happy leap year

hehe. I don't get to say that very often so I am taking full advantage of it now.

My Thesis Adviser told me Chapter 2 was a good first draft. He is doing a talk tomorrow night and my English buddy KMB and I are going. As of tomorrow, Spring Break has come so she is off to a concert in Chicago late next week. Lucky. I'll be here, in front of the computer screen. Doing homework.

Stress levels are through the roof, which means I have been "picking" myself. Major problem as the bottom of my lip really hurts. Therefore, I am wearing gloves until I break the habit or stress goes away. Knitting gloves really was not so horrible. Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Of course, the pair I am wearing are the first pair and there are so many mistakes. Live and learn, as the slogan goes. The next pair will be in black. On really small needles.





Puppy got a hair cut yesterday. She looks so different without her broom-like-tail. But she is cute and happy and so soft. What else matters?



And so, before I sign off for the night...I discovered this week how Cable has been stealing my yarn. The Little Imp has been climbing up to what was once a safe place for a bowl of yarn. No worries, all is now safe and secure.





cats. They never have gotten over the whole Egyptian god thing.

it's happened again

ever since I started knitting, I have said the following: "I will never knit ________."

insert the following: cables, lace, socks on needles smaller than 5, design a garment, gloves.

I have now done all of the above. Maybe I should never say that sentence again.

In non-knitting news

Yesterday was not a good day. In fact, it resembled a Monday in all its glory. I do not want to go into details. Sorry.

Puppy is getting groomed today. Cable gets her staples out tomorrow.

Spring Break is next week but they still excused me from jury duty.

chapter 3

has now been written. Which should explain my silence.

I have two, count them two, KALs* starting this week. And there is another on going on that I want to participate in. But I only have two hands and limited time. Plus there is still Lent to do.

Stars I am beat. I think I'll buy yarn tomorrow.


*--Knit-A-Long: where a group acts as a pep-group to each other as they work on the same pattern, with each member having their own project

just 1 of those days

you know those days when you should get a metal and dinner just for getting out of bed? That would be me. Today.

I blame all the med change in such a short time.

Cable is feeling so much better. She has already climbed up the entertainment center several times. No pain pills after the first post-surgery day (and even that was half of what we could have given her). Right now, she is licking at her staples. It's been five days, so some of the skin should be knitted by now. She spent all day on her sunlit perch on my window.

I went to Mom's for my computer and to pick up some letters she wanted posted today. Ended up staying most of the day with her. She is getting the "crud" as we call it here. Though she is feeling better.

Tomorrow I will finish Chapter 3. Right now I just want to look at yarn. See what came in yesterday:

The coral is actually my Lent this year. Rather than giving something up, I am doing a project I normally would not do. Same amount of suffering goes into it, so I am more than set for the year. I was sick when I was officially suppose to start, but I think God would understand. No, I am not Catholic, however, Lent is just something I do every year since my undergraduate years. Understanding through suffering.

I fully intend to call it an early night. My Black Adder III DVD came in on Thursday and I have yet to see all 6 episodes more than thrice.

due cover your ears

...as I scream out bad words.

Spring Break is the first full week in March. Not the third. I had wanted my thesis to have a rough draft by then. Guess that won't be happening.

Ah!

Oops, low battery.

Bye

no more pain pills for the cat

Cable was "fixed" today. Kinda short notice/last minute but she pulled through like the survivor she is. In fact, we felt so bad for her (and her obvious pain) that I gave her one of the pain pills the vet gave her.

I took advantage of the poor thing and got out my drop spindle. (Let me just say right now: I love spinning, I am just not very good at it. Yet.) Well, pretty soon Cable was watching me. Then, when more of the meds kicked in, she started attacking my roving. I should add that this roving is in individual baggies inside a zipped, clear bag. She then began to attack the knitting I had in my purse.

I vote, we not give out the pain pills.

But here is the very lumpy ball of yarn that I spun. It's a single ply, meaning I am a lazy person and I feared for the life of my creation. Yes, it is the work of a person spinning for the first time. And I will knit it up into a scarf for myself. It will drape on some chair, its sole purpose of existence will be the proof that I did it. Think of the first scarf you ever knitted, and how proud you were when you wore it. Then you got better at this whole knitting thing, and before you knew it, the scarf served only to remind you where you started. That is this ball's mission in life.

chapter 2

is written! Yea! Yahoo! Ha!


ok, so it is only a rough draft. But....Chapter 2 is written!

I feel so much better. Which is a very good thing, as now the remaining adults are down for the count. Good thing there is no school tomorrow, the Maternal Grandmother can now be as sick as she wants without wondering how her school is doing.

Now for the semi-bad news. My Full-Blooded (FB) Sister wants a cardi wrap for her birthday; but she is gracious enough to take it late. NO wool. :blinks for a moment: No wool? For someone who deals with 93% of her knitting with that wonderful fiber, this is horrible. Have I brought this up before? I know, it has all the flashing warning lights (she hasn't liked or used previously knitted gifts). So why am I searching WEBS (aka: black hole in my checkbook if I let myself stray too long) for cheap acrylic? Because she by all accounts is still my sister. And one day I might need her kidney. Scratch that, she'll need some of my liver first.

still

So, I have been better; but you know how it is after you're sick. You play the catch-up game. I'm still playing that game. But things are looking up. The following pictures were my biggest entertainment for about a week. Exciting stuff, huh?

I finished "Viola's Waistcoat" for the 12th Night KAL. It looks amazing, if I do say so myself.

I've written 5 pages of Chapter 2 of my thesis. Chapter 1 is back with many marks.

I worked at Stash last night, mostly last minute since the owner was still doing the stomach bug thing. In about 2 hours, I go sub. Such is life, non?

stupid flu

After uncounted amounts of days in bed, I finally feel human. Having a doctor tell you to stay in bed would be wonderful...but I felt too bad to even knit. Bad.

And I had to miss the Knitting Retreat the MemphisSnB had this weekend. That is just beyond bad. We can even call it a Very Bad Thing. I was really looking forward to it.

On the plus side, I will be well enough to present on Wed. No make-up presentation. This is a Good Thing. I might want to take care of that. Like now.

when does the carousel stop?

because I would really like to get off now.

Three of the last 4 school days, I have been substitute teaching in the special needs, non-verbal class. Talk about emotionally exhausted, next up morally bankrupt (season 4 of MASH joke, in case you missed it).

My Sister's First Generation American boyfriend has been in town all weekend. The two of them went to see our Paternal Grandmother yesterday and got back sometime today. However, on Super Bowl day, family dinner was awkward. It's not like we hate the guy, we just do not know him and know little about him and not sure where the relationship stands, so what do we talk about? I gracefully went to Stash and blew off the afternoon (not really, it was more of a push out the door by the Maternal Grandmother but this way sounds better).

Now the Younger Twin has the flu, no surprise there based on how she's acted lately. The funky weather has the Elder Twin's knee acting up and not in a good way. Cannot say I am faring any better, but no flu.

In some good news, I have a desk in my study room and a very rough draft of Chapter 1 of 3.