The madness is mostly over. For this month, at least.

It seems as if I'll be heading down to Knoxville once a month for a while. Rae and I went down in November, right after grandma's surgery. Then we went down the weekend before Christmas, and spent a couple days down there. We found a yarn store - that was delightful (and expensive) fun. Rae decided she wants to start knitting Estonian-styled lace. We grabbed a skein of Alpaca with a Twist for her to work with. And, of course, I picked up some more sock yarn. Pretty stuff. We ended up not going out while we were there. We were just so tired - after the drive, and handling Grandma, and surviving the Walmart, goodness.

To be able to help Rae with her lace, I started my own. (Just to get a little jump start on the learning curve.) Well, okay. So I started a lace shawl a month or two ago, and it's languishing in the basket right now. But this one will be different, I promise! The repeat for this one is 30-some rows, twice as long as the Luna Moth. The horizontal repeat is a little longer too, but I can't tell you how much. This one didn't come with real great instructions! But, it's the Beginning Lace Knitter's KAL for January - so I'm sure there will be plenty of help along the way. I'm about finished with the first repeat (I think 7 are suggested, or maybe five) and it's delightfully beautiful. Also Aplaca with a Twist, in a light slate blue. I bought the yarn at Heavenly Creations on Friday, and I wanted to immediately go home and take a nap with it. Mmm.

What else is there? I've got a set of delightful socks OTN right now - a dark blue, with an easy little lace pattern on top. The first is finished, and I'm still working on the toe of the second. My Twisted wrap is still in the big project bag - I think it's close to finished now, but it's been a while since I've touched it. I need to look up the finishing instructions to see if I need to keep going. I'm still working on my pretty bag, but the stage I'm at right now is all purling, and I'm not so much a fan of that.

I got a swift for Christmas! My little brother made it for me from PVC. It's perfect. So I'm going to splurge on a ball winder now. I started winding a skein of Cascade 220, and half way through I decided that, although I enjoy ball winding, I really want a winder. So that's exciting.

But really, I think that's it. Christmas is over, I like yarn, I've debated on New Year's "goals", and Grandma goes back for another heart surgery sometime in January. Oh, and John wants me to make socks for his girlfriend. Ha. We'll see about that.

I haven't been spinning at all, lately. We were both sick all last week, which meant I hardly even touched a knitting needle while Renee knitted practically an entire blanket. Eh, okay.

I started making dishclothes. I knitting one, but it hurt my hands too much. So I started crocheting them instead. I made a star one, and a circle, and a regular square. Then I did a square one with a pattern stitch. I started a tawashi one last night (an open square with 4 linked rings inside it) and it's interesting like. They've been great with my entire lack of focusing ability right now.

I'm going to spin tonight, though. I decided. I'm going to start on that ball of Louet again, because I think I miss spinning. And I think I've got a better conceptual idea of what's going on, at this point, so it'll be good to get my hands started at catching up with my head.

Yep yep.

The holiday season has officially started. Thanksgiving (my personal favorite) is over. (Umm, and it was entirely delicious. And completely gluten-free. And homemade, down to the stuffing bread and pie crust. I'm very proud of it.) Our Christmas shopping / producing is nearly complete. We've still got to felt all the bowls, and Renee just started a blanket for her great-grandmother last night. I got a late start on gifts for my relatives. ... Okay, so I wasn't going to do anything for them. But then I grew up a little, and decided on presents for anyone under the age of 10. Which means I'm gifting for little girls. I decided I'd knit them coordinating hats. Luckily, one of the girls is technically a Johovah's witness, so her present doesn't actually need to be finished until after the holiday (but it would be nice to finish early). I think I'm going to make them all Republic Hats - one hot pink, one bright teal, and one a nice purple color. Easy, doesn't require much thought, etc.

I actually started a Lifted Twill hat for one of the girls, but. It just requires a little more focus than I've got right now. (Especially if I'm going to finish in time!) Since I'm doing a simple hat, though, I might knit some little wrist warmers to go with them. We'll see.

I finished my Renee's-family-christmas-swap gift. I drew one of the boyfriends, ha. I knit him a scarlet and grey hat based on the Turn a Square pattern. I love it- it's warm, and soft, and I might need one that's not Buckey themed!

Since last week, I've learned to ply. Which means that I'm making yarn. Not at a breakneck pace, mind you, but still making yarn. My own handspun, which I think is entirely delightful.


