My little adventure

So far nobody seems to have a definitive answer to the prat/wanker debate.  It could be that it's just a matter of opinion.  The polling is still open.

Tink and I got on the road Friday afternoon and headed south.  The freeway remained clear and (mostly) dry all the way down, although when we stopped in Olympia to get gas there was quite a bit of snow still on the ground there.  And it was very cold.  I forgot about the little coastal mountain pass and was a little anxious as we headed into it since the clouds had come in and it was snowing but, again we were lucky and the roads remained clear.  We made it to the hotel by 4 o'clock and the sky had cleared as we got to the coast.  Luckily I was able to upgrade to a pet friendly room with a view.  There was time to take a nice walk before the sun went down.  I am regretting not taking a picture of the sunset Friday night.  I assumed that I'd get another chance on Saturday, but it was just stormy and gray.  No sunset colors.

Saturday I drove further south to Cannon Beach.  I just love that place and it was just as I remembered when Kelli and I went down 5 or six years ago.  I found the hotel we had stayed in and I was hoping to have lunch at the French cafe but it had closed.  Back we went to Seaside and walked around there as well.  And it was packed with people!  I knew that there was a Dixieland band convention since I had seen signs for it and the hotel I was staying in was packed with old folks.  What I was seeing on the streets Saturday afternoon was packs of teenagers.  I later found out there was a basketball tournament there. 

After our long walk in Cannon Beach and another long walk at Seaside I took Tink back to the hotel and went out for lunch, then went looking for an ATM.  I found one and was about to go into the building when I read a sign saying to use a different door because of the wind.  I did as I was told and opened a sliding door and caught my finger.  I mean .... wow!  Ouch!  When I took off my glove to take a look at the finger it looked as if I had broken the nail bed and I was totally freaked out.   It looked bad, so I did the most logical thing and got directions to the urgent care clinic.  When I got in to see the doctor and took off the bandage I had put on there she said, "Oh, that's not bad.  Take a look".  I am squeamish and I wasn't looking at it and I said "Didn't I break the nail bed"?  "It's not bad", she said.  "I didn't break the nail bed?"  And then I looked and indeed it wasn't bad.  I mean, again it is a matter of opinion.  It was seriously scraped but I had NOT broken the nail bed.  It was the piece of skin that had been scraped and was laying across the nail bed when I put the bandage on.  Whew.  It was very sore but she put some surgical glue on it and that's that.  Unfortunately it was too sore to do much knitting.  I tried but ... oh well.

Sunday it was stormy outside.  I took Tink for a little walk before breakfast, thinking we would have a nice long one on the beach before taking off for Seattle but when I checked out of the hotel the rain was coming down in buckets AND blowing sideways.  No walkies for us.  Just a long and stormy ride home.  I listened to my audio book and it lasted all the way home.

I MUST finish up those sleeves this week.  Then I hope I can get some knitting mojo back.  It seems I don't like anything I am working on right now.  Maybe when I get the stranded work done on the Cloisonne Jacket I'll be excited about it again.  It is quite pretty.

Prat or wanker?

I know I have asked this before? But which is more derogatory?



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And escape we shall!

Thank goodness the weather cooperated and the roads are clear, so Tink and I are heading south after lunch to the Oregon coast for the weekend.  It's going to be great!  It might even snow there, which would be awesome.  Snow at the ocean.  I am going to walk on the beach and eat clam chowder and just be.  I brought a book and some knitting and, of course, my iPhone is loaded up with movies and TV, plus I can get Netflix movies on my iPhone as well.   I won't be bored, that's for sure.  I couldn't remember the name of the hotel my sister and I stayed in the time we visited Cannon Beach and the ones that came up on the search were either WAY too expensive or didn't accept pets, so I chose Seaside and got a place on the beach.  Unfortunately they didn't have any pet friendly rooms available with a view of the beach but that's okay.  I'll ask again when I check in.  Maybe someone canceled. 

It was snowing at lunchtime yesterday so I didn't end up running.  It is extremely cold today and I'm not going to run before we get on the road.  I'll have to double my efforts next week.  And/or do some running this weekend.  I'll bring my running clothes with me just in case I get the urge.

I feel good today.  Maybe it's the abundant sunshine.  More likely it's the sense of impending freedom.  AND the sunshine.

As usual, much ado about nothing

It started precipitating while I was getting my hair done yesterday evening.  It was hailing and then lightly snowing when I actually left, but the roads remained clear.  It did snow a bit during the night but when I got ready to leave for my appointment this morning the roads were clear.  It is very cold, below freezing, and as I was walking in from the parking garage it started to snow little tiny flakes.  But it is my opinion that there is not going to be much of an accumulation and I will be able to go to the shore tomorrow with Tink.  Yay!!!!  I will make reservations today for Cannon Beach.   If I can't find anything reasonable there I will stop at Seaside instead.  I like Cannon Beach better but it is only about 11 miles from Seaside so we will be able to go there as well.  Tink loves the beach.  It is going to be cold but it will be very nice to get away by myself.  I can certainly put up with a little bit of cold.

I really really want to run but I am not crazy (truly, I am not) and if it is still snowing in 30 minutes I will just forget about it.  Running in the snow is just a bit over the top.  I worked on my boring project last night.  I need to concentrate on finishing up those sleeves so I can put the ugly thing together and forget about it!  I will take them with me this weekend.  It is perfect knitting for a weekend away.  I can drink wine and not worry about  messing it up since it's just stockinette. 

Pink gloves 2

I wasn't the only one surprised by the arrival of the pink gloves yesterday.  I called my sister after I had opened the envelope, thinking that she had somehow gotten in touch with a work colleague in London and talked them in to doing her the favor.  She said she would have liked to take the credit but could not, in good conscience.

I woke up at 4:20 am.  I was sure I could get back to sleep but I didn't.  It's probably a good think I don't have a comfy chair or couch in this office (not that there's any room for one) because I would surely close the door and settle in for a nap.

I had a SUPER good run yesterday afternoon.  It started sleeting one mile into it but it was not so bad and I finished up my whole hour.  If I can get another one or two runs in this week and do 3 or 4 next week I should be able to run the race in March.  I guess it just depends on the weather.  We are supposed to be getting more snow today.  There wasn't any on the roads here but a little ways north they are closing schools.  I had to drive today because I have an appointment after work and I must drive tomorrow because I have an appointment in the morning, so I am hoping we don't get much, if any.  The media always make such a fuss about snow and usually it is a tempest in a teapot.  What I am really worried about is Friday because I am planning on taking Tinkerbell and escaping to the Oregon coast for the weekend.  If the roads are bad that will hamper my escape.  So fingers crossed people!

Noon knitting today.  I am getting very close to finishing up the stranded work on the Cloisonne Jacket.  And oh I am going to celebrate when that is done.  Plus everyone is getting darned tired of looking at it as well.  Peggy  keeps telling me to take it home and work on it, but if I did that I'd put it in a basket and never take it out.  This way it is going to get done.  Slowly.  But done.

Pink gloves!!!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry so I am doing a little of both.  No, not true but never mind.  I was completely astonished when I opened the envelope.  They are just beautiful!  Thank goodness they didn't arrive on Valentine's Day or I would have been in bits for hours.  As it is ....  Thank you so much, Mystery Shopper.

The very picture of sloth

I did as I said I would and slept and slept and slept some more during the long weekend.  It was wonderful to not be sleep deprived.  I did wake up, but knowing that I didn't have the alarm going off at 6:15 somehow made it easier for me to get back to sleep.  The weather was not too bad - it was cold but not wet.  Tinkerbell got loooong walks all three days and I spread my errands and chores out so every day I had a good amount of time to just knit and listen to my audiobooks or play scrabble or whatever.  At one point on Sunday I was sprawled on the couch listening to my audiobook, not even knitting because my arm was bit sore from the purling and I was thinking how lazy is this?  I am not even reading a book, just listening to it!  I finished it up yesterday afternoon.  Another good narrator.  The book was set in Scotland.  Here's an odd coincidence - the two books I had listened to prior to this last one, "Skippy Dies" and "Dead Ex" both had young boys fascinated with string theory and M theory.  I had heard of string theory but never M theory and here it was referenced in two disparate novels.

There was snow on the car windows and in the garden.  It must have gotten very cold last night.  It is only 36 now.  It is supposed to remain very cold this week.  It's sunny though so fingers crossed it stays that way since I have to drive in tomorrow and Thursday.

Lots to do this week.  I shall get cracking.

Wow!!

Look at that moon!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Furnace woes

I spent yesterday afternoon working from home, waiting for the repairman to arrive.  And it was cold!  I finally took my laptop downstairs and sat next to the gas fireplace.  Thank goodness for that thing!  And drinking cup after cup of peppermint tea to keep my hands warm.  Of course something like this has to happen when we are having another cold snap, right?  He finally arrive around 6 pm!!  And he worked and worked on it.  Turns out it isn't the strike place .. or heat plate or whatever.  The bottom line is that he couldn't fix it and needs to come back today.  The gas fireplace ran all night and actually kept the place comfortable.  But still, I sure hope he can fix it today.

I simply couldn't face another evening working on that boring project so, against my own rules, I picked up the Frock Camisole and started working on that again.  I am not loving the linen since it falls out/off the skeins and I have to keep each ball in a zip lock.  I am loving the fabric though.  And I understand that when one washes linen it becomes very soft.

A long weekend is coming up.  Monday is President's Day.  Right now all I want to do is sleep.  I plan on doing a lot of that this weekend and not much else.

