The Longest Week - TGIF!

Remember last weekend when I said we were having Very Important Visitors at the office? (at the risk of making you think I'm fabricating all this, I'm going to come clean and let you in on it all...)

In addition to my routine financial audit this past December, in January we had a state fiscal audit (hadn't had one in the 5 years I'd been there so we were overdue). And this week?

The Feds were in. Now I know that probably sets off all sorts of alarm bells. (I'm an accountant...I know what that stuff sounds like! LOL - And NO, they did not lock the doors...!)

In reality - they hadn't been in to review anything in an even longer time than the state had been (and this wasn't a fiscal audit, thankfully, it was a program site review - they asked me questions, of course, but they weren't into the knitty gritty details of the stuff I do, they wanted policies and procedures which I can quote till the cows come home without having to look in the manuals! STILL it's stressful to have them here, not to mention that the office I'm in is the only room large enough to hold all of them - so I got to share my space (and I'm usually completely alone (and I like it that way, I'm really something of a hermit, after all).

They left yesterday - and gave us a glowing report! Whoohoo! (Of course, deep down I wasn't worried, but I'm someone who expects the worst so that I'll be delighted when it doesn't happen...)

I'm giddy. Truly.

And perhaps now things will settle down a little bit. I don't think there's anyone else to come in to visit! The Women's Health Study is still going on, so there's that complicating factor for a few more weeks, but that's not so bad.

Is it any wonder I come home and sew and knit? There's got to be some sort of stress relief.

Tomorrow? Saturday? (After I sleep in a bit) I'm heading to Knitters' Knook in Boones Mill, because Becky is having her official Grand Opening. I hear there will be a SALE, and refreshments and door prizes.

I have a few things to deliver to her - a couple of these are already spoken for, but you know the drill - email me if you're interested and I'll see what I can do, okay?


And this got mailed out this week to one of my good cat show customers (she breeds Tonkinese so the brown and aqua colors of this neat fabric are important to her!):

You've seen this fabric before in a LynZel and also a Grace. This is a Grand Mera. It's one of those fabrics that works on everything I put it on! Love those, and they're not the norm at all...

Anyway, I've managed in all this craziness to get my taxes pretty well completed (whew!) and still take care of my DGS (#1), and even have a few conversations with friends.

And now? I'm not even sure I dare pick up Helsinki. I'm tired. I'm heading to bed...

'Cause there's a sale I've earmarked a bit of extra cash for tomorrow and I just can't wait! I think, maybe, I deserve a bit of a splurge!
*wink*

Contest! I'm Remiss!

Not not me, silly.
Chris.

She's looking for your knitting tips and tricks and favorite tools. And if you mention you read it here in your comment to the post linked above, I get another chance in her contest (and you can do the same on your blog!)

So get crackin' - post your suggestions (I'd like to read them, too, over there!) - and remember to let her know you read about it HERE!
(((Hugs)))

Endings & Beginnings

Catharina Faroese Shawl came off the needles last night, and all ends are woven in. She'll be blocked on Sunday, and Big Sis is planning on visiting in about 2 weeks, so I'll actually have the chance (I think) to give it to her and take photos of her on her new owner! I can't wait...

It was a little sad finishing her. The last 2 repeats of the lace edging had me thinking of starting her way back in May 2006 as a part of the Amazing Lace KAL. Maybe there was so much trouble with the pattern and the knitting of her simply because I was fabricating a story about her ultimate use to hide her real purpose (my sister's 60th birthday gift) and still be able to blog about her. I remembered the photo I took that suggested the shawl was for a personal "special occasion" which wasn't true at any point in time (ok...maybe it was wishful thinking on my part?).

Even white lies can cause problems and bad karma. Perhaps that's one reason I hit so many roadblocks along the way...?

