Letting it Cool

Hubby got up at 5:53 am this morning and took a shower to help clear his sinuses.

And I made breakfast--Oatmeal and coffee.


I made quite a bit of progress on hubby's socks and the dishcloth--see Ravelry details in the sidebar!


In the evening, the pets were very relaxed, and I got lots of pictures--here are some favorites:






A Chat au Lait CloseUP!











Chat for dinner, and Mandy wants a bite...of course, Chat's having nothing to do with this!











Chat-Make sure you get my BEST SIDE! Poser for the camera.















If I ignore you long enough, will you go away?







There were lots of other pictures, but figured that I would let some of them stew until another day. In fact, one of my snakes was performing this morning, but I tend to leave her alone as much as possible--they can get very stressed if they are handled too much.





I woke up to yarn on the floor--not a common occurrence aorund here, but it happens now and then. This particular yarn seems to be a cat favorite--so I'm going to knit it into a mousie today.



Also, today is band practice, and I will be taking in the green, glow in the dark tenor beater covers (posted a few days ago) in to show to the tenor drum players. I think they will be pleasantly surprised...another "merry christmas" from Tenna.

In the meantime, I have updates to make on Ravelry, so perhaps I will be back later today if anything extraordinary occurs during practice or the drive there or back. Hubby's son is supposed to come over for a visit and some computer game playing today, and I'll be taking my yarn to band practice in case things get slow. This is the first practice of the year, so I'm willing to bet that things are going to be quite hectic. I'll try to get some good photos.

Check back later!

Persistance Pays Pennies

Okay, not even pennies, but I got the pictures to show up on my widget. I'm so proud of myself. Of course, I had to review lots of code from other people's blogs--since I know next to nothing about javascript. I think I have a book on it somewhere in the house, but I really don't know where it might be at this moment.





At the same time that I've been stumped with the Ravelry connection to my blog, I've also been stumped about the toes on my hubby's sock. Here's a pic of the outline of his foot, and you'll see what I mean.



I have to create a little "cap" there--I guess this has formed because he wore lots of high heels as a child (NOT!). Actually, the bone is basically sticking right out there. He doesn't walk on the balls of his feet either, and he's pretty much a "heel-toe" walker, but he does wear a special shoe to even out the pressure on his foot--he called it "toe thrust", and it's where the front of the shoe is specificaly elevated off the floor by about a quarter inch or so. I worry that if he gets surgery, he'll have to learn how to walk all over again. He worries that he will be off his feet, out of work and in physical therapy for MUCH too long. (We think alike, just not quite the same way--I think I'm way more "simple-minded".) But I have to make a little hat here, without making a lot of bulk, and without creating more holes in the sock, which will wear and be uncomfy in his shoes.....and let me say--comfort is an issue for my hubby--who has had trouble with his feet for as long as he can remember.



I haven't reached the bunion quite yet, but have all the stitches on the needles (according to my calculations) that I need for a sock to fit around his foot--I just have to get past this silly old bunion! The whole matter is giving me tons of grief. Maybe I'll run into Threadbear again today, with my picture, and see if Matt or Rob will give me a hand with some ideas--to get the increasing going, which one would be best to use without making a hole in the side of the socks, and where to put them so the "cap" forms and then decreases down to normal foot size.



I had just had a thought about a fair isle steek, and then put it right back out of my mind--too much bulk for a steek inside a shoe--next to an already sensitive foot.....



Yesterday I washed rugs. My rugs are falling apart, and I had quite a bit of crud from the bottom of my rugs (especially the cheap ones in the bathroom) that fell off in the dryer. I used my Dyson Vacuum Sweeper to clean out the lint collector, and suddenly, Mr. Dyson's claim "never clogs--ever" was put to the test. It's making a "weird" noise--and it seems to be sucking too much air in the filter area--so I cleaned out the canister, washed the spongy filter (which is huge--at least 6" round and 1" thick! No wonder this vacuum sucks, and I mean that in a good way!) and dried it, took it apart as much as possible and checked to make sure all the places that suck were clear of any matter that might cause it to loose suction, and put it back together.



