Kate and I went to the doctors yesterday.  She went because she fell when a table collapsed at Pizza Hut and she bruised her shoulder/arm.  It hurts her to move it and lifting things is painful.  He recommended ibuprofen and light duty work for the next two weeks.  It'll be a little complicated since she has no insurance and it's really a workman's compensation thing. 

I went for a regular checkup and I learned some things.

The bumps on my hands are not bone.  My hands are "normal" in the xrays.  I have pain and he said it's probably arthritis but the bumps are not osteoarthritis like I was afraid of.  Some people just get bumps on their joints.  He offered a referral to a  hand specialist but I declined for the moment.  I can take some ibuprofen for pain and swelling.  It's also probably a touch of tendonitis which will respond to heat and ibuprofen. 

He agreed that going to the gym is a good thing.  I asked about the blood pressure meds and exercise.  He said one of the meds I take is making it hard for me to get my heart rate up to a good number while exercising. This medicine (metropolol) works to keep heart rate down so I have to work harder to get a higher number and won't get the numbers I want.  He said to use the "exhaustion scale" and to stop when I got tired.  I will probably not get rid of all of my blood pressure meds as long as I keep my job.  He thinks the stress of the job contributes to the bp problem (that and heredity).  Getting into better shape is still a good idea.

I also learned that I have another sinus infection.  This is the third one in three months.  Too many sick people around here.

It's quiet this morning.  People are struggling into work.  Pk just emailed me to say he's the only one who made it into the office but they can all work from home so he'll have work to do. 

There was a train stuck on the bridge into Philadelphia so both east and westbound trains had to share one side.  We had to wait for a bit for our turn.  I've been stuck on the bridge and it's not fun.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get home without too much trouble.  It's icy and the wind is really blowing. 

I like the snow.  I know I have complained about it but it's not so much the snow itself that's a problem. It's the reaction of the people who are not used to it and treat every challenge in life as a personal affront that is so difficult to deal with.  Snow makes travel an adventure.  We don't go out if it's really bad but otherwise, life goes on and so do we.  Tonight we are supposed to go and get Pk's birthday present (computer parts) and then get a cable modem. (we're switching services because our local dsl company has been delivering less than stellar service).  If the weather is bad, we'll go tomorrow.  No big deal.  I do have to find time to go the grocery store and that will be an adventure.

Pk wants to go to an estate sale on Sunday.  Personally, I don't understand it.  There aren't any tools listed.....

It's here.  Again.  Snow.  We are predicted to get another snow storm complete with high winds and heavy wet snow (I head someone use the words "snow hurricane" yesterday).  See that blue area?  That's poised right over our area and if it continues to pump moisture into the atmosphere, we'll continue to get precipitation.

Sigh.  I used to love snow.  I wanted it to snow and we always got just a dusting.  "Be careful what you wish for...." .  Another 12 inches of snow to shovel and try to get through.  It was snowing as I came into work.  Cold, wet snow that clings and falls down your collar (thank goodness for my handknit scarf which repels the wet!). 

I have a pot of almost-soup in the refrigerator for dinner.  I took the chicken carcass and leftover meat from Sunday's roast chicken and put it into a large pot and simmered it.  I carefully instructed Elanor on how to remove the bones and strain the broth and when I get home, I can heat it up and finish the soup with some vegetables or noodles.  Add some grilled cheese sandwiches and you have a perfect meal for a snowy day.

For now, I'll sit here at my desk and watch the snow come down and hope they send us home early.  Oh, and dream of this.

k

Today is Peter Kevin's 52nd birthday and boy it couldn't get here soon enough.  Since I am three months older, every year he reminds me that I am older. Frequently.  Every Day.  So, for three months he is married to an older woman and he loves it. 

I talk about Pk so often that you probably feel like you know him.  I wanted to take some time to tell you some things about him you might not know.     He's 5' 11" tall which makes him almost 7 inches taller than I am.  This makes him very happy.  He is an excellent problem solver and can come up with solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.  He likes mushrooms.  He is smart.  Real smart.  He can converse intelligently on a host of topics.  He is studying for the zombie apocalypse by watching many training movies so we'll be ready.  Math is not his strong suit.  He likes to work with wood and is reading and studying plans to make a spinning wheel for me.  This makes me very happy.  He is supportive of my hobby and willingly goes to craft shows even when he knows there won't be any wood items there.  He likes kids. (is a big kid himself).  He is gentle and has a kind side that he will deny.  The tenderness on his face as we waited for Calvin to die was heartbreaking.   He is manly and takes very good care of me.  He insists on doing all the hard work around the house even when I could do it too.  (shoveling snow, mowing the lawn) 

Pk is a wonderful father.  He has managed to help the girls grow up with a sense of what it means to be a good person and to be proud of who you are and where you come from.  He's also got a wicked sense of humor and will laugh at the drop of a hat.  Pk has a huge sense of adventure and is always ready to hit the road whether it's to drive through the woods or look for an estate sale 2 hours away or go and find some new place to eat. (or fly upside down in old planes).    He likes Guiness Stout but is willing to try almost any beer.  Almost.  He likes hanging around the house in sweat pants but won't wear them outside. (except at the gym).  He has a heart as big as all outdoors and will give you the shirt off his back. 