And now that I'm making my own handspun, I have an entirely different view of it. I purchased a small skein of some handspun over the summer, and hadn't the slightest clue what to do with it. It seemed to precious to disturb. Well, now it's not. And it's going to turn into wrist warmer things, or perhaps a cowl. Because the process of handspun (from roving to singles to plied to knitted object) is now to delightful to interrupt. I'm going to work with it this weekend.

And I'm going to take this ball of fiber (which has gotten considerably smaller since this photo!) and make more of these singles.

Then I'm going to ply the singles together, and make some more of this!!

Which, I promise, is much prettier in person than this poor photo makes it look! And I've got two skeins of it now. And I'm going to finish two spindles worth of singles next time and try to make a little larger skein. And to ply a little differently! Ahh!

Beyond that. Thanksgiving is here. My little brother is coming over. We're eating turkey sandwiches, and probably watching crappy tv. Or something. And he's bringing his new girlfriend who is *gasp* 6 years older than he is! (Last time we were at Dad's, dad kinda freaked out about the age difference, and how you don't want to trap yourself, and older women want to settle down, blah blah. We laughed. Mom was 4 years older than he is (so he knows from experience) and Renee is 10 years older than me. Ha!)

Big weekend...

Raeface and I went down to Tennessee this weekend to see my grandmother. She had heart surgery last week, so we went down to visit her, etc. We ended up getting to take her home from the hospital on Saturday morning, so that was exciting!

We always have a good time in Knoxville. The gay bars there are absolutely hysterical. This time moving to Knoxville was on our minds, so we started deciding who we would be friends with. And making up stories. And watching all the ladies interact. Turns out that lesbians are the same everywhere. And we wouldn't be friends with many of them - much like here! Ha!

Anyway. Grandma is doing fine. Obviously, she tires easily and is a little grumpy, but that's what happens when they crack open your chest.

That's a long drive to make over a weekend, though. Which is a disheartening thought, especially since someone really needs to start making that drive once a month or so. Not that she's in bad shape, or anything, but someone needs to visit more than once a year. Seriously. And, since I want her land, I should be the one to do it. Crikies!

Umm, spinning, oh my goodness. There wasn't much time this weekend, but. I picked up some new fiber on Thursday, and a new spindle! and .. well, there need to be photos. I'll get those soon.

Spindling

So, the spinning is going really really well. I picked up a new bag of Tuscan Grove roving. It's beeeeaaautiful. It's called Electric Storm. It's a superwash merino, colored neon orange, neon leaf green, white and black/dark gray. In class Monday night, we all went over to the fiber wall to see the offerings. The other ladies picked a bag and went up to the register; I picked a bag and went back to my spot on the couch and started spinning.

I worked on it some more last night. I've probably spun about an ounce (or close to an ounce) right now; it's spinning between a dk and a worsted right now, but I've got a new, lighter spindle on the way. That should thin it down to closer to a dk or lace weight. Then I think I'll ply it with some of the plain white, or the other storm colored roving (a similar green color, purple, dark gray, etc) and then make a scarf with it! I think it would make a lovely My So-Called Scarf. Or something like that. Perhaps.

It's fun that I'm already planning on knitting with the yarn I'm making.

I spun some last night, on the clunker spindle. (Which is 2.76 oz. The one I ordered is 0.9 oz. I'm looking forward to the difference.) I pre-drafted about 3 yards of fiber, then started spinning. Standing up, I could get about 2 yards spun before I'd have to wind everything (which, with the additional drafting, equaled about 1/3 of what I'd pre-drafted.) After I'd spun all I could reach, I'd let some slack into the yarn (because at that point it really is yarn!) and sometimes (about half the time) it would be perfect! with hardly any overspun sections.

I'm starting to look at wheels. That's a while off, though. I need money, first. And space to put it.

meme. sorry.

Are you cheating on someone right now?
Dolly Parton. No.

Do you hate when couples are like "i love you" after datin g for about 2 days?
Umm, that's the lesbian way. 'Cept Renee and I. We're not lesbians.

Do you like coffee?
Does it count that I need it? Because I do.

Ever been so anxious or overwhelmed that it felt like you couldn't breathe?
Yes. Certianly. Of course. Weekly, it seems.

Do you believe that love is all you need?
I'm too young to believe in the Beatles.

What' s your favorite lollipop flavor?
Delicious.

What kind of mood are you in?
Exhausted, pretty much. And my ear hurts.