It's still making that noise. Gee I hope I didn't BREAK it. (Sarcasm drips with honey--as in Honey, can you help me with this?) Now that would be a fine kettle of fish for me, since I hate housework anyway, but this Dyson is the only appliance that my husband willingly bought for me, after we redid the carpet in the house. I mean, let's face it--if someone spends a ton of money to give you the carpet that you've always wanted, then works hard to put down wood flooring in other areas--well you just know that he wants YOU to make sure it lasts forever. Dyson was it. We even got the animal hair adapter--which really does work like it shows on television--unfortunately, it's making this "noise". Initially, it's sucking really well, and then something goes "thoop" inside, and the sucking power is just GONE.



Later, my hubby says "What do you want to do today?"



Dangerous question, right?



So, I tell him I need help "fixing" the Dyson. So I describe what happened.



"I was doing laundry, and all this crud fell off the back of the rugs in the bathroom, see? Then when I pull out the lint trap, it's full of rug pieces, right? Do I pulled out Dyson to suck it up. It took ALL the lint at once, made a "thoop" sound, and BAM--no suction." Then I turned it on, to show him the difference in sound from startup to actual sucking action.



He looks at it, shakes his head at me, turns Dyson on it's back, pulls off a part on the back of the machine, and inside the part was the lint and all the dryer crap,



and a pen.



Yes, a pen--I'm sure you read right the first time. Sure shocked me. A PEN? How did that get in there? I don't remember EVER sucking a pen into the vacuum! I mean, why would I even TRY that?



Ah ,who cares, Dyson is working again.



The charge for all this experience? Full time marriage and $999. I said "services rendered?" and he says "Sure how much do you think you're worth?" and I said "oh, about $1100." (meaning he'd owe me $101 for the math challenged), and he laughed and said "what do you need the $100 for?" and I answer--I have to buy more yarn today!



Well of course! What a silly man! BWHAHAHHAHA!



So he's not been feeling well, as I told you, and he wants his son to come over and play the computer game. I told him that as long as he didn't touch his son, or anything that his son might touch, that everything would be just fine. Germs don't generally travel through the air, unless you sneeze on them or cough on them--but he's saying now that something knocked the crap out of his cold. I think it was the Zicam, and he's telling his dad about it on the phone right now. Basically this stuff you put it on a q-tip and stick it in your nose and roll it around. He's complaining about an ear-ache now. The Contac I bought him is helping with the congestion, and there's Tylenol inside Contac for aches and pains, so I think I've got him covered. I had a flu shot, so I should be good to go. I'm prone to sinus infections, though, so I'm keeping up my garlic, eating oranges and apples and bananas (oh my!), and drinking lots of coffee....I'm still on vacation, which is GREAT because it's kept my stress level down, and I haven't had any emotional upheavals, which lowers my resistance to disease. So, really---I am doing pretty well!



I have some clean laundry on my kitchen table that needs to be hung in the closet. I suppose that I could get that done, and then go to Threadbear...



I could make dog boots--oh! Speaking of which--



I found out what Turtle fur is. It's a thermal fabric that skiers use in their cold weather gear--like for hats and mittens. You can find these hats and mittens at any sporting store--no idea who might carry the actual FABRIC--but if I were to purchase a couple of hats, I should have enough to make treads for my dog, just to keep off the snow and ice (and muddy tracks) off her feet. She doesn't appreciate standing in the garage waiting for me to wash her feet off when she comes back in--



"I'm cold, mommy! Let me in the warm house where I can put my paw prints on the bay window ledge while I bark at the neighbor's dog who is ALWAYS in my yard! You know I have to protect my yard, don't you? I love my 'get out of my yard' yell, don't you, mommy? Can I have another treat, mommy? Huh? Huh? Can I huh?"



I'm not saying that my dog is hyper....but if she were any slower, I might be able to get a snapshot of her. This dog can hear everything--all at once. She's terrified of the camera--in fact, she was resting on the bay window ledge, when I decided to turn around and snap a picture of her (I keep the camera near the computer, so if things "happen" while I'm posting, I can quick and grab it and take the pic, edit and post--all in a quick New York minute). Unfortunately, this dog KNOWS the sound of my camera--no matter how stealthily I prepare, and by the time the pic is ready to "snap", she's up and gone. Well, this time, I fooled her--or maybe she fooled me, you decide.

