It's my birthday!

It's my BD today. DH fixed pancakes and bacon this morning, and cleaned up after himself! What a prince! He'll be cooking dinner later, too. I walked with Karen, who was the second person (after DH) to give me BD wishes for the day. We did our 4.5 miles in 1 hour and 4 minutes. My plans for the day include talking with Mom to settle on the dates for me to go visit her this week, taking a hot bath and lots of knitting and spinning. Other than the weather it should be a great day. It is just grey and cloudy out there, not bright and sunny, which would be my choice. If I were given a choice. Which I wasn't.

I had to frog most of what I had knit on the test sock last night. I started with size 1 needles because that's what I usually use for sock knitting. It just barely made it over my heel and up my leg when I tried it on after 1 inch of ribbing and one pattern repeat. I went up a needle size and will be ready to try again in 2 more rows. I love this yarn and the pattern is easily memorized but not boring. Pictures soon - I need more than one pattern repeat to show you. I also finished frogging the Cables and O's section that I didn't like and I am ready to pick that up again. I would like to spin today, also. Busy day....

Moving on....



This is our boat with new canvas and side curtains on it. The side curtains will keep us safe and warm in inclement weather and allow us to use the boat later into the year without me being bundled up as if I lived in the far northern area of Alaska. LOL. We will be able to sleep on board, fully protected if we need to be (weather-wise) and still be able to have good visibility all around because of the window in the back curtain.

Another thing (in addition to boats) that you see a lot of on the Chesapeake (most other bodies of water, also) is buoys. They serve to show the way from point to point and also to show you where the safe water (as compared to shallow water) is so there is less chance of running aground. I like buoys. They seem so stable and enduring. They are out there in good weather and bad, year after year. There are red buoys.



The little antennae thingies on top are to keep the birds off there, otherwise they would be nesting and ... doing other things all over the buoy.



And there are green buoys. In this photo, if you enlarge it, you can see the light on at the top of the more distant buoy. At night they each light up in a particular pattern and frequency to aid with navigation. It's difficult to read the buoy number at night, so this way you can look at the chart and it will tell you that, for instance, a particular number buoy will flash one long and two short flashes. If you coordinate the chart information with the buoy lights you can see, you can find out where you are and how to get to where you need to go.




We've come to the end of my boating trip for this week. I will leave you with this final image. This is the peaceful, relaxing Chesapeake Bay at the end of a wonderful spring day.

It was a good Monday

I can't believe I said that a Monday was good! I was actually happy to get away from DH and his germs and crankiness. He really is sick, though. He returned to the doctor and he has another anitbiotic and an inhaler plus more cough medicine. He doesn't have pneumonia (yet)but he has some wheezing and possibly an asthma component to his illness. His throat is very sore and his cough is very persistent and painful. Poor guy. He is not used to this sick feeling for so long. He's been lucky in the past. He'll be home from work for another week, I think.

I had a very productive day and still managed to get in my 4.5 mile walk on the trail. I topped off the night by getting to the last pattern repeat on the Diamond Fantasy Shawl and to the spot to bind off for the arm holes on Cables and O's. I have to do a little figuring here since I added 10 stitches to the pattern to make both fronts end with a cable. I have the center back marked and have to work the instructions and counting backwards to the side seams and bind off spot. I know that I have a lot to knit still but I feel that this is a major landmark in the project and I am happy to be there.

It was 36 degrees this morning when I left for work! I put all of my scarves and gloves away over the weekend. Thank goodness I had kept one pair of fingerless mitts out for walking. They came to work with me this morning. It is sunny out and that makes me happy. Maybe I will go outside for lunch today. I usually don't do that because on nice days it is very hard to come back into my dungeon and get back to work. I am craving the sunshine, though, so maybe I will go out today.

I didn't spin yesterday - just not enough time, but I hope to get in 30 minutes tonight. It is amazing how much can get spun if I do that every day. And it's fun, too.

My boys two years ago on Memorial Day (and also my in-laws anniversary) - the last time we were all toghether:




Have a good day.

Cable and O-ing

I had hoped to take a photo each day of my progress on the Cables and O's cardigan but that was not to be. Not enough sunlight during the times I am at home for one thing. And let's face it - two or three rows of progress just isn't going to be visible, at least not on line. Between dinner, walking 4 miles or so each day, family stuff and my back exercises, I just don't have very much knitting time after work. The good news is that I am doing a few rows each day and that I am enjoying it. The pattern is simple enough that I can get into the zone and just knit away and relax while I am doing it. I don't have to sit bolt upright with the chart in front of me, but it's not mind numbing, either.

I hope to try some spinning this week. I have been holding off on spinning because of my back issues - no need to irritate already sore muscles and joints with something that I know causes some aches and pains. But I have been going to physical therapy for a few weeks now and I am doing much better. I do my exercises regularly and I don't have nearly the amount of aches and pains I was having when I started. I think I will try just 20-30 minutes at a time. I will set a timer so I am reminded of when to stop. If I can spin for 20-30 minutes each day I will get a lot of spinning done. I have a tendancy to wait until I have lots of time to spin, and that's just not necessary.

I mentioned to Karen when we were walking one day that I was thinking about choosing a week in each month to spin instead of knit. When I have some fiber time I just automatically pick up my knitting. I can't seem to remember to do the one day/week spinning thing. Maybe identifying a whole week for spinning will get me going. I will, however, try my 30 minutes per day first to be sure I can handle spinning again. I may actually find that the daily thing works better for me. I do want to spin more and I am determined to find a way.

