We had a successful shopping trip last night. I found a sparkly tank and jacket to wear with a pair of satiny tux pants. I wanted to keep the price as far below $200 as possible, and this outfit cost $130. Not bad. It was even better this morning when I went through my closet more carefully and found a sparkly jacket we had purchased previously, tried it on and it looked good with another blouse I already had. So, the new sparkly top went back to the store today and I am happy with what I will be wearing for less than $100. (so is DH - that's important, too). We got a new shirt and tie to go with his suit and I think we will look good together.
Between shopping last night and today and doing the fix the hair and nails thing today I will not be knitting much. I am actually typing this post by using two pencils to hit the keys. My nails are wet. LOL. No knitting for sure with wet nails!
Maybe we can get eldest son to take a picture before we leave tonight. We'll have photographic proof that we dress up sometimes. I hope to make some knitting progress tomorrow and have photos to show you on Monday. Have a great evening.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Snow flurries! We had snow!
I love snow. I love it in small amounts and large. I especially love it when it falls in amounts sufficient to keep me from driving anywhere. ONLY if that happens when I am at home, though. I was once stuck at the hospital for 5 days due to snow and I hope that never happens again. I had a bad case of cabin fever, I will tell you. I got someone to watch my patients at one point and went outside in the snow and made snow angels and just walked - make that floundered - through the snow for 20 minutes, then went back inside, changed scrubs (again) and went back to work. That was on the 4th day. I escaped on day 5 after my 12 hour shift.
No worries about that much snow today, though. It was so pretty coming down .....
Not much knitting progress to report today. Brian's vest has about 2 inches of knitting below the arms. The toe increases on my travel sock are complete and I can work even for the foot. The I cord edging on my vest has turned the corner at the bottom edge of the front and is now moving up the right front edge towards the neck. I am struggling to not cast on another project until I finish my vest and start on Bob's second sleeve. It's tough. There are so many projects out there .... I have beautiful yarn in my stash. I think I will start a small shawl next, maybe with the teal colored yarn I bought at Stitches. I could spend just a little time going through patterns, couldn't I?
Work holiday party is this Saturday and I am going shopping with DH tonight for something to wear. If we fail (I have to find something I like, that is reasonably comfortable and doesn't cost too much)we won't go to the party. I plan on gift shopping this weekend, some house cleaning and laundry, of course, and football on Sunday. Next week is a short week and I am very happy. I've been busy the last few weeks and working hard. A few days off in a row will be great.
No worries about that much snow today, though. It was so pretty coming down .....
Not much knitting progress to report today. Brian's vest has about 2 inches of knitting below the arms. The toe increases on my travel sock are complete and I can work even for the foot. The I cord edging on my vest has turned the corner at the bottom edge of the front and is now moving up the right front edge towards the neck. I am struggling to not cast on another project until I finish my vest and start on Bob's second sleeve. It's tough. There are so many projects out there .... I have beautiful yarn in my stash. I think I will start a small shawl next, maybe with the teal colored yarn I bought at Stitches. I could spend just a little time going through patterns, couldn't I?
Work holiday party is this Saturday and I am going shopping with DH tonight for something to wear. If we fail (I have to find something I like, that is reasonably comfortable and doesn't cost too much)we won't go to the party. I plan on gift shopping this weekend, some house cleaning and laundry, of course, and football on Sunday. Next week is a short week and I am very happy. I've been busy the last few weeks and working hard. A few days off in a row will be great.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
It's winter
I had to scrape ICE off my windshield yesterday morning. Actually, I had to work to get into the car - there had been rain the night before and it froze everything closed. It wasn't too bad - a firm tug or two opened the car (and the trash can) but it was a rude awakening. Winter is here.
The ironing got done, the I cord has made it's way past the mid-point of the bottom edge of the vest, I bound off my travel sock and cast on the new one. I needed a break from those Fetching mitts after 4 pair and I am now ready to get back to that. I have at least 2 more to do. DH needs a pair of fingerless mitts, also, though he will get a plain ribbed pair. If I make them any fancier than that he'll "save them" for something special. Oh, and I ripped back Brian's vest and re-connected with fewer stitches. Now it's round and round we go with that lovely, soft alpaca yarn. This project will go very fast, I think, from here on out.
Have you seem the new Twist Collective ? There are some nice patterns there. My favorite is Vivian, but there are a few thaere that will get serious consideration. I wasn't as thrilled with the Knitty.com patterns this time, but that's just me, I think.
I saw a few patterns at Stitches that I either have purchased or plan to purchase like the Venus Vest
and the Enchanting top
Inspiration abounds. Time is limited. I will do my best. Knit on and stay warm.
