A Day In My Life- January 14 (written on Jan 15th!)

It started out like all other winter days, dark. It was dark when we left the house after eating a breakfast of Cheerios and milk and putting a yogurt in my bag for lunch. I had time to make a pot of coffee so that went into the travel mug and into the bag along with the sock in progress and mp3 player. It's dark when I come home most evenings, too. This is when I really miss the light. I feel like a mushroom.

Pk and I ride the train together in the morning. We started this when gas got to be over 4 dollars a gallon and have continued just because we like it. It means no music or knitting on the train in the morning but hand holding and kisses goodbye. A good trade off!

I got into work and proceeded to do the progress notes from the Tuesday clinic and have supervision with my boss. She's really great and is supportive and understanding. We tried to figure out a way to use less paper with our new system but I think we'll have to wait until they make some system changes for that to happen.

Lunch time and the phone is ringing off the hook. People who need new appointments, or prescriptions faxed to their pharmacies or who just to talk about what's going on in their lives. I think if some of the women I have as clients weren't clients, I would like to have them as friends. As it is, it's hard to remember sometimes that they are NOT my friends and to observe professional boundaries. By nature, I am a friendly person and tend to think everyone likes me and wants to be my friend. This makes me good at my job but makes me vulnerable to making huge mistakes in judgement. I try to keep a good reign on this.

After lunch, it was off to see the dentist. She tried to "tap" the crown out. No way. It was on there so tight she had to drill it into pieces and then clean off the extra cement. It's root canaled so it didn't hurt. My gums are sore but that's about it. The hard part was biting into the trays of goo and having to hold them in my mouth until they hardened. The first two weren't too bad but the third one made me gag repeatedly. I was glad I had only eaten the yogurt. The dentist is going to submit this to the insurance company with an explanation and we'll see if they'll pay for it. I hope so. And on Feb. 5th, the new crown will be cemented in. I'll be due for my cleaning two weeks after that but we cannot combine them into one appointment because the insurance company will not pay for the cleaning unless it's 6 months TO THE DAY after the last one. That means I have to go back to the dentist at the end of Feb to get the cleaning done.

I went to the department store to score some dress pants for work at 75 percent off (!) and then picked Pk up at the station. We got home and decided to get some take out chicken for dinner.

We spent the evening quietly. He doing some programming work on the computer and I was trying to work on my Leaves of Whimsy socks.(I'd like to link the pattern but I got it off a Knit a Day calendar I got last year). I say 'trying' because around 7:30 I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell asleep for about an hour with the knitting in my hand. I woke up and stayed awake until 10 and then fell soundly asleep and slept till morning. I don't know why I was so sleepy but I think your body knows what it needs and mine obviously needed sleep.

Today, Thursday, I am tackling some more notes and then we have a staff meeting. This should be good as everyone complains about how slow the new system is making things. Sometimes we spend so much time arguing against things we have no control over and we just make ourselves more upset. Sometimes, you just have to accept the situation and make the best of it. This is one of those times. We have no control over this new system and just have to go along. It's a case of 'choose your battles'.

The artic freeze has finally hit here. It's cold enough for me to wear a hat. That has to be really cold because I hate hats. They make my head itch. It's a "code blue" in the city and our Homeless Outreach Teams spend the night scouring the city looking for homeless folks and trying to coax them to come into shelters out of the cold. Sometimes, they're successful and sometimes the individuals choose to stay outside. They have the right to make the choice and whether we agree with it or not, we have to respect it. It's a tough call. I don't think I could be an outreach worker. It's a tough job. We have a great team. They know all the spots where people congregate and how to coax them in.

I hope where you are is warm and comfortable and safe.

I found this image in an online search for 'sock images' (I also found a link for emo sock images but you had to sign up so I have only my imagination as to what they would be!).

Actually, I am wearing my Go with the Flow socks today. Yay! Pair number 5 and they are on MY feet. They are a perfect match to the sweater I am wearing. I so enjoyed the pattern that I will probably make another pair.

