Finito!

A Little Jazz

Fiesta Baby Boom in Spring Chill
< 1 skein (by choice)

#5 harmony circs.

LOVE. IT.

My ruffle is not as ruffley as it might be, but, oh well. Too bad.

I ...

garter stitch....



I've never been a garter stitch fan, but all of a sudden....

I'm lousy with garter stitch. On the left is the Little Jazz from Spring 2010 Loopy Ewe "sock club".

And on the right is the beginning of a Parcheesi blanket.

Ummmm love me some garter stitch. A gs snob no longer.

I hesitated to post this but...

...that ear worm just keeps on keepin' on. Could NPR alone be responsible for an uptick in unemployment this month, surely this woman should be replaced for dereliction of duty.

Reckless-disregard-for-the-truth-my-incredible-interchange-with-the-npr-ombudsman/

Why do I keep hearing.....

.... Queen's Another One Bites the Dust?

This Monday is brought to you by the number....

....TWO...

Two: the number of hours I spent trying to wind (with a swift and ball winder no less) 400 yards of Fiesta, Baby Boom (fingering weight, merino) into a usable ball. The skein was twisted on the swift, and the end kept working itself out to wrap around the swift post. The resulting yarn cake was kinda messy, so I attempted to "rewind" from the center pull yarn cake. Sweet sassy molassy, it pulled out in yarn barf with no redemption and took me two hours to untangle, and I had to [finally] snip it.

Two: The number of knots I will have in what started out as an unblemished skein of yarn. (Because I was so po'd I simply BROKE it in once place out of frustration.)

Two: The number of yarn cakes I have.

Two: The number of inches too short my Fuzzy Feet felted. Knit Picks Wool of the Andes is a very enthusiastic "felter". (Must purchase MORE black wool.....)

Two: The number of new projects I started, after I finished the Fuzzy Feet. A Little Jazz (with my poor knotty Baby Boom) and the Parcheesi Blanket, with all my worsted odds and ends. I may be crazy. I am still working on my Damask Kauni cardigan and Leyburn socks, which seem to be kicking my butt! The sock was too narrow in the foot, so I made it wider. When I got to the ankle and calf, it was so wide, I couldn't keep it up.....so I pulled it out and adjusted the stitch count. I also keep fussing with the pattern counting. Fer cripes sake...it's a sock!

Two: o'clock. About the time the drenching rain turned into driving snow yesterday.

Two: The number of inches of snow we were expecting....eight (8) less than we actually got (the article says totals were measured at 9:30 am, should have read pm, it was still raining in the am).

Two: The number of hours the university was delayed in opening this morning. And the number of extra hours of sleep we got. (Yeah!)

We're so proud....NOT!

....that in response to Kaye's comment to my previous posting.

The aftermath.

These two excerpts from the article are really telling:

As with previous years’ festivities, many of those getting in trouble are not Penn State students. Fishel reported misdemeanors involving students from the University of Pittsburgh, St. Joseph’s University, Slippery Rock University, Virginia Tech and the University of West Virginia.

And to this horse's ass I ask...do your parents know where you are?

One young man traveled 14 hours from Alabama to celebrate his first State Patty’s Day. After climbing atop a mound of snow in front of Five Guys Burgers and Fries and posing for pictures with a keg of beer, he expressed his excitement for the alcohol-fueled celebration.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” he said. “My best friend is a junior here, and he’s been trying to get me up here forever. He was recruiting a bunch of us for months. I don’t know any other place that has this much fun.”

When asked if he was drunk, he answered, “If you’re asking me if I’m having fun, my answer is yes.”

This is all about drinking....NOTHING else. And the fact that Penn State students aren't being "cited" is nothing to be delighted about. It just means that they've honed their skills during football season. The fact that some are "recruiting friends" is just downright idiotic and probably dangerous.

And to think I was hot because they closed the "state stores" early. I had no intention of going to a state store, mind you, but the fact that the entire town has to endure such measures because we have a temporary segment of our population that can't behave...well, really frosts my nanny. Seems like small potatoes now. I'd be a lunatic if I lived in Arizona....or Hazleton.

Some things I think, I think.

