Knitting Libran

Third Time's the Charm

2011-11-24T08:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, according to the little timeline of blogs over at Sheepish Annie, it's been two months since my last post. Time flies when you're having fun (or an avalanche of work comes crashing down upon your head).

I actually started two blog posts and then stopped because I ran out of time and I couldn't remember to how to insert photos using the Mac (copy photo to desktop, then insert...or something). So, here are some photos from happenings over the past several months.

Oh look! It's Mount Rainier (from our trip to Washington in August). We had a wonderful time (despite the fact that Tom went missing for a while during the race and race personnel were considering mounting a search and rescue mission) and I met a woman who worked at the office supply store in Cle Elum who knew Elizabeth Zimmermann! And of course, there was some yarn shopping in Seattle.

Front view of the Cleite wedding shawl. I'm happy with the way it turned out, although it probably should have been larger.

View of the back...

And the stitch detail...

And since today is Thanksgiving, in addition to being thankful for awesome family and friends, I'm thankful for those who continue to read this blog, despite long periods of silence.

I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.

Decisions, Decisions...

2011-08-21T16:20:00.000-05:00

For the last couple of weeks, the knitting on the stealth project and the wedding shawl has been moving right along. I was feeling a little concerned about the width of the stealth project, but after measuring it earlier today, I'm no longer worried. It will block to size admirably well. However, I'm more concerned about the color matching on the two skeins. Despite the recommendation on the label, I did not knit alternately from the two skeins. I made that decision because I closely examined them, under an Ott light no less, and could discern no difference in color. That is, until I started knitting from the second skein. Observe:

I have 3 choices: Do nothing and keep on knitting; rip back to several inches before the skein change and start alternating the two skeins, or rip back the entire thing and start over. If I keep knitting, the color change will be a design element, with the colors going from the vibrant colors of early summer to the tired, faded colors of late summer. The third option is almost a non-starter, since I'm knitting on deadline and I have a wedding shawl to knit, also on deadline. I think the second option is probably the best. What do the fine knitting minds who read this blog recommend?

The wedding Cleite shawl is also giving me fits. I knit (albeit slowly) the entire first repeat without major mishap. The second repeat, however, is not working out at all. I have 49 stitches before the center stitch. The pattern shows 49 stitches before the center stitch. The pattern repeat within the larger pattern repeat is 24 stitches. I'm supposed to knit 24-stitch repeat twice, plus 1 extra stitch. That equals 49 stitches. But I'm 3 stitches short and I have no idea why. I must be missing something critical.

A Young Knitter
My parents got a bushel of blue crabs this weekend for a mini-family reunion so we traveled down to Smithfield yesterday. My 10-year old niece was there, with her knitting. She's become quite good, knitting quickly and evenly, often without looking at her knitting. I told her about Ravelry and Knitty.com and, with the blessing of her mother, she's now a Raveler! She even started recording her stash and needles. I also brought a spare drop spindle and some roving and taught her the rudiments of drop spinning. She's hooked. Fortunately, I have a good-sized stash and rather a lot of needles and those items will be finding their way to her. It's very gratifying to see her blossom as a knitter and spinner.

Running Progress
The running is just not happening, which is problematic because I'm supposed to run a trail half marathon in less than a month. I think if the weather is cool on race day, I'll be fine. If it's hot and humid, it's not going to be pretty. I didn't run this weekend and won't be running next weekend, since I'll be crewing a 100-mile race for Tom. Oh well...it will be what it will be.

That's it for now. Have a great week and happy knitting!

Beach Bloggin'

2011-07-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

This post comes to you from the beautiful Outer Banks, North Carolina, where we're spending a week with Tom's family, as we do every year. Our numbers are somewhat reduced this year--the three nephews aren't here and the two nieces didn't bring boyfriends. The days are spent on the beach, reading (or if it's too hot, inside reading), with much good food, good drink, and good conversation (assuming we aren't all engrossed in our books). My mother-in-law doesn't spend time on the beach, but she brought several puzzles and spends her day reading, putting together puzzles, and crocheting.

Sadly, I've been spending most of my days working. What starts as an innocent attempt to stay caught up on email ends up as almost a full work day. Yesterday was particularly bad, with the whole day spent tethered to my laptop. Today is better; I'm done with work until the afternoon (when I'll check email again and finish one small task for the production migration tonight).

Despite spending time working, I've made additional progress on the stealth project and Madeline's Cleite shawl is moving along (although it might move along faster with lace needles, which I've ordered). I'm on the first repeat of chart 2 and despite being off on the intial stitch count for the first row (which I handily fixed by increasing), it seems to be going well. I can see why lace can be addictive and find it oddly meditative (until I find that I'm not where I'm supposed to be and have to tink back). I think this pattern will make a beautiful wedding shawl.

That's it for now. Stay cool and happy knitting!

Can You Believe It?

2011-07-24T20:46:00.000-05:00

Two, count 'em, two posts in a month! That's got to be some kind of recent record for me. Ah, I long for the halcyon days when I was blogging several times a week. Alas, I fear those days are gone for good. Because I do a lot of writing at work, writing for fun feels like...well...work.

Anyway, I've got 30 more minutes of spinning time and then I can declare victory in the Tour de Fleece, although I did not finish spinning the Rambouillet. I still have a couple of hours of spinning left, plus the plying. I'm afraid I'm not being as careful with the consistency of my spinning. I'm getting a little tired of spinning grey and am at the point where I just want to be done with it. I still like the spinning but it's time to move on to something new.

Last week, or week before last, I discovered that something ate through the wool on one of my bobbins (this was old wool). And I found little insect carcasses in said wool. So today I went through the stash in that cabinet and a basket that was nearby to determine how bad the damage is. Two skeins of sock yarn are damaged (both grey), although I didn't see any sign of critters. All the yarn in that basket has been bagged and is now enjoying the arctic clime of the freezer. Most of the yarn in other cabinet was already bagged and I didn't see any evidence of insects. I still need to check the closet that has all of my unspun wool in it. I'd like to think it's okay, but as soon as I say that, it won't be. Time will tell (and that time will be next weekend).

The Mule Run last weekend was a lot of fun (if you call staying up all night waiting for runners to come by "fun"). The software upgrade we did on Saturday went well until the primary load balancer at the data center went belly-up, which caused a three-hour delay, which in turn delayed me prepping for the Mule Run. In the end, though, everything worked out (and I even managed to get a 45-minute nap in around dawn on Sunday). Tom ran about 50 miles before deciding he had had enough (it was a little humid and he didn't eat and drink enough early on). There were three finishers out of seven starters and all the finishers looked great at the end. I was up for 31 hours (except for the little nap). And I paid for it on Monday, with the worst migraine I've had in recent memory. I was totally flattened. It became clear to me that I need to clean up my diet: eliminate gluten again, reduce my sugar intake, and reduce the amount of alcohol I drink (I do so enjoy a cocktail after work). There was a period when the migraines were much less frequent and I think it was during my gluten-free period.

My nephew is getting married at the end of October at the beach (an outdoor wedding, barring any nor'easters or hurricanes) and I thought it would be nice to knit a shawl for his fiancee, just in case it's a little chilly. I found a pattern and had her choose the yarn (a burgundy alpaca/silk blend from Alpaca with a Twist). I started knitting it this afternoon and I think it will look okay, although right now it's tiny and shriveled-looking). I have to keep reminding myself that blocking will do wonders for it.

And the stealth progress continues to grow. I'm not quite halfway through it and it still continues to charm. Although I'm wondering about the wisdom of knitting a lace shawl (pretty much my first) and the stealth project, each of which has a deadline. I hope I didn't over commit.

Anyway, that's all for now. I need to finish preparing for the week ahead.

Happy knitting!

How'd It Get To Be July?

2011-07-15T21:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I posted. I owe you all a Squam Art Workshops trip report (it was very cool, in more ways than one). I owe you some photos of finished objects, especially the Corinne sweater. One day I'll get all these things done.

Work is occupying a large amount of my time, although I'm working much less than I was earlier this year. But the writing and the emails continue and that makes writing and emailing outside of work feel like...well...work. The last thing I want to do when I get home is to sit down at a computer. So the blog suffers and my correspondence suffers.

But I do have some random bullet points for you!

We have ants in the house, a lot of tiny ants
At first we had only black ants; now we have some tiny pale red ants too
EcoSmart, window cleaner, and vinegar and water are all effective ant killers
But they don't keep the ants at bay
It's highly annoying when they have the audacity to crawl on you and bite you
Also, is it too much to ask that the dishwasher actually get dishes clean?
Tom and I got it working better, but I still have to rinse the items on the top rack after the dishes are "clean."
Grrrrr
Bosco has turned into quite the hunter of shrews
Shrews are beneficial to the garden
Bosco is working hard at decimating the shrew population
He likes to catch chipmunks, too
Fortunately, we've been able to rescue the chipmunks
We've started harvesting tomatoes, zucchini, and hot peppers from the garden
Some critter takes a single bite out of each ripe tomato
Grrrrr
That's why we stopped growing tomatoes several years ago
I joined the Tour de Fleece this year
And I've actually been spinning every day (except one day when I forgot)
I think I'm going to finish spinning 4 ounces of Rambouillet!
It only took me four years
Work on the large stealth project that will contain approximately two pounds of wool when it is finished continues apace
I can't watch "Poirot" and knit at the same time
Too much ripping back
I love David Suchet as Poirot

Ha! There appears to be a limit on the number of bullet points one can have before getting an html error. That's probably a hint for me to stop rambling on and go to bed. Tomorrow's a big day. We're completing a major software upgrade at work for our client and it's also the annual Mule Run for our running club. I'm not running it this year but Tom is, so I'll be up all night. It should be...fun...

And now I must spin a little Rambouillet so I can say that I did spin today. Today was the mountain stage of the Tour de France and the suggestion was for the spinners to spin something challenging. My challenge is simply to get to the wheel and spin!

Happy knitting!

Gone Again

2011-06-01T05:55:00.001-05:00

Another three weeks has gone by with nary a blog post. To be fair, the first week was because I was on vacation and didn't have access to the Internet. Also, I was high on wool fumes (more about that in a few). Then I had to go back to work (which is much more pleasant when one is high on wool fumes) and eventually got back into the same old routine of getting up, going to work, coming home late, eating dinner, and going to bed. And I was knitting a sweater, too.

Maryland Sheep and Wool was fun as always. I didn't buy much...sock yarn for Tom and buttons for the sweater. It was crowded and as soon as my friend left, I went in search of sheep and I found them. At first I thought there weren't as many in previous years but then I found the big barn. And the most beautiful black and silver sheep I have ever seen. I wanted to start spinning the fleece right off his back. I'll post a picture after I return from Squam. I couldn't find the owner, but if I could have, I would have asked to buy the fleece right then and there! Next year I'm going to spend more time with the sheep.

Then I went to the beach, which is as the beach always is...relaxing with good food, excellent conversation, abundant cocktails at sunset, and plenty of knitting on the sweater. I also managed to get some spinning in, to reinforce what I learned in Maggie's class.

And now I'm in Waterbury, Connecticut getting ready to complete the trip up to New Hampshire to attend the Squam Art Workshops. I finished my sweater (although the idea of wearing wool right now makes me slightly nauseous; the weather is decidedly August-like). I've packed all of my knitting supplies. I have more clothes than a girl could possibly need for four days (I like to be prepared), and I practiced the moebious cast-on last night. So now there's nothing left to do except get there!

I've taken the day after I return off from work (to recover from the drive) and hope to post pictures and stories about Squam. And now? It's time to sew the buttons on the sweater.

Happy knitting!

Vacating

2011-05-06T20:02:00.003-05:00

As of 7:30 p.m. on May 3, I officially started my long-awaited vacation and I won't go back to work until So far, it's been wonderful, although not necessarily restful. I completed Maggie Casey's two-day Learn to Spin class yesterday. It was wonderful and I learned so much. I'm not a bad spinner but my drafting repertoire was limited and hampered my ability to spin different fiber preparations. I think my drafting technique was a cross between the long backwards draw and the short forward draw. Now I know how to do both properly, although the forward short draw was a bit of a challenge, kind of like patting your head while rubbing your tummy.

At one point in class yesterday, I felt like I was fighting with my wheel...the spinning became difficult. Maggie replaced the existing drive band with a lighter one and that made a huge difference. Who knew? Suddenly, spinning top and combed fibers became much easier.

And the piece de resistance...I learned how to do a chained ply (and when to do it). I had read instructions and looked at illustrations and they didn't make any sense. But seeing the technique demonstrated made all the difference in the world. I'll probably practice on leftover singles. Ha! And then maybe I'll actually knit some of my hand-spun. That would be a first.

The biggest benefit from taking Maggie's class is that now I have the confidence to spin any fiber without fearing that I'll ruin it. That's a giant step forward for me.

Knitting Progress
Not much knitting going on lately. I've realized that if I want to knit every day, I'm going to have to approach my knitting (and spinning) like I do exercise: first thing in the morning. I have great intentions to knit every evening after work, but by the time I get home at night and eat dinner, it's time to go to bed. I'm not particularly thrilled with staying up after feeding the cats at 5:00 a.m. but I think that's what it's going to take.

I'm almost to the first sleeve on Corinne. But with Squam just a mere three weeks away, I need to increase my knitting time by a lot, or else I'm not going to have a new sweater to wear.

As far as the stealth project is concerned, I haven't even finished swatching for it. That's bad; I'm behind before I've even started.

Maryland Sheep and Wool
Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend at MD$W. My initial goal was to just hang out with her and vicariously enjoy her purchases. But I'm beginning to feel the siren call of the fleeces and yarns. And spinning wheels. I do need a new threading hook so I might look for a pretty one. And buttons...I need some buttons for Corinne. I also realized that my body doesn't like spinning all day on a single treadle wheel, so after Gina goes home, I might sample different wheels. And no, a new spinning wheel is not going to follow me home. I need to make sure that I'm actually going to be spinning enough to make the investment. And I want to make sure that I buy the right wheel. Does anyone have any recommendations for a double treadle wheel?

In closing, here's Bosco doing one of his three favorite things:

The other two? Eating and hunting for voles.

Have a great weekend and happy knitting!

Breathe

2011-04-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

The end of my second day without working is coming to a close and I'm so sad. It's amazing how much stuff you can get done without work getting in the way. In short, it was a blissfully productive weekend:

I started breathing again
And my jaws started to unclench
I cleaned the house...all of it
The dust buffalo herd is now manageable
I vacuumed up enough cat hair to make a litter of kittens
I did laundry
I even folded it and put it away
Not sure that I'll be able to find my clothes now
The cats got some good walks this weekend
It's amazing how much fun a cat can have with a dead vole
Bosco's quite the hunter
There was knitting, but not as much as I would have liked

I started the Corinne cardigan from the current issue of Knitty today. I was blithely knitting along, chatting with my mother-in-law, and promptly hit a snag. "Knit to 1st marker; turn. Knit across" Hmmm...do I simply turn and knit back and won't that make a wonky stitch? Do I slip the first stitch? Do I wrap and turn and knit back? I'm now in experiment mode. I slipped the stitch for the first pattern repeat. I'm turning and knitting back on the second pattern repeat. If I don't like how either looks, I might add wrap-and-turn to the mix. But I think just turning and knitting back is the way to go. I tend to overthink the knitting a ~~little~~ lot and that never fails to get me in trouble.

I'm on the verge of starting another project, this one being a stealth project. Suffice it to say that come July, working on that project will be miserable. I did not choose wisely for summer knitting.

That's it for now.

Happy knitting!

Coming Up For Air

2011-04-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

Work has been unbelievably...crazy. For the last several months, I feel like all I've done is work. And my investigations yesterday proved that it's true. It's been nine weeks since I've had an entire weekend off; I worked both days three of those weekends. I've averaged about 52.25 hours per week for the last 11 weeks. Now in the grand scheme of things, that's not too bad. I don't have to work that many hours in order to make a living wage. And there are people who work many more hours than I do. However, I'm at that point in my life where the rewards for working like that just aren't there.

But, I got the biggest part of the project I was working on out the door and am hoping it doesn't come boomeranging back to me for additional revisions. The revisions for the remainder of the design document should be relatively minor, if only because each appendix is well under 100 pages. I have about another week of solid work and everything should be done. It's been a long haul on this...many, many months of writing and revising. The original author did a fantastic job; the bones of the design are solid. It's a shame that the client is extremely particular about language and formatting.

There is light at the end of the tunnel and for once, I don't think it's a train.

As a result of work, I feel like my life is pretty much in a shambles: the dust buffalo herd is totally unmanageable, the cats have scimitars for claws, I've been packing on the pounds because I'm too tired/it's too dark/too cold/too wet to run, and the knitting is languishing. It's hard to believe that just over a year ago, I ran the Boston Marathon. Now I'm lucky if I can eke out an 11-minute mile over six miles. Or that two years ago, I was running ultra marathons. I need to knuckle down and get back to that level of fitness. But I'm tired/it's too dark/too cold/too wet to run. And soon it will be too sunny/too hot/too humid to run.

Another result of work is that I haven't taken any time off and all of my PTO is pretty much at the maximum accrual level (meaning that unless I take time off, I don't accrue any more)(which is so not right...working long hours for the good of the company and I get penalized because I can't take time off?!). But the vacations, they are a-coming (note the use of the plural).

First up is a two-day spinning workshop with Maggie Casey at Maryland Sheep and Wool (MDSW). In my younger days (like about almost 30 years ago(ack!)), I started spinning. I had this sweet little top whorl drop spindle made from a dowel, drawer pull and cup hook, and I spun my little heart out. A year or so later, I saved up my pennies (or most likely went further into debt; this was during those very lean post-college years) and bought an Ashford Traditional. I continued to spin my little heart out. But I was pretty much self-taught and only knew how to produce a rather tightly-spun worsted yarn. And as time passed, the spinning (and weaving; I wasn't knitting then) lapsed.

Over the last couple of years, I've been eyeing Judith MacKenzie-McCuin's class at MDSW, but it always seemed to fall at a bad time. So this year, I jumped at the chance to take the workshop (even though it wasn't Judith's class). It was touch and go for a while because they had too many registrants for the class. But I got in and I'm so excited! I'm hoping to take my spinning to new heights...er...lengths.

A couple of days after Maggie's class, I'll be driving down to North Carolina to spend a week at the beach with Tom's sister-in-law. That little trip will be pure bliss...beach, knitting, spinning, eating, talking. Right after I get back, Tom will run the Massanutten Mountain Trail Run, which is 100 miles of rocky, steep, gnarly trail. I had better be well-rested because I'll be pulling an all-nighter plus to support him during the run.

And if that wasn't enough, right after Memorial Day I'm driving up to New Hampshire to attend the Squam Art Workhops. Two classes by Cat Bordhi should pretty much do me in. In July, we've got a week at the beach with Tom's family. In August we're headed to Seattle for Tom to run another 100-mile race. And then in October we're at the beach again for my nephew's wedding. Whew! It will be busy but so much fun! And best of all, I won't be working.

I'll try to post again this weekend. I've got a couple of knitting projects that are getting started. I'm almost finished with the obligatory swatches (and amazingly enough, seem to have gotten gauge) and hopefully will be able to cast on this weekend.

Hey, I get a weekend...what a novel idea!

Happy knitting!

Breaking Radio Silence

2011-03-27T21:27:00.000-05:00

Well! I've been much quieter than I planned. My goal was to post a blog entry at least once a week this year. Clearly, I've not succeeded. I blame work and nothing but work (and my inability to do anything other than stare into space after I get home from work).

As they say, all work and no play makes Teri a dull girl. I've just started running again but missed my goal of running a 50K this weekend by a long shot (a 10K distance leaves me huffing and puffing, even at a slow pace). I've got a sock on the needles (a rather dull brown sock, with a streak of orange for excitement) and I can't seem to get past the heel. I'm ripping it out for the second time (the instructions ambiguously said to inc 1 after each decrease until there are 22 sts left; I should know better that if you decrease 1, then inc 1, you don't decrease). The "inc" mean "including". Sigh...

The herd of dust buffalo is impressive. I managed to cull the downstairs herd last weekend, but the upstairs herd is threatening to stampede if their territory is not increased. I simply must cull them next weekend.

There are bright spots. We've acquired some new gadgets recently (and not so recently). The big purchase in July (and one I forgot to blog about) was a new car: a Subaru Outback. The air conditioning in the Volvo was shot and given the heat this past summer, the commute, and the age of the car, we decided it was prudent to replace it. It found a good home with my step-niece. And even though I loved the Volvo, I really love the Outback. When it comes down to it, I'm a station-wagon kind of gal. It was the family car until all us kids were grown, My first two cars were (small) station wagons. The Volvo was my first (and only) sedan.

Other recent purchases include an iPhone (very cool, but it would be nice to combine the best of the Blackberry with the best of the iPhone), the new MacBook Pro, and an iPad. Tom uses the MacBook and iPad the most. What really surprised me about the iPhone was how much I would use the iBook and Kindle apps. I've been skeptical. I mean, how good can reading be on a little screen. The answer? Surprisingly good. What's best is that there are tons of free books out there by authors I love: P.G. Wodehouse, Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, Mark Twain. Plus I can sample other authors like Trollope, without having to buy the book (or make a trip to the library). Who knew?!

The final purchase was a new high efficiency washer. I'm in love. Seriously. This washer washes clothes like nobody's business. Old stains come right out. It uses very little water and very little soap. It's quiet. In short, it's amazing.

Maryland Sheep and Wool is fast approaching and I'm debating whether to take a spinning 101 class offered by Maggie Casey. I think I might. Immediately thereafter, I'll head down to the beach with my sister-in-law. And then a couple of weeks later, I'll be on my way to Vermont for the Squam Art Workshops, even though I'm sure that two classes with Cat Bordhi will make my head explode (in a good way, of course). A month later, another trip to the beach, followed by a trip to Washington state the following month for Tom to run a 100-mile race. And then at the end of October, we'll attend my nephew's wedding. And of course, there's work to contend with, which promises to be even more hectic than it is now. Whew!

I wonder if I'll be able to finish that single brown sock?

Happy knitting!

Be Careful What You Wish For

2011-02-04T10:16:00.000-05:00

How many times have we wished, when work or life gets a little overwhelming, for an illness or injury that's just bad enough to keep us home but not bad enough to keep us from knitting? It's okay, you can admit it. I periodically do it myself. Of course, nothing ever happens.

Until now.

Early Tuesday morning, I woke up with a little migraine, which was annoying because I had a business meeting in Richmond. I took my usual Excedrin and headed out. By mid-afternoon, I noticed my hips were feeling decidedly ache-y and the headache was getting a little worse. By the time I went to bed, every bone and muscle in my body ached.

Wednesday was even worse. The muscles in my back yelped with every footfall. I wasn't comfortable laying down, sitting up, or standing. I was running a fever (thus explaining the ache-y hips). Add to that a headache of epic proportions. I quickly caved and saw the doctor, who thought it was the flu, even though the flu test was negative. She prescribed Tamiflu but didn't tell me how to alleviate the pain (I think she thought I was weak and whining). Unfortunately, my pharmacy of choice didn't have Tamiflu in stock so they had to send the order to a different pharmacy. I didn't pick up the prescription because all I wanted to do was be in bed.

600 mg of ibuprofen helped alleviate the body pain, but did nothing for my headache. It was getting to the point where I wanted to rip my brain out of my head to make the pain stop. Seriously, it was that bad.

Fortunately, most of the aches were gone yesterday, although my back still hurts a little when I walk. I still have the headache (72 hours and counting), but it's much diminished. I managed to drag myself out of bed around 1:30 yesterday afternoon and haven't relapsed yet, so I think I'm on the mend.

I managed to make some progress last night on the second Cloning Anemone Rib sock last night and should be able to finish it today. Here's a teaser photo of the first sock:

The worst part is that Tom and I were supposed to go away for our anniversary. We canceled our reservations and that makes me sad because it will probably be a while before we can go again. Tom and I haven't been away by ourselves for years, it seems. We're always vacationing with friends or his family or going to ultra marathons. The good news, however, is that we received a voucher in lieu of the deposit from the inn where we were going to stay. So we'll have to go.

In honor of our anniversary (which was yesterday), here's a wedding picture. It's hard to believe that it's been 15 years.

In Other News...
Verizon opened the pre-order for the iPhone4 yesterday. I wasn't in any shape to get up at 3:00 a.m. yesterday to order and by the time I got online, the web site was bogged down. I gave up (I don't have the patience to sit at the computer, repeatedly clicking a button for hours until I get in). I was up at 4:30 this morning to feed the cats and decided to give it a try. Guess what? The pre-order was sold out. Now I have to wait a week and order with everyone else. I'll be lucky to get the iPhone4 before they release iPhone5. My current phone does what I need it to, but it doesn't display pictures in email and web sites that are built using Drupal don't render at all. That's a major shortcoming. So you can be sure that I'm going to set my alarm for very early the day of public release and order.

That's it for now. I'm going to spend the day doing fiberly things and reading. For all of you in the frozen north, stay warm and safe. I envy you your snow. I wish we'd get a whopper of a snowstorm this year. I miss the amazing amount of snow we had last year.

Wait...should I have said that? Maybe I'll get what I wished for.

Happy knitting!

Inertia

2011-01-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

Winter has always been a time of drawing in for me, but never has the drawing in been so intense. Like "I never want to get out of bed" intense. On the plus side, I feel very indulgent by staying in bed until (get this) 7:30(!) but on the negative side, it's hard to get motivated to do anything. I mostly want to be a bump. And knit. And read. Oh, and eat.

My running goal for this year was to run a 50K at the end of March, but with the miles I haven't been logging, I suspect I'm going to fall short of my goal. If I'm lucky, I can get my butt out of bed for a 6-mile run. But mostly I haven't been running. The problem is that I'm still eating like I'm running, which pretty much equals disaster on the weight gain front. Will I ever return to trail running and ultra marathons, which I professed to love? Only time (and Spring) will tell.

Despite the inertia, I managed to be fairly productive today. The herds of dust buffalo were wrangled and culled (both upstairs and downstairs, which is amazing in itself because I can usually manage to get one level cleaned in a weekend), and I did a little bit of stash organization. As I've acquired yarn, I've squirreled it away in various bags shoved into a closet. Today was the day to go through the bags and the Basket of Shame (BoS). The BoS contains UFOs. While I have UFOs aplenty, I didn't find as many as I thought. However, I did discover more sock yarn. Like kind of a lot of sock yarn. Some is destined for socks for Tom and the rest? Well, the rest is all for me! Or maybe my relatives and friends. In addition to the sock yarn, I found a lot of sock needles. And point protectors, stitch markers, row counters... Yikes! How many Brittany size 1 needles does a girl need? Apparently, a lot. Oddly, I found two socks-in-progress, of the same yarn, in different patterns. I think one sock lost its charm and I used the remaining wool for a different sock, which also lost its charm. Fortunately, the yarn has not lost its charm, so I'll eventually frog both socks and start afresh.

Sadly, I did not find the single finished Norwegian mitten from the 2006 Knitting Olympics, only its unfinished mate. I suspect the finished mitten is tucked into a bag in a basket somewhere. I'll find it one of these days.

I'm making progress on the second Cloning Anemone Rib sock. The gusset is in progress and the stitch count is correct. Expect the finished pair by next weekend!

And speaking of which, we're celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary soon and I'm taking several days off work. Woo hoo! I'm sure that I'll find time to knit. The question is, what shall I knit next? There are any number of UFOs that I could finish. Or I could knit another pair of socks for Tom. Maybe I'll do both...pull out a UFO to finish and start a pair of socks.

I joined the Rockin' Sock Club this year after a two-year hiatus (like I need more sock yarn) and the January kit arrived yesterday. As always, the colors are gorgeous. This kit contains two skeins of yarn (why do I keep spelling "yarn" as "yearn"?) and two patterns. One pattern is color work; the other has a sort of honeycomb stitch pattern. I like them both and have no idea which one to make.

I was planning to be a little more philosophical in this post, but well...I was overcome by inertia.

Maybe your week be filled with forward momentum!

Happy knitting!

Flying Solo

2011-01-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

Tom has started training for MMT, even though he's way down on the wait list (his lottery number was not a winner). So this weekend he's off running the hills and rocks of the Massanutten Mountains, leaving me at home with the cats. Ordinarily, I would have gone with him and helped at the aid stations but both of our cat sitters are out of town this weekend. So, I'm a single woman this weekend.

Whenever Tom is gone, I've got all sorts of ideas about what I want to accomplish, and the weekend stretches before me, seemingly endless. By the time he returns home, I haven't accomplished half of what I wanted to. Today, however, was rather productive.

I ran this morning, only six miles, and as has been the case lately, I struggled to keep my heart rate down. I ended up running by myself, which I don't enjoy, but instead of grumping about it and berating myself for being an old, fat, slow runner, I looked around and noticed things--the dun color of the fields, the way the wind sculpted the snow on the side of the road and how it glittered in the sunlight, the blue of the mountains in the distance. While I didn't get to my happy running place (my heart rate was still too high and I was still struggling), noticing did get me out of that negative frame of mind.

Later in the day, a friend came over for some joint career counseling. We've been in our careers for decades and for the last year or so have been toying with the idea of doing something different. The problem is we don't know what we want to do. Today we tried to figure it out. After wracking our brains for several hours (and not finding any answers), we went to Market Table Bistro. The food was good, reasonably priced, and at the early hour of 5:30, the service was fast (perhaps a little too fast).