I had a thought (yes, in the middle of the week) about the Brown Bag Sock Club (that's how I think of it). Suppose once or twice during the year, we exchange sock yarn. Anyone who wants can put their name in and we'll send each other small packages with sock yarn, patterns and possibly some goodies. It would not cost anything other than postage and would give everyone a surprise which is (to me) the best part of a club. You would send one of your brown bags to someone else and get a brown bag in the mail. Anyone interested? I'll organize it. The first exchange could be March/April and maybe one in August/September. Leave me a comment. I don't want to make this too complicated. If there are only a few people, then so be it. It'll still be fun.

Yesterday was marginally better than Monday. I spent a good deal of the morning playing IT for one of the doctors. I wish I could just say No. Today I am headed to the dentist for part eleventy thousand in the saga of the tooth. She's going to cut the crown off my tooth and we'll make a mold for a new one. It involves biting down on this really yucky green gooey stuff that hardens like plastic. I have a really strong gag reflex so this is torture for me. I am holding out hope that she will be able to just pull out the old crown and I can have it repaired. Then I can start arguing with the insurance company and the people who made the crown about just who should pay for this procedure (it's almost a thousand dollars). I may let Pk duke it out with them. He's more aggressive than I.

So, let me know if you're interested in the Brown Bag Sock Club (BBSC) exchange. I started my January pair last night. I'm using a pattern similar to embossed leaves from 25 Favorite Socks but it's called Leaves of Whimsy. It's an easy pattern and will look good in the variegated yarn.

So, what's in your January bag?

Exhausted. That's the word for today boys and girls. We started using a new program at work today and because we are not computer weenies but mental health professionals, it was not an unqualified success. It was probably not a success by anyone's definition.

I could go on and on about this but it's a tiring subject and I have a headache from all of the hullaballoo. Instead, I'll show you this. Why, yes it is exactly what it looks like: a brown paper bag sitting on my laptop. (and blurry at that). Why am I showing you a brown paper bag? Because it is the first installment of the "do it yourself sock yarn club". I have been inspired by Jeanne. The whole idea is to use up the sock yarn that just sits in the stash because something else catches your eye. So, you take 12 different skeins of sock yarn (c'mon, you know you have at least 12 in there!) and put them into separate brown bags. You can put a pattern in there, too, if you are so inclined. Each month you reach in and pull out a bag and knit up the yarn into a pair of socks. I put my yarn into bags and put them into my tote without patterns. I didn't feel like finding 12 patterns all at once. I figure, I'll choose patterns as I pick yarns. This was in the bag for January. It's a bamboo/superwash/nylon blend I bought from Jessie at a piece of vermont. I really like the colors. I'll be using it as soon as I finish my Go with the Flow socks. I'm almost done the foot. I've pulled out some sock pattern books and I'll look around for something for me. Some of the yarn I've put into the bags was earmarked for socks for family members so when they get chosen, those family members will get socks. This in no way means that I won't buy sock yarn that calls out to me but it does mean that I will use some of the beautiful yarns that are just sitting there. Anyone who would like to join in is invited! Pull out the brown bags! It's like giving yourself a gift each month and it doesn't cost anything. Can't beat that!

We are supposed to get ungodly cold temps this week. It's been cold but bearable. This week and next week it's supposed to be down below freezing and stay there. Is it wrong to hope that we get some frozen precipitation in the form of snow? Living here in the Middle Atlantic states (that's what we were taught in elementary school), is heartbreaking. They predict snow and then we are just on the edge where it turns to rain. The temps creep up just above freezing and it rains. But hope springs eternal in this child's heart! We are due for some precipitation this week and with the cold temps, maybe, just maybe, we'll get some snow. My fingers are crossed!

Tomorrow will be another day with the new program. Sigh. Thank goodness for the crock pot. I had a beef roast and some potatoes in there tonight and tomorrow it'll be chicken cacciatore (chicken with tomatoes, onions and peppers). Then I'll just have to come home and cook up some pasta. It's so easy when the day has been long.

