will only know once I get there. I think that's it's going to be a HUGE pain to have a third (5th) needle hanging around holding stitches while I work the second heel flap but that's the only way to do it. I will definitely take pictures of the process.

I did it!

I made reservations yesterday for a sisterly vacation. We're going to take a little cruise from LA down to Ensenada, Mexico and back - 4 nights. It's not until May 29 - which actually seems a lifetime away from now, but time passes very quickly, doesn't it? Neither one of us has ever taken a cruise before. We take vacations together from time to time and what we like to do is find a nice resort hotel and lay around the pool and have people wait on us and maybe shop a little. We've been to Hilton Head Island (which was just fabulous and had a Coach outlet store close by) and to Hawaii. We figured this would be a nice change. I don't think we'll even get off the boat except maybe at Catalina Island since neither one of us has ever been there. Otherwise we just plan on getting pampered and getting a tan, not necessarily in that order.

Yesterday was my first anatomy class. I was prepared. I wonder how long that's going to last. I did learn something yesterday. I finally got the anatomical directions nailed down in my head - anterior and posterior, proximal and distal, medial and lateral, etc. I've always been a bit sketchy about those directions but now - nailed.

No pictures yet of the socks - still boring. I got the heel flap done and hopefully tonight I can turn it and pick up the gusset stitches and then I'll photograph it. That is if I'm still sane.

Ahhh, now that's more like it

Well I'm fresh as a daisy today! I got lots of sleep. Deeeeeep sleep. I don't think I even moved. I crashed about 10 and next thing I knew it was 6:30. That's bliss, baby. I need to be sharp today too. I am auditing the undergraduate anatomy course that we give out of our department and class starts today. It's going to be interesting. For so many years I've made the web site for this class, and the other gross anatomy class, but I don't really study the stuff, right? This will give me an opportunity to see just how tough these whiney students have it. Welll .... not really because this is going to be my only class. But still - knowledge is power.

I think I figured out why Tinkerbell has been so bark-y lately. The neighbors directly behind me have two new dogs. Two. And they spend most of their time in a pen under their deck, which is visible from my deck and audible from .... well I swear Tink can hear like a bat. I am hoping she will calm down a bit after she gets used to them being around. Or else it's going to be a noisy summer.

I know Nonnahs wants pictures of my 2 socks on 2 circulars, but they're just not that interesting now. Just like the other pictures I posted - two tubes hanging from wires. I got just 4 rows into the first heel flap last night before I crashed. When it gets interesting - when I pick up the stitches for the gusset and start working on the other heel I will document that, because it's going to be tricky. And I must say that I don't think I'm all that keen on working two at once. What one saves by doing them at the same time is pretty much wiped out by the time spent cursing and unwinding the two balls of yarn which, no matter how careful you are, get tangled regularly. Then there's the weight of the second sock, which as it grows gets progressively intrusive. Well, the jury is still out, but I am leaning towards one at a time on 2 circs for the next pair.

Very very tired

It's not starting out to be a very good week. I had to take a friend to the emergency room last night and she ended up having to stay. So at 1am I went back home, got bedding and my dog and went to her house to spend what was rest of the night with her 10-year-old and their 17 year-old Japanese exchange student. I couldn't sleep. On the outside I maybe got 3 hours. But I got the kids up and took the young one to school and made it to work by 9:30. My friend is going to be fine and I will be too, once I get some food and tea into me. I'm going to sleep tonight, that's for sure!

I'm going to make reservations for my little vacation with my sister. We've decided on a cruise out of LA. I hope I can get the dates I want! And oh am I ever looking forward to that. Three whole days just laying by the pool and being waited on. Lovely.

So while I was waiting with her in the emergency room I swatched the Noro for a version of the Flower Power shrug without beads. I think with size 13 needles I'm going to get gauge. And the lace pattern without beads looks like little hearts. I like it! I also worked on my socks. I'm ready for the first heel. I'll get pictures up when I can. Oh! And I also finished that cardigan. It looks awesome! I need to find some cool buttons and then I'm going to make I-cord loops and sew them onto the mohair band ... well it's kind of hard to describe. Pictures when I can get to it.

