Here we go

We are preparing for a trip this week. A trip to my hometown for my parents' 50th anniversary. Everyone is coming and I am sooo excited to see everyone - it will be the first time all of us have been together since 2003. Too long. I hope to post a few shots of the event when I get back Sunday; we leave first thing Friday morning and the party is on Saturday morning. It's a brunch and my brother in law, the chef, will be cooking. Can't wait!
The watermelon hat is getting close to being finished. I'm in the decrease round and running out of yarn. I hope it'll be ok, but it's always a nail-biter when this happens.
(The hat looks more tangerine than watermelon in this evening/kitchen light. It's not really. )
Because you're a knitter, you know what I'm doing in the back of my mind. That's right, I'm already planning the next project. The elusive pay-off. The project that you dream about, like the red rider bb gun in A Christmas Story.

I have pretty much decided to rip out (frog) the sapphire sweater and just do a set of gloves and scarf, or some felted purse-kinda project. We'll see.

We had our office Christmas party the other day and it was a big let-down. The restaurant is new and they don't have it together yet. Service was slow, the room was way to cool (I wore my coat the whole time) and the food was just average. I realize now that their focus will be on the beer, since it's a brewery, but they aren't serving beer yet. I don't drink beer, but it just didn't make sense to open up before you had your stuff together.

And speaking of not having it together. It's almost Christmas and I have really got to get it together when we get back from Mobile. Our shower head is not working properly. Somehow its gotten stripped when you adjust the thing and it's permanently set on "atomic". Not gentle shower, or pulsating massage. I'm talking mafia machine gun. At least my hair is getting clean; what's left on my head after the shower!
And I really need to clean the floors, especially in the bathrooms. I have a pet peeve about dirty bathroom floors. And seats. In public restrooms women sometimes have difficulty maintaining aim if you know what I mean. Some women teach their daughters "not to touch anything" but forget to say that when you're done, you should clean up. I take little preschool boys to the potty during Sunday School and they have better aim than some women I know! I'm not kidding. (Sorry if that's TMI.)
So, as soon as we get home Sunday afternoon, I've got to get cleaning. Right after I do some knitting during the football game. I'm in the fantasy football playoffs, you know!! (Go Dallas!)

Holiday Season

Yesterday I had the honor and privilege of meeting with my spinning group buddies to celebrate Christmas. We have a little potluck party every year and this year was a special time with better than average fare.

Mixed green salad with lettuce from Brenda M's garden (and homemade dressing), Shepherd's pie made by our very own New Zealander Sally, Potato Soup from our German hostess Susie, Avocado & Grapefruit salad from our resident cookbook author Marty, Hummus and chips, casserole, chocolates and cream puffs,....I'm telling you it was nice.

Pleasant conversation ranging from European vacations to disastrous power outages. And then the reason for the season, presents! (just kidding!)

Here's what I brought home. Amazing hand knit neck scarf made from handspun alpaca and wool. Merry Christmas to me!

Show and tell brought up lovely handmade things as usual.
Beautiful! The shawl below was hand combed and hand spun and hand crocheted from 2 fleeces.

We are so blessed to have such abundance at our fingertips. I got to share with the ladies that a man from our church told my husband he would GIVE me several llama fleeces, as he burns them every year and doesn't know what to do with them. All the girls' jaws dropped when I said this (and I think I saw some green flashes of envy/can I have one?).

~ ~ ~
My watermelon hat is a breeze, yet it reminds me more and more of my need to wear glasses when knitting in less than perfect light. I will be 45 this January and eventually I'll have to start coloring my hair and taking pills and wearing glasses for more than needlework. I am ok with all that. Life has been so good to me and there's so much more to come; I can hardly wait to see what's next.

I've really enjoyed my Kindle this week. Well into my mystery novel and already looking for the next book to read. The night I got it (FYI, kindle is like an iPod for books) I downloaded The Lifted Veil by George Eliot and a few samples of books to see what I'd like to buy. I read the book in a couple of days and loved it! Public domain books are generally free and there are lots of them to get. There's such a large selection to choose from, it really takes a while to make a decision. (Not to mention that if they are free that helps me decide more quickly.)

This Tuesday is our office Christmas party and we are going to a new restaurant in downtown Franklin, TN. A brewery that is owned by a local celebrity. Last year we weren't able to get bonuses but did receive an extra paid vacation day. Funny thing is, I still haven't used all my days from last year and I'm now into my 'new year' at work. I've been there three years now (didn't get an evaluation but I'm sure of my facts. I know my work anniversary!) Starting my fourth year has been better than I thought it would be. Things are changing daily around there, but more and more I feel a sense of confidence with my job. Thank you Lord for a good job!