Technology. Gotta love it.

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.
~Buddha





With all the talk of new year's resolutions, I've been thinking. I'm not much of a resolution maker. I've learned that I am not a goal oriented person. I like to have vague ideas of where I am going and aim in their general direction and then see where life takes me in the process of getting there. Sometimes, this is good. Like when I decided a few years ago that I wanted to make a gift for a baby and I wanted to knit a blanket. I didn't know how to knit but figured, "how hard can it be?" and taught myself and opened doors that have brought joy into my life. And when I bought spindles and wool for my girls for Christmas and got intrigued by this whole yarn making thing. Good things.


Sometimes, this is not so good. Like when you need to get something done and need a plan and a clear path. I can do this but it's not my preferred method of operation. I need to work on these kind of planning skills.

But, I think for the new year, I am going to try to notice the small things that I have to be thankful for. Happiness does not always come in with bells and whistles. Sometimes it comes in with whispers. I want to hear the whispers.


Because, as the Buddha said, 'at least I didn't die'.


We are in for some "winter weather" this weekend. People seem surprised by this. It's winter so go figure. I am going to be busy taking down the holiday decorations and maybe doing some spinning. Pk wore his scarf yesterday and showed it off at work. He tried to explain about it being handspun but they don't get it. (it's that "why would you go to all that trouble when you can buy perfectly good yarn.......")


If you need a shot of summer, check out Bells' photos of her garden. Makes me want to sit outside in the sunshine with my bare feet in the grass. Now if it were only not quite so cold.....

I went to a funeral today. When I went into the funeral home, I did not know the woman who had died. When I left, I knew her a little better.





I went because I have known the woman's granddaughter since she was a very young girl. She is a friend of my daughter and for a while we worked together at CVS. She is one of the nicest young women I know and she had a hard time growing up. Her mother has an addiction problem and to say she was erratic would be an understatement. Her grandmother was the stabilizing force in her life and her inspiration.





Today I learned that her grandmother, Norma, had been a librarian, a gardner, a woman who was meticulous in her dress and manner, a bible reader, a good cook, loving, kind and sweet. I learned all of this from a young woman who found it within herself to get up in front of a room full of people and talk about the woman she loved and would miss so much. She did it with grace and love. I was so proud of her today. I'm sure Norma was enormously proud.





It is raining again. The temp is just above freezing so it's cold. We had to get out the pump and there are great lakes of water on the lawns and a river running down the street. It could be worse. It could be ice.





Now I'm going to go and finish up Pk's scarf. I only have a few grams of wool left and I'll use it up. It should be long enough to wrap around his neck. I should have made it narrower and then it would be longer but too late now. I am really pleased with the way it came out. It's the best yarn I've spun and gives me hope I'll be able to make some more.
ETA: the scarf goes easily around his neck, it just doesn't wrap around twice. It fits quite nice actually, the width keeps his neck warm all the way up to his ears.




I hope you are all dry and warm. Go find someone you love and give them a hug.

This is what my Christmas tree looks like if you sit on the couch and take a photo without going through the trouble to get up and make sure you've gotten the whole thing. And if you try to find a setting to take a photo without a flash that doesn't come out all blurry.

I always love the Christmas tree. It's my favorite decoration and has sometimes stayed up well into January. I have been sitting downstairs and spinning by the tree or knitting in the recliner so I can spend time with the tree before I take it down. Probably that will happen this upcoming weekend. It's a process and takes some doing to put all of this stuff away.

I was wondering why we go through all of this every year. Why bring out 9 big totes of decorations and then a huge tree that blocks the light (at the time of year when light is scarce) and fills the living room? It takes forever to clean up the needles and pick them out of the rug and it sure isn't "green" to have a real tree.

And then I remember how much I love the tree. Each one has a personality and I start to feel like they're my friends. They bring out the kid with the sense of wonder as I stand there and tilt my head back and look at the angel on the top. The colored lights almost make up for the blocked sunlight and the tinsel sparkles as we walk by and it moves in the light breeze.