Are your parents divorced?
Widowed.

What were you doing eight o' clock this morning?
Probably looking at drawings. Or something.

Who is the last person you told a secret to?
Likely, Raeface.

Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?
Of course.

Last thing you purchased?
New roving last night. It's beeeeeeaaaautiful.

Plans for the upcoming weekend?
Tennesse. To be with grandma.

Did you sleep in past noon today?
Ha! I wish!

Who is your last missed call from?
Probably my brother. Or raeface.

When was the last time you ate Frosted Flakes?
It's been a looong time.

Do you know any songs that are older than you are?
Yeah buddy.

Can you even walk in high heels?
Some of them. Depends on whether or not I'm having a good ankle day.

Do you like peanut M& M's?
M&Ms are legally no longer chocolate. Bleck.

Do you like water parks?
I like water. But I hate children. Well, children in groups.

What was your last phone conversation about?
Umm. Scheduling this weekend, I think.

Last place you went to eat out?
Casa .. something in Gahanna. It was okay.

Who were you with last night?
Spinning class!

Are you listening to any music right now?
No. Just work noises.

When was the last time you were truly and completely happy with your life?
I'm pretty okay right now.

Next time you will kiss someone?
This evening, I would hope.

Is your handwriting large , tiny, or pretty normal?
It's neat, and slightly on the larger side. It's pretty stylized, I guess.

Are you there for your friends?
The friends I have, sure.

Are you a forgiving person?
No. I'm not forgiving, but I don't think it's worth the energy to hold a grudge.

Anything bothering you now?
Just my ear.

Who were the last people you ate with?
Raeface made dinner last night. It was delicious.

What are your plans for tonight?
Doing dishes, folding laundry, ordering a new spindle.

What color are your nails right now?
Un-manipulated.

What is the last non- alcoholic beverage you had?
Coffee. Goodness.

Where did you last sleep other than your house?
I don't frequently sleep other places. The castle, I guess.

Do you prefer hot or cold weather?
Temperate.

Have you ever been on a horse?
Years ago.

Do you get distracted easily?
Depends. How focused am I?

What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?
Took off my clothes.

Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle?
Again, years ago.

What' s the last thing you put in your mouth?
Coffee. Still.

I made more yarn last night. And I need to take my camera to the electronics store to get a cord to connect the camera to a computer, because I really want the world to see the amazing stuff of dreams that I spun last night. (And by 'amazing stuff of derams' I really mean over spun and under spun yarn of varying thicknesses that's better than the stuff I made Monday night.) Actually, there was a stretch where I had a good length of nice, rather consistent, yarn. That was really exciting. But then I lost my focus and it started stretching out and it broke. So I stopped for the evening.

Plus, at that point, they'd already decided that Obama won so I didn't have to stay up any later.

Knit night tonight. I might get my Jitterbug socks finished. And maybe start on the sweater!!!

I totally made yarn last night. It was pretty frinkin' sweet. I'm going to go home tonight and make some more. Perhaps it will be of slightly higher quality than what I produced last night. (The stuff I made last night has segments of overtwist followed by segments of undertwist. Kinda like think & thin, but really curly.)

Anyway. That was exciting. And I enjoyed it. And I can't wait to go back next week and learn the next step. Or perhaps even just a refinement of this step.

AhhhH!

Oh, and I voted this morning. Have you voted?

Ahh! Spinning class tonight!! Ahh!!!

That's exciting. I'm excited. Woohoo!!!

Ahh! Happy November!

So, I totally punked out and did not go to the Obama rally. I was really not feeling crowd friendly this morning. Rather, I felt more like a girl who hasn't slept properly in several weeks. Whatevs. Last night, I finished the last of the icord for the handknit surprise for the Starbucks and Yarn swap. It (and by it, I mean the package as a whole) still feels like it's lacking something. I think I'm going to put together a project bag, or a project notebook, or a pattern binder... something. Maybe. Or I'll just send it off as-is, because it's still pretty fantastic the way it is. Umm, the cozy is delightful. I love it. Might have to make me one.

I made a second one while I was making the first one, and that one will go to the angel package hoard. I'm doing a third one right now, out of some fantastic blue-green-yellow-brown yarn. It's a different style, and maybe I'll actually make myself one in this style. It'll be awesome.

