Ah, the estate sale. What an interesting concept. A person dies and his relatives go through his things and take what they want and then sell off the rest. It's an odd phenomenon. I don't think the guy whose estate was for sale this Saturday was married. I didn't see anything even remotely feminine in the house. Pk found some bits of rusty tools that appealed to him and an older model GPS which he has had fun playing with. The really interesting part was the property which was selling for over 300,000 dollars because it had a dock and sat on a branch of the Mullica River. Tiny property and small house but, it had a dock!

We got to the sale at about 8:15. It was already crowded. And the crowds were not nice. There were some women shouting "that's mine, that's spoken for, don't touch that!" It was really weird and not at all comfortable. We were probably there for less than half an hour. I could hear some men talking amusedly about how they saw people just come in and take out armloads of stuff.

But, there was breakfast! We stopped at a diner and I had really good pancakes and sausage. And then we went to Woolbearers, my favorite of the yarn stores in the area. They're about 25 miles away from home but worth the trip. It turns out that the town was having an ice sculpting contest. This was their entry. I'll confess here that this photo was taken on Sunday because I was a doofus and forgot to take the camera with me on Saturday. Good thing Kate wanted to go to the store on Sunday. I remembered the camera and since it was in the shade and the temp hadn't gotten too high, it was still in pretty good shape. I bought some laceweight yarn and a pattern for when I finish the lace project I started for Long Lacey Summer. I haven't forgotten it, just put it aside as I worked on holiday and now baby gifts. I tried to pick it up last night but it was too dark and the yarn is too dark. It's definitely a daylight project.

I finished the Morning Surf Scarf. I didn't use up every scrap of the yarn because I wanted to save a bit of it. I'm trying to save a bit of all the yarn I spin so I can compare it. Maybe someday, it'll become a sampler afghan or something. This is what it looks like after a bath and being lightly blocked. It doesn't fit on my table so it's folded in half. The colors are brighter than the photo shows. Blocking does seem to have evened it out somewhat. I can't describe how very cool it is to knit with yarn that I spun. Watching the colors appear one after another gave me a thrill. I like the colors but they're still not me. And I will say that I don't like the pattern. I did it to be part of the group but I wouldn't have chosen it. When this dries (hopefully before dinner), I'm putting it into a package and sending it off.

Most of the sneezing and sniffling has gone away. I am still a little tired but on the whole, better. Pk and I got up early today and hit the grocery store. It's Superbowl Sunday and they'll be mobbed this afternoon as people get ready for the game. We won't be watching (no television). I'm doing the weekly laundry and spinning some. I ripped out half of the baby kimono sweater because I thought it looked too big. I took 10 stitches off the back and I think it'll be better. It's an easy pattern, just plain stockinette. It won't take too long to finish.

I put some stew in the crockpot this morning and the house is smelling good. I love a good stew and even though today is quite moderate and sunny, it'll be tasty with minimum fuss.

I hope you are all having a lovely, peaceful weekend.

This is what it looked like Wednesday when we got home. That is not snow but fog. It was a really strange storm. It started out as snow on Tuesday night and then changed to freezing rain. By the time we went to work in the morning, the rain had frozen on the snow and it was slick. I started the car early so it would help the ice melt somewhat. I hesitate to do that because of the waste but it was necessary. That slush there at the bottom of the driveway is frozen hard at this point and it crunches in a satisfying way when you drive over it. By the time we came home, there was a strange fog and you couldn't see anything as we rode over the bridge. Very unsettling.

I''ve spent a lot of time sitting at the wheel in the last few days. I've spun this lovely stuff. This is the Ina Gadda Da Vida roving I got for PK. You know the story of the title of the song? Iron Butterfly, a one hit wonder of a band, got really drunk one night and decided to write a song called In the Garden of Eden. They were so drunk, the words came out slurred and a legend is born. I love, love, love, this. I'd call it Robin Hood or something like Sherwood because that's what it reminds me of. The greens and browns dominate but there is the little bit of orange and teal in there. Pk reminds me frequently that he is waiting for socks from this.

He'll have to wait until I finish spinning it and for me to finish another project I started. It's strange because counting my commuting socks, I have 4 other wips. I never have more than two. I think it's a disease. I started my first top down sweater. It's a baby kimono style sweater (I found it on ravelry) that is practically seamless . I figured it's a good way to try something out because it's small. A coworker's wife is having a baby. The shower is Feb. 20th so I have about 3 weeks. I'm about 1/3 done and am ready to put the sleeves on waste yarn and continue down the front and back. I'm using some cotton/acrylic blend I had on hand. It's very soft and very washable. It's white and instead of ties, I'm going to get a cute button for the front. I just finished a gift item and once it's been gifted, I'll show you. It's a cutie.