The ironing got done, the I cord has made it's way past the mid-point of the bottom edge of the vest, I bound off my travel sock and cast on the new one. I needed a break from those Fetching mitts after 4 pair and I am now ready to get back to that. I have at least 2 more to do. DH needs a pair of fingerless mitts, also, though he will get a plain ribbed pair. If I make them any fancier than that he'll "save them" for something special. Oh, and I ripped back Brian's vest and re-connected with fewer stitches. Now it's round and round we go with that lovely, soft alpaca yarn. This project will go very fast, I think, from here on out.
Have you seem the new Twist Collective ? There are some nice patterns there. My favorite is Vivian, but there are a few thaere that will get serious consideration. I wasn't as thrilled with the Knitty.com patterns this time, but that's just me, I think.
I saw a few patterns at Stitches that I either have purchased or plan to purchase like the Venus Vest
and the Enchanting top
Inspiration abounds. Time is limited. I will do my best. Knit on and stay warm.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Hope
It's been a few weeks since the election, and I still feel hope. Despite the many issues that still plague us, I feel like things can and will get better with new leadership and new goals. I am happy to have positive thoughts instead of the negative, cynical thoughts that have been in my head for quite a while.
We were supposed to go to NY on Thursday last to visit with my mother and get out to Montauk for one last fishing expedition. The weather was terrible so we postponed the trip. We were then going to leave on Saturday and come home on Tuesday. DH didn't feel well, though, and we didn't know whether he had a reaction to his flu shot or had a cold or had bad allergies. The weather forecast wasn't much improved, either. Rather than risk "contaminating" my mother (who is young at heart but still 75 years old) and rather than have Bob not enjoy his fishing trip, we cancelled. Maybe in early December ....
Knitting progress -
I wore my Thelonious socks to the Needle Exchange on Thursday. Yippee! I love them.
I have been knitting several pairs of Fetching fingerless mitts as gifts, and I have 4 pair completed. Completed as in ends woven in and all!
I frogged a pair of fingerless mitts that I had been working on in a pattern that I liked. I just wasn't happy with the results of my meddling, and the pattern as written wasn't what I wanted. That yarn will be re-purposed. One less WIP.
I joined Brian's vest under the arms, but will have to rip those 3 rows because the opening is a little too large. Not much time wasted, so I won't even hesitate a little over that. I like the color work section and I am happy with how the vest looks so far.
My seed stitch vest had some I-cord on the edge, and I ripped that out to start again. I wanted to pick up the edge stitch from the wrong side so that the right side of the garment looked neater. I made great progress on that last night during the football game.
I did some spinning yesterday! I managed both spindle spinning and wheel spinning. Maybe I can maintain that "spin a little every day" motion since I broke the fast so to speak. LOL.
Bad weather kept Karen and I from walking on Saturday, but we walked on Friday night and on Sunday. Tonight is a question mark because the weather looks a little iffy. They have actually mentioned snow showers!
I hope to iron work clothes while watching football tonight (I don't actually hope to do the ironing, it's just that watching football helps to distract me from that chore) and then get in at least an hour of knitting before bed. Hopefully the I-cord will make it's way further around the edge of the vest, and perhaps another pattern repeat will be added to the Silk and Ivory scarf.
I hurt my back yesterday - probably when I rotated the matteress on our queen sized bed - and I plan to spend at least some time on my back with the heating pad tonight. Maybe I can't do the ironing ......
We were supposed to go to NY on Thursday last to visit with my mother and get out to Montauk for one last fishing expedition. The weather was terrible so we postponed the trip. We were then going to leave on Saturday and come home on Tuesday. DH didn't feel well, though, and we didn't know whether he had a reaction to his flu shot or had a cold or had bad allergies. The weather forecast wasn't much improved, either. Rather than risk "contaminating" my mother (who is young at heart but still 75 years old) and rather than have Bob not enjoy his fishing trip, we cancelled. Maybe in early December ....
Knitting progress -
I wore my Thelonious socks to the Needle Exchange on Thursday. Yippee! I love them.
I have been knitting several pairs of Fetching fingerless mitts as gifts, and I have 4 pair completed. Completed as in ends woven in and all!
I frogged a pair of fingerless mitts that I had been working on in a pattern that I liked. I just wasn't happy with the results of my meddling, and the pattern as written wasn't what I wanted. That yarn will be re-purposed. One less WIP.
I joined Brian's vest under the arms, but will have to rip those 3 rows because the opening is a little too large. Not much time wasted, so I won't even hesitate a little over that. I like the color work section and I am happy with how the vest looks so far.
My seed stitch vest had some I-cord on the edge, and I ripped that out to start again. I wanted to pick up the edge stitch from the wrong side so that the right side of the garment looked neater. I made great progress on that last night during the football game.
