Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?



After a brief hiatus, Spongebob is back. I had lost the original chart I had made(I think it was thrown out in a cleaning frenzy), so I had to make a new one. Which involved going downstairs to use the computer that is connected to the printer rather than the laptop. Yeah, I'm lazy.

But it also involved this really cool website where you can generate your own knitting graph paper to your gauge. Here's the link if you don't already know about it. There is also another very cool site that will generate a graph for you if you aren't comfortable drawing your own. It's here. I've not used it yet, so if you do, let me know how it turns out.

This sweater has to be perfect. Thing 1 is a man(boy) after my own heart. After he received one of his frequent progress reports that he demands on no particular schedule, he told me that when he out grows the S.B. sweater, he is going to save it for one of his children to wear. Thanks, kid. Thanks for the added pressure of knowing I'm making an heirloom.

A Revelation

So I'm browsing through the 'Fibre after 40' forums on Ravelry, this is a group for knitters of a certain age. There is a thread on perimenopause. Perimenopause? I thought it was just 'menopause'.

After a little more research, it turns out I'm drowning in perimenopause! It's a bit of a relief to put a reason, or excuse, to all of those niggly little things that are going on.

Insomnia - check!
Thinning hair - check!
Forgetfulness - check!
Belly weight gain and bloating - check!
Daytime fatigue - check!
Zits - check!
Dry skin - check!
Forgetfulness - che..wait I did that one
Mood swings - check!

I told the Husband a few days ago that I didn't like the person that I was becoming emotionally. I was blaming all on the kids! Now, they are innocent of those charges at least. This doesn't mean that they are innocent of leaving dirty dishes, socks, and underwear all over the house.

It's quite liberating, really. I'm free to speak my mind, yell, cry at the drop of a hat, and just give into the naps all without feeling guilty. If someone starts giving me crap, I got one word for ya' - perimenopause. Except that's too long. I should just call her Perry.

A Life Changing Day

Honeymoon: on the train from Stonehenge

Fourteen years ago today I married the Husband. It was truly a day that changed my life. Before Husband, I was still at home with my folks(I could have moved out, I chose not to. Why move from a large-ish house with off street parking in a good neighborhood close to shopping to a crappy, dingy apartment? Besides, I had good room mates!)

So the day we were married, I became a homeowner, first time on my own person. I'm glad the Husband was there to help me with the transition. He had been on his own for 12 years. It was a big transition for both of us. Back then 'playing house' by cleaning and grocery shopping was fun. Now, it's drudgery.

Thankfully, it's only the little things that have become a grind. I could say that everyday has been fun, but that would be a lie. But, with the Husband by my side, we've weathered those stormy days only to come through stronger and more resilient. Besides, we actually like each other and laugh often.

If it weren't for the Husband, I wouldn't have had the wild ride and 4 kidlets that all look like him. Well, three look like him, the Girl looks like his sister!

Here's to you, hon. I'm counting on you to make the next 14 and beyond as fabulous as the first fourteen.

One Evening at the Kitchen Table

I need a drink...



Much better...



Pretty...uh, where was I?



I'm going to bed, I have a headache.

Rat Bastard

It bears repeating...

I have finished(relatively speaking) the birthday wash cloths for the PD. Two still need weaving. The one on top is from the leftover scraps. Even though they had the same amount of yardage(so the label said), I was only able to get one full cloth out of the variegated colorway. That was the first one, and the one on which I had trouble counting. Maybe I added a few extra rows.



This is the rat bastard part. I am one glorious little inch from completing the back of the Husband's rather large aran sweater. That's not a rat bastard, that fact is the opposite of a rat bastard, a non-rat non-bastard, if you will.

I was knitting happily along last evening, when I saw it. Approximately three inches down from the needles are three groups of travelling stitches in the center celtic knot section all crossed the wrong way. They are going in the correct direction, they're just not latticed.



And to make matters worse, I did the same thing where you see that fabulously(if I may say so) manicured finger. After yelling out the title of this episode, I asked the Husband if he saw anything wrong with the sweater. He (not being a knitter, and a man) said he didn't see a thing wrong with it. I then pointed it out.



That dear sweet man told me there was no need to fix it. His reasoning: it's just the back of the sweater and barely noticeable. Barely noticeable!!??? I think if Salma Hayek were to suddenly grow a big, fat, hairy wart on her chin it would be just as noticeable.