Little steps, but steps all the same

I had an appointment this morning so rather than go into work and have to turn right around and leave again I decided to go from here so I got to sleep in a little bit.  That felt good.  It did not feel good to get up though because the furnace has broken again.  I believe that when the guy fixed it last time he replaced the plate with a used one.  Because Mr. M had an install I came home after my appointment and now I'm sitting in a cold house drinking hot peppermint tea trying to stay warm.  The gas fireplace downstairs doesn't do much unless one is standing right in front of it.  Thankfully it's not all that cold outside.  The really cold weather that has been predicted all week has yet to show up.  Crazy.

Still nothing exciting knitting wise.  Just plugging away on that stockinette disaster.  It keeps my hands busy.  My mind is always racing these days.  Every night I just hope that I don't wake up and when I do ... because invariably I do ... I hope that it's early enough that I can pop a Benedryl.  Otherwise I start thinking about things and then I'm toast.   Every day moves me a step closer to untangling this mess.  That keeps me going, knowing that it WILL get untangled and now, sooner rather than later.  I have one big hurdle to get over and then things should move a little more quickly and smoothly.  Or at least that is my fervent hope.

Why do I even bother to read it?!!???

The weather reports.  Useless!  Of course you know that.  Everyone knows that, it seems, except me.  Yesterday I took the bus because it was supposed to be stormy again but it was clear when I left.  Sure enough it did start raining, hard, just about the time I was ready to have my run.  I waited until I was just too hungry for lunch, ate it and then it cleared up.  grrrrr ...  It got bad again during the night and it was supposed to be showers this morning turning to hard rain in the afternoon.   So rather than take care of my bike tires last night I figured there would be no way I would be biking this morning.  Come morning I look out - no rain. No wind.  Oh I am just kicking myself!!  I can't run today because of knitting at noon.  I need my endorphins!  I have to drive in tomorrow because I've got an appointment in the morning so I am going to keep my fingers crossed that I will be able to run tomorrow because if I don't ... I'm going to go crazy.  Or crazier, I should say.  Since I don't seem to be able to sleep much these days, I am feeling very crazy. 

I just realized that I have a long weekend coming up.  I don't have any plans, obviously, because I had forgotten all about it.  Unfortunately Mr. M has no shows this weekend.    I need some time alone.  Alas, that's not going to happen.

I was looking for a book to read last night before sleep.  Like most people I keep a stack of books by  my bed.  I have two there that I have started and  I always try to finish a book once I've started it but, sometimes I just need to start a new one.  That was last night.  I went through the books and got to the bottom of the pile where I found a book that my sister had given me on one of  her visits.  She typically buys a book at the airport when she travels and this was one of those.  This edition came out after the movie so the actresses are in character on the cover.  The title ... I'm blanking ...ah!  The Hours.  The movie is most famous for Nicole Kidman's big fake nose.  I read a few chapters before I went to sleep.  I think I will like it.

The Tepotzlan is booooring still.  I did a few inches on the sleeves.  Gosh all this time I have coming up this weekend.  I sure wish I had a fun project to knit on.  Maybe I will give myself dispensation to work on a more exciting project.  Not start a new one -- no no no.  But at least have something with interest to work on.  Maybe.

Public Transport Tuesday

The La Nina weather has kicked in with a vengeance.  I didn't have a run yesterday because it was lashing rain and windy and I wasn't into going out there and getting soaked.   And that's too bad because it was stuffy and hot in my office even with the fan going full blast.  I was sitting at my desk in a sleeveless tunic!  Oh how I hate this office!!  I had to walk Tink when I got home and the rain, which had slacked of some, started up again in earnest.  We were only out for a few minutes but by the time I got home I was completely soaked!  My pants, my socks, my hair was dripping because I hadn't tucked it up under my hat.  Thankfully I had a new raincoat on so my upper body stayed dry.  What a mess.  And it was going on most of the night as well. 

This morning it is calm but I don't trust the weather so I decided it would be better to take the bus.  I didn't want to chance having to bike home in the wind and pouring rain.  That is no fun at all.   I am hoping the rain will hold off a bit so I can at least get in a half hour run today.  It's a month away from the race I want to run in March and I've got to get serious about training. 

I cast on for the sleeves of the Tepotzlan last night after dinner.  Frankly I am not loving this project but I am determined to finish it and so I am soldiering on with a set jaw.  I WILL finish it and soon, I hope.

I spent all of yesterday afternoon struggling with another programming problem.  I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Happy V-day to .......

YOU!

Oh how I miss football.  I really felt it this Sunday.  That special void.  All this time on my hands.  I could have been doing something constructive but I just lay on the couch with Tink playing with my iPhone.  How pathetic is that?  I could have been knitting or reading, but no.  Of course there's still this bad mood I'm dealing with as well.

I don't know how I did it -- well probably because I don't typically watch the Science Channel, but I completely missed the first run of  "An Idiot Abroad".  In case you don't know what it is, it's a show by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant where they send their little pal Karl Pilkington off to see the 7 wonders of the world.  Hilarious.  I'm now trying to catch up by recording the re-runs on the Science Channel.  And while I've set my DVR to record all new episodes it's not doing it so I'm getting two and three recordings of one episode and so I've only seen 3 out of the 8 episodes.  I think I might try to buy them for my iPhone because it's very frustrating seeing I've got a new recording and then finding out it's one I've already seen twice.

Well I've got lots of work to do today.  I might take a few minutes on my run to remember my most special Valentine's Day.  I like to dust off that memory now and again.  xoxox

The year of the flu

It seems that every time I turn around I've got some little bug or another.  It's very annoying.  Likely stress-related AND annoying.  This time it's that ache-all-over thing.  I went to bed early Wednesday and this is the first time I've felt anywhere near normal.  ick ick ick  And it was SO beautiful yesterday.  What a waste.  Well it's not nice today.  Cloudy and cold.  Typical Seattle.  I did notice the tulips are starting to come up in the yard.  Hope we don't get a big freeze this month.

So no knitting.  Tomorrow I'm going to take my friend McG's sister to my LYS.  She has been knitting - just winging it and doing great.  But the only "yarn store" she's been in is JoAnn's!!  Holy cow.  She's never knit with anything but synthetic fibers.  She's going to go crazy at Weaving Works.  Plus she doesn't know about gauge, so we're going to get her a little gauge measuring do-dad. 

Working in flannel

Ah yes, working from home today.  Just finished doing a bit of work, then a quick shower.  I love being able to sleep in until nearly 8, turning on the computer and being at work.   Plus the sunshine of course.  It is another cloudless day today and cold.  My ride home yesterday was brutal.  Very cold headwinds to battle all the way home.  I was frozen when I got home so I got in my car and drove the liquor store for some whiskey.  Well, I didn't want to catch a cold!  Nothing like whiskey to knock that stuff down.

I was admiring the colors of the Tepotzlan yesterday evening and noticed what looked like a decrease.   That's not right ... it is just a straight strip.  So I looked closer and discovered a dropped stitch!  I put a cable needle through the stitch so it wouldn't go anywhere.  I was not in the mood to bring it up but I'm going to have to steel myself and do it this evening.  What a huge hassle that is.  Lucky I found it though.

Well it's off for a quick shower before the ladies come to clean.  Then a walk with Tink in the sunshine while they're working and then, nose to the grindstone!

A great listen

I finished listening to "Skippy Dies" yesterday evening while I was walking Tink.  I believe I got more from listening to this book than I could have had reading it.  The entire cast was wonderful and subtle.  Also, I have noticed many times when there is singing in a book the narrator doesn't take the time to learn the song and sing it but rather just recites it or makes up a tune.  Not so in this one and it makes a big difference.  Read it or listen to it.  Well worth the time.

Yesterday I did an hour on the trail at lunchtime using the Nike+ GPS app for my iPhone.  It works flawlessly.  In other words, I did not need to buy the sensor.  The app is only $1.99 and is accurate.  If you don't have an iPhone then the sensor is the only way you can go.  I wish they had told me that at the store.  The saleswoman had given me the wrong sensor and the one ringing me up had noticed the iPhone and said that I only needed the sensor but that's not true.  All I really needed was the app.  Oh well, I like the shoes although I didn't wear them yesterday since I was going to do a whole hour and my foot was a bit sore last time.  It doesn't seem to be a problem with the shoes though because it was a bit sore yesterday as well when I wore my Pumas.  It's not hurting today so I think I'm okay.

Bad mood persisting.

As we say goodbye to football for another year

I never look forward to this time of the year.  No more football and nothing but weeks and weeks of bad weather.  Not my favorite time of year.  And since my vacation has already been had I don't even have that to dream about.  Ah me ... could be worse, always.

The Super Bowl game itself was rather good and I wanted the Steelers to lose, so that's good.  However, we did not win any of our squares.  We came very close but no luck for us.  My nephew came over - he was sharing in the four squares with me and Andre and another guy.  It was a quiet party.  Mr. M's brother and sister in law came and they stayed upstairs in the theatre.  I don't like watching things up there.  It's too dark.  I stayed downstairs with Monika and my nephew and Tink and Andre spread their time evenly upstairs and down. 

Monika had brought a knitting project so we kept our hands busy.  I still have quite a few more inches to go but I'm getting there.  I did put the Tepotzlan pieces on the table to get a better measurement and found I had put one marker in the wrong place entirely.  Monika spent quite some time reading and re-reading the instructions for the bodice because she agrees with me that something is not right with it.  It was quick knit so once I get the other parts done and try to put it together -- I can maybe baste it and try it on.  I might have to take it out and redo the bodice.  Just wing it.  It just seems odd to me that nobody else said anything about it so it could be that once it's put together it'll work.

I'm in a pretty bad mood.  I hope it goes away soon.

A milestone

I watched my odometer turn over to 90000 this morning.   And that's just how exciting my life is. 

