Mystery Stole 3

Well I did not finish clue 2 before clue three came out but I did not do to bad. This is at line 139. There is a row that I goofed a little. Can you see it? I am likening the pattern. I do most defiantly have to pay attention when I knit.

Ok, it will not let me put a Title on the post how strange.


Well it is Monday. I called the Dr.'s office where I am getting the surgery to find out how the insurance was going. They did not have the right address for the pre-determination. So I spent 2 hours on the phone getting it. The insurance company says that they normally take 30 days to go over these things. Ummm my surgery is scheduled for 2 weeks from today. So I am a little nervous. Especially because the insurance only takes this if it is mailed in. So I do not know what is going to happen.


I can not have it latter this summer because I have to go to a school in Aug for a week and another school in Sept for a few days. I called my Mom and she calmed me down. She said that if it can not be done tis summer I can have it done the 17 of Dec because she has 3 weeks off and can come out then. This has its good points. So now I will be doing things as if it will be aproved in time but I will not stress near as much.


I promise that m next post will have knitting pics.

Dinner for Monday the 16th

My Mother, Dad, and 2 nieces are will be here late the 15 of July. I am thinking of having a turkey dinner on Monday. This way I have some leftovers for the rest of the week. I also have some roasts for when the turkey is gone. Here is the list of what I needs to do before they get here.

Make a grocery list

Clean House, this one is very important and I have alot to do. I am a clutter.

Figure out what all I am feeding people.

make a list of the tings for my Dad to fix around the house. I any have him for a week so it can not be that long.

clean out at least 1 drawer in my dresser for my Mom, she will be here for close to 4 weeks.

Questionnaire for Sock it to Me Swap

Questionnaire

By AJ

1. What are your foot measurements? (Please give shoe size, length and circumference.)

I wear size 9 ½ shoe. My foot length is 10 inches, foot circumference is 8 ½ inches. I also have high arches.

2. How long have you been knitting? How would you rate your experience? (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.)

I started knitting in March of 2006, I think that my experience is in the intermediate range.

3. What is your favorite color?

Blues, Purple, Greens, jewel tones.

4. Your least favorite color?

Bright neon yellows and oranges

5. Do you have a favorite fiber?

Anything as long as it is superwash

6. Do you have any allergies to certain fibers?

No

7. Do you have an Amazon, or other type of, wishlist? (If so, provide the link.)

Yes, this is a book list, mostly of books that have not come out yet. I use it as a reminder.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/31939P4TFHG7C/ref=wl_web/

8. What techniques, if any, would you like to learn?

Not so much learn but I would like to get better at Cabling and lace work.

9. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Yes, I like chocolate but do not mail any right now. It will just melt. I also like jelly beans, hard candy, black licorice. Cookies as good to, I like them cruncy.

10. What are your favorite snacks?

This time of year it is fresh fruit or veggies. I go to the farmers market on Sat.

11. What is your family situation? (Children, Husband, Pets...etc.)

Only my brother.

12. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Metal, plastic or wood?

I use most of the time Knit picks circulars. They are pointy.

13. Besides socks, what are your favorite items to knit?

Felted bags

14. Is there a pattern, (sock or otherwise), that you are dying to try?

Something by Cookie A.

15. Do you like to read? What are you reading currently?

I read all the time. I am one of those people who have to read before I go to bed. Right now I reading Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, and listening to Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce.

16. Do you collect music? (On an iPod or MP3 player.) What kind of music do you listen to?

I have an Ipod. I listen to all different kinds of music, county, pop, bluegrass, Celtic. It really depends on my mood. I also listen to lots of books on my Ipod. I use audible.

17. Is there anything you collect?

Clutter, not what you thinking of I am sure. Books really. I have 7 bookcases mostly full. It is not a family room it is a gaming/library.

18. What are your hobbies, aside from knitting?

Reading, watching TV, playing video games, gardening.

19. Are you participating in any other swaps or knit alongs?

I am in mystery stole 3 and sockapalooza. I am almost done with the sockapalooza socks.

20. Do you have a favorite scent?

Fruity or foody. I do not care for floral sents.

21. When is your birthday? (You don't have to add the year if you don't want to, LOL

It is in Jan.

Stuff

It is less than 3 weeks until the surgery. I am starting to get nervous. I now have a list of things that I should and should not do. 1. NO aspirin, tylenol, Advil or anything like that. I need to eat healthy and drink lots and lots of water. This will help with the healing.

