Tomato out, Bender in

I started working on the tomato today and soon learned that using tiny crochet hooks with thread while not totally understanding all the directions doesn't work well for me. I put the tomato down and went in search of yarn for Bender. I found some Dreambaby DK that will work, and I got as far as most of one foot. I need to stuff the foot before I go any further, so Bender will have to wait until I can get the plastic pellets. I'll show pictures sometime this week. As for the tomato, I think I'll have to get a crochet book in order to look up the info.

Sunday Pictures

Here are some more knitting projects.




This is the Droplet Hat from Knitting Nature. The picture on the right is the hat in progress, but I included it because the color is more true in it. The yarn is Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Mineral Red.



This is Dashing from Fall 2007, http://www.knitty.com/. I'm using leftovers of the Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Hongo (mushroom). The color has been discontinued. They are coming out a little tight on me. I'm a tight knitter. I'm trying to decide if I want to frog them and try again with larger needles, or if they might fit someone else. We'll see.

On Friday the weather was so gorgeous. With the rain and sun in right measure, and both of us being sick, the greenery has exploded. The only word that really describes the way the yards look is fluffy. The weeds are soft, rounded masses of new green, except where they've burst into bloom, leaving drifts of tiny, pale white flowers or the exuberance of purples and lilacs where the members of the mint family have their square stems of regimented flowers. (Excuse the run on sentence above. Sometimes good grammar won't always let you express yourself as you would like.)

Anyway, I was feeling better, and I decided to tackle some of the growth. I started nearest the street, so the neighbors could see we weren't ignoring the yard. I soon had to move as the feline gang had to help. Monster and Grey would not stay away from me or my newly weeded areas. The picture shows Monster in a space that was only moments ago covered with a cool, moist green froth of chickweed with bit of wild strawberry. I pulled 3 yardwaste bags of weeds. I ran out of bags, and that is quite probably a very good thing. Yesterday at work I had to take some ibuprofen as muscles not used to such work protested. I could feel gluts and calf muscles complaining from the squats as I lay in bed last night. I confess to mixed feelings about the cold and rain I've awoken to this morning. It keeps me from pulling more weeds. My muscles thank me, but Sunday mornings really are the best to work up near the street. I don't have to worry about my help being so close since there is no traffic at all.

As for Earth Hour last night, we did participate. We turned off all the lights and computers, but left the fridge plugged in. What did we do for that hour in the dark, you may ask? We dozed. We got onto the bed with the entire complement of kitties and napped. We needed to be able to stay awake for Supernova at 11:30. (See what nearly 20 years of marriage and work will do to a couple? Actually, we both really enjoy Supernova, and at the end of a long work week, it's nice to laugh uproariously.)

I've got the amigurumi group this afternoon. I'm trying to decide what I want to crochet this time. I'm leaning quite strongly towards the Psychotic Tomato. I'll let you know if I decide on cuteness or the absurd.

Earth Hour 2008

Here's where you can read more about Earth Hour. It's simple really. Turn off the lights and all non-necessary electrical appliances for 1 hour, from 8-9 p.m.

In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures.

The hat is Foliage, from the fall issue of www.Knitty.com. The cable wrap is my own interpretation of a design I saw. These are both in Malabrigo Merino Worsted, and they are part of my contribution to Malabrigo March Madness on Ravelry. I've got another hat and a pair of fingerless gloves to post.

Have a great Saturday, and remember to turn out the lights from 8 - 9 p.m. local time.

Yes, we're still here.

We've both been recovering from this blasted cold, and I find I feel quite tired by the end of the workday.

Scooter has been really enjoying his recovery time. I've been using tuna to hide the taste of the Clavamox, and he reminds me constantly that he needs his medicine. Those of you ruled by pets know the drill. Tuna, tuna, tuna, tuna, liver, now!

I have been knitting, but I haven't been taking any pictures. Bear with me, because it ain't happening tonight. I see a cup of tea, a knitting project, and America's Next Top Model in my near future. When I do take pictures, there will be a lot to see.

Scooter's incision - gross to some

Here's my poor little guy showing off his incision. The skin cancer was right on his neck, and his humans were surprised at how large the incision is. That said, he's been eating well, rolling in the catnip outside, and in general acting just like normal. It hasn't slowed him down a bit except for a little the first day after surgery. Next week we go back to have the stitches and staples removed.