Still no luck with the program troubleshooting.  I don't know how many hours I spent on it yesterday.  It gets to a point where you MUST figure it out.  As in -- I'm not going to let this stupid program beat me.  I did finally get someone on the forum to address the issue but nothing he suggested has worked yet.  Maybe today will be the day.

Also my calibration still isn't right on.  I was able to easily (!) run the mile yesterday and the Nike+ was 2/10th of a mile off from the Garmin.  I walked the second mile back rather than push my luck - I had biked in and nothing hurt after that one mile.  So far so good.  The Garmin battery was low anyway so I couldn't check the accuracy on the way back.  Since I was retracing my steps I could get it nearly right and the Nike+ still seemed to be off.  I'll work on it some more next week.  Now I am concerned that the Garmin might not be accurate -- oh, but I did check its accuracy on a 5K run that had been measured and was certified accurate so I am pretty sure the Garmin is accurate versus the Nike+.  I'm going to be rather disappointed if I can't get it to calibrate accurately.  I like my gadgets but only if they work properly.

Tink and I had a lovely quiet evening alone last night.  Nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary, just nice and quiet.  I did some more work on the boooooring Tepotzlan.  I won't have time tonight since I've got to attend a birthday party at 6 for my niece, but tomorrow I'm going to lay those two strips on the table and measure them.  I goofed up and missed placing the last marker so the pieces are not marked identically.  Since it's stockinette the sides are rolling and it's hard to measure on the coffee table.  (I know I know ...)  And I don't want to have to knit this boring stuff any longer than absolutely necessary!

My love for the Scrabble games with real people is waning.  I have found that most people just stop playing if they're not winning!  What fun is that?  It's really rather annoying.  I think 3 games so far have gone all the way.  I won 2 and lost the other and it was pretty obvious I'd have to pull off a couple of 7 letter words to win it but I kept playing anyway.  People either forfeit or, worse, just quit.  Plus it eats up the iPhone battery.

Super Bowl Sunday -- I don't think we're going to have very many people over but it'll be fun anyway.  Especially if I win more money.  Yeah.

I feel so naughty!

It is very important to wear goggles or some sort of eye covering when you're biking and I always have either my clear goggles or sunglasses or my regular glasses.  But I am such a creature of habit and my goggles were not with my helmet and gloves, where they usually are, because the last time I rode in I was wearing my regular glasses.  Therefore I went off without any eye protection.  I was a few blocks away when the unfamiliar sense of freedom registered -- no glasses.  But I said the heck with it and went on without.  If it had been raining I would have stopped and dug them out but it wasn't so I took a chance.  No bugs in the eyes.  Yay

Yesterday was a brutal day.  The meetings ate up the entire morning, then knitting so I didn't get out for a run and finally the afternoon spent vainly trying to track down the problem with a php script.  There are few things more frustrating than troubleshooting programming, especially if it's someone else's script.  I have posted a question on a forum so hopefully I can figure this mess out because I'm about ready to tear my hair out.

The weather has been incredible.  It was beautiful yesterday - sunny and windless.  And in the rest of the country it's snowy.  I don't know how we lucked out this winter, but I'm not complaining.  I should have good weather for a run today.  I think I'll just do 1/2 hour and try to calibrate my Nike+ sensor again.  I feel like I'm almost back up to speed already.  I was less than 1 minute off pace today on my ride in so I believe I can easily ... well, 'easily' is relative here ... run a mile nonstop to do the calibration.  If I'm terribly winded I can walk a bit and then do another mile back to check the calibration.

I was so beat when I got home last night I didn't do much except play a little Scrabble and make dinner and after an hour or so knitting I went up and read until my eyes wouldn't stay open - which wasn't very late.  If I take Tink up with me before 10, even if I let her out to do her thing before I head up, she is more likely than not to want to go out in the middle of the night.  So sure thing, 1 am she wanted to go out.  I let her stay out for 10 or so minutes and back up we went and I fell right back asleep. 

Okay -- now to hunt for more clues on why that freaking script won't run!!!

Is obsession too strong a word?

Not that I don't still lllllove Angry Birds, but I have discovered that the updated Scrabble app for my iPhone has an option for playing games with real people.  Anonymously of course.   You can have numerous games going at the same time.  So far I haven't been beaten and all but one of my opponents forfeited.  One of the games I am playing now I believe I am going to lose because for the second time in 3 turns I have a rack full of vowels.  I have already skipped a turn to exchange letters so I am way behind.

I did try to calibrate my Nike+ Sensor yesterday.   Using the Garmin, which is a GPS device and therefore accurate, I did a mile walking and then told the Nike+ that was a mile.  To test it I turned around and walked another mile.  It was off by more than 2/10ths of a mile.  I can't do it again today because it's noon knitting, but I'll give it another go tomorrow.  Maybe I should try running rather than walking.  My foot didn't hurt after the two mile walk but we all know running is way different.

"Skippy Dies" is the current audio book I'm listening to.  It is an awesome book.  The hardback is more than 600 pages.  It's a long listen but I am loving every second of it and the story is incredible.

Now I have 2 1/2 hours of meetings to attend.  gah

Look ma! I'm flying!

That's what running in those awesome new shoes feels like.  They are so incredibly light.  Remember when running shoes used to be so huge and clunky almost?  Now there are people advocating barefoot running.  Have you seen the funny shoes with toes?  They are really more like aqua socks.  Well, my shoes aren't that crazy but indeed they are way different from my Pumas.  I did an hour of walk 5, run 10.  At the end of the hour my right foot was hurting a bit though and that's not good.  Today I brought my Garmin.  I need to calibrate the Nike+ sensor so I will walk a mile and if my foot isn't hurting then I'll run the second mile and that should do it.  The notes with the sensor say that the default calibration is generally good for most people and it did seem to be yesterday but I would like to get it exact.  I believe in accuracy in all things.

I was going to bike in but ended up taking the bus because it was only 30 degrees this morning and all I need is to hit a patch of ice going down one of those hills.  It is cold and very clear and I noticed, walking to the bus, that it is much lighter.  I had to carry a flashlight a few weeks ago. 

No knitting last night.  Had a nice dinner out and watched a pretty funny movie - "Date Night".  I should be able to get a good few hours in on the Chirimen Tepotzlan.  And I will vow to do at least two rows of color work at noon knitting tomorrow.  I am sure looking forward to being done with that thing.

What a boneheaded move!

I woke up and not wanting to risk a sleepless night, I took a Benedryl.  Unfortunately I took it before looking at the clock.  Before I could fall back asleep the alarm went off!  Now I could fall asleep, but of course I am at work and it is severely frown upon.  Oh but I would love to curl up on something soft and drift off for an hour or so.  Never again will I take one of those unless I know what time it is. 

I did buy myself some new runners on Saturday.  They are so cool!  Super light weight and they have a little pocket in the sole for the Nike+ sensor.  Now I can use my iPhone rather than my Garmin when I run.  I can't wait to try them out this afternoon.  Since they are so light I don't know that I'll be using them every day.  For the time being I'm going to leave my Pumas here in case they are not good for the longer hour runs.  I don't typically have problems with my feet but you never know so until I am sure I'll keep both pairs here.

The weekend was pretty busy but I did manage to get a couple of good hours in knitting on both days.  In my quest for finishing projects I have limited myself to knitting on one project at a time.  I got quite a few more inches done on the body part of the Tepotzlan.   The bodice is finished.  These two strips are the front and back.  The stripes will be vertical when the pieces are attached to the bodice.  I'm not head over heels about this project but I guess that happens sometimes to the best (and worst) of us. 

I took a picture of the Frock Camisole as well to put on my Ravelry page so I thought I'd put it up here too.  The color is exact and although I don't have a lot of brown or taupe in my wardrobe I think I'll get some use out of this top.  The linen yarn is very slippery and hard to work with.  I am using two strands at once to get the gauge and fabric I need. I noticed quickly that the yarn was not staying in it's ball so I put them each into a baggie and that keeps the balls together better.

It is going to be a super busy and hard week for me.  One step at a time though.  And the next step for me right now is another cup of tea.  I hope I don't have to resort to ice cubes down my back to stay awake.

It's kind of freaky

The weather is extremely mild and it's just strange.   This morning my hands were almost too warm in my winter biking gloves.  It's going to be brutal when winter decides to show up again because, as I said, the plants and shrubs are thinking it's spring.

Mr. M was off doing a show last night so Tinkerbell and I had a lovely, nice quiet evening all to ourselves.  We had a nice walk before it got pitch dark.  It was a gorgeous sunset last night!  Then a little Wii time and finally a couple hours working on the Tepotzlan and catching up on TV shows I had recorded.  Not a terribly exciting evening but satisfying.  I have a fairly stressful weekend coming up so we get our relaxation when we can.

I have been informed that I am giving a party on Saturday so after I go buy my new runners tomorrow I am a slave to the kitchen and company for the rest of the day and evening.  That leaves Sunday for my other normal errands - nails and grocery shopping, etc.  And the following weekend is the Super Bowl and there will be people over for that as well.  So there doesn't seem to be a lot of knitting time available these next couple weeks.  I think I'd like to concentrate on the Tepotzlan top first for finishing but also I'd like to carve out a little time to get back into the Shining Birds Eye Shawl.  Maybe Sunday afternoon.

Yesterday at lunchtime I took an hour on the trail and did some running.  It felt good and I didn't push myself.  I am taking it slow and easy this time.  Walk 10, run 5, walk 10, run 5, etc.  By the end of next week I should be up to 30 minutes running and by the end of two or three weeks be able to do the full hour.  Or maybe I should do 30 minutes on my biking days and an hour when I drive in or take the bus.  I'll figure it out.  Mostly I don't want to get hurt or sick again so ..... slow and easy.

