One Month Down, Eleven More to Go.

Frankie and Thomas, two semi-feral brothers who live with me. They're hogging a heat vent.


Well, this post finishes up my first month for Blog 365 . It has been easier than I thought it would be, and I haven't run out of things to post about. (I don't know why I worried about that one!) And, I'm actually enjoying it. I may keep this up after the year is over. Heh. Nothing like long term planning, right?

Getting Longer

The length of daylight, that is. I noticed while I was putting out the trash the other day that it was nearly 5:30, and still light. Not daylight, but twilight. Still, I could see very well, and there was a pretty sunset. It's amazing to think that in December, I was in the dark at this time of the day. Even though this has been a pretty mild winter, with no snow to speak of, it's still winter.

Winter is interesting in its own way. I love the way the bare trees look against the sky. Each type of tree has its own silhouette, and even without leaves, I can pick out many of them by sight. I love the way I have so many birds at my feeders. I even love watching the squirrels, although I will admit that I kind of have a love-hate relationship with them. I put food out for them, away from the birdfeeders, but they still feel compelled to raid my feeders. I also miss our chipmunks, who have apparently gone underground for the winter. I do fear for one of the chipmunks. He had his den under a tree in my backyard, reached by a hole dug under one of the roots. He spent a large part of the summer packing his cheeks with assorted nuts and seeds from beneath my feeders, and running back to this hole to store it. Recently, one of the squirrels found it, and enlarged the hole, and has been busy raiding it. I tried to get a picture of him coming out of the hole, but it didn't work. I'm wondering if I will see this chipmunk in the spring.

The picture at the top of the post was taken yesterday afternoon. It was raining, so I had to take it from the front porch. It's mostly Pepperidge and oak trees in that group. Once again, this was taken after doing some more reading in my Digital Cameras for Dummies. I used the "Program" setting, and was surprised at how well this came out. It was darkening, and fairly murky outside, but I really got a nice clear picture. The flash did light up the branches from my fringe tree, in the lower right hand corner.

Another Stretch

Tonight begins another stretch of work days, three in a row. I'm not complaining, considering that last week I only worked one full night, cancelled another night, and a short night for the third. I was on vacation for the week before that, so I was starting to get a little bored, and want to go back to work (!). How bored was I? Bored enough to wash walls, that's how bored. All the walls in my family room are now washed, and I managed to get a bit more room in my room by storing some storage containers in my closet, and I got all the Christmas wrap, ribbons, and tags organized and put in the back of my closet. I even put some extra scotch tape and scissors in with the wrap, so there won't be any great Tape and Scissors Hunt next Christmas. In theory, anyway. We'll see how that actually goes.

Resistance Is Futile

Ok, ok, I went ahead and did it. I started another sweater. As a matter of fact, I have half a sweater sleeve to show for my time. I started the Philosopher's Wool Color Your Own in Spring colorway late Friday night. I worked on it a bit on Saturday, and some more on Sunday. It's a fast knit.

I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth, or my keyboard, actually, but I think I was Tired Of Knitting Blue. That's right. Tired of blue. I love blue, it's my favorite color, and if the name Knitting the Blues wasn't already taken for a blog, I might have used that. However, I felt I needed a break. I just wanted to knit on a different set of colors. Never mind that this sweater has two different blues in it, it's just that they are in a different combination. The background color on this sweater is natural, while the other sweater is a black background. And, I'm finished with the sleeves, and halfway up the body of the first sweater. I will finish it. I swear.

I'm getting a bit frustrated with comments. While I don't get many of them, and I know that most of them are legitimate, I really hate getting long rambling posts about 9/11 conspiracy, or any of the other oddball things that show up. I usually just trash those.

While I was on the phone today with my car insurance company, waiting to find out why my insurance premiums had dropped (!), I was playing around with these:




And, after fiddling around with EV, white balance, (I feel like a photographer! I can throw those terms around, and have an idea what I'm talking about!) and such, I came up with this:



Megan watching the birds. Usually, when I shoot like this, it's way too overexposed, but this time, I got it to come out like I wanted. I wanted her in silhouette, and the outside visible, and it came out like I had envisioned. Check out the nifty male Downy Woodpecker on the tree in the center.