After almost 30 years of marriage, he still thinks I'm beautiful.  He brings me flowers or goes to the really good chocolate store in Philadelphia and gets me nonpariels (one of my favorites).  He remembers my birthday and our anniversary.  He asks my opinion and listens to the answer. He makes breakfast and takes care of me when I'm sick (even if he did give me a bell with the clapper removed when I dislocated my ankle and couldn't get around). 

Pk likes to play chess and Risk (neither of which I can play.  Too strategic). He is good at Trivial Pursuit.  As a team we are unbeatable.   He won't wear pink shirts or use lotions or hair gels.  "Guys don't do that stuff".  He will wear handknit socks and show them off. 

There aren't words to say how important he is to me.  My heart, my life.  My love.

Happy Birthday Peter Kevin.  May you have many many more. 

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air,but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.
~Thich Nhat Hanh 
 
I think it was Walt Whitman who said something about there being a miracle in every square inch of creation.  Emily teases me frequently because I believe this wholeheartedly.  Sunsets, dandelions, snowfalls.  They all have their miraculous side.   We just need to open our eyes and appreciate it.
 
So, I thought I'd share this with you on this beautifully bright sunny Sunday morning. 
 
Miracles.  They're everywhere.

One way to tell that Spring is coming is to watch for the crocuses to start breaking the soil.  Another way (for me) is to notice that it's not dark in the morning when I leave for work.  This was Wednesday morning and you can see the sunlight just starting to show.  It was beautiful and I stood outside just watching the sky.  It's less depressing to go to work when it's not dark.   Unfortunately, this will only last until March 14 when Daylight Savings Time hits the east coast here again.  I keep hoping we'll give it up and just leave time alone but not this year.

I am inordinately proud of this.  It's the beginning of my Evenstar shawl.  It's only the center and I haven't even started the actual pattern.  It took me about 10 tries to get the circular cast on and keep the stitches on the needles and not get them all twisted and to not leave extra large holes.  I was determined last night to do this.   After 3 additional tries, I finally got it using Emily Ocher's crochet cast on.  It makes beginning stitches that are more stable and easier to manage.  This is the thinnest yarn I've ever used and it's like thread.  I just managed to get it onto the smallest circular needles in the options set.  As I look at the photo, I can see it's not perfect but it looks good to me.  I don't know if I have the heart to start again and blocking will help even out the center (I hope).

We spent our hour at the gym after work.  I'm getting used to walking around slightly sore all the time.  I look forward to the day when I can get up from a chair and not feel the soreness, though.  It's not bad at all, just a gentle reminder that my muscles would rather I leave them alone.  I sat in the whirlpool yesterday.  It is set to 101 degrees F.  (38 C)  I felt a little like I was being parboiled for some soup!  If I had seen some carrots float by, I would not have been surprised.  The chlorine level is so high that it made my eyes water but the warmth felt good.  I am going to have to find a bathing cap if I want to swim in the pool.  Chlorine levels this high will play havoc with my hair color.   (image borrowed from Wikipedia) 

As I came back to the locker room yesterday, I could hear the sound of a hairdryer.  There was a woman standing in front of the mirrors drying her hair.  Naked.  Now, I am not a prude and have no real problem undressing in the locker room or have any problem with other women undressing but it seems a little strange to stand naked in a semi-public place and dry your hair.  I'd have to put on my clothes (at least my underwear) first.  Or am I hopelessly old fashioned and this is normal gym behavior?  It's been many years since I was using a gym on a regular basis.  This woman was my age or older and was a little loose-fleshed, not a young, taut body showing off.  She was totally un-selfconscious and complimented my hair color.  It was weird. I don't think I'll get to the point where I'm that easy with my body but who knows?  I kinda admire that.

The snow is shrinking a little bit every day.  The temps today are supposed to be above freezing so we'll see some more shrinkage.  The grass is starting to show at the edges of the lawn.  As long as it continues to melt slowly, we're ok.  In December when we got all that snow, it was all gone within 12 hours in a warm rain.  Talk about flooding......

