What's a gal to do?

I've been busy.

Olympic knitting? Nah...never much of a joiner and knitting is supposed to decrease my blood pressure. If I wanted to be in the Olympics, I'd pick curling. I'd be a mean sweeper!

Olympic watching? Not so much, but the hockey is starting to attract me....which brings me to the point of this.

What's a gal to do.....

Root for Team USA? Well, here we have Bugsey Malone (former Penguin), and Brooks Orpick (current Penguin and Stanley Cup Champion) and there's that nationalistic thing happening.

But how can you not root for Sid, the beloved boy captain of the Pens, and Marc Andre and Canada? (Sid was the hero last night against the Swiss). I just knew he would be.

Then there's Russia with Geno Malkin and Gonchar.....sheesh.

The Canada-USA dust up is set for Sunday. What's a girl to do?

Just Shut Up! Thursday

Oh good grief.........please stop now.....you all are beginning to embarrass me.

Watch the video....seriously. These people should not even be allowed out without a "keeper and a shake rag". (This quote is from a very funny "coming of age" book, called Red Sky at Morning. If you can find it in your library, read it. I found a copy at a used book sale. But I digress.)

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/02/10/new-feminist-spin-on-tebow-ad-we-were-joking-but-not-really/

Famous Last Words.

My words were that we weren't expecting much snow. And while we didn't get what my sister and bro, to the east, got, 24+ inches, we did get 15. We were so certain that this "storm" wasn't going to live up to the billing we, and 4,500 other crazy people went to the wrestling meet on Friday night. We went to have a little toddy, and left for home about 10:30 pm. We could see that it was still snowing, however, it didn't look that "serious"....until you got on the roads.

Now, we have an interesting snow removal system around here. Meaning, it's hard to see that there is any. I often say that the town has one truck, two guys, and one shovel. It really looked that way on Friday. The roads were so bad, we couldn't see where our driveway was, and passed it up. This is not true of the smaller neighboring municipalities, so it is odd.

Saturday morning, when I looked for the paper, I only saw snow (and this was after DH shoveled the patio at 11:00pm when we got home).

I couldn't find the paper. When I called the delivery person he said that he started to deliver papers, but there was so much snow that he couldn't even get to the doors/driveways to deliver them. So he stopped. He also had the horrors of tossing a paper, having it get obscured by snow, and sucked into a snow blower.

Don't blame him a bit. So we got Saturday's and Sunday's papers together.....











This was the view out the front door. Yup, a 15 inch wall of
snow. I quickly shut the door.















That brings us to today, we have the second major snow fall in a week, and this one did not live up to the hype. We're going to end up with about 5 [more] inches, but the roads are horrible. To add insult to injury, our campus and the campus in Erie, are the ONLY TWO who are open in the whole state and everyone is ticked off. Really, ticked off. I was so looking forward to catching up on the laundry. Even a two hour delay would have helped. I lead such an exciting life.

Anyway, here are some pre and post felting photos of another pair of French Press Slippers. I think the pattern is pretty amazing. It felts down exactly right.














This pair was a mix of black and gray wool held together. The buttons are ceramic and I don't know how well they'll hold up, but we'll see.

Just because I can't let it go.....

I was embarrassed by the bru ha ha that the Women's Media Center, NOW, and other groups made about the Tebow ad. The fact that they were apoplectic about an ad that they HADN'T seen was the first hint. Then Monday when the president of NOW declared that CBS was endorsing violence against women (paraphrase), because the ad NEVER directly mentioned abortion, or even pregnancy, I realized how inconsequential these groups have REALLY become. They are now meaningless groups of fools. It worries me in a way, because there may yet come a time that they really do need to stand up for something important, and they have diminished themselves completely. On the other hand, it's gratifying to see them "outed" and for others to see what some of us have known or suspected for years. (I had this vision of a "war room" at NOW or WMC and them wringing their hands over the fact that there was nothing for them to criticize. "What can we say that won't sound stupid?" Ummm...bad choice.)

Rest in peace John Murtha. I think you had honorable intentions in the beginning. I also think you got too big for your britches. (Yeah, it's me the "racist".) Now Altoona/Johnstown need to step up and do what's right for the state and the country.

A little bit of this....

It's weird, I know. When I don't feel well, I get all kinds of creative. I mean my brain works overtime. Maybe it's because I get much needed rest. Maybe it has to do with bad daytime TV, but it never fails. Once I'm well enough to manage it, I start doing all kinds of things. Several years ago, I was home sick for several days, and I beaded enough flower broaches for a garden. I was just bangin' them out one right after another.

The first week of this year, when I wasn't hiding under my comforter, I did some knitting. Here are the results:


On the left French Press Slippers. I saw them on the Yarn Harlot blog, and they were just too cute for words. OK, not that cute, but I liked them, and I have a weird fondness for anything that's felted. (Which is why, I'll never buy a front loader machine no matter how much better they are.)