We here in the land of the privileged boneheads, who pay (in state) over $14,000 to attend a Research 1 university (yes, we're at the top of the state related university tuition in the country), are bracing to endure another State Patty's Day. And no I didn't get that incorrect. Have a seat by the fire children, and I'll tell you a story.

In 2007 St (as in saint) Patrick's Day fell during spring break week. Here St Paddy's (not Patty's- idiots) it is [yet another] excuse for our student population to go to bars and binge drink. It was spontaneous the first time, and the local merchants "got into it", opening early, offering specials, green beer etc. The local constabulary, as well as the residents and university officials, were taken by surprise by the total chaos that ensued. Fast forward a year, and St Paddy's day, is as usual on a regular weekday. (I've taught classes on St. Patrick's day when ONE student out of twenty showed for class....seriously.) The students though didn't want to let go of the faux holiday, and it happened again. They simply pick a Saturday. We, townies, began to get disgusted-REAL disgusted. In 2009, the tavern owners, who apparently were beginning to feel a pinch from the LCB in the way of fines, started to downplay this "event". Several tavern owners even closed their establishments on that Saturday. This costs them dearly because they are small business owners with families, but they need their liqueur licenses. Now when the arrest records are released it is becoming clear that 2/3 of the DUIs, drunk and disorderlies are from out of town. They are not residents or students. So we've got drunks from the outside coming to wreck havoc and use our resources. (Does this sound like we're a border town or what?)

Well, here we again, State Patty's Day is this Saturday, and despite the public outcry, the community service groups who will be out "patrolling", the police from a three county area along with the state troopers who will be in town, some greedy business are still promoting an "event" that only celebrates drinking.

A year ago I was feeling pain in my lower ribs, and declined going to the ER BECAUSE I KNEW THE PLACE WOULD BE FILLED WITH DRUNKS. I waited and the pneumonia/pleurisy got a real chance to take hold. (Yes, I'm an idiot.)

I think it's time these fools give it a rest and use the $$ mommy and daddy are investing more wisely.

Ohwell...

.... so things aren't so super here at Casa Black'nGold, n'at. But fair's fair, and three turnovers, well, what can one expect? And just because it helps to have a sense of humor about it:
The Morning (not mourning) File (my personal favorite is the last).

So looking forward to July (fingers crossed) and training camp at St. Vincents.

Worse Sunday news was that Geno Malkin is out for the rest of the year. Kiss the cup good-bye. Then there is Crosby's mystery concussion. (If someone is side-lined with a concussion for 6 weeks.....hummmm?) He hasn't been that fragile, so, it is probably safe to assume that there is something else amiss (or afoot).

But on to better things. Just to confirm...there ARE good peeps in the world.

Saturday was a hellish weather day here...lots of ice, freezing rain, and sleet etc - amidst sunshine. Major roads in and out of town were closed due to black ice and accidents. (There were 11 accidents and one death in about an hour and a half stretch, before the roads were closed, on Saturday.) My 80-year old mother is having issues of her own. She lives in her own home, however, none of us live close by, so when she is iced in, there's nothing much we can do about it. (She won't let us hire someone to help because it will "offend" a neighbor---please don't ask. If you have elderly parents this will make perfect sense.) When a younger friend called to see if she wanted to meet for coffee, my mom told her she couldn't get out of her icy driveway. About an hour later, Carol, and her husband Frank, arrived with tools, and proceeded to spend 3 hours(!) extracting the driveway and sidewalks from ice. Good grief...I'm not sure my siblings and/or I would have spent 3-hours! Anyway, Carol is a knitter, so she has a little thank you care package headed her way...(chocolates for Frank). These kinds of folks restore my faith in humanity. Truly.

But I have something to show for our "global warming" weather....BTW does anyone else find it interesting that if it snows (any amount)--it's global warming;
if it is hot, it's global warming;
rain, global warming;
cold, global warming;
if the cat pees on the carpet, global warming....

Seriously, can it be, maybe that it is just February in the northern hemisphere? And just to add some interest, we are currently 9 inches BELOW our normal snowfall. Oh right, global warming!! I forgot. However, one's nose hair crackles when you walk outside.....Pretty typical for this time of year. I'm old, I can actually remember!!