Mystery Stole 3

I am right now on row 83. It is going pretty good. I have found that knitting with charts is not a good idea if I am tired. I kept having to tink back. I am using 2 different bead colors. A lilac bead for the body beads, and a peacock color bead for the edging. You have until the 9th to sign up for it. Coloring the chart helps.


Parents

I am not starting to clean for my parents visit. I can not afford to have professionals do it this time. So now I have to do it, sniff sniff cry cry. They will be here late the 15th. I am planing on cooking the turkey that I have in the freezer with all the fixings. This way I have left overs for the rest of the week. Less cooking to plan for. The State Fair starts when they are here so I think that they might go. It will most likely depend on the weather.

Knitting Guild

The last one was about knitting with pencil roving. It was very cool! The net time I when to the LYS I had to find some. I found some rainbow color roving. I think that I will use it in a double strand felted bag pattern.

The weather

It is getting warmer and I do not have AC so it was warm inside by 1pm.

Crime Fiction Genres Defined By Bedroom Scene

This is funny.

Crime Fiction Genres Defined By Bedroom Scene

Mystery Stole 3

I started it. It is looking very cool. We had a cast on party at a local coffee shop. This was help full, some of us has questions and we all helped each other. And to top off the coolness Melanie's mom was there. I will have pictures of my progress soon. I am using vanilla Zepher and right now size 3 knitpick circulars. With an iridescent beads for the outer border and a lilac beads for the body beads.

Coffee

I will be honest I normally only have coffee 1 to 2 times a month. This is one of them I went to work at 5 am and need a little help to stay awake. I have my coffee iced with soymilk. But for those of you who need your coffee this is a very cool Machine .

Summer Weather

Well even though summer in not truly here it is weather wise. 80's during the day and 50's - 60's at night. Now the ceiling fans go on and I take the swamp coolers out and make sure that they work. I need to fix the curtains to keep out the sun and have to water plants much more often.

One Word Meme

In meme Answer all questions using only 1 word:


1. Where is your cell phone?
Charging

2. Relationship?
nonexistent

3. Your hair?
Long

4. Work?
Busy

5. Your sister?
elsewhere

6. Your favorite thing?
books

7. Your dream last night?
absent

8. Your favorite drink?
water

9. Your dream car?
Toyota

10. The room you're in?
Family

11. Your shoes?
Few

12. Your fears?
life

13. What do you want to be in 10 years?
Happy

14. Who did you hang out with this weekend?
yard

15. What you're not good at?
drawing

16. Muffin?
Cranberry

17. One of your wish list items?
time

18. Where you grew up?
Wherever

19. The last thing you did?
cook

20. What are you wearing?
cloths

21. What aren't you wearing?
shoes

22. Your pet
none

23. Your computer?
working

24. Your life?
full

25. Your mood?
worried

26. Missing?
stuff

27. What are you thinking about right now?
knitting

28. Your car?
loan

29. Your kitchen?
cluttered

30. Your summer?
Hot

31. Your favorite color?
Blue

32. When is the last time you laughed?
earlier

33. Last time you cried?
week

34. School?
August

35. Love
Woohoo!

This was from TamboWrites.

Mystery Stole 3

I got the yarn and beads today. I am still not sure which beads I am going to use but I love the feal of the yarn. I will be using zephyr yarn in Vanilla and some beads. I do know know right now which beads I will be using my choices are White, Light Blue, Peacock, Root Beer, or Lilac. I figure that I will decide after I see the first clue.

scarf exchange

Yaa!!! I got my scarf today and it came with the coolest stuff. I love the smell of the lotion, vanilla and the soap, I love the smell of cinnamon. It is the perfect type of tea and I am eating some of the Chocolate right now. This scarf is perfect, it is wide enough and I love the color.

garden

My zucchini has to blossoms! This is very cool, especially because the plant is only around 7 inches tall.


I admit that my front yard does not look all that great, but my brother and I have been digging it up. Only about a 4th is done right now but you can see that we are making an effort. When I got home tonight there was a note in my door say I need to mow my yard are they will get the city to make me do it. This annoyed me and made me mad and sad. I am like it will be done.

Knit in Public Day

Saturday was fun. A few different clubs got together and all knit in public. At the most there was 30-40 people there. The funny thing was right after I got there 2 people asked me to teach them how to make socks from the toe up. Widdershins by Brooke Chenoweth Creel is a good pattern for toe up socks, it is the pattern that I am using to make the undulating rib socks.


Then I went to a Stash Bash Yarn Sale and Swap that one of the knitting groups that I go to was holding. It was a lot of fun. I traded for some cool sock yarn and got rid of most of the cotton yarn I had. When I knit with cotton my hands start to hurt.