This is a long weekend for us.  Pk's birthday is Tuesday and we took off Monday and Tuesday to give ourselves this weekend.  No plans, just time.  I'll get the laundry going and start the pattern on the shawl and spin some more of the lovely roving I have on the wheel.  I have an angel food cake to bake and some ice cream to buy (I'd make some if I could find the dasher for the ice cream maker) but otherwise, my time is my own.  What a luxury that is.

Today when Pk and I got home from the gym, we found our Calvin lying motionless on our bed.  He didn't move when Pk put his gymbag down and Pk leaned down and felt him and said, "he's cold".    We thought he was dead.  Pk picked him up and wrapped him in a towel and took him downstairs.  Then he called "Hon, he's not dead".  I took Calvin and held his limp body as he took shallow, shuddering breaths.  We waited for each one to be his last.    He lasted for about two hours. It never occured to me to rush him to the vet and take heroic measures.  It was obvious he wasn't going to live.  His pupils were fixed and unresponsive.(I've read too many medical books for my own good).    We held him and talked to him and waited.  He finally took that last breath and died. We think he had a stroke.

  Calvin was our "kindergarten cat".  Not terribly bright but awfully cute.   He defied the "cats are graceful" rule by falling off a shelf (where he didn't belong) and breaking his leg.  6 weeks of listening to him stomp around in a bright red cast is something I'll remember forever.  (The first night he had the cast, we set him up downstairs with a small, low sided litter box and food and water within easy reach.  In the night, we heard strange noises and found him on the top bunk bed in Em and Kate's room in the morning. He dragged his broken leg (and dislocated knee) up the bunk bed ladder to get on the top bed he loved.)

 I'll miss him every day.  

 I love you, Calvin. 

"When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space."
~Pema Chodron

I have  no real reason for posting this, except that I can.  WebSense let me on today so I am taking advantage.   I am such a rebel.

We're waiting on another inch of snow today.  It's dark and cloudy and grey and a perfect day to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head.  I treated myself to a french vanilla cappuccino this morning and it's delicious. 

Have a good Tuesday! 

There will be no more posting at work.  At least not for the forseeable future.  On Friday, I was waiting for some phone calls to be returned and decided to read blogs at my desk.  WebSense (our web monitor) wouldn't let me read my own blog or anyone else's.  It wouldn't let me log onto ravelry.  It would let me read web comics but not "social networking sites".  Like Facebook.  Personally, I blame Facebook for this.  I think so many people are spending time at work on facebook (like when I go into the scheduling room and hear the cows there in farmland mooing, I know they're not working), that they have to step in and do something.  WebSense is a strange program.  You can do an end run around it sometimes and get onto the websites you want but then it suddenly catches up with you and blocks your access.  I don't know how long this will last but I'm afraid it's permanent. 


I want to show you my hat.

First off, let me say, I don't like hats.  I never have.  They make my head itch, even baseball caps.  I only wear them when it's below freezing (which it has been quite a bit this winter).  When I finished the Sisters Hat, I was so disappointed it didn't fit well.  It made me look like I have a bullet head.  Then I saw this.  This is the Naragansett Hat from A Fine Fleece.  I saw it and thought that this could be the hat for me.  I measured my head (22" around) and made the 23" size rather than the 21" size so it wouldn't be tight on my head.  I had some of the angora/wool/bamboo left and this is it.  It was an easy knit, only took me from Friday night until Sunday afternoon (and there were chores and errands in there, too).

It fits like a bucket hat.  Just like I wanted.  It's light and warm and just about perfect.  And now Elanor wants one, too.  There are several patterns in that book that I am admiring.  El took the photos.  I tried to take a photo of myself wearing the hat but that's harder than taking a photo of myself wearing socks.

And thanks Bells for the link to the circular cast on.  It is easy to follow and I probably wouldn't have any problems if I weren't knitting with this dental floss yarn!  I finally decided to use some bamboo dpns to start so it wouldn't be as slippery.  I have some that are a little bit bigger but I don't think it'll make any real difference.  I had all the way up to the third round of increases when I noticed a hole.  I pulled it out and I'll start it again.  Soon, but not tonight.

Last night I decided I didn't like the glynnis pattern from Cookie A's book and ripped out the cuff I was almost finished.  I decided the yarn should be Embossed Leaves instead and cast on for those.  I love that pattern.  I'm going to work on those for a bit. 

And then I'm going to put my tired self to bed.

