I was going to say "a few months ago" Susan (who is known as catsmum and writes the blog Susan in Stitches) wrote a pattern for a headwrap.  However, when I looked at the email she sent me with the pattern, I see it was almost 2 years ago!

So, two years ago, Susan developed a pattern for a headwrap.  It's crocheted and I really liked it.  It immediately thought of a woman I work with who has dreadlocks that go all the way down her back.  She wraps all manner of scarves around her head and wears hats of some sort all the time.

I finally got around to making "that headwrap" for Vernell.  It's made with cotton yarn that I bought for dish cloths and had leftover.  I changed the pattern a little.  I only did 4 repeats and not the 6 she wrote. 

I used a button Pk made and whipped the whole thing up in a few hours while watching Firefly on Monday night. 

It's easy as pie and looks great.  I gave it to Vernell today.  I told her I just thought of her when I saw the pattern and had decided she had to have it.  She was surprised and pleased. (Vernell is an Intensive Case Manager.  She is very good at her job and one of the coworkers I admire the most). 

I haven't crocheted anything in a while and it felt good.  It didn't take long for my fingers to find their rhythmn and speed along. 

Thanks Susan!

I also finished a gift for someone for Christmas.  It shall remain a secret for the time being.  I'm starting a small pile of knitted gifts for family members.  No one will get a sweater or anything large but I like to give my family something that I have made.  I remember the year I made a basket full of doll clothes for Elanor.  I sat and sewed after she was in bed.  It was great fun.  One year I made the girls each a cloth doll.  Em still has hers with the face all loved off.  I have the pattern saved for when they have children. 

Work has been busy but good.  It's time for my annual evaluation.  My supervisor said that he didn't believe in surprises and he thought everyone pretty much knew how they were doing.  He has a policy of letting you know when you need to fix or improve on something when it happens.  Much better than getting a brick upside your head in the form of a less than flattering evaluation.  So, I'm not worried about it.  It's the first time this supervisor has evaluated me but I think it'll be ok. 

We're due for some heavy duty rain tonight and tomorrow.  At least I don't mind being at work while the weather is foul.  It's hard to see the sunlight playing on the leaves and have to sit at my desk.  There's a really nice park behind our building and I like to sit in it with some yarn and needles and just bask.  I don't think there will be any basking tomorrow!

Spinning wheel in the Saturday morning sunshine

How was your weekend?  Ours was good. 

Friday night we took El to the store to purchase the gift cards for the online game she loves (World of Warcraft) and some underwear (me) and work pants (Pk).  Everyone was tired and out of sorts so we came home and crashed.

Saturday, I spent most of the day doing laundry and working on a Christmas gift.  I felt queasy and headachy and just plain eh.  Pk did some odds and ends in the garage and then sat around in his underwear.  He figured it was hot (it was a muggy, uncomfortable sort of day) and we weren't going anywhere and underwear is comfortable.  I didn't care as long as he stayed away from the windows.

We went out for dinner for El's birthday to our favorite Chinese restaurant.  We got there at 6 and Em and Jim hit some traffic and got there at almost 7:30.  While we were waiting for them, I texted Patrick and asked him why he wasn't coming.  I got a message back asking "who is this?". Silly me, I assumed if I had his number, he had mine.  I told him who I was and told him that just because Kate was working didn't mean he couldn't come.  He did.  Then Kate texted to say she was getting out of work early (at 8) so Patrick picked her up and brought her back to the restaurant for dinner.  We got to all be together and it was great.  The food was delicious and we had cake for desert.  We sat around talking and laughing. 

Today, after a good 10 1/2 hours of sleep, I got up feeling much better.  Pk and I decided to go to the Constitution Center to see their exhibit called Art of the American Soldier.  It was breathtaking and heartbreaking.  There are no photos allowed but Pk managed to get one on his iphone.  It happens to be my favorite bit.  It's a wall with sketches and portraits.  This is definitely worth making bigger and looking at the artwork. 

I found myself standing in front of some of the art with tears running down my face.  There are some pieces that just oozed emotion. 