Sockapalooza 4

Here are the socks so far, It is the Undulating Rib Socks by Ann Budd done toe up. I am using Lorna's Lace and knit pick 2 circulars in the magic loop method.

books that I have been reading

Ilona Andrews, Magic Bites
Pretty Good.

Nightlife and Moonshine by Rob Thurman
good

Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair
not bad but I like her other books better.

Singing the Dogstar Blues Alison Goodman

Night Lost by Lynn Viehl
One of the better ones till the end.

Ravelry

I got my invite today. Now I need to go home and add everything to it. If nothing else I will know what I have and what all I am doing.

Mystery Stole 3

Mystery Stole 3 will be starting soon. Yaa!! I did not finish mystery stole 2 but it was my first try at lace knitting, it went well. I am looking forward to this.

Vacations

Vacations are but you really need to get ready for work before the day you go back. I spent at least 30 min looking for my work keys, lunch box, and name tag. All things I needed today. I found it a little funny and will plan better next time.

Any way for the most part it was a good vacation. The only problem was the flight out. My connecting flight was though Dallis, Fort Worth on a day where it was closed in the morning due to thunder storms. We did get a flight out though, I was worried because it was air force graduation that day as well and most flights out were booked. Instead of getting to BWI at 5:20 pm my brother and I got in at 2:40 am and did not get to the hotel until 5 am.

I was up at 8:30 to go to the Natural History Museum. Well really to get my sister and her children ready to go.

Packing

It is a little funny that while packing one of the things that is stumping me is figuring out what knitting projects to take and which are in the carry on and what to pack in the suitcase. So far I am taking the sockaploosa socks in the carry on, a hat and another set of socks in the suitcase. If I finish those I just will have to visit a yarn shop. Wow, that would be very hard. NOT!!!

garden update

well the cucumbers did not survive the cold night, the watermelon and pumpkin did not handle it ether. I am not getting any replacements until after I get back from my brothers wedding. This way I do not have to worry about them when I am gone. The mints and raspberry's are doing well. It looks like I will have a few raspberries this summer, Yaaaaa!!!!

When I get back I will be planting beans and more cucumbers I am not sure if I will be planing anything else. I will just have to see.

weather

Colorado has different weather. Yesterday there was frost and snow on my car when I went to work. I am glad that I had covered some of my plants with straw, I do not think that thay would have lasted otherwise. Even with the straw I am not sure that the cucumber will make it.

8 Simple Rules for Surviving Scifi

This is funny!!!

8 Simple Rules for Surviving Scifi

recipes

At what point does a recipe become yours? When you change 2, 3, 4 ingredients . When you add 2, 3, 4 different things? When 2, 3, 4 things are taken out? When you can no longer remember what the original recipe was?

I made 2 different kinds of bread this Saturday. I changed about half of one and only kept the idea of the second one, I like the name, Chocolate Loves Vanilla Bread. Are they my recipes now? Susan's Basic White Bread I used soy milk instead of milk, butter instead of oil, less salt, white wheat flour instead of bread flour, halved the recipe and added around a half cup of cubed cheese. I also used a bread machine to mix and rise the dough. Is this enough of a difference to call it my recipe?

With the Chocolate Loves Vanilla Bread I used a different sweet bread base, one I made up years ago and used chips as well as ground chocolate. this really is a recipe that I changed everything but the name. I think that if I go with a different name I could claim it.

Anyway they came out pretty good. The cheese bread needs a little more cheese and next time I make it I am going to use whole wheat and white wheat. It came out just a little to soft.

scarf exchange

Yaaaa!! The scarf is now done and in the blocking stage right now.

It is 20 inches wide and 56 inches long. It came out a little wider than I wanted but it looks very cool.

Surgery

I have a day now. 7-23-07. Now I need to get everything else together.

The knitting project meme

I got this from Waste Of Valuable Server Space.

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing.


Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (?)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting!
Knitting with someone elses handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Physical Therapy

I have to go the PT for 6 weeks in a row. This was my fourth trip, I am going once a week. Today I was given some new exercises that I was giving today really showed the a have limited range of motion in my arms and shoulders. I can only have my arms go so far back. I also did a back stretch that hurts now. This is all because I have bad posture due to to much boobage. Well the PT will help after the surgery.

going down a pants size

Going down a pants size is great but now I need to buy some new shirts for work, the old ones look baggy. I do not care for cloths shopping so I am not looking forward to this.

Yard after some work

I dug out some of the weeds and planted zucchini, acorn squash and pumpkin. the yellow stuff is straw, I am using it as mulch.


