On (and off) the Needles of Iron!

An update! Finished Bebe Sockees, all ready for the Grandbebe Girls 1st Birthday on Friday. Did I mention we are going to the Rockies home opener? Oh, I did? I am taking my knitting, but whether I will be wearing gloves is anyone’s guess.


Next, the magic loop Grown Up Sock is growing. I am liking this magical knitting of the socks. I surely hope form follows function and fit. If so, the doors will be thrown wide open to more magicness.

I am almost back to where I started frogging on the Forest Canopy shawl, and I am just whizzing on that thing now. I have the pattern indelibly etched in the memory...thingeys, and am able to watch my knitting and correct the errors as I go. I am anxious to see what it will look like blocked. I am anxious to see how big or how small it will turn out. I am anxious to see if I find myself wearing it.
There is no further update on Alison’s Scarf. For right now, it is a WIP (Languishing). I do not call it a UFO. Just yet. I spent time outside on Saturday. It was wonderful. I worked on the front flower bed, cleaning out some debris. The sun felt so good on my back. The dirt smelled so good. My iris friends are doing well from their digging and replanting of last fall…and Saturday night it snowed. By Sunday afternoon, it was all gone. Sunday night, more snow. Agh! The torture that is Springtime in the Rockies. I look at it as white rain, moisture for the growing things.


Wonderful Guy and I took the bikes on a seasonal inaugural spin, about four and a half miles. We rode around the new Spring Canyon Park, and through some neighborhoods. The wind had picked up, bringing the aforementioned change of weather, and pedaling was tough heading into the wind. The bike is in good shape, though, and ready when I am to start the commute.

We saw these guys on the way back down the Big Thompson after a drive to Estes Park on Saturday. We pulled over and took pictures, just like tourists. We see them rarely, but maybe not so much because they aren’t there. They really blend in to the rocks.


One more little thing. The Kansas boys made it to the Final Four. Rock Chalk Jayhawks!

Just Bits and Pieces

It seems like it's been 2 weeks since Monday. Weeks like this are just too full of life and all that makes it life. I want to thank those that have taken time out of their lives to peak into this window that is mine (and comment), and, well, thanks. This little activity, and the connections made through it, have certainly been a surprise, been very interesting, and some of you just crack me up!

Bowling with the Peeps on Thursday night was fun. I didn't excel, needless to say. I was inconsistent, so I didn't win the 'most improved' prize. I didn't fail miserably, so I didn't win the 'worst bowler' prize. Just like on Field Day in 6th grade, or any physical activity in grade school when I was picked last for any team, I got the "You Participated!" ribbon...gee, thanks! Oh, well, those that won, won chocolate candy, and they are sharing at work. I have good Peeps. Really, I do! They invite the old lady play in all their young Peeps games!

At the scrapbooking party, I was able to play with Grandbebe Girl lots! Her hair has grown significantly the last few weeks, and has taken on some gentle curl in the back. She was sitting on my lap, with her back to me. The shape of her of her head, with the curls in her hair, the curve of her neck took me back 25 years. I could have been sitting there holding her momma. This grandmama stuff is a new road of experiences for me to walk.

Heard from the tax preparer earlier in the week that Wonderful Guy and I had woefully underestimated our withholding, what with the job changes this past year. Then, when meeting with her last night, we found the situation was not as bad as previously imagined. There is still a chunk to be owed, but a smaller chunk. Maybe that was her plan...tell them they owe $$$$, then when they only owe $$, they will be happy, regardless that it is still $$!

I won't be bidding on the Schaht ST on Ebay though. After all, $$ is still $$, and I do have one wheel. I can use only one at a time...and what is it that makes me want another? And so soon after I bought the first? Stashing is one thing with yarn and fiber, but stashing spinning wheels is a little scary.

It is shaping up to be a really nice looking day out, and I am hoping to clean out a bed or two in my yard. I want to so bad. This is almost a physical thing with me. I have to hold myself in check here in Colorado to not be too exuberant, too early. When moving here, I thought how much could shortening the growing season a couple of weeks on either end really matter? ALOT!!! I found out. One of the reasons I contest with Wonderful Guy about a move to a higher altitude. I don't think I could deal with a shorter growing season.

The power was out in our section of town last night when I got home from work. No idea why, but, hey! I couldn't cook dinner, could I? Unfortunately, that meant the tax prep talk started late and lasted longer than expected, so I missed the KU game. I see they won without me.
Rock Chalk Go KU!

One...More...Time...

So the MagicLoop grown-up sock got yet another start over last night. I was over an inch into the cuff, and discovered there was no living with the wonkiness where the needles join. Now, however, I am already close to an inch into the cuff and it is darn near...well, well done. I won't say perfect, because I don't say things like that. Might as well just take out my wand, wave it a bit, and curse the darn thing! I mean, more than it already apparently is....