Watermelon, Watermelon

I’ve heard that when singers don’t know the words to the song they’re singing and people are watching, it’s best to say watermelon, watermelon to at least look like you know what you’re doing.
With that in mind, I’ve selected this Watermelon yarn to start a new hat; imagine that I know what I'm doing.

I also have some Tangerine yarn that I’ll add after the ribbing. We dyed these yarns at our dye day last year and they have been begging me to find a project for them . They just want to be seen and not left in the storage bin like the Velveteen Rabbit.

This pattern is now a no-brainer; just like socks with an afterthought heel. The hat starts with 120 sts and k2p2 rib for 8 rows. Then an abrupt increase, knit straight for a while (or insert some lace, etc.), decrease and tie off. Easy!

Tonight on the drive home from work I had almost an hour for my stocking feet to dry in the nice warm heated floorboard of my car. Rain all day; then walk to the car with an umbrella - this does not protect my tootsies from puddles and windy, sideways raindrops. So I'm thankful for the nice slow traffic that gave my feet lots of time to dry. (See? Giving thanks in all things!)

It's Tuesday night and normally I would be catching up with the latest episode of Castle, but the finale of Biggest Loser is on and my friend Liz has been a finalist. She looks fantastic by the way. She is a very, very kindhearted person and a southern belle to boot!

Gone to Seed

I've gone and done it. I ordered some seeds to plant in my garden this spring; lettuce in a few different varieties. I have planted from seed before and I know the risks. It's better to start seeds in pots or order plants, because seeds tend to germinate and then flop over and die once they've gotten off to a good start.

But now that my husband has fixed me up with some little flourescent lights in the kitchen, I may be able to start some seeds inside this winter and have plants to put in the soil. I had thought I would put out bulbs but it's getting late. Maybe too late in the fall for bulbs. We'll see..

Ever since I can remember, there's been a natural inclination in me to do things the old fashioned way. Planting gardens, sewing, cooking from scratch and of course spinning and knitting. Maybe it comes from reading books and the way writers romanticize these things. I'm not sure why, but I know that I'm curious to at least try something once.

Right now I am working on two books. One is an audio book by Jacques Pepin, and it's his autobiography.
The other book is on my Kindle; a PD James novel. She's sort of a Sherlock Holmes type of writer, but modern and a woman. I really like getting on the treadmill with my book - it's so much easier than trying to carry a paperback and reading a shaky text. Now I just prop the little thing on the dashboard (?) of the treadmill and press the button to turn the page as I'm reading. Too cool!

The weather here in Tennessee is getting quite cool by the way. We're all dashing in and out of buildings, trying to get warm and drinking lots of hot drinks. (Maybe I should be knitting a scarf instead of reading!) It seems like the economy/stock market is perking up a bit, and shoppers are spending more than they did last year. That could be wishful thinking but it is December and Christmas is right around the corner. And of course that means a new year and in my book that means New Year's resolutions. I've already started to ponder the lighter ones. I think this will be the year of watching the clouds. I noticed the most beautiful sky last Sunday morning on my way to church. I realized that God gives some pretty spectacular shows, right in the middle of the day, if we just look up!

Edit Settings

When Monday rolls around, we all sigh and head back to work, which is even harder after a holiday weekend. But today I had a few extra things on my plate (so to speak) and I knew my hours would be fewer due to an office training session in the first part of the day. The session went well and was fruitful; I work at a law firm and it's important to keep track of documents, calls, etc. in case you're asked about them. After the session, I headed back to my desk, trying to get back into the swing of things, sorting out what needed to be done first. Then the UPS guy brought a stack of boxes: 6 brand new monitors and one of them was for ME! No way was I going to get anything done until I had hooked up my new monitor. What a nice surprise! Gweyn in the office next to mine had a little trouble, and I gave her a hand. She and I both had to shed our high heels to hook up the wires, but it was worth it!
(That's it up there - 21.5 inches wide.)
I really had to double up my efforts at getting work done, mentally negotiating how long each task would take.

This weekend I finished the blue hat, and tossed it in the dryer this morning to get a little fluffy going on.

What a pretty little thing, and my daughter assured me that navy is "so in" right now. Praise be!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and when we tried to take our annual Thanksgiving portrait, the camera seemed to have a mind of it's own, giving off tremendous flash every time and somehow the shutter speed was all messed up. But my husband finally said, "Enough, the food's getting cold!"






















