No knitting again

But I have more life-rearranging to show. This is my new desk. It's actually my mother's Swedish Aunt Sigrid's Gate-Leg Table. It deserves a title, it does. I don't know if the table is Swedish (probably not) but Aunt Sigrid certainly was. I'm so pleased to have a little bit of my mother's Swedish side, and I promise to take good care of it. It replaces my other Swedish furniture -- the Ikea desk!

I'm moving slowly through my apartment, shifting things to make it less cluttered, but I need to do it in stages. The first stage happened on Sunday. Judy and I removed some more Swedish furniture, the Ikea crate shelves. Here's my question: why is my cat not bald? There was at least a cat's-worth of hair back behind those shelves. And all the missing Mousies have been found. We haven't got a SRM like Chaos', but we do have Mousie Innards.

Putting the computer on the desk was today's stage. Next I'll move the printer and the scanner and the other tidbits, but that will require shifting something else. My life is like one of those little plastic sliding puzzles that you have to shuffle to put in order. My lovely clear counter is clear no more, but that's how it goes. It's supposed to be temporary.

I'm knitting, but there's nothing to show. Soon, but not now. It's not ready.

Today has been another beautiful Spring day, and one to celebrate. When I drove down my street yesterday afternoon, with the windows open, I heard peepers. Peepers are guaranteed to make me feel good. Then today, when I was out in the world, it seemed as if all the trees and hedges are getting ready for something -- things are looking fuller and brighter. Leaves will come, following the daffodils that I saw on the road.

I did some errands, had a nice lunch with my friend S (the company was way better than the food, which was just okay), and came home to contemplate the shifting of the desk. That was it for the day, apparently, because it's 6:00 already!

:::

How does a person celebrate her 200th post? I'd have a contest, but frankly, I don't have the energy to think about it. In the past few weeks I've had conversations with some people in my real life who've begun reading my blog. It's interesting to have a face-to-face conversation with someone about my virtual life. A little Twilight Zone-ish, but good.

My addle-brained conclusion: I''m so happy to be here, I wish I could get it together to write more regularly, and I just love this community.

I'm a winner!

And a lucky, lucky knitter! This is the Sock Hop yarn that was my prize in Teyani's blog contest. It's called "Blue Suede Shoes." Not only do I get to make a pair of socks with this coveted yarn, but I can now see how the roving I'm spinning compares. I think I'm doing okay, on both counts.

So I made it home on Sunday evening, safe and sound. Annabelle didn't even give me the usual cold shoulder! There were so many interesting kitty scents on my bags that she was a little busy. I'd spent a day on Maryland's Eastern Shore with K, who has three cats. We talked and knitted and had the best time -- thank you, K and R! I came home with lots of ideas and inspiration, and some sock yarn, too. K and I traded some bits and balls of yarn, and I'm pretty sure I got more than I gave. I'll fix that one of these days...

K has just finished a beautiful sweater out of this alpaca yarn. He made Elsebeth Lavold's Aud from the Viking Knits Collection. It's stunning. That's all I can say. He's got a pretty serious cashmere addiction going on, too. You know, it's a wonderful thing to see a knitter's eyes light up as they talk about yarn and what they want to knit with it.

I made a little progress on a couple of things, but not enough to show you. I'm about to finish the sock I was knitting on my trip, and I worked a bit on this ongoing, neverending scarf, but that's it. I got to have a little visit with my friend V, and we talked Life and Parents and Fiber and such. She's making some delightful handspun crocheted hats, sweet sturdy round shapes that she makes up as she goes along.

Re-entry has been strange -- where am I, and what day is it? I'm happy to be home and back to my regular life, even though it involves making my own coffee and my own bed. My mother continues to improve in the little ways that mean she will be allowed to go home soon. Although we know that this setback was just one more in the long, inevitable string of setbacks, we're trying to be relatively positive about it. What else is there to do, after all?

Today is one of those brilliant, blinding days that says it's Spring, but reminds me that our Spring is always very slow to unfold. The trees haven't begun to swell, the bulbs are nowhere to be seen, and though the sun is warm the temperature isn't. I'll still enjoy it, though. It's my day off!

Checking in

I have a new best friend. It is a "Compact Wireless-G USB Adapter with SpeedBooster." Can you see that little green light? That means I have a wireless connection on this big old Dell laptop. I am mobile, baby.

My sweet mother is doing pretty well. Thank you for your kind good thoughts, everyone. I'm carrying all of them around with me, and they make a huge difference -- the load feels a little lighter.

I am also ensconced in a pretty comfortable hotel room in Potomac, Maryland. The Bolger Center: it's an oddball sort of hotel, but they take good care of you.