So what's in store for the rest of the weekend (which sadly is not a long weekend)? A wee bit of housecleaning, perhaps. Some grocery shopping and cooking, maybe start planning a sweater, maybe figure out what to do with design for Shauna's mittens (the stitch count isn't working out for the patterns I want to use)...the possibilities are endless.

Knitting Progress
I've made some headway on the second Cloning Anemone Rib sock. But I noticed a mistake near the top that's bugging me more than it should, given that no one is going to see it. I might end up ripping it out once again.

In better news, I'm going to be attending the Squam Art Workshops in June. I've signed up for two all-day classes with Cat Bordhi--Personal Footprints and Moebius Knitting. I have a suspicion that my head will explode by the end of the second day. On the third day, I'll take a drop spindling class with Denny McMillan. I know how to use a drop spindle (or at least I used to know how), but recently all my attempts at spindling fail. I don't know if it's me or the spindle, but I can't get the spindle to spin for any length of time. Could it be the roving I'm using? At any rate, it's very frustrating. Anyway, I'll be taking a road trip to New Hampshire in June and it will be a lot of fun. Two days up (I really don't want to drive for 11 hours) and two days back. Squam will provide a much-needed vacation, even more so since work from now until then will be intense, to say the least.

Well, it's getting late and I still have things I want to do...read, knit, dream a sweater...

Happy Knitting!

Accountability

2011-01-08T18:52:00.000-05:00

We're a week into 2011. Let's see where I am with my resolutions, intentions, what-have-you, shall we?

Balance my life better. I worked just over a 40-hour week. However, I'll max out my vacation and floating holiday hours next pay period and then won't be able to accrue any until both balances come down. Note to Self: Schedule time off soon.
Get better at managing lists. Lists? What lists?
Knit a sweater. I'm working on mittens right now. The sweater will come much later. I hope to complete by next winter.
Meditate. Hmmm...I tend to meditate when I go to bed and mostly fall asleep. And lately I've been forgetting to meditate. Needs improvement.
Add yoga back to my life. I'm doing micro-yoga--forward bends only. Definitely needs improvement.
Take time each day to find joy, and carry that joy with me (even if it's recalling how cute the cats look when they're sleeping). This one seems to be working somewhat for me. I've been less unhappy this week. And it helps that the cats are sleeping a lot.
Take time to figure out what to do with my life. A working session with a friend is scheduled for the end of the month. We'll see what happens.
Spend more time with family and friends. Everyone is so busy, so it's hard to schedule, although I did meet friend for coffee after my run this morning and spent about three hours talking.
Don't beat myself up for falling short of my expectations. Needs improvement. The fact that I'm taking stock of my progress after only one week into the New Year indicates that I need some work in this area.

Knitting Progress
I started the mittens for my niece and have run into a bit of design conundrum. I'd like to use three colors but my idea for the hand and palm design will mean that I've got floats that are more than five stitches. So I need to think on it more. I'm quite pleased with the cuff, though (please ignore the rather glaring mistake; this attempt is a prototype):

I cast on the second Cloning Anemone Rib sock for a third time. Hopefully, this time will be the charm. I haven't gotten very far and hope to make more progress tonight and tomorrow. Plus, I'm planning to attend the Loudoun Knitters meeting on Tuesday and should be able to make good progress there.

I also did something a bit silly and joined the Rockin' Sock Club 2011. This will be my third Rockin' Sock Club (previous years were 2007 and 2008). So far, I've completed one pair of socks out of the 12 I've received. The second pair is in progress. Perhaps this year, I'll find time to knit at least one pair of the sock clubs offering. If not, I'm building a great sock yarn and pattern stash!

Running Progress
I actually managed to eke out just over six snowy miles this morning, but it wasn't easy. The route seemed to be uphill both ways. The snow definitely enhanced the beauty of the route. I'm planning to run about 11 miles tomorrow, up Thomas Mill Road (a beast of a hill) and down Canby (beautiful!). However, if the winds materialize, I might skip the run and go straight for coffee (and knitting). My running goal was to run a hilly trail 50K in March, but I'm not feeling very optimistic about that right now. Maybe I'll do a hilly trail 50K in October instead.

That's it for now. Happy knitting!

Looking Forward

2011-01-02T10:45:00.000-05:00

2010 (may it rest in peace) was a challenging year for me in many ways. Lots of snow (that's good), trying to train for the Boston Marathon while recovering from plantar fasciitis (and record snow levels), a bout of Lyme disease (or so they said; I'm still skeptical), and of course, the daily challenges of home and work.

By the end of the year, I was darn weary of it all and optimistic about the dawning of the New Year. While I don't go crazy with New Year Eve celebrations, I do see the New Year as a metaphorical "reset" button. It's a good time to put the brakes on the weird, negative thinking that I can do so well and start with a fresh, positive outlook. I was really looking forward to that fresh start.

Which is why I was a bit surprised this morning when the day dawned gray and misty and all I wanted to do (after feeding the cats at 5:00 a.m.) was crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head and not come out, not even for a trail run. This is not an auspicious way to start the New Year. Clearly, I'm still in great need of an attitude adjustment. And to help with that, let's review my resolutions (or intentions) for 2011:

Balance my life better. Work is a bit stressful and as a result, I've gotten myself into a rather "stuck" state. I feel guilty for not focusing 100% of my time on work and therefore don't seem to accomplish anything else (yes, I'm well aware that behavior is stupid)
Get better at managing lists. I have also sorts of to-do lists (mostly in my head) but don't seem to accomplish much (see the first bullet point). I'm going to try to schedule time each day for specific tasks; when the time is up, it's time to move on to another task (I'm not optimistic that this approach will work, but it's worth a shot).
Knit a sweater. Despite the number of years that I've been knitting, I've never knit a sweater. I've started several and finished none. I intend to rectify that this year, even if it means designing my own.
Meditate. I read an article recently that said that meditation can help improve memory and concentration (which I probably already knew, but forgot). I've got a serious case of monkey mind going on and my memory is pretty bad (sieve-brain, I like to call it). That bugs me to no end.
Add yoga back to my life. I'm finding that as my body is becoming less flexible, my mind is as well, and that's not attractive.
Take time each day to find joy, and carry that joy with me (even if it's recalling how cute the cats look when they're sleeping)
Take time to figure out what to do with my life. A tall order, but the growing sense of dissatisfaction with my life is an indication that I need to give this resolution some attention.
Spend more time with family and friends.
Don't beat myself up for falling short of my expectations. This resolution is a hard one. I don't want to lower my expectations of myself. But I do need to understand what's going on in my head when I "fail" and then learn from that experience.

My list is rather ambitious and already I'm feeling like a failure for not having accomplished anything on my list this year!

A Knitting Retrospective
This year wasn't the most productive knitting year I've had, but I did manage to finish some projects:

Vancouver mittens. This was my first successful attempt at designing, and designing colorwork. While they aren't my best work technically, I'm happy with them. They mostly fit (barring the wonky right thumb and the too-long left hand) and are very warm. I'll attempt a second pair of mittens for my niece, using a plied yarn instead of a single-ply.
The Spiral Scarf. This project was a lesson in short row architecture. I'm pleased with the results. However, my dislike of mohair continues to be reinforced. It's scratchy and the fibers get in my mouth and eyes.
Cloning Anemone Rib socks. Well, technically this isn't an FO because I had to frog the second sock yesterday due to a serious counting error. I was making the size medium sock but cast on 68 stitches instead of the 72 needed. That mistake became apparent as I was knitting the gusset. This will be my third attempt with this pair of socks. They say the third time's a charm. Right?

These are the projects that I want to do this year:

(Design and) Knit the aforementioned sweater
Design and knit the aforementioned mittens for my niece
Design and knit a hat for Tom (by February)
Finish the second Cloning Anemone Rib sock, without having to frog it
Finish the Fair Isle tam that is currently on the needles
Choose one more UFO and finish it or frog it

So there you have it. Looking back and looking forward.

May 2011 be filled with love, health, happiness, wisdom, prosperity, and FOs!

Not Quite a White Christmas

2010-12-27T22:13:00.000-05:00

Every year Tom and I alternate spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with our respective families. This year, we spent Thanksgiving with his family (in North Carolina) so that meant that Christmas was spent with my family in the Tidewater region of Virginia. It also meant that we traveled for both major holidays, but them's the breaks.

For the last umpteen years, Mom has dispensed with the big Christmas dinner and opted for lots of snacks--ham biscuits, homemade clam dip, crab pate, punch, cookies, pies--and the rest of us have contributed as well. It's nice and relaxed, but can be a lot of work. This year, Dad decided he wanted to have a sit-down dinner. That's a lot of work for Mom, even if everyone brings side dishes. So Tom and I traveled down there Christmas Eve so we could help out Christmas Day.

The best laid plans...

During dinner on Christmas Eve, I noticed that the light was bothering me and sounds seemed particularly loud. I was feeling a bit headache-y and went to bed early. I woke up early Christmas morning with a migraine of epic proportions, the likes of which I haven't seen in a very long time. Fortunately, Dad made a run to the drug store to get some Excedrin (which is the only thing that works) and within a couple of hours, the pain was gone, although I resembled a wrung-out dishcloth. Tom helped Mom with dinner preparations. The family assembled at 4:00 instead of 2:00 and the Christmas celebration was saved.

After dinner, gifts were distributed to the children and that was a lot of fun. Christine (age 9) has been knitting with a knitting loom and wanted to learn to knit with needles (she also wants to learn to do cross-stitch and embroidery). My gift to her was a nice bag filled with yarn, a learn-to-knit book, knitting notions, a book of knitting loom patterns, a cross-stitch kit, an embroidery kit, and a punch-loop kit. She was thrilled. Christine is a knitter. She mastered the knit and purl stitch easily, then went on to stockinette stitch, seed stitch, and ribbing. But the one thing that makes her a real knitter? She wanted to start a second project but had only one pair of needles. Instead of finishing the project on the needles, she started her second project using chopsticks for needles!

My 15-year old niece, Shauna, also had asked me to teach her to knit. Her gift was a pair of knitting needles, two balls of yarn, and knitting lessons. She, too, picked up the knit stitch quickly and was well on her way making progress on a garter stitch scarf. Then she had a knitting accident after she got home and lost her work. Do you know how hard it is to explain casting on and knitting using text messaging? It will be interesting to see if I explained it well enough for her to correctly form the stitches. If not, we'll have created a new art form.

However, the best Christmas gift (for me at least) was the snowstorm that hit Tidewater Christmas night. It started snowing around 8:00 and snowed all day Sunday. Tidewater doesn't get snow. When I was growing up, most snowfalls were about an inch. I think we got six inches one year and that was very exciting. But Sunday's snow? Thirteen inches!! Tom wanted to leave Sunday night, after it stopped snowing, but it would have taken forever to get home. Fortunately, the roads were clear today and traffic normal. As it turns out, that was the third largest snowstorm on record for the area.

Of course, snowstorms bring enforced knitting time and I was able to finally finish the second Vancouver mitten (the first was finished during the Olympics last year. Here's the pair:

It's not a very good picture and the mittens look a little wonky because...well, they are a little wonky. The thumb for the right mitten is a little tight and the curled tip on the left mitten is a little long. And the fabric is a little puckered (but that should block out, right?). Overall, I'm pleased with them. They're quite warm and comfy (except for the right thumb). And it's the first thing I've designed and completed!

That's it for now. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.

Happy knitting!

The Eyes Have It

2010-11-28T22:01:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday was the inaugural Stone Mill 50. As much as I would have liked to run it, I wasn't prepared. But I could crew for my friends. And I could even run with them in the latter stages of the race.

We met the runners at mile 21. Pat, Diane, and Allison were all doing well. I was so impressed with Allison because she was running with a terrible cold and couldn't breathe. If it were me, I'm not sure that I would have even made it to the start. Fortunately, the day was sunny and mostly warm (although a wool sweater was needed to make sitting around comfortable) and I knitted and knitted on the Spiral Scarf. Eventually, our runners came back through (they passed through this aid station twice) and everyone was still looking chipper.

At mile 35 or so, I changed into my running clothes so I could run with them the last 15 miles. About a mile in, I tripped (although how I could do that on flat, soft trail is beyond me) and bruised my knee. No big deal; it happens all the time. About a half mile further, Diane tripped on a rock and went down hard, and in slow motion. All that I could see was this jagged, slanted rock that was right in the trajectory of her fall. It got her and it got her good. After she rolled over, the damage to her knee was evident: a three-inch half moon gash right on her kneecap. She had a couple of band-aids and another runner gave her a couple more, so we were able to "suture" the gash. Diane is tough. After saying it didn't hurt (even though we had to pick grass out of the wound), she was thinking she could finish the race. We advised her against it. The wound was deep (down to the adipose layer, we would later find out) and she still had 13 miles to go. We declared game over for her (if she finished, it would have been her 30th race of marathon distance). Pat and I continued on, while Tom B. stayed with Diane.

The miles flew by. Pat was worried that she wouldn't get to the last aid station before the cut-off, but I noticed that there were reflective trail markings interspersed amongst the ribbons (meaning that they were expecting some people to run this section of trail towards dark) and I knew that we were way ahead of the cutoff. We saw Diane at this aid station; she was on her way to the hospital to get her knee stitched up (it would require 17 stitches; note to self: never, ever embark on a trail run without your bandannas, no matter how short or "easy").

Pat and I continued on, running the flats and downhills and walking uphills. Her pace and energy were good (much better than me when I ran my first 50-miler). We hit the last aid station: only 7 miles to go! She had it in the bag and crossed the finish line under the 12-hour mark. Way to go, Pat!

The Eyes Have It
Right before I started running (and actually a couple of days before), my left eye was bothering me. Actually, I thought it was the contact in my left eye. But upon further examination, I discovered a fluid-filled bubble on my eye. It got worse over the weekend, and last Sunday I called my optometrist, who thought it was an allergic reaction and prescribed a steroid drop and Benedryl. On the follow-up visit, he diagnosed chemosis. The condition was apparently caused by a tiny sliver of a leaf embedded at the edge of the cornea (which he removed [the leaf, not the cornea]). Fortunately, the chemosis wasn't painful, but it was highly annoying. My eye itched like there was no tomorrow. That made last week a bit challenging: I couldn't wear my contacts and I deemed it better to work from home since my desk at work is right under an air vent. My eye is much better now; I'm wearing contacts again and the itchiness is gone. But there still is a little bit of a bubble.

Knitting News
The Spiral Scarf is finished and blocked! At last, a finished object! I've started the second Cloning Anemone Rib sock. I'm swatching for something that could be construed to be a sweater. And I need to dig out the almost-finished second mitten that I started last winter. I have only a few more rows to finish on the tip of the mitten and then I need to knit the thumb. I'm very excited about these mittens. They're going to be so warm (and pretty)!

My mother left me a rather cryptic text message the other day. She said that Christine (my nine-year-old niece) considers me to be her heroine. So of course that led to a phone call to see what this was all about. It turns out that Christine is very interested in hand work. She's knitting on one of those knitting loom things and is teaching herself embroidery. She said that she wants to "do everything that Aunt Teri does." So, her Christmas present is going to be a sewing basket filled with all sorts of hand work goodies: embroidery hoops, embroidery floss, needles, and of course, knitting needles and yarn. She also said she wants to learn to play the harp (she's taking piano lessons now). I used to play, long ago before I moved to Paris and Baltimore (the commute from Baltimore to Reston precluded any type of lessons or practice). I've offered to loan her my harp and music if she really is interested. But her mother and I agree that it would be best for her to continue piano at least through the summer.

Then, my eldest niece sent me a text message this evening asking me to teach her how to knit the next time I'm down to visit my parents. Shauna will be 16 in March and has gone through a rough spell after her boyfriend committed suicide last year. Her mother isn't a good role model and I'm trying to bond with Shauna, but it's very difficult when I see her only once or twice a year.

So, now I've got two nieces who look up to me. That's a huge responsibility. I hope I'm up to the task.

That's it for now. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Happy knitting!

Time Flies, Whether You Like It or Not

2010-11-14T18:59:00.000-05:00

I'm still alive and kicking, although sometimes I'm definitely not kicking. Work is...challenging...shall we say and there are days when it makes my brain hurt. And the weekends are far too short. I'm behind in everything: housework (the herd of dust buffalo is in need of some serious culling), cooking (thank goodness Tom can cook, otherwise we'd be living off of beanie weenies), blogging, and other things that I'm supposed to be responsible for. My memory is like a sieve and I remember things just-in-time, which isn't a good way to make one's way through life. I get organized and make a to-do list, but then it all falls apart and disorganization reigns supreme. It's all very tiring.

And once again, about all I can muster for a blog post is random bullet points.

I'm annoyed with our ancient crockpot. It's been cooking for nigh onto 12 hours and the carrots and onions still aren't tender
We're going to eat it anyway. At least it smells good.
See what I mean? I wrote those first two bullet point last week!
There's been knitting in the odd moments chez Knitting Libran.
And as a result, the Monkey socks are a pair!
I'm swatching for a ~~sweater~~ thing that might have sleeves and buttons and a collar
I'm not getting gauge
I'm so not getting gauge
I went up a needle size and I got 1/2 a stitch more than with the smaller needles
And yes, I checked the needle size and counted the stitches many, many times
Stupid gauge
And I'm not happy with the colors
Tom thinks they're fine
I started knitting the Spiral Scarf again
Apparently, I can't read knitting instructions, even after they're explained to me
I cannot seem to remember the "k to end, turn" instruction when working the short rows
The scarf doesn't spiral if you work short rows on each side
It just gets wonky
I'm on a roll now, though
I just can't stop knitting until the scarf is complete
That won't make my employer happy
Knitting is not part of my job description
Tom cooked an awesome dinner last night for me and four of our friends
It was another of his "restaurant openings"
Sesame crusted salmon, butternut squash soup, adobo roast turkey with red chili gravy, green beans with crispy prosciutto, sweet cornbread pudding, gingerbread with spiced creme anglaise
YUM!
Tom is phenomenal

That about sums up the last month or so. Hopefully I'll remember to post sooner than a month. I'm not optimistic.

Happy knitting!

Turning the Corner

2010-09-19T19:15:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I mentioned that I was diagnosed with Lyme disease, which surprisingly is extremely controversial. The controversy rages around all aspects of the disease, from how to diagnose it, to how to treat it, and whether or not chronic Lyme exists. Unfortunately (but fortunately for me), several of my friends have also been diagnosed with Lyme, so I was able to get information from them about the progression of the disease, doctors in the area who are Lyme "literate", and information about treatment.

My holistic physician wanted to treat using only herbs, on the premise that antibiotics aren't that effective and are dangerous. I wasn't comfortable going the herbal route and got a recommendation from another friend for a doctor in the area who has treated a lot of Lyme. That doctor wanted to put me on long-term antibiotics (six months), using a combination of three antibiotics that are pulsed (Monday, Wednesday, Friday for two weeks, with the third antibiotic added the third week, and no antibiotics the fourth week). That seemed to be a bit heavy-handed until I started reading more about the disease, and that treatment protocol makes sense. I'm also using two herbs (arteminisin and teasel) and taking a bunch of supplements, including potassium (yup, got another mineral deficiency).

In addition, I'm supposed to be on a strict gluten- and sugar-free diet (to prevent yeast infections), as well as no alcohol and no caffeine. Needless to say, I cheat a little bit.

So how's it working out? No sign of a yeast infection yet, despite the cheating. The brain fog and crushing fatigue have abated. And my running might be back to normal. My legs don't feel fatigued, my heart rate has settled down, my speed has improved, and I can run longer distances without feeling like I need to take a nap for a couple of days. I even ran two 12-mile runs this weekend! If this keeps up, I might even be able to run an ultra marathon in the spring. I'm beyond thrilled!

Knitting News
One Cloning Anemone Rib sock (aka CAR) is done. I think that mentioned in a previous post that when I first started these socks, I found the knitting to be tedious and slow. I couldn't get the hang of the cable (either with or without a cable needle) and the sock ended up in the (ever-growing) UFO bin. But I needed a second sock for vacation (I couldn't find the yarn for the second Monkey sock) and I grabbed the CAR sock. After a few false starts, it worked! I now love this sock. And in the meantime, I discovered a cure for Second Sock Syndrome. Knit only one sock, then knit one sock from a different pattern. By the time you are finished with the second first sock, you'll have forgotten what bugged you about the first first sock and you can complete the pair! So now the second Monkey is on the needles (not that the Monkey sock ever bugged me). I'll post pictures at some point (I think I've been saying that for about a year now).

I think there might also be a color work sweater in my future, but I'm making no promises. Oddly, I've been experiencing something that resembles hot flashes, which does not bode well for the sweater wearing. I think it might be a Lyme thing. It couldn't possibly be related to my age.

Happy knitting!

RRS (Really Random Saturday)

2010-08-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

Today was a rather random kind of day, filled with surprises. Some of the were good and some, well, were interesting.

I was run sponsor for the club run this morning, meaning that I had to get to the run extra early to put out water.
I kind of got lost doing it, but to be fair it was very early, and dark
Then I got lost again because there was a tree across the road and I couldn't figure out how to get to the next place to put the water.
I eventually figured it out, but not before I was 30 minutes late to the run.
It took me over an hour to put out water.
Fortunately, the morning was cool and it was one of the better runs I've done in recent memory.
The run was followed by a trip to the farmer's market and the health food store.
I picked up a copy of Healing Lyme while I was there.
Yup, I've been diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Blimey! I'm a Lymie!
Spent a large part of the afternoon reading how the Borrelia spirochete infects its host. Fascinating reading.
The bluejays raised a major ruckus while I was reading.
I went to investigate, thinking it was a cat. Instead, I found a hawk in our yard.
Then a little later, a larger, different type of hawk perched in one of our trees.
A hummingbird also paid a brief visit.
The neighbors a couple of doors down had what sounded like a fun party.
They even had a bagpiper!
Fortunately, the piper wasn't bad.
I also managed to clean the refrigerator.
Met a friend for dinner at the Vietnamese restaurant in town.
We shared a salad, three entrees, and three desserts.
The waiter warned us that it was a lot of food.
There wasn't much left over.

All in all, not a bad day (except for the getting lost part). I didn't get any knitting done, but I did carry the current sock-in-progress with me.

Now, I must to bed go. It will be another early start tomorrow so I can get to the run on time. Hopefully, there won't be any fallen trees blocking my route. I'd hate to be late to a breakfast run.

Happy knitting!

I Felt the Earth Move Under My Feet

2010-07-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

Fortunately, the sky did not come tumbling down. But such a bizarre experience.

On Friday at 5:04 a.m. EDT, as I was getting ready to give the cats their breakfast, there was a terrible racket and the house shook violently. The cats got panicked looks on their faces, laid back their ears, and bolted from the kitchen. My first thought was that the furnace exploded (or something else in the neighborhood had). My second thought was that Tom was moving heavy furniture around upstairs. My third thought was that a huge, heavily loaded dump truck was driving past the house. And all I wanted it to do was stop making that sound.

It turned out that we had a bona fide earthquake, a 3.6. It was a bit disconcerting. The cats returned a few minutes after it was over and they were very wary, and quite puffed up. Fortunately, there was no damage (except maybe our plaster walls have some more key failure).

Running News
Tonight is the 4th Annual Mule Run. Last year I went the distance. This year, I'm crewing. I have not been running well at all this summer. Even slow runs feel extraordinarily hard. More so than they should be for my fitness level. There's some speculation that I might have Lyme disease and I'll get that diagnosis confirmed (for the second time) on Monday. So we shall see.

Knitting Progess
I'm at the gusset on the first Monkey sock and I continue to love this pattern. I plan to get a lot of knitting in tonight while I wait at the various crew stops for the runners to come in. I might even take the second ball of yarn, just in case I finish the first sock. Yeah, dream on...

Renovation Progress
The room, she is done. It's much more workable now. I acquired a second Effektiv cabinet and I think that will serve me well. Now all that I have to do is find the time to knit at home. I'll try to post pictures in the next post.

Now it's time to gather together all the stuff I'll need to crew tonight. It's going to be a long day; I don't anticipate much, if any sleep, until tomorrow afternoon.

Happy knitting!

Melting Bullets

2010-07-05T20:09:00.000-05:00

I'm rather enamored of bullet-point blogging. I can be as random as I'd like, which is good, because it's too hot to come up with a coherent narrative. Yes, the house has air conditioning. But even the briefest trip outside reduces me to a puddle.

It's almost 9:00 p.m. It's 90 degrees outside
That's just wrong
It's supposed to be worse tomorrow
The air conditioning in my car doesn't work
I'm getting a new car; it's being delivered tomorrow
I love my Volvo and it still has a lot of miles left
It's not a good car for crewing or volunteering for ultra marathons
It's a great car otherwise
I've had it for 11 years and 153,000 miles
It gets great gas mileage
Have I said how much I love my Volvo?
I hope I love my Outback just as much
I feel like I'm abandoning my Volvo without just cause
My fiber room is mostly done
All I need to do now is to finish organizing
The Effektiv line from Ikea is quite...effective
I put two bins of yarn in one cabinet (one high unit, one add-on low unit)
I needed another cabinet for the unspun wool
Plus I seem to have stashed yarn in baskets, bags, and boxes
I still think two cabinets will be enough
Time will tell
Just checked the weather: there's a heat advisory, excessive heat watch, and an air quality alert
The temperature tomorrow is supposed to be 101 degrees.
I'm not wearing business clothes when the car has no a/c
I'll go a little more casual and wear linen; I don't care if it wrinkles
I've turned the heel on the Monkey socks; it took two tries.
Now I've got to rip out one of the gussets
Apparently I can't count
The cats think it's time for a bedtime snack and are hunting flies

And speaking of time, it's time to start preparing for the work week. The long weekend was much too short.

Stay cool and happy knitting!

Nothing to See

2010-06-19T18:40:00.000-05:00

But there might be tomorrow if I work my plan.

Tom is off in Wyoming running the Big Horn 50-miler again. They started at 6:00 this morning and I expect him to finish in about 12 hours or so, depending on the snow conditions at the higher elevations (they got four inches of fresh snow on Friday)(actually, given there heat and humidity here at home, snow sounds quite refreshing).

Tom is also running slightly injured, having pulled a muscle in his lower back last weekend. He has until 9:00 p.m. Wyoming time (11:00 p.m. ET) to finish.

I took Friday off and managed to get a fair amount accomplished around the house. I played hooky from running this morning and got even more accomplished. Then it was up to College Park to visit Ikea with my friend Val and her daughter, the newly-minted Dr. Molly. The trip was very productive. And I absolutely love how Ikea can take something that looks big put together and package it so it can fit in a regular car. Of course, being able to creatively pack a trunk has its benefits.

Traffic on the way home was horrible; it was slow all the way to the Dulles Toll Road, so my time was not used very efficiently there. But the cats are fed and walked, I've eaten (and blogged), and now it's time to get back to working my plan.

Hopefully, there will be something to see tomorrow.

Happy knitting!

Inspiration and Motivation

2010-06-11T21:31:00.000-05:00

I've had this problem with Inspiration lately. And Motivation, now that I think about it. Both seem to have left the building, leaving me feeling decidedly...flat.

Blogging? Not feeling the love. So, tonight you'll get another bullet point post (BPP).

I love Radio Paradise with all my heart. Go give them a listen and if you like what you hear, become a member. They are listener-supported.
I bought new shoes last week: Jambu. The Cherry model in the All Terra line. I love them almost more than I love my Birkenstocks.
I got stung by a bee today as I was retrieving the cats from their evening constitutional.
I hope it wasn't a honey bee. I don't want to be responsible for the death of more honey bees.
There's enough eco destruction in the Gulf right now
I'm feeling guilty about buying a car that isn't either a hybrid or a very high mileage car
At least I won't be buying a Hummer
Have you noticed there aren't many new cars saleswomen? Why is that?
The cats like going for a walk
They get to catch bugs and eat grass and roll around in the dirt
There's been some knitting
Another pair of Monkey socks is on the needles
Sadly, the needles were too small, so the sock is now off the needles
I don't care; I love knitting these socks with a passion that is unrivaled
As soon as the larger needles arrived in the mail, I cast on
I might stay up late tonight, knitting and listening to Radio Paradise (and wearing my new shoes)
Or not. The weekend runs start at 7 a.m. now. It's 10:16 p.m. and I'm still eating dinner

That's it. Dinner is finished and I'm feeling rather somnolent. I suppose I should get my beauty rest. Tomorrow will be busy: run, test drive more cars, and prepare a dessert to take to a barbecue. And let's not mention the usual chores. And the room renovation.

Happy knitting!

I'm Not Dead Yet

2010-05-13T20:07:00.001-05:00

It's been way too long since I've posted. I've had all these brilliant posts rolling around in my brain and absolutely no time to post. Or knit, for that matter. So here's a quick run down of what's been happening for the last month.

I ran the Boston Marathon. Amazingly awesome. The cheering did not stop for 26.2 miles.
Bosco was almost dead when we got home; he had a urinary tract obstruction and was close to renal failure.
He made a full recovery and there was much rejoicing.
I'm watching him like a hawk for the tiniest signs of recurrence.
I've been putting in mega hours at work. 60-hour work weeks are not fun.
I never know what day it is now.
This weekend will confuse me even more; it's MMT weekend.
I'll be up from 3 a.m. Saturday morning and not go to bed (or get any significant amount of sleep) until Sunday night.
Since Tom's the runner, he's going to be even more tired than me.
I'm thinking about running the Vermont 100 Mile next year.
I think all this working has addled my brain.
That's why I'm taking a brand-new knitting project this weekend, despite an ever-growing UFO pile.
The renovation, she is not done. The other wall needed major plaster repair.
My parents are visiting next weekend. All the stuff from my fiber room is crammed into the guest room.
I'm in big trouble; there's no time to do everything that needs to be done.
Next week is going to be a heavy work week, too.
It will all work out.