After we wandered the special exhibit, we went to the theater to see Freedom Rising, a short presentation on the writing/signing of the Constitution.  "We the People of the United States of America.....".  It gives me goosebumps and I don't think of mysetlf as a particularly patriotic person.  There is a really neat display called the American Family Tree.  It's an interactive exhibit where you can point to a screen in front of you and pick out a face and it tells you who the person is and what he/she did in history.  Lots of different kinds of people. 

There was a cool sculpture and it was while I was trying to take a photo of this that a young woman came up and told me there was no photography allowed.  I was disappointed because it was a really cool sculpture and I was trying not to use a flash and get a clear shot.  What's really difficult to see is that this is a roadway and there are cars and trucks on it.  Maybe if you make it bigger, it'll be easier to see. It was really cool.

I learned that Pk had never seen the Liberty Bell so since we were in the vicinity, we walked to the building where it lives and he got to see it in person.  I had to submit to a thorough search of my bag which I resented mightly.   I get it.  We're all afraid of terrorists but I felt violated as this woman put her hands all over my things.   It ruined the mood for me.

Liberty Bell with crack.

 

And Pk was underwhelmed by the Liberty Bell. 

We got on the train and came home and went grocery shopping.  It was late in the day and there's a football game on so the store wasn't crowded.  We stopped at a local sea food restaurant and got some take out soup and had soup and sandwiches for dinner. 

Now, we are crashing and trying to mentally adjust to the idea that we have to go to work in the morning.  That's a hard thing to wrap my brain around. 

Oh, and I finished a pair of socks.  They're the Hearts Abound socks (pattern by Knitpicks) in the August color from artwalk.  The yarn is a bamboo blend and I love the socks.  It reminds me of chocolate and cherries.  I modified the pattern just a bit because the top of the cuffs had a heart pattern that I just couldn't get to work.  After 3 tries, I gave up and gave them some ribbing.  I think they look fine.  These came out really nice and they fit better than the last toe up socks I made.  I learned a new bind off and it made a nice stretchy top. 

It's almost time for bed.  I have to go and figure out what I'm wearing tomorrow and get my bag packed and my stuff together for the gym.  I find my mornings seem to go better when I spend a little time in the evening being all organized and stuff.

"I carry your heart, I carry it in my heart.

Where I go, you go too....."

-ee cummings

I think there is a bug going around.  People at work are all complaining of the same things; sore throat, congested head, woozy feeling and really tired.  I thought it was just fall allergies but now I'm not so sure.  My very enabling husband brought me my phone as I lay in bed trying to decide if I wanted to get up saying, "go on, call out.  You know you want to".

Of course I want to.  But I didn't and now here I am at work.  I actually feel better than yesterday so whatever it was, it's not a strong bug.  I have a lingering sinus headache and massive congestion.  Not enough to justify using a sick day.

I figured out why all the thoughts of childhood are forcing their way to the front of my brain.  Monday was the anniversary of my mother's death.  (yea, El's birthday.)  I think I am still trying to come to terms with this and with the way our relationship was at the end.  It's not a regret thing.  I know in my heart that I couldn't have changed things as long as Pk and I are married.  I guess I could have forced myself into their lives but I am not one for forcing myself on anyone.  If you don't want me there, so be it.  But I have to come to terms with the actual loss. 

My mother was, as we all are, a flawed individual.  I think at heart she was an insecure woman and to make herself more secure she kept those around her in a constant state of chaos.  She was not a peaceful woman to be around.  She was loving and could be quite fun but there was an underlying feeling that it wouldn't last.  I don't know what she said to others about me when I wasn't around, but I do know how she talked about everyone else to me, so I can imagine. 

I enjoy a bit of gossip as much as the next person, so long as it's not malicious.  I don't mind talking about people and how they're doing but I don't find complaining about people entertaining (ok, that's a total lie.  We do this at work all the time but that's work and it's how we blow off steam and keep our sanity).   I don't think I needed to know how my father felt about my brother's wife.  Not my business.  And talk like that only makes relationships more difficult.

I used to envy families that I saw who all seemed to just genuinely respect and love each other.  I know everyone has problems but how you deal with them says a lot about your relationships.  I feel so fortunate to have created a family that can get together and have a good time and feel love and affection for each other and not be looking for things to pick on and pick apart.  We are not saints.  Far from it.  Don't make a mistake in my family and expect anyone to forget it!  But it's done with love and there's really no sharp point buried in the joking.  I will never live down the horrendous clam chowder I made Pk while I was in college or the zuchini boats I made the kids eat.  Pk will never forget that he once pronounced Ethiopia incorrectly (and now all incorrectly pronounced words are said to be from E-thee-o-pee-a).  But we laugh. 