When I saw them I had the brilliant notion that I could use "waste yarn" to knit them. Goodness knows I've got loads of wool ends. Well, the best laid plans and all that. You'll notice that the "straps" are rather bumpy, that's because I used two different yarns. A planned deviation. My problem occurred when I didn't have enough of the same yarn to FINISH half of ONE toe!! So you may be able to tell that the inside of the right toe is also bumpy. That's because I had to go snag a skein of Lamb's Pride from my LYS. Sigh....best laid plans and all that. Nonetheless, they came out really well, and they're warm....really.

You knit them in "strips" and frankly when you have all these loopy loo pieces to stitch together, you're sure that these will NEVER look remotely like slippers. I shouldn't have worried. It's a great project to work on when one has a few moments. The yarn is held double (triple for the sole) and you use a #15 needle. So next Christmas....slippers for everybody!! I already have another pair (for me) ready to be felted. Probably tomorrow morning. I do my best felting in the mornings....




Number 2 on the hit parade is the Brooklyn Tweed Scarf . I used two colors of Noro Kureyon. I was an easy peasy fun knit, even when I REALLY didn't feel well. I soaked it with hair conditioner, now it smells like Pantene, spun the water out of it, then just let it dry. (I use Pantene because my hair didn't like it and I don't know what else to do with an almost full bottle.)

It's fun looking and warm and I'll be wearing it this weekend in our Nor'easter snow storm.

Looks like we're going to miss the worst of the weather again here in Central PA - only 4 - 8 inches through tomorrow. Trust me, I'm not complaining. Hope those of you to the south and east manage to make it through.....

Voice of reason....

....... and an honest assessment - thank goodness!!

Sally Jenkins - WaPo

Some things I think, I think

Just some random thoughts:

Every time I hear the country name Yemeni on the news, which is a lot lately, the exclaimation "Yumpin' Yemeni!" runs through my brain. (I have never made any claims to being normal.)

I lost interest in and respect for Arlen Specter when he bailed from his party, when it became apparent he might REALLY lose the nomination. After his little dust up with Michele Bachmann, I'm seriously wondering about his mental capabilities. I'm less concerned about the sexism aspects, but the question I have is "Arlen, what the hell are you thinking!!" I saw nothing in the exchange that should have prompted such a response, and Bachmann was clearly non-plussed (as was the radio host who was completely silent for about 45 seconds). Props to her for not flaming his ears off, which I might have been wont to do. Yet another reason to retire Arlen to his wing back chair in Philly, so he can yell at the neighborhood kids riding their bikes on his street.

If I hear one more Democratic congress person, liberal talking head, candidate or any of these other "do-not-know-it-alls" tell me that; "The public doesn't understand the (health care) bill"; " We need to explain it better."; "The public REALLY wants this bill." I'm gonna toss my cookies.

For the record--are all you thick heads listening: I have a master's degree in a science/math field; I can read and understand content that would make your little pea brains 'splode; I can write in no less than 5 computer languages; I get really ticked when I'm patronized and marginalized. I do not need any more explanations. I need to have a bill produced and posted for WEEKS before voting, so I can digest the contents--and not on Christmas Eve. I am tired of dirty tricks, secret meetings, union kick-back, big pharma deals, and all the rest of it. While I hold out NO hope that these "things" will end, I will settle for having the opportunity to actually peruse the legislation at my leisure. Which is more that most of you, including the afore-mentioned Arlen will do. I also believe, that I am not unique in the above attributes.......

I wish I could give this appropriate credit, but who said it escapes me.

This health care bill is bad because; 85% of the public is concerned about rising costs. Health care costs are rising 3 times faster than inflation; 15% are concerned about access, meaning that they do not have, or can not afford health care. Instead of concentrating on the rapidly escalating costs that concern 85% of the country, the Democratic congress with the blessing of the President, invented a convoluted, and high cost way to cover the 15%. This will eventually hurt the 85% in one way or another. If rising costs were addressed (by any number of means) it would eventually mean that more people would have access to, or could afford, quality care.

Question for White House Press Secretary Gibbs: Are you on crack? To try and explain that the Brown victory in Massachusetts was an ENDORSEMENT of Obama policies is just too bizarre to contemplate. My head is actually hurting. Crack and kool aid are a lethal combination......

Buh bye Air(head) America. You won't be missed. You will never get anywhere bashing the land that feeds you. There just aren't enough crazies and vitriol lovers to support this kind of commercial endeavor. (Al Franken, not withstanding, and my guess is that Maddow and that blow hard Olbermann are probably not long for TV if the Comcast deal goes through. Disclaimer: I know Olbermann from his ESPN days before he got booted outta there, I've never actually watched him elsewhere. )

Sometimes I just can't help myself.....

