Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Oh, I get it

I just noted with alarm that the blog has not had any hits today, and then I realized that I have not posted for a week. Hmm, that could have something to do with it.

So - the emergency ball of yarn arrived yesterday, and winding is underway. Some of the KnitWits wanted to see my nostepinne, so I started winding on that last night. I'm here to tell you, nostepinne plus sport weight yarn plus novice winder equals a long time to wind. I'm about ready to take it off and finish winding by hand, but I hate to be defeated.

I also found a reasonable substitute to use for the Kureyon i-cord. It is now ready to be felted.

I got new glasses. Unlike previous glasses, the bifocal part is perfect, but the distance vision is a little squirrelly. I may have to take Lens Crafters up on their 30-day guarantee. But darn it, the glasses are cute. And the sunglasses are perfect.

I have poem in the Piker Press this week, Making Bread With Maslow. As Sunday evening rolled around, I realized I did not have anything on hand suitable for the Food issue, so I had to write something myself. It started out being a "bread as a metaphor for sex" poem, but I wasn't too far along before Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs showed up. Go figure.

I'm walking and moving better, almost back to normal for short stretches. I've also been doing a few ab exercises. I have to be careful, though, because some of them hurt. and not in a good way.

Tonight I had a glass of wine, my first since the surgery. Like caffeine, if you don't partake very often , it doesn't take much to have an impact. Yippee!

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Tragedy comes in threes

First, there was the unfortunate sock. Then, there was the abbreviated bag handle.

Now, there is the hapless gift.

I haven't photographed this project, not wanting to spoil the surprise, but I got the pattern and yarn when we went to Minneapolis a couple of months ago. It was coming along nicely, but on Saturday, I suddenly realized...

I don't have enough yarn to finish it.

I took my plight to the KnitWits, and we discussed ways we might salvage the project, including some creative striping and embroidery to disguise a different dye lot. Amy took one of the ball bands and offered to look for the yarn during her travels this week.

(Explanation for non-knitters: Most yarn has a both a color number and a dye lot number. Yarn from the same dye lot, the same batch, should match perfectly. Yarns of the same color, but from different dye lots, may appear to be the same, but can be obviously different shades when knitted up.)

Fortunately, the price sticker on the ball band had the name of the store. Yesterday, I looked up Creative Fibers on the web, found an e-mail address, and sent them a semi-hysterical message. Within and hour, I had a response - "Yes, we still have that dye lot, and we will set one aside for you." I called today, and the yarn is now on its way to me. I hope this is the beginning of a trend, with knitting problems being resolved easily.

Today was my second day back at work. Yesterday I was tired. Today I was achy. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Restorative knitting

The KnitWits looked over the unfortunate sock from the previous post, and weighed in with their advice:

1. Knit the second sock however I want.
2a. Have "fraternal twin" socks, or
2b. Like the second well enough to rip the first one back and make it match.

Grudgingly, I admit that it sounds like a reasonable plan, but I am still not ready to cast on.

Instead, I opted for some fast 'n' easy fun knitting (felted division) this week. I made a bowl from the the One Skein book.


It's just a shade more complicated than a rolled-brim baby hat, so it is excellent mindless knitting.

Then I dug out some old Kureyon and made a Booga Bag.


I'm probably the last knitter on the planet who has not made a Booga Bag. It's extremely simple, as well, and watching the color changes in the Kureyon is fun.

I did have a problem, though. I have completely consumed the three balls of yarn, and still need about two more feet of i-cord for the handles. Gah! I hate to buy another ball of yarn just for the few yards. I've put out the call to the KnitWits to see if anyone has a dab of this colorway in their stash. If not, I will have to bite the bullet and buy some yarn.

My advice - make the handles first, then knit the bag until you run out of yarn.

In other activity this week, I got my staples out and am now being held together by tape (which is starting to fall off.) I had an eye exam and ordered new glasses. Katie had her annual vet visit and is A-OK.

Monday, I go back to work. It will be nice to be back among people again. At least, I say that today. Check with me about Wednesday to see if my opinion has changed.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

The sock I try to love

I finished a sock yesterday. It's a first sock, so I don't get official "off the sticks" credit for it. It has, however, been on the sticks for at least two years, so at least it is some progress.

Here is the sock.


The yarn is fun. I've always called it the Easter Egg sock because of the spring pastels. I did it toe up, with a simple lace pattern on the leg. It looks okay, but I don't know - something about it just doesn't work for me. It fits, but I don't especially like the way it looks on my foot.

For the first time ever , I did not cast on the second sock the same day the first one came off the needles. I probably will today, unless I decide to scrap the lace, rip it out, and do plain ribbing. I just don't know what I want to do with it. Except I can see using the yarn to make baby socks. Now those would be cute.

Katie likes it, though.


Terry is off work today, so I can get my not-allowed-to-drive self out of the house for awhile. I never thought I would be so excited at the prospect of going to the mall.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Nurse Katie

Whenever I am away from home for a few days, Terry always reports that Katie misses me. He said she missed me when I was in the hospital, too.

So naturally, when I returned home, she welcomed me by doing all of those thoughtful things kitties do. You know, following me into the kitchen so I can give her a drink of fresh water, waiting while I haul myself out of the easy chair - so she can steal it, dashing around wildly where I am trying to walk, walking across the incision.

Hogging the ottoman so I can't put my feet up:


Her newest trick: drinking the water from my mug. She will use her paw, or she will stick her whole face in there to see if she can reach the water with her tongue.


The doctor wants me to move around while I recuperate. Since I have to go get a new cup of water whenever she does this, that may be her way of helping me after all.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

The Lost Week

I work with a management staff of four during the day. One of the four is on maternity leave. One has an unchangeable vacation next week. That left me and my boss for six days. I’ve been saying for months that we are one streetcar accident away from disaster.

I got run over by the streetcar this week.

Specifically, after a couple of days of feeling increasingly crappy, I ended up at the clinic, and then the emergency room, and then in surgery, all in the space of Wednesday afternoon. Because my incision was large and my surgery was late in the day, I got to spend two nights at the hospital. They sprung me yesterday afternoon.

And I will be off work for at least two weeks, completely encompassing my teammate’s vacation. Sorry, boss. I didn’t plan it this way, really.

Terry was off work and spent a lot of time with me, bored out of his mind, but I appreciated it. I got flowers and calls and visit from him and the KnitWits and my co-workers. (Our minister stopped by just as one of my friends was on the phone saying “WTF happened?” That was an interesting parry.) The KnitWits are already planning who can entertain me, and when, during my recuperation. I’m blessed to have good people in my life.

This morning, I woke up thinking that food sounded like a good idea. I hadn’t had any appetite before the surgery, and sure didn’t have any for most of the hospital food. (Not to be critical of the hospital cafeteria. I could tell they prepared their menus with care. Nothing tasted good to me, except the iced tea, the fruit cup and the orange, and even then I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. But really, I am curious to know how they made link sausage pasty.) I knew exactly what I wanted, so Terry drove me to McDonalds for a Sausage and Egg Biscuit. I ate the whole thing. Man, was it tasty.

Before leaving the subject of hospital stays, I would just like to say that hospital RNs are the greatest people in the world. To do what they do, day in and day out, remain professional and caring, and still treat you like you are the most important person in the world, is an amazing thing. I salute them.