When I told my mother about the cousin and the abuse (I was an adult when I told her, as a child, I was afraid and didn't understand.  No one had had "the talk" with me.), she just said "oh.  I didn't know".  No emotion, no outrage.  If it was one of my kids......well, I can't even describe the feeling I get just imagining one of my girls telling me that someone I had brought into the house abused them.  My chest feels tight and I can't breathe just thinking about it.  I sometimes wonder if she was one of those people who are not capable of expressing deeper emotions.  She may never have learned.  It doesn't matter now.  We tend to forgive our parents many things but not protecting us is something else.  Maybe deep inside, I am still that child who felt unprotected.  It may explain why I have grown up to want to protect my clients (and everyone I know.  Pk frequently reminds me I can't save the world much as I'd like to).  I need to let go and forgive her. 

I think I'm done with the introspection for the moment.  I miss my mother some days.  I feel sorrow that my girls didn't know her but glad they weren't exposed to the chaos.  They had strong loving older women in their lives and hopefully didn't feel the loss too much. 

"Learning how to be kind to ourselves, learning how to respect ourselves, is important. The reason it's important is that, fundamentally, when we look into our own hearts and begin to discover what is confused and what is brilliant, what is bitter and what is sweet, it isn't just ourselves that we're discovering. We're discovering the universe."

~Pema Chödrön

Fall seems to be a good time for reflection and discovering.  I just don't want to drown in it.   I don't want life to get away from me while I'm gazing at my navel.

Meet Bud.  Bud the Banana.  You know how your kids give you things when they're little and they become part of your daily landscape?  Well, Bud has been part of every drive I have taken since Em introduced him to me when she was in 8th grade (about 10 years ago).  If I remember correctly (and that is a BIG assumption on my part), Em won him at an amusement park on an 8th grade field trip.  Bud has faded somewhat over the years but is still good company.  He hangs from the fan switch and watches me drive. 

I've always wondered why someone thought a stuffed banana was a good idea but I like having him around.  When I was in college, my brother (who is 10 years younger and therefore was 8 or 9) gave me a little Lego spaceman to put on the dashboard to keep me company while I drove back and forth to school.  I loved Spaceman but lost track of him long ago.  I don't know why people seem to think I need company in the car.....

I don't usually talk about things that happened in my childhood.  I'm not sure why it came out on Saturday.  My mother wasn't married when I was born (not so common in 1957!) and lived with her mother.  She married my sister's father who wanted her to put both my sister and I in an orphanage and come to live in Florida with him.  She said no, and worked hard to keep us together which included working 3 jobs and leaving us with a babysitter much of the time.  She and my dad married when I was 7 and my brother was born 3 years later.  There were no "steps" in our family.  My dad legally adopted my sister and I in 1972 after I asked him to.  I think I asked him this after a friend said her father had adopted her legally and I thought it would make me feel more secure in our family. 

My dad was a tough one.  He had rules and his pronouncements were gospel.  If he said the sky was purple, then the sky was purple (even if it wasn't).  We learned to keep quiet and follow rules. 

My girls wouldn't have lasted long in that family.  I wanted to create a family where it was ok, even encouraged to ask questions and disagree.  Did this make it difficult?  You betcha.  But I have three independent thinking individuals for children.  They questioned everything and still do.  It's so cool.

Today is Elanor's 27th birthday.(those are her Birthday Socks)  I remember the day she was born so well.  Labor lasted 14 hours and she was born weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces.  A big baby with a big smile.  She liked to be naked and Pk could tell what kind of day we'd had by the amount of clothing she was wearing when he got home.  Just a diaper meant there had been trouble. 

El has always marched to the beat of her own drummer.  She is stubborn as the day is long (which she comes by naturally from both sides of her family) and will stick to her guns long after it would have been prudent to let go.  Funny El story:  When she was in 1st grade, the PE teacher wanted her to skip in gym class.  El refused.  The teacher sent her to the principal's office.  El skipped all the way down the hall to the office.  You can see why we were frustrated.  Her fourth grade teacher told me "I can't teach her.  She always knows the answers".  I was teaching special ed at the time and knew how hard some kids can be.  The teacher didn't like being challenged and El was nothing if not challenging (she would keep a "fun" book hidden in her math/science/history/spelling book and read when she was supposed to be working.  The teacher couldn't catch her because when he asked her to tell him an answer, she had it ready). 

