The Pool

For the last two days, I've gone up to a very nice rec. center that has a wonderful outdoor pool. My friend and I just get in and "walk" the pool, back and forth, chatting the whole time. Before my friend arrived, I floated around in the pool for awhile, mostly trying to steer clear of all of the kids that were playing around me. Once I found a spot that looked pretty clear, an older man kept walking by. He was easily 10 years older than me, probably more like 15 years older. We talked a little bit...he was rehabilitating some injury. He was a nice person and interesting enough to talk to while I waited for my friend. After awhile, I floated away from him because I thought he was boring and also thought he was paying my the kind of attention I didn't want. I thought I'd lost him, but soon he came back and started chatting me up again. I decided that it would be a good time to say something about my friends coming. Amazing. That got rid of him in a hurry. So, what that means, is that he was trying to pick me up! ew. Ew! EW!

Yesterday, there were some other women doing the same thing, but these women were quite a bit older. It turns out one of the older women is a person I'll call "Kate". Kate has never been married, has an advanced degree and was quite successful in her area of expertise. I think she's retired now. She lived all of her life except the last two years, with her twin sister. A couple of years ago, her sister died in a car accident and Kate was left reeling and adrift without her. They had still looked identical up until the end, still wearing the same clothes, living in the same house, spending all of their time together, neither one ever marrying.

After awhile, another woman joined us; I'll call her "Flo". Flo used to work with my friend, so walked a few laps with us while she and my friend chatted away. I listened. She was very, very tan, had bright red lipstick on, colorful earrings, pink/flowery trendy glasses with beaded holders attached at the ends. She was very flashy! I liked her as soon as I heard her say "fuck". Yes. Saying that word does tend to elevate a person in my eyes.

All in all, it was fun...although sort of weird, too. I mean, I was there doing the old lady thing...walking the pool. The best part was that I was there at all. Dressed in a bathing suit, not caring what anyone thought of me or what I looked like, and I was floating around in that big beautiful, blue pool, surrounded by mountains, lots of blue sky, with the sun on my face. I was dining at the buffet of life...

MOTHS!

It's happened.

I thought it only happened to other people, not me. I thought, smugly, that I was immune...I lived in a house that just didn't have them, I was protected by a special shield of wooley, yarny goodness. sigh.

I spent most of today and one full day last weekend cleaning out, throwing away, plastic-bagging my stash. My stash ain't so big anymore. Humph. I now have all remaining, unscathed yarn, wool or not, in large ziploc bags for now. I threw away more than I saved, then swept and vacuumed and although I now feel cleanses, I know I have to go get some cedar blocks or something just so I can sleep at night.

I'd post pictures if I could find the stupid connector thing that goes to my camera, and no, it's not the usual USB thing that's used for every other computer thing under the sun. Skanks. Just like the chargers that cell phones use...they are ALL different. I'm sure it's not POSSIBLE to make them all the same. THAT would be ROCKET SCIENCE. Okay. Got that off my chest. Actually, I might not even post pictures, because if I waited around to do that, I'd post about once per year and then absolutely no one, anywhere on this earth would read this. I'm pretty sure a couple of people will read this...someday.

Back to the yarn/moth discussion: I think the stuff left behind is digested yarn...little specks of light brown stuff. Moth shit. I didn't smell it, but I don't think it smelled like anything. Not nearly as bad as that fish oil capsule that somehow made it's way into a basket of yarn. Nasty. The moths didn't really do a lot of damage, but so much of the yarn they barely nibbled at was yarn I didn't care about. A good excuse to get rid of yarn that is perfectly fine, and someday I might find a use for. Here's a new, good reason, to get rid of good yarn you don't like. It will just attract moths and hurt the totally delicious yarn you are definitely going to make love to very, very soon.

Now I have to figure out how to display my beautiful, love-making-worthy yarn without subjecting it all to moth-violation. Is this even possible? It seems like plastic is the only way...the only sure way, anywaywayway.