Anyway, I appear to be on a hat "kick". First a Cable Crossing (Rav link) hat:

It is a Loopy Ewe club pattern. I used Sanguine Gryphon Bugga (it has cashmere!!). You cast on 200 stitches, and a very clever cable pattern draws it in.

The designer is from Central CA, and clearly doesn't need a hat for warmth, because as I started the pattern I realized that it was a "beanie". In other words it doesn't cover one's ears!! If you live here...and you'd like to keep your ears, you do want them covered. So I knit an extra round of cables (and I think I'd knit a second extra round if I did it again.) This should be available in a couple months on the Loopy Ewe web site. The cables are a PIA, but the effect is lovely.



Next up, is a "pillbox". I always liked the way they look, but could never find a good standard pattern. I like this one Winter White Pillbox (Rav link), and I had the yarn in my small stash.


I like this hat because it is not tight to the head, and it takes longer to develop "hat head". And frankly, as I said earlier, if you want to keep your ears, you need a very warm hat when the temperature is in the single digits.

I used Reynolds Blizzard, a chunky alpaca/acrylic blend. It knits up really fast. I needed about a skein and a third, so about 90 yards of chunky.

Mods were that I eliminated a pattern repeat and I added two rows to the brim.

I will probably make this again, but I'd like to make the brim a little tighter. So a smaller needle or a few stitches less...I'll have to see.

So there you have it, that's what I've been up to. The tendinitis is still flaring occasionally, but it is much improved. I think the Kauni sweater kicked it off, so I am very careful how much I work on it.

Hi...

This is serious, please follow along if you can. This is to the folks who are wailing with disbelief that an unconstitutional requirement in the "health care" (I use the descriptor loosely) bill was found unconstitutional, and that we are all now going down the tubes....that we are killing sick children and more blah, blah... Listen up.

The single payer advocates among you, who think it is the holy grail of social justice. Who are adamant that everyone who needs a liver transplant will get one, who don't understand rationing.... Well, listen carefully.... it is happening NOW, TODAY, and if you're a smarty boots, you'll find one of these companies and buy stock. I know for a fact, that there is a booming market for medical businesses that advise hospitals on which medicare/medicaid patients to admit, and which to treat and release. How I know is that I have acquaintances who have begun work with said businesses, and have moved like lightning up through the ranks. You need a job? Find one of these businesses. They are desperate for personnel. I am serious. Medical/technical training is the preferred background.

It is subtle, but here's a simple version of how it works. A medicare/medicaid patient comes into an ED (formerly ER) and is evaluated by a ED doc...he/she does the usual H&P, and begins treatment for the problem. If the hospital has an "account" with said business the ED case manager will call the intake personnel (who do nothing, but answer the phones and take information), and will walk though a list of evaluation questions, developed by the company to discern whether M/M will PAY for an admission. The information is passed to a doctor who is an expert in the rules of M/M and he/she sends his recommendation to the hospital. If it is determined that the admission will not be covered, the patient is treated and released. The ED doc (who really must focus on her/his medical evaluation), does not usually override this decision. You see, even a tiny hospital in podunk can lose over a million dollars a year on denied medicare/medicaid admissions. Most hospitals run on razor sharp margins, and cannot afford this kind of deficit. So they contract with a business whose job it is to keep abreast of medicare rules, and then they are billed per case. As medicare sets the bar higher for admission and treatment, the business responds. Hospitals save millions, even with the contract and case billing. My "informant" tells me that they are now also evaluating for certain diagnostic testing. It makes my blood run cold, really.

So how easy would it be for this to be extended to the rest of the unwashed masses in a single payer system? Our treatment would be based on whether or not the system will pay. And as $$ get tighter, the options will decrease. As someone who can actually see medicare in the future, it makes me sick...but then what?

ETA: So I guess Obama, Pelosi et.al., were right!! It will decrease unemployment!!

I never watch SOTU addresses....

..... as Aurora Greenway in "Terms of Endearment" says, "blahhh, blahhh, blahhh..."

Instead, we attended a fun performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" .... Much, much better choice.

However, I've been hearing some good things about Ryans' rebuttal. Particularly, from an evenly split (between R & D) focus group. They liked that he spoke in facts....a little like Sargent Friday I suppose. But this quote is the tipping point. This vision is just so compelling (why yes, I am a little nuts, why do you ask?), from Jonah Goldberg at the National Review Online.

