Not much use...

There isn't much use to having a blog if A. No one reads it and B. You never post. So I have to change those two things. I have to start posting more regularly and I have to let people know I have a blog. I have been a closet blogger I guess. I don't want anyone to know for fear they will think I'm weird. But I guess I am a bit weird so that's ok.

What have I been doing? Well, I bought that lovely Cat Bordhi book New Pathways for Sock Knitters and I LOVE it! I knit up the two sample socks right away and had a blast. Then I measured my son's foot to start working out the master sock pattern but never got beyond that. I need some yarn that will inspire me. Here are my sample socks.

Don't you just love the way the gusset appears. I especially love the one on the right called Coriolas or something like that (too lazy to go look in the book right now). If you love sock knitting and you feel like giving your brain a little boost, this is a lot of fun.

What else is new in this busy life? 10 things:

1. My basement flooded and is in the process of being repaired by the restoration company. What a mess.

2. My son sang in the Christmas Choir at church. Very cute.

3. I am having my family over for Christmas Eve in spite of the fact that I feel totally burned out and unable to entertain in the mess (see #1 above). Good times.

4. I haven't run in 2 weeks (but who's counting, right).

5. I haven't done any Christmas baking yet.

6. I joined Ravelry but haven't had time to properly explore it.

7. My dog has a big lump on its tail that is worrying me but I don't want to go the vet in case he tells me something really bad.

8. I only have 7 things to share.

9. Number nine is the same as number eight (above).

10. Tonight is the big "Christmas Concert" at my kids elementary school. Pictures to follow.

And that is my entangled life.

I'm the enabler...

Today I realize that I am upset at my children for having active, engaging lives. And I, I admit, am their enabler. I signed them up for soccer, encourage them to make friends, be kind to others, have fun at school and all other such childhood sports. And now, the very people I have encouraged them to become are seriously getting in the way of me doing the things I like to do. This weekend is the BC Creative Expo in Abbotsford and the Circle Craft Fair. They should call it the Unfair! It's unfair to have both events within driving distance on the same weekend. Not only do I have to choose one or the other. I may possibly have to choose neither. I have 2 soccer games and 2 birthday parties this weekend, all at various ends of the Fraser Valley. It is not possible to expect the husband/partner/co-enabler to handle this all so I can go look at pretty yarn that I promised not to buy until after Christmas. It is especially not fair to ask him to do this after I did it to him last weekend when I left the house at 5:05 am and returned well after midnight so I could participate in the H2H (which was totally fun!) and end the evening dining with great friends (which was also totally fun, although a little too much wine flowed my way). Of course they did join me for the dining part of the day. So now I am in a serious dilemma. I want so badly to go to one or both of the events, but because I insist on my children having lives and enjoying themselves rather than sitting at home in front of the PS2, I am likely going to be missing out on both of them. I guess the up side is that if I stay at home I a) will be able to resist buying more yarn, b) can have a glass of wine or two without figuring out who is driving me home and how I am getting my car back, and c) can work on the Kauni! which I finally have OTN.

Since I haven't finished anything lately except a dazzling "idiot's dishcloth" and don't feel like taking a picture of it, since it is sitting in a heap beside the sink right now and probably should go in the laundry today, here's an old picture of a project I just love and want to share! It is Fibre Trends Felted Clogs personalized with needle felted sheep...so cute...they adorn my dad's feet. He says they are great at keeping the hardwood floors polished. I like to use Cascade 220 for these because it doesn't pill. I've probably made 12 or more pairs of these out of various yarns and hands down, the 220 wears the best.

Go get entangled!

Thinking and reading...

I've been thinking about knitting and not actually knitting very much these days. I am making the lovely Hot Water Bottle Cover from Yarnagogo and I like it very much. Unfortunately my hotwater bottle is much smaller than the one the pattern is intended for so I measured mine, took my gauge and sized it down...a little too much. I didn't account for the water in the hot water bottle. It still fits but the cable doesn't look nearly as nice as it could. You know how cable looks when it gets stretched too much and the purl stitches don't sit back where they should.

I digress. I was thinking about knitting and not knitting anything very interesting or challenging. And these are the thoughts I had:

Row after row, the yarn gets increasingly entangled, one stitch at a time, so easily it becomes included as a member of the whole item, as if the stitch itself didn't ever exist on its own. But the artist would know that this is not the case. It is not a completed scarf, sweater, jacket, hat. It is one stitch added to the next and the next. Each stitch individually is nothing, and yet without its individuality the whole is just a meaningless form. When each stitch fulfills its essence and is entangled with the stitch before it, after it, above it and below it, in its ultimate form, the image becomes complete. When that stitch is alone, it is merely a snippet of string. When it is joined, it fulfills an immensely more valuable role. Therefore, let us link up and entangle ourselves, our lives, our souls with others. But let the great artist weave us in the manner that makes use of our unique nature so that the final image can be that much more beautiful because we, ourselves, our very souls, are a part of it.

Just some random thoughts to ponder. Can you tell I've been reading Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Ubervilles?

Finished!

I know I am not a very good blogger. It is a bit of a chore for me to post at this point. I just need to get over the anxiety and write. I intend for this to be a knitting blog so for that to be true, I need to knit. I am finding it difficult to work on the projects I have in mind. If I am not knitting, then there is very little to write about. However, back in June, I started a knitted tank top and have finally finished it, just in time for winter.

I am really pleased with the results. Warning for others considering working with Bamboo: It gets really stiff when you wash it but softens up again when its dry. Also, there was a distinct line in the fabric which I thought was a dye lot error (even though I checked the ball bands carefully). But as you can see, it disappeared once it was dry.