It's been a weekend, for sure. Halloween was a fun night with some fantastic costumes to be seen (like a pumpkin patch, and a 7' tall Oompa Loompa) and some delightful food and drink. We stopped a Jeni's on the way home Friday night, and I got a delicious sundae (blood orange ice cream, dark chocolate fudge, a dark chocolate brownie, and a "severed lady finger!!!") that was entirely too large for me to eat. I ate the brownie and the lady finger, and the hot fudge - but other than tiny tastes, I pretty much gave the ice cream to Renee's brother. The ice cream was delicious, surely. But I just couldn't handle all the dairy - ahh!

This week looks like it should be pretty okay. My work week is already planned; I like it when that happens and I know what to expect. Home life should be pretty calm, I think. Except for trying to decide what to say to my Dad, if anything, about how I feel about what he's doing with his life... I feel that, perhaps, a letter to the magic Bubbopants is in order on that one, though. I just can't seem to decide myself.

This power plant project is close to kicking my ass. That is all.

I finished one of the Toscana socks, and, umm, it's practically perfect. I'm almost to the arch expansion on the second one - hopefully I'll keep focused and be wearing them this weekend! I'm using the same sockitecture I used for the really ugly socks - I really like the Riverbed one. Initially, I was stuck on the Coriolis because it's so pretty and I love that the increases are organized into something so sweet looking. But the way the increases create this extra fold of fabric and how it's almost-but-not-quite invisible in the Riverbed organization... It's lovely. And it's really really exciting that I finally have socks that fit! And I'm already excited for the next pair of socks - I've got some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn I picked up in Indianapolis. I've got a navy color, and bright lime green. There's a simple lace pattern in the Bordhi book (that I'd intended for the Toscana socks) that I'm going to work on the navy socks; I'm not sure what I'm going to work with the lime. Maybe Monkey, or something cabled. Something as equally obnoxious as the color (which I really do love, a whole lot). Then maybe I'll go back to working on the Klein bottle bag, or the Twisty Turns wrap. Eh. :)

We went to the library last night. I kind of went a little crazy in the books-on-CD section. We got a lot of Prairie Home Companion, the Stories of Dusty and Lefty, and Julia Childs' My Life in France. Uhh, I picked that one because I really enjoyed Julie & Julia (which doesn't actually have any of Julia Childs' writing in it) and because she was a spy. :) We'll see how that goes. I'll have to get into them this evening before NCIS is on.

And, I think I'm going to go vote this evening! At least, I mean, if I remember to look up my sample ballot and spend some time this afternoon researching judges. And, if I could make up my mind on who I'd prefer to be president. (Yeah. Still not sure. Whatever.)

Needed a day..

I needed a day today. So I took one. I'm okay with that.

I sat on the couch most of the day, watching TVontheinternet (which is absolutely the best invention of all time) and knitting. We stopped at the merc on Wednesday before dinner with dad (I needed some buttons!) and I picked up some of the most fabulous sock yarn that's ever existed. It's Jitterbug Toscana, and the colors are absolutely amazing. It's jewel tones (sapphire and ruby and gold) in a field of greens (emerald and sage and shiny rose leaf) and it's so shiny it blows my mind. I was going to do an all over stitch pattern that I thought would look nice in the striping, but I was so enamored with the colors that I got totally distracted and forgot. But it's okay. The fabric feels so thick and warm and delightful ... I'm utterly in love, and I've just started the arch expansion. What's funny is I've got 4 skeins of sock yarn sitting on the shelf, and I've just not been in the mood for socks - until I picked this stuff up off the shelf!

I was supposed to take the bike back to dad's house this evening - umm, except for the rain. So that's just not going to work out. Raeface is half finished with the baby blanket for Talan, and she's real excited about that. We ordered yarn for our first sweaters this week. Mine came, but her's is back ordered. Now I just have to pick a pattern - I've got it narrowed down to two, but I'm still just not sure. I'd like to make Twist + Shout, but I'm not sure I've got the right color for that one. Then there's the sweater from the cover of Big Girl Knits. I think that's the one I'm going to go with. It looks easy enough, I can do it in the round, etc. Yeah, probably. Umm, I just realized that I'll probably need to order more needle tips if we're both going to be knitting sweaters. Hmm. And while I'm at it, I should probably order size 2 and 3 cable needles for working magic loop socks. (Even though I utterly adore my dpns. No, really. I love them.)