I planted rhubarb in front of the house. I like rhubarb and the leaves look really cool.





Here is my garden so for this year. This is a straw bale garden, which really means that I will not have to weed. In the Wal-o-Waters is 2 cherry tomatoes and a cucumber. When I get back from my brothers weeding I will plant some green and purple beans. I am debating on planing some melons. It really depends on the weather, whether or not the growing season is long enough. First frost has been as early an the end of sept. and as late as late oct. So it is a gamble.

Call

If it does not need to be fixed right now why did you page me at 10pm Sunday????? That and I do not fix IV poles, that is maintenance.

The last few post have been about my call this week. Some times when I am on call I do not get much at all and other weeks are like last week where I got paged a lot. Oh well. It is yarn money.

yard work

This is a list of things I have to do, If I have it listed I will not forget as much. This is what the front yard looked like on Sat.






Front Yard:

fix gutter down spouts, I need to replace one and add an extender to the other. Done!!!

Buy and Plant rhubarb Done!!!!

clean out where I want to plant the zucchini and squash Done!! and planted.

Have Shawn weed eat the taller weeds around the tree. Done! he mowed it instead.

Make the bed where I want to plant bulbs

dig out the dandelions Started

put a weed controller down on side yard

move rocks to side yard, has been started

Back Yard:

set up canopy, the second or third blizzard blew the top off Done!!!

set up where the herb bed will be

start planting peas

have Shawn mow the lawn, when it dries out Done!!!

speakers

work best when connected the computer.

computers

rebooting helps.

stuff

Yahhh! I have no cavities! This is good because I have been getting at least one once a year. I also love the feeling of clean teeth. My dentist office is very cool, I got 5 things of dental floss, tooth paste and some tooth brushes.

I am almost done with the scarf.

I am very excited to start my Sockapaloooza socks, I got the yarn for them today.

scarf progress: half done

I am half way though, 34 inches. It is starting to look very cool.

Sockapalooza 4

Yahhh! I am going to get in this year. I started knitting and everything as people were getting there socks. I thought that is was very cool and wanted to be in the next one.

Things to do with children near Colorado Springs

My nieces will be here for the summer for a few weeks and I thought that I better find out what is around that they would like.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
One of the very few mountain zoo's in the world.

The Money Museum

Garden of the Gods

The World Figure Skating Museum

Glen Eyrie Castle
This looks like it would be cool for the Tea Party, they do a High Tea.

Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center

breast reduction TMI

I am writing this mostly so I can get my thoughts together and know exactly what I need to do.

I have very big boobs, around the 40 I range. I have for the past year been doing things to help get my insurance pay for a reduction. In the next month I will be going to at least three surgeons to see if I can get it done in July. That is when my mother can come and help out after the surgery. This is not something that I take lightly and I am a little scared. So many things can go wrong. Right now I am looking up the surgeons that my insurance will deal with and that other people have used. I am coming up with a list of questions to ask as well. The next post will be the list of questions and it will most likely be refined as time goes one. Depending on what goes on I might even post some of the answers. Today I found out a few things that gives me cause for concern.

1. It is not suggested that you take airplane travel less than 8 weeks after surgery. I had been planing on have the surgery in last July but that would only give me 5 weeks between surgery and when i have to go to Telford PA for a school.

2. Swimming after is bad, that is my main way of getting exercised . I see where this is coming from it just is not something that I though of.

3. I should think of renting a recliner or something of the sort. This would be to sleep in, this way I do not smush anything that I should not. Seeing that I sleep on my side this is not a bad idea.

books I read this week

Rogue Angel: The Chosen by Alex Archer
Not one of the better books in the series but not bad.

Fables : legends in exile By Willingham, Bill
Interesting, it is a graph novel I was not expecting that.

Love is blind by Sands, Lynsay.
A fairly good regency romance.

No Regrets By Shannon Butcher
A not bad romance

Singer in the snow By Marley, Louise
Not bad it is a teen book, I am checking out the other books that she has at the library.

scarf progress

Here is the scarf progress.

weather

Well I did not get to every where I was planing on going to. I made it to the library and it was to foggy to go anywhere else. Here are a few pictures to show how bad it was. This was not the worst of it ether.

Secret Pal stuff

I got my box today. I got the Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine and Sat. I am going to get it spiral bound. The stitch markers are very cool, she made them her self. I was planing on getting row counters so this was great timing.

landscaping

I really need to have a professional out to do my front yard. I just do not have the skill to do that. The past 2 years it has been just dirt and weeds. The problem is that it will cost at least 1500 and I just do not have that this year, maybe next year. For the mean time I think that I will put a raised bed for bulbs around one of the trees and see if I could plant a fruit tree to shade the front window in the summer. I have a few bulbs that have come up this year where my brother parks, so they need to be moved.