Now we're both sick

We both stayed home from work yesterday. I'm feeling better than I was earlier this week, but I'm coughing and sounding pretty gross. Keith stayed in bed almost all day yesterday. He's feeling like I did on Tues. & Wed. I know it's just a cold, but colds can really kick your ass.

I did get a little knitting done yesterday. I just haven't felt like going outside to take pictures of anything. Sorry the blog hasn't had much interesting content lately. I hope to make that up in a few days.

I did join a sock yarn club on Ravelry yesterday. It's the Nefarious Yarn Club. Each month she will dye yarn in a colorway inspired by villains, both fictional and historical. She listed off a few possibilities, and she's taking suggestions. I had to nominate two of my favorite evil-doers - C. Montgomery Burns and Smoking Man. How cool would it be to get Monty Burns yarn?

I'm off to find an open grocery store. Happy Easter to those who celebrate it.

And still sick

I thought/hoped that when my throat quit hurting that I was over this yuckiness. I went to work on Thursday, and at that time I was feeling about 90%. About midway through the day I had what can only be described as an allergic response to someone's perfume. My nose starting running like crazy, and I kept having sneezing fits. Apparently this was all those germs needed - the invitation to go on and move into my sinuses. I was off yesterday, so I self medicated with Benadryl and Sudafed, but today I woke up with my throat feeling scratchy again.

While part of me is very human, and I felt like sharing my cold with those who may have given it to me, I also didn't want to infect those innocents with my virus. Staying home won out.

I'll be honest, surgery on pets is not cheap, and I could use the $$, but more than that I'd rather take care of myself and get well. Especially since now Keith has a sore throat, and he can be a less than fun patient. (You gals know what I'm talking about.)

The good thing about all this is that I can cast on for some more projects in Malabrigo. On Ravelry, Malabrigo is behind Caron's Simply Soft in the list of most popular yarns. The Malabrigo Junkies are working to get ahead of Simply Soft in the list, and the way to do that is to cast on as many Malabrigo projects as possible. While this goes against the grain of some knitters, and I'll confess that I'm one of them, I will cast on several more projects. I do like to have several things going at once, but I do have my limit on how many unfinished projects I have hanging around. Luckily two of my Malabrigo projects are hats, so I can cast on the shawls and leave them while I finish the hats. In fact, I cast on for a cable stole for myself last night. I've made it twice now for other people, and this one is for me.

Anyway, I'm off now to drink copious amounts of various herbal teas again to see if I can wash away some viral germs. I also am familiar with bathing the sinuses, and that's also on the agenda today. I'm thinking for dinner maybe wonton or sizzling rice soup (they both have that chicken stock base.) What I need is a good Jewish deli to pick up some matza ball soup, but today is Saturday, so it would be closed anyway.

Finally, he's sleeping

I don't what it is about the anaethesia that makes the kitties roam the house yowling, but Scooter finally settled down and snoozed. There's nothing like a warm lap with some Malabrigo being knitted to lure a kitty into napping.

His incision is much longer than I thought it would be. I plan to take a picture of it, probably tomorrow when I have Keith to help me hold him. He is acting more normal, and one of us will be around much of the next few days just to keep an eye on him.

I'm now off to help Malabrigo overtake Caron Simply Soft. (I know - wierd knitspeak for you non-ravelrers.)

Scooter's surgery

He's come through his surgery just fine. The vet uses a different anaethesia nowadays, so he's only a little drunk. He's had dinner, and now he's just roaming around the house meowing quite loudly. I think I'm going to have to grab him and pet him into sleeping so I can have a few minutes of quiet.

I'm not complaining. I'd much rather have a noisy, active old kitty than not to have him.

We thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers.

As for me, I feel about 90% back to normal. I am more than a little tired since we couldn't leave food or water out last night, and Monster got hungry around 3:30 a.m. She's about 17 pounds of loudly purring, licking and nibbling cat. She stood on my chest, purring so loudly she woke Keith up. She licked my cheeks, eyelids and nose. She licked my arms and nibbled on my fingertips, all in an attempt to get me out of bed and feeding them. I knew I couldn't feed them, so I tried to sleep through all of this. Didn't work too well. Neither human got enough sleep last night, but at least I still have all my fingertips. I do know if anything ever happened to us that in Monster's mind I'd go from food provider to food very quickly. At least I know where I stand with that cat.