A quiet, comfortable place to sleep is the best thing to have when you're on the road. Good knitting helps, too, especially when you're spending a lot of your time watching your mother do walker laps in the physical therapy room.


I didn't get very far on this sock today because I forgot to bring the smaller needles with me so I could begin the heel flap. Lucky for me, ten minutes down the road from my mom's temporary abode is Knit + Stitch = Bliss. They had just the needles I needed, and they were having a sale to boot.

Well, it's time to climb under the covers of the bed someone else made, after I wash my face with the cloth someone else washed and put out. In the morning I'll go downstairs and have a cup of coffee that was brewed by someone else. If it didn't cost actual money, I could get used to this hotel thing.

Not exactly "springing" forward

I'd call it "falling" forward, myself. That was quite a week...

At least I finished the Monkey socks for my niece.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A, Winter 2006 Knitty
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot, "Thunderhead"
Needles: 2.5mm/US 1.5
Modifications: I ended with a regular toe.

And I made one and a half Bird of Paradise socks. This is the current Petals Collection offering. I'm using the pattern that came with the yarn, and it is striping perfectly. They're a simple, happy knit.


While I was knitting I still had that terrible cold. I missed two days of work and was minimally-functional for the other three, but I lived to tell the tale. I couldn't have done it without the help of a wonderful friend. Rho answered my bleating call on Monday and made a trip to the store for me. She delivered enough soup and comfort food to get me over the worst of it, and she included a few sweet treats, too. Thank you, Hon!

I'm still dragging a little, and I've been sleeping a lot, but I feel lots better. Thanks to all of you for the get-well wishes!


I couldn't resist casting on these pretty new socks. It's Ann Budd's Diagonal Rib pattern, which was an Interweave web offering in 2004. The yarn is from Sundara, "Magenta over Grey-Violet." A little purple is a cheerful thing.

I need some cheer now, because while I was so out of it my mom, who has already been in and out of the hospital a couple of times this year, was in again. She had one or several small strokes, which weren't devastating (we've already been down that road) but require some rehab, so she's back in a nursing home temporarily. After an anxious day of not knowing when she'd be moved, hearing no news, and being so far away, I was relieved to finally hear that she was okay. I started the socks to make the waiting bearable.

I'm going to drive down and visit her this week, which is the only open window of opportunity at work. There are so many staff trips, appointments, store events, etc. going on that my next chance would be sometime in the middle of May. Footloose and fancy free, I'm not.

I'll take knitting, and my computer (I think I'll show my mom some of the pictures I've been taking), and I'll have a few nights in a hotel while spending the days visiting my little mother while she has physical and speech therapy. If you have any GoodThoughts hanging around, send them her way, would you?

On the way home I'm going to stop at K's house for a knitting playdate. We've been planning a little sock stash leftover swap for a while now, and I'm dying to see all the socks he's been knitting. Oh, and the alpaca sweater he just finished, and there's something in cashmere, I hear...

A little whine

These are my constant companions this weekend: tissues, cough syrup, water, lozenges, M&M's. I haven't had a cold in years, or at least not more than a few days of sniffles. I have been attacked and laid low this time, though. I might even need a sick day tomorrow, and I never take sick days. Of course I'll live, but I guess I'll have to suffer a little more first.

I could barely knit yesterday, even though I wanted to. The Monkey socks are this close to being finished. I think I spent the day watching Miss Marple and the Food Network, but I'm not sure.

There's some pretty springtime knitting waiting for me. The latest Petals Collection package arrived the other day. It's called "Bird of Paradise" and it's bright and cheerful and beautiful.


Once again, Sundara has created a yarn which has incredible depth and that reflects her inspiration perfectly. When I can rouse myself I'll wind the yarn and cast on. I'll probably even use the pattern for a change ~ I like the stitch and the heel.

Oops, gotta go. Paula Dean is making soup or something. Either that, or she's solving a murder.

Cat toes

Chris posted about La's DeFeet of Cuteness contest, and I can't resist, of course. Kitten toes are one of my favorite things, and Annabelle's toes are the best. This is the picture I posted for my A in the ABC-Along last year, and her toes are just as sweet today.

I was hoping that soft cat toes would distract you. No, eh? I don't have any knitting to show. I've been knitting, but just a little.

Our inventory went well, but we are tired and our hands need pampering. Flipping books over to scan their bar codes is part of my work life. Flipping hundreds and hundreds in one day is another thing. I have nearly enough self-discipline to rest my hands. Nearly enough.

I'll finish up the second Monkey sock in the next day or so. I already have an idea for my next pair, and more ideas are percolating beneath that. Right now, though, it's time to go to work!