... I admit it. John Stossel is a kind of hero of mine. I'm not a Libertarian, but he's a guy after my own heart. (And as a bonus, he's pretty easy on the eyes.)

Go get'em John.

The Stimulus Works



P.S. In the interests of full disclosure, I also have a soft spot for Geraldo Rivera. Ever since he used to have that show on late at night after Carson's Tonight Show (you know, the REAL Tonight Show). I used to watch him with my father when he got home after second shift.

Clue Phone is ringing.........

Thank you Massachusetts!!

He did indeed!!!

..... and Arlen it's for you!! I'm one of those "unaffiliated" voters and we're coming for YOU!

(Party switch doesn't look like such a good move now, does it, Bucko?)

Better late, than never...

....actually, last week at this time I was pretty sure it might be never.

You see we had an "interesting" holiday week. Spent Christmas through the 27th at my mother's. She's a lovely woman, who can drive a sane person to drink in 10 minutes. We stayed a day longer than planned, because my DH's back decided he didn't like the mattress on the bed, and began to devil him. (I made him promise to visit me at Muncy, SCI for women, if I attempted murder.) Got home, and spent an uneventful 3 days, unpacking, clearing up, and doing laundry. New Years, was peaceful and snowy, but who cared? We were not driving anywhere. Took a long walk, in the cold, quiet, dark neighborhood. It was divine.

Now here's riddle.....What does it mean when you don't feel like knitting?

Sunday, after New Years, something wasn't "right" with me. I was exhausted, and didn't even feel like eating....Big clue. Monday, my last day of vacation, it was clear, I was sick, and to add insult to injury I had a fever. I just spent the last week struggling with the flu. Not H1N1--I don't think I was sick enough for that, and had few respiratory symptoms, but "something". "Something" that wasn't in the flu shot cocktail that I dutifully got back in November. I had four solid days of feeling lousy, and finally one day when my temperature stayed below 99.

Answer: You've got the flu!

So despite all the "free" time on my hands last week the only thing I knit, sporadically no less, was this:


Yes, the Brooklyn Tweed Noro Scarf. I had just finished my second Ishbel (more on that later), and just wanted something that would be mindless and entertaining. So I used the leftovers from my Wrap Me Up (plus another colorway), and cast on for this scarf. This is knit in Kureyon, so it is rough rather than soft. (He uses Silk Garden.) But a soak in hair conditioner will fix that when I'm finished I think.




It was the perfect sick bed knitting. Except for the time I was trudging from the living room up to the bedroom and discovered that I had dropped one of the skeins downstairs, and had pulled the trailing yarn after me into bed. A little like Hansel and Gretel and breadcrumbs. I had to haul my flu ridden bones out of bed to retrieve the skein, because I didn't want to be responsible for my DH falling on the yarn and breaking his leg on the stairs.


So as of today, I'm 6 days behind in my office. With the retirement of my colleague, I am responsible for more than I was before, and I'm not starting out on the right foot. So Ishbel will need to wait another day. I leave you with a few other pieces though.

First: Fetching and Calorimetry in Malabrigo worsted, Ginger Carrot.



Fetching mods: I knit 8, rather than 4 rows for the palm. The four rows were too "short" for me.

Calorimetry mods: Used a size #6 needle for a more dense fabric, and cast on 88 stitches (I just took a leap.) The 120 cast on made it too wide, and long. I could have used a little more length, but not much.







This is a close up of the antique, or maybe the correct term is "old", button on the Calorimetry.
Pretty?









Here is ONE of the three Turn A Square hats I knit for Christmas. (Yes another Brooklyn Tweed pattern, notice a theme here?)


I ended up knitting THREE of these. Though the pattern says this is for an "average" head, and Ravelry didn't seem to dispute that, I'm thinking it was for an average pumpkin head. Now, I have a larger size head, but knit to the pattern specs it was way too large. In addition, my first attempts were for my father-in-law, who has a middlin' at best hat size, and were knit in Woolease. So some acrylic. Not a lot of "give".

Mod #1: decreased the cast on to 96 stitches (multiples of 4). Much better. This is the one I gave to my FIL, not pictured. But I wanted one for hiking, and this still felt too loose. I used Lamb's Pride and Silk Garden and

Mod #2: cast on 88 stitches. that's what you see pictured here. I like the way it fits, even on MY pumpkin head.

Ursis actually looks better in it than I do.

If I knit this again, and I might, I may add 4 stitches, and use a smaller size needle for a "denser" fabric. Anyway, this is a great "stash buster" project.

And just for your amusement: right before break our staff assistant sent this to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h05ZQ7WHw8Y

(Caution: "mature" language, very politically incorrect, and funny, all my favorite things.)

I was bemoaning the fact that I had once received one of these as a gift.