Anyway, my throat isn't sore any longer. I'm having a bit of an issue with my sinuses, but I'm hoping some Benadryl closer to bedtime will take care of that.

In the meantime, a finished project.

Still sick

This is an odd illness. It's almost all concentrated in my throat. No fever, or perhaps a very low one. A little bit of stuffiness so far today, but not too much. The worst is the energy drain. I feel like I've been visited by a gang of energy vampires. It's probably because I haven't slept very well the past two nights. You know how it is. Throat hurts, so you take something for it. The ibuprofen wears off, and you wake up with that sore throat again. Also, the tissue is irritated, so just breathing can hurt a little. I slept with the sheet partially over my face to warm the air I was breathing to help reduce the irritation.

I counted all the cups of tea I drank yesterday. I had 7 cups of various teas. That's the other reason I had some difficulty sleeping. I was floating! The Throat Coat does help, but there is a limit of what you should consume. I only had 3 cups of it.

Whatever the bug is, I figure rest and copious tea consumption will help. The tea will keep washing the bugs away, while the rest lets all the white blood cells work without any disruption from me.

To tell you how crappy I felt, I didn't even knit yesterday. I mostly drank tea, read and slept. Let's see how I feel today.

I do think I'm losing my voice.

Atlanta tornado

Here's the link to the picture taken of Friday night's tornado. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see the tornado on the left side of the photo. http://www.11alive.com/weather/columnist/blogs/blog_entry.aspx?storyid=112994

Sick.

I ended up going to bed last night around 9 p.m. For me, that is very early. Of course, I was awake by 5:45.

I definitely have something. My throat hurts when I swallow, and I can feel it back where my ears connect to my throat. I don't have congestion, so it's not drainage. No or a very low grade fever. Since I'm off today, I'm sending Keith to the store to stock up on orange juice and more Throat Coat. We won't be going to the North Georgia Premium Outlets to refresh his wardrobe today. I think I'm sending him off to work so I can lie in bed, drink tea and doze. I'd rather see if I can fight this off with rest and fluids rather than going to the doctor.

See, this is what happens when you tempt the fates. Arlene and I were talking just the other day about how long it had been since either of us had been sick.

Sick?

I sure hope not. I haven't been sick for a long time. Tonight, on my way home from work, I noticed that my throat didn't feel quite large enough just for normal swallowing. I've come home, had a cup of Throat Coat tea, and I'm waiting for a dinner of eggrolls followed by Hot and Sour soup. Hopefully that, along with some extra vitamin C, will knock this out before it becomes a full-blown something. In the meantime I'm trying to decide if my glands feel swollen, or am I being hypochondriacal? Since I'm not normally a hypochondriac, I think they are a little swollen. Totally sucks.

Lazy Sunday

Today is one of those absolutely gorgeous days that makes living in the south so wonderful. Yeah, we had tornadoes and hail and wind the past 2 days. Today is breezy and cool with that crystal clear blue sky we almost never get because of the humidity. The house is all opened up to air out. Keith is working on watersealing the basement, and I've been sort of cleaning in my office. I have been going through more books to either sell, trade or donate, in that order. Listing on Amazon is first choice, trading at the Book Nook is second, and if neither works, then off to Goodwill.

I've not done too much knitting this week. I have knit up most of a log cabin square for a class I'm to teach in April. It's an easy technique to learn, but while looking at my square, I see it takes some time to perfect it. That's true not only of knitting, but much of life.

That's my philosophical moment for the day. I've got to figure out what in the world we're having for dinner. Eventually pictures will go up showing the finished socks.

Another vet visit

Today Scooter and I met with the surgeon. I've known Dr. Hyatt for years as he's worked at Loving Touch Animal Center off and on since I started going there. He looked at the lesion and said that he could remove it, even though it is in a trickly location. I asked about doing the surgery since Scoots is not so young, but he thinks that it will be a worthwhile surgery. I think Scooter's in better health than Brownie was at the same time in her life. Of course, Brownie had had some rough living too. Rather that upset the squeamish, look through some of last year's Brownie entries. I think I went into some detail about her headstrong, wild ways.