In my dreams, I can ditch the nursing gig, and become a world-famous photographer, impressing the hell out of everyone with my stunning photos. Yeah, right. Only if I win the lottery, and get some actual talent at the same time. Oh, yeah, and some better knees would help, too (World-famous photographer needs an assistant to be hauled up off her knees. There's a job for you.).

The Strange Case Of The Vanishing Squirrel Carcass

Fair Warning: while this post is definitely rated "G", for those of you who do not care for squirrels or carcasses, you may want to skip this.

Friday morning, when I left the house to go food shopping, I noticed that an unfortunate squirrel had been hit by a car. Right in front of my house. And, even worse, the unfortunate squirrel has a visitor - a vulture. Eww. I won't go into details here - I'm sure you can fill them in just fine, thank you. Anyhoo, I hop in my car and go food shopping. Two hours later, when I get home, no squirrel, no vulture. Start dragging bags in the house, and Eric, who's home for lunch, informs me that the vulture and squirrel were on the driveway when he came home. Eww again. Well, there were no squirrels OR vultures on the driveway when I came home, so I assumed that the vulture had taken its prize and left. After dark, Chris comes home, and I tell him the story. Next morning he leaves to run errands, is gone for a while, and comes back later, very annoyed. Tells me that the squirrel is indeed there, having spent the night under his car, and not in good shape at all. Eric and I are very confused at this point - we are 100% certain there was no squirrel carcass ANYWHERE on the driveway by late afternoon of the previous day. So, how did it get back there? As dark falls, Chris goes out with a shovel to clean up the mess. (He didn't want to deal with it in daylight, not that I blame him.) Can you see where I'm going with this? If you read the title to this post, you can. NO SQUIRREL!! No squirrel parts, not even a bit of fur or whatever to show there was a carcass there. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nothing. Nothing at all. I have no idea what was going on, or if maybe we aren't losing our collective minds.

This particular feeder is filled with nuts, raisins, blueberries, and cherry pieces. It's surrounded by a steel cage. While the squirrels can't get into it, they still try. It's a wonder any of them have any teeth left.

And, a little teaser for tomorrow's post. Can you guess what this is? Hint: I have no willpower.

Saturday Sky

Blue, but hazy, too. We're supposed to get a little snow tonight, but we've heard that before this season, and aside from flurries, nothing has really happened.

Right now, I'm working on another project (blush). I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Happy Birthday

To my younger sister Susan. How thoughtful of her to be born in "B" week. This last year has been a rough one. Deaths in the family, job losses, that type of thing. Here's hoping this one is better for her.

Made some slow progress on my sweater last night. My thumb is still sore, although getting better, and I think I'm getting bored with knitting on the same sweater. I really want to start the sweater from Philosopher's wool in the Spring Colorway. Must resist....

"B" Is For...

Not klutz, that's for sure. Tuesday night I managed to break the soap dish in the bathroom, and while picking up the pieces, I managed to really get a deep gash in my thumb. I didn't even notice said gash til a few minutes later, while I was brushing my teeth, and wondered why blood was running down my hand. Ow!

I tried knitting last night, but between the bandaid, and the awkward way I had to hold my hand, it took me over an hour to knit a row. So, not much progress on the knitting front.

So, while "B" is for bandaids and boo-boos, there are two of my "B" pictures for the ABC Along:


My much loved and very comfortable Frye boots. You're never too old for these! And no, I don't ride a motorcycle!


Books. I love to read. I don't care if it's a paperback, hard cover, or even an audiobook. I love them all. The audiobooks are great while I'm on my treadmill. My cd player plugs into a little adaptor on the treadmill, and I can hear it through the speaker on the treadmill. Makes it easier to stick to that resolution! This group of books just happens to be mostly sci-fi or fantasy, with the exception of Memoirs of a Geisha, and 102 Minutes, which is about the 102 minutes between the twin towers being struck, and when they finally fell, told from the perspective of people in and out of the towers. A most heartbreaking book.