Have a good day and enjoy spring.

I am a bad blogger

I started this post on March 5th. I had planned to go home and add some photos but didn't get that far.

I have no excuse. No good one, anyway. Busy, sore back, getting back to work. Just Life.

I have also been in a knitting slump. I have read about this phenomenom but never experienced it myself before now. I love knitting. I love to knit socks and usually have 2-3 pairs on the needles. I have one right now and I am not moving very fast on that one. I have no urge to start another.

Other symptoms - I have recently finished several projects that were hanging around for varying lengths of time (one for almost 2 years!) but didn't immediatley cast on for another. I have been having trouble settling on the yarn to make the Cables and O's cardigan from "No Wool for You". There is a KAL in my LYS and I want to do that, I want this sweater, but I cannot make a decision on yarn. It's not the right price or not the right color for me or it's too neutral or not neutral enough... the list goes on. I do not understand. This is not me. Not even close. I went stash diving a few nights ago looking for something to knit. I couldn't find anything that was right. I do not have a full room of stash yarn but I do have more than a drawer full. It is very unusual for me to not find something in my stash that I want to knit. I swatched a few things but wasn't happy with any. I was begining to worry. This could be serious. What would I do with my life if I wasn't happy with knitting anymore?! I knit all the time. Everywhere. My husband knows just how ill I am when I don't have knitting in my hands.

Finally I felt the urge. I want to make the Diamond Fantasy Shawl by Sivia Harding and went stash shopping. I pulled out not one but 3 possible yarns. I read through the pattern a little, looked at the pictures, searched on Ravelry to see what others had knit it in and narrowed it to two possiblites. I wound both into balls for knitting and started with my first choice - Handmaiden Sea Silk in the seafoam colorway. I am enchanted. 36 rows since last night enchanted. OK, the first row was only 3 stitches, but still! I am knitting and excited about it!

I got a little nervous this morning, though, about my choice. I was wondering how it will block. I have never knit with anything like this before and it will need to be blocked to show off the points and the design. I did some research this morning on Ravelry and other sites and I am now waiting for responses to my questions to knitters who have used this yarn for lace. I hope to have a few answers back by tonight so I know whether I have to frog this and start again with my second choice. Keep your fingers crossed.

Mom is coming to visit this weekend. We plan to attend the Flower show at the state fairgrounds. We do this (almost) every year. We browse, we get inspired, we help each other resist over-indulging, and we buy some flowers. There is a craft show there, also, and we will check that out first. I am always on the lookout for holiday gift possibilites. They have an orchid show and sale, also, and since Mom has been enjoying her foray into orchid growing, we will check that out, too. Dinner out, some catching up, color and decorating talk, a nice walk (weather permitting) on the trail and we will have a good time.



It is a week and half later and I am just getting around to blog again. Again, no big life event, just stuff getting in the way.

My mother did come last weekend. We went to the Flower show and had a good time. We were a little disappointed because it seemed that they didn't have as many vendors selling flowers this year and a few of our favorites weren't there. We did get some great flowers at the Orchid show, though. Mom bought 2 orchids and a hanging plant, and we both bought some geraniums - more unusual varieties with interesting foliage. I will take some photos in the daylight, but it's raining today. I also bought a hydrangea (I have been wanting one for years and finally got one) and a Cyclamen.



I love the hot pink in the middle of the white flower.









It was at the flower show that I started to feel ill. Flu, virus, food poisoning - I have no idea but instead of having a long, lovely visit with Mom, I was in bed with fever and chills and.... never mind that. I was sick. I didn't knit for 3 whole days. Not one stitch! Mom ended up hanging out alone and tending to me. We did get the flowers and had the decorating talk, but no walking, no dinner out. Big bummer.



Knitting progress since 3/5 consists of lots of progress on the diamond Fantasy shawl. My research indicated that it would block beautifully so I forged ahead. This Sea silk yarn is wonderful to knit with - smooth and silky but not slick and wanting to slide off my metal needles at all. First an over-all look at the pattern. The colors are not accurate. I could not get better color accuracy than this with the flash. Maybe when the sun comes out.













This is a close up of the diamond stitch pattern. The yarn is jewel tone shades of green, purple and blue.
















I also finally made a decision about the Cables and O's KAL at my yarn store. I went with Rowan cotton glace in a pearly ivory color. I am actually shocked that I chose that because I get light colored things dirty very quickly. I once put on a pair of white jeans. I carefully walked out to the car to get in to go out with DH and Before I was settled in the vehicle he noticed a smudge. I have no idea how it got there, but that's how it goes with me and wearing white. But it was pretty and I wanted something to wear with a lot of colors. I will just be careful and wash it a lot. LOL. The first gathering for the KAL was last Wednesday and I managed to get there despite having to pack to go out of town for a meeting the next day. I am still swatching so no photos yet.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. After getting some things done indoors (we are having carpet installed next Tuesday and the room is not yet prepped) I went outside. I had to get some sun. Doctor's orders, seriously, though I wanted it anyway. I cleaned the dead leaves out of the pond and the water wasn't as cold as I thought so I finished the whole job instead of the half I thought I would get done and cleaned the filters. I raked some leaves, weeded two front beds, trimmed my neighbor's privet hedge so it no longer stabs me when I get in and out of my car in the driveway and took some photos. Proof that spring is indeed really here:

































And just because





Have a great Sunday.