Bless his heart.

The Death of Peter Cottontail

The following post is not for the faint of heart or fluffy bunny lovers.

We had a bit of a carnage here last week. Our usual weekday morning routine was disrupted by a mauling. The usual morning goes something like this: the Husband leaves for work, I wake up the kidlets, and walk outside in the back yard with the large carpet spotter Brunnhilde. She evidently can not be alone even to pee. She will not go outside with out me standing there, unless her dog pal neighbors are outside, then she'll go alone.

This past Tuesday, the Husband called in sick, the Girl felt ill and didn't want to go to school. Brunnhilde was even willing to go outside without me. I should have read the warning signs, but it was early, and my brain was foggy from sleep.

Then I saw why she wanted to go out without waiting for me. She had a rabbit on the run. We have a family of bunnies living in the over grown garden. She occasionally chases them, but they are able to make it out of the gap between the fence and the back gate. It was not to be that day.

This day the bunny wasn't going to make it to the gap and made for the 3 x 5 grid space in the liner of the fence. He got his head through. By the time I got back there, she had made his hind quarters nice and bloody, and he was stuck.

The Husband was not going to help, and didn't appreciate being bothered in his sick bed about a rabbit stuck in the fence. I knew the rabbit wasn't going any where, and he could just wait for my help until the kidlets were on the bus. The only problem were the two cats I saw in the property behind us on the prowl. They had noticed the ruckus and were very interested. So, I posted the Girl on watch to keep the cats away.

After I got the Boy off to school, I realized that I was going to have to cut the stupid rabbit out of the fence. My neighbor had beat me to it. It was obvious that the bunny was dying, and we should put it out of it's misery. I deferred to the neighbor. Having grown up on a farm in North Dakota, I hoped she would be up to the task.

She said, "I've killed rodents by twisting their necks, I've even killed cows, but I don't know what to do with the bunny." Great. We decided on suffocation. So, with an apology to the rabbit, I put him in a plastic garbage bag and tied it up tight.

His body is in temporary holding in the garage. I'm especially looking forward to garbage pick up this week.

Rat Bastard





See that mess? It's supposed to be a washcloth from Mason Dixon. You know the cute one worked in the round with the bobbles and eyelets. Evidently I don't know how to count, at least not while the t.v. is on and the kidlets are home from school.

That's the third go round on the rat bastard. Don't get me wrong, there are parts about it I like so far. The yarn so far. I'm using SWTC's aMaizing. (Should it still be called yarn if it's made from corn? Wouldn't "yearn" be better?)

I had yesterday what at the time seemed like a brilliant idea. The PD's(the Husband's knickname for his sister) birthday is this weekend, and she decided to have her own party at her house. I can't show up empty handed, so a couple of face cloths and some nice soap would fill up my hands.

That was until I was unable to count. I wonder if Ringo Starr is available for tutoring. He once said that he was able to make a decent living simply by counting to eight.

A Few Things I Learned about Myself in 24 Hours

1. I am enabler. This past August while my Massachusetts friend I've known for over 20 years from college was in the area visiting family and friends, I pulled out the toe up sock. She pointed at it and said, "I want to learn how to do that."

So, yesterday while she was back in town we decided to go to the University of Cincinnati vs. Marshall football game. On the way to the game I gifted her with a set of size 10 bamboo needles, 3 balls of Bernat Bamboo(which is really, really soft- so I bought some for me!), and a print out of a lacey rib pattern that would make a really good scarf. She told me that every time she's tried to knit, she's had tension issues. Maybe the gift will give her a little gas to go just one more mile.

2. The UC Band is (still) Damn Good! Last night was the first UC game I had been too since my friend and I graduated from college and hung up our band uniforms. College kids look young! During the game I was thinking about how all those kids feel like they have nothing but opportunity before them, and the world is wide open to them. I was almost envious until I looked down in my hand and saw the beer. Hah! Take that you wrinkle free, non grey haired kids! I'm old enough to drink beer. (Honey, I had two in the space of 5 hours, and finished the last one about an hour before I got in the car to drive.) (The previous was for the benefit of the police officer Husband. He's a bit of a stickler about drinking and driving, rightly so.)

Which brings us to the third thing...