Back to normal ....

whatever that is.  Thankfully Tinkerbell seems to have now gotten herself fully rested up from her stay at the Dog Resort.  I was going to take her for a walk before bed last night but instead she wanted to play fetch around nine and then went outside so I felt confident when we went up to bed a little later that she was ready to sleep and she did!  She slept all night without waking me up for a midnight potty break so *I* slept all night.  A full eight hours and I feel pretty good today.  I decided to take the bus in rather than bike, although the weather is fine. I need to get home and take Tink for her walk since Mr. M has a show and won't be home much after late morning.  Also, I have been doing an hour at lunchtime trying to get back to my full running capacity and I don't want to overdo it at this stage when I'm just getting myself back into shape by biking AND running/walking for an hour AND having another long walk when I get home.  Slow and steady and, fingers crossed, I won't get injured and I won't get another chest thing and I will be able to race in March.  There is a race in February - the Love 'em or Leave 'em race around Greenlake that I just LOVE.  But I don't think there's much chance I'll be ready in three weeks.  I may be, but it's more likely that I'll be able to do the March St. Pat's race.  That's a goal I can set and be quite sure I can make.  However ... I have signed up for that race the past two years and each time I missed it.  Once because of the infection in my lungs that just wouldn't go away -- I guess that was last March -- and the one before because it was SNOWING that morning and I was not going to go risk my neck.  It's got to be fun, above all.

I must take pictures of my WIPs.  I vowed yesterday at noon knitting that I wouldn't start any more projects and instead start finishing them, one by one.  I do believe I have six projects .... the oldest is a modified Simple Knitted Bodice that I started about two years ago with some gorgeous white angora blend yarn.  I got the V-neck portion of it done and started in the round and then put it down.  There is also a blue Green Gables top that I started - again I've gotten to the body portion and put it down.  That project is being made with Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in a beautiful deep blue.  Then there's the Shining Birds Eye Shawl, which is pure concentration knitting and it is going to be exquisite.  My Noro Chirimen Tepoztlan also has the bodice portion finished and I'm working on the front and the back simultaneously - boring TV knitting.  The final and newest project is the Frock Camisole that I am making in Lino Pura by Elann.  That is the project I cast on while on vacation and I'm 4 1/2 inches into it.  AND not to be forgotten, the project that I only work on at work during Wednesday  noon knitting, the Cloisonne Jacket, which is driving me CRAZY.  But I only have 10 more rows of that color work portion and the rest of it should just fly.  Yup, that's six.  And that doesn't count the blanket I work on sporadically when I feel like crocheting.  So finishing is the word of the day.  Or month.

Two minutes off pace

That's what I was today after not being on the bike for probably four weeks, maybe more.  That's not so bad, I guess.  I didn't have any problem with my wind, I just think I've lost a little strength.  I suspect the hills are going to kick my behind tonight.  The good news is that it's markedly lighter now.  I was able to turn my headlamp off at 4 miles into the ride.  And yesterday I saw a daffodil blooming when I was out on the trail!  It just seems so odd to me.  We were supposed to have this terrible winter and yet here it is feeling like spring already.  I'll bet we get another terrible cold snap in the next few weeks and all that spring work the garden is doing will be for naught. 

This weekend I'm going to buy myself some new runners.  I really really want the Nike shoe so that I can use the iPhone Nike app for running rather than using my Garmin.  The Garmin is good but you have to keep looking at it to make sure you're on pace, etc.  With the Nike app I can get some of that information straight into my ears, plus have a voice to keep me on pace.  So say I want to start out the first  1/2 mile at a 12 minute mile pace, then pick it up to a 10.5 minute mile, the voice will be able to tell me to speed up or slow down.  Well anyway, I just like gadgets, don't I?

I got home late last night because of  my appointment.  After changing and cleaning up the kitchen it was nearly 7 before I could start dinner.  I was only able to do a few rows on the Noro project.  Unless I have something very engrossing to watch on TV, the Noro project is booooring - plain stockinette done flat.  This is for the front and back of the top, which will be pleated and sewn to the bodice I have already made, so it's going to look cool but it's dead boring to knit.  I threw in the towel early and went up to watch a little TV and get a decent night's sleep.  It was a bit better than the previous night.  At least Tink didn't ask to go out until 3 am and, thankfully, I was able to fall back asleep after that.  Her schedule is WAY off and I'm still fighting the time lag, so I look like I haven't slept in weeks.  Maybe tonight will be the night she sleeps through.  I may take her for a little walk before I head upstairs tonight.  I'm not entirely convinced that she does her business when I put her out before bed because it's not right that a doggie should have to go outside in the middle of the night if she's given the chance to take care of it before bedtime.  If I walk her then I'll know for sure.

Noon knitting today.  I'm still working on that Closinne jacket.  The colorwork is KILLING me.  Never again will I do stranded work flat.  It's insane.  I only have about 10 rows to go.  I should commit to 3 rows this afternoon. 

It's like I never left

I mean .... I have GOT to start taking longer vacations!  One week is hardly enough to relax let alone feel rested.  Not that I'm complaining .... oh wait - that's exactly what I'm doing. 

I picked up Tink yesterday from the Dog Resort.  They sure love her there but she was happy to come home with me.  After running errands and replenishing the groceries, I spent the afternoon unpacking and doing laundry and then had a nice long cuddle in my comfy chair with Tink and some knitting.  I worked on the linen top -- gosh, I can't remember what it's called  -- until I got to the part where I need to start decreasing rows.  That requires counting and it was time to start dinner so I switched over to the Noro project, had some dinner and knit and went to bed at 10.  I thought I might have a hard time falling asleep but thankfully I did not and slept all night except when Tink had to go out at 1:30 am. 

I took a book as well as audio books with me on my trip and I finished the hard back -- it is the autobiography of Steve Martin called "Born Standing Up".  It was quite good.  I've read other books of his, fiction, and I saw at least one of his plays.  He is an odd duck though.

My current audio book is "Skippy Dies", an Irish author and cast.  It is a large cast and I quite like it.  One main person does most of the narration but there are so many characters that it would be rather difficult for just one person to do it.  My inner dialogue is mostly in Irish accent these days.

Fingers crossed the rain stays away so I can have a nice hour outside on the trail this lunchtime.  I have a hair appointment after work so biking wasn't an option, plus which it is so wet again.  It looks like it's going to be nicer later this week so maybe I'll be able to bike a couple of days.  I haven't been on my bike for weeks and weeks!  The cold or freezing rain is much much harder to handle when I'm 8 1/2 miles away versus the 2.8 mile commute I had before. 

Yeah ... well ...

Home finally.  Obviously I didn't send any blogs from the trip for a few reasons.  Let's see .... we got to Houston on Saturday late. I was told there was a shuttle bus just outside of the baggage claim area that would take us to our hotel in Galveston.  Unfortunately that was not the case by the time we landed and so our only recourse was a taxi ride.  Which was $100.  Ah well, vacation.

Sunday it was just coming down in buckets and we needed to get to the terminal quickly so that we could catch the Seahawks/Bears football game.   Lucky for us they were playing the game on a big screen in the terminal so we could watch as we were preparing to get on board.  But once on board they couldn't get the game on their satellite so that was that.  It wasn't until later that evening when we were able to catch some scores on ESPN that we saw the Seahawks had lost.  It was a very long shot anyway and quite thrilling.  During the game they lost two of their major players to concussion and that throws a monkey wrench into the best of teams.

Once we got going down south the weather changed and it was just beautiful and warm.  Because of the motion of the ship it wasn't always comfortable to sit outside but I could always find a cozy corner to knit and listen to my audiobook or just day dream.

Tuesday was our day in Jamaica.  Mr. M had been quite keen on the Zipline adventure and since I'm not at all keen on heights I chose a more sedate tour and off we went our separate ways.  It was hot but I had a very nice tour of an old great house with a shady past owner who had murdered 3 husbands and countless slaves.  After the requisite stop at an over priced shopping place it was back to the boat and an uninterrupted afternoon of lazing around on the deck in the sun.  Wednesday was Grand Cayman Island and a trip to the beach.  I got to walk along the soft sand and paddle in the gorgeous water.  Thursday was the day I was really looking forward to - the visit to the Mayan Ruins in Cozumel.  However, due to circumstances that I shall not go into I was not emotionally able to go on that outing.

Here's the highlight of my trip at this point -- one evening we were out at a comedy club and we got there a little late so our only choice of seats was up front.  Of course the comedian seems obliged to interact with the folks in the front.  After the questions were are you from and what do you do, etc., he says to Mr. M, "Sir, you have a very beautiful wife".  The punch line --- he looks at me as if to say, "Seriously?  You couldn't have done any better than that?"  Of course the audience loved it.  Mr. M ... not so much.  The next evening we were having cocktails and another couple comes by, sees us and the guys says, "Oh, sir you have such a beautiful wife", and give the looks and walks off laughing.  One for Shelley.  No, make that two.

I am glad to be back to familiar things and ready to dig in and get things straight.  But first things first.  I've got to get some clothes on and go pick up my baby dog!!  Oh ... and good news.  I won another square on my football pool with the Green Bay win!  That's the third time on this one.  Poor Dave, the guy who sold me the square.  He hasn't hit once.  He is sure sorry he gave me that square, I can tell you that.

Tick tock tick tock

Vacation count down.  There are quite a few little details I need to handle this morning and early afternoon, then I'm going to button up this operation and head out.  I'm stopping for a manicure and pedicure and then it's home to pack.  Saturday early afternoon we fly to Houston and then spend the night in Galveston.  I've never been to Texas and have always wanted to visit.  Well, not entirely true.  I did have a layover in Houston airport once a long time ago after some business meeting in Virginia.  I didn't see anything except the bar so I don't think it counts as a true visit.  We will be spending the night in Galveston and then heading for the ship first thing when we check out.  I want to get on as soon as we can so we don't miss too much of the playoff game.  And when we get back from the cruise we'll have some time before we have to head to the airport to explore Galveston a little bit.  I hope the weather is decent.  They are predicting a thunder storm on the day we leave.  It is January after all.