Tonight, my Co-worker Peeps are out to a Bowling Excursion after work. Should be a good tension breaker.


Afterwards, I go to a scrapbook party at Youngest Daughter's. Grandbebe Girl will be there! The Alternate Grandmother may also be there, so I may have to share and play nice.


I found some 'exotic' fiber on line today. Qiviut, 1 oz carded batt., $45!
I am guessing I would need at least 2 ounces to make anything. I don't think Wonderful Guy, in all his generosity, is going to go for that.

Week’s Half Baked

On the upside of this week, I got back on the exercise routine. I got off the routine last week after the floor scrubbing/painting soreness/tiredness, with Wonderful Guy being gone a couple days and all the morning routine falling to me. With the wonderful weather this week, not only have I been back at my stationary bicycle in the morning, but got in some lunchtime walks, and after work walks, too. Best Dog Ever has been particularly pleased. There is a new park over our way, brand new, as a matter of fact. Just completed last fall. It’s a wonderful and convenient place for getting out and about. Look what they have done with a couple of tree stumps.
In other news, a local bike shop started a sale today, including a particular bag that fits the rack I have on my bike. I have one bag I have used for two years successfully, and wanted another to expand my carrying capacity. Room to carry a coat on my way home from work that I wear on my way to work will enable me to start riding sooner this year. Room to carry some groceries, even. Room to carry a picnic lunch for Wonderful and me? We’ll see about the last….
I am pumped to start the riding, but temps are supposed to drop by 15 degrees tomorrow. Ahhhh…..spring! That’s okay. Little green shoots promise me the ground is warming, and soon there will be a weekend warm enough to allow some flowerbed cleaning

In the meantime, I am de-cluttering. I cleaned out some books (shock horror!) this past weekend, and donated to the Friends of the Library. Five boxes of mostly Time-Life books. Hope someone is as taken with them as I was at one time. (I saved two sets, one each on gardening and sewing. Those were my mother’s.) That task also included the straightening and dusting of all the bookshelves…no mean feat! The kitchen has also been de-cluttered and re-organized through the painting process. I am feeling good about all this! My goal is to continue with smallish projects, areas, and goals, collecting the matter in a space in the basement. The neighborhood garage sale is in June. If I last that long, fine, or it may all go to charity. Habitat for Humanity is just down the road, after all.

Regaining Balance...

...little by little.

It has been springlike in weather here. I have been out on walks around the 'neighborhood' (read industrial park) at noon the last two days. And last evening, and tonight, I took Best Dog Ever for a walk after work, forgoing knitting tonight. Being out gave me time to clear the head. I needed head clearing more than knitting.

Speaking of knitting. After finishing up the Bebe Sockees, I was determined to CO another sock right away using the magic loop magic-ness, to reinforce the magic, of course. Good thing I was determined. I have cast on, re-cast on, cast on again, and now for the fourth time, I believe I have got that sock finally started. First I discovered I should use sz2 instead of sz1. Then I twisted the rows inbetween the two sides....I think. I don't really know what happened. Then I dropped some stitches at the end past recovery. I am nothing if not stubborn.

Did I mention that I get to go to the Rockies season opener next Friday with Grandbebe Girl and her parents? It's first her birthday. Grandbebe's Daddy is a HUGE baseball fan. Isn't that likely!

There are little green sprouts everywhere. Spring!

Déjà vu

I have been here before, on both sides of the fence. I don’t know which is the most uncomfortable. Leaving…or being left….

The company I work for is a small one, and it has been an uphill climb the last year for us. Those who make the decisions have struggled mightily to keep us all employed and paid. The point of lay-offs was reached today. This is not a massive corporate restructuring to further line pockets of those whose needs are well met. I believe this is a decision hard made by people who knew, by name, those who were let go.

I am so sorry for those who left. I understand full well what they are feeling today, and what they will be feeling in the days ahead.

I also do not know what the long term holds for those of us who stay. We are fine for now, for a while.

Actually, I know more than that. I am perfectly well, whatever happens. I know that if not here, there will be a place somewhere else. If not this, there will be something else. I am right where I need to be. I will find the springboard in this, and learn the lesson that is here for me. And have the peace and serenity that comes from knowing that things are moving exactly like they need to, and my higher power is in control.