For date night last night, Pk and I went to dinner with Kate and Patrick.  It was nice but a little weird to double date with our daughter.  We then went to Borders and I found a book.  Actually, I found three books.  One was My Lobotomy by Howard Dully.  I heard Mr. Dully speak on having a lobotomy on npr about two years ago.  It was one of the most moving pieces I have ever heard.  Mr. Dully's step mother and a doctor worked together to have him lobotomized when he was 12 years ago (in 1960, yes, lobotomies were still performed until 1968).  He's a tour bus driver and happily married now but had a harrowing time of it as a child.  I found the book on sale and snapped it up.  I'm going to figure out a way to share it with my group.  We've talked about it often and they're fascinated (in a morbid kind of way).


I also got a knitting/spinning book.  I know I don't need another one but this one was different.  It's called A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd.  There are a lot of really good patterns and they made each one with commercially spun yarns and then handspun so you can compare.  Funny thing is, I like the handspun ones better almost every time.  There's something more organic and textural about them.  I found a pattern for a hat (I gave the last hat I made to Kate since it doesn't fit me) and cast on for it last night.  So far, so good.

(The third book?  The Four Agreements by M. Ruiz.  I lent my copy and never got it back.  We also bought two calendars for 1 dollar each.  The Dangerous Book for Boys and the Daring Book for Girls.  Elanor asked if they were for my niece and nephew but I said no, they're for Pk and I.)

The Evenstar kal began last night.  I got my clue but didn't feel ready to cast on.  It needs a circular cast on and I need to watch videos since I have never done it.  I wasn't in the mood for all the complicatedness.

We spent today running errands.  We had to find a new snow shovel, some snow melt (more snow is due early next week),  and groceries.  We also decided to treat ourselves to tiny mp3 players to use at the gym.  Something small that could be kept in the gym bag and if it got broken, wouldn't be too big a loss.  We decided on the Sansa Clip.  It weighs less than an ounce and holds 4 GB.  I've been ripping some music to exercise by and I'll put a book on it so if I'm just sitting in the whirlpool, I can listen.  They are so cute!  And they'll clip right onto the collar of our shirts and not be in the way.  You can buy a tiny little card already loaded with 1000 songs for working out which I may buy in the future.  My problem is that I love to sing and if I am listening to music I know, I'm afraid I'll forget where I am and sing.  So, if I buy the little card, the odds are I won't know that music and won't be able to sing.  For now, I went looking for some upbeat music and found enough to keep me moving.

Tomorrow will be laundry day.  We're thinking of going to the gym and doing some light workout and then swimming or sitting in the whirlpool and then having brunch.  Whatever we do, it'll be slow and easy.  I like my Sundays to be slow.

How're the Olympics going?  Everybody knitting away at a breakneck pace?

Can you stand one more snow photo?  This is our backyard at 7:30 this morning. Those are pine trees laden with the snow that fell well into the night.  I went to bed at 10 and it was still snowing.  I am home from work (Pk's office is closed again but because we are part of a hospital, we NEVER close).  I can't get in until we shovel the car out.  Peter Kevin is outside now starting the arduous process of clearing the walkway and shoveling out the car.  It's a little harder this time since there was that freezing rain mixed in there for a while yesterday.  We lost a small pine tree.  A volunteer tree that sprang up all on its own.  We decided to let it grow and the snow and ice were too heavy for it so it fell over.  It's probably uprooted but we can't tell.  As the sun makes its way to the back yard (the front gets the morning sun, the house faces almost due east), the snow will start to fall off these trees and the branches will (hopefully) spring back.  Some of them will remain permenantly pushed down.  It was rather spooky looking out there last night.  The weird diffuse light and these giant monster trees all covered with snow cloaks.

  So, what did I do yesterday?  I did a little spinning.  This is some roving that Em and Jim gave me for Christmas.  I'm not sure what it is. It feels like it might be romey or bfl.  That doesn't matter as much as the color. I think of it as sunrise/sunset.  It's pinks and yellows and gentle oranges.  It's spinning into a thin laceweight single and I'm rather happy with it.

I also gave myself permission to have three pairs of socks otn at the same time.   I work periodically on the bayerische socks but they are hard and there is a lot of charts so they require more concentration than I have a lot of the time.  I have my train knitting, the Go with the Flow socks.  They're coming out really nice in the Patonyle that Tinkingbelle sent me.  But I wanted something different.  I wanted to use the yarn from the Artwalk sock yarn club that came on Monday. It's an Andy Warhol painting and particularly appropriate for February. I love this yarn.  These colors are pretty true.  It's a grey and greyish red color.  I know it doesn't sound beautiful but it is.  And it's a wonderful base that is soft but not too soft and squishy but not too squishy.  It is becoming glynis socks from Sock Innovations from Cookie A.  Kate gave me this book last May for Mother's Day and I have't made anything from it, yet.  As I was browsing patterns on ravelry, I remembered the book and decided to use it.   