Ryan never comes across as a bomb-thrower, but tonight he talked like an ER nurse trying to talk down a violent hippy from a bad acid trip, which is pretty impressive given the substance of what he was saying.

The best compliment ...

... a knitter can get is when someone ASKS for MORE of her/his hand knits....don'tcha think?

Well it happened twice to me recently.

Over the holiday my sister-in-law asked if she should wash and dry one of the knit caps I made for my father-in-law. He's 90 and always cold, and wears little knit watchcaps in the house. Well he's been wearing the one I made for him two years ago, and well it's stretched and worn out. (Never mind that I made him a "Turn a Square" last year, and an Israeli soldier watch cap this year. You know old guys...creatures of habit.) On the way home, I mentioned to my husband that I probably had some of that gray yarn around and could make a duplicate. He suggested a black and gold Steeler version. And while we were on the subject he wanted ANOTHER pair of Fuzzy Feet, in Steeler black and gold, only more gold. (I made him a predominantly black pair in 2005.) So I did what any good knitter does. I immediately ordered yarn for these two items.

And yesterday this is what my morning looked like:



A cup of blueberry tea, and my father-in-law's Steeler cap in progress.
















Finished!!! Just in time...



...to wear for the Super Bowl.












Can't do better than that!! Fuzzy Feet will be in progress soon...but husband has black and gold handknit socks to wear on the big day. Not rushing the Fuzzy Feet.

Bad news....

.... I've already broken one of my resolutions.

I was walking back to work through a nearby surface parking lot, after taking some time off for lunch (read: actual knitting time). A woman pulled up next to me and asked if I had any change for the meters. She had none. I had 3 quarters which I handed to her, and as she was looking for a bill to give me , I just told her not to worry..."have a good day", and walked along. OH NO!! Another RAK...albeit small. Well, this one has absolutely no strings.....Whew!

Good news...

Apparently, Virginia (Georgia, Tennessee, etc.) and Central PA have exchanged climates. Well maybe not completely, but while everywhere around us is getting FEET of snow. We have almost none. It very cold though. I went out without my hat today (what knitter does this?) and I'm not sure I still have ears. This seems like good news now, but wait for the drought come July because we have no snow melt.

Maybe now is ...

...the time to explain why I may be swearing off RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) for a long time. This and "eat more bacon" are my resolutions for 2011. I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping them. There were two "events" but I'd like to describe just the last one.

I have "season" tickets to a professional ballet company about 3 hours away from where we live (you can figure out the rest, I 'd like to keep this as potentially "search proof" as possible). We get a "three-pack" and this year the ballets were poorly scheduled (for us). I had to take the Nutcracker as part of our series. Now this is not usually a problem as December weather is usually not too bad and driving is not an issue. (February, on the other hand, is a b&^ch.) When you are a season "patron" you have a few options with your tickets. 1) You can exchange them for another performance day; 2) You can exchange them for another ballet in the series; 3) You can turn them back for a tax write off. They are very liberal in their policies, and very accommodating. I have no complaints.

This year, however, the weather looked like it was going to be a problem and we were trying to decide what to do with our tickets. (I've described our run in with black ice before, and we have been very careful ever since.) As we were thinking about our options, I had what I thought was a brainstorm. Why not offer them to a family member who was struggling with a recurrence of a serious illness? She probably needed a night out, with a friend, daughter or family member, and the tickets would be put to good use. (BTW, they are excellent high end seats.) My DH was delighted with this suggestion, so I got in touch with said relative, who was happy to receive them. I exchanged them (a week in advance) for the date she requested and all was well....for the moment. THE NIGHT BEFORE the performance at 6:30 pm, she called and left a message at our home and said she was too ill to go, and could I exchange them for another night!! (I might add here that I didn't get home until after 8:00 pm that evening, which is when I got the message.) Now, I was sympathetic at this point because this is the nature of her physical condition. I wanted to call her back, but didn't have the number at home. I called my sister in law for the number and she said "Oh yeah, I have it here I RSVP'd for the party." (!!!) What party, I ask? THE PARTY SHE WAS HAVING THE NIGHT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE BALLET!! I was dumbfounded. This means she KNEW she wasn't going to the performance at least a week in advance (she mailed the invitations a week earlier), and instead of calling me ASAP and saying her plans changed and could I make the exchange for another night... She, didn't outright fib, but was disingenuous in the extreme. I called and she gave me the story about her condition, and I listened and asked if she wanted an alternate date, then told her I'd try. Steaming all the while. At this point, I didn't KNOW if I could exchange them, and if I couldn't I'd have to make another choice (see above). And I had about four box office hours the next day to do it. And this is before Christmas, and I had other things I planned to do. Sitting on the phone was not one of them. I vacillated from anger to incredulity to simply ticked.