Then lo and behold, Christmas came:


And Santa brought my sister a snuggie knock off. We hooted with laughter.

















To add to the hilarity, it is plaid, and has two pockets. (My sister says one for her "Bud" and the other for her pack of "Marlboros".)

Thanks to Curt for being such a good sport and modeling the monstrosity.......... Notice the Yuengling Santa hat, which probably explains the willingness to model.

My mother the giver of the gift was highly insulted.


My sister thinks the cats will like it a lot.

Twas the week before Christmas...

... and all through the town,
The traffic was light, it was safe to drive now.
The students were home, nestled fast in their beds.
Their parents could worry about parties instead [of us].

Though shopping was stressful, and work hard to manage,
It was always a given that it would soon all be finished.

And as offices closed down, and gifts were all fine,
A deep sigh was heard...I'll have the Cabernet.

Merry Christmas to all. If you celebrate the Christ part, go with that. If you celebrate the federal holiday, excellent. Otherwise, it is simply the appropriate greeting of my people.

Take it in that spirit. See you all on the flip, MAYBE with the long promised knitting pictures. (I forgot and wrapped the pieces before I photographed them.)

Sigh. Dumb ass.

P.S. This is a hard closing. My one good friend, who I have known for nearly 20 years here, is retiring, effective 12/31, but actually at COB today. It will make my job exponentially more difficult. But I'm delighted for her. Every night will now be Friday, and every tomorrow, Saturday, for her.

Ignorance is bliss.

... last year I was bemoaning the fact that the knitting elves had deserted me.

This year the knitting elves actually made their appearance early and have disapparated [sic: Harry Potter]. Do I have photos? Nope. I was feeling so sanguine about no more Christmas knitting, that I woke up one morning this week and suddenly realized that it was about a week before Christmas, and "ulp" I didn't have gifts that I needed to actually purchase. I had not ONE Christmas decoration scattered around. I still had shorts in my drawers, and my woolies in cardboard boxes piled up in the spare bedroom... (and it's cold here now...like in the 20s and 30s).

Unfortunately, I have to physically drag my sorry butt to stores tonight (in addition to some weekly grocery and wine (must. get. wine.) shopping) because tomorrow we have this arriving....

The National Weather Service has forecast that University Park will receive between 3 and 5 inches of snow during the day on Saturday, Dec. 19. As a result, the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) has declared a midnight clear for Saturday night. This means that there is no parking in any surface parking from midnight to 7 a.m., with some exceptions.

The good news is that most of the students will be gone for break. The bad news is that those of us who waited for them to clear out will be SOL.

And in an installment of "What Was He Thinking?"-- I'm trying to figure out how this idiot thought he would never get found out.....He is one of the most recognizable people on the planet. Am I surprised that he is a horn dog? No. But how arrogant can you be to think that it would remain a "secret" forever? I hope his soon-to-be-ex wife takes him to the cleaners.

Still working on the sister-in-law ornament to be mailed Monday.....what was I thinking????

Hopefully, photos Monday. Snow makes for lovely photography.

Too good to pass up...

I know, that no one really cares what goes on here. Seriously, we're just a pimple on the butt of an elephant.

But sometimes, the bizarre just has to be shared:

Crow Wars

OK, the crows are a nuisance. And if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, Hitchcock's The Birds seems tame by comparison (ask me how I know this), but hearing and seeing the pyrotechnic flashes on cold winter nights, is weird. But heck...we can't shoot 'em. That would upset the eco-system, wouldn't it? Never mind MY eco-system. I also really like how they are lighting the area of the campus where they WANT them to go. How is that a sustainable use of energy?

Sigh. I couldn't make this up in a million years.

P.S. Read the comments...

Slight of Hand

This little bit of news hardly made a ripple:

State College & Johnstown Among The Safest Places To Live

You will notice that State College is #1 on this list. If you look at the crimes that were considered:
murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft, it's no wonder. No public urination, no drunk and disorderly, no DUI, no disturbing the peace and throwing items off of balconies, or jumping/falling from said balconies. Without those there would be nothing for the police to do here. So there you have it. As long as you stay away from drunk men in need of facilities, you're golden (no pun intended).

This while the town council is trying to figure out how to pass an ordinance that will make the hosts of parties responsible for damage their "guests" might do. The ACLU seems to think this is unconstitutional because it would inhibit .... are you ready for this ..... religious or political meetings. Those wild and crazy Baptists, I'm sure they're staggering down local streets after prayer meetings.....who knew?

Sometimes it's good, sometimes not so much.

Thanksgiving is usually a pretty low key holiday around these here parts. It was this year too...for the most part.