I like this pattern.  It's not complicated and the stitches are easy enough if you knit loosely.  There are k3tog and sssk (I missed that 3rd 's' the first time and messed up the stitch count.)  I'm going to spend some quality time with this sock today.  And I'll probably bake or something.          No matter what, we'll probably be inside.  The wind is blowing and it's cold.

And here's a snow covered tree against a cloudless blue sky.  That's taken out the bathroom window.  I haven't been out in the back yard for a while.  We don't shovel out there so no one goes back there in the winter.  It's a little nerve wracking to see how tall these trees are compared to us.  It's a good thing trees are friendly.

Have a good day!

Susan has a "what's on your......" thing going on over at her blog.  Last week, she asked what was on your fridge.  I didn't get a chance to post a photo because I was at work when I read it and then forgot later when I got home. 

This week I'm home (the blizzard is coming! the blizzard is coming!) so I can play, too.  This week is "What's on your Desktop?"  Now, you can think of desktop two ways.  There is the obvious "top of your desk" which looks like this.  You can see the toys there under the monitor.  I have a fondness for windup toys and keep a collection there for amusement.  I also have a wonderful ornament that a former coworker gave me hanging on my lamp.  If you enlarge the photo you can see it.  It's a woman flying through the air with an armload of things.  It says 'tell me all about it' on her side.  She said it reminded her of me and now it reminds me of her.  You can also see Olivia's pod sitting there holding my highlighters.

The monitor has the screen saver running in this photo which is what you think on grows to remind me to be mindful of my thoughts/actions during the day.  The wallpaper on this desktop is this.  One of my favorite photos of Peter Kevin.  It was taken the day he flew in the WWII aircraft.  He had just finished his flight and was exhilarated.  It makes me happy to remember his happiness that day.  And it's a good photo of him.  He looks rather handsome.

I don't have a desk at home.  I do most of my work sitting on my bed with a laptop.  The wallpaper on that machine is this photo.  It was the astromony photo of the day (apod.  If you google apod, you can get a daily astronomy photo)  This one is the Mullica River which runs through the Pinelands.  The lights are a restaurant that burned down a few years ago.  I love how the moon and venus are reflected in the river.  I like how you can see the markers in the river for the boaters to follow. 

So, there's what's on my desktops.  I'm sitting on the bed right now since we are at home. It's freezing rain right now and I can hear it hitting the windows.  It'll make it much harder to shovel later.  I have a feeling I won't be in work tomorrow either.  It's nice to have the day off but it would be nicer if I could get out and do something.  We were just snowed in most of last weekend so it could lose its charm real fast.

We got the snow shovel back from Kate.  We tried several places on the way home yesterday and no one had one.  We'll just have to share it for the time being.  Good thing she only lives a block or so away.

Straight from the people at NOAA (national oceanographic and atmospheric admin):

THIS NOR/EASTER IS FORECAST TO BE
INTENSIFYING STRONGLY JUST EAST OF OUR AREA...AND IS EXPECTED TO
BRING HEAVY SNOW TO A GOOD PART OF OUR AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY AND
PERHAPS INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING.

We're expecting another snow storm.  Tonight.  And all day tomorrow.  I laughed when I read this because what else are you going to do?  I've arranged to take Wed and possibly Thurs off as vacation days (although I think this is somewhat unfair since I won't physically be able to get into work if we get the 18 inches of snow they're predicting).  If I request the time off ahead of time, it's not a dreaded occurence.

No one showed up for their appointments yesterday and I don't expect an overwhelming turnout today either.  Philadelphia does not do a good job plowing streets and the smaller streets (and there are a lot of them, the city hasn't changed much since colonial times in some places) are not plowed at all.  People have to dig themselves out and some cannot physically do the work.  And people will hear "snow" and stay home.  I'll probably spend the day just like yesterday, rescheduling people and faxing scripts to pharmacies. 

In the grand scheme of things, this is not a terrible thing.  It's weather.  We have no control over it and it's a reminder of how sometimes you just have to go with the flow and give up control.  As I am a person who likes to be in control (of myself) this is a concept that I need to be reminded of sometimes.  I'll use this time to make another hat.  The first one is too small and I don't like the way it fits.  I have some handspun yarn that might work out well for it.  And I can keep plowing forward on Pk's sweater.  It takes forever to knit a sweater in the round but I like that it will only have shoulder seams.  I have about 10 inches done.  Halfway up the body.