But what I can say about this knit was she was a wonderful teacher. Catharina was my first Faroese-style shawl, my first laceweight yarn. I learned about different needles (begun on Addi Naturas, switched to Addi Lace, and assisted by Knitpicks Harmonys to knit the edging...). I made great strides in learning to read my knitting, and in learning to fix mistakes. What a terrific teaching tool she's been.

And she's going to live with my favorite sister. Okay, she's my only sister, but she's my favorite, too! That's too cool. My sister gives so much to me. It's just the neatest thing in the world to know I can give her something that's this special!

So...HAPPY DANCE! Catharina is (almost) done! The Meezer, of course, will officiate at the Block Party, as usual.

And because I was ready for something a bit different (larger needles, yarn, cables not lace)....

I began the

Helsinki Hat Scarf from Rowan 42.

Soft, soft, soft Lamb's Pride Bulky for the yarn (I got a good deal at WEBS) and Harmony 10.5 interchangeables for the needles...What a difference from tiny needles and laceweight yarn! And it's going really fast!
Wheee...I like new Beginnings...
(((hugs)))

It's Raining Sock Yarn!

Okay, not really, but there appears to be an abundance of the scrumptious squishy goodness headed my way - I've got the yarn coming from the painting depicted below, and because my suggestion was chosen, that means I'm going to get April's yarn in the sock club free. As such, since I'd budgeted for that month, I'll buy another member's November yarn that isn't in colors she loves, but I'd sat that month out, feeling the pinch of Christmas.

You all know how crazy I am about socks and sock yarn?

And I told you I promised to make my Big Sis another pair? Well...her yarn arrived today, fresh from Knit Happens in Alexandria, my second favorite LYS in the whole world (Knitter's Knook is my new favorite - which is a good thing since it's local!).

Big Sis warned me that I wouldn't want to send it back.

She was right.

C*eye*ber Fiber's Wool/Tencel sock yarn in Augustus colorway. Isn't it scrumptious?

And I have to send it back. (sigh)

I've emailed Mama E. She's working on another order for Knit Happens. I think I'll call and ask them to hold this colorway for me.

Or maybe...just maybe. I should knit from my sock yarn stash?

I Won! The Selection Is...

Van Gogh's Almond Branches In Bloom for March's choice for the Art Walk Sock Yarn Club.

I cannot wait to see what Roxanne does with this painting...I'll show you as soon as it's allowed, okay?

Yummy colors, huh?

Sunday Nights Come Too Soon!

Like everyone else, I run out of weekend before I run out of the things I want and need to do...

Today was a sewing day. I'd like to say I worked on the Magickal Earth Shawl more, but I didn't. I made this instead:

I found this fabric at the one quilting store in town. The one I know about anyway! She showed it to me, and I just about flipped! What a great fabric! So I thought, I'll buy enough for a Posy and see if anyone else likes it as I do. What do you think?

I made another Posy today, too, but you've seen a similar one before so I'm not showing that one. Just the new and different makes it here!

I did put a couple of scallops on Catharina - only 6 more to go and she'll be ready to block. I may be able to knock those out tomorrow night when DGS#1 is here, but surely I'll be able to block her this coming weekend. I cannot wait! (May I say that knitting Catharina's laceweight yarn was as different as moving UP to fingering after knitting the "thread" I was using last night!!! lolol!)

I finished Trekking 60 sock #1 and cast on the toe of the second sock. I'm all ready for my week. The office is having "VERY IMPORTANT VISITORS" this week, so I have to have something calm and mindless to do during lunchtime!

I hope we all have a great week...

Mom. Please. Can we go upstairs to bed now?
...The Meezer

Too Excited NOT to Share! :)

I'm about 1/2 way thru the first repeat of the edging pattern. Size 1s. I re-read Meg's notes. Duh. The gauge info says 36 sts to 4 inches in st st.

Meg says, knit two repeats of the edging as your gauge swatch. Stretch it out (I damp blocked it). If you like what you see...

And I DO!

How about you?

Productivity!