It's been a long week

It felt like I was walking into my office for the thousandth time this week rather than the 5th. I'm ready for the weekend, that's for sure. I want to sleep in! I didn't have a very good sleep last night. Tink was very restless and woke me up twice. I finally let her go outside from 1 to 2 and then she slept okay until the alarm. She's been very antsy these past few days. That's why I haven't been able to finish anything this week. She won't let me alone for more than a few minutes. She wants to play ball or have me brush her or ... I don't know. Maybe it's the change in season. I will have to give her an extra long walk tomorrow. Sunday I'm taking her with me to dinner at a friend's house. They have a puppy about her size and she can play and wear herself out.

I did manage to finish the 3rd repeat of the lace pattern on the socks but that's it. Oh! I recorded the South Park season premier from Wednesday and watched it last night. Holy cow! They really gave it to Isaac Hayes - the guy who voiced Chef - for quitting the show. It was hilarious! I love that about South Park -- that they can get a show ready in a week so they're always so topical.

Also I finally checked out the Ricky Gervais podcasts. They are hysterical!! He did 12 shows for free but there is now only one of the free ones left up. However, you can buy the entire 12 shows for less than $5, which I did. Totally worth it. In fact, when I'm done listening to these 6 hours I'm going to subscribe to the new shows. I was listening to them at the gym yesterday and kept bursting out in laughter. People must have thought I was nuts.

So my goals for the weekend, knitting-wise, are to first finish up that chunky sweater, then finish the socks. Hopefully Cat will let me know about the sizing for her little girl's top so I can get on with that. I received the 6 skeins of Kuryeon yesterday and you can imagine how hard it was for me to keep my hands off it. I must finish some things before I dare start another or I'm going to be in trouble. I don't want to be one of those people with a thousand WIPs laying around.

Rude or what?

Last night I was sitting there reading a magazine and Tinkerbell was outside, doing whatever it is doggies do. It was around 7 o'clock and quiet. She would bark now and again if another dog was passing (it's a very doggie neighborhood) but otherwise, very quiet. But around 7 she started barking. I thought it was just a dog walking by so let her go for a minute but when she didn't quiet down I opened the door and shushed her. That only lasted a second and off she went again! So I opened the door again and looked out and I could just see the top of a woman's head to the left of my gate, so I supposed she and her dog were walking by and Tink would shut up in a minute. But no. She kept it up! So I went out again and couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary but thought I'd peek my head out of the gate to see if someone was getting into their car or whatever. What did I see? A woman and her dog just sitting about 10 feet from my gate! Her dog was in a sit and she looked up at me and said that she was trying to train her dog not to react when other dogs bark from their yard! I mean!! So she's just going to stay there and get MY dog all riled up??? I don't think so. I turned on my heel without a word, scooped Tink up and took her into the house. I think that is just awful behavior. Not only is she driving Tink nuts, she driving my neighbors nuts because Tink is barking and making me crazy as well. What an idiot.

I can really tell the season's changing because it's so light in the mornings now. When I woke up this morning I thought it was Saturday because it was light and the alarm hadn't gone off. But no, it was only about 6 am. It was supposed to be cloudy and rainy today but it's nice this morning so I took a picture of the Quad on my way in. The Blogger is being a bit obstinate and won't download the pictures, which is quite nice considering it's from my phone. Here's a link to it.

I did not work on my socks last night. I am going to make a gung-ho effort to not only get them done this weekend but also the chunky cardigan. And I think I'm done with chunky knits for a while. There is a top in the new Vogue that I am just crazy about - a Nicky Epstein. It's gorgeous. And looks hard to do. But it's in cotton so it would be a good spring/summer project. I'm vacillating. In the meantime I swatched for a cute little shrug rather than work on the socks. Tonight for sure. If I can keep the dog occupied I should be able to finish the ankle and start on a heel.

How about some sports news?

The Seahawks have lost Steve Hutchinson but they gained Julian Peterson and the news sounds pretty good about him. He's a defensive player - linebacker. So far we still haven't lost too very many good players. I did hate to see Joe Jurivicus go, but hey .. it sure could have been worse. This is the first time in ages and ages that I haven't been all stoked about the draft. It just really isn't a big deal this year, thankfully.

So that lovely start to spring has now dissolved into rain rain rain. I'm going to have a soggy walk up to the post office but I must get Amanda's present in the mail, so off I go.

And the 2nd day of spring ...

okay, not so good. As brilliant and gorgeous as yesterday was, today is cloudy and it started to sprinkle as I was biking through campus. Oh well ... that's spring in Seattle. The cherry trees are looking wonderful and tomorrow I'm going to snap a shot with my phone. If it's too bad I'll bring my camera Wednesday and get a real picture.