Nope (No) Floats

A sorta bad pun on the equally bad movie "Hope Floats". In this case, I'm referring to the backside of my Fair Isle knitting, a la Philosopher's Wool style. As you can see from the picture, there are no floats on the back. I love this, because one of the things that drives me crazy about fair isle knitting are those effing little floats that get caught on everything. This method is so easy, and works so well. There's a video on the Philosopher's Wool web site, so go see it if you're interested. I'm done with three of the peerie bands on the sweater. It's moving right along. I'm going to have to deal with steeks real soon.

Tonight for dinner, I made White Cheddar Soup with potatoes. Sometimes I put ham or bacon in this soup, but tonight, it's just veggies - potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, plus chicken stock, white cheddar, milk and flour. Yum!

Not The Best Use Of My Time

I got a surprise last night. I got a night off, with pay, from work. Turned out we were overstaffed (which doesn't happen very often!), so I took the night as a vacation day (night?). I figured I would use the time to knit on my Philosopher's sweater, and really make some progress.

So, I did knit. A lot. Trouble was, I just kept getting the count wrong. Two black, two blue. How hard is that? Beyond my capabilities, apparently. I would knit along, two black, two blue, and then throw in two black and four blue, or four black and two blue. You get the picture. Rip back, try again. Then, somewhere along the line, I picked up an extra stitch, just to add to the fun. By the time I had all this straightened out, I managed to finish just that one peerie pattern. Aaargh. No picture of my knitting today, because, honestly, it doesn't look all that different. That peerie pattern was only eight rows.

Sigh.

**Yawn**

And, as an afterthought, Brr! It's really cold in this house. I had the head set at 62 degrees, and it feels really cold in here. Of course, it's freezing outside, too. When I left work at 7:30 this morning, it was bitter - temp around zero, with wind chill. I finally broke down and wore a hat and gloves to work last night!

I should still be asleep. My alarm was set for 4 pm, but my son woke me up to say good bye. On his way back to school. First day of the semester is tomorrow. He had to drive out to the shore first to pick up his job stuff. He's doing the same job that he had last summer.

Not much knitting last night. I managed to knit two more rows on the next peerie pattern before heading out to work. I love working on Sunday night - no traffic going in, and since this was MLK Day, no traffic to speak of on the way home this morning. I guess a lot of places are closed today, although all my sons worked today, except the one who works for the state university - day off for him. I work tonight, so probably not too much knitting again tonight.



Lots of business at the birdfeeders this winter. A large flock of goldfinches enjoying some nyjer seed.

Groan

Yesterday was the last official day of my vacation. Although I don't go back til tonight, I still have it looming over my head today. I don't even have the advantage of knowing what I'm walking into tonight. Is it crazy? Are we short-staffed, with a full unit? Are there 9 women in labor, all ready to go at the same time? Or is is under control, with a reasonable amount of patients, and full staff? Who knows?? I'll find out when I walk through the door. I could call, I guess, but that would kill the suspense.

I spent way too much time last night on the computer, and only knitted for a couple of hours. I finished the first pattern of the body, and am starting on the second pattern today. The body is 260 stitches around, and I must say, I am really enjoying knitting this. As I said in yesterday's post, the two-handed knitting makes this a breeze. It's nearly as fast as regular knitting, as long as I remember to get my colors down correctly.

According to the weather pixie on the right side of my page, it's 23 degrees outside. What she doesn't tell me is that the wind chill is 8. Brrr! I can only imagine how it's going to feel when I go to work tonight. Instead of drinking it, I may want to sit in that extra-large cup of hot coffee I take to work with me each night. I have to dig my favorite hat out of the closet, because it looks like I'm finally going to need it this winter.

Have I Mentioned That I Love Fair Isle??