If you have any suggestions, especially those of you reading this from far, far away...I'm all ears.

Independence Day and Taxes

I decided today might be a good day to add another post: last time was St. Patrick's Day...this time Fourth of July. Uh oh. That means next time is...Thanksgiving Day! (No...not Pioneer Day. Good Grief.) Just kidding.

Today I did a few errands and one of them found me at the grocery store. I parked my scooter outside next to the kiddie "rides". You know, the ones where you put a quarter in and they jiggle and rock your kiddies around so they can pretend they're riding a horse/car/rocket/spaceship. I was just going in to get something cold to drink, but as I was coming out, it struck me that there seems to be some kind of Fourth of July uniform that people wear...and only for this holiday, and maybe Memorial Day and Labor Day. Here's the wardrobe:

Women:
Tube Top: I swear. I didn't even know they made these anymore. Usually the top is some combination of red and white. Stripes, polka dots, little stars...red and white. The bottom part of the uniform is almost always cut off denim shorts. The zenith of the cut-off short is if the bottom of the butt cheeks are showing. It doesn't matter if it's a delectable, firm butt cheek or NOT. It's a rule. The footwear is, most often, the flip-flop/thong. Bonus points if they have a wedge heel because this, along with the bouncing tube top and the short shorts, makes it all but impossible to do any playing or romping. Sunglasses, lots of heavy make-up, and super dangly, cheap earrings.

Men:
Same denim cut-offs, but a normal mid-thigh length. Hairy legs with at least one major tattoo down the side of the leg. Almost always accompanied by even more major, color tattoos on the arm, chest or shoulder. Variable color of tank shirt (wife-beater), showing off the uneven tan with lines at the mid-bicep. Footwear: Flip-flops, some kind of sandal. Very white feet. Bad Teeth.

I really don't think people look like this on any other day except a warm-weather national holiday. I'm staying at home this fourth of July instead of going out to see the fireworks. I watched them last night in North Salt Lake, and they were very nice. I've seen enough fireworks to last a lifetime anyway, and mostly they make me feel melancholy. I was with a group of friends watching these fireworks, and one friend and I spent the whole time (probably annoying everyone else) singing patriotic songs like The Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, Yankee Doodle Went to Town...It was fun. And I'm sure very annoying for everyone else but the two of us.

...And, I forgot to pay my state taxes, so just paid those online. I almost forgot to pay my homeowners insurance (I pay all at one time), and had to pay for a speeding ticket along with a traffic school fee so my automobile insurance won't go up. I must be regressing in age or something. Regressing anyway...

Happy Birthday...

Dormant Knitting

Well, you'd think I'd have something to show after all this time of not posting about knitting. I've been knitting a little here and there, but have fallen into the deep, dark, black hole of starting new projects and not finishing them...yet. I have every intention of finishing them, but the thrill of starting something new is a little bit too much to resist...

My latest project I've started is knitting a little lace cafe curtain. It's a knitpicks pattern, probably free...I saved it a long time ago. Called Lace Kitchen Curtain. I'm using some cotton yarn, but it still has some stretch, so I'm not sure how I'll get this thing to drape like a proper curtain should. If it works out it'll look great because it matches my walls perfectly.

Today was my daughter's 17th birthday, and she is growing up to be such a wonderful young lady. She told me today that for some reason she doesn't care as much about having "things" as she used to and that it was interesting how people can explain things to you over and over again, but you never really 'get it' until you figure it out yourself. I don't know how this little redheaded girl we used to call The Hanimal and The Titian Tornado turned into such a calm and introspective thinker! She certainly hasn't appeared that way on the outside but in the past few years has really grown up and flourished even in the midst of our crazy upsidedown family life of the past year or so.

I made a cake for her today and left it on the kitchen counter covered with aluminum foil to protect it (mostly from the cat). When we got home, the aluminum foil was on the floor and the cake was mysteriously licked clean on the side closest to the edge of the counter! What was I thinking!? Moki can make himself taller than I thought...forget the cat! Yes, it was chocolate frosting, but Moki is fine. That dog....