I'm going to miss my dog.  I know that sounds silly but it would sound sillier if it was a cat I was missing, so .... for whatever that's worth.   The house sitter just LOVES Tinkerbell and she's thrilled to spend all the time with her that she wants.  She is Mr. M's bookkeeper and she comes twice a month but has to work and therefore doesn't get as much cuddle time with my dog as she would like.  I am entirely 100% confident that she will take as good care of her as I do, and also I know she'll take care of my house and not have parties or use my Jacuzzi tub, or order pay-per-view movies or drink all the good whiskey.  She is, in a word, perfect.

I did take some time last night and swatch the linen.  I found a pattern that I like for a camisole.  It was in an Interweave magazine but I found it searching on Ravelry.  I believe I put it out of my head the first time I saw the pattern because the yarn they used is just plain ugly.  In a beautiful plain linen the top is going to be perfect.  I also cataloged my circular needles with a new iPhone app.  Because I have so many WIPs going now my Denise set is being all used and I need a size 7 24".  I'm actually going to have to buy one, which is incredible considering the ridiculous amount of circular needles I already own.  My knitting goal, when I'm back from vacation and facing the rest of this long and dark winter, is to finish up some of my projects!  No more starts until I finish some things. 

Blogs will be sparse on vacation.  I am going to relax.  No, really I am.  I am!!

My little Scrabble buddy

One of my favorite games to play on my iPhone is Scrabble and I do so nearly every day.  The latest update has a feature I just love called The Teacher.  If you turn it on it will show you the best word you could have played with your tiles after you make your word.  The Teacher is an animated tile that will grin if you play a word that earns as many points as the best word, or smiles if you're close.  However, it has a third expression -- a little moue of disappointment -- when you slack off.  Sometimes I find myself talking back to it.  I do learn new words though.

It is pouring rain today.  It woke me in the night, it was raining so hard.  I rather like laying in bed and listening to the rain if I don't have to get up in the morning.  Sometimes it makes me feel a bit melancholy though.  I sure am ready for some sunshine.

Tinkerbell is getting a bath tonight and then I've got to swatch that linen.  I am thinking of making a tank or a T-shirt so I guess I'd better find a pattern I like first and then go for gauge.  I guess I could always make another Sizzle. 

A very sloppy mess

Sometimes the weatherman gets it right.  It did start snowing last night and it stuck.  It also warmed up during the night so the snow turned to rain.  When I got up it was raining steadily and the snow had turned to slush.  Sloppy, dirty slush.  Wet, cold slush.  I had been considering taking the bus - biking is completely out of the question and I don't like to drive in the snow.  But since it is not going to freeze anytime soon and it is a terrible walk to the bus stop, especially in slippery weather, I drove in and didn't have any troubles.  Other people further north are pretty much stuck in their neighborhoods unless they want to shovel their driveways or put chains on to get to the closest arterial.  Neither of those are good options.  It will melt fast enough.

I had a very constructive day at home yesterday.  I had just enough work to keep it interesting and enough down time so that I was able to clean up my desk.  Then in the evening I started sorting through clothes to pick what I want to take on the cruise this weekend.  I pretty  much have it down.  Now I just have to figure out how to make it all fit in the suitcase.  What?  Get a bigger one and then I wouldn't have to worry about it?  Well what's the fun in that??  Plus I bought Mr. M a great huge suitcase and he never fills his up, so I use it as an overflow.  Or I could use my rolling duffle.  I might just do that.

Not my iPhone!!!!

Every night when I got to bed I turn my iPhone to silent and put it on the charger alarm clock on my bedside table.  When I wake up I take it from the holder and check my email while I'm still horizontal.  Or if I have insomnia and I want to play games or read email .... the point is that I pick it up off the charger and it comes to life.  Well, this morning I woke up at 5.  Since I am working from home today I wasn't too upset about waking so early since I can sleep until 8 when I work from home.  But oddly when I picked it up it didn't come to life.  Nor did it come to life when I pressed the on switch.  Five o'clock in the morning is perhaps not the best time to troubleshoot an iPhone so I put it back where it had been and fell back asleep, only to start the process over again at about 7:45.  But then I had an "aha" moment.  The reboot!  Thankfully that worked because I just really didn't want to have to buy a new iPhone now.  Not with the second generation 4Gs coming out this summer.  I can wait for that.  Or the iPad.  Hmmmm ... well not an issue now.

I have a couple of pieces of business to take care of here at the computer this morning, then I'm going to run a couple of errands before lunchtime and before the predicted snow.  I'm not too worried about the snow.  It is supposed to be well above freezing for the rest of the week.

As for the game last Saturday:  Seismic Activity Registered at Stadium after Seattle Seahawks Win
I read a little something about this yesterday and told the chairman, who is my best football buddy at work, and he thought I was pulling his leg.  This morning is was front page news. 

A stunner!!

What an absolutely amazing football game on Saturday.  The Seahawks, 11 point underdogs, managed to beat the defending Super Bowl champions, the Saints.  It was just crazy!  And not a single one of the football analysts that I watch predicted this incredible upset.  They beat them, fair and square and by a darned good margin as well.   Next Saturday they play the Bears in Chicago.  Unfortunately we'll be traveling that day but I am hoping I can catch the second half once we land in Houston.  Only if they're winning of course.  I won't go out of my way to watch them lose.  I've seen enough of that.

Because the game was played on Saturday it felt like I was getting an extra day off.  It wasn't a very relaxing weekend though because I had so many errands and chores to do, getting ready for vacation.  The weather cooperated, thankfully.  No snow although I did see a few flakes on the way to work today.  I hope it's a really ugly week.  That'll make it all the nicer to get on the boat.

Saturday I finished up the bodice portion of my latest project and started on the front and back.  I was skeptical about the bodice and tried it on after I bound off.  It fits and I think the reason for the funny looking armholes is that the sleeves themselves are kind of weird.  I am kind of regretting this.  I don't know that I will actually wear it.  Should I frog it now or complete it and see how it looks then?  One more decision I can't seem to make.  The first being what project should I bring on my trip?  I know it's going to be something with the linen but that's as far as I got.

The voices in my head

At lunchtime yesterday I took a long walk in the stormy weather and finished up "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand".  I so enjoyed that book and the ending was very sweet.   Major Pettigrew's voice is stuck in my head, making observations and generally amusing me.  I shall let him stay for a while.

For Christmas my nephew gave me the CD version of David Sedaris' "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" and my friend McG gave me an autographed copy of the hardcover.  I put it on my iPhone a few days ago and listened to a couple of the stories on the way to work today.  Boy -- the stories are all over the map, just like his other stories, except the characters are animals.  What a mind that guy has. 

I did want to bike in but the weather, while not particularly cold, is windy and wet and oh so very very dark.  It just doesn't seems safe or fun at all to ride.  Now that my cold is gone, finally, I can get out at lunchtime and walk or jog, which I did yesterday and shall do again today.  It might not be as good exercise as biking back and forth from home, but it is something.

I'm still slogging away at the bodice of the Tepoztlan top.  I decided to just follow the pattern and assume that it's correct.  The few other people that made it didn't say anything about the bodice being written incorrectly so I'm going to have to follow my instincts.

As for a project for the trip -- I still haven't decided on anything.  I have a stack of books on my bedside table and I'm going to bring a couple along and do some reading rather than listening.  I know I will go nuts if I don't have something to do with my hands but I surely don't have to be busy all the time.  It's vacation after all.  Since the Tepoztlan top is being made with a cotton blend yarn and the knitting is very plain, maybe I'll just bring that, depending upon room in my suitcase.  Since I'll be bringing only summer clothes I should have plenty of space.  Well ... I've got a week to toss this ball back and forth, don't I?

Snow showers still predicted for tomorrow.  Fingers crossed.  Go Hawks!

The "S" word

That would be snow.  It's not snowing now and in fact it's not even cold.  But we are expecting a change and if not snow, it will at least be rainy and blowing and just plain icky.  And this is good why?  Well, the Seahawks won their division Sunday and so this weekend is the first playoff game against the New Orleans Saints.  Not only do the Saints have to travel 2,000 miles and play in Quest Field, which is the loudest stadium, but they would be at a further disadvantage if the weather was bad, coming from such a warm place.  So all over the radio this morning people were talking about snow.  I hope it does snow and I hope all next week is just miserable and wet and gloomy because I'll be getting on a plane on the 15th and heading to paradise and that would be just that much nicer if I were leaving behind snow as well as gloom.  Speaking of gloom -- yesterday was so dark all day that it was like twilight. 

I need to figure out a project to take with me on vacation.  And it has to be silk or cotton or linen ... something definitely NON-fuzzy.  Maybe I won't even pick it up but I would feel naked if I didn't have a knitting project with me.  Since we have a balcony stateroom this time and two entire days at sea before our first port, I can envision myself sitting on that beautiful balcony maybe listening to a good book or some jazz and knitting.  I do have a beautiful linen yarn that I bought a while ago thinking I'd maybe make another skirt or a top.  It's a lovely color - I'd say mushroom.  Not at all my typical colors but lovely really and I think it would make a great top with some kind of flowing sleeve to show off the drape.  I'll have to get on Ravelry and see what I can come up with.  I can't remember the yardage but I'll bet if I go to Elann's web site I can look up the order and figure it out.