I had basically made up my mind yesterday that if surgery could be done for him, I'd do it. It's got to be better than a wound that won't heal up. He won't leave the lesion alone either.

The worst thing about your pet having surgery is the drunken post-op cat. I'm so not looking forward to that part. Maybe I'll have a mudslide and keep him company.

An unpleasant surprise.

When I'm at work, I don't usually answer my cell phone. It's on, and if I happen to hear it ringing or making the "you have a message" beep, I'll check it.

Today the vet called me with the results of Scooter's biopsy. I think I knew when she said she'd try me at home that things weren't ok. She said, "It's come back skin cancer - a basal cell carcinoma." As she was fixing to tell me all about them, I was able to jump in with "I know all about them. I've had one myself."

The one thing about this that bothers me the most is that he has had it for years now. For several years we've had them look at the bump on his neck, and the answer has always been that it's a warty growth. Honestly, look at older humans. Some have all sorts of lumps and bumps. I have a few myself that I keep thinking I'll make that cosmetic appointment with the dermatologist and the electric needle for skin tag frying. So Keith and I didn't press the vets. They are the experts. They are also human.

Tomorrow Scoots and I have an appointment with the surgeon. The cancerous area is right over his jugular vein. We may not be able to operate. And what will happen if we don't? Should we even think about it? Scooter will be 18 in June. Will the surgery do enough that we should subject him to the trauma? I/we don't have to make any decision tonight, but we will have to make them soon. Especially since the surgeon is leaving the vet clinic at the end of the month, and if Scooter is to have surgery, I want this surgeon to do it.

I'm nearly finished with sock 2 of the Claudia Handpaint socks. I'll be able to post pictures tomorrow. I'll do that with the Scooter update.

Nearly finished with this pair

I see the end in sight. I've only got about 1 1/2" left of cuff to go. Woo hoo! I'll be casting on another sock by Friday at the latest.

Of course, I've been thinking again about which socks to knit next. I might be a thoughtful and kind wife, and cast on some for Keith. He picked out these yarns at SAFF last year.

Sorry for the blurriness of the top picture. I hadn't looked at it very closely, but you can see the colors he liked. We'll see what I end up with. I have another day or two to decide.

Decisions, decisions

Like many of you knitter's, especially those who knit socks, I have a yarn stash. I know mine isn't too large, compared to some, as it will all fit into a closet. Not, of course, that it's all together in the closet.

I am almost finished with my current pair of plain vanilla socks. I only have maybe 3" of ribbing on the cuff to complete, and I'm already thinking of what to cast on next. Let's be honest, I've been wondering what I would cast on next the minute I cast these on.

I had decided over the weekend to use this yarn next. Seacoast Handpaint's Panda Sock in Butte. This is the lovely pastel with the greys, browns, pinks and peach. I've wound it into a lovely yarn cake, but I found that the more I thought about it, the more I wanted something more lively to knit.

Thus I decided to use the Woully Boully in Luna Moth. It has that great Luna Moth green mixed with blues and pinks. It should be a lot of fun for a plain vanilla toe-up sock. I can't wait to get started.

Dog update

In case you were wondering, when I spoke to my friend yesterday about her dog, the dog was stable. She (the dog) had regained her appetite. Georgia Veterinary Specialists is an animal hospital, complete with visiting hours. My friend was packing up dog food since she cooks for her dogs and getting ready to head out to visit. I'll call her later today for an update.

A post about weather (and a little knitting)

I thought I'd best warn you so that you wouldn't waste your time reading it if it doesn't interest you.

This winter has been great. I know, people have been complaining about the cold, and the rain, and the cold rain, but it's been just what this drought stricken area needed. Lake Lanier's water level has been rising, very slowly, but it's rising. Just a few months ago the metro Atlanta area only had a 90 day supply of water left. Since our weather pattern is more normal, maybe we'll get a tropical storm this year that can add to our lake levels.

One other thing I want to mention here is snow. No, we don't get lovely deep snowfalls like they do out west or up north, but we've actually seen snow 4 times this year. It's been lovely to watch.