I did some spinning over the weekend but have reached the end of what's carded. I may spin a little of the gray I bought from Marty at the last meeting.
Tonight I must begin my Christmas decorating. I am having a little party Friday night for some of my helpers at church. They are priceless and deserve a huge reward for their tireless contribution. At work they remind me that the dollar amount would be very high to pay all these workers for their time. I couldn't agree more!

Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce

Thanksgiving is just days away and I am grudgingly putting aside all my inclinations to cook a healthy meal. Orders are to fix anything and everything that is starchy and sugary or has added butter or bacon grease. I can't tell you how hard that is for me. Lord help me remember the reason for the holiday!
This evening I got in a few more rows on the little blue hat. I've inserted this lace row to add interest, but there are no competing colors - just navy blue.
(the color is hideous, but you get the idea)

I had a lengthy conversation with my sister tonight. I haven't seen her in years but my plan is to go see my parents the weekend before Christmas for their 50th anniversary and get in some good 'visit' time with the rest of the family.
For the drive down, I just may be absorbed in this - my Christmas present that came early.
I'm so excited that I'll get to take it on my trip. We had some plans this year to do some improvements to our house, but my daughter met the man of her dreams and got married this past July, so many things were put on hold. Now we're starting to get some breathing room again this was my Christmas wish! I've been lusting after a Kindle for about a year now. I can't believe I've finally got it. Some things are just sooooo worth the wait!!!

Please be seated

Today is my day off and I woke up with the blessing of a new project to knit. I have relegated the sweater to the UFO pile for now. I started a slouchy hat (tam, beret) out of some acrylic I had in the stash. Washable, smooth, even and a great color. Navy blue. I thought of doing a fair isle pattern, which is in the instructions, but opted to just make a plain blue hat that would hopefully be more classic and timeless.

The good thing about his hat is the perfect size 7 needles. They really are the perfect size to me. Big enough to hold and not too big to manipulate. You don't get the tired eyes and cramped fingers like you get from 2's. And you don't knock over your coffee cup like you would with 13's. And the great thing about a hat is that unlike socks, when you're done, you're done. No second-sock-syndrome.

This afternoon we're goint to see the new Jim Carey Christmas Carol movie. It's time to get into the Christmas spirit and I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner. My son, daughter and son in law will be here to share the holiday and we are not holding back. I hope to get my grocery list finalized today and get the majority of the stuff this weekend, with those last minute items left for Wednesday. I do hope we can go home early from work that day.

I get to work in a very nice place with very nice people, but I do dislike being seated for 10 hours straight. I leave for work at 7:15 (seated in the car in rush hour traffic), get to work, turn on computer, etc. and work till 5:00, get in my car for another half hour of bumper to bumper, arriving home at 5:35. Ten hours of sitting leaves me ready to stand up for a little while.

Would you like fries with that? (rant ahead)
Last week the camera that I use for blog pictures died the gnarly death. I have since begun to use my husband's camera, which has different knobs and such. Learning curves.
So today I'm trying to upload these few photos when my husband comes into my office and starts plugging things into my computer. He's trying to complete the overhaul that's taken him the better part of a week to finish. You see his studio computer had to be completely re-done, as in start all over. The process meant that my iPod stuff was not accessible until he was done, and I really wanted to get part 2 of the audible book I'm listening to.
I can sympathize because I had a similar thing happen to me at work yesterday. Without the details, I will just say that a mail merge needs a data source that it recognizes and somehow I had changed the data source for all my accounts (almost 200) and didn't know how or what I'd done. I finally figured it all out, but only after I had had one great big panic attack that lasted about 45 minutes. Thank goodness it was my "Friday" and I left looking forward to this weekend and time away from work.

What a lovely day!

Today was our spinning group meeting (formally its the Harpeth Spinsters, I think) and we met at Susie's house, and she served a great little pumpkin coffee cake desert, and the weather was beautiful, and Peggy came (she's been out of commission for a while) and we spun a lot and knitted a lot and talked a whole bunch andtook pictures and. I know there's more but I had such a good time. Why stop for punctuation and grammar?


Truly the weather is just about perfect today. I came from the meeting with some great roving from a sheep named Alice (I can hear my boss cracking a joke about the movie with Bob & Carol,Ted & Alice). I got my money for the yarn I sold when Carolyn took it to the folk festival.