The case of the disappearing nickel

I decided last night that it would be prudent to take the bus this morning rather than bike in since it was surely going to be raining and miserable and I am just getting over a cold.   I managed to pop out of bed after only one bonk of the snooze bar and decided what to wear while I was in the shower (as opposed to standing in front of the closet, where I can spend upwards of 10 minutes trying to decide).  I was in very good shape, time-wise.  Of course there is an App for everything, is there not?  A friend had told me about a bus app that tells you where your bus is and when it is expected to reach your stop so I was able to monitor my bus as I was getting everything ready to go.  Oh!  And my sister gave me a new umbrella for Christmas.  I hate to retire my gorgeous little animal print umbrella that I bought when I was in Paris, but it has gotten to be more of a weapon, what with all the little bits of metal poking out of it at odd angles.  I have given it a place of honor on my shelf and taken up with a snappy little black number with multi-colored polka dots.  Last thing I had to do upstairs was make sure I had the bus fare.  There is a little cup I  keep on top of the dryer and when I find change after doing a wash I put it in this cup and I have a ready supply of change for the bus.  I grabbed a nickel, went back to my room, picked up my iPhone and reached for my bus fare but the nickel was not there.  I didn't have time to turn in circles looking for it so I grabbed another one and went downstairs to finish getting my things together.  As I was walking down hill towards the bus stop I felt something in my boot.  It took me about 4 more steps to realize it was the missing nickel.  How did it get in my boot?

I had a good day working from home yesterday.  Mr. M was out the greater part of the day with the contractor getting cabinets, etc. for the remodel of the rental property, so I had a nice quiet house.  I kept it warm, kept myself hydrated and today I'm feeling pretty darned good.  My cough is almost completely gone.  Hopefully I have figured out the odd ball pattern directions for my new project and last night after dinner I sat down to watch the entire second season of  "Eastbound and Down" which I had recorded a few days ago and got a good bit done on that bodice.  I can't understand why the pattern doesn't have any measurements or even a schematic!  It really annoys me, in case you haven't noticed.  But knitting in the round goes so quickly I am now about 20 rows from finishing the bodice -- or at least to the point where the pattern says to bind off.  I'm going to put it on a longer cable and make sure it fits before I cast off.

The first cold of 2011

I woke up with it January 2nd.  I went to work yesterday but was so uncomfortable plus I was coughing all day.  So now I am working in my jammies from home and I'm going to stay warm and hope I can kick this thing.  I was just so cold all day yesterday!  I couldn't warm up and when I got home I changed into flannel everything and curled up with Tink on the couch with a blanket where I stayed all evening just watching stupid TV, talking on the phone and knitting on the new project.  I have been reading and re-reading the pattern instructions for the bodice and finally think I've found the answer about where exactly one joins and starts knitting in the round.  It is never explicitly stated but at one point on a WS row you are purling and then all of a sudden it's knit, so that must be it - the point where the whole thing is joined together.  It's a poorly written pattern but it's going to be cute.

While I was out Christmas shopping at Tuesday Morning - a very odd ball shop with just about everything - I picked up one of those silly desk top LED candle fountains.  I was going to give it to somebody but then realized it might make my little office/closet a tiny bit more comfortable to have that little babble going on.  I brought it in yesterday and after rearranging my desk I got it set up, poured a cup of water into it and set it going.  Just one problem - there was water pouring out all over my desk!  I have a towel in my office for when I arrive soaking wet so I grabbed it just in time and sopped up the water.  I then inspected the unit and found that it had a big crack in the wall of the reservoir.  Nice.  It hadn't been opened and the box wasn't dented so I don't know how it happened.  Then of course I just had to have one!  I would not be denied.  I got on eBay, found one and bought it and it's on its way now.  Nearly instant gratification.

My current audio book is called "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" and it is charming.  Beautifully narrated and a wonderful story.  Again, I don't want it to end but I can't stop listening to it.  I don't have another one in the queue.  I had taken a page from the newspaper a couple of Sundays ago that listed the best books from 2010 as chosen by several different people.  And now I can't find it. I do that a lot - I will take something from the newspaper and then forget that I did it on purpose and think it's garbage and throw it away.  I will probably be able to find it on line at the newspaper's web site, don't you think so?

I suspect the chaise in my office is going to get some use today.  Maybe this afternoon I will switch from my desk to the chaise with my laptop ..... on my lap!  The sun does come directly into this west facing window in the afternoon but it's quite cloudy today so it shouldn't be a problem.

And a happy new year!

Oh it was a fun visit with my sister and a hectic vacation.  Busy maybe is a better word.  The snow didn't stick, luckily, and in fact the skies were clear for the entire time my sister and her boyfriend were visiting.  It was beautiful and very very cold.  Mr. M volunteered to pick them up Thursday night because I wanted to get the dinner ready and I didn't really want to drive on the icy roads.  It worked out fine.  AND the Huskies won their bowl game!!!  Awesome game!

After dinner we had our Christmas.  Since I hadn't been able to go to London with Kelli in the fall and she knew how disappointed I was, she had bought me some things there at Harrod's -- a pretty key ring and a watch with a Westie on the face and a gorgeous pair of gloves.  Pink gloves.  

On New Year's Eve day we went shopping for the New Year's Day open house I had decided to have.  We had so much fun buying tons of stuff for the party.  Then we went home and just relaxed.  That evening we went for a fabulous dinner at a French restaurant called Bastille.  On our way out I picked up my  new gloves to wear and then realized they were both for the left hand!!  When she had purchased them they were hooked together. Too weird.  And sad, because I loved those gloves.  We watched the fire works from the Space Needle on the big screen and went to bed at a decent time.

New Year's day we got up fairly early.  Mike, Kelli's boyfriend, had hurt his back on the way up so he had an appointment for a massage.  Mr. M took him and Kelli and I started getting things ready for the party.  I like to get everything set and then have a few minutes or an hour to put my feet up and just relax before the onslaught.  I had just gotten settled in my chair and did about 10 or 15 stitches on a project and they started arriving.  It was a good party.  And we all slept in late the next day.

My car battery died so yesterday got all messed up and to make matters worse I feel like I'm coming down with a cold.  While my car was being fixed we took the ornaments off the tree and stowed all the decorations.  The car was fixed by around 3 but by then I was really feeling under the weather so I ran off to do my errands and Kelli and Mike took Mr. M's car and went out for a couple of hours.  We were only having crab for dinner so it was not a meal I was going to have to slave over.  I went upstairs to my room with my new, beautiful comfy chaise and sat in the sun and knit for a while before the football game started.  I know it is VERY irresponsible of me but I started a new project on Thursday.  I was sitting on my chaise just looking at my yarn stash and feeling a strong urge to use that Noro Chirimen I had purchased a while back.  There is a cute top on the front of  Eternal Noro, a pattern book I had gotten a month or so ago, and I just cast on for it!  It is not like I'm not finishing projects.  I made a scarf and a couple of hats and all those mittens.  This is just an indulgence.

And now it's back to work.  Hello real world.  After a week on vacation it was a very rude start to the day -- 6 am instead of 9 am.   I am not feeling any better than I was when I got into bed last night but I had to get up and get them to the airport and get into work.  Winter quarter starts today and although all my sites are ready to go there will be lots of posting to do.  Thank goodness I have my cruise to look forward to.  I only have to make it through two weeks and then it's off to paradise.

And now I'd better have some breakfast.

Picasso

One of my Christmas gifts was a visit to the Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum.  The museum in Paris is being renovated and while that is happening the collection is touring.  I was looking forward to visiting some old friends.  I went to that museum quite often because it was close to my apartment and I just loved the pieces.  There are so many pieces in that collection, his personal one, that the pieces are changed out often.  Anyway, I did get to see a few of my very favorite ones.  Unfortunately I became a bit overcome at one point and my eyes started leaking.  Very embarrassing.

It is snowing as I type.  It doesn't look as if it is going to stick, or if it does there won't be much.  Which is good because I have a lot of running around to do today.  My sister and her boyfriend are coming for their visit tomorrow and I've got some grocery shopping to do, as well as getting my nails done.  The salon opens at 10 so I should be able to get out of here soon and get going before it gets worse.  I don't drive in the snow so .... fingers crossed it stops soon.

Happy Christmas

To you.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's a little Christmas miracle

Well, that could be a slight exaggeration but still it's pretty funny.  I had a dream last night about doughnuts.  I never buy them, and always resist when they are brought to work.  I dreamed about Christmas doughnuts -- green and red sprinkles and I resisted them.  Then this morning as I stopped into our coffee room to put my milk in the refrigerator what do I see on the table?  Yes!  Christmas doughnuts.  And today I did not resist.

I worked from home yesterday as I had planned.  And good thing too because I was up all night with insomnia and didn't drop off until about 6:30 am.  I slept for a couple hours and then got up and  got the day going.   I received an email late in the afternoon from a professor who teaches a class once every two years.  This is the year on and I had totally forgotten about it so I didn't have any of the files I needed on my laptop.  I wanted to work from home again today but instead I am here to finish up the last bit of work before the vacation begins.  It shouldn't take too long and I would imagine people are going to be buttoning things up early today anyway, plus I have a hair appointment at 4 so it'll be a short day.

Yesterday evening I put the knitting on hold and spent a few hours wrapping presents and listening to my audio book.  I finished the book and loved it!  I did not finish the wrapping and must put in a few more hours tonight to get it done.  Maybe I can finish the hat and baby socks today after I get my work done.  I brought them just in case I could grab a few minutes at lunch time.

It's rainy here.  No white Christmas for us.  And that's okay.

First day of Winter!!

