Three Woman Socks

Oh, Happiness. Three days off work (5 days before I have to go back! Yeah!), and I have recovered enough brain cells to do colorwork. I got Fancy Feet by Anna Zilborg, which, BTW, I like much more than Knitting For Anarchists, and immediately cast on. But, of course, I couldn't just follow a pattern. I used the garter stitch square cast on from Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks, Warm Feet, and I think I'll use her after thought heel. See? Me, Anna, and Lucy- three women.

The yarn is Finngarn, I think. I'm trying to alternate hot and cool colors. I have to dye some to get orange as I have no idea where I got this stuff, or why, but I suppose I was swatching for something. I have some pale yellow that should overdye nicely. HOw excellent . I just noticed that my unshaved legs to not show in the photo.

We're carving pumpkins tonight. I had four of the kind grown for carving, and they were what I expected. They smelled like I thought pumpkins smelled. The heirloom one that was a deep, deep orange had an intoxicating scent. Cutting into it released a ripe melon smell that made me want to stand up and go cook.

Dusty, Crabby, Bored

Cleaning the living room. I hate the dog hair. Not enough to vaccuum regularly, but enough that it totally bugs me. Hmmph. Above, a view of the floor and the piano. Don't you feel like a better houskeeper already? See what a service I supply?




To avoid turning really crabby, I focused on a different type of fluff: Much better. Doesn't Kelly the dog look guilty? She actually always looks like that. One of her charms.

Fishy Happiness

We built a modest fishpond in the back yard. (Why can't the term "Back Garden" catch on in this country? It's so much nicer, but it sounds stupid for an American to use the term. It's certainly not large enough to be a yard. I think we measure at 23' x 30, or something pathetic like that. When the older son first saw my mom's Midwestern house, he looked out the back door and said "Mom! Grandma has a park in her backyard!")

Oh, yes, I digress. We need to put some trim around the top to hide the black pond liner. The fountain runs from a solar panel , graciously hosted by the neighbors garage roof. The fish were put in yesterday when we noticed mosquito larvae and decided that becoming an encephalitis hotspot would not endear us to the neighbors. Or their garage roof.

On the knitting front, I am overdyeing some bulky something that was once a jacket with fur trim ( yuck) . I'm trying to tone down the purple aqua color to more of a dark purple. We shall see. The yarn- or rather the jacket- was a store sample that was given to me by the store owner when we were friends. But then two years ago, we became unfriends, based on what was, I think, a huge misunderstanding. Just like on Gilligans Island, except no cocoanuts were thrown. ANyway, the jacket got ripped out, as I couldn't stand to wear it, and the yarn has been hanging around for a while. If it still makes me sad, I'll knit a bunch of hats for afghans for Afghans

Alpaca Goodness

Yarn: Suri Dream from Knitpicks
Pattern: Well, follow the directions for Myrna Stalman's garter Farose shawl, but only cast on 5 and use big needles. Use 10 stitches for the center panel. Sawtooth edging from Nicky Epstein's book on edges
Garden: Mine, all mine.

Better

Much better day. We were so short that the manager had to take a patient. Most excellent. She refused my offer of the extra scrubs in my locker, and I had the satisfaction of the patient's mother sneaking over to my bedside and asking- " uhm, is that lady a real nurse? I mean, she doesn't look like one...." Ah yes, most excellent . Also, the ward clerk, who for those of you who are not nurses- the ward clerk is the goddess and ruler of the domain- the ward clerk was supremely helpful in chiding the manager for her lack of gratitude and appreciation of the ward clerks helpfulness. Some posturing, yes, but also, like hey, the nurses always say thank you when I bring them stuff, so you better, too.

My unresponsive kiddo made a small step towards going to rehab- to do what, I don't know, but a step out of the child hell that is the PICU.

Did I mention a week and a half of vacation? MY very best friend, also a knitter, also a nurse, is coming to see me for Halloween.

tomorrow, we have costume parade of the preschoolers, and I am going with a very fine looking cow. A boy Cow, not a girl cow. MOOOOOO

Bitter and Dark

Ok, not a cheerful day, and not because someone died. Actually, it's because someone keeps trying to die, and we won't let him. For months and months, this child has been sick, sicker, sickest. Coded many times. No speech, no vision, no reaction- except to pain- no hope. At least, that's how it seemed to his nurse today. Just endless ICU days and nights, with regular pokes and turns and disturbances, and now and again one of us puts his headphones on, and I don't even know if he likes this music- I hope so, but his parents brought it in. Did I mention the constant diarrhea? I mean, whats worse, constantly leaking stool, or constantly being wiped on your raw little butt? That can't be comfortable. Pain control? Hah. The theory is that he is too far gone to feel pain. If I'm ever this far gone- and I hope not- slip me something, ok? ANyone else out there want to have DNR tatooed on their chest? Damn, it was a sucky day in the ICU.

On the knitting front- nothing.
Does it ever bother anyone else that knitting is now so popular that even mean people are learning to knit?

Husband is working to night. The children are blissfully eating noodles. I may possibly try to spin something

I Lost the Blog

No. Really. I found this really cool backgroundy stuff and links and stuff. I put in the tagline. I filled out my profile. My husband asked about the blog and I said I'm not really sure where it is. He said, "what does that mean?" I said "I kinda hoped you would find it for me. You're the technical expert." Fortunately when he went to blogger the kind folks there had anticipated the totally clueless and had provided a way to recover not only your password, but also your username. That's when I found out that my username and my blog name and my blog's name were all different. Who woulda thunk? Anyway I found the blog .I don't actually expect any readers, but this may force me to write.

So, lessee. I spent the day sick in bed- really sick. Barely able to knit. This evening I perked up enough to finish the hat made from a bulky single from the rainbow batt from www.graftonfibers.com

Tommorow- back to work, I guess, though if anyone with a cold like mine came near my kid in the ICU, I'd throw my body accross their ET tube to prevent the march of the rhino virus.

Picture of the hat tommorow, after I figure out how to work the digital vamera. I know how to get the pictures IN, silly. It's getting them OUT.