You can relax...

...I won't be asking you for an extra kidney. Just got back from my favorite Nephrologist today and she said that although I had 20% kidney damage due to high blood pressure, I would live and die with my kidneys intact! I have to take high blood pressure pills, cut way down on sodium (only 3000mg per day) and do the other normal things, like healthy diet and exercise...things I'm already working on. What a relief.

She said that if I didn't do those things I would just be looking for trouble, with other organs too. Hypertension is the silent killer, along with kidney disease. Everyone loses 1-2% of their kidney function per year starting at age 40, so my goal is to get mine to slow way down, which is something I think I can do.

Knitting...I have been looking for something to knit that fits within the following parameters:

1. functional and actually usable by someone I know
2. Using yarn I already have
3. it would be excellent if it were for me.
4. interesting to knit (texture-wise, except no cables)

I'm still working on my Mason/Dixon Mitered afghan, but it gets old sometimes. I have 60 squares made so far, and only 20 to go...but they will be a difficult 20, because after all of the squares are done I have to block them all. I don't know how I'm going to do that in any efficient way and they all have to be the exact same dimension as a blocked piece.

I've been looking through my old magazines and my knitting library for ideas...but am just not inspired by anything lately. I still have hope that something will 'do it' for me, though.

Tomorrow night we are all going (Jason and I...then Phil and his girlfriend) to see Hannah play in the Utah Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Tabernacle on Temple square. How sooo very ironic! I think she's very lucky she gets to play there and we're all pretty excited to be there to watch. I think a bunch of her friends are going too. Fun.

I'm going to see Lily Tomlin in Wendover next month with some friends, so am psyched about that. It's nice to have things to look forward to. I've reserved a fancy room for myself with a jacuzzi in it! Fun! I'll be by myself, but that's fine with me.

Boobs, Kidneys and Colons

I knew you'd like that title...Boobs are fine! yahoo!!!!! They are Boob-a-li-boo! My kidneys have improved a tiny bit and best of all...I don't have lupus! It's been three weeks since I went all the way off ibuprofen, so I'm hoping that a new GFR test will show my kidney function even better. I'm really hoping I won't have to do a kidney biopsy.

Colons...getting a colonoscopy on Monday. Gross the day before, but afterwards a nice big hammerburger. yum.. actually it sounds gross right now, so maybe i'll just get a salad afterwards...hmmm..

I'm super grumpy today for no apparent reason. Well, H and J complained when I asked them to clean the kitchen. But of course I made them do it anyway and I made them do it NOW. I'm so tired of that kind of attitude. I could never discipline them well enough to train them in that way without it "costing" me. They will learn, they will learn. They are giving me a headache right now though.

Or maybe it's thinking about that colonoscopy. hmm.

My Dryer

Today I went to Home Depot and had to get creative about my dryer. Currently my dryer is in a little mudroom area with no outside ventilation. So I use this dumb little inside-dryer kit that has a little plastic box that you put some water in and attach the dryer duct to it. That way the lint gets trapped in the watery box (as well as the regular lint trap). But that means the whole room gets very humid...no not just humid...dripping wet. Even from the ceiling and just everywhere. I wonder how the previous owners handled this?

Anyway, I bought another much longer dryer duct and some of those plastic ties that lock to whatever size you want them to, and then some small brass hooks to screw into the wall. I'll run the duct (it's the really flexible lightweight kind), up behind the dryer to the ceiling, across the ceiling, over the door, and right to the window. Then when I run the dryer, I'll just open the window enough to prop the duct up against the screen and it'll direct everything outside, instead of ruining the inside of that room. I'll be doing it today, so hopefully my idea will work.

I also had 'someone' pick at my livingroom wall where there was a little gash, and made it much bigger. One of the 'someones' said he didn't do it, so I'm guessing the other 'someone' probably did it and didn't realize what she was doing. It's right behind a cushy chair, but definitely not made by the furniture. That's another one I'll have to figure out.