That's all the news that fit to print. Hopefully I'll be able to carve some time out to write in more detail. But until then, thanks to Sheepish Annie for the bullet point format.

Until next time, happy knitting!

The Week in Review

2010-03-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

It was a bit of a rough week. Work continues to be extremely busy, which is good for preventing boredom, but not so good for getting home before 8:00 in the evening (to be fair, I normally get to work between 9:30 and 10:00; flex hours...you gotta love 'em!). By the time I eat dinner, it's 9:30, which is too late to start knitting (because a) either I won't want to stop or b) I'm tired and I'll make stupid mistakes and have to redo it all). So when I go to bed, I've been curling up with Elizabeth Zimmermann or, most recently, Rachael Herron.

The other thing that made this week particularly difficult was that Bosco developed some sort of urinary tract problem and that had us extremely worried. A couple of weeks ago I took him in to get a distemper vaccine, but even then was noticing that he was constantly in and out of the litter box without much, if any, "output." He seemed to be fine otherwise. The vet prescribed a homeopathic remedy (sulfur), which we didn't need. Bosco seemed fine.

Last week, however, the litter box behavior started again, but this time Bosco definitely was not feeling well. Over the course of the week, his energy level and appetite decreased. We took him to the vet a couple of times and he was diagnosed with crystals in his urine, which is not a good thing. The vet prescribed another homeopathic remedy (thuja) and he needed three doses before it seemed to help. In the meantime, we were petrified that he'd become blocked and would need emergency surgery, especially when he seemed to get much worse towards the end of the week.

Fortunately, he seems to have made a full recovery, although he still isn't producing much "output." But at least he doesn't seem to be in pain anymore and isn't in the litter box five or six times per hour.

Knitting and Renovation Progress
Move along, nothing to see here.

Running Progress
Because of work, I haven't had the energy to get up at 5:30 in the morning and run during the week. This is bad because those morning weekday runs help add to the mileage base. I have been able to get out on weekends to run, though, and at least am getting my long runs in. I ran just over six miles yesterday (in the rain) and 14 miles today (in the rain). (Tom, on the other hand, ran a 50K in the mountains (in the rain) yesterday where the creek crossings were waist-high. And cold from snow melt. With a fast current. Comparatively speaking, my runs were a walk in the park.)

I'm going to try to run 18 miles next weekend. I'll feel better if I can get up to 22 miles before Boston. And despite its cachet, Boston is going to end up being a slow training run. I will not finish in a blaze of glory. I'll most likely be crawling over the finish line.

On the Nightstand: How to Knit a Love Song
Long, long ago and in a galaxy far, far away... I used to read "gothic" romances written by the likes of Daphne du Maurier, Dorothy Eden, and Mary Stewart and found them thrilling (in more ways than one). Then I discovered science fiction and other genres and pretty much gave up reading (most) romance novels (I don't believe I've ever read a Harlequin romance).

So when Rachael Herron announced that her first book (a romance) was being published, I decided to buy it. And I'm not sorry that I did.

How to Knit a Love Song is a delightful book. All the elements are there: a smart, beautiful knitting heroine, a handsome hero (although he doesn't come off that way in the beginning), a truly slimy villain, a (somewhat) contested will, fleece-bearing animals, and a dog. Oh, and very well-written "steamy" scenes (it wouldn't be a romance book without those!) The characters are well-developed; the book fast-paced (although somewhat too fast-paced; I found myself wondering how we got to where we were. Perhaps I was reading too fast.). What really drew me in was Abigail's inheritance: a cottage filled with yarn and wool and spinning wheels. I wanted to be there now. Pure bliss! As a bonus, there's a sweater pattern at the end; you can see the finished sweater here. This book will be a great beach read.

Of Birds and Hatchlings
So, apparently this site is flying through the interwebs at...well...internet speed. I would also recommend the eagle cam from Norfolk Botanical Gardens. There's an infrared camera so you can see the eagles at night. This year, the pair had three eaglets. While relatively rare among eagles, it's common for this pair. Last year, another female tried to get in on the action and the first clutch didn't hatch. The second clutch did hatch, but the eaglets had some problems. Hopefully this year, the three eaglets will do better.

Happy knitting (and birding)!

Life Moves On

2010-03-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

I'm always sad to see the Olympics end, perhaps because it's the end of a bringing together. It seems that for 17 days, the people of the world are joined together, holding their collective breath as the athletes rocket at incredible speeds down steep hills, narrow tracks, or around tiny skating rinks. They gasp as one (barring time zone differences) as figure skaters jump and twirl and lift, as hockey teams shoot and defend goals. They rejoice as their nation wins medals, but they also rejoice in other nations' victories.

The winter Olympics are my favorite Olympics. They are much smaller than the summer Olympics. And when I started thinking about it, a number of the athletes only have a brief period during the year when they practice, say, skiing or snowboarding. That's pretty incredible. The summer athletes can practice year 'round.

And now this special time is over for another four years. And with it, the Knitting Olympics. This year I medaled, and am thinking that I set the bar too low. But I did what I set out to do and learned a lot in the process. It helped that I was reading a lot of Elizabeth Zimmermann during this time. She provided the guidelines for my mitten design and helped me overcome the fear of knitting without a written pattern. And it was fun! I could do what I wanted and did it with thought, instead of blindly following instructions and not understanding why the designer did "x." If I didn't like the way a part of the mitten was knitting up, I simply unknit it and tried something else. Freedom!

And that got me thinking (and that's not always a good thing)...

I've started contemplating knitting a (dare I say it?) sweater. Like a certain Sheep we know, I too am cursed when it comes to sweater knitting. There must be at least a half-dozen or so laying about the house (well, tucked at the bottom of baskets and boxes actually). There comes a point during the knitting when I just can't go on. I misread the instructions and can't fix the problem. Or I run out of steam. Or worse, the instructions are wrong and I don't figure it out until I've lost all love for the sweater. It's a travesty, really, because I love sweaters and I dream of swathing myself in lovely handknit sweaters during the cold winter months and the chilly spring and fall, and wearing lovely, drapey shells in summer.

So, after I finish the second mitten (just in time for Spring!), I'm going to plan a sweater. I've been reading Knitting in the Old Way as well as EZ. And it's beginning to make sense. The plan is to buy a little wool (or go stash diving) and knit a tiny sweater, maybe doll size, so I can get a handle on the techniques and the (gulp) math. Then scale up for me. And maybe, just maybe, by the time the winter snows are blowing next year, I'll have me a gorgeous sweater!

Running Progress
I am so in trouble for the Boston Marathon. Fortunately, my foot is really almost healed and I've started running again. But now I've got only six weeks to train. My longest run has been about 12 miles, and the long run seems to be the only run I can muster. And those runs are not pretty. I feel like I'm waddling, not running, and by the end, my legs are weak. My goal is to complete a 22-mile run by the end of March. There will be no taper; Boston is going to be a slow training run.

May the running gods have mercy upon me.

Renovation Progress
I managed to get one length of baseboard scraped down to the base paint layer. The sad part is that the baseboard will be hidden by shelves. I'm seriously considering giving up this particular endeavor and move on to painting the ceiling, then the walls. If I don't, my room won't be done until this time next year. And that's too late.

On the Nightstand
I came home yesterday to find a package from Amazon. Inside was Rachael's book, How to Knit a Love Song. It's a very enjoyable read...enchanting, really. I mean, how can you not be enchanted when someone inherits a cottage full of spinning wheels and wool? I'll write a longer review when after I finish it.

So, Rachael, if you are reading this, you're sharing my nightstand with EZ!

Happy knitting!

P.S. We still have snow in our backyard. I think we've had almost a solid month with snow on the ground. Truly an unprecedented event!

The Thrill of Victory

2010-02-27T11:49:00.000-05:00

Welcome to this next-to-last day of Olympic coverage! It's been quite the competition this year, Jim.

That's right, Bob. Of the 4,049 competitors, we've seen stunning successes and heartbreaking setbacks. Remember "the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat?" That's been so true during this competition as the knitters work through the difficult parts in their program.

Take for example, in the host nation, the organizer of this event, a superb knitter if there ever was one. Stephanie chose a gorgeous sweater to knit, not unlike her entry for the 2006 Knitting Olympics, which she finished just before the torch went out. This year, however, she's been plagued by little setbacks that have added up to being so far behind that it's anyone's guess as to whether she'll finish.

We'll definitely be rooting for her, Jim. And then there's Tee who pulled out of the competition after discovering a serious problem with the gauge of her project. She was gracious in her defeat, saying that the point of the challenge was to make a pretty sweater for her daughter, not to win a race.

And don't forget Carolyn, Bob. She chose a lace shawl for her competition, having never knit anything larger than a baby hat in 17 days. After barely starting, she was unhappy with her program and changed yarns, which obviously meant starting over. I'm happy to report that she finished Thursday night!

And what about one of the returning competitors? Here we have Teri, from Virginia. You competed in the 2006 Knitting Olympics, didn't you?

That's right. My project for that competition was a pair of Norwegian mittens. Unfortunately, I DNF'd, having completed only one mitten of the pair.

And for this year's competition, you chose to knit another stranded mitten, right?

Yes. I knew that I'd have difficulty with finishing the program before I even started, what with the lack of time to knit because of a challenging work schedule. My goal was to finish one mitten, with the catch being that the mitten needed to be designed by me.

That's quite a stretch, because this is your first foray into design, isn't it?

It was a stretch. Fortunately, I had already knitted a prototype mitten and was unhappy with certain aspects of the design. So all I needed to do was to modify it by removing a pattern repeat and changing the cuff pattern. The design was heavily influenced by some of Elizabeth Zimmeramann's mittens, and I chose to do a curled mitten tip and a striped thumb with a gusset, both new techniques for me.

Did you encounter any difficulties along the way?

Definitely! There were sections that needed to be ripped out and knitted again because I made mistakes in counting. The thumb gusset was problematic because I had no idea how many stitches I needed. The first go 'round would have produced a thumb of gargantuan proportions, so I had to rip back to the cuff, almost a third of the mitten. I was sure that that incident was going to take me out of the competition. But I persevered and eventually ended up with a thumb that works.

Weren't you thinking that you might exceed your goal and finish two mittens instead of one?

Yes. After a week into the competition, I was thinking that I might be able to finish a second mitten. However, the aforementioned gusset problem dashed those hopes.

But I'm happy to say that, despite twelve hour days at work, I finished my program! The knitting was finished Thursday night and the ends woven in last night. Overall, I'm pleased with the fit. The thumb is a little wonky, so the final pattern will need to be adjusted. It's truly been a great experience to design this mitten.

And for our viewers at home, here's the completed Vancouver mitten:

The back

The palm

Cuff detail

Main pattern detail

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Teri. Congratulations on your winning performance!

Thank you. It's been a pleasure.

Well, Jim, that wraps up today's coverage. Good luck to all the Knitting Olympians who are still working to finish their projects!

Now I've Gone and Done It

2010-02-11T21:05:00.001-05:00

I did it. I joined the Knitting Olympics. What was I thinking?! I can't seem to finish any project in less than six months and now I've signed up for finishing a project in 17 days?

So here's the deal: I'm working designing a two-color mitten and the first mitten has some design ~~problems~~ challenges. The concept was good, but something got lost between brain and paper and wool. It needs some "refining," including sizing it for a hand (mine) smaller than Edward Scissorhands. My goal is to fix the design and knit one mitten.

In order for me to finish by the time the torch goes out, I'll need a couple more snowstorms the size of the one this past weekend (to keep me at home) and a major Internet outage (so I can't work from home).

The saving grace is that the yarn is bulkier than I usually knit with, so the knitting goes fast. Still, completing the design and one mitten is going to a be stretch.

May the knitting gods have mercy upon me.

We're Not in Virginia Anymore, Toto

2010-02-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Okay...so we got about 34.5 inches of snow this past weekend. This area isn't used to that much snow and they don't clear the roads well with less snow, so I opted to work from home on Monday. I also worked from home on Tuesday, partially because I had a migraine, partially because I didn't feel like dealing with the roads, and (here's the kicker), they were calling for more snow to start Tuesday. Foot's Forecast mentioned something about Kahunageddon. But the National Weather Service wasn't calling for that much snow, at least not initially.

By the end of the day yesterday, the estimate was for another 10 to 20 inches.

It didn't start snowing yesterday until late in the afternoon, and it was very light. And then it stopped. I was positive this storm was going to be a bust. When I got up this morning to feed the cats, it was snowing hard. Not only that, it was very windy. A girl could only do one thing: go back to bed.

When I finally dragged myself out of bed, it was clear I was going to work from home again today. Yesterday we had a winter storm warning. Today it was a blizzard warning. What?! We don't have blizzards in Virginia. It snowed and blew (why isn't it snowed and blowed or snew and blew?) all day, with the snow finally tailing off late afternoon. The unofficial tally is nine inches for my little town, far less than the original estimate (somehow, and in a sick way, I feel cheated). The winds have picked up again this evening and even though no snow is predicted, they are still predicting blizzard-like conditions.

We're not in Virginia anymore, Toto.

So how much snow have we gotten in the 2009/2010 season? The December 19 storm dropped about 22 inches, then we had two storms that dropped about six inches each, the weekend storm that produced 34.5 inches, and today's storm with about nine. That's over 77 inches of snow!!! And I think there might of been one or two insignificant snowfalls. So let's say 80 inches of snow. Virginia just doesn't get that amount of snow.

And looking at the long range forecast, there's a chance of snow Sunday and Monday. The thought of more snow leaves me speechless.

I'll try to get some post blizzard pictures tomorrow, after the blizzard-force winds die down. In the meantime, here's hoping that our porch roofs don't collapse!

Stay warm!

More Than I Thought

2010-02-07T11:40:00.000-05:00

All last week, there had been rumors of another significant snowfall here in Virginia, something along the lines of the December 19th storm. That storm dropped about 20 inches of snow right before Christmas, wreaking havoc for those of us who don't start Christmas shopping until the week before. (For your information, that would not include me. I do all my shopping online.)

The forecast for the 12/19 storm was accurate, unlike one storm several years ago when they predicted 12+ inches and we got maybe an inch. That storm was a major bust. The forecast for the second snowfall this year was originally for an accumulation of less than half an inch and we got about six inches.

So when this storm was forming, I started watching the NOAA web site. On Thursday, a friend sent me a link to this weather site and I never looked back. I started obsessively watching the forecast and how it was changing and why (I swear I should have been some kind of scientist).

Anyway, to make a long story short, the National Weather Service (NWS) kept changing their total accumulation estimates. It started out as 12 inches, then it was 12-18, then it was 18-24. They finally settled on 20-30 inches, with potentially more than 30 inches at higher elevations. The NWS issued a winter storm warning that was in effect from 10 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Saturday.

The region started the standard typical emergency preparations: buying more milk, eggs, and toilet paper than a family could possibly use in a month. My sole purchase was a pair of ski pants, because if we really got that much snow, I'd need something to keep me dry while digging out.

Digging a path to Tom's office

The snow started at 10 a.m. on Friday, right on time. By the time it stopped Saturday afternoon, we had an amazing 34.5 inches of snow on the ground! That's the largest single snowfall I've ever experienced. We started shoveling Friday night, trying to "keep ahead" but it was all for naught. By Saturday morning, it looked like we hadn't shoveled at all.

The snow is somewhat wet and heavy and we lost a large branch from the maple in the front yard (which happened to fall on my car; fortunately, the car wasn't damaged).

Where's the Volvo?

A large branch also broke off the cedar in the back yard, damaging the windshield wipers on the Westfalia. We were fortunate in that we didn't lose power, unlike a lot of people (including my mother-in-law) in the region. It's supposed to get very cold tonight, about 8 degrees, so Tom might have to go get his mother and bring her here until power is restored.

We walked around town yesterday and some of the roads are okay and some are not. They've already closed schools for Monday and Tuesday, but I suspect that with the cold temperatures and the remoteness of some of the bus routes, the schools are going to be closed all week, especially since they are calling for another snowstorm on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here are some pictures that Tom took while we were on walkabout:

A stream at Morven Park

Old Waterford Road

A local Bed & Breakfast

So, has this snow event left me time for knitting?

In a word, no.

However, I hope to get some knitting time in today and with luck, should finish the hand of the mitten. I was almost finished with the pattern on the hand when I discovered a mistake about five rows down that had to be fixed. I'm back on track, though, and the first mitten should be finished in relatively short order. Then it's on to the second mitten, where I'll need to decide if I want to tweak the pattern a bit, which will mean that I'll have to rip out the first mitten and re-knit it to match the second mitten. It's really cold and these mittens are going to be very warm. I suppose I could wear subtlety mismatched mittens until the worst of the weather is over. Or I could declare both mittens to be prototypes and then knit them again in a yarn that will better show the pattern.

That's it for now. Happy knitting!

Mitten Love

2010-01-17T17:52:00.000-05:00

There's actually been a fair amount of knitting activity chez Knitting Libran. I'm not quite sure how that happened, given long hours at work. I have three partial skeins of Manos del Uruguay that are left over from a hat project. It's nice yarn and it's a shame to let it go to waste. But what to make from it? There might be enough to make a hat, but hats and my hair do not get along. There's not enough for a scarf. There might be enough for a pair of socks, but the yarn is too loosely spun. But a pair of mittens would be perfect! This winter is cold and Tom has taken my ugly, machine-made wool mittens for running, leaving me with an inadequate pair of thin leather gloves.

I have three different shades of blue (dark, medium, and light) and there isn't enough of any one color for a pair of mittens. That led me to the idea of Fair Isle mittens, since my gauge swatch indicated that a judicious use of all three colors would give me plenty of yarn. So I dug through my books to find an existing pattern. Alas, either the mittens were too big for my hand, or the yarn was the wrong kind, or I didn't have enough colors. Sigh...

So I'm taking the creative leap and designing my own. I'm taking inspiration from EZ's Norwegian and Jogger's Mittens. I knit a gauge swatch to determine, well...gauge. And size. How many stitches do I need to cast on to get a mitten that isn't too loose? After getting that answer, I started looking for Fair Isle patterns in Sheila McGregor's book, Traditional Fair Isle Knitting. There are pages and pages of charts in the book and I figured it would be a piece of cake to whip together a design. Ha!

This pattern is too big and that one is too small; this one would be just right, except I don't like it. And that was just determining the cuff pattern. I finally found something that would work well with my original calculations. I knit the cuff this morning. It looks pretty good, except the Manos is not a good choice for two-color knitting, given the slubbiness of the yarn. The Fair Isle pattern is not as crisp as I would like it to be. But the mittens will be warm!

The cuff is knit in navy with a light blue border pattern. I was originally thinking about knitting the hand in medium blue with a light blue snowflake-y pattern, but I have more light blue than medium blue so the pattern will be medium blue. The palm will have an all-over pattern and I'm considering striping the thumb as well as placing a medium blue stripe on each side of the hand, separating the back from the palm (a la EZ's Norwegian mittens). My next task is to figure out the design placement on the back and which pattern to use for the palm. And how to do the thumbs.

I suspect that this pair of mittens will be a prototype. I'd like to see what they'd look like in a regular smooth, plied yarn. More later!

Room Makeover Progress
As is typical with old houses (104 years and counting), the work in the room is spawning additional projects. Tom is now going full-bore repairing the ceiling and wall. You know how it goes...you see a piece of loose paint or wallpaper and you just want to neaten it up a bit. So you scrape or pull and before you know it, you're determined to get every bit of old paint off the woodwork. It will give in to your will, you just have to find its weak point of adhesion. The sound of a whole lot of paint zippering off is very satisfying indeed. It's going to take months before the work it done, though. However, the hard work and the wait will be worth it. I'll have a calm, quiet, organized place to go to read, work, and indulge in my fiber-y pursuits.

Running Progress
I've finally been cleared to run! I did a short run last weekend, maybe only four miles or so, and my heel didn't get worse. So now it's time (if the stupid weather improves) to slowly start increasing the miles in preparation for the Boston Marathon. All of my travel arrangements have been made and everything has been settled. Sadly, Tom won't be able to go. It would definitely be more fun with him there. Only three months to go...yikes!

That's it for now...happy knitting!

Looking Back...and Looking Forward

2009-12-31T16:41:00.000-05:00

Every year, everyone does it: the politicians, the pundits, the media, and that tempts the rest of us (well, maybe not all of us) to do our own "year in review." As hackneyed and trite as it might seem, I find it to be a useful exercise. I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but looking at my successes and "not-quite-successes" helps me figure what to keep doing in the coming year and where I can improve.

Successes

Achieving my running goal (qualify for the Boston Marathon): I'm not sure why I succeeded; perhaps it was because I never let my training lag and during the race I was very focused.
Becoming more technically adept at work: A couple of large software projects gave me the opportunity to do a bit of testing again and made me realize that I hadn't lost my testing "chops."
Finishing the baby blanket...and knowing when it was done enough, even though I still had yarn left.
Getting through most of my Christmas holiday to-do list: I'm notoriously bad at making to-do lists and then ignoring them. I managed to focus and get through most of my tasks each day and by the time I go back to work, I should have completed the remaining chores on it.

Not-Quite-Successes

Training a bit too hard and injuring my foot: I don't think it was the distance, but perhaps the speed and the road miles. I'll spend more time on trails this coming year.
Finishing only one knitting project: Due to my work schedule and the lack of time to do things at home, I didn't allow myself sufficient knitting time
Working long hours: Not much can be done about that and unfortunately, 2010 is probably going to be worse than 2009. Working at home one day a week will help, especially if I can plan it so it falls on the knitting group day.
Not holding up my end of house chores: See the previous item. The long hours, coupled with running long on weekends, led Tom to rightly declare "I do everything around here." I need to focus on better work/life balance.
Not spending enough time on the mat: Perhaps if I established a regular home yoga practice, my life will become a little more balanced. If I can keep myself from going back to bed after I feed the cats in the morning, I've got this one in the bag!

Knitting Progress

The spiral scarf should not have looked like a sock. I came to that conclusion the other day and ripped it all out. I had miscounted some rows early on and ended up with the increases on the inside edge of the scarf instead of the outside edge. It looks much better now and I think it is going to be a quick-ish knit. I don't think it will be done by the time I go back to work, but it might be close.

I've also been teaching a friend to knit, which has been a blast! She's picking it up quickly and is so enthusiastic. The last knitting lesson was teaching her the purl stitch, then putting the knit and purl stitches together for stockinette and a 4x4 rib, which is in preparation for knitting a hat. The next lesson will be about gauge, how to read a pattern, and coming up with the 4x4 rib hat design.

Room Progress

Alas, the painting has not commenced because Tom is still working on stabilizing the ceiling, but the plaster washer installation doesn't appear to be going well. Last night Tom said that maybe we should just gut the room, which while it would be nice, is not strictly necessary. I don't need the room to be perfect; I just need it to be comfortable. The remaining "public" rooms (the dining room and the library) are more important. Besides, I'm still scarred from the kitchen/bath renovation we did in 2002.

So that's it for this year. I wish you and your family a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2010.

Happy New Year!

OMG...It's an FO!

2009-12-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

Presenting perhaps the first and possibly the last finished object of 2009:

This is the baby blanket for my co-worker that I started back in April. Baby G. was born in May and I finally finished it in December. It's a very simple pattern, once the stitch pattern is established. I used my all-time favorite baby blanket yarn, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. It machine washes well and wears like iron. So why did it take so long? A distinct lack of knitting time. The blanket will be shipped off to Baby G. this week. I hope it becomes her favorite blanket to drag around.

Here's a closeup of the slip stitch pattern:

While I haven't exactly abandoned the garter stitch scarf, it is in time out and I suspect I'm going to have to rip it out and start over, due to what looks suspiciously like a change in gauge. See the lower part of the scarf and how it's nicely zigging and zagging, creating a subtle argyle pattern? And then see how the zigging and zagging just sort of falls apart? It's like it's almost zigging and zagging and then gets tired and just stripes. Even though it's pretty, it's not acceptable.

That left me without a new knitting project (let's not mention the UFOs; there is something wrong with all of them and it will take more brainpower than I'm willing to muster right now to figure out how to fix them). I could knit socks (I have two years of Rockin' Sock Club socks to knit), but I'm not quite ready. I thought about a sweater, but again, that seems too hard. I bought some yarn from Laura Bryant of Prism Yarns in October in a luscious silk/kid mohair blend (Indulgence, Embers colorway) with the intent of knitting up her spiral scarf pattern. It's garter stitch, with just enough short row shaping to keep it interesting. It doesn't look like much right now (it looks more like half a stocking than a scarf), but I think it's going to work out just fine:

I don't like mohair. It's too floaty and the fibers end up in my eyes or food, or mouth. Bleh. However, the silk single is wrapped with what looks like a two-ply binder thread. It doesn't seem to lose fibers, even while winding into a ball. I'm very pleased with it (even if it is a little splitty).

Christmas Vacation
I'm officially on holiday! The week is stretching out ahead of me and it looks like there will be plenty of time to do a lot of stuff. I know this is not true, however. And I hit the first stumbling block today.

The big plan for the week is redo my fiber room. That means painting (the room is still the same dingy white that it was when we bought the house 13 years ago), getting new shelving, lighting, and a comfortable chair (so I have a place to knit and listen to music without hearing the television). While it's tempting to plunge in and just get the furniture and deal with painting later, that's not the right way. The right way is to paint first. So today we went to Home Depot and I got some paint.

My plan (since I don't want to deal with moving out everything in the room) was to tackle one wall at a time, moving furniture as necessary. However, the ceiling also needs to be painted. And true be told, the ceiling plaster needs some serious stabilization. That kind of took the wind out of my sails, because theoretically, that needs to be done before anything else. And I don't know when Tom will be able to do that. I'm tempted to say forget the ceiling and I'll just paint it as is. But once again, that's not the right way. So I'm not sure what's going to happen there. I'm very afraid that I'm going to lose momentum and really, with a whole week off, I don't want to put this job off.

Bosco, however, is wondering why I'm all worried. He strongly suggested I follow his example:

Just find a spot in the sun and take a nap!

Hemmed In

2009-12-18T22:26:00.000-05:00

During sivasana at a recent yoga class, Barbara had us take a "mini-vacation" and visualize our favorite vacation spot and recall how we felt while we were there. I immediately went to the Caribbean and then out West, remembering the grandness and sense of space. Then I started thinking about how I feel while I'm on vacation and compared it to how I feel when I'm not (It was at this time that Barbara said "If you've left your mini-vacation, it's time to go back." Oops...). What I revel in, especially if our vacation includes being in the wilderness, is the sense of freedom, of openness. And it struck me that my day-to-day life makes me feel, well, hemmed in. I leave my house in the morning, get in my car, go to work, sit in my cube and conference rooms all day, get back in the car, drive home, eat dinner in the kitchen (or in front of the TV if Tom is watching something I want to watch), then go to bed. Repeat for five days.

The weekend routine is only slightly different. I don't go to work (usually), but the days are usually spent in the house, trying to get caught up on chores that I didn't do during the week. Sometimes I just spin my wheels and don't accomplish much. Hemmed in.

On vacation, however, and most notably when we took a road trip through New Mexico, Utah, and a tiny part of Colorado (and again in South Dakota when we were there for the Lean Horse Ultramarathon), that hemmed-in feeling disappears and I feel free. I can't quite figure out why. Is it because I have no responsibilities other than just being? Is it because I'm out in nature? Is it because I'm out West and the landscape is so vast and grand? Whatever it is, I would dearly love to feel like that in my non-vacation life.

And speaking of vacations, for the first time since I've been out of school (I won't mention how many decades that's been), I'm going to take both Christmas Eve and the week after Christmas off! Usually the companies that I've worked for schedule a major software release in January, and given that most software development efforts involve the code being delivered to the testers several weeks late (without the release date slipping), I've worked long hours over the holidays. Not so with my current company; the last release of the year was delivered this week. So I'll be free! I've already started a to-do list that includes fun things and chores. Maybe I'll pull out some UFOs and finish them. Maybe I'll pull out the spinning wheel and finish some spinning. I want to paint and re-do my fiber room. I want to cook up a bunch of gluten-free food to take to work for lunch. I'll be teaching a friend to knit (we had the first lesson yesterday). How much do you want to bet that I won't get any of it done (other than teaching the friend to knit)?

Breaking Weather
It's snowing!! Now, for those of you in the more northern climes, I'm sure you're groaning at the thought of snow. However, in Virginia, and particularly in the Washington, DC area, a good snowfall is rare. The last several winters have seen a couple of snowfalls that were only a couple of inches. Pitiful. Shameful, actually. However, the National Weather Service is predicting a "significant" snowfall and they've been upping the accumulation estimates all day. Now, they are saying that we'll have 5-9 inches over night (up from 1-3), 8-12 inches on Saturday (up from 7-11) and another 2-4 inches Saturday night. I'm pretty sure that the higher accumulations will be in the mountains, but a minimum of 14 inches is pretty good. I'd like to see the maximum, of course, but I'll take what I can get.

It was difficult to concentrate at work today because of the predicted snowstorm. I swear, I'm worse than a child. While I don't like driving in the snow (the drivers around here are pitiful, either going too fast because they have four-wheel drive or too slow because they don't), I love shoveling snow. I know, it's kind of weird. But there's something satisying about clearing snow. You can actually see the results (the results in my job are somewhat intangible).

