My Little Tribe

Love Hate Relationships

I love this pattern again (how can you not love such an easily memorized pattern) I can seemingly fly through it with little attention paid to my knitting needles. For my fellow LOST fanatic friends, I actually knit during last week's LOST episode. I know...I could be labeled negligent for attempting such an act. However, it seems I can knit this pattern in my sleep...so watching LOST whilst knitting Jaywalkers is quite similar. Not to worry fellow LOST fanatics, I will not be practicing such careless LOST viewing feats in the future, unless in my hands lays straight stockinette or garter stitch!
So, as you can see...some serious progress. I'm on repeat 8 of 15 for sock number two. And since I will very likely be sitting my arse in the waiting room of some, yet to be decided upon, medical facility today, I will likely get way past the heel by days end (before anyone asks, yes, I'm ok, but that UTI continues to be a problem. In fact its exactly that damn UTI that woke me up at some ungodly hour and led me to this early morning post.)
So what sock will be next? I don't know. Perhaps another pair of Jaywalkers (yes, I can hear you laughing now Cara! Your chuckling...I know it!) But the plain fact is, the current Jaywalkers, are not a perfect fit for me. I did pick out the yarn for myself, but they seem a little tight in the instep. So these may be destined to adorn the small footed sister. Shes been asking for another pair of socks by the way.
And I should probably plan a pair for my sister in law. When I saw she and my brother over the weekend, some hints were dropped. Wait, they weren't hints, they were more blatant. She loves her Branching Out scarf, but would really love some socks. I feel horrible, that perhaps she felt slighted that Tracy and Jill got socks and she got a scarf. That wasn't the case at all. Turned out socks made with Cascade Fixation went much faster than my first feeble attempts at lace (and the time fact is crucial when remembering how scattered and flustered I was in the run-up to Christmas with all my last minute knitting!)  So anyway, I'll be needing to pick a pattern for her as well.
And perhaps when Nichole's socks are done, I should plan another knit-a-thon because Gram's and Mom's birthdays will be coming up shortly. And Mother's Day is right after that.
Damn...can't catch a break can I? Will I ever finish Rogue? Your guess is as good as mine! But I do suspect, once my anticipated spinning wheel, finds itself in my home, spinning will take over knitting.

Its been a good day folks

Despite waking up with a raging headache, and then an hour later realizing yet another UTI was looming, it has indeed been a very good day.
Lets start with the surprise I found in my mailbox from my Secret Pal. Dar William's My Better Self  CD, which has been on my list, and I'm just so tickled to be listening to it right now! AND a skein of Karabella Lace Mohair yarn. Oh what to make with it! I don't know. Must.Find.Pattern! Thank you SP for the "pick me up" package. I so truly appreciate your kindness!

Now on to more goodness for the day. In less than 24 hours, my Llamie will arrive to spend the day with me (at my sister's baby shower) We're both sorta hoping for a blizzard so that she is forced to spend the night up here on the mountain. I don't think a blizzard, much less a single flake of snow is in the forecast, but it has been a good day, right? Maybe if I try hard enough I can will a blizzard.

And, lastly...the serendipitous job offer! Yesterday it was just a verbal offer. Today after some negotiations, he received the written offer. Richard hasn't signed the offer letter yet, but that will probably happen over the weekend. We both agree, financially, this is not the dream offer. BUT with that said, the people who made the offer, have moved heaven and earth to acquire Richard. This is an excellent long term opportunity that someday will have some serious bragging rights. We'll just need to, as my mom says, "go with the flow", and be better off for it in the end.  So with that said, to all my friends in upstate New York....I'M BAAAAAACK! Ok, ok, not quite yet...but soon :)

Oh yeah...now on track 6 of the Dar Williams CD. SP, I'm lovin' it. So much so, that I think Dar was the cure for my headache!

What did I say?