We visited my in-laws. Including my 90 year old, 8 weeks post hip-replacement MIL. How's she doing? Well, if dragging her quad cane behind her, like a bad puppy is any indication, pretty damn well. Around the house, other than getting out of bed in the morning, she really doesn't need it at all. She will use convenient furniture to support her if necessary, but she cruises around pretty effortlessly, albeit slowly. She carries the cane out with her, but it almost seems like a security blanket. I, personally, wouldn't care if she carried Gandolf's staff, if it helped.

If any of you watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition on November 29th, you saw my sister-in-law's employer in action. They were the contractor that built the home. She did all the behind the scenes stuff with the producers. I don't know much about it because we were watching the Steelers lose yet again.

The holiday downside was the unwelcome news that a relative, to which my DH was particularly close - a year younger no less, has apparently (I say apparently because we don't have all the details yet) been diagnosed with a vicious cancer. If it is what we've been told, the outlook is grim. It is particularly heartbreaking.

It's me...I'm back.

Last week I was in Denver, CO for a conference - a BIG conference. Truthfully, I wasn't delighted to go. I had issues at home that needed to be resolved and managed, and the timing sucked. Well, I'm now glad I went.

The home "issues" while they didn't sort themselves out, at least remained manageable, and I got some "away" time I didn't realize I needed so badly.

The week prior to my trip Denver got FEET of snow. The week I was there the temps were in the high 60s and low 70s without a flake in sight. To say it was bizarre, doesn't quite describe it.

The conference was in the Colorado Conference Center. The upper level is an enormous atrium with stunning views of the Rockies--when they were not fog shrouded.



Outside the Convention Center the designers added a bit of whimsey. See the big BLUE bear peering in the windows?



Seems perfect for Denver. The Denverites I met were all very nice, and friendly! Even, are you sitting down?, the bus drivers. (I'm from Pittsburgh, and the natives are wonderful friendly there, UNLESS they are bus drivers. At least that's my experience....Maybe it has to do with passengers like me who leave their clog in the middle of the street while boarding a bus.....Hummmmm.)

On Wednesday night, I took a bus to The Lamb Shoppe. See this is how I know about bus drivers. I got some info from the hotel concierge about where to actually get a bus. Not only did this gentleman give me information, he walked outside the hotel with me to point me in the correct direction! When I got on the bus, it was dark (Standard Time), and I had no idea where I needed to get off, other than between Madison and Maple. I told the bus driver that I needed to get off at that stop (I knew the bus stop was near the shop because I called them), and would he alert me? He said "Sure!". Well, after about 15 minutes I got antsy, and we were in a VERY residential neighborhood, so I stood up to get a better look. He saw me and said, don't worry, it's another two stops away. He then told me where and when to get the bus back to downtown. When I told him I was going to a yarn store he said, "that's a first"..."it's usually BEAD stores!"

Anyway, another blogger/knitter once described the indecision of a knitter as "monkey mind". Well, I'm the original monkey. It used to happen in bead stores, I'd have a "plan" of sorts....("I'm going to buy Delicas.") Then as soon as I'm surrounded by gorgeous beads, well, forget it. I can't even remember I had a plan to begin with. That's exactly what happened in the Lamb Shoppe. The walls were just loaded with gorgeous yarns....seriously! Yarns that I've only read about. And here I was....with no room in my carry-on. In addition, there was a delightfully rowdy stitch and bitch group meeting up front. A table learning how to crochet, and another table of beginning knitters designing their own mittens...... Action packed doesn't quite describe it. For someone who, for the most part, is a solitary knitter, this was like an oasis.

So I wandered around for about 30 minutes, I bought some cotton sock yarn for my cotton loving mother, some Malabrigo, and a Skacel Zauerbal sock yarn, and herein lies a story.

A colleague of mine, who will soon be retiring (snif), recently took an extended vacation. She had seen a moebius shawl at one of our local arts festivals and was immediately charmed by the concept. In my "go big, or go home" approach to most things I said. I can show you how to knit a moebius. She is barely a beginning knitter by the way..... She bought needles, lovely Lamb's Pride Lanaloft, and I helped her cast on.... At her vacation destination, her knitting attracted the attention of other knitters one of whom introduced her to a skein of Zauerbal. Yet again, she was charmed and tried to describe it to me when she got back. I had never seen the yarn. However, lo and behold, there was Zauerbal, right on the Lamb Shoppe shelf! So I bought one for her as a souvenir from Denver.

Anyway, here is a [bad] photo, of the Malabrigo worsted (Ginger Carrot--has it dawned on anyone yet that I buy yarns because I like the color names?), and the Zauerbal.



I am using the Malabrigo to knit another pair of Fetching mitts. This time for me. They will "match" nothing...but I don't care. Nyah, nyah. I knit an entire pair of mitts while I was in Denver. They were that fast...and travel makes for lots of knitting time. (Not necessarily in the air, however.)

These are for my sister this is a new type of Araucania yarn. Loved it!!



I will definitely make the palms deeper (longer?) for me though.