3. I'm too old for this shit! My friend was flying home to MA this morning. She had a 7am flight. She asked for a ride to the airport. We decided that rather than having her spend the night here, waking the 4 kidlets up at 4am to drag them to the airport which is 45 minutes away(the Husband had to work today, so he couldn't hang out with the kidlets) we would just go to the airport after the game, and she would get a room at the hotel.

So by the time I picked the kidlets up from my in law's after the game, dropped them off at my house(which is on the way to the airport), visit with the Husband for a few minutes, drive to the airport and back it was 3 am before I flopped in bed.

The kidlets were up rocking and rolling at 7:30am this morning. I see much caffeine in my immediate future.

It's an embarrassment of riches

What to do, what to do...The husband has one of his rare weekends off this coming Saturday and Sunday(rotating schedule and all that). My two oldest nephews are playing against each other on Saturday. One is on the defensive line. He has played several positions in the past(defensive end, cornerback), the other nephew is a wide receiver(for those of you that didn't have the benefit of growing up with two older brothers and father that spent their fall weekends watching football and you just sort of picked this stuff up by osmosis - a wide receiver is an offensive player).

The kidlets asked me which team to root for. My answer: root for which ever nephew is on the field.

This weekend is also the Celtic Festival at Yeatman's Cove. Having a bagpipe playing husband of Scottish descent, well, it's pretty obvious what he wants to do this weekend.

Also this weekend is the Wool Gathering Festival in Yellow Springs, OH. Seeing as how this is supposed to be a blog about knitting, it's pretty obvious what I want to do this weekend(without the kidlets in tow - I did that last year - it wasn't pretty).

I think that next year the organizers of these events should consult me on scheduling.

Bloody Fantastic!

This has been the fifth best thing that has happened to me in my life - all of the kidlets are finally in school all day.

I have big plans for this school year. Every closet in this house(that's 8, one of which is a walk-in) will be cleaned out and organized. Now that the kids are finally past the coloring on the walls phase, every room will get a new coat of paint.

After nearly 8 years of living in this house, the front room will finally become what it was destined to be - a living room. It will not be a 'toy room', a 'PS2 room', or an 'empty room because we came from a smaller home and didn't have furniture to put in said room' room.

This year the front room will get built in bookcases(I'm trying to convince the Husband that I can build them and save us some money), a new wood looking laminate floor(we have kids and animals), and furniture. I have the furniture. So far I have an antique settee and matching chair(I could have the matching platform rocker, but that is a rather sore spot with me) that came from my grandmother's house. Unfortunately, the settee has been stored in the attic for a gazillion years and the chair had been in the house that is like a really big petri dish(don't ask, that's a post for another day). So, in order to save money, I need to learn how to re-upholster furniture.

So I have the coming 9 months mapped out. But I've taken the first week off, because dammit, I deserve it. I've been doing this,

the Absorba bath mat from Mason-Dixon knitting with Peaches 'n Cream, and some more of the Husband's aran.

I also started my first toe-up sock from the "formula" in the Fall 07 IK. I needed something that I could work on during the 4 soon to be 5 evenings a week I sit at the dojo while the kidlets are doing karate. I had been working on the Husband's aran, but found when I got home that I had made many mistakes(too much gabbing with the other Moms) and had to selectively rip back a few pattern repeats.

I also decided to make them knee socks to eliminate any left overs(Plymouth Dreambaby DK). I hate it when you don't have enough left overs to make another complete meal, and you end up with just a snack.

MMMMMM



A box of red summery goodness, fresh from the farm complete with dirt.

Bleh

In spite of playing on Ravelry, I have done some knitting. But I've mostly ripped. I lost my place on the Husband's aran and couldn't figure out what row I was on in the pattern.

Maybe it was because of the raging headache I've had for the past two days. It's hot as, well you know the cliche, and we are under a smog alert. They have been advising people with respiratory problems to stay indoors. That would be me.

I just found out last week that I have asthma. I've had this annoying non productive cough for weeks now, and last week I was doing some heavy cleaning and stirring up cat hair, dog hair, and dust. My chest felt tight and I was short of breath. While sitting still. Great.

So one inhaler and extra strong allergy medicine later, I'm stuck in the house with a raging headache. I'm not sure if the headache caused the losing of my place, or the losing of my place caused the headache. Hmm, anyone, Bueller?

Woohoo!!!

I'm in! I got my Ravelry invite! I'll be incommunicado for a while. See ya.