Did I say, I probably wouldn't do another pair of Jaywalkers? Well, cancel that. My need to have a pair of socks on the needles at all times, and my sheer laziness (the pattern was already right there in my ottoman, no need to even walk across the room to my knitting bookshelf. Besides, who needs a pattern? This pattern is that easily memorized!) So I re-wound the Sockotta from the "too small Jaywalker", located my Crystal Palace bamboo US1 needles (I completely forgot I had these), and I'm really happy with my re-try is coming along. I'm even happy with the cuff ribbing. It still feels like my bamboo just may snap every time I do that double decrease, but I'm taking it slow and easy.

SERENDIPITY

No details yet...but we have an offer on the table!

My Jaywalking days are over!

Yep, they're done. And sans a picture to prove it (yeah, I'll get to it, but the old man is monopolizing the PC) I'll say again, I'll never use Opal for Jaywalkers again. In fact, its very likely I'll never spend good fiber money on Opal yarn again. What a huge disappointment.
In the wake of finishing them, I've cast on another Panta, and a preemie hat. My sister Tracy's baby is due in 3.5 weeks and it looks like hes going to be a itty bitty. Her doctor expects her to go into labor any day now, and the wee one is only expected to weigh in at 5lbs...tops. In fact, next week, if the weight estimate falls at or near the 10th percentile, they expect to induce her right away. Anyhoo, the wee one has enough newborn clothing to last him several months, but nothing in the preemie size. Auntie Carla to the rescue with a baby blue superwash wool noggin warmer. The sweater I started for him is a newborn size, and hopefully will fit him soon enough.
Still no word from serendipitous meeting. And I have to be honest, its a bit unnerving. Of course I have no patience with anything, so this particular personality flaw is probably adding more fuel to the tension fire.
The good news for the day? Cassidy and Alex were able to start school this morning. They get on the bus a whole hour earlier than they're used to, which sucks in a really big way. With any luck that will translate into an earlier bedtime!

How Carla Got Her Groove Back

Got a good look? Good, cuz I got my groove back babeee! Last week I posted about starting my Jaywalker socks over (again). What you don't know is that night after posting, I started over, yet again. I mistakenly cast on the larger size and didn't really realize it until I was about to start the heel. So frog I did,  casted on the correct size, and literally zipped through the first sock. I was knitting in the car over the weekend while me, my sisters Tracy and Jill, and friend Kira did last minute shopping to prepare for Tracy's baby shower this coming weekend. And then finished it up while watching the AFC playoff game with my Dad. And that was slow knitting because here it is early Tuesday morning and I'm about 10 rows from starting the toe decreases on sock two!
Will I ever use Opal Petticoat again? Probably not. I've been really disappointed with it. For example, see that dark orange/red stripe? See those little black splotches? They are all over sock one. And you can see that in the image of both socks, without even trying to do so, I managed to nearly identically line up the pattern upon starting sock two (really, I was floored as I noticed it) But the random orange/pink stripe threw off the rest of the pattern. Honestly I'm not bummed at all about them not perfectly matching. I actually like the mismatch look of self patterning yarn, but its the second quality look of this Opal. I'm not sure if I should email the seller I got it from since its been literally months since I purchased it. But I do have another skein in my stash of Opal Petticoat, purchased at the same time, and I wonder if that skein will do the same thing. Ugh!
Some things I will do different on my next, if ever, pair of Jaywalkers? Either skip the cuff ribbing and do something else, or use smaller needles. I'm just not happy with the loose look of the rib, it looks sloppy to me, despite my efforts to knit it pretty tight. And I would love to try this pattern with a short row heel instead of the flap. But it is a fabulously easy pattern to memorize, and knits, as you can see, pretty quickly. Big footed sister has oogled them, and her birthday is next week. I had planned a Panta headband for her, but I just may pass these to her since she seems to love them, even with the blotchy spots.

I do have some good news. Llamie was surfin' around the internets and found our friend Kate, who I had lost touch with about 4 years ago, and had no luck finding.  Some emails were exchanged and within a few hours, my phone rang...and it was Kate! After nearly two hours on the phone, you can safely assume, we're "caught up" on the last four years and have made a promise that we will not let that happen again (losing touch!)
Other than that, we're ok. We're still in the boondocks. It still sucks. No word yet about serendipitous meeting. I'm still a little freaked out about what may happen. Combine that with the intense misery of living here and it makes Valium look pretty darn good.