See, this is another lesson learned from the Dee-vorce. Then, I had in my mind what was needed to fix the situation. Things needed to turn out just so. The X needed to see things my way. She needed to just disappear…’poof’! The church people just needed to understand, and ask us back, and things could get back to normal. None of that is what happened. In fact, none of what happened is anything I remotely imagined. Well, some maybe. In my worst thoughts, I dreaded that the X and the ‘she’ getting together, and me being abandoned. (yes…abandoned!) I dreaded losing the church, and my acquaintances and friends, and my groups and activities. All those tragic (sob!) things happened, and more. I met Wonderful Guy, started the 12 step program, grew personally and spiritually in ways I don’t believe I would have at church all involved like I was, made new friends outside the social circle that I was so locked into, and broke into new activities which take me outside my corner of comfort (practice I truly need). My point is, of which I constantly remind myself, not to be limited by my thoughts of what the future needs to look like. My higher power, and the universe, is not so limited by my meager imaginings!

Happy Easter Egg Day!

For several years, these came my way for one reason or another, and they gravitated to this basket, where they have lived for a long time. Of those I purchased for myself, I often purchased an identical one for Dearest Sister. And there are toothmarks in one. For a time, the basket was on the floor. Best Dog Ever thought mistakenly the eggs were for chasing once upon a time.

We had snow last night, but with blue skies today, there are sparkly diamonds all over the backyard. Really cold diamonds, but pretty, nonetheless. I bet those out for the sunrise services were bundled up this morning.

This has been one low-key Easter for me, especially in comparison to the marathons that Easter weekends used to be. I do not mind the change. The difference gives me a chance to reflect on the necessity of all what I did. I sure thought it important at the time, but part of that reality was the importance it gave me, as the minister's wife, I feel now.

I am not speaking of the mom/family stuff. I am glad I made all those big collared, low waisted dresses for the daughters, much to their delight, I might add! (They still talk about them fondly, really they do!) I am very thankful I took the time, and stayed up late, to prepare Easter baskets for them each year. And when we were close enough to celebrate with the extended family, the Easter gatherings were something to remember fondly, and we do.

I recieved photos on my phone this morning from Youngest Daughter of Grandbebe Girl with her Easter basket. She had prepared plastic eggs, glued shut with buttons inside, to make rattles. I contributed the buttons, from my old buttons. Middle Daughter asked if I had made an Easter basket for the Grandbebe Girl, and I told her, no...that's for her momma to do.

I am off to finish up the Bebe Sockees. Almost done, with only the very last toe decreases to complete! Then I must CO another magic loop sock of one sort or another, before I forget....or rather...to reinforce and strengthen...the technique. After all, I have lots of sock yarn.

It Was A Chilly, Cloudy Saturday...

Of course, Monday, after going back to work....almost 70.

Made a trip to Wellington today. Wonderful Guy has a bug, so we were laying low, around the house. I thought it a likely time for a trip to Nanytutu's, as I had read on Ravelry about a yarn sale there. (Yes, I need more yarn. Shut up!) It was 20% off (all balls and skeins are 20% off until the end of the month of March - ALL). I bought some Crystal Palace Maizy, that stuff made with corn fiber, and some Panda Silk. I have gone sock yarn bonkers, I fear. Ah well, it is for gifts, I tell myself...and others. I ran into fellow travelers from the Brown Sheep Mill trip there. It's a small knitting world here in northern Colorado.

I talked to Dearest Sister for an hour and a half today. We had some good, almost too good, laughs. Everyone should have someone they can share with on such a basic level, with whom there can be no pretension because that person knows them like no other. Dearest Sister is my such person. On the other hand, I know her equally well. The playing field is level. She was my best and dearest support when I was going through the Dee-vorce. We often have shared with each other the dream of growing old together like the spinster sisters on 'The Waltons', who made the 'recipe'. Not that we have a recipe, but we have other pursuits that keep us active and interesting, not to mention, quite humorous to our offspring. We share serious thoughts, too, about our future and our past. But usually, we end up making jokes. And laughing. Sometimes too hard. Dearest Sister is my best friend.

Look at the bebe sockees!

Further progress has even been made. Heel has been turned and gusset is about half done. And there is still knitting to be done tonight. Why, at this rate, I am going to need all that sock yarn!

It is a Good Friday

A holiday for me today, and I am catching up on chores around the house while Wonderful Guy works. I am glad for the day at home after 2 plus hours in the dentist's chair yesterday afternoon. The jaw is still a little achey. Part of the day's tasks was grocery shopping. I took Best Dog Ever with me, and before loading her in Scooby Two, I toured the yard, you know...just to see. And this is what I saw.

Yeah, baby!

Inside, my Thanksgiving Cactus has decided to be an Easter Cactus.

Maybe a better name is holiday cactus....

My primrose that was totally limp the first of the week has recovered nicely, and is all cheery and bright, too.

I am changing out the bedroom to the spring/summer things from the fall/winter things. Yes, I have a separate quilt, window scarf, dust ruffle, and area rug for spring/summer and winter/fall. I don't know how to be about that. It's sort of part of blending two lives, I think. But it isn't very much about simplifying my life...yet it is a fun thing to have that mid-year change.