I exchanged them successfully, and then cut my communication. I didn't trust myself to speak to her again. I find I'm still stunned by this. I was hoping by now I'd have some distance. No such luck.

Can you imagine?

Hai...I'm back

What an odd holiday it has been. While most bloggers were waxing nostalgic and posting pictures of candles, firelight, good food, and family, we have...dental surgery. Very successful dental surgery, but not without complications. Complications that made it impossible to have very many treats (other than adult beverages). Consequently, we both LOST weight over the most indulgent holiday of the year. Out of sheer frustration, I did make an awesome quiche on Christmas. Even DH liked it. Don't tell him that it contained about a pound of very fine cheese. But heck he had to eat something. And this is a man who eats a huge salad EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. and couldn't. So anyway, we had a very low key Christmas day. Culminating in a visit to a very dedicated dentist to have stitches removed the next day which just happened to be a Sunday.... A blistering cold Sunday.

Anyway, the rest of my time looked like this, in no particular order:

Finished three ornaments, that look like this (the first has already been gifted):




















I'm currently working on a fourth that has pinks and grays.

I've hardly knit a stitch. My tendinitis was shifting from nearly unbearable to not too bad. Knitting made it worse. Beading, not so much. Which explains the ornament explosion. However, I have to get back in game shape for this:

http://www.stitchyourartout.com/2401.html

Third class down is me. I finished the sample on December 22nd. Now we wait. I do have until March, however, I have to work up a couple more in different bead sizes, just for fun.

We finally got to another hockey game!



The new Consol Energy Center Arena.












Your [my?] Pittsburgh Penguins!


















We even saw a faux hat trick. It was originally announced that Sidney Crosby had made the goal, and the hats hit the ice. Then Matt Cooke was awarded the goal and Sidney the assist. It was pretty amusing just the same. That's Cooke's picture on the scoreboard. Anybody know what happens to the hats?



My MIL celebrated her 92nd birthday by going to the hospital nearly in diabetic coma. (Not enough cake!) She's fine now. FIL will be reaching the 90th milestone on Sunday.

We're enjoying the last few days without traffic and short lines at grocery stores and post offices.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

...and bite me if Christ-mas offends anyone.

Here's what's going on:

1) Trying to file and make lists for next year, so I remember what I'd supposed to be doing on January 4th. Office closes at EOB today.
2) Dental surgery (yes, you read that right, not me but it might be better if it were)
3) Doing 2 jobs (3 if you count nurse) see above.
4) Beadwork, beadwork, beadwork...I have a Christmas ornament gift that will not be ready for Christmas, and a bead knitted bracelet example that I'll be teaching in a class for the LYS in March not finished, but needed.
5) I just finished ALL the Christmas cards. (This is usually DH's job, but see 2 above, Tylenol and codeine do not make for coherent addressing.)

There's probably more, but I'm too exhausted to think of it. Good thing I have a gift list or I wouldn't remember what I was giving to whom.

Some of my pre-New Year's resolutions:

1. No more RAK (random acts of kindness). I've been bitten twice, recently, very badly last week, but that's a story for another day.
2. Next time I go to the post office on the busiest mailing day of the year (and I always do), I will swat the woman who decides on that day to mail packages to Australia, without the proper customs forms and insurance.She tied up the ONLY two clerks at the counter. And to the lady right in front of me...WRITE DOWN THE ZIP CODES so you have them next time.
   

And I'm still struggling with tendinitis. After a course of NSAIDs and now steroids...I'm just beginning to feel better.