I brought my sweater pattern to get some help. It's come to a halt by the way, due to technical difficulties. Sally gave me some good advice about knitting the V-neck of a sweater. Everyone else concurred and I'll be doing some frogging this weekend (rip it, rip it).










And just because I had to take a picture of something outside, this is my hydrangea bush after the cold weather has gotten to it. Isn't it still beautiful?
Now I have to mention something that encouraged me recently. I heard that Carly Fiorina will be running for senate. I am a believer in women doing what they can to better the world, be it in a 'man's' environment or not. She was in the corporate world for a while and now she's dipping her toe into politics. Smart lady, and her book is worth the read.

Finding a balance

I recently had a change of heart about something. The concept is very simple to explain, but extrrreeeeeemely hard to put into practical terms. I am now acutely aware that my attitude has been bad lately. I think I’m not alone in this. Having a bad attitude is so acceptable today that it is now the norm, and those with a positive outlook are mocked or viewed as simple and naïve. “Well, if they only had to do what I have to do…” or, “Just wait till they …..” The problem is, that we spend so much time complaining, and have convinced ourselves that these things outweigh the good things in our lives.
So, I decided last week that every time I think of complaining about my job, I will stop. It’s mostly mental, those thought patterns, you know. So if I stop it in my brain, I will be less likely to say it.
I confess, I had a little session of complaining this morning to a co-worker, and realized shortly after, what I had done. I’m sorry, Lord. Please forgive me.
I am blessed with a very good job, a sympathetic boss, and kind, honest co-workers.

Our law office recently moved to a larger space and has sub-let part to a group of three heart surgeons who do consulting work. There are no patients coming in and out, just admin support of about 10 girls and the 3 docs. One of the girls is always reading in our shared break room and today she had a novel that I’ve got on my iPod. We’ve both just started the book and she and I were equally excited to have someone to discuss it with. See, there’s a blessing right there!

I went to lunch and came back with a free sample from Starbucks. Another blessing!

I was going through my client files today and was about to cancel an account for non-payment when the mailman brought me a check from that very person. Yet another blessing!

I could go on, but you get the point. How much better to focus on the positive – it makes the negative pale in comparison!

Oh, and one more blessing - my spinning group meets this Friday at lunch! Woooo Hooo!

Take Good Care

Before we moved to Nashville, I had pretty much two things I looked forward to doing when we got here. One was playing tennis at a big tennis center in town; the other was visiting the Mary Engelbreit store at the Opry Mills Mall. I have yet to play tennis at the center, and the M.E. store closed shortly after we arrived, but at least the new M.E. calendar for 2010 is out and I love it. The title is Take Good Care. Colorful and bright with adorable children on each page.

This morning I've spent some more time taking care of my new flower bed/garden. It has been quite rainy and on the pretty days, we've had plans so this morning I made a bee-line for the back yard before anything got in the way.

The grass I dug up has died and it was much easier to break up the clumps and pull out the roots, etc. I realize that I will not be able to dig up under the little tree in the corner, because the roots of the tree extend to what I call the drip line. I don't want to kill the tree so I'll probably put down some kind of tarp to kill the grass and then I'll lay some stones to 'pave' underneath. I'd like to put a small bench or chair there - the view is really nice and I'd like a focal point.

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." Anne Frank

I reached a knitterly challenge this week with the sapphire sweater. After knitting in the round for 12 inches, you find the center front, turn around and start knitting in the other direction. This is where the V-neck comes into play.
You can see I have two different circular needles going now. (Boye and Inox)
Soon I'll have to stop a the armholes and then the sweater will have three sections. (Back between armholes and two front shoulder sections. ) This may be a difficult thing to picture unless you've sewn or made garments before. Well, let me tell you as an experienced seamstress (I used to make all my own clothes) and a semi-experienced knitter, the decreases for the neckline, continued increases for the bust and stop-start stuff for the arms is a bit like the guy on the talent show spinning lots of plates at the same time! I thought my job took concentration, but this takes the cake.

And speaking of cake. I went to a friend's birthday party last night. She turned 50 and a few of her friends gathered around to wish her well. The time was short, but we love our friend and would not have missed this for anything. Happy Birthday Janet!!