Oh, you want some knitting content too? I mentioned last time that by listening to what SIL wants for chemo hats, I realized that she probably didn't want any knitted ones. I had one on the needles at the time, and the yarn was one I got at Walmart on a whim. I'm making the Bzzz hat from Stitch n Bitch Nation, and it's gotten to a point where I could try it on. (I'm nearly finished with the darn thing.) It's huge. I don't know if it's the yarn, although I did read on Ravelry that some people have experienced stretching with this yarn. I'll finish it up and decide what to do with it then. Keith sleeps in a hat that I crocheted for him years ago. His head gets cold at night and keeps him from sleeping well. I think I'll get him to try it on to see if he wants another night cap. After all, hubby gets first dibs, right. Especially since I've put his sweater aside to knit all these caps.

As for the rest of the yarn, I can use it to make teddy bear clothes for AKG, or use a different pattern with some ribbing to make more hats, or use it for amigurumi. It won't get wasted.

I also mentioned last time that I wanted to get back to socks. I've turned the heel of the second Claudia Handpaint sock and am working on the cuff. I wound a ball of Panda by Seacoast this morning. I need to work with sock yarns we carry at the store in order to give better advice to customers. I love the colorway, and I can't wait to start working with it. However, I'm working, like many of you, to finish up current projects and not start on new ones. I've been thinking of casting on 3 more with Malabrigo Merino Worsted to help it move up the yarn page on Ravelry, but I also don't really want 3 more projects hanging over my head to do. I'd like to finish some of them before adding more. Well, there is more time in March, and I don't have to cast them all on today.

At least Daylight Savings time started today. Of course you knew that - every news outlet has been reminding us for more than a week. Top story tonight - turn your clock ahead two weeks from now! There are still going to be people who live under a rock who will be late for things today.

Do's and Don'ts

This is a guide to help you when the friend who is like a sister calls you with the following question: "How would you like to go with me to Georgia Veterinary Specialists?"

Don't: Ask why. Believe me, you'll find out soon enough.

Do: Ask if you need to leave right then, or do you have time for a quick shower?

Don't: Take time to shave your legs, blow-dry your hair or apply make-up.

Do: Pack your knitting, a bottle of water, a granola bar and a book. Who knows how long you'll be there.

I'm sure the above gives you a hint of how I spent my day off. I did (very briefly) feel bad when I called Keith to say, "I won't be able to do the vacuuming and mopping today."

As for the dog for whom my friend spent much of her day at two vet offices, she's staying overnight while they run tests and keep an eye on her. She's 14, which is not young for a lab. We're all waiting on pins and needles for some answers.

And for the record, I was working on a PGR heel when I dropped several rows of the yarnovers at the turns, so I frogged the whole heel to start over. Now I'm back home, and I might be able to do some vacuuming. You all know I'd rather be knitting, but I'm not from a rich, old wizarding family, and I don't have a house elf.

All I really want to do is work on socks

I've been in a frenzy of knitting hats the past couple of weeks. SIL's hair starting falling out late last week, and she shaved her head to complete the job on Sunday. When talking to her, I realized that knitted hats just aren't what she wants. I don't think either of us connected that until she started describing what she really wanted in a hat, and I just knew that I probably couldn't knit one just like she wants. I sent her to www.hats.com, and hopefully they will have something she likes.

As for me, this morning I work with the urge to work with teeny tiny needles and very thin yarn. I just want to work on socks for a little while. Most of my other projects right now are with larger yarn - Keith's sweater, the hats, the shawl, and the amigurumi. Rather than tell myself that I must work on a certain project, I will make some real progress on the second sock of my Claudia Handpaint pair. I've only got 2 pairs of socks that I've kept, and the feeling of those handknit socks... I had no idea that they would be so wonderful, and I don't want to wear them out while wearing them every few days. I must knit more socks.

Thanks for listening. I feel like an addict in withdrawal. At least knitting socks is productive, unlike smoking crack. Yes, sock yarn is my crack. And one day, some Wollmeise will be mine.

Fun with makeup

Now that mine has arrived, I feel safe blogging about this. I think I've tried to get the yarns with the cult followings too long that I didn't feel like I could blog about makeup since it too might disappear from my shopping cart. (It sucks when somethings gets whooshed out of your cart before you can check out.)