Tomorrow is Friday and I took the day off. I would have called in sick today but it would count against me so I slogged through the day sneezing and blowing my nose. I figured I could take a vacation day tomorrow and then have the weekend to rest up. That's what I figured until Pk found an estate sale (with old tools) about an hour away on Saturday. He keeps telling me the woman was a knitter (yeah, right). He did offer to look up yarn stores on the way so it might not be too bad to go look at some old tools if I get to look at some fibery goodness, too. And breakfast. I insist on breakfast because we have to leave the house by 6:30. We don't leave that early for work! I'll let him drive and I can work on the morning surf scarf and maybe finish it up.

And now it's time for me to go. I took some benadryl and I want to stop writing before I start babbling. Benadryl makes me very sleepy but it works better than any other antihistamine for me.

Have a good Friday and a great weekend. Photos of the estate sale if the weather is nice and especially if the wife was a knitter! (although I'd bet all her friends have already picked through her stash!)

It snowed last night. Everything has a light dusting of the white stuff and it's snowing lightly now. It won't last. Today we're supposed to get flurries and then snow/sleet/freezing rain tonight with plain rain tomorrow. I hate these kind of storms. They start out all pretty and soft and before you know it, it's icy and slippery. And people drive like maniacs.

******************************************************************************

I'm sitting at my desk. It's shortly before 8 am and I know that as soon as it gets closer to 9, the phone will start ringing and people will cancel their appointments this afternoon and I'll be scrambling to find them new ones and make sure they have enough medication. A little snow makes people nervous and I guess I can't blame them. If you're dependent on public transportation inside the city, it's a mess when even a little bit of snow falls.

********************************************************************************

I am giving a Crisis Mgmt presentation today for our interns. No physical stuff, just some guidelines on dealing with individuals in crisis. I offered to do it so we could meet some regulations. We're due for a Joint Commission inspection (they accredidate hospitals. without it we can't get paid by insurance companies. It's a BIG deal) and they want all the i's dotted and t's crossed.

*********************************************************************************

On the train this morning, a woman sat in front of us with a fur (or a really good fake fur) coat. Around her neck she was wearing an orange/brown/rust colored..............thing. I guess I could call it a scarf since it was around her neck but it wasn't like any scarf I've ever seen. There was some eyelash yarn, some ribbon, and what looked like feathers. It was all I could do not to touch it. She didn't look like the kind of person you could ask to touch. She got on with headphones on and sat with her book. Definite walls in place there. I stared at it for 5 stops before I got off trying to figure out what it was made of and how it was made. It fascinated me.

**********************************************************************************

I am halfway finished the morning surf scarf. It feels nice (it's superwash merino) and the colors are really nice. It's bright and cheery when the days are grey and not-so-cheery. I want to finish it so I can finish my mittens. I need the mittens.

**********************************************************************************

My computer is back and running like a champ. The virus is gone and all of the software is now installed. Pk fixed the settings so it is almost exactly the same. I apologized repeatedly to him and he has forgiven me for being less than grateful. I reminded him that for him, playing with the computer is an adventure and he likes it to be new and different. To me, it's a tool. I want it to work the same every time. Newness and adventure are not words I associate with my comuter. He just says "you're not very good with change". Not entirely true, just some change.

***********************************************************************************

This feels like a bullet post so I'll call it the Tuesday Early Morning Bullet Post. Random thoughts from a random mind.

Today was a great day. I did the laundry and straightened up the house but I spent most of the day in fibery pursuits. I spun some roving I bought for Pk because it's called In A Gadda Da Vida (remember the song by Iron Butterfly?). He loves that song. It looks like this. It's lovely greens/browns/oranges. It spins up like this. I spun a bobbin full of it today. I'm planning to spin some more of it tomorrow and then ply it together. I have 8 ounces so if I spin it thin enough, he can have a pair of socks. Emily is coming for dinner and wants to bring her wheel so we could spin together. That's a new experience.

I also gave some quality time to the morning surf scarf. It's about twice that size now but I had to take advantage of the morning light because it was cloudy for most of the day and the light comes in through the window for only a short time each day. These colors are pretty close. I like the way the color changes occur. The purple doesn't clash with the oranges. I am not in love with the pattern. If you go to ravelry and check out the Ply by Night group, you can see what everyone else's has come out like. The more experienced spinners have thinner, more consistent yarn and their dropped stitches don't seem to stick out as much as mine. Since this is still relatively new to me, my yarn is not consistent, although it is getting better. My dropped stitches vary from one place to another and they all look different. It makes the scarf texturally interesting and I have to let go of my inner OCD and let it be. It uses up a lot of yarn. Fortunately I have a good amount so the scarf will have a chance to be a good length. I already have a good home in mind for it so it won't languish on the top of our coat closet.