Anyway, the chores are about done, and I think I want to sit a bit and knit for a while.

First Day of Spring!

One bebe sockee is finished and is very cute. Also it fits. When feeding the masses last night, we tried it on, mostly because Grandmama could not wait to show it off.

Speaking of feeding the masses, we had Only Step-Son plus his SO, Grandbebe Girl and her Parents, and Middle Daughter and New Friend for dinner. It was a full table with lots of energy, as usual. We said good-bye to Middle Daughter, at the end of the evening. She is on her way to a new job and new home in Utah today. Agh! Three of the five now out of state. This is not a fun-filled day for me.

I am leaving work shortly for a dental appointment. An hour and a half of crown work...oh, the joy.

I am so off, I forgot to pack a lunch this morning.

On the upside, and there is always something to be grateful for, I had my sock knitting class today, and tomorrow is a holiday for the company. Which is good. Because I obviously need it. And it is the first day of spring.

I forgot my lunch? Am I in grade school?

Trusting The Process

I participate in a 12 step program designed for persons dealing with general living problems. As I struggled through the Dee-vorce, then learned to travel this life with fewer expectations of my fellow journey-ers, I have come to believe in the power of the 12 steps. I work the program in my life, and I have witnessed a remarkable shift in my attitudes and actions. These are real changes in me, not in my outward circumstances and situations.

However, whether or not I had truly done my work was a question I asked myself. I thought maybe I had it too easy (which is an interesting examination for another day) after the divorce, what with meeting Wonderful Guy so soon, the developing relationship with him, and getting a promotion at work, but I kept working my program.

Then three years ago last month, I was laid off due to a company buy-out. Five weeks into the job search, (otherwise known as ‘Ways to Crush One’s Self Esteem’) Wonderful Guy and I took a day for skiing. On the last run of the day (and maybe forever) I fell, blowing out my ACL, and partially tearing my MCL. Within ten days of the skiing accident, my elderly mother was admitted to ICU with pneumonia and other complications. She was gone two and a half months after my losing my job. I had knee surgery two weeks after her memorial service, and started a new job ten days after that, the day before my 50th birthday.

During that time, there were job interviews, resumes, and 2 daughters graduated from college. We traveled to Kansas City twice. I am grateful I had the freedom to go when I wanted and chose to, and could be with Mom and my family both during her last illness and at the end. There were doctor’s appointments, physical therapy, and a knee surgery scheduled, then rescheduled. There was a job offered, a starting date set, then reset. I dealt with the daughters, their emotions and decisions. We planned a funeral according to Mom’s desires (above all, frugally!), Dearest Sister, Wise Sister, Only Brother, and myself did well supporting each other in good and healthy ways. That is not always the case, I think, in such a situation, and I am proud of us for that.

It was a wild ride those few months, and one that gave me a chance to see how much I had learned. I had my moments, but I was able to keep my sanity by taking care of me, forgetting about juggling situations trying to keep everybody happy, and letting others deal with their own feelings. It may seem elementary to some, but I have spent most of my life trying to keep the peace, just trying to keep others happy. I had no idea what taking care of myself meant, except that it sounded vaguely selfish…and surely that wasn’t good, was it? I have found when I am not practicing self-care first, that is when things will go south. Fast.

Today, I am so grateful for the tools my 12 step program has given me. My marriage with Wonderful Guy is incredible for it. Simply. Incredible. I believe my relationships with old and new friends, co-workers, and family are better for it. (They may see it differently…but this is my story.) I deal with life on life’s terms now. I don’t expect life to be what I want it to be. Sometimes it’s going to be sad and unfair. Sometimes it will be great. I can just do the best I can do. Makes all the difference.

With one exception. I am a mother. When it comes to my daughters, I know a lot of stuff in my head, but my heart plays tricks on me. I so wish I could have taught higher, done more, given better…saved them pain…saved them…their own lessons? Maybe made their lessons easier and less painful maybe. Maybe made it so I didn’t see so much of my own issues coming back at me in their actions. And yet, I am so proud, and love them so much. More than anything in this world, really, and would do it all over again just for them. I consider them my greatest work and achievement. Wonderful Guy reminds that being a mother is what I did, not who I am. But see, not so much! I am a mother down deep, and through and through, most of all. It’s very difficult to resolve that I did the best I knew, when I truly wish I could have done more and better and smarter.

F is for...

...Fort Collins!

(The Trolley!)