The backyard is doing a little better but not by much. I need to find out how much it would cost to cut down a few trees. One of them looks like the center is rotting out and if it was to fall it would hit the house. The others are not the right kind of tree for the area and that is where I want to put some fruit trees and grapes. I am going to make a raised garden out of straw bales. This will allow me to try out the location and I should not have to worry much about weeds.

books I read this week

Mary Bell's complete dehydrator cookbook by Bell, Mary
Not bad, this does give the best complete advice on how to dehydrator anything, it is going into my think about buying list.

Deep Storm : a novel by Child, Lincoln
Very good, nonstop action.

Santa, baby by Crusie, Jennifer
Not bad, I think that Crusie's story was the best of the three.

Children of magic edited byGreenberg, Martin Harry
A very good collection of short stories.

The mislaid magician, or, Ten years after : being the private correspondence between two prominent families regarding a scandal touching the highest levels of government and the security of the realm by Wrede, Patricia
The first one was much better.

Pasta for all seasons : 125 vegetarian pasta recipes for family and friends by Robertson, Robin
This was a good cookbook, there are quite a few recipes that I will be trying.

The king of Attolia by Turner, Megan Whalen.
I wish that she had more books out there. They are all good.

The moon tonight

bag class

Well I learned today that I can only knit for so long at one time and 5 hours is just a little much. My hand hurts now. I think that it may take a few days before I can knit again, but the bag looks cool so far. I used the yarn that I dyed with kool-aid a few weeks ago.

scarf progress

Here is the scarf's progress. I am taking the Forest Stole pattern and making it into a scarf. Enlarging the charts was interesting. This is what 2 of them look like.

It may be a little larger than I thought. I think that it is going to look very cool when it is done.

YouTube Video

One of the blogs that I read had this as a video to watch, A Fat Rant. It is worth a view. I am 175 lbs. I do not look it. There are times where I use those excuses not to do things.

Call

I take call almost every other week. I have been doing this for 7 years now and today was the first time that I was paged while in the shower. It was different, mostly cold. I had to get out and grab a phone and then stand back in the tub, I was dripping every where, and they talk to the person that paged me. I did get to finish my shower at least.

Stuff

Waaaa!!! My knitting guild is having Myrna Stahman come in September for 2 classes. I will be in town for one, but the class that I really want to go to I am flying out of town for Giraffe GE school. I already paid for both classes so I need to cancel Sunday's class.

So how do you answer the question "How are you doing?"
I tend to say things such as alive, coherent, here, currently alert. This is more fun and some times people notice what I say and laugh.

Washington DC

My brother's wedding is the first Sat. in June. It is right outside Washington DC. I am looking at the places that I want to see while I am there. The textile Museum is having an event while I am going to be there, it is the kind where they shear a sheep and they do everything to the wool.

I really want to go to the Smithsonian. I am just not sure which part I want to go to first. The Postal Museum also sounds cool. My sister works for the post office. Or maybe go to the National Air and Space Museum . I heard that driving is not a good idea, the hotel that my brother is having us stay at goes in to DC easily. But I think that I may get a few travel guides be for I go. The Washington Metropolitan Transit is a web site that I am going to go over.

http://www.si.edu/events/tours/nmnh.htm

Baby quilt

My mother requested another baby quilt, this is the first 2 rows. The next row will be yellow, then green, blue, and purple. At this point I do not know what the back will look like.

Partners

Yaaa! I got my partner for the secret pal 10 and the scarf exchange. Now I need to see what I am going to be making. I am thinking a lace scarf for my scarf pal and mailing out a box to my sister to mail for me in the secret pal.

Books I read this week

Cover & bake : a best recipe classic buy Tremblay, Carl.
There was only one recipe that I think that i would cook.

Bags : a knitter's dozen buy Xenakis, Alexis.
Only one bag that I think that I will make, but it is a very cool one

Size 14 is not fat either : a Heather Wells mystery buy Cabot, Meg.
Not bad but a library book only

Sorcerers of the nightwing buy Huntington, Geoffrey.
teenager book, not bad I am checking the next one out from the library

Goddess of the sea buy Cast, P. C.
Nice, I am looking for her backlist now. A library read but I like her writing.

Arge the wait

I am doing the Secret Pal 10 and the International Scarf Swap and I am checking my email often to find out if I have gotten my pal yet, the answer is no. It is just that I have to wait be for I can do anything else.