Yesterday I was going to send my Secret Pal her last package. I got the package addressed, had my keys, my phone, my iPod, sunglasses .... off I went. Got to the post office and realized I had forgotten one thing. My money. Today is gym day so it's going to have to wait to Wednesday. When she gets the package then I'll reveal myself. My Secret Pal sent me a lovely card and revealed herself and I've put a link on my sidebar - Thanks Kackie for the great purse and books!

I have been drooling over the catalogues that seem to flood my mailbox daily - they are now full of bathing suits and resort wear and my mind is constantly floating off to some sort of tropical paradise where I'm laying on the beach, sipping a cold drink and debating whether or not to go into the water. Ahhhhhh .... However, plans are changing daily it seems. The gallery deal is off which means the Hawaii trip is off and we're going to have to scale down, time-wise and probably expense-wise as well. Now it's looking like a long weekend in Mexico or some sort of cruise. I have never cruised because I always thought I would just get bored out of my mind. On the other hand, if all we want to do is lay around by the pool or on the beach during the day and eat, drink and dance at night a ship is as good as a resort hotel, it seems to me. I will do more research and put my sister to work on it as well.

Last night was pick up the nephew night, so I got only a few rows done on my socks. You know, I never swatched those guys. I mean -- size 2 needles?? Come on. If I can't get gauge with size 2's I am certainly not going to go any smaller. I can barely stand working with those anyway. I mean -- now we know why they're called needles! They're hardly bigger than the needle I use to sew in ends. But I am looking at them and they look rather wide. I slipped them on but it's kind of hard to tell. They don't bag exactly, but they're not hugging my ankle. The pattern does call for some ribbing on the foot after the heel and gusset are done so that might tighten it up. AND I found a huge hole (well huge is relatively, of course) in the ribbing. Somehow I got a YO in there. Oh well, I am not going to rip it back. I figure it's those little flaws that make it "special". (How's that for spin?) And yesterday I broke my vow of not buying any more yarn until I had finished a couple projects. How could I resist? I read on Craftster that WEBS was having a sale on Noro for $5.50 a skein! I bought six and I am going to make a shrug with lacy bell sleeves. I hope. I mean I don't have a pattern but I should be able to figure that out easily enough.

Yay! It's spring!!!

Not only is it spring by the calendar, but the sun is shining and it looks like spring as well! I biked through the quad this morning and the big cherry trees are that close to blooming. The gardners were there, trimming up the edges of the lawn so that it will be picture perfect in the next couple days. Unfortunately it is supposed to start clouding up and raining by Wednesday, but that never stops hoards of people from showing up to take pictures of the trees. That is the only time of year that my bike route through the campus varies -- I take the scenic detour through the quad for the week or so that they are in full bloom. I should be able to get a good shot on the way in at least once this week. Oh -- one reason my camera phone pictures have been so bad lately, I found out, is that I had the settings on automatic rather than indoor (or outdoor). The two pictures I post here today had the setting indoor and they're much better than the last couple. Although I should just quit being so lazy and take them with my digital camera. It's just so slow to download them onto my laptop. What I need is a NEW digital camera and then I will put the software on my work PC as well as my home one, and then I can take pictures on the way to work or whatever and now have to fiddle with my dodgy laptop.

So .... I actually ended up having a very disappointing weekend, unfortunately. Not only did my plans get cancelled on Thursday, but Friday as well (and at the last minute!!) AND again on Saturday. Friday was easily forgiven because the person cancelling was in fact really sick, but Saturday? Unforgivable. Rude and lazy and unforgivable. And so there I was - 5 o'clock, no plans, and VERY angry. Little Tink got an extra walk because I was so steamed I couldn't sit still. So we walked and I burned up the airwaves ranting and raving to my sister and my friend Mikie in Arizona. Luckily for me my Secret Pal had sent me two books. Thanks Secret Pal!! She send "Knitting Over the Edge" and the new Sarah Dunant book "In the Company of the Courtesan". Good job! So I changed my clothes and took myself off to the new pub at the end of my street. It's underneath and a part of a new/used bookstore and coffeehouse so the lighting is great for reading, the food from upstairs is pretty good, the music is great and the wine and beer selection is not bad.