I want to take a minute to tell you how proud I am of my Katiebaby.  She was house/dog sitting for my brother's house/rottweilers over the weekend (during the blizzard) and had a harrowing experience.  She tells it so much better than I so go read it here.  She tells it so well I felt like I was there.  She kept her head and used good judgement.  As kids are growing up, you hope you are teaching them the important things (like not eating yellow snow and looking both ways) and you hope they are paying attention.  I guess Kate was paying attention.  She's pretty darn terrific.

Well, I guess I should check the phone messages and see who is cancelling for today.  Have a good one.  Stay warm and dry.  Pk gave our snow shovel to Kate and now we can't find another one-all the stores are sold out.  I guess we'll have to take it back......

Sunday morning sunshine left shadows of the neighbor's dead cedar trees. They look much better in shadow than they do in real life.                   It stopped snowing about 4 pm yesterday and this morning, the sun was so bright it was blinding.  We got up early and Pk went out to shovel.  You can see the job he faced. The plows pile up the snow along the roadside and since we have to get the car out to go to work, someone has to dig through the 4 ft high pile.   Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult since the temps stayed well below freezing and the snow hasn't had time to melt and pack down.  It's still light and fluffy.  It didn't  take too long for him to shovel.  I sat inside and watched and then prepared breakfast (french toast, eggs and bacon) for him when he was done.  I offered to help but he said he'd take care of it.  (I'll admit, I was grateful).

I managed to finish my hat!  This has been the single most problematic pattern I have ever tried.  If you look at it, there's nothing to it!  I think I kept forgetting the yo after the ssk.  On one side it's yo k2tog and it's  ssk yo on the other side.  I continually wanted to put the yo in front of the ssk.  This made my "mountains" look funny.  The pattern is Sisters Hat (rav link).  I like the pattern.  Any difficulties I had were my own NOT the pattern.  I used the yarn Jim gave me for my birthday.  It's Patons bamboo/wool/angora mix.  It has a heavy halo and will have more as I wear it.  If you look at the brim, you can see how it fluffs up.  That part got a lot of friction as I ripped the charted portion out again and again (and again!).  It fits a little close for me.  I think I may try it again but add another pattern repeat to make it larger or use bulkier yarn. 

Oh, a whimsical photo from yesterday.  I told you I was doing laundry yesterday.  Here's what 7 loads of laundry will do to the snow.  That's the dryer's exhaust vent.  We found it amusing.  You can see how the snow mounded up against the front of the house.  And it melted right down to the grass. 

Tomorrow we're back to work.  I liked being snowed in yesterday.  The county declared a state of emergency to keep people off the roads so they could plow so we had to stay inside.  An enforced day off is not a bad thing.  This is the view out the back bedroom window.  There is a small porch on the back of the house and the snow piled up on the roof.  It's so strange to see that much snow right outside the window of a second story room.  We are spending the rest of the day doing what we like.  Pk is playing computer games and I am going to knit the swatch for my shawl kal.  The first clue comes out on Friday and I'd like some practice with this impossibly thin yarn.  I'd also like to wash the swatch so I can see how much the cashmere blooms.  I've heard it will bloom some but I'd like to see it myself.

And tomorrow we go back to the gym........

Good morning!  Welcome to our world. This is what we awoke to this morning.  That's my car.  The plows had just come down the street.  If you make the photo larger, you can see the wall of snow that is building up at the end of our driveway.  Since we're expecting another foot of snow today, that wall will continue to grow as the plows keep making their way through the snow.

This is what it looks like out the back of the house.  I'm sorry all the photos are through the windows. It's snowing hard and blowing all around.  I only had slippers on so going outside wasn't an option.  You can see the picnic table up there on top of the hill.  It's cold.  (duh).  We are ensconced in the house and will stay here all day.  There's no reason to go out.  It looks inviting to walk in the snow but the wind makes it hard to see (or walk for that matter).  When it snowed like this in December, people around here were excited.  Maybe it was because it was near Christmas.  This time however, people have a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the white stuff.  I feel fortunate that we don't have to work or worry about driving somewhere and have the option of staying inside.  I hope the USPS does the smart thing and cancels mail delivery but their motto is "neither rain, nor snow, nor dark of night shall stay this courier from his appointed rounds" so we may get mail.

Pk and I finished our first week of being "gym rats" as he says.  Some thoughts about it:

-there are not a lot of people working out in spandex (thankfully)

-there are a lot of people our age and older (again thankful for the non spandex thing)

-Pk said he has to get a tattoo because everyone else seems to have one

-He also says we need to develop a gym swagger because, again, everyone else seems to have one

-working out with someone else makes it more fun

-the machines really do look like torture devices and someone with an evil brain invented them

-I am stiff but not overly sore at the end of the day and the day after is not as hard as I imagined it would be

-I feel good and virtuous after a workout

I am proud of myself for going yesterday even though my ass was dragging.  It was a tough day at work.  It helps that we are going together.  It's harder to blow it off if there's someone else there.  I felt better after the workout. The emotions of the day got washed away in the sweat.  We went to the diner and had dinner and then came home to wait for the storm.