I have lived in the Loveland/Fort Collins area for 11 years, which is longer than I have lived in any area in my life. And 5 years ago this weekend, I finished up my move from Loveland to Fort Collins with bringing my kitties (3 of them) to meet Best Dog Ever and the Cat Who Would Be Queen. It was a fortunate turn, because, if you recall, we had that St. Pat's Day blizzard 5 years ago, and my poor kitties would have gotten mightily hungry down in Loveland for a few days!

(This was on my way to work this morning.)

I love this place more than any other I have lived, and I have lived a few other places in my time. Before my father died, I am told we lived in Greensburg, KS, Fruita, CO, Big Piney, WY, Kindersly, Canada, and Holland, MI. I have vague and dreamlike memories of Kindersly and Holland. After my father's death, we returned to Greensburg for my grade school years, then moved to Shawnee Mission, KS (Kansas City) for my jr high/high school years. I attended college in Oklahoma (Enid and Lawton). As an adult, I have lived in KCMO, the panhandle of Texas, central Kentucky, and central Missouri, before moving to Colorado.

(I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere...well, maybe not EVERYwhere....)

(This is Old Town, Christmas, 2007)

Anyway. I do like Fort Collins for many reasons. Interestingly, besides the time in KC, this is the most populous town I have lived in, and I feel the size suits. I love being able to bike, and feel the people here are more environmentally conscious than other places I have lived. The climate is great. I appreciate the drier climate which prevents the deep, frigid, icy, frozen, bone-chilling, frosty November to February winters that I was used to experiencing, along with the heat, energy sapping, humidity-wilting April to October heat seeking summers. I love the accessibility to the mountains for hiking and skiing (...maybe someday I will get to do that again....) This is the place where I have experienced a personal renewal and rediscovery of who I am.

I may not be able to stay here forever, but Fort Collins, and Colorado, will always have a special place in my conscious and story.

Sunday’s Saves

After completing the home improvement project Saturday, Wonderful Guy and I cleaned up with some odd and ends around the house. We capped off the evening with ‘HP and The Order of the Phoenix’ from Netflix. I settled in with some knitting, first some rounds on the bebe sockee, then a repeat on the Forest Canopy Shawl. Apparently, I was too tired, and/or had one eye cast to the movie, and maybe both, because I irretrievably messed up my knitting on the shawl. There was no correcting, and there was no letting it go, even for this less-than-a-perfectionist knitter, as this was some bad messing up indeed. Because of the nature of the pattern, and the fact that I had not used the suggested lifelines for such a case, it appeared that a complete frogging might be in order. With that in mind, I put the knitting down, and went to bed, a bit downcast, I might add.

Last evening, as I started the ripping, it came to mind the ‘every other’ rows that were straight purl, and the beginning of each repeat that is an almost straight knit row. I should be able to string my stitches back on the needles easily enough without worrying about YOs, dropped stitches, and other such problems at one of these rows, right? And that is what I tried. I completed one repeat after doing so, and was successful, with only a few twisted stitches. I frogged back far enough to correct a mistake I had made back aways, so I am repeating some knitting, but I think I will have a better piece for it.

THEN I discovered Sunday afternoon, on the bebe sockee that I had dropped a stitched, so there was some frogging, picking up, and continuing there. Oh, the joy of picking up stitches knitted with a size one needle. My old eyes were straining for this task. (Note to self: Avoid this situation in the future at all costs….or…shock horror… maybe get some reading glasses? Nah…..)

Anyway, both projects are back on track. I have learned…something….I suppose…but I already knew I wasn’t perfect! It’s St. Pat’s Day, Mid-March, almost spring in Colorado, and we had six inches of snow on the ground this morning! (Of course, by mid-week it will be back close to 60F.) This morning it was a fairyland, a heavy snow lying on the tree branches, still with no breeze. It won’t last long, was not a hindrance for the morning commute, and will provide some good moisture to the baby green shoots poking up their little heads. It’s all good!

Stick A Fork In It...

..Cuz it's done! And we are lovin' it...both the color, the squeaky clean floor (I might serve dinner on it tonight...if I was to cook, that is!), and being done with the project.

I am two and a half days into the fourteen of the antibiotic regimen for Phoebe. So far she (and I) have done pretty well. Only 23 doses to go.

Here is the progress on the bebe sockee.

And here is the progress on the Forest Canopy Shawl.

Now I think I will go take a hot soak.

I Didn’t Know…

…that there was a KnittySpin part to Knitty.com! Whichjustgoestoshowya…or at least me, once again, that when I learn something knew, how my eyes are opened up to notice that new thing in the world around me.

