Oh Hai!

Taking a break from politics or I'm probably going to blow a gasket. I am now convinced that "the public" is dumber that I ever imagined. And that they'll let anyone have a show on TV....where's Captain Kangaroo when you need him.....

So a few loosening ends.

Happy Veteran's Day to all my friends and family -- and all the veteran students here, who took time out of their lives to serve their country. Hug 'em if you got em....(ask permission first if you don't know them--just sayin').

We are currently on an "end of life watch" for a relative who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer nearly a year ago. He was being aggressively treated, however, the most someone in his situation can hope for is added months. He got those, plus a few. The world is going to be a less colorful place without dear Larry. A good thought, or prayer, whichever is your habit, wouldn't come amiss for him and his family.

I am considering Lasik surgery--complications abound.

I have started the Damask Kauni sweater. I needed a boatload of help from my LYS owner, to figure out how to sweet talk the original pattern into the damask chart. The color knitting is fun though.

Finally finished the "Steeler" socks, and oooo boy...it seemed to take forever. I have no idea what the hell was going on.....

Need about 12 more inches to finish my Cozy. This seems to be the black hole of knitting. The more I knit the shorter it gets. Ever have that happen?

I know I should be posting photos of all this stuff, but I am too freakin' lazy at the moment. Work is really cutting into my knitting time lately. Ever have that happen?

Oh yeah, I LOVE Zappos! I am on the hunt for the best red skimmer....I'm on my fourth, and they just keep sending them OVERNIGHT. What I don't understand is why I'm having such trouble finding good shoes that do not hurt. These are little flats people?

Some people ....

... have multiple knitting projects, and can't resist starting yet another. (I have multiple projects, but generally finish one before I embark on another, unless I put one in "time out".)

... feel the need to have one of every sweater design/color on the planet (and you know who you are!) Most frequently heard wail "But I don't have ANYTHING like this!!

... some people think that a collection of baseball caps is the most essential element of any wardrobe.

... some people think that T-shirts with slogans are appropriate office attire. (I just threw this in because we've been discussing "fashioned challenged" colleagues recently.)

... then there is me. I am "involved" with no less that THREE novels. Concurrently. Really.

• First there is the audio book I'm knitting by....The Help by Stockett. I highly recommend this book and the audio is fabulous. There are several actors voicing the characters, and they truly come to life. There is most definitely a movie in this book's future.


• Next there is a Kindle book that I have loaded to my iPod. I have the iPod Kindle app, and it works beautifully. I found that I can read the iPod when I don't have anything else with me, or it is dark. Like in a hotel room when "my roommate" is still sleeping. This is a Kellerman book Self-Defense. I find Kellerman's books are inconsistent. Some are terrific, some eh. They have the feel of true crime about them, in a novel. I'm liking this one a lot.


• Then last, but not least, there is a real live print book. I love me the feel of books with pages, I don't care anything about the other technologies......this is a Carol Goodman book, The Night Villa. I sorta got hooked on Goodman after reading The Seduction of Water. I like her use of "language". I can't explain it, but a much more "literary" colleague said the same thing--independently no less. Her books always have a "water feature", and she is deeply invested in Greek, and other, mythology. Don't let that put you off though. In addition to Seduction, I've read The Lake of Dead Languages, and The Drowning Pool (see the water thing?) and not a dog in the bunch. The one I'm reading now, may be my favorite so far--and yes there is water involved here too. I was at the library yesterday, and picked up her The Sonnet Lover, it doesn't come in paper, and I wanted to read it, and am not thrilled with hauling hard covers around. So that will be up next.

The question I began to ponder is how the hell am I doing this, and seemingly keeping everything in order (I mean in my brain of course.) Maybe because these three are so very different, I'm not having bizarre crossover dreams.....but it is still odd, no?

So those are my book reviews for the moment. If you want some complex reading I can highly recommend "The Girl with..." trilogy, even though I'm still resisting the last of the series until I can savor it on vacation.

The short version... believe it or not

... of my ankle....

Last week I had a business dinner at a local restaurant. Mr. KB and I drive together in the morning, I drop him off at his office, and I keep the car at mine. (I do nearly all the extraneous shopping...anyone who shops with a husband probably understands why that is so much more efficient.) Anyhoo, this dinner was later in the evening, so I drove the car up to his office, parked behind his building, in case he wanted to go home while I was at this dinner, and proceeded to walk downtown to the restaurant. And it really is down, the campus is "uphill" from the town proper. It is probably a couple blocks. I was wearing regular business attire with a dressy pair of [sensible] clog type shoes. All of a sudden I was arse over tea cups tripping over something on the sidewalk...what? Dunno. Physical Plant has asked me twice now, but it could easily have been just a sidewalk join. This was not just a trip, graceful swan that I am, I am no stranger to a trip. This was a trip and fall. A woman student saw me and came over to see if I was hurt, that's how "violent" the tumble was. I had already leaped to my feet hoping against hope that no one had seen me. I told her I was fine, and she said that she had fallen in exactly the same place the week before. I continued on the restaurant, had dinner, and about two hours later, when I got up, was in horrible pain. For the next week my foot turned all shades of bruise. Of course, this didn't stop me from wearing high heeled ho'pumps to Swan Lake on Saturday night. Yes, I'm an idiot, why do you ask?

The problem appeared to be my foot, which was still bruised as of Monday, not my ankle. I felt for awhile, that I was improving, but this week the improvement seemed to stall. So while I went in for the scheduled test, that involved walking/running, I decided to see a doc/PA, just to have this checked out. I got sent for x-rays, and lo and behold, the radiologist found an "equivocal, non-displaced, fracture, of the lateral malleolus". Translated into English that means that they THINK there is a crack on that bone that sticks out on the outside, there is a lucency, but they're not sure. Because it is non-displaced, they can treat it like a bad sprain.

So here I am with anti-inflammatories, and a brace to keep my ankle stable.

So there you have it. The pain is from spraining the ligaments and I'm hoping to ditch the brace next week.

Meanwhile, what's brewing in my head is no great revelation, but it is antithetical to everyone's thinking around here. Please lower your expectations....Austen I am not!

Maybe I can distract you with Saroyan.


Really a fun knit. This is Malabrigo Silky Merino. It is gorgeous yarn. Alas I only bought two skeins. I would have made this a tad longer had I another skein.

I have no measurements.

It has been delightful to wear on the coldish spring mornings. When the tails cross in front, they hang down in a ruffle. It is knit across the short length, end to end, so it never gets boring. There is a pattern stitch on every row.

So there...everything else here is a work in progress....and I'm terrible at documenting progress.