So where have I been?

First I had the flu. I got sick of complaining about being sick so I decided to post about it AFTER I got better. Then, I never got better. Then the kids got it and well I'm better now, but I really am sick of talking about it.

I couldn't knit when I was sick, when you have fever horizontal is all you want to do.

Then, my computer, mysteriously gained a lot of weight - 79 gigs to be precise. No room to upload any pictures. I hate pictureless posts, so I've been cleaning the old girl out but it is becoming painfully obvious that music files take up more space than my circa 2003 system can digest.

Then there are the zillion and one spring recitals, plays, community events that happen with spring.

Then there's the garden, time to clean it up.

Then there's graduation and my town doesn't just do a simple high school graduation. There's the prom, there's the dinner dance, there's the senior send off for every club your child was associated with and there are the town wide scholarship applications and... Well you get the idea I hope and I hope you all forgive my absence...

Film and pictures to follow...

Birthday surprises

Thank you to everyone for all of your birthday wishes. Believe it or not, I look forward to my birthday each year because it marks the end of the winter months. The older I get, the more I find it difficult to deal with the cold. This winter, with all of the strange temperature swings, really brought a new twist to the season. I saw Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom in January and minus degree'd wind chills in February. While that isn't so unusual for Denver, it was sure weird for Jersey.

As my garden begins to thaw, I wonder what all of my perennials and bulbs thought about our tricked out climate. Things below ground don't generally appreciate freezing and thawing and freezing again.

Gifts

I must tell you about some nice surprises I received from two blogger buddies.

Laverna sent me some delicious Koigu yarn from Purlsoho in New York City -

and they are desperately wanting to be socks

Stickchick sent me a beautiful skein of the softest hand dyed and some bejeweled stitch markers

Visit her Etsy shop, StickChicShwag.

An Almost Finished Shawl

I'm trying to finish this shawl as my first finished object for spring

I love this yarn, it is so soft and nice to knit with. I almost don't want it to be over.

Phyllis' Sweater Bag

Remember when I told you about going over to Phyllis' house to watch her convert to a bag a beloved sweater she knitted over 30 years ago? Anyways, I've finally got her to stand still for 30 seconds to take these pictures





She then "reined" in the design by having authentic horse reins attached as handles. So cool!

Beautiful!

Knit Mitt Kitt Swap

I totally neglected to post about this swap from Swap-bot. Here's the deal, you made a kit for knitted mittens (or gloves) that had to include yarn, needles, instructions and a hand made bag with which to tote it all in. Of course, many of us include other fun stuff. My swap buddy, Betty Parkes, was so generous with her goodies. I got some wonderfully soft alpaca yarn from Knit Picks and two nice and challenging glove instructions. In addition to all of that, Betty included some other fine crafty stuff - some stitch markers, a metal and beaded book marker, the coolest post-it cover made like a matchbook (I really liked that) and some chocolates and soap.

Thank you Betty!

Snow much better

Actually, more snow is never better, I was just trying to be clever. I am feeling better, despite the snow.

I've been away from blogland sort of on vacation. Last week was 'winter break' and the schools were closed. I and my pocketbook wasn't feeling well enough to travel so we all spent the week putting up with each other.

Monday morning, yesterday, the boys almost got a snow day. While the Oscars was on in sunny California, it was snowing here. My sons never watch that show from start to finish but they were lobbying for a snow day and I think the superstition goes something like, you have to wear your pjs on backward (they no longer wear pjs so that was out) or do something unusual. Food fights are seriously banned in this house so they did the next best thing, they watched the Oscars. Sometime ago, they were trying to get some mojo going to get a day off school and they tuned into Miss America or Miss Universe but I disconnected that idea by disconnecting the cable. Miss America and Miss Universe contests are also banned in my house. At least until Mr. Universe contests sports a dude with a power tool making repairs around the house while wearing a thong and singing Unforgettable in perfect pitch!

Anyways, back to the snow. Yup we got lots and they got a 2 hour delayed start. This is a picture of my patio table before it snowed, again -

That's all ice on my table, chucks of it. Big chucks started falling off my roof too. Everything was ice. Then we got more snow and it was kind of pretty I suppose.