She looks just like her father.  They have the same smile and wry sense of humor.  And the same temper.  It's a good thing there is a deep well of love underneath.  They both have the same big heart and cannot stand to see injustice.  They'll fight for the underdog everytime. 

She is my darling girl, my firstborn child and I love her dearly.  Happiest of Happy Birthdays Elanor! 

"Sail on Silver Girl

Sail on by

Your time has come to shine

All your dreams are on their way"

(P. Simon)

We finally got some rain this week.  This was the view out my front door when the rain started.  It was an all-of-a-sudden downpour and lasted just a few moments.  But, oh, those few moments were spectacular.  The smell of warm, wet asphalt is such a summer smell and I knew it was one of the last times we'd smell it until next year.  The rain kept falling gently on and off over night and by Friday, it was clean and clear and just the perfect weather to start the weekend.

I spent Friday in a workshop on Domestic Violence.  The woman speaker was dynamic and passionate and very good.  The subject is devastating to listen to.  I don't know if I ever told you all, but I am an abuse surviror.  Before my mother and father married (he's really my step father but we didn't use that word in our house.  He was/is my father.), she was a single mother working 3 jobs with two small children.  She had her cousin babysit and we'll just say he wasn't an appropriate choice for the position.  So, listening to the stories on Friday just about broke my heart.  The statistics are overwhelming. (1 in 4 individuals will be a victim and 25% of those individuals will be men)  It was a tough day but certainly an informative one.  I got some good resources to give out should I need them.



Add caption



Today is WWSIP day.  Pk and I took Saraspunda to the park and I managed to spin a bobbin and a half of singles and then ply both bobbins into lovely, lovely soft corriedale yarn.  This  time I didn't attract any odd men who wanted to talk about odd things.  Just two sisters who said they didn't want to be nosey but wanted to see what I was doing.  I said I didn't mind, if I did, I wouldn't bring the wheel to the park.  We chatted for a few minutes and they were fascinated.  Pk said "every little girl who has walked by with their family has watched you" but I didn't notice.  I was paying attention to what I was doing and watching the planes fly in.

We had bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches and homemade chocolate chip cookies.  The weather was glorious.  That's the view from the chair.  The plane is coming into the airport and there were dozens of pleasure craft on the water.  Everyone wanted to get out and be in the sunshine.

I'm sitting here now waiting for the last load of clothes to be done in the dryer.  I did 5 loads of wash today and folded them all but haven't put them away.  I think they can sit in the basket till tomorrow.  I'm going to watch season 2 of Sanctuary.  Good show.  Kind of like Torchwood but less edgy.  I think it's easy to become obsessed with a program if you have tons of episodes to watch at one time.  If I had to watch one episode each week, I probably wouldn't watch much of anything.  Having all of a season available at once is a concentrated way to view something and I think it makes is too easy to get absorbed into a storyline (that's my reasoning for staying up until 2 in the morning to watch the season ending for Sanctuary only to discover that it was continued!) Tonight I'll find out what happened.  I hope.

Here's the baby socks I made for Pk to take with him tomorrow.  They're so darn cute. I also gave him 2 cotton wash cloths to give to the family so he's not going empty handed.

I asked Susan if she minded Emily auctioned off an Evenstar and she gave it her blessing.  I know that technically here in the US, it's not necessary to get permission from the designer, but I felt better asking first. (Em has raised 1650 dollars and only has 650 left to go!)  It seemed like good karma.

My new yarn is hanging to dry and tomorrow I'll run it through the yardage meter and see if I have enough to make a Christmas present.  I have something in mind and hopefully, I'll have enough yardage. 

There goes the dryer. 

Finally.