I'm on the mend (yeah!) but feeling really really sore (coughing isn't kind on the ribcage muscles) so it's slow going around here. I'm delighted to say I have a potato in the oven baking for dinner - believe me these days, that's an enormous accomplishment. I've been lucky to open a can of soup this week!

I cast on to knit the swatch in the cashmere/silk? Um. I'll try again. This stuff is baby fine. I'm considering making THIS (if you're on Ravelry), if not, then THIS. Isn't it stunning? From GOL.

Why, yes, I know I'm probably looking at another two-year project (at least!) but, hey, I seem to do that with lace, don't I? lolol! Still, the pattern calls for size 0s on Zephyr-weight. This cashmere/silk is finer than that. I tried on 1s. HAH! No way close enough to gauge. I'd love to do it on 000, which is what the original was done on...I'm seriously reconsidering the entire thing, perhaps asking one of my spinning pals to ply this (which will half the yardage and make this project impossible) and find a triangle I like instead.

As it is, I'm looking at buying Harmony 0s. Does anyone know if Skacel is thinking of doing the Addi Lace needles in the SMALLER sizes? I know they went up to 9s. (Yeah!)
(sigh)

So I'm putting the cashmere/silk on the back burner for now...we'll see what I decide to do in the end.

Otherwise, I've been sewing. That's been slow going, too. But I've been able to complete this lovely set today and I'm excited about it, so I wanted to share:

This is the Hoffman Rainbow Butterflies fabric - a truly stunning representation in fushia, purple, blue, green, and yellow. A Mavis and a Rose (straight needles) Case as a set.

It created quite a commotion around here:

My Quality Control Inspector was very diligent in her job - she always is...
Mom, someone's gotta crack the whip around here, ya know?
...The Meezer

Thank you, Q!

You've been Quit 1461 days.
$5,113.50 and 7 months, 13 days, 5 hours of your life saved

(Shorthand? 4 years. That's Forty-Eight months without a cigarette. And I owe it ALL to The Q!)

Frankly, I'm not so sure about the amount of cash they say I've saved...most of it's in my stash - fabric and yarn - and it's really higher than that, b/c the price of cigarettes has only escalated since I quit!)

NAYY

Miss Me?

Remember that commercial "she's sick and has a tempeture?"

I've been sick. (No temperature that I'm aware of...but I've been so sick I might not have realized)

When I called in today, my boss even said I sounded worse than I did yesterday. Great.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and have been on antibiotics since then. It's wonderful to have no immune system. You can't fight anything off. I'm very sick of coughing my fool head off...and being unable to breathe - without the assistance of an over-the-counter nasal spray...sleeping is interesting, tho' I've done quite a bit of it the past few days.

Ok. You don't want to hear my complaints!

Wanna see preetty yarn?

Cashmere/silk?

Mushroom cashmere silk from Colourmart - and it's laceweight
(you can't tell, right? lol! I'm not sure I can knit anything that fine...). What am I going to make? Dunno. Suggestions?

Ok. When I haven't been sleeping and coughing...I've done this...
that's my stock-in-trade mock cable cuff on the Trekking 160 sock.

I heard from my Big Sis that she went to Knit Happens today and bought some of Mama E's 50/50 Merino Tencel in the colorway Augustus - because don't you all know, she loves her Christmas socks so much that she has worn them to bed every night since she got them. I suggested she might want to wash them. *wink*

And then said - go pick out more yarn and I'll make you another pair.

(And the Catharina shawl is almost off the needles - I hope to block this weekend...can you tell I love my Big Sis?)

Now...if I could just get over this sinus infection!

Lost 3-Day Weekend...

I'm really disappointed - at least in some respects. I have pretty much lost my three-day weekend to yet another cold/sinus-y thing. Saturday I was able to accomplish a lot (tho' not quite as much as normal because I stayed up late on Friday night and really slept very late (obviously starting this bug at that point). That cut into my time a lot.