Well last week my Ipod died. I drove to Denver Sat. to see what the Apple store had to say. The hard drive went out. This is why I bought the extended warranty. Apple is replacing it. Yeaaa!!


It has been warm enough so Sat. I went and Kool-aid died some yarn for a Lucy Bag that I am going to make. It was fun. I think that I got the stripes right this time. Most of the time I seem to just make variegated yarn. It was so windy that I had to dry the yarn tied to a ladder.

pictures and the bag I finshed

I needed a bag for my larger knitting projects. So I made one, it was not easy but I like what the finished project looks like and there is plenty of room inside.




This is a picture of the street light near my house. It had a bigger glow than the picture shows, it was very cool.

dental splint

Ok, this is not fun. I can not really chew anything. So soft and liquid foods for now. I have made a bunch of instant oatmeal packets up for lunch. Right now my favorite is the dried blueberry coconut. The chocolate cover cranberry one is not bad. Anyway it is much cheaper to make up my own than it is to buy any. I can eat stuff if I let it melt on my tongue or it is in very small pieces. This may help me loose weight. I have found that some things that I was eating just do not taste good went on the tongue for a while.

The splint also makes me drool, not good. And it is some time difficult to get people to understand what I am saying. S and TH sounds just do not come out right.

Books read this week

We Few by David Weber
Very good. I like the company that put this on CD, they did an excellent job.

Not Buying it, a Year Without Shopping, by Judith Levine
Meaa, it was OK. Library book only.

Fabulous origami boxes by Fuse, Tomoko
very cool book

Best of Knitter's: Shawls and Scarves
This is a book that I am going to get. Very Very good. Has examples of many different types of scarves.

Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe by Ward, James M.
Good, I am seeing if the library has more by him. This is a little like Hornblower with magic and dragons.

Drop dead gorgeous : a novel by Howard, Linda
Good fluffy book. Not good enough to buy though, there just is not enough there.

Throne of jade and Black powder war by Novik, Naomi.
Both very good. I am looking forward to the next in the series. Which will not be out for a while.

Life as we knew it by Pfeffer, Susan Beth
An interesting take on the end of the world. Not bad.

Beast master's quest by Norton, Andre
Not bad but not one of the best in the series.

rocking sock club

I got in yesterday. Yahh! I like the yarn and I think that I will use that top part of the sock but I do not think that I will use the short row heel or the garter stitch toe. I just do not think that I would find it comfortable.

knitting

I finished the shawl, here it is not blocked. In April the knitting guild is doing a lace blocking class and I am leaving it unblocked to be used as example.




What I am knitting now, A scarf the pattern is from 144 Inches of I -Cord.

It is reversible. The pattern is not that hard, there is 16 rows, only 3 are different. It makes for a good Dr's and Orthodontist office wait.

books I read this week

on Ipod right now: Bell Jar by The Bangles

His Majesty's Dragon By Novik, Naomi.

Very good, I went and put the rest of her books on hold at the library.

Kris Longknife : resolute By Shepherd, Mike.

Good book for Library, I am wondering where he is going with the serise though.

Surviving Demon Island by Burton, Jaci.

Meha, not that great, library only.

Horizons by Rosenblum, Mary.

Good, I am going to see if she has anything else at the library.

Missing you by Cabot, Meg

Last one of the 1-800 missung books, It is a nice ending. Most defintly not a place to start reading from.

Touched by darkness By Spangler, Catherine.

Did not finsh, I just could not get into it.

The marriage spell : a novel By Putney, Mary Jo.

I fun read, no hard thinking here.

Fresh from the vegetarian slow cooker : 200 recipes for healthy and hearty one-pot meals that are ready when you are By Robertson, Robin

Very good, I think that I might buy this one.

All of these are from the library. I really like my library.

Tuesday

Today i got my dental splint. I now have to wear it 24 hours a day for many months, 5-6. It can be taken out to brush and floss my teeth and to soak in denture cleaner to get ride of smell. That is it. I need to were it when eating and so on.

So far the hard part is talking, I am having a fer issues with S's, F's and a few other sounds.

The splint instructions that I got from the Orthodontist was interesting.

1. Wear at all times, this includes when eating.

2. You can remove it for a several minutes so you can floss and brush your teeth. This would be the time to clean the splint.

