For Blogtoberfest, I have been posting early in the morning at work so that I don't forget. I have a tendency to throw myself into my life and forget things like, well, blogging. Doing it first thing in the morning took care of that. If I wanted to include some photos, I prepared part of the post at home with the photos and then finished it up in the morning.

This is a long explanation for a short complaint. Blogger ate my saved post. I have heard other people complain about this phenomenon but I had never had the problem. Today, it's my turn. Last night, I prepared a post with a finished pair of socks and some photos of the lace I am currently working on. I know I saved it. I saved it twice (no, I'm not obsessive, why?) but it is not there this morning. Sigh.

I finished the Reims Stockings. Imagine if you will (you'll have to, the photo is lost in the internet somewhere) a lovely combination of blues and greens in a soft, lustrous bamboo/wool combination done in a strikingly lovely pattern of gentle arches and delicate holes. Actually, the socks are pretty. I like the pattern enormously and it worked well with the yarn. I'll post photos when I get home tonight. Unless they have disappeared completely from the computer.

I also had some photos of my Meandering Vines lace. It's hard to photograph lace while you're working on it. The colors are pretty but lace doesn't come into it's own until it's blocked.

I have started a pair of socks for Pk. His favorites are a brand called Thorlo. They fit tightly around the foot and are padded on the sole. He asks for them every holiday and when I can find them, I buy them. (this year I'll just order some online instead of trekking all over the place ) The girls have refused to buy socks for him for Christmas or his birthday because "socks are boring" but that's what he always asks for. I wanted to make him a pair he would like as much as his thorlos and thought if I ribbed them on the foot part (not the toe or heel) and maybe used a second strand of yarn on the sole for padding, it might work. I'm making them toe up and winging it without a pattern. I've only ever done one other pair of toe up socks and I'm not in love with the style but it is more efficient when you have one skein for each sock.

Pk is performing the ritual "laying on of hands to make the heater work" tonight. We have an old, old, old heater. We're hoping to get another year out of it. It needs a part and then we can turn it on and the house will have that "first time you turn on the heater after the summer" smell. You know the one? The dusty comforting smell that means there will be heat. I am fortunate I married a man who always asks "how does that work? can I take it apart?" He is usually able to fix things that break or need maintenance. It saves us money. He has kept the heater running with car parts since they don't make this heater anymore. Problem solver, that's what he is.

Well, it's cold here and rainy and rather dark. I'm ready to start the work day. No clinic today so the day should be fairly smooth. Thank goodness.

Oh and Happy Birthday to Bill Gates! Who knows what operating system we would be using without him?

I borrowed this from galad. I own a set of tarot cards and used to read them for friends and family. It's been ages since I did. I always found them fascinating.

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

My favorite knit. This is the first sock I ever made. It's not the first garment I ever made but it's the first time things like gauge, needle size, and type of yarn all came into my world.

Before this pair of socks, I had made some acrylic sweaters. Really just rectangles sewn together and I was inordinately proud of them. I happened to hear about a craft show nearby and I went and the scales fell off my eyes and I was reborn as a knitter. I wanted to make socks and found a booth where they were more than willing to sell me yarn and needles and a simple, basic pattern. I was not a "knitter" at this point, only a person who made occasional things. That day I learned there is a difference. This pair of socks made me into a knitter.

I chose the yarn having no idea it was self striping. I didn't know what self striping was. I only knew it was colors Kate would like. It cost me 17 dollars which I thought was outrageous at the time ( little did I know!) That ball of Opal yarn opened the door for me and invited me inside the world of yarn and needles and gauge and stitch markers.

I was so excited when the stripes started forming! You'd have thought I invented them. I showed them to everyone and they were suitably impressed. And then it came time to turn the heel and I couldn't figure it out. I didn't know about yarn stores and finding help. I turned to the internet and found a wonderful tutorial called Socks 101 with clear directions and lots of photos. And when I figured out that it was ok to have stitches left on the needle when you turned to start the next row, there was no stopping me. I powered onto the toe and have never looked back. This is my first gusset and first heel.

This sock made me look at knitting as more than square blankets for babies. It's opened the door to so much enjoyment and new friends.

And all of that from one little ball of yarn and four wooden sticks. Not too shabby.

I'm late today. I've managed to post every day for Blogtoberfest and usually early in the day so I don't forget. Today, however, I am just getting around to it at 7 PM.