Other things that have kept me busy include soccer and pumpkins. One son scored his first ever game goal on Saturday. A big moment. The other son had his first ever field trip with the afternoon kindergarten class. A very big moment.

It's a sh**ty job..

So here's the news for today. Amber, the dog, is better. She is really better! I nearly spent over $1000 to get a vet to do what nature did for free. We still aren't sure what was wrong but my baby is back! She greeted me at the door with some random piece of clothing in her mouth, as she is wont to do. It is this little habit that had me suspicious that she had eaten something that didn't want to make a graceful exit out the other end. So, being the curious sort that I am, I picked up her first poop and dissected it. Oh, yes I did! I wore gloves of course. Which I promptly disposed of after this exercise. No amount of bleach would satisfy me that they were clean after the thoroughly disgusting job I did CSIing her poop. And what did I find? A piece of corn cob about a half an inch long. Ick! Did she eat the whole thing? Was it just this little bit that didn't want to move through the miles of intestinal track? Who knows. But my baby is back! Only a mother could dissect poop out of mere curiousity. Perhaps I am overstating it. Perhaps I am the only woman on earth who would dissect dog poop to solve a mystery. I seriously should sign up for that forensic accounting course I have been considering. I have a curious mind that must be satisfied. Now I have to go knit so I can write about what interesting knitting I am doing with my thoroughly clean hands.

A yarn about disappointment

So....S had big plans. But like I said, he doesn't "do" surprises. He suddenly looks at me yesterday and says, "We're going to Seattle on Saturday". To which I say, "What's the point of going on Saturday, the Yarn Harlot is going to be there on Friday!". So a quick series of phone calls and e-mails and now we're going to Seattle on Friday. I was so excited! I've been seriously wondering how I could orchestrate my life to get down to Seattle on Friday to hear, see, meet the Yarn Harlot...the rockstar of knitters (I have my cell phone and the requisite panties to throw). And now my husband, the dear man, had worked it out that someone would watch the kids, the dog, the cat, the student, the house all so he could drive me to some bookstore in Seattle to listen to someone who he is convinced has me hypnotized to do her bidding. (If she says knit it, I run to the nearest LYS to buy the yarn, credit card flapping.)

But wait, there's more...this is, of course, when all hell broke loose. The dog (as I mentioned) is still sick. She got worse. She ended up at the vet and $400 later we still don't know what's wrong with her and she still won't eat. Then, and I'm not making this up, the water drainage in the house started doing something weird resulting in a leak in the basement ceiling. No quote on that repair. Then Boy1 needed orthotics, and I had to go pay the deposit. They are about $400. And on Monday we are meeting the Orthodontist about Boy1's dental requirements (somewhere in the neighbourhood of $3500). And I said, enough! I can't afford to go running off to Seattle right now! The credit card is going to get declined. Yes, Blue Cross will cover some of this, but not up front. Also, I just can't leave the sick dog, who won't eat, in the care of my little brother who really has an adverse reaction to vomit. If the dog starts vomiting again, R is likely to just drive away, leaving behind the dog, the cat, the student, the house (the kids were supposed to be with S's sister who, btw, is moving so she is busy packing)...No that will never do. This is the guy, who upon taking his nephew (Boy1) on a plane ride, hears me tell Boy1 to behave and listen to Uncle, and interjects, "I don't care whether or not you behave, just don't puke." He has issues, serious issues with all bodily fluid. Just wait till he has kids. So now we are back to staying at home with a sick dog, two kids with soccer games, the cat, the student, the house. No trip to Seattle. Sorry Yarn Harlot. I will have to hear, see and meet you another time. I am sure you will miss me, your most dedicated lurker.

S still gets points for trying and he gets to keep his title as the world's worst surpriser. If he hadn't told me, we would have ended up in Seattle one day too late and that would have been an even bigger disappointment than realizing that I have too many responsibilities to just drop everything and take a time out.

It's a start...

I'm on my way from misery to happiness today...uh huh uh huh uh huh..

OTN...Just Bamboo by Sirdar (pattern 8874) A simple vest with a frill on the front. Just wanted to test the yarn and after the toe up, magic loop, lace pattern socks I just needed something easy. It took me 4 months to knit those!

Happiness is a decision not an event. I had the thought today that I need to decide to let my life give me happiness. Nothing or no-one in my life will give me happiness as a gift, wrapped up to open and enjoy. It is a gift I have to choose to give myself. There are so many things in my life that I am letting get me down. I am easily disappointed and discouraged. I have made a decision to let myself be happy and let go of the disappointment that I allow to entangle me when life isn't easy.


On a lighter note, S is up to something. I am a bit afraid to get excited about it but he kept getting phone calls from his sister, who he never talks to, "about her move". But S is a man who never does anything without checking with me (drives me bonkers, make a decision man!) but last night he kept leaving the room to talk to his sister and you've never seen him jump up so fast to answer the phone. Bizarre behaviour like this can only mean one thing: he's got a plan. Now I have been married to this man for 13 years and he does not "do" surprises. Not once. It might have something to do with the fact that last year at this time he FORGOT our anniversary. Completely. And it wasn't the first time. So, I am not going to get too excited because for a man who has NEVER done ANYTHING like this (and I am not exaggerating), to execute a surprise trip to Starbucks sans kids would be a feat. So I am going to expect something of that nature. I will keep my camera in my purse and post pictures. This could be fun.

Also, my dog is sick. I am a bit scared about this. She is really lethargic, won't eat, won't poop...it's a problem. May go to the vet tomorrow if she is not better. I just gave her a dose of castor oil. Hope this helps. Problem is that she likes (!) to eat my socks. She's probably having trouble passing one. Luckily she doesn't have a preference for wool socks...mostly the silky, synthetic type socks.

Still trying to screw up enough courage to start the Kauni.

...entangled