Yay!  Now the days get longer.  And it is a beautiful day.  It would have been perfect to bike in but I have to pick a friend up from the airport -- his sister has broken ribs and can't drive -- and so I drove in.  It is so very quiet!  All the students are gone and it seems like most of the staff are on vacation as well.  I had my phone forwarded and I didn't get one single telephone call yesterday. 

It was a busy weekend.  I was going to finish my Christmas shopping on Saturday but realized that the mall would be a mad house so instead I worked on knitting up my last gifts and took a long lunch yesterday and finished up.  This weekend I finished my nephew's scarf and also did a hat, and yesterday I started a pair of baby socks for Mr. M's daughter's baby.  They are so cute!

With all that knitting there was also a lot of listening to audio books.  I finished the Jane Smiley book and I really enjoyed the story but never did quite like the narrator.  Then I started "The Unlikely Spy" and it is wonderful.  It is set in London during WWII and is historical fiction so we have Churchill and Eisenhower and all the nasty German characters and spies and double spies.  Right up my alley.  The only thing bothering me about it is that there are a few anachronisms that bother me something fierce.  I think that is ultimately the fault of the editor, is it not?  But they are small things and not taking away from the story at all.  I am almost done with the second of three parts.  I don't want it to end but I want to know how it is going to end.  That is the trouble with good books.

I've got a nice little cocktail party to attend tonight.  I think I'll work from home again tomorrow.  There's nothing I can do here that I can't do from home, especially since 2 of the three people I'm working with next quarter are gone.  All my ducks are in a row.

An observation

It seems to me that the older I get the bigger my mistakes are.  Does that seem right to you?  Don't you think we should be learning from our mistakes and making smaller ones instead?  I wish that were the case for me.

I worked from home yesterday and took a nice long shopping lunch.  I am finally feeling that I have control of the situation.  Almost everyone is taken care of except my sister and my  nephews and I am planning on getting that taken care of tomorrow.  And I am furiously knitting gifts.  One of my friends here at work was complaining at the luncheon that he had lost his hat and had borrowed his wife's so I knit up a nice  hat for him  -- started it Wednesday evening and finished it up yesterday evening.  Then I cast on for a scarf for one of my  nephews -- he wants a black scarf and I can't see buying one when a hand knit one is so much nicer.

It is very quiet here.  The students have one last final this morning and then next week this place is going to be pretty much empty.  I'm not going to have much to do next week.  Thankfully it'll be a short week. 

It's Holiday Party day!

Typically this would be noon knitting day but that is preempted for our staff holiday lunch and gift exchange.  We have a very small group this year - some people are out sick, others out of town and I don't know what other excuses but it's going to be lunch out this year rather than potluck.  And that's fine with me because I just couldn't think of a thing to make.  It's been too crazy lately.  Tinkerbell had an appointment for a grooming so I dropped her off this morning and after our lunch it'll be time to pick her up.  Short day in the office for me.

I finished up the Waves stole last night but got distracted and so tonight I have to weave in the ends an block it.  I have enough of the wool and silk blend and the mohair to make a hat, so I think I'll make a beret using the wool/silk blend for the band and the solid mohair for the hat part.  It'll be pretty.  But before I do anything tonight I must do my Christmas cards.  I'm so late this year. 

One last exam to give tomorrow and then I am done with exams.  I have three web sites to get ready for the first of the year and one is completely done and I should be able to finish up another today or tomorrow.  That leaves me more than enough time to finish up the third and I'll have an entire week between Christmas and New Years with no worries and a visit from my sister to look forward to!  yay!

Get out the boats

Talk about rain!  We have been having a lot of it.  Yesterday morning the trail was closed in a couple of spots because of mud slides.  This is almost due east from my house, but I don't get on the trail until around 100th so it wouldn't have impacted me had I biked in.  There was no way though -- much too windy and wet and dangerous.  Last night another storm blew through and there was thunder and pouring rain and wind.  The wind was so fierce I had to close the windows for a few hours because I couldn't sleep through the noise of the shades smacking against the window. It's a mess out there.  I am lucky I am so close to work and/or can work from home.  I had to proctor an exam yesterday, today I have to proctor a single student who can't make one of the scheduled final exams.  I would have worked from home today for sure if not for that.  We had the Histo final yesterday and one student missed it because he is stuck in Chicago, which is having its own winter mess, but for them it's snow.  He's supposed to be back by Thursday.  We shall see.

I tried hard to finish that waves stole I've been working on, in between mittens.  I don't know who is going to get it but I'm tired of it and want to have it finished.  I worked on it during the football game last night but couldn't quite finish.  I'll give it an hour at lunchtime today and then maybe tonight I can get it done.  It is really quite pretty, if you like orange ... well, more like apricot.  And it's soft.  I will find just the right person for it.  But that still leaves me with quite a few people to get gifts for and not a single clue about what to get!  I'm not usually like that.  Usually I have a good idea what I'm getting for everyone on my list in plenty of time.  But I no longer have plenty of time.  I've got to get this nailed down this weekend.  Time to make some lists.

Maybe the reason I'm not on top of my game with Christmas is the sleep troubles I've been having.  I don't know if I'm blue because I can't sleep or the other way around.  No matter.  There is nothing to be done for it at this point.  I'll have to ride it out.  And I'd better start working on a game plan because coming back from vacation and having to face February ..... that's going to be the real test.

I am just about there

I did, finally, finish the convertible mittens.  Well .... I didn't knit the thumbs and I haven't woven in all the ends, but I got the pop tops done and it is evident that making the tops longer than I had on the other two prototypes is the key to keeping them from opening on the palm.  Also, the construction of them by picking up stitches (with the help of a lifeline) on the top of the hand is also a key design feature.  There are two things I will do differently when I make the first 100% perfect pair and that is to rib on both sides of the mitt portion where it ends.  I only ribbed the palm side of the mitt and that was stupid because the top of it curls and makes a little bulge.  And I will start the decreases for the top of the mitten top another few rows longer.  I am afraid of having too much space up there and trapping the cold air but a couple more rows will make it even less likely that the top will gap from normal finger and hand movements.  It is unfortunate that I am sick and tired of knitting these.  But I have some lovely Noro yarn -- not Iroha but Maiko, I think -- in a beautiful peridot color and that is what I shall use next time.  Or the cashmere.  hmmm

Saturday we went to see the Nutcracker and then out to dinner at that new (for me) restaurant called the Stumbling Goat.  The ballet was nice, but I wish Mr. M hadn't purchased matinee tickets.  I don't like matinees, especially of the Nutcracker because there are so many noisy children.  We did have nice seats though.  The dinner was great, again.  This restaurant has the BEST mushroom soup I have ever tasted.  The secret, according to the server, is the stock.  I have a friend who makes his own stock.  And I have plenty of recipes.  I should give it a try some weekend.

Oddly I woke up Saturday night and thought it was Sunday night so imagine my joy when I realized I had another day of rest and sleeping in, which I did.  I slept, then turned over and slept some more.  Football wasn't much fun to watch because the Seahawks were on the road in San Francisco and got crushed.  I have a slim chance of winning my  matchup tonight but Joe Flaco is going to have to produce some big numbers.  And speaking of numbers -- I've got 5 and 5 for the Monday night game.  That is going to be pretty hard to get.  Hopefully next Monday we'll have better numbers.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Things have been just WAY too busy lately.  And combine that with my sleeping problems .... I am wrecked.  I worked from home yesterday and I was hoping to have a few minutes to get my sister's birthday present sent off but that didn't happen.  I'll walk it up to the post office at lunchtime today.  I got all of my work work done by about 4 yesterday afternoon and then went about re-arranging the living room to accommodate the tree and setting that up and decorating it as well.  It was quite a job but I wanted to get it done while Mr. M wasn't around.  It would have been nice to have the help with the heavy lifting but then I would have had to argue every little move.  This way he will be presented with it - fait accompli.  I think it looks quite nice.  The tree is in front of the big window, the couch is at an angle with the fire place and looking out to the tree and my comfy chair is next to the tree and facing, at an angle, the fireplace.  VERY cozy.  I am looking forward to sitting there and doing a little knitting sometime soon.

There was no knitting last night.  My mittens are not finished and I wanted to finish,  but that cotton yarn is so unyielding that it's making my arm sore.  I just rested last night but have high hopes for finishing, or getting very close, tonight.  As for the weekend.  Sleep.  Sleep would be good.  Just some sleep.

Why hitting the snooze alarm is sometimes a good thing

Yesterday evening I met up with the faculty and TAs of the Histology course to celebrate the end of the quarter.  The meet up was in a restaurant at a nice shopping mall close by the U, so I went home and cleaned up and then drove over there early so I could shop for my sister's b'day present.  I got just the perfect thing for her and a few other little things and then headed to the restaurant we where all had a really really fun time.  The TAs are so sweet and gave us cards and little packets of candy.  After dropping one of my friends off at her house I made it home by 9:30 and just went to bed to read.  I must have been asleep by 11 or maybe 11:30 but in the middle of the night it started to rain and it woke me up, so I was a little groggy when the alarm went off at 6 or whatever ungodly hour I have it set to.  I hit the snooze button a few times and managed to drag myself into the shower about 10 or 15 minutes later than usual.  The rain had stopped and I could even see bits of clear sky in the east, so I put on my bike clothes and got all ready to ride in.  As I was packing my panniers I heard a rumble but thought it was a truck maybe or ... ?  I went to the garage, and as the garage door rose up Mr. M went closer out near the opening and turned to look at me saying, "It's pouring"!  And indeed it was pouring, and that had been thunder I heard and then there was another clap.  And I turned off my bike lights and trudged upstairs to change and drive in.  If I hadn't slept in I would have been out in that downpour, and rain gear or no, it wasn't a storm to be out in.  Took me ages to drive in as well, what with the slow traffic and the standing water.  Thunder and lightening in December! And tomorrow -- I am working from home so it can rain all it wants.