And then there's the hush that falls when it snows. All the sounds are dampened, muffled, almost reverential. It's the same on Christmas Eve, when everything seems to be hushed in expectation of the birth of Jesus (or the visitation of Santa, depending on your beliefs). It's mystical.

I absolutely love it.

Knitting Progress
After many months (eight months, to be exact), the baby blanket is off the needles, the ends woven in, and washed and blocked. I'm pleased with the way it turned out, even though I see the mistakes in it (I slipped yif once instead of yib, and left out a row in one pattern repeat, but I at least I was consistent). The hand of the fabric is nice, somewhat heavy, but fluid. And even though I was using magenta and lime green yarns, the magenta did not bleed into the green when I washed it. What a relief! I'll post a picture later this weekend then I'll send it off to the happy family.

I'm working on the garter stitch scarf (I'll post a picture of that, too), but I'm not sure about how the dye pattern is working out. I raveled back to where I untied the knot, retied it, and everything was going along well for a while, but now there are stripes where there was an argyle pattern. Did my gauge change that dramatically? Of course, I was quite relaxed when I started knitting it at the knitting retreat and am much less relaxed now, which could result in tighter knitting. I ripped it back once more and tried to consciously loosen my gauge, but to no avail. I'll continue on and see what developed. Maybe a full do-over is necessary.

Well, that's all for now. I need to check the snow status and head to bed. I'm working tomorrow to verify the implementation we're doing tonight. Fortunately, I can work from the comfort (albeit chilly) of my own home.

Happy snow!

Runner Down

2009-12-02T19:30:00.000-05:00

Prior to running the Steamtown Marathon, I was experiencing some pain in my heel. It was nothing major and the pain was alleviated by running. After the marathon, however, the pain was pretty much constant. I made a visit to my doctor who diagnosed plantar fasciitis and told me to take two to four months off running and do the stretches that can be found online. To maintain aerobic fitness, she suggested swimming and riding a stationary bike (swimming in a public pool grosses me out to no end, plus I don't have access to either a pool or a stationary bike).

So I gave it three weeks and tried a slow 6-mile run up Old Waterford Road. It felt good to run, except it was clear that my heel wasn't better. A friend recommended a chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries and practices applied kinesiology. A combination of foot strengthening exercises, ultrasound, and deep tissue massage seem to be helping, at least a little bit. The heel still hurts, but I'm walking much better. The goal is to start running again in January.

I don't like this enforced inactivity one little bit. And it comes at a dangerous time of the year...the Holidays. We celebrated two Thanksgivings, one with my family and one with Tom's. There are already two Christmas parties on the calendar and mostly likely one or two more will pop up. And then there's Christmas Eve dinner (I'm considering attempting Julia's Duck en Croute), Christmas dinner, and New Year's Eve dinner. Yikes! Dangerous times indeed.

And then there's the whole stress reduction thing that comes with running. I'm trying to increase the amount of yoga I'm doing. If I'm not running early in the morning, I should be practicing my yoga, right? And theoretically, the yoga will increase my flexibility, which should help my heel. We shall see.

Knitting Progress
With all this enforced inactivity, you'd think I'd be knitting up a storm. Ha! For some reason it isn't happening. There's so much that I haven't done around the house (the dust buffalo have evolved into dusty mammoths), that I feel guilty if I take the time in the middle of the day to sit and knit. And after dinner, I'm too tired to sit down and knit, especially during the week, given that I don't get home from work until after 8:00 most nights (thanks be to Tom for taking over the cooking duties and everything else during the week).

But there has been knitting. The baby blanket is six inches away from being completed and I've got until the weekend to finish it. The baby's mom is coming to town next week and I would like to give it to her then. Must give it to her then, because I'm terrible at mailing packages.

And there's been a lot of thinking about knitting. After the blanket is done, what shall I knit? One of the sweaters that I've been dreaming about (never mind that I've got more unfinished sweaters than I care to admit lying about)? How about a shawl? Or a scarf (I do have a garter stitch scarf on the needles; that's my totally brainless knitting) (except it isn't working out because I untied the knot in the yarn, which threw off patterning) (who would've thunk it?)? Maybe a pair of socks? (Oh wait...I have two pairs of socks on the needles) Or yoga socks (Barbara's studio is kind of chilly)? How about a wimple? Patternworks has a wimple pattern designed for Schaefer Andrea yarn (why is it that I always type "yearn" first?), that's 100% silk. I love hats, but look stupid in them. And they flatten curly hair. Maybe a wimple would be the perfect thing to keep off the winter chill!

Of course, if I were a good and thrifty knitter, I'd finish up the myriad of UFOs that are tucked away in various boxes and baskets and bags and knit from my stash instead of adding to it. Of course, she says, it doesn't count as stash if you knit it immediately. Right?

In parting, since I haven't posted any photos in a while, here is a picture of Bosco (in the back) and Emma in a rare moment of truce:

Actually, they're a lot better than they used to be. Bosco has stopped trying to exert his dominance (for the most part) and Emma will actually initiate playing with him. She still hisses at him and swats him for no reason other than she walked by him and he looked at her (but isn't that what big sisters are supposed to do?). Bosco still attacks her, but usually it's in the early morning to keep her off the bed. And then he only feints an attack (which shakes the entire bed)(he's a big boy).

Well, that's it for now. Time to get some knitting in!

Boston Bound!

2009-10-13T20:11:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a woman who was a couple of years into her fourth decade. She wasn't very athletic, although in her late twenties, she was a somewhat decent rock climber and enjoyed caving. But cardio was not her forte, although she did play a couple of seasons of soccer (very badly; something about cardio not being her forte). Anyway, this woman had a coworker who regularly ran marathons, which amazed her. How could anyone run that far? The people who ran marathons had to be superhumans! But the more the woman talked to her coworker, the more she thought that maybe, just maybe, she could run a marathon.

So she talked to some people at the gym she belonged to, bought a book (Marathon! by Jeff Galloway) and commenced the To Finish marathon training program. She found a running partner and 6 months later, she ran (and finished) her first marathon. Admittedly, it was at a very slow pace (5 hours, 10 minutes, if she remembers correctly; there was a lot of walking involved).

With that success under her belt, she decided to run a different marathon the next year. She trained with her running partner again, and she ran (and finished) her second marathon in November (this time was faster: 4 hours, 44 minutes). Her husband ran his first marathon that year, too.

Buoyed by her success with running two marathons, she decided to run another marathon the following year. But alas, there was a problem. Her running partner decided to go to nursing school while continuing to work full-time, so there was no running partner. And this woman's husband was much faster than she was, so she found herself "training" by herself. When marathon time rolled around, her taper (the period of time when runners start cutting back on the mileage) was more like a plunge (she also had an undiagnosed thyroid deficiency, but that's a story that's already been told). So on marathon day, the woman runs, knowing that it's going to be a difficult run. Unbeknownst to her, the organizers had changed the sports drink and she hadn't trained with it. It did not agree with her digestive system. And around mile 15, her knee started hurting, so much so that she kept thinking that she'd quit "after one more mile." She finished the marathon (in 5 hours, 36 minutes) and wept tears of exhaustion and relief after stopping.

She would occasionally run after that last marathon, but her knee still hurt (iliotibial band syndrome) so she eventually gave up running entirely. Her husband kept running, though, and started running with a running club. He finished a couple more marathons and then decided that he would try a 50-mile run (if you can run a marathon, you can run a 50-miler, he was told).

Four years pass and the woman decided to try running again (the thyroid problem was under control, gluten was removed from her diet, and all other deficiencies were being corrected). When she started running, she ran with the running club. But they were fast, so she and a friend would run a shorter distance and run slow (about a 13 min/mile pace). She was happy to run and talk to her friend. But one day her friend wasn't there and she didn't know the route. She had to run faster to keep from getting left behind. She was surprised that she could keep the fast runners in sight and that she didn't expire from the effort. Shortly thereafter, her husband challenged her to run 50 miles when she turned 50. 11 months later, she did just that (it wasn't pretty, but she finished).

With that success under her belt, the woman (who still didn't think that she was a runner, but she might be getting there) decided to set a goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon the following year. She didn't think she was fast enough to come close to qualifying, but after a couple of long runs that were faster than a snail's pace, she thought that maybe she had a chance. So she ran and ran and ran and kept thinking that she would run intervals (she did so only once). The fast runners kept getting faster and she still couldn't keep up with them, but she saw her times decrease. When she thought she had a reasonable chance (if worse came to worse, she'd at least run a PR for the distance), she signed up for a marathon that had a downhill course profile (notice that the woman was beginning to at least sound like runner) because she loves running downhill (it makes her feel fast).

So, race day rolls around and with seven other running club members, the woman lines up at the start and starts running when the starting gun fires. The going is slow at first (the runners were bunched up), but eventually everyone spreads out. She picks up her pace and runs with a couple of people, asking about their running stories. Even though the day is cold, the running feels easy and the woman runs comfortably and strong for a long time, taking time to walk through the water stops and take both Gatorade and water. The trees were wearing their best fall colors, the church bells in the town were ringing blessings upon the runners, and the townspeople were cheering everyone on. A glance at her watch told the woman that she was running faster than her qualifying pace (the watch lied, but she didn't know that at the time) and she felt good. At mile 20, her legs were beginning to feel tired and heavy, but she pushed onward, knowing that she had to run only 6.2 miles more. She relished each mile marker after that, counting down the miles, but she was beginning to want more water stops so she could have an excuse to walk more. Finally, a mile or so from the finish line, she encountered a rather large hill and gave up and walked the whole thing. At this point, her left heel was hurting and so was her right hip and she wanted to just stop running! However, she remembered everyone at home who had encouraged her and believed in her ability to run, so she dug deep and kept running (and amazingly enough, kept passing a lot of people). It was downhill to the finish (literally) and she picked up the pace. With the crowd cheering wildly, she crossed the finish line in 4:05:35, setting both a PR and qualifying for Boston!

The moral of the story, dear readers, is that if you have the courage and belief in yourself (and you find some good partners), you can do pretty much anything. If you had asked me 10 years ago if I would someday be running marathons and ultramarathons and qualifying for Boston, I would have looked at you like you had three heads. I'm not a runner, I would have said.

I realized this weekend that I am a runner. I was always a runner, even when I was running slow. It took qualifying for Boston to make me believe in myself.

Still Running and Knitting

2009-09-25T21:00:00.001-05:00

Well, maybe working, running, and knitting. But not so much with the knitting. I seem to have lost my momentum, so if anyone sees it, please send it back to me. I'd really like to have it back.

Running has been proceeding apace. Tom has been training for the Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile, which is next weekend. Unfortunately, I won't be able to be there with him because I'll be at a knitting retreat (he signed up for race after I had already registered for the retreat). I feel bad about that because I want to be there to support him. 100 mile races are not easy. Imagine running or walking (or crawling for that matter) for over 24 hours, with only a few brief stops. It's tough psychologically because as you get tired, the negative thoughts start and it's very easy to spiral downwards. But Tom is nothing if not stubborn and if he can eat enough and stay hydrated, he'll finish.

I've been training for the Steamtown Marathon, which is in mid-October. This is the race where I hope to qualify for the Boston Marathon (I need to run 26.2 miles in 4:05). Will I do it? Only time will tell. I haven't done the speed training that I needed to do, but I have been running faster. I'm not concerned about the distance (I've been doing a 20+ mile run almost every weekend). The course is mostly downhill and I love running downhill. If the weather is cool and overcast, and if I have a good day, and if the stars align, I might. If I don't, I'll mostly likely run a personal best for the distance. There are about seven of us from the running club going (and all are going to try to qualify for Boston) and it will be a fun weekend. After the race, at least some of us will head over to the Banshee for some post-race replenishment.

Can I stop running so much after the marathon? No. Then it's time to start training for the JFK 50 Mile. No rest for the weary!

Knitting News
Not much is new. I've been knitting about three rows every couple of weeks. However, I plan to make great strides next weekend while at the knitting retreat. The blanket that I'm knitting is relatively simple. I'll take a sock to knit for a change of pace. I should be able to finish the blanket. (Ha! Famous last words!)

Anyway, that's what's new. One day I'll start posting pictures again. If only there were a way to zap them into the blog without having to that download and upload thing. It takes too much time.

Have a great weekend and knit on!

Julie and Julia

2009-08-09T19:24:00.001-05:00

I did something very unusual today. I actually went to a movie! I'm not a big fan of movies. For some reason, they make me feel anxious and I have a difficult time sitting through them. But I love food and Julie and Julia opened on Friday, so off to the movies we went (it was also a hundred bazillion degrees outside).

We went to the 2:00 showing and after about 5000 commercials about nothing, they started the trailers. These are always anxiety-inducing because they are typically violent or suspenseful. The movies I won't be seeing this fall? The Lovely Bones and 2012. I'd be having nightmares for weeks!

Fortunately, Julie and Julia was neither violent or suspenseful (well, it could have been, but I had already read the book). Meryl Streep did an outstanding job playing Julia Child. The movie was delightful. I laughed, I cried (well, not really, but I did get teary-eyed more times than I'd like to admit) and I got very hungry. The movie, like the book, has inspired me to pull out my copy of Master the Art of French Cooking again and start cooking. The timing is poor, though, since August is upon us with a vengeance. Even though Julie Powell probably sauteed and roasted her way through August in New York (perhaps without air conditioning), I'm just not up to it. And the thought of eating cream- and butter-laden foods this time of year does not sound appealing. But once the weather turns? I'll be trying to master the art of French cooking once again.

Running News
Running takes a lot of effort these days. I went for what was supposed to be a 13-mile trail run yesterday and quit after seven miles. It was very humid and I was totally drained. It was fun, though.

This morning's run wasn't much better; too humid and hot. Oh well, that's August in Virginia for you.

Even though Tom's been saying that he probably won't run a 100-mile race, he actually signed up to run the Arkansas Traveller in October. I knew he'd do it sooner than later. I wasn't expecting him to run one quite this soon. And sadly, I won't be there to support him since it's the same weekend as the Hunt Country Yarns PJ Party knitting retreat. Oh well...

I was going to start running intervals this coming week to try to work on improving my speed, but it feels like I've pulled something in my thigh. Today's run was a little painful and I think my body is telling me in no uncertain terms that I need to start practicing yoga on a regular basis. So, tomorrow morning, after feeding the cats at some ungodly early hour, I will not go back to bed. I will knit for a while, then do some yoga. We'll see how long I can keep that up.

Knitting News
Knitting? What knitting? Move along...there's nothing to see here. Actually, as soon as I finish writing this entry, I'm going to try to find a comfortable place to sit and knit. That's easier said than done, since the TV room and the living room are adjacent and Tom's watching television (watching TV, unless it's a cooking show, makes me anxious). Even listening to TV music makes me anxious. Sheesh, what a wimp!

Anyway, I'm still working on the same project that I've been working on. I'm satisfied with how it's turning out, but I'm ready to be done with it. Unfortunately, I still have a long way to go. And then I'll work on a pair of socks for Tom. They were supposed to be summer socks, but summer will be long gone by the time I finish the first one.

Since I've started running, my knitting has dropped way off. They say the Hash Harriers are a drinking club with a running problem. I think I've become a knitter with a running problem! I need to find a way to knit and run at the same time; that would be much more productive.

Okay, enough rambling. It's time to put yarn to needles and knit before it get too much later.

Have a great week!

What I Did on My Summer Vacation or A Comedy of Errors

2009-07-30T17:17:00.003-05:00

When I first started my week of summer vacation, it did not start well. We left home much later than we thought we would. Even though I worked from home on Friday, I ended up working 11 hours, trying to get everything that needed to be done, done.

So I was up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, and after feeding that cats, worked on finishing the running club newsletter. After Tom left around 7:00 for the Saturday morning run, I went into high gear, frantically wrangling dust buffalo so it would be presentable for the person who was staying there to take care of the cats (and her brother, who will be visiting tomorrow and Saturday). Beds were stripped, linens washed, furniture dusted, floors vacuumed, baseboards dusted... And it all seemed to get done extremely slowly. To be sure, some of the dust buffalo were a bit recalcitrant about being wrangled. And the dryer was being extremely persnickety about actually drying clothes, requiring two or three cycles before all was dry. But finally, all was done; I packed in about 30 minutes, and we were on our way (and I only forgot one thing!).

The drive down to my parents' house was relatively uneventful, but we hit traffic around Williamsburg and I started to panic. We had dinner reservations for 6:00 (to celebrate my mother's birthday) in Suffolk and our ETA at my parents' was 5:30, which left exactly the amount of time it would take to get to the restaurant. And we still had to get into our fancy eating clothes.

We arrived at our destination at 5:22, grabbed our suitcases from the car, and presto change-o, we changed into our dinner garb. My parents had to take my niece back home and my nephew and his girlfriend were going to ride with them. We'd have no problem finding the restaurant, because I had the address and would put it in the spiffy navigation system.

And that's when technology failed me...in a big way.

The street address was not recognized by the navigation system. No problem...I'd get directions from the Internet using my Bberry Storm. I entered the address and then (this was the first of my mistakes), second-guessed the system. It said follow Rt. 17 for n miles, and there you were. But we were going to Suffolk. And that's not the way to Suffolk.

So we followed the signs to Suffolk, went through it, and then were back in the country. No problem; I'd call the restaurant. I couldn't get through, and when I did, a message said they weren't available to take my call. My panic is mounting...it's now 6:00. My nephew was sending me text messages. I looked up the directions again and then got something that seemed to be a little more correct, but very confusing (lots of turns). My dad called wondering where the heck we were. We had gone too far, we needed to get back to Rt. 17 because that's where the restaurant was. I was incredulous since that wasn't the address. So Tom, driving like the wind and probably more than a little annoyed at me, successfully navigated us to the restaurant.

Needless to say, we both had a stiff drink (or two) and fortunately, a most excellent dinner. But we were about 20 minutes late. I can highly recommend the Vintage Tavern. If you're in the area, check it out.

We left my parents' around 2:00 the next day and arrived at the beach house around 4:00. My brother-in-law and his girlfriend provided barbecue for dinner, which was very good. And then the week at the beach was in full swing.

It's been hot down here, in the 90s, with the wind coming off the land. The flies bite in the afternoon, and the water is freezing (probably because we've had a very cool summer up to this point). There's been some knitting (but not as much as I thought there'd be), some work work (yeah, I know), and long hours of sitting on the beach, reading. I've made my way through Anne of Windy Poplars (next vacation P.E.I?), Don't Ask (a Dortmunder novel; delightfully improbable and zany), and The Secret Life of Bees, which I read from start to finish, today.

The family attendance is a bit diminished this year. Larry had to leave early to go back to work; the nieces came late and one left early; Steve arrived last night without his wife, because their son is still in the hospital, fighting off various infections after having undergone a second bone marrow transplant for aplastic anemia. That situation is a little desperate and heart-breaking (you might hear more from me on that later in the year, if he recovers).

So, tomorrow is the last day. Tom's sister and her family will be leaving tomorrow, leaving just three of us here. It's been one of the most discombobulated trips to the beach ever. But even so, a discombobulated vacation is better than a good day at work!

Happy knitting!

2009 Mule Run 100K

2009-07-19T20:46:00.001-05:00

It seems like this blog has become a running blog instead of knitting blog. Rest assured that knitting is still happening, but at a snail's pace. I just can't seem to find a way to juggle running long distances, working long hours, and doing a mediocre job of housekeeping. Tom picks up a lot of slack around here, for which I am eternally grateful!

This weekend's adventure was the 3rd Annual Mule Run 100K. This is a tiny event sponsored by the Loudoun Road Runners (there were seven runners at the start). We started at 7:00pm last night on the C&O Canal Towpath at Shepherdstown, West Virginia and finished at Carderock, Maryland this morning. The distance, despite its 100K designation, was slightly over, coming in at 62.4 miles.

We've been blessed with an unseasonably cool and not-so-humid summer and yesterday's weather was perfect. The predicted thunderstorms did not materialize and the temperature at the start was probably in the high 70s. The lows were predicted to be in the low to mid-50s, perfect running weather.

We started a little after 7:00, and our merry band of runners trotted down the tow path. Other than one of us, we are not elite athletes, so we tried to keep our pace slow (we'd be running for a really long time). However, no matter how hard I tried to slow down, the first several miles were under a 10:00 minute pace (this pace would come back to haunt me later). The first stop was at Dargan's Bend, almost 8 miles away. When we reached it, we ate some food (my preference is salted, boiled potatoes) and refilled our water bottles, if necessary. We also donned our headlamps because it would be dark by the time we reached the next aid station at Brunswick, almost 10 miles away.

By this time, the runners had somewhat spread out, with Sarah taking the lead (the next time I saw her was at the finish). Our pace had slowed somewhat, but we were again mostly running under a 10:00 minute pace, still too fast. We added more walk breaks to slow us down. With nightfall, we expected to see a lot of bats and run into a lot of spider webs (last year's runners were festooned with webs come dawn). We were also concerned about the wildlife around Harper's Ferry (last year there was a group of male revellers, which was a bit disconcerting). Fortunately, very few of the above materialized.

I might have mentioned this in a previous post, but running in the dark is a wonderful experience. You lose all sense of time, distance, and pace, and just run. It's running at its very basic. It can be a bit creepy, mostly because you don't know what's lurking in the dark.

At Brunswick, Patsy had set out tapas: prosciutto and cured sausage, tapenade, olives, and a baguette. Unfortunately, by that time, my stomach was a little unhappy, and for many miles after that, I hardly ate anything. I ate some potatoes, Pringles (the potato chip of choice for ultra running), and Coke.

And so it continued, running through night: stopping at the aid stations when we came to them. When running these distances (at least for a supported race), you run smaller distances: from aid station to aid station, and later in the race, from this tree to that tree. The overall distance can be overwhelming. It isn't until near the end that you start counting the final miles (and even that can be daunting).

As the night wore on, three of us ran together. Starting around mile 24, Pat (who is a very good runner, and fast) started flagging. At mile 33 (Dickerson Conservation Park), she threw in the towel. This is where I stopped last year (deliberately, because it was the farthest I had ever run). So after changing socks and putting on a dry shirt, Jill and I continued on.

The next couple of aid stations were each just over 4 miles apart. In addition to my stomach still not feeling right, I was beginning to get tired. But I can run 4 miles (actually, the proportion of walking to running was increasing). After the Edwards Ferry Boat Ramp station at mile 42, we'd be on our own for 8 miles. That seemed like too far. It would also bring us to the 50-mile point.

The 8 miles from Edwards Ferry to Riley's Lock were interminable and somewhat excrutiating. The good news is that I started to get hungry; the bad news is that everything began hurting. My feet hurt, my arms hurt, my legs hurt. Still, we pressed on. We were walking much more than we were running (although I suspect Jill could have done more running). There were highlights though: the waning moon hung in the sky, surrounded by stars and planets. It was beautiful. And the sunrise was outstanding, despite it being obscured by trees. And as we were approaching Riley's Lock, two Great Blue Herons flew by: gorgeous!

A flock of vultures awaited us at Riley's Lock (not a good sign, in my opinion). Patsy, Brian, and Cynthia were also there. I finally ate some potato soup that Tom made, followed by homemade coffee ice cream. My stomach was finally working again! After eating, Jill and I started moving towards our next goal, Swain's Lock, 6.2 miles away.

At this point, we started to see more people on the path. And I must say that they were decidedly unfriendly. We, who were exhausted after running 50 miles and being up for more than 24 hours, had the courtesy to say good morning to the people who were passing us. And for the most part, they didn't respond. I don't know if that was because of our proximity to Washington, DC or if they thought we looked a little out there. Bikers (and runners) would come by three abreast on the path and not move over. Very rude.

At Swain's Lock, I dumped little rocks out of my shoes, refilled my hydration pack, and we started on the final 6.2 miles to the finish. By this time, my feet really hurt, my shin started to hurt and my quads were decidedly tender. And my arms and abs and back were sore. In short, my whole self hurt. I could have easily walked the remaining miles, but Jill encouraged me to run by setting small goals: start running at the tree with sunlight on its bark, walk at that big patch of sunlight. So it continued...picking a goal and moving towards it.

At the 60 mile mark, we met Tierney who had come out to find us (we were about an hour behind everyone else). She told us the stories of the other runners who finished and helped keep us moving towards the finish. Even though we picked up the pace, those 2.4 miles seemed interminable. Tierney kept saying we'd pass a big path and then a couple of little paths before getting to our turn-off. It seemed we kept going and going and going. We finally spotted a group of people gathered a litte further up...that was our group! We're almost done. Jill and I break into run (jog?), arguing who should go first down the little single-track path. I thought it should be her; she said it should be me.

Tom is waiting at the turn, I give him a high-five and disappear down the path, with Jill close behind. We aren't too sure where the finish line is, so make straight for where our group was grilling burgers.

And then, just like that, we were done. It took us 14 hours and 59 minutes, but we completed the Mule Run.

Knitting and Spinning News
All of my knitting continues slowly. That's got to change. And even though the weather has been perfect for spinning on our porch, I haven't touched the wheel in a really embarrassing amount of time. The good news is that we'll be going to the beach soon, so there will be plenty of opportunity for me to knit! Yippee!

Have a great week!

LSD...Good!

2009-05-25T12:14:00.000-05:00

I recently started experimenting with LSD. And I'm finding out that it's really good stuff. Now, before you go and call the authorities or commit me to a drug rehab place, I need to define LSD. In my world, it's not the psychedelic drug of yore, although some people claim they've experienced hallucinations while doing it. In my world, it's...

Long Slow Distance

There's a training method where you run your long training runs at a much slower pace (to keep your heart rate low) than you ordinarily would. The idea is that over time, the slower run builds up your aerobic capacity and you'll eventually be able to run faster with less effort. I started trying this a couple of weeks ago, even though my method isn't very scientific (I just pulled a number out of the air for the heart rate I didn't want to go above). My runs this weekend seemed to be at a slightly faster pace and definitely with a lower average heart rate than runs earlier in the year (and that's with continuing running through the winter). It will be interesting to see what kind of improvement I see over the summer. And it will be interesting to see if this method of training (along with interval training) will help me reach my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. We'll see...

For now, I'm focusing on the Big Horn 50K, which is in Wyoming towards the end of June. It's in the Big Horn Mountains and should be an absolutely gorgeous run. It's also at a higher altitude than what I'm used to running, so that should be interesting. Once again, I'm not going for speed but just to finish. I've got 11 hours to go 31 miles.

Shower of Love Blanket
Tensleep left a comment on my post about the Shower of Love blanket, wondering if I had problems with row 12. Given that I finished the blanket almost three years ago, I really can't remember if I had problems with row 12. However, after reviewing the instructions, I most likely had problems with row 12 and all the subsequent rows. I'm notoriously bad at reading instructions carefully and can't count my way out of a paper bag.

Tensleep, to figure out where you are tripping up, work through the instructions stitch by stitch (after you realize you didn't get the 195 stitches). It's tedious, but most likely you'll discover that you missed a YO or two, or forgot to decrease, or forgot to increase when the increase is not a YO. Feel free to email me at TLHSimondsATverizonDOTnet if you would like more help.

Current Knitting
The current knitting is progressing slower than I run. I'm working on another baby blanket, and am very pleased with the way it is turning out. I've also got a couple of pairs of socks on the needles, both of which are making very little progress. A number of factors conspire against me: a trip to Jamaica (I actually did make some progress on the blanket while I was there), not getting home from work most evenings until after 8:00 and not finishing dinner until after 9:00 (thank goodness for a husband who cooks, otherwise we wouldn't eat until 10:00!), long runs on weekends followed by dust buffalo wrangling, working at a couple of 100-mile races, which pretty much shoots the entire weekend (either because I'm helping runners or else too tired to knit from pulling an all-nighter).

I'm hoping to squeeze in some knitting time today, after I do the dishes and empty the fetid water in the bottom of the dishwasher (which refuses to drain). Given that it's now 2:00 in the afternoon, it's not looking good. Sigh...

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and managed to squeeze in some knitting time.

P.S. Nicole, there are plenty of 10Ks in this area. Visit the Washington Running Report website and take a look at their calendar: http://www.runwashington.com/archive0209/calendar/smu.html. The Leesburg 10K is in August and is a pretty good race, running out and back on the W&OD bike path.

Tomorrow's the Big Day...

2009-03-27T08:42:00.000-05:00

Today is a welcome day off work, although it's not going to be all that restful. I've got plenty of errands to run and packing to do, for tomorrow is the running of the Bel Monte 50K, a very hilly, rocky 31.45 miles. While the weather today is looking pretty good (it rained yesterday), tomorrow's forecast is for a 70% chance of rain, with rainfall totals between a half and three-quarters of an inch. It looks like it could be deja vu all over again.

I've got nine hours to finish the course, and I don't feel like I've done nearly enough trail running this winter. I've run a slightly easy section of the Appalachian Trail a couple of times, and then a difficult 12-mile section that liked to near kilt me. Add to that I'm feeling stiff and creaky, and it's anybody's guess as to how well I'm going to do. I do know one thing and that is unless I seriously injure myself, I will finish! I might have to crawl across the finish line, but I will cross it!

Knitting News
Despite the lack of blog activity of late (Sheepish Annie's blog lets me know just how much of a slacker I've been), I have been knitting. There's a bit of a tricky sock in progress (very slow), some baby booties and a baby hat in progress, and I just received some yarn in some bright, luscious colors for a small blanket. I'll try to take some pictures this Sunday and post them (I doubt I'll be able to do much else). I still owe the blog pictures of my not-so-recently completed pairs of socks.