Pk rebuilt my computer because it had picked up a rather nasty virus (random pop up ads and phishing expeditions which were driving me crazy) and we could not get rid of it by using spyware protectors. I was less than gracious when he told me he had forgotten to save my folder of photos and I can't find the software for my camera so I have to use the software that came with his (they're both Nikons) and it's different. I should have had a backup disk. I don't like change like this. I am not a computer whiz and don't like my software to change. I want to turn on the machine and have it look just like I expect and function like I want. With no changes. Now, I am feeling disgruntled and he is feeling unappreciated. I have apologized but I know I hurt his feelings and that makes me feel funny inside. Sigh. Someday I'll grow up.

And I can't remember the password for my email because I haven't used it for almost 4 years. I'll have to wait for him to call verizon tomorrow and set up the email. I'm lucky to have someone who is willing to spend several hours playing with my computer to fix it for me.

I hope things are running smoothly in your world and your toys are working.

Your Word is "Love"

You see life as possibility to form deep connections with a few people. Relationships are the center of your world, and you always take time to bond with those you love. You are caring and giving. You enjoy helping those you love. And when it comes to romantic love, you feel passionately ... even in a very long term relationship.

What's" Your Word?

I've been busy working on the morning surf scarf. Surprisingly I like the colors but I still don't like the pattern. It's taken me several starts to find the size needles I like and to decide on a width I like. I finally cast on 36 stitches on size 3 needles. I don't like dropped stitches. I'll take some photos tomorrow when we are supposed to have sun and I can catch the colors. They go together much better than I thought they would.

In the mean time, I hope you are all having a good weekend. Our temps are more moderate and it's nice not to be freezing. At this moment, I have bare feet! And it feels good. Makes me want to go out and get a pedicure. But then I'd just put my feet back into my socks and shoes. I think I'll get one soon anyway. As much as they tickle, I love the way my feet feel.

Photos of the scarf soon to follow.

I thought I'd share some of the 'sunshine' I have been spinning. This is the rovin unravelled. It's every bit as soft as it looks. As you can see, there is some very deep purple, some yellows and oranges and even some pink and white. An odd combination of colors. Spun up randomly, is looks like this. The colors blend in an interesting way. I am not sure how I feel about it but since it's a group project, I'll finish. The first batch I spun up is a little thicker. I got thinner as I went. I want to use the thinner stuff for the scarf. It's very slippery to spin and I love touching it. The group decided on the morning surf scarf pattern so that's what it will be. If you go to the ravelry group Ply by Night, you can see how everyone else's roving spun up and see it knitted into scarves. I am slow and am bringing up the rear of the group.

Today, we are proud to be American again. There is a feeling of hopefulness in the air that we haven't felt for a long, long time. I know that electing one man will not magically make the problems go away. The economic problem is way too deep for that. It can however, make us all think that maybe there is a way out of this moral morass we find ourselves in (I was overjoyed to hear the candidate for Attorney General say "waterboarding IS torture") and the economic hole and maybe there is a light at the end of the long tunnel. President Obama has a long, hard row to hoe.

I wish him well and send him all my good thoughts. We need him now.

It's Monday morning and I'm sitting at my desk. No, scratch that. It's a Monday Holiday Morning and I'm sitting at my desk. For those of you who are not here in the US, it's the day we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's a federal holiday. That means the post office is closed, banks are closed and schools are closed. Community Mental Health centers are open.

It's normally quiet here on the second floor at 8 o'clock. Things don't really get hopping until 9. I enjoy this quiet time. I catch up on blogs and listen to phone messages and put myself into work mode.

Today, it's more than quiet. I think I'm the only one up here. A lot of people take federal holidays off. Pk is off and was sleeping soundly when I left. As I leaned over to kiss him goodbye, he smiled but didn't wake up. The train was running on a holiday schedule and was not crowded. One could even say it was empty. Weird.

Tomorrow is election day. There's a lot of pressure on Obama to make good and I hope he's up to it. Bush is a tough act to follow. Not because he was so good, but because he made such a mess. I hope the critics give Obama a chance to settle in and find his bearings.

My weekend was a good one. I started making a long overdue gift and did quite a bit of spinning. If you are a spinner/knitter, I'd like to recommend Crown Mountain Farms. I placed an order on Thursday and by Saturday I had a box of fiber in my hands. And it's lovely hand dyed merino. There is a ravelry group called Ply by Night. We are all spinning the same fiber and knitting the same thing (morning surf scarf) to see the differences. I am not fond of the color this round. It's all yellow and purple and some red/orange. It's called Sunshine of Your Love. It is definitely out of my comfort zone. I spun half of it to get a good feel for it and then last night started spinning it thin to make a fingering weight. I also ordered In A Gadda Da Vida for Pk. It's one of his favorite songs. (probably the only song Iron Butterfly ever did). It's green/blue/brown/purple.

That's it. A quiet weekend in a quiet life. Em wants to have a meeting of the Succulent Wild Knitters tonight but I'll wait to see how the day goes. Mondays are tough for me and sometimes I don't have much energy left at the end of the day.

Have a good monday.

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
~Buddha

eta: blogger keeps taking away the paragraph breaks today. I bolded the beginnings to break up the large block of test.