With all of that extra time you might think I could get some knitting done and you'd be right. I worked on my socks on Friday and finished one whole repeat of the lace pattern and a few rows into the second repeat (of 4). I am still not entirely sure I know what to do when it comes time for turning the heel and doing the gusset. I'm going to solicit some help. I am using the Columbine pattern from the "Two Socks Soar..." book and Koigu yarn. The picture is tight so you can, hopefully, see the pattern.


Also started was my top-down raglan cardigan. I had left-over handpainted thick and thin bulky yarn from my big top-down purple and green thing because I ordered extra, so I cast on and actually finished the whole body! Things go so fast when you're using size 15's as opposed to, say, size 2's!! I used all of the green and left two skeins of the purple mix for the arms, then I'm going to use mohair for the bands. Cables really pull in a LOT so I'm going to have to make, like, 2 or 3 in button bands. Still, I'm quite pleased.

I must rant today

I need to rant today. I am just sooo angry! I hate hate HATE when people make plans with you when, apparently, they are drunk. And then cancel at the last minute! That just makes me want to scream. How rude is that?? So I had a little extra time yesterday evening. As in the whole evening. I was too mad to watch TV or read so I put on some music and cast on two socks. Nice thing about knitting when you're angry - it goes pretty darned fast. I got all of the ribbing and six rows into the first lace repeats. Doing two at once is a breeze so far. It's was a bit dicey at first but it always is getting these things started. Once I got a few rows on the needles it was fine. The real test will come later.

I stopped at the LYS on the way home yesterday because I may have to get another skein of yarn for the flower top [which is another pet peeve of mine - why can't patterns give you yardage rather than weight? It's just not accurate enough]. The yarn store didn't have another skein of that yarn, wouldn't you know it, but they did have a whole wall of Koigu so I grabbed a couple skeins of that. So what am I going to do about the top? Well I am not entirely sure that I didn't make it too large to begin with, so I'm going to bring it in to work next week and Cat can take it home and try it on her little girl and see how it fits. It's it's too large, then I'll frog it and start over and I should have enough yarn. If it just fits then I'm going to have to scramble and try to find another skein of that dye lot. It's doable but it's a hassle.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to any Irish out there in blog land. I sent a text message to my friend Emma, who is Irish. She vowed that she would NOT be working this St. Patrick's day. She used to work at the Temple Bar in Dublin, which is a madhouse at any time of the year but on this day - hideous. Anyway, she said she's not working and is just heading out. I wish I was with her.

Quickly

Just a teensie post today. I've been pretty much off the radar the past couple days but I'm back back back!! Feeling pretty good and by tomorrow or Saturday should be 100% again.

The Seahawks are stepping up in free agency and have signed Rocky Bernard! yay! I still haven't read anything definite about Steve Hutchinson but I did read that they're going after some other good players. We've only lost 2 good ones so far, and a possible 3rd with Hutchinson and they seem to have plenty of room under the salary cap so perhaps the team won't be gutted. Exciting, huh?

I have been working on the little girl flower top. It's almost done and it's adorable. I don't think I'm going to have enough yarn for the second sleeve though so I've got to drop by the LYS today and get another skein (hopefully) of the same dye lot. My Secret Pal hostess asked when I was going to cast on for my second pair of socks. I am waiting for some sock yarn from KnitPicks and then I'll do a Knitty sock - 2 at a time. Should be exciting. I would love to get some Lorna's Laces yarn for the next pair before I get tired of socks.

It was the chemistry!

I had an enjoyable evening Friday seeing "Private Lives" although I was just a teensie bit disappointed. The chemistry between the leads was just a bit off - like totally not believable. It's such a wonderful script though that you can't help but enjoy yourself.

Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days. Tink got some lovely long walks and yesterday, the more sunny of the two, she spent basking in the sun on the steps or on the walkway. I finally planted some spring bulbs in a pot for the deck. It's a bit late but I think they'll come up just fine. Next weekend my goal is to spruce up the little beds by the mailbox at my gate. Right now they're just full of weeds. I'll get some primroses, I think.

The Seahawks lost two really good players this weekend with free agency plus the Vikings have tendered a HUGE offer to Steve Hutchinson, as a restricted free agent. The Seahawks have a week to match it or .... I don't know they can maybe get a trade or something. But it would be awful to lose him. I just scanned the sports page this morning so I don't have any idea if the Seahawks are making noises about matching the offer or what.