Everytime I have something happen that I have to fix, I get really freaked out. Then I figure out how to fix it, and so far anyway, it gets fixed. Then I feel very competent...until the next thing goes wrong!

Hi Mom and Susie

Hello Ladies! I've made this public again since I've rearranged some posts and the result should be a fairly homogenous (haha) blog. Still knitting content if I ever manage to finish anything again, and some personal (but not tooooo personal) stuff. I'll email you and let you know it won't be a pain anymore to access it.

Christmas has been okay this year. I still feel some empty spots here and there, but feel like I did pretty well. It's snowing outside and now I wish I'd waited to walk the dog instead of going earlier. It was very windy today and kind of balmy, but a storm was a'brewin'. We even had lightening with the snowstorm, which is kind of weird because it lights up all of the snow and white clouds.

Tomorrow I'm getting therapized and am also going to get a mammogram. Boobs squished, then I'll go 'talk' about it. haha.

The Day Before

This is the last day I will ever be 47...that used to sound so cute when I was little. You know...this is the last day I will ever be...9! Because every kid wants to be double digits, right? Anyway, my birthday is tomorrow and I can't say I'm excited about it. Maybe it's because I don't have anyone to celebrate it with except my kids. Oh well.

Went to the doctor and got a bunch of blood work done. Apparently my kidneys are only functioning at 50%, so I'm doing a whole kidney work up and today, get to fill this huge orange jug with pee for the next 24 hours! Fun. I also have to keep it cool, so will be taking a cooler to work with a discreet tote bag for my jug so I can haul it into the bathroom everytime, then bring it back and put it back in the cooler. Sounds super fucking fun.

I'd have to say that since I started working fulltime, I'm not exactly doing a stellar job of taking very good care of myself. It's a huge adjustment to work fulltime and have a house, etc. In the other house, I didn't do much except for inside stuff...and not even much of that. Too much depression, fatigue, etc. I'm less tired now, but still not exactly a ball of energy. It's hard to know what is normal for me.

Last night Hannah got up at 1:30 am, but thought it was 6:30, so woke me up so we could get ready for the day. Well, when we were all ready to go and on our way out the door, I happened to glance at the clock and it said 2:00 AM. It was sort of funny. So, we got to have two bedtimes in one night. I'm up now and didn't have to take a shower since I'd already taken one at 1:00 am. So I'm early.

That's it. I think I'm a little bit depressed. I think I need something to look forward to, like a vacation or something. sigh.

Life Update

Here I am again. I bet you thought I'd forgotten about you...

On the knitting front, I've been working on the mitered blanket from the Mason Dixon book. I can never remember the proper names of these books/projects and, of course, am too lazy to look it up. The project requires 80 mitered, striped squares and I am close to 30 so far. I'm still enjoying the project and can usually finish one square per night pretty easily. I bought the knitpicks sample pack with all of the colors of their regular wool yarn and have never known what to do with them. Perfect for this project! I'll probably have to buy more...I think all of it will be used up by about square #40.

On the work front, things have been going well. The work itself is a little overwhelming because it's all about working out little details all day long. It's overwhelming because things get thrown at me to fix all day long and I'm just not all the way up on the job yet. I love the people I'm working with; they're all really nice people and I couldn't have asked for a more interesting or diverse group.

My dog, Moki, is fine after eating a bunch of plastic tampon applicators (yes, used...ew). He chewed them into small pieces that were too big to pass through and ended up being very sharp. He underwent emergency surgery, and came home the same day with a 4 inch gash in his belly with at least 30 staples. Damn dog. They didn't have to go into any organs, but just massaged things down since they were in his colon, small intestine and stomach...all over the place. They sent him home with lots of medicine and of course he's been wearing his goofy looking e-collar all week. His stitches come out in a week.