Mother nature knew not to play a snow day on me after enduring a week long vacation with 3 teenage boys! I had to work my mojo -



The big 48!

Friday was my birthday. Yes, the old girl tried to put on a happy face even with 50 looming around the corner







I got a box full of the most delicious smelling soaps and lots of lotion. I think I'm set until Mother's Day!

I don't have any knitting to show you. I am almost done with a black shawl that I want to show you. I also got some surprises in the mail that I have to photograph. Oh, I knew there was something else I wanted to share. I've been experimenting with paper crafts



That's an altered book concept done with folded brown paper bags! It's my first one. And the picture below is an ATC (artist trading card) that I did for the Song title/Lyric swap.

Feeling Better

Thank you all for wishing me a speedy recovery.

I've been keeping myself entertained with reading your blogs while I refrained from feeling sorry for myself and writing any tear jerky posts.

I've not been out of the house since Friday night, that is until today. I'm feeling better and decided to venture outdoors and buy some batteries for my camera. One of the boys had pinched my camera's batteries to power one of their gd$#% video game remotes.

While I was in bed, I wasn't sure what to do with all the time I had on my hands. I did start another pair of socks

I've gotten the Jaywalker pattern pretty much committed to memory now but I've got to tell you, knitting socks on zer0 needles is not therapeutic! I found myself trembling and breaking out in sweats each time I got to where I might have lost a stitch count. Also, knitting socks on zer0 needles while you are on drugs is not a good idea either

I did manage to finish one sock.

And, even though I had quickly started the second one, I couldn't handle it anymore, my eyes and fingers said, "no mas".

So I started on a different set of socks -


This is Sweet Georgia Brown yarn given to me by my swap buddy, LaVerna. The pattern was very easy but I still had to frog it once. I'm becoming so experienced with socks now that I adjusted the needle size for the cuff to size zer0s and the rest I've been doing on size 2s. I think I could have gotten away with size 3 needles because the sock did come out a bit snug


Another thing about having too much time on your hands is you watch too much tv. I saw Out of Africa - hated it; Dancer Upstairs (for the 4th time) -loved it; Lost in Translation - that Cappola family is amazing; and tons of CSPAN. What was I doing while watching the tube?

This is the first time I've done this design. It's called the Bobble Hat. It only took one skein plus just a couple of yards from a second.

I just love the spiralling colors on the top.

I wore it around the house for a few hours.

"So Mom, what's for dinner?"

One of the challenges of being sick and living with all men is that you are pretty much on your own for grub.

I pulled out my favorite cookbook and turned to a random page and came up with Chicken Pilau. I had all of the ingredients on hand, fortunately. It came out pretty good. I'd show you a picture but it looked disgusting. Instead I'll show you what I made for the #1 vegan son -

His favorite, rice and beans

Well, I'm tired again. Too much thinking, too much typing, too much cooking, too much knitting (hey, did I say that??)

Yup, it's official, girlfriend looks tired. Back to bed.

Just when you think it can't get any worse

No pictures here, a note to say I'm sick. I spent too many knittless hours in the emergency room last night just for them to say, "you are sick". I have some kind of infection (they didn't bother to find out what kind - viral or bacterial) they gave me drugs for both. "You can have shingles or you can have celluitis." Why didn't they just flip a coin??

Oh, and the garage door broke so I couldn't get the car out of the garage (the rented car that is because my car is in the shop). $800 to REPLACE the garage door opener. Hmmmm, let's see what else could I have bought now that I'm up to $3400 in expenses and I've not even gotten a tan yet???

Fix car - $2000
Fix garage door - $800
Fix Deborah - $300 (and counting)

If this keeps up, I'll have to add the entire Koigu color palette to my dream about what I might have splurged on - for my birthday - had I not had the week from hell. My dream would go like this - Knit Koigu socks and Malabrigo sweaters on a beach somewhere while I listen to a bootleg copy of the reunited Police concert...

Stay tuned.

what a pain in the ....

Next week is my birthday. This week we got snow and ice

I understand it is winter, but these sweeping changes to the weather is making me more schitzo than I'm used.