Speaking of mailbox - guess what came in that mailbox Friday? A jury summons. Oh joy. Here's the difference between me and a lawyer friend. When I got the summons I moaned. Boooooring! When I told my friend she was like, "Oh! How exciting!!"


I finished my socks. This is a super bad picture, but at least you can there are two. My Secret Pal left me a little comment saying that she's never had the patience for socks. I must say that doing them on 2 circular needles is just soooo easy! And fast as well. Much better than trying to wrestle with those little DPNs. I figured out the Turkish cast on so if I ever do some toe-up ones I've got the perfect way to cast on without a seam. It's very neat.

Oh yeah baby!

That crepe restaurant was wonderful! And it was packed too! I am definitely going to go back there. Sooner rather than later because we had a beautiful wine and I can't remember what it is called. I want to go back this weekend to find out before they change their wine list.

Tonight it's "Private Lives" and I'm looking forward to it. I just hope it doesn't snow. It's gotten very cold again and even though you can see blue sky, there are dark clouds lurking.

I still haven't finished the Harry Potter movie. I looked at the DVD sleeve and see that it's 4 hours 40 minutes long! Wow! No wonder I didn't finish it that night. I remember being a little surprised that it wasn't finished at about 9:30 and hadn't thought I'd put it on very late. So ... probably I have another hour to go. That's nice. I'll watch it Saturday.

Just managed to get a few inches done on the second sock yesterday. I want to finish it this weekend.

I just didn't do my research!

"What's crab grass?" I wondered briefly as I read the back of the Weed 'n Feed bag last Saturday. I was scanning, looking for "kills dandelions". Ah! Good enough! So I put it on the lawn. And yesterday morning I was looking to see if those pesky weeds were indeed fading away, but I didn't see any evidence of that. When I got home I took a closer look and what I did notice is that some patches of the lawn itself are turning yellow. Hmmmmm .... could it be crab grass?? Dang! So NOW I know what crab grass is ---- it's what comprises about 30% of my so called lawn!! Aggressively turning yellow now. The weeds? Doing fine so far. Perhaps some real research is needed.

And speaking of yellow - I had the oddest thought in the middle of the night. Paranoia is like mustard yellow. It doesn't look good on anyone.

I am finally going to that crepe restaurant/wine bar tonight. It has been open in my neighborhood for almost 2 years now and each time I walk by I think I should definitely go in and try it out. There are always people eating and drinking at all hours, so it can't be that bad. Tonight is the night. We'll see. I do like good crepes.

I finished my first sock last night. And I did NOT graft the toe. What a waste of time! I just did a neat little 3-needle bind off and weaved in the ends and it's fine. Perfect. Looks great. I will cast on for the second one today. Don't want it to be lonely now, do we?

Yeee-ouch!!

Well, after my first workout in ... oh gosh about 2 months(!) I had a great one yesterday but oh my gosh, my triceps and pecs are so sore that I can barely get my hands above my head! I don't mind, I know it'll go away, but wow ... I didn't think I would get that sore.

I keep thinking about that great Italian meal I had Sunday night -- a wonderful penne pasta with chunks of smoked salmon and fresh green peas and capers and dill .... oh it was soooo good! I think it was the best Italian meal I've had since that little restaurant in Toronto about a year ago. The pasta there was exceptional, must have been homemade. The pasta Sunday wasn't quite as good but well cooked. Since I've got a bathing suit vacation coming up AND I've been slacking off on the working out, there are going to be few Italian meals in my immediate future. I've got to get into bathing suit shape! It's completely doable, but I'm going to have to be vigilant. It's nice to have a goal.

Speaking of Toronto .. I had that gorgeous Italian meal with the intended recipient of the Big Blue Sweater who has as yet to claim it. I am alternately angry and concerned. Angry because I carried that darned sweater and yarn to Europe and back and all places in between in a back pack!! NOT my preferred piece of carry on luggage by any means!! And concerned because this is just absolutely uncharacteristic behavior. And then sometimes I'm just sad because of what this might portend. Ah well ... ah well.

I worked on my sock while I was getting my hair done yesterday evening. Tonight I think I will finish it. I am wondering though -- why graft the toe? I'm just going to do a 3-needle bind off. That little teensie seam won't bother anything. I also worked on the pretty little girl top while I was watching "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". I had it on my Netflix queue and got it the day it was released. I didn't finish it though because Tinkerbell was just too hyped up last night for some reason. I had to pay attention to her and it's the kind of movie where you really want all of your attention upon it. Tonight I can finish it up.

