Dinner is on the stove and I have a few minutes so I thought I'd share what I finished last night.  This is a detail of my Embossed Leaves socks made from Serenity sock yarn base (merino/cashmere/nylon)  and dyed by Roxanne of Zen Yarn Garden.  These grey/blue/rose/burgundy socks are so wonderful.  I loved working with this yarn and I adore the colors.  I wore these socks today.  In fact, I'm wearing them now.  They are cuddling my feet with softness.

I started a new pair with December's artwalk sock yarn club for Pk.  Look at this bright red, orange and yellow.  It's Diagonal Cross Rib socks by Anne Budd from 25 Favorite Socks.  I've never made these before and I'm not sure why. It's an easy pattern and so easily memorized.  It's designed for a man so it starts with 70 stitches.    Pk chose the yarn for socks for himself and promised to wear them.  The colors of the yarn doesn't detract from the pattern.  It's a little brighter than his usual socks. 

And look at this month's offering.  This came on Saturday.  It's a self striping yarn in red, dark green and black.  It will make either dramatic socks or fingerless mitts.   It's based on a painting called  Christ and the Buddha by Paul Ranson.  I have been in this yarn club since Roxanne started it and I have never been disappointed by her yarns.  She has such a wonderful knack for finding the colors in a painting that will make beautiful yarn.

The next clue in the Evenstar kal comes out on Friday.  I'll be busy with that for a while after that working on the shawl but for now I'm enjoying all the colorful sock yarns and easy patterns. 

I wanted to embed this video but for some reason cannot seem to do it.  Take the time and check it out.  It's an amazing video of sand art.  The music is a Ukranian song written shortly after the start of WWII. (Pk works with a man who is from Russia and interpreted parts of it for him). The performance is part of a talent competition.  It's absolutely amazing and touching and beautiful.  It brought tears to my eyes.

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
 Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right
It's all right
`Lennon/McCartney

The lyrics to that song were running through my brain all day yesterday so I thought maybe if I put it here, it might go away.  Probably not since the sun is out and shining for all it's worth again today.  Not that I am complaining.  It's almost 50 degrees. (10 C) and it feels good.  I stood outside and just absorbed the warmth and it lifted my spirits.  The robin in the photo stood in my front yard looking toward the sun, too.  He stayed there while I ran to get the camera and let me take photos of him (or her?).  When I was a kid, the robins were a sure sign that Spring was here.  Lately we've seen them all winter.  And there are green shoots coming up.  Crocuses and daffodils are on their way.

Peter Kevin standing outside in the lovely spring sunshine.  He worked in the garage (workshop) all day yesterday and loved it.  It's been too cold for him to do much woodworking since that area is not heated.  Em made him some fingerless mitts which he got a lot of use out of but still, it's not smart to operate machinery that can separate you from various body parts when you can't feel your fingers.                                       

I spent yesterday sitting inside in the sunshine (it was still a little cool to sit outside for very long) and finished clue number two of my shawl kal.  You can see the green lifelines there in plain sight.  This clue was easier because there were no strange stitches.  Strange, you say?  Well, how about a K3tog K1pl 7?  It's a decrease which is really a an increase and makes a nice little bunched up effect. (You knit through 3 stitches k1p1 7 times and then take the original three off the needle).  It's not as hard as it sounds, just different.

I like the way it's coming out.  There are 1,000 (yes one thousand) people knitting this all together.  I'm not usually a joiner but this was a chance to work with a designer that I know and who is really creative.  Susan started her design company (Sunflower Designs) only a short while ago but if you look at the number of things she has available, it's astounding.  They're all clever and beautiful.  She's also a nice person.  My shawl is being knit from the yarn I bought from Colourmart.  It's a cashmere/silk/merino (heavy on the merino, which is probably a good thing since Bells told us how easily the cashmere breaks) blend and it's a 2/28.  This makes it thin.  The knitted fabric feels weighless.  The shawl will have a beaded edge (after all 7 clues) and I bought some matching beads to give it a whirl.  I know there are mistakes in here but I can't see them without microscopic examination so I'm going to pretend they're not there.

This is the bag it lives in while it waits for the next clue to be released.  I got it at the bookstore that was closing for 70% off.  I paid two dollars and I love it.  They're all various Super Monsters.  It's plastic coated nylon and has two large pockets inside and a zippered pocket.  It holds everything and snaps shut.  Personally, I just liked the monsters.

While I was looking for a photo of the Ott light, I read some reviews and they're not good.  These things seem to have a lot of problems (which seems odd since they're just lights and have no moving parts).  People report the balast not lasting long and the bulbs burning out after a short while.  One person reported sparks and smoke.  Great.  I finally find a light that I like and it may cause a fiery conflagration.  I love it.  .  I'll just keep an eye on it, especially since it sits right next to my head.  And Hobbes?  He loves it.  When I put it on, he comes over to sit in the light.  That's him sleeping on my lap under the light. 

Today I hope to finish the Embossed Leaves socks and start a pair for Pk out of some red and yellow yarn.  He admired it and said he'll actually wear them.  This is HUGE.  When I met him, he only wore white socks.  He's gradually moved onto beige, brown, black and blue.  Black and brown stripes were daring.  This pair will be tomato red with bits of yellow interspersed.  He has firm ideas of what "guys" wear and what they don't. (He'll never wear a pink shirt). 