Rae's aunt is having her annual halloween party this weekend. Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and that makes me anxious. And depressed. Thanksgiving is depressing. I think we decided to tell everyone that we're at someone elses family for the weekend, and just hide at home, eat turkey sandwiches, bake bread, and ignore people. Last year was just too hard. It was too hard to not have my mom around. I think I just need to stay home, and make the food we loved the most, and not have any other people around who ask questions when I start to cry. ... I'm just not ready for that. (Uh, funny, though, that Christmas doesn't bother me, doesn't depress me, nothing. Thanksgiving, though, I have problems with.. )

Last week work was almost more than I could handle. ... I think.

We had a big private college project that went out on Wednesday that I got drug into. It wasn't really my project, but at the last minute I started making phone calls and looking for quotes, doing some pricing analysis. It was okay, though. I'd gotten a commodity price update on Monday, and used the extra stand-by time to do a update for the SPD guys. I got to go to a pre-bid on Tuesday; that was exciting. I like going to walk thru's - even if the site is currently just a dusty parking lot. I like getting to meet people, and see what everyone else has done on the project already (I usually don't find out about the things until the morning of, so I haven't done any work at that point.) We had a turnover meeting Friday morning on a project that we think we'll be awarded - so we're putting time and resources on getting this project started, but we don't have a contract (or even an intent to award!) yet. Lovely!

Raeface and I re-organized the living space this weekend. We got a closet cleaned out, the couch moved, more yarn storage set up, etc on Saturday. We moved the rat cage, and now I've got a sewing table - that's exciting. No more ironing on the fold up TV tray! I've got stuff I've got to grab from Dad's house - Grandma's curtains, a dress I started (well, years ago) and I think I'd like to maybe make some simple clothes, perhaps. And probably a baby blanket. Oh! Pajamas for Keaton for Christmas! Maybe a helmet bag for Josh for Christmas.. That would be nice. Except then I'd have to do something with a zipper. Or it would snap together - snaps I could do!

The christmas bowls are almost finished. I finished half of Renee's King Max crown - the headband part is finished, and it just needs the points now. I'm close to complete on the first left wrist warmer. The Twisty Turns hasn't been worked on for a while now. And I think I'm going to work on the Klein bottle bag before I pick that up again. Small projects just kept getting in the way! But now that everything is (more) organized, maybe things'll work better...

Ahh! Erin had a baby! I love him! He's reallyreallyreally cute! (And now I want a baby. But that's not happening. Not for a while. Raeface and I talked a lot about that this weekend. Babies, family, where we're at, buying a house, etc. We decided that we still like each other. :))

Saturday was packed full of goodness. Zilla and I went to breakfast and took a walk, then she went to work and left me alone for the day. I cleaned, tidied, washed all the laundry, dusted, etc. And I knitted a lot. I made two obnoxiously hot pink cozies. And I love them. I might not be able to give them away. They still need buttons, but I'll get there. After Buttface got home, we peeled zillions of billions of apples and started the applesauce process. Okay, so only slightly less than a bushel - less than half of what we have to peel.

Sunday we got up early and went out to The Wilds for the day. (Some of) Rae's family went with us. It was Experience Columbus, which meant there were way more people there than normal. And they had private tours scheduled, which meant there were fewer buses than normal. Which means we spent forever waiting for buses to get us from place to place. The weather was really nice - not too hot, but definitely warm. Too warm for a sweater, but cool enough to carry it around just in case. I knitted a bit - got through most of a left wrist warmer before I realized I didn't have waste yarn with me for the thumb (annoying). We got to see some neat animals - rhinoceroses, giraffes, Pere David donkeys, Persian ongers, camels, zebras, antelope (several species), and - my new favorite - the takin. They were fantastic. They've got a back end similar to a bear, a face like a goat, and horns. They can swim, climb, run, jump, and go anywhere on the property. The girl who told us about them said they were the most aggressive /dangerous animals in the place, and special electric boundaries had to be installed because they were trying to get into the people cages. I think that's my favorite thing about The Wilds - the people are in cages instead of the animals. And the tour guides make sure the visitors know that.

Due to the busing delays, we didn't get home until after the SNBA Gala had already started, so we didn't end up going to that. By the time we would have showered and changed, the thing would have been closer to ending than beginning. I was a little bummed - even though the thing would have been full of privileged white men making their money off the backs of poor people, I would have liked to have gone. Katie Reider was going to be honored with an award, and that would have been nice to be a part of.