We have one of these so I really shouldn't complain

It did a good job


There were layers of ice and snow that even Hercules wouldn't have been able to lift.

If I can get to the store to buy more batteries for the camera, I'll show you my next sock projects. That's right, plural. You know, ADD.

Meanwhile the van has died. $2000 to get it fixed. Let's think of swell birthday presents one could buy with $2000??

The entire palette of Malabrigo
A sleek laptop
All the books I didn't get around to buying last year
Scalped tickets to see the Police at Madison Square Garden (can ya help me??)

Maybe I can sell the snow blower...

GUESS WHAT???

I DID IT!!!!!

Pattern: Grumperina'a Jaywalkers
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill
Gift from my Secret Sister Lana. Thanks Lana!

Shizam!

Whelp, I finished the first sock, sort of. I still have to close up the toe - which requires a sewing technique - kitchener stitch - that I've tried only once with pal Phyllis trying to show me how it's done.

I finished on Wednesday at Jonathan's Physical Therapy session. We learned a few weeks ago that his muslcle system in and around his ankle hasn't strengthened since coming out of the cast. While he has outlawed knitting at his basketball games, he can't complain about me knitting while I wait for him to finish PT! He has PT 3 times a week that equals 3 extra hours of knitting!

Yesterday, Thursday, I started the second sock at #2 son's basketball game but I blundered the cuff somehow and had to rip it out - it's ok, more practice.

Hopefully, I'll have a new pair of socks to wear this Sunday at #1 son's theatre rehearsal dinner that I'm organizing. Yes, it is true, I have no social life, thank goodness for knitting!

Socky persistance

So many of you encouraged me to not give up on this sock and it really worked. As some of you said, when I went back to it, the instructions made more sense and I figured it out. Then the challenge was to rip back my mistakes - about 3-4 rows all the way to the heel. Not easy to do with zero sized stitches. Well, folks, years of being a big mistake stricken knitter does come in handy. I successfully ripped out my mistake and was able to line up the stitches on the correct needles. I continued on with the heel gusset and instep -

This is the color without the flash

And the color with the flash

Ok, so now I'm up to the part in the instructions called the Foot and I'm stuck again. This time I paused and emailed Grumperina at 1:30am. She hasn't gotten back to me yet. This is what the instructions say to do:

Foot
Continue even in established pattern (including the slipped stitches mentioned above) until foot measures 2 inches (5 cm) less than desired finished length. End with round 1 of zigzag pattern.

Ok, all of you Jaywalker gurus out there. Does this mean I continue in the zigzag pattern without decreasing as the instructions say in the heel gusset part?


Or do I just continue knitting the 2 rows of the zigzag pattern until the foot measures up to my measurements?

Hello?

Sock trials

On Friday, I started another sock.

I love it when I turn the heel correctly -



It was going so well. I was attempting Grumperina'a Jaywalker
pattern. Then disaster struck. I got all the way to the heel gusset instructions when I realized I couldn't make head or tail of what it was I was being told to do. I should have stopped right there and emailed her or called my buddy Phyllis, BUT NOOOO, Ms. "I've been knitting for 20 friggin years and I should be able to figure this out myself" self plowed onward. I don't know, but it's wrong, all wrong and I'm now so very discouraged. Perhaps I should have done the same pattern from my first sock disaster. At least then, I would have gotten the pattern right and could have corrected the gauge with doing them in zeros this time. Nope. Little Ms. Fancy Pants had to try a whole new pattern. Bugger.

In addition to all of that drama, the weather has turned and gone from mild 40s to a single digit with minus whatever when the wind blows. We've got snow and ice. Yea, I know it's February and the weather has been mild but an overnight change makes me more schitzo than usual.

A good time to make Chili.

I'm still doing my recipe thing, trying to make stuff from favorite cookbooks. Yea, I know I said that I would pick just 1 cook book but I realized that I'm actually fond of two so I've been going back and forth.


While the men were engaged in their annual testosterone football event, I got to make a huge pot of that delicious Texas Chili. That should get me off dinner duty for 2 nights. I'll just have to bake a couple of loaves of bread and that ought to hold 'em (get it, Texas hold 'em.... never mind).