That's it for now...gotta finish getting ready for tomorrow!

Time Flies...

2009-02-21T12:41:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah...I know. It's been a very long time since I've posted. I thought that I'd have more time after running the JFK50 but silly me went and signed up for the Bel Monte 50K which is at the end of March. So other than about a month or so of low mileage, I'm back to running long on weekends. It also doesn't help that I've been extremely busy at work so the last thing I want to do when I get home is to get back on the computer. I figure 10-12 hours a day at the computer is plenty. Tom also convinced me to join Facebook, so there's another time suck when I am at the computer. Sheesh!

Anyway, I'm still knitting. I'm just knitting excruciatingly slowly. The current project is the Cloning Anemone socks from the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club. The colors in the yarn are gorgeous and remind me of the colors on a coral reef (Tina was actually inspired by tidal pools). There are so many colors in this yarn: yellow-green, brown, blue, purple. It keeps the knitting interesting. When I knitting the earth tones, I imagine walking along a rocky shoreline. When I get to the blues and purples, I'm watching the ever-changing color of the water as the sun hits it. I can almost hear the waves crash on the shore. (Okay, that last bit might be somewhat of an exaggeration. But not much.)

The knitting is slow because there are two rows where the stitches cross. Since the yarn is thin, I'm working without a cable needle. It's tricky and I'm terrified that I'm going to drop a stitch and not be able to recover it. At the rate I'm going, I suspect it will take me close to a year to knit one sock.

The Joy of Trail Running
Our long run last weekend was on the Appalachian Trail, going from Bear's Den south to Morgan's Mill, about a 13-mile round trip. However, those 13 miles are incredibly difficult. That section of trail is very rocky and tends to be steep (my little GPS thingy recorded over 5400 feet of ascent. Imagine our surprise as we were driving to the run to see snow. We didn't get any snow at home, although it did look like it had rained a little bit. The snow didn't make the running any easier (fortunately, the ground was frozen, otherwise it would have been quite muddy), but it did make it more enjoyable. The leaves on the laurels were capped in white. There were places where the sun hit the trail just right, causing the snow crystals to act like prisms. We were running on flecks of rainbows.

Those moments of beauty transcend the really low points: the crushing fatigue on the return trip, the despair upon realizing that in six weeks you have to run more than twice the distance on similar terrain, and the embarrassment of tripping on a perfectly flat, rock-free section of trail and eating dirt. But even that is preferable to running on the road with cars whizzing by.

I'll be running 19 miles tomorrow (on the road, not on the AT). With any luck, we'll be running in snow. And with more luck, it won't be windy.

Once again, winter has been a big disappointment with very little snow, although we certainly seem to have our share of cold weather (lots of morning temperatures in the teens) and wind. Now that the days are getting longer, I'm ready for winter to just take a hike. I don't even care about getting snow anymore. I just want warmer, sunny weather.

That's it for now...this post is sort of disjointed (kind of like Sheepish Annie'sWednesday Night Bullet Points, except that it's not Wednesday and there are no bullet points!

Starting Off on the Right Foot

2009-01-03T21:07:00.001-05:00

Or maybe the left foot. I actually can't remember what foot I started the year on. But suffice it to say that 2009 started well (yeah, I know, it's already the 3rd day of year...).

After a night of ~~debauchery~~ fine dining on New Year's Eve, I ran the Rotary Resolution 10K the next day. My best 10K time was 1:04:00 and it would be interesting to see how much I improved over the last year. Despite feeling a bit punky, I acquitted myself well, finishing in 53:30, placing 5th in my age group and finishing 165th out of 489.

I went to work on Friday. 'Nuff said.

Today was spent running (11.5 miles) and trying to get all of my address book information on the Blackberry. That meant reconciling my Palm, old Verizon phone, and Outlook. It took almost all day. So now I have more contacts than are really necessary on the Blackberry, but I can at least call people now. Or see who is calling me (on the rare occasion that I actually get a phone call on my cell phone). My mother called on New Year's day and I had no idea who was calling me. Very sad...

I managed to get a little bit of knitting done on New Year's day, in a vain attempt to make progress on Tom's sock. I've reconsidered the wisdom of my next project as well and now think that I'll make a pair of jogger's mittens, as described by Elizabeth Zimmerman in Knitting Around. They are thumb-less and curl around the fingers and look so cozy. I've been wearing a pair of really ugly, machine-knit wool mittens which do an admirable job of keeping my hands warm (sometimes too much so) on cold winter runs, even when my hands are wet. I think a pair knit out of Manos would be just the thing, don't you?

Tomorrow promises to present even less of a chance to knit (or spin). We're going to do an 8-mile run on the Appalachian Trail (it was going to be a hard 14-mile section dubbed "the Rollercoaster," but we reconsidered that after our hill-ridden run today), followed by housecleaning, grocery shopping, dinner preparation, and yoga class.

Perhaps I'll find some post-dinner knitting time.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:22:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that 2008 is gone. It went by so fast! So what was 2008 all about?

Knitting
I managed to finish several pairs of socks for me and Tom, as well as at least one very old UFO (which technically isn't really finished because I still have to weave in the ends and block it). While not the most productive of knitting years, it was still good. I attempted some lace, which I really enjoyed, although I need to be in a place where there is no distraction. I haven't been able to quite get in the groove, though, for non-distracted knitting. There's something about having a kitten around...

Knitting goals for 2009: Knit more socks, finish a couple more UFOs, and try to knit a sweater.

Spinning
It was a very slow year for spinning. In fact, I might not have touched the wheel at all.

Spinning goals for 2009: Spin more, preferably finishing two of the packages from the first Wooly Wonka exotic fibers club. Now that the screened porch is complete, I'll have a nice place to spin in the spring and summer.

Running
It was an amazing year running-wise. It started off slow (I was still in a hypothyroid/low iron/vitamin D deficient state). But my running really took off in the spring and I never looked back. The first several months were spent running slow (12+ minutes/mile) and short (maybe four or five miles, max). Gradually, my pace and distance increased. I met my goal of running the JFK 50 Mile. All told, I logged 1015.98 miles in 2008 and watched my pace drop to about 8:30 (for short runs).

Running goals for 2009: Run more ultra marathons (a 50K is already on the schedule for the end of March), and qualify for the Boston Marathon (I need to run a 4:05 marathon, a 9:22 pace or something like it).

I learned a lot in 2008, especially about breaking perceptions about myself. I'm finally beginning to think that maybe I'm a runner. Turning 50 doesn't mean that you're over the hill. I'm in the best shape ever...even when I was doing a lot of caving and rock climbing in my late 20s and early 30s, I didn't come close to having the cardiovascular fitness or stamina that I have now. It's an amazing metamorphosis.

I also learned that having one of these is really kind of cool (it was a gift from Tom for Christmas). I'm particularly enamored of the music function. How did I ever live without an MP3 player?! To date, I've loaded 53 albums and still have 5GB left. And I can listen to my music anywhere! I haven't even begun to explore the power of the Storm.

What goals have you set for 2009?

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

Here chez Knitting Libran we've just finished our annual Christmas Eve dinner and are preparing for the big day tomorrow. The haul is going to be slightly smaller than usual, given the economy and all, and the fact that neither of us feel secure in our jobs (but that's life in the software world, eh?). I still have to wrap presents and am considering the most expedient way. Would be presenting the gift in a grocery bag be too gauche? Yeah, I thought so. Sigh...

So, dinner tonight was a spiced roast pork, potato zucchini pancake, and a panettone bread pudding, courtesy of Giada de Laurentis and the Food Network. Unfortunately, I overcooked the pork (but the recipe is delicious). The potato pancake was an abject failure (but has potential with a couple of modifications), and the bread pudding was divine (but isn't that the way it always is with dessert?). Tom opened our bottle of 2005 Bogle Phantom, which was very tasty and complimented everything nicely, including dessert.

We're going to do a Christmas Day run tomorrow morning, open our presents to each other, and then drive down to my parents' house to continue the celebration. Then on Saturday, we're going up to visit Tom's mom and with any luck, most of the famiily will be there. It's going to be a busy weekend.

Running News
I've officially hit the 1000 mile mark for the year. Woo hoo! Somehow I still don't think of myself as a "runner." Although I guess if I'm running ultra marathons and logging that kind of mileage for the year, I really am a runner. I've set my goals for next year. They include a couple of 50Ks, maybe another 50-miler, and qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I think the last goal is going to be a stretch. I'm at the point where running that pace for five or six miles is somewhat comfortable, but don't know if I can keep it up for 26.2. We'll see...

Knitting and Spinning News
I'm still knitting, although I've pared my projects down to only one at a time, which is another pair of socks for Tom. The Tibetan socks are done, as are the Gumdrop socks (but I think I might have told you that). I'll eventually post pictures.

I've got a special, non-sock project in mind for the winter. It's a cardigan-like thing designed by Jane Slicer-Smith. It seems simple enough, but I'm suspicious. And I'm beginning to question my color choices. Oh well...live and learn.

And can you believe it? There has been absolutely no spinning! It's shocking, I tell you, shocking! I love to spin, but between work, running, housework, and knitting, there's precious little time (that's also why this blog is so infrequently updated). One of my resolutions for 2009 is to try to spin 10 minutes every day (and practice yoga, and meditate, and...).

Happy Holidays!

JFK 50 Mile--Done!

2008-11-23T22:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the day...the day that the JFK 50 Mile race took place, auspiciously on the actual anniversary of JFK's assasination. This is the race that I've been training for over the last 11 months. Months of running four days a week, with the speed gradually getting faster and the distance longer. I picked up trail running as well. And yesterday all the months of training paid off (sort of).

Tom and I drove up to Hagerstown Friday afternoon to pick up our race packets, grab an early dinner (and a couple of beers for Tom; I stuck to club soda with lime), and an early bedtime (before 7 p.m.!). We set the alarms for 3 a.m., since my starting time was 5:00. And that came too fast, let me tell you.

After getting up, taking a quick shower, and eating a sweet potato with maple syrup, we headed to Boonsboro High School for the pre-race briefing. At 4:35, the race director herded us to downtown Boonsboro to the starting line. The temperature on the local bank sign read 19 (it could have been much worse; the forecast the day before was for lower morning temperatures and one to two inches of snow on the ground). It was brisk, let me tell you, despite the three shirts, light jacket, singlet with the race number on it, neck gaiter, ear band, glove liners, and wool mitten (not hand knit), and running shorts covered by long running pants (I'm such a fashion icon).

At 5:00 sharp the gun went off and the adventure started. We ran up (literally) to Old South Mountain Inn, where we picked up the Appalachian Trail. It was a little difficult to run the trail in the dark (rocks and roots hiding under leaves), but I ran where I could. I walked the steep sections and ran where I could until the sun came up (it was a beautful sunrise, by the way) and then ran as much as I could. I was feeling great, my footing was sure and light, and I was having a great time. I made it to the Gathland aid station (mile 9.2) in just over 2 hours. Marcia (my crew) was there, and I grabbed some potatoes and headed out. The second section of the trail went well as well and when I came into Weverton, someone said there was only one other woman ahead of me. Wow! Second place woman...that's something that I never see.

After Weverton (and changing shoes and socks and removing a shirt), the course picks up the C&O Canal towpath and follows it for about 26.2 miles. Even though the towpath is a flat, soft surface, I found this section to be the most difficult section to run. It's repetitive and I couldn't quite get into the running groove. I was still moving well, but after some time of running by myself, I started to lose energy (I suspect that I wasn't drinking enough; it was also still pretty cold). At some point, I lost my temporary running buddies and was running solo. Bad news...there wasn't anyone to push me, so I started walking more and more. At some point, Marcia said that Mike M. had called. I asked how he was doing and she said he was at home, having coffee. Ah well... At the next aid station, Marcia said that Mike would run with me starting at Antietam. I was a little confused, because I thought she was refering to Mike C., who was supposed to be running with Tom. So I was pleasantly surprised when Mike M. pops up at Antietam and starts running with me. It was so nice to have company and he kept me going, making sure that I was drinking enough and taking in enough electrolytes (I was still sweating even though it was freakin' freezing).

At some point, Sarah passed us, wearing her kneepads on her arms and legs (she's afraid of falling on the trail) and saying that she felt horrible. We blinked, and she was gone (almost literally; she was moving fast, despite having run a marathon the previous weekend). Mike and I kept plodding along. Aid station to station. Relentless forward progress (although it was slow relentless forward progress). At long last, the towpath ended and we got on the road (at mile 41.8, I think).

At that point, I kind of knew I had it in the bag (sort of, barring something disastrous happening, like getting hit by a car). There were signs counting down the miles. 8, 7, 6, 5...and at each one, Mike would say "There's less than n miles to go." Or "This is the length of our weekday runs." At the bend in the road (44.2 miles?), Tom caught up with me. He wasn't having a good day, but it was nice to see him. Jill snapped a picture of us (my smile looked more like a grimace) and we pushed onward.

The sun was beginning to go down and it was a bit breezy. I was so very cold. Those little handwarmer packets did wonders but they weren't enough to warm me up. I kept plodding along, mostly walking because at this time, my right leg was not working so well. Every so often, there'd be a shooting pain in my groin and my leg would feel like it wanted give out. We'd jog a little bit, my knee would hurt, and I'd walk. I stretched when it got too bad, which helped some, but not enough. I looked longingly at the houses we passed, thinking that the inhabitants were warm, having a hot dinner, with a warm bed awaiting them. I wondered if I could run while sleeping (I actually tried running with my eyes closed on the towpath; it didn't work so well).

Then the mile markers read 4, then 3, then 2, then 1. I think I might have run the last half mile to the finish line. Mike ran ahead to let the others know that I was coming in. As I approached the finish chute, people were yelling "Go, Teri!" One woman jumped in and ran beside me. I recognized her face and voice and it finally dawned on me that it was Christy. Then I was in the chute and across the line. One woman put the medal around my neck, someone pulled the name information off the race bib, and another woman took my number.

And it was over. I walked away, found Tom, and fell into his arms, totally exhausted and freezing. I think I sobbed a bit.

Eleven months of training and in 12 hours, 22 minutes, and 18 seconds, it was all over. I accomplished my goal of running 50 miles in my 50th year. I couldn't have done it without the support of Tom, my family, and everyone in the running club. They encouraged me, believed in me, and made me believe in myself.

It's been an incredible journey. Thanks to everyone who made it possible. I love you all.

Hobnobbing with Politicians

2008-10-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

Now I'm not someone who typically hangs around with politicians. I usually try to stay away. But for some reason, I'm totally engaged with politics this election season. Note that I'm also ready for it to be totally over (two years is a bit too mouch). But when I found out yesterday that one of the presidential candidates was holding a rally less than a mile from my house, I just had to go. I've never attended a political rally and it doesn't get much better than being able to walk to it.

The "gates" opened at 3:00 and the speechifyin' was supposed to start at 5:30. Tom and I walked down to the eventat 3:00 and spent the next hour and a half standing in line. There were a lot of people there (traffic started picking up in town around 1:00). I made two large tactical errors: I didn't bring any knitting and I didn't have any snacks.

So we waited and waited and eventually the line began snaking towards the security area. Before too long (relatively speaking) we were in. Surprisingly enough, we found several people we knew. The speechifyin' started right on time. One of the candidates for Senate talked, then the governor of our fair state, and finally the candidate himself.

What can I say? He made the usual stump speech, appropriately substituting "Virginians" for "Ohioans" or "Floridians." He talked about taxes, the economy, health insurance, and a little bit about foreign policy. The crowd was appreciative, but not nearly as fired up as I thought they'd be. But then again, given that both Tom and I go out of our way to avoid crowds, we positioned ourselves far away from where the action was happening.

The people were interesting to watch and everyone seemed to be happy and open to possibilities (unlike some of what I've read about the opponent's rallies). I did take pictures, but the candidate is just a little tiny spot. As the rally went on, it became more and more difficult to take pictures; my fingers were so numb with the cold (hmmm...if my candidate loses, maybe Canada is not the best country to which to flee).

Was I galvanized to action? No. I think I'm too much of a cynic. Was my choice reinforced? Yes; the candidate didn't do or say anything that I thought was reprehensible (not exactly a ringing endorsement but nonetheless I think he stands head and shoulders above his opponent). Will I vote on November 4th? Absolutely.

After the rally was over, we walked back home. It was kind of cool to see thousands of people walking down the middle of the street, chanting the candidate's name. It was particularly cool because that end of the street has pretty much declared for the opposition. And even more cool, the candidate's motorcade drove right by my house a little later! So, if said candidate is elected, I've got pictures of him before he was president and I can say he drove by my house.

That and $3.50 will get me a latte.

No matter what, be sure you vote on November 4. Even if you are voting for the opponent.

(This is not a paid political ad.)

P.S. It's a very good thing I decided to work from home today. Our street (which is a main thoroughfare through town) was gridlocked in both directions until about 8:00 this evening. I would have been so angry not to have been able to get to my house.

Whew!

2008-10-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

Wow...once again it's been ages since I've updated this blog. A lot has been going on. I've written blog entries in my head (and let me tell you, they were brilliant!) but I never had a computer available. Ah well...

So...I've been running and knitting (I needed something to do during the presidential debates). These are both very good things.

At the end of September, I ran the Great Eastern Endurance Run 50K. Actually, it was 50K plus 1.5 miles, with 8,800 feet of elevation gain. I was a bit worried going into this run. How would I do? Will my fueling strategy work? Will I finish? Will I survive?

I finished, and believe it or not, I had a blast, which surprised me, given that two out of three of the marathons I've run weren't a lot of fun. Race day started early (the alarm went off at 3:30 a.m.) and at 4:00, I was staring out the hotel window watching the rain come down in buckets. This was not the way I wanted to run my first ultra marathon and I added an hour to my projected finish time (fortunately, by the time the race started, the rain had dwindled to a mere drizzle). At 6:00 a.m., the figurative gun went off and approximately 200 runners (for the 50K and 100K) started their journey through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I ran the first seven miles with another runner from our running club, but she left me at the first aid station (she's fast). The first section is allegedly the most technical part of the run (by "technical," they mean "very rocky" and "steep") and it wasn't long after we turned off the road onto the Blue Loop Trail that we started walking. (It was steep. And dark.) We turned onto the Torrey Ridge Trail and the trail leveled off. It also was much more rocky. This is the very same trail where I fell during a training run in June, incurring a bruise the size of a grapefruit (I still have the scar). Fortunately, I managed to stay upright and made it to the first aid station without incident. I ditched the headlamp, changed to a short-sleeve shirt, ate some boiled potatoes and continued on. The next section of trail was gorgeous, and took us past a waterfall (and through a stream). My foot slipped on a rock on a downhill section, but I managed to stay upright (if I hadn't, I would have fallen backwards onto a rock, which would have been very bad).

The second aid station presaged the start of a section that I knew would be very difficult psychologically. This section of the race included 2.5 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, followed by 4.5 miles down a gravel road. And by down, I mean down. Four and a half miles downhill. That's some good running. The problem is that you have to turn around and come back up the selfsame hill and run the same section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fortunately, I met Bob early during that section and we ran together (along with Dolores) for the rest of race. I had company and someone to pull me along. And that made all the difference in the world.

We quickly passed through the third aid station (where I ate more boiled potatoes) and headed back up the falls trail to Slacks Overlook (also known as Camp Marty, which was the first aid station). After ingesting more boiled potatoes, we started up to Bald Mountain Summit. This section of trail runs a close second to being as technical as the first section. At one point, we came to what looked like a rock fall. It was brutal. We eventually made it up to the Bald Mountain Summit aid station (25.4 miles), where I ate (you guessed it) boiled potatoes (are you beginning to detect a theme here?). This time I added a side of chicken soup (Campbell's soup never tasted so good!). We turned around and headed back the way we came and back to Slacks, where the heavens opened up and graced us with rain. At this point I knew that I would finish and I would finish well. According to the nice folks at the aid station, it was only three or so miles to the finish. They were wrong. It was more like 4.8 miles. We ran and walked and walked and ran and finally we reached the road, which wound down to the finish area. Finally we were in the finish chute and Bob, Dolores, and I crossed the finish line in 8:01:41, well within my original estimated time.

Tom also ran and finished in 6:45 and was 25th overall. Two of the women from our running club placed first in their respective age groups. And the club's lone competitor in the 100K placed first overall, setting a new course record.

It was an amazing day. I did something that I never thought I would do. I ran well and ran strong (relatively speaking). And more importantly, I had fun. And it doesn't get much better than that.

Other Happenings
Last week was an interesting week. I celebrated a milestone birthday (I can no longer claim to be forty-something). I was just about to post a rather philosophical entry about reaching a half-century when a close friend sent me a text message telling me that her sister was just diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer (it's rather ironic that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month). My intended post at the point seemed too frivolous. I know too many people who have either had breast cancer or who have been touched with it in some way.

Knitting News
I finally finished the Gumdrop socks (but not in time for GEER). They turned out well. The stitch pattern (combined with the hours that I spend on the computer at work) was a little rough on my wrists. The Socks That Rock yarn was a dream to knit with. And the socks are a pleasure to wear. They are warm and soft. Yummy!

I spent this weekend at the Hunt Country Yarns PJ Party. The weekend started Friday afternoon with everyone gathering to knit through the afternoon and evening. The room was buzzing with speculation as to who the guest speaker would be. Alas, Bob and his wife Valerie refused to cave despite the sliest of questions. We'd just have to wait until Saturday morning to find out.

I walked into the breakfast room Saturday morning and there he was: Barry Klein of Trendsetter Yarns. The rest of the day was spent swatching a variety of Trendsetter yarns. Barry showed us how to use stitch patterns and color for dramatic effect. It was a blast, although quite a few knitters found the process to be rather intense. Fortunately, the 35 pounds of chocolate (for 40 people) that Bob provided helped take the edge off. The day closed with Bob giving away a variety of door prizes.

I took a variety of projects with me: a shawl that I started several years ago, a more recent shawl, as well as three sock projects. I wasn't very organized with my packing and forgot the Monkey sock pattern, couldn't find the stitch counts for the socks that I wanted to make for Tom and didn't have the correct needle size for my socks. That meant that I could concentrate on the old shawl. I'm happy to say that I've finished all but three rows, which I hope to finish this evening.

Next Up
What's next? More running, of course. The JFK 50 Miler is just over a month away. I've got a couple of more long runs and then it's time. Fortunately the course is much easier than GEER, but it's 17.5 miles longer. It's been said that your body will go the distance that you need it it to. I'm hoping that will be the case. But when you come right down to it, it's just a long day in the woods with friends.

I've got another pair of socks in mind for post-JFK, but I'm not optimistic. I suspect that the Gumdrop socks will end up on my feet instead. And my feet will be very, very happy (especially when they stop running).

That's it for now. Until next time!

Doing What You Can With What You've Got

2008-09-14T20:24:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. Time flies when you spend all of your waking moments running, working, and knitting. I can't even remember what's transpired in the last month.

Let's see...oh, yeah...the Ravelympics. Results? I failed miserably, not even completing one sock of a pair. If I participate in this type of event again, I'm going for half a pair of something. Given the time that I don't have for knitting, I think that's fair.

That said, one Gumdrop sock is complete and I've only got one or two more pattern repeats before I finish the leg on the second one. And you know what? Garter stitch short row heels and toes are very cool. Why? No pesky wraps to pick up! I'm really enjoying knitting with Socks that Rock (yes, this is my first time) and I love the one finished sock. I need to hurry up and finish the second sock because GEER is only two weeks away. Yikes!

Sometime this year, and actually rather accidently, I started running fast. Well, I'm not that fast, but I sped up quite a bit on shorter runs (5-9 miles) and on good days consistently run a sub-9 minute per mile pace. So I was very interested in seeing what I could do at the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club Women's Trail Half Marathon. It was my first trail race as well as my first race since the spring. The race started at 8:30 and by then, the temperature was well into the 70s with about 80 bazillion percent humidity (I exaggerate, but not by much). Those two factors did not bode well for running fast.

After a rousing rendition of "Happy Trails" by the men of the VHTRC, we were off. The first seven miles or so of trail has some nice downhills with some gradual uphills and then it gets interesting because the trail winds its way through some very steep (but thankfully short) ravines. We then head back towards the start area and off into the woods again, where the trail is a bit wider and the hills not so steep. They are, however, more sustained.

I let my enthusiasm get the better of me and I ran the first part of the race a little too fast. I slowed down a little bit on the second half, mostly due to the siren call of potato chips at one of the aid stations. Yum! I was definitely flagging on the way to the finish (note to self: don't eat so many potato chips) but finished well, at 2:25:09. I didn't set a personal record, but I wasn't that far off, only by about three minutes on a more difficult course on a hot, humid day. I placed 7th in my age group and 60th overall, which is pretty exiting (I'm usually closer to the bottom). I'm pleased.

GEER, though, has me worried. It's 32.5 miles and it's very hilly and very rocky and probably not the best choice for a first ultra marathon. I have to keep reminding myself that I'll do the best I can that day, no matter how long it takes me. There's an article in the current issue of Ultra Running magazine written by a runner who did not finish running the Hardrock 100. He said "I had done what I could with what I had to work with..." He completed 85 miles before dropping (out of the race, that is; not literally dropping).

And that certainly puts things in perspective...with running, with work, with knitting, with life. You do what you can with what you've got and you learn from the experience. GEER is going to be a preview of sorts for the JFK 50 Mile race, although in some ways it will be harder (especially if it's hot and humid). It's going to test the limits of my endurance (can I really navigate 8800 feet of elevation gain without dying?) and will let me know if I've trained enough. It will show me how well I'm fueling and hydrating (or not) for very long runs. And at the end, I'll have had a very long day in the woods with my friends. And you know, it doesn't get much better than that.

Well, now, this post certainly took a rather introspect turn. And speaking of turning, it's about that time when I turn into a pumpkin.

Happy trails to you!

It's All Good in the 'Hood

2008-08-10T16:15:00.000-05:00

It's been a rather fun week, one that was filled with surprises. Where to start?

Last week, Susan from Y2Knit sent me an email asking if I would like to do a podcast for their ECOnnection program. How cool is that? Today was the day for the interview and it should be up on the ECOnnection blog in about a month or so. I just hope I don't sound too dorky.

Then, on Friday I received an email from Sheri at The Loopy Ewe letting me know that I was one of the lucky winners of her most recent contest. And lucky I am! The prize package includes one skein of Wollmeise, one skein of yarn from another one of their indie dyers, one Loopy Red Canvas Sock Bag, one sock pattern, and a Loopy Ewe pin. I've heard such good things about Wollmeise yarn, as well as the yarn from the indies. I can't wait to receive my prize package and dive into it!

But the diving has to wait because I'm furiously knitting away on the Gumdrop socks for the sockput event in the Ravelympics. I managed to cast on during the opening ceremonies (Beijing time, no less), only to have it be a false start. Even though I counted 70 stitches in the cast on a couple of times, I found that there were only 68 when I completed rnd 1. I managed to get it right the second time. I've finished the first repeat of the gumdrop transition pattern (16 rows) and need to repeat that at least one more time. The pattern isn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but it does require a bit ofconcentration. The sock looks pretty good at this point and I love the Socks That Rock yarn. Very smooth and smooshy. If I can finish them, they'll be perfect socks for wearing after my ultra marathon next month.

Speaking of which, my training is still going well. I completed a 14-mile run on the Appalachian Trail today. It was very challenging. The section of trail that we ran is known as The Roller Coaster; there were lots of steep hills and switchbacks. Add to that lots of rocks and tree roots. Ooof! Which is exactly what I said (okay, well maybe not exactly) when I tripped and became one with the trail. My elbow is nicely scraped and I managed to scrape my ribs as well. This damage is not as bad as the last fall I took, which left me with a lump the size of a grapefruit on my quad and bruised from hip to knee. That was about a month ago and I'm still sporting the bruise!

I think part of what made this run so hard was that I didn't take enough water with me. I had one 20-oz. bottle and figured that it was only 14 miles. I didn't count on those miles being as difficult as they were or the run taking four hours to complete. I'm definitely going to have to improve my hydration and fueling, especially if I want to finish the GEER 50K in somewhat good shape. The run today is making me question the wisdom of upgrading from the half marathon to the 50K. Perhaps I bit off more that I can chew. Ah, well...isn't that what mid-life crises are for?

That's all for now! Happy knitting!

What Was I Thinking?!

2008-08-02T19:01:00.001-05:00

Now I've gone and done it. You'd think that I'd have learned from past experience, but nooooooo. I let myself get caught up in the heat of the moment and didn't think about the consequences of my actions. But now I'm committed and there's nothing left to do but train and do the best I can.

And no, I'm not talking about signing up to run a 100-mile race. That would be sheer stupidity at this point.

I'm talking about the Ravelympics. What with work and running and stuff, it's been months since I've logged on to Ravelry. I finally logged on today and saw the announcement about the Ravelympics. "Gee, that sounds like a lot of fun," thought I. "And I know just what I want to knit! It will be a stretch, but if I work really hard, I should be able to finish the project in 17 days."

Hahahahahahaha! I crack myself up. When I participated in the Knitting Olympics a couple of years ago, I managed to finish only one Norwegian mitten. Of course, I had never knit a Norwegian mitten before and I don't think I had ever done any stranded colorwork. Clearly I hadn't trained well for the event.

So what in the world made me think that I could complete a pair of socks in 17 days? Especially socks that have a 9-page pattern (and two charts). Even a pair of simple stockinette socks take me months to finish. Add to that the need to continue running long on weekends (that easily shoots half a day) and a major upgrade project at work that has me working long hours. And the fact that I don't do well on knitalongs (although this isn't technically a knitalong, but it's the same concept).