Then, a few minutes later, she's wanting to come back to her ledge to rest, and waiting for me to put the camera away, but since I hadn't, I got this picture. Finally, Mandy in all her glory, and she doesn't look like she's trying to puke something....



Afterward, my camera said "I need my batt'ry charged."

So no more pics for a few hours. Guess I'll get on that clean laundry laying on the table behind me....sigh. Did I say "I hate housework" anytime recently?"

Ravelry Strikes Again

I have finally succeeded in putting the progress bars on my blog for the projects that I'm working on, and keeping track of in Ravelry. See my new widget? Right over here---->

The only thing that bugs me is that the darn thing is also supposed to show a picture of the progress on Ravelry, too. And for some reason, while I am using the same precise code--the pictures are not showing up. NEWS FLASH....(beeping music)...

I finally figured it out! Finally! It only took me all day, but I got it, I got it, I got it!!! Look at my nice little project pictures...next thing you know, I'll have a slide show of all the projects I've finished--I can't wait to get that uploaded..oh yes, it's coming! Just as soon as I figure it out!

Hubby came home sick with what looks to be sinusitis, but he's been exposed to some really nasty flu, too. I had a flu shot, but this one sounds pretty bad. He tells me that the person who was sick slept beside the privy--hoo boy! I've got to tell you, I've been there! Not this year, but there was one year a while back....

So I picked up some sinus meds and some Listerine---some Zicam--you know, the stuff you stick up your nose? Tonight, I'll lather him up with Vick's Metholatum and a warm cloth, and we'll see how he feels in the morning.

In the meantime, I'm sleeping in my chair. I can't afford to get sick now...I go back to work in 3 days---and I do need to get back there.

I finally got to the point of drawing around hubby's foot, so I have a pattern for the sock/bunion. Hopefully, that will get me going again.

And in the meantime, back to the drawing board about the pictures on Ravelry...I'll figure it out, I just need some time.

Wrong side of the bed

I think I may have crawled out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. I'm fairly surly.

I made oatmeal this morning, and because my hubby likes a little more than what comes in one package, I tried to pour some from the round "box" into the bowl to nuke with the water before I used the pre-mixed stuff, and lost my hold on the round box, and now have oatmeal everywhere.

About that time, hubby comes out of the shower, and I'm hauling the vacuum into the kitchen.

"Okay, what mess did the dog and/or cats leave you?"

I give him "the look".

"It wasn't the dog or the cats?"

Another "look".

A bit of exchanged words...and explanation that *I* am the culprit for this mess and why, then retreat to the kitchen with vacuum in hand to clean up the mess that shouldn't have happened, and probably wouldn't have happened if I weren't such a nice wife...like making my hubby breakfast now and then--just to make him happy.

Well, I should have stayed in bed. Oatmeal. All over the floor. Not COOKED oatmeal, thank god, but wet, none the less. Not even one oatmeal flake stayed in the box--NO--they all had to fly out and experience freedom.

"Away and be FREE!"

So after cleaning up the mess, I got his coffee and breakfast around, and then sat down to blog and read email--something that some days takes me all morning to accomplish. And while he sits there enjoying his breakfast, I'm telling you about oatmeal and he's telling me about work. I'm listening and responding appropriately, and writing about my morning. Even at 5am, I can multitask!

So why can't I pour a little oatmeal into a bowl without disaster striking?

That one has eluded me for years.

So I joined another group a few weeks ago. This one is pretty cool. It's called "Monthly Washcloths". and I've been working on their monthly knit along with a scrap of Sugar 'n Cream when I run out at Row 20 or so. God help me. So I started over with a new skein, and frogged the other one for making another Tribble at some point. They also worked on a washcloth that is posted as a free pattern on the Berrocco website--but it's also in their files, and is the dishcloth for December. A snowflake. So yesterday, I went to the "cheap yarn store", and got a couple of balls of plain white Sugar 'n Cream to make at least one, if not two of these "snowflakes".

Got absolutely no progress done on hubby's socks yesterday--and drew the Lord reversed for my tarot card--the ace of swords for hubby's.