I got an email with this lovely kit by Smashbox. I had been thinking that I needed new makeup, and I dreaded to think just how long I'd had the makeup I've been using. Voila, into my email came a message from Sephora showing the set, which by now hopefully you've gone and looked at. For me it's perfect. I wear neutral makeup, and here is a complete set of neutrals. I'm a very happy camper, and I've already tossed my old blusher into the trash, along with a very nearly empty eyeshadow. There's something so satisfying about new makeup in the right colors.

Yes, I know, not a bit of knitting content or even a picture to liven up this post. I'm just a bit tired from waking up very early the past 2 days since Keith had to go to 8 a.m. meetings. Yeah, I'm usually up then, but I'm not used to waking up at 5:30. I'm glad our wakeup time is back to normal tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm heading off to bed. I read about 1/2 of The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie last night, and I plan to finish it tonight. Ah, here's the knitting content. It's a Miss Marple mystery, and quite a fun, quick read.

Hexed finished.

I finished the hat last night. I did unpick the blanket stitch the pattern called for and used single crochet to put the hexagons together. Once I got finished, I looked at it and decided that the SIL undergoing chemo probably wouldn't like it. It's not really her style. I mostly like it, but it's not my colors, so I'm donating it to Chemoflage, a local organization that supports women undergoing cancer treatments.

I will admit that the yarn was an impulse buy from Wal*mart. The pattern calls for Lamb's Pride Bulky & Worsted, and I find that yarn to be particularly itchy. I knew I absolutely didn't want to use it for a chemo cap. I was picking up some Peaches & Creme, and saw the yarn. I thought it would work really well since the colors were what she wanted. Knitting it up though, I found it to have that acrylicky feel to it, then some of the fibers were pulled when a cat was just lying on the hat. For the record, it was Bernat Softee Chunky. It's is a very soft yarn, which is what attracted me to it. I'll use up what's left knitting teddy bear clothes for knitting guild. Right now my focus is getting a few more hats knit up before SIL loses her hair.

It was interesting to read about the other Hexed projects on Ravelry. The designer put her hat together with blanket stitch, which is easy enough to do on one edge. I had some difficulty using it to join the pieces together, and so did most of the other people who have made this hat. I just love Ravelry for checking out patterns and finding out if other people have had the same issues that I've had. I'm not thrilled with the way the single crochet looks, and I'll have some time to work these out when I make the next one.

Today is going to be absolutely lovely here in Georgia. Sunny, highs near 70. My daffodils have started blooming, as have the crocuses and hyacinths. I do love sitting in the soft spring air near the flowers and breathing in the different flower fragrances. There's nothing quite like hyacinths in the spring. They are one of my favorites. We have a really weedy mulberry tree out back that is just incredible when it blooms in June. The perfume drifts into the open windows and is so lovely. Spring is so wonderful, but I know that the dog days of August are just behind them. I will try to enjoy the present moment and not think about the probably drought and heat of the upcoming summer.

Is this a perk of aging? Maybe.

This past week has been a very busy and tiring one for Keith. Our house was built in 1961 at nearly the bottom of a hill, just barely above an area that drains into a creek and occasionally floods. This translates into a basement that has some water issues that Keith is finally addressing. He spent last weekend with an air chisel clearing out the cracks to fill in with special cement. He worked on it all day long on both Saturday and Sunday. He also spent part of Tuesday working in the basement.

So where is the perk of aging I mentioned above? Here it is. Drumroll please. At some point in life, depending upon the person, you reach a point where you'll just do whatever you please. There is no peer pressure anymore. If you are dead-tired and want to go to bed at 7:30 on a Saturday night, you can do it. Let's face it, the Margaritas you had at dinner might hasten bedtime by a few hours too, and the wife is just as happy to have a few uninterrupted hours to figure out how to put together a hat. (The pattern I found on Knitty has an oddity to it that apparently some other knitters on Ravelry had trouble with also. Gotta love Ravelry.) I hear Keith's sleep breathing, so I'm off to have a cup of tea, pop Kolchak, The Nightstalker into the DVD player, and figure out just how in the hell to join knitted pieces with blanket stitch. Or, I may be lazy and just crochet that darn thing together. Yes, I'll entertain you with pictures of the hat once I get it figured out.