But since we didn't go, I got out the sewing machine and made Zilla's Halloween costume real fast. Then I started my grandmother's Christmas present - just some throw pillows, but it's absolutely the perfect fabric for her. Then I remembered that I promised her some curtains (the fabric is sitting at Dad's house somewhere) and I need to get those done to send with the pillows. I think I want to make a ruffle for edging on one pillow, but I'm not sure how to do that...

We have a big weekend planned. Today should be pretty relaxed, as far as a work day goes. I might run down to the yarn shop over lunch to pick something up for a swap. Something quick, and brightly colored. And feltable. And buttons! I love buttons. We're going to a comedy show tonight with my brother. And before that happens, we're going to stop at Dad's house to get one of my mom's sewing machines. Then I'm going to start hemming things, and maybe finish a dress I started making a long time ago, and bang out a couple pillows for Christmas. Maybe I'll use it for Christmas cards, too. We'll see. And I've got to make Renee's halloween costume. We already bought the fabric - it's all a matter of 4 quick seams. Then the show at Shadowbox tonight should be a good time.

Saturday is going to be all about finishing cleaning I started last weekend. I need to get the ceiling fans, take out the ac units, and clean out our middle room. We're going to use the living room as storage (yarn, books, movies, etc) and laundry hanging space over the winter, and live in the center room. I'll get that going this weekend.

Sunday we're going to the wilds! And that's exciting. And then we're going to the SNBA gala event. I don't know what that'll be like, but I know I've got to wear a dress. (Well, anything dressed up, so I'll wear a dress. And be pretty.) Hopefully we won't be out late, though. I don't like being out late on a weeknight.

welp.

Busy weekend. Friday night I was ... doing something, I'm sure. And Raeface called to see if I wanted to go to the Indigo Girls concert that night. It seemed rude to refuse karma tickets, so we went. We're not entirely sure where the tickets came from, but they came with backstage passes. When we got there, we ended up giving those to someone who promised to find someone who would appreciate the experience a little more than we would. The opener was ... well, really gay. That general acoustic guitar and feminine whiny voice thing. And it didn't seem like she'd played Columbus before - she kept insinuating that people must not have liked her because they were talking. Ha. We didn't stay for much of the Indigo Girls, though. After you've stood all day at work it's not much fun to stand through a show. And I was just exhausted.

Saturday we went to breakfast at Cafe Corner. I love the eggies in a basket. And then I cleaned most of the day. I did laundry, moved furniture, swept under the bed. I didn't get to dust the ceiling fans, but I will soon. I'd like for most of the dust to be out of the house before I seal it up for winter. That evening we went bowling with my little brother! Now, other than gym class, I've probably only bowled maybe 4 times in my life. And I didn't do too badly - well, I scored 22 the first game. And the second I was in the low 80s. Sunday morning, though, my shoulders were sore - they made me bowl left handed for half the first game, but I just wasn't strong enough to keep doing it that way.

Sunday morning we went apple picking and Lynd's Fruit Farm. We got an entire bushel of apples, for making apple sauce. And for eating. Then we went to my Dad's house to do some laundry (blankets, the couch slip cover, the heated mattress pad, etc - more getting ready for winter) and we (partially) cleaned out my closet there. It's time to start working on getting all my crap out of the house. A lot of the stuff I'll donate, especially if I haven't used it for a year. But the fabricy stuff, and the books, and the childhood mementos I've held on too ... well, those at least need to be condensed.

The big problem is that the room is filled with my mom's stuff. When I moved back in, we never managed to get all her stuff out of the drawers and dressers in the room. Most of the stuff we took out of the closet was her stuff. It's hard seeing parts of her, being so close to, well, it's just her stuff. But its stuff that exhibited her personality - both the surface stuff (likes, hobbies, etc) and the deeper parts (the need to hide things, the inability get rid of things, squirreling things away, etc) too. I had awful dreams about her last night. I think I re-lived finding her that morning a dozen times last night... It's been over a year now, but I guess those are things that take time to fully work through...

We're going to knit night tonight. We didn't go last week because of the ill. She's feeling better, but I'm still calling her pus pit. And disease girl. And bacteria babe. (She acts like it upsets her, but I can tell she doesn't mind. She's laughing, inside.) But we're going tonight. I'm going to rush home and cast on for the two left wrist warmers, because one of the ladies said she'd learn me magic loop. And I decided I'd rather start with the wrist warmers instead of socks. Heel turns frighten me. At least, heel turns combined with new methods intimidates me a little bit. Regardless.