I was perusing the articles in the aforementioned KnittySpin, and read this one, by Amy Singer about Interweave’s Spin Off’s Autumn Retreat. When I bought Betsy, my Lendrum at Shuttles, from Maggie, she mentioned taking her wheels when she lead Spin Off’s Retreat, but I knew not of what she spoke. Now I do. Now I am humbled. I spun in front of her and she said I spun ‘beautifully’. It is good I didn’t know who she was, or I probably would not have done so, spun 'beautifully', I mean. I have also read/seen that Maggie has written a book about learning to spin. I bet it is a good and useful read.

Today at sock knitting, I finished the heel flap easily, and turned the heel. No problems except for understanding the magic loop thing. But, hey! It’s magic! Maybe I am just supposed to go with it. It is turning out to be the cutest little thing, my little sockie. I am very pleased with the class and the progress so far. The test will be if I can remember all this, and make a second and identical sock. The next challenge will be the picking up of the stitches…the tee tiny little stitches…

The vet called on the way to knitting, and Phoebe has a UTI. I will have the distinct joy of dispensing an antibiotics regimen to a feline over the next two weeks. I am glad we have a reason for her ‘poorness’. And other than the UTI, her bloodwork showed her to be in overall good health. For that I am grateful, and pleased to know.

About a week ago, I realized that one of my ‘not so memorable’ days had come and passed without me noticing. It was the day that, seven years ago, the X and I sat in the counselor’s office and he told me that he had been chasing ‘her’ as much as ‘she’ had been chasing him. It was the day that marked the real beginning of the end, even though we went through a few more months of trying to hold it together for some unhealthy reasons. As events progressed, I came to think that was a dark, dark day. It was not. That day provided me with a springboard that I choose to use. And seven years later, as I face a time of uncertainty regarding my career/employment, I know whatever happens, it will be fine. Not like anything that is going to happen is going kill me. May mean some changes, and the changes may not be comfortable ones, but I’ve been there before.

Frazzled…

At the vet’s last night, we found nothing definitive about Phoebe. Well, except that she is a lackluster groomer, but that is nothing new, and she needs dental work. I feel like a mother whose child has gone to the doctor with dirty, matted hair, and bad teeth. On the positive, she was well-behaved. After blood work comes back tomorrow, maybe something there be more direction. On the positive side, there was nothing grossly wrong showing up in the examination, and she looks pretty healthy for a 14 year old. We will be out some bucks, no doubt, for the teeth, and she will be out some teeth for the money.

We enjoyed a meal with the daughters at an eatery that celebrates the birthdays of their patrons with much singing and clapping. This happened about three or four times around the place during the course of our meal. Each time, Grandbebe Girl joined in with clapping her little hands. Icing on our cake! I figured out the Ravelry progress bar today. I have some updating to do on my notebook there. I have some photos of WIPS and yarn and fiber to take and to upload and to label. I definitely need to get some more knitting on the cuff of the sock before tomorrow’s lesson, too.
And I must be prepped for Friday’s board meeting tonight, as there won’t be time tomorrow, after the hair appointment and eating out….again. Hopefully Saturday, Wonderful Guy and I will finish the kitchen. It’s another of those busy weeks of which I used to have so many. Now that my life is more in order, I fear my resistance to them is low and the busy-ness of it all wears me out so much faster. Either that, or I am just plain old.
I would rather more enjoy some sitting and knitting, or spinning.

(The last couple of pictures, my color is a little off. It is more the color of the first photos.)

Sunday scrubbing, Monday’s field trip (and other stuff)

I am still stiff, sore, and achey, darn near crippled. On my hands and knees, with brush and Mr. Clean, I proceeded to scrub the kitchen floor for most of the day Sunday. I was determined to get all the grime and grit out of the little pores, divots, and dips. I didn’t complete the entire floor, but when it is done, I will search for a good sealant. A thirteen year old no-wax vinyl floor is showing it’s age. Wonderful Guy completed another wall of the kitchen, and we have left only the walls with cabinets and counters. As it dried, we were very pleased. The color is just as we imagined. When the brick-a-brack and other doo-dads went back on the walls, we continued with our smiling. I like it a lot…

The trip to the Brown Sheep Mill was very educational, and very enjoyable. First, I learned that it isn’t about ‘brown sheep’, but about Mr. and Mrs. Brown who started the mill! There were 26 of us who made the trek from Fort Collins to Miller, Nebraska, and the weather made a beautiful day for a road trip. The tour of the facility was fascinating from an industrial point of view. The store afforded much opportunity for frugal purchasing of wonderful yarn. I was prudent. I bought some ‘waste’ roving with which I may try my hand at dyeing. I also bought some sock yarn, enough for three adult pair, and one pair for Grandbebe Girl. Prudent, indeed, but still a bundle of wonderfulness! It’s only a 2 ½ hour trip from Fort Collins, just a bit further than Denver, when one considers, and much less traffic. Spinning Co-Worker went with me, and we were joined in Scooby Two by two other interesting and talented women.