My sister is getting excited about their visit on the 30th.  We have decided that we would go out for an early-ish dinner on the 31st and then host a nice open house on New Year's day.  So I've got to start inviting people. 

Noon knitting today and I think I'm going to break with the latest tradition of working a row or two on my Cloisonne jacket and instead take up my convertible mittens to see if I can finish them up today.  I would dearly love to because the cotton yarn is making my hands hurt and I want to see if my modifications work the way I need them to work. 

My new thing

This is the second morning in a row when I've woken up thinking it was the middle of the night only to have the alarm come on while I'm trying to get back to sleep!  It is so completely dark, not even a hint of a sunrise.  It's just so annoying!!  And since it was POURING rain and I've got a dinner to attend this evening, I figured I'd give myself a break and drive in.  But the rain stopped and it was just beautiful, so now I'm crabby because I could have ridden in.  I guess, when you come right down to it, I'm just in a very bad mood.  And for no good reason, either. 

After listening to the wonderfully narrated "The Help", my current listen is Jane Smiley's "Private Life".  I love Jane Smiley's books, however the woman reading this one is just awful.  Thankfully the story is engaging because if it weren't I wouldn't be able to stand to listen to that voice.

I didn't win any of the quarters  last night and have ended up with terrible numbers for next week too.  But, I did win  my fantasy match up and that's almost as good!  And during the game I finished up the mitt portion of the convertible mittens.  My next move is to thread my metal circular needle through the stitches on the back of the hand.  This is going to be a challenge because the yarn is cotton.  I should have chosen a different yarn, in retrospect, because the cotton has no give.  I can only try. 

Well, I'd better see what I can do about this bad attitude.  It's going to be a looo-oooong day.

I've been here for 30 minutes ....

and I am still not warmed up!  It is only 37 degrees out side and with the wind chill ... it's cold!  My upper body stayed warm, in fact I was quite warm.  But my legs are not yet warmed up.  I really should look for a different pair of cycling pants.  The ideal pair would be a cross between my running pants and my current cycling pants.  Maybe after Christmas I'll look.  I'll have the week off between Christmas and New Years and my sister will be here visiting and she's a perfect shopping partner.

It was a good football weekend for a change!  I got all of my running around done on Saturday in plenty of time to settle in and watch the Huskies.  It was a good game from start to finish.  And they won, so they are going to a bowl game for the first time in six years.  I had lots of running around and chores to take care of before the game yesterday, including a trip to the mall.  I just wanted a couple pairs of stocking and it took me nearly 30 minutes because the woman running that counter was new.  I just wanted to get home and watch the game, but  I had students sending me emails complaining that the images weren't coming up in the online practice quizzes.  Obviously, if 150 students are all trying to access the same quizzes there is going to be a slow down.  Pretty much nothing I can do about that so I sent the class and faculty an email explaining the problem and then I sat down to watch the Seahawks.  They did not look good at first but after the half they came out and won the game.  I am winning my fantasy match up this week, too.  Now if I could win a couple of quarters tonight, that would make it a SUPER football week.

I cast on for yet another prototype of the convertible mittens on Saturday and by last night I had the hands done through the thumb gusset and a couple rows beyond.  I have one last thing to try and hopefully this will solve the problem of the hand part creeping up and leaving the palm open.  I am going to run a life line through the stitches on the back of the hand and then when I have completed the fingerless mitt part I will pick up stitches along that line with one circular needle and cast on stitches to the other circular needle and then work the top of the mitten from there.  There will be a little overlap on the top of the hand to give it a bit more structure.  It's kind of hard to describe.  I just hope it works.  At least this time I am using yarn that I won't mind wasting if it doesn't work.

Audiobook voices

Yesterday I finished listening to "Help".  This book was narrated by a few women, all doing a fabulous job.  It's funny though, whenever I am listening to an audiobook the accent colors my thoughts at other times.  This book took place is Mississippi where the southern accent is very strong and my thoughts come, from time to time, in this accent. And this makes me laugh at some inappropriate times.  I downloaded two more last night.  I wonder what my thoughts will sound like this weekend?

I took the entire night off from knitting.  Did not pick up one single WIP.  I stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home, thinking it wouldn't be crowded.  Ha!  It was packed!  But I managed to get out of there without killing anyone, which I consider a triumph.  And now we're stocked up for a few weeks.  And then after doing a few chores I just cuddled up with Tink and watched some TV and went to bed early.  I slept great, too. 

Yesterday I ran at lunchtime for an hour -- well, it was run and walk and run because it's been quite a few weeks since I've been able to get out there.  It felt great, but I'm a wee bit sore today.  I rode in since it's nice and mild.  A friend of mine is stuck in Ireland because Dublin airport has been closed.  I understand there's a big snow storm over there.  Funny, since we had it just last week.  Not as bad, obviously, because our airport didn't close (as far as I know).  It's so strange that it's so mild here now after that bitter cold.  I don't care if it gets cold again though.  I've got the Caribbean to look forward to in January.

Huge football weekend for the Huskies.  It's the Apple Cup Saturday and if they win they will most likely get a bowl game.  It's being played in Pullman this year and it is going to be C-O-L-D.  I will have plenty of time to get my errands run on Saturday and then I can settle down and watch the game at three.  Go Dawgs!!

I know it's a day early ......

but what with time differences and all that, I'm going to throw my happy birthday wishes into the ether today so they have plenty of time to travel.  Big one this year.  Officially now you have reached the "old fool" state.  I'll raise a glass to you tonight.  Cheers to you, wherever you are.

I found out that a faculty member is going to be taking early retirement effective in a few months.  His office is down the corridor from mine about 5 doors, but across another corridor and it has a window!  I know we are getting one or two new faculty soon but I thought I'd at least put the bug into the Administrator's ear that I would dearly dearly love to get out of this closet and into an office with a window!  Even if the area is noisy I could close the door if I had a window.  But she had already promised that office to another investigator whose lab is across the door from that office but his current office is way far away.  *sigh*  I understand.  And she continued that everyone is aware of my situation .. noisy, small, cramped, airless ... need I go on?  I had a student in here last week and she said, "We've GOT to get you a new office"!.  I asked her who she  knew.  ;-)  Long story short, it's not likely I'll be moving any time soon.  There are other office staff that are down 5 floors and they should really be moved upstairs before I get to move.  I am low man on the totem pole no matter how much the Administrator denies it.  Frankly, I am grateful to have a job in this terrible economy so I don't make waves.  Anyway, she said that since I can work from home my situation is not considered that desperate.  And I like to work from home so .... there ya go.

I brought my convertible mittens to noon knitting yesterday to ask the advice of the other knitters and we agreed that making the "flip top" a bit bigger might solve the problem.  Only way to find out is to knit another prototype.  This time I'm going to use cheap yarn rather than the nice stuff.  And bigger needles -- don't need to make another prototype out of sock yarn.

I am looking forward to the weekend.  It's going to be nice and quiet.  Mr. M is out doing a big show every night starting from tonight and also part of Sunday.  I am not going to be rehearsing for the next couple weeks -- whether they know it or not -- so I can do lots of fun things and get some rest.  I am stressed and I don't think I've yet completely recovered from that sleepless Sunday night.  I slept okay last night but was up at 3 to let the dog out.  Thankfully I fell back asleep but I was a hard go to get out of bed.  Since I have to stop at Trader Joe's and refuse to shop there on the weekend, I caved in and drove again so I can stop on my way home.  Tomorrow though I'm going to ride in.  I think I sleep better when I've had a 16 mile ride.

Rethinking the convertible mittens

I drove in yesterday since it was POURING buckets and I needed to bring stuff with me.  I figured I'd run or at least walk/run at lunchtime.  But it didn't quit raining.  I'll go out in sprinkles or even a light rain, but a downpour ... nah.  I felt pretty good considering that awful night of insomnia Sunday.  I managed to stay awake all Monday with the exception of about an hour when I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I laid down and 60 minutes later I was wide awake.  That's probably good because I did get a nice solid  night in Monday as well as last night.

I worked late here, then threw in the towel and headed home.  I knew I had lots to do at home and wanted to get some squash in the oven before 6 so we could eat at a decent hour.  I didn't sit down until 7:30.  It was just one of those days.  Simple dinner and asleep by 10.  And I stayed asleep -- yay!  I wanted to ride in today -- it's been well over a week since I've been able to ride because of the snow -- but I had an early meeting and it's so hard for me to ride in and cool down and change and get to an 8:30 meeting.  It's doable but it's not fun. 

So I drove in again and I wore my Coquille scarf/shawl thing with the matching convertible mittens I finished.  The modifications I made this time were closing the thumb since I noticed when I was walking from the bus last Monday in the freezing cold that my thumbs were not warm at all.  Duh.  And I kept the 4 extra stitches (2 on a side) rather than bind them off for a little tab to attach.  And finally I did a star decrease rather than the decreases just on the side.  It makes it less pointy.  I thought also that by doing the thumb gusset evenly on the two needles would keep the mittens from twisting on my hand.  And it does help a lot however I still noticed today that as I use them the top part twists and then they are open at the palm. I made the ribbing longer inside and out thinking that would help but no, it doesn't.  I believe that the problem may be that I am not making the hand and convertible top part long enough.  I don't want there to be too much space around the fingers to keep out the cold air.  There must be some sort of compromise.  I am going to have to make yet another pair.  I will not use nice yarn this time though.  I have yarn from that grab bag I could use ... well, I've got lots of bits and bobs.  I'll do another pair on size six needles -- it'll go fast and it won't kill me if I end up with yet another pair that is not completely perfect.