It wasn't a particularly busy day. I just have felt like a slug all day. It took me forever to wake up this morning. I think the grey, rainy day outside the window kept whispering, "stay in bed, you know you want to" and I fell for it. I actually stayed in bed until 9 and then showered and ate and went to the salon to get my hair cut and colored. They were crowded so I decided to come back later and went home. Pk and I were going to go grocery shopping but we decided to go to the mall. I would get my hair done and he would read a book in the food court and wait and then we would go shopping.

Sounds like a plan. Except that it took 2 and 1/2 hours at the salon. They didn't have my original color and the stylist was so apologetic and we had to sit and discuss the merits of alternatives. Now, I am not that picky. As long as the color looks good, if the shade is a bit different, I'm ok. It took her a long time to put on the color and then half an hour for it to set and then she cut my hair one hair at a time. Ok, maybe not. But it felt like it. It's a good haircut and the color looks great but Pk was very tired of the food court by the time I got done!

By this time, it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We headed for the grocery store. It took an hour and a half and then we got sandwiches for dinner and picked up some prescriptions and then finally headed home.

At this time, the food is put away, the dishes are done and I finally have time to put up my feet and post. I still feel like a slug. It just seemed like it took a long time for everything today. Tomorrow, we are going to Emily's house for dinner. I bought two loaves of focaccia (onion/rosemary bread) to take with us. I won't have to worry about making any and I can focus on cleaning the house and doing the laundry.

And Bells asked for photos for the Long Lacey Summer. Here's the snowflake sock on a much smaller needle. The pattern calls for 2.75 and I used 2.0 and I'm much happier with the fabric. It's still lacey and the pattern shows up better. And I think socks have to be tighter than regular lace. I like the pattern and I like this yarn. The little bits of blue show up here and there and it adds to the visual interest without competing with the lace. I have just finished turning the heel and will start the foot soon.

Tomorrow the weather should dry up and the sun is supposed to be out. Hopefully, I'll wake up and feel raring to go.

And tomorrow, my favorite knit.

Good morning and Happy Friday! The week always seems so long on Monday morning but often it feels like I blink and it's Friday.

Because I am taking part in the Long Lacey Summer that Bells is hostessing, I needed to find some piece of lace that I could work on and develop a relationship with. As I said yesterday, I have separated from the Triad pattern. I put it in a binder for a possible reconciliation at a future date. We are just not on the same wavelength at this time. I went looking for something that I could work on as a diversion from the holiday knitting that I am endeavoring to finish. I found the Meandering Vines Shawl on ravelry. I wanted to use the Shimmer yarn that I got from knitpicks. It's over 1300 yards of baby alpaca/silk so I should have plenty to make a generous shawl. In the pattern, the yarn is held double throughout but I am trying it with one strand. So far, I have only finished one half of one repeat but I like it. It's easy enough to memorize but not so easy as to be boring. At least, not yet. The good thing about it is that I can just keep going until I get really bored with it and then bind it off.

Hopefully, this relationship will be more fulfilling than the last. I am continuing to work on socks but as they are gifts, the photos will have to wait. The weather is supposed to be yucky this weekend with cool temps and rain predicted so maybe after the chores are done and the shopping is completed, I'll be able to find some knitting time and not be tempted out doors.

We're going to Em's house on Sunday for a birthday dinner for Jim. She's making lasagna and all I have to do is bring some "good bread". I suppose it might be nice if I made some so maybe I'll fit that in on Saturday.

The fire is still raging in the Pinelands. It's up over 2,000 acres and less than half contained. We are keeping as close an eye as we can. The Pinelands (formerly known as the Pine Barrens) is a unique ecosphere and although I know fire will not completely wipe it out and can in fact be beneficial, it's still hard to watch. This morning as I left the house, I could smell smoke. I thought it was one of my neighbors but it was still there when I got to the train station. We're over 20 miles away. I guess the wind must have been blowing this way last night.

Are you ready for the weekend? Any plans?

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Doris!

You are a Doris -- "I must help others."

Dorises are warm, concerned, nurturing, and sensitive to other people's needs.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Tell me that you appreciate me. Be specific.


• * Share fun times with me.


• * Take an interest in my problems, though I will probably try to focus on yours.


• * Let me know that I am important and special to you.


• * Be gentle if you decide to criticize me.

In Intimate Relationships

* Reassure me that I am interesting to you.

* Reassure me often that you love me.

* Tell me I'm attractive and that you're glad to be seen with me.