I told him he'd need to use a bigger screwdriver on the dies this morning. The machines are giving him headaches and aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing. His card was an easy one. Mine is not so easy-a major card, these usually mean something "deeper" and more important is going on. The explanation in the book says "you have a problem with people in authority". GEE, YA THINK? (I look back to my meme from yesterday, and remember fondly the feelings it illicited.) Then the book talks about how I had a tumultuous relationship with my father or father figure--and a suffocating relationship with my mother (gee, I didn't know there was a movie about MY life...who stole my identity and put it in this book?), and that today I would be doing a lot of soul searching over the issues relating to these things.

I think I should go to bed right now!

There is no need for me to "soul search" over how my family...and before you say "methinks thou dost protest too much..." let me inform you that I've known about the tumult in my childhood, and gone over it and over it. IF ONLY my parents were a functional unit. IF ONLY my father wasn't an alcoholic. If only my mother wasn't an enabler. If only I wasn't the scape goat. If only my little brother wasn't such a (well nevermind--I am trying to keep from swearing in my blog--New Year's Resolution, ya know?)...

My father would take my brother and me to the swimming hole--not to the beach like other kids got to go, but to the boat launch, where the rocks were sticky with scum, and the water depth dropped off suddenly into murkiness that you were sure the Loch Ness monster was living--and that she would pop up and gobble you down...and...wait...no I hated having to swim at the boat launch. The upside? My father was protecting ME from pedophiles, I suppose that was his aim, but he would sit in the car and drink the entire time.

After a couple of hours, he would be completely wasted, and before too many years went by, I was driving us home. Imagine my stress? Driving was nothing compared to the stress I felt constantly about either:

1. Getting into an accident.
2. Getting pulled over for drunk driving by the police, dad being hauled off to jail, and mom has no way to come get us, because the family has only one car....or
3. Not getting pulled over by the police, and having to deal with the stress of #1 and #2 all the way home.

I mean, it was basically a crap shoot everytime I got in the car with him!

My mother didn't like riding with him AT ALL, so she tried to turn me into dad's enabler. This worked in some ways, not in others. She'd make him take me when he went to town to get a few things--he would stop off at the bar "for a few", and make me sit in the car and wait in the heat. They don't allow that for children anymore--but when I got old enough to realize that by not having me "right under his nose" he could basically forget that I was still in the car--so I started going into the bar when I got tired of sitting in the hot car.

I'm sure that this was not a comfortable thing for him. My dad was desperately concerned about men and their um....illicit urges...so he would down the rest of his glass once he saw me walk into the door, and before you know it, we're back in the car and on the road, headed home. I'm sure that he had discussion with my mother over it...

"Why do you keep sending Tenna with me to pick things up?"

"So you won't stop at the bar and sit there for hours on end getting drunk."

So very early on, I learned how to make my father be a little more responsible for me--and when I turned 13, he let me drive home, which eased my stress considerably. I became a pretty good driver, too--and learned about how to figure out where you are, when you don't know where you are. I learned how to watch out for everybody else quickly--because you never know--they might be drinking, right?

So I have to say that I became a bit more responsible for myself a bit earlier than most. I resented my father for not being able to manage himself, and I resented my mother for continuing to allow it. I hate authority because of it's controlling nature. All you blog readers who are stuck in abusive relationships, heed this....an addict doesn't change. They are selfish and faithless. As the book says "All dogs return to their own vomit." (I know that's pretty graphic--but it is true.) And an addict is LOWER than dogs on the hierarchy scale. (Sorry, I didn't want to insult the wonderful dogs, who, even though they do tend to return to their own vomit...they are still the most devoted animal there is--and an addict is only devoted to where they can get their next fix.

Both my parents were heavy smokers. Not just in the house, but in the car, where you can't get outdoors and away from the SMELL and the SMOKE. I can't begin to tell you how often I would cry in the back seat, because I was quite literally SUFFOCATING.

Now, I am not asthmatic--at least I don't THINK I am, but put me in a crowded room with a smoker, and suddenly, I can't breathe. I take one breath and my airway simply closes up! I never smoked myself--just second hand stuff. This made it doubly difficult when I started my early 20's and wanted to go dancing...you could only dance at the local clubs, and that's where the smoker's "convened" too. In my 30's, I learned ballroom dancing, and the places we went didn't have a smoking issue--these people competed--they were serious about their bodies. It was an enjoyable time, because I loved dancing as much as I hated smokers and smoking. I even broke up with a few men (sorry guys, but I have "standards") because I found out that they'd lied about being a smoker.