Getting things off my chest

When you start a blog, you get an automatic voice - a chance to vent about whatever is bothering you, until that is, you find out that the person you may want to vent about could read your blog. Or tweet, or facebook post. I hear in the news about people who get in trouble for making public something that is supposed to remain private. But wasn't that the reason for all these venues? To say what's on your mind? But news travels fast.
I have something on my mind tonight that I'm just dying to say. And I can't. Something that is a major source of irritation to me on a regular basis. And yet, propriety keeps me from putting it out there. And I know what you're going to say. "Go to the person and tell them what's bothering you." Well, that is so out of the question, it's not funny. So, instead of getting this thing off my chest, I'm going to make the segue-way to the bust increases in my sweater. Ha ha!
Knitting helps me hold my tongue. I put my energy into this beautiful sweater and its bust shaping. Increase one stitch now on each side every 5th round, three times. I keep track by making three columns of 5 marks each. When I commence a round, I check mark the row, and know that it's the row I'm working ON. Not the one I'm finished with or the one I'm about to do. That is very important in knitting, believe it or not. You have to know exactly where you are at all times.

Incidentally, I weigh myself every day. I keep track of where I am constantly so that if I put on a pound over the weekend, I can get it under control right away. That works best for me.
At work, when I get overwhelmed with my 'to do list', I sort of do this little self talk. Where was I? What was I about to do? What do I HAVE to do next? Just like knitting and weight control, it's very important to know where I am right now. :-)

Great Beginnings

About ten or so years ago, I took it upon myself to learn to knit something round. I had knit for years on two needles and had crocheted as a young girl with a hook. I knew I could do it. I found an old magazine from the seventies that had knitted Christmas ornaments and doll clothes patterns. I found a little mitten and a little doll sweater to practice on. I had accomplished a small tube in the round and it went well. I can't express to you the feeling of accomplishment I had when I made that little tube. But then to make these two little items out of scraps of yarn; it was beyond words. I had made a sweater! I had a made a mitten!

And now, it doesn't intimidate me a bit, to pick up a sweater pattern and read over it quickly to see what's involved. I immediately start looking at things like gauge, needle size and the number of cast on stitches. Wow, what a difference.
Here are the decreases on the left side of the sapphire sweater. I'm done with them and now am knitting straight until the piece measures 9 inches.

I have reached a real confidence in straight knitting, so that I can knit by touch and don't have to look - I can even read while knitting if it's stockinette stitch.
This morning, I spent about an hour knitting and reading in the kitchen. What a wonderful time spent doing two things I love. At once!
My husband installed some 'under the cabinet' lights for me yesterday. I have wanted them since we moved into this house in 2001. It didn't take that long, but running the electric cords, drilling holes, etc. took some ingenuity. Thank the Lord for a husband who's handy with that kind of thing. When we were done, it was obvious that my counters and back splash were filthy. Amazing what a bright light will do. I had no idea how dirty things had gotten.
Now I'm quicker to wipe up a mess, cause I can see it now! (Again, such a spiritual lesson.) And what's even more interesting, I didn't realize until I took this picture of the little mitten & sweater that the sweater was made of two different orange yarns. My 'high' view of the thing was humbled yet again. *sigh*
I am so prone to think I'm really doing great, fussing here, complaining there, and when the bright light of reality shines on me and my goings on, it's obvious I've got a long way to go.
A good friend and her husband split up this week. My husband and I had two very different points of view about what went wrong in their relationship. Later I realized that neither of us was right or wrong, but I could sure have toned down my know-it-all attitude. Things are never what they seem, and in a different light, you may discover some things you never knew before.
May I be not so quick to pass judgment on situations, when I don't have all the facts. I pray that I'll look to shed a little more light on the subject, before coming to a conclusion.

Tearing Down and Building Up

I've got this great wool in the garage, like bags of money - just waiting for me to come and get it. So I do! I card a batch, spin it and knit it. What a commodity!

I learned something from my friend selling my yarn at the fair. People don't want a lot of a certain thing, just enough to satisfy their craving (or impulse). So I decided to just make a single skein of very exotic yarn. Wool, silk and angora.

Three strands spun together with just enough sheen to make a strong but lovely extravagant yarn.

The wool of course is shorn from the sheep, angora trimmed from the rabbit and the silk harvested from cocoons. Cutting away something from it's natural environment then used in a totally different way. I have a friend on the show Biggest Loser (she threw a housewarming for my mother after rebuilding from Katrina). She, Liz, is losing weight to make herself better.
I left work today, losing my mind, finding it later while eating fish tacos and watching my TiVo'd episode of Castle.

I hope to make something useful and even exotic when I spin. Maybe the Lord looks at us the same way. Turning life's brutal cuts into something beautiful.
I'm looking forward to a little building up this Friday night - my friend is throwing a weenie roast at her house and she's one of those folks that always leaves you better than when you came!