Sunday? Well, I spent it sneezing and blowing. I did sew. But I surely have not, over this three days, done what I usually can do in three days of "freedom!"

So what did I do? Besides the knitting that is...b/c I have been able to knit. How about these:

That's Three DOGGIE Bags.

Ok. Who thinks I only do cats? :)
On the right is Dog Trot, in the middle, Pretty Pooches, and then on the left is Michael Miller's cute Doggie Houses print.

I have to say Dog Trot is MY favorite. Like Jane's feeling that the cats on her Grand Mera make her smile whenever she sees it, this print is constantly surprising me. Oh! - that border collie is tossing sheep in the air! My heavens, that Labrador has a mallard in his clutches!! Tee hee, that Husky is knocking over the penguins! There's something new and amusing in the print every time I look at it! If I were a dog person, that would be the bag I'd carry!

All are the Mera size. And these are headed to a gal in Northern Virginia who always asks me to do these as auction items for her dog club. I hope they are fabulous fundraisers for the club...and you can just see below the bags are a couple of coordinating checkbook covers I'm adding in to hopefully improve the chances that they raise a lot of money!

Tonight my grandson will be with me again (I'm thinking I might have caught what he had last week - sigh) and I'm hoping I can put another scallop or two on Catharina. But failing that, I'll be knitting on the Trekking #160 sock.

It's back to work tomorrow, and I don't have an option of being sick. It's a payroll day. The accountant's "command performance!!"
(everybody loves me on payroll day!)

Another Sort of Winnie-The-Pooh Quiz

Which Pooh character are you?

You always know what to do in a tricky situation and by helping others you have a firm handle on your own life.You enjoy the finer things and are perfectly content in quietly relaxing in your thoughts.
Take this quiz!








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Saturday Night/Sunday Early!

It's late and I should be in bed...but I just finished listening to Anita Shreve's Light on Snow and finished these:

A pair of socks in two weeks, I think! (I'm sooooooo impressed with myself!) lololol!

And I started another pair:

Thanks, Miss Muffin for modeling the Trekking 160 sock toe. I just had to start this color, to have a light pair to wear with my stonewashed jeans!

Today was devoted to making up bag orders, then tonight was the Gala Concert for Opera Roanoke. An amazing performance of a variety of pieces from different operas by many composers - a smorgaasbord of intensity...ending in the finale to Act 1 of
Lucia di Lammermoor, which is one of my favorite operas (tho' just why I always pray that it will end differently whenever I hear it, I don't know - the romantic in me, I guess!). The orchestra overshadowed the singers a bit, as they were on stage as well. There's a reason the orchestra is in the pit for an opera! It was too bad, as the singers were amazingly good - and all donated their time as a contribution to the fundraiser that the Gala Concert is. The orchestra was good, too. There were just a few spots where they were a bit too loud.

The Calico Curmudgeon has decided since her visit to the vet that her bed is no longer acceptable. So I tried something different, and while she hasn't been won over by the setup, she's put up with it...until this:

Of course, if it's new, and CC shows any interest in it, The Meezer has to muscle in and take it over.
(sigh)

Ok. It's late, and I've got a ton of Nana Sadie Rose sewing to do tomorrow!
Till then!
(((hugs)))

President's Day Weekend...

And the day after Valentine's Day - I pilfered the "Nice Matters" blog button from Pat that is such a romantic, rose-filled, Victorian Valentine that I just had to add it to my sidebar. And I'll ditto Pat's sentiments as well: all of the blogs I read are worthy of this award so if you'd like to share the button, please do, but since I recently "awarded" folks, I'm not going to again. Still, such a gorgeous piece of graphics...and the sentiment is perfect - because nice truly is what's important! (not fakey nice, the true kind!)

Thanks, Pat!

It's been an extraordinarily long week. While the weather started out incredibly cold and dangerously windy, causing a lot of suffering in my neck of the woods, yesterday was in the 50s and today 65.