I suppose I could withdraw, citing dopiness. But I'm rather enamored of the sock pattern I chose (Gumdrop Socks, from the most recent Rockin' Sock Club offering) and will forge ahead. To save time, I will ~~train~~ swatch, at least so I have an understanding of the stitch pattern. There's a slight problem, though. I promised myself that before I started knitting this pattern, I needed to finish the Monkey socks. And I'm closing in on that goal, even though I didn't get that much knitting done while we were at the beach. However, I cranked through a great deal of the second sock on the drive home today and have only the foot and toe left. I'm hoping that will go rather quickly. Perhaps I'll have another FO by the end of tomorrow!

If you'll excuse me now, I have a date with a monkey...

Finishing

2008-07-27T19:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the 2nd Annual Mule Run, in which a few intrepid runners from our running club run through the night in an attempt to cover 100 kilometers (62.4 miles). This year the run started on the C&O Canal towpath at 7:00 pm in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and continued through the wee hours of morning, ending in Carderock, Maryland sometime mid-morning today. There were 12 runners, plus various people who were willing to give up their sleep to make sure the runners were appropriately watered, fed, and otherwise taken care of. Of the 12 who started, only three finished. To be fair, not all those who started intended to complete the entire distance.

Tom started with the intent go as far as he could. He started out running strong, and continued to run strong all night long. When he came into the aid station at the Edward's Ferry Boat Ramp (at mile 50), he was convinced that our illustrious club president was gaining on him ("I turned around and saw him. He has a blue shirt on."), despite the fact that we told him that Mike was about an hour behind him. Tom was in and out of that aid station quicker than you can say "Jack's a doughnut" and finished the run (which at that point became a race for him) in 13:55.

I ran as well, although I knew that I wasn't up for the full distance. My longest runs have been 22 and 23 miles and I felt that I needed more runs at that distance before attempting something as intense as a 100K. I decided to run to the third aid station, which was 24.6 miles (my training goal is to be able to run 20 miles without feeling totally wiped out). My running partner for the evening wasn't feeling well (and neither was I; the salmon we had for dinner was sitting like a lump in my stomach) so our pace was rather slow. The second leg of the run was about 10 miles and we walked most of it. Kim dropped out after that, so another club member and I continued to Point of Rocks, where I was planning to stop. That would have given me 24.6 miles, the longest distance to date and almost a marathon distance.

I didn't stop, though. I was still feeling pretty good, although a bit tired, and was pretty easily talked into going the next aid stop, about 8 miles away. The problem was that I was now running with two of the fastest women in club. As we headed out, I told them we need to go slow. They agreed, and off we went.

The running could best be described as annoying. The area had been hit with a bad thunderstorm earlier in the evening and the trail was littered with branches (which looked like snakes) and puddles abounded. We would run for 20 yards or so, then have to dodge a puddle. Sometimes the puddle didn't look like a puddle and then we'd run through it, getting our feet wet and shoes muddy (wet feet on a long run are not good). There were a lot of bats out and they were swooping around our heads, catching dinner. The spiders were busy spinning fine cobwebs, which we would run through (fortunately, no spiders were attached). I hate feeling cobwebs on me! When we got a little closer to the aid station, we ran into two of the crew members who came out to run with us the last couple of miles, which seemed to take forever. After we got to the aid station, the crew members said that we kept up a blistering pace, but felt that they couldn't really ask us to slow down. The pace wasn't all that fast, just under a 12 minute mile. However, when you are running in the dark and are tired, it feels much faster!

So, I set out to run 24.6 miles and finished running 33 miles in 7:19, exceeding my goal. My legs aren't that sore (it was a flat course), which means that I've met my goal of being able to go out and run a very long distance and not feel like my legs are trashed. I'm extremely tired, but then that's what happens when the cats get you up at 5:30 in morning and you don't go to bed until 12:30 in the afternoon the next day.

Who knows? Next year I might try to run the 100K!

Knitting Progress
In other finishing news, I have one and a half FOs!

The Tibetan socks, they are done. And, believe it or not, one of the Monkey socks is also done! I was going to post pictures, but I'm too tired to find the camera, set up the shots, take the pictures, download to the laptop, then upload to Blogger (there's got to be an easier way).

There will be plenty of time for knitting next week, since we'll be at the beach with Tom's family. I'm going to rip back the Too Many Choices top and start it over, try to figure out what I did wrong on the easy shawl I'm working on, hopefully finish the second Monkey sock, and possibly start the most recent sock from the Rockin' Sock Club.

That's all for now. It's starting to get dark, which means it's time for bed (even though it's not even 9:00 yet).

Ciao for now!

C-K Integration RC2*

2008-07-06T19:11:00.000-05:00

With the successful implementation of C-K Integration RC1 (essentially the installation phase), it was time to start working on C-K Integration RC2, the actual integration phase. Fortunately, the design and development phase went well and when C-K Integration RC2 moved into the test phase, no major problems were found. As with all new development, there were problems when the two components did not play nice, as we say. The software is self-correcting, though, and as issues arrive, the components seem to be able to fix the problems without much developer intervention.

I'm rather pleased with the way the two felines are getting along. After hearing horror stories about the incoming cat having to be sequestered for weeks and weeks, I was prepared for the worst. We kept him totally sequestered for several days, then put a piece of lattice in the door to his room, so he could see out and Emma could see in. We also let him out of his room for brief periods. Emma was very curious, but wary, about this new critter in the house. Initially she'd growl and hiss at him, but over the last week, the growling and hissing has diminished somewhat.

He (I should probably call him by his name, right?) is a playful little boy. He can play for hours without stopping and then all of sudden he goes to sleep. He likes all of his toys but I think his most favorite toy is Emma. He pounces on her and tries to catch her tail and chases her. She'll play with him, but when she's had enough, she lets him know. She'll growl and smack him on top the head--bapbapbap! He has learned enough to sort of back down when she raises her paw. However, Emma is not the dominant cat. She has lost all of her favorite sleeping places to the little boy. That's very sad.

Despite the occasional spats, they get along well. I'm very pleased with the he has integrated into the household. He's a sweet little boy and is mostly well-behaved. How can you not love a face like this?

And here he is, trying to play with his tail:

He's just so cute! (What's that, you say? What's his name? Oh, right...his name is Bosco.)

Knitting Progress
Sad to say, there's not much knitting going on. Between work (which has become quite busy), running, and the kitten, I haven't had much time to knit, save for a round or two while I was waiting for carry-out at our local Thai-restaurant-in-a-gas-station (which has excellent food, by the way). One Monkey sock is almost done. I'm still working on the toe but it's very close. All of my other projects? Nothing. And for pictures? Nada again. One of these days I'll get around to taking pictures.

That's it for now. Happy knitting!

*Cat-Kitten Integration Release Candidate 2

He's Home!

2008-06-21T19:33:00.000-05:00

I brought home the little kitten on Thursday and he's settling in rather well. He's just a tiny thing, but not at all timid. As soon as he was released from the cat carrier, he started investigating the room where we're keeping him. I tried to feed him, thinking that he'd be starving after his big adventure at the vet. Much to my chagrin, he turned his nose up at the food. That didn't bode well for a raw food diet for him.

I needn't have worried. This kitten chows down in a major way. Purring loudly and kneading his paws (which look a little on the large size), he puts his face in the bowl and doesn't raise it until he's done, slurping happily all the while. He is not a neat eater, though. Food sticks to his whiskers; when he shakes his head, the food bits go flying.

He has also become very bouncy. He runs (and runs smack into furniture) and pounces with abandon on his mice, my hands and feed, the furniture legs... I don't think he's going to be good with yarn, though. He's very interested in playing with shoelaces, so the fiber room is going to be off-limits for a good long while.

I haven't introduced him to Emma yet. She smells him and has seen him from afar but hasn't reacted, other than being a bit subdued. I'll start the face-to-face introduction after I get the all-clear from the vet on Tuesday (I think he has a slight upper respiratory infection).

And again, no pictures of anything. Tom took the new camera to Wyoming where he's running this race today. I managed to get a couple of picture of the kitten on the old camera before the batteries died. He's hard to photograph, though, because he's always on the move.

That's it for now. I've got to make a couple of dishes for a dinner tomorrow night and it's getting late.

Have a great weekend!

A Surprise

2008-06-15T20:49:00.000-05:00

Ha! Two posts in one weekend...can you believe it? But that's not the surprise.

This is.

Yep, that's our new kitty. Or it will be when we finalize the adoption on Wednesday and pick him up on Thursday. His shelter name is Patrick, but I doubt that we'll keep that name. It's too serious of a name for an energetic kitten. It will be interesting trying to introduce him to Emma. And he's so tiny. I'm afraid he'll get lost in our house. I think we're going to have to make the basement off-limits to him until he grows up.

Running
Today we revisited the four-mile section of the Dickey Ridge Trail that finished our 23-mile run a couple of weeks ago. However, we ran it in reverse which meant that we had to run uphill for four miles (about 1000 feet of elevation gain) to the Visitor's Center. Oof. My running was mostly walking, although at times I managed to do the "Haleakala shuffle," walking 10 steps, then running 10 steps. The trip up took about 55 minutes; the return trip took 35 minutes. It was a fun run.

And then on Thursday, Tom takes off for Sheridan, Wyoming to run the Big Horn 50 Miler. However, the race director had to make a last minute change to the course because there's too much snow at the original starting place (like 10 feet of the stuff)! It sounds like the run is going to be full of creek crossings and shoe-sucking mud. Oh what fun!

Knitting
Nada. No pictures, either. It's a theme.

All for now!

Too Long Gone, or Running, Running, Running...

2008-06-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I have been AWOL for a long time. Sorry 'bout that. Everything is fine. In addition to adjusting to my life as a runner, work has gotten quite busy and the last thing I want to do when I get home at night is to log on to a computer again.

I suspect blogging will be hit and miss for the rest of the year. Weekend mornings (formerly prime blogging time) are spent running long distances and the afternoons are dedicated to chores (or recovering from running long distances) and the evenings are dedicated to eating and sleeping (and maybe knitting if I'm still functional). I will, however, try to update the blog whenever possible. We'll see how that goes. Based on my track record after returning from Belize, I'm not optimistic.

So, Belize. For a preview of some of our pictures, go here. I haven't updated the sailing blog either. Bad, bad Libran!

Knitting
Yes, there has been knitting. I finished the Tibetan socks, except for the weaving in of the ends. I've reached the toe on the long-neglected Monkey socks. I'm somewhere in the middle of a simple shawl. Nope, no pictures yet. Yes, there will be pictures at some point.

Running
The training has been going well. I'm increasing my mileage and completed a 23-mile trail run a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast! Then the heat and humidity hit us hard (it felt like we went from April straight to August), making running any distance miserable. Nonetheless, with 23 miles behind me, I think I'm well on my way to being able to complete the JFK 50 in November. Registration opens July 1 and that's when I've said I would commit. I'll be committing to a fall marathon as well, most likely Baltimore. Woo hoo!

Meme
I don't often participate in one of these, but it sounded like fun. I lifted it from Anne. Here goes:

Here are the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into the mosaic maker (link below).

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

My results:

1. Road to Shagai, Teri, 2. Mal loves his broccoli, 3. Downy Woodpecker At Bethel, Muskoka, Ontario, 4. Blue ice cave at the Jostedalsbreen glacier, 5. Alton Brown, 6. Cosmopolitan, 7. 20061212-vs-6536, 8. molta cioccolata tapioca, 9. Old and wise, 10. Life, 11. Quiet*, 12. TLHS1

Use Mosaic Maker to make your own.

All for now...have a great weekend!

What Happened to Spring?

2008-04-27T15:16:00.001-05:00

When I left on our Belize trip, the days were gray and rainy and chilly, with the occasional warm, sunny day tossed in as a teaser. I was looking forward to warm, sunny days on the ocean, and after a few cloudy days on land, that's what I got.

The sailing trip was a stunning success. There were quite a few days when all I did was gaze at the water gliding by, mesmerized by the colors shifting from sapphire blue to turquoise to aquamarine. We did a fair amount of snorkeling (or as Tom put it, we "snorked") and saw a large variety of reef fish and corals. We ate and drank continuously, met interesting people, and returned tanned and relaxed. (Note that I didn't try to get a tan; it just happened, even with 30SPF sunscreen.) As we were flying from Placencia to Belize City to catch a plane back to Miami, the ocean merged seamlessly with the sky.

When we arrived at Dulles (at 12:15 this morning), it was raining and in the 50s. Today has been overcast and in the 50s. Shorts and tank tops and bare feet are but a distant memory. I'm back in jeans, polar fleece, and wool socks. In short, I'm feeling pretty miserable right now and jonesing to be back on a sailboat off the coast of Belize. (Yeah, I know...cry me a river.) Re-entry is tough.

Emma thrived under our friend's care, even though she (Emma, not our friend) remained skittish the entire time we were gone. Emma was hiding in the basement when we came home, but after a few minutes, she came upstairs, meowing like her heart would break. She kept walking on me all night long, reassuring herself that we were home. And at 4:30 this morning, she started touching my face with her paws. So much for the hope that she would have gotten out of the early morning feeding habit.

While on the trip, I managed to get a fair amount of knitting done. The first monkey sock is almost complete, with only the toe left to knit. I've knit the toe, foot, heel, and have started the leg on the second Tibetan sock. And I'm working on the second or third lace repeat on the Sterling Lace shawl. This pattern is a pleasure to knit--challenging enough, but not so much so that you need absolute and total concentration. It's a good introduction to lace knitting.

I'll be updating the trip blog over the next couple of days (or weeks) and will post some choice pictures here as well. That assumes, of course, that I figure out how to get the pictures off the new camera.

That's it for now. I hear a mound of laundry calling me!

Happy knitting!

Sailing Away

2008-04-11T19:35:00.001-05:00

Well, not quite yet. We'll be flying away (assuming American Airlines doesn't do something nasty with our flight) very early tomorrow morning. And if there are available computers at the Purple Space Monkey Cafe, you might even find me blogging while away. I won't be updating this blog, but I might be updating the trip blog. But if both blogs are silent, don't worry. It means I couldn't access them.

The knitting projects have been pulled together. I'm taking a simple (ha!) lace shawl, and two socks (the remainder of the Tibetan socks and the Monkey socks). I'm a little anxious that I'll run out of knitting, but seriously...with as slow as I knit, do I really think that I'll be able to finish a 16"x70" shawl and three socks? I also have two books if the knitting seems to be going exceptionally well.

Okay...that's it for now. I'll see you in a couple of weeks. And let's hope that I don't run into any UFOs, pirates, or bears*!

*My irrational fears

Metamorphosis

2008-04-04T20:14:00.002-05:00

Wow...has it really been almost a month since I last posted a blog entry? How time flies! And right now there seems to not be a lot of time.

So what has kept me away from the blog? Knitting? Spinning? Quilting? Cooking? The opening of my yarn shop? Nope, none of those. Give up?

Running. Running has kept me away from the blog. Remember that goal that I set for myself at the end of January? The goal of running a 50-mile race at the end of November? I've stepped up the training a bit. Kicked it up a notch, as it were. Instead of running just on Saturday and Sunday, I'm also running Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Hoo boy...I'm not running particularly fast; I'm just trying to build a good running base.

And therein comes the metamorphosis (two, to be exact). My running has improved (imagine that). I think I'm running better than I ever have. I feel like I'm running from my core, grounded and focused. I feel like I'm running, not just slogging through a run. I look forward to my 6:00 a.m. runs. A side effect is the change in my body. I'm losing weight, losing body fat, and am finally seeing some muscle definition again. I feel like I have emerged from a cocoon. So of course, that makes me want to run even more. It's all very exciting.

The problem with all this running is that I haven't had any time for blogging, since my prime blogging time was in the morning when Tom was running. And I don't feel like blogging at night because I'm at a computer all day. I'll eventually work it out and start blogging again on a semi-regular basis.

Knitting Progress
Despite the running, I have been knitting. One of Tom's Tibetan socks is finished and the second one is on the needles. I'm pretty much focused on this project until I get it finished, despite the siren call of spiffy new projects and yarn. After Tom's socks are done, I'll finish the Monkey socks for me.

And after that?

I don't know. Maybe I'll pick up Counterpoised again and slog through it. Maybe I'll set aside knitting for a while and focusing on spinning up some of the lovely fiber from the Wooly Wonka Exotic Fibers Club. So much fiber, so little time!

Speaking of time, starting next Saturday, I'll have plenty of time for knitting. We'll be sailing around the Belize islands on a 46-foot catamaran for 10 glorious days. Any suggestions as to what project I should take besides the two pairs of socks currently in progress? Heaven forbid that I run out of knitting!

That's all for now. If I've got a bit of time this weekend, I'll post a picture of the Tibetan sock.

Happy knitting!

Skidding on Asphalt

2008-03-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty good about knowing where I am in space. Sure, I ~~rarely~~ ~~occasionally~~ frequently bump into the corners of tables and desks and such, leaving bruises on my hips. But when it comes to staying on my feet, I'm rather talented. Or so I thought, until last night.

We met some friends at our favorite watering hole and due to the popularity of the place, I had to park farther away than usual. It was also raining, so I was a bit miffed as well (I got over it). While we were there, additional friends and acquaintances unexpectedly showed up; it was almost like old times. (Over the past several years, the patrons have shifted from local townsfolk to what we assume to be people from the massive subdivisions that are encroaching on our little town.) I started the evening with a pomegranate Cosmo and then had a glass of wine with a pot full of mussels (in a Thai curry coconut and ginger broth; very yummy). After dinner, we took our leave and headed home.

And that's when it happened.

I'm a fast walker. Unless I'm hiking, I like to get from point A to point B quickly. (This propensity for fast walking drives Tom crazy. He strolls. Unless we're hiking; then he puts his head down and wants to get from point A to point B quickly.) I was walking to my car at my usual fast pace when all of a sudden, one shoe flies off my foot, the other foot seems to stick to the ground, and the remainder of my body has a close encounter with the asphalt, which is wet from the recent rain. Fortunately, I fell in the gutter (no jokes!) because a car was coming up behind me just as I took the dive. I don't seem to be damaged beyond a few scrapes and the injury to my pride.

Feeling the Love
I started a new pair of socks for Tom using the Fortissima Socka pictured on the previous post. Several times, actually. I needed something easy to knit while I was waiting for the dreaded procedures to begin. (They went well, by the way.) I'm using the generic toe-up sock from Wendy Knits, modified to account for Tom's larger foot. I love this sock dearly. When I'm not knitting it, I want to be. When I am knitting it, I don't want to stop (so ripping it back a couple of times because I knit the short rows inside out wasn't a problem). I'm entranced with the way the yarn is self-patterning. And I love the slightly worn look of the yarn. I don't like its splittiness, but I can live with it, because everything else about it is so perfect. It even smells vaguely sheep-like.

Here is the object of my affection:

The other side has maroon and red stripes. Unfortunately, the camera batteries decided to give up the ghost as I was photographing the sock. You'll just have to imagine it.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to knit the sock.

Presenting...

2008-03-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

The Gentleman's Fancy Socks. They are finished!

On the hoof:

Reclining on the bed:

After all was said and done, despite the numerous do-overs on sock the second, these socks were a pleasure to knit. They fit Tom relatively well, although they are a little snug. Personally, I like a snug sock. Tom declared them very comfy and I practically had to wrestle them away from him so they could relax in a nice warm Eucalan bath. I think Tom's next pair of socks will be from this yarn:

It's a nice self-patterning yarn and hopefully the pattern will cause the socks to look like Tibetan socks. Or rather, what we imagine Tibetan socks to look like.

I didn't have too much energy last night for knitting anything complicated, so I started prototyping the Thumbless Jogger's Mittens from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Around, using some Manos I had left over from a hat. While these mittens continue to charm me (how can you not love a mitten where the top curls around your fingertips?), I am not charmed by the way they are turning out. I think they are sized for a large adult hand (which I definitely don't have) and even though I'm getting something approximating gauge, I don't like the way the single-ply is knitting up. These will be headed straight for the frog pond and I'll try with another type of yarn. Hmmm...maybe a two-ply like the pattern calls for?

Okay, it's time to stop now. I'm beginning to focus on the hungry tummy rumblings (no solid food since Saturday night) and am sure that anything else I write won't be very cohesive.

Happy knitting!

Do-Overs

2008-03-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

I lied last weekend when I said I would finish the second Gentleman's Fancy Sock by the end of the weekend. I almost finished the toe, then realized the stitch counts on the needles were off. I unknit and was appalled at number of mistakes I found. There were decreases in the wrong place, decreases partially worked, and several stitches that were just slipped from one needle to the other. However, I was running a fever over the weekend and am sure that it was the fever that caused the plethora of mistakes.

However, it wasn't the fever that caused what happened next. That was ~~sheer stupidity~~ poor judgment on my part.

See, I ran out of yarn. And not by a little bit. By a lot of bit. How the heck could I get a full sock out of the first ball of yarn (with 19 inches left over) and miss the mark so badly with the second ball on the second sock? Because I added an extra 10 rows, that's why. It looked like the foot was too short, so I added an eighth pattern repeat. I spent a good part of the morning frogging the toe; now all I have left to do is rearrange the stitches on the needles and start the toe over again, like for the third time. I swear, this sock is turning into the Never Ending Sock. I'm so close to finishing I can almost taste it.

And today, it will be finished. I'll have plenty of time this afternoon and evening to knit to my heart's content. I'll be prepping for tomorrow's "procedure" and leaving the house is not advisable. I'm on a clear liquid diet for today as well, so there will be no pesky cooking to take up my time. The only wrinkle in my plans is that I have to drink eight ounces of a polyethylene glycol solution every 15 minutes for about three hours. Shudder... That alone could put a stop to my knitting plans.

Yoga Socks
Thanks for all the nice comments on the yoga socks. I gave them to my teacher before class on Saturday and she loved them. She immediately put them on and tested them with some downward dogs, upward dogs, and lunges. She pronounced them eminently usable for yoga. And the best part is they kept her feet warm during class. I suspect there will be at least one more pair of yoga socks in my future.

That's it for now. Remind me not to knit tomorrow. I suspect knitting while recovering from anesthesia is going to be more deleterious than knitting with a fever.

For the Most Part

2008-02-24T12:20:00.000-05:00

I'm back, after a somewhat long absence. The blogging muse took leave of me and a weekend morning schedule change left me with no blogging time. Plus this has been a difficult winter for me, what with the health issues and potential dietary changes. Toss in non-winter weather and that makes for one discombulated Libran.

I'm adjusting, albeit a bit grumpily. My comment during cooking shows that showcase the ingredients I'm supposed to avoid? "Mmmmm....allergens!" Forays into the gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free manufactured food realm have turned up some surprisingly tasty items. The Foods By George brownies are excellent. Their English muffins are acceptable. The Tinkyada brand of pastas is also excellent. Even Tom liked the spaghetti. The various gluten-free, etc. breads are challenging--very dry and crumbly, with a rather slick mouth-feel. The Energ-G brown rice loaf isn't too bad, but it lacks the chewiness of real bread. I'm having two more tests done to confirm the initial diagnosis. It's probably overkill, but I want to be sure that these dietary changes are absolutely necessary before I start modifying the way we eat. If it was just me, it wouldn't be a problem. But I've got a skeptic for a husband (which is good) and a conclusive diagnosis will go a long way to ensure compliance, especially since he does a lot of the cooking.

0-50 in 11
That's my motto for this year. Zero to 50 miles in 11 months! I've started training for the JFK 50, which accounts for the lack of early morning blogging time on weekends now. My longest run so far has been about six miles (which isn't long at all). I was hoping for seven this weekend, but a bout of the flu has me sidelined. My plan is to increase mileage slowly, to keep the ITB problem at bay. There are at least three other women in the club who want to run the JFK 50, and we all run at about the same pace. Having a group will make training so much easier. For some masochistic reason, I'm looking forward to this challenge. Tom can't be the only one in this family to run an ultra marathon!

Knitting Progress
Surprisingly, there has been knitting progress. Not much, to be sure, but it's progress, nonetheless. And the progress has resulted in some FOs. I finished the hat for my friend at the Miami Marathon (to read the trip report, go here). Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of hat, but it fit her perfectly and she says she receives a lot of compliments when she wears it. Also on the FO list is a pair of yoga socks for my yoga teacher.

She was intrigued by the idea and offered to be a guinea pig. I knit them using KnitPicks' Andean Silk. The yarn was a pleasure to work with. The color did run a bit when I washed them, but I don't think it's anything that a little white vinegar rinse can't fix.

On the "Almost an FO" list are the Gentleman's Fancy Socks. I've started the toe on the second sock and am beginning to wonder if I'm going to have enough yarn to finish the project. I had a mere 19 inches left from the first sock. With any luck, I'll have this sock finished today.

What's next on the project list? I'd like to continue working on the Counterpoised Shawl, but will wait until my brain is a little more alert. Somehow lace and a less than alert brain a good combination do not make. I might dig out the Fern Leaf Shawl and try to finish it; it's a fairly simple lace pattern. The Monkey socks will move to the forefront of the sock projects. And then there's a simple tank that I might make for the Belize trip in April, using yarn that I got from ArtFibers in San Francisco a couple of years ago:

It's a wool/mohair/silk blend and is very yummy. On second though, maybe that fiber combination is not the best for a sailing trip in the tropics. Hmmm...

So, lots to do! Time to get started!

Happy knitting!

That's It!

2008-02-23T08:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Winter,

This letter is difficult for me to write. We've always enjoyed a rather rocky relationship, what with my dislike of being cold and all that. However, the stark beauty of the grays and bare tree branches helped me overlook the fact that I was freezing. And then when you unleashed the snow, I was truly in love with you all over again. The pristine white, the muffled sounds...I'd stand for hours and drink it all in. The ice storms that made each surface look like it was encrusted with diamonds...a truly stunning work of art.

But this year, dearest Winter, you have sorely disappointed me. Oh sure, we've had a few days of very cold weather, but I don't count daytime highs in the 40s as "winter weather." And the snow this year? Where's the snow? You've teased and taunted, snowing just enough to make me want more, and then we have temperatures in the 50s or 60s. And this last storm that you threatened us with? That was the best you could do? The barest dusting of snow, followed by a wee bit of ice? Surely you can do better than that!

I've hoped, wished, cajoled, wore my snowflake earrings, all to encourage you. This is hard to say, but if you aren't going hold up your end of the relationship, I want you to pack up your bags and leave. Right now. I'm done with your capriciousness. Let Spring come, with its warmth and soft breezes. Spring will do a better job in this relationship than you.

And Winter? Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

All the best,
T.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2008-01-24T07:38:00.000-05:00

Well! It's been an interesting week in my hometown. Blogging time seems to have gotten away from me, mostly because (get this), I ran this weekend. Can you believe it? And I ran early (prime blogging time) and outside. Let me tell you, it was a bit chilly. I think it was 16 degrees on Sunday. I managed to run about four miles on Saturday and five miles on Sunday. And the best thing? I didn't have any ITB pain. In order to keep me running, Tom challenged me to run the JFK 50 in 2009. He thought it would be cool for me to run a 50-mile race while I'm (cough) 50, except I won't be. I'll have exceeded that age by about a month. I'm not sure that I'll be ready to run the JFK 50 this year. I have 11 months to train, though, so it isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.

But the thing that totally threw me for a loop was the last set of test results from my doctor. She had some concerns about adrenal fatigue and other vitamin and mineral deficiencies and ran a battery of tests. Her adrenal fatigue suspicion was confirmed as was her concern about other nutritional deficiencies. I'm either deficient or low in just about everything they tested for. And why is that? The answer is truly depressing.

I tested positive for allergies to gluten, casein (dairy), and soy.

Let that sink in for a moment...gluten, dairy, and soy.

That means a lot of foods (like most of the foods I enjoy eating) will need to be eliminated from my diet. So long, macaroni and cheese! Good-bye, pizza! Farewell, bagels! No more butter (sob). No ice cream. No pancakes or waffles. No doughnuts, cakes, pies, cookies, puddings. And Sheep, no more black and white cookies.

Dang. My world has been rocked and not in a good way. The gluten allergy is probably the more serious one, since it could be an indication of celiac disease. And it seems it's the allergy that is the root of the nutritional deficiencies, since a gluten allergy causes malabsorption.

It's a good thing both Tom and I enjoy cooking because we've just been handed a big cooking challenge. We don't rely on packaged foods at all, which is a big benefit. Soy, casein, and gluten are all hidden in even the most simple processed foods. Ah, well.

Knitting Progress
We have flappage on the second Gentleman's Fancy Sock! It looks like changing to a larger needle size did the trick. I'm predicting that within another week or so this project will be finished.

I'll have ample knitting time this weekend. We're flying to Miami (ah, blessed warm weather!) for the Miami Marathon and everyone knows that a plane trip is perfect knitting time. The Monkey socks will be resurrected since I'm using wood needles (I suspect that TSA guys might have problems with the extremely pointy metal needles I'm using for Tom's sock). The hat will also be finished this weekend; the recipient will be in Miami with us and I'll be able to do a fitting.

That's about it for now. Happy knitting!

And hold the cheese.

My, How Time Flies!

2008-01-12T08:59:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's already the 12th of January! How did that happen? Life these days has been a combination of exhausting (stupid thyroid!) and busy, with a trip to visit my family last weekend, as well as various social engagements. For some reason, January and February seem to have a busier social agenda than November and December. Go figure.