And now I have to do the laundry.  Chicken a la king for dinner.  I love love love it.  Pk tolerates it but agreed it's a good choice for today.  Nice, thick chicken stew served over biscuits.  When I was a kid, it was served over toast crowns.  You pin the corners of the bread together and pin them with a toothpick.  Pop them into the oven and they brown and crisp up.  You put the stew inside and the "a la King" part becomes more obvious.    One last snow photo........(other side of the back yard)

I hope where you are, you are warm (but not too warm). 

Friday Night:  Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Widespread blowing snow after 1am. Low around 25.(-3 C) Blustery, with a east wind 6 to 9 mph increasing to between 19 and 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.
Saturday: Snow and widespread blowing snow. High near 28. Windy, with a north wind between 21 and 26 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Saturday Night: A chance of snow showers, mainly before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. North wind between 7 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%

So, here we go again.  Pk and I have work tomorrow and will have time to go to the gym and maybe even out to the diner for dinner before the snow really starts.  And then the fun starts.......

We had no plans for the weekend and it's not a grocery shopping weekend so we're ready.  We have plenty of milk, eggs and bread (required when snow is in the forecast) and can hole up in the house for the day.  I'll make a pot of soup and maybe some bread for dinner.    I can work on my swatch for the Evenstar kal and Pk has three discs from Netflix to watch so we should be able to keep ourselves busy.

We've been watching the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (BBC version) and enjoying it quite a bit.  Cheesy special effects and bad dialogue, what's not to love?

Tonight we had a dish we made up after having something similar in a Moroccan restaurant.  I put some olive oil, lemon peel and garlic in the stick blender bowl and chopped it all together.  I put that on some chicken and added some assorted olives.  I baked it all for about an hour.  Then I made some bulgur wheat with tomatoes.  It's tasty and fairly low in fat.  While we're not dieting per se, we are trying to eat healthier.  It won't do us much good to go to the gym if we're eating lots and lots of fats.  Unfortunately, it's the fats that taste so good.

We bought some snow melt on the way home.  One bag for us and one for Kate.  Their apartment complex doesn't seem to pay a lot of attention to their front steps.  I guess we're as ready as we can be.

I'll be really disappointed if it's all hype........:

You know, I'm not going to say anything about the socks.  You knew that all along, didn't you?  I'm not by nature a troublemaker or a tattletale and that's what I would feel like if I mentioned it. I thought of Sock Wars as a game, too.  I was surprised to find that everyone didn't think like I did and some people took it VERY seriously.  I'm pretty sure I won't do it again.  So, 'nuff said. 

Our last two clients of the day yesterday warned us about the blizzard that was coming and how we better make sure to get our milk and eggs and bread on the way home.  I had heard that it was maybe going to snow but nothing about a blizzard. (the joys of not having a television means we miss all the weather hype).  I checked before bed.  No snow.  Not  a flake.  And this morning?  A light dusting of slushy white stuff.  Just enough to make it cold and damp but not enough to impede travel.  We are expecting a storm on Friday/Saturday so maybe that's where the blizzard is hiding.

My body is only slightly sore today.  More achy.  The real test will be when I get to the gym this afternoon....Pk and I are working out our own routine so we can spend our time actually working out and not standing around talking about working out.  Seems like it would be more effective that way.

Did I tell you that Pk and I are grandparents?  Kate and Patrick have adopted a dog named Kobold (no I don't know what it means, if anything. I can't explain them).    I stole this photo from Kate's blog since I don't have a picture of Kobold.  He's about a year old and is a mixture of shepherd and collie.  He's a cutie and full of energy.  Needless to say, my cats were not at all thrilled with this development.  They hissed and made themselves big (the way cats fluff up is so cool to watch) and defended their turf against the intruder. 

Not much else happening here.  I have been trying for three days to make a hat.  I'm trying the Three Sisters hat (I just searched ravelry for the pattern and the search turned up no results and I looked through 30 pages and didn't see it but I KNOW I got it there) pattern.  It's not a difficult pattern.  There's a subtle lace pattern around the edges that is reminiscent of mountains.  I've had to restart this pattern 4 times (might be 5, I lost count).  First, I'm using yarn just a little thinner than the pattern so I adjusted the needle size.  I thought I might have to make it a little bigger so I added a pattern repeat.  Too big.  I've managed to twist the knitting twice.  You'd think I've never knit anything in the round before!  Right now I'm halfway through the 12 rows of stockinette that make up the beginning.  I got sleepy last night and put it away.  So far, it's not twisted and the needle size looks good with the yarn and I think the size will be good.  I hate wearing hats but the reality is that it's cold here in the mornings and I need a hat.  Hopefully, I can finish this hat before the weather turns warm.  (I have a store bought hat shaped like a soft bucket.  Pk thinks it looks "cute").