But don't blink. Tomorrow will be in the 40s and they're calling for snow on Sunday! This is what it means to live here - we're in the bowl of the mountain foothills and if the cold air banks against the mountains, we're in for it. But the Blue Ridge offers protections, too, and so we can have see-saw weather, like what we've had.

It can be exhausting tho'

I'm looking forward to a 3-day weekend, with lots of sewing...

But I finally tonight finished the last two rows of the additional repeat on Catharina, and started the edging (again!). There are 24 more scallops to complete this - I'm aiming for the end of the month...and I know Big Sis can't wait!


I've ordered a cone of cashmere/silk from Colour Mart (what amazing prices!) in a gorgeous mushroom colorway. I've got to decide on a pattern, but that is vying for the next lace project (along with trying to complete Diamond Fantasy Shawl, which has been OTN for way too long - longer than Catharina!).

Valentine's Day came and went mostly uneventfully this year, with a couple of exceptions:
This was my lovely gift from the DD, DSIL, and DGS's x3! My favorite color, of course...now if I can just manage to keep it alive (I have so few spots in this house where plants can thrive...fingers crossed)! I do love orchids so...thanks kids!
Big Sis sent this along (from Mt. Vernon). A lovely rose pin that I'll enjoy wearing, I know. It's just stunning...

So I'm feeling a bit spoiled.

(And tired...really tired...hope it's just that and nothing worse - if YOU'VE got the flu, please take care of yourself? From the news, it sounds really bad, and I know here in Virginia, there are enough cases to make it "widespread" across the state!)

Another Wild Weather Day!

I do not know what we've done to deserve the craziness we've experienced lately in the weather department...But last night, the rain came, a very cold one, that coated things with a thin film of ice, DD and DSIL had troubles getting across town at 10 p.m. to get DGS#1. The temperatures hovered just below freezing, and the ice formed on contact with anything elevated. My cable went out, so I couldn't even check email, but I did manage to turn the heel on the second Trekking 66 sock!

As a result of the ice, work opened at 10 a.m. But I arrived early (the roads were okay where I was, but I hear that wasn't the case all around the area), and discovered that, tho' the roof had been tarped after Sunday's loss of shingles (an earlier repair), we had a serious leak in the hallway. Walking past my boss' office, I heard a "drip-drip-drip" and of course, I had no key.

About an hour later, our administrative assistant (and keeper of the keys) arrived and when we opened the door, we discovered that a portion of the ceiling had caved in. Fortunately the computer was fine, the damage mostly to the floor, but the heat was out on that end of the building, making for a less than pleasant day for the inhabitants there.

The day was a bit more hectic than usual, what with the weekly seminar I'm co-leading, and I left the office late.

Dropping by the daycare center to pick up DGS#1 I discovered that he had no hat. The wind had picked up and the temperatures had dropped and it was bitter, raw, with the rain.

I asked DGS#1 if he'd wear a hat if I knit him something fast...that I had blue and green yarn. He said he thought he would...so after dinner, during the news and game shows, a hat was formed...while it could have been a bit smaller, he seems to like it much. I held the Red Heart Kids double on size 13s till I had to drop down to 10.5s in order to switch off the 16-inch circulars onto dpns. Someday I really ought to buy myself a set of 13 dpns, you know? I make enough quick hats. And since The Meezer has apparently absconded with on of my 10.5 dpns, I should probably get another set of those, too! lolol

Anyway, here's a shot of the cutie in his SuperFast Hat:

Pattern: mine, sorta - cast on 60, knit forever, decrease more or less evenly and when it gets to just a few stitches left, run the yarn through and tie off.

Time to complete: Probably about 1.5 hours.
Whew!
(and this is the last night this week of daycare duty - I think I'll be happy to have my life to myself again for a few days...)
ooops. The Meezer is telling me I won't quite be by myself...!!