3. If the splint becomes malodorous, you can remove it for 30 min to soak in your favorite mouthwash.

4. Avoid sleeping on your jaw.

5. Avoid chewy foods and chewing gum, and avoid biting anything with your front teeth. A soft diet is recommended.

6. Avoid clenching your teeth as much as possible.


I found some of the instructions a little funny. Of course you wear it 24 hours a day that is the point and right now it is very hard to get it out. Yea, if it starts smelling I am cleaning it. I am not having something smelly in my mouth for a long time. If I do not brush my teeth food Will get stuck between the splint and the teeth and that just would not look good. And oh ya I do not what to clench my teeth in the first place.

It shall be fun to see what I can and can not eat though. I am making up some instant oatmeal packets for lunch for the next few days.

Very costly week

Well it has been a very expensive week.

Tuesday at knitting guild I paid $100 for 2 class that the knitting guild is holding in September. The guild is getting Myrna Stahman to can and give 2 classes. This looks to be very very cool.

Wednesday I found out what was causing the pain that I have been having. My lower jaw is 6 mm smaller than my upper jaw so when I bite I have been unhinging my jar. This has caused TMJ problems. I need to wear a splint for 5 to 6 months, this will allow my jar to heal and my bite to go to what it would be before the joint wore down. Then we will see where my jaw heals to, it might not require anything else but braces or I might need jaw surgery. I will not know until then. Anyway, I paid my down payment of $1225. I now owe 245 a month for the next 5 months. It is nice to know what was causing the pain but man it is not cheep.

Thursday I went to traffic court for my first ticket, I ran a stop sign. It cost my $150 and 2 points on my licence.

I hopefully do not need to spend anymore money this week.

Schools

I just got some schools for work approved. I will be going to Telford PA in August and Madison Wisconsin in Sept. The school in Telford is close enough to where my Brother and his Wife are that I am planing on driving down to visit them. I am very excited.

It has been difficult to get everything set up for the Drager school. They just give a list of 8 hotels and the 2 closest airports and tell you that when you fly out that you should plan for at least 3 hours between the end of the last class and the flight check in. I had to figure out what hotel was closest, whether or not you would have to take a toll road to get there. None of the hotels gave a discount.

To set up everything for the GE school they have a preferred hotel, with a large discount and they will pick you up from the hotel and take you to and from the school. The hotel will shuttle you most anywhere in Madison. It works out nicely.

International Scarf Exchange 4

Yeaa!! I got in. I did the last one. It was fun. I made my first lace scarf. This is a great way to make something that I would not normally make.

Winter scarf swap

Wow! the stuff I got is so cool. I like the pattern and love the color of the yarn. But my favorite item would be the stitch markers.

Books I have read so far this week.

These are not in the order that I read them, just so you know.

Innocent in Death by JD Robb
Very good and I got it at 46% off.

White lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
Ok, good for a library read but not a buy in hardback, maybe in paperback. It is the first in a series.

In fury born by David Weber
Very good, I think that this one I will buy. He expanded the original novel. It is I think one of his better novel, it is in many ways a space battle book.

Some golden harbor by David Drake
Ok, a library book. This is a space opera, not quite as good as In Fury Born. Not bad though.

Vice cream : over 70 sinfully delicious dairy-free delights by Jeff Rogers
I will most likely never make any of these Ice Cream recipes. Most use cashews and that just costs to much.

Sleeping with the fishes by MaryJanice Davidson
Ok, as a library book only. Her book just do not have the reread ablity that they used to have.

Knitting in process

The Monkey Socks, I went from here to There. The first one I finished was loose and not very tall. I have more yarn left so I am going to make them taller. How ever they are now a little hard to get over my heal. I am thinking of unknitting and making the pattern a little wider but I am trying to figure out how to make sure that they are not to loose on the top. Maybe if I do the top in a ribbing for 2 inches it will keep everything up. If not I think that I will change my pattern.


Shawl

The great bookmark exchange

I got you the box from my partner for the great bookmark exchange Saturday. The felted kit is very cool. I love the pretzels and I have never read that book before.

Knitting projects

I finshed the forest canopy shoulder shawl and I am almost done with the Monkey socks. Now I need to figure out what to make next. I am thinking of making a pair of thrumed mittens. I am trying to figure out what my other project will be. I tend to have at least 2 going at one time.

stuff

I went work pants shopping and it took 1 1/2 hours to find 2 pairs that fit. The only good part was that I have gone down a pant size, I now wear size 14.

The weather has been very nice this weekend, of course now the weather people are saying that it will snow on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Ahh, that is Colorado for you.

I have been trying to think of what to make for the bookmark swap. I finally come up with some origami bookmarks. This should come out pretty cool.

My kitchen is mostly clean. This took a few hours.

I had to do a a budget, it was worse than I thought it would be. I need to have my brother start to pay rent, or some of the bills. I am thinking of having him pay the internet bill because he uses it most anyway.