I have decided to give my Secret Pal, for her last gift, some dye-your-own yarn as suggested by Tammy, the SP Hostess. Guess I'd better order that today so I can get it to her by the end of the month, eh?

What I love about early spring

The house across the street has a beautiful cherry tree. I think it's a Japanese cherry tree. Anyway, it blooms in early spring as do quite a few different varieties of cherry and plum in my neighborhood. The larger cherry trees on campus don't come out until a little later, but this one is so gorgeous! This picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea of what I get to see each morning when I leave the house. She has daffodils planted under the tree -- probably I should have taken the picture outside of the gate but I was in my bathrobe. That blue sky you can see there was gone by the time I got out of the shower. We should have rain today and I hear that it's getting colder and snow is a possibility Thursday or Friday. That's spring in Seattle for you.

Today is the day I finally get to go to the gym and work out on the Precor! YAY! While it's not actually running it is close enough and I am psyched! If all goes well (meaning I don't over do it) I should be able to get back to running in six weeks. When will that be ..... 2nd week of April. Sweet. And it looks like Kelli has got a deal for her gallery and so we are planning on going to Hawaii, in her words, "in 90 days, baby!". That's 3 months where I come from. So sometime in late May or early June ... ahhhhhh Hawaii.

I sent Nonnahs a link to a pattern I found in Knitpicks for a two at once, toe-up sock pattern. I am certainly going to give it a try. I am almost done with my first sock and I'm going to make sure to cast on right away for the second one because I can see how easy it would be to put it off and then .... there you have one sock and no intention of making another. The casting on for this pattern sounded familiar to me but her directions are not very clear so I went through a ton of magazines last night looking for the article. I thought it was in IK but it turned out to be in Vogue and it's called the Turkish Cast-On. It's a very clever seamless cast on for making toes or pouches using two circular needles. I don't see why I can't do it twice and have two on there. I'll give it a try after ... AFTER I finish the second sock. The Addis are pricey, but definitely worth it. I'm glad I got them. I became a fan when I first started knitting and got a pair of size 8s to make hats that first Christmas. Oh I just wanted them in every size! But I got the Denise set of interchangeable needles and I really am glad I did.

Well here's some good news!

I just read in the paper this morning that the Seahawks re-signed Shaun Alexander! Yay! That's great news! For an obscene amount of money, of course. What I have come to understand though is that even though they say he's signed for $68 million he's unlikely to ever get all of that so it's just numbers.

It was a wonderful, spring-ish weekend and I got tons and tons of stuff accomplished! Saturday was just gorgeous so after I got all of my indoor chores done I mowed the lawn and fertilized it to boot! While I was toiling away in the sun the mail came and in it was my "Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles" book. So of course, as soon as I was done cleaning up I took off for my LYS to purchase two pairs of Addi Turbos, size 2 (gulp) and some sock yarn. Now let me digress for a moment here -- can anyone out there tell me why sock yarn is to gawd awful ugly?? I just wanted some plain cotton blend sock yarn. Nope. I could get cotton, but not superwash and I am not about to make a pair of socks that need to be hand washed! Not right out of the gate anyway. I could have gotten a wool in plain colors but I really wanted cotton. So I ended up with the least ugly one I could choose, aptly named "Clown".

AAaany way, I brought my booty back and sat myself down and did about 4 inches of ribbed cuff. Can I say that they soar? Well, as much as anything can soar that is being knit on size 2 needles. It took me a while to get used to the method and in fact it wasn't until I was knitting the heel flap on Sunday that I realized I was knitting inside out. No harm. Sunday wasn't so nice outside as Saturday so I had no qualms about sitting around most of the day, listening to music and knitting. I mean, I did other things, of course. Laundry, washed the puppy, read the paper and actually completed about 80% of the Sunday crossword! I had one of those sweet moments in the afternoon though -- when you just have to sigh and relish the simple pleasures. There I was in my comfy chair listening to some great jazz, working on a somewhat complicated part of the sock but getting it, a little break in the clouds for a ray of sunshine, my sweet little dog on my lap and a wonderful dinner at a great Italian restaurant to look forward to. It was a perfect moment. Here's where I left off working on the sock. The heel flap was a piece of cake. Turning the heel was also easy. Getting the gusset started was a bit tricky but I just followed the instructions and only got confused once but didn't mess up. Not I just knit on down to about 2 inches shy of my toes and then do the toe increases. Oh .. and then make another one. I was thinking about if it work work, doing two at once. I thought it would right up until I got to the tricky bits and now I'm not so sure. You have to transfer stitches from one needle to another at one point and I just don't think it would be possible if there was another sock on there. I'll have to think a little more on it.