***oh and yes, we've had wildfires - not the sort or scale of what California experiences, as everything seems so much more intense there on the edge of the country, but frightening nonetheless...one of them in an area known for fuel storage tanks so that was the first thing on anyone's mind when they heard about it - the fire wasn't near the tanks, thankfully - but the governor put the National Guard on duty to come help with the blazes, so I guess it was bad enough. Thankfully we got the rain/ice as the linked story indicates...but the smoke around the past few days has gotten everyone's allergies in an uproar! And there are still many in the area without power from Sunday's windstorms***

Winds of Change?

Well...it was a good thing I posted when I did yesterday - we lost power at 2:30 (right after I left the house for an orchestral matinee and it didn't come back till noon today. The winds knocked out power to the Jefferson Center, causing the orchestra to play in darkness (the house emergency lights came on, so the audience could see!), and the muscians more than earned the standing ovations due to their perserverance in awkward circumstances!

The winds have kicked up wild fires (one even right behind the mountain behind my house) shutting down the Interstate for awhile last night in addition to uprooting ancient trees. After all those howling "breezes" the temps dropped into the teens overnight. It was very cold with no power.

I had candles and an oil lamp, but we went to bed early. The Meezer burrowed under the comforter with me all night. Then I was up and on my way with the elder CC this a.m., running her to the vet for her checkup on my way to work. I knew she'd be warmer at the vet's!

Knitnana's world is being rearranged a bit with the eldest grandson staying here with me after pre-school for the 3 nights his parents work the late shift every week. We went to a pizza buffet tonight (which he loved, I'm sure you guessed?).

Elder kitty is home, doing as well as can be expected for an almost-17 year-old. And DGS1 learned the word "curmudgeon" because of her tonight! A five year old, he heard me say the word in passing, and later said, "Nana, What's a 'mudgen?"

I was impressed. Don't know why, his mom was just the same!

I managed a couple of rows on Catharina tonight, but otherwise, I'm just too tired to think of doing much. Thankfully, I think we'll be warm and snug now...

And what of the Winds of Change? We would have seen Hillary Clinton in the area last night - I understand her flight could not land because of the winds, and the last I'd heard, Obama's appearance this morning at 7:30 a.m. was also cancelled (tho' I'm not certain of that). Bill Clinton was here this evening (and in Blacksburg last night) and Mike Huckabee is supposed to also be here tonight.

I think McCain avoided us.

Hmmm...what does that say? We missed our moment in the spotlight, I guess!

I am so glad the primary is over tomorrow. And the winds of change will move on...

Blown Away!

Thanks everyone for your concern about my migraine. I've learned that when I'm exposed to those light-induced types, total darkness, heat, and silence works the best...I'm good today, tho' once again...

Today is a mostly sunny day. But let me tell you....We're under a high wind warning and I don't know when I've seen such winds!

Sustained winds of 20-40 mph and gusts up to 70! Things are flying all over the place, it's roaring outside...the kitties are a bit stressed. The Meezer has found only one spot that she's happy in...

Please note the intent expression? Can you see what she's interested in?

I wonder if I can get this rubber band out of here before Mommie realizes what I've got?

Drat! She got it away from me. No fair...they make the best toys!

Knitter's Knook!

Pal Lynette and I took off on a Saturday road trip ... just a short distance down the pike from home, in a little community called Boones Mill (ok...it's one of those "sleepy hollers" some folks refer to as "bedroom communities" - except you usually have to be near a bigger city than Roanoke to qualify for that status!). Boones Mill is homey and funky and fun. There you'll find a new little knit shop...The Knitter's Knook!

The shop sits back off the main road a bit, but you can see it from the road, and there's a Subway nearby (which is critical when Lynette and I go much of anywhere...we're into healthier fast food, tho' I must admit we're both partial to the tuna salad!)