I've always loved the look of Norwegian and Fair Isle sweaters. What I didn't like was knitting them. It was tedious. All that dropping one color to grab the next color and knit with that. It took forever. Then, I found out about the two handed method detailed in a videotape from Philosopher's Wool (and now a video on their website), and I was off. Once you master this technique - and that doesn't take long - you'll never have problems again knitting two colors in one row. Not only that, you don't have "floats" across the back, so there isn't anything to get stuck on your fingers, belts, or buttons. I love this technique!! I can't believe how fast it goes. Here's my progress on the body of my Philosopher's sweater. I actually knit up a bit more than this last night, but as I progressed, I realized I'd made a counting error, so had to back up a bit. Apparently, knitting two handed and counting are two different skills, and I still have to work on counting.No, that's not a mistake under my finger, where the yellow marker is. It's the center front of the sweater, where the steek is. I'm just hoping that I'm doing this right.

No Saturday sky today. It's the last day of my vacation, so I decided to Go Shopping. I bagged $75 worth of shoes at DSW for only $23.95, and over $100 worth of books, magazines, and audio books at Barnes and Noble for $55. Not bad, eh? I love sales and discounts on top of sales. I did stop at AC Moore, and saw some nice yarn. I want to make a sweater in one of my new Dale books, and I saw some yarn in a beautiful dark teal color. Patons classic for $4.95 for 100g, and Modea Dea Superwash Wool in the same color at $7.99 for 50 grams. I know that the MD was more than twice the price of the Patons, but I'm wondering if being able to wash this sweater in the machine is worth it. I hate hand washing, and I have several sweaters in the works in non-washable wool, so I have to decide. Oh, and both yarns were 25% off, which ends today, unfortunately, but I'm not worried about it, because yarn goes on sale pretty often there. Plus, I have a LOT of yarn to knit, and a lot of projects, so I decided to hold off on this one for a while.

Fixed

Last night, I ripped back through the ribbing for the body of my sweater to correct the color stripe. Today, I finished knitting the ribbing, and am just now starting on the body itself. It's amazing how much you get done when you don't have a car. Chris took my car to work today, because his his getting some work done, so I'm stuck in the house. Aside from going through Dunkin' Donuts withdrawal, I've actually accomplished stuff. Cleaning up after the cats (neverending), laundry, knitting, made a cake for dessert, all sorts of stuff. I even managed to get some interesting pictures of Mr. B, while fiddling around with my camera.



I thought we were finally going to get some winter weather last night. It started snowing late in the afternoon, and continued at a good clip. Roads were covered, yard was covered, and we had thick white flakes coming down for a while. Alas, it was not to be. The snow switched over to rain, and everything turned to a slushy mess. When I woke up this morning, we had quite a lake in my neighbor's back yard. I can only imagine how much snow we would have had.

Yes, I Really Am Knitting

And to prove it, here's a shot of what I did last night. I finished the last two rows of my second Philosopher's Wool sleeve, and started the body. Unfortunately, I am ripping the two color rows out, back to the black. I forgot that the first color takes two rounds, and I only knitted one before going on to the next color. Oops!! Each of these rows has 177 stitches, so that's a bit of frogging. That's what I get for knitting so late.

My little weather pixie on the right hand side of this page is not going to know what to do later today. Snow, sleet, rain, ice - it's all predicted. I guess the weatherman decided to cover all bases this time around.

I just ordered some books along with the Wintergarden Sweater pattern I ordered a few days ago. Everything showed up yesterday. Really quick shipping! I wasn't expecting them for a few more days. The book on the top, Dale Jubilee patterns, goes for astronomical amounts on ebay. I bid on this a few months ago, and then dropped out as the bidding headed up the ladder. The last time I looked, it was $54.00. I don't know what the final bid was, but I guess the lesson is, if you're going to bid on these Dale books, check around first, so you don't wind up paying a fortune for something that's still available in stores, or on line. I paid ELEVEN dollars for my copy of this pattern book. Much better than $54.00!! The other two books were ten and eleven dollars, so the whole order was very reasonable.