I'm going to chill completely on Christmas. There will not be much cooking see the first #2 above, so it's a good thing there's wine. Hope yours is quiet too.

Am I a good daughter or what?

Thanksgiving was spent with my mom, sis, hubby and boyfriend (sis's not mine). It was great to see everyone, but my mom is a nervous nellie type of person. She can't sit still for 15 consecutive minutes. Think about what meals are like...always. She was whipping the plates right out from under our noses when we were growing up. She is 80 and in good health (mentally and physically) and spends her time trying to figure out how to drive her family crazy. I think it is her life's work.

We love her...for short stretches. My sister arrived on Wednesday night, and spent the evening and the following morning, doing chores to make the house more winter ready. She and BF did a lot of work. DH and I arrived, with the wine, just in time for dinner on Thursday. We had a very nice meal, the four of us chatting and listening to stories about sis's vacation at Lake Mead, In case you're counting, the fifth member of our party was not chatting but doing the dishes (even though DH and I told her we would do the dishes). "I'm just getting them ready..."

Sis and BF (I have a really had time calling him a boyfriend. They've been together over 10 years. Just recently have they begun sharing living space. It is kinda happening organically.) left after dinner.

I made coffee so he could drive, and she could nap because she had to work the next day....she sent me an email the next day to say that the coffee did no good. He was asleep before they got to the turnpike...about 20 minutes from the house.

Here we are wine and all....













The next day, crazy woman that I am, I took my mother shopping....on, yes, "Black Friday". We did not get up at the crack of dawn, we did not try to grab good deals. We simply went so my mother could go to places she is uncomfortable driving to. Like the shopping area that has Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Meanwhile, DH got to stay home in his jammies and watch Pitt get trounced, and the Penguins play. It was a madhouse, made madder by my impatient mother...but I survived. (I only had to threaten to drop her off in the middle of the street, for backseat driving, once.) Only TO GO BACK OUT with DH in the late evening. Fortunately, by that time most of the crazy people had gone home, and we had no trouble getting parking places etc.

The next day we were getting ready to go home, and I got to witness a local event that has been going on for, at least 40 + years. Any minute now, some idiot will be offended and complain, and that will end the tradition. It starts with hearing sirens in the distance.

They keep getting louder until you see this--moving rather slowly.












Then came a parade of classic cars.......














Then came Santa!!! And a lion (????) character. The fire/rescue department and library branch are housed in the same building.












Santa was escorting the Christmas Tree (probably now called a holiday tree) to the town square.










They have been doing this since I was little. You can tell based on the photo above, that it has been a long time.

I hope no one messes with this tradition. Ever!! (And did I mention that the courthouse has a creche on the front lawn....right next to the menorah. Wonder how long that will last?)

And so it goes...

...the services over the weekend were exhausting. Larry always marched to a different drummer than the rest of us, and the gathering of friends and acquaintances and all the "Dead" and "rock and roll" T-shirts in evidence, attested to this fact. I've now been to two services where not only did friends say good things about the deceased, they cried as they did it. People wrote music and played, wrote and read poems, it was quite the gathering. And though Larry requested a closed casket for the viewing (he felt it would be too hard on his beloved wife because of his debilitated condition), the funeral director did such a good job he looked wonderful...Really. Very handsome. So his wife went against his wishes and had an open casket. She felt he would forgive her. Frankly, knowing Larry, he'd have been ticked if he looked this good, and didn't get to be seen. So now his family must pick up the pieces and be gentle with themselves. I hope they are.

Meanwhile remember the Kauni sweater? Well, enroute to the weekend it made a trip to the frog pond. I pulled it out down to the ribbing, and am now reknitting with at #2 (3 mm) needle. I didn't have time to take another photo, but picture it pulled to the ribbing. (I liked the ribbing because it has a purple cast on...very pretty.) I showed it to the LYS owner (read: yarn source), and she thought it looked OK, and that I had three options: 1) forge ahead, and we could make the steek a little larger....2) gradually move down to a smaller needle; or 3) frog and reknit. My decision was made when she said...hummm the fabric seems a little looser that I've seen. So I'm getting a firmer fabric now. It took over an hour all told to pull and rewind the yarn. Longer than I had anticipated. Then again, because I had steamed it some to check my gauge, I was a little worried that I was not going to be able to pull it out at all. But it worked out fine. So I'm back to the beginning again. I only had to pull out between 30 & 40 rows, but it took a long time. Especially since I didn't want the yarn to tangle.