It looks like at this point that I will need braces, first I will have to go though wearing a splint for 5-6 months, 24 hours a day. Not fun, not cheap. Which was why I had to do up the budget. I need to have Shawn start paying for stuff.

I hope to have pictures Monday.

Secret Pal 10 and the Questionnaire

Yaaaa!! I am in Secret Pal 10.

The Questionnaire

By Kerry

Here are is the questionnaire for SP10. Please be sure to post it in a spot on your blog where your pal can easily find it. Since your pal will use this to help create your packages you'll want to have it posted to your blog no later than the last day of February.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I really like Socks that Rock, Lorna's Lace, Fleece Artist. I can not knit with Cotton, they make my hands hurt.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I use a pencil case to hold my double point needles and most of my circular needles are hanging on a hook.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I have been knitting for less that an year. I took a class last year for my birthday. I consider my skill level to be at the intermediate stage.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes, but it is mostly for books that have not come out yet.

5. What's your favorite scent?

The food kind, fruity flavors and so on.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Yes, dark chocolate and black licorice.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I quilt and sew. I am thinking of taking a spinning class this year for my birthday. I take a class of some kind for my birthday every year.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like bluegrass, county, oldies, celtic music. My computer can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I like jewel tones. Blues, greens, purples, reds. There are not any colors that I can not stand.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with one of my younger brothers. I do not at this time have a pet. I have been thinking of getting something.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear mittens when it is cold and I have a scarf that I can wrap around the top of my head as well as my neck that I wear when it is very cold. I do not know If I would wear a poncho.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks, felted bags and shawls, mostly socks they travel well.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Monkey Socks from the toe up and the forest canopy shoulder shaw

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I like the knitpick circulars, they are pointy. Other than those I tend to use dobble points, I do not tend to use straight needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Not old, I try to not have any and I have not been knitting that long.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

One where my whole family can get together. Other than that I like 3 Kings Day.


19. Is there anything that you collect?

Books, fabric, yarn, not so much the knit knacks.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I am thinking of getting a subscription to interweave knits. The only book that I can think of right now is A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting by Cat Bordhi and Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Making Cables.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yes, I do not know off hand. I do have size 9 1/2 feet.

23. When is your birthday?

It is in Jan.

Aggravation

I changed my schedule to go to an Orthodontist today and He blew me off. No pictures were taken, he looked at my panoramic x-ray for less than a minute and told me that the pain that I have been having is all in my head. He blew off my concerns with TMJ and said nothing about the fact that I have worn away part of my left joint. He said that if I felt that something needed to be done he could have me in a night guard 24 hours a day for five to six to seven months and see what happens to my bite then. He was very condescending. I am not going to go back there. He got me very mad.

Compared to the one I went to last week I was not impressed at all.

Winter Scarf Swap

• What colors do you like/dislike?

I like blues, greens, purples. Jewel tones. Colors that make me go ick are oranges and yellows.

• Are you allergic to anything? (wool, pet hair, smoke, nuts, etc...)?

No.

• What level of knitter are you (beginner, intermediate, advanced)?

Intermediate

• Where do you knit? Will you make this scarf while doing something else (such as watching TV, passenger in car, etc.)

Most likely I will knit the scarf in front of the TV or at appointments, maybe a little of it at red lights, they last 2-4 minutes here.

• What weight of yarn do you like to work with? (lace weight, fingering, worsted, bulky)?

I prefer fingering or sport weight yarn.

• Do you want it to be machine washable?

Yes please.

• What fibers do you enjoy working with?

Wool, alpaca. I can not work with cotton.

• Are there any particular styles–Fairisle, Nordic, Aran etc. you like or would like to try out in a scarf?

I would like to try Aran or cabling.

• Do you have a favorite scarf now? Why do you love it so?

My favorite scarf is 1/4 of a yard wide, it covers my head as well as my neck.

• Would you like a traditional scarf pattern or would you prefer something else such as a gaiter, cowl, gaiter, or capelet type of arrangement? If you would like a traditional rectangular pattern--do you like short scarves that you tuck in your coat or a long one that you can wrap and wrap around

I cowl pattern would be cool.

• Several of the people who signed up for this swap are crocheters. Do you crochet? (I don't but if you want a crochet pattern and supplies I'm happy to accommodate.)

Nope, I do not crochet.

• What kind of cup, mug do you need/like to drink out of?

Big, with a funny saying.

• Do you have favorite sports/teams?

No, not really.

• What do you want to drink in that cup or mug?

Hot Cocoa please.