 I'm going to make a beef pie for dinner.  Last night we had a roast done in the crock pot and there's some left over.  (I made popovers, too.  They are like magic!).  Because I have pie crust in the freezer, this will be an easy meal.  Just cut up the meat, add some vegetables and some gravy, put it all inside the pie crust and bake.  I love pot pie. 

Other than that, today will be a pajama day.  I showered and put on lounge-around-the-house clothes.  I slept for 9 hours last night and feel like I could go back to sleep so maybe a nap is in my immediate future.  I'm still throwing off the sinus infection and it's kicked my ass.  No strenuous work.  Just some knitting, maybe a movie and some more sleep.  Tough day, huh?

"Human beings by nature want happiness and do not want suffering. With that feeling everyone tries to achieve happiness and tries to get rid of suffering, and everyone has the basic right to do this. In this way, all here are the same, whether rich or poor, educated or uneducated, Easterner or Westerner, believer or non-believer, and within believers whether Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and so on. Basically, from the viewpoint of real human value we are all the same."


~His Holiness the Dalai Lama

It's all about the connections.  In my job, I see people in all stages of their lives.  We have children's programs (with which I have little contact) and programs for people who are just starting their recovery journey and those who are further along the path to mental wellness.  It is my priviledge to be invited into their lives when they're at their most vulnerable and to sometimes give them something to hold onto.  I think I've always wanted to be a counselor of some sort.  Not because I think I am particularly wise but because I believe most people already know what they want/need and just need someone outside of themselves to help them bring it out.  It fills me with quiet contentment when someone lets me know that they are having some small success and that I was somehow a part of it.  That's what it's all about. 

Being in my 50's, I have frequent thoughts of retirement (although Social Security lets me know that I shouldn't be too optimistic about that).  I look forward to being able to schedule my days according to my wants/needs and to not have to punch someone else's clock.  I will probably get involved in something else, maybe teaching literacy at the local library, to help keep myself occupied and to fill the need to help.  But for the moment, I am content to do what I can where I am. 

On the knitting front, I am almost finished my Embossed leaves socks (and they look gorgeous) and I'm on the foot of the patonyle Go with the Flow socks.  The stitch definition in that yarn is amazing.  I ripped out 30 rows of lace (I know.  Ouch), all the way back to the second lifeline (whoever invented lifelines is a hero in my book) and restarted clue number 2 on my Evenstar shawl.  I'm 8 rows in and it's looking good.  I am doing a few rows at a time rather than trying to sprint through and make mistakes.  My Ott light really comes in handy for this.  I got if for Christmas and hadn't really used it until about 2 weeks ago. I brought it upstairs where I knit at night and wow.   It makes it so much easier to see what I'm doing.  And I can focus it only on my hands and needles.   Hobbes likes it, too.  He'll curl up on my lap and sit there when I put the light on. 

Rosered asked what I would say to the Dalai Lama if I met him.  I have given this quite a bit of thought and I have no idea.  I think I'd like to sit down and have lunch with him and just have conversation.  He's been all over the world and has seen so many interesting things.  I don't think I'm smart/educated enough to keep up with him!  But somehow, I don't think that would matter too much. 

Well, the weekend flew by.  After a "snow alert" at the end of the week during which everyone panicked and schools closed, it turned out to be a manageable 12 inches of heavy wet snow.  The snow is retreating around the house and melting slowly enough so that the pump is able to keep up with it.  And the air feels balmy this morning.  It's above freezing.  I noticed my hyacinths have poked their heads above the snow.  That is the most hopeful sight I know.  Little bits of green reaching out toward the sun.

It was a good weekend.  We went shopping and got Pk's new power supply (it's huge) and new video card for his computer.  He was so excited because it will make his game playing  much better.  Then our internet went on the fritz and the download speeds were slower than dialup. (when we had service at all) When you're paying for dsl, that is annoying.  Comcast came yesterday and inside of a half hour we were wired and ready to go.  As a result, my email address has changed and I have to change it on all the accounts I pay with email.  Ironic twist.  Verizon sent out tech #5 (in 2 months) and he spent about 8 minutes and "fixed" our internet.  An hour later comcast came and we called to cancel verizon.  It took about a half hour to cancel their service.  We've been customers of theirs since 1981.  It was sad but we just got tired of paying for service we weren't getting

We took Pk to dinner to celebrate his birthday with the family and it was nice.  We ate at our favorite Chinese place and everyone ordered something and we all shared.  I made a buttery pound cake with strawberries which we had for desert.  I love the way the family has grown to include Jim and Patrick.  They are great additions and seem to be able to roll with the punches.

I stayed home yesterday to wait for the comcast guy.  I finished my first clue for the evenstar kal on the day clue #2 was released (Friday) and   started clue #2 (after putting in a lifeline!) and worked away.  I didn't like the way it looked so yesterday I ripped out all the way back to the lifeline and started over.  30 rows of lace with very thin laceweight yarn.  Gone.  This is the largest piece I've ever worked on and I want it to be as perfect as I can make it.  I took a photo of clue #1 but it's at home on the camera.  You can see some beautiful examples on the ravelry group page (evenstar kal). 

Pk is fighting a cold.  He almost never gets sick but this winter he has had 3 colds/respiratory infections.  I have had more than my share as well.  We're keeping the cold medicine companies in business, not to mention tissue manufacturers!  We're going to head over to the gym after dinner tonight so I can try out the yoga class and he can sit in the sauna.  He figures he can sweat all the germs out of his body.

That's all I've got.  Life is quiet and I'm not complaining.

"Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion."


~His Holiness the Dalai Lama
(I'd really like to meet him).

Have a peaceful day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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