Knitting progresses on the sock cuff for my class. I like the way the yarn is knitting up, appearance wise, but because of the stretchiness, I am still getting some gappiness where I switch from one needle to the other. At least, with magic loop, I have reduced those loose stitches from 4 to 2, a 50% reduction. Progress!

We are having dinner with Youngest Daughter (& family), and Middle Daughter (& friend), tonight…providing I have an uneventful trip to the vet with Phoebe. She is having some issues that require professional attention. Keeping the good thoughts that it isn’t serious.

And I finished ‘Mists of Avalon’.

P.S. I am posting this late. I was hoping to add photos. Perhaps exciting pix will follow later today.

Another Spontaneous Saturday...

First, about the new photo up there. It is not blooming right now in my yard, nor do I expect it this year, short of a miracle. It is one of my most favorite little yard friends, though. Bloodroot,or Sanguinaria canadensis, was one of the first little green shoots and flowers I saw in my yard each spring. I first purchased them at the Missouri Wild Flowers nursery simply because I liked the name and the history. It was used by native people for medicinal purposes and as a dye. I have used it for neither, except, I suppose for the cheering it brings to me when I saw it's bright flowers after the winter. Bloodroot was one of the plant I brought with me when I moved to Colorado, being fairly confident it would not become an invasive nuisance. I babied it tenderly, and added to my system occasionally with expensive purchases from local nurseries. These babies never go on clearance! And when I moved in with Wonderful Guy, I brought my root system with me. I had my bloodroot growing in a perfect place and they liked it very much, spreading out and multiplying to a healthy stand. I was one proud momma....until last spring, when I had nary a leaf. I have no idea what happened. It is a must have plant for me, though, and I tried to buy locally and online and couldn't find it last year anywhere I looked. I will try again to find it this year.

And now for something completely different... I woke to the smell of coffee yesterday. Wonderful Guy made it downstairs before me. Upon his return upstairs, he remarked that I wasn't going to like what I was going to find downstairs. I had finished off plying a small amount of roving Friday night, and foolishly left it laying on the floor when we turned out the lights. The Cat Who Would Be Queen loves her some fresh plied yarn....ah well. Done is done, and my lesson learned.
After breakfast with Grandbebe Girl and Her Parents, which was very enjoyable, indeed, Wonderful Guy and I braved the chilly late winter temps, and took Best Dog Ever for a walk around City Park Lake. We talked about what we should do the rest of the day. We had made a purchase of paint for the kitchen some time ago. With the promise of nicer weather in the future, and wanting to enjoy it, we thought it would be prudent to get the kitchen painted. Not only would it be done, but we could be enjoying it...and figure out if we like what we picked out for a color. It is a very dramatic change.




We are liking it, especially after the second coat. I think once the valances are back up and the room put back together, we will enjoy even more. Wonderful Guy and I really have fun together with our home projects.
Along with more painting today, there will be cleaning and rearranging and reorganizing. All in all, a busy day ahead, and I need to get to it.

And It’s The End of the Week!

I started a ‘knitting socks’ class yesterday, again with Young Co-Worker. We are learning the ‘magic loop’ method. I have watched videos on the internets, and read directions, but somehow the…magic…eluded me. I knitted Grandbebe Girl’s christmas stocking, so know the general techniques of sock knitting. However, that was a ginormous sock, and I was able to use a 16” circular needle for most of it. When using dpns, I tend to have loose stitches where the needles meet. I have tried many tricks to avoid such, but to no avail. I am hoping the magic loop method will help with this plight of mine. My project is bebe socks for Grandbebe Girls 1st birthday!

Monday, I am taking a vacation day (Yes! Another!) for a field trip to the Brown Sheep Company in Nebraska with Spinning Co-Worker, Spinning Neighbor, and other Knitting Peeps. Local scuttlebutt has that it is quite the place to see…and shop. Makes for another short workweek, and we have Friday as a holiday the week after. Yea for short weeks!

I am shopping for a memory upgrade for my computer, too. I want my Little Friend to work more better faster gooder smoother when I am photozapping. Always with the speed! It is a learning process, and one that is not straightforward. I suppose life has always been this way, and, if it was not, progress would not be…progressing. I sometimes think I would just like to rest with the knowledge I have in certain fields, like annuities, mutual funds, and healthcare savings accounts, or computer RAM, ghost discs/ backups, and spyware. Bleh. I just want to learn what’s fun to learn. You know, things like spinning, sock knitting, photozapping, my way around Ravelry, gardening stuff, and such like. I do like to learn new computer…things. I just get intimidated by the vast amounts of what I don’t know.