But I used to hate it when my parents smoked in the car. I complained and whined bitterly, but I was just a kid. What did I know? My mother, bless her heart, quit smoking, and that's a tall order when you consider that my dad WOULDN'T quit, and so she had to continue to ride with him smoking in the car. At that point, she apologized to me, saying

"Now I understand what you meant by suffocating in the back seat."

How did she manage to quit? Well, possibly shear will power, but she was a neatnick that liked her house to be "clean". One day, she washed the sheer window dressings--but didn't have enough room in the washer to do all of the house, so she just did a few at a time. She took the 2nd load down to the basement and took the 1st load into the basket to bring up, and in so doing, had a chance to compare the two...the result was utter shock and denial. The first set of sheers were clean and white. The 2nd set was stained yellow from all the tar and nicotine. Yes, you smokers out there--that smoke ain't as WHITE as it looks coming from the end of your cigarette and into your lungs, and out of your mouth and nose as you exhale. And just because you spew it off to the left or right does't mean that same smoke isn't going into someone else's lungs! Smoke has no boundaries---something that smokers fail to "get".

Somewhere I read that there are over 2000 harmful chemicals (including urine!) in cigarettes. It would be healthier to drink out of the stool!

So I never smoked. And I came to believe that smokers are really stupid people. I mean, I can get stupid about yarn and books about yarn or crafts, but am I hurting anybody else? Am I putting their health and lives at risk by buying that next ball of yarn? I think there are worse ways to die....bury my husband in a pile of yarn...hmmm....no...I don't think I could use yarn to commit murder...and it sort of just "sits there" waiting to be knit. And I'm not spending money on it that I don't have...so it's rather innocuous--perhaps a waste of money--after all, all that yarn, fermenting in the plastic zippered bag...all those dyes and who knows how they interact? POOH! But I never smoked. I didn't do drugs either. In fact I figured drug addicts to be even MORE stupid than smokers or alcoholics.

Don't get me wrong--I get that some people's addictions are driven by painful things that they want to forget....but I have had some pretty painful and traumatic things in my life, too. Does that give me a good excuse to go out and be irresponsile and hurt others with my addiction? No. Does it give me the right to cry and stamp my feet and talk or write about the unfairness of it all? Well, perhaps the painful/traumatic things, yeah--but to cloud it with some addiction--no. There just comes a time when you have to "man up" and face it. (Man up is a new term coined by one of the drummers in the pipe band--and I think it's a good one, so I repeat it here.) I mean, get a backbone and get over it! Life was never promised to be FAIR people!

Well, all this soul searching, and it's still not daylight outside.
Maybe I should just go back to bed for a while!

So The Thing is blogger Barb--

Okay, she had a meme, and said she'd tag me if I wanted her to, but I tagged myself instead.

My birthday is in December--here is what the meme said about me and my personality:

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

Loyal yes. Generous not so much--although my hubby is worse.
Sexy? ME? Get a clue. I am on the internet 75% of my waking time.
Patriotic-Some yes...some no. Not sure how I stand on the war in Iraq--and wish we could get out of there ASAP--but realize that there's corruption everywhere, and there's as much chance for another Hitler today as there was back in the 40's.
Active in games and interactions- I love a good game, mostly because I'm VERY competitive. Unless there's no chance of my winning...then I just whine. Interactions--I spend most of my interactions with family--I have lots of friends, but no one calls me--usually I call them before they have or find a reason to call me. Most people know better, though, and avoid me like the plague.
Impatient and hasty--Now this one is spot on. I want that yarn, and I want it right now...later to find out it was the wrong colorway? Yeah, that's me.
Ambitious- HO! Let me climb that mountain...what? You don't know how to climb, well, come on, and I'll carry ya! Must be the Scot in me.
Influential in organizations-Who me? The only organizations I belong to are the local spin group and the bagpipe band. I have no leadership role in either--although I could handle it with my ambitiousness--of course, everyone ELSE would leave if I tried to take over. Influential my left boonie..and yes, that's a typo.
Fun to be with-when I'm *up*, people think I'm a kook. When I'm *down*, people avoid me, and wonder if I'll ever snap out of it. But have me on your team in the game, and if we win, I'll laugh right along with you. If we lose...well, I'll try not to cry all over your shirt.
Loves to socialize-Only if I can put on my "loves to socialize" face. This face is not mine. It belongs to someone else who is the life of the party. Pay no attention. It's not me.
Loves Praises-ACK! Hate Praises. I try to accept them without telling the person "oh, shut up and be real!" I suck at grace. Really suck at it.
Loves Attention-Loves to be loved-Well, shoot-who doesn't? I don't want to be the center of attention--wait--I suppose being in a bagpipe band might qualify me as an "attention getter" all by myself in my kilt and drum...just be glad I don't stand out in the snow in my birthday suit. As to loving to be loved, I honestly don't think that there's anybody out there who can love me enough to qualify as the one person who loves me. Sure, my husband loves me, but there's limits. Sure, my dog loves me too--that's why she runs away when I open the door--see what I mean?
Honest and Trustworthy-THAT'S A LIE! I MUST FIND THE PERPETRATOR OF THIS FALSEHOOD, AND FINISH HIM/HER OFF! Okay honestly--is your husband hot? LOL! Let me rephrase that...
Not pretending-hmmm...see honest and trustworthy...
Short Tempered-hmmm...see honest and trustworthy...this is fun, by the way!
Changing Personality-could be the bi-polar disorder--wait, Barb! This was your meme! Well, at least I'm not a paranoid schitzophrenic! (Ex husband said that to me once. I wonder if the doctor who gave him the test told him what was really wrong with him!). Actually, little bits and pieces of me fall out of my ear from time to time, and that's what causes the "changing personality" business. I have to someday backtrack everywhere I've ever been and stuff these "pieces" back in--a task to which I am not looking forward.
Not Egotistic-We aren't talking about YOU here, we're talking about ME!
ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! And don't you forget about it! (see Short Tempered)
Take high pride in oneself-Someone has to--if I don't, who will? Actually, I'm probably the most self-deprecating person I know, and even my therapist says I don't give myself enough credit--but there is trouble if your pride gets too high, and frankly I don't like having my butt so close to the floor that people can kick me while I'm down after committing some huge faux pas (and I do have those from time to time--thank god and greyhound they aren't alltogether that often!). Forget that!
Hates restrictions-ho, boy, there you go again--you've no idea how much I hate doing this blog meme without one swear word...Now I can stand by my own restrictions that I set for myself--such as having an affair with your hot husband (which actually would NEVER happen, since you wouldn't trust me anyhow)--but for somebody else to tell me what I can and can't do isn't something I am capable of handling well. I'm a rule breaker (if I can), but not quite an anarchist. I hate time cards and watches. I don't like to live my life by anyone else's code. I can get quite cranky (see short-tempered) if I'm chained to one place or one thing for too long. I move on to other things smoothly and seamlessly. I like to flow like water.

Loves to joke. Good sense of humor-I love to laugh. My ex-husband's old jokes never wore out with me. I think he told them every day for nearly 6 years. I look back and wonder.

WHY?

I defer to my therapist here. She says I'm hilarious. I don't know if she thinks I could do stand up comedy--but she says I have a sense of humor. A sense? I know what humor is--and, by the same token, I know what humor ISN'T. My ex's old jokes--sigh--still funny to me, even after 20 years after the divorce...which wasn't fun (or funny) at all.

And I'm pretty sure he realized the same thing once all was said and done.

Logical-Well, if you can tell me what was logical about the last statement, I'll eat your hat. My husband will attest to the fact that I am an emotional person. HE'S the logical one. That's why he takes care of all the big bills...and saves for retirement and keeps track of his bank account--and why I sometimes think he's very un-generous (downright stingy), but he's the ying to my yang, the white to my black, the rock to which I cling--sometimes desperately, because like Barb, I don't know what I'd do without him (sure I do...I'd have no house, but lots more yarn!), and I can't imagine myself with anybody else--not even when it comes to his cold feet at night. When it all comes down to it, I would miss those cold feet if they weren't there. That's about as logical as I can be, I suppose. But on the other hand, logic really has nothing to do with it.