I did some spinning yesterday! I managed both spindle spinning and wheel spinning. Maybe I can maintain that "spin a little every day" motion since I broke the fast so to speak. LOL.
Bad weather kept Karen and I from walking on Saturday, but we walked on Friday night and on Sunday. Tonight is a question mark because the weather looks a little iffy. They have actually mentioned snow showers!
I hope to iron work clothes while watching football tonight (I don't actually hope to do the ironing, it's just that watching football helps to distract me from that chore) and then get in at least an hour of knitting before bed. Hopefully the I-cord will make it's way further around the edge of the vest, and perhaps another pattern repeat will be added to the Silk and Ivory scarf.
I hurt my back yesterday - probably when I rotated the matteress on our queen sized bed - and I plan to spend at least some time on my back with the heating pad tonight. Maybe I can't do the ironing ......
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
It was a very good day
When you last heard from me, I was taking a day off to go on the boat with DH. We had a wonderful day. I enjoyed the sunshine and mild temperatures and even the winds cooperated - the water was a calm as could be! I sat in T-shirt and shorts for about 2 hours - in November! It did cool off quickly later on, but it was wonderful while it lasted. I fished and knitted (not at the same time, though I did try!) the afternoon away. sigh. If only more days could be like that one.
The next day was spent sleeping in and then heading off to Stitches East. I suppose I might regret it in the future since Stitches will be in Connecticut next year but I took no classes this year. There was one I wanted, but apparently not enough to fight through the family issues we were having at the time and make me register. I just don't want to spend money on classes for the sake of classes, so when the one I wanted was full by the time I got back to it, I decided to just go to the Market. I wandered and browsed and bought a few things. I saw many beautiful things, but only a few called to me, and those came home with me. I bought a merino/bamboo /silk blend in shades of purple, denim and white, which is marled nicely due to the different fibers taking the dye differently. That came from Maple Creek They were very nice and I had to work to limit myself to only one selection.
From Knitting Notions I bought some superwash merino in shades of teal that matches the blouse I wore that day. I usually struggle to find something to wear with it, and now I have (or I will have once I make it - LOL) something that is just right. I didn't get the color right in the photo, but this was the best one.
I also bought another sock needle protector from them because I usually have two pairs of socks going at once.
And I bought a gift for Karen that will, of course, not be shown or described here. giggle.
Sunday was spent cleaning and doing laundry (it all dried on the line!) and then knitting while watching football. Another good day.
I finally wove in the ends of my Thelonious socks and they are now officially wearable.
I am making several pairs of Fetching fingerless mitts as holiday gifts - two down, 3 or 4 to go.
Brian's vest has halted because I need to try it on him to see if it's time to join at the underarm, but the colorwork is complete. It looks good. I knitted anohter 2 inches on the Silk and Ivory scarf.
I finished the hat I was knitting in my hand dyed yarn, but I think I will rip back and make it a little longer/deeper. I want it to cover my ears completely, and it doesn't. Yet.
I have become quite expert at frogging. I thought about that the other day - I used to hesitate and dread ripping a project back, put it off until I couldn't deny it any longer, and by then I frequently had more to frog. I have finally accepted that a) my instincts are better than I think and I shouldn't fight that (which translates into when you first think that it might have to be ripped back, it does and don't bother dithering) and b) it's not so terrible to re-work things and c) I am more of a perfectionist than I thought. giggle.
I am a pretty easy going person and I can forgive or overlook a lot (when it comes to my knitting, anyway) but not as much as I used to. Is it the fact that I now submit projects to competitions? Is it that my skills have improved and I know I can get better results now? Maybe a combination of the two? I am not sure, but I surely am an expert at ripping out my knitting. The next question is: Is that something to brag about or not ever mention again.
I am sorry to say that I haven't done any spinning lately. I want to, but then life (in the form of work, laundry, walking, cleaning, etc.) gets in the way. I think I will bring my drop spindle with me to NY and hope to get some spinning done that way.
We were going to NY tomorrow to visit with my mother and to get DH out to Montauk one more time for fishing this year. The weather is not looking good, so we've changed our plans and will leave on Saturday and come back on Tuesday night. I will be brining yarn to make more Fetching mitts, Brian's vest and Bob's sweater to knit on, possibly with the addition of a second skein of the yarn that I dyed to start on the coordinating scarf. Oh, and a sock, of course. We'll be busy, so I don't know how much knitting I will get done, but I will be prepared.
I'll close with a view of my bird visitors that makes me chuckle every time I see it. Have a great day.