So maybe I'll get something done over the holiday. What I really want to do, though, is finish that damn Cozy.

Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I'm going to visit my mom...I'm taking the wine. Lots of wine.

Oh Hai...Part 2

The beat goes on...

And so does Larry. We were expecting the end to be imminent....the messenger was wrong. Completely. It is near though. I can't imagine what this is doing to his immediate family. Every blinking light and voicemail notification makes me cringe.

ETA: Ahhh well....much nearer...rest in peace Larry dear. You will most certainly be missed.

Here are a couple of bones since this name of this blog does have the word "knit" in it:

The socks that took all summer.....


These are the Lava Flow pattern from a former (reformed?) blogger called Sockbug. Her's was one of the first blogs I read. She posted lots of cute patterns. She no longer posts, but the patterns are still available. Maybe she is on Rav. I never checked.

I used my regular eye-of-partridge heel and made them taller. The yarn is Lorna's Laces in "bumble bee". I called it the Steelers colorway.

These are a Christmas present for a Steeler fanatic, with chilly toes.









Next up...the Cozy that will never end.


I have had the Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool for this ... for-evah! I finally got around to getting it done. (I badgered my LYS into getting it for me.) When Cozy was first published many posters commented that it was a nice relaxing knit. And that might be true. However, I may just not be in the mood for relaxing. That and I have ALL of two years of Loopy Ewe sock club yarn to get on with. Most of which will be turned into other things rather than socks. I need to go about 5 more inches to make it usable for me. If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you may recall that Isadora Duncan's scarves have nothing on mine. Good thing I don't ride in convertibles.







My only concern is "what to start?" when I'm done with Cozy? I need some easily transportable knitting. (I do have a father-in-law hat for Christmas to knit, but that's pretty easy. I'm hoping I can find suitable yarn in my stash for it.) Isn't there something pathological about worrying about what to knit next?

This is my stay at home knitting......

Kauni sweater in a damask pattern. That's probably about 4 inches there. You can see the color of the yellow beginning to shift to green. I think my gauge is a "tad" off. More like 5.5/inch rather than 6/inch, but meh. It doesn't worry me enough to rip. I think I'm knitting a little loosely so that it doesn't pucker. I should probably try and tighten it up some anyway. It is really hard to tell.

I should probably stop out at my LYS to see what they think. If I need to rip back, now would be the time. This is going to take too much time and effort to be a bust.

Here's a close up.


We shall see....













And you know I just can't keep from putting in my two cents.......I am beginning to find the absolute angst about Palin hysterical. What the hell? I'm beginning to think some of these people really do need therapy.

I'm with Dennis Miller who called Palin a "tough broad" and said it would be fun to see her elected just to watch all the leftists go crazy....To see if those who are threatening to decamp to Switzerland or Italy (yeah....with all the rioting, don't they read the papers?) really do. If they feel they must, I'm going to quote Chris Christie....

Now I must get ready to travel.....again.

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?

Get on with it!

A message to:

Governor-elect Tom Corbett
Senator-elect Pat Toomey
[2nd Term] Representative Glenn Thompson

Congratulations. Now, time to get on with business gentlemen.

I'm watching and out of patience.

To:

Representative Joe Sestak and
Senator Bob Casey

WATCH YOUR STEP.....you two could be moving on to your life's work next. You boys have already gotten on my last nerve. I'm one of those bitter crackers clinging to my guns and religion....except, I vote independent, I don't own a gun, and I have a masters degree. Oh, yeah, I do go to church. Well one out of three.

One last thing....I was stunned that the old fart from Northeastern PA Kanjorski got booted....and high time. His challenger, the winner, Lou Barletta you may recall is the city of Hazleton mayor that took a hard line against the illegal immigrants sucking the life out of his town. (Lost the court challenge, but they are forging ahead.) You go Lou!

Last, last thing...California doesn't need to legalize marijuana. Apparently, it is already in the water supply. That is the only possible thing that explains the (re)election of Governor Moonbeam..... Way to go....