Progress on Hubby's Socks

Well, I knit the toes, and have all the increases that I need--I thought I would be a tad on the long side, because I factored a bit of negative ease (counting a gauge at 8.5 SPI, rather than the actual 8 that I am getting) so I compensated a little and cast on 9 stitches. I'm up to 82 stitches OTN, and I've not got enough to go around the bunion yet--so I'm going to have to make a left and a right sock--and thinking I'm going to have to do some short rows/with wraps to get beyond the bunion. Once beyond the bunion, I can knit leisurely until the heel.

So I tried them on his feet this morning. First thing out of his mouth was

"aren't they a bit small?"

Well, it's not like it's the "whole foot" you know? I had to laugh. He can be so funny!

The socks will probably be the oddest pair he has, but I want them to look and feel good inside his shoes, and I don't want that bunion to wear too quickly--so I was also thinking of going down a needle size or two--just for the bunion area, and maybe to reinforce it? It's a thought.

All you sock knitters that read my blog need to chime in on this one and leave me comments on how best to do this...and remember, I am knitting toe up via magic loop--2 at a time. I need help with shaping around this bunion--I figure that I'll need to increase a full inch (8 sts) for another 8 or 9 rows to accommodate it, then reduce back to the original 82--

I can't believe this. It's like my hubby's feet have boobs. Go figure. I've never done shaping like this, so I need help. Maybe I'll run into Threadbear today and see what they have to say, too, but I do value your input!!!

And thanks to all who replied about the dog boots! I'm planning to check those out at the local pet store today, too.

Hubby asked me to dump the ashes out of our corn stove, so when the daylight comes, I'll take out the ashes, and dump out the vacuum we use to clean the corn stove. I've also got lots of laundry to do...especially folding and hanging up, since I haven't done that for a long while. We've had a cold snap, and I do mean *SNAP*, oh, no, it's not cold outside! The weather is supposed to warm up to near 50 degrees by the weekend. I'd be happy for another day like yesterday, where you can go outdoors in a sweater, and you're warm enough. I'm indoors right now, have 2 shirts (both flannel) and my sweatpants on, and the thickest socks I own, but because I'm sitting beside the bay window, I'm still REALLY chilled. I even turned the corn stove up a notch.

Later...

Well, with Laundry going in the washer and dryer, the heat turned up a notch and the sun shining through the window, it has finally warmed up in the house. I've got my list of to-do's today--I've been folding...folding and more folding the laundry, and got a few things hung up, but have MANY more to get hung on hangers. I need one of those baskets with the bar across the top that they have at the laundrymat--it would be the cat's meow. Unfortunately, I can't get going until the laundry is done, and there is at least another load or two to go!

I got a check in the mail from the bagpipe band for the performance at the Winter convocation for Grand Valley--I wasn't expecting anything like this--so it was a VERY pleasant surprise. MORE YARN FOR ME! I'm pretty excited about this.

I also ordered some of Astrid's Rainbow Kauni Yarn--she tells me that I didn't order enough, so I asked her how to fix it so that I get it all at the same time since I paid with paypal--it's sort of weird--she's in the Netherlands, you see. I want to make Jeanne's Rainbow Shawl. The self-striping of the yarn is so yummy. Here's the shawl and the yarn is here . Nice, huh?

Last night, didn't sleep well due to the constant back and forth of snowmobiles. Some people just don't know when to quit! They were still running about at 2am! But the sunrise this morning was worth getting up early with hubby--I made his breakfast and coffee, and sat down to type. I've been going ever since. I will get out later--it's just a matter of time, and I won't allow the laundry to get in the way either!

Hold on for a second, and I'll get the sunrise photo--

Isn't this just spectacular?

Such is life

Today is the first day of my REAL vacation--Hubby has gone to work very early this morning, and I am ready to start a day of whirlwind activity!



My plan is first to really clean the kitchen up. After a week of doing practically nothing, the kitchen looks like it's been hit with a tornado...



But first, coffee and a wee bit to eat.