F@*#ing Paypal

Damn, I am so friggin' aggravated right now. I just spent an hour on the phone with the a**holes at paypal. Why? Well, I finally decided to buy a new camera - Canon S5 IS. Went to BugDig.com - used them before, been very happy with the service. I clicked on paypal (I don't use credit cards), and expected things to go from there. Well, they certainly went, alright - straight to hell. Paypal would not process the transaction unless I added a credit card to verify my address. Hell, I've already paid extra to have my account verified so I wouldn't have to use a credit card. Got on the phone with Paypal - went through that nitwit talking creature at the beginning of the call. I hate those things - they can't understand what you are saying, and it takes forever to get through. Anyway, I finally get through to a real person - and things didn't get any better.

No one could really explain why I was having problems, but all I kept getting from them was that by some obscure formula, they had decided that this transaction was too risky without a credit card, so I had to put a credit card on my account. Well, I DON'T have a credit card. Oh, sorry, you can't use paypal for this transaction, then. What?? I have the money in my checking account, am I a risk? No, I'm not the risk. Is it BuyDig, then?? Uh, no, they're not the risk either. Well, who the hell IS the risk? Oh, well, no one in particular, it's just our formula indicates this is a risky transaction.

It went on and on like that. I was so aggravated. There was never a good explanation, just some vagueness about "risk". Whose risk is anyone's guess. The people I talked to tonight all sounded like they have IQ's that approximate their shoe sizes. Appalling grammar, the whole nine yards. I talked to several people, going up the ladder, and no one seems to care. Same vague answers everywhere. Christ.

I'm off to paypalsucks.com to add my complaint.

And, I still don't have my camera.

Decisions, Decisions, And Where The Hell's The Chocolate??

Aargh. I want a new camera. I think I want more than what my current camera does. I want more zoom, for starters. I have been looking at a Canon S5 IS (I got my son the S3 IS last year for Christmas), and my brother has a digital SLR, the Nikon D40. Someone else I know has a Canon Digital Rebel, as a matter of fact, a few people I know own that one, and they recommend it. Trouble is, all these cameras are recommended. And I don't know which one I want. I'm leaning toward the Canon S5, because I don't know if I'm ready for an SLR, and if I am, which one do I want? These are not terribly pricey cameras; they are mostly entry level. But still, it's a hunk o' money for me, so I want to make a good choice.

And now, for a lesser decision, I've really been hearing my Philosopher's wool sweater calling to me. I think it's time to put down the Clapotis, and start reworking the Philosopher's wool. I'd like to maybe wear this sweater in the next couple of months, so I'm going to work on it tonight while watching the new season of American Idol. It ain't by accident I have this week off for vacation - the first few shows of AI are always the best, IMHO.

All this decision making stressed me out tonight, so I was craving chocolate. (Heh. Who am I kidding?? I crave chocolate ALL the time!) Found one of the kids stockings and raided it for the candy kisses still in it. Yum.

And, todays two-hour snowstorm. Big, fat, fluffy white flakes. It was like being in a feather attack. One of the reasons I want a better camera.

Second Day Of Vacation

I'm on vacation from work this week. Not going anywhere - just staying home, and hopefully getting somewhat organized. I did get the tree down, and all the ornaments and decorations packed away - but I haven't gotten to some of the other things I want to do. I'm trying to sort through a lot of quilting magazines and what not and get them put up on ebay - hasn't happened yet. Jon and I want to go to Asbury this week with our cameras, but I don't know if that's going to happen, either - the weather is the pits.

I have been knitting. I'm just finishing up the fourth skein of Noro on my Clapotis. I'll try to take a picture if I can just get some natural daylight.

And, last but certainly not least, Catzilla:



Otherwise known as Murray the cat. He lives with my son now. When Murray lived with us, our 93-pound golden retriever was scared to death of this cat.

ABC Along "A"

I joined this year's ABC Along, another challenge to my resolution to Finish What I Started.