So, I'll go down and fix dinner and when it's over, I'll sit in the recliner and work on Pk's scarf (it's nearing completion) and bask in the glow of my friend, the Christmas tree. It tends to be cold down there so I'll wear a sweater and my warm socks and slippers. I'll listen to a book as I knit and purl and reflect on the beauty that is our Christmas tree. And know that there are only a few days left to do this so I'll enjoy it all the more.

Come Saturday, I'll collect the snowmen, reindeer, Santas, wreaths, snowflakes, penguins, lights and other things that were lovingly placed around the house in early December and pack them in tissue paper and put them away. Then I'll remove the tinsel, take off the garland and the glass beads and put them away and then remove each ornament and place it in it's box or wrap it in tissue and put it into the tote. Then I'll pull off the lights and drag the tree out front where it will rest on the curb until the trash men take it away next week. It will take all day. And when I'm done and the furniture is all back in place, I'll revel in the clean surfaces that are bereft of all the Christmas tchatchkes and the space and the light that can finally make it through the window. And the cats will be ecstatic to have the sofa in front of the window again so they can spy on the neighbors in comfort.

And Christmas will finally be over. Until next year.

Happy New Year! We survived another New Year's Eve and it is a beautiful, clear, sunny day. It was so windy last night that it felt like invisible monster was hitting the house with great big invisible pillows. I thought we'd wake up and find trees down but found only run away trash cans. I think it might be a problem for the Mummers today. Some of their costumes have large, feathered backpieces that catch the wind and would make it really hard to march.

You know, I've always said I was married to a good man. Well, I want to show you how good. 30 years ago (or thereabouts), he was in the Navy. Being the good girlfriend I was, I made him cookies and crocheted him a scarf. Now, we were young and he had given me a poem that said, "You are yellow, I am blue. Together we make green. Green is my favorite color" (Sappy, I know but we were teen agers). So, I made him a yellow, blue and green scarf. Bright, primary colors with fringe. Made of indestructible acrylic yarn. How indestructible? Here it is in the early morning sunshine today. It's in perfect shape. He's worn it for 30 years and still wears it. It is the Scarf That Will Not Die. I'd like to replace it with something a little nicer. So I am using this yarn that I spun myself to make him this. This is about 7 inches of the yarn harlot's one row scarf. The yarn is a two ply that I spun this past week. It's the best yarn I've done so far and I'm really proud of it. There is a subtle random striping going on. I have a large cake (138 g) and it's about 17 wpi which makes it a fingering weight. The scarf is soft but not limp and not scratchy. I love the natural colors of the wool and the idea that I spun it. I also have another skein drying that I think I'll turn into a hat or maybe some gloves. I'm not sure about the gloves. The whole idea of ten little finger tubes turns me right off.

I am more of a mitten person and here is my first thrummed mitten. I've made mittens before but the thrumming was new. The insides look like this. It feels like your hand is surrounded by a warm cloud. It's unprocessed alpaca that Emily gave me. The yarn is Patons Shetland Bulky in a Charcoal tweed. I learned that if you want neat, perfect thrumms you should probably not use alpaca. It's so soft and slippery that little fibers escape and get onto the surface of your knitting. If you are at all OCD, you should probably use something less wispy and more dense. I am not terribly OCD and I love the way the alpaca feels. I've cast on for number two and hope to finish it soon.

It's really cold here today. Yesterday we had an intense snow shower. I was in the store and couldn't see my car which was only about 20 feet away because of all the blowing snow. It lasted only a few minutes but lightly covered the ground with frosted-sugar looking snow. It's gone today and not a cloud mars the beautiful blue sky. I have a nice long weekend and I'm looking forward to more spinning and knitting and napping and maybe a little visiting. I like dragging out the holiday feeling as long as possible. Come January it's a long, cold slog until Spring.

Stay warm, stay safe and have a happy day!