There's more, but it's late here, and I do want to go home eventually.........

When I began this post it was Veterans Day, and I was going to tell everyone to kiss an available service person to thank them. Even though it isn't Veterans Day, I'm thinking this might be a good idea anyway.

All's well that ends well, eh?

Not so fast sister.....

As we continue our saga (I had to take a time out for proposal evaluations and re-evaluation, and re-evaluations....etc. work re-entry is a bitch)you may remember that hubby and I decided to extend our vaca one extra day because we rolled craps on the weather. It was supposed to be a hiking vacation, and we had not done one step of actual trail hiking in in 6 full days. Fortunately, we usually schedule an extra day of vacation after our planned trip, and we used that to stay over.

We did finally get to walk in the woods. Sigh....it was lovely.





This is Jones Mill Run. As I said in a previous post, PA woods are lousy with these little runs.








Here's a little artsey fartsey shot of the run. Because of the six days of unrelenting rain, there was no shortage of water.













The difference with this particular run is that this is what you see at the head. Yup, it's that pretty.














Here's Dan'l Boone on the rocks next to the dam.









Anyway, the next day we headed back to reality. What's the one thing you don't want to hear when you walk in the door? Let me tell you.....it's hubby going into the half bath off the kitchen and saying "Uh oh!". Trust me, you don't want to hear "Uh oh" about anything after you've been gone over a week. (Last year the "uh oh" was because his car battery was dead and parked closest to the back door, and we had to unload the car from many more yards away.)

In this case, the "uh oh" referred to the fact that he was standing in stockinged feet on a wet bathmat. When I looked in the door he was staring up at the ceiling, which was marked with brown water marks and water droplets. Good gravy, what now!???

Apparently, something was leaking in our upstairs bath, though we couldn't find it, and had run down, into the walls, and out the exhaust vent (for the most part). Turns out, a washer blew, on the water line under the upstairs sink, and we had a pretty good drip going on. The good news was that it had probably just happened in the prior day or so. The bad news is that we still have to repaint the downstairs drywall...now that it has had a week to dry. The fun just never ends.

I leave you with a photo of Ishbel (I wish I knew the origin of that name.) I finally finished it...still with the tinking. I do love it though, and am considering wearing it in Denver, where I'll have to travel (under duress) next week. Only I would get sent to Denver where they are currently getting FEET of snow. Why couldn't the damn conference be in Tampa? Or New Orleans? Or Charlotte? Sheesh!!



Ishbel (blocking).
STATS:

1 skein Handmaiden Cashbah (some left over)no colorway on ball band - Loopy Ewe Sock Club skein.

#6 circular needles (48 inches)

Wingspan 48", depth 19"


There is also a shawl size. I'm going to wear this like a scarf. (Doesn't point to my worst ass(et) that way.

I would definite knit this again, and am thinking about taking version #2 as my plane knitting.

So how the heck have I been .....

... some of you may have noticed that we here in Central PA had a "bit" of snow last week. If you watched the Weather Channel, you were led to believe that the most pressing problem was that PSU banned tailgating around the stadium and it was homecoming weekend. (The grassy areas were muddy, and there aren't enough paved areas to allow the huge RV's to set up their tailgates.) Never mind that there were folks who were without electricity from Thursday evening until Saturday evening (in some cases). My boss told me he came to work on Friday just so he could have electricity. I mention TWC because that's how we found out how nasty it really got. You see we were supposed to be hiking in the Laurel Highlands. I say supposed to be, because we really didn't get to hike.

I'm no shrinking violet. I've hiked in rain, I've hiked in cold, but on Wednesday afternoon, when I went outside to decide whether to wear a down vest, and realized that it was not just cold, but raining and sleeting, I gave up.




Cold AND rainy, means I'm not going anywhere. Add heavy duty fog to the mix, and well, you get the drift.












We heard about the snow in Centre County when I got a PSU text message on Friday morning informing me that classes were running on time, but that the snow was continuing to fall. Huh? Snow?



A look out the deck doors showed me unrelenting rain and fog, but snow? PSU began an emergency text messaging program not long after the VA Tech tragedy. They text message emergency announcements from water line breaks to panels blowing off the scoreboards and closing roads, to class delays.







An odd manifestation of the system is that my phone interprets the P in PSU as



Poetic, no?

So after getting the message I turned on TWC and by golly, one of the weather weenies was in a parka standing in a driving snow storm in front of the stadium. He was telling us that the University had prohibited parking in the grassy lots, and what were the homecoming tailgaters to do? It was surreal. Especially since here I was at a ski resort in the "mountains" and THERE WAS NO SNOW! (Not that I wanted any, mind you.)

So here's what I did instead....