Umm. The economy (and our government) scare me. Sarah Palin scares me. Pirates in Somolia ransoming a ship full of tanks scares me. I think it's time to move. I just did some math, and I, personally as an individual, own approximately $32,848 of the national debt. (I won't even deduct the percentage of money that was spent on the Iraq 'war' (conflict? police action? religious conversion mission?), which I don't agree with and didn't vote for. (If I had the means) I'd write the US Treasury a check for my financial responsability and immigrate.

But I don't have the means, and most of the people I know don't have the means. And I'm really not in the mood to immigrate today. Instead I'm going to start working on putting together my business plan. And gathering information on grants. And reading books on water conservation and filtration. And then, even though it'll scare me, I'm going to quit my job. That's the only way I'll ever get anything done.

In other news,. If I stretch real hard, the Twisty Turns wrap goes around me once - kind of. So that's promising. I've got a ball of sock yarn I'm itching to start working with - but I don't think I want to make socks with it. I think I might want to do a scarf verion of a Clapotis. I think that'd be durn purty. The yarn is purples, greens, and browns. At least, that's what I'm seeing in my head.

My focus at work might be altered for a bit. We think it's likely we'll be awarded a 10 million dollar project that's got a retarded fast schedule. So, if that comes to pass, I'll jump over to project management and help get that going - maybe some scheduling, helping draw up a budget, getting submittals in, etc. I think it's a great opportunity to use some of the other skills I paid a lot of money to learn. :)

mmm.

So. Rough weekend. Renee is sick - she's got an abscess in her throat so she's been really whiny. She finally went to the doctor on friday, and she's taking 1200mg of antibiotics every day for a while. Pretty gross. So it was a long weekend at home, making lots of soup and soft foods for her to eat, dealing with her whining, making her gargle, letting her nap, etc.

Then this morning we went out to run to the grocery for breakfast, and the window of the car had been busted out. So that was annoying. We walked to the grocery (luckily it's just half a block, but it was still too tiring for Renee) and made breakfast. Then she took a nap and I dealt with all the broken glass. Our landlord is letting me keep it in the garage for the next while or so, until the glass is repaired. He also let me borrow his shop vac to get the glass all cleaned up. Really, just annoying. Luckily, my deductible isn't too bad, and it should be easy enough to get taken care of. There wasn't anything in my car to steal (I'm not that dumb) and my stereo is, well, an AM/FM radio. So nothing is missing, other than the window.

Whatever. Spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch, knitting. I'm making a set of arm warmers for Renee's sister - Knitpicks Andean Silk in chocolate brown. They're pretty simple, with an eyelet pattern on the wrists. I wasn't paying attention, though, and I made two for the right wrist. It's a good thing I like them - because I'm going to be making two pairs (as long as I remember to make two lefts next time). Again, annoying. Just a little annoying.

Renee is working on more bowls. She's got 4 finished and ready for felting. The 5th is over halfway done. I think we only have 3 more left to finish the Christmas list. Then we're going to make one for halloween (a teeny tiny one).

I picked up a ball of hot lemon yellow WW wool for some gloves for her nephew. He'll like them because I'll tell him they're for hunting. Or something. Maybe I'll make a matching pair of socks for the baby. Eh. Renee is really into the Christmas knitting. Me ... well, not so much. Maybe something for a few select friends, but. It takes a lot of time. And, well, I have a better time working on the project if I know it's going to be used and appreciated, otherwise I get negative. And it takes forever.

PS. I love Pat Benetar. Long time.

About half the f'en icord is done now. And I decided to save the rest of the icord until the end of the project so perhaps some excitement of a finished item will carry me through. I'm probably about 2/3 the way through the increases, which is followed by about a foot of straight knitting. Half of which is reverse stockinette in the round. The thought of that makes me a little grumpy, but I decided that it would be a perfect chance to practice my purling continental style. Or something.

I watched the President last night. I hate him. I mean, I'm sure if we sat down and had dinner together and indulged in some light conversation, it would be fine. But the second anything political or economic came into the picture ... well. First, we don't tax the wealthy at the same percentage rate as the middle class. Second, the wealthy hide their money in stock market assets that are less taxable. Third, they make risky decisions that involve instilling false hope in the availability of the American Dream, and then tear it away because it wasn't actually within reach to begin with. Fourthly, when it all goes sour it screws over the people they were taking advantage of again. Then we all have to bail them out.