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1. I am not coming down with anything. For reals. There is no cough, no sniffle, no scratchiness in the back of the throat. A fig newton of the imagination. Not real. I'm fine.
2. The knitting is awesome. That Elspeth Lavold Silky Tweed? I'm in love. Wendy, your pattern is the radness.
3. Recently I have been feeling some nostalgia, but I'm sure it will pass. Yesterday's problems always seem easier than today's, especially when one is Not Sick. Though I do miss having a chair under the tree in the backyard in the summer next to my vegetable garden. Whatever, snow-storms of early spring.
4. Maybe the knee isn't 100% yet. I think I pissed it off with all this YMCAing. We will perservere.
5. My telephone woes continue, and of course the most recent malfunction occured during a complete rage blackout last night. Standing in the near-snow in front of a closed bar without socks on, waiting for a friend who was more than 10 minutes late is not the optimal time for the cell to go on the fritz. Again. Unacceptable, Cingular, unacceptable. We are in a fight.
6. I didn't run out of yarn for the Pirate Bag, though the piping is in the contrast color instead of the main color as layed out in the pattern. Felting to commence when I find something to use as a post-washer shaping device. No one notice my extra wraps at the corners. Or the fact that the icord attaching the 2 layers at the bottom fold is not in any way straight. Handmade items should have something that says "this item was handmade", right? Even though I strive for perfection, it cannot be attained. Thank goodness I do yoga, or my head might explode right about now. (And no, I'm not ripping it out and trying again, but thanks.)
7. Does anyone have a kleenex?
My knee is better--proven today by 30 minutes on the whoopdedooper, 30 minutes on the stairmaster, and no limping during the cool down on the treadmill.
Last time I was at the Y, I could stairmaster for about 5 minutes with the physical terrorist standing over my shoulder and couldn't whoopdedoop at all. This is so AWESOME. Now all I have to do is get back in the pool and see if I can kick. Keep your fingers crossed (I know I am).
And apparently for the 4:00 hour we are going to have some pop-punk. With the drunk dude screaming along.
I love my new neighbor.
You know what's fun at 3:30 in the morning? Sleeping. What isn't fun? Clompy feet, the high pitched giggle of a really drunk dude, and lots of reggae. Seriously, kill me now.
Almost exactly two years ago today I had knee surgery. For the first time since then I was able to walk without concentrating on not limping this morning. Then I headed up the mountain for my weekly cross country ski adventure. I skied far and fast, and technically on my game--not compensating with my right for the failure of my left to keep up. This trend can only continue, especially since I rejoined the YMCA yesterday. My daily walks and weekly ski trips can be paired with laps in the pool and (ick) lifting weights. I am figuring out healthy ways to take care of myself and it feels fantastic.
I'm home now, and exhausted, but I could not be happier that I am feeling back to being my best me.
Maybe it is because I am afraid to run out of yarn. Maybe it is because the doubleknit straps of the bag I am knitting are making me crazy (all that turning and wrapping and turning again--there's too much to keep track of to get the needles truly flying). Maybe it is because I am too lazy to set up the ball winder and swift to wind up some hanks for a different project. Maybe it is because my right shoulder is a little sore. I'm not sure what's up, but for the last few days, the needles haven't been calling my name. Maybe tomorrow the passion will return.
In the meantime, I have completely sorted and started the terrific and terrifying Home Filing Project of 2007. I may claim to be organized, but my filing system is at least a year and a half out of date. In the depths of the "waiting to be filed" pile I found my tax returns from 2003 (2004 and 2005 were in the folder where they belonged). I'm getting my papers in order, and wishing for another set of cabinet rails, and realizing that my financial situation (while imperfect) is not bleak. And it's not just the paper! Quicken is humming and my budget is closer to being on track than it has in ages.
I'm feeling in control of myself, and honestly? There's nothing better. And tomorrow, maybe, I'll start the Monkey Socks.
Dom put this up a few months ago. I just bothered to check, during a moment when I had some time to kill.