Happy Wednesday.

The idea of karma is that you continually get the teachings that you need to open your heart. To the degree that you didn't understand in the past how to stop protecting your soft spot, how to stop armoring your heart, you're given this gift of teachings in the form of your life, to give you everything you need to open further."

~Pema Chodron

I have always been fascinated by the idea of karma.  It makes sense to me that my life is all about learning to open myself further, for me to learn the lessons I need to know to make myself a better person. (some lessons are harder than others).  Why does it seem so much easier for some people to do the right thing and live peaceful, helpful lives and others seem to struggle through every life event?  Is it truly because the peaceful person has lived through this before and learned the lessons and can now handle it?  And the struggling person is a relatively new soul who is still learning?  Things to ponder.

We had a great time on Sunday morning.  Photos of this even exist but they remain on the camera as of this moment.  Pk was having another run in with verizon last night and I didn't even turn on my computer......
But, as I said, a good time was had by all.  We had tasty baked goods and coffee and fruit.  There was bowling and knitting and lots of chatter and fun.  It was such a good idea.  We'll have to do it again.

Last night Pk and I went for our "fitness evaluations" at the gym.  I registered us in the Healthy Lifestyles program that the insurance company runs.  They'll pay us for going to the gym.  That's cool.  We spent about an hour and a half with a trainer who taught us how to use some of the various torture devices  machines that are scattered about the floor.  He worked us out throroughly but easily.  Not too rough for our old muscles.

 Then came the sales pitch.  Now, we already paid the initiation fee (we got 2 for 1 as part of the grand opening deal) and the first/last months dues.  That totalled just over 300 dollars.  And now every month we will pay 68 dollars for us both to use the facilities.  That's less than 20 dollars a week (we spend that much on dinner out so it's really no big deal and healthier for us).  Our trainer wants us to sign up for the Pro Fitness plan which will include another initiation fee (149 dollars each) plus 320 dollars each month for us to have a trainer once a week for a half an hour each.  Now, to be honest, I'd love to have someone telling me what to do and how to do it so I don't have to think too much about this whole thing.  I'd just go and do what they tell me.  BUT I am not paying 320 dollars each month for this priviledge!

We'll meet with the guy tomorrow and let him know that we are ok on our own.  We're intelligent adults and we can figure this out.  We'll do some research and come up with a plan. Three hundred and twenty dollars........grumble.

I enjoyed the workout and took some ibuprofen last night to ward off potential pain.  No real pain, just soreness but I expected soreness.  Today I feel pretty good, just achy in places that I haven't ached in a long time.  I keep thinking how good I'm going to feel and that makes all the aches worthwhile.  I can see myself now, riding my bike, creating a breeze for the streamers to fly out from the handlebars........I'm looking forward to that.

For some reason, I have a runny nose.  It started late yesterday afternoon and just felt like a mild allergic reaction to something (you know, like someone wearing way too much cologne and it gets into your nose and makes you sneeze?).  But, it has lingered and is flowing strong this morning.  Where did this come from?  I was actually feeling good-no sinus headaches, no cold symptoms.  And now, I am using tissues like there's no tomorrow and my nose is already pink and sore.  No fair, I say!  Pk says it's my cold that I gave to him and he mutated and gave right back.  If that's true, he is in so much trouble.

I have a slight dilemma.  I discovered my sock wars socks are not knitted according to the pattern.  The heels are plain heel flaps and the pattern called for k1s1 heels.  (I know this because I forgot and had to rip out one).  Technically, they are a misfire.  It's been a week and I didn't notice until Sunday when we were getting ready for bowling.  I don't want to tell the Supreme Commander and cause a fuss since I've worn the socks and they're obviously not defective in any way- they just don't follow the pattern exactly.

Part of my problem is that I don't want to cause discomfort or problems for anyone else.  The socks are wearable (and quite beautiful).  But, if everyone else had to follow the pattern exactly (a premise that caused me grief more than once, who knew I just went off willy nilly as much as I do?), then my assassin should have to as well.  As of now, I am not going to say anything so I guess it's not really a dilemma.  I guess I'm just looking for validation for my position.

And now, I'm off to blow my nose some more.  Good thing I bring tissues from home. The ones they supply here would rasp the skin right off!
Have a good day all.