The trip to my parents was preceded by a period of extremely low energy, which made thinking and performing other daily activities a bit difficult. This in turn created a bit of anxiety, because I still had to buy and wrap presents for my youngest nephew and nieces. However, Ka-BOOM! once again came to my rescue. They have the best toys (high quality and designed for imaginative play), arranged by age appropriateness, no less. After scoping out the offerings, I made quick call to consult with my mother, and made my purchases. Three gifts for kids aged 2, 5, and 6 bought in less than an hour! It doesn't get any better than that! To give you an idea of how late I was with the gift acquisition, we were on the road an hour and a half later.

Why yes, Procrastination is my middle name. Why do you ask?

We had a very enjoyable, but too brief stay with my parents. Everyone came to dinner and the kids made it high energy. I must say that Carl and Laurie have done an excellent job of raising well-mannered children. Their presents were sitting on the hearth, and not once did they ask anyone about them. They seemed rather surprised, in fact, when we handed them out. Do you know many young children like that?

I was surprised, too, when my sister-in-law Barbara handed me a gift bag. For me? I reached inside and pulled out this:

If you look carefully, you can see that the ball band says Plymouth Yarn Royal Cashmere. I was flabbergasted. Cashmere! This is definitely a yarn that I would not buy for myself. It was a very thoughtful gift. Thanks again, Barbara! I've already started daydreaming about scarf designs.

Knitting Progress
There's been a bit of knitting activity chez Libran and in fact, there's almost a finished object! But before that, there was frogging. The second Gentleman's Fancy Sock bit the dust. Or at least most of it did. I had the brilliant idea of inserting the needles at the point where I wanted to the ripping to stop:

After they were in place, I let 'er rip!

The technique worked almost perfectly. I had to make a few minor adjustments, but it worked! And then I discovered that I didn't have 2.25mm needles. Time find another project to take on the trip to my parents house.

I pulled out my ball of Fibra Natura Heaven to start the hat for my friend Heidi. Given that I didn't have her head measurements and wasn't sure that I was going to have quite enough yarn, I opted for a top-down method and discovered I really like working hats top down. Here's what I have so far, modeled by my trusty iron:

The hat was a little too plain with just stockinette and the standard ribbing seemed to be too dull. I came across the Crystal and Pearl lace pattern in Barbara Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns and thought that it would make the perfect edging with just one repeat, followed by 1x1 ribbing on smaller needles. Here's the lace detail:

The best part about top-down hats is that you can try them on as you go. This hat is a bit loose on me and it covers my ears. I had a friend at work try it on, and it was somewhat tight on her and barely covered the tips of her ears. I definitely need to have a fitting session with Heidi before finishing it off. I predict that the hat will be finished this weekend.

The 2.25mm needles finally arrived, and I'm slowly cruising towards the foot of the second sock. I predict the pair will be complete by the end of the month.

Unfortunately the weekend does not promise a lot of knitting time. The herd of dust buffalo needs to be culled and we're spending the day in DC tomorrow, visiting museums, restaurants, and finishing up with a concert at the Kennedy Center.

Have a great weekend!

Uh Oh

2007-12-30T11:24:00.000-05:00

I've been knitting the second Gentleman's Fancy Sock all week, with the goal of having the sock finished by New Year's Eve, so Tom could wear them that night. As I was knitting early yesterday morning, it seemed very likely that I would actually achieve that goal. I was within 20 rows of reaching the toe when I looked at the amount of yarn left. "Hmmm," says I, "It seems like I've got an awful lot of yarn left." At this point on the first sock, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have enough yarn to finish the sock. A nagging suspicion crept into my mind. I pulled out the first sock, matched it to the second sock at the heel, and...

Yep, my suspicion was right. The second sock is smaller. I matched gauge on the cuff, the first pattern repeat and possibly the heel. Other than that, every thing is knit at a tighter gauge. I made Tom try on the second sock to be sure. Try as he might, he couldn't get the second sock over his heel. A quick gauge check revealed that the first sock pattern repeat and foot is knit at my standard 10spi on 2mm needles. The second sock is knit somewhere between 11 and 12 spi. So, dear readers, the second sock is headed for Frog Pond. On the return trip, it will be knit on 2.25mm needles. And you can bet that I'll be checking gauge throughout.

The lack of an active sock presented somewhat of a problem yesterday afternoon. What could I knit on the drive up to my mother-in-law's? It takes about an hour or so to get there. I pulled the Counterpoised shawl off the shelf and figured that I could make a bit of progress on that.

Trouble-free knitting is clearly not in the stars for me right now.

The first row I knit presented no problems as it was a purl row. The second row was a pattern row. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the pattern repeat to come out right. The border and the first 12-stitch repeat looked fine and after that everything fell apart. I unknit, looked at what I had, and tried again. No luck. It didn't help matters that we were driving on bumpy, twisty country roads and the light was poor. So Counterpoised was unceremoniously (and rather grumpily) crammed back into its little Ziplock (TM) bag.

I think both projects are going to sit for a while. Next project? A nice soft easy hat for a friend who is currently going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. She's doing amazingly well and is still training to run the Miami Marathon at the end of January.

My Mother's Knitting
Mom seems to be having similar problems with her knitting. The project that she started on Thanksgiving has been relegated to the knitting bag until I can get down there to figure out where she started to take artistic license. My sister-in-law Barbara has turned out to be an enabler and started a little stash for Mom this Christmas:

Barbara did an excellent job of choosing yarn and needles (rosewood...yum!). Mom's been enchanted by the Villandry Lace Scarf that Sheepish Annie knitted up a couple of times this month and decided to take advantage of the new needles and yarns and give it a go. Sadly, that project is not going well either and appears to have been relegated to the knitting bag as well. Mom's comment? "It looks like a knotted mess." It's a good thing we're visiting next weekend so I can get her back on track.

A Christmas Present
Every year, the adults in both families draw names for the exchanging of gifts (our families are a bit large). Yesterday was the Simonds Family Christmas Celebration and a good time was had by all. In a bit of serendipity, my brother-in-law Steve and I drew each other's names. I presented him with several books about World War II (it was Tom's idea; he's been waiting for one of us to get Steve's name), which he loved. Steve gave me this:

His son Martin made this pendant. The stones (a Herkimer diamond and some other greenish mineral) are wrapped in sterling silver. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and all of them are stunning. Martin uses all sorts of different stones and works primarily in silver. If you are interested in seeing more of his work, contact me by leaving a comment and I'll get in touch with you.

The Year in Review and a New Year
It's hard to believe that 2008 is upon us. Where did the time go? I swear, each year seems to go by faster than ever and most of the things that I want to accomplish don't get done. I did finish some projects this year, but not many. Two pairs of socks (almost three, darn it), one shawl, and one scarf. I didn't manage to get much spinning in, either, despite what seemed to be a good start.

What does next year hold? More socks, to be sure. After some reflection, I think I need to approach my knitting and spinning with some structure, given that I have a lot of UFOs that are most likely failed projects about which I'm in denial. So, I'll take the approach of a scholar and start a project, working through the techniques until I understand them. I will finish one project before starting another (socks don't count, although I will keep only one pair of socks on the needles). After "mastering" a particular type of knitting (as evidenced by a finished object, I will dive into the UFO basket and finish a project of the same type of knitting. I will not try to knit as many things as I can. That said, here is what I would like to accomplish in the coming year:

Lace

Colorwork mittens

Sweaters

That last one is going to take some thought and planning. I see so many sweaters that I'd like to knit, but I find the yarn and time investment daunting. I've been shying away from bulky yarns, but perhaps that's my ticket to a completed sweater, since for all accounts and purposes bulky sweaters knit up quickly.

What are your knitting goals for 2008?

Have a very Happy New Year!

'Twas....Christmas!

2007-12-25T16:18:00.000-05:00

I had grandiose visions floating through my head of a clever 'Twas the Night Before Christmas post. Alas and alack, fate conspired against me. I had to work yesterday and my company did not let us leave early. That seriously cut into blogging time and last minute preparations!

We're in town this Christmas and opted to stay at home, instead of visiting friends and local family (that celebration is next weekend). The hibernation instinct is strong in us this year. However, staying home gives us plenty of time relax and ~~eat ourselves silly~~ play in the kitchen. Christmas Eve dinner:

Cosmopolitan and Martini

Grilled Ostrich with Wild Mushrooms in a Mustard Shallot Sauce

Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Creamed Spinach

Chocolate Cloud Cake

Patricia Green Cellars, Ribbon Ridge Pinot Noir, Estate Etzel Block, 2006

Everything was very good, although the bourbon in the sweet potatoes tasted very raw.

And then it was Christmas! I was up a little after 6:00 this morning and finished wrapping Tom's presents. We exchanged gifts over morning coffee. I do believe we are the only couple who has a matching set of half-sheet pans!

Christmas breakfast:

Bloody Marys

Grapefruit

Baked Pear Pancake with Gingered Maple Syrup

The rest of the day has been rather leisurely. Tom went over to friend's house to install a new kitchen faucet while I worked on the running club newsletter.

Tonight's dinner:

Cocoa and Spice Slow-Roasted Pork with Onions

Sauteed smashed potatoes

Steamed spinach

Waldorf Salad

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. It's hard to believe that the new year is just around the corner. Where did the year go?

Emma's thinking that maybe it's in the tree.

The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

2007-12-22T09:27:00.000-05:00

The Good
My husband. When I came home from work yesterday, he had set the stage for a relaxing evening at home. My current favorite cocktail (a Sidecar) was waiting in the shaker, the dining room was illumined by candles, and the Christmas tree was lit and a fire was burning in the living room. Tom was in the midst of preparing a delicious dinner as well: sole stuffed with crabmeat and scallops (from Omaha Steaks, his mother's Christmas gift to us), steamed asparagus, sauteed smashed potatoes (made with homemade chicken stock), and salad and bread. Everything was absolutely perfect. Tom is wonderful, even if a bit irascible at times. But that just makes him more lovable!

The Bad
Emma. How can something this cute

be so bad? The badness revolves around the Christmas tree. Last year Emma was pretty good with the Christmas tree. After the initial curiosity wore off, she hardly ever bothered it. This year is different. She nibbles on the lights, she nibbles on the branches, and even worse, she has taken to selectively removing ornaments from the tree. The other night as we were enjoying pizza while watching the Food Network, she wandered in and dropped an ornament on Tom's foot. Fortunately, it was one of the handmade ornaments and not breakable (the breakable ones are at the top of the tree). When Tom returned the ornament to its rightful place on the tree, he noticed there were several other ornaments laying on the floor. Sheesh. And this morning my knitting session in the living room was cut short because Emma would not leave the tree alone. She nibbled on the lights and on the branches and sat in front of her favorite ornaments and calculated what it would take to remove them from the tree. After unsuccessfully trying to persuade her to have a lap or relax on a warm radiator, I gave up and moved to the cold kitchen with its hard chairs. At last, I was able to knit (albeit somewhat uncomfortably) in peace.

The Beautiful
A vintage hand-knit sweater from Birdsong. Scroll down a bit in her post to see the cream sweater. As Birdsong says, the knitting is awesome. The sweater is a comfortable fit, perhaps a tad on the loose side, but it's so comfortable. It will look great over my standard winter turtlenecks. Here is the back neck and shoulder:

Here is the buttonband; I love the ribbon reinforcement:

Thank you, Birdsong, for gifting such a beautiful sweater. I'll definitely wear it!

Knitting Progress
The sock is progressing and today we have flappage. This is the halfway point on the heel flap:

And the inside:

See the line of stockinette stitch? That's a "seam." It's actually a one-row rib and provides a slight bit of expansion on the heel. I find it immensely intriguing.

So, the goal for this weekend is to make it through the heel. If I get some quality knitting time in, I might even be able to finish the sock before Christmas.

I just can't knit in the living room.

Our Big Fat Winter Storm

2007-12-16T10:48:00.000-05:00

The significant winter storm that was predicted for this weekend turned out to be a big fat bust. See?

Nary a flake of snow fell last night. There was some sleet, but it was gone by the time we got up. And now it's raining. And it's supposed to be warm today, with a high of 47 degrees. Bleh. I really wanted a nice blizzard. Stupid snowflake earrings didn't work, even though I wore them for three days. Do you think I wore out their effectiveness?

Knitting Progess
I did manage to get some knitting in yesterday and this morning, although not as much as I would have liked. The sock also seemed to have gotten into a bit of mischief. As I was knitting last night, I noticed that something looked odd. I looked at the back of the knitting and saw a float that spanned six stitches. I thought I had dropped a stitch. After tinking a row, I found that I didn't drop a stitch. I had slipped six stitches. How the heck did that happen?! I suppose I could have attempted to knit those stitches and accidentally didn't pull the working yarn through. But not for six stitches worth.

And I still can't seem to read a pattern consistently. Once again I followed the P2, K2 pattern when I should have be doing a P2, K2, P2, K4, P2 at the beginning of the first needle. Sigh...so out came another four rows.

Here's the second sock; it's not much bigger than the last picture of it.

I probably won't get much knitting accomplished today. I need to clean the house a bit, decorate the tree, compile the running club newsletter, and then have dinner at a friend's house. And then it's back to work tomorrow, which definitely means I won't get a lot of knitting done.

The Christmas Meme
I don't usually do memes, but this one seemed kind of fun. I grabbed it from the PurlingPirate. So without further ado, here it is.

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both; it depends on the shape of the gift really.

Real or artificial tree? Real

When do you put up the tree? After we get it, usually the second week in December.

When do you take it down? On New Year's Day or the following weekend

Do you like eggnog? Yes; the best I had was made with real cream and uncooked eggs and lots of booze!

Favorite gift received as a child? A walking doll that was about as tall as I was.

Do you have a nativity scene? No

Hardest person to buy for? One of my sisters-in-law

Easiest person to buy for? My husband; give him fine Belgian beer and he's happy!

Worst Christmas present you ever got? There haven't been any, although my friends were a bit upset when Tom gave me a road emergency triangle and an electric toothbrush for Christmas one year.

Mail or email Christmas cards? I gave up sending cards several years back; too much procrastination and lack of stamps.

Favorite Christmas movie?My favorite Christmas show is A Charlie Brown Christmas.

When do you start shopping for Christmas? After the first of December, although if I find the perfect gift earlier, I'll buy it.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, why let an unused gift take up space when someone else can use it?

Favorite thing to eat on Christmas? Everything (except haggis)

Clear lights or colored on the tree? I prefer clear; Tom prefers colored.

Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells, Silent Night, and Walking in the Air

Travel at Christmas or stay home? We alternate years with our families, so this year we're home.

Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer? Of course.

Angel or star on top of tree? Nothing goes on the top of the tree, if I'm remembering correctly.

Open presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning.

Most annoying thing this time of year? The fact that commercial Christmas decorations go up after Halloween. I hate that. It makes Christmas less special.

Do you decorate your tree in any theme or color? No, we have lots of handmade decoration from Tom's mother. We're not really theme-type people.

What do you leave for Santa? Nothing; Emma would eat it before Santa even got close to our house!

Precipitation

2007-12-15T08:52:00.000-05:00

It's been a cloudy week in my hometown. The sun finally made an appearance yesterday; it was nice to greet an old friend. And right now, the sun is attempting to shine through clouds, which makes it look weak and watery. The forecast for this weekend consists of the dreaded words "wintery mix." In fact, instead of predicting the amount of snow that will fall, the NWS is predicting sleet accumulation. Yuck.

Knitting Progress
I continue to make progress, albeit slowly, on the second Gentleman's Fancy Sock. I painstakingly unknit the eight incorrect rows and reknit them. Since the weekend weather is supposed to be bad, I'm hoping that I'll get some good knitting time in. However, today is looking busy (farmers market, yoga, kitty shopping at the shelter, and Christmas tree shopping). If we find a tree, we'll decorate it tomorrow, which means cleaning the house. Right now there's a stack of dirty dishes in the sink and papers and such scattered about. I've really let the housecleaning go these past several months.

Best Cat Toy Ever
Are you looking for the perfect gift for the cat who has everything? Perhaps your cat has become a bit Rubinesque these last couple of years and you're looking for a toy that provides good aerobic exercise? Look no further! Da Bird is what you've been looking for! Its unique combination of feathers and a fishing toggle thing-y make Da Bird act like a real bird in flight. Emma goes crazy over it and performs amazing acrobatic feats to try to snag it out of the air. If you had to buy only one cat toy, I'd say buy Da Bird.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post tomorrow.

Of Snow and Squirrels

2007-12-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, the forecast called for light snow, with an accumulation of 1-3 inches of the white stuff. Oh boy! I could hardly wait! Every kid (and apparently every teacher as well) has a ritual intended to help encourage the snow to fall earthward. I'm no exception.

At the slightest hint of snow in the forecast, I don my snowflake earrings and wear them every day until it snows (or until I realize that no matter how much I want it to snow, it is physically impossible when the temperatures are hovering around 70 degrees). Understand that my employment is not in the vaunted halls of education. That means that if it snows on a workday, I still have to go to work. Which means driving in Washington, DC area rush hour traffic, which is bad enough when the driving conditions are perfect. During a snow event, the traffic can reach epic proportions. (When I was living in Baltimore and commuting to Reston, a 65-mile commute, it once took me over 5 hours to get home one evening. Actually, I never got home; I turned around and stayed at a friend's house that night. I think I had traveled at total of 30 miles in 5 hours.)

So, ignoring the ramifications of snow on a workday, I wore the snowflake earrings on Tuesday. The snow was supposed to start falling around rush hour, but the forecasters assured us that the road surface temperatures were too high and the snow would stick on the grass. All would be well. Traffic would still be snarled, but it would be because everyone would be admiring the snow as it gently floated down from the sky, not because of treacherous driving conditions.

Ha!

The snow actually started in the middle of night and when I arose Wednesday morning, my little world was blanketed in snow. The grass wasn't totally covered, but it was close. I did a little happy dance, thought briefly about working from home, then ditched the idea because it was probably snowing only in my town and I'd look foolish if there wasn't any snow at the office 25 miles away. And a glance out the front window showed that the road was relatively clear. I prepared for work, girded my loins for the commute, and headed out.

I think of my commute as being tripartite: toll road, Route 28, and Route 50. Each presents different driving environments and a smooth commute on one leg of the journey does not necessarily mean a smooth commute on all legs of the journey. The first half of the first leg lulled me into a false sense of security. The traffic was very light, although it was moving at a slightly slower pace than normal. I was pleasantly surprised because people were actually driving responsibly, including those in SUVs. Most people had opted to stay home, I thought. Excellent, they probably needed a day off from their stressful jobs. Good for those type-A personalities!

And then traffic stopped at a place that indicated that most people didn't stay home. Instead, most people were sitting in traffic all around Washington metro area. One traffic report reported that time to drive from Reston Parkway on the toll road to I-495 (the infamous Beltway) was 55 minutes. That portion of the drive should take 15 minutes. The problem was that because it started snowing earlier than expected, the road crews didn't start treating the roads until rush hour, after the bridges and ramps had frozen over, causing unsuspecting commuters to lose control of their vehicles. I was beginning to think that I should have worked from home after all, but too late; I was committed (it was also my turn to bring the bagels). It took about 90 minutes to get to work, which in the grand scheme of things wasn't too bad. It took some people (covering about the same distance as me) 3 hours to get to work. Bleh.

It continued to on and off throughout the day and by the time I left work, it was snowing right properly. Fortunately, most people had left early and traffic wasn't nearly as bad, even though the driving conditions were worse. It took me 50 minutes to get home, which is only 20 minutes more than normal).

And the morning, our backyard looked like this:

Of Squirrels
At various times in the morning over the past couple of weeks, I've heard odd noises coming from the roof over our bedroom. It varies from what sounds like someone running over the roof to mourning doves cooing. Every now and then, there are scritching noises. Tom figured out what it was yesterday.

We have squirrels living in the ceiling.

Of course, this provides endless entertainment for Emma as she tries to figure out how she can get through the ceiling to catch them. However, squirrels in the ceiling are not a good thing. They could end up chewing through the wall that separates that portion of the house from the main attic and have access to the rest of the house. My main fear, though, is that they'll chew through the wiring and burn the house down. Tom's mission today is to figure out how to rid the house of squirrels and block their access area. Given that it's cold and rainy, that's going to be hard. The squirrels are not going to want to leave their dry, cozy home.

Knitting Progress
I have knit 13 rounds on the Gentleman's Fancy sock. However, I haven't made any progress because I am apparently incapable of reading the pattern. I knit five rows of the pattern, only to realize that I forgot the change the pattern at the center back. Out came those five rows and I started that repeat again. I was so pleased because I was making good progress. Then I looked at the pattern again and realized I had just knit the next repeat instead. So now I've got to rip out eight rows. The sock and I (or perhaps the pattern and I) are no longer on speaking terms. This is a problem, because it's my one piece of Christmas knitting. Sigh...

The Counterpoised Shawl, however, continues to hold me in its thrall, even though it sits all alone most days. I managed to knit one pattern row this week. The next row is a purl row, then comes row 7, my nemesis row. Will I be able to knit this row without error? Or will I discover an error at the end of row 9, which will involve tinking hundreds of stitches? Stay tuned!

Since today is gray and rainy, it's a perfect knitting day. It's also the day we're supposed to get our Christmas tree. I'm hoping that Tom will be too tired after his run this morning to feel like going out and finding a tree. I'm really not feeling motivated to get a tree. Next week would be much better.

Happy knitting!

Weekly Recap

2007-12-02T10:53:00.000-05:00

This week turned out to be busier than I anticipated. There was lots of stuff happening at work, including a trip to Richmond to attend an Excellence in Government awards ceremony, where our VP was one of the recipients of the Innovation in Government award for the procurement software created by the team I work with. There were also performance evaluations to write, meetings to attend, and documentation to review. And of course, most of it seemed to happen on Friday.

Best of all, I seem to be firing on about half of my cylinders. A month ago, I was probably firing on about half of a cylinder. (Yes, that's physically impossible, but work with me here.) I have more energy! While I'm not quite ready to take on the world or run a marathon (or even run a mile), I'm no longer totally and utterly exhausted by the time I finish getting ready for work in the morning; I'm only slightly exhausted.

Yesterday proved to be busy as well, although I did take some time to knit a few rows on Counterpoised in the morning before my yoga class. After yoga, I returned home to find Tom preparing pork and sweet potato empanadas for dinner (the pork had to marinate in a dry rub for a couple of hours and then cooked slowly for several more hours, hence the early start). We put up the outside garland and lights in preparation for the Christmas parade that evening. Even though the Christmas parade takes place the first Saturday in December every year, this is the first year we've actually been decorated for it. Then it was off to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for a Spanish-style split pea soup to round out dinner.

Today I've got the usual complement of chores to do: laundry, housecleaning, straightening my work room, which once again looks like it exploded. There's also some cookie baking in the works and possibly some bread baking as well.

Knitting Progress
Most (which is to say not much) of the knitting this week has been focused on the second Gentleman's Fancy Sock. I still like knitting this sock, which says a lot about the pattern. It's easy, yet engaging. I'm on the fourth (of 12) pattern repeat of the Counterpoised shawl, with very little ripping out. The pattern is finally beginning to make sense and is working its way into muscle memory.

When I called my mother today, the first thing she said was "I have a knitting question for you. How many times can you rip out something before the yarn isn't good anymore?" Uh oh. Despite the ominous nature of the question, her knitting is going well. She frogged the scarf only once but is glad she did because her gauge relaxed a lot the second time 'round. She's ready to frog it again because the stitch pattern section is not working out. If I had been thinking, I would have given her some test ~~yearn~~ yarn (why is it that I always initially spell "yarn" "yearn"?) so she could get some knitting practice in. Oh well...lessons learned.

During the course of our conversation, Mom mentioned that they went to their local farmers market, where there was a woman selling alpaca yarn. Get this...she was selling a 110-yd. skein of hand-dyed, hand-spun alpaca for $15.00! Personally, I think that's an excellent price, especially when you factor in that the purchase of said yarn is supporting a local business and helping to keep land in agricultural use. Mom didn't buy any. However, I did a quick search on the Internet while we were talking and gave her the name, phone number, address, and directions to the farm. Maybe some fine, local alpaca yarn will be the beginning of Mom's stash!

Oh my! Will you look at the time?! Time to start the chores!

Happy knitting!

Stuffed

2007-11-25T10:17:00.000-05:00

I meant to write the obligatory Thanksgiving post before travelling down to my parents' place on Thanksgiving, but time got away from me. And then I was going to post from my parents' house, but once again, time got away from me. Oh well...

All of my family was together at Thanksgiving (with the exception of a a step- niece and nephew), making 19 at dinner. Long gone are the days when Mom did all the cooking. Now everyone brings a couple of dishes and the hosting family provides the turkey. I brought macaroni and cheese. It's not exactly a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but everyone loves it. Mom's oyster dressing was excellent. We also had green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, corn pudding, and mashed potatoes. Laurie made an excellent pumpkin pie and Cindy's chocolate pie was delicious. And Barbara's apple tart? There wasn't enough of it. I overate, as usual, because everything tasted so good.I admit it, I'm a taste junkie.

Everyone had a great time. It was nice to see my brothers again. They've grown to be outstanding fathers and wonderful men. Who would know that these are the same brothers who ~~destroyed~~ ~~dissected~~ performed "dental work" on one of my dolls just to see what made it cry? They are truly awesome.

Tom and I spent Friday helping Mom and Dad around the house. Tom chopped kindling wood and sawed up some downed trees and I helped straighten up the house. Carl and Laurie brought over a big pot of shrimp creole for dinner, along with the leftover pie from Thanksgiving. Their three kids kept everyone amused with their antics.

And of course, there was knitting. I worked on the Counterpoised shawl and managed to complete two repeats of chart 2. If you count the number of times I had to tink and reknit, I could probably have the shawl done by now. Row 7, for some reason, is my nemesis row.

See that stitch marker a couple of rows down? It marks a dropped stitch. I'm not sure that I can successfully work the stitch back in, so there's more tinking in my future.

I wasn't the only one knitting.

Mom is knitting, too! Despite having not picked up the needles for a good many years, she's doing a great job. Her tension is even and she remembers the knitting lingo. Way to go, Mom!

We drove back yesterday, stopped by the house long enough to feed the cat, then headed up to Rockville for a second Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law's house. My MIL doesn't like to cook, but despite that, she made the best sweet potato casserole. The sweet potatoes were whipped and flavored with orange. The turkey was good, too, and she did something that even we don't do. She butterflied it! It was perfect. Once again, Larry outdid himself and made a stellar pecan pie. True to form, I ate too much. Oh well...we'll be back to our normal eating this week.

Happy knitting!

These Things Are Sharp!

2007-11-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

True to my word, I finished the first Gentleman's Fancy Sock. I had enough yarn, thanks to the liberal application of toe decreases. Here's the sock, next to the remains of the ball (all 19 inches of it).

That was cutting it a little too close for comfort.

I felt total love for the first sock, although I didn't quite feel the love for the yarn. It was a bit splitty on 2.0mm metal needles. But I survived and the sock survived. Not too many stitches leapt from the needles, which was a pleasant surprise given how slippery they are. And even though the needles have sharp points on them, I suffered nary a scratch (although I came close to poking one or two eyeballs out). As soon as I finished weaving in the ends, I pulled out the second ball and cast on for sock the second.

I'm not feeling the love for the second sock. The yarn is being cantankerous. It's sliding off the needles, splitting beyond imagination, and is being totally uncooperative. Maybe it's a bit miffed that I knit an inch of cuff with it about a year ago (swatching, don't cha know) and then abandoned it. It took three attempts with casting on before I was able to start knitting the cuff.

But what's worse is that the needles seem to be in cahoots with the yarn. They work themselves to the beginning of the knitting and then the stitches leap free. The points seem to have gotten sharper, leading, dear readers, to a small laceration on my left index finger. I'm left-handed and control the yarn with my left hand. To keep a nice, even tension, I work with the needles and yarn very close to my fingers. Every time I work a stitch, the needle lightly grazes my index finger, creating a small callus over time. This time, however, the needle viciously dug into my finger with each stitch, oblivious to the protection that the callus afforded. After about 12 rows, I ~~surrendered~~ decided it was wise to set the sock aside to allow my finger to heal.

See? They're really pointy!

That doesn't mean there won't be any knitting for a while. I'm switching to a different project; one where the needles aren't metal or aren't so pointy. I'm resurrecting the Monkey sock (knit, thankfully, on wood needles) and am having another go at the Counterpoised Shawl, which is knit on metal needles but the needles are much larger and therefore should not have the potential for laceration that the DPNs have. Before I continue with Counterpoised, though, it might have to be frogged. The stitch count is off on the current row and I cannot for the life of me find the mistake.

Now it's off to bed. I've got an early and busy morning tomorrow: two sets of cats to feed, coffee to make for the husband, macaroni and cheese to make for the family Thanksgiving feast, and a four-hour road trip.

Happy Birthday!

2007-11-19T08:03:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to my dear and wonderful husband! May we share many, many more.

While we were partaking of the celebratory dinner last night, Tom said "Next year we're not buying anything except necessities." My heart skipped a beat. He continued "We're not going to buy any TVs or electronic equipment or furniture. No clothes." "How about beer?" I said (knowing full well that he loves a fine microbrew). "No, beer's okay." Then the next question "Can I buy yarn?" "Yes, you can buy yarn" he replied, giving me a funny look. I couldn't quite tell if he was thinking that I have enough yarn already and really didn't need to buy more or if he now considers yarn necessary to my existence and was wondering why was I asking such a silly question. Maybe he thinks both. (And in the interest of full disclosure, we do not buy TVs or electronic equipment or furniture on a regular basis, so this moratorium on large purchases won't be much of a hardship.)