What I Like About Being a Doris

* being able to relate easily to people and to make friends

* knowing what people need and being able to make their lives better

* being generous, caring, and warm
* being sensitive to and perceptive about others' feelings

* being enthusiastic and fun-loving, and having a good sense of humor

What's Hard About Being a Doris

* not being able to say no

* having low self-esteem

* feeling drained from overdoing for others

*not doing things I really like to do for myself for fear of being selfish

* criticizing myself for not feeling as loving as I think I should

* being upset that others don't tune in to me as much as I tume in to them

* working so hard to be tactful and considerate that I suppress my real feelings

Dorises as Children Often
* are very sensitive to disapproval and criticism

* try hard to please their parents by being helpful and understanding

* are outwardly compliant

* are popular or try to be popular with other children

* act coy, precocious, or dramatic in order to get attention

* are clowns and jokers (the more extroverted Dorises), or quiet and shy (the more introverted Dorises)

Dorises as Parents

* are good listeners, love their children unconditionally, and are warm and encouraging (or suffer guilt if they aren't)

* are often playful with their children

* wonder: "Am I doing it right?" "Am I giving enough?" "Have I caused irreparable damage?"

* can become fiercely protective

Take the test here.

Heehee! I'm a Doris. I'm also a Tarzan and Kermit the Frog depending on which test you prefer!

Tooth update: The dentist did all the prep work for reinstalling my crown yesterday and then discovered the crown had a pinhole in the top. AAGGHHH! She is sending it to the lab to be re-enameled and will put it in next week. In the meantime, she drilled and put in a screw and "built it up" to hold in the crown. A little sore in there today.

Lace update: The Triad Scarf and I are divorced. I got custody of the yarn and needles and will search for another partner. Don't cry. We weren't meant to be. In fact I've already moved on and am contemplating another relationship.

And that's all for Thursday.

I decided to give the lace scarf another chance or three last night and we are still not on speaking terms. I also realized that the cold weather we have been having is having an effect on the arthritis in my hands. This weekend I have to go through the coat closet and see what we all have in the way of winter woolies. I know I have mittens somewhere and a scarf and I think there's a hat in there. I also have to take my wool coat to the cleaners. Pk and I own winter jackets that come apart into two separate jackets made by Columbia. One inner layer that is fleece and one outer shell that was waterproof. They are well over 10 years old and the plastic zippers are starting to wear. We dropped them off at the cleaners to have them replaced. I thought about doing it myself but it means disassembling the front of the jacket and I thought I'd let a professional do it. The shells will be done in 2 weeks. In the meantime, we can wear the inner jackets. It's expensive to have a zipper replaced. When Pk told me how much, I almost went back inside and took them back! Then common sense kicked in and I'll let them do their job. It's a lot of work to replace these zippers and they deserve to be paid fairly.

I had so much trouble falling asleep last night. I dozed off and on until about 3 and then finally fell soundly asleep. I think it's probably because I am going to the dentist today for the final round of preparation to have my crown replaced. Yay! I can get rid of the little metal cap and get my tooth back and then I can chew on both sides of my mouth. An underrated feat if ever there was one. I also always have trouble sleeping this time of year. As the daylight grows scarce, my internal clock takes a while to reset. And the end of daylight savings time isn't for another week. That always takes me days to adjust to mentally.

I sat through one of the most uncomfortable meetings ever yesterday. It was supposed to be a chance for our interns to talk about their experiences in social rehab groups and talk about when they would like to run groups. It turned into a debate on recovery in mental health and I watched two professionals who should know better debate in front of the students. One of the girls said to me afterwards, "I've never been so uncomfortable in my life". I challenged what one of the people was saying because he was not making any sense and he didn't respond well. (He is my supervisor and I'm afraid I'll pay for that. ) I wish now that I had kept my mouth shut but I couldn't help it. He kept making statements that contradicted themselves and I couldn't stand it. I have supervision with my other supervisor today and I'll have a chance to talk about it.

There was (is) a huge fire burning in our neck of the woods. The Wharton Tract is on fire. We were driving in that direction last night but were still 20 miles away but could see the huge cloud of smoke. And as it got dark, we could see the glow from the fire. That's one of my favorite spots in the world and it hurts my heart. It's been really dry the last few weeks and the woods are ablaze. The winds aren't helping either. As of this morning, over 1300 acres have burnt and it's not under control yet. This happens now and again and I know that the woods will come back but it's hard to watch. This time there are houses and people in the way of the fire.

Have a good Wednesday. The World Series starts tonight. If I didn't live in the Philadelphia area, I wouldn't know that. But because the Phillies are playing, you can't miss it. There is a distinctive red cast to everything!