30 More Days

That's how many days are left until it is blissfully quiet around the house. I have been looking forward to this day for years. August 27th is the day that all 4 kidlets will be in school all day! No more of the half day for preschool or kindergarten crap! No siree, all blooming day! That thought will be the sustenance that gets me through the next weeks. When you go shopping for office supplies, I'll be the one dancing in front of the two pronged folders.

Not much to show on the knitting. I'm still plugging along on the Husband's aran. I've finished the second sleeve of the Spongebob sweater, and I'm on the ribbing of the front soon to start the face.

I haven't done much knitting this week. I've been busy cleaning the house for the cleaning lady! My sister-in-law set us up with an immigrant(I'm assuming she's legal since she holds down two other jobs that with hold income tax). In order for her to actually see the dirt, I had to pick up all of the crap that was hiding the dirt. This has taken me days. I kid not.

Mt. Laundre has become a mountain range in the laundry room. I'm off to scale the mountain, because it's there and it's the last unconquered frontier! If I'm not back in 3 days, send help.

Lazy Days of Summer?

I don't know about you, but the "lazy days of summer" are a load of crap! Even though the kidlets are out of school(48 more days until school starts!), we've been just as busy as during the school year. Thus, very little knitting has been done.

The kidlets and I spent 5 days camping at Robert Treman State Park near Ithaca, New York. My two best friends and I have been taking a camping trip around the 4th of July for well over 20 years now, and it's evolved over the years to include the spouses and children. The Husband didn't go. Camping isn't his thing. We swim, hike to falls, and taste wine. The Finger Lakes region is beautiful. I have no pictures, the Husband needed the digital camera for the weekend for some free lance work and snatched it out of the car right before I left the driveway.

After returning from NY, the Husband had oral surgery, Thing 2 has had some dental work done(we have another appointment tomorrow at 8am), all four kidlets have eye exam appointments in the next week, and the Girl has an appointment with an orthopedist at Children's. It's nothing serious, her pediatrician just wants to have the duck foot waddle walk she tends to do checked out.

Two weeks ago, while the dishwasher repairman was here, I managed to chart the Spongebob intarsia sweater for Thing 1. After I finished it, I realized that I have the design too close to the neck shaping, so I'm going to move the whole design down a few rows. Sorry, I have no pictures. It's too big to fit in the scanner, and I can't find the camera. I'll post pictures next time.

I'm on sleeve two of the sweater, and I'm not too much farther along on the Husband's aran. In fact, I'm a few rows back. I saw that I had accidentally done a few rows of ribbing in the middle of one of the diamonds and also in the moss stitch section. So rather than dropping back a few stitches to fix just those parts, I ripped back 6 whole rows. I was rather pissed with myself, and ripping was much more emotionally satisfying.

I need a nap...this must be the lazy part.

I have a Deep Dark Secret





Hi, my name is Karen, and I've been crocheting(it's still evil). Last weekend we were at my Dad's house. While the Husband was taking care of fixing some computer problems, I was rummaging around the closets. Don't judge, I used to live there, and I was digging through the closet in the bedroom that had become my Mom's craft room.





I found a baby blanket that Mom had been crocheting for my nephew, who is now 15, and never finished. She had time to finish it while he was a baby, she just never did. Joey was 5 when Mom died. I thought it was a shame that it had never been finished. I immediately made a vow to not let projects go unfinished for years in order for my children to find while cleaning out my closet and wonder why I never finished it.





So, it became my mission to compete the blanket. She had easily 3/4 of the blanket done. The whole thing is done in double crochet. Easy enough.





Except I've not been able to stop crocheting! I've actually walked past the Husband's aran to work on the blanket. I rationalize it this way: The blanket has Mom's mojo so that is why I'm drawn to it(I'm also getting Mom's gauge). Also, it's a dream of mine to open a yarn shop, so I'll need to know how to crochet because I don't want to discriminate against crocheters. So, I also consider this research into the world of crocheting.





There will be no pictures. It's being made from inexpensive acrylic 80's pastel variegated yarn, and I'm still too ashamed to admit that I'm actually crocheting.

The Greatest Generation

We have lost another member of the Greatest Generation. This past Friday, Walter S. of Indiana, passed away. He was the Husband's grandfather. He was 84 years old, married to Dorothy("Mother") for 66 years. He was the father of 5 children, and the total number of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren number close to 50!