At Knitter's Knook, you'll find every color of Mission Falls 1824 wool you could ask for - and don't miss the owner's MDK Log Cabin blanket on the back of the red sofa! There are so many choices: Trekking, scads of Plymouth yarns, Green Mountain, Cherry Tree Hill, Dale of Norway...(this shot only shows ONE row of the store's shelves and the start of another, then there are 4 more...plus another across the back), it's a small shop, but has plenty of space - the ceilings are high and the shelves go on forever...okay, not really, but I'm short, and those are tall shelves!
Here, owner, Becky Bolling is helping a customer with the start of her own Log Cabin. Becky is a delight, friendly, cheerful, and encouraging. And she knows her stuff!

Thursday nights are knit nights and the shop is open every other Sunday afternoon and she's thinking of having a knitting group meet then...

I was invited to bring a few bags and needle cases down to put in the store, something I've not done before. (You can see them on the straight-backed chairs at the back of the photo) One sold within minutes of my walking in the door! What a delightful surprise!

I behaved myself. I only bought this:
Trekking XXL #160. I was thinking it was time for something lighter and brighter on my needles as we're coming into spring and the Trekking 66 is sooo dark!

But frankly, the reason I didn't buy more? Um. That Mission Falls? That Log Cabin blanket. Oh my. Well....as soon as I can decide which colors I want to use, I'm going back - I fell madly in love with Becky's VERY Amish-inspired colors in the blanket she made. That blanket is stunning! So I know it's my next BIG project.

So have no fear, I WILL be back, Becky! For my log cabin blanket, I'm seeing purples, rose, burgundy, teals, greens, black, and then maybe...hmmmm. That gold - the one you used? I think that's the "poison" color you spoke of, what do you think?

If you're in the area, you'll want to drop by. I'm delighted to find we now have three LYS's in the vicinity! Viva la choice!

Unfortunately for my head, the day was crystal clear and sunny. By the time we got back to town, I was in full-blown migraine from the "strobe" effect of the light thru the trees. Shades were drawn, Tylenol taken, a hot pack on my neck...and I decided to try to post this before it got too late in the day.

Suddenly I feel a "pad,pad,pad" on my leg...

Pay attention to me, Mommie

Yes, RIGHT there...

Yippee! It's Friday!

Ok...it's not as good as NEXT Friday will be (with a 3-day weekend), but still, IT'S FRIDAY!!

I appreciate your commiseration with my adventure last night! I think my nerves are back on track, and my blood pressure back to normal!

And I spent a busy evening tonight:

Red Knitting Terms cover this Posy...

And Knitting Needles in primary colors adorn this one...

I've been asked to put a few bags and needle cases in our newest LYS - Knitter's Knook down in Boones Mill (about 10 miles or so away...) - so I thought these might be good choices...

But then, I spent some time on Catharina...the lifeline you see is where I began again after frogging the edging on New Year's Eve. I'm almost through another entire repeat trying to lengthen it just a bit. My plan is to finish by the end of the month and get this off to my Big Sis, who's just been so patient about it all...

I had a little bit of time today to knit on the second Trekking 66 sock:

I think this is the best photo so far for showing off the colorway - I wonder if I'll ever master this new(ish) digital camera? Many thanks to Miss Muffin for modeling...

We've had a lazy night...she's been sewing and knitting - not much attention for us kitties.

An Alarming Evening!

The day dawned and I knew I was going to hit the ground running and not stop. It was the sort of day created for all sorts of "unplanned events" getting in the way of what HAD to be done.

I wasn't disappointed.

This week we've been working on a major grant (with deadlines tomorrow, but a self-imposed one of today) and that was bad enough. I also had another session of the Women's Health Study I'm teaching (and this time my co-teacher was MIA - BAD stomach bug). That challenged me to talk the entire time and write on the board and move around...which frankly, as I'm still recovering from pleurisy (and I AM better!), made for quite a breathless two hours...ok, two and a half hours...

Because things never go smoothly when you want them to, every possible person under the sun who just might possibly need the accountant for the organization - well, they DID need me and right away, too! (Some of them, as you can imagine weren't very nice about it either. And I'll tell you something else - Knitnana can be not nice when it's necessary...but she surely doesn't like having to be that way!)