I have the Forest Canopy about ½ done. Alison’s Scarf is languishing at about the same place. And now I have a bebe sock started. I have 1 oz. of roving (merino/alpaca/silk) on the spindle that I want to ply with something. (Maybe the ball of blue merino?) I finished 3(?) oz of the ‘Hot Tamale’ wool/silk that will be plied with itself…or something else? These design questions are difficult for me. Wonder what it would look like with the orange merino? Wonder what I would knit it into? I want to start a scarf for Eldest Daughter out of the ‘Vanilla and Chocolate’, and I have another special project planned for some homespun. And something else I want to try is to measure my spinning for wpi. Will that be rewarding?

Wonderful Guy and I are planning to have breakfast tomorrow with Grandbebe Girl and her parents, and perhaps her aunt will be there, too. I believe the weather this weekend will be nice enough to spend some time out of doors for a walk, maybe up in the mountains even. I will probably even tour the yard in hopes of seeing a green sprig pushing it’s head up.

E is for ...

...Elephant Rock.

In 2005, Dearest Sister and I determined to spend a bit of time together. Living far enough apart, we were prevented from driving to one’s home, or the other, for a weekend’s visit. We found a little bitty town closee enough to half way between where we both lived that had a nice bed and breakfast, some antique store fame, a few museums with pioneer history, and a famous geologic feature called Elephant Rock. We love us some good antiquing, pioneer history-ing, and famous geologic features, and we set out to meet each other for a weekend of chatting, laughing, munching, walking, shopping for antiques, and seeing what we could see in north central Kansas.

Saturday morning dawned clear and crisp, as is the nature of September mornings in that part of Kansas. After a very good breakfast, we inquired of the innkeeper as to how to find this much mentioned Elephant Rock, which guided many lost pioneers back onto the well-traveled trails west. Well, he didn’t know 'right off'. He asked someone else, and this other person thought maybe “it told on the back of one of these here post cards”.

Hmmm…Dearest Sister and I exchanged glances, but undaunted, we persisted. This was a place named in literature professing the attractions of the area. We wanted to see it!

Armed with the postcard and some other vague-ish directions, we set out. How hard could it be? We were Kansans! Hardy pioneer stock! This is relatively flat land, few trees, fewer towns, and roads that cross every mile. We followed the directions down the highway, north, then west some more, then back south through what is almost a ghost town, then west again…and driving between some plowed fields…where it should have been.

And sure enough. That’s where it was. On private property, in the middle of a field, behind a barbed wire fence. We drove past, then back. Stopped the car (like there was any traffic!), pointed, and looked at each other questioningly. Yep, it sure does look like an elephant. And the above photo was as close as we could get.

As I said, Dearest Sister and I are native to this state, and very familiar with small town’s somewhat dubious claims to fame, but this raised…or lowered…the bar a bit.

Vacation Mode Stage IV (the unwind)

Thursday: 14,000+ steps (DC)
Friday: 17,000+ steps (DC)
Saturday: 15,000+ steps (DC)
Sunday: a mere 5k…what a relief to the dogs!
Monday: 15,000+ (Philly Flower Show)

Sights:
In DC, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR Memorials, Marine, Korea, Viet Nam Memorials, all by night. White House, by night and day, Congress, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonians, American Indian, Natural History (gems exhibit), Air and Space (American Treasures exhibit). Union Station. And we drove by the Pentagon...
In Philly, The Flower Show, Valley Forge, and some miscellaneous shopping. I hoped to find some souvenir fiber, and the selected lys was in a “moving, new owners” process. Thinking we might see some new and fun stuff in a new and fun setting, the lys visit was something I was looking forward to. It was decidedly unready for business when we visited, and was a big disappointment. On the upside, I found a Longaberger Basket at a thrift store the last day, which became my “big souvenir”.

Breakfast morphed into snack lunches, and early dinners helped keep the intake down. With all the all the walking exercise, it amounted to a healthy balance for a vacation. We still enjoyed some fine meals, though. Air travel went smoothly, too.

Four more repeats done on the Forest Canopy by the time the flight ended last night. Successful in teaching Dearest Sister to knit the four corners dishcloth and a tribble! Dearest Sister worked with Precious Niece and Eldest Daughter on the beaded trees. I completely spun the ounce of merino, silk, and alpaca blend by spindle. Also completed 2 dishclothes, which I left with Eldest Daughter…sort of a guest gift, I suppose.

Thursday, before heading to DC, birthday cards were bought and mailed for Wonderful Guy. In my card to him, I wrote a note as to where he could find his hidden birthday gifts. The cards arrived on his birthday, and having gifts at home in my absence was a nice surprise for him, I think.

Now home and unpacked, catching up at work. Photos are off the camera and there are some good ones. Already missing Eldest Daughter, and glad to be home at the same time.