Grace in Small Things

* cooler weather (statistically, this past summer had the 2nd hottest August and was 3rd overall)

* Puffs tissues (allergies make them a necessity)

* "Vampire birthday" short stories on the mp3 player

* mandalas
* Selsun Blue shampoo

I was working on the Happy Socks (that's what I call the colorful socks in my mind) and Pk asked me "how long would it take to make a pair of booties?"  I thought that someone at work must be pregnant and said "a few hours".  He asked me to make a pair to take with him on Sunday.  He's going to York, PA to spend the day with a man who has a blacksmith forge.  They are going to do manly things and the man and his wife just had a baby.  Pk wanted some way to thank him for his time. 

I have finished one baby sock and am mostly finished another.  They are adorable just because they're small.  If I have time, I will make a hat to match. 

I am listening to a collection of stories edited by Charlaine Harris called Many Bloody Returns.  They are all about vampires and birthdays.  Since each author has a different take on the vampire legend, they're all different.  Ms. Harris contributed a short Sookie Stackhouse story that was terrific.  The three I've listened to so far (I'm in the middle of I Was A Teenaged Vampire) have been entertaining. 

One of my jobs is to lead social rehabilitation groups.  I tend to focus on positive things and positive ways to deal with symptoms without adding medications.  I have been using mandalas for this purpose.  I once watched a pair of Buddhist monks working on a mandala made of colored sand.  The design was intricate and beautiful.  They worked on a round table in a hallway and when they were done, they blew it all away.  The mandala demonstrated how ephemeral beauty is.  In my group, I have designs on paper, some very intricate and others very simple.  I use them as a focus for quiet meditation and peaceful thoughts.    My clients seem to enjoy it and when your hands are busy in a creative endeavor, it seems to free up other parts of your brain and the conversation can be interesting.  They (and I) enjoy the coloring.  I loved to color as a child but somehow it's not seen as an "adult" thing to do.  It takes some people a while to get over the idea that they're being childish and when they do, they love it.

Today, I am grateful for Selsun Blue shampoo.  It's ugly stuff but I have psoriasis on my scalp (and in my ears) and it works so well.  The relief from the itchiness is blissful.

I wore my denim jacket to work and exchanged it for my fleece jacket when I got into the building.  I keep the fleece on my chair for when it's cold in here.  Since the temps outside have moderated, it is freezing in here.  Tomorrow I'll be at the main hospital building for a training on Domestic Violence.  I've heard the women talk before and they're good.  I'll wear a sweater because I have a feeling it's cold over there, too.

This week flew by.  Em is inching toward her walk.  She's up to 17 miles (which at 3 mph is almost 6 hours on the treadmill.  Ugh) and only needs 850 -ish dollars to go.  I'm so proud of  her.  She's done an amazing job.  And she's already talking about next year. 

Have a good Thursday.

It's been a while since I had any thoughts that I thought were worth sharing. I gave myself a computer holiday and didn't turn it on over the weekend.  At all.  It was liberating.  I listened to my mp3 player and talked to my family and read some books.  A lovely peaceful weekend.    Our weather has been nice.  Sunny and dry and a little cooler.  Just about perfect.  No drama , which is good but doesn't lend itself to interesting blogging.

We had a good weekend.  It started on Friday with a movie (Resident Evil: After Life).  I have really enjoyed the Resident Evil series of movies.  When the zombies come, I want to have Alice on my team.  She is way cool.  The producer/director/writers of this movie should be ashamed of themselves.  There was little or no advancement of the plot and they left the good guys in danger of losing their lives at the end.  (We know they were the good guys because they were wearing white; the bad guys were all in black).  I give zombie movies a lot of leeway when it comes to plot and dialogue and things like that but this one was just plain disappointing. 

After the movie, we went to dinner at an Indian restaurant called Coriander.  It's a pretty little place with tangerine walls and lots of pillows in bright colors.  They gave us menus filled with things I had never eaten and I was confused.  It must have showed because a nice woman asked if she could help.  I said I didn't like spicy food (not even a little bit.  My philosophy is that food shouldn't hurt) and didn't know which items on the menu were spicy.  She recommended some things and we ate some pretty little flower shaped crackers while we waited.  The appetizers were chicken and peppers and onions wrapped up and fried.  They were delicious and spicy.  I felt them all the way down to my stomach.  They brought me some yoghurt sauce and that helped but I still ate only a little bit.  My tandoori shrimp was tasty and Pk had a lamb stew which he loved.  We had rice with cumin and carrots and cilantro.  I think I could almost recreate it at home if I can find cumin seeds in a local Indian grocery store. I think we'll go back.  I just have to learn which foods I can eat and which I have to avoid.