Well, that's my big sock adventure. I also got some work done on the back of the Flower top. That is the perfect thing to knit while watching TV because it is just straight garter stitch. Just have to keep track of the rows.

What killed the cat

It was speculation that killed the cat not curiosity.

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

I don't know how long it'll last ...

but there's sunshine again today! I tell you, there is nothing like some sunshine in March to get all of Seattle smiling. It is supposed to rain this weekend but I am actually hoping it holds off long enough on Saturday for me to mow the lawn and put some weed and feed on it. I DO NOT want a parking strip full of dandelions this year!

I finished the V-neck last night and am wearing it at work today! The trim is a mix of some gorgeous Any Blatt mohair I got in Paris but which was just not the right shade of purple and some old mystery mohair. Mixed together they give a denim look which makes this top perfect for jeans but not much else. Anyway it's cute and it really made me understand the top-down concept. I have a super idea for a cardigan that I'm going to do next ... well, you know, AFTER I do the little girl flower dress and AFTER I get some socks going. I posted the whole pattern on my pattern blog (see the link on the side bar?)

Now this sock thing is beginning to intrigue me. I am looking forward to getting my two circular method book and, happily, I found out that my first Secret Pal (spoiler, not spoilee) Nonnahs also got the book so I'll have someone to compare notes with.

So tonight I get to cast on for the cute little Flower Top and Skirt. Awwwwww

A dream within a dream

This is so weird! I was dreaming last night about shopping for shoes with a friend. She found a gorgeous pair of vintage designer pumps. I told her, jokingly, that it was a good thing she'd spotted them before me because I had dreamed about them! And she said, "Yes, but you dreamed about giving them to me." And then in my dream I remembered another dream where indeed that had happened. I don't know ... it's hard to explain. But it was weird.

AAAAnnyway .... in knitting news ... I have only 10 rows left to do on my v-neck raglan sweater. I could have easily finished it last night but I got caught up reading Debbie Stoller's new book while I was cooking dinner and never got back to knitting. No matter, I can easily finish it up tonight. And then .... then I'm going to make an adorable little top and skirt set for a friend's little girl. It's from Studio Knits, only instead of having the top green and the bottom blue, she wants the top pink and the bottom lavender. So it's not going to look much like a flower, really. But I'm sure it'll be cute. I wanted to make it with a cotton/acrylic blend yarn but when I tried to order it they were out of the colors I needed. My friend is, by her admission, not much of a hand washer so this thing needs to be machine washable. Off to my LYS I went and on their superwash wall the only two yarns that would make gauge were Cashsoft DK and Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino Aran, which didn't have the right pink. So I bought the Cashsoft. Hopefully I won't need all that I bought and can return a couple skeins.

I got all of the little left over sticky bits off my legs today and have one more appointment with the doctor in a couple weeks for a few injections. I can go back to the gym again! yay!! I can use the elliptical trainer but won't be able to run for 3 weeks after the injections which will put me into the second week of April. But as long as I can use the Precor I can get cardio. Plus I can ride my bike and, well IF I could swim, I could swim. So I ordered "Sock Soar on Two Circular Needles" yesterday because I decided I wanted to make some socks to wear with shorts this spring and summer. As if I need another obsession. Don't even think it. I know. But it looks like fun and it would be a way to use up some of that recycled cashmere.

Not finished yet

I had plans to finish up that sweater. However, after reading the paper and doing the crossword puzzle I just wasn't in the mood. So instead, I did a few rows of the lace leaf scarf and managed to mess it up. I must have left out a yo in each pattern repeat across. As soon as I figured that out I just put it down. No more knitting. Instead I watched a great program on PBS. It's part of a series. Each member of Monty Python has chosen his most favorite sketches and they show them and talk about them. It's pretty cool. Last night was Eric Idle.

I rode my bike yesterday for the first time in about a month. It was good. I felt a little out of shape but my legs didn't hurt. I really really want to go to the gym. I'm in that place I get when I don't work out and I don't like it. I am assuming I should be able to at least go on the Precor Friday and maybe next week I can start running! Woohoo. We'll find out Thursday.