Meet Ishbel and Ishbel meet Handmaiden Cashbah, no idea what colorway. It was the first yarn in the 2009 Loopy Ewe Sock club. It is so lovely...the color is no where near as lovely as it is in person, that I couldn't bare to put it on my stinky feet. Ishbel is a lovely pattern. Lovely, if you're smart enough to pay attention. I, apparently, am not nearly smart enough and have spent about 20% of my time tinking. First in the stockinette portion of the program I somehow added an extra stitch on one side and pulled it out 3 or 4 times, until I figured it out. Then, I can't seem to "read" the lace pattern, and make silly errors, on a regular basis, that I can only fix by tinking. The one thing I can tell you, is that if you have the time to put into it, it is a fast knit. I really should have been concentrating on my Christmas knitting, however, I have been itching to start this forever! I blew through the first three charts and stockinette in no time, and since I've been home, have knit two (count'em 2) rows. This job just really cuts into my knitting time.



So we missed the catastrophic snow storm. Here's what I saw on Sunday morning.








Sad part is that on the way down, there were still a lot of green trees. With all the "weather", it seems that many trees dropped their leaves without ever getting a chance to turn. The pelting rain, and heavy snow, just pulled leaves right off the trees (and in the case of Centre County knocked large branches down all over the place). We ended up extending our stay by one day, because, wouldn't you know....Monday, the day we originally planned to leave dawned bright and sunny -- cool, but dry and bright. The past two days it has been in the 60's.

Timing is everything.

The change of seasons.........

A treat for the senses...... OK, just kidding, it's been a long week already.

First the FOs.

#1 Girasole

Soaked, blocked, and with a "real" photo shoot. These photos were taken at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. Home of the PSU Nittany Lion baseball team, and the State College Spikes (short season, low "A", of the Pittsburgh Pirates, though it's hard to tell the difference from the big Pirates at this point-Sigh). "Fear the Deer" - I wish I were kidding. You can see Mt. Nittany in the background. We held a conference, which should get a post all its own, at the ball park (they rent out their facilities out of season), and I got the opportunity to take a few photos.





















Updated Stats:
Pattern: Girasole
Yarn: Dream in Color Starry, Lipstick Lava
3 FULL skeins, fingering weight
Needle: #6, Options, 60 inch (though shorter would have been OK too), switched to Denise, when the join pulled out of my Options (which Knit Picks replaced pronto)

Unblocked I got 46 inches, blocked I got 58 inches. I am so very glad I did the extra repeat on chart G. But the stress was awful!

The lace also opened up like magic. I'm delighted with this piece, and wore it a bit in the morning yesterday, over my leather blazer, because we had "breakfast" on the open concourse in 50 degree weather. Gotta be a hearty soul to work for PSU. This was an EASY knit....really. I only had one misstep and it was right at the beginning. If you want to try your hand at lace, this is a nice, deceptively difficult looking, but easy-to-knit piece. As a process knitter, this is right up my alley. I am definitely planning another (or two) in worsted weight for my mother-in-law and mother.

#2 Wrap Me Up

This came about, not because I loved the pattern so much, but because it offered me the opportunity to knit with a local group. The local knitting guild meets Thursdays and that is generally not a great night for me. (OK, I'll fess up, DH and I, spend Thursday nights, shoveling out the hovel so we do not have to do much on the weekends. I really like this system.) This knitting "class" met Tuesdays, and that suits me fine. So I thought what the heck...the first class Cynthia (LYS owner extraordinaire)told us she planned for us to have this piece finished by the last Tuesday in November. By sheer dumb luck, it turns out that we'll be finished by the last Tuesday in October, when we'll get together for an ice cream celebration and FO shoot. Because of the Steelers, and the Super Bowl (during the game I couldn't stop knitting I was so excited), I got way ahead, and finished last week.

So here in a remarkably boring photo is Wrap Me Up, a la Cindy:



















Notice the rapidly fading patio planters in the background. Those 40 degree nights are not making them happy.

So the details:

Pattern: Wrap Me Up
Yarn: Noro Kuyreon, 229 & 40, # skeins unknown.....I think I bought one or two more than was recommended and ended up with one left over (I bought three more and will eventually knit one of the Jared Flood's Noro striped scarves.) Lambs Pride worsted, Lotus Pink for trim (1+ skein - I had extra from other projects). The last thing you have to worry about in this pattern are dye lots.
Needle: #7, Options circ, various lengths.
MODS: Lots more beads. When I caught on to what the designer was doing, I put beads in most of the trim color areas. Unfortunately, I didn't catch on until one end of the wrap was more or less finished, so the beading is a little lopsided, but only I would think that. I also strung the beads first and used a bead knitting technique that "popped" the beads to the front of the piece. I didn't apply I-cord in all the areas recommended and DID NOT apply the little "piggy tails" (little unattached lengths of I-cord). Here is my largest mod:


Rather than fussing around with the two-toned "dragon tooth" edging, I bound off with I-cord. This is a five stitch I-cord using a #9 needle (two sizes larger). I'm lots happier with how this looks. I tried it several ways, but I ended up picking up the bajillion stitches along the edge, and then using the I-cord bind off. It made for a neater edge than applying I-cord directly.