Saturday found us on the road to WoodCrafters in Wilmington, Delaware.  Lots of Jerseyites and Pennsylvanians go to Delaware to buy things like cars and appliances since Delaware does not have a sales tax.  I don't know what their income tax situation is like but they have no sales tax. Ours is 7% on everything but food and clothes.  We went there to buy a band saw blade for Pk's bandsaw.  It's the closest place we know of that sells them.  Then we hit the grocery store for the biweekly shopping trip. 

Kate and Patrick invited us for dinner on Saturday so we went and had honey ginger chicken and walnuts with rice.   Patrick cooked it.  We took an ice cream cake for desert.  Everyone loves ice cream cake so it was a safe bet.  Patrick is a lovely man but a very picky eater.  We played cards for a while and then came home and crashed. 

Sunday we finally got to have our Star Wars festival and watched our three favorite movies.  It was a perfect day for it, cloudy and rainy.  We watched Luke save the universe and cheered on the Rebel Alliance.  It was great fun.

I finished a pair of socks for the Christmas pile and picked up a cake of yarn labelled March 09 from the yarn club.  I had forgotten it was in the tote (it really does pay to go through them once in a while).  I saw Amy use it for a pair of socks and I didn't remember it but I loved her socks so I went looking for mine.  Aren't the colors great?  It's called Musique after the painting by Klimt.  I am loving the bright colors.  Just plain socks.  Not sure if they'll become coverings for my tootsies or go into the Christmas pile. 

Other than that, it has been quiet.  I finished watching Torchwood and was struck dumb by the 5 episodes of the 3rd season called Children of Earth.  It made me weep. And it made me angry. It must have been good television since it made me feel. 

It was back to the gym today for our-soon-to-be-regular-again-workouts.  After the past two weeks off, my muscles are sore.  I did my situps with weights and I know my abs will be temder tomorrow.  Even my neck hurts.  It's like starting all over again. 

Have a good week! 

Good Morning and welcome to the Autumn edition of what you think on grows.  Just some cosmetic changes for the new season.  Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn doesn't officially begin until September 23rd but in my heart, I know it's here.  I can feel it lurking behind the warmth of the sunshine.  You know what I mean, that tinge of coolness in the air.  Suddenly my white skirts and shoes and jeans are feeling a little out of place.  I'll probably wear them one more time this week while the temps are high.  After that, they just feel funny.

I don't care if other people wear white things all year long.  I'm not a fashion cop.  I just have strongly ingrained ideas of which clothes are seasonal.  It's kind of like wearing a ski sweater in April even if it's cold.  Just doesn't feel quite right.

I have been trying to live up to the Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz) this year.  They are

Be impeccable with your word
Don't take anything personally
Don't make assumptions
Always do your best

Nothing profound here, just simple thoughts and suggestions for making life better. Me?  I'm doing fair.  I try hard to 'be impeccable with my word'.  I take it to mean that I am careful of what I say and how I say it.  I tell the truth as I know it to be.

I am trying hard to 'not take anything personally'.  This is hard.  Everything feels personal some days and reminding myself that the person who is following me down the street yelling obcenities that would make a sailor blush is not yelling at me but at someone he sees/hears who lives inside his own head is tough to remember some days.

'Don't make assumptions' is a little easier.  I live and work in a PC world and we strive to learn about people before we assume anything.  (yes, it's easier said than done sometimes but we try)

'Always do your best'.  Hardest one of all.  So many days it's just easier to do enough to get by and nothing extra.  (we won't even discuss today.  After a bout of insomnia last night, today will be a tough one).  I do try to give my clients the best I have.  I think they deserve that.  I'm not perfect (not even close) but I try. 

The book that these come from is an interesting read.  I enjoyed it and I think it will be the center of our group discussion this afternoon.  These concepts work on so many levels and I think my group could profit from them, too.

I finished the first of the Hearts Abound sock.  I love it.  It has a short row toe and heel and I've noticed that short row heels (on toe up socks) fit so differently.  I think the flap styled heels fit my particular foot better.  The short row socks seem to bunch up on the top of my foot, right at the ankle.  I noticed it in another pair of toe up socks I made and thought it was just that pattern but it may be that toe up socks just don't fit my foot as well as cuff down.  More socks and research are needed for this.