Because I haven't been too political lately...

A good friend sent this to me in email...

JUST GOT TO BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF OR, TELL ME WHO'S KIDDIN' WHO!

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's cocaine conviction is none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers  for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General Gonzalez can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

Too bad I'm a city girl

Yikes, what a transition! See, I grew up a country girl, just 10 miles from our new place. But what a difference 10 miles makes! This is boondocks.
We cannot get cable television up here, and that was sort of expected. But we thought maybe we could get in some of the local channels with an antenna. Um..nope. So our only alternatives are a super duper big antenna, or a dish. I really don't want a dish (yeah I'm one of those people that prefers cable over the dish.) So last night, because we couldn't get anything but snow on the tv, I missed a new episode of LOST. My dad, my savior was going to try to record it for me. But we also don't have a vcr (only dvd) so once I do get my hands on that tape, I'll have to watch it either at mom's or dad's house.
The kids registration for school should be complete tomorrow and with any luck they can start back on Monday. But I'm also not happy about that. We're about 13 miles from their school, again not my first choice for schools. The kids are excited to go back to school though.
I've come down the stress high of the move, and encountered new stresses. Like the night I made my last post from my sister's house, we came home, jumped in bed, and woke up at 1AM with no heat. Apparently there was some air in the fuel line and the furnace wouldnt fire. We tried everything we could but had no luck getting it to kick on. We bundled everyone up for a cold night (below zero wind chills) with lots of blankets, then woke up at 6AM and made calls. The furnace guy was on the way when we found the reset button. It worked for all of that morning, then shut off again. Furnace guy came to the rescue, fixed "loose bolt" and it ran fine since then. UNTIL last night when it started again. OY! So, I'll be calling him again this morning.

Amdist all of this, I did manage to finish Dad's Irish Hiking scarf. It just needs to be blocked, and I'll be giving it to Dad this weekend. And my Jaywalkers....again, need to be ripped and restart. I got as far as halfway through the first foot, slipped it on my own foot, and alas, just way too small, with absolutely no stretch. I re-cast on last night on US2s and got as far as the cuff, and about 5 repeats. I'll work on that some more today. And I'll try to get a picture of it with our wonky camera to prove the Jaywalker status for the knitalong ;)

Some good news to end with, Richard got called back for a second interview at a college he initially interviewed with back in November. And the serendipitous job possibility that some of you know about, has come full circle and he has a meeting today with them. Think good thoughts y'all!

Update at 12:30PM: Richard called me from the cell. Serendipitous meeting went very well. We shall see!

Oy, what a move

What a crappy move. Lots of details but I have limited time right now (at my sister's borrowing her dsl since ours isn't installed yet, nor is the computer set up)

Lets just say that anything that could have gone wrong, did. Complete with landlord dispute, Uhaul truck stuck in ice, subzero wind chill, blowing snow, frozen brake lines, and lots of tears of frustration and stress for myself (yes, I'm serious)

Anyway, the important thing is that we're here and we're safe. A more horrifying detailed post will come this week once the computer is set up and dsl is working.

Moving Day

So its moving day, and I'm completely miserable about it. I didn't sleep much last night, and was up this morning over an hour before the alarm was set to go off. This all sucks so much.
We managed to get just about everything packed (and moved to the main floor for easier moving today) Of course I have two hampers full of laundry to catch up on once we get to the new place. And I still have to pack the upstairs bathroom and the odds and ends in the kitchen (oh and the computer and tv/dvd stuff)
BUT...for the most part we did really well with four kids running underfoot and continually unpacking toys that had previously been packed :)
Yesterday was our last day of mail before it starts to forward to the new address, and lucky me got a lovely  package from my Secret Pal 7 spoiler. FOUR beautiful hanks of Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool in a shade of green that I absolutely LOVE, a set of Surina sock needles, and an incredibly cute card. Thank you Secret Pal :)

Anyway, need to run, chug some coffee and get prepared. I'll post again once we're moved in, and the new dsl modem is installed (hopefully tomorrow if the modem is there waiting for us)