The dimensions are "similar" to the pattern, but that isn't any more important than dye lot, it is plenty long. I soaked it in hair conditioner, and spun it for about 5 minutes, in a net bag in my washer. It didn't take very long to dry with much of the water out. Then I applied the I-cord and the edging.

This is one of my favorite blocks...I don't know why....

This is the basketweave block, and I had no idea how this would look until it was finished. I liked the surprise.


That is one of the fun things about this. You don't know, exactly, what you're getting until you're done. This is another process piece.









Because I was out of the office for the first two days this week, I need to get caught up. I expect that there will be radio silence for awhile, but I'll be back, with new projects....Christmas is coming and I've already started some fingerless mitts...my first. Yes, I was a fingerless mitt virgin.

Answer to the riddle....

So what does any self-respecting knitter do when he/she thinks they are running out of yarn?

Why.... Knit FASTER of course. Why do I do this? I ask you! I had about 30 of the damnable points to finish, and vacillated between thinking I had plenty, just enough, and resignation that I would have to purchase a whole new skein, just to finish a couple edging points.

I had planned to finish knitting on a day trip we were taking to a not quite local festival, but the weather was so miserable (anyone who watched PSU v Iowa on Saturday night saw the rain), we decided not to go. The canceled trip also canceled my knitting mojo, and I spent the 2nd half of the game napping. As it turns out, both decisions were excellent choices. (We've been selling our [40 yard line] football tickets for the past few years. Long story short, the changes in the atmosphere of the stadium, and the poor early season scheduling, make it so not worth the effort to go, even for a local. I know lots of folks who feel the same way, weird, no?)

Anyway, I finally finished yesterday morning and THIS is what I had left .....







Ta Da!! That's all folks. Knitting is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.







Here's the finished product. No blocking yet. I have to pin it to the living room floor in order to block, and need to choose a day when DH traffic is light. (And when I have the time to pin 200+ points.)




Stats:
Pattern: Girasole
Yarn: Dream in Color Starry, Lipstick Lava (3 FULL skeins)
Needle: #6, Options, 60 inch (though shorter would have been OK too), switched to Denise, when the join pulled out of my Options (which Knit Picks replaced pronto)




This is a 46 inch diameter, unblocked, and I'm hoping I'll get about 52+ inches total with an aggressive blocking. There is one extra repeat in the last chart.

Here is a better color representation.



I actually loved knitting this, but it took me a long time, not being project monogamous and all. I'd like to do a blankie for my MIL and mother maybe using Paton's SWS. I'm tempted to start the blankie for my MIL for her birthday in December...but I'm starting my Christmas knitting now and I'm not sure I'll have time.

Quickie update ....

MIL update: Though surgery was successful, rehab has been slower than we had hoped. Mostly that it took a long time for the anesthesia to clear and my poor MIL kept falling asleep during her sessions. Time is a great healer though, and she is now feeling well enough to want to "get up and move" on her own. She'll be hobbling around, but hobbling independently. Needs to get her tiny appetite back though. As baffled Daughter #1 told me, "I can't understand it. I've never been not hungry in my life". My father-in-law, at home, is being nurtured by my delightful sisters-in-law with ongoing deliveries of delicious dainties and uninterrupted TV watching. However, we all suspect that he is reveling in his preferred diet of Raman noodles and frozen burritos. Daughter #1 says she sees the light at the end of the tunnel....she's also hoping it isn't a train.

News from Kitty Camp: Dementia and Velcro (aliases that only I call them, but are much more descriptive of their personalities), are "surviving", and the kitty counselor (read: sitter) has even had a few Dementia sightings. Dementia barely tolerates most people, and LOVES my sister, so spends most of her time hiding when my sister is at work. The fact that she has appeared to a perfect stranger (albeit one bearing food and treats) is a good sign. It's kind of like a visitation from the Virgin. (Step back, because I'm probably going to be a black mark when the lightning hits!)

Here they are ready to "help" with the remodel:





Dementia is on the top...














Meanwhile I have a riddle:

What do you do, when you think you may be running out of yarn ..... (this applies to any project, but this is the Girasole...I'm not pulling it out! NOT!)

Answer Monday...maybe with photos.




P.S. Thanks for the offer of the adult beverage....I'm liking nice cabs at the moment.

P.P.S. A "just shut up" (for Just Shut Up Thursday) to Barak. Buddy, 45 interviews in 9 months? (To compare: Bush (6) Clinton (7), or the reverse, in the same time frame) 1000+ "I" references in 41 speeches? You are so played out.....