It's Wednesday morning and it's time to get to work.  I have to plan out my group and get ready for my biweekly supervision and start on September's treatment plans.  No clinic, just group.  Group is infinitely easier and less stressful.  I haven't checked the phone messages yet so there's no telling what awaits.  I just want to get through the day without falling asleep and hitting my head as I fall off the chair!  A totally achievable goal but on 3 hours of sleep, it might be asking a lot. 

Oh well, all I can do is "my best".

It had to happen. Here it is, the end of our holiday weekend.  What a glorious day it was!  Look at that sky!   It goes on forever even if the weekend dosen't.

We spent a quiet weekend at home.  Pk and I were planning to have a Star Wars marathon but we lent out our boxed set of the last three (#4,#5,#6) movies.  Not to be deterred, we went to Best Buy to get 4 and 5 (because I picked up 6 at a used cd table) and get ready to sit back and enjoy a large bowl of popcorn and some space opera fun.

Imagine our surprise when we got ready to watch 4 on Saturday and discovered that we didn't buy 4 and 5, we bought 5 and 6.  So now we have 1,2,3,5,6,6.  Not terribly helpful since we really wanted to start with 4.  Fortunately, Best Buy will allow us to return our extra 6 and get a 4.  The marathon is postponed.

(In the meantime, I am caught up in watching Torchwood.  What a strange series but oddly compelling.  Pk is a few episodes ahead of me so we're not watching it together but we are both enjoying it)

I finished the Lighthouse Gansey Socks.  If you look at the front of the socks, you can see the lens of the lighthouse in the pattern.  Pk loves them so I call it a win. 

I am less in love with the red sweater.  I got gauge but I don't like the fabric.  It's too tight.  I'm trying to see if the gauge swatch loosened up any when I washed it but I don't think so.  I may rip it out and start on a larger size needles.  I put it away for a bit and I'll reassess it in a few days. 

I spent a good bit of time yesterday cooking for today.  I made potato salad and whoopie pies.  I was going for chocolate cake when Kate said she really wanted whoopie pies.  I haven't made them in ages so I decided to surprise her. They're like round devil dogs.  Chocolate cake filled with frosting.  I think they're a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe (at least that's where I saw them first) and a family favorite.  (photo from epicurious.com).   They're not difficult but a little time consuming.  I made a triple batch and there are only a few left.  There are only a few chicken legs left but enough potato salad for dinner tomorrow with some ham. 

We gathered at the river and were relaxing and eating and talking.  Someone was playing a bagpipe (not too badly) and that was cool.  The river was lower than I've seen it in a while.  The Delaware is a tidal river and and the tide must have been way out.  You can see the pier there.  It's usually only a few feet above the level of the water at high tide.  There were seagulls walking down the beach and more boats out on the water than usual. Must have been the lovely day.

We sat and talked until the sun was going down and the Ranger was making her rounds reminding us that the park closes at dusk. 

Em was talking about her fund raising efforts and I offered her my Evenstar shawl to auction off on ebay to raise a little money.  I don't have any illusions about it raising a lot of money but every dollar helps. ( I hope it raises a little but I've heard enough stories about how disappointing this can be.)  Maybe some rabid LOTR fans out there will be interested.  Em is working hard but money is tight right now for a lot of people.

Time to find some mindless knitting and sit and watch some mindless show and get ready for bed.  As Em put it, "it's a school night".  Neither of us is in school but the feeling of needing to get to bed early enough to get sleep is deeply engrained.  And that alarm is going to ring very early.

'Night all.

Well, we're done with "Earl watch".  We had some ragged looking clouds all day yesterday and humidity you could suck out of the air with a straw but no rain.  The grass is crunchy again and the plants are curling up but I am against watering the lawn so crunchy and brown it will stay.

Here are some of the things I'm working on at the moment.  This is the Knitpicks pattern with the bamboo sock yarn from last months' club selection.  I love the colors and am enjoying the toe up pattern.  Only problem with it is that every row is a charted row and there are just enough different rows that I can't seem to memorize it.  It means that no movie watching while I work on these.