I finally decided on the yarn for hubby's socks--Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Petrified Wood/Petrified rock/earthy colorway, but I think it's probably petrified wood. Yep, Petrified wood--I found another blogger than has a pair, but as with all handpaints....sigh...her skein has what looks like "white" in it. Mine has no white whatsoever. Compare:





I bought this months ago. The LYS ran out if it in no time flat. I'm thinking that it's now been discontinued, as I can't locate the colorway on their website anymore, and I'm pretty well freaking out, because I only have one skein for a size 10EEEE foot! I started on the toes--doing a fan toe, because the front of his foot is SO BIG, and fan toe provides more space more quickly than the standard toe. I figure, based on my calculations that it will take at least another 7 rows to get all the stitches on the needles that I need to get past his bunions...then I'll need to decrease ever so slightly to the real circumference of his foot, but not so much that it's impossible to get the sock on OVER those bunions. Honestly, I've never seen bunions this big--and I used to work in a shoe store!



So I contact BMFA to see if it's possible to get another hank, and also posted to Ravelry--I don't know if I will get any action. The colorway posts pretty true on my monitor, but might not on anyone else's. In fact, the other person who made her Jaywalker socks might not post a pic that is color true for HER hank...so I am in a quandry. Of course, my first email to the company will be met with scratching heads and question "huh?" on their faces, so I sent a second email calling it Petrified Rock. Well, I'm fairly sure that it IS Petrified, just not sure if it's Wood or Rock. I've been hunting up and down for the label--I think the cat may have run off with it...does this look like a guilty face or what?



Welcome Smokie on the scene--actually, just waking up from a cat-nap because she hears Mandy's toenails going click-click-click on the wood floor between the bathroom and kitchen. She's simply on the alert here, ready to



RUUUUUNNNNNNN!



Run Kitty Run! See Smokie Run. See Smokie Run fast from Mandy. See Mandy's nose under the chair sniffing because the cat ran under it! See Tenna topple over backward, knitting flying.



Okay, enough Dick and Jane...



It looks like we got another inch of snow last night. My car is covered. I'm wanting to run to the LYS to see their new digs. Rae has moved to a bigger store. It's a good thing, because things were really cramped in her store, and I'm thinking that she must be doing pretty well--but I don't remember which day she said she'd be open...so I have to go out to the car, get the advertisement...means I have to put my boots on....oh, all right! Wait a minute!



(huff puff) IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!



Okay, I didn't find the address, but the cat gave up the hiding place for the ball band for my sock yarn, and it's Petrified Wood. So alright! I'm an idiot!



But Rae's shop is supposed to be open at the new location today, according to my telephone call to her shop...so I will just climb into my frozen car--yes, I had to scrape ice just to open the door--heat it up and move on out to the LYS--just to see if she might have a skein--even if the colorway is only close--it might still work.



I'd hate to have the foot one color and the leg another. But I also hate having load extra, and another skein would put me well over the requirement for the feet--even if he DOES have big feet.



Well, I'm off. Dishes are in the dishwasher, and it's going handily. The dog is eating breakfast, and it's only 10:30am. I have one more counter to clear off, and then I can take my car and go out to parts unknown! Wish me LUCK, because I'm going to need it!

Edits later in the day--

Well, I stopped into Rae's, and of course, she didn't have the yarn I need, but lots of other skeins to drool over. I got quite a bit more SEX yarn there, then went to Meijer's and bought 4 balls of Sugar and Creme to make some Tribbles. I purchased some Christmas color, as I plan to make some for next Christmas for everybody! Plus picked up some groceries that we were out of, AND got a new tub for hiding all the S.E.X I've accumulated in the last couple of days.

And, while on Ravelry, I found another knitter who has a skein of the yarn I need to finish my hubby's socks! I'm thrilled to the dickens--she said she would be willing to part with it. Now to finalize the purchase, and get it shipped to me. There was also another person on the socknitters list, and she had some yarn that she's not very pleased with--I inquired into it, told her I would send her $ for it, and she turned it down!

So soon, I will have more S.E.X. to play with!

AND...more

I got my Latvian Mitten book in the mail. This one, I want to read very slowly. There is quite a bit of history packed into this book, and I want to get the full experience, therefore, I'll knit until hubby goes to bed, then I'll read for a while.

Tomorrow morning, I want to get up bright and early, and work some more on the house (need to do laundry pretty bad)--then I can sit and knit all day long.

I can't wait.