So...today? Well, we managed to wrap up the grant and get it out the door. And I managed NOT to take off the heads of the couple of folks who were not nice about what they called needing from me. (See? I told you I could be nice.)

And so I rushed off to my vet, stopping at the post office to check Nana Sadie Rose's mailbox for orders and such, and then to the library to pick up books on CD. Tonight was payroll night at the vet. Her business is getting bigger, payroll is taking longer...and when I came down the stairs to leave?

All the lights were off. I started into the lobby, calling to make sure one of the kennel folks was still around...

and SIRENS STARTED BLARING!!!! The alarm system read "MOTION IN THE LOBBY!!!!!"

(sigh)
Well, no, that sigh up there isn't exactly accurate.

Yes, yes, yes...I do know what to do - well, sorta. I haven't had to unarm this thing for several years, as the workers are still usually there when I leave. I managed to calm the alarm company when they called (I thought). And I called the Office Manager on my cell phone. Because I really wasn't sure what to do. I got the alarm turned off, but it still read that it was "IN ALARM" -

YOU THINK YOU'RE IN ALARM????

And the alarm company called again. Seems the first person entered in the record that I knew everything I was supposed to tell them but she failed to say that it was a "false alarm" and in their lingo that meant trouble and they had to call back.

So they checked me out again.

And this time entered "false alarm" in the system.

As we were signing off the phone (the Office Manager was still listening to it all on my cell phone)...the girl said to me, "oh...you have only 5 minutes from the last time to get OUT OF THE BUILDING" and it had been about 4 minutes...

I flew. And got out and the doors locked with the alarm reset.

When I got into my car? Let's just say I was waiting for the police to come anyway. The office manager (I called her back to tell her I was out and the alarm was NOT going off) said, "you should go get a bottle of wine...."

Knitnana is well known for not being that mechanically, electronically inclined...
(sigh)

And then I went here:

It had been 2 months since I'd seen all my knit pals at Knit Knight, since I was sick last month!

We had sooooooo many new faces! A really big group! What a joy.

The library had asked for us to fill a display case with our work...here's my rather lousy photo of that...

I picked these up at the library (and got the new issue of IK Spring in the mail).

And Elizabeth asked me to show her how to use Judy's Magic Cast On tonight, and felt good about what I showed her (I think - if not, Elizabeth - just email and we'll go from there...

And I finished the first Trekking 66 sock, and cast on for the second one.

I think my blood pressure is still in the stratosphere...I hate alarms.

(and the worst part isn't what it does to me - it's what the cats at the vet have to go through - they don't understand why that loud whooping noise is going on...and they usually don't feel all that great to begin with.)

I think it's bedtime, what do you think?

Super Tuesday!

I think last week I told you I'd share some of my latest yarn purchases with you, and then I got side-tracked...Well...here you go!

From my dear pal, KarY the most recent accumulation of Peace Fleece. Most of this is for the Tikkuntree Project. The lightest green is for a project I've been stashing for ever since I first discovered Peace Fleece (and will go with the leftovers from the Moscow Magic Coronet hats and the Lacy Prairie Shawl in Latvian Lavender) - a "patchwork" sort of blanket on the order of the stuff of Ann & Kay.

Anyway, I always buy my Peace Fleece from Kary. She has a good soul, and she works to support causes near and dear to her heart. You can't live your beliefs any better than that.

Tonight, while waiting for the returns to begin to come in from Super Tuesday, I finished this set:

I call it the Chocoholic Posy & Oressa set...I'd love to hear what you think of it!

Now, I think I mentioned Super Tuesday, didn't I? Up there in the title? Well, here's where I'm throwing MY support!

I mean really, when I heard the part of Dolores' platform about making all yarn purchases tax deductible? What other choice could there be???? I'm just sayin'.

Umm....Mom?

What's a Super Tuesday