Crushed!

2007-11-18T13:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday started early (4:30 a.m) and cold (28 degrees according to one bank sign). I can hear you thinking "What in the blue blazes were you doing up that early?" Not much; just getting ready to crew for Tom as he ran the JFK 50.

The running club had four runners participating. Each had trained all summer and fall for this event. The course is somewhat difficult, both physically (13 miles are run on the Appalachian Trail) and mentally (27.3 miles are run on the C&O Canal towpath). There are two starts, one at 5:00 a.m. for the slower runners and another at 7:00 a.m. for the "regular" runners. All runners have until 7:00 p.m. to be off the course. Tom once again opted for the 7:00 start.

After gathering at the Boonsboro High School gymnasium and listening to the instructions, runners and their support crew walked the one kilometer to the start line (the stop light in town). The gun went off right at 7:00 and they were off and running! I'd see Tom and the others at Gathland State Park, about nine miles into the race. Because of the number of spectators, parking at all of the viewing points presents challenges, especially since the roads are narrow and shoulders are mostly non-existent. Add to that the presence of trees, rocks, and Civil War-era stone walls and parking can be as much of a challenge as running! I got to the park in enough time to see the front runners come through. They were flying (the winner finished the race in 5:50:34; that's a 6:59 pace over 50 miles!). Our runners came through (considerably behind the front runners) and looked strong. After we saw the last one off, we packed up and headed to the next stop.

The second stop, at Weverton Cliffs, is where the runners come off the Appalachian Trail for a brief period. Most take some time to change out of their trail shoes into their running shoes because the towpath is a much softer surface. They also take the opportunity to eat something (Tom's fuel of choice these days is Ensure). Once again, all our runners looked strong, although the distance between them was beginning to spread out more. Jill was flying, Tom was running strong, Phil was looking good, but taking his time, and Casey had slowed down a bit because she took a rather hard fall on the trail (lots of people trip over roots, rocks, and slip on wet leaves). After Casey left, it was on to the next stop at mile 27.1.

The third stop was at the Antietam Aqueduct and is one of the places where you can start to see runners getting tired. Jill, our fastest runner, was visibly hurting as she came through this stop; Pat started running with her at this point. Tom was still looking good, but said his feet hurt. Phil had fallen behind somewhat but was still looking good; he said he was just taking it slow. Casey had also slowed but she was still smiling and energetic. Mike (one of her crew members) donned his running shoes and took off with her, giving her a boost. Next stop: Taylors Landing, the "38 Special" stop.

To get to Taylors Landing, you must drive past some of the Antietam Battlefield. It's incredible that such a beautiful, peaceful area saw such a terrible, terrible battle. As I drove past, I thought of all the men and women whose lives were forever changed by the war. My great-great-grandfather was at Antietam and it felt strange to know that I was seeing the same land on which he once walked.

Parking was extremely difficult at this stop; fortunately, they had Park Service personnel and race volunteers to direct people. As I was walking toward the aid station, I saw Jill fly by; it looked like she had recovered nicely (it would also be the last time I saw Jill until the finish). Tom came by a little while later and still looked good, although he said he was beginning to tire. I waited for Phil and Casey to come by but they didn't arrive before I had to leave to get to the next stop, at mile 46.

I arrived at mile 46 and had about a 10-minute wait before Tom came by. I thought he was looking pretty good, but he said he was very tired. Then he was gone. I'd see him next as he crossed the finish line in Williamsport, Maryland.

When I got to the finish line (after walking what seemed to be forever from the high school parking lot), I met up with Jill's crew. She finished in 8:53:26 and placed 12th in her division. That's not bad for a first 50-mile race. Tom crossed the finish line a little after 5:00, in 10:05:03, crushing his time from last year (10:36:43)! He placed 59th (out of 197) in his division. I am so proud of him! And he wasn't even cranky during the race.

We saw Phil sitting in the lobby of the middle school where the post-race activities were being held. How did he pull that off? It turned out that he missed the time cut-off at mile 34 and was pulled from the course. That is such a disappointment, but he seemed to take it in stride.

After Tom had a quick shower and grabbed some sustenance that wasn't GU or Ensure, we headed outside to wait for Casey. She crossed the finish line in 11:36:42, although when she saw us, she thought we were the finish line. After running 50 miles and going that long, you are easily confused. One older gentleman turned off the course and headed toward the school, thinking the finish line was there. The spectators corrected him and he made it across the finish line safely.

Congratulations to all the runners of the 45th Annual John F. Kennedy 50 Mile Race!

Knitting Progress
Given that the greater part of yesterday was taken to standing around waiting for the runners to come by, you'd think that I'd have finished the sock and started its mate. Not so. With the temperatures hovering in the low 40s most of the day, my hands stayed encased in wool mittens (sadly, store-bought). The thought of knitting on 2.0mm metal needles was not a pleasant one, so the sock never saw the light of day, even though it was my constant companion. And no, I don't have any traveling sock pictures. I didn't think about it and I was using a camera that used real film. How quaint. And how frustrating not to know if the pictures you took are any good until after the film is developed!

That said, I predict the first sock will be completed today. I'm so close to finishing. I'm still worried about having enough yarn. This is how much is left:

What do you think? I've got 12 more rows to knit, plus grafting.

Surprise!
When we got home last night, there was a package from Wooly Wonka Fibers on the doorstep. I eagerly ripped it open to see what wonderful exotic fiber Anne choose for us this month. I found this:

Alpaca in the most beautiful chocolate brown. The pattern included for this fiber is a lace shawl pattern by Miriam. Hoo boy...is this ever going to test my spinning and knitting ability! I think I'll not attempt to spin this until after I take the spinning class that's offered at Maryland Sheep and Wool. My fear of spinning yummy fibers is akin to my fear of cutting into cloth...you've only got one chance to get it right. Once the fiber is spun, it can't be unspun and spun again.

So, today will be spent finishing the sock and doing some quiet activities around the house (yesterday sort of drained me, given that I forgot to pack food for me). Maybe, just maybe, if I'm a good girl and finish the sock, I'll pull out my wheel and spin a bit!

And Finally
I want to thank everyone for your concern and good wishes during my thyroid scare. It meant a lot to me, especially during the last biopsy. I finally met with the holistic physician (she spent over an hour with me) and she identified additional mineral deficiencies that are probably contributing factors to the thyroid dysfunction. So, while the fix might not be fast or easy, I'm confident that there will be fix. The journey to health continues, and it will be an interesting one.

Happy knitting (and spinning)!

The Results Are In

2007-11-14T21:34:00.000-05:00

The waiting has ended. The results are in and the nodule is...benign! This is very good news, indeed. I can remove one item off the list of things that are potentially wrong. I've got an appointment with a holistic physician tomorrow and I think we'll be able to figure out how to get my energy levels back up.

I haven't been too worried about the results, though. Mostly I've been worried about how much it will hurt to have my thyroid yanked out. This, of course, is based purely on how much my neck hurt after the biopsy.

So, life is once again good.

Knitting Progress
The toe is not quite finished, although I have started the decreases. I'm just hoping that I'll have enough yarn to finish this sock. It's going to be very, very close.

That's it for now. Have a great rest of the week!

Overdone

2007-11-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

I had a fairly good weekend. I managed to get to yoga class on Saturday morning and get through the class without hurting my neck. I straightened up my workroom (which once again looked like a clothing and yarn bomb had detonated). I knit some on the sock, although sadly I did not finish it as I was hoping. Why?

Because Sunday I kicked it up a notch.

I was up early and went for a six-mile walk with some of the other walkers in the running club, followed by coffee (hot chocolate for me) and pastries at the local coffee shop. That was followed by a grocery shopping which was followed by actual cooking. By me! We dined on:

Grilled Lamb Loin Chop with Roasted Mustard/Sage Sweet Potatoes, Mexican Mint Marigold Pesto and Warm Goat Cheese Sauce (except I used tarragon)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Guiltless Warm Flourless Chocolate Cake

Our friend Leigh came over and what with cooking and talking, we lost track of time and she ended up leaving around 10:30. I didn't get to bed until about 11:30. That was a very bad thing because today I was totally exhausted and back in a brain fog. The exhaustion was so bad that I felt like weeping when I discovered that the nice folks at Panera had given me the wrong to-go sandwich (I ordered the Mediterranean Veggie and got turkey, bacon, and gouda instead). But I managed to pull myself together enough to drive back to Panera and pick up the correct sandwich. It was a struggle to get through the remainder of the afternoon.

Note to Self: Even if you think you are feeling better after a procedure, you really aren't!

Knitting News
I've got about 20 rounds to go before I start the toe decreases on the sock. And the ball of yarn is looking mighty...thin. I would think that one ball of Socka would make one size medium man's sock. We shall see.

And I've fallen in love. I was leafing through EZ's book Knitting Around yesterday and came across the Jogger's Mittens. They are lined mittens with a curved top and no thumb! I'm entranced and I think they'd be wonderful knit in the leftover Manos I've got. Or even Cascade 220. Must...not...cast...on. Must...finish...socks.

That's it for now. It's past my bedtime and the furry, four-footed alarm clock is going to go off around 5:45.

Have a great week!

Adventures in Medicine

2007-11-09T08:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was FNA Day, aka Biopsy Day. Hoo boy...it did not turn out like I was thinking. We'd waltz into Johns Hopkins, they'd stick me a couple of times with a really skinny needle, say everything is great, and a little while later Tom and I would be lunching at one of Baltimore's wonderful eating establishments.

The best laid plans...

The first snag of the day was parking. The parking garage was almost filled to capacity, even the very top. There were a couple of spots that Tom deemed to have insufficient space. He finally took one of those and we waltzed into the Outpatient Center. And then we proceeded to walk, and walk, and walk some more to get to the Nelson basement.

After we reached our destination, I registered. Or rather attempted to. I presented my Johns Hopkins id card, and then my insurance card. The nice registrar was clearly puzzled. "Do I use the ID number or the card number?" she asked me. I suggested the ID number. "Do you have a referral?" "No," I replied, "I thought everything was done internally through Johns Hopkins." "It's asking me for an authorization number." At this point, I could feel my blood pressure rise. I sighed. "I didn't know I needed an authorization." She asked who made the appointment and I told her. It eventually got all straightened out, but it was very frustrating.

Eventually we made it back to the exam room, or rather, the procedure room. A doctor came in and explained, step-by-step, the procedure. Then she left, followed by Tom, who was at this point feel a bit woozy (he doesn't like needles, or the thought of them, at all). The ultrasound tech came in to map my thyroid and the best spot for the needles. She was followed by a nurse who set out all the tools. The first doctor reappeared and prepped my neck, numbing it (thankfully) with lidocaine. Then the procedure began. All in all, they took five samples, at least one of which had enough material to work with. The actual biopsy didn't take all that long (thankfully). I'll have results in about a week.

The nurse cleaned up my neck and bandaged it, then proceeded to describe aftercare: no hot foods or beverages for two hours, don't let your head go below your waist, no strenuous activity, don't remove the bandage for 24 hours, don't shower for 24 hours. Oops...guess that means I can't go to the office. He then rolled me out to "recovery," which was the waiting room. Ick. It felt very strange laying on gurney in plain sight of everyone. He eventually moved me to one of the curtained cubicles but neglected to draw the curtains.

And then the workmen arrived.

So here I am, laying on a gurney in a hospital gown, with an ice pack on my neck and feeling a bit light-headed when two workmen come into the little cubicle without so much as a "by your leave" and stare at the door two inches from the foot of the gurney. "Need the combination" one says. They stare at the ceiling tiles and point and indicate that these need to come out, too. Then they wandered off to get the combination to the door, reappeared, and proceeded to unlock and open the door (which had a big sign on it that read "Asbestos project in progress.") It was odd, very odd.

Yesterday's hospital visit reinforced the fact that, even though I find medicine to be fascinating, I really don't want to spend time in a hospital. When I registered, there were several patients laying on gurneys, with multiple IVs and wearing surgical masks. It was distressing, and sad.

Knitting Progress
I've turned the heel and completed three (out of seven) pattern repeats on the foot. I should finish the first sock this weekend. Woo hoo!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to rest my neck. It's still a bit sore.

Happy Friday!

Finally, a Post!

2007-11-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

It seems like, these days, everything goes by in slow motion until I look up and realize that the trees have changed color (when did that happen?!), it's no longer 90 degrees outside, and we're now in November. Part of it, I'm sure, is due to my brain-fogged state and my obsession with my malfunctioning thyroid. Fortunately, the brain fog seems to be lifting somewhat and my energy levels are a bit higher. I can get out of bed, take a shower, and not feel like I need a nap.

This is a very good thing, because I was tapped to coordinate a large software and upgrade project at work last week. When my boss told me that he wanted me take on that responsibility, my heart sank. Ordinarily, I'd jump at a chance to take on that kind of challenge. But when I can't add two and two and get the right answer, my first reaction was that we'll be heading for disaster.

The following day, the brain fog lifted, so I'm a little more optimistic that I'll be able to do the work. The second biopsy is scheduled for next week and I'm hoping the results will be conclusive this time. I dreamed last night that the surgeon called to tell me the biopsy results were clear. That's a good omen.

So, enough about health stuff. On to...

Knitting News
I've make good progress on the sock in progress. See?

I've finished the cuff and am about halfway through the heel flap. I'm using Fortissima Socka (color 1026) and knitting on my usual 2mm DPNs. This is the first time I've used metal DPNs and I thought that they'd be very slippery. I'm happy to report that the needles have been on their best behavior, staying put and not escaping from the stitches' embrace. Every now and then a stitch will quietly slip off the needle when it thinks I'm not looking, but I'm quick to catch it. I don't normally like knitting on 6-inch needles, but the length is key to keeping the stitches on the needle.

Hey, Mom! Here's your yarn:

This is Yin (color 822) from Southwest Trading Company. It's a wool/silk/bamboo blend. Don't be put off by the color. It's a beautiful dusty green, a little lighter than the socks I knit you. While the yarn is a bit finer than I wanted, I think it will be a pleasure to knit with and will have a wonderful hand. It's in skeins, so I'll need to wind it into balls, and I still need to buy needles for you.

As to the other WIP, the Counterpoised Shawl, it's still in time out. I'm focusing on the socks for now.

And finally, for a bit of color. I've been meaning to post this picture, but keep forgetting (that's a surprise).

(Click for a larger picture.)

This is one of the swatches that we knit in the Color for Knitters class at Stitches. It's worked with two and three different yarns, in Half Linen Stitch. By themselves, the yarns were nice, but really nothing to write home about. Combined, though, they are gorgeous (which surprised Laura Bryant; she thought nothing could help that gray yarn). This exercise proved that I do know what I'm doing with color (mostly it's a confidence thing) and that by combining yarns, you can design a very unique fabric. When it comes down to it, it's all about the swatch, baby.

Once a Technocat, Always a Technocat
Some things never change.

That was then:

This is now:

Emma's a wee bit bigger, but still loves a laptop, especially since the weather is cooler.

Well, I'm off to yoga class! Have a wonderful Saturday!

Scary Doctor Appointment

2007-10-28T16:43:00.000-05:00

I had the scary doctor appointment on Friday. It turned out to not be as scary as I thought. The surgeon was very nice and understanding. It turns out, however, that the biopsy slides did not contain enough material to make a definitive diagnosis (duh...that's what the pathology report said). They want me to come back to Johns Hopkins for another fine needle aspiration (aka FNA or biopsy). If the results are still inconclusive, then I suspect the surgeon will recommend a partial thyroidectomy. Blech. Stay tuned.

When we arrived home from Baltimore, I had a nice surprise waiting for me. The October installation of the Rockin' Sock Club had arrived, featuring wonderfully black wool and a sock pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot. It's quite the nice sock. And it doesn't require cable needles or anything. After I replace my ball winder and finish the two pairs of socks I'm currently knitting, that might very well be the next sock project.

I'm sure you are all dying to know what project I chose for my scary doctor appointment. Was it socks? No. A simple garter stitch scarf knit from the most squooshy wool? Nope. I decided to live dangerously and pulled out the Counterpoised Shawl kit that I picked up at Stitches. Yum...silk...it's going to feel so good to knit and how hard can it be? YOs, SSKs, and K2togs only on the right-side rows. It will be a piece of cake.

Not!

First, even though the silk is yummy, my hands have more rough spots on them than I ever dreamed possible. And the yarn is a single. So between it catching on my hands and the needles splitting the yarn, the knitting was slow going. Oh, and did I mention having to unknit and frog and start over again?

I put the silk aside and opted to go for a Zephyr silk/wool blend, in a lovely shade of blue. I figured it would be much easier to handle and after I get the hang of the pattern, then I can knit the silk. It is much easier to knit with the Zephyr than the silk, but apparently I cannot count. I managed to get through the first 18-row chart (having frogged it twice). I cannot for the life of me get past row 7 of chart 2. I'm off one stinkin' stitch. The shawl wasn't a bad choice for the doctor appointment, since there wasn't all that much waiting time. The problem came when I decided to continue with it at the PJ Party this weekend. I figured I'd have lots (about 40) expert knitters around to help me if when I ran into trouble. Well, there are a lot of conversations going on with 40 knitters and after not having seen some of them for an entire year? Let's just say that after knitting and tinking the same three rows several times, the shawl was relegated to time out.

Thank heaven for sock yarn. I'm now happily (mostly) knitting away on a really cool sock. But I can't show you yet. I need to rip out about five rows because I missed an important instruction in the pattern and now the stitch pattern is all wonky. My attempt to cleverly fix it in situ just caused more problems. Sigh...

The weekend, though, was quite nice. The mystery guest was Jonelle Raffino from Southwest Trading Company. She talked at length about how they developed their fibers and their impact on the environment, and we got to see some cool new yarns that aren't out yet. There was some stash enhancement in the way of give-aways (sorry, no pictures yet). And I started my mother's stash this weekend.

Hee hee! That's right...thanks to Sheepish Annie and the Yarn Harlot, my mother has once again caught the knitting bug. Mom attempted to teach me to knit when I was nine, but it didn't stick. I think it had something to do with the fact that she's right-handed and I'm left-handed. Way back in the 50s, Mom knit a gorgeous ripple afghan in black, with blues,greens, red, pinks, and magentas. I loved that afghan (sadly, it deteriorated over the years and it's sitting in my workroom waiting for me to figure out how to repair it). Mom was also quite the knitter of argyle socks. I think what pushed her over the edge was finding a half-finished pair of socks that she started...oh, about 40 (or more) years ago. Right before I left for the weekend, Mom asked me to take a look at some yarn online to see if she should buy it. I didn't get a chance to look at the yarn, but I found some really nice yarn for her, as well as a pattern for a nice scarf.

That's about it for now. I'm in the process of doing laundry and straightening up my workroom before I leave yet again, this time to the Commonwealth of Virginia Procurement Forum (which is being held in the city where I grew up). I'm getting rather tired of flitting hither and yon. My life should calm down a little bit mid-week.

Happy knitting!

Yummers!

2007-10-20T10:07:00.000-05:00

It's a dilemma. My cold is on its way out, but I'm still sneezing and coughing and have a residual headache. Should I go to yoga class this morning or not? The yoga will help me feel better, but I'm terrified of having a sneezing or coughing fit in the middle of savasana, which certainly won't serve the other students well. I've missed so many yoga classes this session, either because I was waiting for deliveries while Tom was on his long runs or because we were out of town. I'll miss next week's class as well, because it's the Hunt Country Yarns Pajama Party weekend.

I'm thinking I'll skip class and try to practice on my own. If I go to class, I'd have to disturb the cat on my lap. Because the weather has been so hot, she hasn't wanted much lap time. The weather is still too hot for October, but at least the mornings are chilly and she actively searches out a quiet lap. She's enjoying her morning nap as I blog.

So without further ado, I offer for you viewing pleasure my Stitches acquisitions. First up, lovely merino wool in autumnal colors (Spice and Squash)...Mission Falls 1824:

I'm thinking that this yarn would make a nice hat or small scarf. It's very soft. It was also a give-away at Stitches

Next up, Sterling Silk and Silver by Kraemer Yarns:

If you look closely, you can see flecks of real sterling silk. The silver is antibacterial, which makes it a perfect application for socks. I purchased this yarn from Susan and Jill at Y2Knit. It's destined to become the Sterling Lace Shawl. Y2Knit now has the yarn in black as well, which would make a stunning shawl for those holiday parties.

By far the yummiest yarn I acquired is this:

This is Geisha, 100% dupion bombyx silk, by Just Our Yarn. It's gorgeous and is destined to become the Counterpoised Shawl. Diane Smith is one of the women behind JOY. I met her at Stitches last year and spent an inordinate amount of time at her booth trying out (and eventually purchasing) a drop spindle. I was introduced to her a second time by my optometrist. She's local to my area and will be doing a trunk show in January for the Blue Ridge Spinners and Weavers Guild. Knitter's Review wrote up a review of their yarn Caravan here.

The first yarn purchase of the day was this sock yarn:

The yarn is from Araucania. The blues just drew me in. I'm somewhat partial to blue anyway and hesitated only briefly before making the leap. They recommend that you knit alternating skeins to get an even color distribution but alas, the vendor had only one skein of that color.

And finally, another door prize:

Yep, more sock yarn. It's the Regia Design Line with the colorways designed by Kaffe Fasset. It really is pretty, isn't it? And a word of warning...before you purchase a lot of yarn from that link, those prices are in pounds, not dollars! (I used that link because they had the best description.)

So there you have it. While I spent more than I intended, I don't think I did too badly. All of the purchases have projects attached to them, except the sock yarn, but I'm thinking that something out of Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks would be quite appropriate.

I'm still undecided on the scary doctor appointment knitting. Joan recommended the Fenna Shawl, which certainly does look like it would be a wonderful soothing knit. Unfortunately, I don't have the book and am unlikely acquire a copy in time. So, it's back to the drawing board for me.

Happy knitting!

Stitches East Recap

2007-10-19T11:39:00.000-05:00

Wow...it's been a long time since I've posted. There's been a lot going on, with the highlight being Stitches East. Once again, it was excellent!

I missed the opening session; I just couldn't get my act together to leave early enough in the morning to get to Baltimore by 10:00. So rather than stress out about it, I took my time packing and arrived too late for the opening session but in plenty of time for lunch (and to do the homework for the first class). I barged up to the registration booth, totally ignoring the group of women who were standing nearby. I didn't occur to me that they might be standing in line. When it dawned on me that I might have cut in line, I turned around, apologized, and motioned for one of the women to go before me. She declined, then introduced herself as Fiona Ellis. Quite the auspicious beginning!

All of my classes were excellent, especially Pattern Customization with Gwen Bortner and Color for Knitters with Laura Bryant. If you can get to a Stitches convention, try to get into these classes. They will definitely change the way you think about knitting and definitely change the way you think about color.

There was some minor stash enhancement, both purchased and through door prizes, but I'll post pictures later. I won a very nice backpack at the Friday night fashion show. It's the Bella Sorella bag and was offered by Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm. Complete with cell phone and water bottle pockets on the outside, it has numerous pockets on the inside, as well as a "hidden" zippered pocket on the back to store valuables. The straps are curved and well-padded and fit comfortably, even when the pack is filled with yarn, books, and needles. This bag might very well replace the KnitPicks KIPer bags. My only complaint is that the fabric is a bit floppy, but I can live with that.

I finished the Clapotis shawl, wore it on Saturday, and received several compliments on it. I love the way it drapes and hugs my body. I've decided I don't like the mohair content so much; too much shedding. That just means I've got to knit another one! Such a hardship...

The other thing that I picked up at Stitches, although I wasn't aware of it at the time, was a very nasty cold. Yesterday was spent battling a fever and trying not to cough up too much of my lungs. The fever is gone today, but I'm wiped out (hence, no photos).

All in all, my Stitches experience this year was good, even if a bit surreal. How can a knitting convention be surreal (other than getting high on fiber fumes)? Simply juxtapose it with scheduling a scary doctor appointment. As you might remember, I've periodically complained about being exhausted and being in a funk. This is, I think, related to the nodule on my thyroid that developed four years ago, after a bout of De Quervain's thyroiditis. During the last year or so, the nodule has doubled in size. The biopsy results at the beginning of the month were inconclusive, prompting the endocrinologist to refer me to Johns Hopkins for a second opinion, or as the confirmation letter states, a "surgical consultation."

Yikes.

That, coupled with the fact that they will be doing additional blood work and another ultrasound (to check the lymph nodes in my neck), leads my version of Hysterical Mind to jump straight to the conclusion that I've got a dread disease and they'll be removing my thyroid faster than you can say "Jack's a doughnut." In reality, a very small percentage of this type of nodule ends up being malignant. The appointment is next Friday and it should be interesting, to say the least. We're going up to Baltimore the night before, to stay with our friends James and Gina, which will make this whole process quite a bit more pleasant.

And of course, all scary things are made less scary by some good knitting. The suggestion line is open: What would you take to knit at a scary doctor appointment?

It's Saturday!

2007-10-06T10:52:00.000-05:00

This will be a quick post, in between loads of laundry and packing for the Steamtown Marathon. It's been a busy week, full of interesting happenings, with the possibility of more interesting things happening in the future. I'll have more information next week.

The drive up to Pennsylvania will provide several hours of uninterrupted knitting and that should be ample time to finish Clapotis. The decrease rows are moving right along! There's enough length now to try it on and I wrapped it around me yesterday. Oh my! It's luscious and oh so warm! The combination of stockinette and drop stitch make a fabric that conforms to the body and it's like being hugged. I can't wait for the weather to get warm enough to wear it!

Well, the dryer just stopped, so that's a signal for me to wrap up and finish travel preparations (including deciding what other knitting projects to take).

Have a great weekend and happy knitting!

No Time to Blog

2007-09-30T14:20:00.000-05:00

Or so it seems. Much has happened since I last posted an entry. Life at work has been fairly busy, and my father had back surgery (he seems to be recovering well, thank you), which necessitated a trip home last weekend. We've been watching the new Ken Burns documentary, The War, which is very good, but very long.

And the Yarn Harlot came to town. See?

She's not there. That's the crowd, which from the back looked small-ish. But there were over 175 of us there (at least that's how many were in line for the book signing). I stayed with the knitters, way in the back, despite having arrived 75 minutes before the talk started. I didn't get a chance to see how the non-knitting customers were handling the invasion of the knitters. Finally, Stephanie appeared:

She talked for almost two hours and was funny in a very understated way. The room was howling with laughter for the most part. But Stephanie talked about serious things, too. Like how knitting as a business is underestimated by banks (witness the problem that Blue Moon Fiber Arts had with their original bank thinking that the Rockin' Sock Club was a fraud because how could 2000 people want to buy sock yarn? Or the problem that another yarn shop had getting a mortage for a warehouse for its expanding business because the bank, despite at 50% down payment and a strong business plan and year-over-year growth, thought that the business was "implausible.") She also talked about the generosity of knitters, as demonstrated by the amount of money that we've raised for Doctors without Borders.

After talking for so long, Stephanie then signed books. And signed them, and signed them, and signed them. My friend and I were numbers 107 and 109 in the line (thanks to Anne's alertness, she discovered there was a line in which to get numbers; I never saw it, so intent was I on obtaining and retaining our seats). So I knit on Clapotis while waiting and eventually met a couple of other knitters (yes, I'm shy, even when surrounded by my own kind), Nicole and Lee. I managed to complete several repeats on Clapotis and finally, after waiting until about 10:30 or so, our numbers were called. Oh boy! We get to join the line. The line moved relatively quickly and soon I was standing before the Yarn Harlot herself. We chatted, but I think all that the only sounds that I managed to get out of my mouth were "Ergh", "Ahhh", and several other unintelligble articulations (I was beyond feeling exhausted at that point, having been up since 5:30 a.m. and not having had dinner). Stephanie, to her credit, was witty, articulate, gracious, and poised, as you can see:

As I was getting ready to leave, another group of 25 or 50 knitters appeared and Stephanie collapsed on the table, exclaiming "More?!" Poor Stephanie. Such are the wages of fame. Fortunately, the traffic going home was not so bad and I got home a little after midnight.

Knitting News
Clapotis is moving right along. I've finished knitting straight and have just started knitting the decrease rows. It looks like I'm set to have another finished object by the end of the year. I'm still loving the yarn and the pattern. My only regret is that the Duet seems to shed, making this shawl not very practical to wear with black. Oh well...I guess I'll be brushing mohair off my suits and coats.

Stitches East
Stitches East is only two short weeks away. Once again, I've signed up for a full slate of classes, from Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. These are the classes I'm taking:

Pattern Customization

Design with Unpatterns

Color for Knitters

Norwegian Purl

Increases and Decreases

I thought I had signed up for a class on short rows, but either it filled up before they got to me or else I bumped it for a class I thought was more important. The class that I feel is most important to me is Color for Knitters. Color scares me and I'm hoping that this one-day workshop will give me the confidence that I need to use color creatively and intelligently. And maybe then I'll take the plunge into dyeing.

October is shaping up to be a busy month. Tom is running the Steamtown Marathon next weekend, the following weekend is Stitches East, then I'm home for a weekend. Hunt Country Yarns has its annual Pajama Party the weekend before Halloween, and I'll be going. And I'll be missing two fiber festivals in Virginia. October should be designated Fiber Month.

That's it for now. Time to go do some housework before the day is all used up.

Happy knitting!