So, here's my "A" picture - Alex and an Afghan

Saturday Sky

I think it was a nice day today. I'm not really sure. My son said it was really warm (at least warm for January), but by the time I got up, it was just ok. However warm it was or wasn't, we are apparently getting different weather tomorrow. I hear it could snow tomorrow night into Monday. For myself, I don't care. I'm off work all this week, but my kids have to go to work on Monday, and of course, I worry about them.

While trolling the internet yesterday, I came upon this, and ordered it. I didn't order the yarn. I have 15 skeins of a darker blue, and I'm going to swatch with that, using a natural or lighter blue for the contrast.

Saturday sky today. Taken at Hamilton Marketplace, in the Barnes and Noble parking lot.

Another Possible Start

I noticed a box under my desk today. It didn't look familiar, so I pulled it out and looked at it. Turns out its Lopi. I remember I saw a sweater in a catalogue that I loved. It was made of Lopi, and it had a rather expensive price tag. Unlike most Icelandic sweaters made of browns, blues, or greys, this one had a red body, with accent colors of burnt orange, black and burgundy. This box contains the orange and black, but not the burgundy, which I think was backordered and obviously never delivered. I could not find the exact pattern for this sweater - many of their ready made sweaters are from the knitting pattern books - but I'm still looking. So, hopefully, this will not be another item I start because I cannot wait to see what the yarn looks like when it's knitted up.

Decisions, Decisions

Still thinking about starting the Dale of Norway Sweater. Not that I've had time to knit anything during this week. Today is the second day of a three-day stretch for me, but in reality, it's my fourth night there, and it feels it. It's been crazy, and I'm really tired. I got home a bit early today - around 8:10, and managed to be in bed shortly after 8:30, and woke up at 4, just a while ago. I have 15 skeins of the Heilo in pansy blue, and 16 skeins of barn red, so I'm vacillating back and forth. However, I do manage to get in a row or two here and there on Clapotis. I'm still working on the Chevron Scarf, too. I bring that to work so I can knit a few rows on my break, but lately, it's been "break, what break?"

Uh, Oh, I Feel A Bad Case Of Startitis Coming On

A while ago, I got a lot of Dalegarn Heilo off various auctions on Ebay; and I won some of the books in other auctions. I don't have enough to start a sweater, and I have several sweaters in mind from the pattern books. Last Month, I ordered some of the odd colors that I needed to complete these sweaters from SpinBlessing. Now, all I have to do is figure out which body color I'm going to start with, and I'm all set. Except, that is, that one of my resolutions, along with blogging every day (so far, so good), and getting on my treadmill at least three times a week (ditto), is to finish a couple of languishing projects. I'm not talking about projects that I know aren't going to get finished, ever, and really should be frogged; I'm talking about the I-just-want-to-see-how-this-pattern-looks-in-this-yarn projects. You know, the ones you just have to start because you find the yarn or the pattern, or both, irresistible. So, I'm trying to resist the siren call of the Heilo sitting in my bedroom, just begging to be started. Even worse, I have an unoccupied circular needle of just the right size.


<
Dusty and Murdoch, otherwise known as Best Friends Forever,taking an illegal nap on my couch.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

It was taken today in my backyard. It's January 8 in New Jersey, and I'm wearing a t-shirt! It was 65 degrees here today.

And, to prove that I have been working on Clapotis, here's a progress picture, taken outside with natural light. These colors are closer to the yarn colors. I've dropped down eight stitches, and nearly halfway there, and have just started the fourth skein. I might actually have enough to finish!

Too Tired...

to even think of a title for this post. I spent 14 hours at work last night, and missed most of the nice weather today. When I woke up at 4, it was 55 degrees, and still nice outside. It's supposed to be in the high 60's tomorrow, so I'm hoping to enjoy that. No, I will not be going to work tonight. Not enough money in the world.

No knitting, to speak of. I got one or two rows on clapotis done, and will knit a bit more tonight. I'm trying to keep to my second resolution to get more time on my treadmill.