Let's Play Tag
You're IT!!
You can only answer with one word. No explanations.
Yourself: grr
Your partner: who?
Your hair: smelly
Your Mother: awesome
Your Father: rokken
Your Favorite Item: stash
Your dream last night: prophetic
Your Favorite Drink: g&t
Your Dream Car: Volvo
Your Dream Home: own
The Room You Are In: extra
Your Ex: far
Your fear: falling
Where you Want to be in Ten Years: more
Who you hung out with last night: friends
What You're Not: nice
What You Are: careful
Muffins: cranberry
One of Your Wish List Items: koigu
Time: when?
The Last Thing You Did: eat
What You Are Wearing: jammies
The other night I was chatting with a friend of mine about dating and compromise and knitting and golf. We had perhaps ingested a couple beers before this conversation commenced, and we were making parallels all over the place that probably had no relationship with straight lines. After some discussion about balance (knit, purl, swing), he asked me a probing question. Was I really willing to compromise for a new relationship, or if someone didn't immediately seem right would I just write him off? If you knew me very well, it would be obvious that this was a perfectly fair question.
My answer? I am willing to make room for someone in my life if he is equally as willing to make room for me in his already full existence. That sounds like compromise to me.
Also, I discovered that knitting and golf have a lot in common. If you've ingested a couple of beers.
I feel like it is time for a new post, but I am full of irritation and spite--never a good time to talk to the internets. Plus, I don't think I've got enough yarn to finish the Pirate Queen's Booty Bag. Back soon when I'm in a better mood.
Last night I made a trek to Target with my friend Devlyn, who was having some low-blood sugar issues and much too excited about an impending sushi date with her husband. One of the items on my list was a thick, smoothing conditioner (I ran out yesterday morning). Because we were in a hurry, I made my selection without first opening the bottle and taking a whiff.
Big mistake. My head this morning smells like gross fake sour apple potpourri from the dollar store.
So. Double knitting. Double knitting is so entirely a huge pain in the ass, mostly because my fingers don't keep track of both strands the way they should, and apparently my knit tension is tighter than my purl. DK in the round? One layer is all knit. One layer is all purl. All whining aside, though, the double knit fabric is a freaking miracle. I am loving the Pirate Queen's Booty Bag pattern--those skulls are standing out in bright pink relief. Though I did up to size 10 needles (instead of 8's), firstly because my gauge on the 8's was pretty tight and I wanted a lofty fabric so it would felt up firm. But mostly it was because I have a set of Addis in a 10 and only the Denise interchangables in an 8. The join on the Denise's is just not quite what it should be. Even with my complaining, I am enjoying the pattern enough to not really be working on any secondary projects.
Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not PLANNING secondary projects. Soon I think I'm going to cast on for a slightly altered Maggie from Rowan 31. I'm thinking I may make it out of a non-fluffy cotton, and a little longer over the torso. I do have to say that buying a pattern from Knit Rowan is a little trickier than you might think. I'm buying a pattern. That will be emailed to me. Via email. First, they tried to get me to pay carriage fees (I think not), and now my order is hanging in some sort of internet limbo. It's a good thing I plan ahead, otherwise this sort of stuff might make my brain explode. Maybe the Brits just hate me. I wonder if their anger could be quelled by someone signing me up for a Rowan membership? I'm just saying, I wouldn't mind.
Do you ever do that thing where you replay things in your head and find yourself about to die of mortification for having said something incredibly, incredibly stupid? Yeah, I've been finding myself doing that a lot lately.
Knitting projects finished recently:
Knitting projects pictured recently:
None.
How boring is a weblog that ends up being a lot about handmade stuff without the pictures? Quite. I'll be up at my cousin's well-lit house towards the end of the week. I'll try to take some decent pictures there. And the 'rents are going to be in SF with the two Avast(ish) sweater's I've made and have dinner with Intolerable Cruelty. I hope they return with some nice shots for me to share.
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