This is a skein of self patterning yarn I can't remember buying.  It's Jawoll superwash.  I started a small pair of socks for my  niece.  They're on 2mm needles and the fabric feels bullet proof but that should hold up to an active 10 year old.  I just love self patterning yarn.

This is the hem of my Wisesweater.  Sandi Wiseheart is having a kal for a yet to be seen cardigan.  It's mostly about how to take proper measurements and how to decide which size to make.  For someone like me who doesn't have a handy knitting posse around, it's helpful.  I put all my measurements into the spreadsheet and voila!  The pattern tells me how many stitches to cast on and where to decrease for better fit.  I chose the picot hem because I like it.  I'm using Knitpicks merino in Hollyberry.  I don't often use dk or worsted weight yarns so this feels different.  It's not too soft while you're working but the swatches (yes, I swatched twice!) washed up nice and soft.

Here is a skein of yarn I spun.  It's corriedale in a pretty garnet color.  It doesn't feel soft as a roving but has nice luster.  Once it's plied and washed, it softens up and blooms beautifully.  It's easy to spin and the color is deep and rich.  I think I'm going to use it for a holiday project.  I have a pattern in mind and I am hoping to have enough yardage when I'm through.

I have a bag of alpaca that we bought last year at the alpaca fest.  I'm going to try washing some of it today so I can play with it.  I have a bag of cream colored wool(?) and a bag of caramel color.  I tried to spin some of it without washing it and my hands and my wheel get so dirty and I get a pile of vm in my lap. 


I woke up today to a gloriously blue sky and lovely sunshine with a breeze and low humidity.  We're supposed to have a whole weekend of this.  I don't know what we did to deserve such perfect weather but I'll take it.  I can hear the bandsaw so I know Pk is ripping down some more tree pieces into boards.  He showed me the walnut pieces he made.  They may be destined to be my wheel.  They have to sit and dry out for a while but the color and grain are beautiful. 

It's laundry day and I have a bedroom to clean and a bed to strip.  And then I'm going to spend some quality time in the sunshine with the wheel. 

Oh, and I bought a single serve lemon pie.  A Tastykake (local baked goods maker) lemon pie.  I love them and don't indulge too often.

Happy Labor Day (whether you belong to a union or not)!

I stopped in a convenience store today to use the atm and to buy a lemon pie for desert for lunch (I have a real weakness for lemon pies!).  As I was paying, the clerk (an older gentleman) greeted me and asked how I was.  It was a pro forma, How Are You?.  I said "I'm terrific.  How are you?".  He stopped and really looked at me for the first time and I saw the genuine smile grow across his face.  He said "I am very well, thank you".  We both smiled and I walked away.

This was not a major interaction but it must have made an impression because almost an hour later I'm still thinking about it.  It was one of those things that make you stop and look at how you relate to people every day.  I have to do this every once in a while because I know my interactions become rote and routine.  Because I am in a "helping" profession, I think I am maybe more aware of my daily interactions but I still just stumble through some of them not really paying much attention.  Human nature.  But, this morning I'll pay more attention and listen to what people say and respond from the heart insead of from the corner of my brain that handles my automatic pilot.  Until I forget and need a kick in the brain again.

It's September first.  In my mind, it should immediately be autumnal.  So, why is it going to be 97 degrees?  It's been hot all week but not too humid so it's bearable.  I've only got today and tomorrow and then a mini vacation.  I'm looking forward to it.  No plans, just hanging out and pursuing hobbies and picnics.  Kate is excited because for the first time she doesn't have to work on Labor Day so I suggested a picnic with fried chicken and potato salad and cake.  She jumped on it so we are planning a party in the park for Monday.  Unless it rains.  Then we can picnic on her living room floor.  It's the company and not the location that's important, right?  Oh and the food.  Let's not forget the food.

I've tried three times to listen to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and can't get into it.  It's wildly popular here (I'm not sure about the rest of the world and don't want to assume).  I just don't get it.  I was this way with The DaVinci Code.  I tried but didn't get it.  It makes me feel like I'm not in tune with everyone else when they're raving about something and I'm just meh.  Do you ever feel that way? 

Not much else is going on.  I have some meetings today and some paperwork and a social rehabilitation group to run.  Enough to keep me busy. 

Have a good Wednesday.