Frog Pond

Aargh. Just when I think all is well on my knitting project, I get to a drop-down row, and notice I'm short a few stitches. aack. So, a quick check shows me I forgot to increase at the end of a row several rows down, so it's rip time. Ripping back through Clapotis is not as easy as it sounds. You have the matter of 17 stitch markers, and twisted stitches. I did manage to rip back with no further incidents, and knitted back up to the drop down row again. I'm also seriously wondering if I'll have enough yarn to finish. I have four skeins left, and am not even halfway through. I'm going to start the fourth skein tonight, if I don't go to work. They're offering premium pay on top of the overtime, which sounds really nice, but I'm on call tomorrow night, and I know I'll be called in, and then I'm working three more days this week.


Meggie snarfing down some catnip.

Saturday Sky

That's my Saturday Sky, taken this morning around 7 am, while I was still at work. It's a very slim crescent moon through the pink clouds of sunrise. We're on the fourth floor (actually the fifth, but who's counting?), so I was able to shoot over the trees.

Last night I knitted up to another drop-stitch row on Clapotis, so I'll continue that tonight. I think I may cast on for the body of my Philosopher Wool sweater, too, this weekend. I'd like to have a couple of finished projects to show.

Made a quick trip into Princeton today to visit the yarn store there. I needed some yarn to finish a cross-stitch-needlepoint canvas I've been working on for the last, oh, I don't know, fifteen years or so? When I was married, my husband hated to see me working on anything that made me happy and relaxed. God forbid I should not be vacuuming or folding the laundry, you know.

So, I Go To Shop-Rite For A Few Things....

and I come out $235.24 later. I had an "uh-oh" moment in the store, because I had $200 on me, but fortunately, I was able to come up with the remaining money. It really irritates me the way food prices make a big jump at the end of the year. They go up here and there during the year, and then at the end of the year, I nearly have a heart attack while food shopping.

Knitting away on Clapotis. I knit far enough last night to drop another stitch, and I will try to knit a bit more tonight. I'm called in on call at 11 pm, and as much as I'm not enthused about that, I will certainly be able to use the money, especially after today's extravaganza at the food store.


Pushy ducks at the park a few days ago. As soon as they realized I didn't have any food, and my camera wasn't edible (they tried), they left.

Brrrr

It's really cold here! When I left work this morning, it was 15 degrees, and the wind made it feel like 5 degrees. Certainly the coldest we've been since last winter. I don't mind much, because I like colder weather, and anyway, by this weekend, it's heading back into the 40's and 50's, and it's supposed to be near 60 by next week.

Now that I'm done with the weather report, I do have some progress to show on Clapotis. I started this because I was so busy with holiday stuff I put my Philosopher Wool sweater on hold, because I didn't want to worry about messing up fair isle. Now, I have a choice. Do I finish up this Clapotis, or go back to the sweater? Either way, I have another UFO. I'm kind of leaning toward finishing the sweater, but I think I'll knit a little on Clapotis tonight, because I think I messed up the count, and I want to check that out while it's fresh in my mind.
You can see I've started the drop stitch part, which is kind of fun, and would be even more fun if this yarn dropped willingly. I'm using Noro Silk Garden, which is a beautiful yarn, but it is kind of "sticky", and resists dropping, so this can be a time-consuming endeavor. I think of all the projects I've knitted where I didn't want to drop stitches, but let one of those puppies fall off the needle, and down it went. Neither one of these pictures is a true representation of the colors; they are a bit more saturated in real life, but I love these jewel tones. Don't ask me where I'm going to wear this.

Damn Blogger

I just wrote a post for today, mercifully it was short, and Blogger informed me I had a security issue and they couldn't publish. WTF??? I'm signed in, what the hell is going on? Of course I couldn't save it either, so I lost it. Crap.

First Day

This is the first day of Blog365. I'm committed to a blog post a day. So, here's the first, such as it is. Of course, I'm in the middle of a long string of work days, and as usual, we're very busy, and I'm very tired.