My children are doing well. My daughter is adjusting to her junior year in high school and 3 AP courses, so she's spending a lot more time studying. She's in 3 orchestras (but she doesn't count one of them, because it's the school one), and is still in her creative dance company. My son is starting his second year in college in Physics and seems to have started the semester up seamlessly...he's very independent and I only hear from him every few weeks or so. Of course I miss him, but he's close and I can pick him up almost any time and take him out for coffee or dinner.

So, there's the update on my life. Nothing particularly earth shattering, but it's nice to write it down. I think I'll be posting non-knitting content for awhile, so for those of you who only like knitting content, you'll probably want to pass me by for awhile.

Hope you're all doing well...

Being Free

This is the shawl I made for my cool aunt. She said that being confined with cancer of the left hip , this is her expression of freedom, life and celebration.

She is posing nude to expose her left hip, with her left arm raised up as if freeing the cancer from left hip through left arm and out of her body.

Kitty

When I went back to visit the family this summer, my aunt surprised me at the door with this kitty hat I made her a couple of years ago. I'd totally forgotten about it...but DARN, it looks cute!

It's the pattern from the Stitch n Bitch book, and was the second one I'd made.

This is my aunts 'kitty' face. I think it's cute.

Good News

Yep. Got a job! No kidding! It's the one I wanted with the State and I'm really looking forward to it. If I'd posted this right after I got it, it would be a much more jubilant post, but the excitement has moved naturally to feeling damn good about it. I start on Tuesday.

So fuck that school.

The Process Begins

Well Folks, I had my first interview today and it went well, I guess. Tomorrow I have another one, and then a phone interview after that. It's a little bit hard keeping the self-confidence up during the interview, but I have to figure out a way. Tomorrow is scaring me a little I guess. It's the one I really want and I hope I don't blow it.

Gotta block my secret project so I can take it to my auntie in a week or so. What should I knit next??? I must say, I'm not inspired so I think I'll visit the SnB blogs...

Here's a sweet little baby-sized hat using Susan's Amber pattern and some organic cotton I had left over from something...Such a simple thing, but someday I'll have someone to give it to and they'll love it.



My crazy dog, Moki.




My front porch with some dead-headed roses from the bush in back.

New Photos

Here you go, Susie! I've finally uploaded all of my New Orleans photos as well as some new photos of my house with flowers bursting out everywhere. Click on the flickr link at the bottom of the photo bar. XXOO

Approaching Storm

Gushing

My favorite yarn fix came in the mail today, soft spun superwash from Brooklyn Handspun . I cannot tell you how much I just wanted to eat them! The top one is called "complexity" and the bottom is called "sneaking out". Of course these pictures don't even come close to showing the richness of these colors...













...and here is a WIP using one of Marie's Holiday Sock Club yarns for Thanksgiving. I can't remember what it's called, but I'm wondering what took me so long to start these...


Whoops! Sorry about being crooked.

Baby Blanket FO

I'm always amazed at the finished product, no matter what I'm knitting. Here's the baby blanket knit with some nice cotton yarn from Susan at the yarn swap last fall. I used a free blanket pattern from a charity baby blanket website and will give it to a baby I know. Honestly, these colors don't do it for me, but I think most people would think they look nice together. I'm taking it to work tomorrow to get some objective opinions.

I was surprised to feel how luscious this cotton yarn was. I'm not a big fan of cotton, but it does show off a nice lace pattern. I wish I could tell you what kind of yarn this was, etc., but as usual I apparently didn't care enough to save the label! Onward to the next project!

Baby Blanket WIP

I've finally managed to get some halfway decent pictures of this baby blanket mentioned in my last post. I'm surprised at the softness of this cotton yarn in a stitch pattern like this...I still prefer to knit with wool, but this will be a good, sturdy blanket for a baby to drool and spit up on, and hopefully to cuddle with.

The colors are buttercup yellow, then a golden yellow (which don't show up very well here). The melon stripe will brighten things up as well as blending well with the yellows.