The next day was spent sleeping in and then heading off to Stitches East. I suppose I might regret it in the future since Stitches will be in Connecticut next year but I took no classes this year. There was one I wanted, but apparently not enough to fight through the family issues we were having at the time and make me register. I just don't want to spend money on classes for the sake of classes, so when the one I wanted was full by the time I got back to it, I decided to just go to the Market. I wandered and browsed and bought a few things. I saw many beautiful things, but only a few called to me, and those came home with me. I bought a merino/bamboo /silk blend in shades of purple, denim and white, which is marled nicely due to the different fibers taking the dye differently. That came from Maple Creek They were very nice and I had to work to limit myself to only one selection.
From Knitting Notions I bought some superwash merino in shades of teal that matches the blouse I wore that day. I usually struggle to find something to wear with it, and now I have (or I will have once I make it - LOL) something that is just right. I didn't get the color right in the photo, but this was the best one.
I also bought another sock needle protector from them because I usually have two pairs of socks going at once.
And I bought a gift for Karen that will, of course, not be shown or described here. giggle.
Sunday was spent cleaning and doing laundry (it all dried on the line!) and then knitting while watching football. Another good day.
I finally wove in the ends of my Thelonious socks and they are now officially wearable.
I am making several pairs of Fetching fingerless mitts as holiday gifts - two down, 3 or 4 to go.
Brian's vest has halted because I need to try it on him to see if it's time to join at the underarm, but the colorwork is complete. It looks good. I knitted anohter 2 inches on the Silk and Ivory scarf.
I finished the hat I was knitting in my hand dyed yarn, but I think I will rip back and make it a little longer/deeper. I want it to cover my ears completely, and it doesn't. Yet.
I have become quite expert at frogging. I thought about that the other day - I used to hesitate and dread ripping a project back, put it off until I couldn't deny it any longer, and by then I frequently had more to frog. I have finally accepted that a) my instincts are better than I think and I shouldn't fight that (which translates into when you first think that it might have to be ripped back, it does and don't bother dithering) and b) it's not so terrible to re-work things and c) I am more of a perfectionist than I thought. giggle.
I am a pretty easy going person and I can forgive or overlook a lot (when it comes to my knitting, anyway) but not as much as I used to. Is it the fact that I now submit projects to competitions? Is it that my skills have improved and I know I can get better results now? Maybe a combination of the two? I am not sure, but I surely am an expert at ripping out my knitting. The next question is: Is that something to brag about or not ever mention again.
I am sorry to say that I haven't done any spinning lately. I want to, but then life (in the form of work, laundry, walking, cleaning, etc.) gets in the way. I think I will bring my drop spindle with me to NY and hope to get some spinning done that way.
We were going to NY tomorrow to visit with my mother and to get DH out to Montauk one more time for fishing this year. The weather is not looking good, so we've changed our plans and will leave on Saturday and come back on Tuesday night. I will be brining yarn to make more Fetching mitts, Brian's vest and Bob's sweater to knit on, possibly with the addition of a second skein of the yarn that I dyed to start on the coordinating scarf. Oh, and a sock, of course. We'll be busy, so I don't know how much knitting I will get done, but I will be prepared.
I'll close with a view of my bird visitors that makes me chuckle every time I see it. Have a great day.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Playing hooky
I should be at work tomorrow, but I will be enjoying a day on the water with DH instead. The temps are supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow with sunshine and I just can't resist, especially after the rainy days we've been having lately. I will bring holiday knitting with me and plan to relax and have fun.
Stitches is here in Baltimore this weekend and I will head down there on Saturday for a few hours to browse the display sweaters and shawls for inspiration. I don't plan to do much shopping. While I am in Baltimore I will stop by the office and pick up a disc with documents for a new study so I can do some work over the weekend to make up for taking tomorrow off. Sunday will be football and laundry day.
I am off to pack now. Have a great Friday everyone.
Stitches is here in Baltimore this weekend and I will head down there on Saturday for a few hours to browse the display sweaters and shawls for inspiration. I don't plan to do much shopping. While I am in Baltimore I will stop by the office and pick up a disc with documents for a new study so I can do some work over the weekend to make up for taking tomorrow off. Sunday will be football and laundry day.
I am off to pack now. Have a great Friday everyone.
Monday, November 03, 2008
games
I am not sure why I did this - I usually don't. But here it is. It is at least close to what I really am - a nurse.
You Should Be a Doctor |
 You are practical, sharp, and very intuitive. Optimistic and energetic, you are a problem solver who doesn't get discouraged easily. You are also quite compassionate and caring. You make people feel hopeful. You're highly adaptable and capable. You do well with almost any curve ball life throws at you. You do best when you: - Are always learning new subjects - Use your knowledge to solve problems You would also be a good therapist or detective. |
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