He served in the Army Aircorps during WWII and helped to liberate Luzon and the Bismarck Archipelago. He was quick with a smile and laugh, and loved to hunt turtles, fish, and woodworking. We are losing members of this generation at a good clip, and we must never forget their sacrifices for our country. But to hear them talk, it was no sacrifice. You just did what was expected of you at the time. A good tenet for anyone in any time.

I heard many good stories about Papaw Walt after his military burial. My favorite personal memory was when we were together around my in-laws round dining table having a good old country dinner of fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, etc. Mother was sitting next to Walt with a chicken leg on her plate. She had taken two bites of the leg when Walt, with a gleam in his eye, reached over and snatched the chicken from her plate and began eating it.

No one else at the table paid any attention to this, but I looked at Mother with a surprised grin on my face and a little chuckle. She said, "I never get to finish a piece of chicken." Everyone else in the family had seen this move for so many years, they had become used to it.

Walt proceeded to skeletonize that innocent chicken leg, and then broke it open and sucked out the marrow. The Greatest Generation that also lived through the Depression were not wasteful!

Another one is assimilated

Bwahahaha! Several weeks ago we were at a family gathering/cookout. I, of course, brought along the knitting for the after feast stupor sit around and visit time. I didn't realize it at the time, but my 9 year old nephew must have been watching me knit.

Later while said nephew was riding home with us, he asked me to teach him to knit. I told him that learning to knit while in a moving car wasn't the best idea, but I would teach him the next time I saw him.

Several weeks later, we went to a family camp for the weekend(like summer camp for kids, but for families) and said nephew's family was also there. I pulled out the sleeve to Thing 1's sweater and started working on it, when the nephew reminded me that I said I would teach him how to knit. So I gave him his first mini lesson using the sleeve. He was actually interested, and kept it up for a while. I promised him that the next time I saw him I would have yarn and needles that he could keep. Of course I waited until he was out eyeshot to rip out his efforts.

I really want to encourage this, because Nephew has been diagnosed with ADHD, and if you observe him for a while, he just doesn't seem to have the happy-go-lucky attitude a 9 year old should have. I think he has been diagnosed with depression, but don't quote me on that. He's the kid in the family that you just want to grab and hug tightly.

As he was proudly looking at the rows he had accomplished, he requested a turtle sweater. I said, "What like Leonardo?" He said, "No, a box turtle." Thank goodness, I don't think I could stomach another cartoon character. Cowabunga, dude!

Sure, they look innocent now







Don't let them fool you. They'll suck you in with their cuteness, and when they see that glazed look in your eyes - they pounce. This is reason not much knitting is getting done. I'm busy putting out fires. Laundry, picking up, scrubbing, running errands - the stuff of life. There seems to be an inordinate amount of it lately.

I have managed to finish the back of Thing 1's (he's the one on the right)SpongeBob sweater and have started a sleeve. The Husband's aran is only about 3 rows further along. I keep ripping back a few stitches here and there, ala fixing a miscrossed cable, and tweaking wonky looking stitches. I don't trust a good blocking to fix some of the wonkers.

Dadgummit!!!




That's the Husband's aran. I had the perfect atmosphere for working on the aran(no kids, husband, or dogs in the immediate vicinity) and I still screwed it up! I still have the black eye from the knitting goddess' smackdown.

So, I valiantly used a crochet hook to pick up the stitches on the cable I had incorrectly crossed and get them going in the correct direction(a crochet hook's only useful purpose in my opinion), when I noticed that I had $%^&ed up the celtic knot center portion. Some how I had gotten on the wrong row on the chart and was blissfully knitting along for 3 rows before I realized it.

I can fix that I thought. Rather than use a crochet hook(this was too big of a job - 28 stitches with multiple crossings), I used dpn's and reknit it. Although I'm going to give it another go, because I used dpn's way smaller than the 7's I'm using on the sweater.




This left me with a very tight gauge and loops of 'left over' yarn that I don't think a severe blocking will correct. I knit on for a few rows thinking I could tug it into submission. No joy.

In the spirit of random Tuesday...Last evening was the Carpet Spotter's(Brunnhilde the German Shepherd-why am I using a knickname for her like I want to protect her privacy?) first night of training. We were kicked out in the hall for 'talking'!!!!